• Mayor John Cooper repeatedly said the city is in receivership (think of it as like a civic bankruptcy) at a breakfast with business leaders Tuesday, but the State Comptroller says that is not true. His staff says he was trying to communicate the urgency in dealing with the city’s financial struggles.
• A federal program that would have helped reintegrate three of the city’s public schools has been canceled, leading MNPS to abandon its plans to bring in greater diversity in race and income levels to those schools.
• The Belmont Vision published a report about the discrimination experienced by four of the university’s law school students, all pregnant will attending classes. The report cites a lack of flexibility in policies to account for hospitalization during birth, among other issues.
• A supervisor and another employee at the juvenile detention center where four teens escaped last week have been arrested for “recklessness” that lead to their escape. The center is run by a private company.
• In a bit of a surprising move, Jeremy Faison, the House Republican caucus leader, says he now supports removing the bust of notorious slave-trader Nathan Bedford Forrest from the state capitol building, and suggests it replaced with someone like Dolly Parton instead. He said he reached this decision after reading more about Bedford’s legacy.
• The Nashville Business Journal has dug into exactly what the mayor’s office is not happy about in the current deal to build an MLS stadium at Fairgrounds Nashville, and hints that the project could be moved to another location. Cooper had voted against the stadium while a Council Member At-Large.
• The city again has a plan to roll out a beta test of police body cameras after years of aborted attempts, with a field test of about 44 cameras to begin in May.
• Valets blocking city streets only have to pay $50 annually for the right to do so (and thereby removing parking meters), prompting Public Works to ask for a legal analysis whether they are undercharging for that service. We’re not fortune tellers, but we’re pretty sure they’ll say “yes.”
• Surprising nobody, a fire hall built in the 1970s has tested positive for asbestos, a popular fire retardant material at the time later discovered to cause cancer when inhaled.
• The Tennessee Titans have announced a “Code Blue” for Sunday’s game against the Houston Texans, which they say is not simply a marketing play to sell more apparel from the team store right before Christmas. ?
• The Nashville Predators (14-10-5) beat the San Jose Sharks (15-16-2) 3-1 to try to climb back up in the standings in a tough division. The team is in Buffalo against the Sabres (15-11-6) tonight, and then hosts the Dallas Stars (18-11-3) on Saturday.
• Uber will be pilot testing a pin code verification system for rides in Nashville, where riders must provide a specific four-digit code in order for the driver to begin the ride.
• Nashville Eater has released its list of the top restaurants in Nashville, including Best New Restaurant, Best Restaurant Design and Dish of the Year.
• Nashville was named one of the world’s top 20  travel destinations by a national publication, marking the eighth straight year it has been included on such a list.
• There will be a direct flight to Montreal from Nashville International Airport next summer via Air Canada. ??

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