Cruze Farm returned to downtown Morristown on March 24, offering several soft serve ice cream dessert options. The decision was based on the success of its temporary operations at the same location on East West Main Street in 2022. (Citizen Tribune reports)

First Citizen Bank agreed to buy Silicon Valley Bank after its collapse. The 17 SVB branches opened as First Citizen branches on Monday. SVB collapsed after concerns about its financial footing sparked a bank run. (The Washington Post)

Food City’s Project Help campaign raised $57,450 to provide heating assistance to local residents in need during the cold weather season. The promotion ran Jan. 4 – Feb. 7. Proceeds were awarded at Food City #672 in Knoxvillle on March 24. (Food City media alert)

Italy is temporarily blocking the artificial intelligence software ChatGPT in the wake of a data breach. The Italian Data Protection Authority’s measure involves temporarily limiting the company from processing Italian users’ data. The Italian watchdog says U.S.-based OpenAI, which developed Chag GPT, has 20 days to report measures it has taken to ensure the privace of users’ data or face a nearly $22 million fine. (AP Newsroom)

Morristown Area Chamber of Commerce will host its Small Business Awards of Excellence on Tuesday, April 25. The event will be held at 11:30 a.m. at All Saints’ Episcopal School. Chamber member businesses are nominated for the awards and their submitted applications are judged by a panel of local business professionals and business faculty and administrators from area colleges, universities and organizations. For more information, call the Chamber offices at 423-586-6382.

NYX Linden LLC recently announced last that it will invest more than $10 million and create nearly 140 new jobs to expand its manufacturing operations in Perry County.This project represents the plastics manufacturer’s first expansion since establishing a presence in Tennessee in 2012. (TNECD Weekly Recap)

The Procurement Technical Assistance Center at the University of Tennessee Knoxville’s Center for Industrial Services (CIS) will now be known as the Tennessee APEX Accelerator. It provides businesses interested in government contracting with no-cost, one-on-one technical assistance.For more information, email kenny.smith@tennessee.edu. (UT CIS newsletter)

The U.S. Postal Service has been having trouble filling vacancies in Vermont, resulting in significant delivery snarls and has motivated the state’s entire congressional delegation to send letters to the USPS Board of Governors and Postmaster Gen. Louis DeJoy demanding an “immediate plan of action.” (The Washington Post)

U.S. Small Business Administration will close its application on April 3 for federal working capital loans for those affected by the drought that began on July 26, 2022. Small businesses, ag cooperatives and nonprofit organizations in 14 TN counties were eligible to apply for low-interest disaster loans. (TNECD Weekly Recap)