Snowflakes and Fascists

As expected, discussions about school shootings, historic zoning, and Fusus fired up members during last night’s Metro Council meeting, only to be doused by imminent weather conditions. Before the proceedings kicked off, Councilmembers Ginny Welsch and Sandra Sepulveda set the tone. “I just wanted to let everyone know that I have ‘Know Your Rights’ cards here in seven different languages,” announced Welsch, encouraging members to pass them out in their communities. 

According to Welsh, the cards provide details about what someone should do when approached by ICE. They also display a message in English that card holders can hand to authorities “telling them why you are not going to do what they are asking you to do based on the specific constitutional right that aligns with that,” said Welsch. Councilmember Sepulveda followed up the announcement by carrying out portions of the proceedings in Spanish, later directing members to additional resources provided by the Immigrant Caucus.

As the meeting continued, Councilmember Tonya Hancock shed some light on the contentious metal detector discussions taking place in the wake of the tragic shooting at Antioch High School. “I do know, as a parent at a Metro school, that every single middle school and high school that has after-school athletic activities has a metal detector right now that they do not use during the school day,” she revealed. Though the Metro school board recently voted to integrate concealed weapon detection systems in every high school, Hancock suggested utilizing the readily available metal detectors until the new systems are installed.

The discussion was sparked by Councilmember Courtney Johnston’s resolution to streamline communication between Metro Nashville Public Schools and Metro Nashville Police Department to evaluate current safety protocol. Several council members were quick to run cover for the school board, attempting to soften the scrutiny that has been heightened over last month.

“I think that we just need to be very careful with the language that we're using, because we don't want to inadvertently put this as though our school system has done something wrong,” warned Councilmember Delishia Porterfield. Councilmember Sean Parker echoed Portfield’s sentiments, reminding the body that they shouldn’t step on the school board’s toes.

Porterfield also pointed out that metal detectors make students feel uncomfortable. (If you’re curious, take a look at what the Evol AI weapon detection systems look like compared to metal detectors.) Though the resolution passed, even those in support of the initiative had a few terse words to spare. “We're in the unfortunate environment where our state [legislature] and our current federal administration deems it, you know, allowable for anyone to tow the gun around, and there is…a lack of action on their part to keep guns out of school and to keep our kids safe,” said Co-sponsor Tasha Ellis. 

The introduction of Councilember Emily Benedict’s bill that would put the Metro Historical and Zoning Commissions under the purview of the Planning Department also caught some punches. Councilmembers Brenda Gadd and Tom Cash, whose districts contain a substantial amount of historic overlays, both expressed confusion about what the bill actually does. “As it is, the bill, it makes a structural change,” said Cash. “Without understanding what the results of that structural change, what the substance of that structural changes [are], I'm not sure what it's doing.”

Councilmember Hancock proposed to set a public hearing on July 15th, which would give everyone more time to understand the bill by postponing discussions until after budget season. “We got 54 emails today, prior to having it at first reading,” she said, indicating the pushback that’s been snowballing among constituents. Hancock also expressed her surprise at the amount of co-sponsors already signed onto the legislation that currently has more questions than answers.

Ultimately, her proposal was shot down and the council passed the bill on first reading. Those hesitant about the change said that the solution relies heavily on a recent study that mainly focused on the historic zoning issues experienced by businesses downtown and hope to include more input from residents going forward.

Eventually, the meeting wound down with a clipped discussion on Councilmember Rollin Horton’s proposed guardrails for camera surveillance technology. Though it wasn’t the final item on the agenda, the conversation was put on ice—literally.

Just as the floor started to heat up—not long after Councilmember Welsch called out the “lawless authoritarian federal administration, fascists running our state, and cosplay Christians who think there is no bridge too far in harming women and immigrants, including tracking them with systems like Fusus”—Councilmember Ellis made a motion to adjourn due to weather conditions. The council effectively put out the flames with snow by voting to head home early. MEGAN PODSIEDLIK

📜 Historical Change-up “We don't understand where it's coming from, with the exception of a report that was done…through the Planning Department that really focuses on the downtown district,” said Councilmember Brenda Gadd during last night’s council meeting. While speaking on Councilmember Emily Benedict’s bill to put Metro’s Historical Commissions under the control of the Planning Department, Gadd also mentioned that “there could be threats at the state for legislation.”

In fact, there is a state bill sitting in the General Assembly that “specifies that a privately owned property built after 1899 that is located in a tourism development zone is not subject to the authority of a historic zoning commission or a historic zoning law, rule, review guideline, or regulation, with respect to certain aspects of a project.” 

According to our sources, the state legislature plans to sit on the bill and see what Metro Nashville gets done on the local level. For now, those wary of the council’s proposal want to give members and constituents more time. “What I really want a commitment to, for myself and from others, is that we take the time to really hear from neighbors, to hear how this is actually going to work, and to reassure folks that we're not going to speed and rush things just because we're getting pressure from one entity or another that may or may not be involved with the reasons that legislation has been brought,” said Gadd.

💸 TISA Funding Adds Up The numbers are in, and the Tennessee Comptroller’s office found that school districts saw an increase in funding under the new Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement funding formula for K-12 education. In 2022, the legislature adopted TISA to replace the state’s archaic and complex Basic Education Program funding formula.

“In the first year of TISA, the 2023-24 school year, the General Assembly invested an additional $1.16 billion of state funding in K-12 education through the formula,” reads the report. “OREA found that because of this investment and the design of TISA, all locally administered school districts received more state money in the first year of TISA than the last year of the BEP.” You can find the full analysis here.

CCP-ING IN TENNESSEE

DEVELOPMENT

• Taqueria del Sol to close on Charlotte Avenue, local restaurateur to revamp space (NBJ)
• Nashville No. 2 for most hotel room openings in 2025 (NBJ)
• Site of proposed $2.5B project listed for sale (Post)
• Berry Hill commercial property listed for sale (Post)
• Wine store slated for south side's Emblem Park (Post)

✹ SPEEDING THROUGH THE LOOP

From Davis Hunt

I can barely keep up with all the news coming out of Washington. It seems like every day there’s a new release or story that come the morrow, dissolves into thin air. The news cycle has gotten inside my OODA loop.

Short for Observe-Orient-Decide-Act, John Boyd—military strategist and famed creator of the F-16—developed the idea. Starting in 2015, writers and political commentators began using it frequently to describe Trump's unique genius for besting the media at every turn. According to Boyd, the only way to defeat an enemy was to get through your loop faster than him.

Lately, you might have heard how Trump’s executive order to shrink the federal workforce has led to mass firings across departments. After the mid-air collision in Washington D.C., this order was cited by many stammering journalists who couldn’t properly orient themselves as the root cause of the accident.

“President Trump offered unprecedented buyouts to ALL federal employees at a time when studies show the FAA does NOT have enough air traffic controllers to keep us safe,” wrote our very own Footman Phil Williams over at NewsChannel 5 on Twitter in the immediate aftermath of the accident. “More people will likely die.”

THINGS TO DO

View our calendar for the week here and our weekly film rundown 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

🎸 Rick Springfield & Richard Marx @ Ryman Auditorium, 7:30p, $59.50+, Info

🪕 Thomas Cassell @ Station Inn, 8p, $20, Info

🪕 Bluegrass Night @ The American Legion Post 82, 7p, Free, Info

📰 Check out the full newsletter archive here.

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