• Y’all be careful out there, with flooding possible because of the heavy rains predicted throughout the day.
• A handful of new laws took effect in Tennessee yesterday, including requirements that health insurers and providers are more transparent in their billing practices, and a rule change to make it easier to get a concealed handgun permit.
• Metro Nashville Police are telling residents to stop receiving checks through the mail, citing an increase in theft from mailboxes. Alternatively, invest in a locking mailbox.
• Activists in New York City are calling for the NYPD to fire one of its officers that was arrested for breaking into a home thinking it was his Airbnb while on a trip to Nashville and threatening the residents with racist language. He remains on the city’s police force.
• About three percent of survey respondents to an online magazine said Nashville is the rudest city in the country, putting us as 33rd on a list of the top 50 cities in the United States. The East Nashville Facebook Group was unavailable for comment.
• An estimated 250,000 people rang in the New Year in Bicentennial Mall and throughout downtown according to city officials. No word on what methodology they used to come up with that number, as it is rarely challenged.
• WPLN’s Curious Nashville tackles the question “Why do gas prices vary so much around Nashville?” Spoiler: nearby competition plays a major factor.
• The Tennessee Titans (9-7) are headed to the playoffs as a sixth-seed after their win over the Houston Texans (10-6) last Sunday on the road. They will play the New England Patriots at 7:15 p.m. Saturday in Foxborough.
• Titans running back Derick Henry captured the NFL’s rushing title for the year with 1540 yards in the regular season.
• It wasn’t a great week after Christmas for the Nashville Predators (18-15-6), losing two games to the Pittsburgh Penguins (24-11-4) and then dropping a 4-2 game in the NHL Winter Classic against the Dallas Stars (23-14-4). The team will face the Los Angeles Kings (17-21-4) Saturday and the Anaheim Ducks (16-19-5) Sunday, with both games on the road.
• 2019 was a great year for Nashville-based memes.
• A new digital walking tour has launched around town to help folks discover information about various historical sites using their mobile phone.
• Some folks jumped into J. Percy Priest Lake on New Year’s Day as part of the annual polar bear plunge. ?
• We lost a bunch of restaurants that most of us never set foot in 2019, and Eater Nashville The Tennessean has an en memorium post for them.

Photo by crashmattb. Want to see your photo featured here?