Bright & Early: Sound Of Music City Edition

Good morning, Nashville. In case we’d forgotten about the Schermerhorn Symphony Center, which took one of the hardest hits during the flood, they’re now turning to their endowment for the necessary funding to repair the beautiful building. At the height of the flood, they had about 20 feet of water in their basement which ruined countless instruments, operations equipment and the center’s catering facilities. They expect to reopen early next year, but with federal assistance being pretty slow to arrive, much of the $39 million in repair costs will be fronted by funds from their endowment and slowly replenished as donations and federal assistance roll in. Even so, they’ll probably be taking quite a hit. So for the love of all things holy, get out there and catch a Nashville Symphony performance if you can swing it and let’s help them get back on their feet.

Getting a little extreme. The Extreme Home Makeover crew and volunteers are still hard at work rebuilding Lighthouse Preschool, whose trailer we saw floating down I-24 during the flood. They’re still in need of some help if you’ve got extra time and expertise, so head over to the Nashville Build site to see what’s going on and how you can help.
Gubernatorial debate tonight. Tennessee gubernatorial candidates Mike McWherter and Bill Haslam will have their first debate tonight out in Cookeville. With early voting just around the corner on October 13th, we’ve only got a few weeks to make up our minds and there are no debates scheduled for Nashville. You can catch tonight’s event live on News Channel 5 or streaming online at 7pm.
Bits & pieces. Sevier Park could be getting a brand new swimming pool along with their shiny new community center … The Community Foundation has distributed more than $3 million in flood relief grants to date, and you can find the updated list of recipients here … Our neighbors in the ‘Noog can now brag that they have the fastest internet in the entire country. We’ll be right over, guys … Tennessee’s crime rate dropped a full 8% last year … We have no idea what would go on at a hip-hop conference, but Vanderbilt will soon find out.

Photo by µJoe.

Nashvillest