News - Friday, February 16, 2018

Donna Christian Lowe clearly recalls the day when, while getting her feet wet in a new corporate human resources job at a major insurance company nearly 10 years ago, she accidentally sat in a male board member’s self-designated spot at a meeting. She and a female executive were the only women in the room.

Gov. Bill Haslam’s plan to restructure the University of Tennessee Board of Trustees appears to be a work in progress.

Timing is critical, too, with the 2018 session of the General Assembly moving at a snail’s pace and UT President Joe DiPietro’s contract set to run out in mid-2019.

New technologies are transforming the way people search for the legal services they need. From scheduling an appointment with a doctor to requesting a consultation with a lawyer, many members of the public now prefer the ease-of-use of a laptop or mobile browser over calling a phone number.

Chris and Mike Newton have opened their new law practice, The Newton Firm, with an emphasis on personal injury litigation, disability claims, wills and estates and business disputes. The Newton Firm brings more than 50 years of combined legal and business experience.

Hubert “Hu” Hamilton, a Chattanooga trial lawyer, has the unique distinction of being recognized by Thomson Reuters Super Lawyers as a top-rated plaintiffs’ personal injury attorney in both Tennessee and Georgia.

In 2017, Hamilton was again selected to Mid-South Super Lawyers, which recognizes attorneys in Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. Hamilton has been afforded similar recognition by Georgia Super Lawyers since 2011.

Baker Donelson has named Cameron S. Hill its new professional development shareholder. Hill is located in the firm’s Chattanooga office.

As professional development shareholder, Hill will focus on implementing measures to help the firm’s attorneys succeed in their practices and their communities. He served for more than ten years as the new litigator advisor for the Chattanooga office. Hill has also served on the faculty for Baker Donelson University for the Expert Witness, Jury Trial and Presentation Skills workshops.

Broker Jack Webb of Crye-Leike Downtown Chattanooga was the company’s top producer in the Scenic City in 2017, while affiliate brokers Jannis and Tim Sams of Crye-Leike Cleveland were the region’s top real estate team.

Webb and the Sams team were honored at Crye-Leike’s Chattanooga Kick-Off meeting in January. “We’re proud of the dedication and commitment seen by our top producers,” says Harold Crye, CEO and co-founder of Crye-Leike Real Estate Services. “2017 was a record-breaking year for the company. That would not have been possible without their hard work and drive.”

Tennessee football fans are hoping for a better National Signing Day in 2019. This year’s was a relative dud.

New coach Jeremy Pruitt, hired on Dec. 7, signed six players on Feb. 7 but whiffed on several high-profile recruits he and his staff were pursuing. He had signed 14 players during the first-ever early signing period Dec. 20-22.

No filmmaker sets out to make a bad movie. But it happens to the best of them – even director Clint Eastwood.

Eastwood, whose last two movies as director were “American Sniper” and “Sully,” had been on a creative roll. Both “Sniper” and “Sully” received accolades from audiences and critics alike and numerous awards.

The Chattanooga Film Festival is on the move.

The annual weekend of films, panels and workshops is leaving behind its home of its first four years, The Majestic, for a space with a view of the Tennessee River: the Chattanooga Theatre Center.

‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi 3D’ showing at Tennessee Aquarium IMAX 3D Theater

Special screenings begin with ‘Cantina Nights’ events Feb. 16 and 17

The latest entry in the Star Wars film saga, “The Last Jedi,” is showing now on Chattanooga’s largest screen.

Greater Chattanooga’s housing market continues to be strong and develop as more millennials enter the housing market than in previous years.

Identifying their preferences for the type of home and neighborhood they want to live in are typically among the first things potential homebuyers do. Condo or single-family house? Southside or St. Elmo? Hixson or Red Bank? Ooltewah or Ringgold? New construction or fixer-upper?

Whether you’re looking to buy a new home, thinking about renovating your current one, or you’re just interested in what’s new in home design, here are some of the trends you’ll see dominating in 2018.

Open but defined floor plans

Instead of one large, undefined space, open floor plans will evolve to include more definition in 2018, whether it’s by shifting materials, adding columns, or changing the ceiling height. This way, you can still get the airiness of an open floor plan while giving each section its own definition and style.

Applications are now open for The Company Lab’s Summer 2018 startup accelerators. Entrepreneurs have until April 1 to apply for CO.LAB’s new Lifestyle & Consumer Goods Accelerator and its annual Gigtank Accelerator, which focuses on next-gen internet applications.

In the past year, we’ve seen natural disasters in Texas, California, Florida and Puerto Rico – and looking back even further, it’s not hard to spot other traumas in virtually every part of the country.

Whether it’s a tornado, hurricane, flood or wildfire, you may be at least potentially susceptible to a weather-related event that could threaten your physical – and financial – well-being. How can you protect yourself?

The Chattanooga Symphony & Opera 2018-19 season – the 86th season for the organization – will showcase local artists and composers as well as special guests.

The CSO will perform two special performances during its 86th season: “The Music of Harry Potter” at the Tivoli Theatre on Nov. 3 and “Carmen” on April 11, 13. Subscribers have pre-sale access to these events. The remaining tickets will be released for public sale on Aug. 1.

The Music of Harry Potter: Tivoli Theatre, Saturday, Nov. 3, 7:30 p.m.

Barnett & Company Masterworks Series, Tivoli Theatre, Thursdays at 7:30 p.m.:

• Sept. 27, Piazolla’s “Four Seasons”
• Oct. 25, Brahms’ “Symphony No. 1”
• Nov. 15, Beethoven and Mozart
• Jan. 17, Stravinsky’s “Firebird”
• March 7, Mendelssohn and Brahms
• March 28, Shostakovich’s “Symphony No. 10”
• April 25, Tchaikovsky’s “Symphony No. 4”

Carmen: Tivoli Theatre, April 11 and 13 at 7:30 p.m.

Houston artists Shane Albritton and Norman Lee of RE:site Studio have been chosen to design the permanent memorial to honor the five service members who were killed during the domestic terror attack on July 16, 2015.

Public Art Chattanooga and members of the Fallen Five Memorial Steering Committee guided the selection process, which began in the summer of 2017.

As part of its support of the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women movement, CVS Health will offer free “Know Your Numbers” heart-health screenings at its walk-in MinuteClinics on Feb. 21 and Feb. 28.

A growing number of women in the U.S. are aware of the dangers of heart disease and recognize it as their number one killer, a recent national poll commissioned by CVS Health shows, but few acknowledge their personal risk factors that contribute to heart disease.

The Chattanooga Police Department? is partnering with the Tennessee Highway Safety Office for its fifth annual Seatbelts Are for Everyone campaign. This statewide initiative is designed to increase seatbelt usage and child passenger safety restraint usage through the implementation of occupant-protection programs, public events and checkpoints across the state. The SAFE campaign is underway now and concludes Aug. 1.

The Chattanooga Symphony & Opera will host its annual swing concert, Big Band Fever, on Friday, Feb. 16 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, Feb. 17 at 7:30 p.m. at the Tivoli Theatre. Tickets start at $21 and are available at www.chattanoogasymphony.org. This concert will feature the CSO’s big band, guest clarinetist Fred Lemmons and Kyle Barels from Dance Tonight Chattanooga.