• Y’all, it’s real hot out there so drink plenty of water and avoid spending too much time outside if you can.
• Nashville’s health officials have no plans to reinstate the mask mandates that were lifted this spring in the face of growing case counts in the region. The CDC announced Tuesday new recommendations that even fully vaccinated individuals should wear masks in certain circumstances.
• Vanderbilt University Medical Center says that patients hospitalized with COVID-19 are markedly younger than those in the past and that the overwhelming majority (98 percent) were unvaccinated prior to contracting the virus.
• Nashville area hospitals have announced plans to require employees to be fully vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus. The courts have upheld the mandates as a condition of employment.
• Federal authorities have indicted nine individuals in Nashville that they say are involved with the MS-13 gang responsible for several violent crimes in the area, including murder and kidnapping. If convicted, they face up to life in prison.
• A group has sued the governor and the department of labor for ending the federal “enhanced” unemployment benefits program early.
• The 2020 census means that new council district and school board lines will be drawn for Nashville by the Planning Department, with that group soliciting feedback from the public. The department aims to create equitable districts as required by law while trying to adhere to existing neighborhood boundaries.
• A new campaign aims to remind parents to be careful about leaving children or pets in cars as temperatures continue to rise in the midstate.
• The familiar sculptures at Centennial Park will soon be getting much-needed repairs and some informational markers to explain how they got there.
• A West Nashville apartment building has abruptly stopped accepting Section 8 vouchers that allows low-income families to live on the property, sending some residents scrambling for new housing options. Affordable housing continues to be a major issue facing the city.
• Tennessee State University will have some memorabilia aboard the International Space Station to celebrate the school’s contributions to the study of aerospace technology.
• The Nashville Symphony has reached a new collective bargaining agreement with the union representing its musicians, which will bring about a seven percent pay cut next year. The symphony was hit particularly hard by the pandemic and its restrictions on live performances.
• Nashville public defender Marcus Floyd has announced his candidacy for General Sessions Judge, challenging an incumbent that has been on the bench since 1980 and ran unopposed the last five elections. The election will be next year.
• Nashville’s Alex Walsh picked up a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics in the Women’s 200m Individual Medley swimming event.
• Fans of Whataburger will see as many as eight new locations in the Middle Tennessee area in the coming year. The restaurants are coming to Lebanon, Nashville, Madison, Murfreesboro, Hermitage, Gallatin and Smyrna.

Photo by Carl Harper. Want to see your photo featured here?