News - Friday, September 22, 2023

In 2018, Makayla DeBusk sat in the driver’s seat of a white Volvo XC90 and told the vehicle it was pretty. She then said, “I’m going to take my family on vacation in you one day.”

Like a wild sapling aspiring to be a towering oak, DeBusk was looking up from her station in life. She’d come from roots as humble as the mottled grass outside the single-wide trailer in which she was living, and she’d always pinched pennies to make dimes, but as she sat in the seat of the spanking new luxury SUV, she elevated her vision beyond her circumstances.

Legal Aid of East Tennessee will devote the month of October to celebrating the American promise of “justice for all” and to honoring those who ensure justice is available to everyone – including those who cannot afford to pay for an attorney.

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee hosted a public reading of the U.S. Constitution to celebrate Constitution Day Friday, Sept. 15. The court held the event on the steps of the Joel W. Solomon Federal Building from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.

Jesse Branum will serve as the director of accounting of the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce. Prior to joining the Chattanooga Chamber, Branum served as accounting manager for Bake Crafters, where he oversaw six companies.

Branum holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting and business management from the University of Phoenix and has received a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Certification.

The city of Chattanooga plans to install a waste-to-energy system that will convert the city’s wastewater into a renewable energy source at its Moccasin Bend Environmental Campus, officials announced during a meeting of the Industrial Development Board (IDB) last week.

 At intermission, a tall, slim fellow in a camo baseball cap grinned as he walked by, no doubt seeing the smile that had been perched on my face pretty much all evening.

“You enjoying it?” he asked. I told him I was.

“Right on,” he said, extending a fist for me to bump in anonymous solidarity. “Great stuff.”

An immediate annuity is an insurance product that provides guaranteed income: You give an insurer a chunk of money, and the company gives you a stream of payments that can last for life. The payments begin within 12 months of purchase.

Now may be a good time for retirees to buy an immediate annuity, since payouts are the highest they’ve been in a decade, says Rob Williams, managing director of wealth management at Charles Schwab.

The return of federal student loan payments in October has the potential to derail your finances, especially if you’re already struggling with credit card payments.

One in five student loan borrowers have risk factors that suggest they could struggle with student loan payments when they resume, according to a June blog post at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

BASF in Chattanooga recently donated $1,000 to five high schools in Chattanooga to support each school’s STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, math) education curriculum. The donations help local students achieve their educational goals in these fields.

SouthEast Bank is funding scholarships for neighborhood micro schools operated by Chattanooga Christian School.

Micro schools are small K-5th grade schools located in area churches. The first school, The King School, opened in downtown Chattanooga in 2019. Since then, CCS has opened two more micro schools.

As the co-chair of the American Cancer Society’s 2023 Gala of Hope, Scott Greene decided it was up to him to do something different to create awareness of the ACS and its mission to serve local cancer patients. So, he climbed a mountain.

Greene climbed Lookout Mountain, that is. Beginning at 5:30 a.m. on June 25 at the blue lamp post at the corner of Broad Street and St. Elmo Avenue, Greene and his social media chair, Kierstin Murphy of Scout Realtor Group, started a 4.5-mile hike to Pointe Park they dubbed the Step-Up & Look-Out Challenge.

The National Association of Realtors is recognizing a Greater Chattanooga Realtors’ member for his community service.

Steven Sharpe, president of Greater Chattanooga Realtors, received the Tennessee Realtors’ 2023 Good Neighbor Award for his work with Camp Horizon, a summer camp experience for children with physical disabilities like paralysis, spina bifida and cerebral palsy.

In August, higher mortgage rates, elevated sales prices and a lack of housing inventory continued to impact market activity during the summer homebuying season.

The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has remained above 6.5% since May and hit a two-decade high in August, according to Freddie Mac. As a result, existing-home sales have continued to slow nationwide, dropping 2.2% month-over-month as of last measure, with sales down 16.6% compared to the same time last year, according to the National Association of Realtors.

The Hunter Museum is now featuring a special exhibition titled “Gilded: Contemporary Artists Explore Value and Worth.” The exhibition explores the use of gold leaf in contemporary artworks to question and challenge what we value and why.

Severe weather that damages homes and displaces residents can happen at any time. Planning before disaster strikes helps people stay safe and limit property damage. Don’t wait until the forecast calls for severe weather because you might not have enough time to prepare.

In the aftermath of the Titans’ first win in 10 months, defeating the Los Angeles Chargers 27-24 in overtime, a funny but respectful comment came from defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons.

“You dang right. It felt wonderful, man. We haven’t won a game since the Packers. Today, it’s amazing,” Simmons says. “Hell of a job by the offense, and Granddad on the team, Nick (Folk), going out to make the kick.”

Sometimes opportunities open up and guys like Kearis Jackson take advantage of them.

The Titans finally have the monkey of an eight-game losing streak off their back. Now, can they string together two wins in a row and take down another AFC opponent in the Cleveland Browns? The Browns aren’t a laughingstock anymore and picking up a road win at the Dawg Pound won’t be an easy task.

The Nissan Ariya is an all-new electric SUV for the 2023 model year. It’s Nissan’s second EV and serves as a roomier and more powerful complement to the brand’s pioneering Leaf hatchback. However, it’s also going up against many recently introduced SUV competitors, one of which is the Ford Mustang Mach-E.