News - Friday, August 6, 2021

There’s a day in Chelsea Sanders’ future she can see as clearly as the blue in the cloudless sky above her.

She’s at the controls of a Cessna 172 Skyhawk, skillfully piloting the aircraft over Chattanooga as her husband and children wait for her on the ground. Although she can hear the plane’s engine droning, the racket and clamor of life is unable to reach her at that height, and the stillness quiets her mind and allows a memory of her late father to materialize.

Initiatives that impact society occasionally begin with someone asking, “What if?”

“What if our law firm hired a female attorney?”

“What if the police increased efforts to connect with minority communities?”

Attorney Jake Farrar has joined the Chattanooga office of Baker Donelson as an associate.

Farrar maintains a corporate transactional practice focused on serving clients in the long-term care industry.

He has experience with mergers, acquisitions and securities transactions and routinely advises buyers and sellers in change of control transactions ranging from less than $1 million to more than $60 million.

A recent article from National Association of Realtors’ HouseLogic captures some great strategies when looking to purchase a home in this seller’s market. I know you’ll find the article by Lynn Ettinger as insightful as I do.

Lynn writes that a competitive real estate market can set buyers up to purchase a home that’s either beyond their budget – sometimes hugely beyond – or doesn’t meet their needs, a 2021 survey by Bankrate and YouGov reports.

Going green can provide an overall improved living experience and also lower utility bills.

Water-conserving fixtures such as toilets, showerheads and faucets are among the top green features homeowners desire, with more than half of prospective homebuyers indicating each as an essential or desired home feature in a recent NAHB survey.

The Greater Chattanooga Public Television Corporation board of directors recently named James Tanner board chair. His term began July 1.

Joining Tanner on the 2021-2022 executive committee are Daniel Fell, vice-chair; Cole Powell, treasurer; Meredith Perry, interim secretary; Steve Gatlin, past chair; Bonnie Hathcock; Kerry Hayes; Dr. Edna Varner; and Bob Culkeen, WTCI president and CEO.

Fetch! Pet Care is bringing sitters to neighborhoods in Northwest Georgia.

Cherryl Carden of Fetch! Pet Care Northwest Georgia will be serving the cities of Wildwood, Ringgold, Rome and Dalton. Carden offers several services for four-legged family members, including dog walking, pet sitting, overnight care, puppy sitting and pet transportation services.

Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly has announced a plan to resume recycling services in the next 60 days, unveiling a pay hike for drivers in the upcoming budget that will be retroactive for both new and existing drivers.

The temporary service interruption was announced July 29 after the number of empty CDL driver positions spiked to 32, and several concurrent absences created an untenable situation in which the city no longer had enough drivers to collect garbage, brush and recycling.

EPB, Habitat for Humanity and green|spaces have partnered to develop a cost-effective way to build energy-efficient homes.

With the participation of homebuyer Tempestt Jordan, the partners worked together to pilot the new home-building guideline through the construction of a Habitat for Humanity House.

White Oak Bicycle Cooperative in Red Bank recently received national recognition when the Trust for Public Land announced that White Oak was one of eight organizations across the nation selected to receive a grant from the trust’s Equitable Communities Fund.

Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly on July 28 marked the completion of his first 100 days in office with the launch of a live tracker that allows the public to measure his administration’s progress moving forward.

Using the real-time tracker at ChattaData.org, residents can monitor changes to individual action items and browse actions taken toward each goal.

The Chattanooga Tourism Company has awarded $302,500 to 26 local arts, culture and heritage partners through the inaugural Cultural Tourism Advancement Grant. During the first round of the grant, 45 applicants requested $1.5 million in assistance for events, enhancements, exhibits and more.

As any parent knows, children tend to do whatever you least expect. In the case of an endangered four-eyed turtle hatchling at the Tennessee Aquarium, however, merely existing was a huge surprise.

On July 11, a volunteer was tending an enclosure in a backup area of the River Journey building. This habitat was supposed to house only an endangered female four-eyed turtle, but the volunteer soon discovered that the adult turtle wasn’t alone.

If you’ve had an IRA and a 401(k) for many years, you may occasionally ask yourself some questions:

• “Am I contributing enough?”

• “Am I still funding these accounts with the right mix of investments for my goals and risk tolerance?”

If you’ve got more bills than money, the usual advice is to trim expenses and find additional income. But some ways of raising cash can be a lot more expensive than others. Here are four that should be avoided, if possible, and what to consider instead.

Obtaining a vehicle history report is an integral part of any used-car purchase. It’s one of the best ways to learn about a given vehicle’s past and help make your search for a used car much easier.

Most importantly, the report tells shoppers if a car has a branded title. Branding means an insurance company has declared the vehicle a total loss and given it a salvage title because of an accident, flood damage or other catastrophic event.

Imagine leaving work one night this week. For good.

No more 9-to-5s, no more waiting for that important document or email. No more Mondays, managers or meetings because you’ll be dead and you won’t sweat those things anymore.

Imagine it, because everybody dies and so will you. “We All Know How This Ends.” by Anna Lyons & Louise Winter gives us a vehicle to talk about it?

Old habits apparently die hard. The Tennessee Titans are now equipped with maybe the best wide receiver tandem in the NFL after adding Julio Jones to A.J. Brown.

But early in training camp, while those guys are getting their share of deserved attention, an underdog receiver is also drawing rave reviews.

Twenty years ago, when college quarterback Drew Bennett beat the odds to make the Titans roster as an undrafted receiver, the stars aligned perfectly.

And when the opportunity came, Bennett made the most of it.

Bennett, 42, now lives back in Northern California, has two daughters and works in financial services and business development.