News - Friday, April 26, 2019

Cast iron carries the weight of history. It remains largely made the same way it has been for hundreds of years, and short of violent neglect, cast iron cookware should last for generations, which makes the story of Lodge Manufacturing in South Pittsburg all the more incredible.

When the Highway 72 bypass cut between the town of South Pittsburg and the Tennessee River, Bob Kellerman knew they would need something special besides Lodge to lure folks into the charming town.

It wasn’t a “Eureka” moment, but more of a cornbread epiphany that led folks to create a festive homage to humble southern bread.

Jake Brown and wife Kelly were being selective as they searched for a new city to call home. After spending three years in Los Angeles while Brown was in law school, they were ready to move, but finding a town with good job prospects, an affordable cost of living and easy access to outdoor fun wasn’t easy.

Attorney Jerry Summers has been inducted into the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers.

During an April 12 ceremony in Philadelphia, Summers was named a fellow of the organization. Summers is the founder of the Chattanooga-based law firm Summers, Rufolo & Rodgers.

Women’s advocate and attorney Emily O’Donnell has joined Chattanooga-based Jelks Law as a part-time contract attorney, assisting clients with a variety of real estate, nonprofit and business issues.

O’Donnell will continue to serve as executive director of the Women’s Fund of Greater Chattanooga, the nonprofit advocacy organization she has led since 2017.

Tucked away on the very last page of a recent House version of the Education Savings Account (ESA) bill are 28 words: “A local board of education does not have authority to assert a cause of action, or intervene in any cause of action, challenging the legality of this part.”

Micronics Engineered Filtration Group and Team Title Services are the first companies to locate at the former industrial site at 1201 Riverfront Parkway.

Around 220 jobs are expected to be created by the firms.

Urban Story Ventures, which owns the 112-acre area, recently leased space to the businesses and site work is underway.

I’m excited that our annual Greater Chattanooga Realtors Open House Weekend is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday (April 27-28). It allows the public an opportunity to preview more than 100 homes in southeast Tennessee and northwest Georgia – and a chance to win prizes.

Spring is a great time to update the look and feel of your home, so designers and homebuilding professionals have compiled a short list of the design elements that are trending so far in 2019. Whether you’re looking for inspiration for your next home renovation or you’re ready to start browsing for a new home, these are the hottest trends to consider.

April 26: Stop by the Greater Chattanooga Realtors office to pick up complimentary balloons and consumer entry forms for their chance to win one of five $150 VISA cards.

April 29: Scan and email completed consumer entry forms to communications@gcar.net no later than 5 pm on Monday following Open House Weekend.

I’ll never forget the time I saw “God’s Not Dead” (2014) and heard an adult exclaim to the teenager sitting beside him, “See? Isn’t this better than ‘Iron Man?’”

“No, it isn’t,” the boy’s drained expression seemed to say.

Hamilton County Schools Superintendent Bryan Johnson and Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger have formed the community’s first Children’s Cabinet. The Children’s Cabinet brings together government agencies and child-serving community organizations to meet the needs of students in Hamilton County.

The owners of the Famous Dave’s restaurant on Gunbarrel Road have shuttered their business. The property owner terminated the restaurant’s lease in order to renovate the building and repurpose the location.

Famous Five Dining has offered employees positions in the company’s other restaurants and wedding catering clients will be serviced from another Tennessee Famous Dave’s.

Partnership for Families, Children and Adults will host its annual RISE fundraiser Friday, April 26, 7 p.m., at the Chattanoogan Hotel. The Hon. Rosemarie Aquilina will serve as the keynote speaker. Judge Aquilina encouraged over 150 women to speak out against U.S.A. Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar and sentenced Nassar to prison.

If UCLA’s purse strings were as loose as Tennessee’s when it came to contract buyouts, Rick Barnes would be in Southern California trying to resurrect a storied program.

The Bruins made a hard push to hire Barnes as their men’s basketball coach, but their inability to fork over $5 million to buy out his contract was a sign to Barnes that he should remain in Knoxville.

A smallish group of folks passed by on Church Street the other day holding signs declaring their opposition to the bust of Nathan Bedford Forrest in the Tennessee Capitol.

It’s what passes for a Confederate monument controversy in Nashville, Forrest being infamous to many for both his Rebel command officer status and his association with the Ku Klux Klan.

Car shoppers often spend too much. But the culprit isn’t necessarily shady dealership practices, deceptive advertising or plain old bad luck. Instead, many simply end up buying more vehicle than they actually need.

Avoiding this pitfall is more important than ever given the rising costs of purchasing a vehicle. The average new-car transaction price in March was $36,534, Edmunds sales data show. Auto loan interest rates aren’t helping, either. Interest rates averaged 6.36% for new cars and 9.5% for used cars. These rates are the highest they’ve been in a decade.

It’s almost impossible to save too much for retirement. After all, you could spend two, or even three, decades as a retiree. And retirement is not cheap – even if you maintain a relatively modest lifestyle, some of your expenses, especially those involving health care, may continue to rise over the years. Consequently, you will need several sources of reliable income – one of which might be a fixed annuity.