Monthly Archives: December, 2011
Bright & Early: In The Spotlight Edition
Good morning, Nashville. The story of Belmont University’s alleged decision to part ways with women’s soccer coach Lisa Howe because of her sexuality has been making the rounds to several national media outlets over the past few days, drawing fire from students, faculty, alumni and advocacy groups alike. Earlier this week, Coach Howe released her first public statement since the incident to The Advocate magazine which didn’t speak to the issue of whether she was fired or resigned on her own accord, but did say that if this situation led to an open and honest dialogue about diversity and acceptance, she would feel it a served positive purpose. Meanwhile, a local attorney is now calling for Belmont Board of Trustees Chair Marty Dickens to step down as chair of the Metro Convention Center Authority because of his statements defending Belmont’s actions.
- New security measures at Hillsboro High. Metro Schools and Metro Police are working together to step up security at Hillsboro High School following the murder of a student two weeks ago and a text message threat of violence that circulated around the school the next week. Officials say it’s only a precaution and that they want to be proactive about preventing any potential incidents.
- Baby, it’s cold outside. Hundreds of folks are without heat this week during Nashville’s coldest temperatures so far this year. Though NES and the Metro Action Commission are trying to help those in need, they often still end up cutting off utilities for those who can’t pay the bills. If you or anyone you know is in need of assistance, check out the Metro Action Commission for information on where to find help.
- Bits & pieces. We’re not sure why we needed a study to tell us that watering our Christmas tree will slow the needles from falling off, but there you have it! Science … The downtown Hotel Indigo has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection … We hope that Salt Lake City loves Central Parking as much as we do … Tennessee may soon be in the business of processing other countries’ nuclear waste … A group hoping to keep the State Fair in Nashville has picked out two more possible locations … Project Homeless Connect is happening at the Fairgrounds today to assist families with preventing foreclosure and connection people with other much-needed services.
Photo by Gretchen Peters.
Good morning, Nashville. The story of Belmont University’s alleged decision to part ways with women’s soccer coach Lisa Howe because of her sexuality has been making the rounds to several national media outlets over the past few days, drawing fire from students, faculty, alumni and advocacy groups alike. Earlier this week, Coach Howe released her [...]
Happy Hour: Raise Your Hand If You’re Wearing More Clothes Than This Guy
- Good heavens, it’s cold! And it’s going to stay cold, for a while. So, you know, put on some clothes. [Nashville WX]
- Coach Fisher swears that the Titans are actually trying to win, despite what it may look like to any of us who have watched a game lately. ‘A’ for effort, we suppose. [City Paper]
- Our lucky neighbors in Clarksville have shelled out more than $1 million in tickets since the city decided to install red light cameras two years ago. Though the number of side-impact crashes has been reduced at some intersections, rear-end collisions actually have increased. [WSMV]
- Tennessee lawmakers are looking to duplicate Arizona’s controversial immigration law during the next legislative session. If this new law were to pass, it would make it a state crime to be in the country illegally in addition to allowing local law enforcement to detain anyone they suspect is an illegal immigrant. [Tennessean]
- So far, 36 conventions have been booked at the new Music City Center, which is expected to be completed in early 2013. [City Paper]
Photo by Kelsey Wynns.
Good heavens, it’s cold! And it’s going to stay cold, for a while. So, you know, put on some clothes. [Nashville WX] Coach Fisher swears that the Titans are actually trying to win, despite what it may look like to any of us who have watched a game lately. ‘A’ for effort, we suppose. [City [...]
Bright & Early: Lock It Up Edition
Good morning, Nashville. The prospect of a fall without the Titans is becoming more and more plausible as NFL owners continue to threaten a lockout next season. Last week, the union sent out a letter to players advising them to save their last three game paychecks in case next year’s football season never happens. The letter stated that the “internal” deadline for negotiations with the NFL had passed and the lockout is scheduled to begin on March 4th, 2011 if an agreement isn’t reached. If the season is indeed cancelled, Nashville is on track to lose $160 million in revenue and jobs.
- Belmont students fight back. The situation at Belmont continues to escalate with students and alumni planning a series of protests and letter-writing campaigns in response to the university’s alleged firing of Coach Lisa Howe because of her sexual orientation.
- Paint the town orange. Officials announced over the weekend that the Music City Bowl will feature the Tennessee Vols and North Carolina Tar Heels facing off at LP Field. The game takes place on December 30th, and we highly recommend you either find something very orange to wear that day or just don’t leave your house.
- Bits & pieces. Preds goalie Pekka Rinne is expected to miss 2-4 weeks due to another lower-body injury … Federal prosecutors want to keep the man accused of running a Somali sex traffic ring in prison until his trial … A pizza delivery man shot and killed the person who robbed him at gunpoint this weekend (and some of our enterprising Twitter followers made this helpful reenactment) … Tennessee health officials say that there are three predominant strains of the flu going around.
Photo by givingupthegun.
Good morning, Nashville. The prospect of a fall without the Titans is becoming more and more plausible as NFL owners continue to threaten a lockout next season. Last week, the union sent out a letter to players advising them to save their last three game paychecks in case next year’s football season never happens. The [...]
Basil Marceaux: Christmas Turns Him On [Goobernatorial]
Everyone’s favorite former gubernatorial candidate, Basil Marceaux, has decided to bless us this holiday season with an original Christmas tune entitled “Come Christmas,” complete with a music video showcasing 300 of Basil’s best facial expressions and his spectacular ability to choose a ham at the grocery store. While we can’t really shed any light on why the video is titled “Basil Marceaux Christmas Weed”* (we have a few theories) or why Mr. Marceaux’s lady companion keeps hiding his glasses in the Christmas tree, it’s worth watching for the sheer WTF factor. Happy Sunday, Nashville.
*It appears that the video title has been changed to simply “Basil Marceaux Christmas,” which is not nearly as fun as “Basil Marceaux Christmas Weed.” This is why screen shots exist!
Photo via Basil Marceaux Music.
Everyone’s favorite former gubernatorial candidate, Basil Marceaux, has decided to bless us this holiday season with an original Christmas tune entitled “Come Christmas,” complete with a music video showcasing 300 of Basil’s best facial expressions and his spectacular ability to choose a ham at the grocery store. While we can’t really shed any light on [...]
On The Day Of The Nashville Christmas Parade, Metro Gave To Us [Road Closures]
It should come as no surprise by now that if you combine a giant downtown 5k and the Nashville Christmas parade, you’re going to end up with a whopping list of road closures. Whether you’re heading to the parade or trying to escape downtown, here’s a handy dandy list of today’s road closures so you can do your best to avoid the gridlock. We’ll be some of the crazies fighting our way downtown for the parade, so say hi if you see us!
Closing at 4:15pm:
- North 1st Street from Russell Street to Jefferson Street
- Titans Way
- Victory Avenue
- South 1st Street at Davidson Street
- 2nd Avenue North between Church and Union Streets
- Russell Street from South 2nd Street to South 1st Street
Closing at 4:30pm:
- Woodland Street westbound from Interstate Drive to Union Street (at 3rd Avenue North)
Closing at 5:20pm:
- Eastbound and Westbound lanes of Union Street (at 3rd Avenue North) to Woodland Street at Interstate Drive
Closing at 5:30pm:
- Broadway from 1st Avenue to 8th Avenue
- Traffic crossing Broadway between 1st and 8th Avenues
Closing at 6:30pm:
- Broadway from 1st Avenue to 13th Avenue
- Church Street from 3rd Avenue North to 1st Avenue North
- 1st Avenue from Demonbreun Street to Union Street
- 2nd Avenue from Demonbreun Street to Union Street
- 9th Avenue South from Broadway to Demonbreun Street
- 9th Avenue North from Broadway to Church Street
- 10th Avenue North from Broadway to Charlotte Pike
- Commerce Street from 9th and 10th Avenues North
- Traffic crossing Broadway between 8th and 13th Avenues
Photo by cyclebot.
It should come as no surprise by now that if you combine a giant downtown 5k and the Nashville Christmas parade, you’re going to end up with a whopping list of road closures. Whether you’re heading to the parade or trying to escape downtown, here’s a handy dandy list of today’s road closures so you [...]
Bright & Early: Fear The Bellevue Beaver Edition
Good morning, Nashville. There have been some indisputably great moments in Nashville’s history which have included everything from #TheSituation2010 to last year’s Christmas Tree Fail, but what happened last night may well have topped them all. Reports began to surface yesterday afternoon that a dead human body had turned up in Bellevue. Sad, right? A few hours later, local news stations began to report rather sheepishly that this was no ordinary human body, but rather the body of a “very large beaver.” Obvious questions aside, how does one mistake a beaver for a human? And furthermore, how big does a beaver have to be before it can be mistaken for a human? WKRN reports, “The Nashville Fire Department said a beaver had gotten stuck in an awkward position and had its paw raised in a position that resembled a human’s hand.” The beaver was stuck in an awkward position, you say? Please, tell us more! Because we can’t actually imagine a way in which this story could get better. At any rate, you can become a fan of the Giant Bellevue Beaver on Facebook and help us cement his (awkward) position in a long line of American heroes who will enrich Nashville’s history for many years to come. Or at least until our next Christmas tree tips over or it snows outside or Charlie Neese draws us another NSFW doodle on the weather map by accident.
- Ready for winter. TDOT has beefed up their winter weather budget by 23% this year because they anticipate a challenging winter. They’ve added more salt, salt brine and 10 spankin’ new snow plows to the fleet. Snowpocalypse 2011, here we come.
- Trouble on the home front. Last night, the Belmont Vision broke the story of women’s socceer coach Lisa Howe allegedly being dismissed because she decided to tell the team that she and her same-sex partner were planning to have a child. Though Belmont maintains that she left on her own accord, students say she was given the choice to resign or be fired and that after announcing her departure to the team, she wrote “No regrets” on the chalkboard along with her new email address.
- Bits & pieces. ‘Tis the season for NES tree-trimming scams … The kind folks at Nashville-based Help-Portrait will be taking and gifting portraits to flood victims and other people in need tomorrow afternoon … Tennessee’s foreclosure discount is one of the lowest in the country, which is good news for anyone trying to snag a cheap house … The Southeastern United States are becoming known as the “Cancer Belt” because of the high rate of cancer diagnoses.
Very Accurate Artistic Representation the Giant Bellevue Beaver by us.
Good morning, Nashville. There have been some indisputably great moments in Nashville’s history which have included everything from #TheSituation2010 to last year’s Christmas Tree Fail, but what happened last night may well have topped them all. Reports began to surface yesterday afternoon that a dead human body had turned up in Bellevue. Sad, right? A [...]
Happy Hour: Down The Pipe
- A new charity effort called NASH2O is putting flood-damaged guitars to good use by auctioning them off as memorabilia and then donating the proceeds to a fund that helps other musicians replaced their own flood-damaged equipment. [Tune In Music City]
- Budget woes have given way to a possible spending freeze that could seriously reduce or eliminate Tennessee’s meth and marijuana drug task forces. [WTVF]
- This morning’s water main break in West Nashville closed down Ensworth’s Red Gables campus. Additionally, a gas leak that happened underground will let Harpeth Hall School students off the hook tomorrow. [City Paper]
- A man was hit and killed by the Music City Star in Mt. Juliet this evening while 67 passengers were aboard. Police are investigating how the man ended up on the tracks and passengers were picked up and transported back to their vehicles. [City Paper]
Photo by sduck409.
A new charity effort called NASH2O is putting flood-damaged guitars to good use by auctioning them off as memorabilia and then donating the proceeds to a fund that helps other musicians replaced their own flood-damaged equipment. [Tune In Music City] Budget woes have given way to a possible spending freeze that could seriously reduce or [...]
Skip The Superstores, Shop Local This Holiday Season [Deck The Halls]
In case your December calendar wasn’t filling up fast enough, and in case you weren’t feeling the pressure to get your gift shopping done already, the next few weeks in Nashville are full of fun opportunities to shop for unique gifts from local merchants. Whether you’re looking for handmade accessories, one of a kind artwork, tasty edibles, hand-me-down vintage or just trying to get your shopping done while supporting a local business, there’s an event for you. Shopping during the holidays can be daunting, but skipping big-box superstore lines and browsing with a cup of cider (or a glass of wine) makes all the difference. Here’s a list of our picks for local shopping events to make your holiday shopping as pain-free (and maybe even fun) as possible.
Hillsboro Village Art Walk. Hillsboro Village, Thursday, December 2, 5-8pm. The monthly Hillsboro Village Art Walk has been holiday-ified, with cookies, apple cider, pictures with Santa, snowflake crafts, big gift basket giveaways and even a reading of The Night Before Christmas. Browse unique art and take advantage of special discounts offered by many of the shops along 21st to put a dent in your holiday shopping.
Vandy’s Alternative Gift Fair. St. Augustine’s Chapel at Vanderbilt, Thursday, December 2, 3-7pm. Take part in some alternative gift giving, and make a special donation in the name of your friend or loved one. Donate to send books to a local preschool, purchase a malaria treatment for someone in rural Kenya, or send a honeybee hive to a developing community in need. Organizations represented include Book ‘Em, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Heifer Project, Ronald McDonald House and dozens of others.
East Nashville Christmas Fest. First Church of the Nazarene, December 4-5. A two-day extravaganza of local merchants, touted as “shopping with sights and sounds of the season.” If you can’t find what you’re looking for here, well, we recommend Amazon.
Rumours’ Annual Holiday aRT Open House. Rumours (12 South), Saturday, December 4, 2-6pm. Rumours Wine & Art Bar will be packed with local artisans selling everything from gourmet sweets to handmade scarves and one-of-a-kind artwork on Saturday afternoon. Did we mention there will be champagne?
East Nashville Holiday Vintage Boutique Crawl. Saturday, December 4, 6-9pm. The crowd of east-side vintage vendors are joining forces to host a holiday boutique crawl, complete with visiting vendors, entertainment and live music. Hop from store to store (we encourage pit stops at 3 Crow), and shop for unique secondhand gifts. Cap off the evening with a free performance by Those Darlin’s at 8!
First Saturday Art Crawl. Downtown, Saturday, December 4, 6-9pm. This month’s First Saturday Art Crawl, keep gift giving on the brain as you browse art and sip free wine and cider at various galleries in and around The Arcade. While most of us aren’t high-rollin’ enough to gift the centerpieces of an exhibit, many galleries offer prints, cards, shirts, ornaments, jewelry and other accessories for purchase alongside the big ticket items.
Third Annual CREMA Christmas. CREMA, Sunday, December 12, 12-6pm. Sip coffee for a good cause while browsing handmade goods from local artisans. Proceeds from coffee sales at CREMA Christmas will be donated to Safe Haven and People Loving Nashville, and scarves, hats and gloves will be available to purchase for donation to the local homeless community.
The Friendly Arctic Holiday Market. 1601-B Riverside Drive, December 1-23, Mon-Thurs 9am-6pm, Sat & Sun 9am-8pm. Tucked away just a stone’s throw down Riverside from East Nashville’s Riverside Village, Friendly Arctic Printing & Design has rounded up a few local friends and set up shop for the month of December. Shop clothing and other handmade goods from Friendly Arctic, Cool People Care, Owlette Collective, Pine Street Makery and Partners Tea.
Know of more local shopping to be done? Let us know in the comments!
Photo by manieldack.
In case your December calendar wasn’t filling up fast enough, and in case you weren’t feeling the pressure to get your gift shopping done already, the next few weeks in Nashville are full of fun opportunities to shop for unique gifts from local merchants. Whether you’re looking for handmade accessories, one of a kind artwork, [...]
Bright & Early: Two Countries, No Cup Edition
Good morning, Nashville. After this morning’s big FIFA announcement, it doesn’t look like the World Cup will be moving to this side of the pond anytime soon. Instead, the 2018 World Cup will be held in Russia and the 2022 bid went to Qatar where the average July temperature is 115 degrees and no one can drink in public! Ah, better luck next time. We digress.
- Second chance for the State Fair. Mayor Dean will be withdrawing his proposal to move the fairgrounds flea market to the Hickory Hollow Mall, which was controversial from the beginning. Instead, the Metro Council hopes to negotiate a way to keep the State Fair at the current location for at least one more year.
- Tear down this stall! McGavok High School officials became so fed up with students lighting up in the bathrooms that they simply removed all the bathroom stall doors! All stall doors except one, in each restroom, which will likely be the only stall that anyone uses.
- Sounds tasty! We’re not sure what to make of this heartwarming tale about a local veterinarian who saved an endangered whooping crane by dressing like a marshmallow and being very quiet. But hey, it worked.
- Bits & pieces. The State menorah was lit last night for the first night of Hanukkah … TDOT says that pothole season is upon us … Sunday’s your last day to snag the elusive McRib! … The Preds took home another shootout win last night in Columbus … Thanks to a water main break, some of you on the West side experienced a morning without water … The Nashville Convention & Visitors Bureau has launched a fancy new mobile site.
Photo by Grey Street Girl.
Good morning, Nashville. After this morning’s big FIFA announcement, it doesn’t look like the World Cup will be moving to this side of the pond anytime soon. Instead, the 2018 World Cup will be held in Russia and the 2022 bid went to Qatar where the average July temperature is 115 degrees and no one [...]
Happy Hour: One Cup To Rule Them All
- The big World Cup announcement happens tomorrow at 10am which is when we find out whether or not the US will host the 2022 World Cup. If so, Nashville is in the running to be the host city and we don’t have to tell you how much that would mean to our local economy (and to our soccer fans, and to the vuvuzela industry.) [WSMV]
- The Metro Council is holding a special meeting to figure out how exactly a Metro IT person accidentally wiped the hard drives of 509 city computers last month and how to make sure it never happens again. [WSMV]
- There are some billboards popping up around town warning us that Jesus is going to come back on May 21st of next year. This just about lines up with that other story about the massive earthquake we’re going to experience sometime soon! [Tennessean]
- Sorry, Spring Hill. No pet chickens for you. [Tennessean]
- Fisk University will be appealing last month’s ruling about the sale of their Georgia O’Keefe art collection. The ruling specifies that they can only use $10 million of the $30 million that would potentially coming from the sale and must put the other $20 million into a private endowment fund. [City Paper]
- The Department of Transportation reports that 12 people were killed in traffic accidents over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, which is an increase over last year’s 10. Buckle up, folks. [WTVF]
Photo by ncjc212.
The big World Cup announcement happens tomorrow at 10am which is when we find out whether or not the US will host the 2022 World Cup. If so, Nashville is in the running to be the host city and we don’t have to tell you how much that would mean to our local economy (and [...]
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