News - Friday, August 11, 2017

As a child of the civil rights era, Maria Noel watched her parents react with sadness and horror when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and President John F. Kennedy were assassinated.

She remembers her mom and a neighbor watching for her and the other Alton Park students as they came home from school because white people sometimes threw things at the children and spit on them. And she knew better than to head for the public restroom at a gas station on a family trip.

Someone once told Denise Murphy she’s too nice to be a Realtor.

But Murphy didn’t let that stop her. Rather, she took what one person saw as a limitation and turned it into a hallmark of her business.

“You don’t have to be cutthroat or a bully to be a Realtor,” she insists. “You can negotiate and represent your party well without stomping on people. You can have a good rapport with all parties.”

Republican gubernatorial candidate Mae Beavers is banking on the idea wealthy candidates won’t be able to buy voters in 2018.

“Most of them seem to think they can write a hundred-dollar check to everybody in Tennessee and get their vote. I just don’t think it’s gonna play out that way this time,” says Beavers, an ultra-conservative state senator from Mt. Juliet who says she hopes President Donald Trump will give her a bounce at the polls.

Chambliss, Bahner and Stophel recently added three associate attorneys – Andrew Mutter, Kelly Etchells and Nate Kinard – to its growing litigation and risk management practice.

“We are very pleased to welcome these talented attorneys to our litigation team,” says Bill Dearing, chair of Chambliss’ litigation and risk management practice. “Andrew, Kelly and Nate are all extremely bright and are outstanding individuals with unique experiences that will prove valuable to our clients.

The Trial Court Vacancy Commission will consider nine applicants when it meets Wednesday, Aug. 30 in Chattanooga to select nominees for the Circuit Court vacancy in the 11th Judicial District.

The vacancy was created by the Honorable W. Neil Thomas III, who announced that he is retiring effective Oct. 5.

It’s quite possible Dr. Ming Wang has never been quite so nervous about the collective eye health of so many people from one singular event.

But with the August 21 total solar eclipse set to sweep Middle Tennessee, he urges people to be prepared, get educated and be safe.

Todd Kelly Jr. can’t believe it’s his last hoorah. The senior safety from Webb School of Knoxville enters his final season at Tennessee with thoughts of how it all started in fall of 2014.

“It’s wild how time flies,” Kelly says. “The veterans told me when I was a freshman, ‘When you blink your eye and snap your finger, you’ll be a senior and it will be all over with, and it will be your last time running through the ‘T.’”

In “A Ghost Story,” characters played by Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara are awakened one night by a heavy bang on their piano. They investigate but find nothing.

A horror film might have used this scene to introduce a terrifying supernatural entity and place its protagonists in mortal danger. But “A Ghost Story” isn’t a scary movie. Rather, it’s a supernatural drama intended to haunt rather than frighten viewers.

The collection of animals at the Chattanooga Zoo has once again expanded.

Through the zoo’s partnership with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ SSP, the zoo has acquired two sand cats from the Exotic Feline Breeding Compound’s Feline Conservation Center in Rosamond, California. These solitary creatures are native to the deserts of North Africa and Central Asia.

The partnering organization for Gov. Bill Haslam’s TN Promise in 84 counties, tnAchieves, is seeking volunteers to serve as mentors for its fourth class of TN Promise applicants.

TN Promise offers every high school senior the opportunity to attend one of the state’s 13 community colleges or 27 colleges of applied technology tuition free with a last-dollar scholarship.

Crews are making progress remediating Northpoint Boulevard in Chattanooga. The repairs will bring the road up to standards and increase safety along the route that connects Hixson Pike and Highway 153.

As part of repaving Northpoint, the city will be restriping the road. Upon completion of the project, the road will include the same prior number of lanes (three), which includes two travel lanes and a center turn lane along the full length of the corridor.

The Charles H. Coolidge Medal of Honor Heritage Center has signed a letter of intent with the River City Company to build its Heritage Center at the Visitors Center building in Aquarium Plaza and plans to open in February 2020, contingent upon achieving specific fundraising benchmarks.

The outlook for home construction and sales appear to be bright in the foreseeable future, says Robert Dietz, Ph.D., chief economist for the National Association of Homebuilders. Dietz spoke recently to a joint meeting of the Home Builders Association of Greater Chattanooga and the Greater Chattanooga Association of Realtors.

Maintaining a healthy lawn can be a challenge during the summer months, but ignoring that challenge can diminish a home’s “curb appeal” and its value.

Summer’s heat, drought and high humidity can dehydrate grass and lead to desertification, while a host of fungal diseases, like brown patch, can lead to dead turf. Protecting against these maladies can save home owners money on landscaping and yard maintenance and will help enhance the home’s value over the long term.

You may not see it in the greeting card section of your local drugstore, but August is “What Will Be Your Legacy Month.” So it’s a good time to think about the type of legacy you’d like to leave.

Of course, “legacy” can mean many things. In the broadest sense, your legacy is how you will be remembered by your loved ones, friends and the communities to which you belong.

The ninth annual National Treasures at Point Park, which will benefit the Friends of Chickamauga & Chattanooga National Military Park, is scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 24 from 5:30-8:30 p.m. The evening will include live music, a buffet dinner and complimentary drinks.