Spring Street Park

Johnson City Christmas Parade 1963

Camping ban seems redundant, divisive What are we missing here? Tonight the Johnson City Commission will consider on third and final reading a controversial ordinance that would prohibit camping on public property. City leaders proposed

Boone-Market mess comes to an end in downtown Johnson City Things were suddenly smooth in downtown Johnson City on Wednesday afternoon. Some 21 months of work on the west side of town was substantially completed, as drivers and pedestrians no longer had to

Such a glorious day for camping out!

A perfect day to camp out and enjoy the warm sun!

Main Street paving Could the end be in sight for the work around Boone Street in downtown Johnson City? For more than a year, construction crews have had pavement and sidewalks torn up in the area as part of the city’s flood mitigation efforts around the new King Commons park. Boone, King Street, West Market Street,...

King Commons was part of the Downtown Stormwater Master Plan of 2008. Property acquisition in the area of McClure Street started in 2010 and ground was broken in 2016. By daylighting King Creek – and part of the original Brush Creek – along with construction of the Boone Street culvert, downtown Johnson City now has significantly more flood protection than before. Between Founders Park (downtown’s other stormwater mitigation greenspace) and King Commons, approximately 1,600 feet of creek that had been encapsulated for nearly 100 years has been opened.

Construction of the 3-acre recreational and special event space was completed in December 2017. Following finishing touches, King Commons officially opened April 6, 2018. It features artistic metal railings, a colorful mural, solar bollards, and Johnson City’s landmark sign. Approximately 40 new parking spaces have been added in the area. The project cost was approximately $3 million.

Special thanks to: Barge Solutions, Ian Brownlee, Downtown Johnson City, Johnson City Public Works Department, LDA Engineering, Metal Museum, Public Art Committee, Snyder Signs, Thomas Construction, and the Mandolin Orchestra

Before opioids there was the jake leg crisis Jake leg was a by-product of Prohibition, just as synthetic ma*****na and herbal bath salts are a product of this country’s so-called “war of drugs.” Such bans fail to take into consideration just how stubborn Americans — who already mistrust the government — can be whe...

Naturally Yours: Holly-1/11/17
Connie Deegan, Nature Program Coordinator

This may not be news for many, but for those of you who don’t know, you’ll find this very interesting: most of our plants are ‘monoecious’, meaning they have both male and female reproductive organs on the same plant. They do not need a partner to reproduce. Some plants are ‘dioecious’ and are either male or female. Let’s consider a plant that almost everyone is familiar with, holly. Holly is very showy this time of year-a beautiful evergreen with stunning red berries. That would be the female plant. Male holly does not have berries. If you know you have a holly in your yard and you’re waiting for those beautiful berries and it isn’t happening, that’s because it’s either a male holly, or a female holly with no male in the neighborhood to allow pollination to take place. (How big is a neighborhood? About 300’). If it isn’t berry time, how else can you tell one from the other? The only other time to determine the plant’s s*x is when they are in flower. Both male and female hollies have tiny flowers with four petals, so that is of no help. But male flowers have 4 spiky stamens. Female flowers have a green bump or o***y. That description should work for you. Besides being wonderful to look at, there is another reason to be happy they are in your yard-the holly fruit is eaten by deer, squirrels, meadow voles, foxes, raccoons, cottontails, white-footed mice and many bird species.