February 29, 2024

Metro Council passes mayor’s capital spending plan

BY NICOLLE S. PRAINO

The Metro Council meeting on Tuesday unanimously passed Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s first capital spending plan, a funding package valued at about $514 million.

“This plan was created with fiscal responsibility at its core and ensures no new pressure on debt as a share of our operating costs,” O’Connell said in a press release on Wednesday sharing his appreciation for council passage and support.

The plan is a wish list of projects for which the Metro Council will have final say. O’Connell’s list includes some projects that have been considered in past spending plans.

Before the council approved the capital spending plan, the budget and finance committee unanimously passed the package at a meeting on Feb. 5. The Metro Finance Department presented to committee members a breakdown of the plan. This

explained that the actual net total investment of the plan is $500 million. That takes into account the deauthorization of $14 million for projects identified by Metro departments.

Metro Finance Budget Officer Aaron Pratt explained that both Finance and Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) both had projects related to tornado and wind events that were closed out with less spending than forecasted, which allowed the deauthorization amount in the CSP.

The capital spending plan’s $514 million is 13.55 percent of the city’s total general expenses and below a 14 percent threshold set for Metro. The finance department presentation noted the plan adds 7,150 linear feet, or 1.35 miles, of sidewalks and also helps to maintain 225 miles of lane paving for Metro roads. In addition, the finance presentation broke down the

percentage of funding for each department in the plan.

MNPS will receive the largest percentage of CSP funding at 20.6 percent for a total of $105 million. Nashville Department of Transportation will receive the second largest amount of funding at 18.4 percent. Along the same lines of transportation, the Metro Transit Authority will receive 6 percent of CSP funding. Transportation items overall will see more than $125 million in CSP funds.

“By prioritizing schools, transportation infrastructure, WeGo public transit service, maintenance in parks and libraries, and customer service we are delivering on the priorities identified by the community and their council representatives,” O’Connell said in the release. “We are investing in our most important asset — our people — and I’m proud to take this important

Hagerty rails against migrant ‘invasion’ after trip to southern border

BY MATT MASTERS

Republican U.S. Sen. Bill Hagerty defended his decision to vote no on a bipartisan border bill in a press conference Wednesday. The Nashville event followed Hagerty’s recent trip to the U.S.-Mexico border with several Tennessee law enforcement officials and mayors.

Among those joining Hagerty in Eagle Pass, Texas, and again Wednesday included Wilson County Sheriff Robert Bryan, Sullivan County Sheriff Jeff Cassidy, Hamilton County Sheriff Austin Garrett, Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs, Carter County Mayor Patty Woodby and 12th Judicial District Attorney General Courtney Lynch. The trip came days after Hagerty joined fellow U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn in voting against a bipartisan border bill that could have radically changed border security and immigration policy — a bill that former President Donald Trump pushed GOP lawmakers to vote against. Also in February, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee traveled to the border alongside several other GOP governors to call for “immediate action.”

When asked if their opinions on the border crisis had been influenced by the trip, the local law enforcement and government officials said their views on the issue had in fact been reinforced.

“It’s definitely strengthened our opinion,” said Sullivan County Sheriff Cassidy on Wednesday. “We’ve already seen the funneling of fentanyl and drugs and cartels, gangs, and just to be on that border, feet on the ground, it strengthened what we already knew.”

“I’m tired of getting calls everyday about somebody overdosing on fentanyl, and it’s sad,” Wilson County Sheriff Bryan added. “It’s strengthened my

Mayor Freddie O’Connell PHOTO BY MATT MASTERS

Metro Council

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

step toward making our shared goals a reality.”

Nearly 16 percent of funding will go to Metro General Services, which includes items such as a new emergency communications center design, property acquisition for the Woodbine Health Clinic, new facility planning for Metro Animal Care and Control, fleet management and major maintenance.

About 11.7 percent of funding will go toward the construction of phase two of the future juvenile justice center. Metro Parks will receive 6.4 percent for several items including funding for Mill Ridge and Mariposa parks. The Nashville Fire Department will receive 4.5 percent of the CSP funding. The city’s police department will receive 0.6 percent of funds, which is $3 million to replace a records management system.

The library system will receive 3 percent which includes funding for Green Hills, Hermitage, Richland Park and Hadley Park library projects. More than $6 million — 1.2 percent of the funds — goes toward waste services and district energy systems. ITS will receive 0.7 percent of CSP funding.

Funding for the arts makes up 1 percent of the budget as $1.63 million from the $21 million in contingency funds.

Gov. Lee signs ‘wedding officiant discrimination bill’ into law

BY MATT MASTERS

A new state law allows officiants to refuse to “solemnize” a marriage if they object “based on the person’s conscience or religious beliefs.”

State law allows religious leaders and a slew of public officials to solemnize — or officiate — marriages. SB0596/HB0878 — referred to by opponents as a “wedding officiant discrimination bill” — now allows them to refuse to officiate ceremonies based on personal beliefs.

The legislation was sponsored in the Senate by Sen. Mark Pody (R-Lebanon) and in the House by Rep. Monty Fritts (R-Kingston), and was quietly signed into law by Gov. Bill Lee on Wednesday.

“This has nothing to do with getting a license,” Pody said during the Senate floor session on Feb. 12. “It has nothing to do with the clerks required to give a license. It just says those words. That’s all there is to it.”

“Half of this bill is unnecessary, because clergy are already protected,” Tennessee Equality Project executive director Chris Sanders tells the Scene. “The other half is discriminatory because it allows public officials to turn away couples who have

Andy Ogles on Gaza:

obtained a valid marriage license. Public officials should serve the entire public. We

would be glad to work with organizations seeking to bring a legal challenge to the law.”

‘I think we should kill them all — everybody in Hamas’

Says Nashville’s U.S. Rep.: ‘Hamas and the Palestinians have been attacking Israel for 20 years, and it’s time to pay the piper’

BY MATT MASTERS

A video of U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles arguing with a pro-Palestinian activist has gone viral this week. In the video, Ogles

— a Republican who represents Tennessee’s gerrymandered 5th Congressional District, which includes parts of Nashville — responds to a question about the deaths of children and aid workers throughout the monthslong conflict. “I think we should kill them all, if that makes you feel better — everybody in Hamas,” says Ogles in the clip. According to Al Jazeera, Ogles was speaking with the as-yet-unidentified activist Feb. 15 in Washington, D.C., defending his support for Israel. “I’ve seen the footage of shredded children’s bodies, and that’s my taxpayer dollars going to bomb those kids,” says the activist. Later in the clip, Ogles looks directly at the camera and declares, “Death to Hamas.” Watch the exchange here: An Oct. 7 attack by Hamas killed more than 1,000 Israelis. Hundreds more were kidnapped or wounded, including some American citizens. On Oct. 9, hundreds of Nashvillians gathered at the Gordon Jewish Community Center for a solidarity rally. In attendance were Republican Gov. Bill

Lee and state Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, as well as state Sen. Heidi Campbell (D-Nashville), state Rep. Caleb Hemmer (D-Nashville) and Metro Councilmember Olivia Hill. Days later, Tennessee’s senior U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn called for an end to humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians, while Ogles called for a ban on Palestinian refugees entering the U.S.

Israel’s ensuing military campaign in Gaza has reportedly killed roughly 29,000 Palestinians, many of whom are children, and displaced roughly 2.3 million people. Many Palestinians, advocates and allies, including those in Middle Tennessee, have called Israel’s response genocide. South Africa has led the charge in bringing a genocide case against Israel to the United Nations’ top court.

Metro Councilmember At-Large Zulfat Suara, a practicing Muslim who immigrated to the U.S. from Nigeria in 1993, addressed Ogles’ comments at the Feb. 20 council meeting.

“When legislators at the federal level

and at the state level continue to demonize people, continue to only look at one side and not the other, that’s the result we see on the street,” said Suara. “I hope that we will all continue to do better. This authorization, this demonization, this ‘kill them all’ is only breaking us apart, and I hope that as we reject it, our [fellow lawmakers] take lead and they look at it and they do the same.”

State Rep. Gloria Johnson (D-Knoxville)

— who is currently campaigning for the Democratic nomination to take on Blackburn — called his remarks “Horrifying.” Sen. Heidi Campbell, Ogles’ opponent in 2022’s 5th District race, shared a video of the exchange on social media, writing simply, “Wow!”

“The Congressman regrets that a group with an agenda would purposely take his comments out of context to fabricate a demonstrably false narrative,” an Ogles spokesperson told The News by email.

U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles

PHOTO BY MATT MASTERS

Gov. Bill Lee PHOTO BY MATT MASTERS

Haggerty rails

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

concerns about what’s going on there, and this fentanyl is coming across into Tennessee and it’s killing our citizens, and I’m not good with that.”

Hagerty defended his vote against the border bill, telling reporters that he “wanted to take action” but he and his fellow members of the Senate “were not allowed to amend that bill.” The majority of Senate Republicans argued the legislation didn’t go far enough to secure the border.

“What we have is an administration that has demonstrated they are unwilling to basically follow the law,” said Hagerty. “You’re looking at the way they used executive orders, and they do not follow the law that’s on the books right now. What we needed to do was put in place a locktight, rock-solid requirement that the Biden administration enforced the wall — that was not present.”

Addressing the ‘Invasion’

On Feb. 17, members of the neo-Nazi group Blood Tribe marched through downtown Nashville in a display that caught the attention of local and national media. The group carried swastika flags and chanted statements including “deport all Mexicans.” The event drew condemnation from Tennessee officials including Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell and Gov. Lee, as well as a resolution from the Metro Council

condemning the rally.

This was not the first time Nazis or other extremist groups have made their presence known in Tennessee, the home state of the Ku Klux Klan. Extremists showed up in Franklin, Murfreesboro and Cookeville in 2023, with far-right hate group the Proud Boys playing security at a 2022 right-wing rally against transgender health care in Nashville. That event featured numerous Republican lawmakers and Daily Wire commentator Matt Walsh.

When asked how concerned he was that his rhetoric — including his repeated use of the word “invasion” to describe the humanitarian crisis at the border — could inspire or encourage extremist movements, Hagerty grew combative.

“To correlate my language with some extremist group is wrong, it’s off-base, and I’m not going to further answer this,” Hagerty said.

Reporters on Wednesday continued to press Hagerty. After being asked four times if he denounced the neo-Nazi group, Tennessee’s junior U.S. Senator eventually admitted he did, though he added, “I don’t even know who you’re talking about” in reference to Blood Tribe.

“I denounce any group that wants to promote violence in the United States,” said Hagerty. “I denounce the terrorists that are

PHOTO BY MATT MASTERS

coming across our border right now — I have a feeling something very bad is gonna happen there. … What you’re trying to do with this correlation, I think, is absolutely ridiculous.”

While Hagerty may not publicly acknowledge the correlation of the decadeslong border debate and the decades-long rise of right-wing extremism, he need look no

further than Montgomery County. Earlier this month, the FBI arrested and seized firearms and explosives from a Tennessee man who was allegedly planning to “travel to the border to target migrants entering the United States.”

U.S. Sen. Bill Hagerty at a Nashville press conference, Feb. 21, 2024

Trump pitches platform to Christian voters in Nashville

Indicted former president rails against ‘the communists and the freaks’ at Christian media convention

BY MATT MASTERS

Former President Donald Trump served as the keynote speaker for the 2024 National Religious Broadcasters’ International Christian Media Convention in Nashville Thursday. At the event, the conclusion of a three-day conference at Gaylord Opryland Convention Center, he pitched himself to Christian voters and previewed some of his proposed policies should he be reelected in November.

Hundreds of people gathered for the keynote, many of them sporting red-and-

white “Make America Pray Again” hats. Other speakers included NRB president and CEO Troy A. Miller, broadcaster Hugh Hewitt and The Heritage Foundation president Kevin Roberts. Gospel quartet Ernie Haase and Signature Sound performed extended religious songs to keep the crowd entertained.

Trump, who is currently facing numerous criminal charges, took the stage more than an hour-and-a-half after his scheduled speaking time, later blaming the delay on

severe weather. His entrance was preceded by a theatrical recording of the former president reciting the Pledge of Allegiance over a recording of the national anthem, performed by what was purported to be the “J6 hostages” — a reference to the hundreds of people charged with crimes related to the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection.

“The moment I win the election, I will appoint a special task force to rapidly review the cases of every political prisoner who has been unjustly victimized,” Trump said, alleging that the Biden administration is “targeting religious believers,” a statement that received huge applause from the crowd. Trump’s speech contained many of his familiar and frequently factually inaccurate talking points and rhetoric.

“We have to save our country, but Christians, they can’t afford to sit on the sidelines in this moment,” he said.

Trump brought up the recent conviction of six anti-abortion activists who in 2021 traveled to Mt. Juliet, Tenn., to block access to an abortion clinic, calling their conviction “the beginning of a communist state.”

Trump referred to President Joe Biden and his cabinet and supporters as “evil people” who he said are a “threat to democracy.”

Trump continued to throw his political support behind Israel and American evangelicals, railing against secular Americans and the “deep state,” threatening to usher in a new era of a symbiotic churchand-state, with the creation of a “new federal

task force on fighting anti-Christian bias.”

“Its mission will be to investigate all forms of illegal discrimination, harassment and persecution against Christians in America,” Trump continued, adding that he will also pursue more traditional efforts such as the appointment of “rock-solid conservative judges in the mold of justices Antonin Scalia and the great Clarence Thomas.”

Trump also vowed to reform education, pledging “to take back our education system from the communists and the freaks,” specifically saying that he will end federal funding for schools “pushing critical race theory and transgender insanity.” He pledged to “support a policy of universal school choice” and promised to grant “529 education savings accounts to be used for homeschooling expenses up to $10,000 a year, per child, completely tax-free,” as well as reiterating conservative calls to shut down the U.S. Department of Education.

“With your prayers, your voice and your vote, we will reclaim our government from these horrible tyrants,” Trump said, promising he will “restore faith and family to the center of American life” and declaring that “the great revival of America begins on Nov. 5, 2024.”

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

Technical advisers push for details on transit referendum

BY ELI MOTYCKA

Two dozen people gathered Thursday for the inaugural meeting of Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s Technical Advisory Committee, one of two transit initiative advisory committees meant to inform a forthcoming transit referendum.

The TAC meeting brought together planners, transit professionals and policy wonks, about half of whom came from either WeGo or the Metro Planning Department. The other group — the Community Advisory Committee — held its inaugural meeting Feb. 15. O’Connell intends the TAC to focus on technical aspects of the plan, while the CAC helps refine community engagement.

Group visioning exercises showed broad alignment on vague goals like increased safety, connectivity, forward-thinking planning and modernized infrastructure. Committee conversation, which lacked a clear goal or deliverable, turned quickly to major topics of bus rapid transit and light rail.

“Are we as a group making a decision that we’re never going to have highquality rail transit as a city as we grow to 3 million people?” asked Erin Hafkenschiel, president of think tank ThinkTennessee.

“I think it’s really important for us to have that conversation.”

Throughout the two-hour meeting, Hafkenschiel did her best to have that conversation despite pivots from Kendra Abkowitz, the mayor’s sustainability chief, who became TAC’s de facto facilitator. Hafkenschiel moved to the TAC from the eight-person committee that advised the mayor on transit during his fall transition. Several years ago, Hafkenschiel oversaw the unsuccessful Let’s Move referendum, which presented several light-rail lines around Nashville, as the city’s director of transportation and sustainability.

The topic remained front-of-mind for the latter half of Thursday’s discussion, drawing comments about cost awareness from Vice

Mayor Angie Henderson and incremental development from Jessica Dauphin, CEO of the Transit Alliance of Middle Tennessee. The group discussed relative

Former President Donald Trump PHOTO BY MATT MASTERS

WeGo Central PHOTO BY ERIC ENGLAND

Technical advisers

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4

tradeoffs between bus rapid transit and light rail, two major tracks for O’Connell’s forthcoming plan, before questioning whether they could even discuss tradeoffs without cost estimates from the mayor’s office.

“It’s hard for us to make a decision, because we don’t have the cost estimates in front of us,” Dauphin said. “We don’t know what the total costs we’re aiming for is. Without knowing our budget, it’s hard to conceptualize what our actual projects

would be.”

Abkowitz offered no response. No one close to the mayor offered an estimate or a date by which to expect an estimate. Committee members wrestled with a dependency loop: Do we need solid plans to guide our budget? Or a general budget to guide our plans?

Toward the end of the meeting, Eric Hoke of the Nashville Civic Design Center brought up the referendum’s looming

political considerations.

“I’m a huge rail guy,” said Hoke. “I love the rail. I just want us to concede the political costs for that. I want to see a rail. I’m just afraid of the outcomes should there be a rail in a plan.”

Hafkenschiel picked up on the reference to the failed 2018 effort for light rail under Megan Barry. “Just because the city said they weren’t ready for five light-rail lines and a downtown tunnel does not mean they’re

not ready for one light-rail corridor to prove what it could look like for our city and for our future,” she responded.

The mayor has said to expect a completed plan ready for voter review by the end of March.

This article was originally published in Post sister publication Nashville Scene.

‘Abortion trafficking’ bill proceeds despite federal block of similar law

BY HANNAH HERNER

At a Wednesday House Health Committee meeting, representatives voted to pass a bill that would charge adults with a felony for helping minors who are not their children obtain an abortion.

Supporters of the bill call the act “abortion trafficking.” Much of Wednesday’s debate centered on the bill’s language, which would bring charges against an adult who “recruits, harbors, or transports” a minor in addition to “concealing” or “procuring” an act that would constitute a criminal abortion. Additionally, the legislation would ban obtaining abortion pills for an emancipated minor. The only exemption is for medical providers to provide emergency care for minor patients regardless of parental consent — something that was added in an amendment.

Democrats raised concerns during the committee meeting — they questioned if, when pregnant minors go to lawyers or youth pastors for help, those adults would be breaking the law by not telling the children’s parents. Rep. Jason Zachary (R-Knoxville) said Democrats’ questions were not related to the bill. Medical providers testified on the harm that pregnancy can bring to a minor’s physical and mental health.

Rep. Sam Whitson (R-Franklin) crossed party lines to vote against HB1895, expressing concern that if a young couple with one person older than 18 took their minor partner to get an abortion, they would be criminalized.

Zachary said HB1895/SB1971 is a parental rights bill, designed to ensure that a parent must approve of medical care, including an abortion for her/his child. No date is set for the bill’s next hearing.

The bill resembles a 2023 Tennessee law that, in practice, prohibited foster parents and grandparents raising their grandchildren from taking minors to get any vaccine, including a flu shot or a COVID-19 vaccination. The bill is also similar to an Idaho law passed in 2023, which has been blocked from enforcement by a federal

judge. Pro-choice advocacy groups have also challenged the law in court, claiming that it violates the First Amendment (a doctor’s right to discuss abortion with minors) and the Fourth Amendment (a person’s right to travel freely between states). In Texas, on the local level, at least four counties have adopted ordinances to allow private citizens to sue those who help women travel to obtain an abortion.

On Tuesday, a bill brought by Rep.

Gloria Johnson (D-Knoxville) that would have allowed abortions for minors 13 and younger failed in the Population Health Subcommittee. Earlier this month, a bill that would have allowed for abortions in cases of rape and incest was killed as well.

Sen. Richard Briggs (R-Knoxville) teased a bill allowing exceptions mainly for fatal fetal anomalies or conditions that affect fertility. Briggs confirmed to the the Post earlier this month that Sen. Joey Hensley

(R-Hohenwald) is set to sponsor the bill. Hensley is also the sponsor of a bill that would require the state health department to publish information on reversing the effects of a medication abortion in additional languages. According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, reversal is not supported by science. This article was originally published in Post sister publication Nashville Post.

Advocates and physicians attend express opposition to abortion trafficking bill, Feb. 21, 2024

PHOTO BY MATT MASTERS

On the Move:

Nashville’s ‘last best chance’ for transit progress under Mayor O’Connell

BY BILL FREEMAN

Mayor Freddie O’Connell recently formally announced his administration’s push for a transit referendum on the November ballot. As a lifelong Nashvillian and one who has seen our city — along with its traffic — grow exponentially, I commend Mayor O’Connell for his strategic vision and commitment to addressing the city’s transit challenges. The Nashville Scene reported back in November that “O’Connell emphasized that any plan must proceed deliberately and include community buy-in — his attempts to avoid repeating 2018.” As Mayor O’Connell said when launching the transit push: “We’re going to focus on the things we know work, that are cost-effective, that are useful, that are visible, that are popular.”

I remember all the befuddled comments in 2018 surrounding that year’s proposed mass transit plan. Many at that time were unable to get a clear vision of what then-Mayor Megan Barry was proposing. According to a recent opinion piece by The Tennessean’s David Plazas, that proposal’s light-rail plan, underground tunnel and multibillion-dollar price tag — which

seemed to fluctuate from $5.4 billion to $9 billion — had many concerned. At that point in time, there was not a clearly defined plan that residents felt comfortable buying into. In the discussions I personally heard, some commented that underground tunnels and light rail made them uncomfortable because they feared Nashville would lose its small-town charm. But Nashville is no longer a small town. As Mayor O’Connell has said, “We’re a big city, and it’s time to act like one. This is, in many ways, our last best chance to take a huge step forward together as a city.”

Sadly, Forbes recently ranked Nashville’s commute “the worst in America.” So it’s time for a plan. And as Mayor O’Connell noted: “We’ve been on the move in so many ways over the past couple of decades, except with regard to this basic principle of how we move around our own city. We’ve been stuck in neutral, and we’ve got to move.”

The exact cost of the proposed transit plan is yet to be disclosed. I commend the mayor for waiting until the plan is solidified and ready for a legally required financial audit. It’s a responsible way to handle

things, as opposed to getting everyone riled up over things yet unknown. Regarding the contentious issue of light rail, the mayor hasn’t ruled it out entirely, but he has made it clear that heavy investment in that direction may not be necessary to achieve the city’s transit goals. As for the underground tunnel, the mayor has explained that “this plan will not have a billion-dollar tunnel under downtown.”

From the beginning, I’ve appreciated Mayor O’Connell’s well-thought-out approach. I further appreciate his focus on the basics, like 24/7 bus service, more sidewalks and heightened public safety, upgrading traffic signals, access from the airport and more. His emphasis on addressing practical issues rather than pursuing grandiose projects is more appropriate for where we are as a city. Not only does it resonate with our city’s residents, as Plazas notes, even one of the most vocal opponents of the 2018 measure, Americans for Prosperity Tennessee, is taking a “wait and see” approach.

A well-executed mass transit plan is a cornerstone for the continued growth and

prosperity of Nashville. Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s wise, discerning approach to this complex issue is commendable. By addressing the city’s transit challenges with urgency, transparency and practicality, he is steering Nashville toward a future where the benefits of a dependable transit system are accessible to all. Thanks, Mayor O’Connell.

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.

Mayor Freddie O’Connell riding a WeGo bus. PHOTO BY NASHVILLE.GOV

East Bank legislation heads to Metro Council

BY NICOLLE S. PRAINO

Metro Council will now get to decide on an agreement with The Fallon Company related to the development of 30 acres of the city’s East Bank.

Mayor Freddie O’Connell announced Friday that he has filed an ordinance allowing Metro to enter into a development agreement and ground lease with the company. The O’Connell administration picked up contract negotiations with Fallon after the company was chosen as the master developer in the final days of former Mayor John Cooper’s administration.

“We’ve worked diligently with Mayor O’Connell, Chief Development Officer Bob Mendes and the talented Metro team to ensure the community’s vision and input is reflected in every aspect of our plan. We look forward to continuing to partner with Metro and the residents of Nashville to bring our shared vision to life,” The Fallon Company President Brian Awe said in a release.

A key part of the East Bank plan has been affordability, and the development agreement locks in affordability for the duration of a 99-year ground lease. That is “unprecedented first” for Nashville’s affordable housing efforts, according to the O’Connell administration.

The development agreement would include 300 affordable units constructed with a children’s day care within two years. In total, the agreement would allow for the construction of 695 affordable units, with 300 more delivered in conjunction with a transportation hub after work on James Robertson Parkway is complete. The other 95 affordable units could come between six and nine years — with 10 percent of affordable units required for 400 residences in six years and 550 in nine years.

In addition, the agreement would require Fallon to cover the cost of the construction of the future East Bank Boulevard from

Victory Way to Shelby Avenue. A bicycle and pedestrian path from Shelby Avenue and Interstate Drive to the Cumberland River, the Cumberland Walk, will also be funded by Fallon along with the Tennessee Performing Arts Center.

TPAC and the O’Connell administration also announced the performing arts center will officially have a home on the East Bank if the Council passes the resolution the mayor filed approving a memorandum of understanding. TPAC is currently located at the James K. Polk Cultural Center, which was deemed antiquated by a state real estate assessment. The state has put $200 million in the Fiscal Year 2023-24 budget for TPAC’s future facility contingent upon matching, private-sector dollars.

The MOU outlines that Metro would ground lease a portion of land to TPAC for 35 years with extensions. TPAC would be responsible for funding its own facility as well as a “significant portion” of construction for the redesigned pedestrian bridge, roads and utilities. Fallon will also be responsible for part of the cost of the updating of the existing Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge.

“Creating a visionary, innovative performing arts venue will allow us to elevate our programming and enhance the visitor experience, providing meaningful opportunities to experience Broadway shows, extensive educational opportunities for students across the state and a home to the Nashville Ballet, Nashville Opera and Nashville Repertory Theatre,” Jennifer Turner, TPAC president and CEO, said in a release.

Metro Council will have the first of three readings for the Fallon ordinance on March 7. That same day, the council will also consider and vote on the TPAC resolution. This story was first published by our sister publication Nashville Post.

East Bank rendering PHOTO COURTESY OF THE FALLON COMPANY

District 1 school board race unfolds with four candidates

BY KELSEY BEYELER

PHOTO BY ERIC ENGLAND

Early voting is currently underway in Nashville’s countywide primaries, with Election Day on March 5, with the District 1 race as the only that is contested.

Though school board elections historically have not been partisan, a 2021 law changed that for Nashville. And so, primaries in Districts 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9 are on the ballot.

Districts 3 and 5 each have one

uncontested candidate — former Metro Councilmember Zach Young in 3 and TK Fayne in 5. Incumbents Freda Player (District 7) and Abigail Tylor (District 9) are also running uncontested. District 1 offers four individual vying for the position.

On Feb. 8, a candidate event and spaghetti supper hosted by advocacy organization Opportunity Nashville allowed District 1 voters to voice their thoughts to candidates. Attendees asked about candidates’ stances on state-driven policies and discussed concerns about inadequate funding and opportunities for students in District 1.

District 1 candidate Demytris SavageShort is the only Republican running for a school board seat. She declined the Scene’s interview request, but a campaign flyer lists “protecting parental rights,” “promoting education NOT indoctrination” and “financially equipping District 1 schools” as priorities. At the Feb. 8 event, she said she removed her student from Metro Nashville Public Schools to be home-schooled.

Two of the District 1 candidates work in Nashville schools and would, therefore, be required to resign if elected.

Dominique McCord-Cotton is a teacher at East End Prep Charter School who said she can bring a “fresh” perspective. Regarding voting to approve or deny charter

school contracts within the county, McCordCotton said, “It would depend on context.” She said she supports traditional public schools and public charter schools that can meet students’ needs.

McCord-Cotton said she has seen a need for more student resources, more teachers and more information for community members who want to engage — and said her experience as a teacher showed her how to advocate for these matters and establish partnerships around school communities.

“I truly believe when parents, teachers and the community are all aligned, students have the best outcome,” McCord-Cotton said.

A school counselor at Amqui Elementary, LaTonya Winfrey has also taught in MNPS. She said her candidacy is inspired by her experience fighting for her son — who has autism — and other exceptional education students to receive proper resources.

In addition to advocating for more resources, Winfrey said she wants to enhance transparency and communication around school board matters such as the budget. While Winfrey believes “parents should have choice” about schools, she does not believe the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission should be able to overrule MNPS decisions.

“I advocate for my kids,” Winfrey said.

“It’s not just the kids when I have them — I have students that I started with in seventh grade, and now they’re 35 and I still keep in communication with them, helping them with their kids in the school system.”

Robert Taylor has run for the District 1 seat previously. An educator at Meharry Medical College, Taylor also has worked as a family involvement specialist for Whites Creek Cluster schools. In his experience as a former board member at charter school Smithson Craighead Academy, Taylor said he has learned the importance of supporting leadership and turning struggling schools around. Regarding charters, Taylor said the district currently has enough to meet the goals of a charter model.

If elected, Taylor said he would continue to advocate for investments in under-resourced and understaffed schools, generate community conversations about education, and encourage teacher retention and recruitment.

“I’m looking at this as, ‘What can we do as an entire community to address education and how can we focus on making our public schools the best option for parents?’” Taylor said.

This article was originally published in Post sister publication Nashville Scene.

Voucher discussions finally begin in legislative committees

BY KELSEY BEYELER

Seven weeks after the Tennessee General Assembly gaveled in for the 2024 legislative session, we’re finally seeing proposed language related to Gov. Bill Lee’s statewide voucher plan. (That is, if you don’t count legislation that was filed and quickly withdrawn in late January.) While vouchers are already being used by students in Davidson, Shelby and Hamilton counties via the state’s Education Savings Account Program, Lee’s new Education Freedom Scholarship Act would expand voucher eligibility across the state. Competing amendments recently filed this session by Republicans represent different strategies for how to usher the controversial legislation forward.

Gov. Lee’s version, filed via an amendment by Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson (R-Franklin), is similar to what Lee proposed in November when announcing the Education Freedom Scholarship Act. Starting in the 2024-25 school year, the state would provide 20,000 students with public money to put toward private education before expanding the program in subsequent years. While these vouchers would be available to all students, those who are eligible for the state’s Education Savings Account Program, those with disabilities and those whose family household income does not exceed a certain

threshold would be prioritized. The money can fund expenses related to attending private school, such as tuition, technology, textbooks, tutoring, transportation and uniforms.

Additional language filed by Sen. Jon Lundberg (R-Bristol), chair of the Senate Education Committee, is 10 pages longer than Lee’s filed language and includes a suite of extra requirements. Major additions include standardized testing requirements for students who use vouchers and the ability for students to use vouchers to attend outof-district public schools. It also lays out a more thorough process for tracking funds and requires applicants to indicate whether students have valid Social Security numbers. While those without SSNs can still enroll in the program, the amendment notes this information could be reported to the Internal Revenue Service or the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

On Monday, the House released a whopping 39-page amendment that addresses much more than vouchers — including public school standardized testing requirements and evaluations and health insurance for teachers. As filed, the amendment would also dissolve the state-run Achievement School District, among other measures. As far as vouchers are concerned,

the proposed amendment would limit availability to students who are U.S. citizens and whose parents are U.S. citizens. Students would be prioritized in tiers, with those whose families make 500 percent of the federal poverty level the last tier before all other families are granted access. The legislation would allow the number of vouchers to expand by 20 percent each year if the previous year had a 90 percent or higher utilization rate. Additional provisions include an annual report on the program, and it would prevent lawmakers or those working in the governor’s Cabinet from utilizing the universal voucher system.

Voucher critics often point out that Lee hasn’t included accountability models in his framework despite the fact that public schools are beholden to rigid accountability standards. (The Tennessean reported in November that the state’s ESA Program shows high parental satisfaction but lower standardized test scores from participating students compared to their public-school peers.) Gini Pupo-Walker, a former Metro school board member and current executive director of the Education Trust in Tennessee, says Lee’s plan reflects the national universal voucher movement, which “is really not interested in accountability or testing or public reporting — for good

reason — because the research shows it doesn’t work.”

Pupo-Walker, who notes that the Education Trust’s opinion is that “public dollars should stay in public schools,” also points to states like Arizona and Ohio, which have seen costs exceed expectations after implementing a universal voucher program. Gov. Lee recommended a recurring $144.2 million in his 2024-25 fiscal budget, but according to a memorandum from the Fiscal Review Committee, those costs could exceed $346 million by 2026-27. Both the House amendment and Lundberg’s amendment tie the voucher amount to the base number allocated to students through the state’s education funding formula.

“The amendment the House filed today is 39 pages long for a reason,” PupoWalker tells the Scene. “They needed many additional items in order to garner votes for passage. … Unfortunately, the debate will be muddied due to a wide range of other important education policy considerations that are now folded into this bill, making it harder for Tennesseans to truly understand the impact of the voucher bill on their schools and communities.”

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

Davidson County Board of Education

Library board moving forward without hiring permanent director

BY NICOLLE S. PRAINO

The Nashville Public Library Board announced during a meeting last week that it will officially be moving on from its search for system-wide leadership.

For now, Terri Luke will continue serving as interim director. Luke has held the role since former director Kent Oliver retired in July 2022.

Mayor Freddie O’Connell attended the meeting to offer remarks and expressed his understanding that the search has been a challenging one for the board.

“I think for many of us, including me, the search process did not unfold the way we had expected, but I have full confidence in Terri as interim director and we are not conducting a new search at this time,” O’Connell said. “Transition is never easy but this search has gone on for a long time and we get to take a break from that process to follow its legal conclusion and to move on to the work at hand under Terri’s leadership.”

Board members said at a meeting on Oct. 31 that, after listening to the candidates during the search process, they realized they were comparing their choices to Luke. During that meeting, they decided to pause the search.

The board members returned to discuss the candidates and make a decision on Nov. 16 about how to move forward. That day, the board voted to end its more than yearlong director search after deciding none of the candidates met their full expectations.

The board members concluded the search in a 3-2 vote with chair Joyce Searcy breaking the tie. She noted that because they could not fully agree about the candidates, it would be best to conclude the search. Board member Keith Simmons recused himself from the discussion of the next director before the vote was taken due to comments accusing him of a potential bias.

At Tuesday’s meeting, Searcy addressed the accusations made during the search.

“The accusations were both unfair and untrue. As research and as our own members’ experiences and wisdom reinforce the fact that we all know that diversity is essential to ensure that organizations can best thrive and that’s the only way to be innovative,” Searcy said. “I really hope that’s behind us. I hope we will heed [Mayor O’Connell’s] directive to give our full support to the interim director as we continue to seek excellence in all that each individual that works for the

library does and all that we do as a system.”

O’Connell noted that Luke will have full responsibilities and authority of the library system until another search is launched.

“A title of interim doesn’t mean we don’t address operational facilities or staffing issues,” he said.

Before the mayor’s remarks and during the meeting’s public comment time, Lisa Bubert spoke on behalf of unionized workers at the Nashville Public Library to stress the burden placed upon staff at other managerial levels.

During the interim director report, which followed the mayor and board chair’s comments, Luke addressed the challenges of hiring for regional manager positions. In addition, she recognized the need for those positions to be filled to relieve the staff of their work in these other areas. She emphasized that leadership will be working on a plan to fill its three vacant regional manager positions.

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

Terri Luke PHOTO COURTESY OF NASHVILLE PUBLIC LIBRARY

Local schools earn ‘Reward School’ status from TDOE for ‘22-23 year

The Tennessee Department of Education announced the school and district designations for the 2022-23 school year on Tuesday.

21 Metro Nashville Public Schools were named Reward Schools, while 31 Williamson County Schools were named Reward Schools. The Franklin Special Schools District was one of only 12 districts across the state to earn “Exemplary” status.

According to the TDOE, schools are recognized as a Reward School when they demonstrate “high levels of performance and/or improvement in performance by

meeting objectives across performance indicators and student groups.” The distinction places “significant emphasis” on performance and improvement across all indicators from the prior school year.

Districts are recognized as an “Exemplary” district when they receive an overall district performance score of 3.1 or higher on a 4.0-point scale across a selection of performance indicators.

MNPS REWARD SCHOOLS:

Dodson Elementary

Eakin Elementary

Early College High School

East End Preparatory School

Glendale Elementary

Harpeth Valley Elementary

Hume - Fogg High

Ida B. Wells Elementary

John B. Whitsitt Elementary

Julia Green Elementary

Lockeland Elementary

Martin Luther King Jr School

Meigs Middle

Nashville Big Picture High School

Nashville School Of The Arts

Paragon Mills Elementary

Rocketship United

Tom Joy Elementary

Tusculum Elementary

Valor Voyager Academy

Westmeade Elementary

WCS REWARD SCHOOLS:

Brentwood High

Chapman’s Retreat Elementary

College Grove Elementary

Creekside Elementary

Crockett Elementary

Edmondson Elementary

Fairview Elementary

Fairview High

Franklin High

Page High

Grassland Elementary

Hunters Bend Elementary

Independence High

Jordan Elementary

Kenrose Elementary

Lipscomb Elementary

Longview Elementary

Mill Creek Middle

Nolensville Elementary

Nolensville High

Oak View Elementary

Ravenwood High

Renaissance High

Summit High

Sunset Elementary

Sunset Middle

Thompson’s Station Elementary

Thompson’s Station Middle

Trinity Elementary

Walnut Grove Elementary

Woodland Middle

FSSD REWARD SCHOOLS:

Franklin Elementary

Liberty Elementary

Poplar Grove K-4

Bellevue Branch Library to reopen April 1, curbside service to begin March 11

The Nashville Public Library’s Bellevue Branch has been closed since early January due to a burst water pipe.

The branch now has an official reopening date of April 1, which will be nearly three months after the initial incident.

The branch will begin curbside service on March 11. Curbside service will be available from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays. There will be no curbside service on Sundays.

Any reserved items on hold can be picked up at the Green Hills Branch Library while the Bellevue Branch is closed. Those items have to be picked up by March 7.

Bellevue Branch Library

STAFF REPORTS

Selection of Reward Schools PHOTO COURTESY OF WCS

STAFF REPORTS

South Davidson County commercial building listed for $2.5M

BY WILLIAM WILLIAMS

A distinctive Brentwood-area commercial building has been offered for $2.5 million.

Located at 5595 Franklin Pike in South Davidson County, the two-level medical office structure sits on a triangle-shaped parcel of 0.15 acres.

Palmer Development Concepts LLC owns the property, having paid $800,000 for it in 2017, according to Metro records.

Marketing materials note the LLC — details about which are unclear — is using the building in some manner.

The building was constructed in 2008 and offers about 7,255 square feet, according to the marketing materials. It

offers two access points, with the upper segment of the structure accommodating the office space and the lower half used for parking and a workshop.

The listing is the equivalent of $345 per square foot based on the building’s size.

The owner has enlisted Beau Beach, national director of investment sales with Brentwood’s Beachwood Commercial Real Estate Brokerage, to handle the marketing and sale of the property.

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

Monell’s owner sells Berry Hill properties for $6.35M

BY WILLIAM WILLIAMS

Five Berry Hill commercial buildings have sold for a collective $6.35 million, with the seller the long-time owner of restaurant and catering business Monell’s.

The properties are located at 2812, 2814 and 2816 Bransford Ave. and 2815 and 2817 Columbine Place.

According to a Davidson County Register of Deeds document, the new owner is an LLC that shares an address with Mike Nacarato of Franklin. Nacarato is a member of a family known for its longstanding ownership and operations of area truck dealerships.

The seller was an LLC, with Michael

King as manager, that paid $4.48 million for the properties in five transactions from November 2021, Metro records show. King has owned and operated Monell’s Dining and Catering Inc. since 1995.

Bead store Beaded Bungalow has operated, via a lease, from 2816 Bransford Ave. for 27 years. According to a source, the business will cease operations by May 1 and may or may not relocate within Berry Hill.

The News sister publication the Nashville Post was unable to determine if brokers were involved in the transaction.

This article was originally published in Post sister publication Nashville Post.

New images released for Belle Meade Plaza site project

BY WILLIAM WILLIAMS

New images have been created for the high-profile mixed-use development planned for the Belle Meade Plaza shopping center site.

Nashville-based Adventurous Journeys (AJ) Capital Partners is calling the future development, via its website, Belle Meade Village. The company paid $87 million for the property in July 2023.

The property includes a retail and office building hugging the White Bridge Road viaduct and recognized as the home of Agave’s Mexican Restaurant and Belle Meade Premium Cigars, among other businesses. The main address is 4500 Harding Pike.

The property also includes the structure housing a Kroger, with the grocery business to eventually relocate to the former Belle Meade Theater building, the space last occupied by a Harris Teeter.

AJ Capital officials declined to comment regarding the images and any other updates related to the planned project.

To supplement the effort, a Nashville Department of Transportation study shows multiple streetscape improvements AJ Capital plans to incorporate. These include the widening of a portion of Harding Pike and the alteration of signal light placements to improve traffic flow.

AJ Capital’s plan includes four buildings of between 100 and 150 feet tall. One of the proposed buildings will include 78 hotel rooms and 388 residential units. Smaller buildings will front Harding Pike.

As previously reported, the incorporation

of Richland Creek as a water feature and river walk are planned. About 60 percent of site will be devoted to green and open space.

Opened in 1961, the two-level modernist Belle Meade Plaza and the Kroger structure

sit on roughly 10.57 acres. Belle Meade Plaza includes about 205,500 square feet and represents one of Nashville’s first mixed-use buildings (retail on level one and office on floor two) oriented in a suburban manner,

with the structure separated from the street by surface parking.

This article was originally published in Post sister publication Nashville Post.

Belle Meade Village as seen looking northwest and from the intersection of Harding Pike and White Bridge Road (on the right)

PHOTO COURTESY OF AJ CAPITAL

Local wrestlers compete at Division I, girls state championship meet Summit’s Jarvis Little wins third-consecutive title

BY LOGAN BUTTS

The Division I and girls individual wrestling state championships took place on Friday and Saturday at the Williamson County Expo Center.

Read below for the top finishers from the Nashville area.

A 113

3rd Place

Nathaniel Graham of Station Camp

A 126

2nd Place

Landon Turner of Harpeth

A 138

4th Place

Jacob Pennington of Eagleville

6th Place

Walter Rutland Harris of Hume-Fogg Academic Magnet

A 144

6th Place

Peyton Mitchell of Fairview

A 150

1st Place

Brody McLemore of Eagleville

4th Place

Sam Frank of Fairview

6th Place

Cohen Oswald of Station Camp

A 157

4th Place

Thomas Solomon of Eagleville

6th Place

Brayden Crouch of White House Heritage

A 165

4th Place

Nikolas Taylor of White House Heritage

A 175

4th Place

Calvin Rickard of Station Camp

6th Place

Cam Shields of James Lawson High School

A 190

3rd Place

Houston Retting of Eagleville

5th Place

Fletcher Beck of Station Camp

A 215

4th Place

Landon Morris of Cheatham Co. Central

A 285

3rd Place

Malik Boiling of East Nashville Magnet School

AA 106

2nd Place

Andrew Workman of Blackman

3rd Place

Ryan Dietrick of Ravenwood

4th Place

Nolan Barton of Nolensville

5th Place

Emanuel Claybrooks of McGavock

The Ultimate Chef Throwdown!

Thursday April 4

Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum

Our 15th Annual Iron Fork returns with top chefs from Music City’s best restaurants battling it out to vie for the coveted Iron Fork Champions trophy. This year’s catch? All of our competitors have already won Iron Fork before... and now they’ll compete as the best of the best to be crowned the Ultimate Iron Fork Champion!

6th Place

Locke Sessions of Independence

AA 113

2nd Place

Sebron Colson of Blackman

4th Place

Blaise Masi of Summit

6th Place

Reed Loeffel of Brentwood

AA 120

3rd Place

Kyle Nielsen of Spring Hill

AA 126

3rd Place

Chase Creque of Siegel

6th Place

Nathan Simpson of Page

AA 132

1st Place

Jarvis Little of Summit

2nd Place

Andrew Donelson of Brentwood

3rd Place

Aslan Nadeau of Blackman

6th Place

Xzavier Cox of McGavock

AA 138

1st Place

Thomas Rubio of Blackman

2nd Place

Arash Yazdani of Brentwood

6th Place

Matheus Volkart of McGavock

AA 144

1st Place

Landon Desselle of Summit

2nd Place

Riddeck Romano of Independence

5th Place

Alex Velazquez of Green Hill

AA 150

1st Place

Brayden Leach of Summit

3rd Place

Clark Vaughn of Brentwood

AA 157

2nd Place

Zachery Little of Summit

4th Place

Blaise Meeks of Blackman

5th Place

Brodie Melzoni of Nolensville

AA 165

2nd Place

Chase Mayes of Nolensville

3rd Place

Jayden McKinney of Summit

4th Place

Alex Osburn of Ravenwood

6th Place

James Revell of Blackman

AA 175

1st Place

Charles `Tre` McTorry of Nolensville

2nd Place

Jake Stacey of Green Hill

AA 190

2nd Place

Spencer Kon of Independence

3rd Place

Brennen Neal of Nolensville

5th Place

Hayven Jenkins of Oakland

AA 215

4th Place

Jake Sentell of Nolensville

5th Place

Aiden Elmore of Franklin

AA 285

2nd Place

Peters Savarino of Summit

3rd Place

Jackson Ard of Brentwood

GIRLS 100

2nd Place

Vivian Mariscal of John Overton (Girls)

4th Place

Evangeline Monge of Centennial (Girls)

GIRLS 107

4th Place

Mikiah Souza of Springfield (Girls)

GIRLS 114

4th Place

Abigail Page of White House Heritage High School (Girls)

6th Place

Taylor Parkhurst of Summit (Girls)

GIRLS 120

4th Place

Mya Bundy of Mt. Juliet (Girls)

6th Place

Johanna Pantojas of Riverdale (Girls)

GIRLS 126

2nd Place

Abigail Vanderheyden of Siegel (Girls)

GIRLS 132

1st Place

Halai Cox of McGavock (Girls)

4th Place

Emery Wilson of Ravenwood (Girls)

5th Place

Ali Bryant of Blackman (Girls)

GIRLS 145

5th Place

Finnley Craig of Summit (Girls)

6th Place

Aaliyah King of Independence (Girls)

GIRLS 165

5th Place

Jonna Paterson of Blackman (Girls)

GIRLS 185

2nd Place

Carter Grissom of Riverdale (Girls)

4th Place

Lakeria Kelly of Pearl Cohn (Girls)

GIRLS 235

3rd Place

Samantha O`Leary of Summit (Girls)

5th Place

Ashleigh Williams of Stewarts Creek (Girls)

6th Place

Alai Magalei of McGavock (Girls)

Summit’s Jarvis Little at the 2024 dual wrestling state championships PHOTO BY DAVID RUSSELL

Depleted Nashville SC squeezes point out of MLS opener

BY JOHN GLENNON

Tyler Boyd PHOTO COURTESY NASHVILLE SC

Nashville SC survived its MLS opener on Sunday.

That’s about the best way to describe the 0-0 outcome — and the one point gained — against New York Red Bulls at Geodis Park.

The visitors dominated the vast majority of the contest, outshooting Nashville 16-5 and maintaining possession for 53 percent of the contest. The Red Bulls hit the crossbar twice and the post once, while forcing

Nashville goalie Joe Willis into multiple point-blank saves.

But before we judge the Boys in Gold too harshly, let’s take a look at a look at the circumstances.

Nashville opened the game without all three of its designated players — midfielder Hany Mukhtar, forward Sam Surridge and defender Walker Zimmerman — as well as starting defender Daniel Lovitz and

midfielder Randall Leal. All five were on the team’s injury report, and only Zimmerman would get any time on the pitch, entering the game in the 62nd minute.

Throw in the fact that Nashville had opened CONCACAF Champions Cup play with a win in the Dominican Republic on Thursday night, and it’s fair to say the home team was operating at far less than 100 percent.

“We have an incredibly challenging period of time, the same as any team that are in Champions Cup right now,” Nashville SC coach Gary Smith said. “So we have to do our very best, certainly I do, of putting out a team that’s going to be competitive, that’s going to put points on the board, that is going to show the sort of spirit and fortitude when under pressure.

“Today was a tough, tough point. I’ve said to the guys I don’t know if there will be a harder-fought point for us all year. But [it’s] definitely a much nicer way to [start] the season than a defeat, that’s for sure.”

Nashville could barely take a breath in the first half, suffocated by New York’s highpressure attack.

The Red Bulls outshot the Boys in Gold 10-0 in the opening 45 minutes, a total that didn’t include Dante Vanzier’s chip that eluded Willis before slowly rolling off the post behind the keeper.

Nashville steadied itself in the 62nd minute when Zimmerman, along with midfielders Anibal Godoy and Brian

Anunga, entered the contest. Still, the Boys in Gold had to survive a pair of Red Bulls shots that rattled off the crossbar, one that was barely tipped by Willis.

Nashville finally managed some possession in the last 20-25 minutes of the contest, which included Tyler Boyd’s rocket from just inside the box that forced a splitsecond save from Carlos Coronel.

“I would have to say probably man of the match for me today,” Smith said of Willis. “When called upon, he came up trumps again, two or three excellent saves, great presence in the goal. He’s been one of the most reliable signings that we’ve made from day one. Incredible individual character and professional.”

The good news for Nashville SC is that Smith sounded optimistic about injury timetables, saying he hoped Mukhtar (hip) might be available as early as Wednesday for the second leg against of the team’s series against Moca FC. The coach added that Surridge’s shoulder injury doesn’t appear as significant as it did when Surridge was hurt on Thursday.

“The news on Sam was much, much better than we expected about his shoulder,” Smith said, “and I would hope his return is going to be far, far sooner than we thought leaving the Dominican.”

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

Choice lane project approved for I-24 between Nashville and Murfreesboro

BY NICOLLE S. PRAINO

The Transportation Modernization Board unanimously voted at its first meeting Monday afternoon to include “choice lanes” for Interstate 24 between Nashville and Murfreesboro in the next Department of Transportation improvement plan.

The Transportation Modernization Act, passed during last year’s state legislative session, formed the board for the purpose of approving the recommended TDOTdesignated choice lanes — or “user-fee facilities.” Democrats have filed a bill to change the language of the TMA so that TDOT must get approval of the local government where proposed toll lanes would be constructed. House Bill 1612 was filed by state Rep. John Ray Clemmons (D-Nashville) and is set to be discussed for the first time in the House Transportation

Subcommittee Wednesday.

Board member Mike Keeney asked at the meeting what local community involvement would be with these projects. Brian Ledford, TDOT’s executive director of public-private partnerships, told board members TDOT would be working with local stakeholders during the process but did not go into detail.

The choice lane projects would add new lanes to the areas recommended and would not convert existing lanes. Drivers would pay a toll to access the added lanes.

In December, TDOT unveiled its 10-year plan, which noted its prioritization of the Nashville-Murfreesboro project and said the state could seek bids from private companies for the project as soon as late 2024. At the board meeting on Monday, TDOT reps said the department could launch a procurement

process in 2025 and plans to finish environmental and design work this year, along with further traffic and revenue studies for the project.

The board, made up of appointees by the governor and House and Senate speakers, approved the development to continue for the proposed I-24 choice lane project. Preliminary engineering for the choice lanes can now be included on TDOT’s threeyear plan, which will be submitted to the General Assembly.

“These are new lanes,” Ledford said. “They are optional, and they are designed, built, financed, operated and maintained by a private partner. As a frame of reference, TDOT’s annual budget for projects and programs is about $1.2 billion annually, and one of these urban congestion projects could

easily eat up our entire budget for projects and programs.”

The TMA previously received criticism from lawmakers including Sen. Heidi Campbell (D-Nashville) for giving private companies the opportunity when the state could potentially benefit from the “profitable endeavor.”

TDOT has said other potential future locations include I-65 between Nashville and Spring Hill, as well as locations in Chattanooga and Knoxville.

The choice lanes effort comes as privatesector transportation initiatives continue to be explored for the Mufreesboro-Nashville interstate corridor.

This article was first published by our sister publication, the Nashville Post.

Teen wounded, another arrested in Bellevue shooting on Monday

STAFF REPORTS

An 18-year-old was arrested for allegedly shooting another 18-year-old in Bellevue Monday morning in what police said was a botched robbery.

According to an MNPD news release, Wyatt Morrison has been charged with especially aggravated attempted robbery after he allegedly shot an unidentified teen behind the former Bellevue Cinemas movie theater on Belle Forest Circle.

Morrison was later arrested leaving his Hydes Ferry Road home, where police said he was armed with a pistol.

“The victim said he went to the parking lot before 6 a.m. to meet a friend to “smoke,’” police said, adding that Morrison then allegedly approached the victim and attempted to rob him of his cell phone and money, shooting the teen in the shoulder and neck.

“The victim drove to a nearby convenience market from where help was called.”

Police said that neither teen live in Bellevue, and no other infomation about the investigation has been released at this time.

Forest Hills Weed Wrangle set for March 2 STAFF

The City of Forest Hills will hold its annual Weed Wrangle on March 2, and the city is seeking volunteers to help remove non-native invasive plants from green spaces.

This year’s event will focus on the twoand-a-half-acre Bison Meadow Park from 9 a.m. to noon and will see volunteers gather at Hillsboro Church of Christ, located at 5800 Hillsboro Pike. Volunteers can sign up in advance online at www.hon.org.

“We’re engaging our neighbors to join us and learn about the removal of harmful tres, vines and plants in hope that they will apply this knowledge to their own yards,” City of Forest Hills Cultural and Natural Resources Committee chairman Susan Andrews said in a news release. “We’re always encouraged by the enthusiasm these events bring to our community to improve the environment in our community.”

The Weed Wrangle will take place in conjunction with more than a dozen similar events across the nation.

Forest Hills Weed Wrangle

PHOTO SUBMITTED

Phillip Lammond’s Shrimp and Grits

BY EDIBLE NASHVILLE

This recipe is from local songwriter Phillip Lammond and featured in our Home Cook column in 2021. The combination of creamy grits with slightly spicy, tomato-ey shrimp is a classic coastal

dish in the South. It’s comforting and hearty, but in an elegant serving bowl it can also be a perfect meal to serve at a dinner party.

GRITS

1½ cups stone-ground grits

1 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons (½ stick) butter

SHRIMP

1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning (Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning)

2 pounds medium-large raw shrimp (preferably head on)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1. Peel and devein shrimp. Place shrimp heads and peels in a saucepan with ½ cup water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Set shrimp stock aside.

2. To prepare the grits, bring 3 cups of water to a boil over high heat in a medium saucepan. Stir in the grits and salt. Bring back to a boil, reduce heat to low, stir in the butter, and simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Keep grits warm on very low heat, adding water when needed.

3. To prepare the shrimp, toss them with the Cajun seasoning. Add olive oil and 1

3 tablespoons butter, divided

1 tablespoon flour

1 medium onion, chopped

2 small jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped

1 fennel bulb, white part thinly sliced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

¼ cup dry white wine Salt to taste

Fennel fronds and pickled okra for garnish

tablespoon butter to a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add shrimp and sauté until opaque, about 2 minutes. Remove from skillet, set aside. Add flour to drippings in skillet and whisk well. Add onion, peppers, fennel and sauté 4 minutes. Add garlic and sauté 1 minute. Add shrimp stock and simmer until reduced by half, about 10 minutes. Add shrimp, Worcestershire sauce, wine and reserved butter. Taste for seasoning, and add salt if needed. Serve immediately over warm grits. Garnish with fennel fronds and pickled okra.

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.

ACROSS

1 Some water bearers

6 “M*A*S*H” co-star Alan

10 Dressed

14 “Kate & ___” (1980s sitcom)

15 Tandoori chicken accompaniment

16 “In time we ___ that which we often fear”: Shak.

17 F irst American to orbit the earth

19 Littlest speck

20 Born

21 Flinch, say

22 Made a choice

23 Fancy “so”

25 Selma march leader who ser ved 17 terms in Congress

27 Pageant prize

29 Not learned

30 Introductor y course?

31 Throws in

34 Its HQ is sometimes called “Cr ypto City”

35 Winter underwear … or what appear four times in this puzzle

39 “Eureka!”

42 Damage, so to speak

43 Football penalty markers

47 “Gracias!” response

50 With 63-Down, boxer who retired undefeated in 2007

51 Only U.S. president elected under the Federalist Party

56 Event with a royal cour t

57 Barber’s razor sharpener

58 Talk to shrilly

60 Dawg

61 Norse god portrayed in film by Chris Hemsworth

62 Broncos QB who won back-to-back Super Bowls

64 Bridle strap

65 “The Clan of the Cave Bear” heroine

66 “How about that!”

EDITED BY WILL SHORTZ NO. 0124

BY JOHN-CLARK LEVIN

67 Logical operators that output “true” only if both inputs are true

68 Dr y run

69 Like many bathroom floors

DOWN

1 Refrigerator decorations

2 Largest countr y in Africa

3 Bootleg , e.g.

4 Goose egg

5 Oracle

6 Yearly record

7 Jousting weapon

8 Italian poet who wrote “Nature is the ar t of God”

9 ___ Taylor

10 Contribute

11 Like some Hmong

12 Bears witness

13 Its shores have the lowest land-based elevation on Earth

18 F ish with “snowflake” and “sawtooth” varieties

22 Have title to

24 Unwritten

26 One might be made on a bir thday

28 Kerfuffle

31 In the past

32 CD players?

33

36 Spor ts org. with more than a thousand members

37 Spor ts org. in which five members have bird names

38 *How r ude!*

39 2019 Brad Pitt sci-fi movie whose title means “to the stars”

40 Pagan

41 iOS alternative

44 Cour t failure

45 “Hallelujah!”

46 Siberian sled dog

48 Decorates

49 F ist bump

52 “Baloney!”

53 Busy places at Christmas

54 Food fight sound effect

55 Old saying

59 Nincompoop

62 Make a fast stop?

63 See 50-Across

ANSWER TO PUZZLE

PUZZLE

The Ultimate

Five free and cheap family things to do in Middle Tennessee

BY AMANDA HAGGARD

This weekend brings diverse events to kick off the month of March: On March 2 in Woodbury, families can enjoy free photos with the Easter Bunny. On the same day, your older kiddo could head to Meharry Medical College as it hosts Black Girls in S.T.E.A.M. for Black young women interested in S.T.E.A.M. careers, featuring hands-on activities and inspiring speakers.

Turnip Green Creative Reuse will host its weekly Kids Class on Saturday, fostering creativity through repurposing materials. On March 3, Williamson County Parks and Recreation partnered with Chicago Kite for

a free kite festival at the Franklin Recreation Complex. Tennessee Brew Works hosts a family-friendly Crawfish Boil on March 2-3, offering fresh Louisiana crawfish and more for the whole crew.

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:

EASTER BUNNY PICTURES

The Easter Bunny will be at the Woodbury Farmers Co-Op on March 2 for Easter Bunny Pictures. Families, kids and

friendly pets are invited to come take photos with the Easter Bunny, and there will also be a live bunny to see as well. The event is free.

BLACK GIRLS IN STEAM

At Meharry Medical College on March 2, they’ll be hosting Black Girls in S.T.E.A.M. The event, which is in partnership with the Urban League of Middle Tennessee, Meharry-Vanderbilt Alliance and Bank of America, is for Black young women in high school and college who are interested in a STEAM-focused career. The event, which is from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. is free and

includes breakfast and lunch. Students will participate in hands-on activities with the mannequins from a simulation lab and will see Ms. Meharry, Kayla Copeland, who is a student in Meharry’s School of Dentistry, as well as keynote speaker Creea Shannon, an author who promotes and encourages STEAM careers.

TURNIP GREEN CREATIVE REUSE KIDS CLASS

Every Saturday Turnip Green Creative Reuse is hosting a Kids Class beginning at 10 a.m. where your young one can use their imagination to make creations. Instructors from TCGR will guide kids through hands-on activities that encourage them to repurpose and transform everyday materials into unique works of art. Kids will be able to paint, build, craft and sculpt in a supportive environment.

KITE FESTIVAL

On Sunday, March 3, the Williamson County Parks and Recreation is partnering with Chicago Kite to host a free Kite Festival. From 1-4 p.m., several kites will be on display with stunt kites and some that reach 100 feet in the air. Patrons are encouraged to bring their own kites to enjoy at the Franklin Recreation Complex.

TENNESSEE BREW WORKS CAJUN SHRIMP BOIL

On March 2 and March 3, Tennessee Brew Works is hosting its annual Cajun Shirmp Boil beginning at 11 a.m. The brewery is family friendly, there’s a cute little playground, and the boil will include more than one ton of fresh Gulf shrimp, andouille sausage, corn, and potatoes boiled in the brewery’s Hippies & Cowboys IPA. This event is free to attend and is also dog friendly.

Walk a Mile: Donelson

BY J.R. LIND

Once a month, former Nashville Scene reporter and resident historian J.R. Lind picked an area in the city to examine while accompanied by a photographer. With his column Walk a Mile, he walked a one-mile stretch of that area, exploring the neighborhood’s history and character, its developments, its current homes and businesses, and what makes it a unique part of Nashville.

This story originally ran on April 15, 2021.

The Route:

From Donelson Station east to Donelson Pike, then north to Lebanon Pike. Left on Lebanon Pike to J.B. Estille Drive, taking that north to Old Lebanon Road, turning right and continuing until Old Lebanon Road reconnects with Lebanon Pike, then heading west to McGavock Pike.

The parking lot at Donelson Station is an asphalt monument to unrealized ambition.

A multi-acre surface lot adjacent to the Music City Star stop, it was clearly planned for hundreds of cars left by commuters opting to take the train from the woody

downtown riverfront — chugs along with two trips each way every weekday morning and afternoon.

It’s a pleasant place, insofar as parking lots go. The siding for the train is lit with fixtures similar to those made famous by the Paris Metro, with their swooping curves and ornate Art Nouveau lanterns.

A one-way road connects Donelson Pike to the station, running by what is now the Donelson Hermitage Senior Center. For decades, starting in the 1920s, the building served as the elementary school for the area, which is obvious — it’s simple enough to pick out, say, the former cafeteria or the gym, or to look behind the building and see where the playground once was. These days — or at least in times when the world isn’t gripped by a once-a-century pandemic — the building still bustles. The center has a robust set of activities and even includes a barber shop.

Across Donelson Pike is one of the finest business signs in all of Metrodom: Donelson Bowl. Property records will tell you the bowling alley was built in 1960, but anyone with eyes and even a passing interest in American vernacular architecture could tell you the same thing. These days, we’d call the sign retro-futurist — it looks like something from The Jetsons. Form mostly follows function for the building itself, though one side features slightly offset bricks, their exposed ends painted in bright primary colors.

A train’s whistle activates the lights and bells on the crossbuck and sends the arms down to block traffic. It’s not the Star, but rather local freight traffic (two N&E locomotives hauling a container), so the wait isn’t long.

The intersection of Lebanon and Donelson pikes feels like it should be a bigger deal. There’s a gas station, a Lowe’s, a bank, an auto parts store. In essence, this is the center of Donelson in 2021. Some of that “Hip Donelson” we hear so much about should be here. In fact, though Donelson is in its way embracing its new desirability (in 2016, Realtor.com declared 37214 the 15th-most-desirable ZIP code in the country), there’s still a stubbornness for the old ways. While Lebanon Pike and Donelson Pike might be the sensible center of town, it’s a stretch of Old Lebanon Road to the northeast that’s still the heart of the area.

Intentional or not, planners seem deadset on, in fact, making pedestrians walk on Old Lebanon Road rather than its adjectivefree kin. The sidewalk on Lebanon Pike extends only as far as the bridge that carries the road over the tracks, and in fact, it only recently went that far. The construction of a new small strip mall, currently home to a jeweler and a loan provider, required the construction of a new stretch of sidewalk — obviously of a much more recent vintage than the others along Lebanon Pike.

The shoulder on the bridge is far too narrow to use for perambulation,

except perhaps for the most harumscarum of walkers. And so the footborne must cross at J.B. Estille Drive — the Bluefields subdivision, a charming clutch of 1930s homes that was the first housing development in Donelson, is just to the south and, sadly, unreachable by foot in any sensible way from here — and go along Old Lebanon Road.

McNamara’s Irish Pub, perhaps the finest Irish restaurant in a former funeral home in all of Christendom, looms at the corner of Old Lebanon Road and Lebanon Pike. Ace Hardware, which looks suspiciously like a paddock at Churchill Downs, shares space with beloved food-truck-into-brick-andmortar-do-it-all-restaurant Phat Bites.

Hearing air traffic is part and parcel of being outdoors — and probably indoors — in Donelson, with the airport just a few miles off. So regular is the coming and going of airliners that it doesn’t take long to simply get used to it, one’s attention refocused on the Boeings and Airbuses only when a glint of sun hits a silvery wing and bounces the light back to earth. With the high-shine glass facade of the The Salon Professional Academy catching one of the rays — sun to plane to window — it becomes a bit of a science experiment demonstrating light’s highly efficient method of travel.

Donelson bears the distinction of being the only place in Davidson County with two bowling alleys. In addition to Donelson Bowl (more properly, the Donelson Bowling Center), there’s the Strike & Spare in the lower level of a strip on Old Lebanon Road, down some stairs lit by gleefully 1970s light fixtures and next to a bartending school, another outpost of Southern Thrift and Donelson Air.

Across the street is Fletcher’s Pizza (no buffet at this time) and Uncle Bud’s Catfish. Donelson Church of Christ is a looming structure at the intersection of Old Lebanon Road and Knobview. Crossing the train tracks here and looking back south, there’s evidence that this is where the train station once was, years ago when rail travel was in fashion. And thus, it’s fair speculation that this was the center of downtown Donelson, such as it was.

An insurance company nearby is decorated with a mural on each side of its building, one clearly intended as a selfie spot, though no bachelorettes seem to be taking advantage. Old Lebanon hooks back up with Lebanon Pike in a flatiron — home of a Party Fowl that, to its credit, does a good job of fitting in aesthetically with the neighborhood and has a great sign that nods at Donelson Bowl — and it would seem an obvious place for a crosswalk back across the main drag. Alas, the sidewalks carry on farther along what remains of Old Lebanon Road, past some vintage stores, insurance agents and a compelling polyhedron that’s home to Two Rivers Veterinary Hospital. If you’ve ever wondered where you can get into fencing in Nashville (who hasn’t?),

Once Old Lebanon really and truly juts back into actual Lebanon, the latter begins a climb. At the top of the climb is another rise, and at the top of that is the truly dominating brick behemoth that is Donelson First Baptist. (The church purchased the tract in 1923 under a different name, so officially it’s owned by Donelson Missionary Baptist Church.)

A large Baptist church in a Nashville neighborhood isn’t particularly newsworthy, but what’s next door is certainly interesting. In a former bank building is a Romanian Baptist Church — the congregants call

it Biserica Baptistă Română. The Baptist denomination has a long history in Romania, particularly in the eastern part of the country near Germany. The fact that there are enough members of the Romanian diaspora to support a congregation in Donelson, however, is a pleasant surprise.

Lebanon Pike slides back downhill after the Baptist churches to McGavock Pike, home of the Donelson Kroger — truly a landmark here, famous for its confounding and always crowded parking lot.

Confounding though it may be, at least it gets used.

the Music City Fencing Club is nearby on Lebanon Pike

The neon sign at the recently closed Donelson Bowl PHOTO BY ERIC ENGLAND

The Tennessee Star Donelson station PHOTO BY ERIC ENGLAND

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