News - Friday, April 22, 2011

Nearly twice as many women in the United States die of heart disease, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases as from all forms of cancer, including breast cancer, according to the American Heart Association.

The mission of the Go Red for Women Luncheon is to educate women about their risk of heart disease and stroke, to celebrate the leaders in the community that bolster this effort, and combine the seriousness of the message behind the program with the enjoyment of this event.

According to the Admini-strative Office of the U.S. Bank-ruptcy Courts, filings were up 32 percent in 2008, and have been on a steady incline since then. The bankruptcy concept has been around since the days of Genghis Khan, and serves now to help debtors more than punish them. Yet what is making bankruptcy more and more prevalent in this day and age?

My law firm, Riezman Berger, is based in St Louis, Missouri. We do work, however, throughout the region and the nation. A few weeks back, I had to drive to a meeting in our neighboring state of Kansas. 

 I only possess a Missouri’s driver’s license. Given the rarity with which I need to drive in Kansas and the limited duration of this particular trip, it seemed the inconvenience of studying and testing for a Kansas driver’s license outweighed the benefits. So, I instead asked my friend from Kansas (who is licensed to drive in that state) to support my request for a temporary Kansas license. It would be valid only for my one trip, but it would serve my needs. 

 This year marks the 41st observation of Earth Day in this country, with numerous special events scheduled on April 22. It began in the spring of 1970 when I was completing my senior year of college, which seems like only yesterday. I know, you’ve heard that old line before, but it does bring back memories of a time when the thoughts of worrying about the planet was not that big of a deal to many of us who had low numbers in the army’s draft system. Only a certain few were involved with Earth Day, and back in those days, they were considered to have a little different agenda than the average citizen.

One of my readers said that I needed to share a bit of comedy in my column to raise the spirits of the folks back home. Well, I don’t know if I can do that, but I’m willing to take aim at it. So wherever you call home, I hope this uplifts your spirits!

In an unprecedented move in the fight against cyber crime, the FBI has disrupted an international cyber fraud operation by seizing the servers that had infected as many as two million computers with malicious software.

Botnets are networks of virus-infected computers controlled remotely by an attacker. They can be used to steal funds, hijack identities, and commit other crimes. The botnet in this case involves the potent Coreflood virus, a key-logging program that allows cyber thieves to steal personal and financial information by recording unsuspecting users’ every keystroke.

Pedestrian struck on college campus by drunk driver.

Boston, Mass. – The plaintiff pedestrian, now a 23-year-old female, was a Boston-area college student when she was injured on the border of the campus on Dec. 6, 2009.

The plaintiff was struck by a motor vehicle operated by the defendant, who was under the influence of alcohol. Because of the seriousness of her injuries, the plaintiff has no recollection of the accident.

John Doe, alias a Citizen and resident of Hamilton County, Tennessee v. Mark Gwyn, Director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, et al.

Hamilton County  –  This declaratory judgment action challenges the constitutionality of the Tennessee Sexual Offender and Violent Sexual Offender Registration, Verification and Tracking Act, Tenn Code Ann. § 40-39-201 et seq, on the grounds that plaintiff should not be required to register because his criminal convictions occurred in other states prior to the passage of the Tennessee Act, as applied to him. The trial judge declared that plaintiff was required to register under the Act, and plaintiff has appealed.

Oh the things you can learn at four in the morning.  Kathy was up watching a program about a scientist who was doing some sort of behavioral and social interaction study on monkeys. She wasn’t positive what kind of monkeys they were, “The ones with the long teeth,” she told me. I nodded and thought to myself that they all have long teeth.

[Ed. note: Judge Vic is on vacation this week. This column originally ran in October 2009.]

For the past two weeks I’ve quoted from “Real Lawyers Do Change Their Briefs” (1989), a book that’ll be 20 years old in late November.

I sure am glad spring is here. The rain showers are increasingly showing up, but so are flip-flops, ice-cream trucks and sundresses. Before the humidity of summer reaches us, this is a wonderful time to enjoy the offerings of the local parks, bike trails, and especially the warm weather sporting events.

A coworker told me about the Wye Mountain Daffodil Festival one morning while we waited for the company coffee maker to produce the coveted magic potion. He told me it was just past Pinnacle Mountain and a great local event to check out. I’m always up for an outing, and if it’s local and supports hard working people, I’m all for it.

“The First Ladies”

By Feather Schwartz Foster

Canada 176 pages,

includes bibliography

Why is it that you never mess up when nobody’s watching?

You know how it goes: you can do something a dozen times flawlessly, as long as you’re by yourself. You are the ‘Supreme High Master’ at whatever it is - until you have an audience.

By Kay Bona

1. Who was the first Postmaster general of the United States? George C. Scott; Mr. Postal; George Washington; Samuel Osgood

2. Who were the candidates the last time the presidential election went to the House of Representatives? Ronald Regan and Quayle; Bill Clinton and Ross Perot; Andrew Jackson and John Quincy Adams; George Bush and Mr. Ed

As David Crockett, director of the Office of Sustainability/Chattanooga Green, describes the work his office does for the community, he draws a triangle in the air, punctuating each end with the words “economic,” “social” and “environmental,” the three ends of the triangle that the Chattanooga Green office works for and within.

The battle of the bulge does not belong to man alone. According to Dr. Kevin Ade, veterinarian at Middle Valley Animal Hospital in Hixson, Tenn., more than half of all dogs and cats in the U.S. are overweight. And, as with their human counterparts, extra pounds can introduce Max or Tiger to a multitude of health issues, including heart, kidney, and liver disease.

Heidi Yanna lived an idyllic life until she became a Realtor. Stories about her childhood create a picture of a wondrous time, and she not only enjoyed working in sales prior to getting into real estate, she had FUN. But events that took place following 9/11 pushed her life in a new direction, and today, she has a new career listing and selling residential properties.

Affiliate Broker Ching-Ching Chow has developed a reputation as a miracle worker.

Since launching her real estate career in 2003, her clients, who are mostly Chinese living in the greater Chattanooga area, have thanked her for helping them to achieve peace and harmony in their homes, and success in their places of business. But nothing has topped the family that thanked her for helping them to have a boy.

Buyers, sellers, the time for hesitation is over for both of you. Home sales are rising, inventories are shrinking, and even though home values fell dramatically in the last few years, the good news is that houses are now more affordable than they have been at any time during the last twenty years.