Happy Friday, Nashville! It’s November 6.
☁️ Highs in the 60s through at least Wednesday. High: 64, Low: 39
📍 New in Nashville’s Neighborhoods: random attacks on Broadway, a shifting car theft trend, a bar gets a 60 on its health inspection, a produce giveaway, a codes audit widens, and much more.
📰 Also in today’s newsletter: where people could’ve been exposed to measles, police getting a new tool to save overdose victims, a new way to track transportation projects coming to your neighborhood, and a change to trash pickup.
🏠 What’s new in Nashville’s neighborhoods
Downtown
Random attacks: Metro Police are looking for a man accused of randomly punching and knocking out two men as he walked past them on Broadway. An 80-year-old victim spent four days in the ICU at Vanderbilt with a brain bleed and fractured ribs. The other victim was 48 years old. Police call the attacks unprovoked. Both happened on October 12. “No similar incidents have been reported since,” police said. Here’s a link to the surveillance picture.
West Nashville
Auto theft trend change: So far this year, auto thefts in the Metro Police Department’s West Precinct are down nearly 50% compared to this point last year. That’s better than the countywide drop of nearly 31%. However, the trend shifted in the past few months. Police report 44 cases in the past two months versus 23 cases in the two months before that — nearly double when the countywide rate is about flat. Cases have trended down significantly again in the past month. You can use this map to see what’s happened in your neighborhood — just click “motor vehicle theft” on the “what” filter.
Antioch
Bar scores 60: The health inspector who visited The Hangout Hookah Bar at 2704 Murfreesboro Pike suggested food handler classes for employees after seeing issues like an employee “cutting onions with bare hands.” The inspector also flagged excessive flies in the kitchen and food storage issues. You can read the full inspection here. Like always, I have all restaurant inspections at the end of the newsletter.
Produce giveaway: Hamilton United Methodist Church is partnering with Second Harvest Food Bank for a free fresh produce giveaway. It’s from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. tomorrow at 3105 Hamilton Church Road. More info here, including how to volunteer.
Mobile health clinic: The Metro Health Department is back at the Consulate of Guatemala (1645 Murfreesboro Pike) from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. tomorrow. Its mobile health clinic offers services like immunizations, family planning, and STI testing and treatment. You can find the full list here. And here are more details about tomorrow’s event.
Northern Davidson
Codes audit continues: It’s more than a one-day blip. Metro Codes returned to this area Wednesday for a property standards audit — essentially looking for problem properties. Eleven owners got warnings to address issues like junk on their property and parking on the grass. Impacted streets include Chesapeake Circle, Village Trail, Masonwood Drive, Stockdale Lane, Richmond Hill Drive, and Mound Court. They’re all in Metro Council District 3, so I asked the council member whether she asked for the audit like a council member in Antioch did in their district. I’ll let you know if I hear back.
Near Sylvan Park
Demolition planned: The property that includes Pep Boys at 5330 Charlotte Avenue is set to be demolished, according to a new permit application. Sprouts Farmers Market applied for a permit last year to open a grocery store in the same shopping center at 5318 Charlotte Avenue.
Old Hickory
Library closure: The Old Hickory branch of the Nashville Public Library will be closed next Monday and Tuesday for maintenance, the library said.
East Nashville
Retail to food: The Eighteen at 18 McFerrin Avenue, which describes itself as “a boutique aparthotel,” is converting retail space into a takeout restaurant, according to a new building permit. The permit doesn’t give details about what’s moving in, but the building’s website says a neighborhood coffee shop is coming soon on the ground floor.
South Nashville
Stream cleanup: The Cumberland River Compact is organizing a stream cleanup for Sevenmile Creek tomorrow morning. Volunteers are asked to meet in the vacant lot at 497 Paragon Mills Road. The cleanup is scheduled to run from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. More info here. And here’s an Instagram post from a cleanup in April — volunteers picked up nearly 700 pounds of trash!
📰 A few more stories I’m following…
Measles case: An unvaccinated person was diagnosed with measles, Metro’s Health Department confirmed. The list of places where people could’ve been exposed includes three locations in Nashville, according to WTVF: Westin Hotel Nashville at 807 Clark Place (October 31 from 11 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. November 1), Sprouts Farmers Market at 5821 Nolensville Pike (November 1 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.), and CareNow Urgent Care at 5304 Cane Ridge Road (November 3 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.). The health department told WTVF the case “currently poses no threat to the public,” but this article explains symptoms to watch for.
Animal control officer shortage: Metro Animal Care and Control said it will temporarily reduce its after-hours animal control services because of a staffing shortage. “MACC Animal Control Officers will be responding to calls for service every day between 7 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., the time period when the majority of MACC’s calls for service are received. Overnight coverage will continue four nights per week,” the department said in a notice yesterday. “Coverage will expand when more officers are hired and trained.”
Saving people from overdoses: More than 60 defibrillators will be assigned to Metro Police officers working in parts of town with a lot of overdoses. The American Heart Association paid the nearly $100,000 cost. This Metro Health Department dashboard shows overdose deaths in Nashville have ticked up this year from 89 deaths in the first quarter to 107 in the third. However, deaths in the third quarter are down nearly 40% compared to the same time five years ago. Fentanyl and cocaine are still tied to the majority of deaths.
Track projects in your neighborhood: Metro just shared a map (link here) of Choose How You Move transportation projects across Nashville, so you can see what’s coming to your neighborhood. The projects are funded by a half-cent sales tax increase approved by voters. An example of what I found on the map: three sidewalk projects in the Bellevue area.
Trash pickup change: If Metro normally picks up your trash on Wednesday, pickup will move to Monday next week because of Veterans Day. More: changes for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day + how to sign up for pickup-day reminders.
🍽️ Restaurant inspections
Correction, feedback, question? Just reply to this email or email me directly at ryan@nash.news. Talk to you next week! —Ryan