News - Friday, March 29, 2013

On May 1, the Chattanooga Bar Association will present as its featured speaker the Honorable Lamar Alexander of the U.S. Senate. 

Senator Alexander was born in Maryville, the son of a kindergarten teacher and an elementary school principal.  He is a seventh-generation Tennessean.

With efforts expected in the legislature again this year to move public notices from newspapers to government-controlled websites, Tennesseans should be concerned about the implications of that change for them and their right to know.

There are obvious reasons why these notices need to be distributed as broadly as possible and delivered by the most independent and reliable source available.  Statewide and sometimes obscure local government websites don’t fit the bill.

Special to Hamilton County Herald

State Rep. Mike Turner (D-Nashville) has a political lineage of which he is proud.

As a 4-year-old, he recalls sitting on his father’s shoulders and campaigning for former U.S. Sen. Albert Gore Sr.

Ellen Simak, chief curator for the Hunter Museum of American Art, is retiring after 25 years of service.

Simak joined the Hunter Museum in August of 1988. In her time at the Hunter Museum, she has helped purchase a number of significant works. The first purchase in her tenure was the George Segal sculpture, “Couple on Two Benches,” which was the inaugural acquisition from the Hunter Acquisition Endowment fund set in place by the Benwood Foundation. One of her recent purchases, a fine painting by African American artist Lois Mailou Jones, was acquired from a 2011 traveling show of the artist’s work which will finally return to the Hunter this summer at the end of the exhibit tour just as Simak is leaving.

I remember opening my first office. It was nothing but an 8’x10’ room with a desk and a couple of chairs. I had nothing but a used computer and a fake plant for decorations. I purchased the desk for under $100 at a local used furniture dealer. I don’t remember where the plant came from; I think I may have taken it from home. The desk was made of pressed wood and was all messed up on the working side, but it looked alright from the perspective of the client. A very good friend made me a wooden sign that I put over the door. I had no idea what I was getting into.

State Representative Mike Carter (R–Ooltewah) has officially passed his first bill in the Tennessee House of Representatives. House Bill 76, which allows a representative of the sheriff and county mayor to serve on the governing body of an emergency communications district, will now travel to the desk of Governor Bill Haslam to be signed into law. (TN House of Representatives)

Miller & Martin attorney Nick Whittenburg has been elected by the Mid-South Commercial Law Institute to serve as Board Member.

For more than 30 years, Mid-South Commercial Law Institute has conducted annual CLE seminars on commercial and bankruptcy law, held in Nashville, Tennessee. The seminar panel includes leading scholars, jurists, and practitioners, and the content is authoritative, comprehensive and timely, and the breadth of topics covered includes bankruptcy, insolvency and restructuring, creditors’ rights, finance, and commercial litigation.

This article was originally published March 30, 2012.

I was talking with a girlfriend not long ago who has been suffering with chronic pain for years. After many different treatments, therapies and alternative medicine techniques, she had finally found the only thing that worked for her – a daily pain patch.

In a Paul Greenberg column I met the word “mitteleuropaish” for the first time. Greenberg (winner of a Pulitzer in 1969) was discussing a recently released book, Kafka: The Office Writings. He wrote, “A combination attorney, actuary and all-around bureaucrat, [Kafka] seems to have carried out his duties with a combination of mitteleuropaisch flair and German efficiency.”

Last Saturday was a mini-reunion of sorts as some of my classmates got together at Oaklawn Park. After a great day of reminiscing, I dreamt that night of my days as a Catholic High Rocket, back in 1975.

My brief moment of glory did come however, when, as a sophomore, I had two receptions for touchdowns. Of course it was for the sophomore team, but hey, even Jerry Rice started somewhere.

This column was originally published March 25, 2011.

Mandarin oranges are Clementines, or “little oranges” with segments that have a flavor suitable for salads, vegetables, main dishes, and desserts. Although mostly used in canned form, you have probably eaten a fresh mandarin orange and not even known it.  Maybe you have noticed Clementines in the grocery the last few months. They are, surprisingly, a wonderful, juicy little fruit in the orange family.

The Tennessee Aquarium is celebrating a tourism milestone and a new accolade ranking the attraction one of the best in the nation.

Nicole Brooks was surprised to learn that her trip to Chattanooga would turn into a giant celebration as she became the 20 millionth guest to visit the Tennessee Aquarium. Brooks was traveling from Indianapolis, Indiana, with her children Landen and Olivia and Stuart Danenberger, to Florida. “Olivia loves penguins and turtles, so I searched online and when I saw the Tennessee Aquarium’s great reviews, we decided to plan a stopover in Chattanooga,” Brooks said.

Numerous metropolitan statistical areas, micropolitan statistical areas and counties that were among the fastest-growing last year were located in, or at least near, the Great Plains and West Texas, according to U.S. Census Bureau population estimates released today.

Dear EarthTalk: 

What does the budget sequester that recently took hold mean for the environment? ~ Jane Burgos, Los Angeles, CA

The sequester that went into effect March 1 is a budget measure that cuts federal spending across the board to the tune of $85 billion, meaning every federal agency is affected and must reduce discretionary spending. Indeed, the cuts are already having a negative impact on everything from air quality monitoring to extreme weather response capability to staffing at national parks.

This column was originally published March 25, 2011.

1. During the 1990 season, this team rolled to a 29-5 regular season record before annihilating the competition in the NCAA Tournament. Led by head coach Jerry Tarkanian and his “amoeba defense”, which team walloped Duke 103-73 in the championship game? Georgia Tech; UNLV; Fresno State; Arkansas.

Review 1 – “Admission” by Molly Rector

Reading a synopsis of Admission, starring Tina Fey and Paul Rudd, it might seem like a film that stretches itself too thin – but overall, this is a dramedy that defies its (relatively few) cliché moments and pokes self-conscious fun at the stereotypes into which its characters fit.

Saturday, March 30

Tom Crutchfield became president of the Chattanooga Bar Association and John Stophel was chosen president-elect at the association’s annual meeting Saturday morning at the courthouse. Crutchfield succeeds Robert Kirk Walker.

Saturday, March 29, 1913

Miss Mary Lynn Carter has been chosen sponsor for Jonathan W. Bachman Camp, Sons of Confederate Veterans for the Confederate Reunion in May. Her maid of honor will be Miss Margaret Saunders.

Mrs. Barbara Beene Raulston, mother of Postmaster W. Scott Raulston, celebrated her 84^th birthday at the home of her son, R.O. Raulston on Dodds Ave. She is a member of a genuinely pioneer family of Sequatchie Valley. She has the distinction of having 116 descendants.

Sunday, March 31

Easter Sunrise Service at the National Cemetery

The Salvation Army will celebrate Easter with its traditional Easter Sunrise Service at the National Cemetery, located at 1200 Bailey Avenue. For the last 36 years, The Salvation Army has partnered with the National Cemetery for the Easter Sunrise Service. All are invited to worship at 7:30 a.m. as the sun rises over Chattanooga. Music will be provided by the internationally acclaimed Jericho Brass band. The guest speaker, Salvation Army Area Commander Major Algerome Newsome, will deliver the message. The Salvation Army is expecting an attendance of more than 300.