News - Friday, September 28, 2018

It’s not shocking that the No. 1 issue of concern to senior citizens is health. No. 2 might be a little more surprising – its transportation, research from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety finds.

Access to transportation for an aging population has even been given a name in recent years: transport care.

Five years ago, a settlement among National Health Investors and National HealthCare Corp., and the state of Tennessee (as well as the receiver for SeniorTrust of Florida and ElderTrust of Florida) created a $40 million fund for charitable purposes.

The speakers at a recent event hosted by the Southeast Tennessee Lawyers Association for Women used many different words to describe Grant Konvalinka & Harrison attorney Tonya Cammon, whom they were honoring.

They noted that Cammon is a wife, mother, friend and community volunteer (or, as one speaker said, “a pillar of civic consciousness”). Others referred to her as a cook and musician in equally glowing terms, as well as a sports fanatic and “doggy mommy.”

Last month, Lynda Hood and I met with key faculty at Brainerd High School and secured their commitment to participate in the mock trial competition.

You might remember that in July, Lynda and I attended a meeting with Dr. Bryan Johnson, Blake Freeman and Gerald Harris to develop the involvement of Hamilton County’s schools in the mock trial competition. In that meeting, Tyner committed to participate.

Law firm Baker Donelson has joined the Accord Project, a legal industry organization focused on developing smart legal contracts.

As a member of the program, Baker Donelson will assist in the development of industry-wide standards for smart legal contracts. The mission of the Accord Project is to establish open-source techno-legal standards to facilitate the widespread adoption of smart legal contracts.

Chattanooga attorneys Michelle Coakley and Theresa Critchfield have joined the Autumn Witt Boyd Firm in serving clients locally and across the U.S.

Since graduating from law school in 1998, Coakley has advised growing businesses, pursuing their legal claims in court and helping them work through an array of contract and employment law issues.

Law firm Warren & Griffin has announced the launch of a petition to urge the state legislature to pass a Hands Free Tennessee Bill.

“We’ve had too many families who have experienced harm to a loved one because of distracted driving come to us,” C. Mark Warren says. “We want to do more than bring reactive justice; we want to do all we can to proactively protect drivers on Tennessee roads.”

Kathy Tucker, managing broker of Crye-Leike Realtors in Chattanooga, was installed as the 2019 president of Tennessee Realtors at the statewide association’s fall convention in Knoxville. She will serve as leader of Tennessee Realtors’ ten-member executive committee.

In the wake of last week’s local residential market statistics, here’s the associated national perspective.

Nationwide, total existing-home sales did not change from the previous month and remained at a seasonally adjusted rate of 5.34 million. Nationally, home sales are now down 1.5 percent from a year ago to 5.42 million.

It’s nearly October, and Chattanooga-area homeowners are feeling fall in the air. As we squeeze out the last few warm weeks of outdoor adventures, we can also take steps to ensure that next year’s lawn and garden can withstand all the fun we come up with.

At this time of increasing political and social turmoil in the United States, we need a movie that reminds us who we are and where we came from – a stirring cinematic treatise that reunifies us as citizens of this great nation and collectively empowers us for the challenges we face.

American Business Women’s Day is celebrated on Sept. 22. And there is indeed cause for celebration because the number of women business owners has risen sharply, in recent decades, to the point that nearly 40 percent of all businesses are now women-owned, the U.S. Census Bureau finds.

Terri Lee will serve as director of community relations for Chattanooga Pro Soccer. Lee will assist in building relationships and growing the USL Division III professional team’s brand as well as coordinate events and game day fan experiences.

The Chattanooga Police Department’s property crimes unit is now on social media with the “Chattanooga Police Property Crimes Division” Facebook page.

The CPD’s property crimes team covers burglary, fraud, pawn and robbery. The purpose of the new Facebook page is to share information about suspects that have not yet been arrested, identify local property crime trends and offer property crime prevention tips.

La Paz Chattanooga recently held its seventh annual Latino Leadership Awards fundraiser at the Chattanooga Convention Center.

La Paz hosts the Latino Leadership Awards yearly during Hispanic Heritage Month to highlight local Latino individuals who are outstanding in their service to the Chattanooga community.

The flames from a house fire the morning of Friday, Sept. 21 could be seen for miles across Lookout Valley. Fortunately, the conflagration was planned.

The training division of the Chattanooga Fire Department used a house donated by Lookout Valley Baptist Church to conduct training exercises for its Fire Academy 2018 recruits.

Airshow legends Michael Goulian, Patty Wagstaff and Buck Roetman will headline the field of aerobatic performers during the Wings Over North Georgia Air Show, taking place Oct. 13-14.

Millions of airshow spectators worldwide have witnessed Goulian’s performance. Goulian holds the lead position for the Red Bull Air Race series.

The new season of Noontunes, a weekly free concert series, is underway in the newly opened Miller Park. Sponsored by Tennessee Valley Federal Credit Union, Noontunes is a Wednesday showcase at noon featuring local Chattanooga musicians. Upcoming artists include folk trio Spinster, hip hop artist Floami Fly, jazz performer Mary Loves Jazz and funk fusion group Over Easy. Food vendors will include I Love Tacos, Bob CHA, Go Gyro Go, Frios Popsicles and more.

The newly opened Miller Park in downtown Chattanooga will host Food Truck Fridays through Nov. 16, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.

In addition to the Rolling J’s Mobile Bistro, Chatter Box Cafe, Clumpies Ice Cream and Go Gyro Go food trucks, which will be located on Market Street beside Miller Park, each Friday will feature a different arts and cultural organization and a local vendor fair.

The Chattanooga Theatre Centre has launched its 2018-2019 season with a production of the Disney musical “Newsies.”

The show runs through Oct. 14. Last season’s opening musical, “The Wiz,” sold out the entire run.

The Chattanooga Zoo is building a new exhibit that will be added to its existing South American “Corcovado Jungle” area. The new exhibit is slated to open at the end of the year.

The exhibit will initially house one giant anteater. It’s designed to house multiple animals with potential for breeding as part of the zoo’s participation in the Association of Zoos and Aquarium’s Species Survival Plan.