News - Friday, February 21, 2014

The law firm of Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel on Tuesday, Feb. 18 honored the 2013-2014 John C. Stophel Distinguished Students at the Chambliss Conference Center. The reception offered the 10 award recipients, eight undergraduates and two graduate students the opportunity to meet and engage with members of Chattanooga’s business community. 

“Keep moving! Roll those shoulders! Have fun with it!”

Shelley Black, Zumba instructor, is doing her best to keep a roomful of women moving to the thumping ‘80s tune blasting through the speakers in a large activity room at Stuart Heights Baptist Church in Hixson, Tenn.

The American Bar Association adopted policies related to the right to food, human trafficking and courthouse security, among other topics, when the association’s policymaking body convened during the 2014 ABA Midyear Meeting in Chicago.

The meeting of the ABA House of Delegates — made up of 560 members representing state and local bar associations, ABA entities and ABA-affiliated organizations — marked the culmination of the Midyear Meeting.

The Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce recently announced the finalists for the 2014 Small Business Awards.

 Both recipients and finalists will be honored on March 19 during the Small Business Awards Luncheon celebrating small business and entrepreneurial excellence in Chattanooga.

Have you given much thought to collecting Social Security? The answer probably depends on how old you are — but whatever your age, you’ll want to consider the best way of incorporating Social Security benefits into your retirement income strategy.

You may not know it, but human trafficking is a problem in Tennessee. It’s such a problem that Rep. Jim Coley (R-Bartlett), chairmen of the House Civil Justice Subcommittee, has dedicated his career in office to fight against the crime in his home state.

The Greater Chattanooga Hospitality Association (GCHA) board of directors has become Tennessee’s first such organization to complete certification training for Human Trafficking awareness.

The GCHA has committed itself to become a signee of the Tourism Child Protection Code of Conduct, a certification given by End Child Prostitution and Trafficking, an international organization that fights human trafficking.

The other day, I heard a news story discussing whether the message out of the White House was sufficiently upbeat on the steps being taken toward fixing the economy. There was some discussion relating to the fact that the message was not all that upbeat, especially when dealing with the tough choices that must be made in order to put the economy back on track. The question ultimately centers on whether the illusion of an improving economy is more important to economic growth than the effect of making the hard choices required to actually fix the economy.

The winter storm last week might have temporarily slowed down the Scenic City, but it did not stop the men and women of the Chattanooga Fire Department from doing their job – even when snow made getting to the location of an emergency difficult.

Now finale to the shore!

Now, land and life, finale, and farewell!

Now Voyager depart! (much, much for thee is yet in store)

From “Leaves of Grass” by Walt Whitman

Last fall, my sister and I drove our mom to Grand Junction, Colo., to visit our other sister and all the family living out that way. And there are plenty of them – nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews, sister-in-laws, brother-in-laws and many, many others. As you can imagine, we have a great time when we all get together.

Things are looking up in the housing industry. Consumers have more confidence in the market, builders are building and selling again, and homeowners are ready to start sprucing up their existing houses.

These signs of an increasingly health home market are producing interest locally in the 48th Tri-State Home Show, hosted by the Home Builders Association of Greater Chattanooga. The annual event will take place Friday, Feb. 28 through Sunday, March 2 at the Chattanooga Convention Center.

The real estate industry is off to a great start so far this year. The same factors that catalyzed widespread market recovery in 2012 and 2013 are likely to continue in 2014, though perhaps at a more moderate pace. That’s not a bad thing, since the market is returning to a stable, healthy state. Potential trends to watch for in 2014 include increased seller activity, more new construction, and fewer foreclosures on the market. Inventory is another metric to watch this year.

Defined as: To approach strangers and beg for money or food.

This word has such a negative connotation, and rightfully so; it automatically brings up an image of a person in tattered clothing on a street corner asking everyone that walks by for change, followed by some sad story to appeal to your emotional side, which rarely works because we’ve become so cynical and jaded by our previous interactions with “panhandlers.” Many times, when networking is done wrong, it looks and smells a whole like panhandling.

Imagine going to a party and meeting two couples: Bernie and Joan, and Danny and Debbie. You immediately like the first pair; they’re crazy, funny, and a bit naughty. They bicker a lot, then make up, then embarrass everyone with a public display of affection, and finally have a knock-down, drag-out fight that ends in ultimatums and her slamming the exit door. As you’re returning to your car, you see them in the parking lot, making up. Definitely the life of the party.

One of my favorite sports shows – well, the only one I really like– is going on right now, and I don’t miss an episode! The Winter Olympics. This trivia puzzle is about the Olympics – see how well you score.

1. Approximately how many medals have been made for the Sochi Olympic games? 1,000; 1,300; 1,500; 1,900.

Not long ago, a family member was diagnosed with anemia. Although this doesn’t sound like a very threatening or worrisome disease, it can cause a myriad of health issues, and, if severe enough, hospitalization, which is exactly what happened to my loved one.

Friends around the campfire, and everybody’s high.” I cannot but think that John Denver was a prophet after all.

In January, Colorado’s long-running “grass”-roots campaign took another step, as retail marijuana shops started opening. This surely has solidified the movement begun by a 2012 statewide initiative. Fifty-five percent of voters approved a constitutional amendment that reads, in pertinent part,

Saturday, February 21

Three masked bandits held up and robbed passenger train No. 1 of the Alabama Great Southern near Attalla, Ala. They secured not less than $100,000 in registered mail. The train was crowded with passengers on their way to Mardi Gras in New Orleans. The bandits are still at large.

Saturday, February 22

The contract for construction of Hamilton County’s $2,000,000 nursing home is to be awarded by early summer, County Manager Raymond Proctor reported Friday. The architect’s plans are almost completed for the 195-bed nursing facility to be built on the county’s property at Silverdale.