News - Friday, January 15, 2021

Baseball fans love to chomp on statistics and analytics in the same way their children attack a box of buttery popcorn.

They ardently serve up a home plate of hot stove palaver, consuming everything from RBIs, HRs and OBP to ERA, SV and WHIP, then wash them down with other of abbreviated terminologies and trends about their favorite players and teams.

Three new associate attorneys at Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel will support a variety of service areas, the firm reports.

Cecilia Young Garrett, Nicholas Nester and Isiah Robinson will support the firm’s clients in the areas of bankruptcy and creditors’ rights; elder law, estate and trust planning and litigation; labor and employment; and litigation and risk management.

If there is one thing that wasn’t hit hard by the pandemic, it’s the housing market.

If anything COVID-19 only caused more people from larger urban areas to seek out Chattanooga as a destination, turning an already hot market into one that is almost downright cutthroat.

Typically, December is one of the slowest months of the year for real estate, but we saw strong buyer demand across most market segments. Near record-low interest rates spurred the demand and swift pace in the face of a new wave of COVID infections and a softening jobs market.

Chattanooga-area winters can be fierce, bringing frosty temperatures and frigid winds, and people everywhere are trying to beat the winter blues by balancing the limitations brought on by COVID-19 with healthy homes and habits.

This year, why not cheer up your indoor space by bringing the best of the outdoors into your home? Here are three easy ways.

German automaker Volkswagen says its global sales fell 15.2% during 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic but showed significant recovery toward the end of the year. The company more than tripled its sales of battery-only vehicles.

Global sales for all of VW’s brands amounted to 9.3 million vehicles. The fourth quarter showed a smaller decline of 5.7% and within that quarter the month of December was still further improved, showing a shortfall of only 3.2% from the same period the year before.

The Chattanooga Fire Department responded to 17,666 calls, including 238 structure fires, 5,234 EMS calls and 1,844 citizen assist calls during 2020. Firefighters also responded to 1,611 motor vehicle accidents.

In addition, crews saved more than $155 million worth of property from fire damage, the department reports.

Marcus & Millichap this month announced the sale of Total Storage, an 80,902-square-foot self-storage facility located in Hixson for $5 million.

Eddie Greenhalgh, first vice president of investments and senior director of the firm’s national self-storage group, and Jake Payne, associate, procured the buyer, Southeast Storage. Joseph McKibben served as the Tennessee broker of record in the transaction.

Outdoor Chattanooga has hosted for the past decade a series of free winter workshops designed to teach people a variety of outdoor skills in a classroom-based setting. Due to COVID, these classroom-based workshops are turning virtual in 2021.

Workshops will take place from 7-8 p.m. every other Tuesday. Topics include fishing, camp cooking, backpacking, wilderness survival and bike maintenance.

David Butler, president and CEO of Habitat for Humanity of Greater Chattanooga, will retire in March. After leading the organization for the last seven years, Butler will be moving to the Atlanta area to be closer to family.

In a news release announcing his retirement, the local Habitat calls Butler “a hands-on administrator” who “takes pride in the closing of 50 homes during his tenure.”

Tracy Wood, Alleo Health System president and CEO, has joined the board of directors of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization.

Wood joined Hospice of Chattanooga in 2016 as the not-for-profit’s first female and African American CEO. She then spearheaded the creation of the Alleo Health System parent company in 2019.

The Jewish Cultural Center will screen five Jewish-themed, award-winning documentaries on five consecutive weeks beginning Tuesday, Jan. 19.

Register to view films at www.jewishchattanooga.com. A subscription for all five films is $36. Viewers can watch individual films for $12 each.

If you’re close to retirement, you’ll have several financial issues to consider. But you’ll want to pay attention to one of the most important of these issues: Health care costs. How can you prepare yourself for these expenses?

First, get an early start on estimating health care costs. More than two-thirds of those planning to retire in the next 10 years say they have no idea what their health and long-term care costs will be in retirement, the Edward Jones/Age Wave Four Pillars of the New Retirement study reveals. And some people don’t worry much about these costs, which may be considerable, thinking Medicare will pay for most of them.

None of us knows everything we need to know about money, so we may turn to experts for help. But some money professionals who offer advice are not qualified to do so – nor are they required to put our interests ahead of theirs.

Be cautious when accepting advice from the following sources.

As you lay the groundwork for 2021 financial resolutions, take inventory of your credit cards to see if they’re still in line with your goals and priorities.

With the pandemic upending spending patterns, possibly for the foreseeable future, an audit of the benefits and costs of your cards can reveal which ones are getting the job done and saving you money, which ones are a drag on your finances – and what features you might want to look for in a new card. Here are some credit card features to prioritize.

As the pandemic continues to rage on in the United States, many of us have felt locked indoors. We’ve felt isolated. It’s been lonely. It’s scary.

This is especially true for anyone who is living away from their loved ones. It can be hard to get help with things when you need it during the pandemic. It’s difficult to travel home for a number of reasons. The entire experience can be isolating, especially in a big city.

Hamilton County may receive funds through a national Emergency Food and Shelter organization created by FEMA, United Way, Jewish Federations of North America, Catholic Charities USA, The Salvation Army, American Red Cross and the National Council of the Churches of Christ USA.

For those who have followed the Titans in their 20-plus years in Nashville now, you know what a thorn the Baltimore Ravens have been for this franchise.

Not that the Titans haven’t done their share of agitating and frustrating the Ravens – how quickly we forget last season’s monumental upset in Baltimore – but there is something about this rivalry that is confounding and hateful, and yet Titans fans wind up tipping their hats with the utmost respect when it’s over and things didn’t go their way.

The immense popularity of small SUVs means that every manufacturer competing in this space has to bring its A-game.

To that end, Nissan is hitting the reset button with its fully redesigned 2021 Rogue, built in Smyrna. Boasting bolder styling and greater emphasis on technology and interior appointments, this overhauled Rogue improves upon its predecessor in almost every way. But can it run toe-to-toe with the best that the class has to offer?