• Mayor David Briley, already confirmed to be seeking reelection in August of 2019, will be holding a $1,500 per person campaign fundraiser next month at the home of Rich Riebling, the former COO of the city. A handful of other names have been mentioned as possible challengers.
• A judge has denied a temporary injunction to stop construction at Fairgrounds Nashville, centering around the loss of parking at the site hampering vendors at the monthly flea market. The lawsuit itself will continue while construction of the new exhibitor space and future MLS stadium is completed.
• Despite several high-profile cases of violence in East Nashville, statistics collected by the city’s police department point to an overall decrease in all of the violent crime categories. Property theft, however, is up slightly.
• While the weather has been warmer over the last few days, city officials want to see a plan for the dockless scooters from Bird and Lime to not operate during hazardous conditions, such as snow and ice.
• Battery and other issues on some Lime scooters has prompted the company to pull the affected models off the street in Nashville. There is a fire risk as well as cases where the scooter could break apart. ?
• At least one Metro councilman (happens to be the one frequently quoted in cases like this) is questioning whether the Amazon deal announced last week is actually a good one for the city, given the tax incentives granted. The Metro Council would have to approve the package.
• An MNPD officer has filed a lawsuit alleging, among other things, that the department had violated her First Amendment rights when it retaliated against her for expressing her support for the community oversight board referendum that succeeded on election night. The suit names the department and her West Precinct commander.
• A lab at Vanderbilt is working on a “universal” flu vaccine, though researchers say it is likely many years off. This year’s flu vaccine is performing better than usual.
• The Nashville Scene has a look inside the campaign to create the community oversight board and how it won in the face of a well-financed campaign against it.
• An expert in civic design thinks that the Church Street Park that could be replaced by a skyscraper if a land swap deal is approved could instead be re-imagined into a more functional park space. The Metro Council is expected to vote in March on the proposal after other committees have their say.
• The CEO of a North Nashville non-profit says that thieves stole two catalytic converters from vehicles belonging to her organization and is warning others to be careful. The air pollution scrubbing devices fetch between $200 and $1,000 when sold. A separate story from WSMV says that Nashville’s church vans are also being targeted for the thefts.
• Belmont University will retire its use of the “BU” logo mark for its athletic teams as part of a settlement with Baylor University, which alleged that the mark was too close to its trademarked logo. Lipscomb had lost a similar battle to use the “LU” mark against Liberty University.
• Folks flying Southwest Airlines to the West Coast and a few other destinations will get a few more non-stop flights from Nashville International Airport according to the company. Service is expected to begin in June 2019.
• A pest control company says that Nashville has ranked 21st on a list of cities with the worst bed bug problem. The insects can quickly infest homes and hotels, often spreading through luggage.
• The Tennessee Titans (5-5) dropped a 38-10 game against the Indianapolis Colts (5-6) on the road where quarterback Marcus Mariota was again hurt. The team heads to Houston (6-3) for their second Monday Night Football game of the season.
• The Nashville Predators (14-5-1) went 2-2-1 on their long CMA roadtrip ending with a 2-1 loss to the Arizona Coyotes (9-9-1) Thursday, but their return home Saturday night gave fans a 5-3 win over the Los Angeles Kings (6-12-1) and a hat trick from forward Calle Jarnkrok. The team hosts the Eastern Conference-leading Tampa Bay Lightning (14-5-1) tonight at Bridgestone Arena.
• There are still a few jokes about raising banners.
• The fan last week in Dallas tells his side of the story about the catfish toss that arguably propelled the team to a comback win over the Stars. No, they are not currently rotting away in a Texas prison for the offense. ?
• The Vanderbilt football team (5-6) pulled off a somewhat controversial 29-36 overtime win at home against Ole Miss (5-6) to keep their bowl hopes alive heading into their final game. The team will host Tennessee (5-6) on Saturday, also playing for a shot at a post-season bowl.
• No, that was not a UFO in the Saturday night sky near the Vanderbilt game. ?
• If you haven’t had the chance yet, check out the new logos, uniforms and color scheme for the Nashville Sounds. All were introduced at a fan event last Thursday.

Photo by Tim Bounds. Want to see your photo featured here?