News - Friday, December 31, 2021

Just months after blasting federal vaccine mandates in the third of three special legislative sessions, state lawmakers return to the Capitol for the second half of the 112th General Assembly Jan. 11.

When they reconvene, they’ll draw lines for new legislative districts. The overwhelmingly Republican body also will approve a budget supplemented by billions of dollars in federal funds flowing to Tennessee from pandemic-relief and infrastructure programs passed mostly by Democrats in Washington.

Anne Boatner says she’s landed her dream job as an attorney.

A graduate of Girls Preparatory School, the City University of New York and Vanderbilt Law School, Boater, 33, is not practicing corporate law or litigating cases for a large firm. Rather, she’s in the trenches with Legal Aid of East Tennessee, where she does eviction defense as part of a collaborative program with other local entities.

The preamble to the National Association of Realtors’ Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice begins with a line that reads like it could have been lifted from novelist John Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath:”

“Under all is the land.”

We all wish we could look into the future and know exactly what it holds. That’s impossible, of course, but thanks to some very clever forecasting, we can get a pretty good glimpse into local and national real estate in 2022.

Lawrence Yun, the National Association of Realtors’ chief economist and senior vice president of research, last week unveiled the consensus forecast during NAR’s third annual year-end Real Estate Forecast Summit, which focuses on the national landscape.

On Dec. 15, the Federal Reserve Board signaled it will be shifting from an accommodative monetary policy stance that supported the economic rebound from the 2020 recession toward a tighter policy as a direct result of ongoing inflation.

For the Chattanooga area, this policy pivot means mortgage interest rates are likely to rise in 2022. This will reduce housing affordability and again emphasizes the need for policymakers to enact solutions to fix the nation’s supply chains that are impeding local construction.

Sonic Automotive Inc. has opened its new EchoPark delivery center in Chattanooga.

Sonic is a Fortune 500 Company and one of the nation’s largest automotive retailers.

Located near the Georgia border, the Chattanooga Delivery Center is EchoPark’s third location in Tennessee, following the opening of the Knoxville delivery center and Nashville retail sales center in 2020. The new Chattanooga delivery center is also EchoPark’s 35th location to date, continuing the brand’s expansion toward a nationwide distribution network that is expected to reach 90% of the U.S. population and generate $14 billion in revenues by 2025.

As you know, 2021 was full of challenges. We were still feeling the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic when supply chains shut down and inflation heated up. So, if you’re like many people, you might not be sorry to see the year come to a close. But now it’s time to look ahead to a brighter 2022.

No matter the time of day or amount of work he’s accumulated, Dr. Chris Klenck is always available. Every athlete or coach at the University of Tennessee knows they can walk into his office on campus or call, and Klenck will provide his undivided attention.

Other than injuries, there has been one constant for the Tennessee Titans in 2021 – head coach Mike Vrabel.

Despite a record number of personnel changes due to injuries, Vrabel has been steadfast in insisting the Titans stay the course and remain diligent, no matter the circumstances or the odds.

Remember the compact trucks that were popular in the 1980s and 1990s? Well, they’ve made a comeback for the 2022 model year via the all-new Ford Maverick and Hyundai Santa Cruz.

Built on crossover platforms, the Maverick and Santa Cruz promise better fuel economy and ride more comfortably than traditional midsize or full-size body-on-frame pickups such as the Toyota Tacoma or Ford F-150. They can’t tow or haul as much as those trucks, but they’re easier to park and have enough utility to suit many buyers. So, which compact truck is the better purchase? Edmunds’ experts compared them to find out.