• Nashville mayor John Cooper released his first capital spending plan Thursday, smaller than in previous years because of “significant financial issues the city is currently facing.”
• It’s still a tense situation with Watkins College of Art closing its doors to merge with Belmont University, with WPLN taking a deeper dive into the secular college’s merger with the religious university.
• The union representing police officers says that 114 officers left the force in 2019, worsening an already “severe” shortage of police in the city, with recruiters receiving half the number of applications. The group cites stagnant wages and low morale because of local and national news stories about officer abuse for the decline in applicants. ?‍♀️
• The developer for the former Starwood Amphitheater site held a public meeting to present its plans for a mixed use development of office and industrial. Residents expressed concerns about traffic.
• The Tennessee Performing Arts Center (TPAC) has announced its 2020-21 season, featuring Tina Fey’s ‘Mean Girls’ adaptation as well as ‘The Lion King’ and ‘1776’. ?
• Extended WeGo bus hours have long been on the wish-list for the transit agency, but it will require an estimated $2.8 million in additional funding. The agency’s CEO says that if they do not get a three percent increase ($1.5 million) to maintain the status quo, it will mean another year of service cuts and fare increases.
• A bill that would fund a feasability study for Amtrak service from Nashville to Nashville easily cleared a subcommittee at the state house, moving the plan closer to reality. Nashville last had train service in the 1970s. ?
• Metro Codes jailed a purported “reality TV star” for four days for failing to have the proper permits to operate his short-term rental, a move that the department says is necessary to prevent abuse. More than 1,300 property owners have received letters threatening similar action if they continue to operate.
• A pair of Tennessee lawmakers are trying to create a board of parents to oversee the content in the state’s public libraries, stemming from their opposition to the ‘drag queen story hour’ events that have become increasingly popular nationwide. They would seek to block books, music and other material as well that don’t meet their criteria.
• Fat Bottom Brewing has purchased Music City Beer (the makers of of Music City Light, which we assume only tourists buy when walking through a Kroger) that they had been contract brewing, also aiming to double the capacity at their brewing facility in The Nations. ?
• Lawyers for the Nashville Soccer Club and Save Our Fairgrounds squared off in court Friday as a judge approved a motion to allow the construction company and the club to join the suit, which prompted the attorney for Save Our Fairgrounds to complain that “really high paid lawyers” are ganging up on the local group. The trial is set to begin in June.
• The Nashville Predators (30-23-8) lost an overtime game to the Chicago Blackhawks (27-27-8) 2-1 Friday on the road before knocking off the Columbus Blue Jackets (30-19-14) 4-3 in the shootout Saturday at home. The team hosts their next (very crucial if they want to make the playoffs) four games at home, starting with the Ottawa Senators (21-30-11) tonight.
• Today is the NHL Trade deadline is at 2 p.m. today, and the Predators have already acquired defenseman Ben Harpur from the Maple Leafs in exchange for forward Miikka Salomaki. There may be other trades today by the time you read this.
• A dance school and the Nashville Ballet have created a production of “The Little Engine that Could” that features performers in wheel chairs to illustrate that a disability doesn’t limit their ability to perform.
• Gigi Butler of Gigi’s Cupcake fame is pursuing a new venture with pies after having sold off her cupcake business to a Texas company (which promptly ran it to bankruptcy, go figure). ?

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