No. 249: The Pamphleteer Podcast

Good morning, everyone.

We released the first episode of our new weekly podcast this morning. It's not available on Apple, Spotify, etc. quite yet so you'll have to follow this link to access it. We'll be releasing these roughly hour-long episodes every Monday.

The episodes will echo the format of the newsletter. We'll start out with an intro, move along to a discussion about something pertaining to Nashville, look at a national or global topic that we find interesting, and then preview some concerts coming up over the next week. When we're fortunate enough to find a guest, we'll invite someone from outside The Pamphleteer on for an interview.

Today, we parse out how the city plans to deal with homeless concerns, take a look at some clean energy initiatives in Nashville, and observe some trends regarding Americans' return to the office.

You can follow us on Twitter (@realpamphleteer), LinkedIn (@realpamphleteer), or Instagram (@realpamphleteer) for additional content.

Thanks for reading.

𖼥 NON-SOLUTIONS TO HOMELESSNESS

Homelessness has been a major topic in Davidson county as well as many other developing counties across Tennessee. Homeless encampments are already illegal in the Volunteer State, but recent surges in dangerous and hazardous conditions developing in encampments have fueled local and statewide action by officials.

Brookmeade park is an example of where homeless encampments got out of hand. Drug paraphernalia, trash, and dumpster fires are just some of the recent intrusions upon the surrounding area. With little police intervention, shop owners and local residents were left to fend for themselves.

While the local District Attorney, Mayor, Metro Council Members, and Police Chief stump more on the topic, the State Legislature passed a bill that criminalizes camping on private or public property. Though the bill became law without Governor Lee’s signature, homeless campers can face felony charges including fines and community service.

Though this type of solution doesn’t sit well with many local public figures, Metro Council and Mayor Cooper have had little impact with their more accommodating approaches. In fact, some of these homelessness solutions seem to be more useful on campaign resumes than in practice. A Fox 17 special investigation has uncovered that over 100 homeless pods are going unused. After spending local dollars on positively publicized humanitarian solutions, taxpayers are left wondering why businesses and residents are threatened by homeless encampments, increased drug overdoses, and unanswered calls for public safety while the pods are not being utilized.

From homeless encampment solutions to trash solutions, at what point do solutions become more like a hole in a sinking boat and less an oar to the shore? The Pamphleteer plans to explore these proposed solutions further while we watch countless WeGo buses pass by without passengers.

✸ ELECTRIC VEHICLE GRANTS IN TENNESSEE

HEADLINES

• Deadly deer disease hits 14th county (Main Street) Hardin County recently became the 14th Tennessee county with a confirmed case of chronic wasting disease, the highly contagious and always fatal deer disease.
• Big Payback raises $4M for Middle Tennessee nonprofits (Main Street) This year’s amount — $3,960,365 in preliminary totals — came from 25,755 total gifts. The total includes funds raised and prize totals, with the exception of two post-event prizes: most improved and most creative.
• Gov. Bill Lee announces $175M in grants as Tennessee starts to spend reserves for needy families (Tennessean) The pilot money will be divided into $25 million grants given to the following nonprofits: Families Matter in West Tennessee, The University of Memphis, Family & Children's Service in Middle Tennessee, Upper Cumberland Human Resource Agency, First Tennessee Development District Foundation in East Tennessee, United Way of Greater Knoxville, and Martha O'Bryan Center in Middle Tennessee.

POLITICS

• Lee Signs Abortion Influence Education Act Into Law (TCN) The bill prohibits a Local Education Agency (LEA) or public charter school from knowingly entering into an agreement with an individual or entity that performs abortions, induces abortions, provides abortion referrals, or provides funding, advocacy, or other support for abortions
• New federal courthouse officially opens (Post) The new Fred D. Thompson U.S. Courthouse and Federal Building officially opens Friday after several days of partial operations and years of planning, designing and construction.

DEVELOPMENT

• 🍔 Former HoneyFire BBQ Pitmaster Plans New Burger Joint (Scene)
• New York firm buys 12South church for $10M, its second acquisition in the neighborhood (NBJ)
• Ashland & Clarksville Pike Slated For Another Mixed-Use Development In North Nashville (Now Next)
• Berry Hill site adjacent to I-440 listed for sale (Post)
• Hotel planned for Midtown property (Post)
• Midtown site slated for mixed-use project (Post)

↗ GRAPH OF THE DAY: NORMAL AS USUAL

◉ HOW IT WORKS: MECHANICAL CLOCKS

⚔ MISSIVES ⚔

• 📈 A former senior Federal Reserve official said it was likely that the central bank would need to raise its benchmark interest rate over the next year to at least 3.5% or to even higher levels that deliberately slow economic growth to bring down inflation.
• 🧾 Marjorie Taylor Greene cannot be barred from running for Congress under the 14th Amendment for her actions on January 6, 2021, a judge has ruled.
• 💿 British rock band Pink Floyd is exploring a sale of its recorded music catalog, which includes some of the best-selling albums in history.
• ⛏ The state of New York wants to ban new bitcoin mining operations, a move that some industry insiders fear could have a domino effect across the U.S.
• 📂 April produced another solid month of job growth, the Labor Department reported Friday. U.S. employers added 428,000 jobs, the department said, the same as the revised figure for March. The unemployment rate in April remained 3.6 percent.
• 🖥 When Facebook blocked news pages last year to pre-empt Australian legislation that would force it to pay for content, it also took down hospitals, emergency services and charities. The company says that was inadvertent; whistleblowers allege it was a negotiating tactic.

THINGS TO DO

View our full event calendar here.

🍺 The Pamphleteer hosts Bar Hours on the last Thursday of every month at Lucky's 3 Star Bar from 6-8 PM. The first ten guests get drinks on the company tab.

🎪 Check out our favorite driving distance festivals this summer.

👨🏻‍🌾 The Pamphleteer farmer's market guide

TONIGHT

🎩  History Class @ Bold Patriot Brewing, 5:00, Info

🎸 Harry Fontana @ American Legion Post 82, 7p, Free, Info

🐷 Primus: A Farewell to Kings tour w/ Battles @ The Ryman, 7:30p, $55+, Info

💃 Swing Dancing Lessons @ The Bold Patriot, 8p, Free, Info

🐅 Predators vs. Avalanche @ Bridgestone, 8:30p, $49+, Info

🕺 Motown Monday @ The 5 Spot, 9p, $5, Info

🎹 Jazz Jam @ The Villager, 11p, Free, Info

GET 'EM WHILE YOU CAN

🥁 Gogol Bordello (5/21) @ Brooklyn Bowl, 8p, $33, Info

🎸 Boulevards (7/17) @ Basement East, 7p, $10, Info

🎸 My Morning Jacket (9/23) @ Ascend Amphitheater, 7p, $22.88, Info

FROM LAST WEEK

FROM THE ARCHIVE

Around the Web

↯ In Defense of Extremism Not only are a lot of radical ideas useful, but they are more common than most people realize.

➫ Who Funds the Campaign to Smear and Pressure Elon Musk? The Democratic activist troika fighting his Twitter acquisition has identified a new front in the battle to turn American life into a perpetual partisan apocalypse

⎘ Books the World Economic Forum Doesn’t Want You to Read Read them, and face Klaus Schwab's wrath!

Political Theater Highlight Reel

1. Tom Hanks' son proudly tells social justice warrior to "go kick rocks."
2. Sunny Hostin: "I feel like that’s an oxymoron, a black Republican."

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Words of Wisdom

“The question is not what you look at, but what you see.”

Henry David Thoreau

Today's newsletter is brought to you by Megan Podsiedlik (Nashville), Edward Landstreet (Local Noise), and Davis Hunt (everything else).