News - Friday, June 8, 2018

Tourism officials are a glass-half-full bunch. It’s a job requirement, necessary since they must relentlessly promote a city, region, state or even a country no matter what the economic climate or general traveler mood might be.

That’s why even as U.S. gas prices inch up, for example, they point to the positive.

Republican U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn is doubling down against Democratic opponent Phil Bredesen in the race for an open U.S. Senate seat, hammering him as a liberal in the vein of Obama, Clinton, Schumer and Pelosi.

Notably, Blackburn clarifies an allegation she leveled against the former Tennessee governor recently when she claimed he signed a law giving driver licenses to illegal immigrants. In fact, former Republican Gov. Don Sundquist signed that law, and then Bredesen two years later signed a measure allowing illegal immigrants to obtain a driver certificate, not to be used for any other identification purposes.

Chattanooga attorneys Curtis Bowe, III and W. Neil Thomas, III have formed a committee of their fellow attorneys, who will be working in the coming months to endow the Ed Johnson Memorial Scholarship at the level of $50,000.

The scholarship, which is housed at the Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga, has been in existence since 2006. It is designed to benefit deserving college students at the sophomore level or higher who are pursuing a major in criminal justice.

Attorney Albert Secor has joined Thomas & Thomas, bringing more than 50 years of practicing law with local law firms and on his own to the firm.

Secor graduated from Emory University with a Bachelor of Arts in accounting. He also earned his J.D., with a concentration in taxes and corporations, at Emory. Secor then earned a master’s of law in taxation from New York University.

Lynn Dempsey, Georgia real estate commissioner, was the speaker at a Northwest Georgia Council of Realtors membership meeting June 5 at the Walker County Civic Center. Dempsey thanked Realtors for their hard work and encouraged them to continue.

“We’re blessed to be in Georgia, the best state in the union to do business,” he said. “You’re a critical part of that, and this board of Realtors is a critical part of your success.

Politicians – in general – try not to attack members of their own party.

The same holds true in the tourism world, with internal battles to lure visitors from one part of Tennessee to another set aside in an effort to lift everyone’s ticket totals, room bookings, food sales and general revenue.

Tennessee Realtors is pledging to help the Tennessee Housing Development Agency celebrate homeownership month by topping the agency’s record for home loans for the month of June.

The Great Choice Home Loan program allows Realtors and lenders to offer their clients the option of financial assistance toward down payment and closing costs on their home purchase.

With the onset of summer and vacation travels, you might be dreaming of buying a vacation home. The beauty of a second home is that it’s a great get-away, as well as a good long-term investment.

To begin the process of finding just the right vacation home, look where you’ve vacationed before. Or, if you’re considering a new geographic region, rent a home for a season to make sure it suits you.

More than 21 million people are injured each year in accidents around the home, so the National Association of Home Builders is partnering with Builders Mutual Insurance to promote Safety 365, reminding home owners to be safe every day in 2018.

The five most frequent home accidents include poisoning, falls, choking or suffocation, drowning and fires. It’s sobering data – but the good news is that many accidents are preventable. Here’s how:

Feeling stuffed and bloated after a month of feasting on big-budget blockbusters, I was in the mood for something light. “Upgrade,” a sci-fi action pic from BH Tilt, hit the spot.

BH Tilt is a division of horror factory Blumhouse Productions, which focuses on low-budget genre pictures designed to make a small splash in theaters as a way of creating awareness for the video-on-demand market.

City Thread, a concept from SPORTS, the architecture and design collaborative of Molly Hunker and Greg Corso in Syracuse, New York, has been selected as the Passageways 2.0 winner.

City Thread is an art-as-urban-infrastructure installation that uses a continuous sculpture through a downtown Chattanooga alley that allows for a multitude of uses including informal lounging, mini-stages, framing community murals or art, large gatherings, farmers’ markets and moving screenings, among others.

No matter where life takes him, Joshua Dobbs will always find his way back to Knoxville. The former University of Tennessee quarterback holds a special place in his heart for the city and the relationships he made as a Vol.

“I feel like I kind of grew up here in Knoxville, per se,’’ says Dobbs, a native of Alpharetta, Georgia. “I was an only child, and this was my first time kind of on my own. Knoxville really accepted me and felt like family, whether it was the football program or the community entirely.

Subaru is well-known for offering cars that can handle themselves when the going gets rough, and its Outback lies squarely in that tradition. Essentially a wagon with extra ground clearance and a capable all-wheel-drive system, the Outback is a model alternative to an SUV. It’s been popular with American car shoppers since its debut in the 1990s.

Given the complexities of the investment world, you might consider working with a financial professional to help you move toward your goals, such as a comfortable retirement.

You’ll want to establish good communication with whomever you choose, and you should meet in person at least once a year to discuss your situation. At these annual reviews, you’ll want to cover a variety of topics, including these:

The Chattanooga chapter of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women will host its Candace Golf Classic fundraiser on Tuesday, June 12 at Windstone Golf Course with an 11:30 a.m. lunch followed by a 1 p.m. shotgun start. The cost is $125 per player. The NCBW provides academic scholarships to high school seniors. Information: info@ncbw-chattanooga.org; 423 698-0029