Just Be Freakin' Nice, Man

Universal healthcare, labor rights, workers' rights, "15 minute cities," living wage initiatives... all of these started as Christian concepts and, like any heresy, whatever goodness or truth contained therein has been excised and magnified at the expense of the truth. "Multimodal" transportation is one of these initiatives that have been hijacked and touted as goods in themselves.

More buses, bikes, and light rail will turn us into Amsterdam, right? Experience the magic of a bus rapid transit ride and all will be well, correct? The last BRT ride I took was in Richmond, Virginia in the summer of 2023 and a cracked-out Santa Claus lit up a roach as he raved about the geometry of the sides of the buildings we passed. He was scaring the hoes, to put it bluntly. Hmm.

The entirety of the bus system in Richmond is free to ride. But who is riding them? Only the most dedicated transit people, the extremely convenienced, the poor, and, concerningly, the crazy who we deny long-term help in asylums. Crime abounds on these transit systems, and with good samaritans punished (see Daniel Penny) and cops disincentivized to police, normal people have no interest. Transit, walkability, and bicycle lanes alone will not create a "more equitable future" as the proponents claim. Why?

Is it because they lack the requisite ethnos or ethnic uniformity? Perhaps. But more importantly, I believe it's because they lack the ethos. Ethos is always downstream from telos. And telos is always downstream from logos. If the purpose of multimodal transit is to save the planet, create walkability for its own sake, and cater to the unfazed idealism of transit referenders, the masses will always choose the convenience laid out by the first wave of city planners who started this mess: Corbusier, and his ilk.

The ethos of a populace determines the trajectory of the built environment. Interstates cutting through cities, the very concept of the office park, and the arterial roads that blossom into cul-de-sacs are the dreams of Corbusier. This was the vision that plummeted so many cities into a futurist dystopia of ever-expanding terminal commutism. The very suburbs and suburban commute that conservatives cling to as a safe harbor for normal life is a creation of a weird French guy who went by one name. Like Bono.

But it wasn't always this way. The city, as outlined by Jane Jacobs in her most famous work The Life and Death of Great American Cities, is like a biological cell. The mixed-use (i.e., normal) buildings of yesteryear were integrated places. The people, institutions, and buildings were organelles. Women stayed at home and watched the streets; men worked nearby and children ran around in packs (there's safety in numbers and that's why nobody plays outside anymore, but that's another essay).

The center of the neighborhood or town was often the church, surrounded by the places of commerce. These patterns of development are intuitively more charming, more "human" than the cities and suburbs we inhabit. Why? Because the ethos and technological telos were aimed at something greater than individual convenience. It was aimed at God, and the flourishing of the human family on a "human scale."

Now, what does this have to do with multimodal transportation? When the built environment is already plug-and-play for a car commute, why bother? Well, we should be bothering; bothering to create the places that are of "one accord" and without which we will never be able to sustain "walkability" for its own sake. We must walk somewhere, and no Sims-loop coffee shop boutique cluster will last. With any modern foray into emulating the Old World, the Old Ideas must return. WHITFIELD SMITH

🗳️ The Race Is On For TN Governor US Representative John Rose is expected to announce his bid for governor at a special press event in Tennessee this afternoon. Rose has been a known contender for quite some time and all but launched his campaign during February’s Davidson County Republican Reorganization meeting.

“I went to Washington as a farmer and a businessman, and I went to serve for a season because I think that the founders wanted a citizen legislature,” he told those in attendance. “At the end of my third term, I'm going to come home, and in the days ahead, you'll hear a little bit about what I'm going to try to do next.” 

The congressman has been leaning heavily into his legacy as an eighth-generation Tennessean and staunch ally of President Trump while ramping up his presence across the state in preparation for campaign season. Rose’s most formidable opponent is likely to be Senator Marsha Blackburn, who has also been making the rounds.

This week, both legislators showed up for Ag Day on the Hill at the state capitol and spoke at the GOP Nashville Reagan Day Dinner on Tuesday. Though Blackburn hasn’t officially announced, several politicians are eyeing her Senate seat should she find herself victorious as the first female governor of Tennessee. 

In January, Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs surprised everyone by stepping away from his potential bid for the state’s executive office by throwing his weight behind Blackburn—a signal that he may be setting his sights on the Senate instead. “Great to see [Marsha Blackburn] at tonight’s TN Chamber event,” he wrote in a social media post. “Senator Blackburn has done an outstanding job as a state senator, U.S. congresswoman, and U.S. Senator. She would do an equally outstanding job as Governor and would have my full support if that’s what she decides.”

Jacobs may not be the only one who sees an opportunity if Blackburn wins the day. Manny Sethi, a Nashville doctor who ran against Senator Bill Hagerty in 2020, has also taken note of the potential Senate opening.

🚗 Tennessee Tesla Takedown Yes, the scandalous campaign targeting Elon Musk has taken hold in the Volunteer State. Yesterday, Libs of TikTok reposted a screenshot from a call-to-action shared by Indivisible Tennessee coordinating Tesla Takedowns in Memphis, Franklin, Chattanooga, and Knoxville this Saturday. 

Local conservative activist and political figure Robby Starbuck also took to X to expose the potential link between the founders of Indivisible and billionaire George Soros. “Over the next few days you’re going to see an organized progressional protest effort at Tesla stores put together by a group called Indivisible,” said Starbuck. “George Soros foundation has given Indivisible nearly $8 million dollars for their ‘activism.’ They’re calling these ‘Tesla takedown’ events and they’re doing it in the midst of a domestic terror spree targeting Tesla and Tesla owners.”

📜 State Historic Zoning Bill Taken Off Notice Yesterday, the state bill that would limit historic regulations for certain privately owned, historic properties built in tourism development zones was taken off the House Cities & Counties Subcommittee calendar. The legislation became somewhat of a boogeyman in Nashville as pressure piled up on the council to pass a bill moving Music City’s Historic Zoning Commission under the purview of Metro’s Planning Department.

This week, the Nashville council approved the local change. Though Councilmember Tonya Hancock informed her colleagues that Tennessee legislators told her the state would not be moving forward with their historic zoning bill during Tuesday’s council meeting, its subsequent removal from Wednesday’s calendar aligns with the narrative that the General Assembly would pull the legislation if Nashville properly addressed the issue.

HOME PRICES IN TENNESSEE

The Sycamore Institute thoroughly looked into what is driving increasing home prices in Tennessee. This trend is not unique to the state, but their analysis boils down to people wealthier than the average Tennessean moving here faster than we can build homes.

I couldn't include it directly in the email for some reason, but here is an interesting animation from the study showing how cost-burdened counties have grown since 2013. Read the whole thing here.

DEVELOPMENT

• Brentwood slated for new retail, restaurant development (NBJ)
• The Yellow Table Café & Crêperie Realizes a Longtime Dream (Scene)
• Oracle pays $60M for River North site eyed for tower (Post)
• Orlando breakfast chain slated for Capitol View (Post)

✹ METRO EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK

✹ GRANVILLE'S MAYBERRY-I LOVE LUCY FESTIVAL

Most towns on the outskirts of the Greater Metro Nashville Area earn local renown from a signature annual festival. But, though only 413 people call it home, the town of Granville in Jackson County can claim five of the state’s must-attend events. As if hosting Tenneessee’s largest display of scarecrows each fall and ringing in the summer with the Cornbread-Moonshine Festival weren’t enough, the former farming town’s Heritage days over Memorial Day weekend and Christmas celebration have carved out their own spots in many Middle Tennesseans’ holiday agendas.

Granville’s most recent endeavor to expand the town’s reputation for small-town charm is the Mayberry-I Love Lucy Festival, a two-day tribute to the Golden Age of Television’s most enduring shows that features original cast members, impersonators, reenactments of classic episodes, and a themed quilt show. “We are one of the few places in the United States that does this type of festival, and the only place in the United States that does a Mayberry Dinner Theatre,” Randall Clemons, President of Historic Granville, said. 

From April 11-12, Granville will honor the living cast members of both iconic CBS series, including Keith Thibodeaux (who pulled double duty as Little Ricky on Lucy and Opie’s pal, Johnny Paul Jason) as well as Dennis Rush–who did a recurring stint as Mayberry ragamuffin, Howie. In addition, the festival will host Dixie Griffith and Karen Knotts as they share stories of growing up the daughters of one of television’s greatest comedic duos. 

Nestled next to the Cumberland River, Granville earned a reputation as a flourishing riverboat hub and one of Tennessee’s agriculture centers in the early 20th century. However, it became an instant ghost town in the 1970s as the Cordell Hull Dam’s construction destroyed thousands of acres of farmland. 

Though the town limped into the twenty-first century, Clemons and 240 volunteers have spent the last fifteen years leaning into the area’s Mayberry potential as they refashioned it into a regional destination full of general stores, weekly bluegrass shows, pop-culture artifacts, and–in a perfect illustration of the town’s eclectic charm–the world’s largest decanter museum.

Now in its 5th year, the Mayberry-I Love Lucy festival offers a glimpse into the past and a model for small-town life experiencing a larger cultural resurgence. “It’s a great economic factor for Granville and for Tennessee, because we're bringing tourists from across the nation,” Clemons said. 

The festival runs April 11-12th. More information about Granville and its overflowing spring calendar can be found on the town’s website.

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

🪕 The Price Sisters @ Station Inn, 9p, $20, Info

🎻 Dolly Parton's Threads: My Songs in Symphony @ Schermerhorn Symphony Center, 7:30p, Info

🪕 Shadowgrass @ The Basement East, 8p, $27.22, Info

🎸 The Lotts @ Dee's Lounge, 6p, $5, Info
+ UK garage rock

🪕 Henhouse Prowlers @ Dee's Lounge, 8p, $15, Info

🥁 The Jack Silverman Quartet @ Vinyl Tap, 8p, Free, Info

🍀 Live Irish Music @ McNamara’s Irish Pub, 6p, Free, Info

🎸 Kelly’s Heroes @ Robert’s Western World, 6:30p, Free, Info

🎸 Open Mic @ Fox & Locke, 6:30p, Free, Info
+ vet community here

📰 Check out the full newsletter archive here.

Unprecedented Times

🏛️ Last night at Metro Council · AG takes over · English drivers tests · Council shrinkage · Much more!

The PamphleteerThe Pamphleteer

A Lynchian Retrospective

Dispatch from The Belcourt’s “Remembering David Lynch With Alicia Witt”

Jerod Ra’Del HollyfieldThe Pamphleteer

This Week in Streaming (March 18th)

Our recommendations to counteract the endless scrolling.

Jerod Ra’Del HollyfieldThe Pamphleteer

Meet Martin Riggs

How an early age influence of Mel Gibson’s iconic character led to the creation of my upcoming film, Knuckles.

Jay MillerThe Pamphleteer