News - Friday, January 6, 2017

The 110th General Assembly is set to convene on Jan. 10 with unfinished business from previous sessions likely to dominate debate. Here’s a look at some of the hottest topics expected to arise.

Fuel taxes

More than a year after taking a listening tour across Tennessee, Gov. Bill Haslam appears ready to introduce a plan in his Jan. 30 State of the State address for increasing or reforming fuel taxes to help pay for $6 billion in committed road and bridge projects.

Tennessee’s lieutenant governor-in-waiting predicts Gov. Bill Haslam will propose a modest fuel-tax increase in early 2017 to bolster the state’s road and bridge construction program.

Republican Sen. Randy McNally of Oak Ridge, the Senate’s outgoing Budget Committee chairman and likely next Senate speaker, says his “reading of the tea leaves” projects Haslam asking legislators to raise gas and diesel taxes but equalize the rates, which are separated by 3 cents per gallon.

Three-year-old Josie Mae Mathis of Greene County used to suffer hundreds of seizures daily from epilepsy and infantile spasms.

Aden Vogus, a pre-teen from Brentwood, has seen his seizures all but disappear.

Both are benefiting from cannabis oil since the Legislature decriminalized it – allowing it to be shipped in from other states – for medical purposes in 2015.

The Holiday Bowl, in all its decaying glory, sat in the middle of an equally run-down part of Brainerd for the past 30 years.

It had its regular leagues, its faithful rock star wannabes hanging out at the karaoke bar. With other alleys in East Ridge and North Georgia going out of business, it seemed to be good business just to exist.

Realtor Mark Hite isn’t interested in merely earning a paycheck. He wants to lead a life worth living. To him, that means doing more than making a dollar; it means giving back in spades.

For the next 12 months, Hite will have little choice but to give amply of his time and energy. As the 2017 president of the Greater Chattanooga Association of Realtors (GCAR), he has a full plate.

Tennessee senior Joshua Dobbs has created a quarterback controversy.

Dobbs finished his college career Dec. 30 when UT beat Nebraska 38-24 in the Music City Bowl in Nashville. He accounted for 409 total yards – 291 passing and 118 yards rushing – and was chosen the game’s MVP.

Have you ever fallen in love with someone all over again? That’s what watching “La La Land” felt like to me. As Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling sang and danced their way through the best film of 2016, I felt like I was falling in love with the movies for the first time.

It seems that each industry has its own set of abbreviations and acronyms which become part of the lingo for the members, yet are a foreign language to nonmembers. The Real Estate Industry is no different, so this week I want to take moment to demystify “DOM.”

In my last article as president of the Home Builders Association of Greater Chattanooga (HBAGC), I want to take a moment to reflect back on a great and eventful 2016. This was a fantastic year for our association, the home building industry and the Chattanooga area.

As an investor, your main goals will change at different times in your life. During your working years, you need to grow as many resources as possible for retirement. Once you retire, however, you will likely need to focus more on getting income from your investments. But what are your options? 

The City of Chattanooga Department of Youth and Family Development (YFD) and TechTown have opened applications for the Tech Workforce Program. This pilot program will establish and test a Tech Workforce Program initiative in two of Chattanooga’s YFD centers – South Chattanooga and Brainerd.

Mayoral and City Council forums

Members of the Greater Chattanooga Association of Realtors (GCAR) are invited to learn more about the candidates vying for mayor and City Council during political forums to be held at the association on Wednesday, Jan 11.

See Rock City continued its conservation partnership with Lula Lake Land Trust this year during its annual Summer Music Weekends event at the attraction. Guests who visited this summer donated over $500 in a coin drop – an amount See Rock City matched. Pictured, left to right, Lula Lake Land Development Director Kat Volzer; Lula Lake Executive Director Mike Pollock; and See Rock City Director of Operations Jeff Raabe.

The Tennessee Supreme Court has adopted a set of plain-language forms and instructions for use in uncontested divorces between parties with minor children in an effort to simplify divorce proceedings for parties that fall into that category. The forms became effective Jan. 1.

IMAX with Laser Film Festival II Jan. 6-12

Chattanooga remains one of only 13 theaters nationwide to show movies using the new IMAX with Laser projection system. In celebration, the second IMAX with Laser Film Festival will come to Chattanooga's largest screen Friday, Jan. 6 to Thursday, 12.