On April 28, the mayors of Bristol, Elizabethton, Johnson City, Kingsport and all of Carter, Sullivan and Washington counties in Tennessee published a joint letter asking citizens to assist in a “responsible reopening of business in their communities. The text follows: April 28, 2020  Citizens of Bristol, Elizabethton, Johnson City, Kingsport and all of Carter, Sullivan and Washington counties:   As our cit ...

Above: RCAM and Northeast State Testing Services moved proctored testing online for students. Photo courtesy Northeast State As Coronavirus/COVID-19 forced a national shutdown, colleges sought new ways to engage students and deliver content online. The Regional Center for Advanced Manufacturing (RCAM) of Northeast State partnered with the college’s Office of Testing Services to keep apprentice students on t ...

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee announced Friday a set of guidelines by which Tennessee businesses may begin the process of re-opening. “Like the rest of the country, Tennessee has taken an unprecedented economic hit with families and small businesses feeling the most pain,” Lee said. “We must stay vigilant as a state, continue to practice social distancing, and engage in best practices at our businesses s ...

By Scott Robertson Small businesses in northeast Tennessee and southwest Virginia that are worried about how to keep the doors open as the COVID-19 crisis continues have a new potential source of funding. Several regional organizations and businesses Friday launched the Local Business Recovery Fund. The fund will raise money over the next month and distribute those funds to businesses with 50 or fewer emplo ...

A significant drop in elective procedures at the interventional cardiology program at Greeneville Community Hospital has led Ballad Health System administrators to push forward the timeline of changes to cardiac care there. “As we were planning for the future growth of our cardiology program, the issues presented by the pandemic have caused us to accelerate certain plans in the interest of good patient care ...

Above: Alan Levine, Ballad Health Chairman and CEO By Scott Robertson Ballad Health will begin implementing furloughs Friday for around 1,300 employees, Chairman and CEO Alan Levine said Wednesday. Levine said the system had considered several models regarding crisis staffing levels and had chosen to furlough some workers so those workers could collect the extra unemployment benefits offered through the CAR ...

Pictured Above, CEO of Ballad Health Alan Levine By Dave Ongie At a time when public health officials are urging people to stay apart, Alan Levine claimed during his Tuesday media briefing that medical professionals at Ballad Health are finding out they are indeed “better together” as they address the COVID-19 outbreak in our region. “I cannot imagine what it would be like right now if we were still Mountai ...

Pictured Above, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee On Monday, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee announced $200 million in grants to be distributed to every county and city government across Tennessee for one-time, local expenses in fiscal year 2021. “Capital maintenance, public safety and road projects don’t pause for disasters like the March tornadoes and the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Gov. Lee. “This grant fund will eas ...

Pictured above, Steve Smith, CEO K-VA-T Food Stores K-VA-T Food Stores CEO Steve Smith told reporters in a video conference Tuesday morning his Food City chain is working to purchase enough masks for every employee who wants one to be able to wear one at work. “Our associates are free to wear them as they desire, and hopefully we will be supplying them by sometime next week,” Smith said. “In the meantime, i ...

By Scott Robertson It’s 10 a.m. Monday at Tri-Cities Airport in Blountville. The parking lot is virtually empty, save for overflow of rental cars nobody’s renting. The three TSA agents estimate they’ve allowed around a half-dozen travelers to the gates this morning. The gift shop closed a few days ago with no pre-determined re-open date. And, upstairs in the conference room, the airport management staff is ...