News - Friday, March 30, 2012

Miller & Martin last week announced that John David Spiller, Jr., has joined the firm as an associate in its Chattanooga office. Spiller joins the firm’s corporate department, where he’ll practice in the areas of corporate finance; mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures; and securities.

Students and professors from Lee University and Southern Adventist University have joined together in a “poster-blitz” to spread Second Life of Chattanooga’s anti-sex-trafficking message. Second Life is a non-profit organization dedicated to ending human sex trafficking in Southeast Tennessee by creating awareness that drives action.

The Krystal Company last week announced the sale of the 80-year-old hamburger chain to Argonne Capital Group, a private investment firm based in Atlanta, Ga., for an undisclosed amount. Krystal announced late last summer that it had retained Piper Jaffray to market the Chattanooga-based chain for a potential sale.

The Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce on March 21 hosted a business expo at the Chattanooga Convention Center. Dozens of businesses displayed products and distributed information and freebies during the daylong event. Above, h2b creative, a local public relations firm with a booth at the expo, dresses up and takes a free photo of a visitor at their booth. (Photo by David Laprad)

Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and Education Commissioner Kevin Huffman recently announced that three new Tennessee schools focused on Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) will open in Hamilton, Putnam and Sullivan counties.

The new schools will be funded through Tennessee’s Race to the Top grant award and will be part of the education department’s statewide STEM Innovation Network, designed to increase student participation and interest in those subjects.

The community is invited to join Ensemble Theatre of Chattanooga for their original piece, “The Living Newspaper” through April 7. Performances take place Fridays at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays at 2 p.m. and Sundays at 6:30 p.m. at St. Andrews Center, located at 1918 Union Avenue.

Saturday, March 31

The 10th Annual Chattanooga Regional Science Fair closed Friday, a record of 22,500 persons having viewed the exhibits during the three-day event. The fair, sponsored by The Chattanooga Times and University of Chattanooga, was directed by Mrs. Martha Davis and Robert J. Sudderth.

Realtor Tanja Hollowell speaks three languages, but she doesn’t know the meaning of the word “fear.” Consider, for example, her lack of reservations about starting a real estate business in the current economy:

“Everyone said, ‘How can you start a business in this economy?’ I was thinking that while it’s bad for some people, it’s good for the people who were never able to buy a house when prices and interest rates were high,” she says with her native German accent. “Maybe I’m a little bit arrogant, but I knew I could sell homes.”

Gang violence is affecting the quality of life in Chattanooga.  The topic of gang violence drew dozens of Realtors to the March 21 GCAR Information Gathering, held at the Greater Chattanooga Association of Realtors.  Chattanooga Area Gang Task Force coordinators Boyd Patterson (far right) and Fred Houser spoke with the Association’s members about what the city is doing to bring gang violence under control and what agents can do to help, such as keeping an eye out for gang activity while driving through Chattanooga’s neighborhoods and taking underprivileged youth under their wings.  House told those in attendance, “We need you.” Patterson said to watch for the launch of an upcoming Gang Task Force Web site through which local citizens will be able to communicate with the task force. (Photo by David Laprad)

I’m a doctor. You didn’t know? Well, my law degree says “Juris Doctoris” (or at least I think it does. I’m pretty sure it’s in a box in the basement growing mold and looking like a third grader’s science project.) I’m also pretty sure that’s Latin for Doctor of Law, and not Doctorer of Juries, which would sound really bad. So I might not be a medical doctor, but I’m a doctor nonetheless.  If you don’t believe me, you should see my student loans. The balance on those is enough to make any doctor cringe.

Cue the theme from Chariots of Fire. Now picture this: A 14-year-old boy is sprinting down a tree-lined Kentucky road. He’s tall and lean, and his legs are a blur as he picks up speed and races ahead of a car intended to ensure the safety of a dozen runners. He disappears from sight as he rounds a curve, and before long, he crosses the finish line at his high school, earning first place in the one-mile run on Field Day. He shouts, raises his arms in victory and gives his girlfriend a sweaty hug.

The Elite Eight was overshadowed by another sports story – the first win in a while, some 30 months, for Tiger. It was, however, in his mind, not the first win in that period. He had beaten a strong field at the 2011 Chevron World when he drilled a 12-foot birdie putt on the final hole to win by one. But that was not a PGA official event, so it wasn’t until last Sunday at Bay Hill that he was “officially” back.

A friend recently posted a picture on Facebook where she poked fun at herself for wearing entirely different shoes to work. When she realized that she had done so, she laughed and showed everyone.

During the cowboy boot craze of the ’80s, I did likewise, noticing that I had a shark skin boot on my left and bullhide leather on my right. I was relatively new at a newspaper in another state, and when I realized what I’d done, I immediately made an excuse for going back to my house to retrieve something.

Upon seeing “The Hunger Games,” I was unable to say whether or not the book is better, as I haven’t read it. However, I did say, “The book has GOT to be better.” Not that the movie is “Twilight” bad; it simply doesn’t scale the cinematic heights of the “Harry Potter” films.

“The death tax does nothing but punish small businessmen and farmers building for the next generation. Unlike Washington, Tennessee plans for the future. I look forward to making sure the death tax meets the reaper,” were the comments of Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey after House Bill 3760 passed the House Finance, Ways and Means subcommittee recently and headed for the full committee. The bill increases the maximum allowable inheritance tax exemption from $1 million to $1.25 million, with plans to increase the exemption more in coming years.

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – It’s crossword tourney time again, and here I am at the 35th installment of the world’s oldest event of its kind – the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament. Last year, I wrote that after puzzles 1-7, “last year’s winner, Dan Feyer, was in first, with last year’s third-pace finisher, Anne Erdmann, and five-time winner, Tyler Hinman, on his tail.”

Chattanooga is bursting at the seams with excitement over news that Legendary Entertainment is preparing to shoot a movie about the life of Baseball Hall-of-Famer Jackie Robinson at Engel Stadium in May. The upcoming film, “42,” would be the first since “Water for Elephants” in 2010 to bring the glamour of Hollywood to Scenic City. The chance to rub elbows with Harrison Ford aside, the production would also bring a boost to the local economy.

Republicans are nearing the finish, which could be a good or bad thing depending on who your candidate is. Mitt Romney is still in the lead after picking up wins in Illinois and Puerto Rico. It looks impossible for Rick Santorum to catch the former Massachusetts governor, who has nearly half of the delegates needed to secure the nomination.

The BASF Chattanooga Site is sponsoring a team of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga students in the Chemical Engineering Department’s Chem-E-Car challenge. The American Institute of Chemical Engineers hosts the competition each year, challenging students to work in teams to develop a chemically powered vehicle, called the Chem-E-Car, that must meet specified operational criteria. The UTC students named their car “Scrappy” after the school’s mascot and used element designations from the periodic table to provide a creative logo design. The team’s car will compete against others in the regional Chem-E-Car competition at Clemson University on Saturday, March 31.

This past week, I was lucky enough to tag along behind my husband to a business meeting in Seattle. It was a quick trip – we flew up there, the next day, he was in the meeting, and then we flew back.

Seattle is a long flight – especially when the trip is so quick. But I don’t regret a minute of it because while Don was in his meeting all day, I was out roaming the country in a Jeep and taking wonderful pictures.