News - Friday, August 24, 2012

Like most legal professionals, Judge Gary Starnes has a few good stories tucked away for the right occasions. His election in August as a general sessions court judge gives him an opportunity to tell one.

It takes place 26 years ago at an IHOP at 3 a.m.: “Chuck Fleischmann, Jeff Haygood and I were studying for the bar exam. We were drinking coffee because it was three in the morning, and we were dead tired but we were trying to stay awake, so we started talking about what we were going to do after practicing law for 25 or 30 years. Fleischmann said he was going to be a politician, and Haywood and I said we were going to be sessions court judges,” Starnes says.

What you put on your plate matters, says celebrity chef Alton Brown.

Although the oceans are in better shape than they have been in recent years, they’re not as healthy as they were a century ago, as we have eaten down many populations of popular fish. To allow those fish to rebound, Brown has partnered with the Tennessee Aquarium to encourage local fish lovers to eat different species, all of which are sustainable and available to chefs and grocery stores in Chattanooga.

Saturday, Aug. 25

A two-year agreement between Combustion Engineeringm and its guards and watchmen has been signed, allowing for improved insurance and vacation plans and a four-cent pay hike for the first year. A seven-cent pay increase is to take effect Sept. 1, 1963.

Fifteen-year-old Michelle Stratton wants to star in her own country music concert. The Make-A-Wish Foundation of East Tennessee is going to make Stratton’s wish come true.

Stratton has been diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, but her medical condition has not gotten her down. She still dreams of a big stage with the lights and all eyes focused on her.

Through Aug. 31

Free fitness class continues

Outdoor Chattanooga and Greenlife Grocery will continue to host its free public fitness class using the PX90 and Insanity programs through the end of the month. The class will take place Thursdays at 6 p.m. at Outdoor Chattanooga in Coolidge Park. Instructor Paul Mason has geared the class toward people of all fitness levels. Greenlife Healthy Eating Specialist Morgan Walley will provide healthy snacks. No pre-registration is required. To learn more, email ruth@outdoorchattanooga.com or call 423-643-6888.

Former American Bar Association House of Delegates chair and Chicago Bar Association past-president Laurel Bellows took office this month as ABA president during the association’s Annual Meeting in Chicago. She will serve the ABA in this capacity until the close of the association’s annual meeting next August.

On June 12, Leitner, Williams, Dooley and Napolitan celebrated its 130th year of the founding of the firm. Founded in 1882 as a partnership of two brothers, W.G.M. Thomas and L.M. Thomas, Leitner, Williams, Dooley & Napolitan has grown into a defense firm of national reputation.  The firm’s growth has been the result of successful relationships with successful clients – Fortune 500 corporations, major companies, small businesses and individuals.

As the 2012-2013 president of the American Bar Association, Laurel Bellows must take the baton from the previous leader, run her leg of the course and then hand the baton to the organization’s next head.  In an interview with the Hamilton County Herald, the Chicago-based Bellows talks about what she aims to accomplish and the legacy she hopes to leave.

Ahhh, late summer. The time when exhibition football games begin to dot the sports television airwaves, and the younger brothers of important clients’ copying company vendor’s president’s neighbor’s babysitters rejoice at the opportunity to use a lawfirm’s great seats to view such games in person. All across America, professional football players are lining up to play “for funsies,” to help hone and sharpen their craft before putting it all on the line in the “regular season”, when millions of dollars will be at stake.

I was lying on my back looking at the ceiling and the faux window with its painted palm leaves and beach beyond. It was a relaxing scene, one that would have likely caused me to drift off, especially if my dentist had thought to put in a CD of gentle waves.

As head football coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks you might feel as if you’re shouldering the weight of an entire state – and you are. However, you will likely enjoy living long enough to tell your stories to your grandchildren, and perhaps their children, too.

"The Expendables 2” is 102 minutes of eighties action stars having fun making a movie together. If you can enjoy it for what it is, then their good time in front of the camera will translate into your good time in the theater. I’m a sucker for nostalgia and big explosions, so I had a great time.

While researching a subject I was writing about the other day, I had the chance to go back through the more than 1,000 columns I have written over the past few years and happened to run across an article I had written concerning animal rights groups. It seems back in 2007, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) had engaged Burger King in ongoing discussions about only buying products from farmers who raised chickens and pigs without cages. The restaurant chain finally gave in to do so under a lot of pressure. Burger King executives agreed at that time that they would buy two percent of its eggs from producers who have "cage-free" hens and ten percent of their pork from farms that allow their sows to move around in pens. Today, they are pledging to buy 100 percent of their eggs from “cage-free” hens by 2017 and all their pork from gestation crate free producers.

Two years ago, I was driving along Signal Mountain Road when I saw a column of fire and smoke rising toward the sky. As I drew close to the source of the inferno, I saw a small wooden building engulfed in orange and red – Nooga-Q Smokehouse and Grille, one of the Scenic City’s finest barbecue restaurants. The fire had already ravaged the building, making repairs impossible.

This article was originally published on Aug. 20, 2010.

Unfortunately, the last of the summer vegetables are making their debut. (Sigh…) I hope that you have put some up for the coming winter months, so say about January you can pull out the ingredients to make the tasty casserole below! It is not too late to do that if you haven’t yet!

The end of summer break has now become a reality. The traffic is a whole lot worse than it was last week. Leaving home at the same time you have been all summer will make you late to your destination. The act of indoctrinating and teaching children and young adults in a society creates a lot of traffic. More traffic also means you have more time to think on the way to work. All I could think about during today’s extended trip was how I could have better planned my morning to get on the road faster and, therefore, get to work earlier. What I really should have been thinking about was what topic I would talk about in this week’s column. Then I had an epiphany. I realized I could write about planning.

Last week, we got back to our roots. “I Swear’s” roots are in the actual verbatim record, as created in the courts of the world. We shared a few bits of courtroom dialogue, all of which were published in a 1995 book, “Perry’s Dead! (And the ‘Juice’ is Loose).” Today, we offer more from that book.

School is up and running – again! The summer goes by fast, and you barely get your child/children settled down before it all starts up again. This is a trivia puzzle on school. See how much you know!

1. In 1993, students from Purdue University created crayons that were NOT made out of petroleum-based paraffin wax (the commonly used substance). What did they make their crayons from? Soybean Oil; Fungi; Rhubarb Stalks; Pumpkin Seeds.

When the builders of the new Prairie Pass development in Apison, Tenn., met with Gina Sakich, co-owner and co-broker of Real Estate Partners, they had one request: Sell 300 homes.

“Great!” Sakich replied. “What’s your vision?”

2012 has become the year of the housing recovery. July home sales are 10.3 percent higher than sales last July, and year-over-year. home sales have now risen for 13 consecutive months.  Median home prices have now reached levels higher than the previous year for six months in a row, with an increase of 3.7 percent over July 2011.  Inventory is now becoming a serious challenge to this recovering market, with available homes-for-sale falling 26.8 percent lower than the same month last year. Home sales could be greater if more inventory was available, especially in the lower price range, where most sales are now occurring. With increased demand and shrinking inventory, the average Days on Market of homes sold in July was 82. (Source: RE/MAX)

Saturday, Aug. 24

Johnny Green, Chattanooga champion aviator, had another accident today. His machine fell to the ground near the boulevard. He was not injured, but the plane was damaged considerably. He was testing it out for his series of flights scheduled for the Tullahoma Fair.

Before starting your strategic focus and priority management process, you need to understand the following key terminology as defined by The Growth Coach:

Productivity – achieving the greatest results in the shortest period of time.

Leverage – achieving the greatest results with the least amount of effort.

This article originally ran Dec. 23, 2011 in the Hamilton County Herald.

It’s three a.m. in the morning, and groggy with sleep, you get up from bed, grab your pillow and clumsily make your way to the spare bedroom or couch. Sound familiar?

Throughout September, downtown patrons will be able to enjoy an outdoor movie theater in the center of the city as River City Company presents “Movies at the 700 Block.” The series will be free to the public and will feature an opening documentary followed by a ‘80s classic. The movies will be shown at 728 Market Street, a property River City Company took over in December of 2011. Currently, the property is an empty gravel lot.

Dog owners want their pets to look good and be clean, but Jo Mills, who grooms at Chattanooga Holistic Animal Institute, wants them clean and chemical-free.

“I use only Earthbath products, which are made from natural substances with no additives and are soap-free,” Mills says.  “That can make a huge difference, especially for dogs with allergies.”

“Tranquil Space,” an exhibit of photographs, drawings and sculptures of sacred buildings, gardens and commercial and private properties opened August 20 and will continue through September 14 at the Jewish Cultural Center. The Jewish Cultural Center is located at 5461 North Terrace Road. The exhibit includes art works by Steven Wade Brown, Irv Ginsburg, Dana Shavin, Jenny Shugart, Roses Taylor and Dana Waxler. “Everyone finds tranquil space in their chaotic lives,” says exhibit curator Ann Treadwell. “I was curious how architects, designers and artists explore this concept.” The exhibit includes work by two architects, two photographers, a sculptor and a mixed media artist. For more information, visit www.jewishchattanooga.com. (Sculpture photo by David Laprad; minimal space photo by Steven Wade Brown.)