Area 61 Gallery owners Keeli and David Crewe have announced their decision not to renew their lease in 2025.
In their latest newsletter, the Crewes said their reasons for closing Area 61, which opened in 2009 at on East Main Street and later moved to 721 Broad Street, are primarily financial.
“Although foot traffic and sales of local artists’ work in our current location have doubled from our original Southside location, the rent and ancillary leasing costs in this district are higher and unsustainable financially – at least for us,” the Crewes added.
Keeli Crewes expressed hope that the advance notice will give residents time to stop in, browse and shop, as well as attend every open house, art demo and pop-up event Area 61 will host until the end of the year.
“I’m hopeful our artists will all have their best sales to date as part of our gallery family,” Keeli wrote.
Keeli also thanked their patrons.
“We’ve been enriched much more than business revenue by your relationships and shared appreciation of fine art and the artists who create it. It’s been a pleasure to celebrate and support local artists with you.”
Keeli then signed off with the Area 61’s original tagline from when it opened: “Art is out there, (and) seeing is believing.”
La Paz releases needs assessment survey
As La Paz Chattanooga marks 20 years of serving the local Latino community, the organization is disseminating the results of its 2024 Community Needs Assessment survey, during which it collected more than 300 responses to gauge current needs.
Distributed to Chattanooga’s Latino community through social media, outreach events and email, the survey covered culture and language barriers, access to medical care, education, employment and career opportunities, housing, community support needs and more.
The organization learned that the Latino community is navigating many of the same headwinds every community faces in the current economic climate, says President and CEO Stacy Johnson.
“When you layer in additional challenges like language, cultural and legal barriers, those difficulties grow exponentially,” Johnson adds.
Almost 40% of respondents cited cost as their reasoning for not having access to child care. With more than 67% of respondents reporting a household income of $600 or less per week, La Paz leaders anticipate this issue continuing to impact the Latino community as child care costs rise.
Sixty percent of respondents have no health insurance due to cost and lack of understanding, among others. Thirty percent have not sought needed health care services due to cost, language barriers, lack of understanding and fear, among others.
While less than 25% of respondents earned degrees beyond secondary education in their countries of origin and less than 25% pursued continuing education in the United States, over 93% say they consider higher education as an option for their children.
Eighty percent of respondents have children attending Chattanooga-area public schools.
More than half of respondents have lived in Chattanooga for six years or longer, and almost 40% have lived here for 11 years or longer.
“The Chattanooga Latino community is vibrant, hardworking and determined,” Johnson says. “They’re the entrepreneurs running our local businesses, the mothers and fathers of the children in our schools, and the legacy members of our community – people who have been building lives here for generations. Our team ... [looks forward] to using this data to inform our plans for the years ahead.”
Lakesite launches new website
The city of Lakesite has launched a revamped website at www.lakesitetn.gov. Lakesite City Manager Kirsten Ert Acuff says Lakesite’s new website will serve as a digital city hall where users can sign up to receive email notifications about emergency news, community events, open bid opportunities, updates to the sanitation schedule and other city news. Users will be able to download any of the events listed on the city’s website calendar to their own digital calendar.
Service requests can still be submitted at www.lakesitetn.gov/service. Also, community members will also no longer have to visit a separate website to access agendas and minutes for commission meetings.
Collegedale police partner with FBI
Lt. Robert Hirko of the Collegedale Police Department is now serving with the FBI’s Safe Streets Task Force. Hirko has served the citizens of Collegedale as a patrol supervisor and an investigator. He’s currently the Support Services Division commander.
The mission of the Safe Streets Task Force is to “identify and target for prosecution criminal enterprise groups responsible for drug trafficking, money laundering, alien smuggling, crimes of violence, robbery and violent street gangs, as well as to focus on the apprehension of dangerous fugitives where there is or might be a federal investigative interest,” according to the memorandum of understanding between the Collegedale Police Department and the FBI.
The purpose of the task force is to enhance the effectiveness of federal, state and local law enforcement through a coordinated initiative.
“This partnership provides an invaluable resource to the citizens of Collegedale,” says Collegedale Chief of Police Jack Sapp. “Not only will this provide our investigators with access to the resources of the federal government, but it will also enhance the cooperation we count on between ourselves and our sister agencies. Lt. Hirko is a valued member of this agency, and I’m proud our local FBI office entrusted him with this opportunity.”