Monthly Archives: December, 2011
Happy Hour: Dream The Dream
- Chris Johnson and the Titans finally worked enough of a deal out that he’ll actually be showing up to training camp next week (somebody pinch us, are we dreaming?) He did end up talking himself into a pay raise, but the rest of the terms are still a mystery. [City Paper]
- Speaking of, single game tickets are up for sale now for five of this season’s seven home games. [WTVF]
- Tennessee’s prepaid tuition program, the Baccalaureate Education System Trust, seems to be strapped for cash these days. Since much of it depends on the stock market and the stock market hasn’t been doing so hot, the state just had to add $15 million to the fund to keep it going. [WSMV]
- Come hell or high water, or really just high water, the Opryland Hotel will be celebrating Christmas Nashville-style and will kick off their four-month decorating blitz this coming Wednesday. [WKRN]
- Businesses still trying to get back on their feet after the flood can hit up the assistance fair at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds on July 27th from 5:30-7pm. [Tennessean]
- The Aryan Nations, a white supremacy group, held a fabulous little White Pride parade in the heart of downtown Pulaski yesterday. If you haven’t found enough reasons to get angry today, hop over to the source and read, well, pretty much all of the quotes. [WKRN]
Photo by fallingwater123.
Chris Johnson and the Titans finally worked enough of a deal out that he’ll actually be showing up to training camp next week (somebody pinch us, are we dreaming?) He did end up talking himself into a pay raise, but the rest of the terms are still a mystery. [City Paper] Speaking of, single game [...]
Bright & Early: Do Something Edition
Good morning, Nashville. A recent comparison of volunteerism in large cities shows that Tennessee isn’t quite the Volunteer State it’s cracked up to be. Out of 51 large cities, Memphis clocked in at a very sad #35 and Nashville at an even sadder #37. The good news is that Tennessee’s volunteer numbers are on the rise; it’s just that everyone else’s numbers are rising faster. About one in three Tennesseans donated their time during 2009.
- Bike paths for all of us. Metro is ramping up its efforts to “transform Nashville into one of the most walkable and bikeable cities in the country,” with the help of our very own bike-path czar. We’ll believe it when we see it.
- They’ve been everywhere, man. The poor Nashville Symphony will be taking their show all over the city this fall since the Schermerhorn is still undergoing extensive repairs. And with $42 million in damage, they’re going to need lots of help. Party at the symphony, anyone?
- Bits & pieces. Governor Phil is trying to get the word out about the perfectly logical explanation for Tennessee’s standardized test scores plummeting this year … We heard that a bunch of people want to move to Arizona! … Leave it to East Nashville to do all sorts of neat organic farm-y things … Thanks to the flood, many Nashville streets went from bad to worse. And dangerous.
Photo by Richard Call.
Good morning, Nashville. A recent comparison of volunteerism in large cities shows that Tennessee isn’t quite the Volunteer State it’s cracked up to be. Out of 51 large cities, Memphis clocked in at a very sad #35 and Nashville at an even sadder #37. The good news is that Tennessee’s volunteer numbers are on the [...]
Happy Hour: We Saw The Sign
- Steer clear of the airport area this afternoon and evening. Vice President Joe Biden will be jetting into town to speak at TNDP’s Jackson Day event and his security detail might back things up. [Tennessean]
- Also avoid I-40 in West Nashville this weekend in that one spot near White Bridge with the eternal construction. It’s going to be especially bad this weekend. [WKRN]
- We had no idea there was such a thing as the Johnny Cash Flower Pickin’ Festival, but it has been canceled this year! [WZTV]
- And there’s about a 50-50 chance that we’ll get slammed with a storm or two this weekend. As always. [Nashville WX]
Photo by Nathan T. Baker.
Steer clear of the airport area this afternoon and evening. Vice President Joe Biden will be jetting into town to speak at TNDP’s Jackson Day event and his security detail might back things up. [Tennessean] Also avoid I-40 in West Nashville this weekend in that one spot near White Bridge with the eternal construction. It’s [...]
Bright & Early: Adventure Time Edition
Good morning, Nashville. Last night, Metro unveiled the much-anticipated plans for the riverfront adventure play park. Once you get past the computerized rendering filled with the Photoshopped children, it actually looks pretty fun. There will be a “hollow” for small children and a “gorge” for larger children (!?), a spray ground, a “scooped misting meadow,” a grass amphitheater and a canopy that doubles as a stage for events up to 1,200 people. A few years down the road, they’ll be adding a two-mile looped trail by the river, some trails, a cove, an overlook and grassy lawn. We also anticipate some great potential for new public art, which will only be acceptable if it looks like this. Construction is all set to start in October and in all seriousness, we’re more than ready to see Nashville finally spruce up its riverfront.
- Please oh please go take some pictures. We told you there was some American Idol traffic yesterday, but we didn’t realize that 10,000 people were already camped out down there. New plan: run for your lives.
- Anti-mosque billboard posted in Rutherford. A group of former Muslims have put up a billboard out in Murfreesboro protesting the proposed new mosque that’s drawn so much fire lately. The group, Former Muslims United, claims they want to warn Bible Belt dwellers about the threat of Islam as a political system.
- Oh, and early voting starts today! Find out where to vote, which races to vote in, and who’s running.
- Bits & pieces. The Army Corps of Engineers will be telling its side of the flood story today before the US Senate … Some jerks vandalized the offices of nonprofit Youth Encouragement Services and left a few thousand dollars-worth of damage and theft … Tennessee made some more improvements to their website that will hopefully make it a little less difficult to use …
Photo by wjb13.
Good morning, Nashville. Last night, Metro unveiled the much-anticipated plans for the riverfront adventure play park. Once you get past the computerized rendering filled with the Photoshopped children, it actually looks pretty fun. There will be a “hollow” for small children and a “gorge” for larger children (!?), a spray ground, a “scooped misting meadow,” [...]
Happy Hour: Too Early For Mission Accomplished?
- Let us all pause for a moment and rejoice in the news that there is no longer oil spewing into the Gulf, according to BP. [WKRN]
- Let us also rejoice in this other news that Tennessee’s unemployment rate took a small dip last month. [WTVF]
- The Titans have announced the 18 practices/workouts that will be open to the public. Just don’t expect to see Chris Johnson there! [City Paper]
- It’s official: Omni Hotels will be building the convention center hotel. [Nashville Post]
- Beloved songwriter Hank Cochran passed away today after a lifetime of giving the world some pretty amazing music. [Music Row]
- The city wants some advice on prettying up the intersection at 21st Ave. and Magnolia. We recommend a) a roundabout, or b) some sweet piece of public art that does not involve naked people or roller coaster parts or a Massive And Indestructible Crank. Or maybe both! [WSMV]
Photo by dsb nola.
Let us all pause for a moment and rejoice in the news that there is no longer oil spewing into the Gulf, according to BP. [WKRN] Let us also rejoice in this other news that Tennessee’s unemployment rate took a small dip last month. [WTVF] The Titans have announced the 18 practices/workouts that will be [...]
Bright & (Not So) Early: Better Late Than Never?
Good morning, Nashville. We wish we could say we’re late because we were stuck in American Idol traffic, but we have no such excuse. Your abbreviated Bright & Early:
- Tonight is the night when the city unveils their grand plans for that fun-sounding Riverfront Adventure Play park. That means we only have about 8 hours to speculate on what kind of adventures they plan to build for us. Ready, set, go! [WSMV]
- It’s going to be hot today. Like hot-hot. [Nashville WX]
- And there will be storms tomorrow, of course. [WTVF]
- Chris Johnson and the Titans have gotten exactly nowhere on contract negotiations, leaving CJ with nothing to do but hang out on Ustream all day instead of going to practice which is one of the many highlights of our lives. [WTVF]
- For the space geeks among us, the International Space Station will be making a “dramatic flyby” over Tennessee tonight. If the sky is clear, we should be able to see it. [WSMV]
- Mayor Dean also does not understand how a person can look illegal. [City Paper]
Photo by niseag03.
Good morning, Nashville. We wish we could say we’re late because we were stuck in American Idol traffic, but we have no such excuse. Your abbreviated Bright & Early: Tonight is the night when the city unveils their grand plans for that fun-sounding Riverfront Adventure Play park. That means we only have about 8 hours [...]
Happy Hour: Can’t We All Just Get Along?
- Several hundred folks turned out for the Murfreesboro mosque protest, and several hundred more showed up to protest the protest. [WPLN]
- As predicted, Nissan’s Smyrna plant is shutting down for a few days because they’re short on computer chips. [WKRN]
- Coach Bobby Johnson, Vanderbilt’s head football coach, announced his retirement today. [WKRN]
- A 12-year old Franklin kid became a hero today when he stopped the car he was riding in after his mother had a medical emergency and lost control. [City Paper]
- The Convention Center Authority countered Rep. Mike Turner’s accusations of illegal immigrant labor by calling it “a dangerous road to go down to say that you can look at folks and suspect that they are illegal.” [WSMV]
- NES wants to remind everyone that electricity bills are probably going be high this month thanks to the heat. [City Paper]
Photo by Nathan T. Baker.
Several hundred folks turned out for the Murfreesboro mosque protest, and several hundred more showed up to protest the protest. [WPLN] As predicted, Nissan’s Smyrna plant is shutting down for a few days because they’re short on computer chips. [WKRN] Coach Bobby Johnson, Vanderbilt’s head football coach, announced his retirement today. [WKRN] A 12-year old [...]
Bright & (Not So) Early: Eye To The Sky Edition
- Nashville’s hotel tax revenues have been doing just fine despite the flood, only falling 2.2% from last year even though the Opryland Hotel is out of commission. Opryland normally accounts for about 20% of the hotel tax revenue in Davidson County. [Tennessean]
- A local musician expressed some concern that US Census data was being discussed and analyzed in local coffee shops, Nashville-style. Since the forms can contain some sensitive information, many folks believe they should be handled more securely. [WSMV]
- It’s Bastille Day! Go eat something French. [Tennessean]
- Here’s another update on how some of the flood relief organizations are handling all that money you donated. [WTVF]
- Metro’s health department is receiving daily complaints about bedbugs in Davidson County. If you suspect you have some, you can report them to Metro at (615) 340-5616. [WKRN]
- Based on last month’s sales tax collections, things are looking a little better. [WPLN]
- Flood cleanup is a little more challenging in Gallatin as workers are running into some language barriers with the local Hispanic community. [WKRN]
- Nissan is short on some important parts and are reportedly considering shutting down production at plants across the country, which could hit pretty close to home. [Tennessean]
- The feds estimate that 7,100 teachers could be laid off in Tennessee in the fall. [WPLN]
Photo by ignatius244.
Nashville’s hotel tax revenues have been doing just fine despite the flood, only falling 2.2% from last year even though the Opryland Hotel is out of commission. Opryland normally accounts for about 20% of the hotel tax revenue in Davidson County. [Tennessean] A local musician expressed some concern that US Census data was being discussed [...]
Happy Hour: Clear As Mud
- State Rep. Mike Turner believes that a contracting company working on the Music City Center is using illegal immigrants to perform labor because he’s heard complaints from other workers about it. He also mentioned that he’s been to the construction site himself and seen people he suspects are illegal, though we’re not quite sure we understand what that means. [Tennessean]
- A Metro police officer in East Nashville slipped in some mud and broke his leg while trying to chase down a guy who was wanted for questioning in a homicide investigation. [Tennessean]
- Another day, another water main break. [WTVF]
- There is just no happy news today, so go throw on a Yankees cap (just not around us), pay your respects to George Steinbrenner and call it a night! [WaPo]
State Rep. Mike Turner believes that a contracting company working on the Music City Center is using illegal immigrants to perform labor because he’s heard complaints from other workers about it. He also mentioned that he’s been to the construction site himself and seen people he suspects are illegal, though we’re not quite sure we [...]
Bright & Early: Bottles And Cans Edition
- Three people walk into a bar. Helpful tip for anyone thinking of robbing the bar they were drinking at earlier in the night: Don’t take off your shirt and leave it behind, especially if it has your photo and last name on it.
- Freeze! The Sommet Group is just in all sorts of trouble. Before last week’s FBI raid, they were bouncing checks, paying for client healthcare bills with credit cards, getting kicked out of North Carolina and leaving employment taxes unpaid. Now, with their assets frozen by the IRS, at least one Sommet subsidiary is experiencing unexpected layoffs.
- Take it to the polls. Our favorite local brewery, Yazoo needs your help to decide if they should ditch glass bottles for aluminum cans. They’re about to drop a chunk of change to increase production, they can only invest in one packaging method and cans are more friendly to the environment.
- Bits & pieces. Culture shock for a group of ten kids from Hong Kong attending camp in Lawrence County … No NCAA for Trevecca this year … Last night’s community meeting about the future of the state fairgrounds got a little tense … The Tennessee teacher who is swimming the length of the Ohio River is expected to finish Saturday.
Photo by kingdesmond1337.
Good morning, Nashville. It’s raining, in case you didn’t notice when you woke up this morning and had the urge to hibernate (or was that just us?). This morning’s storms downed a tree which knocked out power to 2,000 South Nashville residents, but the outage was short lived and these storms should be clearing up [...]
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