News - Friday, April 23, 2021

Jennifer Lively remembers when the sign welcoming people to Soddy-Daisy proclaimed the town was home to just 5,000-plus residents.

Lively, who at the time was a young girl growing up in Soddy, says she loved seeing someone paint over the previous tally with a bigger number.

An Eastern U.S. law firm is relying on local talent as it opens its first office in Chattanooga.

Chartwell Law has made local attorney Barret Albritton a partner and tapped him to join its Chattanooga office, the firm’s 21st.

Previously with Spears, Moore, Rebman & Williams, Albritton offers Chartwell 18-plus years of experience representing and defending businesses, large self-insured organizations, insurance carriers and employers in various general liability and casualty defense matters, workers’ compensation claims and employment law and workplace-related issues.

Members of the Chattanooga Bar Association assembled at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church April 16 for the association’s annual memorial celebration, during which they remembered their “brothers and sisters of the bar and bench who have died,” presiding judge Kyle Hedrick explained.

In a housing market as hot as Chattanooga’s, finding a Realtor who can win a multiple-offer showdown is critical, Realtor Jennifer Lively says.

Lively claims she’s won nine of the 10 multiple-offer faceoffs in which she’s been involved, which in baseball terms makes her a clutch hitter.

Homebuyers looking at new construction often sign a sales contract without setting foot in the house. Lately, more buyers are doing the same thing when purchasing an existing home.

COVID certainly made many Realtors pivot to virtual walkthroughs, and the hot housing market has made this a usual occurrence.

Did you know April is New Homes Month? To celebrate, the Home Builders Association of Greater Chattanooga is offering valuable incentives to encourage local businesses to join.

What is the Home Builders Association of Greater Chattanooga? HBAGC is a nonprofit trade association with a membership composed of professional builders, developers and others engaged in home building, remodeling and light commercial construction.

Going to the dentist can be scary for both the child and the parent, Dr. Neha Shah says.

To eliminate as much of the stress associated with seeing a dentist as possible, Shah opened BEAM Pediatric Dental Studio, a boutique dental practice for children.

Believe it or not, there was a time when there were no cellphones, smart TVs or tablets beaming news, entertainment and social media into our brains 24/7.

Instead, families gathered at a console radio to listen to – not watch – news and entertainment.

Timing is everything, as Tennessee legislators learned recently. They might also have felt chastened, if they possessed that capacity, which they do not.

To be fair, I should amend that: A majority do not possess the capacity to feel chastened. A supermajority.

401 MLK Partners will soon begin construction on a 12,000-square-foot mixed-use building on East Martin Luther King Boulevard.

The structure will serve as the local home of Nashville’s Slim & Husky’s Pizza Beeria and additional office space.

BrightBridge Capital and Proof Incubator are collaborating to serve new and existing businesses in the food and beverage industry.

BrightBridge, a Chattanooga-based nonprofit economic development agency, and Proof will focus on education and acceleration for owners and operators in the restaurant industry.

The Tennessee Historical Commission recently added Christ Church Episcopal in Chattanooga to the National Register of Historic Places.

Build around 1906, the brick church is trimmed in stone and features pointed arch windows, buttresses flanking several sides and a large rose window, all of which were important elements of the Gothic Revival style, says the commission.

Erlanger Physical Therapy is now providing outpatient services in Ooltewah.

The new branch joins five other Erlanger physical therapy offices, including locations in downtown Chattanooga, East Brainerd, Cleveland and Ringgold and within D1 Chattanooga – Sports Training & Therapy.

On April 22, we observe Earth Day, an occasion that has inspired millions of people over the decades to take steps to clean up our world. Of course, your physical surroundings are important, but you also operate in other “ecosystems” – social, cultural and political. And you’ll need to consider your investment environment, too. How can you improve it?

Pandemic-related job losses forced many older Americans out of the workplace in the past year, perhaps permanently. But the COVID-19 crisis also seems to have delayed some retirements.

Remote work eliminated commutes and often allowed more flexible schedules with fewer interruptions. At the same time, the pandemic restricted many traditional retirement activities, including travel and visits with family. While some employed older workers look forward to retiring when restrictions ease, others say teleworking has made staying on the job more tenable.

Cannabis businesses have transformed from clandestine ventures to glossy lifestyle brands in a matter of years, thanks to an evolving regulatory and business landscape.

The majority of states now have some form of legalized cannabis, whether for medical or recreational use. The 2021 U.S. cannabis market is valued at $33 billion, an analysis by market research firm Grand View Research finds. That number is forecast to balloon to $84 billion by 2028. These trends indicate a fertile environment for seeding a new cannabis venture.

The numbers are staggering: Several recent surveys are showing that 35% and 65% of all employees plan to find a new job soon.

One of the top reasons cited is corporate culture. The pandemic has been with us for more than a year, and many companies have not handled the situation well. The result is unhappy employees.

New vehicles are brimming with technology that can enhance convenience, connectivity and driver safety. But the tech can also be unfamiliar to car shoppers, especially those who haven’t purchased a vehicle in the past five years or more. This poses a problem when it comes to the traditional test drive.