News - Friday, April 6, 2018

Schools across Tennessee are having a difficult time hiring and keeping school bus drivers to ferry nearly 882,000 public school children to and from class every day.

Low pay, split schedules, background checks and drug testing, life-and-death responsibility for children, bad roads and traffic jams and other safety concerns limit the candidate pool.

It’s not that hard to light a fire under some state lawmakers, but the University of Tennessee FOCUS Act raised blood pressure considerably in the House of Representatives before barely passing with 51 votes.

Most of the ire was directed toward Gov. Bill Haslam, who has fewer than nine months left in his final term but would appoint the entire 12-member board by July before leaving office.

After going 25 years without a change in personnel, the Chapter 7 trustees panel for the southern division of the Eastern District of Tennessee was looking long in the tooth. Until recently, Chattanooga attorney Douglas Johnson was the newest member, and the U.S. trustee for the region tapped him for the job in 1993.

Jeff Cunningham has joined the firm of Miller & Martin as a member, bringing additional depth to the firm’s general counsel services and emerging business practice groups within its corporate department.

With approximately 20 years of experience in representing entrepreneurs and businesses of all sizes, Cunningham will also serve as a vice-chair of Miller & Martin’s corporate department.

Sometimes, numbers tell a story just as well as words could. The story at RE/MAX Real Estate Center’s LaFayette, Georgia, office is that its agents produced more than $19 million in residential and commercial sales in 2017 – a 40 percent increase over 2016.

The Fourth Circuit Court for Knox County is the designated Circuit Court in the Sixth Judicial District to hear divorces, orders of protection and Juvenile Court matters that are appealed to Circuit Court.

Many of the litigants who come before the court are pro se, particularly in order of protection matters and in post-divorce actions seeking modification or enforcement of co-parenting and support obligations.

For decades, Realtors have supported a free, open market that embraces fairness and equal opportunity for all buyers and sellers. Greater Chattanooga Realtors strongly support the Fair Housing Act, legislation first passed in 1968 that now prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status and national origin.

In “Ready Player One,” director Steven Spielberg ushers viewers into the Oasis, a virtual world in which countless adventures await. This digital replacement for reality is so compelling that humanity spends most of its waking hours within it, living out three-dimensional fantasies while the world outside crumbles to dust.

Every month, you pay your mortgage. And, depending on your circumstances, you may be able to afford to put in additional payments – perhaps sizable ones. But should you? Or, if you really have the extra money, should you invest it?

Initially, you might think it would be quite nice to rid yourself of that mortgage sooner, rather than later. But is it really the burden it seems?

The Chattanooga State Faculty Fellows program recognizes and supports faculty who develop and implement academic projects that support scholarship and promote student success.

Chattanooga State Faculty Fellowships are named for former faculty members and administrators who demonstrated outstanding scholarship and dedication to teaching and learning.

At a second public hearing on the proposed sale of the Signal Mountain water system, citizens voiced concerns over water quality and raised questions over rates and extra fees.

Residents who are urging the town to choose Walden’s Ridge Utility District directed questions to Tennessee American Water Company and WRUD after a brief presentation from each.

The board of directors for Aegis, a foundation that supports law enforcement in Hamilton County, has selected Dr. John Cosgrove as the organization’s president and executive director. He replaces the late Tom Edd Wilson. Cosgrove will lead operations, business planning and development for the organization.

Jeremy Pruitt hasn’t been afraid to change things around during his first spring practice as Tennessee’s head football coach.

First, he’s holding off until scrimmages (at least) before he talks about individual players, a change of protocol from his predecessor, Butch Jones.

Just do it. That’s a demand that comes from everywhere. Sneaker companies say it, your spouse says it, the law demands it and your diet might say it. Your boss does, for sure. Just do it.

Buckle down and get it done because, as in the new book “Soon” by Andrew Santella, delaying and dawdling are not so delightful.

Ten years ago, you could count on one hand the number of hybrid models available from luxury automakers.

Today, there are 24 and more on the way.

It turns out there’s a good reason for the popularity of hybrid powertrains in luxury cars, and it’s not just fuel economy. Hybrids are quiet, improve mileage range and can deliver strong acceleration, especially from a stop.

With the arrival of spring comes the 18th annual Spring Plant Sale & Festival at Crabtree Farms on Friday, April 6-Sunday, April 8. More than 300 varieties of sustainably grown vegetable, fruit, herb and flower seedlings will be available for purchase, including over 50 varieties of tomatoes. The weekend will include gardening, craft, wellness and food vendors, live music and children’s nature and craft activities. Crabtree Farms will accept all forms of payment. Information: www.crabtreefarms.org/spring-plant-sale