News - Friday, November 1, 2019

When clients come into the offices of Legal Aid of East Tennessee, they want help.

They also want to know that the lawyer across the desk or table understands their issue and challenges. The LAET team works hard to provide that empathy, and in the case of Sheri Fox, the organization’s executive director, there might even be some real-world experience to enhance the bonding.

Once, when Melody Shekari was very young, she accompanied her mom to the library at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga to do some legal research.

Attorneys had told Shekari’s mother, a UTC student and Iranian immigrant who joined her husband in the U.S. in 1987, that nothing could be done about the day care lessee who had filed for bankruptcy and was holding their property “hostage.”

In the late 1980s, when the only way to get deeds and plats was to go to the Register of Deeds office in person and pull the microfilm, young Matt McDonald frequently pedaled his bike from his family’s Battery Place home to the Hamilton County Courthouse roughly 1 mile away to print copies for his father John, one of the city’s most prolific developers.

Almost three years ago, wildfires destroyed close to a thousand acres of some of the most beautiful parts of our community. Parts of Lookout and Signal Mountains were devastated and, unfortunately, the wildfires that rage today in California serve as a reminder that we must remain vigilant against this threat.

The joys of homeownership in the many Chattanooga-area communities are numerous, from providing comfort for you and your family to building equity in your financial profile.

If you are a new homeowner, it’s important to be ready to handle home repairs as they come.

Something about being in the public eye seems to invite foot-in-mouth disease.

Example 1: Last November, a newly elected Democrat from Memphis, State Rep. London Lamar, offered her social and political analysis in a Facebook video she made after the midterm elections:

If your employer offers a 401(k) or similar plan, you’ve got a powerful retirement-savings tool at your disposal. And yet, how well you do with your 401(k) depends greatly on your choices and actions. What steps can you take to maximize the benefits of your plan?

Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke has announced members of the inaugural cohort of the Styles L. Hutchins Diverse Talent Retention Fellowship.

The mayor’s office and its partners, the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce and The Urban League of Greater Chattanooga, created the fellowship to honor Hutchins’ entrepreneurial spirit in efforts to ensure the talent retention of young African Americans in the city.

Comprehensive Care has launched ExpressCare in response to a growing need for more customized home-based care for seniors.

ExpressCare is the first private-duty service that allows individuals to set their desired hours of assistance – from as little as one hour of care.

The Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce has named both Chattanooga Whiskey and FreightWaves as recipients of the 2019 Spirit of Innovation Award, the second tie in the award’s nearly 20-year history.

“These two companies are very different and represent two very different industries. They both exemplify the true spirit of innovation this award recognizes and celebrates,” says Dan Gilmore, Spirit of Innovation Award committee chair. “Chattanooga and the surrounding area are home to a diverse range of driven and innovative people and organizations. It’s no surprise that our six outstanding finalists include logistics, medical and workplace technology, outdoor activities and distilling.”

The 14th annual Moccasin Bend Fall Lecture Series presents “The Chickamauga Battlefield and the Civil War Reconciliation Movement” with featured guest lecturer Timothy B. Smith, Ph.D., Nov. 11, 7 p.m.

Smith and National Park Service historian Jim Ogden will detail the first reconciliation of Civil War veterans at Chickamauga, which gave rise to the battlefield preservation movement and the mixed results of attempts to heal a divided nation.

Smoking affects the heart and blood vessels and is one of the most preventable causes of heart disease. It’s never too late to quit.

Quitting smoking has immediate and long-term health benefits including lowering your heart rate and blood pressure, and reducing your risk of coronary heart disease and stroke.

The Mayor’s Council Against Hate will welcome author and activist Christian Picciolini as guest speaker at its next public meeting, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 5:30 p.m., at the Camp House.

Picciolini’s life since leaving the white power movement more than two decades ago has been dedicated to helping others overcome their own hate.

Dentists of East Brainerd, a Smile Generation dental practice, recently opened and is accepting adult and pediatric patients.

Owner Tanisha Jackson, DDS, Dr. Patrick Im and Dr. Andrea Marable provide patients modern dentistry with proven technology with CEREC CAD/CAM digital X-rays, laser, online scheduling and the VELscope Enhanced Oral Assessment System, among other technologies at the forefront of oral and whole-body health care.

Amazon Chattanooga fulfillment center associates recently went on a field trip to lend a helping hand to the Chattanooga Zoo.

Associates volunteered to officially launch the zoo’s mobile STEM lab, a new, immersive educational program that Amazon donated equipment to earlier this year. Amazon donated lab coats, microscopes, slides, eye droppers and other gear to prepare the mobile STEM lab program for its launch.

Paul Hendricks, M.D., has joined the staff at the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Health Department as its new health officer.

The health officer is the top medical position in the Health Services Division of Hamilton County government. Hendricks’ medical background spans hospital medicine, emergency medicine, family medicine and rural medicine.

Ben Hasan, chief of diversity and inclusion for Walmart, will share principles for creating an inclusive company culture at Urban League of Greater Chattanooga’s annual Equal Opportunity Day Breakfast, scheduled for Friday, Nov. 1, 7:30 a.m., at the Chattanooga Convention Center. Tickets