Monthly Archives: December, 2011
It’s Memorial Day [BRB]
Happy Memorial Day, Nashville. While you’re kicking back somewhere other than your workplace and enjoying some BBQ, be sure to remember the brave folks who have fought and died for this country in wars past and present. We’re going to take a holiday of our own here at Nashvillest, and we’ll see you guys bright and early tomorrow morning. And if you’re bored, head over to Now Playing Nashville to see what’s happening around town.
Photo by Zebra Mike.
Happy Memorial Day, Nashville. While you’re kicking back somewhere other than your workplace and enjoying some BBQ, be sure to remember the brave folks who have fought and died for this country in wars past and present. We’re going to take a holiday of our own here at Nashvillest, and we’ll see you guys bright [...]
Happy Hour: Whatchoo Talkin’ ‘Bout Willis?
- The folks at the Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation have given us the green light to frolic in the rivers and streams again, because the bacteria levels are finally back to normal. [WTVF]
- A few flood victims have taken to camping out on their land until their homes are rebuilt. [WSMV]
- Tennessee has only heard about 15 complaints of businesses price-gouging or ripping off flood victims. This either means that we can pat ourselves on the back for being such an honest state or that the incidents just aren’t being reported. So, reminder! You can report things like this to the Tennessee Consumer Hotline at Nashville, 1-800-342-8385. [WPLN]
- The Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital is getting a makeover! They’re slated for a $250 million expansion in the fall to offer more services for premature babies and children with heart disease or cancer. [WZTV]
- Nike staffers managed to rescue thousands of dollars worth of merchandise from their Opry Mills store by boat and then decided to donate it to flood victims. [WSMV]
- Additionally, please watch out for lightning this weekend, okay? We love you all and want to see you back here next week. [Nashville WX]
- And of course in non-Nashville news, the world lost Gary Coleman today. RIP, Arnold. [CNN]
Photo by wjb13.
The folks at the Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation have given us the green light to frolic in the rivers and streams again, because the bacteria levels are finally back to normal. [WTVF] A few flood victims have taken to camping out on their land until their homes are rebuilt. [WSMV] Tennessee has only [...]
Bright & Early: New Beginnings Edition
Good morning, Nashville. One of the biggest challenges with renovating the riverfront has been figuring out what to do with that eyesore of a scrap metal yard near LP Field, PSC Metals. The yard has been there for long, long time–so long, in fact, that it’s actually exempt from a lot of current city codes. But because of the damage it sustained in the flood, PSC might have to apply for new building permits that would require them to make some big changes like keeping the monstrous metal piles inside. There’s a possibility that it might even move. As Councilman Mike Jameson told WKRN, we love that it’s a recycling plant and everything, but that doesn’t mean it needs to sit on the river.
- New home for Tent City. Tent City folks have set up a temporary camp out in Antioch with the help of some local churches and will receive aid from FEMA to replace their lost shelters. Many of their new neighbors are none too pleased about the relocation, fearing a spike in crime.
- We’re open! Mayor Dean met with downtown merchants yesterday to emphasize the message that Nashville is open for business. So far, all the businesses that flooded have opened back up except for the Wildhorse Saloon and Joe’s Crab Shack. Wildhorse is set to open next week.
- Bits & pieces. More storms this afternoon … Most of the midstate lakes and waterways will be back open for Memorial Day weekend … Gas prices are continuing to fall, just in time for roadtrip season … It took the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office 11 days to figure out they’d accidentally released a murder suspect … A dispute over a proposed fish hatchery is the entire reason we don’t yet have a state budget for next year .
Photo by weownthisdoug.
Good morning, Nashville. One of the biggest challenges with renovating the riverfront has been figuring out what to do with that eyesore of a scrap metal yard near LP Field, PSC Metals. The yard has been there for long, long time–so long, in fact, that it’s actually exempt from a lot of current city codes. [...]
Happy Hour: Get Out Of The Gutter
- A woman was reportedly “not surprised, but amused” when Coffee County issued her a license plate ending with the letters “WTF.” And for the record, the Tennessee Department of Revenue will replace these plates for free, but they doubt the letters are really that offensive because “not everyone has their mind in the gutter.” Well, except us because we’re still giggling. [Tennessean]
- Who knew that any part of Tennessee was actually less soggy than usual? The folks in Montgomery County are actually three inches below average for the
month of Mayyear. [WSMV] - Just as everyone and their mother (and the governor, of course) predicted, the state Senate voted to override Governor Phil’s veto of the new “guns in bars” bill. [WKRN]
- Paul McCartney will be paying Music City a visit for the first time, finally, on July 26th. Though we feel it’s somewhat of a travesty that he hasn’t ever played here before, we’ll take it. Tickets go on sale on June 7th at 10am. [Tune In Music City]
- Governor Phil wants to remind us all that we shouldn’t get too comfortable after one month of collecting more revenue than expected, because the recession is not over. Guess we’ll have to roll up our “Mission Accomplished” banner and stuff it back in the closet for now. [WPLN]
Photo by wjb13.
A woman was reportedly “not surprised, but amused” when Coffee County issued her a license plate ending with the letters “WTF.” And for the record, the Tennessee Department of Revenue will replace these plates for free, but they doubt the letters are really that offensive because “not everyone has their mind in the gutter.” Well, [...]
Bright & Early: A Promise Is A Promise Edition
Good morning, Nashville. With Memorial Day weekend coming up, lots of folks will be roadtripping to, from and through town. TDOT will be doing their part to make the weekend run smoothly by suspending all construction-related lane closures, which includes I-440! We can hardly believe our ears. As we mentioned yesterday, the Tennessee Highway Patrol will be out in full force with more than 70 checkpoints set up all over the city to catch folks who may have partied a little too hard before getting behind the wheel.
- Sink, baby, sink. Another sinkhole opened up on Granny White Pike this morning, becoming one of many that have popped up around the midstate in the wake of the flooding. Watch this terrifying video of another sinkhole here.
- Willie’s new ‘do. Wait. Willie Nelson chopped off his pigtails, because he was tired of maintaining them? What does that even mean? In the words of the devastated fan on the internet quoted by WSMV, “Oh Noooooo!”
- Bits & pieces. Who knew that swiping some cheesesticks was a felony? … Another hot day with some pop-up storms in the afternoon … A small airplane made a hard landing at BNA yesterday, but fortunately no one was hurt … An AT&T employee claims she was fired for missing work because her house flooded.
Photo by Silenus81.
Good morning, Nashville. With Memorial Day weekend coming up, lots of folks will be roadtripping to, from and through town. TDOT will be doing their part to make the weekend run smoothly by suspending all construction-related lane closures, which includes I-440! We can hardly believe our ears. As we mentioned yesterday, the Tennessee Highway Patrol will [...]
Happy Hour: Crank It To Eleven
- FEMA has approved more than $118 million in aid for flood victims so far, and the Small Business Administration has doled out nearly $10 million in loans. [WTVF]
- We’re not sure what to think of this new public art installation, but anything that involves a “massive and indestructible crank” (challenge!) at least deserves a chance, right? [WKRN]
- May hasn’t been a huge month for tornadoes in Tennessee, relatively speaking. We’ve had 14 touch down this year, and that sort of pales in comparison to the 43 that touched down in May 2002. [WTVF]
- We always meant to visit Dairy King, and if they ever rebuild it, we want a piece of that deep-fried chocolate pie which will probably someday kill us. [WKRN]
- Belmont will be hosting a pre-primary gubernatorial debate in July, which isn’t nearly as cool as the Presidential Debate. But few things are, really. And “Debate ’10″ doesn’t really have the same ring to it. [WSMV]
Photo by fallingwater123.
FEMA has approved more than $118 million in aid for flood victims so far, and the Small Business Administration has doled out nearly $10 million in loans. [WTVF] We’re not sure what to think of this new public art installation, but anything that involves a “massive and indestructible crank” (challenge!) at least deserves a chance, [...]
Bright & Early: Unlikely Help Edition
Good morning, Nashville. Most of us have heard the story about group of inmate volunteers who saved the Omohundro water treatment facility from flooding with their mad sandbagging skills. News Channel 5 takes a closer look at what happened that day and finds that some inmates worked as many as 36 hours straight shoveling 500 tons of sand into 34,000 sandbags that ultimately saved our water supply. Consequently, our whole city dodged a huge water crisis and the inmates are glad to have helped. Mayor Dean will be meeting with the 400 volunteers on Friday to thank them in person.
- Volunteer state. Hands On Nashville is getting some much-deserved praise for the way they quickly mobilized to meet the volunteer needs of the city. Having received some pretty significant national media attention, other cities across the country are looking to them and to Metro as models for emergency management.
- Getting creative. FEMA has taken to hanging out at home improvement stores like Lowe’s and Home Depot to try to find folks who need help and may not have already filed claims.
- Revisiting. Almost a year after Steve McNair’s murder, one of his sons roadtripped up to Nashville this week to take his own look at the murder scene. Though the evidence has been removed, he felt it was important to see where and how his father died.
- Bits & pieces. This should probably go without saying, but don’t tap the fire hydrants and run through them like sprinklers. We’re still conserving! … Also don’t give your flood-damaged stuff to Goodwill because they can’t use it … Coach Fisher and Chris Johnson are in a bit of a spat … More advice on salvaging photos damaged in the flood … Consider Metro Schools’ custodial services officially outsourced … Whenever the future arrives, we will have a light rail … Tennessee Highway Patrol will be keeping an extra-close eye on drivers this Memorial Day weekend.
Photo by pr9000.
Good morning, Nashville. Most of us have heard the story about group of inmate volunteers who saved the Omohundro water treatment facility from flooding with their mad sandbagging skills. News Channel 5 takes a closer look at what happened that day and finds that some inmates worked as many as 36 hours straight shoveling 500 tons [...]
Happy Hour: Bouncing Right Back
- Good news! Our water reserves are holding steady enough that Mayor Dean said car washes can reopen for at least a few hours every day. Sadly, they’re revoking our temporary HOV lane privileges as of next Monday. [WTVF & Examiner]
- Sen. Lamar Alexander says that a new EPA guideline regarding lead paint could drastically slow down recovery, so he’s asking for a delay. [Tennessean]
- Local news outlets have been keeping an eye on some possible shadiness related to Metro Police Chief Ronal Serpas’ methods for collecting crime data. Now it appears that some of the evidence has been stolen. [WSMV]
- CSX is reopening the route between Memphis and Nashville after completing some flood damage repairs weeks ahead of schedule. [WPLN]
- In case you weren’t able to snag tickets for tonight’s benefit at the Ryman, it’ll be livestreaming online from Hulu. The event kicks off the Opry’s 85th birthday bash, benefits the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, and features the likes of Brad Paisley, Ricky Skaggs and Steve Wariner. [Hulu]
- Roy L. Waldron Elementary School in LaVergne was one of the lucky winners of the Pepsi Refresh grant and was awarded $25,000 this morning for rebuilding their playground. [WKRN]
Photo by meglangford.
Good news! Our water reserves are holding steady enough that Mayor Dean said car washes can reopen for at least a few hours every day. Sadly, they’re revoking our temporary HOV lane privileges as of next Monday. [WTVF & Examiner] Sen. Lamar Alexander says that a new EPA guideline regarding lead paint could drastically slow [...]
Bright & Early: Manic Tuesday Edition
Good morning, Nashville. Along with leaving homes and properties in shambles, the flood also caused a record spike in unemployment according to the Tennessee Department of Labor. Thanks to huge employers like the Opryland properties closing down for months to come, thousands of Tennesseans have been left without work. The Department of Labor, which usually deals with isolated disasters like tornadoes, says that normal disasters bring in around 25 unemployment claims; statewide, they’ve had around 4,000 people file and have already approved 250. If you’re still looking to file, a list of centers accepting claims can be found here.
- Give ‘em a break. Lenders are waiving Gaylord Opryland’s debt for the time being until they’re able to open the hotel and convention center back up, or until December 31st–whichever comes first. Initial estimates have them back up and running by October.
- Wanna get away? Southwest employees have been trekking around some of the hardest-hit parts of Nashville giving out free plane tickets to flood victims, because goodness knows those folks need a vacation.
- What a mess. Metro Public Works has 17 more days to pick up flood debris from around the city and move it to the temporary landfills in Percy Warner Park, Metro Center and out near the airport. But as far as getting those temporary sites cleaned up, there is no deadline.
- Bits & pieces. Free mental health counseling for flood victims is available all across the state, funded by a special disaster relief grant … Tennessee will be giving flood victims a break on property taxes … The European debt crisis will probably have a positive impact on our gas prices this summer … The Opry kicks off its 85th birthday shindig tonight at the Ryman.
Photo by Peppysis.
Good morning, Nashville. Along with leaving homes and properties in shambles, the flood also caused a record spike in unemployment according to the Tennessee Department of Labor. Thanks to huge employers like the Opryland properties closing down for months to come, thousands of Tennesseans have been left without work. The Department of Labor, which usually [...]
Happy Hour: Going With The Flow
- If all of the flood-related arrests can fit into one news article, then we’d say Nashville did pretty well. All in all, there were only nine arrests made for crimes considered to be flood-related. [City Paper]
- Homes and businesses that are in Nashville’s “floodway” will probably have to wait at least 10 months before getting checks from any buyouts that take place. [WZTV]
- The Green Hills YMCA is finally reopening after three weeks of repairing some pretty hefty damages inside the facility. Some parts of it won’t reopen until they’re allowed to bust out the pressure washers. [WKRN]
- Schools overseen by the Tennessee Board of Regents are looking at a 12% tuition hike spread out over the next two years. [WPLN]
- The Tennessee House passed a resolution commending Arizona on their new immigration crackdown, which has caused a huge controversy in the national media lately. [WKRN]
Photo by Nathan T. Baker.
If all of the flood-related arrests can fit into one news article, then we’d say Nashville did pretty well. All in all, there were only nine arrests made for crimes considered to be flood-related. [City Paper] Homes and businesses that are in Nashville’s “floodway” will probably have to wait at least 10 months before getting [...]
Active Discussions