by Scott Robertson Officials representing several Chambers of Commerce in the region as well as the Northeast Tennessee Regional Economic Partnership and NETWORKS Sullivan Partnership distributed the first round of grant checks from the Local Business Recovery Fund May 29 – June 4. The first grants to regional businesses struggling from the economic fallout of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic were anno ...

The Tennessee Poll, conducted late last month by the Applied Social Research Lab at East Tennessee State University, sought to take a snapshot of the state’s potential voters in advance of the 2020 general election. At this time, it is impossible to predict who will vote in November, but 52.8% of the eligible voting population in Tennessee cast a ballot in 2016, so turnout could be similar in 2020. The Tenn ...

Pictured above, the Asian Giant Hornet While there have been a couple of sightings of Vespa mandarinia — commonly called the Asian giant hornet — in North America, there have not been any sightings in Virginia or on the East Coast. The hornet was first seen in North America in fall 2019 when it was spotted in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and was subsequently destroyed. At the time, no further Asian ...

Tennesseans are closely following news about the COVID-19 pandemic. They express concern about themselves or a loved one being infected and they are making choices accordingly, finds the most recent Tennessee Poll. The Applied Social Research Lab (ASRL) at East Tennessee State University surveyed 618 Tennesseans from April 22-May 1, 2020, about their thoughts, concerns and actions related to COVID-19. This ...

By Scott Robertson Ballad Health and Ensemble Health Partners announced Thursday morning a partnership that will bring up to 500 new jobs to the region in the next five years. Around 1,100 Ballad employees in the areas of revenue cycle management will become employees of Ensemble, which has committed to building (or occupying an existing property to house) a service hub in which to expand. Ensemble will ass ...

Partnership will locate a regional service center in the area for the nation’s “Best in KLAS” revenue cycle innovator recently recognized with “Top Workplace” designation Leaders from Ballad Health and Ensemble Health Partners (“Ensemble”), with the unanimous approval of the Ballad Health Board of Directors, today announced a historic strategic partnership which will result in the placement of a new regiona ...

Above: The main concourse at Tri-Cities Airport stands deserted at midday. Photos by Scott Robertson By Scott Robertson Tri-Cities Airport (TRI) Executive Director Gene Cossey began his April 23 COVID-19 crisis update for the Airport Authority with a sentence of understatement. “There’s a lot to talk about here,” Cossey said, before adding, “We could possibly be here for several hours talking about everythi ...

Virginia exercises abundance of caution; Tennessee moves ahead with new rules By Scott Robertson For decades, the double yellow line in the middle of State Street in Bristol has been the demarcation that most visibly defined the Tennessee-Virginia state line. Today that line neatly marks the ideological gap between two different approaches state governments in America are taking in allowing the re-opening o ...

As large summer conferences and mass gatherings remain in doubt amidst continued social distancing recommendations from public health officials, the Tennessee Valley Corridor announced March 7 it is shifting its Annual Summit and 25th anniversary celebration to a series of special online events this summer. Originally scheduled to be held July 15-16 at Milligan College, the Corridor’s Annual Summit will ins ...

Ballad Health will begin offering same-day surgical procedures next Monday, as the system works through the first few weeks of ramping up its return to performing all elective surgeries, said Dr. Beth Jackson, chief of staff at Holston Valley Medical Center. “We’re doing this in a slow, efficient and safe manner to protect everyone involved,” Jackson told a virtual press conference Wednesday afternoon. All ...