News - Friday, June 13, 2014

Incorporated in 1989, the Chattanooga Bar Foundation is the charitable and educational arm of the Chattanooga Bar Association.

Through the Foundation, the Bar supports various charities and participates in community service, outreach programs, and educational projects.

With help from the National Medal of Honor Museum of Military History, the IMAX Great Hall became a history exhibit for the 70th Anniversary of D-Day. The items on display gave guests a better understanding of how soldiers were equipped for the invasion and paid tribute to Medal of Honor recipients.

Baker Donelson has been named a 2014 Beacon of Justice Award winner by the National Legal Aid and Defender Association (NLADA).

The Beacon of Justice Awards recognize law firms that have devoted significant time and resources to creating and implementing innovative strategies to improve life outcomes for low income individuals. Award winners were selected by criteria assessing increased access to representation through the utilization of original ideas, tools and technology to create new delivery models and initiatives.

Attorneys with the Chambliss Startup Group provide free legal advice to the director of a local nonprofit.

The Startup Group provides legal advice every first and third Friday at CO.LAB. The Group consists of business attorneys from Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel who volunteer their time to participate.

Realtor Kim Bass is in a good place - literally.

She’s standing in the center of a beautifully built Craftsman-style home in the new Huntley Gates development, located in East Brainerd along Gunbarrel Road.

The open floor plan offers a sense of space and freedom, and allows the eye to take in the attractive touches that come standard in a Down South Homes unit: the granite countertop in the kitchen, the backsplash along the wall in the same space, the hardwood floors that span the downstairs, the crown molding overhead, the fireplace in the living room, and the door to a covered back porch.

The start of the busy spring buying season means a growing number of Americans are on the hunt to purchase a home, but many could have trouble finding one to buy. A new survey by the National Association of Reators reveals for the first time that difficulties finding the right property have surpassed challenges obtaining financing as the most cited reason clients are not purchasing homes.

Reflection Riding Arboretum & Nature Center has launched its new exhibit – the C.E. Blevins Nesting Birds of Reflection Riding.

The addition to Reflection Riding is the result of a permanent loan from the C.E. Blevins Avian Learning Center, where for years, artist C.E. Blevins crafted intricate egg replicas using clay and PVC molds.

The Chattanooga Fire Department on Thursday, June 5 participated in an exercise at Memorial Hospital’s new North Tower. Fire Academy 2014 served as mock patients during the evacuation drill.

Hospital personnel and Chattanooga firefighters evacuated many of the “patients” using Paraslyde evacuation sleds. 

Every Tuesday and Thursday morning at 6:30, fitness-minded people get together in downtown Chattanooga to work out for free. Hosted by Run Chattanooga, they call it “Tough Love” – exercise meets social media meets community building.

Front and center are Tennessee Supreme Court Justices Connie Clark (left) and Sharon Lee (right), in Chattanooga Wednesday,  June 4 to attend a reception in their honor at the Mountain City Club.

Surrounding the judges are the members of a local committee to retain them in the election this August. From left to right, they are Scott McGinness, Sam Elliott, Hal Baxley, and Marcy Eason. 

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation this month released its annual “School Crime Report.” The study compiles crime data involving schools, as submitted by the state’s law enforcement agencies to the Tennessee Incident Based Reporting System in 2013.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation this month released its “Domestic Violence 2011-2013” study. The report analyzes crime data submitted by the state’s law enforcement agencies to the Tennessee Incident Based Reporting System from 2011 to 2013.

The Lookout Farmers Market kicked off its new East Brainerd – Audubon Acres Farmers Market location with a grand opening ceremony and ribbon cutting on Tuesday, June 3. Located at 900 North Sanctuary Road, the Lookout Farmers Market supports and encourages organic and sustainable growing practices by bringing local farmers to the East Brainerd Market.

I’m encouraging everyone I can to see “Edge of Tomorrow.” This is a selfish endeavor. I want to see more movies like it.

Clever, original, well-made science fiction like “Edge of Tomorrow” doesn’t come along often. Genre fans are usually stuck with the latest superhero escapade or another Transformers sequel because that’s what gets butts in the seats. But “Edge of Tomorrow ...” Please go see it.

Are you thinking of investing in municipal bonds? If so, you may have good reason, particularly if you are in one of the higher tax brackets.

After all, municipal bond interest payments typically are exempt from federal income taxes, and possibly state and local income taxes, too — although some “munis” are subject to the alternative minimum tax.

This past weekend, several of our family members gathered together at a local restaurant to celebrate our oldest granddaughter, Molly, who just turned 20! We had such a wonderful time, and everyone received a fair share of laughs for the evening. However, it aroused a thought in my head that I have just got to share.

As the days become warmer and longer, my family and I spend most of our day outdoors. Not much has changed since I was a kid for our homestead; we dig for worms, play in the mud, ride bikes till our legs stop going and play on train tracks and in the woods. We live in a rural part of Memphis so of course we are surrounded by trees, tall grass and fields. 

I don’t watch much of the morning TV because I think it’s just to much talking and having to think that early in the morning. I like to wake up quiet. Seems that’s the only way my brain can get functioning correctly.

Anyway, I did catch part of the “TODAY” show at the gym not long ago, and they had a “Who Knew” quiz that was really interesting. I thought it would be great to pass on – especially for all of you who also miss the morning TV line-up for one reason or another. Have fun!

Fill in the blanks in the quote using the following words:

things, understanding, false, true, understand, 

he, man, false, apprehension, imagine

“A ______ may ______ things that are ______, but______ can only ______ things that are______, for if the ______ be ______, the ______ of them is not______.”

There was good and bad this past month. The weather, for starters, was pretty good, if you’re a fish or, like me, aren’t ready for the long, hot summer to rear its sweaty head. Really, after such an extreme winter, I expected, as did that famous farmer who puts out that almanac, for summer to be brutally hot. (How extreme was it? Just ask all those frowny faces still standing at the bus stop at 7 a.m.)

When I wrote about the 2014 Little Rock Film Festival, I reviewed, in three paragraphs, “I Believe in Unicorns.” This just in from that film’s director, Leah Myerhoff: “I appreciate your thoughtful response to the film. However, [please] make one correction: the lead actress is Natalia Dyer, not Amy Seimetz.”

They say that no news is good news. Judges have been in the news a lot lately, and not in a good way.

A judge in Montana blamed a rape victim in open court when giving her attacker a light sentence. A judge in Florida exchanged fighting words and fists with a public defender. A judge in Mississippi yelled racial slurs at a young man working at a flea market and then struck him. The last story has a bit of a happy ending, as a lawyer in Missouri gathered money from a few of his friends and bought the young man, Eric Rivers, a bicycle like the one he was working at the flea market to buy.

Last week, the annual meeting of the Arkansas Criminal Defense Lawyers was held in Little Rock. After two days and nights of education and eating, I decided I needed to cleanse myself and get back to nature.

A friend of mine was passing through on the way to his daughter’s graduation, and was willing to go with me to Lake Ouachita and rough it for a night. The weather outlook was a little unsettled, to say the least. There was no question we would meet with some precipitation, the only question was how bad would it be. That is the way my 2014 “Lord of the Flies” adventure started.

The other day as I filled-up my new four-wheel drive, V6, campaign-retirement-good feeling pickup truck with ethanol blended fuel and watched the digital cost monitor spin like an out of control slot machine, my thoughts went back to simpler times, when a fill-up of gas was something of an enjoyment.

The Tennessee General Assembly has recently made changes to statutes which may impact you as a holder of a license with the Tennessee Real Estate Commission. These new changes as set out in the following Public Chapters specifically amend the Tennessee Code Annotated as follows:

Create a backyard escape with the help of container gardens. Whether you’re looking for a visit to the desert, an English garden, or a tropical paradise, a few planters can help create the mood.

Reduce your workload and increase your enjoyment with a bit of planning and proper planting.