News - Friday, October 5, 2012

Tennessee’s longest serving state judge, Herschel P. Franks, presiding judge of the Court of Appeals, will be retiring from the court on December 31, 2012. In a letter to Governor Bill Haslam, he wrote: “Words cannot express my heartfelt and sincere appreciation for Tennessee’s voters, who have elected me as one of their judges in seven elections.

A federal grand jury in Chattanooga has returned indictments on 25 Chattanooga residents and four Marion County residents on charges of distributing, and conspiracy to distribute, various illegal drugs, and of illegal possession of firearms. Of those, at least 16 are validated or suspected members of gangs and four are accused of being drug suppliers whose customers are gang members, United States Attorney William C. Killian said during a press conference on September 28.

From a few feet away, “Sewn to the Sky” looks like a painting, with delicate brushstrokes blending together to form a bird with feathers as soft and downy as a chick’s. But like the famous “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte,” which Georges-Pierre Seurat made entirely of painted dots, a closer examination of the piece reveals artful deception. Instead of brushstrokes, the bird is made up of tightly packed stitches of differently colored threads.

Saturday, Oct. 6

Annual Grape Stomp!

The 29th annual Grape Stomp will be held at the Georgia Winery from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. For centuries, grapes were hand-picked and placed in a large vat in which people crushed the grapes with their bare feet.  This method of extracting juice from the grape, called grape stomping, is the original form of winemaking. The Georgia Winery has offered this old fashioned experience for the community since 1983. The event will include fun activities for children and adults.

It’s no secret that I love National Public Radio. I typically listen on my Sunday morning drive to the Levison Towers, and have been known to sit in my car for several minutes after arriving at my destination just to finish a story.

Garrison Keillor remains one of my favorite storytellers, but my affinity for NPR goes well beyond the popular shows. There’s a great numbers program called “More Or Less” that has made my wee hour drives to the deer stand enjoyable this September.

Quincy Londale Scott v. State of Tennessee.

Appeal from the Criminal Court for Hamilton County

Case Number: E2011-01534-CCA-MR3-PC

Authoring Judge: Judge D. Kelly Thomas, Jr.

I have a policy when I try a case. Once the decision to go to trial has been made, I assume we’re going to get a good result. Even when a good result is a long shot, I play to win every time. I’m usually pretty good at convincing myself that the result for which I’m looking is within reach. All I have to do is try hard enough. I call this state of mind “trial psychosis.”

For the past 17 years, the Walnut Street Bridge in downtown Chattanooga has been the site of Wine Over Water. And for the first time, a portion of the proceeds is going toward one of Cornerstones’ specific preservation projects – Engel Stadium.

After printing those letters last week, how can I not come back this week with more stuff from the Record? How can I not?!

The writers of those letters don’t care that I want to review books I’ve read, share the latest in haiku theory and fuel the debate on the Oxford comma. They want funny stuff that really happened. In court.

For a mother, there is nothing worse than finding something is wrong with your infant. There is an automatic response of trying to figure out what she did wrong. Well, most times it is nothing the mother has done. Such is the case with Infantile Eczema.

Have you ever taken a bite of something really delicious for the first time and said, “I’m in trouble?” I did when I bit into a coconut-glazed donut from Tasty Daylight Donuts. Being more of a cake than a glazed fan, I thought I was safe sinking my teeth into the sweet, doughy confection from the new shop on the corner of Martin Luther King Boulevard and Chestnut Street. But the moment I started to chew, well, I knew I was in trouble.

I arrived at the east gate of the golf course Saturday morning, glad to see Skippy at the entrance post and not the commandant lady, who must have grown up around the Iron Curtain as she takes the word “security” to a new level.

I told Skippy I had a 9:32 tee-time. and after checking his list, he waved me through.

Last week, I shared with you about our trip to Chicago and how much good food we ate. I also shared with you that in the many times that we’ve visited Chicago, we’d never partaken of a Chicago Dog, but this last trip – it was a given. We were just missing out on too much! So we succumbed.

Thursday, May 17 was just another day for Realtor Paula Palmer. She woke up, exercised, went to work, came home and by 7:30 was preparing dinner. When the phone rang, her husband was closer, so the task of answering it fell to him. He hesitated, thinking it was another solicitor, but then picked it up anyway.

What better way to celebrate World Habitat Day than building a home for someone who needs one?

In recognition of World Habitat Day 2012, Habitat for Humanity of Greater Chattanooga Area spent Saturday, September 29 working on a home located at 3410 3rd Avenue in East Chattanooga.

The process of searching for a house to purchase has evolved in recent years. Homebuyers no longer start their search for a home with a fully fueled car; rather, they get online to find a place to call home.

With most home buyers starting their home search on the Internet, having an effective Web site is essential for a real estate company.

Everybody has something, does something, or knows something!  Here are questions to help you figure out wh you have, do, or know! Have fun.

1. If you suffer from Hippophobia, what is it that you don’t want to come face to face with if out strolling in a pasture? A hippo; a horse;  a cow; a sheep.

The group that continually advertises on TV, showing sad puppies and kittens while asking for your monthly donation of $19 to be a humane hero is now after “The Other White Meat.” That slogan is well recognized as the wording you would see in pork advertisements, and has been a trademark owned by the farmer elected National Pork Board since 2006. The Humane Society of the United States, however, has filed a lawsuit some say has no legal merit against the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Agriculture over the purchase of that trademark by NPB, which occurred and was approved more than six years ago. Once again, it seems HSUS is attacking modern day agriculture with the funds collected from images of abused puppies and kittens.

If you try to sew up all of the plot holes in a time travel movie, you’ll bleed it of every drop of fun. Take the “Terminator” films for example. You can stitch hole after hole in the series and never close them all, but you will lose sight of the deeply emotional human story at the center of them.

After interacting with business owners over the years, I have learned with absolute clarity that your goal as a business owner should be to design a company that is distinct from you and, quite candidly, works in your absence. You should create a separate cash flow entity, not merely a job for yourself. It should pay you a healthy salary plus a return on your investment of money, time and effort. You should build equity! You should build wealth! Bottom line, your role should be to shape, manage and grow this independent and enduring asset – your business.

The Apison and Cherokee Valley Tornado Relief Committee on Sunday, September 23 held a dedication ceremony for a new five-feet by eight feet granite monument memorializing the 15 individuals who lost their lives during the tornadoes of April 2011.  The monument is located at the corner of East Brainerd Road and London Lane. (David Laprad)

There is a good bit of misinformation and simply a lack of explanation regarding the new 3.8 percent tax that will affect some real estate transactions taking place after Jan. 1, 2013.

The first key thing to understand is that this tax will not affect every person or transaction. When the legislation becomes effective in 2013, it may impose a 3.8-percent tax on some (but not all) income from interest, dividends, rents (minus expenses) and capital gains (minus capital losses).

General Sessions Court of Hamilton County, 

Division IV

Pursuant to the provisions of Tenn. Code Ann. §17-2-116(a)(1), notice is hereby given that the Governor’s Office is accepting applications to appoint and commission a special judge for the General Sessions Court of Hamilton County, Division IV.

Having come to Chattanooga “temporarily,” I experience it through a visitor’s eyes.  Every weekend feels like a mini-vacation as I take advantage of what is unique about the area.

Often, I only have to look out the window or walk down the block to find something unique.  For example, one of the first things I discovered after we moved here is that Chattanoogans are quite creative when it comes to having fun.