Chattanooga Ear Nose and Throat Associates PC is relocating Monday from Glenwood to the downtown riverfront.
The group, which includes Dr. Jack Greer, Dr. David Armstrong, Dr. Peter Sabatini, Haven Howard, PA-C and Taylor Tucker, MSN, NP-C, are moving into the third floor of the new 33,000-square-foot medical office building at 901 Riverfront Parkway.
"Our entire office is very enthusiastic about this move," said Greer, president and managing partner of the practice. "We continually strive to create the best possible experience for our patients- from the parking lot to the waiting area to the examination rooms."
Chattanooga Ear Nose and Throat Associates has been serving the Chattanooga and North Georgia region for nearly half a century since the practice startedby Dr. Robert Bowers at CHI Memorial Hospital. Since then, the group has grown to include five specialists and 20 administrative staff.
"The 901 Riverfront Parkway is a brand new development that offers fantastic river views and hard-to-find custom office and medical space in the heart of the city," said Bob Elliott, president of Noon Development, which developed the new medical complex.
NRC probes radiation at Browns Ferry plant
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has launched a special investigation at one of TVA's nuclear power plants after a high dose of radiation was detected in a body of water at the plant site.
A diver received a dose alarm during underwater work last week at TVA's Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant in Alabama, according to a NRC report of the incident. When the diver approached the equipment pit wall near the pool used to hold used nuclear fuel at the Unit 1 reactor, an electronic dose rate alarm sounded, indicating elevated levels of radiation.
TVA later determined that a basket of used filters had been moved from the spent fuel pool into a position near the equipment wall, and this was not communicated to the next shift. TVA spokesperson Malinda Hunter said there was no risk and or excessive radiation exposure for the diver or radiation releases that endangered the public.
The NRC's 2-prson inspection team is expected to issue a report on its findings about the incident next month.
Bridgestone expands Morristown tire plant
Bridgestone Americas has announced that it is expanding a tire manufacturing plant in Tennessee.
The Nashville-based company said in a statement on Friday that it will spend $40 million to add 32,000 square feet to its Warren County plant, where it produces commercial truck and bus radial tires. The three-year project will allow the plant to make 275 more tires daily and meet market demand. Plans call for the plant to produce 9,400 tires daily by the end of 2020.
Bridgestone expects to break ground on the expansion before the end of the year.
Industrial output rises in October
U.S. industry expanded slightly in October, with manufacturing growth offsetting declines in mining and utility production.
Industrial production ticked up a modest 0.1 percent last month, the Federal Reserve reported Friday. It was the fifth straight monthly gain and left output up 4.1 percent on a year-over-year basis. The Fed said that recent hurricanes lowered production by about 0.1 percentage point in both September and October.
The economy has been growing at a solid rate this year. The gross domestic product expanded at an annual rate of 3.5 percent in the July-September quarter, with manufacturing contributing to the momentum.
But Andrew Hunter, U.S. economist at Capital Economics, said that the new report "provides further evidence that economic growth is set for a gradual slowdown in the fourth quarter."
Based on the industrial production report, economists at Macroeconomic Advisers trimmed their expectation for GDP growth in the current October-December quarter from a 2.6 percent rate down to 2.5 percent.
Sears gets OK to sell stores
Sears Holdings Corp. can begin trying to sell its best-performing stores after receiving court approval Thursday for its plans to auction off assets.
When the Hoffman Estates, Ill.-based parent company of Sears and Kmart filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last month, the retailer said it believed it could avoid liquidation by reorganizing around a smaller group of profitable stores, which it intended to sell to a new owner that would continue operating the business.
Judge Robert Drain of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York said he would sign off on the company's plans for auctioning those stores, including a timeline that would require Sears to find an initial bidder, or "stalking horse," by Dec. 15.
Other potential buyers would have to submit bids by Dec. 28, and the auction would be conducted Jan. 14, according to a Bankruptcy Court motion.
The court filings did not say how many stores would be included in the sale. Sears said about 400 of its stores are profitable, and it is reviewing others to see whether they can be made profitable.