News - Friday, May 26, 2017

Now that the ink has dried on the IMPROVE Act, the state law that raises additional funds for transportation projects, the real work begins – building roads, fixing bridges, easing traffic and boosting safety.

Which of the 962 projects outlined in the law are ready to go, right now, and where and when can drivers start seeing improvements?

Relief is on the way for motorists negotiating the split of two major interstates in Chattanooga that are critical to transporting freight from East Coast seaports to destinations across the country.

The impetus is Tennessee’s newly enacted IMPROVE Act, which among other things increases fuel taxes over the next three years to help fund much-needed transportation infrastructure projects. The goal was to help assure funding for transportation infrastructure projects over the next 12 to 14 years, state Transportation Department officials say.

Two state parks are celebrating victories in an atmosphere of uncertainty created by the governor’s penchant for privatizing state functions.

Fall Creek Falls drew no bidders for a $20 million plan to hire a vendor who would tear down its inn, construct a new one and take over operations for 10 years. Henry Horton State Park, meanwhile, is set for $10 million in improvements this coming fiscal year, including upgrades to its hospitality facilities, plus a new visitors’ center, rather than a proposal to raze its inn and not rebuild.

Nationwide, an estimated six million individuals are disenfranchised because of their criminal backgrounds, even though over three-quarters of these individuals have completed their sentences, reports the Sentencing Project. This data, as well as the complex process of restoring voting rights in Tennessee, will be the topic of the June League of Women Voters meeting.

Crowning a remarkable and unforgettable year, the 2017 class of Leadership Chattanooga graduated in May at a ceremony and luncheon held at the Chattanooga Convention Center.

Attended by more than 700 local business and community leaders, the event celebrated the commitment of this year’s 40 Leadership Chattanooga graduates and highlighted the results of their small-group projects benefiting Hamilton County Schools.

The Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce will honor Julie Baumgardner, president and CEO of First Things First, as the recipient of the 2017 Chattanooga Area Manager of the Year award.

This annual event recognizes an executive manager who has made a significant contribution to the success of the Chattanooga and Hamilton County area.

Julie Baumgardner, president and CEO of First Things First, is the first recipient of an award named in her honor.

The Leadership Chattanooga Alumni Association presented the inaugural Julie Baumgardner Leadership Award to Baumgardner at the Leadership Luncheon honoring the 2016-17 Leadership Chattanooga class.

The much-mourned demise of Chattanooga radio giant WFLI, once considered the Mid-South’s most powerful AM station, turned out to be short-lived.

WFLI, which dominated Chattanooga’s airways in its rock and roll glory days, was scheduled to “go dark” permanently on March 31, taking with it a history worthy of a museum dedicated to Top 40 music.

Representatives from the Greater Chattanooga Association of Realtors (GCAR) gathered with Realtors from across the U.S. last week to attend the National Association of Realtors Legislative Meeting held annually in Washington, D.C. Their goal: to show legislators and policymakers that the Realtor Party is a force to be reckoned with.

Finding one’s way through a hospital can be a maze of multiple entrances, hallways and elevators. In an effort to simplify a hospital stay or visit, CHI Memorial has introduced a free app that serves as a turn-by-turn directional guide around the Chattanooga campus.

You’re stranded on a space junker that has traveled far from Earth. Worse, the rest of the crew is dead, leaving you alone with something that should not exist. This can end only one of two ways – with you killed horribly, like the rest of your shipmates, or with the alien dead. The later seems unlikely, but as long as there’s breath in your lungs, you’ll fight to survive.

Organizers of the Chattanooga Market have been considering the possibility of a daily storefront for several years. The staff at River City Company and the vacancy at 2 Aquarium Way are providing an opportunity to meet this objective.

“When the River Place building returned to our control a year ago, we wanted to use the space in ways that would benefit the downtown community,” says Kim White, president and CEO of River City. “Having the Chattanooga Market General Store open every day will provide visitors and residents a shopping experience that supports a variety of local artisans, all in one spot.”

A group of 20 Greater Chattanooga Association of Realtors members traveled to Washington, D.C., this month to lobby members of Congress on behalf of their local constituents.

The annual legislative forum is hosted by the National Association of Realtors and drew nearly 10,000 members from every state and province. The Greater Chattanooga Association territory is unique as it has counties in two states. In addition to Hamilton and Sequatchie counties in Tennessee, the association also serves Catoosa, Walker and Dade counties in Georgia. For this reason, local members visited almost twice the number of senators and congressman as other associations.

Once seen as a pricey alternative for only the most committed environmentalists, rooftop solar electric systems have quickly gained popularity among value-conscious home owners in and around Greater Chattanooga. Today, 1.3 million homes and businesses have solar systems, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association, and in 2016, solar was the top source of new electric generating capacity in the United States.

If you’re a certain age, or getting close to it, you might hear something like this: “Now that you’re older, you need to invest more conservatively.” But what exactly does this mean?

For starters, it’s useful to understand that your investment preferences and needs will indeed change over time.

In the Amazon rainforest, natural marvels are as varied as they are numerous – and some of the most extraordinary of all hide in plain sight.

On May 26, the Tennessee Aquarium IMAX 3D Theater will debut “Amazon Adventure 3D.” This giant-screen production from award-winning SK Films transports viewers back in time to join naturalist and explorer Henry Walter Bates on what’s been called the most extraordinary scientific adventure of all time.

Artist, author and human anatomy expert Roberto Osti will give a lecture at Townsend Atelier’s Southside studio on Friday, May 26, 6-7:30 p.m. The event is open to the public and free of charge. Osti will discuss how the knowledge of anatomy, or the lack of it, has influenced the way artists have represented the human body in art. Following the lecture, Osti will be available to sign his new book, “Basic Anatomy: An Essential Guide for Artists.”