Return of the Red Light
🚦Metro Council preview · Judge tosses Nashville reporter’s challenge to ICE detention · Mayor O’Connell joins the Starbucks union "brew"-haha · Much more!
Peter Thiel in Nashville The renowned entrepreneur and thinker will deliver his four-part lecture series on the Antichrist. As the war for AI rages and parties push for regulation to ward off Armageddon, his thoughts have never been more pertinent. (Buy Tickets)
Happy Hour But if you still crave our third Thursday company, we'll be doing a Happy Hour at Von Elrod's on Thursday, September 17th @ 5:30 PM. Our normal candence will resume in November.
Big Council Watch Update. Our council tracking tool is no longer just a campaign finance scorecard. Follow your councilmember, and we'll tell you what they actually do. (Take a look)
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Your quick preview of tonight’s Metro Council meeting: No Right on Red, MBID, and more.
From Megan Podsiedlik
Tonight, Metro Council will tackle an agenda jam-packed with important legislation. Here’s a quick look at the most time-sensitive and meaningful items to watch.
No Right On Red Metro Council will take up a second vote tonight on Councilmember Sandra Sepulveda’s proposal to ban right turns on red lights. Due to backlash, Sepulveda brought forward a substitute that reduces the impact of the bill.
If adopted, the change would initially allow No Turn on Red at 59 previously studied downtown intersections. Following further review of 386 additional intersections over the next nine months, the Nashville Department of Transportation could also determine whether to implement No Turn on Red at those locations.
Note: The Metro Traffic and Parking Commission recently approved this change after its members unanimously rejected the original proposal.
But Sepulveda’s substitute may have some competition. A late-filed amendment was submitted by Councilmembers Thom Druffel and Sheri Weiner. If members suspend the rules to adopt this change, it would delay all the new installations of “No Turn on Red” signs until NDOT completes a report and presents it to Metro Council committees within the next year.
Important on Final Reading Four impactful bills are up for final reading, including Councilmember Erin Evans’ bill which would increase transparency and accountability around Nashville’s opioid settlement funds. The council will also be revisiting the approval of the FY2027 budget bill for the Midtown Central Business Improvement District. There’s a 30-year solar services agreement for the Juvenile Justice Center that could set a precedent for how Metro partners with private providers on future solar installations. And finally, if passed, a zoning bill would establish the changes needed for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to build a new medical clinic.
You can follow along with the Pamphleteer’s user-friendly Council Watch Agenda starting at 6:30 p.m. tonight.
✹ PETER THIEL'S ANTICHRIST LECTURES
What Do You Care About the Antichrist? For the past few years, Silicon Valley entrepreneur cum Philosopher Peter Thiel has traveled the world to deliver secretive lectures on the biblical Antichrist. And he's coming to Nashville next. The Nashville Antichrist Lectures will draw from history, literature, art, theology, and politics to explore the biblical Antichrist through Thiel's unique vantage point at the frontier of science and technology.
Taking place over four days, your ticket will grant you access to each of the four lectures scheduled to take place on consecutive Mondays starting on September 28th in partnership with the Meriwether Academy.
HEADLINES
- ⚖️ Judge dismisses Nashville reporter’s challenge to ICE detention. A federal judge dismissed Nashville journalist Estefany Rodriguez’s petition challenging her March detention by ICE, in which she argued that her arrest was warrantless, violated her constitutional rights, and was retaliation for her reporting. She was detained in Alabama and later Louisiana before being released on a $10,000 bond. Rodriguez’s separate removal case in immigration court currently remains unresolved. (TNJ)
- 🚦 Traffic Commission approves a scaled-back proposal to ban right turns on red in Nashville. Nashville’s Traffic and Parking Commission voted 5–3 to advance a scaled-back proposal banning right turns on red at selected intersections, after unanimously rejecting the original plan. The revised version focuses on 59 intersections that have already undergone traffic studies, rather than the more than 740 intersections targeted by the original proposal. (WSMV)
- ☕ Mayor O'Connell attends gathering in support of Starbucks workers' unionizing effort. Last week, Mayor Freddie O’Connell attended a gathering supporting Nashville Starbucks workers who are seeking to unionize for better pay and benefits. His appearance puts him in an interesting position because he is simultaneously supportive of Starbucks’ planned $100 million Nashville corporate investment, which could bring up to 2,000 jobs to Music City. (Axios)
✹ PAMPHLETEER TOOLS
Pamphleteer Tools Council Watch tells you who funds your councilmember and how they vote. The Property Tax Calculator tells you what that cost you.
DEVELOPMENT
- TSU looks to sell property near John C. Tune airport to help bring in more revenue (WPLN)
- Second Avenue building listed for sale (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
🪕 AMERICANAFEST @ Multiple Venues, Info
🎸 Sex Pistols @ Marathon Music Works, 8p, $40.30, Info
+ Steve Jones, Paul Cook, Glen Matlock
🎸 Hooked @ The Eighth Room, 6:30p, Free, Info
+ lively open mic competition with rotating guest panel
🎸 Twang Tuesday @ Acme Feed & Seed, 7p, Free, 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.