News - Friday, May 15, 2020

Richie Hughes is looking forward to the first reservation he makes as the City of Chattanooga eases the restrictions it implemented in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Hughes won’t be reserving a table at one of the many local restaurants that are reopening, though. Instead, he’ll be claiming four seats for a Sunday morning service at Redemption to the Nations Church downtown.

As the Easter Sunday tornado raked across Chattanooga and North Georgia, it left behind a path of shattered homes and lives. Among its victims were trees that once stood tall and wide in front yards, outside churches and alongside streets.

The twister had torn off branches and snapped trees in half like fragile toothpicks, leaving behind splintered memorials of its destructive fury.

The Chattanooga Bar Association has added information to its website in an effort to help local attorneys and the general public access important legal information during the COVID-19 pandemic and while disaster response efforts continue in the wake of the Easter Sunday tornado.

Legal Aid of East Tennessee has promoted staff attorney Linda Hall to the senior management position of director of operations.

Hall joined the firm in April 2018 to serve as the lead attorney on LAET’s Tennessee Senior Law Alliance grant. TSLA is a statewide consortium of legal service providers dedicated to providing quality legal services to senior citizens across Tennessee.

When Coldwell Banker Pryor Realty Managing Broker Robert Backer learned last year that Coldwell Banker was redesigning its logo, his first thought was, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

Backer had his reasons for wanting Coldwell Banker to leave its familiar blue box logo alone. Launched in 1978, the logo had been in offices and front yards for 42 years, and the numbers testified to the success of the brand.

We’ve been inside, but we haven’t been sitting still. Last week, the National Association of Realtors released its latest Economic Pulse Flash Survey, which revealed some interesting insight into consumer homebuying activity.

The survey reports more than three in four potential sellers – 77% – are preparing to sell their homes following the end of stay-at-home orders, with half completing do-it-yourself home improvement projects.

It is unclear how long the coronavirus crisis will continue in the Chattanooga area, so the government has stepped in to help renters and multifamily property owners.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency recently announced that the government sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would offer multifamily property owners a mortgage forbearance on the condition that they suspend evictions for renters unable to pay rent due to the impact of coronavirus.

With COVID-19 rampaging through nursing homes and assisted living facilities the past two months, tens of thousands of Americans are reconsidering everything they knew about elder care and extended-family living arrangements.

How can they not?

Tennessee residents who applied for assistance from Federal Emergency Management Agency after sustaining damage in the April 12-13 tornadoes and storms will receive information from the agency in the mail or via email.

The letter will explain the application status and how to respond. It is important to read the letter carefully as it will include the amount of any assistance FEMA may provide and information on the appropriate use of disaster assistance funds.

Through the end of May 6, Pinnacle Financial Partners has made $188.6 million in loans to companies in the Chattanooga area through the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program.

This figure represents 1,009 local businesses that received emergency funding to pay their employees and essential bills during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

LaReeca Rucker was in a small park in Oxford, Mississippi, the other day, enjoying the fine, sunny afternoon, like many other people. Unlike the other people, though, she was wearing a mask.

Nothing elaborate. No politically or socially provocative message displayed. Just a plain black mask made of T-shirt material that a friend had given her. But that apparently was too much for one woman to handle.

The American Lung Association’s 2020 State of the Air report placed Chattanooga 93rd in the nation for ozone pollution – its all-time best.

The Lung Association’s annual air quality report card tracks Americans’ exposure during a three-year period to the two most widespread outdoor air pollutants – ozone (smog) and particle pollution (soot).

The National Digital Inclusion Alliance has named the City of Chattanooga and Hamilton County as a national leader in digital inclusion work.

The NDIA has recognized 14 municipalities for promoting digital literacy and broadband access for underserved residents. Chattanooga and Hamilton County were named alongside much larger cities, including New York, Washington, D.C. and San Francisco.

First Horizon Foundation will donate $130,000 to various local nonprofits in an effort to provide relief during the coronavirus pandemic.

Nonprofits receiving donations include United Way of Greater Chattanooga, United Way of Northwest Georgia, Orange Grove Center, Boys & Girls Club of Chattanooga, YMCA of Chattanooga, Salvation Army, Austin Hatcher Foundation, Chattanooga Area Food Bank, Chambliss Center for Children, Room in the Inn, Habitat for Humanity of Greater Chattanooga and others.

The social distancing and stay-at-home orders necessitated by the coronavirus have led many of us to feel isolated. Still, we’ve fought back through social media, “virtual” gatherings and walks in the neighborhood, where we could greet friends and neighbors (from 6 feet away).

The MaryEllen Locher Breast Center at CHI Memorial is now offering 3D breast imaging at its Ooltewah location. The center first offered this technology at its CHI Memorial Hospital Chattanooga location in 2011.

“The MaryEllen Locher Breast Center is committed to providing this community with the most technologically advanced equipment available so our team of physicians can offer the best and most comprehensive care available,” says Deb Moore, vice president of oncology operations at CHI Memorial.

The National Guard conducted COVID-19 testing at five Chattanooga Housing Authority sites this week.

The National Guard tested residents at Mary Walker Tower and Emma Wheeler Homes on Monday and people living at College Hill Courts, East Lake Courts and Greenwood Terrace on Tuesday.

East Hamilton School principal Brent Eller is Hamilton County Schools’ 2020 Principal of the Year.

East Hamilton is home to sixth through 12th grade students in the east area of the community. Eller has led the school as it’s responded to both the COVID-19 pandemic and the Easter Sunday tornadoes. He has also helped to spearhead the construction of the new middle school, which is scheduled to be completed this summer.

The coronavirus pandemic has significantly changed the way we live and conduct business in this country. Take, for instance, the act of terminating a vehicle lease.

Edmunds analysts had anticipated more than a million leased vehicles coming back to car dealerships this quarter. But due to countless shelter-in-place orders, many people will face the question of how to safely handle their vehicle’s lease return or whether they can return their vehicle at all.

Your estate plan might be your last words to those you leave behind. If you’re a parent, you should think carefully about the message you’ll be sending.

Parents who leave their children unequal inheritances risk fueling family feuds. But strictly equal bequests also can cause resentment if the heirs don’t see the distribution as fair.