Housing, Housing, and More Housing
🏛️ Last night's metro council meeting · School choice and safety in Nashville · Much more!
Good afternoon, everyone.
If you got caught up in traffic on the Southside of town yesterday, you can thank two guys driving a Tesla who robbed a man in broad daylight in the Green Hills Mall parking lot—one of whom seems to have gotten shot along the way—and crashed into a tree getting off from 440-E to 65-N.
The driver was proclaimed dead at the scene from a gunshot wound and the passenger was arrested shortly after police arrived on the scene. The incident brought traffic in the area to a standstill well into the night. Questions remain about when and how the driver got shot.
Meanwhile, over in Memphis, around the time the gridlock set in, Councilwoman Pearl Eva Walker won the quote of the year (so far) award.
"Whether one would admit it publicly or not, masturbation feels good... and this, these presentations are equal to masturbation," she said of a presentation at the city's Transportation Committee meeting. "They make you feel good, but this is not real sex... I want to equate real sex with real numbers, a real budget, a real audit... So we can stop playing with ourselves and playing with the citizens."
Beautiful. Poetry is all around us.
Onward.
“If we want fewer car break-ins, fewer instances of gun violence, fewer thefts and assaults, devote millions to social housing and non-police community safety programs.” That was the pitch Andrew Krinks, an adjunct professor at American Baptist College and project manager for the Nashville People's Budget Coalition, made to Metro Council. “The absence of deeply and permanently affordable housing for all residents will be made a crisis if we continue to merely chip away at the problem little by little,” continued Krinks. “Such an approach guarantees that more people than can even fit in these chambers will die and be displaced in the years ahead.”
The ominous plea to de-commodify housing was one of many appeals during last night’s marathon of requests made during the pre-budget comment period. The steady stream of 2-minute speeches came from people associated with several non-governmental organizations, non-profits, and Metro government employees. Among them were groups like Stand Up Nashville, the Equity Alliance, and the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition, who are collectively hoping to cash in some of their political capital after supporting the Mayor’s transit referendum this fall.
The three groups pushed for affordable housing under their joint venture, Shift Nashville. A $10 million fund request for violence interruption programs was also outlined in the Varsity Spending Plan put together by the Southern Movement Committee—a group that appears to be taking on the mantle vacated by the all-but-defunct non-profit, Gideon’s Army.
After the council finished hearing from advocates for things like skate parks, the Barnes Fund, animal shelters, and free eviction defense funding, the body breezed through most of their agenda until they hit one particular Codes enforcement bill. Apparently, Metro barely has any system to address Metro Code violations that occur at night. “I've got too many issues in Antioch, that’s why I proposed it,” explained Councilmember Joy Styles, who said she’s been trying to negotiate a solution to this problem for four years. “I need someone to come around and check on the illegal chop shops and bright lights and noise complaints and all of those things.”
The council ultimately passed the legislation on second reading, which outlines a memorandum of understanding between the Metropolitan Beer Permit Board and the Metropolitan Department of Codes Administration. Though a bit unconventional, the MOU would allow Metro Codes Director Bill Herbert to send two paid codes officers to work in the Nashville night mayor’s office. A few council members in high-crime districts outside the downtown core worried that the problems in their areas might get ignored.
Councilmember Quin Evans Segall put those concerns to rest by explaining that the bill creates a short-term pilot program designed to extend beyond Broadway once they work out the kinks. “Director [Benton], in his experience, thought it would be better for an office that was open at night to supervise them,” she said. Once they train up the inspectors and test the new night enforcement protocols alongside MNPD, the council plans to deploy them throughout the county.
As the discussion wound down, it was hard not to chuckle at the schoolmarming coming from the podium. “Everybody, simmer down,” Vice Mayor Angie Henderson warned the council members at one point during the meeting. As for the budget, all Metro Departments will be submitting their proposals to the mayor who will finalize his budget over the next two months. The council will then have until the end of June to make any changes. MEGAN PODSIEDLIK
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🎓 School Choice In Nashville On Friday, Mayor O’Connell reminded locals that despite the frenzy over the governor’s recently passed school choice bill, Music City has already been participating in the plan. “One thing for Nashvillians to be aware of in that voucher conversation is the program was already in effect here in Nashville and Davidson County,” he said. “Yesterday really marked a statewide expansion.”
Metro Legal Director Wally Dietz was asked to reflect on the bill’s changes, which restrict undocumented students from being eligible for those scholarships. “I have not examined the provision of the voucher bill on who is eligible,” he said. “There was a case from the United States Supreme Court just a few years ago that said education is a fundamental right, and you cannot deprive a person, a child, of their public education based on their citizenship or immigration status.”
🚨 Questions Over School Safety As new AI weapon detectors go up in Antioch High School, locals are coming down on Metro Nashville Public Schools’ resistance to installing traditional metal detectors. Last week, parents filed a petition to make metal detectors mandatory. While Nashvillians continue to question the motives behind pursuing the unproven technology over traditional public safety practices, former MNPS School Board Member Fran Bush says the resistance comes from the top.
“The schools are an open door to gun violence, people getting hurt, and this is not going to be the last time, unfortunately,” Bush told WSMV after explaining that she repeatedly advocated for the installation of metal detectors to no avail. “It breaks my heart to say it, but it’s not going to be until Dr. Battle and the board start to do something about it.”
DEVELOPMENT
- Nashville hot spot home to Barcelona Wine Bar, Old Glory hits the market (NBJ)
- In-N-Out Burger is eyeing 35 possible Tennessee locations (NBJ)
- Elliston Place’s The Corner Bar will close in March (Post)
- Nonprofit pays $18.9M for residential building (Post)
- MDHA committee approves Arcade bar plan (Post)
THINGS TO DO
View our calendar for the week here and our weekly film rundown 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
🎸 Kentucky Derby Con Man @ DRKMTTR, 8p, $10, Info
🎸 Old Dominion @ Ryman Auditorium, 7p, $149+, Info
🎸 Dennis Parker & Friends: James Taylor Tribute Show @ Station Inn, 8p, $20, Info
🪕 Bluegrass Night @ The American Legion Post 82, 7p, Free, Info
📰 Check out the full newsletter archive here.
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