News - Friday, January 5, 2018

One step inside Dr. Paul Apyan’s waiting room, and it’s clear this is no ordinary doctor’s office.

On one wall hangs a convex Model A Ford windshield converted into a black-framed mirror. A working replica of an antique popcorn machine greets patients with a comforting, buttery smell that permeates the entire fourth floor of the medical building. A red-and-yellow 1930s Gilbarco gas pump topped with a lion image towers near the check-in desk.

Heading into the 2018 legislative session, Rep. Jeremy Faison is looking to send a message about his medical marijuana bill: Tennessee won’t open the door to recreational pot without General Assembly action.

“The No. 1 thing I hear people are frustrated about with me is they just think this is the gateway to legalize marijuana,” Faison says.

With the publication of “Schoolfield: Out of the Ashes,” attorney Jerry Summers completes the tale of Raulston Schoolfield, which he began in “Rush to Justice – Tennessee’s Forgotten Trial of the Century.”

Summers covers the years of 1958-1982 with his new book, walking the reader through Schoolfield’s disbarment, his efforts to regain his law license and his post-impeachment political career.

Kelly Cooper has never known her purpose in life, but says she believes everything happens for a reason. This conviction has led her down different paths and helped her experience things she would have missed had she stuck to a master plan.

Cooper, 41, points to her career as a Realtor in Chattanooga as an example of how this principle has worked in her life.

As part of the Southside’s makeover, Niedlov’s Breadworks, Main Street Meats and Velo Coffee Roasters unintentionally but fortuitously formed a small specialty food hub. Nearby residents are spoiled, as they can walk to Niedlov’s to buy their favorite bread, hop next door to pick up locally cured meats and then grab fresh-roasted coffee on the way home.

“What would you do if you had all the money in the world?” More interesting, perhaps, is “what wouldn’t you do if you had all the money in the world?”

American industrialist J. Paul Getty’s answer to the second question would include ransoming his 16-year-old grandson from kidnappers. Although he didn’t have all the money in the world when this happened in 1973, the $17 million the abductors wanted would have been chump change to him.

Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt could have done a lot worse during the Dec. 20-22 early signing period, the first-ever for high school recruits in college football.

It was a recruiting whirlwind for Pruitt, named UT’s coach Dec. 7 while still serving as Alabama’s defensive coordinator.

Tennessee's early signees, hard commitments and decommitments for the 2018 recruiting cycle. Winter signing dates are Feb. 7-April 1.

Early signees

Hard Commitments

Decommitments

The Mayor’s Council for Women in Chattanooga will host the Statewide Women’s Policy Conference on Friday, Feb. 9 at the Westin.

The mission of the all-day conference is to bring together women from across Tennessee to learn about current legislation affecting women’s lives and to inspire new policy initiatives that will impact their future.

Outdoor Chattanooga is offering a new Cumberland Trail Hiking Series to help local residents fulfill their New Year’s resolutions to hike more in 2018.

The Cumberland Trail is a scenic footpath along the eastern edge of the Cumberland Plateau that begins on Signal Mountain.

With the arrival of the New Year, many of us will pause and ponder the age-old question: “Who knows where the time goes?” And, as is always the case, none of us really do know. However, wherever the time goes, it will usually be a key factor in your success as an investor.

If 2017 left you feeling disappointed at work, today is the perfect day to start turning things around for 2018.

How many times did you think the following to yourself: “If only I work a little harder, my boss will recognize my value. Next year, I really will get a decent raise and a promotion. I’m really not happy, but I have no other choice.”