May 16, 2024

2024 Iroquois Steeplechase packs Percy Warner Park

BY HAMILTON MATTHEW MASTERS

An estimated 30,000 people gathered at Percy Warner Park on Saturday for the 2024 Iroquois Steeplechase, where Snap Decision won a historic three-peat victory.

The annual event not only included seven horse races, but plenty of fashion, food and drinks, and children’s activities including the crowd-favorite stick horse race, which raises money for Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt as well as Friends of Warner Park.

“The caliber of top-rated horses we have attracted truly solidifies the Iroquois Steeplechase’s legacy as a premier destination for steeplechase events in the nation,” Iroquois Steeplechase chairman Dwight Hall said.

“Snap Decision’s historic win today cements him as one of the century’s best steeplechase horses and signifies the Steeplechasing community’s continued interest and passion in great horses.”

Other winning horses were Ziggle Pops, Old Tom Morris, Ready To Wear, Abaan, Right Tempo and Hard Strike.

BY HAMILTON MATTHEW MASTERS

Incumbent Republican District 61 Rep. Gino Bulso (R-Brentwood) is facing two Democratic challengers this year with political newcomers Claire Jones and Kurt Koscak vying for the Democratic nomination.

Jones, a nurse, decided to run for the House seat following last year’s Covenant School shooting. She also notes the 2020 murder of her former co-worker, Nashville nurse Caitlyn Kaufman, as sparking her advocacy for one of her top issues, gun violence.

She has earned several endorsements including from Moms Demand Action and Democrats Serve.

Jones supports enacting safe storage laws, extreme risk protection orders and a 24-hour waiting period for purchasing guns, telling The News that she is especially concerned about gun suicides.

“If you’re in crisis, and you go to seek to buy a firearm, and you can’t for 24 hours, that’s opportunity that we can save someone, where family could step in, get someone some help, or maybe that moment passes, and the individual is out of that momentary crisis,” Jones said.

Jones also lists among her priorities expanding Medicaid, protecting women’s health care — including abortion rights, access to in vitro fertilization and contraception — and gender-affirming care.

Horses and jockeys competing at the 2024 Iroquois Steeplechase PHOTO BY HAMILTON MATTHEW MASTERS

The trophy for the Bright Hour race on display PHOTO BY HAMILTON MATTHEW MASTERS

Summer is calling.

Claire Jones, Kurt Kosack

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

She is among a slate of women who are running for offices across the state as firsttime candidates, and one of many familiar faces on Capitol Hill where she has been speaking out in favor of stricter gun laws and against the ongoing state-wide school voucher push.

“Women should be in all places where decisions are made, with equal voice and equal power; we are moving in that direction,” Jones said on March 18 during the 2024 Women’s Day on the Hill in Nashville.

“I have talked to several Republicans in the district that say that, specifically, Gino Bulso does not represent their values, and I think that if we can get people engaged to see what’s really going on, we’ll realize the common ground that we have,” Jones said.

Kosack, a school teacher and veteran, said that he’s concerned about democracy and sees education as the most important issue facing Tennesseans, citing his in-classroom experience both in Williamson County and Metro Nashville Public Schools.

Kosack is promoting a self-described “unorthodox” proposal that “every elected official” in Tennessee should work three days a year as substitute teachers in public schools.

“The problem, as I see it, in public education is the people at the top don’t know what’s happening in classrooms,” Kosack said. “I suggest that a politician that spends one day in a classroom as a substitute teacher would learn more than they would learn in a year listening to educational pundits tell them about public education.”

Kosack said he used to be a Republican “until I realized that my personal values of love and courage are not shared by the Republican leadership.”

Kosack is concerned about restrictions on reproductive rights, is against the state-wide expansion of school vouchers and is a critic of efforts to remove books from school libraries.

In March, he was one of several

constituents who sparred with Bulso at a town hall event about library materials, as Bulso is also a lawyer who is representing several Williamson County residents who filed a 2023 lawsuit that aims to remove “obscene books” from school libraries.

Kosack called the Second Amendment “a great amendment” but added that he supports enhanced background checks and thinks that red flag and safe storage laws are “no-brainers.”

“What I’m finding out is there’s such a [stigma] to the ‘D’ or ‘R’; We all love our country, we all like being here, we all appreciate being here,” Kosack said.

“We share so much in common, and I’m going to try and reach that common ground.”

Claire Jones PHOTO BY HAMILTON MATTHEW MASTERS

Kurt Kosack

PHOTO BY HAMILTON MATTHEW MASTERS

Blackburn celebrates bipartisan REPORT Act becoming law

BY HAMILTON MATTHEW MASTERS

Tennessee’s senior U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn is celebrating President Joe Biden’s signing into law the Revising Existing Procedures on Reporting via Technology (REPORT) Act, which will strengthen online safeguards for children.

The law updates requirements for tech companies, including social media platforms like Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram, to report to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) when they become aware of violations involving the online sexual exploitation of children.

Specifically, the legislation also increases the amount of time — from 90 days to one year — that a provider must preserve the contents of a report. It also requires providers to “report apparent violations involving the sexual exploitation of children to instances involving child sex trafficking or coercion or enticement of a minor to engage in prostitution or any other illegal sexual activity,” as well as increasing fines for providers who fail to submit reports.

Blackburn said that social media companies will be subject to “regular reviews” to ensure that the new law is being followed.

“In talking with judges and prosecutors in Tennessee, we realized that there were

some changes that could be made to broaden the way this information was kept and transmitted, and that length of time, and it would be helpful to getting these people prosecuted, and then getting them imprisoned,” Blackburn told reporters in a virtual press conference on May 2.

The REPORT Act earned endorsements from NCMEC, as well as from the International Justice Mission, ECPATUSA, Fraternal Order of Police, ChildFund International, the End Online Sexual Exploitation and Abuse Coalition, Wired Human, Raven, and Internet Works.

Biden signed the legislation into law on Tuesday, just over one year after the legislation was introduced on Capitol Hill and championed by both Blackburn and Georgia Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff.

The duo may seem like unlikely allies — especially as Blackburn repeatedly characterized Ossoff as a “radical socialist” who “is bought and paid for by the Communist Chinese Party” during the 2020 election — but the pair worked to pass the legislation with extensive bipartisan support in Congress.

“At a time of such division in Congress, we successfully brought Republicans and

U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn and U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Georgia) discuss their 2024 passage of the REPORT Act, which has now been signed into law, in an as of yet unreleased interview. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE OFFICE OF SEN. MARSHA BLACKBURN

Democrats together to protect kids on the internet, and now our bill is law,” Ossoff said in a news release.

“The good thing is that people are beginning to say, look, there are laws in the physical space that are there to protect our children,” Blackburn said. “What has happened is that in the virtual space, our children are exposed to all sorts of harm.”

Blackburn said she is continuing to work on and support similar legislative efforts including the Kids Online Safety Act and the EARN IT Act, both of which have been introduced but have stalled in the Senate.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

PHOTOS BY HAMILTON MATTHEW MASTERS

Lee’s vouchers plan failed, but here are some education bills that passed

BY KELSEY BEYELER

Though Gov. Bill Lee’s universal voucher program was met with resistance and ultimately failed to make it through the legislature this year, plenty of other bills that will both help and harm Tennessee’s students passed — some of which garnered significant controversy.

As the session began, public education

advocates, school leaders and parents were coordinating efforts to oppose Lee’s universal voucher plan. The governor announced his plan, known as the Education Freedom Scholarship Act, in November, well before the start of the session. It would have allowed any student in the state to receive public money to put toward a private education. (A similar program is already available for certain students in Davidson, Shelby and Hamilton counties.) Lee touted the initiative as a mechanism for school choice, but opponents worried it would drain funding from public schools and that there wouldn’t be sufficient accountability on schools, or on academic improvement for students in the program.

Democrats and some Republicans opposed the legislation — and even those who supported it had different ideas of how it should look. Three vastly different versions of the bill were introduced, and the House and Senate were ultimately unable to compromise. Gov. Lee said he was “extremely disappointed” that the legislation didn’t pass, but indicated we’ll see renewed efforts next year.

“We do not need to turn our back on our public school system,” outspoken voucher critic Rep. Todd Warner (R-Chapel Hill) told the Scene in early April. “We need to make sure that our public schools are the best.”

New Law Allows School Staff to Carry Handguns — but MNPS Won’t Allow It

Warner says he experienced “pushback from colleagues” and “political threats from a couple different organizations” because of his stance. Lobbying organizations supporting vouchers have a strong presence in Tennessee, and they’ve been known to attack candidates who don’t support vouchers in primary elections.

Controversial legislation that did pass includes a law allowing teachers to carry handguns in schools if they receive the proper certification and permission from district leaders and law enforcement. (Metro Nashville Public Schools and other districts across the state have since announced they will not allow teachers to carry firearms.) Another law requires schools to teach firearm safety training. Lawmakers also passed legislation that was first introduced during August’s special session, which was called to address the Covenant School shooting, such as a new law that requires schools to create a process to determine the cause of a fire alarm. A bill with bipartisan support now upgrades threats of mass violence at a school from a class-A misdemeanor to a class-E felony.

Among the most publicized proposals was one that would have banned Pride flags in public schools — it didn’t pass. But legislation that requires schools to report trans students’ gender identity to their parents did pass. So did legislation that will further censor materials in school libraries

— the bill adds to the Age-Appropriate Materials Act of 2022 by drilling down on what is considered appropriate and how book challenges can play out.

After more than a year of related conversations, the legislature voted to vacate the Tennessee State University board of trustees. The move spurred widespread criticism from TSU advocates including Sen. Charlane Oliver (D-Nashville), who admitted that the state school has its issues but also pointed to decades of underfunding surpassing $2 billion.

The General Assembly also revised a reading law passed in 2021 — again. The legislation requires third-graders who don’t pass the reading sections of a state test to receive academic interventions or face retention. Last year, the legislature tweaked the law so that benchmark testing could be factored into that decision for thirdgraders. Fourth-graders also had to show sufficient growth on the state test to move onto fifth grade. New updates, however, allow those fourth-graders to move forward if the majority decision between their parent, teacher and principal advises that. If promoted, those students would receive tutoring in fifth grade.

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

Abortion exceptions stall, ‘trafficking’ and vaccination bills flourish

BY HANNAH HERNER

In Tennessee, a pregnant person cannot get an abortion except in cases of an ectopic pregnancy or a molar pregnancy, or if the mother’s life is in danger. This year, several legislators sought to broaden those exceptions — to no avail.

Perhaps most notable among those attempts (or planned attempts, anyway) were public declarations from physician Sen. Richard Briggs (R-Knoxville) about his intention to bring a bill allowing abortions in cases of fatal fetal anomalies — pregnancies in which the fetus would not be able to live outside of the womb. (Her own experience with a fatal fetal anomaly prompted Allie Phillips to declare her candidacy as a Democrat for House District 75.) Briggs never filed the legislation. Democratic lawmakers sought to allow for exceptions in cases of rape and incest, and for those under age 13 (Tennessee’s age of consent is 18), but those were shot down.

The abortion-related bill that did make it to the finish line was an “abortion

trafficking” bill from Rep. Jason Zachary (R-Knoxville) and Sen. Paul Rose (R-Tipton). Under the new law, any adult who takes a minor out of state to receive an abortion without parental permission could be faced with a felony charge. The vague terminology criminalizing anyone who “recruits, harbors or transports” a minor is something lawmakers tried but failed to straighten out. A similar law in Idaho is under a federal block after advocacy groups argued 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).

Sen. London Lamar (D-Memphis) sought to offer TennCare coverage continuously for those under 18 (meaning the child would not have to sign up for it), but that was shot down, along with Nashville Democrat Sen. Charlane Oliver’s attempts at child care assistance.

The session brought some good news for international medical graduates, however,

who will now be able to moonlight — that is, work while in school — while completing their education in the U.S.

A few opioid-related pieces of legislation never gained traction, including a bill that would have increased penalties for traveling with or exposing someone to fentanyl, and another regarding punishment for those who knowingly fail to seek medical attention for someone overdosing. On the preventative side, a bill that allows doctors to prescribe more patients buprenorphine — an FDA-approved drug used to curb opioid withdrawal and cravings — passed.

Other bills that stalled involved strict penalties for assault and aggravated assault within a health care facility. A bill offering the “right to die” (in which an adult suffering from a terminal disease could request life-ending medication) … well, died. Another piece of legislation that sought to cap the price of insulin at $35 for a 30-day supply also died. Lamar was successful in passing legislation

that will create a maternal health equity advisory committee within the Tennessee Department of Health. Meanwhile, Gov. Bill Lee allotted $3 million for crisis pregnancy centers in this year’s budget.

When SB1903/HB1894 was heard in a House subcommittee, it sounded like a comedy bit, but it did indeed become law: It is now illegal to put vaccines in produce (vegetables, fruits) without labeling them … even though scientists have not yet discovered how to put vaccines in produce. Lee also signed a bill that prohibits the Department of Children’s Services from requiring an immunization for foster parents. Before this change, families had to be vaccinated against the flu and whooping cough in an effort to protect medically fragile children and infants.

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

Gov. Bill Lee on the last day of the 2024 Legislative session

PHOTO BY HAMILTON MATTHEW MASTERS

16 local students named 2024 National Merit Scholarship winners

Last week, the National Merit Scholarship Corporation announced this year’s National Merit $2500 Scholarship winners. The 2,500 Merit Scholar designees were chosen from a talent pool of more than 15,000 finalists in the 2024 National Merit Scholarship Program.

National Merit $2500 Scholarship winners are the finalists in each state judged to have the strongest combination of accomplishments, skills, and potential for success in rigorous college studies. The number of winners named in each state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the nation’s graduating high school seniors.

These Scholars were selected by a committee of college admissions officers and high school counselors, who appraised a substantial amount of information submitted by both the finalists and their high schools: the academic record, including difficulty level of subjects studied and grades earned; scores from the Preliminary SAT/ National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test; contributions and leadership in school and community activities; an essay written by the finalist; and a recommendation written by a high school official.

2024 National Merit $2500 Scholarship winners:

Aarush Desai - Ravenwood

Elise C. Froehler - Brentwood

Aayush A. Kumar - Ravenwood

Sophie M. McAtee - Ravenwood

Naman N. Mukerji - Ravenwood

Ali Sidiqyar - Brentwood

Davis G. Veazey - Brentwood

Brooks W. Wheeler - Brentwood

Daniel David Pontow - Page

Evan W. Ingmire - Page

Abigail A. Kabagambe - Franklin

Margaret J. MacGurn - Ravenwood

John D. BottorffMontgomery Bell Academy

Davern Cigarran - Harpeth Hall

Luke S. KellerMontgomery Bell Academy

Michael Maher Tadrous - Nolensville

Legislators give businesses nearly $2 billion while saving for a rainy day

BY NICOLLE S. PRAINO

The Tennessee General Assembly’s $52.8 billion budget included at least one thing Republicans and Democrats could agree was positive: a $100 million addition to the state’s Rainy Day Fund, bringing the total to $2.15 billion.

“There was only about $580 million in the Rainy Day Fund [in 2010],” says Rep. Ryan Williams (R-Cookeville), chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee. “We try to have a percentage, usually 10 to 15 percent of the total budget, in the Rainy Day Fund in case there is an emergency.”

Williams says the cash the state has

on hand because of the Rainy Day Fund contributes to Tennessee’s good bond rating, which is also important for local governments to get lower interest rates when borrowing money.

“Certainly putting money in a Rainy Day Fund is a better use than just sending it out for corporate tax refunds,” says Sen. Jeff Yarbro (D-Nashville).

While this year’s Rainy Day Fund deposit brings the total to the highest it’s been in state history, legislation adjusting Tennessee’s franchise tax will cost the state nearly the same amount — $1.95 billion. Gov. Bill Lee

says the state will avoid lawsuits by removing the franchise tax property provision and giving $1.56 billion back to businesses who paid on that metric previously. Removing that provision also decreases recurring revenue by $393 million. Because revenue for FY24 is falling short of estimated projections, there is $150 million in the FY25 budget for that undercollection.

“We are heading for increasingly difficult budget years due to the governor and legislature’s own decisions,” says Yarbro. “The economy is not slowing down, but revenue growth is flattening, and that is a direct response to the governor’s decisions.”

While that revenue growth has been slower than expected, Gov. Lee said after the end of the session he wasn’t concerned because over the past three years revenue has grown. Williams agrees, saying the growth has moved to the state because of the tax benefits to businesses.

“My expectation is that revenues will continue to grow, not at the rate that we’ve seen in the last five years, but a more normal rate between 2.5 and 4 percent just based upon population growth,” Williams says. “I don’t think that this tax cut is going to be an impediment. I think it’s going to be an opportunity.”

Williams says it could be time for the legislature to cut food or sales tax, noting the initial rise of the sales tax to 7 percent in 2002 was originally intended to have only lasted for a few years.

While $150 million goes back into last year’s budget, $144 million for Gov. Lee’s Education Freedom Scholarships — school vouchers — will not be spent this year since

Culture-war bills sucked up much attention during the Legislative Session

BY HAMILTON MATTHEW MASTERS

The 113th General Assembly concluded its time on Capitol Hill with fresh scars from the front lines of America’s ongoing culture war. Tennessee’s Republican supermajority passed both impactful and symbolic legislation targeting LGBTQ rights, education, immigrants, vaccines and more. While many of the GOP’s efforts on these fronts are covered elsewhere in this issue, here’s a quick rundown of just some of the culture-war legislation that consumed the most attention during this year’s session.

WHAT PASSED

HB2165/SB1810 prohibits public schools and public charter schools from “knowingly

providing false or misleading information to a student’s parent regarding the student’s gender identity or intention to transition to a gender that differs from the student’s sex at the time of birth.” It is awaiting the governor’s signature. The legislation also requires school employees to tell a student’s parents and school administration if a student asks “for an accommodation to affirm the student’s gender identity,” meaning employees will be directed in some cases to out trans students to their families. Sen. Paul Rose (R-Covington) characterized the bill as “simply about parental rights.” A Human Rights Campaign representative testified on the bill in a March

no supporting legislation passed. It will roll back into the General Fund for use in FY26.

“Parking $140 million that should be going to schools in the budget for next year’s attempt at vouchers is ridiculous,” Yarbro says. “It’s really interesting to me that we pass the budget before making decisions on these gigantic financial issues. That’s what’s really unusual here.”

While discussion about the franchise tax was ongoing when the budget passed, the plan for vouchers seemed dead to everyone in the Capitol except the governor.

“Quite frankly, it was out of respect for the governor’s plan,” Williams says. “We felt like it was best not to spend that money and give him ample opportunity to do it because it was in the 11th hour when the budget was already set by the time he decided to punt until next year.”

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

committee meeting, warning that the bill will “weaponize adults who are supposed to be safe resources” for students, adding that its passage will lead to a lawsuit against the state.

HB2435/SB2767 requires students to view a fetal development video — like the medically inaccurate “Meet Baby Olivia” video, produced by an anti-abortion group and presented as an example within the legislation — as part of the state’s “family life” curriculum. It was signed into law on April 23. House sponsor Rep. Gino Bulso (R-Brentwood) said that the bill could be “one of the most important pieces of legislation” this year. >> PAGE 9

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Rep. Ryan Williams PHOTO BY HAMILTON MATTHEW MASTERS

HB1634/SB2766, another Bulsosponsored bill, was sponsored in the Senate by Sen. Janice Bowling (R-Tullahoma). It “revises language prohibiting educators from discriminating against students on certain, specified bases to generally prohibiting educators from discriminating against students who are members of a protected class under federal or state law; removes the definition of ‘gender identity’ for purposes of the family life curriculum.”

HB1828/SB1822, also co-sponsored by Bulso, successfully adds 10 works to the list of “official state books,” including the earliest Bible printed in the United States.

HB0878/SB0596 was signed by Gov. Bill Lee in February. The so-called “wedding officiant discrimination bill” allows officiants to refuse to “solemnize” marriages based on their “conscience or religious beliefs.”

HB2063/SB2691 bans the placement of “chemicals, chemical compounds, substances, or apparatus within the borders of this state into the atmosphere with the express purpose of affecting temperature, weather, or the intensity of the sunlight.” Gov. Lee signed the bill on April 11. The law takes aim at claims of weather and climate engineering as well as conspiracies surrounding “chemtrails.” (The alleged use of “chemtrails” to introduce toxic chemicals into the atmosphere is a thoroughly debunked conspiracy theory.)

HB2124/SB2576 was signed by Lee on the same day, requiring law enforcement agencies to report the immigration status of individuals and “otherwise cooperate

with the appropriate federal official in the identification, apprehension, detention, or removal of aliens not lawfully present in the United States.”

HB2169/SB1738 — the Tennessee Foster and Adoptive Parent Protection Act — was also signed on April 11. It prevents the Department of Children’s Services from requiring foster parents to support LGBTQ rights. Critics of the law say it could force trans youth to be placed in homes where their identity is not affirmed or is even suppressed by an adoptive parent.

HB1894/SB1903, signed on April 22, “defines food that contains a vaccine or vaccine material as a drug,” specifically targeting foods that could potentially contain a vaccine. Edible vaccines are hypothetical and do not exist in Tennessee or elsewhere. (Jimmy Kimmel mocked debates over the bill in early April.)

WHAT FAILED

HB1605/SB1722, a bill that aimed to ban Pride flags in schools, died in the Senate. But its prime sponsor — yes, once again, Brentwood Republican Gino Bulso — vowed to revive the legislation in 2025.

HB1730/SB1717 would have required written driver’s license tests to be administered only in English. The bill was met with protests, and Rep. John Ray Clemmons (D-Nashville) called it “blatantly discriminatory.” This story was first published by our sister publication Nashville Scene.

OPINION

TICKED OFF!

VACATION BLUES

First off, I’m very sorry for your destructive tornados, etc, that just devasted many parts of your state. Was only my second visit to Nashville, one a long time ago when Nashville was a true music capital and not a museum of dead musicians and crowded streets only to get whopping fines for parking in private lots which really didn’t advertise they were pay spaces. My real complaint was your streets and roads which had huge pot holes, cracks, and just unmaintained for years. My wife and I have settled in Florida which is perhaps the opposite of Tennessee in road care and traffic which is about the same these days. I think its almost obscene to keep your roads

in this condition when most of the folks are visitors expecting to have a good time in your cities. Second issue is your hospitality. Hotels and motels charge way over market for their rooms and simply do not maintain things like bathrooms, old mattresses causing back aches and hardly any with breakfast or in room coffee unless the room Price is approaching $150-200 per night. There were many things we liked about your State but sometimes the bad stuff like this just ruens our outlook on returning.

The comments in the Ticked Off column do not reflect the views of FW Publishing.

Send your comments to tickedoff@thenewstn.com

Mental Wellness for Patients, Families and Caregivers

Join us as we hear from our distinguished guest speaker, Dr. Kaltra Dhima, Assistant Professor of Clinical Neurology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center within the Behavioral and Cognitive Neurology Division.

Date: Wednesday, June 5, 2024

Time: 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM

This event is presented to the community at no charge thanks to our sponsor: Dr. Carlene Johnson and Tori Vik from My LiveABILITY will

Location: Franklin First United Methodist Church Register: www.petersonforparkinsons.org

Five questions for Predators heading into the offseason

Nashville

faces big decision in goal, with Saros approaching final year of contract

BY JOHN GLENNON

The Predators head into the 2024 offseason hoping they’ve changed the trajectory of the franchise for the better.

Nashville is only days removed from a firstround loss to Vancouver in the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs, marking the sixth consecutive postseason series loss for the Preds.

But the Predators’ wins (47) and points (99) were the team’s highest since the 201819 season, thanks in part to a franchiserecord, 18-game point streak (16-0-2) that vaulted Nashville into the playoff picture. The Preds set a franchise record for goals (269), won their first playoff game since 2021 and played an extremely competitive playoff series with the favored Canucks — getting outscored just 13-12.

In addition, Nashville coach Andrew Brunette was named one of three finalists for the NHL’s coach of the year award.

So, assuming the Predators are moving in the right direction once again, how do they take the next step? What will it take to win a playoff series, something Nashville hasn’t done since 2018?

Here are five questions for the Preds heading into the offseason:

WHAT’S THE PLAN AT GOALIE?

This is the question on the mind of every Preds fan, as Juuse Saros has just one more year remaining under contract. Nashville could sign Saros to a contract extension beginning July 1, but it would likely be a very pricey deal, something similar to the deals signed by Winnipeg’s Connor Hellebuyck (seven years, $59.5 million) or

the New York Islanders’ Ilya Sorokin (eight years, $66 million) heading into last season.

If the Preds believe top prospect Yaroslav Askarov, the 11th overall pick of the 2020 NHL Draft, is ready for the NHL, then it may well be time for Nashville to move Saros. That trade would not only bring a nice return — in the form of draft picks and/or prospects — but would also open $5 million of cap space for the coming season.

The 21-year-old Askarov was good for Milwaukee in the American Hockey League this season, with a 30-13-1 record, 2.39 goals against average and .911 save percentage. But in 14 playoff games over two seasons, Askarov is 6-8, with a 2.89 goals against average and .895 save percentage.

Assuming Askarov is with the Preds in some capacity next season, it still seems unlikely he’d play much more than half the games as a rookie. Askarov played 44 regular-season games in Milwaukee in 2023-24 and 48 games in 2022-23. So, would the Predators consider keeping Saros until the trade deadline, breaking Askarov in gradually? Another option: Would the organzation re-sign current No. 2 Kevin Lankinen (a pending unrestricted free agent) and have him split games with Askarov in net next season?

So many questions at this position.

WHICH FREE AGENTS TO RE-SIGN?

Pending unrestricted free agents on the roster include Lankinen, as well as forwards Jason Zucker, Anthony Beauvillier and

Kiefer Sherwood, and defensemen Tyson Barrie and Alexandre Carrier. In addition, defensemen Spencer Stastney and Marc Del Gaizo are restricted free agents, along with forwards Philip Tomasino, Juuso Parssinen, and Egor Afanasyev.

The 32-year-old Zucker isn’t young and he wouldn’t come cheaply, but the Predators may well consider re-signing him after he performed well for the team following an NHL trade deadline deal — collecting seven points (five goals, two assists) in 18 regularseason games. Nashville would like to bring back Carrier, but may decide it’s more cost effective to open up more playing time for the likes of Stastney and Del Gaizo next season.

Sherwood transitioned nicely into Nashville’s identity line this season, chipping in a career-high 27 points (10 goals, 17 assists) in 68 games. But he wouldn’t be considered irreplaceable if the Preds decided to spend money elsewhere. Barrie and Beauvillier are all but gone. Expect the prospects such as Tomasino, Parssinen and Afanasyev to be re-signed, as they should compete for roster spots next season.

HOW AGGRESSIVE SHOULD THE FRANCHISE BE IN FREE AGENCY?

Per CapFriendly, the Predators have about $19.3 million in cap space, but that’s with just 16 players under contract. In addition, the Preds (as referenced above) have a number of players looking for new contracts.

But as mentioned earlier, the Preds could clear $5 million in cap space by trading Saros. If Nashville does have available funds heading into free agency, a forward that could add scoring punch to the lineup would appear to be a top priority.

This year’s group of pending UFAs isn’t considered a particularly deep one, but there are some talents on the market — led by the likes of Florida’s Sam Reinhart (57 goals, 37 assists during the regular season) and Carolina’s Jake Guentzel (30 goals, 47 assists). Other forwards who might be tempting include players such as New Jersey’s Tyler Toffoli, Vegas’ Jonathan Marchessault, Winnipeg’s Sean Monahan, Toronto’s Tyler Bertuzzi and a couple of players the Preds battled in the playoffs — Vancouver’s Elias Lindholm and Dakota Joshua.

WHAT TO DO WITH ALL THOSE DRAFT PICKS?

The Predators have a glut of selections in the next two NHL Drafts. In the 2024

draft, Nashville has all nine of its picks in the first four rounds — one in the first, three in the second, two in the third and three in the fourth. In 2025, the Preds have eight selections — including two in the first, one in the second and two in the third.

Will the Predators simply be content to use all those draft picks, adding prospect after prospect to a farm system that is already ranked No. 8 by The Athletic? Or would Nashville consider getting creative with that horde of treasure — perhaps packaging some of those picks in exchange for a top prospect, a top player or the opportunity to move even closer to the top of the first round? Trading some of those picks would represent another way — in addition to free agency — of gaining another impact scorer for the coming season.

HOW TO IMPROVE SPECIAL TEAMS?

In the regular season, the Predators’ power play was average, finishing 16th in the league with a 21.6 percent scoring rate. In Nashville’s six-game playoff series, the success rate plunged, as the Preds converted just two-of-22 opportunities — a 9.1 percent success rate that ranked 14th of 16 teams. An extra power-play goal or two could have made a huge difference in a playoff series that was as close as Nashville’s with Vancouver.

Brunette made it clear before the season that he would be in charge of Nashville’s power play, and it was Brunette who also took responsibility afterward for the poor showing of the man-advantage unit. Improving it for next season has to rank high on Nashville’s priority scale.

The penalty kill flipped the script. Nashville lagged behind much of the NHL during the regular season, finishing with a success rate of just 76.9 percent, 22nd in the league. But the Preds’ penalty kill performed well in the playoffs, killing off 11 of Vancouver’s 13 power plays, an 84.6 percent rate that ranked fifth among playoff teams. Both the Canucks’ power-play goals came in Game 3, a 2-1 win for Vancouver.

Nashville needs to move at least into the top half of NHL penalty killing next season. This story was first published by our sister publication Nashville Post.

Juuse Saros PHOTO BY CASEY GOWER

SPORTS COURT AUCTION

TSU hires former WNBA all-star Candice Dupree as head women’s basketball coach

BY LOGAN BUTTS

The Tennessee State women’s basketball team made a big splash on Thursday with the announcement that seven-time WNBA All-Star Candice Dupree would be the program’s new head coach.

Dupree, who spent the last two seasons as a player development coach for the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs under legendary head coach Gregg Popovich, will be replacing Ty Evans, who resigned in April after four seasons at the helm of the program.

Evans compiled a 34-78 overall record during his four seasons in Nashville, going 20-54 in the Ohio Valley Conference. The Tigers last winning season came during the 2014-15 campaign when they won the OVC Tournament to clinch an NCAA Tournament bid.

“I am thrilled about the opportunity to lead and coach the future of women’s basketball at Tennessee State University,” Dupree said in a release from the school.

“I am eager to continue building our program in alignment with the incredible culture and values embodied within the Tiger family. It is an honor to be entrusted with upholding the tradition and legacy of TSU while embracing the evolving landscape of sports. Most importantly, I am committed to nurturing the holistic development of our student-athletes.”

Following an All-American career at Temple — where she played for Hall of Fame head coach Dawn Staley — Dupree was selected sixth overall by the Chicago Sky in the 2006

WNBA Draft.

Dupree played 16 seasons in the WNBA, suiting up for the Sky, Phoenix Mercury, Indiana Fever, Seattle Storm, and Atlanta Dream. In 468 career games, she compiled 6,895 points and 3,149 rebounds, averaging 14.4 points and 6.4 rebounds per game, respectively.

Dupree was a seven-time WNBA All-Star, won the 2014 WNBA championship with the Mercury, and earned two FIBA World Championship gold medals with the United States women’s national basketball team in 2010 and 2014.

“Hiring Candice Dupree marks a pivotal moment in our pursuit of excellence,” TSU athletic director Mikki Allen said in the release.

“Her legendary playing career and success as an NBA assistant coach in player development bring unmatched expertise to our women’s basketball program. We’re excited to welcome her championship mindset and global influence within the basketball community, setting the stage for unprecedented success here at Tennessee State.”

Dupree started her coaching career by participating in the NBA Coaching Development Program following her retirement from the WNBA in 2021. This led to Dupree coaching a team of prospects at the NBA draft combine before eventually serving as an assistant guest coach with the Spurs’ Summer League team in 2022.

Belmont assistant Tyler Holloway hired as CPA boys basketball head coach

BY LOGAN BUTTS

Last week, Christ Presbyterian Academy announced that Belmont men’s basketball assistant coach Tyler Holloway will the school’s new boys basketball coach.

Holloway will be replacing Kevin Maggard, who resigned in March following three seasons at the helm of the program. Haggard compiled a 49-44 record overall but went just 9-20 last season, a record that was improved by a surprise run to the state tournament where the Lions lost to Knoxville Catholic in the first round.

Maggard, a former CPA assistant, replaced ex-Vanderbilt star Drew Maddux who led the Lions to back-to-back Class AA state titles in 2012 and 2012.

Holloway comes to CPA after having spent the last 14 seasons at Belmont, starting out as as a graduate assistant before being elevated to director of basketball operations and then to

assistant coach. There, he coached under both Rick Byrd and Casey Alexander.

“We are so excited that God has called Tyler to CPA,” CPA athletic director Ingle Martin said in a release. “His priority in developing meaningful relationships with the players is what we hope for at CPA, but what is most important is his desire to pursue what God is doing in his life.

“He comes to us after being a part of one of the best college basketball programs in the country and we look forward to him sharing his knowledge and expertise with our players.”

Holloway also has an impressive on-court resume. During four seasons at Murray State, the Decatur, Ala., native notched 1,083 points and hit 210 3-pointers. He averaged 9 points per game and shot nearly 40 percent from 3-point range over 122 games.

3-BEDROOM BRICK HOME/ 2 CAR GARAGE FURNITURE/ ART/ CUTGLASS

THURSDAY, MAY 23, 2:30PM

Directions: From Nashville take I-40 East to Stewarts Ferry Pike Exit #219, go right on Bell Rd ½ mile, to right on Lakeridge Pass, and continue to sale.

Real Estate Selling at 6:00 PM: This two-story brick home is approximately 3200 sq. ft., built by Frank Batson, and on a cul-de-sac. The main floor has a foyer, living room w/ vaulted ceiling and gas fireplace, dining room, kitchen w/ island and breakfast nook, half bath, laundry room, hardwood floors, and 2 car garage. The primary bedroom is on the main floor and has tray ceilings, on-suite bath, and walk-in closet. Upstairs there are 2 bedrooms, a full bath, and a bonus room. The basement is spacious with a half bath and an outside entrance. Great location across from Percy Priest Lake, minutes from BNA Airport, nearby restaurants, shops, and recreational areas. Personal Property Selling at 2:30 PM: lighted China cabinet, dining room table, upholstered chairs, heaters, flat screen tv, chest of drawers, 4 post bed, nightstand, vacuum, dresser with mirror, recliner, bedroom set, shelving, punchbowl, cut glass serving pieces, purses (Rachelle Collection, Steve Madden) Pier 1 dishes, & sectional sofa.

Art: D. Bivens Memphis City Beautiful, framed African Mud Cloth, Mixed media on canvas Bobbie K. Owen, BEULAH’S BABY Primrose Paschal, Keith Mallett framed print, National Museum of African Art Poster, National Black Arts Festival framed poster, and various framed prints.

TERMS: Real Estate: CASH - PROPERTY IS BEING SOLD AS-IS, WHERE-IS WITH NO CONTIGENCIES. 15% Non-Refundable Earnest Money due day of sale with balance due at closing. Deed and Insured Title Furnished by Seller. Personal Property: Payment due day of sale - Cash, Visa, MasterCard, Discover accepted. Government-issued identification (driver’s license, state-issued photo ID, or passport) Required for Bidding Number.

Nashville plans to deploy new state laws to add affordable housing

BY STEPHEN ELLIOTT, NASHVILLE BANNER

This story is 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.

Later this month, Metro director of legislative affairs Darren Jernigan plans to bring together representatives from Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s office and the departments of planning, codes, water, transportation and other city leaders for a roundtable discussion as Metro seeks to figure out how to take advantage of nearly a dozen bills recently passed by the Tennessee General Assembly that could help boost the city’s affordable housing stock.

“We’re happy and encouraged with the bills that came out of the General Assembly,” says Jernigan, who had a front-row seat as both an outgoing state representative and O’Connell’s agent on Capitol Hill. “We’re getting everybody in the room for the first time to see which ones are practical, which ones we can do, and go full force for it, and hopefully by the summer we’ll have some legislation out there.”

Of the bills, two are attracting particular attention.

SB2496/HB2623

This legislation allows local governments “to create a voluntary attainable housing incentive program.” The local government is tasked with defining “attainable housing” and then detailing what sort of incentives can be offered to developers who include that type of housing in a project — think density bonuses, setback or parking exemptions or other incentives that could help a developer

maintain profit margins while including “attainable housing.”

Some see this as a backtrack from the state legislature’s 2018 preemption of a Metro policy requiring builders to include affordable units.

The bill had both Republican and Democratic sponsors.

“We have a lot of housing problems,” says Rep. Dale Carr, a Republican who represents the tourist destination of Sevierville and who was the lead House sponsor. “It’s hard for [seasonal workers] to pay a big, high rent when they come and try to rent something to work in the county. We’re short on housing also, so we’re trying to build as many affordable houses and apartments that we possibly can.”

Think Tennessee, a nonpartisan think tank, helped draft and advocate for the legislation. Adriane Harris, the group’s senior adviser on housing policy, worked for Metro when the preemption policy initially passed.

“We see this as a great opportunity for cities to really think about what’s a part of their current toolbox and how they can use this tool now that they have it, given that they didn’t have it in the last several years,” Harris tells the Banner. “Rural communities and suburban communities throughout the state are facing an affordable housing crisis, so it’s no longer just the urban areas that are having to really figure this out.”

Metro Councilmember At-Large Burkley Allen, who sponsored the preempted Nashville ordinance, says she plans to study the bills and work on new legislation based on the freshly granted powers.

“They are now hearing from the smaller towns and rural counties that it’s an issue

there as well,” Allen says of state lawmakers. “What was originally perceived as something that only affected the big four cities is now an issue all the way across the state.”

SB1137/HB1229

This bill came to lawmakers via Matt Wiltshire, the former Metro official who finished third in last year’s mayor’s race.

He tells the Banner that he was figuring out what to do after the campaign when he learned about a program in Charlotte, N.C., where social impact investors work to preserve existing affordable housing with the help of the local government.

The legislation effectively designates affordable housing as a “public purpose” so that a local government like Metro could use its Industrial Development Board to help private developers finance housing projects.

This bill was also bipartisan, as Carr signed on as a co-sponsor, with Nashville Democrats Rep. Caleb Hemmer and Sen. Charlane Oliver leading the way.

“There was bipartisan interest, which is encouraging in such a divided state government,” Wiltshire says. “This seemed to be an area where there were opportunities for folks to come together. This is an issue that has spread across the state.”

Wiltshire was recently named president of the newly created Pathway Affordable Housing Corp., an arm of community development financial institution Pathway Lending, where he says he hopes to take advantage of the new model as long as Metro chooses to participate.

“Rep. Hemmer and I, we got together on that Nashville bill because it’s going to help Nashville on what they’re wanting to do

with their housing,” Carr adds. “He’s a good guy, but they needed some more help on that to make sure that we can get it through the legislature.”

OTHER BILLS

Jernigan plans to discuss several other new pieces of legislation with city leaders: SB1694/HB1814: Requires landlords to provide some transparency to tenants. (Other bills passed this year weaken tenants’ rights.)

SB2315/HB2368: The Residential Infrastructure Development Act authorizes local governments to establish infrastructure development districts to help fund infrastructure work.

SB1000/HB1046: The Tennessee Rural and Workforce Housing Act does not fund a state low-income tax credit program but creates a framework to do so in the future.

SB2635/HB2787: Prohibits the state fire marshal from mandating sprinkler systems for certain multifamily dwellings and requires the fire marshal to allow local governments to amend building codes for three- and four-unit dwellings.

HB2984/SB2968: The East Bank Development Authority bill.

SB1735/HB1807: Requires the state fire marshal or other state entities to conduct requested inspections within 10 business days.

SB2117/HB2261: Changes the regulatory framework for senior housing developments.

SB2639/HB2553: Clarifies new rules about foreign ownership of Tennessee properties.

SB2550/HB2624: Changes the law relating to local governments selling properties for delinquent taxes.

Lawmakers say they aren’t done addressing affordable housing yet (though neither Jernigan nor Carr is running for reelection). Hemmer worked on unsuccessful efforts to reallocate both real estate transfer taxes and short-term rental taxes. He also highlighted a housing tax credit bill backed by House Republican Caucus Chair Jeremy Faison that did not pass this year.

“There are a lot of little things we can start to do,” Hemmer said. “My main hope is we start viewing this as a state issue that we need to tackle.”

Affordable housing units on Dickerson Pike PHOTO BY ERIC ENGLAND

Nashville Democrats barely get across the river

BY ELI MOTYCKA

A riveting drama of student protests, gallery arrests, floor insults and party infighting played out alongside the Tennessee General Assembly’s march toward conservative authoritarianism this year. The session’s highest-profile issues — guns, schools, guns in schools, the criminalization of abortion — dominated daily headlines, the nearly unilateral work of Tennessee’s Republican supermajority.

Talk to legislators on either side of the aisle for long enough and they’ll fixate on something as mundane as it is sinister: the descent into anti-democracy as communication and basic respect disintegrate in both chambers, the toxic byproduct of one-party rule.

“In case anyone hasn’t noticed, the controlling party can do whatever they want without Democratic votes,” Sen. Heidi Cambpell (D-Nashville) tells the Scene. “It’s part of living in a totalitarian state.”

House Bill 2968 arrived as a private act — Tennessee’s classification for narrow laws applicable to a single town, city or county that, with support from all local lawmakers, typically pass without discussion. The draft came to Rep. Bob Freeman (D-Nashville) in the House and Sen. Charlane Oliver (D-Nashville) in

the Senate from Rep. Darren Jernigan (D-Nashville), a Davidson County official also serving as the city’s legislative liaison. Mayor Freddie O’Connell and Bob Mendes, the city’s East Bank deputy, sought state approval to establish a formal East Bank Development Authority. The administrative creation could assume certain quasi-governmental powers, like the ability to borrow money and issue bonds. The reorganization would make everyone’s life easier, O’Connell and Mendes told reporters in March. Freeman and Oliver, whose districts include the 550-acre swath, would carry it to their colleagues.

The bill hit barbed wire quickly. State Republicans passed a bill outlawing certain police reforms, including those passed locally in Memphis following the police killing of Tyre Nichols. Oliver, a first-term Black legislator, spoke up.

“You might as well stomp on the grave of Tyre Nichols,” Oliver said at a press conference on March 15. “Dr. King said riots are the language of the unheard. You ain’t seen nothing yet — if you keep silencing us, what do you think our districts are going to do?”

The MLK quote was enough to get her blacklisted. Nothing attached to Oliver

would pass the House, Republicans told their Democratic colleagues. No matter how procedural.

Around the same time, Freeman’s bill was re-referred to the House Local Government Committee two days after easily clearing the review body. It stayed in limbo for more than a month. It became an open secret that House members, hoping to bring O’Connell to the negotiating table over last year’s doomed Fairgrounds Nashville NASCAR deal, saw the bill as leverage over O’Connell.

Oliver passed it off to Campbell in early April. Her public statement reads, in part: “Whether it’s political exclusion or hurt feelings or both, I don’t know what the truth is, but I know my integrity is not worth these political theatrics and power plays — especially for legislation that lacks input from the residents I represent in the Senate.”

Campbell carried it forward with tweaks from Republicans.

“The House made it pretty clear they would be punitive if Charlane was on it,” Campbell remembers. “It was ridiculous. I went to her and said I’d do what she wanted. I would’ve dropped it if she asked me to — it’s her district.”

Republicans secured two seats on the

authority’s governing board and explicitly prevented the new body from exercising eminent domain, sufficient concessions to get the bill passed in the Senate with three senators voting no. Oliver abstained.

“I talked to almost every single member of the House,” says Freeman. (Freeman’s father Bill Freeman owns FW Publishing, the Scene’s parent company.) “That’s not the most common thing to do. Some of the ‘no’ votes were heartburn over [Nashville leaders refusing to host the Republican National Convention] and general dislike of the Metro Council, which is like their bogeyman. Half of what they say the council is doing or has done, it just hasn’t done. They call the council ‘socialist’ all the time to kill bills. I’ve explained that it’s playing a dangerous game; it layers on another level of hatred to the city, council and mayor. Suddenly you have a good percentage of the legislature voting against a private act.”

It passed the House 59-18 as the chamber’s last bill of 2024.

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

Harpeth River Writers to celebrate release of third anthology in Brentwood on May 22

‘In Tangled Lives’ features work from 9 Middle Tennessee authors

STAFF REPORTS

Nashville-area writers collective Harpeth River Writers will be celebrating the launch of the group’s third anthology, In Tangled Lives, in Brentwood on May 22. The public is invited to join the event, which will take place at Corky’s Ribs & BBQ from 5-7 p.m. at the restaurant’s outdoor patio space, or indoors if weather is inclement.

The event will feature a performance by the band Gone With the West (which includes HRW author Micki Fuhrman) and the book will be available for purchase

at $18. Guests can get a copy of the book signed as well.

In Tangled Lives is a collection of 22 works of short fiction and one novella from nine award-winning Middle Tennessee authors.

According to a release, the anthology is “an exploration of connections that people make in love, kinship, and friendship — amorous encounters, family entanglements, lasting love, illicit love, and love gone awry — In Tangled Lives features an eclectic collection of stories for every mood—sad and dark, heartwarming and hopeful.

Indeed, we all are in tangled lives.”

Harpeth River Writers (HRW) is a collective of acclaimed Nashville-area authors who have individually published short stories, essays, memoirs, novels, poems, and songs. HRW has published two previous anthologies: By Blood or By Marriage (2015) and Words on Water (2019). Contributors to this anthology are Sandy Ward Bell, John Neely Davis, Micki Fuhrman, Cindy King, Cate Moore, Kathy Rhodes, Michael J. Tucker, Tom Wood, and Bill Woods.

Area home median price tops $500K mark for first time

STAFF REPORTS

The Nashville area saw 3,060 home closings in April — with the median price for a single-family home topping the $500,000 mark seemingly for the first time.

According to a Greater Nashville Realtors release, the number of closing represents an 11 percent increase compared to the figure of the same month in 2023, when 2,753 closings were recorded.

This follows a March that registered 2,837 home closings — a 7 percent decrease compared to the figure of the same month in

2023, when 3,063 closings were recorded.

The median price for a residential singlefamily home in April was $505,000, an 8 percent increased year-over-year and, as noted, believed to be the first time since GNR began keeping records that the figure eclipsed $500,000. For a condominium, the median price was $349,900, a 7 percent year-over-year increase. The figures compare with April 2023’s median residential and condominium prices of $468,300 and $326,000, respectively.

Sliver of land near Belle Meade Kroger sells for $3,300

BY WILLIAM WILLIAMS

A sliver of one of Nashville’s more unusual pieces of raw land has sold for $3,300.

According to a Davidson County Register of Deeds document, H.G. Hill Realty sold the component of the overall 5.1-acre property — located to the immediate west of the Belle Meade Kroger — to the State of Tennessee. With a placeholder address of 0 Harding Pike, the main parcel is surrounded by the Hillwood Boulevard viaduct, a CSX railroad track and both Richland and Sugartree creeks. Hill Realty has owned the property since 1927. It is unclear why the state acquired the sliver of the overall site. The Tennessee Department of Transportation a few years ago built a replacement bridge spanning the railroad tracks.

As the Post reported in 2023, because the property sits within both a floodway and the city limits of Belle Meade (which allows essentially only single-family residential construction), the land’s usage options are extremely limited.

The property is a gateway into urban Nashville, of sorts, for motorists heading east on Harding Pike from Hillwood, West Meade and Bellevue.

However, and despite the property’s appealing “welcome to Nashville” component, its traffic-heavy surroundings, proximity to noisy trains and exposure to flooding render it undesirable for those seeking a grand Belle Meade-style home.

Jimmy Granbery, Hill Realty CEO, said in 2023 the company years ago offered to donate the full property to the City of Belle Meade. The city declined.

Wooded and verdant, the oddly configured property was last appraised (in 2021) for $22,200. That figure means Hill Realty avoids paying a large annual tax bill. But the company does incur some costs to cut the grass.

Granbery said at the time Hill Realty has pondered what few options are available — including, for example, public art.

But the most realistic scenario is that the property in the future will exist much like its present and past states: untouched.

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

For a recent comparison, the median prices for a residential single-family home and a condo in February were $478,870 and $339,990, respectively.

There were 2,998 sales pending at the end of April, compared to 3,196 pending sales at this time last year.

Inventory at the end of April was 10,419, an 18 percent increase from the 8,778 active listings reported for the same period last year. A four-month supply of inventory was recorded at April’s end.

In a continuing trend, area residences require more time to be sold than was seen in 2023.

For example, the average number of days on the market for a single-family home in April was 46. March saw an average number of was 52, while February registered 59 and January

recorded 57. Prior to the slowing, homes could often sell in no more than 40 days.

“The market showed promising signs in April with an 11 percent surge in the number of home sales and an 18 percent increase in inventory,” Kevin Wilson, Greater Nashville Realtors president, said in the release.

“We continue to see a more balanced market compared to previous years while buyers have more options and we’re seeing correctly priced homes sell,” he added. “We continue to see a rise in inventory, giving buyers more options in a balanced market.”

The GNR data was collected from Cheatham, Davidson, Dickson, Maury, Robertson, Rutherford, Sumner, Williamson and Wilson counties.

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

Goodwill pays $26M for MetroCenter property

BY WILLIAM WILLIAMS

Goodwill Industries of Middle Tennessee has paid $26 million for MetroCenter property to which it plans to relocate.

According to a Davidson County Register of Deeds document, the seller of the 16.9acre property was an LLC affiliated with Virginia Beach-based Continental Capital Partners, which acquired the property in May 2018 for $13.96 million.

The address of the property, located on the Cumberland River and near the Tennessee Titans practice facility, is 501 and 533 Mainstream Drive, with the site offering two office buildings. It is unclear if the buildings offer tenants (though Google Maps lists multiple businesses).

Nashville Business Journal reports Goodwill will eventually operate an

“opportunity campus” on the property. The nonprofit will consolidate its service programs and administrative offices within the two buildings.

Goodwill sold its 12.5-acre Hope Gardens headquarters property in 2018 for $38 million to U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Co., and has leased the property since then, according to NBJ.

Matthew Bourlakas, Goodwill Tennessee CEO, told NBJ the nonprofit is preparing to leave the North Nashville neighborhood (which is sandwiched by Capitol View and North Capitol) for its MetroCenter buildings.

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

Spring Pasta with Arugula Pesto and Fresh Peas

BY EDIBLE NASHVILLE

Sharp peppery spring arugula is whirled up into a pesto then tossed with cavatappi and in season sweet peas for a seasonal supper.

4 SERVING(S)

INGREDIENTS

2 cups dry cavatappi (or penne or rigatoni)

2 cups fresh shelled English peas (or edamame)

Arugula Pesto:

2 garlic cloves

3 tablespoons pine nuts

4 cups arugula (or mixture of arugula, basil and spinach)

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese juice of 1/2 lemon

2 ounces grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

1. Place pasta in salted boiling water. Cook until al dente, adding the peas for the last 2-3 minutes. Drain, saving 1 cup pasta cooking water.

2. To prepare Arugula Pesto, place garlic and pine nuts in a blender or food processor. Pulse. Add arugula and pulse until finely chopped. Slowly add olive oil and blend. Scrape into a bowl and stir in Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, a squeeze of fresh lemon and salt to taste.

3. Toss pesto, hot cooked cavatappi, fresh shelled peas, and cooking water. Top with cheese and serve.

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 Response to “Have a nice day!”

7 Cribs

11 Spell that’s “broken” by 23-Across

14 Hit song from “Flashdance”

15 Outside, as a pitch

16 Place for a tiny hammer

17 Popular Italian entree, informally

19 Al Jolson’s actual first name

20 “La Cage ___ Folles”

21 Traditional crustless fruit pie

23 F irst U.S. secretary of war

25 “This looks bad for me!”

28 Fatty acid compound

32 Beginner gamers, in lingo

33 Kiln for hops

36 When doubled, beanie topper

37 Spell that’s “broken” by 59-Across

38 Play date par ticipant

39 Spell that’s “broken” by 17-Across

41 Device first deployed in the U.S. by Chemical Bank (1969)

42 Actress Palmer with a reduplicative name

43 Feeder of the iliac arteries

44 Shepherd formerly of “The View”

47 Fees that may be based on cost-perclick

49 Container in a kid’s backpack

52 Crayola color that debuted in 1972

55 Make public

58 Mess up

59 Intensive study program

62 Sheltered side

63 Shock, in a way

64 Word derived from the Arabic for “lot”

65 Spell that’s “broken” by 49-Across

66 Not delete

67 Killed it at open mic night, say

DOWN

1 Org. often referred to by its first letter

2 Island that’s home to a state capital

3 What macOS is based on

4 Game piece?

5 Cabinet material

6 Loads

7 Father, in regional lingo

8 ___ in the par k

9 Be afraid to

10 Semiotician’s interest

11 Recipe verb

12 Where r unway 9 is always oriented at an airport

13 … Whiskey, ___, Yankee …

18 Iconic fund-raising “thank you” gift

22 PC program file extension

23 Canterbur y cooktops

24 Gently acclimate, with “in”

25 Atahualpa’s subjects

26 Communicate silently, in a way

27 Crooner Mel

29 In a bicoastal relationship, say

30 Linzer ___ (pastr y)

31 Heroines in novels by Flaubert and Austen

34 F ine and dandy

35 Ninja’s forte

39 Dear, in Italian

40 The Cardiff Giant, for one

42 1965 film starring George Segal that was set in a P.O.W. camp

45 Tach measure

46 Flinches or smiles, e.g.

48 Winners over the Yanks in the 2001 World Series

50 Stop

51 Like crown jewels

52 Give a boost

53 Popular name for a tuxedo cat

54 Prehistoric predator, informally

55 “Gee, I Wish I Was Back in the ___” (song from “White Christmas”)

56 “Mm-hmm”

57 No longer wor king: Abbr.

60 How John D Rockefeller made his money

61 Letters on a Forever stamp

ANSWER TO PUZZLE

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

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

Crosswords for young solvers: nytimes.com/ studentcrosswords.

PUZZLE BY BILL THOMPSON

SERVICE & MAINTENANCE

WOODMONT BAPTIST CHURCH

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

The City of Oak Hill Board of Commissioners will hold a Public Hearing on June 25th, 2024, at 6:00 PM, at the City of Oak Hill Office (5548 Franklin Pike, Suite 102, Nashville, TN 37220). The Public Hearing will be held during the Regular Board of Commissioner Meeting for the following Ordinance: ORDINANCE 2024-02AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE SCHEDULE OF PERMIT FEES OF THE OAK HILL MUNICIPAL CODE You may view the entire Ordinance Document at the City’s Website at www.oakhilltn.us

Symphony Fashion Show

PHOTOS BY KATHY THOMAS

It was an exquisite “West Meets East” evening at Schermerhorn Symphony Center for the 2024 Symphony Fashion Show. Drawing inspiration from the background of featured designer Prabal Gurung, co-chairs Tracy Frist and Emily Humphreys and event designer Bruce Pittman filled the Schermerhorn with brilliant colors and thoughtful nods to the designer’s Nepalese heritage, including a photo pagoda that greeted guests on arrival. The balmy spring evening was perfect for an al fresco cocktail hour in the courtyard. Once inside Laura Turner Hall, guests were treated to a glittering

runway presentation of Prabal Gurung’s Fall/Winter 2024 collection, which was full of vibrant colors and sumptuous fabrics and textures. Featured entertainers Brothers Osborne, who were accompanied by a stellar string quartet of Nashville Symphony musicians, didn’t just perform — they really worked the catwalk! Emcees Kelleigh Bannen and Colson Horton kept the energy high throughout the evening, which benefits the Symphony’s educational and outreach programming.

Sandra Lipman, Janice Elliott Morgan, Prabal Gurung, Co-chairs Tracy Frist and Emily Humphreys

Luis Fernandez and Viviana Lavin

Dania and Winston Justice

Anna Claire Fox, Marianna Biela, Prabal Gurung, Janice Elliott Morgan, Cathy Wallick, and Marianne Hicks

Angela Bostelman-Kaczmarek and Tom Kaczmarek

SOCIAL

Are you in the know about what’s going on down the street or on the corner? Anyone ever call you nosy? Have good writing skills?

Be a neighborhood news ambassador for

Looking for a few neighbors who want to write about interesting things happening in your neighborhood. Specific neighborhoods of interest are Brentwood, Franklin, Spring Hill, Nolensville, Bellevue, West Meade, Green Hills.

Yes, you need to have some writing chops; extra credit if you’ve contributed to a newspaper at some point! Interested?

Email neighbornews@theNEWStn.com and let us know what neighborhood you are interested in and include a few writing samples.

John Osborne

Kelleigh Bannen, Prabal Gurung, and Colson Horton

Nancy Peacock, Vicki Horne, and Ashley Herring

Alexa Lipman, Amy Hobbs, and Sarah Reisner

Apphia Maxima and Prabal Gurung

Symphony Fashion Show 2024 Patrons Party

PHOTOS BY KATHY THOMAS

On a flawless April evening, a fashionable crowd of Nashville Symphony supporters gathered at the spectacular new home of Dana and David Curtis for the Symphony Fashion Show Patrons Party, cohosted by Jana and Ansel Davis, Ellen Martin and Jerry Nadeau, Andrea and Greg Powell, Julie and John Schneider, Sheila Shields and Johnna Watson. Once inside the hillside villa, guests enjoyed cocktails and passed hors d’oeuvres while a jazz trio from Vanderbilt Blair School of Music and pianist Russell Davis performed. Symphony Fashion Show featured designer Prabal Gurung was an ebullient presence, making the rounds and posing for photos with all who asked, many of whom were decked out in his designs from previous seasons. Nashville Symphony President and CEO Alan Valentine spoke briefly, thanking patrons and sponsors for supporting the Symphony’s educational and outreach programs, particularly Accelerando, which mentors promising young musicians from diverse and under-resourced

backgrounds. It was the perfect preview for the following evening’s fashion show!

Janice Elliott Morgan, Prabal Gurung, and Marianne Hicks

David and Dana Curtis Mary and Lee Barfield

Viviana Lavin and Prabal Gurung

Co-chair Emily Humphreys, Executive Chair Sandra Lipman, and Co-chair Tracy Frist

Johnna Watson, Sheila Shields, and Garry McNabb

Ashley Herring, Vicki Horne, and Kimberly Lewis

Five free and cheap family things to do in Middle Tennessee

BY AMANDA HAGGARD

Last week, we kept you outside for the weekend, so it’s the inside kids turn this time around — for the most part. We’ve got one cars. Lakeshore Learning is turning its center into an under the sea themed playhouse. Your creative kids under 8 can check out

to do with the family, here is our weekly roundup of places to spend time together over the next week:

TOUCH-A-TRUCK FRANKLIN

At Jim Warren Park in Franklin on May 17 from 5-8 p.m., they’re hosting a toucha-truck event with trucks, equipment and vehicles of all kinds. All ages are welcome to come check on the gear, which will include fire trucks, police cars, tractors, backhoes and tow trucks. There will be a quieter “No Horn Hour” from 5-6 p.m. for those who require a little more subdued environment. The event also includes music, games and food available for purchase from food trucks.

MICROCAR RIDES FOR KIDS

Lane Motor Museum is hosting a free with admission event on May 18 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. where kids aged 3-12 can take a ride in a car on site. Admission for the little ones is already pretty cheap (free under five and $3 up to 17). The rides are offered on a first-come, first-served basis. The 1957 Messerschmitt KR200 and 1956 Heinkel

an undersea event on May 18 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. where kids can come “journey to the deep and complete three ocean-inspired science experiments at ‘sub stops’ along the way.” The store and learning center will showcase sea-themed products for kids older than 3. Attendees will also get special discounts on future events.

THIRD COAST KIDS PLAYSHOP

This hourlong event (which takes place on May 18 starting at 10 a.m.) at Third Coast in Marathon Village includes improv games and exercises led by improvisers with a passion for early childhood development. The event is set up for kids aged 4-8 and families are welcome to come join in on the fun. Grown ups attend free with their children, and there are discounts for folks with more than one child. The space is a tad bit tight, so sign up early to make sure you get a spot.

JR. CHESS CLUB TOURNAMENT

On May 19, the Franklin Library is hosting a competition for kids aged 6-12

Microcar rides for kids PHOTO COURTESY OF LANE MOTOR MUSEUM

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