Monthly Archives: December, 2011
Bright & Early: What’s The Plan Edition
Good morning, Nashville. We’re definitely in the thick of budget season at both the state and local levels, which has been complicated all the more by last month’s pesky flood. Yesterday, the Metro Council deferred a bill that would’ve increased Metro’s minimum wage for full-time workers to $10.77 and given all employees a 2% raise. They’ll instead vote on it the same night as they vote on Mayor Dean’s $1.52 billion budget proposal. The council passed the budget proposal for Metro Schools despite expressing downright disapproval of the controversial outsourcing of custodial work. Meanwhile, the General Assembly is well on its way to passing the state budget having finally worked out the whole to-build-a-fish-hatchery-or-not-to-build-a-fish-hatchery issue.
- Looking inside Opryland. Thanks to News 2, we get a bleak look inside the Gaylord Opryland Hotel, and the verdict is that it looks gutted, is still covered in mud and smells bad. But! Crews think they can salvage a lot of the greenery that’s inside. So that’s good news, right?
- Rocky roads. TDOT says “there is still a long way to go” with regard to road repairs for flood damages. Most of the remaining problem areas are out in rural counties, and some could take until the end of the year to fix.
- Bits & pieces. Metro’s outdoor pools will be opening next week … Along with the Opryland Hotel losing business during the downtown, surrounding businesses are also suffering … the Metro Council pushed back a bill that would ban all development in Nashville’s 100-year floodplain … For the next phase of TVA ash spill cleanup, all the ash will be stored right there in Kingston … Cuts in the state healthcare program could eliminate benefits for kidney patients, resulting in a loss of lives … Gatlinburg’s famous synchronized fireflies will be visible for a week starting this Saturday.
Photo by Mark in Nashville.
Good morning, Nashville. We’re definitely in the thick of budget season at both the state and local levels, which has been complicated all the more by last month’s pesky flood. Yesterday, the Metro Council deferred a bill that would’ve increased Metro’s minimum wage for full-time workers to $10.77 and given all employees a 2% raise. [...]
Happy Hour: We Got Our Flippy-Floppies
- Long live the KR Harrington water treatment plant! It’s finally back up and running, as Mayor Dean announced today, but let’s not all rush out and wash our cars and/or water our lawns and/or fill our swimming pools and/or tap the fire hydrants for fun just yet. Metro Water officials are still asking us to give it a few days to settle out, though no one’s going to arrest you if you want to give your car a bath (hopefully!) Speaking of, car washes can return to their normal hours starting tomorrow. [WPLN]
- Metro Codes has put the kibosh on the temporary Tent City site, which was set up on some land out near Hickory Hollow donated by businessman Lee Beaman through the Otter Creek Church of Christ. The homeless folks have to leave by July 5th. [City Paper]
- Clean-up crews are still working around the clock to get Opryland and the Grand Ole Opry back on their feet. We’re likely to hear an update from Gaylord on Wednesday about the progress that’s been made and maybe a target date for reopening. [WSMV]
- Fatal crashes were down significantly over the past few Memorial Days, with six car fatalities and one pedestrian killed. Sixteen people were killed last year and 13 in 2008. [WTVF]
- The United States Congress is threatening to cut an emergency fund that would provide Tennessee with an additional $340 million in flood recovery funds. Since we are sort of counting on that money in light of Tennessee’s perpetual state of broke-ness, state lawmakers say that “all bets are off” when it comes to state budget cuts if the federal money is off the table. [WSMV]
Photo by jimbenttree.
Long live the KR Harrington water treatment plant! It’s finally back up and running, as Mayor Dean announced today, but let’s not all rush out and wash our cars and/or water our lawns and/or fill our swimming pools and/or tap the fire hydrants for fun just yet. Metro Water officials are still asking us to [...]
Bright & Early: Back To Work Edition
Good morning, Nashville. Federal disaster unemployment claims are expected to reach nearly double of what the Department of Labor originally projected. About 400 folks qualify for this kind of assistance, and that only includes those who are self-employed, farmers, or in other situations where they don’t qualify for regular state-funded unemployment insurance benefits, for which almost 4,000 people have filed. The Department of Labor says that this is going to put a pretty big strain on the state’s fund, but it’s still manageable.
- Flooding predicted decades ago. Local historians managed to dig up some decades-old research by a Vanderbilt student who predicted “chronic flooding” in Nashville based on the city’s history of getting washed out. According to his papers, there were significant floods in 1779, 1780, 1781, 1786, 1788 and 1793, followed by four more in the 1800s. So um, hopefully this isn’t the start of a pattern!
- Last chance for debris pickup. Today is the last day for flood debris pickup, so if you haven’t already, be sure to set your stuff out by the curb and separate it into the four piles–metal, demolition material, yard debris, and household trash. Over the course of the last month, Metro has picked up more than 60,000 tons of flood waste.
- Bits & pieces. Altogether, the businesses that were damaged the flood have a $2.8 billion revenue stream for the city’s economy, which has been lost or interrupted during the downtime … No more cruisin’ solo in the HOV lanes, starting today … This hot ‘n’ stormy forecast is getting a little old … The State legislature is considering creating a new department for the “intellectually disabled” … There thankfully doesn’t seem to be any illness outbreak as a result of the flood.
Photo by ept_0202.
Good morning, Nashville. Federal disaster unemployment claims are expected to reach nearly double of what the Department of Labor originally projected. About 400 folks qualify for this kind of assistance, and that only includes those who are self-employed, farmers, or in other situations where they don’t qualify for regular state-funded unemployment insurance benefits, for which [...]
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