News - Friday, October 13, 2023

As Americans spend the next year watching the larger-than-life figures who will be vying to be the next president of the United States, Wes and Rachelle Siegrist will be wondering if one of them will have the opportunity to shrink the victor down to a size that would fit in the palm of his or her hand.

Across Tennessee, many judges are struggling to effectively administer justice in their courtrooms. The state must rely on court-appointed attorneys to provide mandatory legal counsel, but the pool of available attorneys has shrunk considerably.

“Every day, we hear from judges who must find lawyers to represent citizens who are constitutionally entitled to legal counsel. They tell us that the system is teetering on the brink,” Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Holly Kirby says. “Court proceedings can’t happen without court-appointed attorneys, but attorneys can’t afford to take cases at the current rates. The criminal justice and juvenile court systems are running out of options.”

“Why, God?” Sarah Barrott says she asked as she stood in the fierce churn of the financial hurricane that was battering her family’s stability. She hadn’t even bothered to look for the eye of the tempest, where she, her husband and their children could find relative calm, because she didn’t believe there was one.

Being a Realtor, clients and friends often ask me, “When is the best time of year to buy a home?”

Obviously, there are many factors at play, but it seems like a new study from realtor.com might have a specific answer to that question – now.

Have you been considering making changes to your living space but aren’t sure where to start? With so many options and choices to consider, updating your home’s interior design can be overwhelming.

Here are some design tips to help give your home a fresh new look without giving you a makeover meltdown.

Housing affordability, maintaining sufficient inventory and keeping up with technology were among the biggest challenges cited for firms in the next two years, the 2023 Profile of Real Estate Firms by the National Association of Realtors reports.

The report measures characteristics of firms nationwide to determine how they operate and assess what lies ahead. NAR surveyed its broker members of record to better understand firms’ demographics, composition and characteristics from the executive and manager perspective.

16th annual Chattanooga Jewish Film Series Continues

Five Jewish-themed, award-winning films produced in France, Israel, Poland and the United States will be shown in-person and virtually on five consecutive weeks beginning Sunday, Oct. 15 and continuing through Friday, Nov. 17. Each in-person screening will begin at 7 p.m. and be held at the Jewish Cultural Center (5461 North Terrace Road). Each virtual film screening will be available from noon Sunday and conclude at noon Friday. Register to view the films in-person or virtually at www.jewishchattanooga.com. Walk-ins for in-person screenings are available. Masks are optional.

The Trust Company of Tennessee has hired Tracey Smith as a retirement plan services relationship manager. Smith will be based in the firm’s Chattanooga office.

Smith earned a degree in economics from Texas A&M University in College Station. She previously served as a senior client relationship manager for Mutual of America Financial Group.

If you’re a long-term investor, your portfolio may stay fairly stable over time. However, that doesn’t mean you will never sell any investments. But when should you sell — and why?

Here are some scenarios to consider:

 • If an investment has consistently underperformed – For one reason or another, some investments may not live up to your expectations. Rather than holding these investments in the hope that they will eventually show consistently positive returns, you might be better off selling them and using the proceeds to buy other investments that could help you make progress toward your goals.

The amount of wealth millennials and Gen Xers stand to inherit from their parents and grandparents almost defies comprehension: Cerulli Associates, a Boston-based research and consulting firm, reports $84.4 trillion in wealth will be transferred between 2021 and 2045, primarily from baby boomer households to younger generations.

Traditional money-saving advice might not cut it if you live in one of America’s most expensive cities or urban areas. Residents in many of those cities are paying much more than the national average for housing, utilities, groceries, transportation, health care, and other goods and services.

The U.S. Department of Transportation has awarded the Chattanooga Airport a Small Community Air Service Development Program grant totaling $750,000.

The funding will be used for initiating new air service to Denver, allowing the greater Chattanooga area easy access to the West Coast and numerous international destinations. An alternative new service option proposed is nonstop to Houston.

A quarter of a century ago, Barry Trotz made his NHL coaching debut by leading the Nashville Predators onto the ice for their inaugural season. One of his young stars during that 1998-99 campaign was left winger Andrew Brunette.

Following a 1-0 loss to the visiting Florida Panthers in the opener, the Preds returned to the home ice three nights later. Brunette – who would spend one year in Nashville – scored the team’s very first goal as Nashville defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2 that historic mid-October evening on Lower Broadway.

The Tennessee Titans have a dilemma, one that goes beyond just their 2-3 record to start the season and the many holes that have been exposed through five games.

The Titans, like two other teams in the AFC South, have a rookie quarterback they hope can be the face of the franchise at some point in Will Levis.

The Titans have continued to ride the roller coaster through the early part of the 2023 season, following each loss with a win or vice versa.

What it has added up to so far is a 2-3 record, an 0-1 mark in the division, a perfect record at Nissan Stadium and being winless on the road, dating back to Nov. 17, 2022.

Sun., Oct. 15 | 9:30 a.m. Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London

TV: NFL Network Radio: WGOW-AM/FM

The Titans head across the pond to take on old rival Baltimore Sunday in London. Tennessee needs this game to continue to tread water in the AFC South, a division that remains imminently winnable for any of the four teams. First, the Titans have to find a way to win their “home” game in England.

It was all about the balance. You didn’t think of it that way, though. All you were interested in was riding your bike with the big kids, pedaling without training wheels and without an adult holding you up.

You skinned your knees but could see the goal, then one day, zoom, you rode that bike all by yourself. So now read “Activate Your Greatness” by Alex Toussaint and find that determination again.

Getting away and into America’s outdoor spaces can go a long way to making life more enjoyable. But what if you need to drive on some off-road trails to get to your destination?

Luckily, there are some new vehicles that can serve as relatively inexpensive daily transportation as well as a means for in-the-dirt recreation.