- Tennessee’s board of medical examiners has opted to stick with a policy prohibiting doctors from spreading misinformation about COVID-19 in the face of opposition from the legislature. The board has received at least 30 complaints about physicians, but no specific punishment has been handed down.
- Congressman Jim Cooper (D) announced he will retire at the completion of his term after representing Nashville in the US House for more than 30 years. Cooper cited the redistricting plan headed to Governor Bill Lee’s desk splitting Nashville three ways, with new incumbents.
- The state legislature is considering its own set of regulations around “party vehicles,” spurred by Nashville’s restrictions on open containers enacted late last year. Whether the city can enforce restrictions on full-sizeĀ vehicles is an issue likely headed to court.
- A bill in the legislature would also reduce the handgun carry age from 21 to 18 after eliminating the need to obtain a permit last year over the opposition from law enforcement and gun control supporters.
- Metro Public Works says that all 10 of its front-load garbage trucks used to pick up dumpsters are in the shop, leading to widespread delays in trash pickup across the city. Uncollected trash has attracted rodents and other pests.
- An East Nashville property that’s the current home to an auto diesel college has been sold for $34.5 million, though the campus is expected to remain there for at least another year. The trade school is looking for a new location.
- The Community Oversight Board has recommended a 20 days suspension for a Metro Police officer that shot a man in the leg in 2020 during a domestic violence call, saying that departmental policy was not followed.
- Brookmeade Park in West Nashville continues to be a flash point of the issues facing the homeless community, with a local group accusing others of “enabling” residents to remain at the park with trash cleanup service.
- An East Nashville music producer has had his case heard before the state’s Supreme Court on whether a Metro ordinance prohibiting home-based businesses is constitutional. A pandemic-related change to the allow gave him some reprieve, but that provision expires next year.
- Crews will be working to fix the damage caused by back-to-back winter storms on Briley Parkway near Madison after drivers said they had to dodge rocks and dust kicked up by the spalled road.
- The Nashville Predators defeated the Seattle Kraken 4-2 Tuesday night on the road, their first win over the newest expansion team and their third in a row. The team heads to Edmonton to face the Oilers tonight.
- The District Attorney’s office says that it has halved the daily number of people incarcerated in Nashville jails through a program like one that avoids sending someone to jail for driving on a suspended license if there is not a history of DUI or other factors, particularly in cases where the license was revoked over court costs in an unrelated matter. Speaking of the District Attorney, Glenn Funk’s office announced he has contracted COVID-19.
- Metro Codes issued a record number of building permits last year, valued at nearly $5.5 billion in construction projects. Most of it was for commercial buildings.
Photo by Sharon Mollerus. Want to see your photo featured here?