• Somehow we missed the part where Hank Williams Jr. was actually serious about running for US Senate in the next primary. Which is fine, as long as we’re not actually dumb enough as a state to put him into office. [Pith In The Wind]
• Hey, did you know we had a statue of a devout racist outside of the Tennessee State Capitol? An attorney and a professor are giving the extra push to an effort to get it removed this year since it’s the 100th anniversary of the guy’s death and we’re also electing a black president. [WSMV]
• Vandy’s campus was without power for almost 3 hours today, the effects of which caused the Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Children’s Hospital to have to reschedule 11 surgeries. [WSMV]
• Good news, Tennessee! Our unemployment rate was actually DOWN to 7% in October from 7.2%. Of course, officials are expecting it to go back up in November and December, but we’ll take what we can get. [Tennessean]

Photo by christhedunn.

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Holidays bring out the best in everyone, including our local businesses. Several local coffee shops are spreading the love around this holiday season:

A CREMA Christmas
From November 17 through December 12, CREMA is hosting an art show to benefit Safe Haven Family Shelter. Local artists Thomas Petillo, Janet K. Lee, Stacy Berry and Aaron Grayum are showcasing artwork at CREMA to be sold with 25% of the proceeds going toward CREMA’s $2,925 donation goal.

Ugly Mugs Music
Ugly Mugs is reaching out this Saturday to help a friend with the cost of their daughter’s adoption. Tyrus Morgan, a local songwriter, artist and friend of Ugly Mugs, is currently adopting a little girl (”M”) from Ethiopia. Tyrus will perform at Ugly Mugs this Saturday evening at 6pm, but 10% of sales from the entire day will go to the Morgan family’s adoption fund.

Photo by CREMA-Coffee.

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This photo from Nashville’s Annual Celebration of Cultures a few weeks back pretty much sums up why this is one of our favorite events of the year. Thanks to Paul Nicholson for the submission!

Photo Of The Day will be a recurring feature for Nashvillest as long you keep giving us stuff to post. Don’t worry–we’ll give you props. Just add them to the pool or tag them with “Nashvillest” if you’re feeling lazy.

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Though we’re proud to be Nashvillians, we have to admit that we do spend a lot of time in Williamson County. We like to show our neighbors a little love (or are we just masochistic for shopping in Cool Springs?). Either way, there’s lots to be seen and done in Franklin, and they have their own “Best of Nashville” sort of thing that showcases the finest to be found in Williamson County. All who have favorites may vote in Williamson County’s 2008 Sizzle Awards, and the winners will be published in the February edition of Southern Exposure Magazine.

We know that a lot of our readers live in Williamson County, so tell us: what are your favorite local Williamson County businesses? From food to entertainment (and everything in between), this is an opportunity to get the word out for your local businesses and friends. Vote away!

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Good morning, Nashville. More than two months out from the English Only special election, things are already starting to heat up a bit. Davidson County resident and El Salvador native Rosa Quinteros served Metro and the Davidson County Election Commission with a lawsuit yesterday afternoon. Quinteros, who’s in the country legally seeking temporary asylum from her country, says the ordinance would violate her First Amendment rights. The lawsuit could suspend the special election indefinitely if it’s successful.

• Not above the law. But that isn’t the only lawsuit brewing. A Memphis codes inspector is citing President-elect Barack Obama for defacing public property with his campaign signs. The inspector managed to pick up 500 signs he says were illegally placed and is planning on bringing Obama to court.
• Ouch! With public university funding being slashed left and right this week, Tennessee college students are looking as much as a 24% tuition increase next year. Community colleges’ tuition could go up as much as 29%.
• Bits & pieces. Preds’ captain Jason Arnott returned to practice yesterday morning, proving once again that he’s basically indestructible … The Downtown Quality of Life Task Force has some new ideas for helping our homeless folks … The fairgrounds needs to either get it together or move on out, says a consultant … The state could be looking at going $150M into debt for unemployment this year.

Photo by calevans.

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• If you see a bunch of guys running around in Hillsboro Village dressed up like Abraham Lincoln, this is probably why. [Pith In The Wind]
• Ten students were arrested at Hunters Lane High School due to a series of fights that were most likely gang-related (though not a riot like some other networks initially reported). In a separate incident, police arrested a 17 and 20-year old who had a gun and some marijuana in the car on school property this afternoon. [WKRN]
• Police in Murfreesboro spent the afternoon chasing a 600-pound hog around town and ended up having to shoot it. [Tennessean]
• TSU finally put a foot down on campus gossip by becoming the first public university to block Juicy Campus. MTSU is still holding its own as the #2 search term right now, though, and Belmont’s page is trying to start rumors about Taylor Swift enrolling there next year. Juicy! [Tennessean]
• Metro Council’s attempt to ban stores from selling things outdoors were thwarted at last night’s meeting. [Tennessean]

Photo by cottonjeni.

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Congrats to Miranda Lambert’s boyfriend for making PEOPLE’s Sexiest Men Alive! We’re pretty sure that Blake doesn’t live in Nashville, but he spends an awful lot of time here making us look good and we figure that’s close enough. Why do women love him? He says it’s the beat-up truck, but we’d probably beg to differ. We’re also taking the occasion to remember when Blake had bad hair, which we’re thankful that he finally chopped off. Congratulations, Blake!

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This great riverfront shot of the Batman building comes to us from the vault of our favorite Nashville-photographer-who-moved-somewhere-else crashmattb. Though Matt is happily snapping pictures in the ATL, we’re enjoying the occasional Nashville shots that find their way into our pool.

Photo Of The Day will be a recurring feature for Nashvillest as long you keep giving us stuff to post. Don’t worry–we’ll give you props. Just add them to the pool or tag them with “Nashvillest” if you’re feeling lazy.

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Good morning, Nashville. When it rains for MTSU students, it really pours. First a stabbing, then some fires, then a terrorist scare, then some more fires, then a shooting, then another shooting, and now a dorm fire that forced many students to evacuate overnight. Though this one was genuinely an accident, we’re wondering when things are ever going to let up in the ‘boro. We’re pretty glad our college experience wasn’t that exciting.

• Turn it down! The battle continues over Metro Council’s proposed music ordinance. Some folks like it, some folks hate it, and some folks think it’s completely unconstitutional.
• Buckle up. The discussion surrounding seat belts on school buses is coming back to the forefront in Tennessee schools. Oldest debate in the book, but not really getting anywhere.
• Bits & pieces. Tennessee is trying to figure out how to come up with the money for all of the bridges that need repair … Governor Phil has been deep in budget talks this week and it looks like no one’s going to come out on top … HCA, like everyone else, is slicing jobs this week and will lay off around 100 people … Eric Volz hopefully won’t have to go back to Nicaragua for his trial, but he might.

Photo by jlynn3187.

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