Voters, Blink Twice
🗳 Nashville voters have some showing up to do · TN deserves more from its nonprofit hospitals · Colorado man who went missing in Nashville found dead · Much more!
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Election Commission earns its stripes—now it’s voters’ turn to show up.
From Megan Podsiedlik
Nashville Administrator of Elections John D. Richardson announced that Davidson County achieved 100 percent accuracy in its required tabulation audit during this week’s Davidson County Election Commission meeting. Commission members also reviewed this quarter’s 200 voter registrations and found no deficiencies.
Back in May, Richardson expressed strong confidence in the DCEC’s ability to properly execute August and November’s elections, despite having to quickly adjust for the new Congressional district lines. At the time, Democratic Commissioner Kenny Byrd was less than confident:
“I appreciate that we're saying, ‘We're going to work our tail off to do it right,’ and ‘it's going to be tough, but we're going to do it’…but to not acknowledge to people that this is too much—we are going to have a travesty. We're going to have a chaotic election. We're not being honest.”
Travesty avoided, Byrd now has a bone to pick with Davidson County voters.
“It's absolutely pathetic that we have 400,000 registered active voters, we have maybe [470,000] inactive total… and that only 88,000 people are voting in an election," said Boyd during Wednesday’s meeting.
As one of the Democratic appointees to the commission, Boyd explained that many in his party are “screaming loudly about the country falling apart” and “what’s happening with the election process" on the federal level: “But that's not what's stopping more people from registering to vote in this city, in Nashville.”
Towards the end of the meeting, Richardson informed the public that commissioners are happy to schedule school visits and register students to vote. “If you are a civics teacher and you've got seniors you'd like to register, we would love to come to your school,” said Richardson.
Boyd isn’t the only one working to address the lack of civic participation. Vote Nashville has launched a civic engagement campaign aimed at increasing awareness and voter turnout in Nashville’s Metro elections. Learn more about the campaign here.
✹ OPINION: TENNESSEANS DESERVE MORE FROM THEIR NONPROFIT HOSPITALS
From Tommy Vallejos
As a pastor in Clarksville, I understand that tax-exempt status is not simply a financial benefit, it reflects public trust and comes with a responsibility to the people around us. Churches receive that privilege because we are expected to serve, to be good stewards and to live up to the mission we claim. Nonprofit hospitals should be held to the same standard.
This is becoming increasingly important as healthcare grows painfully expensive for Tennessee families. A routine procedure or short hospital stay can leave a family with a bill that takes months, sometimes years, to pay off.
Millions of Americans carry medical debt as a result. Yet, many of the hospitals sending those bills are nonprofit institutions that pay no federal, state, or local taxes.
That tax exemption represents a substantial investment by the public. In exchange, nonprofit hospitals are expected to provide charitable care and meaningful benefits to the communities they serve. But too often, the public is not getting enough in return.
A shocking 80 percent of nonprofit hospitals gave back less than the value of the tax breaks they received, a gap totaling $25.7 billion nationwide. Meanwhile, the average hospital CEO earns around $600,000 a year.
HEADLINES
- 🚨 Colorado man who went missing from Nashville days ago found dead. Conor Anderson, a 31-year-old Colorado man visiting Nashville for a work conference, was found dead Thursday in a woodline near a parking lot on James Robertson Parkway days after he was last seen. Police said there were no indications of foul play, and the medical examiner will determine the cause of death. Body-camera footage showed Anderson’s final known interaction with police, after he told officers about an encounter with a man he met at an East Nashville bar, though police said they do not know whether that incident was connected to his disappearance. (NewsChannel 5)
- 🌳 Cheekwood wins first battle in what looks to be a large war over parking and access. Cheekwood came out on top in the latest round of its legal battle over a proposed parking garage, after the Metropolitan Board of Zoning Appeals unanimously upheld the project’s permit. The larger dispute centers on whether Cheekwood is complying with its zoning status and a 2025 agreement requiring it to move parking off Warner Parks land by the end of 2027. Neighbors argue the garage represents an expansion and worsens traffic, while Cheekwood says it is reducing parking and fulfilling the agreement. A separate Chancery Court lawsuit is challenging Cheekwood’s operations and ongoing disputes over potential access roads from Highway 100, including one proposed through Percy Warner Park. (Banner)
- ⚡ TVA Board of Directors approves rate increase for data centers. The Tennessee Valley Authority Board of Directors approved a new electricity rate for data centers that will take effect October 1 and be phased in over three fiscal years, increasing the average data center bill by about 10 percent. The new structure also includes a Capacity Commitment Charge for new or expanding data centers using more than five megawatts, intended to ensure those facilities cover the cost of additional power capacity rather than shifting costs to other customers. The decision comes as Memphis considers temporarily halting new data center development while studying its regional impacts. (ABC 24)
✹ PROPERTY TAX CALCULATOR
What Moved Your Bill? Use our handy new tool to see what contributed to your property tax bill increase: the reappraisal or the rate hike. (Try It Out)
DEVELOPMENT
- Famous NYC Ukrainian restaurant expands to East Nashville (NBJ)
- Levy’s Clothier to close after 171 years in business (Post)
- Church Street, 15th Avenue parcels listed for sale (Post)
- Condo building eyed for West End Avenue (Post)
✹ METRO COUNCIL WATCH
New Council Watch Features We've added additional features to Council Watch. In addition to who's funding your council member, you can now see how they vote and who they vote with most frequently. (Take a Look)
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
🎸 Lettuce @ The Caverns, 8p, $66+, Info
+ funk/ jam band
🎸 Rick Springfield @ Ryman Auditorium, 8p, $73, Info
🎸 Hannah Cole @ The Blue Room, 7p, $25.34, Info
+ alternative grunge pop
🎸 Country Club Day ft. The Cowpokes @ Acme Feed & Seed, 12:30p, Free, Info
🎸 Kelley's Heroes @ Robert's Western World, 6:30p, Free, Info
SATURDAY
🎸 Big Thief @ Ryman Auditorium, 8p, $109, Info
🎸 Megan Moroney @ Bridgestone Arena, 7p, $222, Info
🪕 Kristy Cox @ Station Inn, 9p, $25, Info
🎸 Kelley's Heroes @ Robert's Western World, 6:30p, Free, Info
SUNDAY
🎸 Big Thief @ Ryman Auditorium, 8p, $109, Info
🎸 Alt Rock Heroes Brunch w/ Rayon @ Dee's Lounge, 1p,$10, Info
🪕 Bluegrass Jam @ Station Inn, 7p, Free, Info
+ a night for musicians and singers from all over the world to gather and enjoy making music together
🪕 Sundays Between with Easy Green @ Tennessee Brew Works, 1p, Info
+ a fusion of two beloved musical genres – Bluegrass and the iconic sounds of the Grateful Dead!
📰 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.