News - Friday, January 16, 2015

Numerous blue collar workers have fallen victim to mesothelioma. But instead of drawing attention to the tragedy of lost lives, the disease invokes images of late night commercials for national law firms.

Chattanooga lawyer Jimmy F. Rodgers has spent the last 20 years representing victims of mesothelioma, but he’s never advertised his services. Instead, he’s allowed the work he does to speak for itself. And he rarely has a slow day.

It’s official: Prudential RealtyCenter.com is now operating as Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Realty Center. The Chattanooga-based brokerage announced the news Tuesday at Hunter Museum. Local officials and Chamber of Commerce members attended the event.

Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel last week announced that Justin L. Furrow, Jeffrey G. Granillo and Douglas S. Griswold have become shareholders in the firm.

With a defined focus on labor and employment law, Furrow offers Chambliss clients extensive experience in employment litigation. He has successfully defended and assisted clients in federal and state courts, as well as before administrative agencies such as the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and U.S. Department of Labor. He advises clients on employee matters in order to minimize risk and avoid litigation. Additionally, Furrow works to review and shape policies and procedures governing the employer-employee relationship, limiting the possibility of significant employment-related liability.

The Chattanooga office of Miller & Martin last week announced the appointment of its newest members.

Ellis Lord is a member of the Litigation Department at Miller & Martin. He focuses much of his practice on civil litigation matters, with an emphasis on healthcare litigation, including physician credentialing and peer review issues. He also works with clients on litigation matters involving commercial banking, lending, real estate, and construction. Lord was selected to the 2015 Tennessee Bar Association Leadership Class, serves on several local boards and committees, and is an active member in Red Bank Baptist Church.

Reality check 

So, at some point in the middle of December, I go to Home Depot for some type of plug or electric cord to use on the multitude of blow ups I was using to decorate the outside of my house for Christmas. There were no lights on the house this year other than the ones in the blow ups themselves and the spotlights I used to illuminate them properly after the sun went down. While I’m there, I come across a large presentation of poinsettia bushes. They were just the right size to put on the table without taking up too much room. I recall thinking they were priced for quick sale, so I bought one and took it home.

The years keep rolling on. We’ve survived the law firm Christmas parties, lawyers were paid for the work they did and the client dollars they generated in 2014, and now it starts all over again.

My wife, Cheryl, always goes overboard when it comes to gift giving. This year, she said, “Mark, we have so much, and our kids are all doing well, so instead of buying presents, let’s give the money to charities in our children’s names, and tell them not to give us anything at all.” That presented a different sort of spirit of Christmas giving.

As the New Year makes its presence known by giving the state of Tennessee some real winter weather, that many seem to forget happens during January, those of us who have forgone the pleasure of holding a daily turn of employment seek to do things that doesn’t require us going outside, unless it’s to feed something other than a human. In fact, I’ve heard of a few who plan to stay in until the outside temperature reaches their age, and for some, that will be a rather pleasant temperature.

Mention pottery, and you’ll conjure images ranging from pre-schoolers painting ceramic pumpkins for Halloween to Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze getting messy over a pottery wheel in the movie “Ghost.”

But something far different can be found on the North Shore in Chattanooga.

At a recent dinner party, it became quickly obvious that I’d picked the wrong weekend to begin the Atkins diet, new year or not, but still felt I’d done pretty good by skipping the rolls, cake, and ice cream, not to mention the second, third, and fourth beers. (OK, there were those two glasses of cabernet that somehow ended up in my hand.)

Well, the time has come – it’s moving week. By this time Saturday, we’ll be in our new home. We had a difficult time finding the right size home for our family, but I think we’ve landed on the right one. And although it’s taken time, and agony, we don’t consider it wasted, but a blessing.

CPA Perry Sherrell has strong advice for Realtors as they prepare their 2014 taxes: don’t be a greedy pig.

“Greedy pigs get slaughtered,” he said to a roomful of Realtors at this month’s Women’s Council of Realtors (WCR) luncheon meeting, held Wednesday, Jan. 7 at the Choo Choo Hotel.

The single family residential kitchen is a key focal point in homes today. Decades earlier in the design of his Usonian homes, architect Frank Lloyd Wright called the kitchen the workspace. Today, it’s a diverse space with the ability to multi-task, even becoming a part of the living space as part of the overall room. Functional layout is important, and with careful planning, it’s easy to serve multiple tasks. The following sketch done for a renovation is just such an exercise.

Bryan Mills, the central character in the three “Taken” movies starring Liam Neeson, has a particular set of skills he learned and employed as a CIA operative. After retirement, he used these same abilities to rescue loved ones from the clutches of bad men. His expertise in finding and hurting people undeniably made him the man for the job.

Once upon a time when I was painting my daughter’s room I thought it would be a great idea to paint the bottom portion of the wall under her chair rail with three different colors using a sponging technique. We used the technique of plastic wrap instead of a sponge, which left us with amazing walls for a little girl’s room. It appeared as if a tie-dye machine exploded on the bottom half of the walls. 

Wikipedia indicates that a song written by Fats Domino and Dave Bartholomew “charted #7 on the Billboard R&B charts and #14 on the Billboard pop charts” in 1960. The actual title of the song was “My Girl Josephine,” although “in various cover versions,” it became known as “Hello Josephine.” It’s a bluesy number, easy to play on the guitar, and the lyrics begin:

Chattanooga firefighters honored their own at an awards program last week at the Fire Training Center on Amnicola Highway. Fire Chief Lamar Flint and Mayor Andy Berke led the program, which honored firefighters who retired or received promotions in 2014.