News - Friday, July 23, 2021

On a Saturday morning in Alton Park, volunteers with Habitat for Humanity race to install the trusses on a home before the heavy clouds looming above them unleash their payloads.

On the ground, a woman loops a cable attached to the business end of a large crane through the peak of a truss. The operator of the crane then lifts and swings the assembly to volunteers perched several feet above the home’s foundation on two-by-fours. This part of the crew then grabs the truss and secures it to the house.

When Circuit Court Judge Jeff Hollingsworth decided to make a bid for the bench in 2006, he paid a visit to the Hon. Sam Payne to confirm the rumors he was hearing about the judge choosing to step down. Looking back, Hollingsworth says he didn’t want to declare his intent to run in the next election until after Payne had announced his retirement.

As Gina Sakich looked at the ramshackle South Broad structure she’d purchased for her real estate brokerage, one thought rose above all the others:

“What am I going to do with this ugly building?”

Sakich is the owner and broker of Better Homes & Gardens Signature Brokers, the company she founded in 2014 in Ooltewah in the hopes of making real estate less stressful for agents and their clients.

There’s no denying COVID-19 has led to money struggles for homeowners across our state and nation. A recent study conducted by OnePoll in conjunction with the National Association of Realtors revealed more than eight in 10 American homeowners (81%) say the pandemic has caused them unexpected financial distress.

In this competitive real estate market, what do Chattanooga homebuyers really want? When it comes to key home amenities, double sinks and pantries stand out as “must-have” items in the kitchen, while a shower stall and tub are essential in the primary bathroom, a recent NAHB study found.

I’ve long been of the belief that the best thing Bill Frist did for Tennessee and the whole of the United States was to retire from the Senate in 2007. I have now reassessed that stance.

A brief update here, for context:

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about legislators harassing state health department officials, accusing them of “targeting” children for COVID shots and threatening to dismantle the department.

If you’re in the early stages of your career, you’re probably not thinking much about retirement. Nonetheless, it’s never too soon to start preparing for it, as time may be your most valuable asset.

So, you may want to consider retirement savings vehicles, one of which is an IRA. Depending on your income, you might have the choice between a traditional IRA and a Roth IRA. Which is better for you?

In some ways, the U.S. credit reporting system has improved. Credit freezes, which lock our credit information to deter identity theft, are now free and fast. We have free weekly access to our credit reports, courtesy of the credit bureaus Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, until April 20. Free credit scores provided by banks, credit card issuers and other companies allow us to easily monitor for signs of fraud and other problems.

There’s a shortage of workers. It’s hard to say exactly how we got here since there are so many factors involved. But, you can see the results of this shortage everywhere you look.

You might have noticed when a recruiter called you out of the blue. Recruiters are proactively calling candidates who might not be looking for jobs more now than they have in years.

You need it.... now.

Actually, the document you’re looking for was needed yesterday. You had it then, it was here five minutes ago, and it’s gone now – probably buried beneath 50 other pieces of paper you’ll also need soon and won’t be able to find.

Americans are holding onto their vehicles longer than ever, with the average age of a car in 2020 rising to a record 12.1 years, data from IHS Markit reveals. But if you own a car for long enough and something goes wrong mechanically, you’re likely to see an amber check engine light somewhere in the gauge cluster.