Ron Harr to host TV show about health on WTCI
Former Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce President Ron Harr will host a new health show on Chattanooga’s public television station, which will debut as “Explore Health” at 8 p.m. on Oct. 5.
The series will feature health experts exploring the a variety of health topics in 12 episodes during the fall and winter season.
“I truly believe that better public understanding of these issues can help solve many of our problems,” Harr said in announcing the new show on WTCI-TV, Channel 45. “PBS is a trusted source of unbiased information and I’m excited to work with the award-winning team at WTCI on this new series.”
The show, which will be sponsored by BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, Morning Pointe Senior Living and Southern Adventist University, reflects WTCI’s commitment to local programming and partnerships with area business, WTCI President Paul Grove said.
First Bank gets OK for Clayton Bank buy
FB Financial Corp., the parent company of First Bank, has gained all regulatory approvals for its proposed $284 million acquisition of Clayton Bank and Trust and American City Banks from Knoxville businessman Jim Clayton.
Christopher T. Holmes, president and CEO of FirstBank, said he expects to close the purchase by the end of the month.
“The cultures of the banks have complemented each other even better than we expected,” Holmes said. “Both the Clayton and FirstBank teams have been working hard to ensure a smooth integration of the companies.”
The company also announced that it intends to hold its special shareholder meeting on July 28, to approve the issuance of the stock consideration to Clayton HC as partial consideration for the acquisition of the Clayton Banks.
The addition of Clayton Bank and American City Bank will add more than $1.2 billion in total assets to FirstBank, which has grown to more than $3.2 billion through nine acquisitions of other banks in the region over the past three decades since nursing home millionaire Jim Ayers bought FirstBank in 1984.
QVC parent to buy Home Shopping Network
QVC’s parent company is taking control of the Home Shopping Network for about $2.6 billion in stock to create what they say will be the third-largest e-commerce company in the United States.
The companies long known as bases for home shopping on TV had been dealing with sluggish sales as Amazon dominates online. Both had long moved beyond cable channels and were trying to refashion themselves for younger shoppers buying more on their mobile phones.
“They’re a little bit late to the dance of the online arena, but are catching up now,” said Craig Johnson, president of Customer Growth Partners, a retail research consulting firm.
The combination will help give QVC and HSN the scale they need to take on more established online competitors. A key focus will have to be offering unique, exclusive products at a compelling value. Otherwise, he said, competitors including Amazon and Walmart will be tough to beat online.
Liberty Interactive Corp., which owns QVC, already owned 38 percent of HSN. Integrating them will make them “stronger than they are individually and stronger yet as a stand-alone entity” in a “changing and difficult market,” said Greg Maffei, Liberty’s president and CEO.
AGs sue DeVos for rule delays
Democratic attorneys general in 18 states and the District of Columbia are suing Education Secretary Betsy DeVos over her decision to suspend rules meant to protect students from abuses by for-profit colleges.
The lawsuit, filed Thursday in Washington, demands implementation of rules that aim to make schools financially responsible for fraud and forbid them from forcing students to resolve complaints outside court.
States sue EPA over pesticides
Several states are seeking to join a legal challenge to a Trump administration decision to keep a widely used pesticide on the market despite studies showing it can harm children’s brains.
Led by New York, the coalition filed a motion Wednesday to intervene in a legal fight over the continued spraying of chlorpyrifos on food.