News - Friday, August 15, 2014

One of the nation’s leading economists not only says the housing slump is over, but is also predicting a multiyear recovery.

Speaking Tuesday at the Chattanoogan during the annual economic update luncheon for local Realtors and builders, Dr. Lawrence Yun, chief economist and senior vice president of research at the National Association of Realtors (NAR), said several economic indicators are pointing to a prolonged bump in the housing market.

FirstBank City President Jim McKenzie likes to make to-do lists. It’s his way of appeasing his brain, which will keep him up all hours if he doesn’t jot down everything he needs to get done.

“The things I have to do at the bank are always buzzing around in my head,” he says. “But I try to turn off work before I sleep, and making a list helps. I can say, ‘Here’s my list. I’ve thought about these things enough. It’s time to sleep.’”

Vicki Trapp, present of the Greater Chattanooga Association of Realtors, Wednesday was the guest speaker at the August resource and networking meeting of the local chapter of the Women’s Council of Realtors (WCR), held at the Choo Choo Hotel.

My approach to residential design begins by thinking about the overall completed composition.

New design should complement and enhance the existing structure, not merely add more functional space.

Paying attention to the overall form of a building will help determine the scale of new construction. Careful material selection that matches the existing building in texture, color, and detailing help to create continuity making the finished composition appear clean and uninterrupted.

Many Americans have a romantic fascination with trains. Throughout our history, trains have helped us to forge new territory and tame wild land, and have taken us places we’ve only imagined. As we’ve introduced other modes of transportation, the train has always been there, a workhorse whose rails spread like webbing across our cities and open land, reminding us of how this country was built.

Each story is different. A prominent, well-respected attorney develops dementia. With the assistance of family, friends, and the Tennessee Lawyers Assistance Program, the Board of Professional Responsibility petitions the Supreme Court to place the attorney on disability inactive status.

The Tennessee Supreme Court has opened the application period for the position of state Attorney General and Reporter.

In accordance with the Tennessee Constitution, the Attorney General and Reporter is appointed by the state Supreme Court and serves an eight-year term.

It’s just about back-to-school time again. If you have young children, you might be hustling them to the store for backpacks and binders. But if you fast-forward a few years, you can envision driving your kids a little farther — to their college dorms.

It’s already back-to-school time. Can you believe it? Kids are mentally preparing themselves to get back into the routine of homework, and parents are mentally preparing themselves to get back into the routine of pretending to know the answers to said homework. 

(Ed. note: Third of a three-part series.)

Rail house is a term that businesses – especially restaurants and bars – near train tracks, or with railroad motifs, use in their names. Structures, both residential and commercial, near train tracks are dubbed rail houses – by artists, architects, developers, entrepreneurs, owners. Where does this come from?

Buying a home can be a complicated process, and being an out-of-state buyer can make the process even more challenging. According to the National Association of Realtors, while buyers last year moved a median of 12 miles from their previous residence, two in 10 buyers moved more than 100 miles.

This past Sunday evening, our church had a special choir program and dinner. This is always an enjoyable time because not only do we get to sit back and listen to the beautiful music the choir has performed during the past year, we also get to eat a wonderful meal afterward! This time, we had shrimp and grilled sausages with corn-on-the-cob and oven-roasted potatoes. It was so good!

The 2014 Best Personal Humor Column as judged by the State Press Awards. Reprinted from 11/29/13. 

     We’d reserved a 9:45 tee time, and Fred said they’d probably pair us with another twosome because it was another busy Saturday morning. Not good, I thought, remembering other pairings we’d endured there in the past.

If, like me, you saw the trailer for the new tornado thriller, “Into the Storm,” and thought you were finally getting the “Twister” sequel you’ve always wanted but never got, then, like me, you’d be wrong. What we got instead was a cheaply made natural disaster pic that would be more at home on the Syfy Channel than in a movie theater. I paid nearly 20 bucks for two tickets, meaning I could have stayed home, ordered pizza, and watched “Sharknado,” and had a better time.

Mark Twain is one individual whose writings and quotes I have always enjoyed, beginning at an early age.

After all these years that his pen has been silent, I still run across quotes that are so relevant to today’s events and happenings. He once wrote, “It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble.

Note to the reader: The original version of this column ran five years ago. I actually wrote almost the exact same column again last week and didn’t realize it until I pulled up this column by accident when I went to send it to the editor. I’ve tweaked it just to update some of the facts. The things I said were true then and they are true now. You may also notice that my columns have gotten a lot shorter over the last five years.

Saturday, Aug. 15, 1914

Due to the unfinished repairs on the buildings at Tyner Grammar School, Miss Eleanora Walker, principal, with her two assistants, Miss Ethel Walker and Miss Bessie Trimby, opened school in the schoolyard yesterday. The buildings were damaged by a recent storm.

Saturday, Aug. 15, 1964

A new Winchester Franchise Gun Club will be opened in Chattanooga Sunday, Aug. 30. The new installation built, owned, and operated by the Moccasin Bend Gun Club, Inc., represents a significant addition to the Chattanooga metropolitan area recreational facilities.

If you are anything like me, more times than you can count, you have struggled to get your grout in your home clean.

I have researched and experimented so many methods of cleaning grout it is exhausting. I was skimming the Internet recently, and came across a DIY blog that had a post about Polyblend Grout Renew. Intrigued, I continued reading. 

Going to the beach this summer? Test your knowledge of the Earth’s oceans.

1. The most abundant element in the universe makes up almost two-thirds of the atoms in the ocean. What is it? Oxygen; hydrogen; methane; nitrogen.

 2. In early marine history, what group of people made the longest voyages? Vikings; Phoenicians; Polynesians; Greeks.

Fill in the blanks in the quote using the following words:

things, happened, went, people, things, sat, long,

happen, them, attention, come, accomplishment

“It had ______ since ______ to my______ that ______ of ______ rarely ______ back and let ______ ______ to ______. They went out and ______to ______.”

Roberts Mill Road to close

Monday, Aug. 18

The Hamilton County Highway Department will close Roberts Mill Road on August 18 to begin road stabilization.The closure is expected to last thirty days. Signs will be posted at both ends of the road on Thursday, Aug. 7, to inform drivers of the upcoming closure.