- There are 182 people nominated for the 11 slots on the Community Oversight Board approved by a referendum last month. The board will review cases of police misconduct starting in the new year.The head of the trauma center at Vanderbilt University Medical Center says that his unit is over 95 percent capacity at any given time, citing the region’s booming population as a reason.
- The city’s Metro Board of Ethical Conduct has voted unanimously to recommend disciplinary action against former mayor Megan Barry, who plead guilty in February (yes, that was this year) to felony theft. The Metro Council could formally censure her — think of it as the exact opposite of one of those “you’re totally great” proclamations they give out to local civic groups.
- The Nashville Scene has a map of the last four years of gun violence in the city, which other than a few concentrated areas show that it happens in just about every neighborhood. The study says there has been almost 1,000 shootings since 2014.
- The Nashville Predators (22-11-2) dropped a 4-3 overtime loss to the Ottawa Senators (15-16-4) and then a 2-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks (11-19-6) to extend their road losing streak to eight (!) games. The team closes out their road trip tonight against the
GrittysPhiladelphia Flyers (13-15-4) and Saturday against the Boston Bruins (18-12-4). - A 30-story apartment building near the Korean Veterans Blvd. roundabout could soon snarl downtown traffic while it is under construction. The planning commission approved the developer’s plans Wednesday.
- Fairgrounds Nashville could soon see the return of a NASCAR race if everything goes according to plan. It is quite a turnaround for a track that former mayor Karl Dean proposed demolishing in his second term.
- B-Cycle, the city’s bike share partner, says that their revenue has dropped about 20 percent since Lime and Bird have come around. It remains to be seen whether the dip sticks around in the new year.
- Senator Lamar Alexander (R) announced Tuesday that he would not seek re-election in 2020. He is a former Tennessee governor first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2003.
- Nashville’s U.S. House Rep. Jim Cooper (D), on the other hand, will vie to stay on the job in 2020. He was first elected to the redrawn District 5 in 2003 after previously serving from 1983-1995 in District 4.
- A draft opinion by Tennessee’s Attorney General could clear the way for legalized sports betting without changing the state’s constitution. Mississippi is among the first states to allow sports gambling after a Supreme Court in May.
- The Metro Planning Commission deferred a vote on a midtown apartment buildings built before World War II. They could be replaced by a 15-story development.
- You might get a note on your still-full recycling cart if you put plastic bags in it. Don’t do that.
- PSA: The Titans game against Washington is 3:30 p.m. Saturday instead of the usual Sunday. Plan your weekend outings accordingly.
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