News - Friday, January 27, 2012

Like the strike of a judge’s gavel, the 114th annual meeting of the Chattanooga Bar Association dealt with the business at hand in a quick and efficient manner. The Bar celebrated its annual meeting at the elegant Sheraton Read House, and concluded its gathering with the swearing in Robin Miller of Gearhiser, Peters, Cavett, Elliott & Cannon as its 115th president.

Chattanooga’s Kids on the Block addresses gangs, violence, bullying, prejudice and school safety in educational programs for elementary and middle school aged children. Using the non-threatening medium of puppetry, the programs present information in an age appropriate manner and offer children the opportunity to ask questions about difficult topics through interaction with the puppets.

The American Bar Association is now offering assistance for the nation’s largest law practice demographic with its new online Solo and Small Firm Resource Center. The Web site is the product of the ABA Presidential Task Force on Solo and Small Firm Membership Development. ABA President Bill Robinson III appointed the task force in August to focus the association’s efforts on the value ABA membership brings to this practice segment.

Rafael’s Italian Restaurant, a Tennessee restaurant chain, has agreed to pay $25,000 and furnish other relief to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the agency announced this month. The EEOC’s lawsuit (Civil Action No. 4:10-CV-00070) charged that Rafael’s Italian Restaurant violated federal law by subjecting a class of female employees, including some teenagers, to sexual harassment.

Interview by David Laprad

Sexual harassment is a serious matter no employer should take lightly, says Grace Danielle, a Chattanooga attorney whose practice includes handling sexual harassment cases. Danielle answered our questions that arose out of the Rafael’s case.

If the Northwest Georgia Council of Realtors has a message for 2012, it’s, “We’re here, and we want to help.” The Northwest Georgia Council of Realtors is a council of the Greater Chattanooga Association of Realtors.  The group exists to serve real estate professionals doing business in Walker, Dade, Catoosa, Chattooga and Whitfield counties in Georgia.  Melissa Harrison, managing broker of Crye-Leike in Fort Oglethorpe, is the Council’s president for 2012.

After working with real estate buyers and sellers for the last eight years, Ooltewah Realtor Irena Coffman knows the importance of keeping her real estate education and knowledge of the market up-to-date. Coffman recently earned her professional real estate designation as an Accredited Buyer Representative. In order to better assist her clients, Coffman earned the designation by completing a comprehensive course in buyer representation and an elective course focusing on a buyer representation. The ABR designation is awarded to real estate agents who meet specified educational and practical experience criteria. Coffman joins more than 32,000 Realtors in North America who have earned this designation.

Saturday, January 27

Charles W. Tomlinson, one of the original employees of the bank, retires this month after 50 years of service at American National Bank and Trust, it was announced by S.L. Probasco, chairman of the board. A dinner in Tomlinson’s honor was given by the officers of the bank Thursday evening at Read House.

Beginning January 27 Ensemble Theatre’s “Falsettos”

Join Ensemble Theatre of Chattanooga for James Lapine and William Finn’s “Falsettos,” opening January 27 and running through February 12.  Performances are scheduled to take place Fridays at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays at 2 p.m. and Sundays at 6:30 p.m. at St. Andrews Center, located at 1918 Union Avenue.  “Falsettos” is a musical about one man’s self-discovery in a world of traditions, expectations and desires.  Tickets are available at www.ensembletheatreofchattanooga.com, by calling 423-987-5141 and at the box office. Doors open 30 minutes before each performance.  Free parking is available behind St. Andrews Center.

I came to the Levison Towers this weekend – not to  get work done, but to get dry. I live in an older house, and the plumbing poltergeist seems to plague me. We had the septic system cleaned about a year ago. We’ve had the pipes snaked on numerous occasions. Yet, for reasons that only the house knows (I would say only God knows, but rumor is he was a carpenter, not a plumber), the plumbing acts funny on occasion (funny “peculiar”, not funny “ha-ha”).

What is it in your current life that inspires you? What was it in your past life that inspired you? Are they the same thing? In times of low inspiration, where do you go to become inspired? Was it easier for you to become inspired when you were younger? Is there an age, which once passed, we can no longer be inspired? Is it easier to be inspired in good times or in bad? If you are honest, would you say you were inspired today? What exactly is inspiration?

In the last two weeks’ columns, I’ve let it be known that I am reading the novels of David Rosenfelt in order. I’ve provided teaser-type blurbs for the first five: “Open and Shut,” “First Degree,” “Bury the Lead,” “Sudden Death,” and “Dead Center.” Since last week’s column, I’ve read no. 6, “Play Dead” (2007), and started “New Tricks (2009).

I don’t know how Virginia Cofer does it. She just opened her third restaurant in the Chattanooga area, she owns a thriving catering business and she continues to make food that’s drop dead delicious. If other chefs in the city could get a hold of just one of her recipes, they’d probably choose her recipe for success.

Sunday, I watched as depression set in for a Ravens’ kicker and for a Niners’ kick-returner. So we get a rematch of the 2008 Super Bowl, the Giants and the Patriots. I will pull for Eli and company, even though they knocked out my Cowboys late in the year. There’s just something about the dark force that is New England, that has never let me root for them.

An early taste of spring came through parts of Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi and Alabama early Monday as a line of “strong to severe storms” that contained tornadoes blew through the southeastern states. Marlene Mickelson, National Weather Service forecaster in Memphis, Tenn., told The Associated Press that the Memphis area had some damage from winds that reached 60 to 70 mph.

Most people associate high-blood pressure with adults; however, it is fast becoming a rising concern in the future health of our children. Some very young babies have high blood pressure.

High blood pressure occurs when the arteries narrow, making it more difficult for the heart to pump blood throughout the body. It is classified in one of two ways: primary or secondary. Primary high blood pressure is without a specific cause, and “secondary” refers to a particular illness or obvious behavior being the culprit.

We all want an office in which the phone rings continually with offers of referral business. Does having this type of office sound like a dream? It doesn’t need to be such a far-fetched reality, though it requires diligent work with clients. There are a few key steps to creating a great referral business.

Today, we say good-bye to the first month in 2012. I don’t think it is just me, but it seems like time is running past me. I imagine 2012 is going to go by quicker than 2011 did! A few weeks ago, I mentioned a lot of the food holidays that would be taking place in 2012. Well, Jan. 31 is National Brandy Day, so if you partake of the spirits, you can lift up a toast to the last day of January.

1. I have crossed the Mississippi River and visited the towns of Amana, Grand Junction, Fort Dodge and Dubuque. This state has been referred to as “America’s Heartland.” Where am I? Iowa; Minnesota; Colorado; Nebraska.

2. Interstate 40 begins in this west coast state and ends in this east coast state. Which two states are they? Washington, Georgia; Oregon, Pennsylvania; California, North Carolina; California, Virginia.

I wanted to like “Red Tails.” There’s a good story in there about how the Tuskegee Airmen, a group of African American fighter pilots during World War II, overcame adversity in the skies over Germany and at home to write themselves into our history books. But man - what a clunky movie.

Back during the past holiday season, Aunt Sadie had stopped by the local post office to buy a few stamps for her Christmas cards. She only visits the post office once a year, which is during the holiday time of the year, due to the fact that she no longer has the ability to do a lot of writing.