Sowing the Wind

A lot has happened over the past four years. I’ll attempt to relay some of the bigger stories that have shaped or will shape our lives:

• March ‘20 Tornadoes hit Nashville, killing 25
• March ‘20 COVID emerges, lockdowns and hysteria ensue
• May ‘20 George Floyd Riots
• November ‘20 Joe Biden is declared winner of the 2020 election
• December ‘20 Christmas Day bombing that decimated 2nd Avenue
• January ‘21 January 6th
• February ‘22 Russia invades Ukraine
• November ‘22 Redistricting yields the state an additional Republican in the House
• April ‘23 Titans stadium funding secured
• September ‘23 The election of former Councilmember Freddie O’Connell
• October ‘23 Hamas launches a surprise attack on Israel
• June ‘24 Trump assassination attempt
• April ‘24 East Bank deal approved
• April ‘24 Oracle announces Nashville will be its global headquarters

I’m probably leaving out a couple of stories. But amidst all of this, we’ve witnessed housing prices spike across the country, a porous border admit tens of millions of illegals, prices rise, and generally, a bitter, zero-sum attitude really entrench itself in American politics.

For the city of Nashville, even the terrain under our feet seems to be shifting. The pace of development boggles the mind. Right now I’m typing this in L&L Market, which, until four years ago, was a restaurant equipment warehouse. Big thoroughfares have begun to densify, typified by developments like what is set for construction at Belle Meade Plaza. The unfolding of the East Bank development over decades is sure to shift the center of the city’s gravity a bit. 

Four years ago, I was working on movies in rural South Georgia. On Election Day, I was in the car driving down to Fitzgerald to work on the camera crew of a Bruce Willis flick. That period of my life feels like a decade ago. I had just left Los Angeles because of COVID and moved back to Nashville, temporarily bouncing between Georgia, Louisiana, and Nashville, where I was picking up film production work.

It wasn’t until a year later that we launched The Pamphleteer, motivated in part by the dictates that followed in the wake of COVID and the general political atmosphere fostered by the 2020 election. In short, the past four years have been nothing short of transformative.

And compressed onto your ballot are two big questions that serve as referendums on this panoply of developments: the mayor’s transit plan and the presidential election. So, understandably, a lot of hope is tied up in the result of today’s election. A word of caution before the results start pouring in this evening: “Those who invest all of their spiritual energies in politics will reap the whirlwind,” notes Camelia Paglia. “The evidence is all around us—the paroxysms of inchoate, infantile rage suffered by those who have turned fallible politicians into saviors and devils, godlike avatars of Good versus Evil.”

Whatever happens today, remember what matters and have a great week regardless of the outcome.

🚍 Will Nashville Catch The Bus? Since taking office over a year ago, it’s hard to tell where Freddie O’Connell’s mayoral campaign ended and his transit campaign began. Throughout his years as a council member, O’Connell became known for his dedication to investing in Nashville’s bus fleet—so it’s no surprise that one of his first major moves as mayor was to propose a sales tax to fund a county-wide transit plan.

This election day, the final question on the Davidson County ballot is whether or not Nashvillians want to commit to O’Connell’s plan. Over the last six months, the pro-transit efforts have been impressive: we’ve seen the formation of coalitions, multiple campaigns, ads, signs, and PACs. The mayor and council even made sure to only include the lower, present-day and annual recurring costs of the plan in the ballot language. They omitted the $6.9 billion long-term estimate, perhaps to avoid jump scaring potential supporters with such a large figure—a figure the council made sure was included in Megan Barry’s transit referendum for the sake of “clarity” and “transparency.”  

Ultimately, all the moves made during the mayor’s Choose How You Move campaign have been to motivate Nashville voters into taxing themselves for the expansion of the WeGo bus system. And yes, the king of transit has done his best: his “team has engaged with more than 9,000 people while attending 379 events.” This included 225 Choose How You Move public presentations and 12 meetings with technical or community stakeholders. Though the ethics of the nonprofits and PAC running a tandem pro-transit campaign have been called into question, O’Connell has continued to make his final appeals to the people of Nashville until the very end: voters can catch a free bus ride to the polls today. 

⛈️ Helene’s Impact On TN Farmland Either washed away or buried in silt, thousands of acres of East Tennessee farmland have been destroyed by Hurricane Helene. “It’s going to take quite a bit of time to try and revitalize what land was in use, if it’s even going to be able to be put back into production,” University of Tennessee’s Unicoi County Extension Office Director Chris Mackey explained to Pierce Gentry of WUOT last week. 

Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like there will be much compensation for the millions of dollars in land damage that farmers will be trying to salvage for years to come. As of now, emergency loans are only being issued for up to $500,000 in production or physical losses. 

“In four hours, I literally lost everything,” third generation farmer, John Hilemon II, told Gentry. “I can sit here and tell you about the hay and the hay equipment … but how can I ever put you a price on the land? Because how can I ever rebuild that?” 

🔋 A Plot To Destroy The Grid Yesterday, the FBI announced the arrest of Skyler Philippi of Columbia, Tennessee, for attempting to bomb an energy facility in Nashville. “Driven by a racially motivated extremist ideology, the defendant allegedly planned to attack the power grid with a drone and explosives, leaving thousands of Americans and critical infrastructure like hospitals without power,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray in yesterday’s press release. “The FBI’s swift work led to the detection and disruption of the defendant’s plot before he could cause any damage.”

Since the summer, undercover FBI agents have been tracking Philippi, who, according to Attorney General Merrick Garland, is a violent white supremacist: “This case serves as yet another warning to those seeking to sow violence and chaos in the name of hatred by attacking our country’s critical infrastructure: the Justice Department will find you, we will disrupt your plot, and we will hold you accountable.” Agents also reported that Philippi participated in a Nordic ritual three days ago, “which included reciting a Nordic prayer and discussing the Norse god Odin.”

DEVELOPMENT

• Los Angeles-based ramen restaurant expands to Nashville (NBJ)
• Pennington Distilling Ceases Operations (Scene)

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 and yearly festival guide.

TONIGHT

🎸 Rise Against with Cloud Nothings @ Marathon Music Works, 7:30p, $60.90, Info

🪕 Green River Revue @ Station Inn, 8p, $20, Info

🎸 Davidson County String Band @ Dee's Lounge, 7p, $5, Info

🎸 Honky Tonk Tuesday @ Eastside Bowl, 8p, $10, Info‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌
+ two-step lessons @ 7p, The Cowpokes @ 8p

🎸 Cole Ritter and the Night Owls @ The Underdog, 11:30p, Free, Info‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌

📰 Check out the full newsletter archive here.