Off-Broadway Mayhem
🌉 Brandishing guns on the pedestrian bridge · YIMBY on the docket · Metro resignations · Governor's endorsements · Much more!
Good afternoon, everyone. Two guys walked around the pedestrian bridge downtown with a rifle... A slate of zoning laws to be heard at tonight's council meeting... More gubernatorial endorsements roll in... And much more!
Big Goal 2,000 new newsletter subscribers by September 30. Could you help us get there by forwarding this email to a friend (or five) who cares about independent journalism? Tell them to sign up here.
Like what we do? Forward us to a friend.
The latest criminal incident to stir the passions of Nashvillians occurred on the pedestrian bridge downtown, where footage circulated of a confrontation involving two men, one of whom carried a rifle. The Instagram account @615nav circulated photos and videos of the incident, claiming that the men had attacked pedestrians and hit them.
It’s hard to tell exactly what is happening in the footage. But at one point, one of the men appears to be holding a loaded magazine while the other holds the, presumably, unloaded rifle, which would technically comply with state law. At another point, a magazine is clearly loaded into the rifle — a violation of state law in the absence of proper licensing, which these double-digit credit-score, room temperature IQ perps self-evidently lack.
Relatedly, at the end of last week, a panel of Tennessee judges ruled against a state restriction on carrying guns in public recreational areas without a license and another against a vaguely defined charge of “intent to go armed.” Tennessee is a constitutional carry state, so you don’t need a license to carry a firearm. The above incident probes the boundaries of both these laws. DAVIS HUNT
⧖⧗⧖ WHAT'S NEXT FOR BUSINESS? ⧗⧖⧗
Ask nine experts and you’ll get ten answers. Bull market, bear market, rates up, rates down—everyone’s guessing. No one’s got a crystal ball.
Meanwhile, over 42,000 businesses have done the obvious—future-proofed with NetSuite by Oracle, the #1 AI Cloud ERP, rolling accounting, inventory, HR, and financial management into one platform.
One suite, one source of truth. Real-time data and forecasting turn guesswork into strategy. Close the books in days, not weeks, and spend less time looking back, more time moving forward.
Whether you’re pulling in millions or hundreds of millions, NetSuite helps you handle what’s now and seize what’s next.
Speaking of what’s next—grab the free CFO’s Guide to AI and Machine Learning at NetSuite.com/pamphleteer
SUPPORTED BY
🖋️ Edited by Megan Podsiedlik.
🗺️ Zoning Back On The Docket The council will be considering four zoning bills on first reading during tonight's meeting. BL2025-1005, BL2025-1006, BL2025-1007, and BL2025-1008 are being presented as solutions to tackle housing affordability in Nashville. One would make it easier to upzone two-family dwellings, another would establish new zoning districts that neighborhoods can opt into, another establishes the Voluntary Attainable Housing Incentive Program, and another would relax restrictions on building detached accessory dwelling units.
There is also a curious settlement listed on first reading that would allow Metro to accept a $640,000 settlement from the 3M Company through a class action lawsuit. Metro Water has detected trace amounts of PFAS in the city’s source water. The contamination has been linked to some of 3M’s practices. According to the Banner, the total settlements could get up to $3.8 million.
↘️ Major Players Stepping Down Mayor O’Connell’s chief strategy officer and senior advisor, Marjorie Pomeroy-Wallace, resigned on Thursday, citing the need for a break. In the past, Pomeroy-Wallace also served as O’Connell’s campaign manager and chief of staff, and made significant contributions to the "Choose How You Move" campaign.
It’s also worth noting that Depaul USA’s Executive Director Chuck Levesque announced that he will be resigning. Over the last 10 months, Depaul USA has been in charge of operating Nashville’s first permanent supportive housing facility, the Strobel House, without a contract. According to their website, Depaul USA is a nonprofit founded in 2009 that operates in 12 cities seeking to end homelessness by applying “Vincentian” values.
🗳️ Governor’s Race: Endorsements Over the last few weeks, Marsha Blackburn has been racking up the endorsements. Early support came from Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs and U.S. Congressman Tim Burchett. Since then, conservative political commentator and television presenter Tomi Lahren, state majority leaders Senator Jack Johnson and Representative William Lamberth, state senators Bo Watson and Dawn White, and radio host Clay Travis have all come out in support of the Senator.
Though John Rose hasn’t had as active an endorsement rollout as Blackburn so far, there’s still a long way to go and some suspect that he could land support from President Donald Trump. That said, Trump says he likes both Senator Marsha Blackburn and Representative John Rose and will remain neutral—for now. The president said he’ll likely be forced to endorse one or the other eventually. As far as the executive branch in Tennessee, Governor Bill Lee says that he won’t be weighing in at all.
DEVELOPMENT
- Restaurant group readies upscale oyster bar (NBJ)
- Philip Krajeck’s Junior Opens on Dickerson Pike (Scene)
- Knoxville beer company to take Southern Grist spaces (Post)
- Lower Broadway-area building sells for $10M (Post)
- West Nashville office building sells for $4.5M (Post)
THINGS TO DO
View our calendar for the week here and for more recs, click 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
🪕 50 Shades of Hay @ Station Inn, 8p, $20, Info
🎸 Howard Jones @ Ryman Auditorium, 7p, $31, Info
🎸 Christian Lee @ The Underdog, 6p, $5, Info
🎸 Honky Tonk Tuesday @ Eastside Bowl, 8p, $10, Info
+ two-step lessons @ 7p, The Cowpokes @ 8p
📰 Check out the full newsletter archive here.
The Pamphleteer
The Pamphleteer
The Pamphleteer
The Pamphleteer
Today's newsletter is brought to you by Megan Podsiedlik (Nashville), Jerod Hollyfield (Crowd Corner), Camelia Brennan (Local Noise), and Davis Hunt (everything else).