News - Friday, March 10, 2017

Susan Gilmore’s day begins while the rest of the world is sleeping. During the remnants of the night, before the sun touches the horizon, she’s at her computer, bringing to life characters that exist only in her mind.

As a published author with three novels to her credit and a fourth in the works, Gilmore is protective of this time. While her home and the surrounding city is quiet, she is alone with her thoughts and creative juices can flow.

For 90 minutes on March 3, members of the Chattanooga Bar Association set aside the practice of law to commemorate the judges and attorneys who died last year.

Sixteen members of the bar passed away in 2016, making it a year of many difficult blows for the legal community in Hamilton County.

I had never eaten ribs while avoiding the icy stare of Christopher Walken. But as I plowed through one smoky bite after another, I knew the actor was looking directly at me. The trick was not minding.

I was sitting in a booth at Moe’s Original Bar-B-Cue on Market Street working my way through a six-rib platter and enjoying the classic rock tunes playing at just the right volume in the background. John Fogerty was singing about rollin’ down a river when I cracked.

As Fall Creek Falls folks celebrate a state decision to postpone park privatization, the question is whether public opposition or failure to follow long-standing state protocol led to the plug-pulling.

Make no mistake, people in Van Buren and Bledsoe counties around rural Spencer are thrilled to find out Gov. Bill Haslam’s administration is stopping – some say indefinitely – the request for proposals from private vendors to handle demolition of the park’s old inn and the construction of a $22 million inn.

Take a moment, if you would, to study the smiling face of Atlanta Braves rookie outfielder Adam Walker.

He is, by all accounts, what he seems to be at first glance: cheerful, bright, a good teammate, a practicing Christian – someone you wouldn’t mind having on your team or in your clubhouse. His mother, Glynis, described Adam, an only child, as “a young man with an old man’s soul.” Well, long ago a phrase entered our lexicon that a picture was worth 1,000 words.

Atlanta-based data center services firm dcBLOX has opened a facility in downtown Chattanooga. The new facility is the second data center location for the company, which secured more than $15 million in funding in 2016.

dcBLOX selected Chattanooga because of its smart utility grid, proximity to major fiber carriers and closeness to Atlanta, company officials say.

Chattanooga attorney Tracy Cox has been inducted as interim municipal court judge of Signal Mountain. The appointment makes her the town’s first female judge.

Cox will finish the term vacated by Judge Mark Rothberger, who has retired. She will serve for two years until the next election to choose a judge for a full eight-year term.

For over 30 years, Coldwell Banker Pryor Realty has worked with many of the top relocation companies in its efforts to serve the real estate needs of its clients worldwide.

This month, Cartus Broker Network will be honoring Pryor Realty with its 2016 ilver Award for Excellence .

The Chattanooga Mortgage Bankers Association has released its list of its top producers for 2016. The criteria for the production awards included Gold ($10 million), Platinum ($15 million) and Diamond ($20 million). The recipients in each category were:

Diane Joyner of Rock Spring, Georgia, has become affiliated with Crye­Leike’s Ft. Oglethorpe branch office.

As a Realtor, Joyner serves the real estate needs of buyers and sellers in and around Walker and Catoosa counties in Georgia and Hamilton County in Tennessee.

For some people, life is over before it starts. For others, it goes on for too long. The first glimpse of the tired and broken Wolverine in “Logan” suggests he should have died many years ago.

His body wouldn’t let him, though. It stitched every wound, spit out every bullet and rebuilt the ruined parts again and again. Some would consider this to be a gift. But for Logan, it merely prolonged the battle and the slow march to death.

Spring has sprung early, which means it’s time to get to work on the lawn. After all, curb appeal is king in residential real estate!

A good first impression means everything to a prospective home buyer who’s looking at both the appeal as well as how hard it may be to keep up once they’re the owners. A neglected or overgrown landscape might give the impression that it’s more work than a novice can handle.

Feeling inspired to rejuvenate your home? Even if you’re not ready to move walls or build an addition, you can still breathe some new life into what you have. Here are a few easy updates you can do to make your house seem instantly new to you.

Some of your expenses might decline when you retire, but health care is not likely to be one of them.

In fact, your health care costs during retirement might well increase, so you may want to plan for these costs well before you leave the work force.

Habitat for Humanity is opening a second ReStore in Ooltewah, a 21,000-square foot store at 9408 Apison Pike scheduled to open April 21.

Habitat’s ReStore operates as a retail store, accepting donations of new and gently used household, furniture, hardware and building items from individuals and businesses in the community. Goods are then sold to the public at a reduced cost, usually 50 to 70 percent of the original price.

Green|spaces is partnering with the City of Chattanooga’s Department of Economic & Community Development to expand the work of its Empower Chattanooga program. Over the past two years, Empower has taught more than 1,000 renters and home owners’ low and no-cost ways to lower their utility bills.

Tri-State Home Show

The Home Builders Association of Greater Chattanooga will host its annual Tri-State Home Show March 10-12 at the Chattanooga Convention Center. Sponsored by EPB Fiber Optics, the event will feature over 500 booths offering products and services for home construction and renovation. Visitors will be able to talk with experts about their remodeling projects or home designs and register to win products.