News - Friday, August 23, 2019

Get a group of women together, and amazing things can happen.

Take what happened in Tucson when an alliance of more than 200 women started coming together four times a year to give $100 each to a local charity. “Best hour of my quarter,” said one woman after one meeting. “It feels amazing.”

Hamilton County Juvenile Court Judge Robert Philyaw received the prestigious McCain-Abernathy Memorial Award at the annual Tennessee Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges Conference in Franklin this month.

The annual award is given to a Tennessee judge who’s demonstrated outstanding service in the effort to improve juvenile justice in Tennessee.

The Chattanooga branch of Leitner, Williams, Dooley & Napolitan is standing proud after Best Lawyers included six of the firm’s attorneys in its annual list of the top-rated lawyers in the U.S.

Nine of the firm’s attorneys in Chattanooga, Nashville, Knoxville and Memphis are included in the 2020 Edition of “The Best Lawyers in America.”

Grant, Konvalinka & Harrison Director Brittany Thomas Faith has received national recognition as one of the American Bar Association’s top 40 young lawyers in America.

Faith’s selection for the “On the Rise – Top 40 Young Lawyers” list is based on her “dedication and tireless advocacy to her clients as part of her immigration practice,” the ABA says in a news release.

Realtor Rosemary Seitz has chosen Better Homes and Gardens Signature Brokers in Ooltewah as her professional home. She will be focusing on residential sales in the Greater Chattanooga area.

“My main focus will be to work hard to find a home that’s perfect for you and your family,” she says. “Whether you’re a first-time homebuyer, relocating to the area or downsizing, I will provide you with service over and beyond what is necessary.

We have all received them – the annoying telemarketing call interrupting family dinner night. You thought they would eventually go away, especially after you registered your phone number with the Do Not Call Registry, but those pesky telemarketers will risk almost anything to reach people, including breaking the law.

The Tennessee Court of Appeals in a ruling on Friday put much-needed limits around the so-called investigative exemption that has been used by the state to cloak otherwise public records.

“We hold that public records created in the ordinary course of business, which are non-investigative in nature, and which are otherwise accessible by Tennessee citizens under the TPRA (Tennessee Public Records Act), do not subsequently become exempt from disclosure because of the initiation of a criminal investigation in which those records become relevant,” the Court ruled in Scripps Media, Inc. v. Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services.

Regular lawn maintenance is critical to boosting your home’s curb appeal, but what about the green inside your home? House plants not only spruce up the interior of your home, they can improve your overall comfort.

U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) research found that the plants inside your house can improve indoor air quality.

The National Association of Realtors commends the Department of Housing and Urban Development for finalizing new Federal Housing Authority condominium loan policies.

The changes, many of which NAR has championed for over a decade, should yield thousands of new homeownership opportunities and help alleviate affordability restraints impacting markets across the country, says NAR President John Smaby.

Century Park Associates, which operates Garden Plaza at Greenbriar Cove, a senior and assisted living community in Ooltewah will pay $92,586.50 in monetary damages and agree to injunctive relief to settle a religious bias lawsuit, says the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

The Tennessee Society of CPAs recently announced the election of its 2019-20 Chattanooga Chapter officers.

The newly elected officers include Tony Sanders of Unum, president; John Eaves of Henderson, Hutcherson and McCullough, president-elect; Jeff Smith of Elliott Davis, vice president; Tara Moore of Unum, secretary; and Andrew Glenn of Mauldin and Jenkins, treasurer.

In Inc.com’s annual guide, “The Most Successful Companies in America,”  Chattanooga’s Taimen Transport is listed as the 1,339th fastest-growing privately-held company in the U.S.

Founded in 2012, Taimen Transport provides transportation technology that allows customers to monitor shipments. The company presently has 17 full-time employees at its Pointe Center Drive location.

Now that summer is winding down, it will soon be “back-to-school” time. When children are young, your logistics for the new academic year may involve little more than a trip to buy school supplies. But if you’d like to send your kids (or grandkids) to college someday, you need to plan far ahead to meet the financial demands. And, as part of your planning, you also need to be on the lookout for all opportunities to help pay those sizable college bills.

The Chattanooga Police Department added 21 new officers to its ranks Aug. 15 – and more than one-third of them are women.

The CPD Class of 2019-20 has the distinction of having the highest known percentage of female graduates, 38%, since record keeping began. This brings the total number of women who wear the CPD badge to 48, including 2019-20 class president, Jesslyn Douglas.

Few issues unite millennials like the future of Social Security. Overwhelmingly, they’re convinced it doesn’t have one.

A recent Transamerica survey found that 80% of millennials, defined in the survey as people born between 1979 and 2000, worry that Social Security won’t be around when they need it. That’s not surprising — for years, they’ve heard that Social Security is about to “run out of money.”

Job interviews are full of bias. Very often, it’s unconscious. Companies want to be fair. They don’t often realize where they may be biased. That’s where rules around interviewing come in. There are certain laws in place to help minimize bias in the job search process. These laws are to protect the job seeker.

Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy has earned recognition as a 2019 Reward School in the Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System, says the Tennessee Department of Education.

Based on data the TDE gathered during the 2018-2019 school year, this commendation distinguishes CGLA as a school that excelled in both academic proficiency and academic growth.

If there was any doubt about Jauan Jennings’ status within the Tennessee football program, he quickly put it to rest.

Asked last week if he was the alpha male of the wide receivers, the redshirt senior responded: “I’m the alpha male anywhere I go.”

Friday, August 22

Mose and Garrison Siskin of Siskin Memorial Foundation have been cited by the Lane Bryant Volunteer Awards competition of 1969 for “outstanding community service” performed in 1968. They are eligible for one of two $5,000 awards to be made December 4 in Washington, D.C.

By Terry McCormick

For nearly 20 years now, the New England Patriots with Bill Belichick and Tom Brady have set the standard by which all other NFL teams – past, present and future – are measured.

It doesn’t take much study to see the Patriots’ finished product on display every year in the postseason.

Tennessee American Water has awarded a $20,000 grant to Top of Georgia in partnership with Rossville ReDev Workshop. The grant will pay for improvements to the park and pond at John Ross Commons and create an outdoor learning lab in Rossville.

The grant is being funded by the American Water Charitable Foundation through its new Keep Communities Flowing grant program.

Fifteen bands, two food trucks and a multitude of artists will convene Saturday, Aug. 24 from noon-10 p.m. at The Camp House (149 E. M L King Blvd.) for PAWnaroo. The music and arts festival will benefit Pet Placement Center, a local no-kill animal shelter. Atlanta-based bands Fairshake, World’s Greatest Dad and Clavicle will be among those playing. The early hours of the event will be family friendly, with face painting for kids and dogs from Pet Placement Center on-site. The content will become more adult-oriented in the evening. California Smothered Burritos and Your Local Sietanist will have meals for meat eaters, vegetarians and vegans. Purchase tickets at bit.ly/2Q5ogQT. Children under 12 will be admitted free.