Special session over Nashville property taxes?
Plus, the future of Metro PD drones and a Wawa setback
Good morning, Nashville! It’s Friday, August 7th. Thank you for reading the first edition of nash.news. I’m here to simplify my hometown with my free newsletter delivered straight to your inbox every weekday morning. You can read more about me and my mission here. Now, let’s get to the news.
⚡ Quick hits
Weather: 🌦️ High: 95 degrees, Low: 74, slight storm chance after noon + similar pattern through the next few days
House Speaker Cameron Sexton committed to asking Governor Bill Lee for a special session on Nashville businesses struggling financially due to property taxes, a spokesperson for Sexton confirmed to me.
Election results: Congressman Andy Ogles conceded the Republican primary for his seat last night while Senator Marsha Blackburn won the Republican nomination for governor.
Metro PD’s controversial “drone as first responder” pilot program, which launched without Metro Council approval, will end today.
Plus: an update on Wawa gas stations in Nashville, what’s new in Nashville’s neighborhoods, and a map of the latest restaurant inspection scores
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💰 Special session over Nashville property taxes
Broadway bar owners looking for financial relief after massive increases to their property tax bills have a new ally: country singer John Rich. In a Facebook video posted this week, Rich said House Speaker Cameron Sexton and Senator Jack Johnson committed to asking Governor Bill Lee for a special session on Nashville businesses struggling financially due to property taxes. A spokesperson for Sexton confirmed to me that’s accurate.
Several businesses have tied their closures this year to property tax increases, but Acme Feed and Seed’s property tax bill was the first to catch my attention. It spiked from about $130,000 last year to nearly $600,000 this year. In the most recent property assessment, which happens every four years, their building’s value increased from less than $10 million to more than $50 million.
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.
Rich has recently proven his influence with Republican politicians. He successfully leveraged his relationship with President Trump to stop multiple TVA projects, which felt unprecedented at the time because, until recently, the TVA had a reputation for getting its way.
So what are state lawmakers talking about doing? Rich didn’t give details, and Speaker Sexton’s spokesperson Connor Grady didn’t have specifics when I asked. “We’re still taking a look at all possible solutions,” he wrote to me. A bill passed by the Republican supermajority earlier this year allows state grants for some bars in the downtown Nashville area, which would be funded by re-allocated tourism-related tax money. I’m still trying to figure out whether that process has started.
I reached out to representatives for Governor Bill Lee, Senator Jack Johnson, and Mayor Freddie O’Connell for comment with this story, but I didn’t hear back.
🗳️ Ogles loses, Blackburn wins
A New York Times push alert called it the “Tennessee Upset”: Representative Andy Ogles lost the Republican primary for Tennessee’s fifth Congressional district to former Tennessee Commissioner of Agriculture Charlie Hatcher.
“Charlie fought a great race, and at the end of the day, he prevailed,” Ogles said in a concession speech.
The result is getting national attention because it’s a rare case of Republican voters not following President Trump’s endorsement. Trump urged voters to “GET OUT AND VOTE FOR ANDY” yesterday morning. Hatcher received a late endorsement from Governor Bill Lee.
The debate I’m seeing now among political folks: did Ogles lose because of redistricting done by his own party? (Republicans removed Nashville from the district, added more rural areas in West Tennessee where Hatcher potentially had stronger relationships, and stretched the district to Memphis.) Or was it his history of anti-Muslim rhetoric and other controversies while sponsoring zero bills that became law? Both? Or something else?
Hatcher will face Democrat Chaz Molder.
A few more election headlines:
Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn won the Republican nomination for governor last night. As of about 5 a.m., Blackburn’s opponent Congressman John Rose had a slight lead in Davidson County. Memphis city council member Jerri Green won the Democratic nomination.
Congressional races (here’s a tool to find your district and here’s a link to candidate profiles by the Nashville Banner):
District 4 (southeast part of Davidson County): Incumbent Republican Scott DesJarlais vs. Democrat Victoria Broderick
District 6 (mostly east side of Davidson County): Republican State Representative Johnny Garrett vs. Democrat veteran Mike Croley
District 7 (west side of Davidson County): Incumbent Republican Representative Matt Van Epps vs. Democrat businessman Darden Copeland.
Links: Statewide election results and Davidson County results
🚓 Metro PD’s drone pilot program ends today
Metro PD’s controversial “drone as first responder” pilot program, which launched without Metro Council approval, will end today, a police department spokesperson confirmed to the Nashville Scene.
When police announced the pilot in May, they said, “three drones based on the roof of the Madison Precinct will be available to respond within a two-mile radius of the precinct building to emergency calls for service, calls regarding active criminal investigations, missing person calls and significant traffic crashes.”
A dashboard from the drone provider Skydio gives limited details about Metro PD drone flights, although a report by Nashville’s Community Review Board says police can choose to not list flights. Regardless, I copied and pasted the data we can see into a spreadsheet and asked two artificial intelligence platforms to look for trends. Both platforms noted the dominance of flights tied to “disorderly person.” Here’s Claude’s takeaway:
Disorderly Person calls dominate at ~25% of all flights — by far the single largest category
Domestic Disturbance is next at ~10%
Weapon/violence-adjacent calls (person with weapon, shots fired, robbery, stabbing) make up about 13% combined
Vehicle accidents (property damage + injury) are another ~16% combined
— Claude AI analysis of Metro PD data from May 26 - August 6
Police told the Nashville Scene they’ll give a presentation on the data next week. During the pilot, police highlighted several cases where they said drones made a difference - the arrest of a domestic violence suspect, the safe recovery of an endangered five-month-old child, and the arrest of two robbery suspects.
New Metro legislation — BL2026-1498 — would … [eliminate] the legal basis MNPD used to run the program without a council vote. If passed, the bill would allow Metro departments to deploy drones without council approval only during active-shooter or hostage situations, declared emergencies or natural disasters. It would also cap any temporary drone deployment at 30 consecutive days, unless the council votes by resolution after a public hearing to extend it. The bill received its first reading at Tuesday's council meeting. It must pass two additional readings before becoming law.
Both sides: one of the sponsors of the legislation explains her concerns here. And Metro Police Chief John Drake claims the legislation “threatens the safety of officers and the public” in this letter to the Metro Council.
⛽ When is Wawa coming to Nashville?
I’ve never been to a Wawa gas station, but it’s popular enough to have a 31,000-member Facebook fan club. When the chain announced its grand opening of three new locations in Middle Tennessee, I was surprised that openings still haven’t been announced for any Nashville locations. Now I have a better idea of why… for at least one of them.
Based on building permits, locations are planned for:
Permit issued
Permit application
The first permit for the Murfreesboro Pike location was pulled in 2023, but Councilwoman Joy Styles says it may not open until September 2027! In a Facebook video, she blamed the decision to use a more complicated zoning process known as a specific plan, “ineptitude from the engineering firm,” and “waiting now for TDOT to give the approval so they can build the median in Murfreesboro Road in the turn lane, so people are not able to make a left turn out of Wawa for the future.”
Building the gas station will take nine months once construction starts, Styles said.
I reached out to Wawa for updates on Nashville’s stores. I haven’t heard back, but I’ll let you know if I do.
🏠 What’s new in Nashville’s neighborhoods
East Nashville
The new TriStar East Nashville ER opened this week at 800 Dickerson Pike.
Tomato Art Fest starts tonight at 5 p.m. and runs through tomorrow.
Antioch
Several property owners along I-24 received notices from TDOT that their properties would be taken to make room for new toll lanes, according to Metro councilwoman Joy Styles. “We have not heard anything regarding TNT billiards or Chinatown,” she said.
South Nashville
New haunted house: developers applied for a building permit at the old furniture store at 502 Thompson Lane. It describes a “haunted house (special amusement) with timed, ticketed entry.”
Plans filed for a new Panda Express at 5753 Nolensville Pike.
Downtownish
The owners of a two-story bar at 117 Second Avenue North that closed after the 2020 Christmas Day bombing applied for a permit to “construct new 4 story shell structure and establish a bar/restaurant.” It was once Mulligan’s Pub and Restaurant.
Metro’s finance director revealed this week that the Music City Center plans to spend between $1.1 and $1.2 billion on a 300,000 square foot expansion because the current space is too small to host some conventions. The Convention Center Authority recently bought a nearby, former federal parking garage site.
The Nashville Shakespeare Festival returns to Centennial Park on August 20 after nearly a decade away. It runs through September.
North Nashville
A new 5,000 square foot “concrete skate plaza” at Watkins All-Wheel Park could break ground this fall, according to a presentation to Metro’s Parks Board. It’ll have a “beginner friendly design.”
West Nashville
After Belle Meade’s Kroger store closed last year, Kroger recently received a building permit to demolish the interior of the old Harris Teeter store at 4416 Ridgefield Way. I haven’t heard when Kroger plans to open here.
Everywhere
Want to see if NDOT will pave a road near you this year? NDOT just shared this map.
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📰 A few final headlines…
Channel 4 chief meteorologist Lisa Spencer will retire today after 25 years at the station. (Bree Smith)
Two people died after a shooting involving ATF agents on Thursday. (WKRN)
Nashville billionaire and philanthropist Martha Ingram died at 90 years old. (WKRN)
🍔 MAP: click here for the latest restaurant inspection scores
Thank you for reading this first edition of nash.news! Just reply to this email if you have a correction, story idea, concerns about my coverage, or anything else. I’ll be back in your inbox on Monday! - Ryan