Biden awards Medal of Valor to Nashville
Five members of the Metro Nashville Police Department were awarded the Medal of Valor, the nation’s highest award for valor by a public safety officer, for the “swift response and bravery” displayed during the 2023 Covenant School shooting.
President Joe Biden presented the awards to Dets. Michael Collazo, Ryan Cagle and Zachary Plese, Sgt. Jeffrey Mathes and
Officer Rex Engelbert during a ceremony at the White House on Friday.
“The officers rushed to the scene, and as they arrived, the shooter opened fire on them,” reads a White House statement commending the officers. “Still, the officers entered the school, cleared classroom after classroom, and ran towards the sounds of gunfire where they encountered the shooter.
They took down the shooter.”
“They allowed people to continue their lives in ways that they never would have been able to,” Biden told reporters following the ceremony. “There’s a lot fewer empty chairs around the kitchen table and dining room table because of what these guys did.”
The eyes of the nation focused on Nashville in the days and weeks
The Metro Council has approved Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s $527 million capital spending plan, which is highlighted by street infrastructure improvements, a future juvenile center and general maintenance of the city’s school buildings and parks.
The resolution passed unanimously on Dec. 17 and was approved by the mayor himself on Dec. 18.
“By prioritizing schools, transportation infrastructure, maintenance in parks and libraries, and customer service, we are delivering on the priorities that we — along with members of Metro Council — know communities share,” O’Connell said in a release.
“This plan continues our focus on making Nashville more affordable and improving quality of life.”
Just behind Metro Nashville Public Schools with an earmarked $98.4 million, Nashville’s future juvenile justice center is the plan’s next most significant line item at $88 million. The plan also includes substantial commitments to roadways and building maintenance.
Nearly a quarter of O’Connell’s plan continues funding major projects started under previous mayoral administrations. The East Bank — a vast section of the urban core eyed for redevelopment by the city, private developers and the Tennessee Titans — gets $33 million in infrastructure dollars to create a street grid and establish basic utilities. Another $6.5 million pays for project management related to East
MNPD Det. Zachary Plese, Det. Ryan Cagle, Chief of Police John Drake, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, Sgt. Jeffrey Mathes and Det. Michael Collazo in the White House’s Roosevelt Room, Jan. 3, 2025. PHOTO: MNPD
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
after the shooting, in which a former student killed three children and three adults at the Green Hills day school. Media positively contrasted Nashville’s police response, in which armed officers entered the school and killed the shooter, with ongoing reporting about law enforcement’s delayed reactions during a May 2022 school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.
Memes and tribute videos floated across the internet praising the Nashville police officers, sometimes comparing them to superheroes and video game characters. The positive press was a welcome change at MNPD, which has weathered public scrutiny for multiple police killings of unarmed residents in recent years. In May 2024, a report from a former MNPD lieutenant described widespread internal impropriety, further worsening the department’s already tense relationship with Metro’s civilian Community Review Board.
Also recognized at the ceremony was
Council OK’s
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
Bank development within the Metro Planning Department. Part of the East Bank vision includes relocating Nashville’s juvenile justice center from its current site next to
Lincoln, Neb., police Sgt. Tu Tran, who saved a drowning woman in February 2023; New York City Fire Department Lt. John Vanderstar, who rescued a mother and child from a burning apartment in October 2022; and New York City firefighter Brendan Gaffney, who in February 2023 rescued an unconscious pregnant woman and an unconscious child from an apartment fire.
According to a White House release, the nominees were recommended by the U.S. attorney general and the Medal of Valor Review Board, and the recipients exhibit “exceptional courage — disregarding their own personal safety — in attempting to save or protect human life.”
One week after the Covenant School shooting, the MNPD held a press conference where the officers spoke about their actions that day.
Nissan Stadium to Brick Church Pike. This article was first published via our sister publication the Nashville Post.
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Belle Meade Kroger closing date changed to Jan. 17
West Nashville grocery sees inventory move quickly after Dec. 9 announcement of end-of-January closing
WILLIAM WILLIAMS
The Kroger at Belle Meade will close sooner than previously announced.
According to multiple Kroger employees, the retail grocery building is now slated to cease operations on Friday, Jan. 17, after a prior Jan. 31 target date was eyed.
Local media reported the original closing date on Dec. 9. The bulk of the store’s inventory was sold within no more than three weeks thereafter, and the shelves seemingly are not being stocked in any significant manner.
Kroger officials could not be reached for comment.
Located at 4560 Harding Pike, the Kroger opened in 1978. The building from which it operates and an accompanying structure, Belle Meade Plaza Shopping Center, sold in 2023 to AJ Capital Partners and the site is planned for redevelopment.
Relatedly, and as The News sister publication the Nashville Post previously reported, the Kroger is slated to relocate to a nearby building last home to a Harris Teeter grocery store. The Cincinnati-based company seemingly has not announced an opening date for that space, and the status of the move is unclear.
The Belle Meade Kroger has operated from its building longer than any other Davidson County Kroger located either west or southwest of downtown Nashville has operated at its current structure.
The Harris Teeter operated at 4301 Harding Pike and within a building that was part of a redevelopment of the former Belle Meade Theater, undertaken by Nashvillebased Giarratana Development LLC. The grocery store — which did not offer signage or access at Harding Pike — closed in February 2015 after Kroger acquired Harris Teeter in mid-2013 for $2.4 billion.
Kroger seemingly still has a lease for the ex-Harris Teeter space.
This article was first published via our sister publication the Nashville Post.
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Metro Arts Commission interim director resigns after brief tenure
CONNOR
DARYANI, NASHVILLE BANNER
This story is being published via a partnership between the Nashville Banner and The News. The Nashville Banner is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization focused on civic news. Visit nashvillebanner.com for more information.
Interim Metro Arts executive director Paulette Coleman tendered her resignation on Saturday after less than a year leading the department.
Coleman was named interim director in April following a botched fiscal year 2024 grants cycle that left artists and arts organizations with little faith in the department’s ability to distribute funds in a timely manner. The situation resulted in a conciliation agreement between the Metro Arts Commission, Nashville artists and other Metro departments to improve the grants process for future years. Coleman was tasked with overseeing the department through that rebuilding phase.
However, according to emails and letters obtained by the Nashville Banner, Coleman was failing to hold up Metro Arts’ end of the agreement, leading artists to question if Metro Arts was about to have a repeat of the FY24 grant cycle.
had been on FMLA leave followed by administrative leave since February, leaving the department rudderless.
When Coleman was initially hired, Metro Human Resources director Sharon Hall told the arts commission that once a search for a permanent director began, it could take up to six months. With another interim leader likely, the department will have its third director in nine months.
After Coleman’s resignation, a closed executive session is scheduled for Thursday before the full commission meeting.
As part of the conciliation agreement, Metro Arts had until Jan. 6 to submit new grant guidelines and formulas to the Metro Council for approval. In an effort to build trust with the council, the Metro Human Relations Commission — which was party to the conciliation agreement — planned to sign on to the legislation to build good faith. However, and according to a letter from MHRC Director Davie Tucker to Hall and Metro Legal Director Wally Dietz, Tucker’s staff did not receive the Metro Arts draft materials until 3 p.m. on Jan. 3 — a Friday — giving the MHRC and Metro Legal insufficient time for review.
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“Thank you for the opportunity to serve as the Interim Executive Director of Metro Arts Nashville Office of Arts and Culture since May 16, 2024,” reads Coleman’s email. “It has been an amazing experience. I am submitting my resignation effective Friday, January 10, 2025 at 5 p.m.”
According to Tucker, those drafts were riddled with spelling, grammar, format and policy errors, resulting in his staff and Metro Legal staff stepping in to pick up the slack over a weekend to ensure the grant guidelines and formulas were submitted by the Jan. 6 deadline.
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This will be the second time in less than a year that the department responsible for distributing grants to artists and arts organizations is left without leadership at an essential time.
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Former Metro Arts Director Daniel Singh resigned in May with a $200,000 settlement agreement. Before that, he
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While the deadline was met, the legislation was still not perfect, and a meeting of the Metro Arts Grants and Funding Committee has been scheduled for Jan. 15, with “potential edits” to both the Thrive and Operating grant guidelines on the agenda.
A full Metro Arts Commission meeting is scheduled for Jan. 16.
Area home sales see 1 percent increase year over year GNR reports monthly median price for single-family home remains at $500K
WILLIAM WILLIAMS
The Nashville area saw 2,842 home closings in December and 33,935 homes sold for 2024.
According to a Greater Nashville Realtors (GNR) press release, the figures compare to 2,463 closings in December 2023 (an increase of 15 percent) and 33,429 closings for 2023 (up 1 percent).
For comparison with the monthly number, the Nashville area saw 2,567 home closings in November and 2,841 home sales in October.
The GNR release notes the median price for a single-family home in
December was $500,000, an increase from the $470,000 mark of December 2023. The single-family home median price figure also was $500,000 in November. The mark was $490,000 in October, $467,000 in September and $485,000 for August 2024.
The median price for a condominium in December was $341,520, an increase compared to the $340,000 figure of December 2023, and a decrease compared to the $350,000 mark of November 2024.
For comparison, in February 2023 the median prices for a residential single-family home and a condo were $478,870 and $339,990, respectively.
There were 1,593 sales pending at the end of December, compared to 1,704 pending sales at the conclusion of the same month in 2023.
Inventory at December’s end was 10,109, a 15 percent increase from the 8,727 active listings reported for the same period in 2023. The area continues to see an approximately four-month inventory supply, GNR statistics show.
The release notes the average number of days on the market for a residence in December was 50. The mark was 49 days for November, 48 days for October, 46 days for both September and August, and 42 days for July. For context, February 2024 registered 59 days and January recorded 57. In 2023, homes often sold in no more than 40 days.
The fourth quarter of 2024 saw 8,250 closings for GNR’s Middle Tennessee
coverage area, a mark that is a 9 percent increase from the 7,543 closings during the Q4 2023.
The five zip codes offering the most affordable homes based on 2024 median sales price were as follows:
37217 – Priest Lake – $328,000; 37115 –Madison – $345,000; 37072 – Goodletsville – $360,000; 37138 – Old Hickory –$370,000; 37013 – Antioch – $375,000
The five zip codes with the most closings in 2024 were as follows:
37013 – Antioch – 1,064; 37211 –Crieve Hall – 885; 37209 – Sylvan Park –831; 37207 – North Nashville – 786; 37076 – Hermitage – 763
Conventional 30-year fixed-rate mortgages offer an average interest rate of about 6.9 percent, according to various online sources. The figure had dipped to about 6.4 percent in August before steadily rising since then.
“The real estate market in Middle Tennessee continues to show resilience, as evidenced by the 1 percent increase in total sales for 2024,” Collyn Wainwright, Greater Nashville Realtors 2025 president, said in the release.
The GNR data was collected from Cheatham, Davidson, Dickson, Maury, Robertson, Rutherford, Sumner, Williamson and Wilson counties.
This article was first published via our sister publication the Nashville Post.
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State Health Commissioner on dementia, opioid use and more Checking in with Ralph Alvarado on the Office of Healthy Aging, vaccines and HIV funding
HANNAH HERNER
Ralph Alvarado, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Health, is zeroing in on care for the aging population in 2025.
In November, Alvarado asked Gov. Bill Lee for $7 million in recurring state funding to establish the Tennessee Memory Assessment Network and $3.7 million to stand up five assessment clinics in rural areas. He also announced the creation of an Office of Healthy Aging.
The Lee appointee sat down with The News sister publication the Nashville Scene to review some of the state’s biggest health-related matters. (As far as abortion care goes, Alvarado says the department doesn’t take a stance on the issue, but he has supported abortion bans as a former Kentucky state senator.)
AGING
Whether the health care system has enough capacity to take care of the aging population is now an imminent question, Alvarado says. The new Office of Healthy Aging is tasked with pursuing Centers for Disease Control and Prevention funding for dementia care, as well as establishing a new state dementia director position and a dementia navigator program with local health departments.
“We want to be able to improve the quality of life for people that are older and to be able
to collaborate with others,” Alvarado tells the Scene. “Part of that is if you’re going to have a focus on it, you need to create an Office of Healthy Aging to be prepared to tackle a lot of those needs.”
Alvarado notes that there is a window during which dementia and Alzheimer’s treatments are most effective, and many people miss it while they’re waiting to meet with a neuropsychiatrist. The wait can be more than a year to get an appointment at a specialized clinic in a major city. His pitched memory care network will focus on reaching rural communities. He also plans to provide more navigators to connect people with the memory care network and other resources.
“We’ve got over, I think, about $3.5 billion worth of resources for folks that are older, through TennCare and lots of other programs, but people just don’t know how to tap into it,” Alvarado says.
OPIOID ABATEMENT FUNDS
As opioid abatement funds are flowing into state and local governments, Alvarado sees syringe exchange — programs that allow people with substance abuse disorders to obtain clean and unused hypodermic needles — as a key solution. It’s something he’s encouraged mayors around the state to implement. During
his time as a lawmaker in Kentucky, he says he saw the programs work in rural and red counties as well as in larger cities.
“We thought it would only be done in Louisville and Lexington,” he says. “After two years, 30 of the 120 [Kentucky] counties have programs. And now 60 of the 120 counties have programs in their health departments that have been very successful. People are three times more likely to enter rehab if they get into those programs, and you’re also helping reduce hepatitis C and HIV transmission.”
Stigma and concerns about the appearance of encouraging drug use have stunted these programs in the past, Alvarado says.
“The people that need help, folks in their minds have an image of what that person looks like,” he says. “A lot of these are folks that work in places we would work in. They look like you and I. They’re often no longer even getting high, they’re just trying to keep from withdrawing, and they don’t know how to get off the hamster wheel, if you will, and they’re looking for help.”
HIV PROGRAM FUNDING
Shortly after he took on the health department role, Alvarado and the state opted not to take $9 million in CDC funding for HIV prevention programming, and instead
were granted the same amount from the Tennessee General Assembly. The CDC crafted a work-around and granted the state $4 million to Tennessee organizations anyway.
Alvarado says the department refused the funds because they were underutilized due to federal strings attached and organizations having to wait for reimbursement.
“That money is being used much, much more efficiently,” he tells the Scene. “Because when we give those grants, we give a very broad grant — it’s a simple one — and we give them to our partners and say, ‘Here is the money up front.’ … They’re utilizing a lot more of it.”
VACCINES
As a physician, Alvarado supported the COVID-19 vaccine, but ultimately suggests people talk to their local physicians about vaccinations.
“If people can have debates on social media and in different kinds of scenarios, ultimately, the questions and answers should be with your provider that you trust, and will be able to answer those questions for you,” he says.
He also notes concerns around kindergarten vaccination rates dropping.
“I’ve started talking to a lot of our doctors in our state, also to start looking at disease states again, because if our
he says.
Transit referendum survives post-election legal challenge
ELI MOTYCKA
Nashville’s transit referendum will stand, per the Davidson County Chancery Court. Chancellor Anne Martin dismissed legal arguments brought by activists Emily Evans and Kirk Clements on Monday after an expedited proceeding seeking to void the result of the Nov. 5 referendum vote.
Martin ruled against plaintiffs on both process and substance, finding that Evans and Clements have neither a legitimate argument to invalidate election results nor an argument against the legality of the plan itself.
“Plaintiffs do not allege that votes were illegally cast or that votes were illegally counted,” Martin writes in the judgment issued Monday, Jan 13. “It is undisputed that the certified results of the Referendum Election reflect the votes that were cast. As such, Plaintiffs’ lawsuit is not an election contest properly brought.”
She goes on to rule that the ballot language
Law worked closely with the mayor, his staff, and multiple department heads to ensure the components of the transit improvement program complied with state law,” reads a statement from Metro legal director Wally Dietz. “Court’s decision in Metro’s favor confirms that the elements of the TIP and the process run by the mayor complied in every way with the law.”
The lawsuit continued efforts mounted over the summer against the sales tax bump sought by O’Connell as a dedicated funding stream for transit-related improvements. On Nov. 27, Clements sued O’Connell on behalf of the Committee to Stop An Unfair Tax, a group that opposed the 2024 transit referendum. He is also chief counsel with the Sovereignty Legal Foundation, which sues governments in instances of so-called “overreach.” Evans represented Belle Meade on the Metro Council from 2007 to 2015 and chaired the anti-transit group.
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Mayor taps local attorney to lead East Bank Development Authority
O’Connell names Lamb to serve as board chair, appoints four other community leaders
WILLIAM WILLIAMS
Mayor Freddie O’Connell has appointed local attorney Emily Lamb to sit as board chair of the East Bank Development Authority.
A shareholder with the Nashville office of Dallas-based law firm Winstead PC, Lamb was formerly the Metro Codes Department deputy director.
In addition, and according to a release, the mayor appointed four other individuals to serve on the board of the authority, which oversees the construction and promoting of economic development along the East Bank of the Cumberland River.
The other four appointees are as follows:
• Hal Cato (term ending 2028). Cato
is Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee’s chief executive officer.
• Kaitlin Dastugue (term ending June 2026). Dastugue is Nashville Civic Design Center’s chief operating officer.
• Mona Hodge (term ending June 2027).
Hodge serves as both associate principal and the director of people and culture at local architect firm Smith Gee Studio
• Brian Reames (term ending June 2025).
Reames is a partner with Green Hillsbased commercial real estate firm Magnolia Investment Partners
The mayor’s appointments do not require Metro Council approval. The date of the board’s first meeting is expected to be announced in early 2025.
“I’m grateful for each appointee’s willingness to serve on what will be a critical authority that ensures continuity of work and progress along our East Bank,” Mayor O’Connell said.
“The authority will help us deliver the neighborhoods that Nashvillians envisioned during the robust public engagement period of Imagine East Bank. Those neighborhoods will come with unprecedented commitments in affordable housing, childcare and safe streets with transit access.”
In early November, the council filled
Lipscomb acquires campus-area property once again
University pays $549.8K for Morrow Avenue home during streak of similar transactions
WILLIAM WILLIAMS
Mere weeks after paying approximately $802,500 for a home located near its campus, Lipscomb University has once again undertaken a similar residential real estate transaction.
According to a Davidson County Register of Deeds document, Lipscomb paid approximately $549,800 for the property, which offers an address of 1131 Morrow Ave. The sellers were Patsy Baccus and Daniel Baccus, who paid $430,000 for the property in 2016, Metro records note. The Baccuses seemingly work in the dental health care sector.
There are 12 properties within the segment of Morrow Avenue (and on the street’s south side) spanning Granny White Pike and the Lipscomb Academy Athletic Complex. With the purchase of the Baccus home, which sits on 0.14 acres, Lipscomb now owns six of them.
The acquisition is the most recent
in a series of similar real estate deals the Green Hills private Christian college has undertaken during the past few years.
In February, the university paid $616,613.85 for a residence with an address of 1114 Morrow Ave. That transaction came after Lipscomb on Jan. 12 paid about $697,900 for a residence with an address of 1105 Caldwell Lane, a street that is located immediately north of Morrow.
The purchase of 1114 Morrow Ave. was Lipscomb’s fifth on the street at the time. Previously, the university acquired properties located nearby at 1133, 1135, 1103 and 1109 Morrow Ave. Adjacently, Lipscomb owns five properties at 4000 to 4020 Granny White Pike — spanning Morrow on the north to Maplehurst Avenue to the south.
The Morrow Avenue deal and the Caldwell Avenue purchase followed a November 2023 transaction in which Lipscomb paid RER Partnership a
collective approximately $2.44 million for three residential properties located near the campus and with addresses of 1301 Grandview Drive, 1305 Grandview Drive and 1109 Caldwell Lane.
That purchase followed multiple other Lipscomb deals, many of which involved RER Partnership. The partnership includes members of Nashville’s Church family. Lipscomb seemingly has paid a collective approximately $9.43 million for the properties it has acquired from the family partnership.
Lipscomb officials have declined to comment on their various campus-area property purchases the past few years, and The News sister publication the Nashville Post was unable to determine if brokers were involved in the most recent transaction.
This article was first published via our sister publication the Nashville Post.
its two positions on the authority with attorney Scott Tift and workforce organizer Nathaniel Carter.
Similarly, the state has tapped Jimmy Granbery, CEO of H.G. Hill Realty Co., and House Speaker Cameron Sexton or a Sexton pick.
In August, the Metro Council unanimously approved the deployment of an authority to oversee work on the East Bank, with the state legislature having previously approved legislation in April enabling the authority’s creation.
Also in August, the council passed the development agreement between Metro and The Fallon Company, which will start developing the first 30 acres of Metroowned land. The future NFL stadium, under construction to the immediate east of Nissan Stadium, will anchor the East Bank.
This article was first published via our sister publication the Nashville Post.
MIKE SMITH PRESIDENT AND CEO
Construction on the new Titans stadium PHOTO: ANGELINA CASTILLO
OPINION
TICKED OFF!
RESPONSE TO LAFAYETTE DOLLAR
GENERAL LETTER (DEC. 2024)
I knew that there would be a stupid person who would say that the Lafayette Dollar General store was closed because of thief. If that is the case then why haven’t the Kroger in Green Hills, or Belle Meade closed there stores as the stores in well too do neighborhoods has theft just as those in poor communities. Being a retired police officer I know this for a fact. In fact when a theft is caught in a well to do neighborhood 100% of the time they are told not to come back to the store, and allowed to pay for the items (usually not food), while on the other hand in poor communities they are prosecuted 100% of the time. So get off your elites high horse and your racial profiling by assuming that it’s poor and those of color who steals. Remember the former Metro Councilman who was caught stealing (a European American by the way) from the White Bridge Road Target. It’s too bad that you are ignorant which is merely not knowing, while stupidity is learning but you choose to be ignorant which seems to be your case.
TRANSIT VOTE
What ever happen to majority rule? 280,000 thousand people voted on the transit referendum and the yes vote was the winner by a 2 to 1 margin. So now that a group has hired a lawyer to fight the rule of the vote we again see how the lawyers can change what the majority wanted. In this case a judge. Lawyers, they just interpret the law don’t they? Isn’t this the reason we are stuck with POTUS 47? His high price lawyers wormed their way around all the laws tRump broke and the courts changed the verdicts in his favor. Now back to the majority rule. Mayor O’connell won his “chose how you move transportation improvement plan” by a majority vote. Now Mr Mayor why hasn’t majority rule had any influence on the LPR decision? It seems to me that what I have seen and heard the majority of voters approve and want LPR’s. WHEN ARE WE GOING TO GET THEM?
The comments in the Ticked Off column do not reflect the views of FW Publishing.
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
The City of Oak Hill Board of Commissioners will hold a Public Hearing on January 28th, 2025, at 6:00 PM. at the City of Oak Hill Offices, 5548 Franklin Pike, Nashville, TN 37072
The Public Hearing will be held to hear from citizens concerning the following Ordinance:
ORDINANCE NUMBER 2024-06
Consider for Adoption on Second Reading ORDINANCE NUMBER 2024-06
TREE PROTECTION STANDARDS
AN ORDINANCE TO REPEAL AND REPLACE ORDINANCE S:
1. ORDINANCE 20-01-01-01
AN ORDINANCE FOR WOODLAND AND TREE PROTECTION
2. ORDINANCE 0-21-05-01-02
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE CODE OF THE CITY OF OAK HILL IN REFERECENCE TO TREE PROTECTION STANDARDS.
You may view the entire Ordinance Documents at the City’s Website at www.oakhilltn.us
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Teriyaki Salmon Bowl
BY EDIBLE NASHVILLE
Heart healthy omega-3’s, vitamin C and fiber are high in this healthy bowl perfect for new year dinners!
INGREDIENTS
1⁄2 cup sake
3 tablespoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 cucumbers, thinly shaved
Canola oil for brushing
1 pineapple, peeled and cut into planks
2 zucchinis, halved lengthwise
Teriyaki Sauce
1⁄4 cup soy sauce
1. In a bowl, whisk together the sake, sesame oil, and soy sauce. Add the cucumbers and toss to coat. Let stand for at least 15 minutes.
2. Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat and brush with canola oil. Working in batches, grill the pineapple and zucchini until tender-crisp and charred, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a cutting board and let cool slightly. Cut the pineapple into 1-inch cubes and the zucchini into 1⁄2-inch halfmoons. Keep warm.
3. To make the teriyaki sauce, in a small saucepan over high heat, combine the soy sauce, mirin, sake, and brown sugar, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until thickened,
1⁄4 cup mirin
1/2 cup sake (or white wine)
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 1⁄2 pounds salmon fillets, cut into 4 equal pieces
1 tablespoon canola oil
Steamed sushi rice, for serving 2 avocados, pitted, peeled, and thinly sliced
about 3 minutes.
4. Brush half of the teriyaki sauce over the salmon. In a large saute pan over medium-high heat, warm the canola oil. Add the salmon and sear until cooked through, about 4 minutes per side. Remove from the heat and brush with the remaining teriyaki sauce.
5. Divide the rice among 4 bowls. Drain the cucumbers and distribute them evenly among the bowls. Top with the pineapple, zucchini, salmon, and avocado. Garnish with sesame seeds. Drizzle with soy sauce and serve.
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ACROSS
1 F ield for a Fortnite pro
8 “Wheels”
15 Actress who said “I generally avoid temptation unless I can’t resist it”
16 Attendee who’s not on the guest list
17 Took advantage of a situation, so to speak
18 Presented to, as for approval
19 Tolerate
20 Pride : lion :: gaggle :
21 Like some ner ves and strings
24 Come clean, with “up”
26 Preceding
29 Takes back to the lab, maybe
33 Seemingly forever
34 The N.H.L.’s Kraken, on scoreboards
35 Billionaire philanthropist Broad
36 “Now I get it!”
37 Smiling Face With Sunglasses, e.g.
39 Fresno-to-San Diego dir.
41 1-Across competitor
43 October Revolution leader
44 “___ death do us par t”
45 V illainous animal in “The Lion King”
46 One might be good, bad or rotten
47 Japan’s ___ Period (1603-1868)
48 Business card abbr
49 Insult, informally
51 Keto diet no-no
53 Poetry contest
67 Equipment for an angioplasty DOWN
1 Jane Austen heroine
2 Car stolen by Jerry’s mechanic on an episode of “Seinfeld”
3 Spa treatment, informally
4 Had because of
5 Doing a musical read-through
6 Carry-on checkers, for short
7 Place to muck about?
8 Old TV hookup
9 Detergent in a red bottle
10 Waits patiently
11 “Guess so,” folksily
12 Elaine who ser ved in two presidential cabinets
13 Not as much
14 Ar t Deco icon
56 Part of I.P.A.
57 Beaucoup
59 Hosp. ward
60 Subar u Crosstrek or Honda HR-V
62 Wins the hear t of
64 Diversion
65 Repositions, as tires
66 Assault with sound
22 Salt Lake Valley people
23 Appliance with a door and a cr umb tray
24 Moochers
25 ___ sauce (Japanese condiment)
26 Source of zest
27 Variety of cooking apple
28 Description of this puzzle’s circled letters, and a clue to what they spell
30 Actor who narrates “The Big Lebowski”
31 Now’s partner
32 ___ Lee
38 Irish dances
40 Half of a cassette
42 Yes votes
49 Mildly wet
50 Epic wor k that begins “Sing, goddess, of the anger of Achilles”
51 Judy who wrote “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret”
52 ___-call list
54 Back 40 makeup
55 Tousle, as hair
57 “Like that’s ever going to happen”
58 It may be tempted
61 Call ___ night
63 Homo sapiens
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SERVICE & MAINTENANCE
WOODMONT BAPTIST CHURCH
Centennial Circle Dinner
PHOTOS: JASON BIHLER
Centennial Park Conservancy hosted their most dedicated donors and supporters for a beautiful and intimate Centennial Circle Dinner at the feet of Athena in the Parthenon. The thoughtfully curated Frenchinspired evening featured an exquisite four-course dinner with wine pairings from the culinary team at Mimo Restaurant and Bar, led by Chef Nicky Miscia. Guests began the evening with a candlelit cocktail
reception with passed canapés while a gypsy jazz trio performed. The spectacular dinner included white truffle risotto, beef cheek bourguignon, and a caramel mousse tart, with Chef Nicky greeting guests and explaining each course. Throughout dinner, Abigail Flowers gave ethereal performances of “La Mer” and “La Vie en Rose” at the feet of the 40-foot Athena statue.
Gerry Nadeau, and Lee Ann and George Anderson
Carol and Howard Kirshner Chef Nicky Miscia
Larry Keele, Leiyan Keele and Sondra Morris
Jerry Williams, Matt Scanlan, and Ernie Williams
John Tumminello, Hope Stringer and Nancy Peterson Hearn
Justin Tam, Eric Cook and Sylvia Rapoport
Chuck White, Marian Ott and Justin Branam
Gerry Nadeau and Ellen Martin
As we wrap up another fantastic year, I want to take a moment to say thank you!
To my amazing clients, I am so grateful for the trust you’ve placed in me to help you navigate the real estate market. It has been a privilege to be part of your journey.
To my friends and family, I am thankful for your many referrals and continued support.
To the incredible professionals who make this industry thrive—my assistants, KG, Margo, Gayla, and Parker, the staff at Fridrich & Clark, fellow realtors, inspectors, builders, handymen, designers, photographers, lenders, and closing attorneys —your dedication and hard work never go unnoticed.
Here’s to all the milestones we’ve celebrated in 2024 and to even more growth, and opportunities in 2025. Wishing you and your loved ones a blessed New Year!
- Cheryl Macey
Five free and cheap family things to do in Middle Tennessee
AMANDA HAGGARD
We’ve already had our first snow day, and now we’re headed into our first three-day holiday weekend of the year. The weekend is full of opportunities to get out and get some education while having a little fun. Take the family down to Murfreesboro or over to the Adventure Science Center to learn about Martin Luther King Jr. Head over to Shelby Park to see how seeds are made, head to various locations of Lowe’s to build
something they can take home to play with or celebrate Tennessee’s Queen of Literacy (and country music, the list goes on) at Tennessee Brew Works with some friends and your family.
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:
JR. NATURALIST: SEED SCIENCE
At Shelby Bottoms Nature Center & Greenway on Jan. 18 from 1-2:30 p.m., leader Lena Friedman will show folks how plants set their seeds up for success and help them spread far and wide. People older than six years old are welcome to join. Friedman will show folks the science behind seeds, and then folks will have the chance to design and test seeds of their own. The event is free.
DOLLY PARTON BIRTHDAY BASH
Tennessee Brew Works is hosting its 8th celebration of Dolly Parton’s birthday on Jan. 18. The daylong event will feature live music from Erin Hazelrig and the Dolly Parton Tribute Band as well as Jennie Hayes Kurtz and Blake & Sinead. Guests are encouraged to wear pink to honor the Queen of Tennessee.
MLK DAY AT DISCOVERY CENTER
On Jan. 20, the Discovery Center in Murfreesboro is hosting a cultural heritage free day to celebrate the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., the children’s museum and play center will be exploring the history of the Civil Rights Movement and responding to King’s call to
action by participating in a service project benefitting the Alvin C. York Veterans Administration Medical Center.
MLK DAY CAMP: SCIENCE STORIES
This event is a little more pricey, but the Adventure Science Museum in Nashville is also hosting a day camp to “explore the stories of groundbreaking scientists from diverse backgrounds who changed the world with their discoveries,” on MLK Day. Campers will embark on fun experiments, working together to learn and discover how people with unique ideas and big challenges can do amazing things when they collaborate.
LOWE’S BUILD & GROW WORKSHOP
At Lowe’s, they’re hosting a workshop from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. for free on Jan. 18. Reserve a slot ahead of time at several Lowe’s locations. January will focus on a “build and grow” kit. The store will provide all the parts needed to leave with a fun, hand-built toy that children will be able to take home and play with.
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