News - Friday, June 12, 2020

Rene Syler remembers having to confront a South Carolina shop owner for targeting her daughter for “shopping while black.”

Damien and Christina Charley remember that after a high school football game their daughter was told to go back to picking cotton.

Alabama family law attorney Kim Davidson was about a week away from the day she was planning to kill herself when she returned home from work to find a group of lawyers and judges waiting for her.

Over time, Davidson’s colleagues had noted changes in her behavior that suggested she was caught in the grip of substance abuse – she was missing appointments, lying to co-workers and using anger to keep people at a distance – and they were there to intervene.

These are challenging times, and our nation seems to have awoken. People are beginning to recognize that there is racism in our society that has systematically and negatively affected black and brown communities.

This is nothing new. Mr. Floyd wasn’t the first one to die on camera at the hands of the police, with one of his last words being, “I can’t breathe.” Personally, I’m exhausted, but I’m also encouraged.

Dear colleagues:

As I watch the protesters gathering in Miller Park tonight, just outside my office window, I find myself thinking back to the spring of 1991 when Los Angeles police officers were caught on camera savagely beating Rodney King. The images from that video were horrific indeed, leaving one to wonder just how such an event could occur.

Mark Twain said, “Write what you know.” Realtor Sabrina Hagood knows buying and selling homes, so she wrote a book about real estate investing.

But Hagood (pronounced “hay-good”) didn’t write “Future Real Estate Investor” for just anyone; she wrote it for children.

June marks National Homeownership Month, which recognizes the value of homeownership and its positive impact on families, communities and the nation’s economy. This month is a time to celebrate and help promote the American dream of homeownership while pointing out the many benefits of owning a home.

According to research from NAHB, nearly half of homebuyers are willing to invest between $1,000 and $10,000 in order to save $1,000 annually on their utility bills, and 37% are willing to spend upward of $10,000.

But do prospective homeowners know what an energy-efficient home is and the terminology surrounding the types of building practices and features they’re looking for?

Mary McKenzie, DO, is moving to CHI Integrative Medicine Associates’ Signal Mountain office. McKenzie joined CHI Memorial Medical Group in 2015. She received her medical degree from Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine in Athens, Ohio, and completed her residency at University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. McKenzie welcomes patients age 5 and up. For more information or to schedule an appointment, call 423 643-2246.

Volkswagen has achieved a key production milestone at its Chattanooga assembly plant with the completion of its 1 millionth vehicle – an Aurora Red Metallic 2020 Volkswagen Passat R-Line.

The Volkswagen Chattanooga plant has been producing Passat vehicles since 2011. Ground was broken in 2009 for what was to become the world’s first LEED-Platinum certified manufacturing facility. Since then, Volkswagen Chattanooga has grown to employ approximately 3,800 people, produced more than 700,000 Passat vehicles and 100,000 Atlas vehicles, and started production of the 2020 Atlas Cross Sport and the facelifted 2021 Atlas.

Typically, this time of year is filled with graduation ceremonies and celebrations. But with the coronavirus pandemic, not much has been typical lately. Eventually, though, things will return to normal and schools will reopen for in-person learning.

A Nashville friend’s recent Facebook post neatly summed up the escalating turmoil we’ve been living through:

“I can’t believe it’s riot season already. I still have my COVID decorations up.”

I had to smile.