Good morning, Nashville. We hope you guys were able to get outside this weekend and enjoy a taste of spring before temperatures start plummeting this afternoon. In other news, the number of handgun permits issued by the State of Tennessee have jumped 23% from this time last year, possibly because we keep thinking we’re going to be able to tote them into new places, like restaurants and bars. For those keeping score, the controversial “guns in bars” measure, which passed last June before being struck down by a judge in November for being too vague, is still floating around in the court system awaiting re-visitation.

• Enjoy it while it lasts. Gas prices are noticeably lower these days, but AAA says that we shouldn’t expect it to last too much longer. Experts predict that it’ll hit $3 per gallon over the summer.
• Polar Plunge success. The 11th annual Polar Bear Plunge at Percy Priest was a record success, raising $35,000 for the Special Olympics. It should be noted that it reached a very un-polar 66 degrees on Saturday (though the water was supposedly still 38 degrees, so we’ll give ’em that.)
• Bits & pieces. The spokesman for the Fairgrounds Heritage Preservation Group is a registered sex offender living with a convicted pedophile as recently as 2005 … Nashville is undertaking its largest anti-poverty effort in the history of the city … Lots of Middle Tennessee parents are outraged over an American Idol contestant who allegedly scammed a lot of families out of a lot of money.

Photo by fallingwater123.