News - Friday, January 4, 2019

Bill Lee waltzes into the governorship later this month with more goodwill on his side than most politicians have the right to expect.

The Republican, who takes the reigns Jan. 19, is inheriting a state with an unemployment rate under 4 percent, an improving education system, companies such as Amazon bringing in thousands of jobs and an approval rating of 57 percent, a Vanderbilt poll taken in December shows.

With new leadership in both the House and Senate, Tennessee Democrats are trying to stay relevant in the face of supermajorities in both houses of the General Assembly.

Karen Camper has been elected as the first African-American leader of the House Democrats, taking over from Craig Fitzhugh, who became minority leader in 2011 and left for an unsuccessful bid for governor. The Senate has elected Jeff Yarbro as the minority leader. Yarbro takes over for Lee Harris, who is now mayor of Shelby County.

When Marya Schalk was little, she got a jump on the other candidates in the 2016 presidential election by beginning her campaign early.

Although it was at least three decades before the big day, she’d calculated when she’d be 35 years old, picked the first election after that birthday and then started stumping for votes.

Growing up as daddy’s little helper gave Julie Alcantara a knack for self-sufficiency. Although she’s now fully grown and working in real estate, her DIY nature is a factor in nearly every personal and professional endeavor.

Take, for example, Alcantara’s previous work with Volkert, a consulting firm with a branch in Chattanooga. When she was promoted from a clerical role at the company to contract administration for a new construction engineering division, no one had the time to teach her how to do her job. Rather, she had to figure things out on her own – and she did.

If you’re like most people, your New Year’s resolutions focus on self-improvement goals like exercising, getting organized, eating better, or reducing personal debt. Things you’ve been putting off for a long time are usually at the top of your list.

Chattanooga Women’s Leadership Institute’s mentoring program, Women Mentoring Women, recently graduated 16 women at Chambliss Law.

The annual program is made up of eight sessions which teach women how to mentor others and develop additional leadership capabilities. The program included 11 presenters who discussed topics ranging from person branding, to professional communication, to generational mentoring.

How can you assess your investment portfolio’s performance in 2018? The year was full of wild swings in the financial markets, so your own results may well have bounced around quite a bit, too.

But you can still get a clear picture of how you did if you keep your investments’ returns in the proper perspective – by making sure your expectations are relevant, realistic and reviewed.

The Chattanooga Police Department is sponsoring free crime prevention training designed for business owners and managers who are interested in making their facility and employees as safe as possible.

A nationally accredited crime prevention specialist from the University of Tennessee’s Law Enforcement Innovation Center will cover lighting, access control, video surveillance, emergency management, glazing, environmental design and more during the four-hour session. The instruction will incorporate Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design principles, security and vulnerability assessments.

The average monthly payment for a new car is hovering around $530, the most recent Experian auto finance report reveals. The average lease payment is $430. While these payments will fit some budgets, they’re painfully steep for others.

Edmunds thinks you can do better than average, and here’s the proof: four vehicles that Edmunds editors rank highly and that cost about $399 a month to purchase or lease.