- It rained more than six inches in some parts of Middle Tennessee yesterday and overnight, leading to water rescues, closed roads, and a flash flood morning effective until 8:30 AM this morning. The Cumberland River is estimated to top out around 37 feet, which is considered “Action Stage,” but still about 3 feet shy of “Flood Stage” and 15 feet shy of 2010 flood levels. Our hearts go out to all of you cleaning out flooded basements this morning 🙁
- The baseline speed limit in Nashville (the one you drive when there is not another one posted) could be reduced from 30 to 25 miles per hour in the coming year if a study supports it. The move has received the support of neighborhood groups and others like Walk Bike Nashville.
- Speaking of people inevitably speeding through those neighborhoods, the Metro Nashville Police Department is receiving about $50,000 less per month because it is writing fewer tickets. There are a bunch of reasons and implications for the lower revenue in the WSMV story.
- Metro Council members opted against censuring former Nashville Mayor Megan Barry, with several questioning whether it was appropriate to do so to a now-private citizen. The resolution was withdrawn from consideration after it failed a committee vote earlier Tuesday.
- Another resolution that would have asked a school board member Jill Speering to apologize to director of schools Dr. Shawn Joseph also did not advance.
- Aside from that apology resolution, the school district is grappling with a story that they broke the law in awarding a $1.8 million contract to an out of state firm, and then may not get anywhere close to that value out of the assessment they performed. The original investigative report is available here.
- The longest debate of the evening was for a non-binding resolution that would have asked the Nashville Electric Service to automatically round up every customer’s bill to the nearest dollar in order to fund assistance programs for low-income households. That bill was deferred at the sponsor’s request.
- The Metro Council later approved a $15 million infrastructure deal for Nashville Yards, inked as part of the economic package that is bringing Amazon’s “Operations Center of Excellence” to downtown. It is part of an overall $100 million in state and local incentives.
- Speaking of that Amazon deal, the developers of Nashville Yards have released a new promotional video featuring the retailer’s towers in an effort to attract other businesses to the downtown site. It’s all very shiny.
- Mayor David Briley’s office says that it has alerted the state comptroller’s office of a potential illegal conduct by a contractor that has done business with the city. It is the next phase in an escalating case where employees were allegedly billing the city for time while attending a basketball game.
- The Nashville Scene has an interview with the city’s new Public Defender Martesha Johnson, its first black chief public defender. Her department handles cases where a person accused of a crime is unable to afford an attorney.
- A former Vanderbilt University Medical Center nurse has been criminally charged with patient abuse and reckless homicide stemming from an error in 2017 where she allegedly overrode a medical cabinet’s protection systems to administer the wrong drug to a patient who later died. The incident prompted a review by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that had threatened the hospital’s ability to accept those insurance programs.
- Tennessee Governor Bill Lee voiced his support for a Republican-lead effort to curtail the subpoena power of the newly empaneled Community Oversight Board after 60 percent of Davidson County voters backed the referendum that created it. The bill joins a growing list of preemption and nullification move by the state legislature over Metro decisions.
- The Nashville Predators (32-19-4) used a second period scoring outburst to breeze by the Arizona Coyotes (23-25-5) 5-2 Tuesday night at Bridgestone Arena. The Predators wrap up their home-stand tonight against the Dallas Stars (28-21-4) followed by a home-and-home series against the St. Louis Blues (24-22-5) Saturday and back in Nashville Sunday.
The Predators traded away draft picks to acquire two players Wednesday, forward Brian Boyle from the New Jersey Devils and former Predators forward Cody McCleod from the New York Rangers. Both players could be in action as soon as tonight. - The Nashville Historical Commission is suing the owners of Blake Shelton’s Ole Red for installing spot lights that illuminate the building in red, apparently violating the character of the protected building. There’s a butt sign nearby, but the red up-lights are a no-no.
- There will be yet another bar and restaurant downtown for a country singer, but this one will be for the Johnny Cash and is expected to open in the late spring. It feels a bit more wholesome than the other ones with their butt signs.
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