News - Friday, October 20, 2017

Mark Wharton has officially become a Chattanoogan. Now that he’s one of us, perhaps his impossible job as UTC’s new athletics director might become a little bit easier.

Wharton, named vice chancellor and director of athletics after a lengthy search at the end of August, has not spent the ensuing two months merely house hunting. Given the daunting task of helping the school’s nearly destitute athletic program fund the most basic of needs, he is making sure he knows exactly what those needs are – the better to impart that knowledge to potential donors.

Southern nationalists planning to lead rallies in Murfreesboro and Shelbyville are banking on Republican ideas and protection to spread their views, a burr under the saddle for state lawmakers in the controlling party.

The League of the South, built for a second Southern secession and largely considered a white supremacist organization, is set to rail about America’s downfall Oct. 28 – if all goes as planned – in these two Middle Tennessee towns. Rutherford County still hasn’t approved a permit.

Caldwell Huckabay seemed to have it all – a thriving practice at a prestigious law firm, distinguished clients and colleagues with whom he enjoyed working.

Except he didn’t have it all. But the day would come when he would.

As far back as Huckabay could remember, he’d wanted to be a lawyer. A great uncle he’d never known had been an attorney and judge in Baton Rouge, and the stories his family told about the man took root in his mind and steered him toward the law.

One year ago, Keller Williams Realtor Lisa Padgett gave little thought to October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month. She’d never been diagnosed with the disease, nor did she know many women who’d had it.

“I’d always been healthy, eaten right and taken care of my body,” the 45-year-old wife and mother of three says. “So, breast cancer didn’t weigh on my mind.”

Douglas Heights Bakery is only a few hours old when I walk into the adjoining restaurant – 2 Sons Kitchen – on a Monday morning to buy a breakfast sandwich. After spotting the fresh baked goods artfully arranged behind the glass display at DHB, I hesitate. I need the protein my breakfast sandwich will provide but cinnamon buns are calling me from the other space.

Tennessee’s football team will make history Saturday against No. 1-ranked Alabama (7-0, 4-0 SEC), no matter what happens with the game.

The Vols (3-3, 0-3 SEC) were 34-point underdogs early in the week for the 3:30 EDT game (TV: CBS) in Tuscaloosa. The 34-point spread is the largest ever in the UT-Alabama series.

David Ward and Alix Michel will present a medical malpractice seminar Wednesday, Oct. 25 from 8:30-10:30 a.m. at Mountain City Club. Registration begins at 8 a.m. The cost will be $55. Attendees will earn two hours of general CLE credit.

Ward and Michel are co-founders of Michel & Ward, a general practice law firm in Chattanooga.

The Supreme Court of Tennessee issued guidance on the steps courts should follow when a creditor sells collateral used to obtain a loan but does not provide the required notice of the sale.

The case involved a bank loan that was used to purchase an airplane, with the plane itself and additional guarantors securing the transaction. When the debtor failed to maintain insurance, the bank, Regions Bank, placed the loan in default and the resulting accelerated payments were not made.

To create awareness in the legal community of the needs in the Chattanooga area, Legal Aid of East Tennessee will host seven one-hour seminars covering a variety of topics on Monday, Oct. 23, 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. at the Edney Innovation Center on Market Street.

While most Hamilton County students enjoyed a little rest and relaxation during their fall break, 20 pupils spent the first two days of their break at the Leadership and Law Academy.

Hosted by the Chattanooga Legal Diversity Consortium, the academy was held Oct. 9-10 at the Hamilton County Courthouse and Unum.

The Company Lab, also known as CO.LAB, announced three emerging companies as the winners of its eighth annual “Will This Float?” business pitch competition this week.

Asili Labs took first place for its product, Tryall, winning $1,000, an interactive pass to SXSW, 20 hours of free business services, a spot in a CO.LAB program and three months of access to co-working space at Society of Work.

The Urban League of Greater Chattanooga this week announced awards for three community leaders honored for championing equal opportunity, civil rights and social justice.

BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee received the Corporate Award for Inclusion by Design, the Chattanooga Innovation District was the recipient of the Community Impact Award and LaFrederick Thirkill was awarded the Whitney M. Young Jr. Award.

It’s Thurgood Marshall to the rescue in “Marshall,” an exhilarating biopic about the early days of the legal legend’s career. Batman and Superman can step aside. “Marshall” offers a true superhero origin story.

Like Steven Spielberg’s “Lincoln” (2012), “Marshall” focuses on a specific period in the life of its subject. Instead of producing a sprawling epic about Marshall’s involvement in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, or his ascent to the U.S. Supreme Court, the filmmakers went back to 1941, when Marshall was a young lawyer hungry for justice.

Over a five-year period, World War I ravaged Europe, the Middle East and parts of North Africa, overturning governments and costing millions of lives. The United States joined the battle in 1917, eventually mobilizing more than four million soldiers and countless civilians who provided support for the war effort on the home front.

One of the region’s largest accounting, tax and consulting services firms has announced a new name while increasing its emphasis on supporting the local community.

Elliott Davis Decosimo is rebranding back to Elliott Davis on Nov. 1, citing the company’s almost 100-year history and market recognition under its original name.

“Elevate,” an invitational art exhibit, will be on view at Townsend Atelier, 301 E. 11th St., from Friday, Nov. 3-Saturday, Dec. 2. The show will feature the work of 24 artists who participated in a critique program facilitated by Mia Bergeron.

The Chattanooga Symphony & Opera will present Grammy Award-winning banjoist Béla Fleck on Thursday, Oct. 26 at 7:30 p.m. in the Tivoli Theatre. Fleck will perform “Juno,” his second classical concerto.

Celebrated globally as a premier banjo player, Fleck is a 15-time Grammy Award winner. Throughout his career, he has been in multiple progressive bluegrass bands, released standalone albums and been featured on albums by Garth Brooks, Dolly Parton, Randy Travis, the Oak Ridge Boys, the Gatlin Brothers and more.

The greater Chattanooga region fell in line with the national trend of declining home sales in September with a 10.8 percent decrease.

For the month of September, there were 784 closed units compared to 879 for the same period in 2016. This decrease continues the developing trend of up-and-down home sales this year.

It’s hard to beat the great natural light of spring and summer, particularly in Chattanooga and throughout southeast Tennessee. But fall and winter do not have to be dark and gloomy. Take the opportunity to add interest, comfort and function to a room with lighting.

To raise public awareness about the importance of saving for retirement, Congress has designated the third week of October as National Save for Retirement Week.

What lessons can you learn from this event?

First of all, save early – and often. Too many people put off saving for retirement until they are in their late 40s – and even their 50s.

The Master Gardeners of Hamilton County are offering free gardening classes the third Saturday of every month. On Oct. 21, 10 a.m.-noon. The topic will be “Children in the Garden.” Master gardener Bertha Livingston will present. Classes take place at the UT Extension, located at 6183 Adamson Circle.