A Kingsport debate between the leading Tennessee gubernatorial candidates originally set for May 22 has been cancelled by the organization that had scheduled it. The PEAK Young Professionals organization made the announcement via email Monday. “Due to scheduling conflicts that have arisen over the last two weeks with several of the gubernatorial candidates, less than half of the candidates are now confirmed ...

On the Long Island of the Holston River, 101 years ago, a town was founded. Now, that town has reclaimed its prodigal drink. The Long Island Iced Tea, which has long been a favorite among mixed drinks, was actually first produced on the Long Island in Kingsport during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, Kingsport is reclaiming its rightful place in history as the home of the original Long Island Iced Tea. "W ...

Lawsuit against prescription opioid producers set to move forward Second Judicial District Chancellor E.G. Moody issued a ruling today on multiple motions filed by prescription opioid producers to dismiss the Sullivan Baby Doe lawsuit. The lawsuit was jointly filed on June 13, 2017, in Sullivan County Circuit Court in Kingsport, Tennessee, by the district attorneys general of Tennessee’s First, Second and T ...

Contura Energy and Alpha Natural Resources have agreed to merge in an all-stock deal, creating United States’ largest producer of metallurgical coal. The merger brings two companies that split during the settlement of Alpha’s 2015 bankruptcy back together. The newly merged Contura Energy will continue to be led by Contura's existing management team, some of whom, including CEO Kevin Crutchfield were with Al ...

March 2018 Rate Remains at 3.4 Percent Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and Department of Labor and Workforce Development Commissioner Burns Phillips have announced the March 2018 statewide unemployment rate for Tennessee remained near historic lows and matched the revised rate from the previous month. The preliminary, seasonally adjusted rate for March was 3.4 percent, which mirrored the revised rate for Februar ...

Bell (formerly Bell helicopter), a division of Textron, announced Monday it had let 120 employees go. That figure includes an undisclosed number from the Piney Flats, Tenn., facility. A spokesperson for the company confirmed the separations, but refused to disclose how many employees were cut from any single location, or whether those employees were line workers, management, or others. Textron recently dive ...

Photo above: Brian Tapp and Tyler Engle     The town of Erwin Tuesday opened its first co-working space, branded "Square One."     "When you combine Erwin fiber and a really cool workspace, you get Square One," said Lee Brown, general manager of Erwin Utilities, which partnered with the Joint Economic Development Board of Unicoi County to create the town's first co-working environment.     "So many people w ...

Photo above: Ballad Health Chairman Alan Levine   Ballad Health is in the process of eliminating around 150 jobs.  The positions affected by elimination of duplicative jobs include senior-level executives as well as middle management and front-line team members.  An additional 49 empty positions have already been eliminated through attrition. At a Tuesday afternoon press conference, Ballad Chairman and ...

Jim McGlothlin Eight years ago, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player headlined a fund-raiser golf tournament at the Olde Farm that raised $15.1 million for the Mountain Mission School in Grundy, Va. Round two is upcoming. A tournament that organizer and long-time Mountain Mission School supporter Jim McGlothlin says will feature 10 Hall of Famers from several sports will be held on the same course S ...

Southwest Virginia Teachers tour Mohawk Industries as part of the IGNITE program, Oct. 2017, file photo Virginia Governor Ralph Northam Tuesday announced five regional projects funded through GO Virginia (Growth and Opportunity for Virginia) grants totaling $1,115,300, including $250,000 for Region 1. Those funds will go to the United Way of Southwest Virginia to help expand the IGNITE program. The Ignite P ...