No Ties for Good Men
🎓 Lipscomb Academy under the microscope · More Boring news · The council prepares to be cut · Much more!
Good afternoon, everyone. Lipscomb Academy is in the national news for prohibiting students from wearing ties to honor Charlie Kirk… Boring buys some land for its tunnel project… The Council prepares for the great halving… And much more!
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Lipscomb Academy has become the locus of national attention after students were prohibited from wearing a coat and tie in honor of Charlie Kirk after his assassination because the gesture violated the school’s dress code.
Jesse Savage, now the former head of the upper school, has been pinned with the blame. Since the incident, Lipscomb has reassigned him to a faculty-facing role, a move the school claims was in the works for a long time.
As reported by the Tennessean and the Nashville Scene, some people didn’t like the school’s reassigning Savage, so they gathered to protest the move on Friday, blaming John Rich for the backlash.
Alejandro Ramirez’s “reporting” for the Scene’s article on the matter ends with two paragraphs I want to share in full because they display the level of depravity that remains openly on display in the wake of Kirk’s assassination:
Charlie Kirk built a strong youth following by selling young white men a flashy, internet-savvy version of Christian nationalism. He ventured onto college campuses to antagonize students into debates about feminism, gender and more. An ally of President Trump, Kirk founded Turning Point USA, an organization that put progressive professors on a watch list that made them targets of harassment. One week after the Covenant School shooting in Nashville, Kirk said it was "worth to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment to protect our other God-given rights."
Kirk was shot and killed while speaking at an event in Utah this month.
Aside from misrepresenting the quote about gun deaths in a malicious fashion and all but stating that Kirk deserved it, you can practically see the guy shaking with anger as he hunches over his keyboard and taps out his tankie perspective on Charlie Kirk. At least now someone might read it. DAVIS HUNT
🖋️ Edited by Megan Podsiedlik.
🚇 Boring Procures A Parcel The Boring Company just dropped nearly a million dollars to purchase a 0.8-acre property at 200 Jupiter Drive in Nashville. According to the Nashville Business Journal, this is the company’s first known land acquisition along the proposed route for the Music City Loop.
The site is located near Nashville International Airport and is currently occupied by a small building and parking lot. While the use remains unclear, the property could serve as a launch site for tunnel boring machines, an entry/exit point, or an emergency exit.
The underground ride-share system will include 19 miles of tunnels from downtown near the State Capitol to the airport, following routes under Eighth Avenue South, Lafayette Street, and Murfreesboro Pike. During the Nashville Rotary Club meeting on Monday, Head of Business Development of the Boring Company Jim Fitzgerald told the group that it will cost between $240 million and $300 million to build the underground loop.
📑 To Shrink Or Not To Shrink Metro Council is preparing for a potential downsize as the number of council members still hinges on a Tennessee Supreme Court decision. During yesterday’s Executive Committee meeting, Vice Mayor Angie Henderson went over a proposed resolution that would procure a consultant to do an “operational analysis of how the council does its work and how the office operates in support of that work.”
Committee members expressed support for the measure given that an analysis would help with internal efficiency no matter the size of the council. It’s worth noting that if the council does have to consolidate from 40 members to 20, the reduction will affect the 2027 election. According to a District 12 Dispatch update from Councilmember Erin Evans, over the next year and a half, there could be discussions about district boundaries, staff support, and potential charter referendums during the 2026 elections.
🏈 Heisman Chatter College Gameday is headed to Tuscaloosa on Saturday to highlight the showdown between Vanderbilt and Alabama. The last time the Commodores were featured on ESPN's legacy pre-game show was in 2008, when Vandy hosted Auburn.
Last year, the Commodores landed a surprise home victory over the Crimson Tide. The upset led to an eccentric celebration where fans tore down a Vanderbilt goalpost and carried it through downtown before discarding it in the Cumberland River.
Given the spotlight on the 12th-ranked Dores’ program, the decision has stoked Heisman chatter around quarterback Diego Pavia. Now considered a legitimate candidate for the 2025 trophy, Pavia has seen his stock rise with some analysts. Vanderbilt's winning record paired with Pavia's performance and interesting backstory could give him a shot at the honor.
HEADLINES
- 🏫 Murfreesboro Mayor Shane McFarland is calling for new leadership at Middle Tennessee State University, criticizing the school for prioritizing construction projects over investing in students, faculty, and staff. He said decades of the same leadership have left MTSU in need of change to better serve its community.
- 🗳️ Tennessee Governor Bill Lee endorsed Matt Van Epps in the GOP primary for the state’s 7th Congressional District special election, giving a boost to the candidate running to replace outgoing Congressman Mark Green.
- 🗼 Nashville International Airport is facing serious air traffic control staffing shortages, with the FAA struggling to fill positions amid a national shortfall. Officials warn the lack of controllers could strain safety and efficiency, prompting an aggressive recruitment push to keep up with the city’s growing air travel demand.
DEVELOPMENT
- Celebrity-owned Lower Broadway building listed for $79 million (NBJ)
- Boring Co. buys site near Briley Parkway and BNA (NBJ)
- Verna Café & Bar opens in former Cafe Coco space (Post)
- Veteran real estate investor sells Dickerson Pike property (Post)
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
🎸 Golden Shoals @ Dee's Lounge, 6p, $10, Info
🎸 Haim @ The Pinnacle, 7p, Price not available, Info
🪕 James Barker Band @ Exit/In, 7p, $21.60, Info
🎸 Honky Tonk Tuesday @ Eastside Bowl, 8p, $10, Info
+ two-step lessons @ 7p, The Cowpokes @ 8p
📰 Check out the full newsletter archive here.
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Today's newsletter is brought to you by Davis Hunt, Megan Podsiedlik and Camelia Brennan.