News - Friday, April 17, 2015

When Gerard Siciliano left his New Jersey home in 1970 to attend Seton Hall, he didn’t know what he wanted to do with his life. Instead, his motivations for going to college revolved around more immediate interests: getting out of the house, seeing the world, and meeting good looking women.  He accomplished all three. But college didn’t work for him.

The Greater Chattanooga Association of Realtors will host its second annual Open House Weekend on April 25 and 26. Hundreds of available homes in the Chattanooga and Northwest Georgia areas will be open to the public for viewing.

Girls Inc. will honor Judge Christie Sell during its 11th annual UnBought & UnBossed Awards Luncheon, to be held this year from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Thursday, April 23 at the Chattanooga Convention Center. Doors open at 11 a.m.

Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel elder law attorneys have partnered with the Red Bank Police Department and Lane Funeral Home as part of National Elder Law Month to provide a free community service event called Silver Safety, offering seniors free I.D. cards and educational resources in order to maximize safety and peace of mind.

With revenues close to $300 billion in 2013, the remodeling market has nearly fully recovered from the downturn that began in 2008, says Kermit Baker, senior research fellow at the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University.

Your home’s curb appeal is the first chance to impress potential buyers. And later this month, you’ll have that chance during Greater Chattanooga Open House Weekend (April 25-26). Whether buyers are wowed by a beautiful and well-maintained yard or are repelled by dirty exterior walls and an overgrown lawn can significantly impact your home’s sales price if you’re thinking of selling it this spring.

Ooltewah is center stage for the New South’s automotive manufacturing world. With Volkswagen’s 3,200 employees, the addition of 400 positions at Amazon, and Tier 1 Supplier Plastic Omnium filling 300 jobs, this community which was named by the Cherokees as “resting place by the water” is now operating at high speed. Along with restaurants, life style centers, and planned senior living neighborhoods, professional offices are also moving to the area to support blossoming industries and their employees.

Realtors will be in Washington, D.C., May 11 through 16 to attend the Realtor Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo, where they will advocate for policies that protect commercial and residential property ownership and investment and advance the real estate industry. Nearly 8,500 Realtors and guests are expected to attend the meetings.

Monday evening, just hours after holding a press conference in which he discussed multiple shootings over the weekend, Chattanooga Police Chief Fred Fletcher arrived at the East Lake Youth and Family Development Center and began shaking hands.

Hamilton County has reaffirmed its status as the only county in Tennessee to receive a Triple-A bond rating from three bond rating agencies: Moody’s, Fitch, and Standard and Poor’s.

Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger extended his gratitude to the county’s financial team for its continuing efforts to retain the ranking. “Our sincere thanks to Al Kiser, Lee Brouner, and their financial team for their hard work since 2011 to maintain the prestigious AAA bond rating by the three premier bond rating agencies,” Coppinger said.

This week, the City updated its ChattaData site to include data related to job creation and investments made by companies receiving incentives. This data, which shows over a billion dollars of economic investment in Chattanooga over the last two years, includes the number of jobs created or retained as a result of each PILOT agreement, a map showing the locations of companies receiving a PILOT agreement within Chattanooga and Hamilton County, and the investment that occurred as a result of a PILOT agreement in each year.

April 24 has been designated Tax Freedom Day for 2015. Tax Freedom Day, calculated by the Tax Foundation, is the day when the nation as a whole has earned enough money to pay off its total tax bill for the year. So it may be a good time to review your own situation to determine if you can “free” yourself from some investment-related taxes in the future.

The Hunter Museum of American Art is showcasing several new diverse and fascinating exhibits, including one of the most significant exhibitions the museum has showcased in the last several years.

Hunter Museum is showcasing six of Los Angeles native Gajin Fujita’s large-scale paintings and several related drawings. Embracing two worlds, Fujita’s works combine elements from traditional Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock prints with elements of urban street art. In these works, graffiti, spray paint, stencils, and markers mix with classically applied gold leaf and acrylic paint. Ukiyo-e were created from the 17th to 19th centuries, and originally depicted courtesans and kabuki actors. Over time, they came to feature characters from Japanese history and folklore. Fujita uses the same subjects, but his samurai and geisha take on the LA urban scene with references to gangs, art history, sports teams, and American pop culture setting the stage.

Some of you might consider classifying movies based on their appeal to a specific gender to be sexist or politically incorrect. But sometimes, that’s the easiest way to describe a film. Take “The Longest Ride,” for example. It’s a chick flick through and through.

America’s Navy is coming to Chattanooga to participate in the city’s 68th annual Armed Forces Day Parade and Celebration.

The United States Navy Band will march in a parade beginning 10 a.m. on Friday, May 1 in downtown Chattanooga. Adm. Jonathan Greenert, the Navy’s chief of naval operations, will represent the Navy as the parade’s reviewing officer.

"Once again, as Eli swung around the dark trees and onto the lawn, the children fled.” Philip Roth, in “Eli, the Fanatic” (1959).

Eli means “my god” in Hebrew. There are some famous Elis in history: Whitney, Lilly, and Wallach come to mind. Wikipedia says Eli was the “43rd most popular given name [in the United States] as of 2013.”

Lunchtime Jazz at Miller Plaza

Jazzanooga is hosting the Brown Bag Lunch Music Series on Fridays this month. The free concerts are taking place at the Waterhouse Pavilion from 11:30 to 1 p.m. Nikki “Slow Jam Ellis” is scheduled to perform on April 17, while Shane Morrow is slated to take the stage on April 24.

One day not long ago, I was leisurely strolling through my favorite health food market. I wasn’t in any particular hurry, so I was able to stop and check out a few things instead of doing my usual hectic run-through, picking up only what was on my quickly scribbled list.

Again looking through some of mom’s old keepsakes, I came across a small, typed four-page note actually addressed to me and dated May 28, 1957. I had been in the world 11 days. At the top was: Memo from the Desk of… C.M. Reves, with a black and orange sticker of the Hendrix College Warriors banner. 

I love my state this time of the year! You can tell you’re in Tennessee when the days begin to warm and the trees change from dark brown to colorful pastels, as well as by the number of festivals being held across our Volunteer State. Spring is a wonderful time to celebrate the changing of the season after Ol’ Man Winter ran us all indoors for the past several months. It also gives us rural types a good reason to get out and enjoy a lot of celebrations that relate to numerous things.

It was just after Christmas in 2013 when I got the itch to repaint my home. My children were going to be gone four days, which signaled the perfect time to paint inside. As I said though, it was the week after Christmas, so hubby made sure that if I was going to take it on, there had to be a budget. 

1. What triggered the legendary feud between the Hatfields and the McCoys in 1873? The love between Hatfield’s daughter and McCoy’s son; the alleged theft of a pig; the raid of the McCoy’s watermelon patch; the McCoys trespassing on the Hatfield’s land.