Above: Sullivan County Mayor Richard Venable and Bristol, Tenn., Mayor Margaret Feierabend. Photos by Earl Neikirk, Courtesy Bristol Chamber of Commerce GM Jerry Caldwell says track is ready to be under world’s microscope by Scott Robertson On July 15, Bristol Motor Speedway (BMS) will host what will likely be the most important event in its history. The irony is that from an attendance standpoint, it will ...

by Scott Robertson The First Tennessee Development District (FTDD) Board of Directors voted June 30 to allow a task force to recommend charter and by-law changes to allow the FTDD Foundation to be used as a tool for regional economic development. The board, made up of mayors of cities, towns and counties in northeast Tennessee, approved the motion on a voice vote at its semi-annual meeting in Bristol. The v ...

Graphic: The MOVA Technologies process allows individual pollutants to be isolated separately so they can be resold to other companies. Region looks to pivot from “coal country” to “energy innovation capitol of the east coast” by Scott Robertson The image of Southwest Virginia as a region reeling from the decline of the coal industry was earned fairly. But a newly formed organization, the Southwest Virginia ...

May’s home sales made a slight bounce from April but continue to be gripped by the coronavirus economic fallout. There were 569 closings in May, up 4.7 percent from April, but down 21.7 percent from May last year, according to the Northeast Tennessee Association of REALTORS (NETAR). May’s average sales price was $184,593, up 3.9 percent from May last year. “Market activity is picking up,” NETAR President Kr ...

With the retirement of Dr. Phil Roe from Congress, a field of almost 20 candidates has qualified to run for the seat of 1st District United States Representative from the state of Tennessee. After weeks of campaigning, it has become apparent through polling and campaign finance reports that Dr. Roe’s successor will be one of six candidates: former Kingsport Mayor John Clark, Tennessee State Senator Rusty Cr ...

Above: Alan Levine listens as Dr. Brian Noland addresses the media. Photo courtesy ETSU Community partners support effort to research and combat adverse childhood experiences Ballad Health and East Tennessee State University announced June 26 a new partnership that will establish a first-of-its-kind institute to promote the awareness and empirical study of adverse childhood experiences, otherwise known as A ...

How Food City pulled together around its Abingdon distribution center to handle the unprecedented challenge of the COVID-19 crisis by Scott Robertson While many of the region’s businesses were deciding whether to find ways for their employees to work from home during mid to late March, grocery stores did not have that option. Business boomed, and because everyone has to eat, grocery stores became the most e ...

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 ...