Food City is hosting a company-wide Career Fair on Wednesday to hire more than 750 full-time and part-time positions at its more than 120 store locations in Tennessee, Virginia, Kentucky and Georgia.
Interested candidates can apply online at FoodCity.com or visit any Food City location to complete an employment application. The positions include both entry-level and experienced/skilled positions, such as meat cutter, cake decorator and retail management.
Food City is a local, family- and employee-owned grocery chain with benefits such as comprehensive training, healthcare coverage with medical and dental plans, 401(k) with a 3 percent company match, vacation accrual, vision coverage, company paid life and disability plans and Employee Stock Ownership Plan.
Local gas prices fall but may head higher
Despite higher gas prices in much of the country and higher crude oil futures trading Monday, gas prices fell at Chattanooga gas station last week by an average of 2.8 cents per gallon to $2.47 per gallon, according to GasBuddy’s daily survey of 170 stations.
Gas prices in Chattanooga are 11 cents per gallon higher than a month ago, but are still 37 cents per gallon less than the U.S. average price for regular gas of $2.84 per gallon, GasBuddy.com said in a report Monday.
But gas prices may soon be headed higher after the State Department said it will no longer grants sanctions waivers to any country that is currently importing Iranian crude or condensate. Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy, said tightening sanctions, unless offset by OPEC producers, will cause oil prices to continue to surge.
“This will cost Americans billions if the Administration enforces the end to waivers,” DeHaan said. “With such a policy change and waivers perhaps ending, it could directly cause another round of gas price increases just as the national average reaches its highest level in months and points to a more painful summer at the pump.”
Advanced Sleep Center expands to Lee Highway
The Advanced Center for Sleep Disorders, an independent sleep medicine clinic founded by Dr. Anuj Chandra with locations in Chattanooga, Cleveland and North Georgia, has moved its headquarters to a larger location at 6624 Lee Highway.
“Since we began the Advanced Center for Sleep Disorders in 2005, it’s been an honor to help so many people,” Dr. Chandra said. “Our need for a larger office is sign of how patients and their doctors have embraced us.”
Dr. Chandra and his staff will celebrate the center’s new location on Wednesday, May 15 from 5–7 p.m. with informal presentations open to the public on three topics:
* Problems with CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) Compliance and new machines and masks as well as treatment alternatives to CPAP.
* Inspire Upper Airway Stimulation, recently approved by the FDA for patients who are not helped by CPAP, is an implanted pacing device that monitors breathing and delivers a gentle stimulation to key muscles to keep the airway open.
* What Businesses Need to Know About Sleep Disorders-Every business is potentially affected if employees are not getting enough sleep, both by increased insurance costs from sleep-related health problems and by lost productivity as sleep deprived employees work below their best.
Home sales dip 4.9% in March
Sales of existing U.S. homes fell in March after a huge gain the previous month, held back partly by a sharp slowdown among the most expensive properties.
The National Association of Realtors says home sales fell 4.9% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.21 million, down from 5.48 million in February. The drop followed an 11.2 percent gain the previous month, the largest in more than three years.
Home sales are struggling to rebound after slumping in the second half of last year, when a jump in mortgage rates to nearly 5% discouraged many would-be buyers.
Realtors expect sales to rebound in coming months. Borrowing costs have since fallen back to an average of 4.2% on a 30-year fixed mortgage. The job market also remains solid.
Airbnb state tax revenue exceeds $22 million
Airbnb has announced the home-sharing platform brought in an additional $22.4 million in tax revenue in Tennessee last year after an agreement with the Tennessee Department of Revenue authorized the company to collect and remit both state and local sales taxes.
The agreement took effect on March 1, 2018 with initial expectations at just $13 million in annual revenue, according to the company.
Airbnb has agreements with Memphis, Knoxville and Hamilton counties to collect occupancy taxes, as well. About $73,000 was collected from Airbnbs in Hamilton County from October to December 2018, according to the Hamilton County Trustee’s Office. Airbnb didn’t start collecting taxes until October locally.
“This tax agreement is allowing our hosts and platform to deliver revenue and economic activity to rural parts of Tennessee that lack traditional hospitality options,” said Laura Spanjian, Airbnb’s senior policy director. “We hope to build on this economic impact in year two.”
Airbnb figures released in January show Chattanooga-area hosts earned around $11 million in supplemental income in 2018 and had about 110,000 guest reservations to the region, which includes Hamilton, Bradley, Grundy, Marion, Polk, Rhea, Sequatchie, McMinn, Bledsoe and Meigs counties.