Clipping Some Wings
🛸 Traffic, taxes, & drones · Breakin’ In Ain’t Hard to Do · State Leaders Want Nashville Sheriff to Comply With ICE · Much more!
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Most impactful bills on public hearing and final reading during next week’s Metro Council meeting.
🚂 New transportation analysis for major development is on second reading with a public hearing. The proposal would require NDOT to conduct a more detailed transportation-infrastructure analysis for certain site plans and rezonings. This includes a look at the impact of traffic levels. The change could impact the way Nashville approves development.
🏨 Tourist/hotel tax revenue and East Bank funding is on final reading. This bill changes how Nashville's tourist accommodation and hotel-related tax revenues are distributed to comply with new state law. Most notably, the framework includes a potential $300 million transfer to the East Bank Development Authority for roads, bridges, utilities, and other public infrastructure.
Despite some pushback, the council is expected to lock in this new roadmap for Nashville tourism dollars. Earlier this week, the East Bank Development Authority approved the use of up to $80 million of the $300 million to extend Marine Drive between Cowan Street and Dickerson Pike, as well as other improvements along Cowan.
🛸 New guardrails for drones, facial recognition, and surveillance technology are on final reading. If passed, the legislation would change Nashville's rules for police/first-responder drones and surveillance technology. Last meeting the council adopted a rewrite of the bill that would narrow the proposal to Metro’s first-responder drone pilot program while allowing departments like Metro Water and Communications to continue their existing drone uses.
If passed into law, it also reinforces an existing Metro policy requiring a public hearing before any new drone pilot program is implemented. The drones would also be limited to four uses: active shooter incidents, hostage situations, searches for missing people, and mayor-declared states of emergency lasting up to 10 days. The substitute also prohibits autonomous/AI-operated Metro drones and bans facial recognition technology across Metro departments.
✹ BREAKIN’ IN AIN’T HARD TO DO
The tenth installment in Tales from the Westside
From Rachel Gladstone
“You mean burglary, Ma’am; not robbery,” the police officer corrected me as he dusted the door of the living room closet for prints. “A robbery involves a gun,” he continued. “Now, they might have had a gun. They might not have. But since there was no gun directly involved here, it’s just a burglary.”
What a relief. At least now I know the difference between the two! I thought. “I’ve learned something here today,” I said, acting as if I were grateful for the information which, honestly, I wasn’t. I couldn’t have cared less about semantics! I was a freaked-out puppy! And so was Wanda, my yellow lab. If you’d looked up “freaked-out puppy” in the dictionary, her picture definitely would have been there. Her tongue lolled out of one side of her mouth like she’d just come from a marathon day of squirrel chasing. (She never caught them, but man did she love to try!) Her pupils had shrunk to the size of peas, and the whites of her eyes were almost all I could see as she leaned against my leg and looked up at me with the most pitiful expression on earth.
“Poor baby!” I cooed, kneeling down beside her. “You were here all alone when those mean, masked men broke in!” I stroked her thick fur.
“You know, I wasn’t even gone an hour. I wonder if I interrupted them mid-burgle,” I said to the officer who’d finished dusting for prints. That’s gonna be a bitch to clean, I said silently as I studied the smudges of fine black powder coating the once-white door.
Looking at me as if he wanted to tell me that ‘mid-burgle’ was not police jargon, nor anyone else’s for that matter, he pursed his lips and shook his beefy head instead. “Now they might have been masked. They might not have. Either way, still a burglary,” he stated, closing the closet door. His partner, who’d barely said two words since they arrived, nodded in agreement; the Watson to his Sherlock.
HEADLINES
- 🚔 State wants Nashville Sheriff to comply with ICE. Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton says lawmakers will try in 2027 to close what he describes as a loophole that currently exempts the Davidson County Sheriff's Office from a state law requiring Tennessee sheriff's departments to participate in the federal 287(g) immigration enforcement program. Sheriff Daron Hall's office says it believes the department is exempt under the law's current wording, while Sexton says he wants to change the law so Metro law enforcement entities are required to participate. (Fox 17)
- 🎣 Tennessee hunting, fishing license fees could increase 29% next year to help fill budget deficit. Tennessee hunting and fishing license fees could increase by an average of 29 percent, generating roughly $12 million to help address a multi-million-dollar deficit at the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA). The Tennessee Fish and Wildlife Commission approved the new fee structure, which still needs approval from the General Assembly’s Joint Government Operations Committee; if approved, the changes could take effect July 1, 2027. (Lookout)
- 🔫 Nashville man charged with attempted murder, leaving victim paralyzed, just released after eight-year sentence for armed robbery. Devonte Sherley, 29, is accused of entering his sister’s Nashville apartment on Aug. 19 and shooting a man in the neck and knee, leaving the victim paralyzed; he is now charged with attempted murder and is being held on a $2 million bond. The Tennessee Star reports Sherley had just completed an eight-year sentence for aggravated robbery, with state records showing his supervision ended July 8 — about 42 days before the shooting. (TN Star)
✹ PROPERTY TAX CALCULATOR
What Moved Your Bill? Use our handy new tool to see what contributed to your property tax bill increase: the reappraisal or the rate hike. (Try It Out)
DEVELOPMENT
- In-N-Out plans three-restaurant development following $7 million buy (NBJ)
- EastGrove Development wants to revive two historic buildings on Second Avenue (NBJ)
- Southwest Airlines is targeting June 2027 to open its lounge at Nashville International Airport (NBJ)
✹ METRO COUNCIL WATCH
New Council Watch Features We've added additional features to Council Watch. In addition to who's funding your council member, you can now see how they vote and who they vote with most frequently. (Take a Look)
THINGS TO DO
View our calendar for the week here.
📅 Visit our On The Radar list to find upcoming events around Nashville.
🎧 On Spotify: Pamphleteer's Picks, a playlist of our favorite bands in town this week.
👨🏻🌾 Check out our Nashville farmer's market guide.
TONIGHT
🎸 Oskar & Julia @ The Blue Room, 7p, $19, Info
+ Rooted in Blues + Early R&B with elements of Calypso in a Smoky Jazz vocal atmosphere
🎸 Daniel Donato's Cosmic Country @ Ryman Auditorium, 8p, $72, Info
🪕 Oklahoma Line @ Station Inn, 8p, $25, Info
🎸 Country Club Day ft. The Cowpokes @ Acme Feed & Seed, 12:30p, Free, Info
🎸 Kelley's Heroes @ Robert's Western World, 6:30p, Free, Info
SATURDAY
🎸 Daniel Donato's Cosmic Country @ Ryman Auditorium, 8p, $81, Info
🎷 Charlier Parker Birthday Tribute with Don Aliquo @ Rudy's Jazz Room, 5:30p, $16, Info
🪕 Shawn Camp @ Station Inn, 8p, $25, Info
🎸 Brandi Carlile @ Bridgestone Arena, 7p, $33.10, Info
🎸 Kelley's Heroes @ Robert's Western World, 6:30p, Free, Info
SUNDAY
🎸 Old 97's @ The Caverns, 6p, $49.50 Info
🪕 Bluegrass Jam @ Station Inn, 7p, Free, Info
+ a night for musicians and singers from all over the world to gather and enjoy making music together
🪕 Sundays Between with Easy Green @ Tennessee Brew Works, 1p, Info
+ a fusion of two beloved musical genres – Bluegrass and the iconic sounds of the Grateful Dead!
📰 Check out the full newsletter archive here.
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