Above: Richard Holder, NN president and CEO NN Inc. will pay 67 percent of 2019 property taxes due on its former headquarters in north Johnson City – rather than zero – after falling 107 jobs short of a tax incentive-related requirement. That will amount to approximately $113,000 and includes assessments on real estate and personal property. The company recently announced it would eliminate its remaining Jo ...

Direct economic impact and long-term workforce development promise make upcoming event a win for all involved by Scott Robertson This summer, around 1,500 of the brightest young minds in the world will congregate at the Kingsport Aquatic Center for an international robotics competition. They will have designed and built underwater remote operated vehicles (ROVs). They will have mastered the mechanics, physi ...

A worker helps raise the the new Johnson City Center sign on the former K-Mart property on Peoples Street last week. The new Johnson City Center will be anchored by Hobby Lobby, At Home and a third occupant that has yet to be named. PHOTOS BY DAVE ONGIE Chase Buchanan, manager of Batteries Plus Bulbs, expects the redevelopment of the K-Mart property to have a positive impact on all the businesses located on ...

Jeff Bedard, Crown Laboratories president and CEO The Johnson City Commission voted unanimously Thursday night to sign a letter of support to authorize a $450,000 grant to Crown Laboratories to help the company expand its Johnson City operations. Crown says it will create more than 200 new jobs, more than doubling its Johnson City workforce, and will invest around $27 million in the project. In addition the ...

Ballad CEO Alan Levine Ballad Health announced plans on Monday to invest $10 million annually to increase the wages of nurses employed by the healthcare provider. The pay increase for existing employees will take effect on June 23, and higher starting rates for new hires will also begin on that date. Ballad CEO Alan Levine announced the move in an internal email on Monday morning, which coincided with the s ...

State Senator Rusty Crowe (above) and State Representative Matthew Hill (below) were instrumental in pushing the Regional Retail Development District Act through Tennessee’s General Assembly last week. As State Senator Rusty Crowe reflected on the passage of a bill that may ignite major development around Exit 17 of Interstate 26, he summed the Regional Retail Development District Act that passed both ...

Representatives from Ballad Health, Speedway Children's Charities and Niswonger Children's Hospital announced a new regional initiative called STRONG Kids last Wednesday in Bristol. From left, BMS vice-president Julie Bennett, Speedway Children's Charities director Claudia Byrd, Balla Health vice-president Paula Masters and Niswonger Children's Hospital CEO Lisa Carter. PHOTO BY DAVE ONGIE By Dave Ongie, Ne ...

Alicia Summers Photo by Scott Robertson by Scott Robertson Economic developers in Washington County, Tenn., are hoping to lure a German company that manufactures fans, motors and other components for the heating and air conditioning units in the automotive and other sectors. The county is competing with one other location in Tennessee and one site in Texas for the business, according to Alicia Summers of th ...

Aundrea Wilcox Aundrea Wilcox, CEcD, Executive Director of The Kingsport Office of Small Business Development & Entrepreneurship (KOSBE), at the Kingsport Chamber, earned the designation of Certified Economic Developer (CEcD), a national recognition that denotes a mastery of skills in economic development, professional attainment and a commitment to personal and professional growth.  The CEcD exam ...

Above: TRI Executive Director Gene Cossey announces new service to DFW. American Airlines is now selling seats on the recently announced twice-daily flights between Tri-Cities Airport (TRI) and Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW). Those flights begin Sept.4, 2019. The TRI-DFW flights were announced by Gene Cossey, TRI executive director April 11. The airline began booking passage April 15. “Our passengers will now have ...