News - Friday, June 26, 2020

With a little luck – and weather permitting – many local families will fire up their backyard grills next week for a traditional July 4 cookout. Along with burgers and hot dogs, home chefs might be cooking up the kinds of meats they used to order in restaurants, thanks in part to market disruptions from the coronavirus.

For decades, those who were a vegetarian or vegan and craved meat had a few choices like tofu, tempeh, seitan and textured vegetable protein. Anyone for a Tofurky hot dog? Anyone?

Well, this isn’t that. This is “meat” that tastes almost exactly – maybe even precisely – like the real thing.

Many trial attorneys are known for their captivating tales of courtroom skirmishes and edge-of-seat verdicts. They enjoy spinning a good yarn about a last-minute revelation in a murder trial or an outrageous testimony in a divorce case.

But Hugh Sharber suspected he was better suited to a business practice early in his search for a place in the hallowed corridors of the law.

Local Venture Legal, a Chattanooga-based business and tax law practice, is officially a Certified B Corporation.

According to B Lab, the nonprofit certifying body of B Corporations, “Certified B Corporations are businesses that meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose.

Jay Robinson is often top-of-mind for those buying or selling luxury properties throughout the region; however, it is his commitment to those who are homeless or experiencing addiction that drives him as a mentor within those communities.

In early winter, Robinson accompanied individuals from various agencies as they determined a “point-in-time” count of the homeless population in Chattanooga.

As we round out June, let’s take another look at the benefits of owning a home. Since June is National Homeownership Month, my goal with this three-part series, “Why Homeownership Matters,” has been to provide insight into the many positive benefits that come from owning a home.

People across the Tennessee Valley are still spending a lot of time at home in response to COVID-19 distancing measures, so conducting a house hunt online has become the new standard. While you might still want to hire a Realtor to help you with your search, you can begin looking at area inventory via realtor.com, zillow.com, redfin.com and trulia.com. Use the tips below to enhance your online search.

Over the past few months, just about everyone has felt the loss of some type of freedom, whether it’s being able to travel, engage in social gatherings or participate in other activities we previously took for granted.

Still, as we prepare to observe Independence Day, it’s comforting to realize all the freedoms we still have in this country. And taking the right steps can also help you achieve your financial independence.

WDEF-TV in Chattanooga will move frequencies July 2 at 11 a.m. Viewers who watch TV with an antenna will need to rescan their TVs at that time to continue watching the station.

Rescanning is when a TV finds all of the available channels in an area.

Chattanooga State Community College recently welcomed Quincy Jenkins as its inaugural executive director of diversity, equity and inclusion. Jenkins comes to Chattanooga State after serving as the inaugural director of Latinx Outreach at Dalton State for seven years.

Habitat for Humanity of Greater Chattanooga is seeking volunteers to lend a helping hand at their Re-Store locations on Main Street in Chattanooga and Apison Pike in Ooltewah. Re-Stores assist in funding Habitat’s home-building efforts.

Habitat is looking for individuals who are at least 18 years old with their own transportation. The volunteers will be scheduled to work from either 9 a.m.-noon or 1-4 p.m.

Campaign signs popping up in neighborhood yards were a clear reminder: There’s an election coming.

No, I don’t mean the presidential election. Pretty much aware of that one.

Legislative contests are my topic. All state House seats are involved, and half the Senate seats. Each body has a Republican supermajority; the Senate has a Republican super-duper majority.

There’s a lot riding on the Nissan Rogue, the struggling Japanese automaker’s top-selling vehicle in the hottest part of its second-biggest market, the United States.

The small SUV, made in Smyrna, has been redesigned for the 2021 model year, and a replacement can’t come fast enough for a company battered by falling sales, mounting losses, a financial scandal and a model lineup that many U.S. consumers don’t find appealing. Throw in a global pandemic, and you’ve got a showroom of trouble.

Everyone said the meal looked great. And it did: picture-perfect, worthy of a magazine. Golden-brown turkey, chunky stuffing, creamy gravy, and Mom even made oysters. And you? Well, you had a mountain of naked mashed potatoes because animal-based products aren’t your thing, so dinner could’ve been better.

No one wants to waste money, but some of us go overboard trying to get the best possible deal.

I have spent nearly as much time researching which hiking socks to buy as I have choosing a new car.

Others of my species – we’re called “maximizers” – might miss locking in a good mortgage interest rate while waiting for a better one. Our determination to make the optimal choice means we’re often plagued by buyer’s remorse as well as decision paralysis.