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.
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