February 1, 2024

JAMES BEARD AWARDS

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HEADLINE HOMES

FEBRUARY 1, 2024 | VOLUME 36 | NUMBER 4

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‘Missing middle’ housing targeted in Nashville zoning reform push

BY STEPHEN ELLIOTT

Freddie O’Connell

PHOTO COURTESY OF OFFICE OF MAYOR FREDDIE O’CONNELL

Mayor presents first capital spending proposal

BY NICOLLE S. PRAINO

Mayor Freddie O’Connell this week announced his first capital spending plan, a $514 million wish list of projects around the city.

While it is a more than $35 million increase from the total in the 2023 plan, Metro Finance Director Kevin Crumbo said Friday it is “investing in our city while living within our means.”

“This keeps us level for where we are,” O’Connell added. “This does not increase our debt as a share of operating.”

The mayor annually proposes a capital improvements budget listing potential projects to be completed during the ensuing several years. The Metro Council will have final say in which projects get funded in the annual spending plan later this year. Some of the items on O’Connell’s list have been

featured on past lists.

The biggest chunk is earmarked for the Nashville Department of Transportation, not to exceed $94.6 million. There is a new line item for transportation planning and Connect Downtown in addition to renewed attention to existing work on sidewalks and bicycle lanes.

Continued funding for projects include the second phase of the juvenile justice center and Lakeview, Paragon Mills and Percy Priest elementary schools. New funding is included for a 2nd Avenue waste diversion pilot program and solar panel installation for Glencliff High School and MLK Magnet School.

Around $25 million is designated for the East Bank alone, the mayor said in a press conference, adding that there is more

funding for other areas of Nashville.

“The neighborhood investments here far exceed it,” O’Connell said. “Our commitment is going to be to make sure that we are investing in the entire city.”

Other items • $3.17 million for WeGo Access Paratransit Vehicle Replacement • $8.6 million for replacement buses/ chassis • $15 million for libraries, three times the amount from 2023 • $23 million for the Nashville Fire Department, doubled from 2023 • $3 million for replacing end-of-life police records management system A version of this story was first published by our sister publication Nashville Post.

Two freshmen Metro councilmembers are launching an ambitious push to reform parts of Nashville’s zoning code in an effort to slow down rising housing costs.

Broadly speaking, the goal is to get the private sector to build more homes for middle-income residents by making it easier to build different types of housing across the city, in turn allowing Metro to redirect its own efforts to those in severe need. Additional benefits of the reforms, the sponsors said, could include reduced traffic and increased “community,” as neighborhoods grow more self-sufficient and fewer people have to drive for daily needs.

Metro Councilmembers Quin Evans Segall and Rollin Horton filed a suite of bills this week, and the full council is expected to consider them on first reading next week.

“Nashville’s outdated zoning code has generated accelerating urban sprawl, endangering the rural and suburban character of some of the most beautiful parts of Davidson County, while locking our streets in suffocating car traffic and congestion to the point that we have been ranked the worst commute in America,” said Horton, whose District 20 includes The Nations and Charlotte Park.

“By necessitating this urban sprawl development pattern, the city’s zoning code forces Nashvillians into car-dependent lifestyles so that it is necessary to drive to meet nearly every daily need, discouraging walkable neighborhoods. This has led to increased vehicular traffic, longer commute times and ever-increasing congestion.”

Horton’s bills would accomplish four goals: allow certain residential structures of up to six stories to be served by a >> PAGE 2

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THE NEWS

‘Missing middle’ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

The Nations

PHOTO BY ERIC ENGLAND

single stairwell, eliminate minimum lot sizes in multifamily districts, permit housing by right in commercial districts and ask Metro departments to create pre-approved pattern books for missing middle housing.

Additionally, Evans Segall, an at-large member, is sponsoring several bills. They would allow duplexes to be built wherever single-family homes are allowed countywide, allow triplex and quadplex homes to be built where single-family homes are allowed in the smaller Urban Services District and scale back certain safety standards for some smaller multifamily projects that currently have to match safety standards of large multifamily buildings.

Other proposals include smaller tweaks to Nashville’s zoning rules. Evans Segall has set up a website to explain the push and has scheduled public meetings around the county in the coming weeks to discuss the proposals with community members.

“What building missing middle housing allows us to do in Nashville is redirect where we’re putting our subsidies,” Evans Segall said, noting that the city in some cases incentivizes projects that house residents making as much as 125 percent of the area median income. “When you’re subsidizing up to over 100 percent AMI, it tells you the average person can’t afford to live in your city. … As a government we do not have the

capacity to continue subsidizing housing for more than half of this county.”

The goal, in part, is to make it easier or more profitable for the private sector to build multifamily housing where otherwise a large, expensive single-family home would be the best option for a developer.

Nashville’s 25-year-old zoning regime is seen by some affordable housing supporters, urban planning junkies and even rightleaning property rights advocates as a relic ripe for rewriting. These bills would be a first step toward a complete rewrite, which could take several years.

Conservative Montana and liberal Washington are among the states that have passed major zoning reform laws aimed at encouraging housing construction in the past year. The Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations last week submitted a draft report to the state legislature recommending policies that would encourage local governments to adopt zoning reforms that elevate so-called missing middle housing (smaller multifamily housing options formerly common across the United States but deemphasized during the decades of American suburbanization).

“We’re never going to have community if every time we tear down a duplex or a smaller scale home we build a 6,000-squarefoot multimillion-dollar home,” Evans Segall said. “A variety of housing [and] a variety of neighbors is what creates that community, and it’s what we all are craving in Nashville right now.”

Different types of housing, the sponsors argue, allow young professionals and retired people to remain in attractive neighborhoods, in some cases preventing rising housing costs from displacing residents.

Mayor Freddie O’Connell told the Post last year that he wanted to try to rewrite Metro’s zoning rules during his last term on the Metro Council, but COVID-19 and other issues put the undertaking on the backburner. He said he hoped the Metro Council would consider zoning reform this

term, and Horton said the push seems to align with O’Connell’s campaign slogan, “I want you to stay.”

Any ambitious legislative push by the Metro Council is liable to draw attention from the state legislature. But between efforts in states like Montana, support from center-right think tank the Beacon Center and, according to multiple sources, interest by some in Gov. Bill Lee’s office for statewide zoning reform, the issue has at least some bipartisan engagement.

Additional pushback could come from district councilmembers and neighborhood associations committed to preserving neighborhoods as-is and fearful of the wideranging application of the duplex, triplex and quadplex permissions.

Evans Segall contends that design restrictions should help stave off concerns about neighborhoods changing, in addition to education about the hoped-for benefits of zoning reform. She also said many singlefamily properties both in the Urban Services District and in the rest of the county are already eligible for duplexes due to historical uses, and granting blanket permission to build would relieve Metro departments of some of the time-consuming work required to confirm whether properties are eligible for small multi-family uses.

“By artificially restricting the supply of housing through rigid outdated regulations, our city’s housing stock has struggled to keep pace with our growing population, leading to skyrocketing property prices and rental prices,” Horton said. “Moreover, the limited variety of housing options available, particularly for family-sized householders, compounds the issue, forcing an increasing number of Nashville families to face a choice between growing financial strain, or the prospect of living farther and farther from work, family and essential services.”

A version of this story was first published by our sister publication Nashville Post.

‘Obamacare’ enrollment spikes as TennCare unwinding continues

BY HANNAH HERNER

A record 20.4 million people enrolled in Affordable Care Act health insurance this year, and Tennessee saw one of the biggest increases — a 49.8 percent jump in members compared to last year’s open enrollment period.

As of Jan. 10, 521,341 people had enrolled in Affordable Care Act (often called Obamacare) coverage in Tennessee, up from 348,097 in the 2022-2023 open enrollment period. Just three states saw more growth than Tennessee: West Virginia at 63.4

percent; Louisiana at 62.7 percent; and Ohio at 51.9 percent.

Aida Whitfield, health care access manager for nonprofit Family and Children’s Service in Nashville, said the change is due to a few factors: the thousands of people dropped from TennCare as the state continues its unwinding process, cheaper costs for the insurance plans and improved outreach compared to previous years.

Earlier this month, TennCare released its

most recent unwinding report. In October, 140,000 people were up for renewal, and 41,149 were deemed ineligible and dropped from coverage. An additional 25,386 members up for renewal were still pending.

Of the 875,159 people who underwent the renewal process from April to October, 538,748 were renewed, and 274,286 lost TennCare coverage. Of those dropped from the roll, some were deemed ineligible, but 76 percent lost coverage because of clerical issues

— either they did not return the packet or failed to complete additional information.

The Affordable Care Act open enrollment period began Nov. 1 and lasted until Jan. 16, as usual (plus the additional day for Martin Luther King Jr. Day). However, this year, there is more opportunity for people to obtain insurance through the marketplace outside of open enrollment. Those dropped from TennCare can apply when they are notified that their coverage is >> PAGE 3

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FEBRUARY 1, 2024

‘Obamacare’ enrollment CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2

ending, and a new special enrollment option allows those who make under 150 percent of federal poverty level to apply at any time.

Enrolling in Affordable Care Act coverage is cheaper than in previous years, too. The Biden administration has rolled out a series of additional tax credits for low income

recipients, and some insurance plans lowered prices overall to entice potential enrollees. The marketplace is open to anyone, but tax credit amounts vary by income. Whitfield observed that plans that cost $100 in previous years, now cost $50 or $60 per month.

Whitfield said TennCare’s promise to refer

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those removed from the roll to the health insurance marketplace has been successful.

TennCare forwards contact information for those dropped from the roll to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and as a state navigator organization, Family and Children’s Services is given a list of people to contact who would be eligible.

“Having the local navigator is useful because we are very aware of all the plans that are local, and what the network is, where they can be seen — all of that,” Whitfield said. “We are able to sit down and go through all that process. That helps them and gives them a peace of mind because they know that we are aware and knowledgeable about their medical needs.”

ACA is overcoming its PR problem, said Michele Johnson, executive director of Tennessee Justice Center. When the Affordable Care Act was introduced in 2010, people thought enrolling meant support for Democrats and did not have an accurate idea of how much it would cost, she said. The online portal was harder to use in the beginning, too.

“There’s just been an amazing public relations campaign to inform people about the pathway to coverage and the affordability of it,” Johnson said. “People are surprised at the cost — how cheap they can get comprehensive coverage through the ACA.” Even with the jump in ACA coverage,

there are still coverage gaps, Johnson notes.

Tennessee is now one of 10 states that has not expanded Medicaid coverage under the ACA. Childless adults who fall in the TennCare coverage gap and cannot afford private insurance may not make enough money to obtain a tax credit for ACA, which requires that a person has income at least as high as the federal poverty level, but not higher than 400 percent of that amount (or just north of $60,000 in annual income).

“The benefit of expansion is everybody knows there’s a pathway to coverage for everyone,” she said. “Then you start to really get people to apply and not have to be super nerdy health experts to get comprehensive coverage and peace of mind.”

Many who stayed on the TennCare roll for the past three or so years began to see more value in health insurance coverage, Johnson said.

“During the pandemic we had as close as we’ve been for a long time to universal coverage in Tennessee,” Johnson said.

“People got used to being able to go to the doctor, and they got used to being able to get the medicine they need. That maybe got them off the fence about applying to the Affordable Care Act.” This story was first published by our sister publication Nashville Post.

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THE NEWS

Plans revealed for affordable housing, TPAC on the East Bank

BY CONNOR DARYANI, NASHVILLE BANNER

Nashville’s EastBank

PHOTO COURTESY

OF AERIAL INNOVATIONS SOUTHEAST

This story is a partnership between the Nashville Banner and The News. The Banner is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization focused on civic news. For more information, visit NashvilleBanner.com.

A meeting of the Ad-Hoc East Bank Committee on Monday night offered the most detailed look yet at the future of the East Bank.

At 550 acres, the East Bank is a massive developmental undertaking, expected to take decades to complete. Currently an underdeveloped sea of concrete centrally located between the Cumberland River and I-24, the land has been a sore spot in Nashville for years as development grows around it. Intertwined with the success of Mayor John Cooper’s Titans stadium deal last year was his administration’s promise of an East Bank overhaul, turning it into Nashville’s new up-and-coming neighborhood, with a promise that it would not just be another tourist trap.

The East Bank is home to 110 acres of Metro-owned land. Thirty acres of that land has been selected as an “Initial Development Area” near the new stadium.

On the final day of Cooper’s administration, the protest period for a contract with The Fallon Company to be the master developer of the 30-acre IDA ended. That means that negotiations had to begin almost immediately after Mayor Freddie O’Connell took office in September. In November, during the last meeting of the Ad-Hoc East Bank Committee, O’Connell’s chief development officer Bob Mendes told the committee that negotiations with Fallon were just getting underway, as the new

administration had spent its first months in office getting their ducks in a row.

Two months later, the public has gotten its first look at how those negotiations are shaping up.

“The lawyer in me is making a giant disclaimer at the front end,” said Mendes at the start of Monday’s meeting. “We are doing something that, at least in my time in Metro government, I haven’t seen done before. And that is we’re giving a snapshot in time in the middle of a negotiation. When I gave the mayor a similar presentation ten days ago, many of these slides were different because the negotiation has moved forward over the last ten days.”

While Mendes stressed that negotiations are still ongoing and nothing is final, he indicated that many of the most impactful aspects of the development were all but set in stone outside of hammering out the details.

Here are some of the highlights of the “snapshot” of negotiations: Stories to Watch in 2024: The Coming Development of Nashville’s East Bank AFFORDABLE HOUSING The lack of affordable housing is an ongoing crisis in Nashville, and advocates made it known that a lack of affordable housing on the East Bank would be unacceptable. Critics argued that such a centrally located plot of land would be a difficult spot for affordable housing when revenues are already such a problem.

Metro is currently under discussion with Fallon to set certain minimums on the number of housing units they will require to be developed in the IDA. While Mendes stressed that the numbers could change, he said he believes they will accomplish the following as negotiations go forward.

Of 1,550 total residential units, Mendes said the current breakdown would be: • 855 market-rate units • 600 affordable housing units split between two buildings that are 100% affordable housing • 95 affordable housing units in marketrate buildings • A minimum of five residential buildings Mendes said that the administration has gone into negotiations focusing on creating a neighborhood feel. A part of that has been setting milestones in the timeline for when construction of a number of residential units will begin, milestones Mendes said he is confident they won’t do worse than.

Within two years of executing either the Master Development Agreement or the required rezoning, Fallon is expected to start construction on 300 residential units and one other building. Within six years, developers are expected to start a total of 700 residential units, and within 10 years that

number will grow to 1,250.

Additionally, Fallon has already agreed to have those affordable units locked in as affordable for the entirety of their 99-year ground lease, a massive win for affordable housing advocates.

of $32.5 million, but the Titans will pay for 20 percent of that to account for the amount of waste the stadium will create.

Mendes believes the rest of the money will be recouped over time through taxes on developments that are served by the station.

TENNESSEE PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

ZONING

Mendes revealed on Monday that Metro has a tentative agreement with TPAC, which has long been rumored to be in search of a new home on the East Bank, to relocate to a riverfront parcel on the southern side of the IDA. TPAC’s parcel will be excluded from the agreement with Fallon, as it will be negotiated directly between Metro and TPAC. The building’s design will be subject to approval by the Metro Planning Department.

As a part of the agreement, TPAC will also invest in some of the surrounding infrastructure, including the re-landing of the John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge, which will be structurally attached to TPAC and will extend beyond the space to deposit pedestrians almost directly next to the stadium.

A presentation slide lays out early infrastructure projects that will need to take place in order for development to proceed. Total construction estimates take into account soft costs, contingencies and year of expenditure, providing a more accurate estimate.

INFRASTRUCTURE AND COSTS Metro will have to make some big upfront investments in the infrastructure of the East Bank, the full extent of which is not yet known. Aside from the infrastructure Metro itself has to pay for, Fallon, the Titans and TPAC will also be footing the bill for various infrastructure projects that will need to be completed for construction to move forward.

As part of the Titans stadium financing deal made last year, Metro agreed to provide the Titans with 2,000 parking spaces for dedicated stadium usage. Metro also agreed that the Titans would receive all revenue produced by parking on an event day.

The result is a $64 million parking garage that Metro will be responsible for constructing, accounting for about half of Metro’s infrastructure financial responsibilities in the IDA. Another heavy lift for Metro will be a brand-new sewer pump station. Building a neighborhood out of nothing brings with it the problem of increased sewage. Legislation for the construction of that sewer pump station has already been filed and passed through the Budget and Finance Committee just before Monday’s meeting.

The sewage pump station will cost a total

In order to do any of these things, the zoning code for the East Bank will have to change. Of course zoning also offers Metro an opportunity to limit the ways the East Bank could be used, preventing the dreaded “Lower Broadway II” that many Nashvillians are worried about.

Metro’s intention is to expand the downtown zoning code to the East Bank. The downtown code allows for strict control over how buildings are used and designed. The Metro Planning Department is proposing very specific land use requirements, which Metro Planning manager Joni Williams said will encourage “a mixed-use urban neighborhood.”

Those conditions would include the prohibition of industrial uses, strict parking limits, the prohibition of short-term rentals and restrictions on the number and proximity of bars.

TIMELINE The East Bank development in its entirety will take decades. Mendes said that he expects the development of the 30-acre IDA alone to span up to three two-term mayoral administrations.

Simply put, these negotiations are just the tip of the iceberg. Parcels A and B, on the northernmost portion of the IDA, are not even expected to be developed within the next 10 years.

On the legislative end of things, Mendes said a master development agreement with Fallon — a contract that would include details such as a timeline, what phases go first, a description of responsibilities, land usage, documents related to future lease agreements, and of course a price tag — should hit the Metro Council floor by early March. The administration’s hope is that it could then pass in April, kicking off the actual development process.

From there, the development will essentially emerge outward from the stadium, beginning on the southern side, and working its way towards the river over time, providing a mixture of residential, retail and hotel usage.

On Jan. 31, District 5 and 6 Metro Councilmembers Sean Parker and Clay Capp will hold a joint town hall meeting to discuss the East Bank.

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FEBRUARY 1, 2024

Williamson County Democratic Party ‘alive and active’ as 2024 election cycle kicks off County’s races slated to have major impact on state politics

BY MATT MASTERS The Williamson County Democratic Party has reorganized and is reenergized going into the 2024 election cycle, which is now in full swing.

WCDP president Peggy Kingsbury sat down with The News to outline the party’s goals in 2024, saying that while Williamson County is a Republican Party stronghold, the WCDP is “active and alive” as they work to mobilize both volunteers and voters in what will be a significant election at the local, state and federal level.

“Our goals locally are to continue to represent the values that the Williamson County Democratic Party stands for, which are full voting rights for everyone who is eligible to vote,” Kingsbury told The News.

“We’re both very pleased with the number of people who have stepped up to run and the quality of our candidates.”

One of the key races for Williamson County voters will be for the Williamson County School Board, and the WCDP has announced its endorsement of several candidates in the partisan race -- District 1 candidate Elmer Mobley, District 3

candidate Diane Cochran, District 9 candidate Shandus Parish, and District 11 candidate Laura Granere.

“We believe that students, their parents and guardians and educators are the three most important parts of our education system,” Kingsbury said.

“We do not believe that there needs to be any dismantling of our education system, like we’ve heard some other people speak about,” Kingsbury continued. “We want to support our educators, including librarians, as well as parents and guardians and students. We want our students to continue to enjoy the full breadth and depth of an education in Williamson County, which includes the ability to think, understand new and different ideas, and prepare them for what they choose after school, whether that’s a trade or further education.”

Months before stepping up to lead the local party in late 2023, Kingsbury was thrown into the local and national political spotlight when she spoke out against former Franklin Alderman Gabrielle Hanson during Hanson’s mayoral campaign.

Kingsbury then became the target of intimidation and threats of violence from Hanson’s white supremacist lackeys, an experience she said “taught us that issues can be, and are often more important than, the letter behind the candidate’s name.”

One Tennessee race in 2024 see’s incumbent Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn, of Brentwood, face off against Democrat challenger Gloria Johnson, the current District 90 State Rep. from Knoxville.

Johnson, known as one third of the “Tennessee Three,” narrowly escaped being expelled from the Tennessee House of Representatives in 2023 after taking part in a gun reform protest on the house floor following the March 27 Covenant School shooting which killed three students and three staff members.

Last week, members of the WCDP and others attended a Franklin meet-and-greet event with Johnson, who has become a national party figure, and Kingsbury believes that Williamson County will be key to 2024’s state-level races.

“We know that challengers for the U.S.

Congress, who are Democrats for this area, frankly, can’t win unless Williamson County works very hard for them, and we will be doing that,” Kingsbury said.

The Democratic Party both locally and nationally has been warning that “democracy is on the ballot” since the 2016 election of former President Donald Trump, and Kingsbury is reiterating that message, adding that WCDP is not just for traditional democrats, but welcoming of all voters who may feel disenfranchised in an era of extreme politics.

“I do think that democracy is at risk; I don’t think it will fall, but it sure has been chipped away,” Kingsbury said.

“Here locally, we have seen democracy take some hits as the Republican Party removed their own candidates from the ballot in an orchestrated power play; that is taking democracy from Republican voters.

We care about them, too. So when we say we care about democracy, we mean for everyone in America.”

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6

THE NEWS

Extreme weather tests Nashville shelter network

BY ELI MOTYCKA

Nashville Rescue Mission

PHOTO BY ERIC ENGLAND

Temperatures plunged Saturday, Jan. 13, and snow fell heavy Sunday night.

Nashville got above freezing just once over the following week — a sunny Thursday afternoon — before plunging back to single digits over the weekend. Metro canceled school for two days, then the whole week.

As of publication, school is canceled through Monday, Jan. 22. Sledders packed the fairways at Shelby and McCabe.

Prolonged cold and ice tested the city’s shelter network, a broad coalition of institutions and people trying to help the growing population of people living outside.

“I’m looking for my friend Ed,” Claire Hennigan told the Scene outside Metro’s Extreme Cold Weather Overflow Shelter, where I had been turned away at the door after identifying myself as a reporter.

Hennigan had a temporary housing option for Ed, but sometimes he could be hard to find. “I’m sorry they didn’t let you in.

Sometimes it just depends who’s working security or at the door.”

Hennigan is an outreach worker at Open Table Nashville, an interfaith nonprofit working to alleviate homelessness

in Nashville with direct service, advocacy and education. At its best, Nashville’s network of volunteers, nonprofits, houses of faith and city services work together to mitigate the immediate dangers of living outside and bring as many people as possible into stable housing.

Last week’s weather also canceled four different Continuum of Care Homelessness Planning Council meetings. About midway through the winter, this group was already wrestling with differences in direction and methods specifically around the city’s plans to address encamped communities. Just before snow hit, cold weather plans were unfinished but on track, represented by one ominous agenda item: “Locate and address shelter capacity and challenges.”

Integrating the city’s Extreme Cold Weather Overflow Shelter has been this winter’s priority (and challenge). The site, dubbed a “near-term solution” by Mayor Freddie O’Connell, is intended as a last resort for existing spaces that hit capacity.

It’s the catchall for spaces like Room In The Inn and the Nashville Rescue Mission. Both come with restrictions and limits.

The Nashville Rescue Mission focuses on housing women and families, sometimes for months at a time. Men get spots at Room In The Inn, which sends small groups to religious spaces for dinner and a bed each night. Sheltering from the cold at a West End church, a few of its beneficiaries praise RITI’s professionalism and sense of welcome.

Despite the uncertainty of RITI’s lottery system, they say many of their friends have been able to get a bed every night through the cold stretch.

Such exceptionally severe weather turned Metro’s overflow shelter on Brick Church Pike (formerly MNPS’ Baxter Alternative Learning Center) into an essential stopgap.

Moving around the city without a car takes time and sometimes money; long journeys in the bitter cold carry physical risk.

Metro’s 2023 Point-in-Time Count identified 2,129 people living in shelters, cars or outside. That number (up 11 percent from 2022) is considered a significant undercount by many in the city’s homelessness network.

Metro tells the Scene that the 2024 Pointin-Time count will take place on Thursday, Jan. 25. Freezing temperatures activated the city’s overflow shelter on Jan. 14, bringing in 298 people, the lowest total of the week. On Thursday night, Metro opened an additional overflow site, pushing totals to their highest of the week at 422. The overflow shelter quickly became a refuge for hundreds of Nashvillians. Such demand pushed the city to not just offer a high-capacity shelter, but actually operate one.

“I saw it would be 2 degrees and thought I’d try to go to the city’s overflow shelter,” says Jen Alexander, a writer for The Contributor who is currently unhoused. “It was like a military installation. There were strict rules, and it got worse and worse — in these shelter situations where someone rules over someone else, sometimes people get horrible. I just thought, ‘Please, do better by us.’”

Lengthy security checks caused crowds to form outside the doors, remembers Alexander. Individuals were required to stay in assigned rooms, she says, which changed regularly. Bathrooms lacked toilet paper,

soap and hot water.

“I watched them physically drag two people out of there — they told them never to come back,” recalls Alexander, who compared the shelter to the Stanford prison experiment multiple times in our conversation. “I just thought, ‘This is horrible, and it was just going to get worse.’

They searched all your belongings each night. They said my nail clippers were a weapon, and took them.”

Harriet Wallace, spokesperson for Metro’s Office of Homeless Services, tells the Scene that the shelter dispenses soap and toilet paper in individual allotments. Wallace says everything went “exceptionally well” in the face of extreme cold and sudden high demand for shelter.

After a few nights at Metro’s overflow shelter, Alexander left for City Road Chapel United Methodist Church in Madison.

Lead pastor Jay Voorhees had set up an impromptu shelter alongside The Beat, an outreach and advocacy nonprofit founded by Darrin Bradbury to address homelessness in Madison.

“Within the first day of the snowstorm, it became clear there were folks who weren’t going to other emergency shelter options — the mission, RITI or the city’s shelter — for one reason or another,” Voorhees tells the Scene Monday, as City Road has just finished its last night as a shelter. “Folks come and go. A few were asked to leave because of behavior, but everything went relatively smoothly. I don’t think we ever had to turn anyone away, although we were close to capacity.”

He estimates they served about 40 people total, with around 25 staying each night.

“We really don’t have enough capacity to handle the emergency shelter needs,” says Voorhees. “That’s not to take away from anyone or any existing organizations. There are just limits to what we can do. While we wish we could stay open, we just can’t. We did what we could.”

This story was first published by our sister publication Nashville Scene.

Brentwood, Nashville Police arrest man in connection with multiple robberies, assaults STAFF REPORTS A joint investigation between Metro Nashville Police and Brentwood Police resulted in the arrest of a man who allegedly assaulted and robbed two people outside of banks on Tuesday.

According to BPD, around 11:40 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 23, a masked man, later identified as 32-year-old Deandre Lee Robinson, assaulted a man outside of a

Brentwood Truist Bank branch.

Witnesses reported seeing Robinson flee in a black sedan, and two hours later, MNPD said that Robinson was involved in the assault and robbery of another person, a 91-year-old woman, outside of a Nashville Truist Bank location.

Police said that Robinson entered the Nashville bank at 1:41 p.m. and waited

inside the bank before walking out and stopping beside the victim’s vehicle.

“The victim was walking back to her vehicle after making a transaction at the bank when she was approached by two masked and armed individuals,” MNPD said. “She began to run. They chased her and pushed her to the ground before taking her money.”

Police are still searching for two

unidentified suspects.

Robinson was booked in the Williamson County Jail on a charge of aggravated robbery.

He is expected to be arraigned in Nashville on a charge of facilitation of aggravated robbery and gun theft at a later date.

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FEBRUARY 1, 2024

Two officials leave new mayor’s office

BY STEPHEN ELLIOTT Two top officials in Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s administration are departing the office, O’Connell said Wednesday.

Tanisha Hall, brought on in December as director of transportation and mobility, is returning to her company Fairpointe Planning, which was at risk of losing its Disadvantaged Business Enterprise status as a result of her departure, the mayor said.

Hall was expected to lead on a transit referendum, which the mayor’s office could put forth to voters later this year.

Also leaving is Sam Wilcox, deputy mayor under former Mayor John Cooper who stayed on in a new role in the O’Connell administration. He was working on development projects including the East Bank with chief development officer Bob Mendes.

The statement from O’Connell: “We are sorry to see Tanisha Hall and Sam Wilcox leave the mayor’s office. Both are extremely talented individuals who have a history of working hard for Metro.

Tanisha’s company, Fairpointe Planning, is a woman-owned (WBENC), DBE certified transportation planning

firm. In the last month we have learned that Fairpointe’s DBE status could be jeopardized by her role on the mayor’s transit team and we absolutely want to respect and protect her leadership in equitable mobility and her entrepreneurship. We will miss her expertise but know she can continue to make an impact through Fairpointe’s work with NDOT and WeGo. Sam’s dedication to projects like creating the Freeman Center at Burrus Hall, saving Fort Negley Park and shepherding the Imagine East Bank plan to reality in both Mayor Cooper’s and my office has been a gift. Sam has exciting plans ahead, his not mine to unveil, but we hope he won’t be a stranger to Nashville.

It is my belief that the mayor’s office is a place where people can grow into their next opportunity, even when we’re sad to see them go.”

This story was first published by our sister publication Nashville Post.

Global meat processing giant lays off 111 in Nashville

BY WILLIAM WILLIAMS The Nashville operations of a subsidiary of multinational agribusiness giant Cargill Inc. has laid off 111 employees, a figure that is not quite half the local plant’s workers.

According to a Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development document, the layoffs at Cargill Meat Solutions Corp. are permanent and effective March 15. The document notes the employee roster culling is “partial” and that the affected workers are not members of a union.

Cargill Meat Solutions, which focuses on beef and poultry processing and for which the headquarters is located in Wichita, Kan., operates locally at 2621 Eugenia Ave. in South Nashville and sandwiched by Berry Hill to the west and Woodbine to the east.

According to the company website, the local facility was established in 2009 as Five Star Custom Foods (with that business later being acquired by Cargill in 2016) and employs about 240 people. Terms of the 2016 deal were not disclosed.

Five Star paid $4.7 million for the property at which Cargill operates in 2009, according to Metro records.

Cargill Meat Solutions officials could not

be reached for comment.

Cargill Meat Solutions is a subsidiary of Minnetonka, Minn.-based Cargill Inc., which ranks as the largest private company, based on revenues, in the United States. In November 2023, Forbes reported Cargill generated $177 billion in revenue and was home to about 160,000 employees.

For context, the second- and thirdlargest privately operated U.S. companies are Koch Industries ($125 billion in revenue and 120,000 employees) and Publix ($54.5 billion in revenue and 250,000 workers).

In addition to agribusiness, Cargill Inc. works within the health, pharmaceutical and raw industries spaces. The company operates in approximately 70 countries.

The Cargill layoffs follow Packers Sanitation Services Inc. having trimmed its employee roster of 71 employees at a Goodlettsville Tyson Foods facility in June 2023. That move was spurred by the Wisconsin-based slaughterhouse cleaning company’s facing legal and vendor woes.

A version of this story was first published by our sister publication Nashville Post.

House report suggests alternatives to rejecting federal education funds

BY KELSEY BEYELER

Tennessee State Capitol

PHOTO BY MATT MASTERS

Lawmakers in the state House have released an opinion exploring the possibility of rejecting more than a billion dollars in education funding as part of a joint committee of the state House and Senate.

Neither the House nor the Senate report suggests rejecting the federal education funds outright, though both provide recommendations about how Tennessee could respond to the requirements attached to funds moving forward.

House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) and Senate leader Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge) called for the joint House and Senate working group last year. Senate members disagreed with the recommendations of their colleagues in the House, which resulted in two different versions. The Senate’s report was released on Jan. 9, with the House’s submitted 10 days later. A letter accompanying the House report called its findings “preliminary in nature, with further discussions pending.”

Rep. Ronnie Glynn (D-Clarksville) refused to sign the report, citing opposition to the idea of rejecting federal education dollars.

The House’s report, like the Senate’s, lays out how much funding the state receives from federal entities — nearly $1.3 billion in 2024, around 10 percent of the state education budget — and the requirements attached to it. Federal education funding comes via various programs. The largest sources include the Every Student Succeeds Act (formerly known as the Elementary and Secondary Education Act) and the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act. The former provides funding meant to address educational inequities for economically disadvantaged students, English learners and more; related obligations include reporting, accountability and assessment requirements. The latter

supports students with disabilities and requires states to provide a “free appropriate public education” through individualized education plans, among other measures.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture also contributes a large share of federal funding to provide free meals to qualifying students, though it has nutritional guidelines that must be met.

Acknowledging that “there are more questions than definitive answers” because this has never been done before, and several federal requirements could still exist in the absence of federal education funding, neither report suggests replacing these funds with state dollars. Instead, they both recommend exercising flexibility within federal laws, requesting waivers from certain requirements, attempting to reauthorize federal education laws and involving legislators in grant processes for the Tennessee Department of Education.

During a November hearing, the House side of the committee (but not the Senate) heard from the Center for Practical Federalism and right-wing think tank the James Madison Institute. Representatives from both groups expressed skepticism regarding the Federal Department of Education and its requirements. A synopsis of these hearings was included in the House’s report. Additional recommendations not included in the Senate’s report include calls for a fiscal impact analysis around federal education funding and presentations on related expectations and rules relevant to the Tennessee Department of Education. The recommendations also call for yearly hearings about federal testing requirements and a report about food waste in Tennessee — a matter that came up often during the hearings.

A version of this story was first published by our sister publication Nashville Scene.

8

THE NEWS

OPINION

The Titans’ strategic play: anticipating change with Brian Callahan at the helm

BY BILL FREEMAN

a quarterback for the Broncos, but also just thoroughly enjoyed being around him and coming to work every day.”

There is no higher praise for a Tennessee Vols fan to hear than that — as proud as we are of Peyton’s professional success, he will always be a Volunteer in our hearts. If Peyton gives him a thumbs-up, and if Clark Lea gives him a thumbs-up, Callahan is already two steps ahead of rallying support for his vision for the Titans.

Welcome to Nashville, Coach Callahan.

We know you will love this town as much as we do!

Bill Freeman Bill Freeman is the owner of FW Publishing, the publishing company that produces the Nashville Scene, Nfocus, the Nashville Post and The News.

LOGAN BUTTS ASSOCIATE EDITOR MATT MASTERS NEWS REPORTER AND PHOTOJOURNALIST NICOLLE S. PRAINO STAFF REPORTER LISA BOLD PRODUCTION MANAGER

Brian Callahan

PHOTO BY MATT MASTERS

Here in our vibrant city, where the rhythm of music meets the thrill of sports, a defining moment has unfolded — the Tennessee Titans’ successful pursuit of Brian Callahan as their new head coach.

As a native Nashvillian who was thrilled to see the NFL finally come to Nashville when the Titans (then the Oilers) arrived in 1997, I’ve enjoyed watching the excitement and anticipation as these events progress.

I believe the Titans’ efforts to bring in Callahan, an accomplished offensive strategist with a stellar track record, reflect their dedication to ushering in a new era of football in Music City.

This latest Titans coaching news has become a major topic of interest for both dedicated fans and casual observers. The mention of prominent names like Peyton Manning, Matthew Stafford and Joe Burrow — all beneficiaries of Callahan’s quarterback coaching prowess — resonates with our community. It’s not just a coaching change; it’s football strategy, player development and community engagement that promises to bring great things to our Titans.

Further, the decision to hire Callahan is

a strategic move that aligns with the Titans’ vision for the future. The franchise, with a promising young quarterback in Will Levis, seeks to evolve from a run-centric offense into a dynamic, pass-oriented powerhouse.

Callahan’s experience in molding quarterbacks, from Manning’s MVP seasons to Burrow’s breakthrough success, positions him as a key figure in this transition. And as Callahan himself said: “I thought Will was a really good player coming out of college.

When you watched him play this year, you saw … growth. You saw him learn. The NFL is hard. It’s hard on quarterbacks. It’s particularly hard on young ones. … I’m excited to dive more into that, and how he can get better from year one to year two, and keep putting him in position to have success so we can score some points on offense.”

The Titans, a team that once thrived on Derrick Henry’s ground dominance, are now set to explore a new offensive landscape under Callahan’s guidance.

The revelation of the close friendship between Callahan and Vanderbilt head football coach Clark Lea adds a heartwarming touch to the narrative.

According to Gentry Estes of The Tennessean, the two became friends during their time as graduate assistants at UCLA. Callahan was even part of Lea’s wedding. “I look forward to welcoming Brian and his family to Nashville,” said Lea, “as well as to future opportunities for us to engage our community together.”

The most direct path to a footballloving Tennessean’s heart is through college football. Hearing that Callahan and Clark have ties going way back to their starts in coaching warms the heart of every Vandy fan in town. And for Volunteer fans like myself, here’s another great tidbit: Peyton Manning, arguably UT’s most beloved football player ever, also has connections to Callahan — from Peyton’s years with the Denver Broncos, where Callahan first began his NFL coaching career. What was Peyton’s take on Brian Callahan? “Extremely hard working, extremely intelligent and just overall a great person,” NFL Hall of Famer, two-time Super Bowl champion and Super Bowl MVP Manning told TennesseeTitans.com’s Jim Wyatt. “Not only did I benefit from his coaching and all the help that he gave me as

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9

FEBRUARY 1, 2024

OPINION

Sprin g Special!

TICKED OFF!

We electrostatically prime and paint patio furniture, railing around pools and much more.

MEN AND THEIR MINDSET I’m angry. Why is it always a male who delivers the ultimatum of whether a female has a right to abortion to save her life? You can tell by all these male comments, laws, rules and regulations that they think the world spins for them, no one else. Men have no empathy for what a woman puts her body through to have a baby. Men, and I’m speaking to all men who think and speak this way. Men have no understanding of the pain and suffering a female goes through to give life to a healthy baby, much less having to carrying a dead baby until the woman has a miscarriage or gives birth to the dead fetus.

Yet men pass hundreds of bills regarding women’s right to their own body and health.

Yet you (and I’m still speaking about you men) will not support any bill or resolution to ban AK guns and will not publicly speak about the loss of lives by gun but will vote to take away the speech of anyone who believes in abortion. Why can’t you put human life before human death? How many of you guys know someone who has lost a child, a wife, husband or friend because of a gun? And you still block a Judge’s ruling on a married woman who will possibly die if she cannot abort the stillborn baby she is carrying. All of you men need to, for once, think about a woman as a woman and not your human chattel, or should I spell it out for you guys. Human chattel means slaves who have no rights.

I go back to the writer who earlier said in a letter, who died and made you God??? All of you males out there really need to think about that because you are not God. TRUMP SHOULD NOT BE ON THE BALLOT Anyone who has read the 14th Amendment, section 3 will understand that if a person has participated in a revolution, or aided or given comfort to those rebelling – that person cannot hold public office.

That is what our Constitution says. So now we have a person who was the POTUS for four years and lost a fair and just election by the American people in 2020,* and yet he refused to give a peaceful transfer of power to the duly elected president to be. Instead, he claimed the election was fraudulent and urged his supporters to, “Fight like hell!” to keep him as President. Many of Trump’s supporters came to the Capitol to attempt to stop the official vote tallying by Congress for the next president.

*There were over 60 court cases that upheld the election as fair and just; every fraudulent accusation was examined by The Attorney General and his associates.

Bill Barr, The Attorney General Trump chosen by Trump, resigned because he refused to support Trump’s bogus claim that the election was a fraud. Attorney Barr said about Trump’s big lie, “That’s absolute B**lls**t!” The House bipartisan commission confirmed that there was no fraud involved with any of work read regularly rely in the 2020 election; that Trump was told repeatedly – and that he was aware that he had lost.

Considering Trump’s involvement in the January 6 insurrection, he has disqualified himself from holding public office. But, if the Supreme Court should allow him to be on the ballot and he loses again, he will probably claim that the election was fraudulent and urge his supporters to, “Fight like hell!” for him to be in office.

And if he should be on the ballot and win, what incentives will there be for him to give up the presidency at the end of his term? Trump has disqualified himself from the privilege of running for office again by staging and overthrow of our government, as well as giving aid and comfort to those who participated. Therefore, he should not be on the ballot to be President in 2024.

LINCOLN WAS WORRIED In January, 1838 Abraham Lincoln called for Americans to exercise “general intelligence, sound morality, and in particular, a reverence for the constitution and laws.” Our former Pres. Trump has questionable intelligence and has not shown sound morality nor any reference for the Constitution and the laws of our country, which he had sworn to protect. Two separate juries have now found that Trump acted with malice, and it is becoming harder for him to argue that so many people—two entirely different juries, prosecutors, and so on—are unfairly targeting him. How do you explain to your kids that you’re going to give your vote in the presidential race to a man who has been convicted of rape and fraud – and who led a mob to overthrow our government so that he could remain in power?

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10

THE NEWS

SPORTS

Nolensville Little League manager Randy Huth reportedly out after 3 consecutive World Series runs

BY LOGAN BUTTS According to a report from The Tennessean, Nolensville Little League manager Randy Huth will not return this season following allegations of “unfair treatment” from some of the program’s parents.

Fresh off of leading Nolensville to a United States record three consecutive Little League World Series appearances, Huth was informed by the Nolensville Little League president David Jones that he would not be coaching the team this sesaon.

The message, which was shared with

players and parents in the program, was obtained by The Tennesseean’s Paul Skrbina. It can be read in its entirety below: “David Jones, the league president, just informed me that I cannot coach this year because multiple parents from the 2023 all star team called him and told him that I treated their kids unfairly, and they didn’t feel like the team was as close as years in the past.

Frankly, I am shocked and incredibly sad. If you are one of those parents, all I can do is apologize that you feel that way. There are

very few things in this world that I truly love, and one of those is Little League Baseball. To have that taken away rips my heart out.”

Last season, Nolensville made it to the fourth round of the lower portion of the United States bracket at the World Series, where they fell to Team West/California (El Segundo) 5-3.

Across the four games the team played, Jackson Tabor, Stella Weaver, and Lucas McCauley tied for the team lead with four hits apiece. Weaver broke the record for most hits

by a girl in Little League World Series history.

McCauley blasted the team’s only home run and led Nolensville with four RBI. Nash Carter scored a team-high four runs and added three hits.

On the mound, McCauley tossed a team-best 16 strikeouts and allowed just one earned run in eight innings. Grayson May threw 13 strikeouts across 10 innings. Both earned a win on the mound.

A replacement for Huth has not yet been named.

Vandy women’s basketball lands one of nation’s top prospects

BY JOHN GLENNON The ascendant Vanderbilt women’s basketball team got a nice shot in the arm Monday when one of the nation’s top college prospects committed to the Commodores.

Guard Mikayla Blakes, a five-star recruit ranked No. 10 overall in the class of 2024

by ESPN, chose Vanderbilt over a final seven schools that included heavyweights like Tennessee, Stanford, UCLA, Indiana, Wisconsin and Rutgers.

The 6-0 Blakes plays for one of the top high school programs in the nation at Rutgers Prep High School in New Jersey.

In her first 13 games this season, Blakes has averaged 21.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and four steals per game.

Blakes is the second Vanderbilt commit in the class of 2024, joining 6-3 forward Trinity Wilson, who averaged 14 points and 10 rebounds per game as a junior at Lakeville

North High in Minnesota.

It’s clear Vanderbilt’s women are opening some eyes in coach Shea Ralph’s third season.

The Commodores finished 16-19 in 2021-22, advancing to the third round of the NIT. They went 12-19 in 2022-23.

But Vandy this season has a 17-3 record, including a 4-2 mark in Southeastern Conference play heading into Sunday’s game at No. 1 South Carolina. The Commodores

are coming off a 73-64 loss at Tennessee, in a game that was tied 33-33 at halftime.

With 10 games left in the season, Vanderbilt has already compiled its most wins since the 2015-16 season, which was also the last time the Commodores posted a winning record (18-14).

A version of this story was first published by our sister publication Nashville Post.

Celebrated Nashville songwriter Roger Murrah hosts Songwriters at the Harpeth

BY JAYME FOLTZ

Roger Murrah

PHOTO BY JAYME FOLTZ

Legendary country music songwriter Roger Murrah partnered with Downtown Franklin’s Harpeth Hotel to host Songwriters at the Harpeth on Thursday, Jan. 25.

In the intimate setting of the Riverside Ballroom, guests gathered to hear hit songwriters Keith Stegall, Rafe Van Hoy, and Parker Welling perform in the round, true to Music City.

“It’s a concept unique to Nashville music,

so it was easy to do,” Murrah said. “It was just a matter of selecting the people.”

All four artists possess multiple accolades, decades of hit songs, and countless music industry experiences.

Murrah has authored many iconic records, including “Don’t Rock the Jukebox” with Alan Jackson and “My Rough and Rowdy Days” with Waylon Jennings.

Stegall, a frequent collaborator of Murrah’s, continues to be a staple of Nashville’s music industry with his work as an artist, songwriter, and producer. Hoy was recently inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, while Welling is the most current of the hit songwriters and a growing voice in the industry.

“We like old, new, old, and young,” Murrah said. “We want to be able to cover the ages with our music.”

Welling opened the acoustic event with a heartfelt version of the 2016 sleeper success “Yours,” her first hit co-written with country singer Russell Dickerson.

Next, Hoy, equipped with his “cowboy guitar,” captivated the audience with his laidback, can-do attitude and wispy voice as he

performed “Old Flames Have New Names.”

“My hero, my friend, my fellow music legend,” Murrah joked as he introduced Stegall.

Stegall emulated the country blues with his rendition of the “long-lived oldie but goodie” “Hurricane,” initially recorded by Levon Helm for his 1980 album American Son. He sang vigorously of an old man sure of New Orleans’ hardiness against the “strain of a hurricane.” The hardiness of Stegall’s voice could have endured the storm all the same.

Murrah himself closed out the first round of songs knee-slapping and heartily singing “Where Corn Don’t Grow.” The hit was co-written with Mark Alan Springer and recorded by Waylon Jennings in 1990 and Travis Tritt in 1996.

He later joined Stegall to perform the hopefully romantic melody “I Could Make a Living Out of Loving You.” The crowd joined the duo to sing the final chorus of the love song a capella.

Welling channeled her country side with black cowgirl boots and a “Love is a Cowboy” performance. Recorded by Kelsea Ballerini, the song was “a little more country than she wanted but became a hit,” Welling said.

Hoy reflected on winning the “songwriter lottery” before strumming a few chords to his first success, the number one hit “Golden Ring.”

“You can have a hit song, but sometimes the dots don’t align,” Hoy said. “When they do, it makes the success even more perfect.”

The audience erupted into applause when they collectively recognized the riff.

The veteran songwriter kept the audience hooting and hollering with his freestyle second verse to the Gilligan’s Island theme song and a minute-long rendition of a justfor-fun spy song.

The crew debated their final song before Welling suggested “I Hate Everything” by George Strait. The songwriting quartet was met enthusiastically by the audience singing along, a sign of a successful show.

“We want Franklin to be able to compete with Nashville, really, and we feel like we can do that in our way,” Murrah said.

Live music is on the rise in downtown Franklin. Be on the lookout for the next Songwriters at the Harpeth with Murrah and friends.

FEBRUARY 1, 2024

11

Nashville restaurants, chefs among James Beard semifinalists

BY D. PATRICK RODGERS

Locust

PHOTO BY DANIEL MEIGS

Esteemed culinary arts nonprofit the James Beard Foundation announced on Wednesday the semifinalists for its annual Restaurant and Chef Awards, and four

Nashvillians were among those long-listed.

It shouldn’t come as any surprise that Kisser is among the Beard Foundation’s 30 nominees for Best New Restaurant. The East Nashville lunch spot has received a slew of accolades since it made the move from pop-up to brick-and-mortar in March. Leina Horii and Brian Lea’s Japanese-inspired outpost was named one of the 50 best restaurants in America by The New York Times in September, and won the Nashville Scene’s writers’ choice for Best New Restaurant less than a month later.

Meanwhile, two beloved locals are being considered in Beard’s carefully watched Best Chef: Southeast category, which considers candidates from Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia and Tennessee. Locust’s Trevor Moran is nominated in the category for the second year in a row, with celebrated longtime restaurateur and chef Arnold Myint of International Market on the short list as well. Irish native Moran, formerly of The Catbird Seat, has received wide praise since opening Locust in 2020 — the restaurant was named Restaurant of the Year by Food & Wine in 2022. Myint, along with his sister Anna, has continued his parents’ legacy with his new iteration of Belmontarea staple International Market.

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Kisser

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And finally, among Beard’s list of 20 Outstanding Bakery contenders is D’Andrews Bakery & Cafe. The Scene’s Chris Chamberlain has sung the downtown outpost’s praises on more than one occasion, highlighting owner David Andrews’ double chocolate dulcey cookie and prosciutto-and-

ricotta twist, among other delicacies.

The James Beard Foundation will announce its nominees April 3, with a winners’ ceremony slated for June 10 at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.

A version of this story was first published by our sister publication Nashville Scene.

12

THE NEWS

Upcoming local book events for winter, spring seasons Future slate includes several author appearances at Parnassus

BY KIM BALDWIN Nashville’s reputation as a literary city is as solid in 2024 as it’s ever been.

We’re a frequent stop on book tours, and we have independent bookstores like Parnassus Books, The Bookshop, Novelette Booksellers and The Green Ray that celebrate local writers, host book club discussions and serve as go-tos for niche publications and magazines.

We also have The Porch, which offers writing classes, live storytelling events, writing retreats and affinity group meetups like Nashville Black Storytellers, Latine Creative Collective, Nashville AAPI Writers, Queer Writers, Parent Writers, Writers Over 40 and Songwriters.

We’ve rounded up a sampling of events happening this season. For a complete list of events, check the websites of Parnassus Books, The Bookshop, Novelette Booksellers, The Green Ray, the Nashville Public Library and, of course, The Porch, which will celebrate its 10th anniversary this year. Your TBR pile might never recover.

Friday, Feb. 2: Crystal Wilkinson, author of Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts, presented in collaboration with The Porch, 6 p.m. at The Bookshop, 1043 W. Eastland Ave. Saturday, Feb. 3: Heartbreak Happy Hour: The Anniversary Show, with Megan Stielstra, Eva Cassel and more, 6 p.m. at The Blue Room at Third Man Records, 623 Seventh Ave. S. Saturday, Feb. 3: Kiley Reid, author of Come & Get It, in conversation with ZZ Packer, 6:30 p.m. at Parnassus Books, 3900 Hillsboro Pike Sunday, Feb. 11: In Other Worlds Book Club: The Dead Take the A Train by Cassandra

Khaw and Richard Kadrey, 4 p.m. at Hanna Bee Coffee, 1035 W. Eastland Ave. Saturday, Feb. 17: Unlikeable Females Book Club: Hot Springs Drive by Lindsay Hunter, 4 p.m. at Hanna Bee Coffee Sunday, Feb. 18: Meet Cute Book Club: That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon

by Kimberly Lemming, 4 p.m. at Hanna Bee Coffee Sunday, Feb. 18: Heartbreak Happy Hour, featuring six Porch community writers, 7 p.m. at Jackalope Brewing Company, 429B Houston St. Tuesday, Feb. 20: 21 female artists celebrate the release of Slow Noodles, a memoir by Chantha Nguon (with Kim Green), 6 p.m. at Julia Martin Gallery

Tuesday, Feb. 20: Mary Liza Hartong, author of Love and Hot Chicken, in conversation with Kim Baldwin, 6:30 p.m. at Parnassus Books Friday, Feb. 23: Paths to Publishing, hosted by The Porch, noon at Parnassus Books Saturday, March 2: The Porch Presents Mirror House, with Hilary Bell, Justin Taylor, the Styrofoam Winos and Cassie Berman, 7 p.m. at Tempo Nashville, 2179 Nolensville Pike Thursday, March 14: Anna Quindlen, author of After Annie, in conversation with Ann Patchett, 6:30 p.m. at Parnassus Books Thursday, March 14: Caroline Frost, author of The Last Verse, in conversation with Ann Powers, 6:30 p.m. at The Bookshop

Tuesday, March 19: Between the Covers Book Club: Butcher & Blackbird by Brynne Weaver, 7:15 p.m. at Parnassus Books Friday, March 22: Visiting Writers Book Club: Maurice Carlos Ruffin, author of The American Daughters, moderated by Susannah Felts, 5:30 p.m. at The Porch House, 2811 Dogwood Place Friday, March 22: Steven Hale, author of Death Row Welcomes You, in conversation with Demetria Kalodimos, 6:30 p.m. at Parnassus Books Monday, March 25: Percival Everett, author of James, in conversation with Khalil Ekulona, 6:30 p.m. at Parnassus Books Saturday, March 30: Get the Right Shot!

Professional Headshots for Writers, with photographer Emily April Allen, 9 a.m. at The Porch House, 2811 Dogwood Place Tuesday, April 2: Jenna Voris, author of Every Time You Hear That Song, in conversation with Brian D. Kennedy and Jenna Miller, 6:30 p.m. at The Bookshop Friday, April 5: The Porch’s 10th Anniversary Fundraiser with Ross Gay, check porchtn.org/happening for details Saturday, April 6: A Reading and Signing With Ross Gay, hosted by The Porch, 3 p.m. at the Nashville Public Library, 615 Church St. Thursday, April 18: Rebecca Makkai, author of I Have Some Questions for You, Vanderbilt University, College of Arts and Science, Buttrick Hall, Room 101 A version of this story was first published by our sister publication Nashville Scene.

13

FEBRUARY 1, 2024

Five free and cheap family things to do in middle Tennessee

BY AMANDA HAGGARD

Center for Ice Cream for Breakfast Day, which is celebrated on the first Saturday in February (or any dang day you want to, in my opinion.) They’ll provide the ice cream beginning at 10 a.m., but feel free to pregame at home. All ages are welcome.

JR. NATURALIST: SEED SCIENCE Also at Shelby Bottoms on Saturday, they’re hosting a Jr. Naturalist program focused on seed science. They’ll go over how plants set up seeds for success and how they spread them far and wide to encourage proliferation. Ages 6 and over are invited to come learn the science behind seeds, then design and test seeds of their own.

TEEN VALENTINE’S DAY CRAFT We’re heading into February with lots for the kids to do; this week wasn’t slim pickins, so there’s plenty out there beyond this list to do as well. But the best events coming up are Ice Cream for Breakfast Day (yum) and Take Your Child to the Library Day (a tradition that it’s never too late to begin.) We’ve also got chances to learn about how plants grow, which sounds fun, but isn’t ice cream. There’s a reminder in here about that day some folks

love to love and others, well, don’t. And then the Nashville Children’s Theater opened a new show headed into February.

As part of our series on free cheap things to do with the family, here is our weekly roundup of places to spend time together over the next week: ICE CREAM FOR BREAKFAST DAY Join the folks at Shelby Bottoms Nature

Far after the teens have woken up on Saturday, the Williamson County Public Library system is inviting them to a Teen Valentine’s Day Craft. Kids from 12-18 are welcome, and all supplies will be provided by the library. Register ahead of time to ensure a spot at the event.

TAKE YOUR CHILD TO THE LIBRARY DAY

Feb. 3 at the Williamson County Public Library. The library will host a Book Character Scavenger Hunt from 1-5 p.m. for ages 4-12 where kiddos can search the library for their favorite book pals. They’ll also create their own bookmark to take home and use in their own books.

‘THE GINGERBREAD KID’ The Nashville Children’s Theater opened The Gingerbread Kid on Jan. 27 and it runs through Feb. 25. For the next three weeks, Hill Auditorium invites the whole family to enjoy music by Jodi Marr from the book and lyrics by Abe Reybold. The story is a pop-music fairytale where a magical child of a baking couple accidently eats all of their parents’ sweets and they run away as fast as they can from facing the consequences.

“As the race builds, Allspice meets a kooky cast of storybook favorites including Henny Penny and her gang, Little Boy Blue, and Foofinella, of Little Bunny Foo Foo fame,” the theater writes of the story. “Will Allspice always be on the run? Or will a hungry fox stop them in their sugary tracks?” You’ll have to come see for yourself.

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SHOP DEALS AND STEALS FROM YOUR FAVORITE BOUTIQUES!

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$10 $30

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15

FEBRUARY 1, 2024

Headline Homes: December 2023

BY AMANDA HAGGARD

Westview Avenue

PHOTO BY ANGELINA CASTILLO

Only one house on this month’s list of top homes came in under $5 million. The high-dollar homes at the top of the list resemble similar listings, but they have one thing different, which is that they come with blessings of acreage and privacy. Most of the abodes are custom this time around, with Mike Ford Custom Builders making another appearance near the top.

Below are December’s top 10 home sales in Nashville and the surrounding counties, ranked by sale price.

1. Cotton Lane, Franklin 37069 Buyer: Haskins Investment Group LLC Sale price: $8.25 million Seller: James Timothy Gibson Seller’s agent: Erin Krueger, Compass Tennessee, LLC Buyer’s agent: Unlisted This 55-plus-acre property includes more than 4,000 feet of Harpeth River frontage.

The farm on the property has a barn with four stalls, a run-in shed and a massive pond.

All the acreage is fenced, and really those are just the perks for the livestock. You reach the home by using a gated driveway with a treelined path to the 6,200-square-foot home, which has three levels with five bedrooms and four and a half bathrooms. The house just underwent a multimillion-dollar renovation with “no detail spared.”

2. Nichol Lane, Nashville 37205 Buyer: 1108 Nichol Lane Trust Sale price: $7,739,581 Seller: 1108 Nichol LLC Seller’s agent: Emily Gillett Rosen, Benchmark Realty, LLC Buyer’s agent: Unlisted From one property-named private trust to another, this five bedroom, five-and-a-half bath Georgian style home was custom built on a “beautiful treed lot” in Belle Meade.

The 7,603-square-foot home is on a quiet street within walking distance to Warner Parks in case walking up and down the stairs in all that square footage isn’t enough. At the time of purchase, the home still had a customizable floor plan, but sadly, this home’s price was “pool not included.”

3. Joslin Court, Brentwood 37027 Buyers: Deborah and Noah Newitz Sale price: $7,280,770 Seller: Mike Ford Custom Builders Seller’s agent: Mary A. Kocina, Fridrich & Clark Realty Buyers’ agent: Kasi Hensley, Benchmark Realty, LLC Mike Ford Classic Homes is yet again doing well for themselves with this about 10,000-square-foot, two-level home in Brentwood. Investment banker Noah Newitz and his wife Deborah purchased this home, which includes six bedrooms, seven full bathrooms and two half bathrooms as well as a five-car garage, wine cellar and elevator.

Outside, the buyers will enjoy a grand fireplace, outdoor kitchen and pool. There’s a main suite for the Newitzes and a second primary suite on a second level over the garage for any hanger-ons.

4. Old Hillsboro Road, Franklin 37064 Buyer: Graham Baird Company LLC Sale price: $7 million Seller: Rokus Trust 1997 Seller’s agent: Alex Helton, Helton Real Estate Group Buyer’s agent: Allison (Ali) Noel, Compass RE On more than 30 acres “of pristine beauty and tranquility,” a new 6,500-square-foot newly constructed home is the “buyer’s dream.” It was designed by Catherine Sloan with “exquisite finishes and a commitment to timeless craftsmanship.” The home is just a drop in the bucket though as this house comes with beach access for swimming in the Harpeth River and it also backs up to the Westhaven Golf Club.

5. Reynolds Road, Columbia 38401 Buyer: Robert Rogulic, Trustee of the Robert Rogulic Revocable Trust Sale price: $7 million Sellers: Brandy and Paul Varney Sellers’ agent: Monica Raines, Hometown Realty of Spring Hill, LLC Buyer’s agent: Unknown This home, which is in a trust filed under a trust owned by the CEO of Tri-National,

Walnut Drive

PHOTO BY ANGELINA CASTILLO

Inc., Robert Rogulic, sits on almost 300 acres. The home is a 3,600-square-foot custom house, which is small in the Headline Homes realm. But this house also has an “1800s writer’s cabin,” a 900-squarefoot bunkhouse, saltwater pool, shop and detached garage and several more barns.

The acreage, which is in Marshall County, also has miles of trails for horses and ATVs, which we also have down in Antioch, but just on the regular streets.

6. Sunset Road, Brentwood 37027 Buyer: Ajd Sunset Family Trust Sale price: $6 million Seller: Keith Schumacher Seller’s agent: Mary A. Kocina, Fridrich & Clark Realty Buyer’s agent: Bob Poyo, Redfin Schumacher Homes built this 8,764-square-foot home to “allow for natural light to illuminate the heart of the home.”

Good marketing. I’m sold. With large sliding glass doors and a vaulted ceiling, the entry and great room features a large stone fireplace. It comes with a private “butler’s bar” for entertaining, which has access to all the main entertainment spaces. The primary suite also has a fireplace and a “splendid bathroom retreat.” The kitchen overlooks two acres in the backyard, which also features a fireplace and outdoor kitchen.

7. Walnut Drive, Nashville 37205 Buyers: Drew and Sarah Lawrence Sale price: $5,750,000 Sellers: Steven and Lyn Cates Sellers’ agents: Beth Molteni and Steve G. Fridrich, Fridrich & Clark Realty Buyers’ agent: Steve G. Fridrich, Fridrich & Clark Realty In Belle Meade, songwriter Drew Lawrence purchased this almost $6 million estate. It includes five bedrooms, five bathrooms and 8,500 square feet. It was built by Cates Builders, and the listing says not “only is the Belle Meade LOCATION the most aesthetically pleasing and walkable neighborhood in Nashville, but the friendly and attentive private police protection is priceless.” All right, then.

8. Franklin Hills Lane, Franklin 37069 Buyers: Charles Timothy and Lelia J. Rigdon Sale price: $5.2 million Seller: Legacy Homes Of Tn LLC Seller’s agent: Marabeth Poole, PARKS Buyers’ agent: Kim Henderson, Compass RE CEO of Harbor Capital Charles Rigdon purchased this home with his wife, Leila. In Hillsboro, it has a 10-acre lot with mature trees in the Hidden Valley neighborhood.

The inside is open concept, and the acreage allows for and is prepped already for an additional three-bedroom home, barn or a pool house.

9. Westview Avenue, Nashville 37205 Buyer: Barry L. Stowe Sale price: $5 million Seller: Ashley Baker Gensler, trustee of the Cynthia S. Baker Amended and Restored Revocable Trust Seller’s agent: Beth Molteni, Fridrich & Clark Realty Buyer’s agent: Bayron E. Binkley Jr., SilverPointe Properties This four-bedroom, four-and-a-half bath home went to Barry Stowe, senior adviser at McKinsey & Company. The 6,025-squarefoot space is on the coveted Westview Avenue in Nashville.

10. Beekman Drive, Nashville 37215 Buyers: Jason and Joelle Maynard Sale price: $4.8 million Seller: Stone Oak Builders LLC Seller’s agent: Richard F. Bryan, Fridrich & Clark Realty Buyers’ agent: Beth Molteni, Fridrich & Clark Realty The Maynards are upgrading, again. This time, they picked up a six bedroom, six-anda-half bath home for just under $5 million.

The reclaimed ceiling beams and island are a centerpiece of the home, which has around 8,000 square feet to spread out in. It’s all in Forest Hills.

A version of this story was first published by our sister publication Nashville Post.

16

THE NEWS

Chocolate Malt Cake

BY EDIBLE NASHVILLE

EDITED BY WILL SHORTZ

NO. 1227

ACROSS

Malted milk balls collide with chocolate cake in this fantastic cake perfect for Valentine’s day for kids and adults alike. And don’t worry if there’s just two of you--it’s made in a 6-inch cake pan for a small cake perfect for 2-4. Recipe courtesy of Nashvillian Candace Floyd from her book Little Everyday Cakes $22.95 Spring House Press, 2018.

1 Travel requirement, at

times 5 Where the 10

countries with the lowest median age are all located 11 Sounds of surprise 14 Book before Romans 15 “King James” 16 Word before nail or

after steel 17 Cluster, as of grass 18 Product of volcanic

activity 19 Certain grueling race,

informally 20 Factory ___ 22 Moccasins, but not

oxfords 24 Voice of doom 27 It’s a me problem

CAKE 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons malted milk powder 1 cup less 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour 6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 eggs, room temperature 3/4 cup granulated sugar 6 tablespoons canola oil 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 3/4 cup whole milk, room temperature 8 to 10 chocolate-covered malt balls, such as Whoppers

CHOCOLATE MALT FROSTING AND TOPPING 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 cup malted milk powder 1/4 cup bittersweet chocolate chips, melted and cooled slightly 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 cups confectioner’s sugar 2 tablespoons heavy cream

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F (165°C). Grease two 6-inch round cake pans. Line the pans with parchment paper. Grease the parchment. Dust the pans with cocoa.

2. Combine the malted milk powder, flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, granulated sugar, oil, and vanilla.

4. Add the flour mixture and milk a little at a time, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Stir until just blended.

5. Scrape the batter into the prepared pans.

6. Bake the cakes 30 to 35 minutes, until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

7. Place the pans on a wire rack, and let the cakes cool 10 minutes. Remove the cakes from the pans, and return them, top side up, to the rack to cool completely.

8. Place the chocolate malt balls in a ziptop plastic bag. Seal the bag. Crush the malt balls using a meat mallet. If desired, place in a wire mesh sieve to sift out excess malt powder.

9. To prepare the frosting, combine the butter, vanilla, and malted milk powder in a mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until smooth.

Add the melted chocolate and salt, and beat until smooth. Gradually add the confectioner’s sugar and heavy cream, beating until smooth and spreadable.

10. Place one cake layer on a cake plate or stand. Spread about one-third of the frosting on top. Sprinkle with the crushed malt balls.

Place the second cake layer on top. Spread the remaining frosting on the top and sides of the cake.

29 Boring bit

1 Acid container,

31 Not forbidden

maybe

32 “A Doll’s House”

2 Hosp. area

playwright 33 Quattro preceder 36 “Joking!”

37 Secret traders 38 Father on “Modern

Family” 39 Prof’s helpers 40 Mary, Queen of ___

Follow Edible Nashville on instagram @ediblenashtn and their website ediblenashville.com. To subscribe to the magazine that comes out 6x/year, go to ediblenashville.com.

PUZZLE BY KAREEM AYAS

28 End up OK

41 Roman fountain

name 42 Digital money 43 Van Gogh

masterpiece 44 One dying for a cause 47 Leave a mark on?

49 Put up 51 Japanese exporter of

diesel engines 52 Coastal inlet 53 “___ Fideles” 55 Letters that go in

both blanks of ___ ___tofferson

3 Friar known for his

patronage of animals 4 What had a major

impact on this puzzle’s theme?

typically 7 Some handoff

recipients in football, for short 8 Some investments, in

brief 9 Boston, Amherst and

others 10 Immune response

___”

trigger

award 40 Ancient method of

encipherment with a message wrapped around a cylinder

45 Common typeface 46 Ruler’s dimensions?

48 Crystalline mineral

deposits in some caves 50 Like Beethoven, by

his mid-40s 54 West Coast airport

code 56 Music producer Gotti

who worked with Ja Rule and J.Lo 57 Soak (up)

41 Pants, but half off?

42 List follower 43 Newspaper

supplement 44 Come together

11 “Great” 10th-century

emperor 12 Features of many

ANSWER TO PUZZLE

ceratopsians 13 Something possibly

triggered during a mass extinction event

60 Bank note made of

24 Accelerated H.S.

pure cotton fiber

English course

61 Bow-making timber

25 First dog on an

DOWN

35 Beethoven’s “Für

38 Annual architecture

23 “___ favor”

dinner preference

ship tight

6 Guinness records,

21 Blue material

63 One may ask for a

34 It helps keep a tight

37 Spooked by

59 Comfy shoe

the mother of ___”: Ralph Waldo Emerson

… or what each row of shaded letters is missing?

5 Notwithstanding

58 Jug unit: Abbr.

62 “Enthusiasm is

33 Writer’s reference

orbital spaceflight 26 Novelist King who

wrote “Caretakers” and “One on One” 30 Applications 32 Some W.S.J. topics

Online subscriptions: Today’s puzzle and more than 9,000 past puzzles, nytimes.com/ crosswords ($39.95 a year).

Read about and comment on each puzzle: nytimes.com/wordplay.

Crosswords for young solvers: nytimes.com/ studentcrosswords.

17

FEBRUARY 1, 2024

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WOODMONT BAPTIST CHURCH

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To add into the print issue, please contact info@thenewstn.com for pricing.

Join us for worship on Sunday morning or watch the broadcast at 10:30 am on WUXP MYTV30 9:15am Children/Youth classes

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10:30am Sun. morning worship

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The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association will have prayer partners available to talk with you 24/7.

18

THE NEWS

SOCIAL

McMeans Foundation’s Evening of Promise

BY BRENDA BATEY PHOTOS BY BRENDA BATEY An Evening of Promise, benefitting the Blake McMeans Foundation, was held at the Bell Tower where hundreds of guests gathered to support Blake McMeans and his mission of teaching students to refrain from drinking and driving.

The highlight of the event each year is when McMeans slowly rises from his wheelchair to speak to the crowd about his long and ongoing rehabilitation from a car wreck he had 30 years ago while driving drunk. Now he spends his time visiting schools in the U. S. to urge those in the audiences to avoid what happened to him.

This event is the foundation’s annual fundraiser, featuring a seated dinner, cocktails, live auction, and entertainment by local musicians.

Co-chairs were Allie Barry, Mimi Beaver, and Virginia Voigt, who put together a wonderful event.

After the cocktail hour, which included time for perusing the silent auction and sampling wonderful hors d’oeuvres, everyone sat for dinner.

Tables were covered with black cloths which made the centerpieces of yellow and pink roses and white hydrangeas really pop. Dark woodtone chairs by Chiavari added to the elegant look.

The exceptionally delicious meal began with scallop ceviche, followed by a mixed greens salad and Campari and lemon sorbet.

The entrée featured prime beef tenderloin, with potatoes, crispy onions and lemon steamed romanesco.

Dessert was port cherry chocolate torte and white chocolate cheesecake with blueberry compote.

A huge silent auction offered all kinds of sports and celebrity memorabilia, including a signed photo of Taylor Swift. The live auction featured trips to a private Villa in Bali, Seaside, FL, Vero Beach, FL, the U. S. Open, Napa Valley, CA, and a mountain home in Monteagle, TN. Board members of the foundation include: President Clay Stauffer, Vice President Harlin Hickerson, Treasurer Patrick Weaver, Kempton Presley, Cynthia Hickerson, Blaire Murfree, Kasey Fitts, Tony Lester, Martha Galyon, Dylan Hooks, Rebecca Rutledge, Allyn Hinton, and Mary Lauren Allen.

For more information, email info@ blakemcmeans.org or visit blakemcmeans.com.

Crom Carmichael and Laura Cloud

Pam and Jeff Salzman

Susan Holmes, Mary Frances Cowan, Chris Holmes, and Waymon Tipton

Paula and Tom Bennett

Joan Weaver, and Patrick and Abbie Weaver

Honoree Blake McMeans (seated), with event co-chairs Virginia Voigt, Allie Barry and Mimi Beaver PHOTO BY Steve Lowry

Berry and Celeste Holt, Lisa Blakley, and Jencie Tipton

19

FEBRUARY 1, 2024

SOCIAL

David Benskin and Dayton Hale

Michael and Cindy Hite

Gayle Gibbs, Cynthia Hickerson, and Dave Alexander

Brooke Brown and Aja Heinrich

Trey and Jeannine Blakley

Ashley Goodner, Emme Templeton, and Allison Graves

Mia and John Abernathy, and Clay and Megan Stauffer

Liz Vaughn, Kemp Buntin, and Lele Thompson

Audun Hansen, Tucker Millard, and Brady Adams

Robert and Bridget Levy, Jo Cox, and Lauren and David Carlson

Emme Templeton, Audrey Douglas, Erin Johnson, and Alyce Marshburn

20

THE NEWS

SOCIAL

Goodwill Hunting Kickoff

BY BRENDA BATEY

PHOTOS BY BRENDA BATEY A kickoff was held at the home of Lucie Cammack for a new fundraiser with a clever premise, Goodwill Hunting, to benefit the Goodwill Industries of Middle Tennessee.

Lucie Cammack and Shelene Walker catered the party themselves and the fabulous food, which was artfully arranged, included cocktail shrimp, skewers with tiny tomatoes and fresh mozzarella cheese, spinach artichoke dip, and two types of mini cupcakes with cream cheese icing.

There also were two charcuterie trays with vegetables, berries, nuts, crackers, salami, cheeses and other goodies.

Decor for the kickoff was selected from Goodwill’s outlet store and the party planners used a big wooden flamingo, colorful stuffed animals, puzzles, books, a metal lunchbox, and a huge red crayon. When it was all put together, it looked so inviting!

Goodwill Hunting will be held Saturday, April 20 at Goodwill’s Cockrill Bend facility. The party will include

cocktails, dinner and dancing in a special area of the warehouse.

Event co-chairs are John and Julia Cammack Truemper, Cameron Sweeting, and Jeff Young.

Guests will join together in helping Goodwill’s mission to change lives and keep tons of used goods out of the landfill through resale and salvage, and have fun doing it.

Attire for the party will be Thrift Shop chic and there will be a scavenger hunt in the Outlet Store and eCommerce.

Everyone will enjoy a Best-Dressed Contest, dinner from Hattie B’s, and dance music after dinner.

Supporters include: Mollie Gass, Anne Laurence Johnson, Ashley Hill, Beth Alexander, Cameron and David Simmons, Celeste Holt, Dan Hogan, Danny and Sarah Rhodes, Ellen Byrd, Freddy and Laura McLaughlin, Hobbs Yarbrough, Josh Anderson, Shelene Walker, and Wick and Shelby Ruehling.

Kalinda Fisher and Tony Cassiol

Monty and John Steele

Anne Laurence Johnson, Leslie Godfrey, and Valerie Byers

Ryan and Sara Jo Walker

Goodwill Hunting Chairs Cameron Sweeting with Sarge, Jeff Young, and John Truemper petting Jeanie

Sylvia Nacar, Lucie Cammack, and Battle Kenney

GREAT HOME + MOTIVATED SELLER

3803 MURPHY ROAD

2013 Stonehurst Drive

3 bedrooms 3 full baths 2307 square feet $1,175,000

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Forest Hills east-facing ranch home on fully fenced 1.05 acre lot.

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22

FEBRUARY 1, 2024

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rent/lease THE

GREEN HILLS APARTMENTS is no longer just for& retired One bedroom One studioteachers. apartAll seniors 62 andstarting older may ments available at apply $650 ments available starting $625 withmonth. no fee.Must Efficiencies at per be 62 andstart per older $500live which includes utilities. and independently. and

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FEBRUARY 1, 2024

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Auction February 17, 2024 @11:00am Located at Elm Hill Marina Goodfred Window Cleaning 3361 Bell Road Auction Gutter Cleaning March 2,17, 2024 @11:00am Nashville, TN 37214 February 2024 @11:00am The following boats will be Gutters • Downspouts Cleaned Located at list ElmofHill Marina set for auction: • Debris Removal 3361 Bell Road 1. 1974 Erickson Nashville, TNSailboat 37214 • Gutter Guards • Gutter Repair 1975 TN # TNlist 1511 CC will be The following of boats (615) 382-5127 Hull ID: 125 set (unsure) for auction: 2.

1. 1972 1974 Erickson Sailboat 1973 TN1511 8576CC KD 1975 TN #: # TN Hull ID: unknown 125 (unsure) Complete Home repair 3.

Pontoon 2. 2016 1972 Bennington Erickson Sailboat & improvements TN # 2375GCW 1973 TN #: TN 8576 KD Native Nashvillian in business Hull ID: ETWD 3749 D616 unknown since 1992.

4.

Ray Cabin Cruiser 3. 1990 2016 Sea Bennington Pontoon Additions, Decks, 1991 TN #: TN 7607 BE TN # 2375GCW Window Replacement, Hull ID: SERM ETWD 6335 3749 F990 D616 Furniture and Playground 5.

Sea Ray RayCabin Runabout 4. 1982 1990 Sea Cruiser Equipment Assembly.

1983 1991 TN #: TN 1955 7607 DK BE All Types of Repairs.

Hull ID: BL4A SERM11CC 6335 F788 F990 or Licensed, Bonded, Insured BL4A 11CG F788 5. 1982 Sea Ray Runabout Call Bob (615) 300-5558 6. 2019 Center 1983 TN Sundancer #: TN 1955 DK Console No 5620RA HullTN ID:#BL4A 11CC F788 or Hull SVTB 8726 E718 BL4AID: 11CG F788 7.

Tahoe Pontoon 6. 1998 2019 Sundancer Center Console TN #: TN 2256 CF No TN # 5620RA Hull ID: DVN SVTB2798 87261D848 E718 THE REMODELING SPECIALISTS 8.

7. TN2916DR 1998 Tahoe Pontoon 43 3 7 Years Y e ar s of of Remodeling Re mo de li ng Experience E x pe r ie nc e Hull TN #:S001430778-S25 TN 2256 CF For All Of Your Home H52 1978 Santana Hull ID: DVN 2798 1D848 Renovation Needs 9.

8. TN6406EK TN2916DR • Extensive reference list Hull RAY263840173 1973 Ranger S001430778-S25 • Licensed & Insured 10.1978 was last TN registered H52 Santana owner in 2017. Unknown brand, 9. TN6406EK “Scotian” TN# TN8836BU Hull RAY263840173 1973 Ranger www.broderickbuilders.com HIN# HUN54475M79H-27 10. was last TN registered owner in 2017. Unknown brand, “Scotian” TN# TN8836BU HIN# HUN54475M79H-27 Are you looking for a Green Hills lock & key dependable caregiver or sitter. Servicing the area since 1974!

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Roofing, Siding, Metal, Slate, Flat Roofs.

38 yrs experience. References.

(615) 969-7717 CallisRoofing.com License, Bonded & Insured

tree serviCe Formerly Branch Buster terss Tree Tree Service

CASH PAID For old sports card collections, unopened boxes, cases & sets Also older comics 615-566-8270

New Installation & Repair Service

Drain Cleaning Service Licensed, Bonded & Insured All Work Guaranteed!

(615) 232-9051

Prayer need Prayer?

If you are in need of prayer, call 888-388-2683 The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association will have prayer partners available to talk 24/7.

Find It in the Classifieds!

Call 615-298-1500 to place an ad

Pressure WasH kyle’s Pressure Cleaning Property Pressure Washing: Driveways, Back Decks, Front Porch, Swimming Pool, Concrete & more. (615) 424-5354

landsCaPe

We buy Vinyl Records, Comic Books, CDs, Blu-Rays, DVDs, Toys, Video & Role-Playing Games, CCGs, Stereo Equipment, Music & Movie Memorabilia, and much more. In business 40+ years.

No collection too large or small.

Mention this ad when you call.

BUY - SELL - TRADE the Great escape Call 615-364-3029 TheGreatEscapeOnline.com

Licensed & Insured Call Eric for for a Free Estimate

W E BU Y R E C O R D S 45’S, 78’S, LP’S We pay more than any store!

(615) 779-1870

bulldog tree service • Topping / Deadwooding • Stump Removals • Trimming • Lot Clearing Free Estimates. Insured.

Call John 24 / 7: (615) 300-6254 (615) 313-7375

Any Size Collection No Problem Also Buying Old Windup Phonographs

Call Paul 615-953-7388

Paying TOP DOLLAR Over 45 Years

WiCker rePair

Wood tree service

Chair caning and all styles of weaving. Wicker repair available. Pick up and delivery. the Cane-ery (615) 269-4780 / 414-5655

formerly Gist Tree Service Trees Trimmed / Removed Stump Removal, Great Clean-up 24/7 EMERGENCY SERVICE HAZARDOUS WORK

WindoW Clean

Senior & Single Parent Discount Licensed & Insured, Free Estimates All Major Credit Cards Accepted

all seasons Window Cleaning

615-456-9824

www.gisttreeservice.com

advertising in The News

Gets Results

Specializing in residential windows.

Serving Nashville over 38 yrs!

Licensed - Bonded - Insured Free Estimates Low Prices (615) 889-9164

vaCuuM Cleaners vaCuuM Cleaners LANDSCAPING SERVICES

• Mulch • Pine Straw • Shrubbery • Sod • Hedge Trimming • Tree Service • Gutter Cleaning

Sales/service on all makes & models

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vvaalilid d onn ewppu o nenw urrccha s s es withhase with th th is ad

202 Wilson Pike Circle Brentwood TN 37027 M-F 11am-3pm | Sat 10am-12pm 615-255-3292 blakep@edisonvacuums.com

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