• PSA: Well folks, today is the first day of the NFL Draft downtown, so we hope you are either excited to have the day off to go, or have the day off to avoid driving anywhere near the expected 300,000 attendees.
• Among things you can see: a massive motorized shopping cart riding the city streets, because why not. ?
• People staying at area hotels out of necessity have been told to leave to make room for patrons willing to pay three or four times their regular rates for the NFL Draft and Marathon this weekend. One hotel owner responded with “it’s just business.”
• A river kayak tour company operator has been forced to shut down for three weeks because of the Draft, with city officials citing security reasons. The company offers tours of other nearby rivers, but the downtown scenery is their biggest draw.
• The “ambubus” was introduced Monday to the world, allowing first responders to transport more people from a mass casualty event to area hospitals. It’s first use was at a gas leak at the Charlotte Pike Walmart, where 10 people complained of headaches.
• A group of Gulch condo owners is taking the building’s developers to court after failing to negotiate a settlement stemming from a rooftop pool collapse attributed to poor engineering. The developers claim that their company has dissolved, while associated companies continue to operate.
• Police say that a bachelorette party dare lead to an arrest after a woman threw a bar stool at the bartender, breaking a bottle of vodka in the process. Lower Broadway, man.
• In weirder news, a 45 year-old man was arrested after crashing into several park cars, leaving his vehicle on the side of the road and chasing a woman through an apartment complex parking lot.
• State Senator Steve Dickerson (R) has been named as a defending in a lawsuit filed by the federal government over allegations of fraud and forgery associated with the pain clinic he founded. Dickerson has declined to comment.
• Local officials are warning renters to be extra careful before sending any money for a listing, saying that scammers are using property records to pose as homeowners.
• Vanderbilt University Medical Center is joining with other hospitals to oppose a new federal policy that would dictate organ transplants be awarded based on need rather than proximity of the donor and receiver. Critics of the policy say it is designed to benefit larger states like New York and California that have a lower donor participation rate.
• Nashville International Airport plans to replace its iconic (?) brown and blue carpet over the next five years, and there’s now an online petition to save it.
• An internal report says that Metro Animal Care and Control should have nearly twice the number of staff members they are budgeted to have to run effectively. The department handles issues related to stray or abandoned pets.
• The downtown steam plant that provides chilled and hot water through 91,100 feet of underground pipes could soon be sold to a private company for $60 million. The facility has been losing money for Metro.
• Continuing its reputation as “Home of the Second Location”, Charlotte Ave will pick up a Bearded Iris taproom and a Barista Parlor coffee house.
• Rock musician Peter Frampton arrived for jury duty Tuesday in Nashville, in case you were wondering what he was up to these days.
• The Nashville Predators ended their quest for the Stanley Cup, dropping a 2-1 overtime Game 6 on the road to the Dallas Stars, who will take on the St. Louis Blues in the second round. Training camp opens in September. ?
• Former Tennessee Titans coach Jeff Fisher has no more time for your 7-9 and 8-8 jokes.

Photo by Paul Felton. Want to see your photo featured here?