News - Friday, January 8, 2021

New businesses often call attention to a grand opening with flashy banners, balloons and inflatables. But the only indication that there’s activity taking place inside the new office of Metropolitan Ministries on Rossville Boulevard is the green camping tent pitched outside the front of the stark white building.

Entrepreneurs and others looking for affordable financing in the Chattanooga area might never have heard of BrightBridge Capital.

Bill Pollard would like to change that.

As chief operating officer, Pollard is on a mission to help businesses start – and stay – in the area. In his 12 years at BrightBridge, he’s also been director of special projects and director of New Markets Tax Credits Operations, so he’s not afraid to get wonky.

The Chattanooga Bar Association is looking to “have some fun” at its annual meeting Wednesday, Feb. 3.

As the organization prepares to close the book on 2020 and begin a new chapter in 2021, executive director Lynda Hood is soliciting work-from-home photos from its membership for display during the virtual gathering.

Newly appointed Article III judge Charles Atchley Jr., took his oath of office Dec. 22, 2020. Chief Judge Travis McDonough administered the oath.

Born in 1966 in Knoxville, Atchley is a graduate of the University of Tennessee and earned his juris doctor from the Cumberland School of Law.

As a young girl, BB Ryan would rearrange her bedroom at the oddest times. She would even go to her room at night to sleep but end up reorganizing instead.

Long before Ryan studied interior design in college, and well before she embarked on a career that would span several states, she was a child scooting her bed to one corner and dragging her dresser to another.

Last year taught us many lessons, both good and bad, but one thing that still amazes me is how quickly everything changed when COVID struck. Seemingly overnight, our whole way of life changed.

As I take the reins from 2020 President Brandi Pearl Thompson, I’m thankful for her leadership in an unpredictable and unprecedented year.

As winter settles in the Tennessee Valley, here are some things you can do to protect your home from the cold and use the time indoors to your advantage.

Protect your pipes

Cold weather can cause cracked pipes, leading to flooding in your home. If you haven’t already, turn off water to your outdoor spigots, open the valves and drain existing water.

The Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office assumed full operational control and oversight of the Silverdale Detention Center Dec. 30 at 6 p.m.

In early 2020, CoreCivic, which had managed the complex for more than 35 years, announced it would withdraw from its contract effective Dec. 30.

NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee officials have set up an online tool that helps people figure out when they will be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine.

Gov. Bill Lee’s office announced the initiative Tuesday as the state reported more than 169,000 Tennesseans have been vaccinated with their first dose so far.

With Tennesseans spending more time at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation encourages households to take advantage of free radon test kits.

Gov. Bill Lee has declared January as Radon Action Month statewide.

 When you begin investing, you’ll generally assess your comfort with risk, as your investment choices will be guided at least partially by your risk tolerance. But once you actually experience the ups and downs of the market, this tolerance could be tested.  

The Birth Place at Parkridge East Hospital welcomed Lorelei Blevins, who was born at 1:26 a.m. Jan. 1. She weighed 7 pounds, 2 ounces and measured 19 inches long. Blevins is the daughter of Mary Louise Bryan and Colby Blevins of Lafayette, Georgia.

The Ringo Starr classic “It Don’t Come Easy” might be a fitting theme song to the Tennessee Titans’ 2020 season.

How else can you explain a team that has a 2,000-yard rusher in Derrick Henry, a 1,000-yard receiver in A.J. Brown and a quarterback in Ryan Tannehill with more than 3,800 yards passing needing a last-second field goal from a practice squad kicker to sew up its first division title in 12 years?

The Chevrolet Corvette and the Porsche 911 are closer competitors than they’ve ever been before. Both cars were redesigned for 2020 with big changes for the Corvette and small but effective evolutions for the 911.

The recent switch of the Corvette from a front-engine to a mid-engine layout brought significant improvements in handling and overall performance. Interior quality is higher, too.

One. That’s all you need. One more hour magically crammed into your day and you’d be set. No more moving today’s tasks over to stress you out tomorrow. And if there was an extra hour wedged into tomorrow, great, that’d help, too.

After the train wreck that was 2020, you might well question whether it’s worth trying to plan anything. But knocking off a few financial tasks early in the year can better prepare you for whatever 2021 has in store.

File tax return ASAP

Filing your tax return early typically means getting your refund sooner. Not only that, it could thwart refund-stealing identity thieves. Also, if you were owed a stimulus check in 2020 but didn’t get one, or should have gotten more, you can claim the missing money on your return.

If last year taught us anything, it’s that things can change in an instant. Even small things we took for granted can become complex and unknown.

Life is short. We’ve learned that the time is now to get our priorities in order. It’s important to decide on what matters to you and to focus in on it.

Holiday spending always gets the best of me. The gifts, the food, the Christmas tree and decorations – sandwiched between two monthly rent payments – siphon money from my bank account. Every year I feel the sticker shock, briefly tuck my tail between my legs, then carry on like it never happened.