Tennessee Governor Bill Lee on Tuesday announced his plans to repeal the amusement tax on gym memberships in his upcoming budget. “I’m pleased to be able to include a tax cut in my first budget,” said Lee. “Repealing the gym tax is an important step in reducing the burdens on small businesses in our state.” The nearly 10 percent amusement tax is placed on memberships to gyms, fitness centers and health club ...

By Dave Ongie A grand jury in Greeneville, Tenn., recently returned an indictment against a Chinese-born scientist formerly employed by Coca-Cola and Eastman for conspiracy to steal trade secrets related to formulations for BPA-free coatings. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Xiaorong You, aka Shannon You, 56, of Lansing, Mich., and Liu Xiangchen, 61, of Shandong Province, China, were named in th ...

Representatives from Ballad Health, the United Way of Southwest Virginia and Healthy Kingsport led a meeting at Bristol Regional Medical Center Tuesday, including the 24-member leadership council of a new accountable care community in Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia. The Appalachian Highlands community will be the first accountable care community in the U.S. to encompass areas of two states. “Thi ...

By Dave Ongie From a school library in Gate City, Virginia, to the infield of Bristol Motor Speedway to a letter of support for Ballad Health penned by chambers of commerce from around the region, one phrase kept popping up last week: Accountable Care Community. The phrase itself is not new, but according to Ballad Health CEO Allan Levine, the emphasis now being placed on the phrase in our region is packed ...

Above: Governor Bill Lee and Business Journal Managing Editor Scott Robertson at the MeadowView Conference Resort & Convention Center. Photo courtesy State of Tennessee During his 2018 campaign for governor, Bill Lee repeatedly made the point that Tennessee had done great things to improve college accessibility and graduation rates, but that he was interested in creating new pathways to prosperity for n ...

Above: Dr. Teresa Kidd and Representative David Hawk The new and former CEOs of Frontier Health are both making news. Kristie Hammonds, the new CEO, has recently overseen the acquisition of the former Johnson City Specialty Hospital building. Her predecessor, Teresa Kidd, has been honored by the state of Tennessee. Kristie Hammonds Hammonds started with Frontier Health back in the late 1990s. She worked her ...

The March 2019 issue of The Business Journal of Tri-Cities TN/VA takes a deep dive into the business of aging. How is the accelerating demographic shift affecting market sectors from wealth management to health care? And, how will the graying of the region affect businesses that don’t deal directly with the seniors market as the overall economy changes? Reserve your space in this special focus section now. ...

By Scott Robertson It was only a matter of time. When Johnson Commercial Development built the Pinnacle retail development on the Tennessee side of the Virginia state line in 2013, principal Steve Johnson had already bought 350 acres on the Virginia side abutting the Tennessee property. Because Johnson is not known for leaving money on the table, it was assumed by most observers that he’d develop the Virgin ...

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