News - Friday, May 28, 2021

When Chinese-born Yan Mulligan was working for China Mobile in Beijing, she knew her language and culture and how to navigate her world. In her mind, she knew all she would ever need to know.

Then she met an America man on the internet and, after nearly a year of corresponding from a distance, married him when he traveled to China to meet her for the first time.

Medical debt is an unwelcome burden with lasting repercussions for millions of Americans each year.

Thankfully, the Hamilton County General Sessions Court is at the forefront of a new program that gives those with unpaid medical bills the opportunity to negotiate a better outcome for themselves without having to enter a courtroom.

Chattanooga environmental law attorney David Higney is once again listed in the “2021 Chambers USA Guide: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business” report. Chambers included Higney in band three in Tennessee for his environmental work.

The “2021 Chambers USA Guide: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business” report recognizes Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel as a leading Tennessee firm for intellectual property.

In addition, Chambliss attorneys Stephen Adams and Paul Weidlich received special recognition in this year’s rankings. Adams is listed in the “Up and Coming” category for intellectual property and Weidlich is included in band two for intellectual property.

Before Bekah Cochran was the leader of the Bekah Cochran Team at Keller Williams Greater Downtown Realty, she was Bekah Dalton, a senior at McMinn County High School in Athens.

She also was the recipient of several college scholarships that “gave [her] the wings [she] needed to fly,” she says.

The temperature is up, and so is the demand for residential real estate. Traditionally this is the time of year that people are moving to new homes, and this year is no exception.

However, what is exceptional is that we find ourselves in what is very much a seller’s market, meaning there are more buyers than listed homes.

The prospect of making your dream log home a reality is an unparalleled joy. But it’s likely you have some anxieties, as well.

You can begin designing your new home once you locate land and determine your budget. We encourage you to devote much time and careful thought to this process, as you will have to balance your lifestyle needs and desires with your budget.

LifeSpring Community Health has welcomed Kathryn Briggs as its new development director. Briggs is tasked with equipping the local pediatric ministry to serve more children and families in Greater Chattanooga with holistic care and services.

Briggs earned a degree in business from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and brings eight years of financial services, consulting and fundraising experience to LifeSpring.

Being self-employed has some benefits: You get to choose your own hours, you don’t have to count “vacation days” and you’ll never worry about getting downsized. On the other hand, you’re truly on your own. There’s no employer-sponsored retirement plan and no benefits package.

Long pandemic lockdowns forced many older adults to become comfortable with video calls to stay connected with family. That in turn means that long-distance caregivers have a better way to see how their loved ones are faring.

“You can’t tell on the phone that they’re wearing the same clothes every day or they’re not bathing because they’re afraid they’ll fall in the shower,” says Amy Goyer, AARP’s national family and caregiving expert and the author of “Juggling Life, Work, and Caregiving.”

Chattanooga area Better Business Bureau president and CEO Jim Winsett is retiring after 18 years of service.

During Winsett’s tenure, the BBB has grown dramatically in the 11 counties in Southeast Tennessee and 10 counties in Northwest Georgia the local BBB serves, the organization says.

The American Immigration Lawyers Association has appointed Chattanooga immigration attorney Martin Lester to its National Ethics Committee.

In this role, Lester will work with AILA’s Practice and Professionalism Center to provide materials and resources on legal ethics issues AILA members face in today’s immigration law practice.

The Tennessee Department of Education has awarded Hamilton County Schools a $2 million grant as part of its new Innovative High School Models program.

The goal of the program is to encourage Tennessee public school districts, postsecondary education institutions and local employers to reimagine how to prepare students for success after high school.

Lights On – a program aiming to improve ties between communities and law enforcement agencies – is expanding to the Scenic City via a partnership with the Chattanooga Police Department. This is the first national expansion into Tennessee.

Southern Lit Alliance will host its annual FocusLit fundraiser June 1.

The virtual event will feature an interview with New York Times bestselling author Jill McCorkle, who will discuss her novel “Hieroglyphics.”

Steve Yarbrough will conduct the Q&A. Yarbrough is the author of “The Unmade World,” “Sales from the Neighbors” and “The Realm of Last Chances.”

In recognition of Juneteenth, which is now a city holiday, the City of Chattanooga Office of Multicultural Affairs will present “Chattanooga Recreates Black Wall Street,” a monthlong celebration of Black-owned businesses.

“Black Wall Street” is the historical reference to the Greenwood District of Tulsa, Oklahoma, a prosperous African American community until mobs of white residents attacked Black residents and businesses in 1921.

Life Force Air Medical, Erlanger Health System’s air medical program, has a new tool onboard for caring for the most critically ill COVID-19 patients.

The ventilation therapy hood was first used in Italy to provide COVID-19 patients with a comfortable alternative to traditional ventilation therapy. The FDA recently granted emergency use of the hood for treating COVID patients.

Five local health systems will continue to require masking in their facilities for all visitors and employees.

CHI Memorial, Parkridge Health System, Rhea Medical Center, Siskin Hospital for Physical Rehabilitation and Tennova Healthcare – Cleveland all continue to follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, and their facial covering protocols will remain in place.

To many, the word “rainforest” conjures images of jaguars, toucans and other exotic animals living under the Amazon’s mist-shrouded tropical canopy.

But the Pacific coast of Canada is home to an untouched temperate forest sprawl that’s just as wet and possibly colder than the Amazon and is home to one of the world’s rarest mammals, the spirit bear.

Nothing can hold you back. You’ve been through the storm and survived, and it’s made you stronger. Now you’ve seen the future, and that’s yours, too.

People can scoff. They’ll loudly express their doubts. You’ll have your detractors but as in the new biography, “Unstoppable” by Joshua M. Greene, once your mind’s made up, it’s full speed ahead.

The pandemic appears to be receding in the U.S. and the economy recovering, yet car shoppers heading back to car dealerships are in for a surprise: There are fewer vehicles to choose from and those that are available are more expensive.

New car inventory is 48% of what it was last year, with trucks and SUVs hit the hardest. Plus, the percentage of people paying more than sticker price has risen from 8.1% in April 2020 to 12.7% in April 2021, Edmunds reports. That’s the highest percentage since 2002.

Some people say it takes 21 days to change a habit. For those working from home, the habit is now fully set. It’s been more than 365 days since we first packed up our offices and began to work from the dining room table of our homes.

Some employees have hated this isolation. For others, it has given a huge increase in productivity. And, while some companies are continuing remote work into the future, others are opting to return to pre-pandemic norms.

“This is now no longer a pandemic,” a Tennessee legislator declared of the COVID situation last month. She gets points for optimism, though not for accuracy.

At best, her pronouncement was premature.

Still, in her defense, it’s often been a little hard to know what’s what with the COVID situation. From the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s initial no-masks advice to its subsequent mask-up edict, from its vaccine-could-take-years cautions to its here’s-your-vaccine! follow-up, official guidance has been an ever-shifting riddle.

Last Memorial Day, Americans were dizzy from the pandemic, recession and widespread shutdowns. Many had shopping for hand sanitizer and toilet paper on the brain.

But this May, life seems to be blooming again ahead of the unofficial start of summer.