Good morning, Nashville. While we’re busy wading knee-deep through cicada skeletons, Metro is ramping up its War on Mosquitoes by sending out the Health Department troops to look for properties with breeding grounds and set up traps to identify the ones that carry West Nile. Last year’s mosquito problem was pretty terrible with all the floodwater sitting around, but Metro officials are quick to point out that the more dangerous, disease-carrying mosquitoes are typically hatched in shallow waters like the kind that accumulates in flower pots, bottle caps and unkempt lawns. Metro is also making an effort to clear debris from buyout properties so they can mow at least once a month to keep the breeding grounds to a minimum. They’re encouraging us to clear out any standing water on our properties and report all apocalyptic or non-apocalyptic dead bird sightings so the animals can be tested for West Nile. And go get yourselves some bug spray!

• Tennessee women’s health failing. According to a study by the state health department and several universities, Tennessee’s women are not doing too well. We received failing grades for obesity, high blood pressure and cholesterol among several other things. Experts note that sometimes the economy can have an impact on things like this because people tend to sacrifice preventive health care and exercise.
• Pit bull problems. Metro Animal Control estimates that it spends half its time on calls about pit bulls, and that half the dogs at the pound are either pit bulls or pit bull mixes. As it is, they always seem to be about 100 calls behind because they’re so swamped.
• Bits & pieces. Things just keep looking worse and worse for Davidson County Criminal Court Clerk David Torrence … Goo Goo clusters, one of Nashville’s iconic treats, are getting a makeover after struggling sales … The Tennessee Attorney General’s office has filed another appeal to prevent Fisk University from selling off its art collection containing original pieces by Renoir, Picasso and O’Keefe … The mighty Mississippi finally crested in Memphis at 48 feet. Check out satellite photos of the flooding courtesy of NASA … The TVA is keeping all the land it had to buy up during the catastrophic 2008 Kingston ash spill and turning it into green space … Our neighbors in Clarksville will have to go elsewhere to buy bath salts and plant food as the materials have posed such a huge drug problem lately … Belmont University officials are looking into a bomb threat that caused them to evacuate part of the campus yesterday during final exams … President Obama will be taking a little trip to Memphis next week to speak at a high school graduation.

Photo by Renrum.