News - Friday, January 29, 2021

Chef Miguel Morales was having some preventative maintenance done in the kitchen at one of the five restaurants he owns in Chattanooga. The technician happened to mention he’d just been at the Bethlehem Center, a few blocks away, because its kitchen had been shut down.

The nation experienced significant changes this month. A new Congress was sworn in Jan. 3, while the new president and vice president were inaugurated Jan. 20.

Both of these dates are enshrined in the Constitution as the end of one set of terms and the start of another. Normally, we celebrate these changes with elaborate ceremonies. And with the new president, vice president and Congress, we can expect to see new personnel, new policies, new priorities, new directions and new ideas.

Husch Blackwell welcomed four new associates to its Chattanooga office in January: Madeline Leonard Phifer, Tyler Saenz, Yasmin Stiggons and Emma Wolfenbarger.

Phifer joins the firm’s litigation and alternative dispute resolution team. She is a commercial litigator with an interest in public relations.

The Tennessee Bar Association has named Richard Gossett of Baker Donelson the 2021 recipient of its Harris Gilbert Pro Bono Volunteer of the Year Award.

The Harris Gilbert Award recognizes significant pro bono work by a private attorney.

The award is given to an attorney who has contributed considerable amounts of pro bono work, either in terms of the number of cases handled or the significance of the work, as well as one who demonstrates dedication to the development and delivery of legal services to the poor.

Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel has elected registered patent attorney Stephen Adams as a shareholder of the firm.

“Stephen is an all-star attorney,” says Mark Cunningham, president and managing shareholder. “When he came to the firm several years ago, he brought experience and a work ethic we knew would provide significant growth.

The McMahan Law Firm is giving back to the Chattanooga community through its Go to Bat Scholarship for students attending or planning to attend a college or university in Tennessee.

The $1,000 scholarship will be awarded based on an essay contest.

By David Laprad

One year after becoming a Realtor, Jordan Taylor says real estate has irreversibly changed her. Like a line in the sand, the day she became an agent represents a point beyond which she will never be the same.

Taylor’s claim might carry more implied drama than she intends, because by her account, her life was pretty good before she started representing buyers and sellers as part of The Edrington Team at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices J Douglas Properties.

In the current market of fewer houses for sale than usual, every step of the process counts. Hiccups can cost valuable time, and it’s crucial to have a Realtor’s guidance, especially when you may be competing against other buyers.

After finding a Realtor, getting pre-approved for a mortgage is critical. This step is essentially an assurance from a lender that you, the buyer, are qualified to borrow up to a specific amount of money at a particular interest rate.

The COVID-19 pandemic transformed nearly every aspect of the way we live, work and spend money in the Tennessee Valley.

If you’ve purchased interior paint for your home, installed new flooring or worked with a remodeler recently, you’re not alone. Homeowners have shifted their spending habits from entertainment and travel to home improvement projects, HomeAdvisor’s latest State of Home Spending survey reports.

John Buhrman is now serving on the Duke University Estate Planning Council.

The council is in its 42nd year of existence and typically sponsors a two-day seminar at the Duke University Law School in October of each year.

Membership on the council is comprised of practitioners in the estate planning field, including attorneys, accountants, financial advisers and trust officers.

Chattanooga Women’s Leadership Institute is developing the CWLI Legacy Center, a coworking environment that will provide dedicated office space, dedicated workstation space and flexible work space to serve the varied needs of professional women.

If you’ve been investing for many years and you’ve owned bonds, you’ve seen some pretty big changes on your financial statements.

In 2000, the average yield on a 10-year U.S. Treasury security was about 6%; in 2010, it had dropped to slightly over 3%, and for most of 2020, it was less than 1%. That’s an enormous difference, and it may lead you to this question: With yields so low on bonds, why should you even consider them?

Families battered by the pandemic recession might soon discover the tax refunds they’re counting on are dramatically smaller – or that they actually owe income tax.

Congress offered a partial solution, but the fix hasn’t been widely publicized, consumer advocates say.

Creative Discovery Museum recently earned green|light certification as part of its Ignite Discovery Capital Campaign and renovation program.

Spearheaded by staff members Ashley Bosecker and Karen Dewhirst, CDM worked with green|spaces’ green|light program director Kelley Cureton, along with the EPB Accelerator cohort, to identify ways the museum could become a better environmental steward.

A new exhibit at Hunter Museum titled “Under Construction: Collage from The Mint Museum,” features more than 100 works by more than 30 international artists.

The exhibition focuses on the art of collage, a technique artists made popular in the 20th century, and includes a variety of approaches to the medium.

Katherine Wolf will be the guest speaker during the 18th annual “Possibilities: Siskin Hospital Celebrates Life Beyond Disability” fundraiser Tuesday, March 2. The event is virtual and will be livestreamed at 11:30 a.m.

Wolf survived a life-threatening brain stem stroke that nearly took her life six months after she gave birth to her son.

Erlanger Foundation board welcomes two new members

Kyle Bryant and Larvizo Wright have joined the Erlanger Health System Foundation 2021 board.

Bryant is a partner at Market Street Partners, a certified public account firm located in downtown Chattanooga. He earned a degree from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and then worked for a local CPA firm before joining Access America Transport and the Lamp Post Group.

The Tennessee Department of Human Services has awarded a $1 million grant to Big Brothers Big Sisters of East Tennessee and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Chattanooga.

These funds – $500,000 to BBBS ETN and $500,000 to BBBS of Greater Chattanooga – will support programs that move children and their parents and guardians toward educational success and economic security, a news release from TDHS states.

Marc Gravitt, Hamilton County Register of Deeds, says the Register’s Office in December surpassed all previous collection highs.

The state mandated conveyance and mortgage taxes for December totaled $2,240,389.63, breaking the previous monthly high of $1,986,388.51 set in July.

The atmosphere at the 2021 Consumer Electronics Show, held virtually for the first time due to the pandemic, struck a different tone than in years past. Without hordes of tech-hungry onlookers jockeying for position through packed convention center halls, automakers appeared more reserved in their proclamations for the future.

Before the pandemic, your manager probably had more of a say in where you were day to day.

“The authority to decide where employees must be at certain dates and times is a big part of many managers’ power,” says Liz Ryan of Human Workplace. “Now that numerous corporations have announced their intension not to bring employees back to the officer, some managers are losing that power. Not everyone is OK with it.”

Shutdowns, layoffs and salary cuts brought on by the coronavirus pandemic have left millions of Americans searching for new sources of income. Those who’ve recently turned to gig work may be weeks away from a financial surprise in the form of unexpected tax bills and insurance coverage fine print.