News - Friday, June 24, 2011

It was time for Leslie Car-penter’s moment in the spotlight. As Maeghan Jones, then the director of pro bono at Legal Aid of Southeast Tennessee, announced Carpenter as the winner of the first annual Pro Bono Paralegal of the Year award, Carpenter stood up, walked to the stage of Lindsay Street Hall, and accepted the honor. Then she returned to her seat, and her moment was over.

Urban Exploring (UE) is a secretive hobby growing more and more across the world, offering its enthusiasts a glimpse into worlds forgotten, abandoned and mysterious. The risk factors are many, but Urban Explorer Bentley Little with the UE group, “Church of Atom,” says the sights and experiences are worth the risks.

Saturday, June 24

Delegates to 86 conventions held in Chattanooga the first six months of 1961 pumped more than $1,600,000 “new dollars” into the local economy. Harry O. Ulmer, Jr., president of the Chattanooga Convention and Visitors Bureau, announced conventions are “big business” in Chattanooga.

Most people don’t understand how difficult it is to be a lawyer. I’m thinking particularly about car choices. You see, for most people, the choice of a motor vehicle has no impact on their business. It’s not that easy when you are a lawyer.

OK, the average cost of 16 basic grocery items, that you buy at your local supermarket, increased by $2.10 over last quarter’s cost during the American Farm Bureau Federation’s (AFBF) Marketbasket Survey conducted in May. This is no time to panic and I urge everyone to remain calm and step away from your calculators. Your food is still a major bargain and I am here to tell you why.

In life we are constantly faced with choices. We are blessed or cursed with the gift of free will, depending on your perspective.

From the smallest detail of “Do you want fries with that?” to “Do you take this woman to be your wife?” in America, we have endless choices.

The name of this space is “Are we there yet?” I was thinking of it last Wednesday somewhere high over mid-eastern Tennessee, as we flew through a thunderstorm that the farmers and lawn-owners of The Natural State would more than welcome these days.

A couple weeks back, I mentioned the film “Hot Coffee,” a documentary centered around the infamous 1994 McDonald’s case. You know, the case where Stella Lieback was awarded a judgment based on third degree burns caused by coffee bought at a drive-through window. The big judgment ($3.7 million in punitive damages) was reduced on appeal to less than half a million. The temperature of McDonald’s coffee was reduced by 10 degrees. That case?

Like most Chattanooga natives, I’ve been to the Tennessee Aquarium – a lot. School field trips, new exhibits, and the staple attractions of the Aquarium have brought me to its watery maze of wonder many a time since my family moved here in 1994.

If you’ve read my column in the past, you know I’m very candid with my addictions. I strive for transparency when it comes to my life, relationships and bargain hunting tips. This space is like a comfy couch inside a therapist’s office. Allow me to recline and share my latest love: my new iPad 2.

1. What triggered the legendary feud between the hillbilly families, the Hatfields and McCoys, in 1873? The love between Hatfields’ daughter and McCoy’s son; The alleged theft of a pig; The raid of the McCoy’s Watermelon patch; The McCoys’ trespassing on the Hatfields’ land.

With summer in full swing, many locals are taking to the many bodies of water surrounding the city. For those without access to a boat and driver, the options can be limited. This is why many are turning to the growing popularity and ease of the self-contained water sport of stand up paddle boarding.

The Bowl-A-Thon is the most successful fundraising event for Junior Achievement nationwide. Over its 19-year span with the event, Chattanooga has ex-perimented with several “Bowl-A-Thons” including “Shake, Rattle & Bowl,” “Strike it Rich,” and “Ghosts and Gutters,” before settling on the successful “Strike for Education Rock 'n Bowl” format to take place in August each year. The popularity of this event grew from just 35 teams and 210 participants in 2003 to 75 teams and 450 bowlers for the 2010 event.

If you can sell tubes of lipstick, then perhaps you can sell houses. At least, this approach has worked for Centurion Realty agent Amy Kafka. Before joining the real estate field two years ago with Centurion Realty, she worked for seven years at the Clinique makeup counter. She loved it and thought it would be what she would do for a career by moving up their corporate ladder. Yet Kafka realized that corporate cosmetics and her life goals did not mesh.

Realtor David Kilgore doesn’t want to “sell” any houses. Rather, he wants to help his clients find the home that’s right for them. “I’m not saying there’s a right way and a wrong way to do this job, but I don’t want a salesman trying to shove something down my throat, so I’m not going to try to force you to buy something you don’t want,” he says.

You’re ready to celebrate: your offer was accepted, you got your dream home under contract, your financing has been approved, appraisal and inspections performed, and settlement and closing are only a handful of days away.  What important step have you yet to take?  It’s the final walk-through. It may seem minor, but this real estate tradition is critical before you take possession.  This is the last opportunity for you and your agent to verify all is prepared – and repaired – according to your contract.

My sister from Grand Junction, Colo., has been visiting for awhile. While she was here we did the typical thing most families do when relatives from another state come to stay – pack a lot of stuff into each day. And we didn’t break the mold … we went, did, saw, and ate a lot, every day. But she went home with lots of memories, and left us with some just as well. Now that’s a vacation!

Unless you have a lot of spare time and money, or a weekly newspaper column to write, seeing all of the new movies this summer isn’t an option, so you’re going to have to pick and choose carefully. To help, I’m going to write capsule reviews of three new pictures, all of which have already earned buckets of money, but not necessarily your hard-earned dollars: