• As it turns out, our one interesting news story from this morning concerning the young lady who tackled the dude who stole her wallet is not true. According to witnesses, a couple of good samaritans banded together when they heard the girl screaming and managed to get the wallet back and enough information for police to track the suspect down. So, props to the three bystanders who were completely left out of the article because someone (or maybe the teen herself) thought it would make a better story! And there goes our one good news item of this morning. (Thanks to Meg M. for the tip.) [Topix]
• Nashville’s unemployment rate shot up to 10% in January, increasing by 0.7% since the previous month. [Tennessean]
• However! Our city has actually gained almost 7,000 jobs since last July due to companies moving into town or expanding. Silver lining? [City Paper]
• “Energy bill” and “skyrocket” are two things that we never, ever want to see used in the same sentence. Unfortunately we just did. [WSMV]
• And 180,000 very excited SEC fans are trickling into Nashville tonight and this weekend for the men’s basketball tournaments, which will be held at The Bridge. [WKRN]

Photo by fallingwater123.

It seems like just yesterday that we were straggling through the 2009 Nashville Film Festival with over-ambitious schedules, obscene amounts of coffee and not nearly enough sleep. But it was almost a year ago, and it’s that time again – the 2010 Nashville Film Festival lineup has been announced, and we’re getting tired just looking at it. 70 Feature Films, 9 World Premieres and over 220 films from 38 countries make up this year’s offering. Impressive, yes?

Click through to read the full lineup press release. The 2010 Nashville Film Festival takes place April 15-22 at Regal Green Hills Cinema, and tickets go on sale April 5. For more information, visit them online at NashvilleFilmFestival.org.

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Conan will be performing in the Comedy Theatre, as well as MCing on the What Stage on Friday and Saturday. In addition to Conan O’Brien, the 2010 Comedy lineup includes Margaret Cho, Aziz Ansari, Jeffrey Ross Roasts Bonnaroo, Greg Giraldo, Bo Burnham, Doug Benson, Nick Kroll, Paul Scheer, Rob Huebel, John Roberts, Baron Vaughn and Chelsea Peretti.

This morning’s comedy announcement comes on the heels of several other lineup additions that have been trickling in for the past few weeks. Ween, Galactic, Umphrey’s McGee, John Butler Trio, The Gossip and Circa Survive have all been added to the artist lineup, and we know there’s a few big acts still yet to be announced.

Good morning, Nashville. Everyone warned us that it was going to get soggy today, but that didn’t make it any easier to roll out of bed this morning. Most of the midstate saw some pretty strong thunderstorms overnight and into the early morning, and we’re not out of the woods yet. Though the rain should be gone for the moment, we’re expected to see some more nastiness this afternoon. But hey, at least it’s not snowing!

• You go gurl. When a Murfreesboro teen had her wallet stolen from her in a parking lot, she decided to take matters into her own hands. At 5′7″ and 125 lbs., she got all “angry and screaming” and went after the 6′ 220 lb. man and “kind of half-jumped and half-tackled him.” So she got her wallet back! And then she gave the police his description and they arrested him! We wouldn’t advise trying this at home, but color us impressed.
• Editor’s note: There is seriously no interesting news today (well, unless you count Sarah Palin testifying against her hax0r in Knoxville, some quasi-local teachers making up educational songs to the tune of “Pants on the Ground,” and this one inmate who turned himself in after accidentally being released.) We actually contemplated making some up for the heck of it, but we love you guys too much. So carry on!

Photo by Jon Erickson.

Nashville, blogging and food… Three things we love dearly. We also love unique projects by people who love this city as much as we do, and Brian & Tracy at Alphabedible Adventures fit the bill. They’re dining through the city of Nashville one letter at a time, and from the looks of things, having as much fun as it sounds.

Alphabedible Adventures just wrapped up their “I” visit by checking out the International Market on Belmont Blvd. They’ve got a running list of restaurants they visit on their A-Z foodie tour of Nashville, and sometimes they even let readers vote on their next destination. Each of their restaurant reviews is complete with clear photos and a solid critique of the food and atmosphere, making it one of our favorite foodie blog stops, even without the “alphabedible” twist.

Stay up to date with Alphabedible on Twitter at @alphabedible, and subscribe to their RSS feed here. We’ll see you there next week with the letter “J.”

Check out more Blogs We Love here.

• Remember that kid from University of Tennessee who hacked into then-Gov. Sarah Palin’s private email account? And oh yes, he’s also the son of a Tennessee state representative? His trial date has been set for April 20th. [WTVF]
• The driver of the fuel tanker that exploded out by the airport yesterday died this morning. He is survived by a wife of 47 years, three daughters and six grandchildren. [WTVF]
• Metro Police raided the J Street Market on Jefferson Street for allegedly selling marijuana, cocaine and ecstasy from inside the supermarket. [City Paper]
• Tennessee is borrowing a chunk of change from the federal government to float the unemployment fund, which is quickly running out of money. [WPLN]
• Nashville will be hosting the National Folk Festival for the next 3 years starting in 2011. The event is expected to draw more than 80,000 visitors to the city for each festival. [Tennessean]
• A federal judge is extending some of the deadlines in all the various lawsuits against the TVA related to the Kingston Ash Spill. [WZTV]

Photo by sunndog818.

You know the drill – Browse the list of Nashville Originals member restaurants the night before and pick your targets. Wake up early the next morning and click here to get to the sale, then hit refresh a bunch of times until you finally score your $20 gift certificate for $12, $25 gift certificate for $16 or $50 gift certificate for $35! And, as anyone who’s been through the insanity will testify, they’ll be gone before you can blink… So you probably don’t want to stray too far from this chain of events.

Consider yourselves warmed & armed. As always, we’ll be wide awake and battling you for the goods, bright & early on March 24.

Good morning, Nashville. Several Metro Schools staff members made a colorful appearance at last night’s School Board meeting to let everyone know just how excited they are about their hours, jobs, and incomes being cut. Last week, the board proposed a new budget for next year that would cut 665 jobs and shave one hour off of bus drivers’ workdays. One of the workers even joked that he would need to get a second job working at the new Music City Center or the riverfront water park.

• Storms on the way. You may have noticed that it’s a little warmer outside than forecasters predicted, which is awesome, except it puts us at a much greater risk for some severe weather tomorrow.
• What is your emergency? We’re happy to hear that Williamson County won’t be charging people $300 for making 911 phone calls, which we didn’t even realize was a possibility until they brought it up. Hey, we’re in a recession!
• Bits & pieces. Tennessee lawmakers want to make sure our gas tax revenue stays in Tennessee … There’s this drug that you can legally buy at the store that mimics marijuana but you’d better stock up before it’s banned! … A mobile meth lab set up shop in a Montgomery County nonprofit, much to the nonprofit’s surprise … This article says that the Fairgrounds racing is coming back, but all the other articles said that it wasn’t so we have no idea.

Photo by turkeyjerky.

• The Tennessee State Fair is being jointly taken over by Rockhouse Partners and North American Midway Entertaining. Follow @TNStateFair on Twitter to stay up to date. And also, racing is not in the picture this season. [WKRN]
• Clarksville folks have been puzzling over the hundreds of dead birds that turned up in the area last month, concerned that there’s a contamination problem. Turns out that some dense fog is actually to blame, causing low visibility that sent the animals into trees and powerlines. [WKRN]
• Lest you guys lose fount, our state budget shortfall is now at $200 million thanks to our 21st straight month of losing revenue. [City Paper]
• And on that note, the Senate Finance Committee passed a bill today that will amend the Tennessee Constitution to expressly ban an income tax if it makes it through the long and complicated amendment process. [WKRN]

Photo by Silenus81.

Good morning, Nashville. We’re running behind this morning, so you know the drill:

• A fuel tanker went up in flames this morning at a Raceway gas station in Donelson. The explosion,which left the 68-year old driver severely burned, sent flames shooting 30 feet into the air according to witnesses. [WSMV]
• The Tennessee Hospitality Association finally up and fired CEO Walt Baker for sending out that incredibly offensive email comparing our African American First Lady to a chimpanzee. This move came after the Nashville Convention & Visitors Bureau yanked their contract with Baker’s marketing firm. [WZTV]
• It might’ve felt great outside this morning, but it’s supposed to be pretty soggy by this afternoon. [Nashville WX]
• Metro’s Human Relations Commission is re-examining how to implement the new(ish) clause which added sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of things that can’t be used as a basis for  discrimination by the city. Only one such complaint has been filed so far. [Out & About]
• The folks at Belmont are aiming high for 2015 and hoping to rebrand as “Nashville’s University” with increased diversity and enrollment numbers around 7,000. [WSMV]
• Central Parking is scrambling to defend their alleged price-gouging since construction began on the Music City Center. And it’s about what we expected: Supply and demand. [WKRN]
• The city is expected to make an announcement this afternoon about which company gets to run the 2010 Tennessee State Fair. [WKRN]
• Before you get too excited, economic experts say that Nashville isn’t yet emerging from the recession. [WKRN]

Photo by Silenus81.