News - Friday, March 4, 2016

Attorney Joe Simpson has the kind of smile that can break down walls. It doesn’t stop where most smiles do, it engages his entire face, and it’s there already before he says hello or shakes someone’s hand. It’s genuine and sincere, too, which can be a source of comfort and encouragement to his clients.

The Chattanooga Bar Association (CBA) held its first membership social of 2016 on Wednesday, Feb. 24 at FirstBank, one of the CBA’s primary sponsors. The event featured food with Chattanooga origins, including Krystals, Moon Pies, Tennessee Moonshine Cakes, and Krispy Kreme donuts. 

 “I’m uphauled!” read the note. “Anyone with a social conscious would be ashamed. People are always ready to blame things on an escape goat, but for all intensive purposes, it’s a doggy-dog world out there. The underline meaning is clear, but don’t take a fence; this is just my too cents worth. Anyway it’s a mute point.”

For many people, the concept of retirement can be scary, both emotionally and financially. If you, too, feel somewhat anxious about what awaits you, you might feel more comfortable in knowing that, depending on where you work, you might be able to retire in stages.

Keller Williams Downtown (KWD) celebrated what team leader Nathan Brown called “an incredible 2015” with an awards luncheon at The Mill Wednesday, Feb. 24.

During the event, Brown announced that the office had $571,417,393, or over a half billion dollars, in gross closed income (GCI) in 2015. The average

Over the years, I’ve seen several qualities in the industry that define a good Realtor. In sharing these traits with you, I’ve also included research from the National Association of Realtors to help you find the right Realtor for your specific needs. As you navigate the waters of selling and buying property, seek out these three characteristics:

Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger demonstrated his physical prowess as he opened the Home Builders Association of Greater Chattanooga (HBAGC)’s 50th Annual Tri-State Home Show Friday, Feb. 26 at the Chattanooga Convention Center by sawing through a two-by-four board. “Get a picture of this, because I don’t do a lot of manual labor,” Coppinger joked before thanking local home builders for their contributions to the Chattanooga community.

The wave of Baby Boomers in Chattanooga and the surrounding area is generating a strong demand for remodelers and builders who specialize in making home modifications that create safer, more convenient living spaces.

Tennessee Housing Development Agency (THDA) has reduced the interest rate on Great Choice Home Loans.

THDA developed the Great Choice Home Loan program to make homeownership more accessible and affordable to middle income Tennesseans.

Occasionally, I’ll see a bad movie and marvel over the appalling execution of what seemed like a good idea. “It sounded good on paper,” I’ll think. “Gods of Egypt,” a fantasy film featuring Ancient Egyptian deities, gets no such pass. It’s every bit as awful as it sounds.

A multi-media art exhibit that explores the concept of dressing is open at the Jewish Cultural Center through Friday, March 11.

The exhibit is free and open to the public. Gallery hours are from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and 9 a.m.-4 p.m. on Friday.

The Mid-South Symphonic Band will celebrate the first day of spring with a free concert.

The event will take place Sunday, March 20 at 3 p.m. at the Volkswagen Conference Center, located at 8001 Volkswagen Dr.

Sculpture Park will celebrate its grand opening Friday, April 8 from 6-10 p.m. and Saturday, April 9, from 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Chattanooga’s large-scale sculpture park which will be open to the public, free of charge, seven days a week starting April 8.

The Senate Education Committee approved two bills this week sponsored by Sen. Todd Gardenhire (R-Chattanooga) to help law enforcement and firefighters.

Under Senate Bill 1719, full-time law enforcement officers and firefighters will be eligible for enrollment in one course per term at any state-operated institution of higher learning without paying tuition charges, maintenance fees, student activity fees, or registration fees.

GIGTANK, a local startup accelerator and annual production of The Company Lab (CO.LAB), is relaunching as a year-round program May 16.

The accelerator, which supports entrepreneurs developing applications and business models that leverage gigabit networks, will now go by GIGTANK 365 and add focus areas in 3D printing, software defined networking (SDN), and healthcare.

I am getting so anxious for spring! I have cleaned my patio and garage, dumped out all unusable dirt from my pots, and now I am just waiting for the flowers to hit the nurseries!

Even though we had a mild winter, I am ready for the azaleas and tulips. Some buttercups and forsythia have already started their beautiful, showy blooms and that has made me even more excited.

I’ve been reminiscing a lot about 1975, which was the year I graduated from high school. In April I’ll have a chance to once again reconnect with some of those classmates when we descend on Oaklawn.

Just in case one of those awkward silences arises (one won’t) due to the fact that we not have seen each other for a bit, I thought I’d refresh myself on the topics of the day from 41 years ago.

Saturday, March 5, 1966

J.R. McGuff, vice president of the Tennessee Hospital Service Association, has been named general chairman of the 1966 Easter Seal Campaign in the Greater Chattanooga area. Ralph E. Schweickart, president of the Hamilton County Committee Easter Seal Society for Crippled Children and Adults, announced.

Saturday, March 3, 1916

For the first time in 25 years, three brothers accidentally met in St. Louis at the “Preparedness Congress of National Defense” for the mayors of the United States. Mayor Jesse Littleton of Chattanooga ran into his brother, Martin W. Littleton, former Congressman of New York, and then they were astonished to run into another brother, Charles of Fort Worth, Texas. These are three brothers of the famous Kingston Littleton family of 19 children, 15 of whom were boys.