No. 264: Primaries Here, Primaries There

Good morning, everyone.

Hope you had a nice Memorial Day weekend. We released a new episode of our weekly podcast this morning. You can check that out below. Be sure to subscribe one whatever podcasting platform you use to get notified when we release new episodes.

In the coming weeks, we'll be distributing interviews with each of the Republican candidates for TN's 5th congressional district as their own, stand-alone episodes in preparation for the August 4th primary. In addition to these interviews, we are compiling a voting guide that you'll be able to take with you to the ballot box to ensure you understand who and what you're voting for.

Additionally, we have a couple more exciting announcements coming up over the next month unrelated to either of these things. The Pamphleteer continues to grow! Thanks for your support.

Onward.

Today, we gander upon an old stone wall in West Nashville, consider the looming issues that will crop up with food and food prices, and observe the spread of feral pigs in North America.

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

Also, be sure to check out our podcast. New episodes every Monday. Available wherever you get your podcasts.

Thanks for reading.

NEW PODCAST EPISODE!

New Today Transmission No. 4: Primaries Here, Primaries There, and Housing (ft. Luke Froeb) (Listen)

↗ BY THE NUMBERS: TAX REVENUE FOR APRIL 2022

Tennessee has been raking in tax dollars:

Actual collections for April 2022 were about 44% higher than budgeted.
As of April 30, 2022, Tennessee had collected about 95% of the $16.5 billion in total budgeted revenue for the current fiscal year.
Collections through April were about $3.4 billion higher (or 28%) than what was budgeted for the time period. With three months left in the fiscal year, it is also $460 million more than the state’s official projection for the FY 2023 surplus.

You can read the whole report on TN.gov. Most of the excess revenues came in the form of sales, franchise, and excise tax revenues.

Source:
Tennessee Tax Revenue Tracker for FY 2022
Sycamore Institute, 18 May 2022, Read Online

﹅ LOCAL CURIOSITIES: 19th Century Wall in West Nashville

A "dry stack" wall in West Nashville. Likely built by immigrants from the British Isles in the 19th century.

HEADLINES

Tennessee moves closer to spending full $3.7B allocation in federal ARPA funds (Center Square) The latest proposals for the nearly $300 million in remaining ARPA funds include $58.8 million for three projects including a digital pension system revamp from the Department of Treasury, $32.3 million for a Tennessee State Food and Animal Services Center and $5 million to upgrade equipment and systems at Department of Agriculture labs.
Tennessee pastors included on Southern Baptist Convention abuser list (Channel 5) The pages-long list comes after SBC key leaders said they would reveal their findings publicly. Marked on the list are some pastors who served Tennessee communities.
Tennessee’s College-Going Rate Dropped 11 Percent Since 2017 (Star) The college-going rate for Tennessee students after high school graduation has dropped from 63.8% for the Class of 2017 to 52.8% for the Class of 2021, according to a report from the Tennessee Higher Education Commission.

POLITICS

State leaders call for school security review, special session in response to Uvalde shooting (Main Street) State Rep. John Ray Clemmons, D-Nashville, on Wednesday asked the governor to take executive action to freeze Tennessee’s permitless carry and “guns in trunks” laws, and end permission for taxpayer funds to pay for lawmakers to attend NRA.
Putnam County commissioner arrested on child porn charges (TNJ) Federal prosecutors have charged Putnam County Commissioner Jimmy Ray Neal of Baxter with possession and distribution of child pornography. Neal, who won the Republican nomination for another term earlier this month, allegedly went by the handle “Tennesseemaster” on an app used to share pictures of pre-pubescent children.
Lee signs Tennessee campaign finance reform bill into law with reporting requirements for nonprofits (Center Square) The bill will require 501(c)(4), 501(c)(5) and 501(c)(6) nonprofits to report expenses of more than $5,000 spent on communications with the image or name of candidates on them in the final 60 days before an election.
‘Time to regulate the party,' Cooper tells Transportation Licensing Commission (Main Street) Cooper asked the commission not to approve any permits for vehicles that are not fully enclosed. He also requested the commission impose an 11 p.m. curfew and restrictions on vehicles during rush hour.

DEVELOPMENT

🌮 A look inside The Wash, East Nashville's mini food hall giving new restaurants a leg up (Tennessean)
Greenway may extend to North Nashville (Post)
Five Points property sells for $1.65M (Post)
Project for West End corridor site will not materialize (Post)
Vanderbilt-area properties offered for sale (Post)
Wedgewood-Houston building sells for $18.1M (Post)
Nashville General eyes MetroCenter for new hospital (Post)
Hermitage Avenue site set for boutique hotel (Post)
RiverChase residents’ departure extended through June (Post)
Nashville Apartment Locators & Placemakr Partners On Furnished Short-Term Rentals (Now Next)

● THE LOOMING FOOD SHORTAGES

Food shortages and price hikes tend to lag:

“Usually, what we see on the farm, the consumer doesn’t see for another 18 months,” said John Chester, a Tennessee farmer of corn, wheat, and soybeans.

Chester said that fuel and fertilizer together make up 55 percent of his total costs. The price of diesel fuel has more than doubled, from $2.50 per gallon at the end of 2020 to more than $5 per gallon today. Farmers say the cost of fertilizer, an oil derivative, has tripled and in some cases quadrupled.

Marry this to American consumers having their lowest savings rate in 14 years, and it's self-evident that Americans will face serious price concerns in the coming months. Despite these concerns and their obvious origin in the demonization of fossil fuels, the clueless Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said last week that rising oil prices were “an exclamation point” for the need to transition to wind and solar and “build homegrown clean energy.” Granholm previously stated that “if you drive an electric car, this would not be affecting you.”

Source:
Looming Price Hikes on Food Set to Hit Americans This Fall
Epoch Times, 29 May 2022, Read Online

⬆ GRAPH OF THE DAY: PIGS RISING

⚔ MISSIVES ⚔

🇨🇦 Canada's government introduced legislation Monday to implement a "national freeze" on the sale and purchase of handguns as part of a gun control package that would also limit magazine capacities and ban some toys that look like guns.
📤 Senate Republicans blocked debate Thursday on a bill that would establish new domestic terrorism offices in the wake of a shooting that killed 10 Black people at a Buffalo, N.Y., supermarket this month, saying the legislation could let the government target conservatives for their political views.
💸 U.S. households boosted spending for a fourth straight month in April, but the savings rate fell to the lowest in 14 years, suggesting many Americans are tapping savings to offset cost increases from inflation.
🚙 The average Uber and Lyft fare hit a record high in the U.S. last month, according to market-research firm YipitData, driven by the labor shortage and high gas prices. The companies collectively drew at least 20% fewer riders and posted 35% fewer trips in the first quarter than three years earlier.
🗺 An Iraqi man in the U.S. accused of being linked to ISIS operatives was plotting to kill George W. Bush, going so far as to travel to Dallas in November to take video around the former president’s home and recruiting a team of compatriots he hoped to smuggle into the country over the Mexican border.
🇪🇺 European Union leaders were poised to endorse an embargo on Russian oil on Monday after weeks of intensive talks, the bloc’s most far-reaching effort to punish Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine by depriving the Kremlin of a key stream of revenue and accelerating Europe’s independence from Russian fuel.

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. Chattanooga's Riverbend Festival is June 3-5.

👨🏻‍🌾 The Pamphleteer farmer's market guide.

👂 Listen to The Pamphleteer's Picks, a playlist of the bands featured in this week's calendar.