• While all Metro employees were denied a previously promised cost of living adjustment, a WSMV investigation indicates that many members of the mayor’s staff received raises in the new fiscal year. The mayor’s office countered that the overall payroll had been reduced by not yet filling vacant positions.
• Lawyers representing the Metro Nashville Public Schools system have admitted in court filings that they believe the allegations of sexual harassment against a former middle school principal are true, a rather unusual move this early in the proceedings. The former principal has denied any wrongdoing.
• One of those vacant positions is the transit director, who has moved on to a new job and it is not clear who will be named as her replacement. She had joined the Barry administration two years ago ahead of the failed transit referendum.
• In good news for the public transit system, Nashville MTA WeGo and the Federal Transit Administration announced a $9 million grant on Tuesday to replace 20 more of the city’s aging bus fleet. They will receive $4.5 in matching funds from the Tennessee Department of Transportation.
• WSMV also has an investigation about the cost of running mostly empty buses on some routes, while the riders that do take it say it is a vital part of their ability to get around town.
• Lyft and WeGo are also partnering to run a sweepstakes where winners can get up to $400 in ride credits and $55 in bus passes to stop driving their personal vehicles around town. The deadline to enter is September 30.
• If you have an extra yoga mat, a club at Hillsboro High School would love to give it a good home. ?‍♀️
• A man is suspected of stealing at least 10 cars from the parking lots of various gyms and fitness clubs around town this summer and police are looking for help in identifying him.
• It’s rather unlikely that your rent has gone down at all, but analysis from a popular home buying website found that rents have fallen for the second month in a row. The company says that an increased number of availability apartments contributed to the decline.
• Metro Nashville is trying to reduce plastic bag use citywide, as most of them end up in landfills. Some cities have instituted an outright ban with fines for businesses that still offer them.
• The new Grimey’s location of Trinity Lane in East Nashville will open tomorrow after the owners say they feel like they were forced out of their 8th Avenue location.
• Development along Music Row has long been a hot topic in the neighborhood, and now preservationists and developers are again at odds about proposed projects to create high-demand office space for music industry companies. Several longtime businesses are expected to be displaced.
• If anyone had been excited for a Fresh Market opening in the White Bridge area of West Nashville, we have bad news. The upscale grocer could not come to terms with the property owner.
• A Mt. Juliet woman believes her lost dog was actually kidnapped and that somebody is trying to collect a ransom. She says she had not yet reported the matter to the police.
• The union representing Nashville’s police officers were denied a “fast track” appeal for their lawsuit alleging that the Community Oversight Now group’s referendum failed to qualify for the November ballot, thereby reversing the decision of the election commission. The group is also appealing directly to the state’s supreme court.
• The painter behind a popular mural in the Gulch has sued a Christian music artist and her label for shooting a video (and selling related merchandise) in front of his work. The suit seeks damages including profits from the recording and merchandise sales.
• The very “new Nashville” Melrose development has picked up an upscale cocktail bar located inside of (but not a part of?) The Sutler. Is this some sort of new trend?
• If you were rained out at Pilgrimage and haven’t yet heard about it, they are offering refunds.
• If you come to Nashville’s Lower Broadway to drink, the planned Moxy hotel opening next year may be your scene as it is squarely aimed at that demographic. Replacing the front desk with bartenders is an interesting move, we gotta admit.
• An escaped parakeet was found at The Pharmacy, a popular burger joint in East Nashville. ?
• PSA: Tuesday was national “Register to Vote Day” and October 9 is the final day to register for the November elections. Tennessee offers online voter registration, so get on it. If you have already registered to vote, double check your registration online.

Photo by Jim Baughman. Want to see your photo featured here?