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☀️ Weather

Yet another heat advisory — and it’s on repeat tomorrow. High: 100 with a heat index as high as 108, Low: 75.

🦇 New threat to Nashville’s endangered species

When Lenox Village was being built more than two decades ago, it had to apply for what’s known as an “incidental take permit” because endangered Nashville crayfish lived in a pond on the property. Developers needed to drain the pond, so they agreed to move the crayfish and reconstruct a stream channel as a new habitat in exchange for a permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to move forward with the project.

That protection from future new development by the Endangered Species Act appears to be going away. An internal memo from the Fish and Wildlife Service “reinterprets the law so that only the intentional killing of animals, not collateral harm, is illegal,” The New York Times reported.

In the Nashville area, we have three species of endangered bats, two species of clams, and several plants, in addition to the Nashville crayfish, according to this federal website.

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🏠 What’s new in Nashville’s neighborhoods

Downtown (and nearby)

• A “serious safety concern” with food delivery: I see this happen often on 8th Avenue South just outside of downtown — a food delivery driver stops their car in a lane of traffic, turns on their flashers, and goes into a restaurant to pick food for a customer while traffic backs up. A Metro traffic and parking commissioner called it a “serious safety concern” this week. She said police won’t respond to it “because of the gone on arrival issue,” and an NDOT representative told her “it’s really an issue of [enforcement] staffing and just not being able to address such a large area.” The NDOT representative said he’d like to have a conversation about expanding staffing with the department’s new director.

Antioch

• 59 restaurant score: A wet cloth towel was “submerged inside container of sauce,” according to a new health inspection for El Perez Mexican Restaurant at 2427 Antioch Pike. The inspector also noted brown buildup inside the ice machine, cooked foods with date markings, “numerous cockroaches,” and more. Here’s a link to the full inspection.

• 169 new townhomes: Mostly open land sandwiched between Murfreesboro Pike and Hamilton Church Road will be turned into 169 new townhomes. Developers just filed their final plans with Metro.

North Nashville

• Post-tornado gentrification: Metro hopes to use much of a nearly $11 million federal grant to “stabilize neighborhoods that were in the path of the [2020] tornado, because usually when a disaster comes through, we see developers from out of town purchasing homes or properties, and those tenants are dislocated from their neighborhood.” Part of the money would be used to buy properties, rehab them, and sell them to people with lower incomes — with a restriction so the home couldn’t be immediately flipped to someone with a high income. About $7 million would pay for building new income-restricted homes.

• What’s next for former Family Dollar: Citi Trends clothing store plans to take over the property at 2600 Jefferson Street, according to a new permit application. Their website didn’t list an opening date.

Donelson

• What’s going on with Donelson Station bus transit center: “I was told infrastructure work on the new Donelson Station project would be … this past June. To my knowledge, that hasn’t started. Any update on Donelson Station,” Metro Council member Jeff Gregg asked WeGo Transit this week. A representative responded, “Yes, Donelson Station is moving forward. We should have some more information in the next month or so on infrastructure improvements there.”

Wedgewood-Houston

• Petition deadline: Let the counting (and verification) begin. Today’s the last day to sign a petition in support of a referendum on eliminating racing at the Nashville Fairgrounds. If 10% of Nashville’s registered voters sign the petition, voters could decide the Fairgrounds’ future next year. It’s been a bitter fight getting to this point with anti-racing canvassers telling WKRN they had to file police reports for assault and harassment, and the pro-racing crowd claiming billionaire-funded canvassers are misleading people so they’ll sign the petition. “Decline to Sign” even created a website so you can remove your name. They told WSMV last week that 1,700 people had done so.

• New pilates studio: More new in a neighborhood that’s changing fast. BODYBAR Pilates applied for a building permit to open at 620 Merritt Avenue. The studio already has a location in Franklin. “BODYBAR is designed for every fitness level – from true beginners to seasoned athletes – and no prior Pilates experience is needed,” its website says.

Near Brentwood

• 51 restaurant score: The health inspector who visited Fulins Asian Cuisine at 782 Old Hickory Boulevard flagged multiple food temperature issues and an employee washing gloved hands, among other violations. You can read the full inspection here.

South Nashville

• New life for closed store: The former CVS Pharmacy at 4709 Nolensville Pike will become a Dollar Tree, a new building permit indicates.

Near Berry Hill

• 18 new townhomes: Developers just got their building permits for construction to start on 18 new town homes around 2122 and 2204 Elliott Avenue. They’ll be three stories tall, according to the permit.

Bellevue

• Fall festival: The Nashville Fall Festival starts today at 8687 Old Harding Pike. “A massive corn maze, a 7-acre sunflower field, a pumpkin patch, a petting zoo, hayrides, and live music — on 70 acres along the South Harpeth River,” the event’s website says. Tickets are $23 for adults, $11 for children ages 7-13, and free for younger kids. The festival runs through November 1. It’s open on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.

📰 A few final headlines…

• Paramount to Nashville? A spokesperson for Nashville’s mayor said there’s “nothing new to share” about Paramount considering a move from California to Nashville. I asked because a report from Politico this week said “Paramount Skydance is actively looking for office space in Nashville” and the company reached out to developers about building offices when it couldn’t find 400,000 square feet of space. Paramount threatened to leave California after the state sued over the company’s merger with Warner Bros. Discovery.

• Community meeting for “No Right on Red”: I reported on Wednesday that the second of three votes on legislation to ban right turns at 59 red lights in Nashville had been delayed to allow community input. Now, I have details on when you can give input. Metro Council member Jacob Kupin announced a community meeting will be held Tuesday at 5 p.m. More information here.

• Taking corporate money out of Tennessee politics: Nashville state Senator Charlane Oliver plans to file a bill that would “ban corporations from political spending,” the Tennessee Lookout reported. Curious about which companies (and their employees) are donating the most money to Tennessee politicians? Check out this website.

• Nashville housing market signals: Nashville ranked #1 nationwide for its 15% increase in new home listings since last year, according to new research from Redfin. Despite that, Greater Nashville Realtors said the median home sales price in August increased by about $10,000 from August 2025 to $515,725. One more trend: Nashville also ranked fourth nationwide for how often apartment renters are getting concessions like several months free for a new lease. Realtor.com reports 69% of new leases got a concession last month. That’s more than 20 points higher than the national average!

🧠 Today’s quiz

Test your memory of yesterday’s newsletter. Which police precinct saw the biggest percentage increase in home burglaries compared to last year?

• Madison

• Hermitage

• South

• Central

Here’s a link to the answers.

🍔 MAP: click here for restaurant inspections across Nashville

Correction, feedback, question? Just reply to this email or email me directly at ryan@nash.news. I’ll be back in your inbox on Monday! —Ryan

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☀️ Weather

Heat advisory through Saturday. High: 100 with a heat index as high as 110, Low: 75.

🚓 Where home break-ins are increasing in Nashville

Every week, I review Metro Police crime data looking for trends. This one caught my attention. While residential burglaries are down 5% countywide compared to last year, that’s not the case in every neighborhood, according to new police data.

• The Hermitage precinct added the most cases — going from 91 at this point last year to 113 this year, a 24% increase.

• In terms of percentage increases, cases increased the most in the Central Precinct at nearly 35%. The precinct had 23 cases as of mid-September last year. This year, the number has risen to 31.

• Cases also increased in the following precincts: South (+3.8%), Madison (+3.1%), and Midtown Hills (+8.7%)

You can use this mapping tool to find out where crimes are happening in your neighborhood.

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🏠 What’s new in Nashville’s neighborhoods

Antioch

• 51 restaurant score: This is the lowest restaurant score I’ve reported since launching nash.news. It comes from La Costa Mexican Seafood at 5332 Cane Ridge Road. Among the 28 alleged violations noted by the inspector: roaches, multiple handwashing issues, cutting lettuce and chicken on the same cutting board, buildup on an oyster shucker, and more. You can read the full inspection here.

Downtown (and nearby)

• 61 restaurant score: This health inspection is for Only Chicken at 2127 Belcourt Avenue. A few quotes from the report: “observed employee handle raw chicken and proceed to prepare carrots and zucchini without removing their gloves and washing their hands first” + “observed a pot of yellow rice cooling on the floor of the kitchen” + “observed employee re-enter the kitchen after taking out the trash, and they did not remove their gloves or wash their hands before returning to work.” You can read the inspection here.

• “This guy is very dangerous”: NDOT is coordinating with Metro Police to stop a “rogue pedicab” driver from continuing to operate after he was arrested with cocaine over the weekend and then found driving a pedicab the next day. “Some of our enforcement staff had pictures of him with beer, you know, just a case of beer on his pedicab, and he was probably selling the beer, and he was probably selling the cocaine. We don’t have proof that he was doing that, but it was a lot of cocaine,” NDOT Transportation Licensing Director Richard Rooker said this week. NDOT hopes to get an injunction to ban the driver from downtown. The injunction idea sounds similar to a recent ban of alleged scammers who target drunk tourists.

• Transforming Bridgestone Arena: A Tennessean reporter shared updated renderings of renovations planned for Bridgestone Arena and the ice rink at Centennial Sportsplex. For Bridgestone Arena, “the goal is to have the majority of the renovation complete and ready to welcome fans by Opening Night of the Predators’ 2029–30 season,” the arena said.

Sylvan Park

• Replacing boardwalk: Metro Parks plans to start work in October on replacing the wooden boardwalk at the Richland Creek Greenway with concrete decking that it hopes will last 50 years. The department estimates work will take 11 weeks. It’s a pilot project that’s expected to roll out to other wooden boardwalks.

East Nashville

• Veterinarian under review: Several state agencies are reviewing complaints about Caudle Veterinary Clinic at 3607 Gallatin Pike, WKRN reported, after a woman’s dog died. You can read her allegations here. One of my dogs goes here, so I’ll be watching this closely!

• New developments on Meridian Street: First up, more vertical growth along Dickerson Pike. A proposed (up to) five-story building at 100 Meridian Street with a daycare center, up to 300 housing units, and a restaurant or retail received rezoning approval from the Metro Council this week. You can see the plans here. And at 1600 Meridian Street, plans for 23 townhomes and four homes are moving forward after developers submitted a building permit application. Here’s a link to those plans.

• 59 restaurant score: The health inspector’s report for Cilantro Mexican Grill at 972 Main Street mentions an employee touching ice used for customers’ drinks with their bare hands and fresh mice dropping on top of the dish machine. Click here to read the inspector’s full report.

North Nashville

• More Lime scooters: Metro’s Transportation Licensing Commission gave Lime permission to bring a fleet of 50 scooters to TSU’s campus. Students with a TSU email address will be eligible for a 35% discount. If scooters are taken into other areas like Downtown Nashville, Lime said it plans to make sure an equivalent number ends up back at TSU.

• New coffee roastery: Office space at 2109 Buchanan Street will be turned into “a commercial coffee roastery and to-go beverage counter,” according to a new building permit. I haven’t found the name of the new coffee shop.

South Nashville

• 55 restaurant score: When a health inspector visited Deir Cafe at 105 Haywood Lane, they noted food temperature concerns and multiple handwashing issues, including an employee putting on gloves to begin preparing food without washing their hands after being outside. Here’s a link to the full inspection.

📰 A few final headlines…

• Fallout from medication errors: Ascension Saint Thomas is no longer at immediate risk of losing Medicare and Tenncare (Medicaid) funding after four patients were given the wrong medication, which left several of them paralyzed. The hospital said federal regulators “validated the corrective measures implemented.” The hospital had till Friday to come up with an acceptable safety plan, WTVF reported last week, after the feds rejected several earlier safety plans.

• Belmont to host live tribute to Dolly: “CMA Presents I Will Always Love You: A Celebration of Dolly Parton” will air live from Belmont University on October 21 from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. It’ll include “performances, archival footage and personal stories that trace her extraordinary journey to becoming one of the most beloved entertainers and philanthropists in American history,” the CMA said. You can watch the special live on WKRN/ABC or the next day on Hulu. And here’s a ticket interest form.

• Poll results: I asked nash.news readers yesterday whether they support allowing pedicabs beyond Downtown Nashville. 80% of respondents said no.

🧠 Today’s quiz: Word scramble

Test your memory of yesterday’s newsletter. Use each clue to unscramble the following words.

• OKWCHEEDO - Botanical garden facing a nuisance lawsuit

• SCIBADEP - Newly allowed countywide by Metro

• TALNAGLI - The pike where Fat Mo’s got its 62

• RTITFH - What Uptown Cheapskate sells

• RYLIABR - Where the 1975 book finally came home

Here’s a link to the answers.

🍔 MAP: click here for restaurant inspections across Nashville

Correction, feedback, question? Just reply to this email or email me directly at ryan@nash.news. Talk to you tomorrow! —Ryan

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☀️ Weather

Another heat advisory! High: 99 with a heat index as high as 108, Low: 76. Temps drop to the lower 90s early next week.

🚦 Map: 59 intersections where right turns at red lights could be banned

The Metro Council last night deferred the second of three votes for a proposed ban on right turns at some red lights in Nashville to allow more community input, but now I have a list of where the ban could happen.

Council member Sandra Sepulveda filed the legislation in July after a rise in pedestrian deaths in Nashville. The original version would’ve impacted hundreds of intersections in the most populated areas of Nashville known as the Urban Services District.

After pushback from some fellow council members and Nashville’s mayor, Sepulveda filed an amended bill that’s scaled back to 59 intersections initially. Most of them are downtown, but South Nashville, West Nashville, and East Nashville are also impacted. Here’s a map I made with help from the AI platform Claude. You can also read the text version here.

The bill is scheduled to be considered again at the next Metro Council meeting.

🚲 Allowing pedicabs in Nashville neighborhoods

Pedicabs will no longer be limited to operating in Downtown Nashville. Metro’s Transportation Licensing Commission voted yesterday to allow pedicabs to operate countywide.

“I don’t believe they’re going to be operating in places where there’s not large crowds,” NDOT Transportation Licensing Director Richard Rooker said. His examples of where pedicab drivers might choose to operate: Geodis Park, festivals at Five Points, and a Vanderbilt football game.

The board indicated it could revisit the rules if there are problems. The change does not apply to pedal taverns.

🏠 What’s new in Nashville’s neighborhoods

Belle Meade

• Changing strategy against Cheekwood: A group of neighbors upset about Cheekwood’s expansions over decades wants the botanical garden to pay them damages “for the loss of use and enjoyment of their properties and other injuries proximately caused by Cheekwood’s private nuisances.” That’s part of an amended lawsuit just filed by Neighbors for Safety. It adds Cheekwood as a defendant after the group initially only sued Metro. The lawsuit claims Metro didn’t enforce zoning and noise laws as Cheekwood expanded and added events. In addition to damages, the group wants a judge to force Metro to enforce its interpretation of the law. You can read the amended complaint here. A spokesperson for Cheekwood told me their legal team is reviewing the complaint. Cheekwood representatives have previously said they are in compliance with the law.

12 South

• Addressing parking challenges: NDOT expects a consultant’s plan to address parking challenges in 12 South by next April. Director of Transportation Planning Marty Sewell said the previous issue-by-issue response has created a “whack-a-mole effect … where you make a change on one block and it moves the pressure to another block.” Case in point: A representative of the 12 South Merchant Association said this week a concentration of residential parking permits on the south side of 12 South “is strangling us” with business down 30% to 40%. More: The Nashville Scene reported an interesting story on parking rights across Nashville.

East Nashville

• Work beginning on Main Street and Gallatin Pike: Repaving is starting on two sections: South 5th Street to Eastland Avenue and Hart Lane to Briley Parkway. NDOT expects to complete that work this winter. The agency expects several more projects to be completed in the spring, including new pedestrian hybrid beacons. The beacons will stop traffic for someone to walk across the street at three locations: near The Nashville Biscuit House, near 1100 Sunnymeade Drive, and near 4312 Gallatin Pike. NDOT also plans to put up flexible posts at 17 intersections to make left turns safer and add striping and delineators at 30+ locations to limit road access from some driveways and other areas with “undefined open frontages.” You can watch NDOT’s explanation of all the projects here.

• 62 restaurant score: The health inspector who visited Fat Mo’s at 2608 Gallatin Pike flagged 28 violations, including buildup inside the ice machine, an employee apparently handling raw ground beef and then touching buns with the same gloves, and more. You can read the full inspection here. I link to all restaurant inspections at the end of the newsletter.

Berry Hill

• New thrift clothing store: Uptown Cheapskate plans to open a store at 2107 8th Avenue South. “Uptown is your go-to thrift clothing store. Sell gently used clothes for cash & shop premium brands for 70% off retail,” its website says. It just got its building permit. The store’s website hasn’t announced an opening date.

Downtown (and nearby)

• When the library parking garage could reopen: An NDOT official said he’s “not making a promise,” but he hopes a portion of the downtown library’s parking garage — about 300 spaces — can reopen by the end of the year. It’s been closed since a fire in 2025. Also at the downtown library: NDOT plans to add a raised crosswalk outside the library as part of its pedestrian safety plans. And, courtyard renovations could start next month. The parking garage issues slowed down that project.

Green Hills

• “It is never too late to do the right thing”: An unexpected package recently showed up for the Metro Library Director. It included a book checked out from the Green Hills library in 1975, a $400 check, and a letter from a man in Illinois. He wrote that he found the book while managing his sister-in-law’s estate. “By all appearances, the book is overdue. And as we were taught by our parents, it is never too late to do the right thing,” he wrote. “So, in appreciation of your kind consideration, I am enclosing my personal donation to the Nashville Public Library.” And speaking of the Green Hills library branch: Metro expects renovations to be complete in January.

📰 A few final headlines…

• Gen Z migrating to Nashville: The Nashville area now ranks #4 in the country for Gen Z’s “most popular migration destinations,” according to new research from Redfin. If you’re like me, you can’t keep up with the different generation names. This one means someone born between roughly the late 1990s and around 2010. So, why Nashville? Redfin says we have “plenty of job opportunities for people early in their careers, along with lively social scenes.”

• Nashville restaurant wins “Best of the Best” award: Bourbon Steak at the JW Marriott in Downtown Nashville was just named one of the top 10 fine dining restaurants in the United States by Tripadvisor. We’ve talked for years about going, and I bet it’ll be a bit more difficult to get a reservation after this award! The restaurant recently shared this video of the experience from start to finish.

• Poll results: I asked nash.news subscribers yesterday whether they support a bill to further restrict door-to-door sales in Nashville. 98% of respondents said yes.

🧠 Today’s quiz: Neighborhood Match

Test your memory of yesterday’s newsletter. Match each new business project to one of the following neighborhoods: Rivergate, East Nashville, Near Hermitage, Near Lenox Village/Cane Ridge.

• Buffalo Wild Wings GO

• Nonna Notti

• Halloween Express

• Subliminal Coffee

Here’s a link to the answers.

🍔 MAP: click here for restaurant inspections across Nashville

Correction, feedback, question? Just reply to this email or email me directly at ryan@nash.news. Talk to you tomorrow! —Ryan

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☀️ Weather

Heat advisory! High: 100 with a heat index as high as 108, Low: 77.

⚠️ Tightening solicitor restrictions in Nashville

A new bill would cut the hours when solicitors can knock on your door and strengthen consequences for those who violate Nashville’s “No Knock Registry.”

Metro Council member Jordan Huffman tells me he filed the legislation after working with Metro Codes for 18 months. If it passes, the codes department would be allowed to help with enforcement. Right now, that’s the Metro Clerk’s Office’s job, and it admitted to WKRN last year its resources are too small to have much enforcement or investigative capabilities.

Another issue Huffman told me he wants to address is solicitors going to homes after dark. One risk I didn’t think about until our conversation: he mentioned thieves posing as solicitors after dark so they can find homes to break into.

His proposal would allow solicitors to work from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. during daylight saving time and 10 a.m. to sunset during standard time. Currently, a solicitor can start knocking on doors at sunrise and go till sunset or 7 p.m., whichever is later.

The legislation also sets a pathway for repeat offenders of the “No Knock Registry” to have their solicitation permit revoked, and it clarifies that the company behind the solicitor can be punished with $50 fines (the maximum allowed under state law) and permit revocation or suspension.

The Metro Council is set to have the first of three votes on the legislation tonight.

Here’s a link to Nashville’s “No Knock Registry” if you want to sign up. And here’s a link to the legislation, which includes even more changes beyond what I reported.

🏠 What’s new in Nashville’s neighborhoods

Antioch

• Results of codes audit: Metro Council member Tasha Ellis said a codes audit of her district is nearly complete. She essentially asked Metro Codes to look for junk in yards, abandoned cars, and other issues instead of waiting on people to report it. In the Castlegate neighborhood alone, she said inspectors found 166 violations in under two weeks. I reported last month on where inspectors found the most violations. In her newsletter, Ellis explains “where the system gets stuck” with holding property owners accountable, how you can get help if your property is flagged, and how you can help address problems in your neighborhood.

West Nashville

• 68 restaurant score: The health inspector who visited Waldo’s Chicken and Beer at 6400 Charlotte Pike flagged “multiple critical violations,” including food temperature issues. You can read the full inspection here, and I link to all of the restaurant inspections at the end of the newsletter.

Near Lenox Village & Cane Ridge

• New restaurant: Buffalo Wild Wings GO plans to open its takeout concept in the Kroger shopping center at 6688 Nolensville Pike, based on a new building permit application.

Bellevue

• Road work starting today: I told nash.news readers this was coming last week, and here’s a reminder. Construction to raise a section of Coley Davis Road near the controversial Ariza apartment development will start today, the developer said in a statement shared by Metro Council member Sheri Weiner. Temporary lanes will need to be installed for the elevation work, according to the developer, but two-way traffic will stay open at all times. “One side of the roadway will be elevated at a time. This will require multiple phases using different traffic control alignments,” the developer said.

Near Hermitage

• New Italian market and deli: Nonna Notti plans to open on October 1. It’ll replace the former Panini Bread Cafe at 557 Stewarts Ferry Pike. Metro Council member Erin Evans shared this brief profile of the restaurant’s owner and how he hopes to help people. You can check out the restaurant’s menu here.

South Nashville

• Protecting crayfish: Did you know the federally endangered Nashville crayfish is only found around Mill Creek and its tributaries? The Nashville Zoo said in a new video that its crayfish population has remained “remarkably stable” over the past decade despite rapid development. This video shows what the zoo does to track the crayfish and how you can help protect them.

Rivergate

• Halloween store coming soon: Halloween Express received a building permit to open a location at the former Sam Ash store at 1647 Gallatin Pike North. I did not find an opening date on the company’s website.

East Nashville

• New coffee shop location: A building permit application indicates Subliminal Coffee will open at 935 East Trinity Lane. They’re currently operating in the lobby of a wellness studio on Main Street. I’m in touch with the owners on Instagram, and I hope to have an official update about their plans soon!

📰 A few final headlines…

• New home construction boom “running out of steam”: Permits for new homes in the Nashville metropolitan area (that includes counties surrounding Nashville) decreased 14.6% since last year, according to new research from Zillow. That’s a much sharper drop than the national decrease of 1.7%. “The housing shortage that drove the building boom is still very much intact. The concern is that when conditions improve and buyers return, the thinner pipeline could mean a tighter market that drives up prices,” Kara Ng, a senior economist at Zillow, said. Nashville’s median home sales price in August increased about $10,000 from last year, data from Greater Nashville Realtors said, to about $515,000.

• Organizing against ICE call center: The Tennessee Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition is organizing people to “pack Metro Council” tonight and speak against ICE’s proposed call center in Donelson near the airport. I’m not aware of any input Metro Council would have in ICE’s plans, but TIRRC said it wants to send a message that “we do not want this for our communities and home here in Nashville or the state of Tennessee.” When I asked a spokesperson for the Nashville mayor’s office yesterday whether they’d heard any updates on the call center, they replied “not that I’m aware of.” WKRN reported earlier this month that jobs had been posted for the call center.

• What I’m monitoring tonight at the Metro Council: A vote scheduled for legislation that would limit right turns at red lights in some Nashville intersections after a rise in pedestrian deaths.

• Poll results: And speaking of “no right on red,” I asked nash.news readers yesterday whether they support any new restrictions on right turns at red lights in Nashville. 78% of respondents said no.

🧠 Today’s quiz: Higher or lower

Test your memory of yesterday’s newsletter.

Reports of auto thefts in Nashville have fallen by:

• Less than 10%

• About 20%

• More than 30%

Here’s a link to the answer.

🍔 MAP: click here for restaurant inspections across Nashville

Correction, feedback, question? Just reply to this email or email me directly at ryan@nash.news. Talk to you tomorrow! —Ryan

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☀️ Weather

High: 94, Low: 71. Sunny!

🚦 The cost of “no right on red”

A controversial proposal to ban right turns at some red lights across Nashville is scheduled for its second of three votes by the Metro Council tomorrow night. Council member Sandra Sepulveda filed the legislation in July after a rise in pedestrian deaths in Nashville. According to an estimate just released by NDOT:

• Each “no right on red” sign would cost $20 and installation would cost between about $230 and $500 each depending on whether NDOT or a contractor installs it.

• NDOT said the original version of the bill, which impacted intersections across the city’s most populated areas known as the Urban Services District, would cost:

  • about $1 million for signage “at 418 pedestrian signals,” and

  • another $7.8 million if NDOT installs electronic “no right on red” signs.

However, I reported last month that multiple council members said they would not support the legislation unless it was scaled back. Sepulveda has signaled to multiple media outlets she plans to cut the number of impacted intersections, meaning the total cost for signage will likely change if the legislation passes. I’ll be watching for Sepulveda’s amendment today. An NDOT spokesperson did not respond to my questions about its cost estimates.

💰 Car companies to pay Nashville for the “Kia Boys”

Viral social media videos showed thieves, who became widely known as the “Kia Boys,” how to take advantage of a security flaw in Hyundais and Kias to steal the cars with something as simple as a USB cord.

Nashville sued after it said the “lack of reasonable anti-theft devices” led to a 555% increase in stolen Kia and Hyundai vehicles from 2022 to 2023. The companies just agreed to pay Metro about $748,000 to settle. The Metro Council is scheduled to vote on the settlement tomorrow.

Nashville’s on a much better track now with auto thefts. Reports have fallen more than 34% since last year, according to police data.

🏠 What’s new in Nashville’s neighborhoods

West Nashville

• A beloved restaurant’s new home: Melissa’s Sir Pizza was forced to close this summer after 60 years because, it said, the landlord sold its property on Charlotte Pike to make way for condos and apartments. The restaurant just announced it hopes to reopen by the end of the year at its new location at 1109 63rd Avenue North. In a Facebook post, the owners asked for “any recommendations, connections, or advice” so they can “move through this process as quickly as possible.”

Wedgewood-Houston

• Petition drive ends this week: The latest fight over racing at the Nashville Fairgrounds has involved calls to police and alleged lies. The first step in asking voters next year to eliminate the racetrack wraps up on Friday. That’s when a petition in support of amending Metro’s charter needs the signatures of 10% of registered voters. If the petition drive is successful, the question could be on the ballot next year.

• Bridge reopening: TDOT said it expects to complete repairs to the Hamilton Avenue bridge over I-65 by the end of the year. The bridge suddenly closed last week after TDOT found damage to the bridge deck. “The north sidewalk will remain open to pedestrians and cyclists” until construction starts late this month or early next month, TDOT said.

• New coffee shop: Akirae Coffee and Tea just received a building permit to open at the Standard Assembly apartment building (715 Merritt Avenue).

Downtown (and nearby)

• “Krooks” ban around Broadway: A Nashville judge banned nine scammers who target tourists and drunk people from going to the most touristy areas of Nashville around lower Broadway, Metro Police said. The alleged members of the “Krooks” gang convince people to hand over their phones under the guise of selling clothes or other merchandise, according to police, and then transfer money from the victims via a payment app. “If a victim detects/objects to the scheme, Krooks members are reported to have escalated encounters to intimidation and even assault,” police said.

• “Unnecessary force” lawsuit: Two men sued the Red Door Saloon and Good Will Protection Services because the men claim multiple security guards attacked them after they tried to enter the bar last April. The lawsuit alleged the guards threw one of the men to the ground and then kicked and assaulted him, and the guards pushed the other man into the road. The lawsuit doesn’t give detail on how things escalated, but it calls the use of force “without justification or legal cause.” It asks for $400,000 in damages for personal injuries and other costs, along with punitive damages. I reached out to the bar and security company for comment. I’ll let you know if they respond.

East Nashville

• The short-term rental that won’t quit: A home at 1016 Lischey Avenue already had an injunction against operating a short-term rental for three years, but Metro Codes said it’s on Airbnb anyway. Metro told the owner to “remove all ads and stop short term renting.” The three-year ban comes from a 2025 order when a judge found the property was operating illegally as a short-term rental without a permit.

• Junk at construction site: A complaint to Metro Codes about a property at 604 South 16th Street said no one’s been on the construction site since June, a dumpster is overflowing with trash, “and people continue to toss their trash into the dumpster and/or around it causing a mess.” Codes sent a notice to the owner to take care of the trash, along with high grass on the property.

• Dickerson Pike’s transformation: Along with the apartment projects going up in this quickly-changing part of town, now there are plans for a new 9,000 square-foot fitness studio called Big Pretty Moon Fitness at 1402 Dickerson Pike. I’ll let you know if I find out details about what the studio will offer and when it’ll open.

South Nashville

• Payments for forced moves due to I-24 toll lanes: TDOT revealed how much it’ll pay homeowners and businesses for moving expenses, in addition to fair market value for properties, if they’re forced to relocate to make room for the $9 billion I-24 toll lane project from roughly I-440 to Murfreesboro. Details in this article by Main Street Nashville. Tennessee’s comptroller said last week he’ll consider Nashville State Representative John Ray Clemmons’ request to investigate the winning bid, WSMV said, after Tennessee’s attorney general declined to investigate. He requested the investigation after The Tennessean reported a former member of Governor Bill Lee’s administration took a job with one of the companies involved in the winning proposal.

• Nolensville Pike widening: Access to Sugar Valley Drive at Nolensville Pike will reopen in mid-October, Nashville State Representative Caleb Hemmer shared. The closure is part of TDOT’s widening of Nolensville Pike from near Old Hickory Boulevard to north of Mill Creek to five lanes.

• Library reopening: The Edmondson Pike library branch will reopen on September 28, the Nashville Public Library announced. It’s been closed for HVAC upgrades.

Donelson

• A neighborhood visit by Metro Codes: After someone submitted a complaint about junk and debris at a home on Sanborn Drive to Hub Nashville, a Metro Codes inspector told its owner and the owners of two other properties to address issues like junk and tall grass. If you have a concern in your neighborhood, you can submit a report here.

Trinity Hills

• Motel converting into apartments: Motel rooms at the former Days Inn at 1400 Brick Church Pike will be converted into 114 studio apartments, a new building permit application said. The average rent for apartments (not just studios) across Nashville is $2,200, according to Zillow.

📰 A few final headlines…

• First guests at Dolly Parton’s new hotel: Reservations open today at the SongTeller Hotel in Downtown Nashville. “The venues will come alive with a dynamic lineup of live performances and entertainment programming, including Dolly Parton's family members and emerging artists. Parton's cousin Richie Owens will perform September 16 at Parton's Live, with Parton's niece Jada Star launching her twice-weekly artist-in-residence September 17 and September 19,” Dolly’s team said in a press release. The hotel and Dolly’s Life of Many Colors Museum will have a grand opening on September 29. Also, in case you missed it, Nashville’s airport board took the first step on Friday to rename the airport in honor of Dolly by changing its naming policy. The airport’s new name and more detailed plans for making the change are still in the works, the airport said.

• Increased hiring for Music City Loop: After The Boring Company raised $3 billion from investors, it said the company will use some of the money to “significantly increase hiring across engineering, operations, and production, to build and scale Loop projects,” including the Music City Loop. I saw at least 30 jobs posted for the Nashville project.

• Poll results: I asked nash.news subscribers on Friday whether they support any form of marijuana legalization in Tennessee. 74% of respondents said yes.

🧠 Today’s quiz: This or that

Test your memory of Friday’s newsletter.

Which project is larger? Redevelopment of the former Lincoln Tech property in East Nashville or Modera Chestnut Hill?

Here’s a link to the answer.

🍔 MAP: click here for restaurant inspections across Nashville

Correction, feedback, question? Just reply to this email or email me directly at ryan@nash.news. Talk to you tomorrow! —Ryan

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• Weather: ⛈️ High: 94, Low: 71. Chance of showers and thunderstorms through tomorrow.

• Father appeals DCS punishment over CBD gummy: A study released this summer found a 3,307% increase in children under six ingesting recreational drugs from 2000 to 2024 “with a rapid increase beginning in 2013, especially involving edible marijuana and psilocybin products.” This week, a father asked a Nashville judge to intervene after Tennessee’s Department of Children’s Services labeled him a “perpetrator of child abuse.” According to the father’s petition, his three-year-old daughter “potentially got into [a] closed toiletry bag under [the] bathroom vanity and ingested some portion of [a] legal CBD gummy” that he occasionally uses to sleep while traveling. The child was “briefly lethargic” and “suffered no lasting harm,” the petition said. If his “perpetrator of child abuse” designation is allowed to stand, he said, it will “trigger mandatory notification to any current or future employer, licensing authority, or volunteer organization.” I reached out to DCS for comment about the petition but did not hear back. The potential danger of hemp-derived products was part of Tennessee Republicans’ justification for tighter rules on the hemp industry, including a requirement for child-resistant packaging. Multiple hemp businesses have said other parts of the new rules will force them to close.

• Nashville’s lottery dropoff as sports betting and prediction markets rise: Annual lottery ticket sales in Nashville dropped more than 15% in the past five years to $187 million, according to new data I received from Tennessee’s lottery. That matters because the decline, which is happening statewide, threatens a funding stream for college scholarships. More than 169,000 students receive a scholarship funded by the lottery, according to a study by Think Tennessee. The study said scholarship spending outpaced lottery revenue for scholarships in fiscal year 2025, and that’s expected to continue through 2030. I’ve heard no discussion about cutting scholarships, but the study argued “Tennessee will soon have to address balancing current funding pressures with increasing eligibility and enrollment.” You can read its summary of what other states are doing to address similar challenges on the last two pages of this document.

• What I’m following today: Nashville’s airport board is scheduled to vote this morning on starting the process to rename the airport in honor of Dolly Parton. I expect that to pass.

🏠 What’s new in Nashville’s neighborhoods

• Downtown (and nearby)

  • Rare (maybe temporary) bipartisan pushback: Governor Bill Lee’s administration wants permission to find a developer who will turn five state-owned parking lots around the capitol building into a mixed-use development with a hotel, housing, retail, and more. A vote to move forward failed with a tie this week in the state’s building commission. While Nashville state Senator Heidi Campbell said she’s open to the properties being developed, she argued the structure of the proposed search “makes it clear that the state is going to choose one developer without ever asking anyone what they would pay, and then negotiate the price of 10 acres of downtown Nashville with a single party, with no competitor at the table.” Before voting against the proposal, Tennessee Treasurer David Lillard Jr. said he’d like to “get it further defined as to what exactly the state's looking at here.” The commission agreed to meet again about the proposal in two weeks.

• Metro Center

  • 69 restaurant score: When a health inspector visited Casa Agave Mexican Restaurant at 261 Venture Circle, they wrote in their report that “employees do not demonstrate basic food handlers concepts such as sanitation of food contact surfaces, hand washing,” among other concerns.

• East Nashville

  • Movement on the former Lincoln Tech property: the developers behind a 19-acre mixed-use project at the corner of Gallatin Avenue and Douglas Avenue just filed an infrastructure plan that appears to move toward construction. A zoning plan filed earlier this year called for buildings up to seven stories tall with 350,000 square feet for restaurants and other businesses, 800 multi-family residential units, 150 homes or townhomes, and green space. The latest filing refers to sections of the property closest to Douglas Avenue as future phases.

• Antioch

  • Moving 911 and emergency management: I reported last week this was in the works, and I just got a copy of the plans. Metro plans to bring Nashville’s 911 center and Office of Emergency Management to the former Kmart property on Murfreesboro Pike. Their new, three-story building would be behind the relatively new Southeast Precinct. You can see a rendering of the project on page 20 of this document. The project also includes a “logistics” building for Nashville Fire and emergency management and a three-story parking garage. Nashville’s former 911 director told Channel 4 last year that the department had outgrown its current space near Belmont University.

• Near Wedgewood-Houston

  • Bathhouse in the works: Plans to bring Bathhouse’s first location outside New York to Wedgewood Village were first announced in 2024, and now there’s movement. A new building permit application describes “a public access bathhouse including therapeutic pools, saunas and steam rooms with associated programming.”

  • Warehouses to apartments: This is at least the second time in the past month I’ve reported on a warehouse/industrial property being torn down to make way for housing in this neighborhood. The latest is for Modera Chestnut Hill at Andrew T. Whitmore Street and Old Radnor Car Line. Its developers just applied for permits to build nearly 200 apartment units. Its plan submitted last year called for up to 400 units with buildings as tall as five stories.

• The Nations

  • Future of the West Park Community Center: Metro Parks just asked for input on what you’d like to see at the new community center. The old building was demolished last year after the roof collapsed. Here’s a link to the survey. I reported last week that a concept design (at 23:04 into this video) includes a gym, fitness center, game room, and possibly an indoor pool.

• Hermitage

  • Plans for former Kenny Rogers estate: A filing for Copperline Ranch at 1 Copperline Road caught my attention. It asks Metro for a zoning policy to support “various rural/farm/agritourism uses.” Metro Council member Jordan Huffman tells me the ranch already hosts events, but this proposal would allow “a general store, walking trails, and a space for small daytime outdoor concerts.”

  • Neighborhood expansions: The next phase of the Parkhaven neighborhood at 2040 Hickory Hills Lane is in the works. A planning application seeks approval for 50 more lots. About five miles away, the developer behind Kingsley Park filed for “phase 2” to add 45 lots at 5047 John Hagar Road.

📰 A few final headlines…

• Nashville 9/11 ceremony: “In remembrance of the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Nashville’s first responders and city officials will lead a procession Friday morning at 8 a.m.,” Metro Police said. This press release gives details on road closures in effect around the procession route in Downtown Nashville from about 7:45 a.m. to 8:30 a.m.

• The Nashville Fair begins tonight: It has “everything from thrilling midway rides to wrestling, axe throwing, balloon sculpting, nightly live music, and more,” the fair’s website says. Tickets are $10 for adults and $8 for children. Kids 5 and under get in free.

• Poll results: I asked nash.news readers yesterday whether Starbucks should receive $30 million in state incentives in exchange for new jobs. 84% of respondents said no.

🧠 Today’s quiz: Odd One Out

Test your memory of yesterday’s newsletter. Three of the four options below have a common thread in a story. Pick the one that doesn’t.

• 715 apartments

• 100+ townhomes

• 130,000 square feet of commercial space

• 161 affordable apartments

Here’s a link to the answers.

🍔 MAP: click here for restaurant inspections across Nashville

Correction, feedback, question? Just reply to this email or email me directly at ryan@nash.news. Have a great weekend! I’ll be back in your inbox on Monday. —Ryan

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• Weather: ⛈️ High: 95, Low: 72. Chance of showers and thunderstorms through Saturday.

• Visa crackdown takes out Nashville Zoo event: after the Nashville Zoo announced it had to cancel this year’s Zoolumination Festival of Lights because visa applications for Chinese artisans traveling to the United States were denied, I quickly found Nashville’s not alone. The Des Moines Register covered a Chinese lights festival canceled there earlier this year over visa issues. “The visa process for visiting artists has always been complicated and expensive. Under the current administration, it’s gotten significantly worse,” Houston Public Media reported in July. It tells the story of a music group having to cut its tour short, and a comedian being detained at the border despite having “their petition approved and their passport stamped.” The Department of State told the outlet “Under President Trump, the United States is unapologetic in implementing America First visa policies. We welcome the many foreign artists who follow the required procedures and meet all of the visa requirements under U.S. law.” Back in Nashville, the zoo said it will host a holiday light show “featuring glowing wildlife, holiday displays, and an 85-foot synchronized Christmas tree” starting on November 13. Tickets are on sale now.

• $30 million in Starbucks incentives approved: Before yesterday’s 4-3 vote in favor of a state grant to Starbucks in exchange for 2,000 new jobs with an average salary of $125,000 at a new corporate office in Downtown Nashville, the city’s Industrial Development Board heard from members of Starbucks Workers United. They have a unionized store in Green Hills and have recently called for a boycott of Starbucks because the union still hasn’t reached an agreement with Starbucks. “All the money that’s going into Starbucks is being spent everywhere except in bettering the worker experience,” barista Veronica Gonzalez said. A state representative pointed out Starbucks will have to pay back the money if it doesn’t meet hiring targets, and the incentives are for jobs at the corporate office, not stores.

🏠 What’s new in Nashville’s neighborhoods

• Rivergate

  • When building will start on Rivergate Mall property: the developer said this week that demolition of the mall is on track to be finished by November, and the first vertical construction will start early next year. Plans include 715 apartments, more than 100 townhomes, a hotel, 130,000 square feet of commercial space, and an affordable housing project for seniors. The developers hope to be the first in Nashville to take advantage of a new state law that allows a special assessment on property owners in the development to help pay for infrastructure costs. For example, someone in the commercial spaces could pay $750 per month while townhome owners could pay about $90 per month.

• East Nashville

  • 65 restaurant health score: An inspector who visited Deli Raspados, a food truck based at 3225 Gallatin Pike, flagged issues with “hand washing, sanitization, food temperature,” and more. You can read the full inspection here. I also shared recent restaurant inspections across Nashville at the end of the newsletter.

  • Traffic calming meetings: If you want to have input on NDOT’s ideas to slow down traffic and make streets safer in East Nashville, you can join virtual traffic calming meetings tonight. One is focused on Bullock Avenue (meeting info) and the other is for McKennell Drive (meeting info).

• Near Sylvan Park

  • Brewery to Italian restaurant: the former Bearded Iris taproom at Sylvan Supply (4101 Charlotte Avenue) will become an Italian restaurant, according to a new building permit filing. I haven’t confirmed the name of the new restaurant.

• Downtown (and nearby)

  • “A major street directly across our property”: one of the property owners in Wasioto Bend (this is on the East Bank around the old scrap yard) told Metro’s Planning Commission they support the neighborhood’s transformation, but a draft street plan cuts through their property at 210 Sylvan Street. “It has done so without the landowner’s consultation that the City’s own process promises, and that its own planning principles require,” the owner’s letter to the commission says. Nashville’s Vision Zero committee, which aims to eliminate traffic deaths, also criticized one of the planned roads because it says the “straight and wide expanses of pavement” would encourage speeding. The commission’s staff asked to delay a vote on the plan until later this month.

  • Transforming Pietown: Before I share what’s new, am I the only Nashvillian who never heard the neighborhood name Pietown until seeing it on Google Maps a few years ago? Regardless, its transformation from mostly warehouses continues with a new steakhouse from the same company that brought Pastis to Wedgewood-Houston. St. Anselm received a $5 million permit to build a new restaurant at 730 Ewing Avenue. I’ve seen several reports that it’ll open next summer. Just across the street: plans for a new seven-story Listening Room hotel and music venue.

• Wedgewood-Houston

  • Managing traffic from new music venue: The Truth at 440 Chestnut Street opens October 1 with Miranda Lambert, and if you’ve driven in that area recently, you’ve probably wondered what the plan for traffic is before and after a show. Metro Council member Terry Vo will host a town hall tonight at 6:30 p.m. to talk about updates to the traffic plan after community feedback, along with other impacts to the neighborhood. More details here.

• Madison (and nearby)

  • More housing: the developer behind the Heritage Creek neighborhood off Hunters Lane just filed with Metro its plans for 80 more lots. And separately at 120 West Due West Avenue, a developer filed for a permit to build a multi-story apartment building with 161 new units that it says will be affordable. Madison is booming right now with apartments.

• Bellevue

  • Home cleanup ordered: Metro Codes responded after a complaint that a home on Highland Park Court “is a disgrace to our neighborhood. Please please help us! This house is falling apart and trash debris all over.” The codes inspector gave the owner notice to address structural damage, junk and debris, and broken glass, among other things.

• Antioch

  • New neighborhood: a developer filed for rezoning to build 43 new homes at 4070 LaVergne Couchville Pike. You can see the plans here.

📰 A few final headlines…

• Hospitals at risk of closing after drug mix-up: Ascension Saint Thomas Midtown and West could lose their TennCare and Medicare funding after three of four patients given the wrong medicine during surgery were paralyzed, WTVF reported. The hospital has until September 18 to come up with a safety plan that’s acceptable to the federal government.

• Bus service expansion: I told nash.news subscribers this was coming a few weeks ago, and now it’s official with details. WeGo Transit announced this week a new bus route in Antioch and increased service on other routes starting this winter. This link gives you details about the changes and how to share your feedback. The expansion is part of Nashville’s Choose How You Move transit plan, which voters agreed to fund through a sales tax increase.

• O’Charley’s closing: I’m sad to share this, because people are losing their jobs, and I grew up going to O’Charley’s (loved the potato soup). The restaurant closed all of its locations last night, WKRN reported. I can’t say I’m surprised because my experience eating there a few years ago wasn’t what I grew up with — barely any customers, not a lot of employees.

🧠 Today’s quiz: Timeline

Test your memory of yesterday’s newsletter. Put these events in chronological order.

• Nashville airport board votes on Dolly Parton renaming proposal

• Wawa expected to open in Nashville

• Dolly’s hotel in Downtown Nashville opens

• Construction begins on Coley Davis Road

Here’s a link to the answers.

🍔 MAP: click here for restaurant inspections across Nashville

Correction, feedback, question? Just reply to this email or email me directly at ryan@nash.news. Talk to you tomorrow! —Ryan

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• Weather: ☀️ Heat advisory! High: 96 with heat index as high as 105, Low: 75. Daily chances of rain and storms return tomorrow through the weekend.

• The path to renaming BNA revealed: when Tennessee’s governor announced plans to rename Nashville International Airport in honor of Dolly Parton, he didn’t directly address the airport’s policy that seemed to be a roadblock. WPLN explained the policy here. A newly released proposal up for a vote by Nashville’s airport board on Friday essentially says the board has the power to honor Dolly anyway. It directs the airport’s CEO to start the renaming process immediately with her estate’s approval. Assuming the resolution passes, the CEO will create a timeline and “implementation plan for all necessary approvals” and determine costs. When Tennessee Republicans considered earlier this year whether to rename the airport in honor of President Donald Trump, the airport estimated the name change would cost more than $10 million. I’ll let you know what happens with Friday’s vote. One more note: Dolly’s new hotel and museum in Downtown Nashville will open on September 29.

• “Inappropriate” OnlyFans images at school: the executive principal at Stanford Elementary School in Donelson is appealing her punishment after students reported seeing “inappropriate images” on a teacher’s laptop during an after-school program last May, according to a new petition filed in Davidson County Chancery Court. The school board suspended Olivia Travis for two days without pay for “neglect of duty,” the petition says, because of delayed notification to parents and not filing a report with Tennessee’s Department of Children’s Services. The appeal essentially says Travis followed instructions from district leadership and DCS.

• Nashville’s first Wawa gas station: It’s popular enough to have a 32,000-member Facebook fan club, and it has recently opened locations just outside of Nashville. Now we have an idea of when Nashville will get its first Wawa at Highway 100 and Temple Road. A grand opening hasn’t been announced, but Metro Council member Jason Spain said he expects it to happen in mid-November. I shared last month that this location was the only one in Nashville to get a building permit despite applications for other locations. You can read about those other locations and what delayed Antioch’s store here.

🏠 What’s new in Nashville’s neighborhoods

• Priest Lake

  • Homeless camp near the lake: the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers tells me it’s working with Metro Police to “remove what appears to be a small surface area of encampment from public property” along Anderson Road. “During recent visits, no individuals were present, although some items appeared to have been moved. If individuals return to the site during this process, appropriate enforcement action may be taken for unauthorized occupation of federal property,” a spokesperson said. You can read their full statement here.

• West Nashville

  • Dalts American Grill’s comeback: it suddenly closed after more than four decades, and Strategic Hospitality, the company that stepped up to save Dalts, just took a step toward reopening the restaurant. A building permit application shows the old restaurant will be demolished so a new one can be built in its place. The restaurant’s website title indicates it’s reopening this year. I reached out to Strategic Hospitality yesterday for an update on its plans, but I didn’t hear back.

• Downtown (and nearby)

  • Creating Nashville’s River North neighborhood: Oracle just submitted to Metro the most detailed plans I’ve seen for the 82-acre project. You can see the plans for yourself here. The company’s new campus includes five clusters of buildings behind a greenway on the East Bank, a hotel, a two-acre park, an amphitheater, and retail. Oracle started early site work on its new headquarters in February. More: status of Oracle’s pedestrian bridge and a forecast of how many people will eventually live in the River North neighborhood.

• East Nashville

  • Movement with stalled traffic project: East Nashville Spokes, a traffic plan that includes protected bike lanes and better pedestrian crossings, appears to be getting back on track. I reported last month that the project was stuck in the federal approval process. NDOT blamed cuts to federal staffing and “changing attitudes” under the Trump administration. Metro Council member Clay Capp just shared “the money is now starting to make its way back to us.” Next up with the project: designs, and the councilman says you’ll have an opportunity to give feedback. I’ll let you know when that happens.

  • 51st Deli plans to open a location here next year. It’ll be in The Jesse, a new short-term rental development, at 730 Main Street. I’m a big fan of the caesar wrap, but here’s their menu if you’ve never been.

• Bellevue

  • Road work starting soon: Construction to raise a section of Coley Davis Road near the controversial Ariza apartment development will start next Tuesday, the developer said in a statement shared by Metro Council member Sheri Weiner. Temporary lanes will need to be installed for the elevation work, according to the developer, but two-way traffic will stay open at all times. “One side of the roadway will be elevated at a time. This will require multiple phases using different traffic control alignments,” the developer said.

• The Nations

  • Nearly 300 new apartments: developers applied for a permit to start building the new Alta apartment complex at 5901 California Avenue. The six apartment buildings range in height from three to four stories. You can see the plans here.

• Donelson

  • Bank to Hattie B’s: Demolition has begun on the old Truist bank at 2725 Old Lebanon Pike, and Hattie B’s Hot Chicken hopes to open early next spring, Metro Council member Jeff Gregg said. The Nashville Business Journal reported last month that the chain plans to double in size from 19 restaurants over the next two years.

• Hermitage

  • Overgrown grass on Old Hickory Boulevard: Metro Council member Jordan Huffman called “the overgrown grass and lack of maintenance” on this state route unacceptable. “TDOT recently shifted much of this work to outside contractors, and unfortunately the level and frequency of maintenance has not been where it needs to be,” Huffman wrote. He said he’s working with TDOT to address the problem. I reached out to TDOT for comment, but I haven’t heard back.

• Old Hickory

  • Trees to apartments: 124 multi-family units (the plans look like townhomes) are coming to the corner of Robinson Road and Industrial Drive, according to a building permit application.

• South Nashville

  • Tonight at 6 p.m.: virtual traffic calming meeting for Wimpole Drive. Click here for details about the meeting.

📰 A few final headlines…

• 492 “guardians” needed: a group of attorneys wants volunteers to help monitor Nashville’s polling places in the November 3rd election, the Nashville Banner reported. “When threats to our democratic process emerged — from federal overreach, outside interference, or any other actor — a group of local election lawyers and longtime community organizers decided to act,” Nashville Guardians of Democracy’s website says. I reported last month that Nashville sued the Trump administration for allegedly threatening to withhold some anti-terrorism funding if election changes are not implemented.

• Toll lanes on I-24: today’s the last scheduled community meeting for you to speak with the team that will build toll lanes stretching from roughly I-440 to Murfreesboro. It’s from 12:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Smyrna Event Center. Catch up: the $9 billion winning proposal, why a Nashville lawmaker is calling for Tennessee’s attorney general to investigate, and people getting notices they could lose their property.

• Major League Baseball in Nashville: with MLB expected to pick two expansion cities by January 2029, ESPN explains what could hold back Nashville from winning a team, including a lack of “an owner, public financing or a site.”

• Super Bowl in Nashville: 83% of Tennessee’s registered voters think bringing the Super Bowl to Nashville in 2030 is a “good thing” for the city, according to a new poll released by the conservative-leaning Beacon Center. 62% of those polled also support spending “approximately $60 million” to host the game “with much of the public portion expected to come from tourism-related tax revenue.”

🧠 Today’s quiz: Neighborhood Match

Test your memory of last Thursday’s newsletter. Match the story to the following neighborhoods: Bellevue, Antioch, East Nashville, Hermitage, The Nations.

• 117-child daycare

• Escape room

• Fallbrook Apartments renovation

• Sustainability education center at former landfill

• Emergency communications center

Here’s a link to the answers.

🍔 MAP: click here for restaurant inspections across Nashville

One more thing… I want to say thank you to the more than 3,000 people who have signed up for nash.news since I launched a month ago. I’m grateful for each subscription, opened email, comment, and clicked link. All of it helps turn my (still feels kind of crazy) decision to leave TV news after 13 years into a sustainable, new way to cover my hometown.

I’m thrilled to be back after a few days away in the mountains with our dogs. Talk to you tomorrow. -Ryan

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• Weather: 🌦️ Heat advisory through tomorrow. High: 101 with a heat index as high as 111, Low: 77. Slight chance of thunderstorms after 5 p.m. We also have an air quality alert. It says people with respiratory issues should limit their time outside today. The alert also advises all of us to limit exercise outside.

• Replacing lead pipes in Nashville: More than half of the city’s drinking water lines are at least 50 years old, according to a new grant application by Metro. That’s turned into a hunt to find how many are made of lead after the Environmental Protection Agency issued a rule that all lead service lines must be replaced by 2037. The Metro Council agreed this week to accept $1 million from the state to finish a pipe inventory. Click this link to see what, if anything, the inventory has found for your property. Once the inventory is complete, Metro Water will put together a schedule for pipe replacements. Its website says the department “balances water chemistry to prevent corrosion and minimize risks and analysis shows that Nashville does not have a lead problem.”

• Metro’s Planning Department predicts 34,400 new apartments in Nashville’s urban core (essentially downtown and areas around I-440) by 2040. The forecast surprised me because there are so many apartment vacancies downtown that two or three months of free rent have become routine with new leases. The lengthy report, which will be used to look at potential policy changes surrounding growth, also said “Nashville’s urban core has grown faster than the tools designed to guide it” and the tools to protect historic buildings are limited.

🏠 What’s new in Nashville’s neighborhoods

• Downtown (and nearby)

  • Speaking of new apartments: Sandbar at oneC1TY is being forced to close. “After nearly a decade of volleyball, drinks, celebrations, friendships, and countless memories, we’ve learned that the property where Sandbar calls home is being sold to developers,” the business said on Instagram. Those developers announced yesterday plans to build more than 300 new apartments on the C1TYBLOX site, forcing Sandbar and other businesses to close at the end of the year. Thanks to a nash.news reader who let me know about this almost as soon as it was announced.

• Antioch

  • Next phase for former Kmart property: it’s already home to Metro Police’s relatively new Southeast precinct, and now plans to move Nashville’s emergency communications center and Office of Emergency Management to the property appear to be moving forward, based on a new permit filing. It says three new buildings will be constructed, including a parking garage. Nashville’s former 911 director told Channel 4 last year that the department had outgrown its current space near Belmont University.

• East Nashville

  • Cleaning up apartments off Dickerson Pike: more than $12 million in renovations are planned for the Fallbrook Apartments on Dellway Villa Road, according to building permits. The apartments have a history of shootings and arrests in recent years.

  • Hot Ticket, a new bar with a dance floor at 311 Gallatin Avenue, received a building permit that moves it a step closer to opening. “We will be live, laugh, and loving at Hot Ticket in a couple weeks,” the bar said on Instagram. More: The Nashville Scene’s profile of the owners.

• North Nashville

  • While the number of people killed or injured by gunfire has dropped by 21% across Nashville as a whole, that’s not the case in Metro Police’s North Precinct, according to police data. Gunshot injuries increased 40% from 20 cases at this point last year to 28 so far this year. Deaths remained the same, with four each year. Other trends in the precinct: traffic stops are up 58% since last year, and arrests dropped by 9%.

  • Tonight at 6 p.m.: a virtual traffic calming meeting for Queens Lane. You can find more info about the meeting here.

• Bellevue

  • Future of former Buzzard Hollow Landfill: Metro Council member Sheri Weiner shared drawings, which you can see here, for a proposal to turn the property into a convenience center and “sustainability education center,” among other things. The landfill has been abandoned since the 1970s. Weiner explained in her newsletter the multiple hurdles the idea still needs to overcome before anything is built.

• The Nations

  • Escape room: Countdown Games plans to open an “escape room center” at 4801 Centennial Boulevard, according to a building permit application.

• Hermitage

  • Plans to turn an old medical office into a daycare at 244 Jackson Meadows Drive appear to be moving forward. The project received a building permit that brings on a contractor to complete the project. It’ll have room for 117 children. I reported last week on a study that found Nashville’s licensed child care centers have enough capacity for “just over half of local working families with young children.”

• Wedgewood-Houston

  • Industrial building to apartments and retail? Developers filed for a permit to tear down an industrial building near the soccer stadium at 492 Craighead Street. Back at the beginning of the year, more than $60 million in permit applications were filed to build more than 200 apartments and retail, but I haven’t seen any movement on those.

  • Recording studio to steakhouse: the building at 622 Hamilton Avenue “has a rich music legacy, hosting production for Grammy-winning artists, Disney media, and Broadway shows,” a real estate firm’s Instagram post says. Now, a building permit application indicates work is about to start on turning part of the property into a restaurant. The brothers behind an Italian restaurant called iggy’s previously announced plans to open a 60-seat steakhouse next year.

📰 A few final headlines…

• Search for more possible victims: the TBI accused former Centennial Medical Center social worker Robert Bailey of sexually assaulting two patients. “Investigators believe Bailey may have victimized additional women. They are asking anyone with information regarding possible crimes to come forward,” the TBI said.

• Toll lane worries: The stock for one of the companies involved in the I-24 toll lane project was downgraded by an international bank out of concern for the $24 billion in concessions promised to Tennessee, the Tennessee Lookout reported. Earlier this week, I shared a Nashville lawmaker’s request that Tennessee’s attorney general investigate the toll lane deal. The Tennessean reported a former TDOT staffer now works for one of the companies involved with the winning bid.

• Southwest Airlines will open a 30,000-square-foot lounge at Nashville International Airport at the end of next year, the airport announced yesterday.

• A man blamed Tesla’s self-driving mode after Metro Police had to chase his car with a helicopter when it took off from an attempted traffic stop for speeding, WKRN reported.

• Free pizza: Since my next newsletter comes to you on Wednesday, I wanted to go ahead and give you a heads up about Five Points Pizza’s free slice night. It’s next Tuesday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. They have locations in East Nashville, West Nashville, and the Gulch. More details in this Instagram post.

• Poll results: I asked yesterday whether you agree with new restrictions on Metro Police using drones. 70% of respondents said no.

🧠 Today’s quiz: Nashville by Numbers

Test your memory of yesterday’s newsletter. Match the following numbers to the clues below: 30, 42, 101, 35.

• Maximum height (in stories) proposed in Vanderbilt’s Innovation Neighborhood

• Years Cumberland Hardware has been in business

• Yesterday’s forecast high temperature

• Cost (in millions) of Cheekwood’s parking garage

Here’s a link to the answers.

🍔 MAP: click here for restaurant inspections across Nashville

Correction, feedback, question? Just reply to this email or email me directly at ryan@nash.news. Have a great holiday weekend! I’ll be back in your inbox on Wednesday —Ryan

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• Weather: ☀️ Heat advisory through Friday. High: 101 with a heat index as high as 110, Low: 77.

• Stopping bird strikes on high-rises: Vanderbilt University won rezoning last night for more than 40 acres to build what it calls an “Innovation Neighborhood” between Natchez Trace and 31st Avenue South, but it came with strings attached from the Metro Council to protect birds. Because of plans for buildings as tall as 30 stories combined with lots of trees already in the area, Vanderbilt agreed to use bird-safe glass on parts of the project. More than a billion birds crash into glass each year in the United States, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service. They offer tips on how you can help here — it’s not just bird friendly glass. You can see the full plans for the project here. And why some neighbors have branded the project as “Vulch.”

• New restrictions on surveillance in Nashville: the Metro Council gave final approval last night to limits on how Metro Police use drones. Police launched a “drone as first responder” pilot program in Madison, which sent drones to calls before officers, without permission from the Metro Council. Moving forward, any similar program would need council approval, and it would be limited to active shooter incidents, hostage situations, active searches for missing persons, and in response to a state of emergency that “presents an immediate threat to life and critical infrastructure.” I reported earlier last month that the pilot program’s most common call was “disorderly person.”

🏠 What’s new in Nashville’s neighborhoods

• Belle Meade

  • After neighbors sued over traffic concerns and alleged zoning violations, a Cheekwood official said the botanical garden is finalizing plans to offer “off-site weekend shuttle service with discounted admission” throughout October. It’s also offering discounted admission for visitors who use rideshares, and it’s charging a parking fee to non-members to encourage carpooling. Even though the lawsuit over Cheekwood’s impacts on neighbors is unresolved, Cheekwood is still moving forward with construction of a $35 million parking garage. A Cheekwood official said this week it’s on track to be finished by the end of next year.

• Downtown (and nearby)

  • Coffee moves: 8th & Roast said it would close its Midtown location next Sunday as “ongoing challenges with the building that are out of our control have made it difficult for us to give our guests the experience we strive to provide.” Meanwhile, East Nashville’s Earl Espresso teased a new location coming this fall, and now that’s moving forward with a building permit application filed for 1721 21st Avenue South.

  • Greenway expansion: after approval last night by the Metro Council, a new segment of greenway between the Cumberland River and River North neighborhood should open immediately, according to a spokesperson for Nashville’s mayor. “It will advance north adjacent to a future Oracle campus,” the spokesperson said.

• East Nashville

  • Cumberland Hardware at 1018 Woodland Street announced it will close on December 31 after 42 years in business. The store’s owner told Channel 5 in April that parking issues could put him out of business.

  • New record: The well-known Ziggurat House, a Spanish-style bungalow on Lakehurst Drive, sold for $2.9 million earlier this year, a record price per square foot in that area, and Nashville Lifestyles explains the story (and risks) behind that number. Here are some pictures of the property.

• The Nations

  • Nearly a year after the West Park Community Center was demolished following a roof collapse, Metro Parks gave a sneak peek of its replacement. You can see the design at 23:04 into this video. It includes a gym, fitness center, game room, and possibly an indoor pool.

• Green Hills

  • A new italian restaurant is coming to the Vertis building at 2035 Richard Jones Road. “Lupo Notte serves handmade pasta, blistered New York–style pizza, and a cocktail program built on Italian aperitivo traditions,” the restaurant’s website says. It’s set to open on September 16th.

• Antioch

  • A new shawarma restaurant is planned off Murfreesboro Pike and Edge O Lake Drive at 2637 Lakevilla Drive, according to building permit application. In case you don’t know what shawarma is (I didn’t) — this Wikipedia article gives a thorough description.

  • More growth in Century Farms: Bank of America applied for a permit to open a branch on William Turner Parkway.

• Wedgewood-Houston

  • The first phase of rehabbing Fort Negley is on track to be finished by spring, a Metro Parks official said. That includes removal of the old Greer Stadium parking lot and construction of a new overlook structure and memorial lawn. “As of last week, they started installing the stones with the names around the memorial wall and the memorial lawn,” the parks official said.

📰 A few final headlines…

• Warning for next time you park at the airport: BNA just changed the route to lot B. “Instead of entering and exiting near Donelson Pike, all Lot B traffic will now flow through Terminal Drive and onto the new Fly Nashville Way to access the new entry and exit plaza,” the airport said in a social media post. It shared this video explaining in more detail how to navigate the changes.

• A “third former educator alleges grade manipulation in Metro Nashville Public Schools,” WSMV reported. Also, last night, a former teacher of the year who got national attention after making a similar allegation, which the district disputed, asked the Metro Council to audit the school district and create a committee giving oversight to Metro Schools. “Teachers are drowning, children are not learning, and the board has proven it will not hold itself accountable,” Samira Hardcastle said.

• Help needed with vaccine trial: Vanderbilt is looking for people to participate in a trial of a vaccine against C. diff. The disease “is one of those infections that turns a routine hospital stay or a course of antibiotics into something far more serious, and older adults bear the brunt of it,” the director of Vanderbilt’s Vaccine Research Program said. It’s looking for people 65 and older “who have had recent or planned contact with the health care system or who have recently received antibiotics”. You can find more details here.

• Poll results: I asked yesterday whether you support toll lanes in the Nashville area. 72% of respondents said no.

🧠 Today’s quiz: Unscramble

Test your memory of yesterday’s newsletter. Unscramble these words from yesterday’s stories.

• TLLO NSELA

• TETIPION

• ANARCN

• EQAULZITANOI

Here’s a link to the answers.

🍔 MAP: click here for restaurant inspections across Nashville

Correction, feedback, question? Just reply to this email or email me directly at ryan@nash.news. Have a great Wednesday! -Ryan

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• Weather: ☀️ High: 99, Low: 75. Slightly cooler on Saturday when storm chances return.

• ICE in Nashville: the rate of immigration enforcement arrests in Nashville has increased this summer, according to my analysis of new data obtained by the Deportation Data Project. After making between 120 and 140 monthly arrests from February to May, arrests surged to about 190 per month in June and July. The share of people arrested for an immigration violation but with no criminal background is also rising — from an average of about 34% from October through May to 56% from June through early August.

• Toll lane investigation: Nashville State Representative John Ray Clemmons asked Tennessee’s Attorney General to investigate “the entire procurement process of the I-24 toll lanes” after the Tennessean reported one of the companies involved in the winning bid hired a former TDOT chief of staff before submitting its proposal. A group of firms called DriveTN agreed to spend $9.2 billion on toll lanes stretching roughly from I-440 to Murfreesboro while paying more than $24 billion in concessions to Tennessee over a 50-year agreement. TDOT told the newspaper that DriveTN had systems in place so the former chief of staff couldn’t be involved with the I-24 project procurement.

• Construction and financial jobs slipped in the Nashville metropolitan area over the last year, according to new federal data, but overall, the number of employed people increased 1.6%. Here’s which industries are changing the most in the Nashville area:

  • Biggest losses year-over-year (percentage): Mining, Logging, and Construction (-2.8%, -1,900 jobs), Financial Activities (-2.7%, -2,200 jobs), Government (-1.7%, -2,000 jobs)

  • Biggest increases year-over-year (percentage): Leisure and Hospitality (+6.1%, +10,100 jobs), Education and Health Services (+3.0%, +5,400 jobs), Professional and Business Services (+2.7%, +5,200 jobs)

🏠 What’s new in Nashville’s neighborhoods

• Downtown (and nearby)

  • After its property tax bill more than quadrupled in a year from about $129,000 to $600,000, Acme Feed & Seed’s appeal of its property valuation will be heard today at Metro’s Equalization Board. The property’s assessment, which happens every four years, spiked from about $9.5 million in 2021 to more than $50 million last year, meaning an immediate, massive increase in its tax bill. “No business plan can account for such a punitive increase,” the bar’s owner wrote to the mayor earlier this year. Reviews by the state comptroller’s office and Metro auditors did not raise any serious concerns about property valuations in Davidson County, according to the Nashville Banner.

• Hermitage & Donelson

  • Brush pickup begins this week in much of Hermitage and Donelson. This website explains what can and cannot be put out for collection. It also has a tool to track the collection date for your area and set reminders when brush pickup returns.

  • After more than 20 water breaks in a year in council district 12, which covers part of Hermitage, Metro Council member Erin Evans just announced that Metro Water Services agreed to join a community meeting to talk about water main breaks, flooding, and development. It’s set for 6:15 p.m. on October 7 at the Metro Police Hermitage Precinct (3701 James Kay Lane).

• South Nashville

  • Nearly 1,000 people have signed a petition asking the FAA to adjust relatively new flight paths to Nashville International Airport. The new paths “have dramatically concentrated flights into a narrow corridor over South Nashville, including Crieve Hall, Oak Hill, Forest Hills, Whispering Hills, Caldwell Abbay Hall, and the Radnor Lake park and wildlife sanctuary,” the petition says. The FAA told WKRN the changes were made to accommodate growth but said it’s “committed to meaningful dialogue with communities.”

• Old Hickory

  • Codes enforcement: Metro Codes told the owners of three homes on Bryan Street to either cut their grass or move vehicles off the grass. Another two businesses on Bridgeway Avenue were told to remove illegal signs.

• Antioch

  • More industrial traffic: Another massive warehouse is coming to Couchville Pike near Bell Road. Developers received a permit to build a 132,600-square-foot warehouse at 2791 Couchville Pike. The construction will cost more than $17 million, the permit said. The warehouse is next to several others off Bell Road.

• East Nashville

  • The Metro Health Department’s mobile clinic will be set up from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. today at Kirkpatrick Community Center. You can read about all of the services they offer here, including vaccinations, birth control, and distribution of Narcan/naloxone, gun locks, and cup covers.

📰 A few final headlines…

• A little more than a week after a 16-year-old boy was killed after a football game at Pearl Cohn High School, Metro Police arrested a 15-year-old boy yesterday for bringing a stolen gun to the school. Earlier this month, police said out of 602 guns stolen in Nashville this year, 66% were taken from cars. Police did not say whether that’s the case this time.

• Dollyfest in Nashville: Dolly Parton’s estate announced a two-day festival honoring her. It’ll happen in Nashville and London across two consecutive weekends next year, the estate said. The exact dates will be released later. “What Dolly started, we will ensure is brought to life,” said Danny Nozell, founder and CEO of CTK Enterprises. “Many people behind the scenes know that Dollyfest is a dream of Dolly’s that was intended to take place on her 80th birthday in Nashville.” Those plans were postponed after Dolly’s health issues.

• What I’m following tonight at the Metro Council: new restrictions on Metro Police using drones are up for a final vote. Police upset some Metro Council members when the department started a “drone as first responder” pilot program that responds to calls before officers — without getting permission from council. The bill has changed since it was first proposed after Metro’s police chief said the original version threatened “the safety of officers and the public.” You can read here what the amended version of the bill would do — and this article explains how police used the drones during a pilot program.

• Poll results: The vote isn’t close, but I didn’t expect so many “no” votes. I asked yesterday whether you support renaming BNA in honor of Dolly Parton. 78% of respondents said yes.

🧠 Today’s quiz: Match the Neighborhood

Test your memory of yesterday’s newsletter. Match the following neighborhoods to each story: Downtown, The Nations, Antioch, East Nashville, South Nashville, Madison, Bellevue

• A restaurant scored a 73 on its health inspection.

• Police are targeting speeders and street racers.

• A meat market settled a lawsuit over cooking smoke.

• A half-acre property sold for $15 million.

• A new kayak launch may be built at a local park.

• A hot chicken chain is opening a new spot.

• A storm-damaged park is getting $2.5 million in upgrades.

Here’s a link to the answers.

🍔 MAP: click here for restaurant inspections across Nashville

Correction, feedback, question? Just reply to this email or email me directly at ryan@nash.news. Hope you have a great day! -Ryan

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• Weather: ☀️ High: 96, Low: 74. Heat building this week

• What it could cost to rename Nashville’s airport: Just a few months ago, Tennessee Republicans were talking about turning Nashville International Airport into Trump International Airport. The legislation failed, but it gives us an idea of what it’ll cost to rename BNA in honor of Dolly Parton after Tennessee Governor Bill Lee announced plans to do so on Friday. According to a financial analysis for the Trump International bill, airport officials predicted a cost of $10.3 million. The biggest share of the cost comes from infrastructure and signage. The airport would also have to pay millions for new branding, trademarks, and legal costs. I think most Tennesseans will say Dolly deserves the honor, but let me know what you think in today’s poll (below). The airport board will talk about the renaming at its September 17th meeting, the governor’s office said.

• Hospital’s warning: The CEO of Nashville General Hospital, the city’s safety-net hospital, warns that “strict work requirements for Medicaid,” along with people losing their insurance after cuts to federal subsidies, could have an impact on “uncompensated care” at the hospital starting in January. “It will be a factor for safety-net hospitals and many other hospitals around the nation,” the CEO said. The hospital, which has a history of financial struggles, is looking at ways to diversify revenue and control costs.

• While the TBI investigates, a Metro Police officer is decommissioned after he killed a man armed with a sword on Saturday. Body camera video from the scene at Cheshire Drive appears to show the sword drop to the ground after the officer’s first shot. (It’s unclear if the man fell too because the video is censored through pixelation.) Then, the officer fired two more shots. According to police, the officer shot the armed man after he refused to let a woman leave his car, a relative reported him to 911 as a “danger to others,” and he threatened to kill someone else earlier in the day.

• Nearly every type of crime in Nashville is down by double-digit percentages since last year, according to new police data, but if you zoom into specific precincts, several crimes are surging. Reports of rape increased 46% in West Precinct (15 cases to 22), 51% in South Precinct (49 cases to 74), and 20% in Southeast Precinct (54 cases to 65). The most significant increases in residential burglaries are in the Central Precinct (28%, 21 cases to 27), Hermitage Precinct (25%, 81 cases to 102), and the Midtown Hills Precinct (13%, 90 cases to 102). Countywide, reports of rape and residential burglaries are down slightly.

🏠 What’s new in Nashville’s neighborhoods

• Downtown Nashville

  • Half an acre for $15 million: The Pins Mechanical arcade property at 1102 Grundy Street recently sold for $15 million. That more than doubles what the owner paid for the property in less than a decade. They bought it for $6.3 million in 2017, according to Metro property records.

  • Cowan Street will close each night from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. through Friday for installation of a new sewer line. More info from NDOT here.

• The Nations

  • 73 restaurant health score: A health inspector who visited Maru Nations at 5511 Centennial Boulevard reported food temperature and storage issues, an employee preparing food without hair restraints, and more. You can read the full inspection here.

• Antioch

  • Targeting speeders and street racers: Metro Police’s Southeast Precinct will coordinate with the Midtown Hills Precinct on several days starting this week as part of a pilot program to target dangerous drivers, a police sergeant said at a community meeting. It will “act kind of like an enforcement unit,” the sergeant said. Police have been focused on Nolensville Pike, Una Antioch Pike, Murfreesboro Road, Bell Road, and Blue Hole Road.

• East Nashville

  • Less than a month before it was set to go to trial, Roy Meat Service at 605 South 19th Street settled a neighbor’s lawsuit, the Tennessean reported. The lawsuit alleged “the meat cooking wafts fumes of burning wood that permeate” the neighbor’s property even with her windows closed. A GoFundMe page in support of the meat market, which raised more than $45,000, said the lawsuit came from a “new neighbor.” According to the Tennessean, the shop will change when it cooks.

• South Nashville

  • New kayak access: The Tennessee Scenic Rivers Association wants to build a new canoe and kayak access structure along Mill Creek at Whitsett Park. Metro’s Board of Parks and Recreation is scheduled to vote tomorrow on accepting the donation pending approvals of the project from Metro’s Parks Department.

• Madison

  • More hot chicken: Dave’s Hot Chicken, a fast-food chain based in California, received a building permit for a new restaurant at 1705 Gallatin Pike.

• Bellevue

  • Renovations at Warner Parks: Warner Park Headquarters and the Bob Brown Field Station, which was damaged in the January ice storm, are on track for $2.5 million in renovations. Friends of Warner Parks will pay for the upgrades. Metro’s Board of Parks and Recreation is set to decide tomorrow whether to approve the donation.

📰 A few final headlines…

• WeGo Transit plans to expand service again in January. It’s part of Nashville’s Choose How You Move transit plan, which voters agreed to fund through a sales tax increase. WeGo plans to share its proposal with the public next month. The agency says ridership last quarter increased by 20% compared to 2025. Also part of Choose How You Move: I reported earlier this month on plans to upgrade 99 traffic signals, and I found the traffic lights that get the most complaints for timing issues.

• “Tennessee hunting and fishing license fees could increase by an average of 29% next year in an effort to bridge a multi-million-dollar deficit in the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency’s budget,” the Tennessee Lookout reported.

• Poll results: On Friday, I asked whether Davidson County’s sheriff should be forced to sign an agreement with ICE. 66% of respondents said no.

🧠 Today’s puzzle: Odd One Out

How closely did you pay attention to Friday’s newsletter? Three of the four in each round have something in common. Pick the one that doesn’t belong.

• Round 1: Old Tent City · School for the Blind · Riverfront Park · Hospitality Hub

• Round 2: Jacob Kupin · Cameron Sexton · Bill Lee · Samira Hardcastle

• Round 3: Children at unlicensed daycare · Properties swept in Antioch codes audit · Starbucks Workers United’s demanded starting wage · Friday’s overnight low temperature

Here’s a link to the answers.

🍔 MAP: click here for restaurant inspections across Nashville

Correction, feedback, question? Just reply to this email or email me directly at ryan@nash.news. Hope you have a great day! -Ryan

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• Weather: ☀️ High: 91, Low: 68. Sunshine this weekend.

• This isn’t a formal proposal, but I’m following it for you: when I attended a meeting focused on homelessness in Nashville this week, Metro Council member Jacob Kupin pitched the idea of essentially a triage center for homeless people. One place where they could connect with agencies and groups that can help with everything from getting an ID to housing — similar to the Hospitality Hub in Memphis. He talked about using the former Old Tent City homeless camp property just south of Downtown Nashville and the adjacent former School of the Blind. He said he’s talked to the Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency, along with Metro’s parks department. “Neither have thrown me out of their office,” Kupin said. Sounds like one of the Metro committees that responds to homelessness could decide whether to look into this idea at a meeting next month.

• Alleged illegal daycare: after Tennessee’s Department of Children’s Services said it found 17 mostly preschool-aged children in an unlicensed daycare at a home on Strasser Drive in South Nashville, a Metro judge ordered the daycare’s closure. According to a study released earlier this year, Nashville’s licensed child care centers have enough capacity for “just over half of local working families with young children.” Also challenging for families, the study says: “A single parent earning the Davidson County median household income of $51,792 would need to spend 80% of their annual income to cover child care for one infant at the estimated true cost of high-quality care.”

• Closing a “loophole”: a new state law requires sheriffs across Tennessee to sign agreements with ICE to, at minimum, help with immigration enforcement at their jails by serving immigration warrants on inmates in the country illegally. Davidson County’s sheriff has said the law doesn’t apply to his agency, essentially because his agency isn’t law enforcement. House Speaker Cameron Sexton told Fox 17, “I think one of our priorities next year is to make sure that the Metro law enforcement officers, the entities in itself, will be registered as 287(g) and take that loophole out.” The sheriff has previously said his agency already cooperates with ICE.

🏠 What’s new in Nashville’s neighborhoods

• North Nashville

  • Rebuilding after truck hits a home: nearly five months ago, an allegedly intoxicated man crashed a Cybertruck into a home at 1400 14th Avenue North and narrowly missed a woman sleeping on a couch, according to WSMV. A building permit has been filed to fix the damage. The cost: more than $100,000.

• Downtown (and nearby)

  • Adding public restrooms: as Nashville’s Downtown Partnership studies the potential for public restrooms in Downtown Nashville, including possible locations, you can give your feedback at a pop-up event tomorrow. It’s at Riverfront Park from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

  • Croquet Cafe opens tomorrow at Centennial Park. Visit Music City calls it the “first permanent on-site dining destination and nonprofit restaurant brings locally inspired Southern picnic fare.”

  • Demolition planned: a section of a long strip of mostly bars on Demonbreun Street is set to be demolished. A permit application says 1532 Demonbreun Street will be taken down to the foundation. I’ll let you know when I find out what’s planned for the property.

• Donelson

  • 73 health score: a restaurant inspector gave SweetMilk at 329 Donelson Pike a 73 in its latest inspection. Among the inspector’s concerns: “Observed employee remove used gloves and rub body with hands and immediately put on clean gloves without washing hands in between” and “Observed employee use knife to cut open box used to store unwashed produce and then used the same knife to cut limes.” You can read the full inspection here.

• Antioch

  • The latest sweep in a codes audit of Antioch: 17 properties on Wednesday — mostly for junk, broken-down vehicles, and high grass. Owners on Holder Drive, Alison Court, and Runabout Drive have or will receive notices to clean up their properties. I reported earlier this month on what’s behind the audit.

  • Tomorrow at 9 a.m.: Bulk item drop-off at Compton’s Foodland. More info here.

• Whites Creek

  • 63 health score: Don Julio Mexican Grill at 5432 Clarksville Highway received a 63 in its latest restaurant inspection. The inspector noted food storage and temperature issues. You can read the full inspection here.

• East Nashville

  • Tomorrow at 10 a.m.: Adopt-a-Street cleanup for Wilburn Street. More info here.

📰 A few final headlines…

• “Sitting duck”: that’s a trucking industry term for what killed a man on I-24, according to a new lawsuit filed in Nashville. His family alleges a trucker left their broken-down semi with no trailer attached in a 70-mile-per-hour travel lane on a dark stretch of I-24 near Old Hickory Boulevard at the Rutherford County line, and he hit it and died. The trucker “did not place a single warning device before walking away” from their truck, the lawsuit alleges. The lawsuit asks the trucking company and driver for $9 million in damages. You can read the full lawsuit here.

• Starbucks Workers United, which lists a location in Green Hills among its unionized stores, called for a boycott of Starbucks. Among other things, the group wants a starting pay of $17 per hour and a minimum of “three workers on the floor — always.”

• A man who was released from prison and then forced to return because of a federal appeals court ruling is getting out again. Tennessee Governor Bill Lee granted a commutation to Thomas Clardy. Clardy was convicted of a murder in Madison. He’s always maintained his innocence. He’ll be released on parole.

• Metro’s school board sat in silence again as a former teacher of the year asked “What will you do to retain qualified teachers and fix the root causes that are driving us away” at this week’s board meeting. Samira Hardcastle got national attention earlier this month when she publicly told the board she resigned after being asked to change a student’s failing grade. A district spokesperson has told media outlets the dispute was about allowing a student to turn in an art project. She also claimed student discipline statistics are skewed because teachers are “banned” from reporting behavioral issues to keep students in the classroom. “I’ve had responses nationwide, yet the people right in front of us say nothing,” Hardcastle said this week. The board typically doesn’t respond to public comments during meetings.

• Public vs. private: Metro Nashville Public Schools receives about 40% less state funding per student than private school families receive for each taxpayer-funded school voucher, according to newly released state data. Each school voucher is worth $7,530. Metro receives $4,495 in state funding per student.

• Free trees: the deadline is Monday to order up to three free large native trees for your yard courtesy of the Root Nashville campaign. More info here.

🧠 Today’s puzzle: Who said it?

Test your memory of yesterday’s newsletter. Match each quote to one of these options: Heidi Campbell, Marsha Blackburn, Todd Warner, Charlane Oliver

• “I will definitely introduce legislation to rename the BNA airport Dolly Parton International Airport!”

• “An attempt to silence any senator who dares to speak up for their constituents.”

• “The impact of data centers is all local. So the decision should be, too.”

Here’s a link to the answers.

🍔 MAP: click here for restaurant inspections across Nashville

Correction, feedback, question? Just reply to this email or email me directly at ryan@nash.news. I’ll be back in your inbox on Monday. -Ryan

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• Weather: 🌦️ High: 93, Low: 68. Chance of thunderstorms.

• A local vote on data centers: Nashville State Senator Heidi Campbell just launched a new website and petition for a bill that would require local approval of data center projects. “From water, to traffic, to sound, to the electrical grid — the impact of data centers is all local. So the decision should be, too,” Campbell said. Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn, who leads the governor’s race by a wide margin in polls, has said data centers “are going to be a local decision” but also a “good and important part of Tennessee’s economic growth.” Her gubernatorial campaign received more than $100,000 from employees of artificial intelligence and data center companies as of July.

• ICE call center in Nashville: the Tennessee Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC) will hold a “mass meeting” tonight to organize against a proposed ICE call center in Donelson. Mayor Freddie O’Connell said on Friday city officials “don’t know much” about the proposal. His spokesperson did not respond yesterday when I asked for any updates.

• Renaming Nashville’s airport for Dolly: Senator Marsha Blackburn and Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton tell me (via representatives) they’ll work with Dolly Parton’s family to find the best ways to honor her. A petition to rename Nashville International Airport has grown to more than 120,000 signatures. Representative Todd Warner commented on the petition website, saying, “I will definitely introduce legislation to rename the BNA airport Dolly Parton International Airport!” You can read Blackburn’s full statement here.

• NES’s board approved policies yesterday that it hopes will protect us from higher electricity bills due to data centers, including signing on to the Ratepayer Protection Pledge.

🏠 What’s new in Nashville’s neighborhoods

• Madison

  • Eyesore hospital property: Metro Codes sent a notice to the owners of a former hospital at 500 Hospital Drive after someone complained about broken windows and issues with the roof. The notice asked the owners to address “accumulation of motor vehicles,” a broken window, and the “open storage” of what reads to me like junk.

  • “Affordable housing” project: a 280-unit, five-story apartment project called “Skyline Apartments” is planned behind TriStar Skyline Medical Center at 915 Skyline Ridge Drive. Developers applied for a permit this week for Metro to review the project. Here’s a copy of the plans.

• Antioch

  • KFC property’s second (familiar) act: Bojangles received a building permit to open at the former KFC at 2634 Murfreesboro Pike.

• Hermitage

  • Crime trend I’m following in the Hermitage precinct: new police data released this week shows a 25.9% increase in residential burglaries — from 81 cases at this point last year to 102 cases so far this year. Cases also increased in the South, Central, Madison, and Midtown Hills precincts, but the raw number of cases increased most in Hermitage.

• Green Hills

  • E+ROSE’s website teases a new cafe in Green Hills, and I found a new building permit that reveals where. The permit gives an address of 2115 Crestmoor Road.

• Downtown (and nearby)

  • Another residential project is coming to an area that has been more commercial until recently. Developers applied for permits to build condos at 1020 3rd Avenue South. Last week, I reported on plans to turn a former strip club property a few blocks away into a 16-story residential tower.

  • Second Avenue’s comeback after Christmas bombing: for at least the third time this month, developers have filed for permission to move forward with a project on Second Avenue. The latest would turn 127 Second Avenue North into a restaurant and bar while making the building two stories taller. You can see the plans here. I reported on demolition plans for multiple buildings down the street last week.

• Wedgewood-Houston

  • The restaurant boom continues in this neighborhood. A restaurant is moving in next to SUSHI ROW at 1234 Martin Street, based on a building permit issued this month. nashvilleguru says it’ll be an “elevated Turkish restaurant” called Ayva.

📰 A few final headlines…

• Nashville State Senator Charlane Oliver said she will sue Tennessee’s lieutenant governor over her punishment for standing on her desk with a banner. She was protesting this year’s special session to redraw congressional districts at the urging of President Trump. Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally removed Oliver from committee assignments and limited her per diem and travel reimbursements. A spokesperson for McNally previously told the Williamson Scene the punishment was “measured, appropriate and entirely legal.” Oliver called the punishment “an attempt to silence any senator who dares to speak up for their constituents.”

• Nearly 113,000 people are experiencing food insecurity in Nashville, according to new data shared by Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee. The food bank said the level of food insecurity in Middle and West Tennessee hit the highest level in six years.

• With a trial underway in Nashville, Meta agreed to pay more than $750 million and implement new safety features instead of leaving its fate in a jury’s hands. That settles Tennessee’s lawsuit alleging Meta “designed Instagram with addictive features, knowingly exposed young users to serious mental harms, and intentionally misled the public about the safety of its platforms, among other things,” the state’s attorney general said. The settlement money will go to the state’s new Children’s Digital Protection Fund. It pays for mental health treatment and suicide prevention, among other things. Including Tennessee, Meta will pay $17 billion to settle lawsuits from nearly every state.

🧠 Today’s puzzle: Odd One Out

How closely did you read yesterday’s newsletter? Three of the four in each round have something in common. Pick the one that doesn’t belong.

• Round 1: Marine Drive · Dickerson Pike · Cowan Street · Whites Creek Pike

• Round 2: Mariposa Park · River North · The Park at Glencliff · Percy Priest Elementary

Here’s a link to the answers.

🍔 MAP: click here for restaurant inspections across Nashville

Correction, feedback, question? Just reply to this email or email me directly at ryan@nash.news. -Ryan

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That was October 22, 1967. The Opry Breakfast. The first time The Tennessean covered a Dolly Parton performance. They called her the “sensation of the whole show.”

My partner, a native East Tennessean like Dolly, summed her up perfectly: “There are people that have such a strong sense of self and joy that they transcend into institutions. Dolly Parton is certainly one of them.”

That Tennessean reporter realized they saw someone special. We all knew it too — lucky enough to live in this world at the same time as Dolly.

TMZ reports she’ll be laid to rest alongside her husband at Woodlawn Memorial Park and Mausoleum in Nashville.

Rest in peace.

Quick hits

• Weather: High: 94, Low: 71. Chance of showers and storms starting this afternoon through tomorrow

• A father of two Percy Priest Elementary students urged Metro’s school board last night to restore his sons’ bus stop after a truck “nearly struck all three of us.” The family’s bus stop moved to Granny White Pike after the district consolidated stops as it shifted school start times. “They must now cross a busy 35 mile per hour road with no sidewalk, marked crosswalk, or pedestrian signal, and wait beside traffic near a hill with poor visibility,” the father said. The Nashville Banner recently reported on a middle schooler whose stop shifted to “a busy road without a sidewalk.” In this case, the father said the district is looking at alternatives, but he wants the original stop restored.

• 1,265 days till the Super Bowl: Nashville’s East Bank Development Authority approved spending up to $80 million to connect Marine Drive with Dickerson Pike and improve Cowan Street as it revamps roads around the East Bank and the new Titans stadium. However, the board pushed back on handing over money to TDOT with no oversight of the designs. The road extension is one of several projects that have taken on new urgency with the 2030 Super Bowl coming to Nashville.

• Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton told WKRN an audit of Metro Nashville Public Schools “is being discussed” after an audit and attempted state takeover of Memphis schools. The Metro Council also called for a performance audit of Metro Schools as part of the district’s budget approved this summer. Metro Council member Jason Spain pointed out to The Nashville Banner “the most recent operational and performance audit at MNPS was in 2014, and in the ensuing 12 years, the district’s enrollment has dropped slightly while its budget has nearly doubled.”

🏠 What’s new in Nashville’s neighborhoods

• East Nashville

  • Shoplifting increase: Metro Police East Precinct Sergeant Mandi Maska said police “are taking action” after an increase in shoplifting. “We have set up extra patrols in the area, as well as you may see our mobile sky camera around,” Maska said. She specifically flagged “Maplewood and West Trinity.”

• Old Hickory

  • Clearing overgrown grass: After NDOT asked people to report overgrown grass in the right-of-way, more than a dozen reports came in from the Old Hickory area. Streets include Lakeshore Drive, Riverside Road, Clarke Street, Lawrence Street, 24th Street, 26th Street at Elliott Drive, Sandy Cove, and Arron Court.

• North Nashville

  • Thieves targeting storage facilities: Metro Police North Precinct Commander Steven Bowers said at a community meeting this week “our storage facilities are being targeted a lot,” including a facility on Whites Creek Pike. So far this year, commercial burglaries in the precinct increased nearly 23% since last year from 79 cases to 97, according to new police data. Police also reported commercial burglary increases in the Madison and Hermitage precincts.

• South Nashville

  • A call for artists will go out soon, Metro Arts said, for a public arts installation at the new Mariposa Park (140 Tusculum Road). The park “features a playground, a multipurpose lawn for field sports and special events, pickleball courts, a basketball court and a winding trail network designed for walking, jogging and enjoying nature,” Metro Parks said. It had a grand opening celebration last weekend.

  • Single-family to multi-family: developers asked for approval of final site plans for 77 new “multi-family residential units” on about seven acres around 3218 Glencliff Road, which previously included single-family homes. A filing with Metro indicates “The Park at Glencliff” will be built in three phases.

• Downtown (and nearby)

  • The equivalent of a small town is expected to eventually live in Nashville’s River North neighborhood, which stretches from Jefferson Street to I-65 on the East Bank. The East Bank Development Authority projects more than 5,000 residents in the neighborhood. Oracle started early site work on its campus in the neighborhood in February, including fencing, demolition, and installation of deep utilities, the authority said.

📰 A few final headlines…

• Live on the Green will return next year at Ascend Amphitheater. The free concert series ended in 2023 at least partly because of cost. Organizers planned to give away 1,000 tickets, but they also said “reserve tickets” would go on sale on Friday.

• The Tennessee Titans unveiled new “Music City Rivalries” uniforms yesterday. They feature a neon-style font and a six-string stripe on the side of the pants.

• Poll results: This one’s a bit closer than Monday’s poll. I asked whether Broadway bars and restaurants should receive grants to help with property taxes. 42% of respondents said yes. 58% said no.

🧠 Today’s puzzle: Analogy

Let’s test your memory of yesterday’s newsletter. Complete each analogy.

• Quadrupled property tax bill: Broadway bar owners >> Free rent concessions: ___

• 44 arrests: five-day federal operation >> 78 additional students: ___

• Brick Church Pike and Trinity Lane: federal operation >> 6842 Highway 70 South: ___

Here’s a link to the answers.

🍔 MAP: click here for restaurant inspections across Nashville

Correction, feedback, question? Just reply to this email or email me directly at ryan@nash.news. -Ryan

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⚡ Quick hits

• Weather: ☀️ High: 92, Low: 69. Storm chances return tomorrow night.

• From the treatment of homeless people to road closures, there’s uncertainty about Metro’s power over Downtown Nashville because of emergency rules released by the state. Tennessee’s tourism commissioner “had to personally intervene” to keep a film project moving forward, according to an NDOT official. You can read my full report about the law’s impact here.

• A five-day federal operation targeting illegal firearms and drug trafficking across Nashville ended with 44 arrests and 160 firearms seized, “many of them assault-style rifles equipped with high-capacity magazines,” the Department of Justice said. They also found “switches” that can turn pistols into machine guns. The operation focused on the “Harding Place/I-24 corridor, Bell Road-Murfreesboro Pike area, Brick Church Pike-Trinity Lane corridor, and the Napier-Sudekum neighborhood.”

• Property tax relief for Broadway bars: Tennessee’s new Joint Capital Tourism Board is scheduled to meet for the first time on October 1, a spokesperson for the state comptroller’s office confirmed to me. That board could decide to give grants to restaurants and bars after property tax bills quadrupled in some cases. The Republican legislature limited any grants to businesses in Nashville’s Tourism Development Zone, which is essentially downtown. Any grants would be funded with excess tax revenue tied to the Music City Center.

• “I can’t stand lying”: Did you sign a petition in favor of asking Nashville voters to remove racing from the Nashville Fairgrounds? Metro Council member Courtney Johnston shared a website that helps people remove their name after allegations that some canvassers misled people about what the petition does. “If you signed this believing what you were told - that it’s bringing affordable housing to an area that’s already set to be demolished. You signed in error,” Johnston wrote. On the other side: just last week, the group behind the petition claimed its members had to file police reports for assault and harassment.

🏠 What’s new in Nashville’s neighborhoods

• Downtown

  • The number of people living downtown will increase about 24% to nearly 29,000 by 2030, according to a projection by Nashville’s Downtown Partnership. An oversupply of apartments downtown has allowed me to negotiate a net decrease in rent every year via concessions like several months of free rent since 2023. The partnership says about 1,500 additional residential units are under construction, and more than 9,000 are planned.

• Bellevue

  • Developers of The Radicle, described as a sanctuary for artists with an amphitheater, submitted final plans for review by Metro. The property covers nearly 12 acres at 6842 Highway 70 South.

• Antioch

  • More growth with schools at capacity: a rezoning that would allow nearly 300 housing units around 5862 Mt. View Road is up for a vote at Metro Planning Commission this week. When I asked Metro Council member Joy Styles for details on what’s planned for the nearly 15 acres, she indicated there could be an update at a community meeting this week, so I’ll check in later this week. Metro staff says the rezoning could add 78 students, with Cane Ridge Elementary School, Antioch Middle School, and Cane Ridge High School, at capacity.

📰 A few final headlines…

• While President Trump tells Canada to “fall in line” as a trade war reignites, the Nashville metropolitan area ranked fifth in the country for its reliance on exports to Canada, according to data released last year by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. A state website says 8,300 Tennesseans are employed by Canadian companies.

• After Lightning 100’s “Live on the Green” free music festival was canceled in 2023 at least partly over costs, the event’s website has a countdown for noon today. I’ll let you know if it’s returning!

• “Mid-September is the prime dealmaking window” for homebuyers in Nashville, according to new research from Redfin. In Nashville, “there are roughly twice as many home sellers as buyers in the market,” the company said.

• Poll results: in yesterday’s newsletter, I asked whether you support license plate readers for law enforcement. 73% of respondents said yes.

🧠 Today’s puzzle: By The Numbers

Let’s test your memory of yesterday’s newsletter. Match the number to the story.

Numbers

• 66

• 15

• 70

• 20

Stories

• Restaurant inspection score

• Canadian tourism decline (in percentage)

• Height of proposed tower

• Decade when Buzzard Hollow landfill was abandoned (19_ _ s)

Here’s a link to the answers.

🍔 MAP: click here for restaurant inspections across Nashville

Correction, feedback, question? Just reply to this email or email me directly at ryan@nash.news. -Ryan

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The hold-up: uncertainty over what Metro can and can’t do downtown thanks to a new law passed by the Republican supermajority legislature.

The law gives the state more oversight and power in Tourism Development Zones or TDZs across Tennessee. One of those zones stretches from Downtown Nashville and along West End Avenue to I-440.

“This bill helps to protect jobs and local businesses in the tourism hotspots of our state by making sure that local governments do not choke off economic activity,” State Representative David Hawk said in defense of the bill earlier this year, according to WKRN.

“With the TDZ rules, there’s potential that everything will require coordination with the state,” Hagerty told a Metro Council committee. “We just don’t know at this point.”

In the case of the film permit, Hagerty said the state’s tourism commissioner “had to personally intervene” to keep things moving. “Just kind of an example of the lack of clarity that’s out there right now,” he said.

Emergency rules released by the state last month to comply with the new law limit Metro’s power to block roads, including roadblocks that cause “business interruption,” while requiring coordination with Tennessee Highway Patrol.

The rules also ban “unlawful loitering,” “obstructive sitting” at business entrances and exits or covering more than a third of the width of a sidewalk, “camping,” and “obstructive sleeping.” Broadway bar owners have complained about homeless people in the area for years.

Tennessee Highway Patrol received “concurrent law enforcement authority” with Metro Police in the TDZ under the new law.

“So it’s still unclear exactly how they’re going to execute that,” Metro Council member Jacob Kupin said at a Monday meeting to address homelessness. “But that does give the state a lot more power to deploy THP and to arrest people for camping and existing and takes away a lot of the city authority.”

Metro Legal is currently reviewing the emergency rules and “providing feedback to the [Metro] departments,” Hagerty said.

⚡ Quick hits

• Weather: ☀️ High: 90, Low: 65. Storm chances return on Wednesday.

• Newly released data appears to show how Nashville’s airport police searched Flock’s nationwide network of surveillance devices since 2022. Theft-related searches are the most common in the data released by haveibeenflocked.com, but there’s a wide variety of reasons given for searches, ranging from “other” to “homicide.” You can read my full report here.

• Metro Police are looking for a drive-by shooter who killed a 16-year-old boy after a football game at Pearl Cohn High School, WKRN reported. Witnesses said the shooter fired from a white car.

• Nashville tourism setback? Canadian tourism to Nashville dropped 20% last year after President Trump’s “liberation day” tariffs, and that trade war reignited over the weekend. $20 billion in new tariffs took effect, which Canada pledged to match dollar-for-dollar starting September 8th. Before the trade wars, Canadian tourism made up about half of Nashville’s international tourism.

• ICE in Nashville: The Tennessean found out ICE’s proposed call center could be in an office building on Royal Parkway near Nashville’s airport. Mayor Freddie O’Connell said on Friday city officials “don’t know much” about the proposal.

🏠 What’s new in Nashville’s neighborhoods

• Bellevue

  • Tonight at 5 p.m. - a community meeting to talk about the future of the Buzzard Hollow landfill, which was abandoned in the 1970s. It could become a new convenience center (among other possibilities), Metro Council member Sheri Weiner said in her newsletter. Tonight’s meeting is at the Bellevue Community Center.

• East Nashville

  • Restaurant scores 66 with health inspector: Roy’s Royal Room, a sports bar at 3807 Gallatin Pike, received a 66 in its latest inspection. Among the concerns from the inspector: how food is reheated and a dog in the restaurant. You can read the full inspection here. And here’s a link to all of the restaurant inspections.

• Downtown (and nearby)

  • Piggly Wiggly to high-rise: the site of a former grocery store at 2900 West End Avenue got approval for a height exception from Metro’s Board of Zoning Appeals to build a 15-story tower with a mix of residential and commercial.

  • And that’s not the only change on West End Avenue: the former Jimmy John’s at 2316 West End Avenue is on track to become a smoothie shop, according to a building permit application. It doesn’t reveal which brand is moving in. Jimmy John’s opened a store on Elliston Place.

  • I shared last week that construction is about to start on a connection from the Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge to Wasioto Park. Now the Titans have revealed that construction is expected to take about a year, meaning the connector probably won’t be ready for the start of next year’s football season. The team said fans will still be able to use the bridge to walk over to games.

• Rivergate

  • Protecting a neighborhood’s character: the Metro Council approved contextual overlays around Shepherd Hills Drive, Twin Hills Drive, Cumberland Hills Drive, and North Side Drive. Neighbors hope it’ll prevent development like “tall-and-skinny” homes that don’t match the neighborhood. However, the council member noted it will not reduce the density of homes allowed in the neighborhood.

• Antioch

  • Enforcement escalated: Metro Codes calls the property a “repeat” offender, and it just issued a citation for 102 Cherokee Hills Drive over junk and trash and at least one car parked on the grass. It’s part of a wave of enforcement I’ve noticed recently in Antioch, including an “audit” of properties after a request by a member of the Metro Council.

• Wedgewood-Houston

  • Traffic alert: multiple road closures and parking restrictions just started. Here are the details from NDOT.

  • Wrecking ball: developers plan to demolish properties, including a former church, at 1421 and 1423 4th Avenue South. A filing with Metro doesn’t say what’s planned for the properties other than developers want to create one larger lot that also combines with 1413 4th Avenue South.

• Madison

  • In just a week, I’ve reported on plans for new apartments and townhomes in Madison multiple times, and here’s another! A 114-unit apartment project is moving forward: The Hub @ 607 (607 W. Due West Avenue) received a building permit last week for a four-story building. This Instagram post gives an idea of what it’ll look like.

• Donelson

  • Historic home’s future: after a developer backed off plans to split up the historic Logue Home property (115 Cottage Lane) to build townhomes around the house, Metro Council member Jeff Gregg said the developer would share updated plans at a community meeting on September 29th.

  • Tonight at 6 p.m. - virtual traffic calming meeting for Revere Place

📰 A few final headlines…

• The number of people “experiencing literal homelessness” in Nashville increased by 118 people or 5.4% since last year, according to new data released by Metro’s Office of Homeless Services.

• After property tax bills more than quadrupled in some cases at Broadway bars, Nashville’s mayor announced legislation to help small businesses, including a $300,000 grant program for “legacy” businesses open at least 15 years. You can read the mayor’s pitch for the proposal here.

• Starbucks laid off 120 corporate employees who refused to move to its new office in Nashville, along with more than 100 others, The Seattle Times reported.

🧠 Today’s puzzle: Odd One Out

How closely did you pay attention to Friday’s newsletter? Three of the four in each round have something in common. Pick the one that doesn’t belong.

• Round 1: SweatHouz · Farenheit Yoga · Fifth Third Bank · Cheekwood

• Round 2: Mount Olive Missionary Baptist Church · Titans stadium · Coca-Cola bottling plant · First Evangelical Lutheran Church

• Round 3: 170 · 172 · 174 · 67

Here’s a link to the answers.

🍔 MAP: click here for restaurant inspections across Nashville

Please let me know what you think of today’s updated newsletter format. Just reply to this email or email me directly at ryan@nash.news. -Ryan

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Haveibeenflocked.com, which is critical of Flock, said it compiled a database of the airport police department’s searches through public records requests of audit logs from law enforcement agencies across the country. My understanding: every time airport police ping another department’s data, that department automatically documents the search on its audit log.

Here’s my analysis of the data, which appeared to document more than 5,000 searches, along with the airport’s response:

• Theft-related investigations appear to account for more searches than any other category. More than 40% of the searches use the words “theft,” “stolen,” or “larceny” in the reason for the search. When I asked an airport spokesperson if they disputed this finding or any other, they did not directly answer and recommended that I reach out to haveibeenflocked.com.

• All searches have a reason attached, including “other,” “susp activity,” “welfare check,” “wanted,” “investigation,” “human trafficking,” “homicide,” multiple terms for drug investigations, and more.

• A case number isn’t attached to thousands of searches in the released data. In at least some cases, this could be a redaction. But there are multiple entries that don’t have a case number while others from the same audit log do. An airport spokesperson tells me a case number, along with an offense type and specific reason, is “the minimum and required data criteria” for a search. “Our policy prohibits searches outside criminal investigations,” the spokesperson said.

For transparency as you consider my findings: haveibeenflocked.com does not guarantee the accuracy of the data, noting “the dataset is incomplete; few governments provide easy access to these logs, and the records we obtain are often redacted.” Also, I used the artificial intelligence platform Claude to eliminate apparently duplicative entries that happened within the same minute since the database combines logs from agencies across the country, which reduced the number of entries from about 35,000 to about 5,000.

“The Flock ALPR serves as a secondary safety and security measure at the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority, utilized for investigative purposes and to provide safety, security, and protection measures for our 27 million annual passengers,” an airport spokesperson told me by email. You can read their full responses to my questions here.

Flock announced earlier this month that searches will “require case codes from all enforcement agencies by the end of year” after criticism of its surveillance network. However, it noted, “Agencies may bypass the requirement in emergencies, but every exigent search will be flagged for administrator review.”

Flock defended its technology as assisting “officers in more than one million crimes solved annually. In July alone, with your help, we detected over 1,000 missing people and over 20,000 stolen cars.” Meanwhile, the people behind haveibeenflocked.com argue, “We believe mass surveillance has no place in a free society, and this data should not be collected to begin with. If it is collected, warrants should be used, lookups should be rare and police and private parties, like Flock and HaveIBeenFlocked.com, should not be permitted to act without functional restraints or oversight.”

⚡ Quick hits

• Weather: ☀️ Patchy fog this morning. High: 91, Low: 68. 90s and sunny this weekend.

• What’s new in Nashville’s neighborhoods, including neighbors vs. Cheekwood and demolition after the Christmas Day bombing.

• Plus, an update on the new Nissan Stadium’s construction, ICE in Nashville, and a local retailer closing after more than 170 years

Get nash.news delivered straight to your inbox for free every weekday morning by entering your email. You can also support my work to simplify Nashville by sharing with a friend. Thank you!

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🏠 What’s new in Nashville’s neighborhoods

• Belle Meade

  • Cheekwood survived a zoning appeal that it claimed would have shut down the botanical garden. A neighborhood group, upset about traffic, argued a new parking garage project violates the city’s zoning rules as Cheekwood expanded far beyond what was approved in the 1990s, while Cheekwood said its evolution was grandfathered under the law. The fight isn’t over, despite yesterday’s ruling from Metro’s Board of Zoning Appeals. Neighbors also sued Metro, claiming the city allowed Cheekwood to operate illegally under zoning law. Also, a zoning appeals board member said, “there are real questions about what's happened with Cheekwood and where they've gone with this nonconformity, and does it exceed what they should be allowed.”

• Downtown(ish)

  • Demolition on Second Avenue: nearly five years after the 2020 Christmas bombing, Metro granted a permit to demolish 170, 172, and 174 Second Avenue North. Several plans for the properties have come and gone over the years. I’m still trying to find out what the next plan is.

  • SweatHouz, an “infrared sauna and cold plunge studio”, plans to open at 921 Division Street, according to a new building permit.

  • “Rock Block Developments Move Forward Following Yearslong Halt”, Nashville Scene reports.

• East Nashville

  • Crashes dropped by 70% on South 11th Street, NDOT said, after changes under the “Adopt a Corner” pilot program. It aims to stop illegal parking near intersections, which can block drivers’ view of oncoming traffic. Neighborhood sponsors can partner with NDOT to add barriers like planters. The pilot rolled out to 34 street corners in East Nashville.

  • New yoga studio: Farenheit Yoga plans to expand from the 12 South neighborhood to East Nashville at 203 North 11th Street, a building permit application indicates.

• Antioch

  • “Repeat offender”: a strip mall at 809 Hamilton Crossings that Metro Codes has called a “repeat offender” was cited this week for junk and trash on the property.

  • The property codes audit I reported on last week hasn’t let up in Antioch. About 10 properties were flagged yesterday on Kinwood Drive, Cold Spring Drive, Nautilus Drive, and Holder Drive.

• Bellevue

  • A new Fifth Third Bank location is planned for a shopping center at 7613 Highway 70 South, based on a new building permit.

• Madison

  • 67 new townhomes are coming to 406B Lanier Drive, according to a master building permit. It doesn’t allow construction to start, but it indicates the project is moving forward.

📰 A few final headlines…

• The missing man from Colorado who disappeared after visiting an East Nashville bar was found dead, Metro Police said. “There are no immediate indications of foul play,” according to police.

• Progress on new Nissan Stadium: the Tennessee Titans expect the new stadium to be fully enclosed by the middle of October, the team said at this week’s Sports Authority meeting. The building team will start installing about 10,000 seats per month starting next month.

• The TVA’s board voted yesterday to create a power rate for data centers, which it says will “protect consumers and keep energy affordable amid rising energy demand.”

• “After surviving the Civil War, the Great Depression, the Great Recession and the COVID-19 pandemic, Nashville retailer Levy’s Clothiers will close its doors permanently at the end of 2026,” The Tennessean reports.

• “Gov. Bill Lee hesitant to call special session on Nashville honky-tonk taxes” (WPLN)

• “Beloved Nashville nonprofit, Last Minute Toy Store, suspends operations” because it couldn’t find a location for the event (NewsChannel5)

• “ICE changes location of Tennessee call center site from Adams to Nashville” (Tennessee Lookout)

• Protecting historic landmarks: the Metro Council approved historic landmark designations for Mount Olive Missionary Baptist Church (3411 Albion Street) and First Evangelical Lutheran Church (113 8th Avenue South), which protects the properties from changes and demolition without review by Metro. Metro’s Historical Commission also decided to apply for putting the former Coca-Cola bottling plant on Church Street on the National Register of Historic Places. You can read the property’s history here.

🍔 MAP: click here for restaurant inspections across Nashville

Thank you for reading nash.news! Just reply to this email if you have a correction, story idea, concerns about my coverage, or anything else. You can also email me at ryan@nash.news. I’ll be back in your inbox on Monday! - Ryan