Today's Takes: Monday, June 28

Hope everyone had a great weekend! Looking forward to a fast week before the Fourth of July.

Headlines

🌄 A heartening tale of administrative common sense comes to us from Singapore where officials declared there will be no goals of zero transmission, no lockdowns, and no daily case numbers as regards Covid-19 going forward. As countries like Australia continue with draconian lockdown policies, places like Singapore appear more and more attractive to residents and tourists alike.

🏗 The Infrastructure Plan announcement was confusing. Biden, announcing his support while flanked by a cohort of bipartisan senators who championed the deal, appeared to give it the green light. But just a few hours later, Biden backed away, saying that the bill (which add ~$600 billion in to the existing infrastructure budget bringing it up to $1.2 trillion) would not get his signature until accompanied by additional legislation covering Biden's social initiatives outlined in both the American Jobs Plan and the American Families Plan executive orders. Biden's geriatric rebuff caused a flurry of concern in the White House. Mitch McConnell called the resulting narrative the "tale of two press conferences." To cap it off, Biden adopted one of the more bizarre rhetorical flourishes in recent memory when answering questions from reporters. Saturday, Biden clarified. He now supports the bill without any contingencies. With decisive, clear-headed leadership like this, we're confident that Biden will deliver on all his campaign promises. Onward.

Nashville Politics

• In affluent Williamson County, an uproar over critical race theory (Lookout)
  • Progressive journalists continue to castigate the grassroots reaction to CRT in schools as uninformed and cast doubt on its intentions
  • The tactic employed by leftists to discredit their opponents is to sneer at them as stupid or claim they are engaging in "conspiratorial thinking"
• Davidson County Election Commission appeals court decision striking down anti-tax referendum (Tennessean)

Nashville News

• Vanderbilt benefited, but there are no winners with NC State's COVID-19 problems in CWS (Tennessean)
  • Vanderbilt faces off against Mississippi State in the College World Series finals tonight
• Steeplechase returns in 2021, hats galore (Tennessean)

Nashville Development

• Amazon latest company to deliver upfront cash toward Nashville's growth challenges (Tennessean)
• Novelist pays $7.2M for Vanderbilt chancellor’s home (Post)
• How Spring Hill became hotter than some of Nashville's most popular neighborhoods (Tennessean)
• The Authentique wine bar plans East Nashville opening (Post)
• Midtown apartment building sells for $35.5M (Post)
• 10-acre riverfront site primed for development (Biz Journal)
• Project planned for Rutledge Hill sees movement (Post)

Construction by Committee

🚧 From the NYTimes:
New York City built only 163,000 units of housing in the 2010s, fewer than the 205,000 created in the 1930s, during and after the Great Depression, according to a city report. From 2009 to 2018, the New York metro region added 0.5 units of housing for every new job, down from 2.2 units per job in the previous decade.

The slowdown in housing development can largely be attributed to more scrutinizing social and environmental impact reports that often work against new developments. In related news, the SEC is preparing to require environmental disclosures from public companies regarding how a company address the imminent threat of climate change. Things certainly aren't getting cheaper.

Tour De Crash

🚴‍♂️ A fan recklessly holding a sign during the first round of the first round of the Tour de France caused a massive crash. Authorities now seek to sue the sign-holder. If they can find her (Read)

Have a great Monday