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 ...

The Tennessee Valley Corridor (TVC) has announced new dates for its 2020 National Summit celebrating 25 years of innovation in transforming the region. The Summit will now be held July 15-16, 2020 at Milligan College in Johnson City, Tenn. As the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak continues to impact daily life, organizers felt this postponement would help ensure the safety and well-being of the hundreds ...

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Pictured Above: Dr. Faisal Hossain, left, and Dr. Mamoon Rashid with several bottles of the hand sanitizer now being produced at ACP As the demand for hand sanitizer has grown and supplies of it have become almost non-existent as a result of the current Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the Appalachian College of Pharmacy (ACP) has ramped up its compounding lab and turned the lab’s focus to production of han ...

Pictured above: Food City President and CEO Steve Smith In a wide-ranging virtual press conference, Food City President and CEO Steve Smith announced Tuesday his company has joined a long list of grocery retailers offering increases in compensation for employees. “We are in the process of implementing a bonus payment system totaling around $3 million to reward our associates for their hard work and unpreced ...

Senator Rusty Crowe (R-Johnson City, pictured above), Chair of the Senate Health and Welfare Committee, announced today that due to the numerous calls and requests coming in regarding the coronavirus situation, he has officially repurposed and focused his senate office and staff to work directly, during the senate recess, as a resource center to quickly deal with and provide contacts regarding resources, re ...

A task force incorporating seven United Way organizations across the region has launched a $1.9 million fund-raising campaign to help address the challenges posed to families and individuals in northeast Tennessee and southwest Virginia by the effects of COVID-19 and the response to it. The regional taskforce includes United Way of Bristol TN/VA, United Way of Elizabethton/Carter County, United Way of Great ...

While we must grudgingly accept the new normal within the business community for at least the next few weeks, we don’t have to like it. So, please be aware that The Business Journal and bjournal.com maintain our commitment to providing you with news and information to help you do business, even if you (and we) are doing it from remote locations. We are fortunate that if this pandemic had to hit, it hit in a ...