News - Friday, September 25, 2020

Sometimes when real estate attorney John Anderson is driving his three grandchildren through Chattanooga, a competition will break out between the young ones to see who can be the first to spot Papa’s buildings.

At 6, 8 and 10, Lark, Lake and Lee might not understand just what Papa did to help usher a Costco or Cabela’s into existence, but they know he did something, and that’s all the fodder they need for their game.

The last time Jim Robenalt spoke with the Chattanooga Bar Association, he offered a rousing tale of the torrid affair between Warren Harding and a German spy named Carrie Phillips, set against the backdrop of the First World War.

In his next seminar for the CBA, Robenalt will present a portrait of John Dean, the government whistleblower at the heart of Watergate and the impeachment of President Richard Nixon.

In the old days, Welcome Wagon representatives would wheel by the homes of newcomers and drop off gifts from local residents and merchants.

A few years ago, Chattanooga had its very own modern version of the Welcome Wagon – Cortney Hewitt. She didn’t hitch horses to a wagon and transport gifts to transplants, but she did provide new homeowners with coupons and advertisements from local businesses after they relocated.

When thinking about danger over the last few months, we’ve been focused on an invisible virus. “Safety” has meant staying away from others, wearing a mask and washing our hands.

When working with the public, as Realtors do, physical violence has usually been front of mind when talking about safety. While physical safety obviously remains important, electronic and cybercrimes are becoming more and more common. These offenses can include identity theft, email hacking and wire fraud.

The spread of the coronavirus upended almost everything in 2020, with lockdowns and other public health interventions disrupting daily life. But did the pandemic affect potential homebuyers this year?

A recent National Association of Home Builders housing trends online survey shows the spread of COVID-19 did not change home purchasing plans for many Americans.

Images of the wounds of war can be devastating. Whether it’s the iconic 1968 photograph of Marines evacuating an injured service member during the Battle of Hue in Vietnam, or the lesser known 2007 picture of Iraq and Afghanistan War amputees waiting in wheelchairs at Brooke Army Medical Center to meet President Bush, these and other freeze frames of the brutality of conflict have transformed the way people see war.

Dr. Harish Manyam, chief of cardiology at Erlanger Health System, has implanted a dual chamber implantable cardioverter defibrillator, making him the first in the U.S. to do so, Erlanger reports.

The same day, Manyam also was the first in the country to implant a single chamber ICD, Erlanger says.

Access Garage Doors is celebrating 15 years of business in the Chattanooga area in September.

The company provides service, installation and sales of residential and electric openers. Based in Chattanooga, Access is an authorized dealer for Clopay and LiftMaster ProVantage. Access also carries Amarr, Genie, Craftsman, Chamberlain, Marantec and Sommer doors, and services Hormann, Wayne Dalton, CHI, Raynor, Sears, Linear, Lynx, Overhead, Ideal, Windsor, Stanley, Door Link and Ryobi doors.

Sepsis is a serious medical condition that can lead to tissue damage, organ failure, amputations and death. During Sepsis Awareness Month, CHI Memorial is partnering with Sepsis Alliance to raise awareness of this serious infection.

Sepsis is the body’s life-threatening response to infection or injury. When someone gets an infection, the body’s immune system will try to fight the infection. However, sometimes the immune system response is more than the body can handle.

Those who have lived a long time have done a lot, seen a lot – and can teach us a lot. And that’s certainly true when it comes to investing.

Consider some of the lessons you might learn from experienced investors:  

• Regulate your emotions. In the investment world, there’s always something coming at us that could sound scary: Political flashpoints, economic news and even those once-in-a-generation occurrences, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

CHI Memorial Foundation, the fundraising arm of CHI Memorial, has announced its officers and members of the board of directors for the next year.

Dan Norton will continue in his role as chair. Julie Brandao will serve as vice chair, Jeremy Jenkins as treasurer and Rob Carden as secretary. Members at large are Will Clegg and Rich Kramer.

Area 61 Gallery is featuring a new exhibit of works by North Georgia pop surrealist Jeff Delude.

Delude created this body of work, named “Collision 2020,” during the coronavirus pandemic. Many visual elements of this year’s social, cultural and civil unrest climate can be found within his compositions.

Rossville voters chose Aug. 9 to increase the local sales tax rate from 2.25% to 2.75%. The increase will go into effect Oct. 1.

The new rate will apply to all taxable sales of tangible personal property made on or after Oct. 1. It will also apply to the sale of taxable services for billing periods starting on or after Oct. 1.

The Tennessee Community CARES Program has awarded Chattanooga Neighborhood Enterprise a $1 million grant to provide rental and mortgage relief for households impacted by COVID-19.

The funds will be used to assist households that are behind on rent or mortgage payments due to a loss of income related to COVID-19. This program will serve Bledsoe, Bradley, Marion, Grundy, McMinn, Meigs, Polk, Rhea, Sequatchie and Hamilton counties.

A recent economic impact study shows Chattanooga State Community College pumped an average of $169 million per year into the local economy from 2014-2019.

The analysis of this study on the college’s service area (Hamilton, Bledsoe, Grundy, Marion, Rhea and Sequatchie counties) indicated that the value of business volume and individual income generated a return on investment of $844 million and created 30,875 jobs.

Green|spaces is joining groups around the country in calling on congressional leadership to act on legislation that would create a federal flood risk disclosure requirement to protect families, renters and homebuyers.

At present, federal policy requires lenders – not sellers – to notify borrowers only if they are required to have flood insurance. Recent tools have made flood risk data more available, but the lack of standard disclosure laws and access creates misunderstanding and gaps in consumer awareness, says the Chattanooga-based nonprofit in a news release.

The Tennessee Organization of School Superintendents this week named Bryan Johnson, superintendent of Hamilton County Schools, the 2021 Tennessee Superintendent of the Year.

TOSS made the announcement during its annual awards banquet, which was held virtually this year.

The winners of this year’s Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce awards include local companies that led in sustainability, creating healthy workplaces and supporting diversity, among other areas.

The Chattanooga Chamber announced its winners last week during a virtual event postponed since spring due to COVID-19.

The Tennessee Chamber of Commerce has launched a “Support Local Business” license plate. The plate will go into production and be available widely across the state once the state chamber receives 1,000 commitments.

Proceeds from sales will go toward the Tennessee Chamber Foundation’s local workforce development initiatives and a number of other programs. License plates are $35. The deadline for pre-orders is Dec. 21. Order

The Chattanooga Symphony & Opera will continue its new First Horizon Foundation Instrumental Series with Brass & Friends on Friday, Sept. 25, 7 p.m., and Saturday, Sept. 26, 3 p.m. and 7 p.m., at the Collegedale Commons.

The show will highlight the CSO brass and wind quintets as they perform works inspired by pirate tales and the classic narratives of “Carmen” and “West Side Story.”

Blood Assurance is making an appeal for millennial and Gen Z donors due to low donor turnout and continuous blood drive cancellations throughout their schools and work places.

High school-aged donors are down from 16% to 4% of the blood donor population this year, according to Blood Centers of America.

Chattanooga State Community College is now offering four programs to students interested in the field of emergency medical services, including an associate degree program for aspiring paramedics and three technical certificate programs for students seeking to be paramedics, emergency medical technicians and advanced emergency medical technicians.

Pinnacle Financial Partners has grown its deposits in Chattanooga to more than $1.28 billion as of June 30, new data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation shows. This marks the first time the firm has been over the billion-dollar mark in the city.

The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development will return to requiring unemployment claimants to complete weekly work searches beginning Sunday, Oct. 4.

When the COVID-10 pandemic began in Tennessee, Gov. Bill Lee issued a temporary executive order that modified the work search requirements as the job market constricted. The order allowed applicants to instead maintain a re-employment plan, submit a resume, or create a career profile on the department’s site, among other things.

Visitors to Rock City Gardens can embark on a fairytale adventure that will take them into the fabled Hall of the Mountain King now that the tourist attraction has completed several enhancements to its Enchanted Trail.

The additions include an arched entrance to Fat Man’s Squeeze, which leads to a tunnel featuring glass ornaments set into a sparkling stone ceiling, fiber optics for color and light, scrolls along the stone pathway and steps showcasing fossils and glowing jewels.

The board of directors of McKamey Animal Center has chosen Inga Fricke of Reading, Pennsylvania, to assume the position of executive director at McKamey on Nov. 2. Fricke is one of the premier animal shelter experts in the country, McKamey says in a news release, and brings more than nine years of experience at the Humane Society of the United States and as a shelter specialist and consultant to the position. Fricke holds a law degree from George Washington University.

The Hamilton County Herald was named Tennessee’s best newspaper for its circulation size Thursday by the Tennessee Press Association.

The newspaper also won first-place awards in three categories:

• Best education reporting: David Laprad and Kathy Carlson for collective efforts