CHATTANOOGA, Tennessee (WDEF)-Downtown Chattanooga saw plenty of events going on for the Main Street 24 parade and celebrations.

One of the highlights was the adult big wheel race for a good cause.

24 teams, 96 racers competed to be crowned big wheel champions. The course looped around the parking lot and saw lots of spin outs.

“Raising money for a good cause and having a blast.”

“Kick some butt.”

The money raised by participants and local sponsors  is going to sound core.

“The music industry has been impacted so heavily this is just a way to help promote music in the Chattanooga area and help bring them back and give them menus and basically help support them.”

“I think it’s exciting that we’re all out here, small businesses, we are struggling just a year ago and we’re out here rejoicing our community and giving back and just doing fun things. This is a great cause we love the live music here in Chattanooga and we’re part of this community so it’s absolutely phenomenal to be here.”

Teams wanted to get in on the racing action and be ready to make a difference.

“We’re here because we’re a team and we’re small business and we’re supporting our community and just wanna be seen we wanna be a part of the excitement on Main Street.  War welders that’s what we do, it’s fine it’s exciting just like us. We play we’re fire in danger all the time.

The event was able to raise $12,500 for sound core.

ATLANTA (AP) — Stacey Abrams announced a long-awaited second run for Georgia governor this week, but with Democrats facing a sour national environment and Republican Gov. Brian Kemp facing challenges within his own party, the 2022 campaign will look different from 2018.

Abrams’ narrow loss, highlighted by her claims that Kemp used his prior post as secretary of state to unfairly push voters away, vaulted her to national stardom in a year when Democrats nationwide capitalized on then-President Donald Trump’s unpopularity.

Abrams’ contention that Georgia could be dragged into the Democratic column by focusing on registering and mobilizing infrequent Democratic-leaning voters was validated in 2020, when Joe Biden won Georgia by about 12,000 votes and in 2021, when Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock won runoffs to deliver control of the U.S. Senate to Democrats.

But the political tide appears to be running against Biden and other Democrats, with low approval ratings in polls and losses in Virginia elections.

“The environment for Democrats is wretched,” said Brian Robinson, who advises Republican candidates in Georgia. “These are terrible dynamics for Stacey Abrams, and she wants to be president and not governor. If she loses twice, she’s toast. She’s taking a gamble — a big gamble.”

The Georgia voters who might change their minds are mostly college-educated suburbanites. But Democrats argue most Georgia voters are fixed in their partisan preferences, and the key is getting your side to vote. Abrams and her supporters argue that outreach and a focus on issues will be more important than national headwinds.

“What I saw in 2020 and 2021 is that when people are reached out to, when we talk to them and we meet them where they are, they will vote and they will turn out,” Abrams told WXIA-TV Thursday.

Nse Ufot, CEO of the New Georgia Project, a voter mobilization group Abrams founded, pointed to gains by Black and more liberal candidates in some Georgia municipal elections this year, although more conservative candidates prevailed in some Atlanta suburbs. Those elections are nonpartisan, although party affiliations are often widely known.

“The truth of the matter,” Ufot said, is the elections proved “Virginia is not Georgia.”

Part of Democrats’ case is that Georgia’s population growth is being driven by nonwhite residents, bringing the state to the cusp of becoming majority nonwhite in the 2020 census. That’s partly a story of African American growth, but also driven by rapidly increasing residents of Latino and Asian descent.

“What’s different is Georgia is on a demographic and partisan trajectory, that over the last 10 years has moved the state toward Democrats,” Robinson said.

But Republicans also will be trying to maximize their turnout, especially among exurban and rural white residents, and Emory University political scientist Andra Gillespie said a Democratic advantage is not certain in Georgia.

“There’s going to be times when Republicans win elections and Democrats win elections,” she said.

Gillespie said it’s inescapable that the Georgia governor’s race will be “nationalized because of the polarized moment that we’re in politically.”

Abrams wants to swing the spotlight to Kemp’s record, arguing his failure to expand Medicaid to cover more low-income adults and his opposition to COVID-19 restrictions prove he doesn’t have the best interest of Georgians at heart.

“We have a current governor who has failed the people of Georgia, that as the pandemic has raged, he has left behind too many communities, that he seems to ignore the real pain that’s hurting families and hurting areas of the state, and that he seems to be focused on those who agree with him,” Abrams told WXIA-TV.

But Kemp is more than ready to fight on that ground, betting that his record on COVID-19, a low unemployment rate and big pay raises for teachers will appeal to the voters he needs.

“That’s what we’re going to remind people about, is that record,” Kemp told reporters Thursday. “That’s what I’m going to be running on.”

Unlike in 2018, Abrams has no declared opposition and is likely to cruise to the Democratic nomination in a May primary. But Kemp is under siege by Trump and his supporters who believe the governor didn’t do enough to overturn Biden’s 2020 victory in Georgia. Republican Vernon Jones is already among those challenging Kemp, but he faces the more serious threat that Republican former Sen. David Perdue might enter the race.

Kemp and his supporters are making clear that they will fight Perdue if necessary and that a bitter primary could pave Abrams’ way to victory.

“So anybody else that wants to get in the race, you would have to ask them why, why are they going to do that? Kemp said Thursday. ”Do they not like how great our economy is?”

Democrats are eagerly hoping the Republican Party can’t bind up its wounds over Trump’s baseless claims that he was cheated out of Georgia’s electoral votes.

“I don’t know what their mess is going to be,” Abrams spokesperson Seth Bringman said. “I know our side is going to be unified, and I know that matters.”

For Kemp, though, Abrams’ entry is a chance to call the GOP to his side.

“I think it’s a rallying point for Republicans because we know that this is just not the Georgia radicals that we’re going to be facing,” Kemp said. “It’s going to be the Hollywood crowd and everybody else is going to flood money in here.”

By JEFF AMY

Tennessee Valley (WDEF): Widespread Rain Coming Monday; Rain We Need!

Sunday morning we’ll start off in the upper 40’s to low 50’s with a few showers. Clouds for the day with a few light showers and highs in the low to mid 60’s. Lows very mild near the upper 50’s as our next rain system moves in.

A line of heavy rain and storms will push through Monday AM with gusty winds alongside the line. Conditions will start to improve for the second half of Monday with temps dropping cold by Tues AM near 31!

Dry but chilly for Tuesday afternoon with highs staying near 50!

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn (WDEF) – With the holidays in full swing, the added pressure of planning, shopping, traveling, social obligations, and covid-19 restrictions can add even more stress to those who have an underlying mental health condition. 

“ You don’t have to fight this alone. I think one of the biggest problems we have is that we get so self-conscious and that we are afraid of the shame or guilt about having some type of physiological problem or being depressed. I think many times it’s so important that we get rid of that stigma,” says Dr. Kevin U. Stephens Sr., Chief Medical Officer, UnitedHealthcare. 

According to a recent study by the American Psychological Association, “Americans are struggling with the basic decisions required to navigate daily life as the effects of pandemic-related stress continue to take a toll.”

“We have had over several hundred thousand Americans die as a result of covid-19. Then the holidays you are with your parents and friends and you miss the loved ones who have transitioned on. So when you put all this stuff together then you have a basket filled with anxiety and depression,” says Dr. Stephnes Sr. 

 Experts say with inflation forcing prices to skyrocket, money will be one of the main stressors for most this holiday season. 

 “I think rather than having three to four gifts, just get one gift. You don’t have to go all out. Of course, use cash, don’t depend on your credit. If you don’t have the cash don’t get it. It’s better to save now than start off the new year in debt. Lastly, plan your finances and get a budget. Sometimes I think the best gift is just yourself and your presence,” says Dr. Stephens Sr. 

Though this season is about giving and rejoicing it’s always important to remember to put your mental health first and reach out if you or a loved one needs help. 

CHATTANOOGA, Tennessee (WDEF)-Electric and hybrid vehicles are viewed as the way of the future. However, with new technology comes potentially new challenges. Such as how does a vehicular extrication team cut into an electric car safely.

“First and foremost we have to ensure that the vehicle is safe to work around. Depending on the manufacturer there are different ways that we can ensure the vehicle is safe. The hybrid or electric system is shut down so that we can go to work,” said CFD Senior Firefighter Clint Montgomery.

Different vehicle manufacturers have different ways of setting up their cars, so CFD special ops need to continue to practice, research, and use safety resources.

“Web-based apps we also have those phones and tablets in the computers inside the fire trucks as well as just general working knowledge. We’ve had several training opportunities with vehicle manufacturers where they have been able to teach us how to appropriately save the vehicles to workaround,” said Montgomery.

If the firefighter isn’t fully prepared it could put the firefighter or person inside at risk.

“If you rupture the battery packs, electrical shock, fire just like any other high-voltage hazard,” said Montgomery.

“On old hybrid electric batteries are in the trunk there’s always a big power switch with we called big Orange lines are the big blue line that runs around the frame rail underneath the car and we don’t cut that because that was the high voltage system itself Tesla’s now got it to where the whole floorboard is the battery cell.

“Once we get the vehicle safe, not only for us but for the occupants that are still trapped it’s pretty much any motor vehicle. There are some places that we can and cannot cut. We cannot cut in those high-voltage lines just in case they are still energized,” said Montgomery.

Tennessee Valley (WDEF): Expect A Warm & Mainly Dry Weekend Ahead!

Increasing high clouds this evening will make for a gorgeous Friday sunset. Lows will drop down not as chilly into the mid & upper 40’s.

Mainly cloudy and continued warm Saturday with a slim chance for a light shower with highs in the upper 60’s to near 70. Overnight lows near 50.

Clouds Sunday with a few light showers and highs in the mid 60’s. Lows very mild near the upper 50’s as our next rain system moves in.

Rain returns for Monday AM before pushing by mid-afternoon. Breezy and decreasing clouds for Monday evening with high temps near 61.

Wet and cooler weather will start out next week, and we will see numerous rainfall chances for much of next week, along with cooler afternoon highs.

CHATTANOOGA (WDEF) – A local state lawmaker is tacking the issue of school board pay.

Senator Todd Gardenhire is filing a bill to require that school board members get paid the same as county commissioners.

The only guidance now in Tennessee is they must be paid at least $3 per meeting.

Local officials set their actual pay.

He says while some counties even it out, there are some big discrepancies, like here in Hamilton County.

County Commissioners make just over $25,000 a year while school board members get just over $12,000.

“Most school board members work the same amount of time and sometimes longer hours than their counterparts on the local governing bodies,” added Sen. Gardenhire.  “Our education budget is over half of the county’s total budget which shows the importance we place on giving our students a quality education.  Yet, the school board members who chart the course to carry out that mission receive less than half of the compensation paid to our county commissioners who appropriate education funds.  This needs to change and my bill will put parity and fairness into the system.”

Gardenhire points out that school board members are expected to attend meetings, serve on committees, meet the public and keep up with all school issues.

CHATTANOOGA (WDEF) – Chattanooga Police are investigating a shooting last night in Hixson.

It happened in a subdivsion on Forest Dale Lane just after 10 P-M.

Police found an 18 year old male with a gunshot wound.

He was taken to a local hospital with a non-life threatening injury.

Investigators say he was inside the home when he heard gunshots and realized he had been hit.

But they say the victim is not cooperating with the investigation.

If you have any information on the case, please call 423-698-2525  or submit a tip via the CPD Mobile App. You can remain anonymous.

Tennessee Valley (WDEF): Expect A Warm & Mainly Dry Weekend Ahead!

Friday Morning: Clear skies and warmer temperatures will make for a pleasant Friday morning, with temperatures not as chilly. Most areas will wake up in the low to mid 40’s.

Friday Afternoon: Warm and pleasant conditions will continue into late-day Friday with mostly sunny skies and highs in the low & mid 70’s.

Friday Night: Lows will drop down into the mid & upper 40’s.

Extended Forecast: Mainly cloudy, but still dry and mild Saturday with highs back in the upper 60’s to near 70.

More clouds Sunday with a few late evening showers, and highs in the 60’s.

Wet and cooler weather will start out next week, and we will see numerous rainfall chances for much of next week, along with cooler afternoon highs.

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn (WDEF) – On Thursday, Chattanooga residents gathered to celebrate Hanukkah in an effort to prompt holiday awareness.

To help kick off the event – a parade of menorah lit exotic cars drove through downtown to the Chattanooga Choo Choo for the lighting of a giant ice menorah.

Rabbi “Hanukkah carries the universal message of freedom of religion and freedom of all types of persecutions. So we lit a big menorah. To bring the message that a little bit of light dispels a lot of darkness,” says Rabbi Shaul Perlstein, Chabad of Chattanooga.

On Thursday, people of all faiths consider the 8 day winter “festival of lights” to be a symbol and message about the  triumph of freedom over oppression, of spirit over matter, of light over darkness. 

“Hanukkah is the holiday where the small band of Maccabees overpowered and got victory over the Greeks that were oppressing their right to live the way they wanted. When they came back to the temple that was devastated they were searching for a little jug of oil to light the menorah and bring some light. When they finally found the small little jug instead of burning for one day burned for all 8 days,” says Rabbi Perlstein.

The unprecedented public display of Hanukkah has become a staple of Jewish cultural and religious life, forever altering the American practice and awareness of the festival. 

“We are very blessed to be in a country like the United States of America where different faiths can express their faiths and appreciation for God. In my view it binds us and brings us closer together,” says Representative Yusuf Hakeem. 

For more information about the Hanukkah holiday click here.

CHATTANOOGA (WDEF) – One Chattanooga staple is helping give back to our community by hosting an ornament drive.

Starting now, Songbirds is selling customizable guitar ornaments to museum and concert patrons as part of its “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” charitable campaign.

Each ornament costs $100 and will buy a guitar and 10 free lessons for one student in the Guitars for Kids program.

Songbirds’ Guitars for Kids program provides students across the South free guitars, music lessons, and in-depth music therapy.

“We are able to deliver hands-on music education for kids which we just find extremely important to help stimulate creativity and be a voice for kids. Not all kids are athletes and not all kids fit in the band and sometimes the guitar really is one of those things that speaks to people.”

Buy an ornament online or stop by the museum on station street.

CHATTANOOGA (WDEF) – Chattanooga’s Blood Assurance says they have less than a day’s supply of O blood available for patients who need it.

They are asking for the public to donate blood.

Officials tell us this is a typically slow time of year for blood donations, because people get busy during the holidays.

CHATTANOOGA Tennessee (WDEF)- 96 Angels still need to be adopted in the Salvation Army’s Angel Tree.

CHATTANOOGA, Tennessee (WDEF)-“Supply chain issues aren’t necessarily going to disappear even in the near term or potentially in 2022,” said Robinson.

Supply chain backups are affecting every industry which is making it particularly tough for small businesses this holiday season.

Mamenta Clay Robinson said containers are ridiculously pensive, shipping logistics are just a mess.

He said small businesses now have to get creative to make the most of what they have right now.

“What are we offering today that we can offer nationally? what are we offering Today they were selling on Amazon if we could do something at Walmart,” said Robinson.

He adds this is also an excellent time for people to go in stores and get the items then need as compared to only online shopping.

“Covid, the pandemic it’s been hard especially on mom and pop shops. Local places that have to close the doors. One of the things that we’re recommending to buyers is look if you can’t find it online what better time and place then now to go support your local stores that take that mom and pop shop. Maybe you’ve been sourcing from somewhere international and now you can source locally.”