• PSA: The decennial census is still happening in Nashville despite the March 3 tornadoes and coronavirus outbreak. Be counted!
• Nashville Mayor John Cooper delivered his State of Metro Tuesday morning to an audience of about five people in an empty Metro Council chambers where he said that his budget proposal for the next fiscal year will “sharply increase” property taxes.
• Country music legend and patron saint of Tennessee Dolly Parton donated $1 million to support research at VUMC to support research in finding a cure to the novel coronavirus and encouraged others to do the same.
• The death toll from COVID-19 has risen to 25 in Tennessee, with 2,683 cases statewide and as many as 673 cases in Davidson County alone.
• At least 78 employees at Vanderbilt University Medical Center have tested positive for the coronavirus, highlighting the dangers faces for folks in the healthcare field. The hospital declined to disclose how many worked directly in patient care and said that many had already recovered.
• The city continues to revise its guidance to limit opportunities for exposure to the virus, including reducing the allowed occupancy of retailers and closing car washes.
• Hands on Nashville is organizing volunteers for a temporary homeless shelter at Fairgrounds Nashville, the first of three the city plans to use for treating those with symptoms of COVID-19.
• The city says that at least 43 businesses have been reported for violating the mayor’s safer at home guidelines. So far, the city has not fined or revoked permits for those cases.
• A group of physicians predict that Tennessee’s COVID-19 cases will peak in late April, with new cases continuing to double every four days. This could lead to a dangerous shortfall of 11,000 hospital beds, 2,100 ICU beds and 2,300 ventilators.
• Taylor Swift has stepped in to pay the wages and benefits for Grimey’s Record Store employees in East Nashville for the next three months. The owners have no idea why, but are grateful for the support.
• Tennessee’s government is preparing plans to convert hotels and dorm rooms into hospitals according to lawmakers briefed about the plans.
• Folks that were employed as of March 11 can apply to receive $1,000 for two months through an Emergency Cash Assistance if they meet certain criteria.
• The Music City Center will donate $500,000 to the United Way COVID-19 response fund.
• A group of Wisconsin spring breakers that made a stop in Nashville around March 13 have tested positive for COVID-19, demonstrating the importance of staying at home and the rapid spread of the virus.
• Racial disparities are emerging in the administration of COVID-19 tests, potentially leading to fatal results in minority communities.
• In-person drug testing for Nashville residents on probation has been limited to no more than once per week after complaints that it was needlessly endangering the public to continue them.
• CMA Fest (and everyone’s favorite people-watching bingo game) will not happen this year the organizers announced Tuesday, citing the public health concerns that are likely to stretch to the original June 4-7. The new date will be June 10-13.
• Metro Nashville Public Schools will distribute take-home learning packets along with meals to students.
• Officials are preparing for demand to double at the city’s food banks because of layoffs and furloughs, complicating matters for the short-staffed organizations because of COVID-19.
• Please take care of your mental health while staying at home, y’all.

Photo by Dan Gaken. Want to see your photo featured here?