Here is your Cleveland, Tenn. | Bradley County, Tenn. news on mymix1041.com, sponsored by Toyota of Cleveland: From WRCB Channel 3… Federal regulato
Here is your Cleveland, Tenn. | Bradley County, Tenn. news on mymix1041.com, sponsored by Toyota of Cleveland:
Federal regulators have charged the owner of the Chattanooga Lookouts baseball team with “running a massive Ponzi scheme for over a decade” that has defrauded more than 400 investors already and continues to illegally raise more money to try to pay off previous investors.
In a 40-page complaint filed in federal court Friday, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charged John J. Woods and his Southport Capital investment firm with six counts of securities fraud. The complaint says Woods’ Ponzi scheme, which goes by the name Horizon Private Equity, collected over $110 million from investors with promises of 6-7% rates of return but the investments “are worth far too little for there to be any realistic prospect that the Ponzi scheme will be able to pay back existing investors their principal, let alone the promised returns.”
Woods, a 56-year-old East Ridge native, operates Southport Capital from his home in Marietta, Georgia and maintains offices around the country including in the UBS building in downtown Chattanooga, to manage more than $824 million of client investments. In 2014, Woods also became one of the general partners of the Chattanooga Lookouts minor league baseball team when his group bought the team from longtime owner Frank Burke and Woods has been an investor in several local real estate projects. Woods is now a minority owner in the Lookouts franchise along with other investors.
The University of Tennessee on Monday announced that it will extend its mask mandate to all indoor public spaces due to the ongoing spike in coronavirus cases and increasing hospitalizations.
UT had been under a temporary mask mandate that only applied to classrooms, laboratories, and indoor academic student events. Officials say the new requirement will extend to all indoor public spaces, but exceptions will include private offices, residence hall rooms, and while engaging in fitness activities.
According to a news release, the university will “re-evaluate the need for the expanded face-covering requirement by Sept. 7.”
As of Monday, Tennessee has seen 13,135 COVID-19 related deaths to date, according to researchers from Johns Hopkins. That death count is the 15th highest in the country overall and the 24th highest per capita at 194 deaths per 100,000 people.
A historic building in downtown Cleveland that once housed inmates, will soon be demolished.
The plan is raising concerns with historical preservation organizations.
First Cumberland Presbyterian Church bought the Old Bradley County Jail on Second Avenue more than 20 years ago.
Built in 1935, it has served several purposes through the years, including church office and classroom space.
However, Reverend Jennifer Newell tells us the building is not accessible to everyone, and the cost to update it will be more than a million dollars.
She says that money would be better spent serving the community, and wants the property turned into green space, an outdoor classroom and a playground.
But Sharon Marr with the non-profit “Main Street Cleveland,” says the old jail is on the National Register of Historic Places.
She says the property could be used as a short term rental or leased to another business.
Reverend Newell says a timeline for when the Old Bradley County Jail will be demolished has not yet been decided.
In news today…
The Cleveland City Council met on Monday covering several items of business. City Manager Joe Fivas reported the Dalton Pike Sidewalk Project has officially begun. The new sidewalk will allow walking from Wildwood Avenue to Walmart. It is expected to be completed in a little over a year. An ordinance amending prohibited types of animals within the city was passed. Under this ordinance, swine are prohibited anywhere within the corporate limits of the city. Also prohibited are cattle, cows, sheep, horses, goats, donkeys, mules, and any other large livestock, Exceptions are made for parcels of land zoned as Residential Agricultural, or land that is 5 acres or more, but only where the applicable private subdivision regulations allow.
Also in news today…
The Bradley County Commision met on Monday covering several items of business. Bradley County Mayor D. Gary Davis said COVID-19 numbers were very up, and encouraged citizens to talk to their doctors. Discussion took place about an annexation issue affecting housing development near Pleasant Grove Trail and Pleasant Grove Place. The issue is inhibiting housing development, contributing to a housing shortage in Bradley County. It was noted a company is looking to move into Bradley County but would need more homes available to house the incoming workforce.
