News - Friday, June 18, 2021

Medical quackery and the promotion of worthless remedies were among the notorious abuses that led to the establishment of what is now known as the Better Business Bureau, a 1965 book about the agency explains.

Although Michele Mason, the new president and CEO of the BBB Serving Southeast Tennessee & Northwest Georgia (BBB Chattanooga for short), has yet to encounter a business that’s peddling a useless medical cure, she’s dealt with more than a little quackery during her 30 years with the organization.

Juvenile Court Magistrate Cynthia LeCroy-Schemel says she knows she has big shoes to fill as the successor to Magistrate Bruce Owens, who will retire at the end of June after 29 years on the bench. So, she’s not correcting any of the staff at juvenile court who still call her “Miss Schemel.”

Each year, the Chattanooga Bar Association honors an outstanding citizen in the Chattanooga area with the Liberty Bell Award for public service.

The CBA is currently seeking nominations for the 2021 award, to be presented during the annual Law Day Luncheon, which will be held Wednesday, Sept. 15.

Baker Donelson has designated Juneteenth, the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States, as a permanent firm holiday.

Baker Donelson initially designated Juneteenth as a holiday in 2020 as part of its Solidarity Action Plan, which it developed in the wake of last year’s nationwide racial reckoning.

As the revitalization of Chattanooga continues, investors and developers are continuing to identify and resurrect forgotten corners and pockets of the city.

DeDe and Towson Engsberg are among the entrepreneurs who say there are still many potentially profitable and life-enriching properties lying dormant within the Scenic City.

As the weather warms and COVID-19 restrictions ease across much of the country, the U.S. housing market shows little sign of cooling.

You might think I’m starting to sound like a broken record, but robust buyer demand, fueled by low mortgage rates, continues to outpace supply, which remain near historic lows.

The pandemic transformed the way we live, work and spend money. If you’ve purchased interior paint for your home, new flooring or worked with a remodeler recently, you’re not alone.

Homeowners have shifted their spending from entertainment and travel to home improvement projects, HomeAdvisor’s latest “State of Home Spending” survey reports.

Statistics about at-risk youth in American tell a worrisome story.

Thousands of children age out of foster care without a permanent family every year, the Children’s Defense Fund reports. Moreover, the average stay of a child taken into a foster home is 19 months, the organization states.

Tennessee baseball players were always a little envious whenever they traveled to SEC stadiums with fervent fan bases. They wanted to create the same environment in Knoxville and earn some respect from opponents.

After years of mediocrity and apathy, the Vols have resurrected a dormant program into a national contender under head coach Tony Vitello.

Clickbait internet teases are generally best avoided, being frequently of the “15 foods you should never eat naked” variety.

But they can be tempting. And I couldn’t resist one I came across recently: “Best counties to raise a family in Tennessee,” for various reasons.

A collaborative effort is boosting Chattanooga’s profile as an entrepreneurship hub with a new $7.5 million loan fund. The Chattanooga Small Business Opportunity Fund aims to improve access to capital for small and minority-led businesses, particularly borrowers who might not qualify for a conventional bank business loan.

If you don’t have a spouse or children, you might think you don’t need to do much estate planning. But if you have any assets, any familial connections, any interest in supporting charitable groups – not to mention a desire to control your own future – you do need to establish an estate plan.

Gwen Merz was fresh out of college in 2014, working an information technology job she hated, when she decided early retirement was the answer. She socked away every dollar she could, saving as much as 70% of her income so that she could quit when she was 35.

Quincy Jenkins, chief diversity officer and executive director of the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Chattanooga State Community College, has been selected to participate in the 2021-22 class of the Maxine Smith Fellows program. Jenkins is one of 13 faculty and staff members from among 21 colleges and universities statewide participating.

New and used car prices remain high as a global semiconductor chip shortage and increased consumer demand have caused a shortage of vehicles on dealer lots. The situation is expected to last many months, making it hard on people who are in need of a car today.

Vaccination rates are climbing, and employers are rolling out back-to-office, back-to-normal plans. But some employees might want a new normal – one that includes flexible scheduling and benefits that align with their needs and values.

“Expectations have changed. They were already changing, but with COVID-19, the how and where and why we work have all been transformed,” says Erika Illiano, a principal at Strategic Benefit Advisors, a member company of Brown & Brown Insurance.