News - Friday, September 18, 2020

Nandini Makrandi is standing within Hunter Museum’s expansive temporary exhibit gallery, discussing a painting by Susan Hauptman, a female artist she suspects many people might not know.

Then, like a professor who challenges her students with a pop quiz, Makrandi asks what seems to be a simple question: “Can you name five female artists who aren’t Georgia O’Keeffe, Mary Cassatt or Frida Kahlo?”

If “a bad day of golf beats a good day of work,” as the saying goes, then how much better than a day at the office is a fabulous day on the greens?

According to the participants in last week’s Chattanooga Bar Association Golf Tournament, held Friday at Nob North Golf Club in Cohutta, Georgia, exceedingly better.

Congress has mandated that the date of the signing of the Constitution – Sept. 17, 1787 – be commemorated.

Before COVID-19, schools, colleges and communities would have public gatherings to celebrate Constitution Day. Similar celebrations are impossible this year, because COVID-19 has forced many of our public institutions to operate under severe constraints.

Baker Donelson has achieved Mansfield Certification status after completing a 12-month certification program.

The Mansfield Rule Certification measures whether law firms have considered women, attorneys of color, LGBTQ+ attorneys and attorneys with disabilities for recruitment, governance roles, equity partner promotions and inclusion in formal pitch presentations to clients.

While traveling north on Battlefield Parkway the first week of September, drivers could have seen a simple advertisement for a Realtor on the billboard outside Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Realty Center, which is located in the attractive brick building across the street from Walmart.

The temperature outside is starting to dip ever so slightly, and as we look toward fall we normally see housing activity begin to slow a bit as the back-to-school season begins. But as we all know, this year has been far from normal. The housing and stock markets continue to lead the economy.

The COVID-19 pandemic is having a resounding effect on the way people live in the Tennessee Valley – not only in how they interact with those around them but also in how they view their homes.

More time at home might be changing the way individuals think not only about the measurable elements of their homes, such as the square footage available to use as work space, but also the quality-of-life elements, like indoor air, noise reduction and overall home performance.

Chattanooga’s Jewish community spoke out when the Rock on the University of Tennessee at Knoxville’s campus was painted with antisemitic remarks.

It then spoke out when Nashville’s Holocaust Memorial was desecrated.

And it responded quickly after Nazi swastikas appeared on Walnut Street Bridge and in the Bluff View Arts District Sunday morning.

American Battlefield Trust has purchased a nine-acre historic property near Brown’s Ferry with a history preceding the founding of the City of Chattanooga.

Earlier efforts to protect Brown’s Tavern were unsuccessful, but American Battlefield was able to muster donor support and matching grants from the federal American Battlefield Protection Program and the Tennessee Historical Commission’s Civil War Sites Preservation Fund to secure the site.

If you’ve recently become a widow or widower, you’re obviously dealing with an enormous emotional burden, and coping with your grief can seem like a full-time struggle. Unfortunately, the business of life must go on – and the financial moves you make at this time can have a big impact on your life.

Dr. Rishabh Shah has joined CHI Memorial Surgical Associates. Shah earned his medical degree from the University of South Carolina School of Medicine and completed an internship at the University of Washington in Seattle and a general surgery residency at the Cleveland Clinic Florida.

With the 60th anniversary of “The Andy Griffith Show” approaching Oct. 3, I call your attention to Nashville’s strong connection with Mayberry.

There was, of course, Floyd Lawson’s desperate declaration when he feared exposure of his deceitful brags in letters to a female pen pal: “I’m going to Nashville!”

Huey Magoo’s will bring its chicken tenders to Chattanooga as part of its expansion across the Southeast.

The fast-food franchise will open five restaurants in Tennessee, including Chattanooga, Cleveland and Charleston, eight restaurants in cities in South Carolina, including Charleston, Mount Pleasant and Columbia, and five restaurants in cities in Georgia, including cities Milledgeville, Statesboro, Centerville and Warner Robins.

CHI Memorial has announced the officers and members of its board of directors for 2020-21.

William Warren, M.D., will continue to serve as chair of the board of directors; Jill Aplin will continue to serve as vice chair. Corinne Allen will continue in her role as secretary, and Michael Sutton, chief financial officer, CHI Memorial, will serve as board treasurer.

The Hamilton County Water and Wastewater Treatment Authority is increasing sewer fees 12% to begin to meet the financial obligations of an accelerated work plan, according to a news release from the WWTA. The rate increase will take effect Oct. 1.

Southern Lit Alliance has awarded its annual Barnett Prize for Local Distinguished Author to Roy Morris, Jr.

This is the second year for the Barnett Prize, which is awarded annually to recognize an outstanding local author.

Southern Lit Alliance selected Morris based on his lifetime of work as an author, his awards and the quality of his submitted sample, the organization says in a news release.

The American Heart Association has relaunched its Chattanooga board of directors and announced its officers for the coming year.

Dr. Christopher LeSar, Vascular Institute of Chattanooga, will serve as the board’s president. LeSar is a vascular surgeon who has worked in the Chattanooga region for over 15 years. He is board certified by the American Board of Surgery and Fellow of the American College of Surgeons.

Chattanooga Ronald McDonald House will take its 31st annual Autumn Children’s Festival online due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Autumn Children’s Festival: At Home Edition will be live on the Chattanooga Ronald McDonald House Facebook page (facebook.com/RMHChattanooga) Tuesday, Sept. 29-Saturday, Oct. 3.

The southeast region of the Tennessee Suicide Prevention Network will hold a virtual event Sept. 29, 8-9 p.m., to recognize Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. The event will be streamed live via the Tennessee Suicide Prevention Network’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/TSPNorg).

Sanwell Public Relations has established an annual $500 scholarship to benefit Northside Neighborhood House, a local nonprofit that promotes the independence of residents in northern areas of the Chattanooga region through education and assistance.

The Tennessee Public Utility Commission voted this week to approve $4.8 million in rate adjustments following its annual financial review of Chattanooga Gas.

The ruling will allow the TPUC to recover costs incurred in 2019 while “enhancing safety, improving reliability and expanding its system to support the unprecedented growth experienced in the Chattanooga region,” the company says in a news release.