The Sign That Scarred Me

Good afternoon, everyone.

Hope everyone had a nice Labor Day weekend. I caught the Texas Rangers game in Arlington last night. When you approach Globe Life Field, you’re confronted by a massive glowing sign for the CDB Kratom Backyard, a live performance venue adjoining the venue. The stadium sits in a development that’s become more common for newer stadium builds in recent years, surrounded by bars, restaurants, hotels. The perfect locale for an all-inclusive getaway for a day.

Gone is the era of stadiums standing in solitude in far-off parts of town, surrounded by massive parking lots. The new Titans stadium will be of a similar mold to Globe Life (built in 2020), I just hope we don’t have to look at a massive weed leaf sign and the words CBD and Kratom adorning any of the nearby developments.

We’ve got our weekly streaming guide down below in addition to some coverage on a pro-transit group that cropped up last week.

Onward.

❌ The Power Of No On Friday, Mayor O’Connell was asked about the challenges he expects to face in trying to pass his transit plan this November. “I mean, enough ‘no’ votes sink it,” he replied, before Scene reporter Eli Motycka noted that the referendum doesn’t seem to have much opposition. “There might not be,” O’Connell agreed. “But, you know, we're very aware that the idea of dedicated funding, using the IMPROVE act—I mean, this is asking Nashvillians to jump in with a voluntary investment.” 

The mayor leaned into his 20 years of public policy experience to explain why he thinks change ain’t always easy for Music City. “No matter how significant the return is, no matter how favorable the cost-benefit analysis is….Whether it's some minor change in an intersection in the neighborhood that could have long-term payoff, or if there's any near-term disruption or concern, ‘no’ is usually the easiest answer.”

Though he ended by referring to his plan as a “low cost, high impact program,” O’Connell knows voters will see a $3.1 billion dollar price tag, along with an additional $111 million in annual operational costs, on the ballot. Furthermore, an audit of Choose How You Move projected that the transit expansion could cost almost $7 billion over the next 15 years. When we asked whether there’s been a cost-benefit analysis beyond what’s been presented in his outline, he told us that he’s unaware of any “comprehensive economic analysis of it,” but that the Greater Nashville Regional Council and Metro’s Economic and Community Development office are looking into the “economic impact of the investments that are proposed.” MEGAN PODSIEDLIK

📖 Shift Nashville Shifting The Narrative? Last Thursday, members from three advocacy groups—EquityAlliance, Stand Up Nashville, and the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition— came together to form a new coalition called Shift Nashville. The group plans to roll out a campaign in support of Mayor O’Connell’s transit plan, complete with outreach events at churches across the county from now until November 5th.

However, “this is about more than just buses,” founders Odessa Kelly, Judith Clerjeune, and Tequila Johnson wrote in the Tennessean. The women put forth five crucial demands they hope O'Connell will address within his plan, including affordable housing, union labor partnerships, and community resource centers. "We don't need a repeat of the Titans Stadium," they continued. "We demand our voices be heard." MEGAN PODSIEDLIK

🗺️ Zoning In A handful of bills that would change zoning in multiple areas across the county will be on second reading during tonight’s Metro Council meeting. As usual, they will have public hearings during the first half of the meeting; judging by the pushback on past NEST initiatives, we expect the ongoing battle over short-term rentals and neighborhood preservation to be top-of-mind.

One bill sponsored by Councilmembers Sean Parker, Clay Capp, and Emily Benedict would cancel the Gallatin Pike Urban Design Overlay. Originally, the zoning standards were put in place to encourage walkability and “promote economic vitality on Gallatin Pike.” Meanwhile, two other bills by Councilmember Toombs and Councilmember Rutherford respectively would establish up to 175 new multi-family residential units.

You can watch the council meeting live starting at 6:30 p.m. tonight.

✹ LOW PRIMARY TURNOUT

DEVELOPMENT

• Triple-tower Midtown development to break ground next month (NBJ)
• East Nashville restaurant closes; bottleshop to open (NBJ)
• Dallas company pays $17.8M for south side apartments (Post)

✹ THIS WEEK IN STREAMING (September 3rd)

The Killer (Peacock) As if last Christmas’s Silent Night weren’t enough, John Woo just remade the Hong Kong action classic that turned him into an international icon. Nathalie Emmanuel stars as a hitwoman whose refusal to kill a singer she blinds on a job earns the ire of her handler (Sam Worthington). It may sound derivative, but when the guy who pioneered these now cliches is behind the camera, the end result is much more suited to theaters than a second-string streamer.

The English Teacher (Hulu/FX) The fall’s first prestige cable series finds the titular educator (Brian Jordan Alvarez) struggling with personal and professional traumas in Austin’s hipster mileu. While it could have gone wrong in so many ways, star/showrunner Alvarez’s willingness not to treat public educators as sacrosanct gives it the probing insights other shows of its ilk are fully convinced they offer.

Beetlejuice (Max/Prime) The Ghost with the Most returns to theaters Friday after a 36-year-sabbatical, which makes this the ideal time to revisit Tim Burton’s Hot Topic classic. Hollywood movies have gotten a lot less weird since Michael Keaton’s crafty ghoul went apeshit on suburbia and tried to take Winona Ryder as his teenage bride. Hopefully, things are about to turn around.

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

🎸 Shawn James @ The Basement East, 8p, Info
+ folk-blues

🪕 Bibelhauser Brothers @ Station Inn, 8p, $20, Info

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

🎺 Todd Day Wait @ The Underdog, 11:30p, Free, Info‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌

📰 Check out the full newsletter archive here.