O'Connell out on the tightrope
đď¸ The mayor tries to balance pragmatism with politics ¡ Drake cleared ¡ Bad drivers ¡ Metro priorities ¡ Week in streaming ¡ Much more!
Good afternoon, everyone. Today, OâConnell gets a write-up in the Failing New York Times, Police Chief Drake gets cleared after an investigation, Nashville drivers win awards for bad driving, and Jerod presents our weekly streaming guide. First time reading? Sign up here.
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Mayor OâConnell got the New York Times treatment this morning in an article on his recent exploits titled âNashvilleâs Mayor Would Rather Not Be Tangled in an Immigration Fight.â Itâs pretty down the middle, portraying OâConnell as he wants to be portrayed: a timid and pragmatic policy wonk being victimized by Republicans.
Dismissing the fracas that has arisen in the wake of OâConnellâs decisions to ally with local NGOs to provide aid to illegals, he tells the reporter that he wishes people would focus more on the budget he recently signed and less on a âtempest in a teapotâ that is his response to ICEâs presence in the city. âI hope people donât lose the thread of what really matters here,â he added.
At present, OâConnell is getting it from both sides. Republicans are breathing down his neck about cooperating more gleefully with federal immigration operations, and progressives are nipping at his heels to speak out against the operations more forcefully.
In that environment, it makes sense that OâConnell would try to present himself as a figure who is âabove it allâ and who only wants to deliver on his campaign promises without distraction. The primary problem with this down-the-middle strategy is that OâConnell appears to be rudderless as he gently distances himself from the leftists he made his bed with during his campaign while also refusing to take a more aggressive approach to address public safety concerns that would find him favor with the business community.
One small example of the fissure with his base is occurring on the East Bank, where a phalanx of NGOs that supported OâConnell are now coming out of the woodwork to condemn the design of East Bank Boulevard, the developmentâs central artery. The present iteration of the boulevard does away with the bike lanes originally conceptualized in the cityâs Imagine East Bank plan, and instead, reserves all three lanes in both directions for vehicles.
As the Scene reported on the matter, many feel personally betrayed by the mayor, who ran on a transit-first, multimodal platform. Groups like Walk Bike Nashville, the Civic Design Center, and the Southern Environmental Law Center have all come out against the design. âIf you build a six-lane road, people will die,â Wesley Smith of Walk Bike Nashville proclaimed at a public hearing back in April.
âI would hope that at the end of all of this, our overall success is based on the outcomes of the work we did,â OâConnell tells the NYT to close out his interview. Between two tax hikes, a ballooning budget, failing public schools, and a transit plan under threat due to federal cuts, many people in Nashville, of all political persuasions, are wondering what work he is talking about. DAVIS HUNT
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đď¸ Edited by Megan Podsiedlik.
đ¸ CIB Signals Metroâs Priorities Influential public figures are jockeying to bring womenâs professional sports to Music City, but will taxpayers be cool with picking up some of the tab? A $30 million investment for a Women's National Basketball Association practice facility and another $30 million for a National Womenâs Soccer League practice facility are included in the recently approved Capital Improvements Budget.
Though the CIB is just a planning tool that helps coordinate potential long-term investments, the idea that Nashvillians may foot the bill to attract womenâs teams to the area could turn into political fodder. The inclusion of these pet projectsâbolstered by investors like Former Tennessee governor and Nashville Predators owner Bill Haslam who hopes to establish a WNBA team and pro baseball agent Lonnie Murray whoâs pushing for an NWSL teamâwhile the council and mayor have told Nashvillians that thereâs simply no way to cut costs to prevent another historic property tax increase is the type of thing that motivates people at the ballot box.
đ Drake Cleared Of Romantic Scandal Yesterday, a 26-page report was released that cleared Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake of allegations that he carried out an office romance on the cityâs dime. The two-month internal investigation came about after accusations were made against Drake by Mario Mitchell. While under arrest for aggravated stalking charges, Mitchell accused Chief Drake of carrying on a romantic relationship with his ex-wife during work hours. Mitchellâs ex-wife also happens to be a Metro employee.
After being arrested back in April, Mitchell also accused the chief of personally ordering his arrest. He later retracted that claim, but the Office of Professional Accountability still pursued an investigation into the alleged workplace romance.
đ Nashville Drivers Really Are That Bad Allstateâs 2025 Americaâs Best Driver Report revealed that drivers in Music City are 19.4 percent more likely to be involved in a car crash compared to the national average. The data, derived from auto insurance claims, simply quantifies what we all already know. Some claim the chaos on the road is due to the eclectic driving traits of all the people who have moved here, while others blame poor road conditions. The truth is that not only are Nashville drivers bad, but theyâre getting worse every year. The report also showed that between 2015 and 2025, the cityâs safe driving rank has continued to steadily drop. Yeah, weâve noticed.
DEVELOPMENT
- Parisian brasserie Pastis opens June 26 in Wedgewood-Houston (NBJ)
- Otaku Ramen Closes West Nashville Location (Scene)
- Commercial building near Highway 70-100 split sells for $1.9M (Post)
- Wedgewood-Houston music studio building listed for sale (Post)
âš THIS WEEK IN STREAMING (June 24th)
A Minecraft Movie (HBO Max) Jack Black and Jason Momoa star in the superfluous but fine enough adaptation of the juggernaut video game from the director of Napoleon Dynamite. Now you can see the yearâs highest-grossing movie free from Gen Zers yelling âchicken jockeyâ and committing other sundry misanthropic antics.
The Waterfront (Netflix) The sudsy Southern melodrama makes a return to Dallas/Dynasty form with this new series about the scions of a North Carolina fishing empire fighting for the family name. Starring former Supergirl Melissa Benoist and endlessly watchable character actor Holt McCallany (The Iron Claw, Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning).
Jaws: 50th Anniversary (Peacock) The original summer blockbuster celebrated its semi-centennial last Friday. To celebrate, NBC Universal has a restored version, a host of documentaries about the making-of, and all of the classicâs subpar (but unfairly maligned) sequels. We opted to take home the 4K steelbook instead, but to each their own.
THINGS TO DO
View our calendar for the week here and our weekly film rundown here.
đ Visit our On The Radar list to find upcoming events around Nashville.
đ§ On Spotify: Pamphleteer's Picks, a playlist of our favorite bands in town this week.
đ¨đťâđž Check out our Nashville farmer's market guide.
TONIGHT
đ¸ This Will Destroy You w/ Jesse Beaman @ The Basement East, 8p, $33.44, Info
đŞ Radim Zenkl & Ondra KozĂĄk and friends Featuring Stephen and Jana Mougin @ Station Inn, 8p, $20, Info
đ¸ Josh Hedley Happy Hour @ Dee's Lounge, 3:30p, Free, Info
đ¸ Jack Blocker @ The Underdog, 9p, $10, Info
đ¸ Kitchen Dwellers @ Ryman Auditorium, 7p, $50+, Info
đ¸ Honky Tonk Tuesday @ Eastside Bowl, 8p, $10, Infoââââââââââââââââââ
+ two-step lessons @ 7p, The Cowpokes @ 8p
đ° Check out the full newsletter archive here.
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Today's newsletter is brought to you by Megan Podsiedlik (Nashville), Jerod Hollyfield (Crowd Corner), Camelia Brennan (Local Noise), and Davis Hunt (everything else).