Japan’s Economic Bubble, the Lost Decade

Japan's late-1980s and 1990s economic bubble led to one of the worst economic downturns in history. Before delving into this topic, it is important to define what an economic bubble is. According to the NASDAQ glossary, an economic bubble is “a market phenomenon characterized by surges in asset prices to levels significantly above the fundamental value of that asset.

Vampire Plants

The standard definition of a plant is a life form that is green and capable of making its own food through photosynthesis, and for the majority of plant families that is true, and designated as autotrophs, meaning “self-feeding”. But there are plants that defy the status quo and lack the green chlorophyll needed for food production, and must get their nourishment through other means, some by taking it from other plants by sucking their version lifeblood, sap.

Union County and East Tennessee: A Region Fueled by Motorsports

In Union County, Tennessee, motorsports are more than just a weekend pastime. Its part of the community's identity. Whether it's a Friday night spent at the drag strip, a Saturday evening under the lights at a dirt track, or afternoon at a local cruise-in, racing has connected families and friends across generations.

International Overdose Awareness Day

International Overdose Awareness Day: Honoring Lives, Inspiring Hope
By: Rebecca Hughes, Executive Director, ICARE Union County
Each year, communities around the world come together on August 31 to recognize International Overdose Awareness Day—the world's largest campaign dedicated to ending overdose, reducing the stigma surrounding substance use, and remembering the lives lost to overdose.

The Music Heritage Wall and the Tennessee Music Pathways

Mayor Bailey, working with representatives from the Union County TN Farmers Market Board and the Union County Opry contracted with the East Tennessee Community Design Center in 2022 to develop conceptual drawings for Heritage Park to include the Music Heritage Wall. In 2023, members from the Farmers Market Board wrote a Tourism Enhancement Grant for $100,000.00 going towards a total budget of $135,815.00 to complete the Music Heritage Wall.

Anixety is Deeply Personal

Over the years, I have discovered professionally and personally that anxiety has a way of becoming intensely personal. No one else really feels exactly what you feel. They may know the facts of your situation, but they cannot fully experience the weight that is pressing against your heart. The sleepless nights, the racing thoughts, the constant "what ifs," and the quiet fears that no one else sees; those are carried in the deepest places, personal to the soul of the anxious one.