Nashvillest

Weekly News Rodeo: Tour De Nash, Street Sweepers, and Cannery Row

Stephen Yeargin — Wed, 25 May 2022 01:40:45 +0000

The Tennessee Titans say that it will cost $1.8 billion to upgrade Nissan Stadium per existing lease terms through the 2038 season. The mayor and the team have been pushing for a $3 billion project to replace the stadium.
OB-GYN providers in Tennessee are raising the alarm that their standard of care for miscarriages will be in direct conflict with the so-called “trigger law” that would go into effect should the Supreme Court overturn its prior rulings on abortion.
Metro Police’s mounted patrol horses will no longer be housed at the state-owened Ellington Agricultural complex because of a new contract, with the horses moved temporarily to Percy Warner Park.
Nashville SC picked up a 2-1 win over CF Montreal Wednesday before earning a 2-2 draw against Atlanta United Sunday at home after a long rain delay. The team will travel to Louisville for the next round of the US Open Cup before returning to regular season play this Saturday on the road against the Colorado Rapids.
Nashville recently got its first bike lane sweeper, a smaller version of the street sweepers. There is a contest to name it, because those always go well.
Four Wego paratransit vans were destroyed in a fire at their Nestor Street facility this weekend. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
A new outlet mall has broken ground in the Antioch neighborhood and is slated to open in the fall of 2023.
Tennessee was among the worst states for under-counting when it comes to the recent decennial census, which will cost the state in federal funding dollars for the next decade. Some 330,000 people were not counted according to the report.
New mosaics at Elizabeth Park honor some of the notable African American women of the North Nashville neighborhood.
If you’re heading to Bonnaroo next month, the daily lineup has been announced. The headliners were announced in January.
Cannery Row will soon lose its three major tenants — Cannery Ballroom, Mercy Lounge and the High Watt — after the owners were unable to reach a lease agreement with the new owners. It is part of a growing trend of independent venues being edged out for other commercial interests.
Murfreesboro is getting a new 4,500 seat amphitheater, which is about twice as many fixed seats as Ascend Amphitheater downtown.
Cycling enthusiasts celebrated the annual ‘Tour De Nash’ event this past weekend, raising awareness for the city’s greenways and bike lanes.

Photo by Brent Moore. Want to see your photo featured here?

Weekly News Rodeo: Ticket Bots, NFL Schedule, and a Solar Slump

Stephen Yeargin — Tue, 17 May 2022 12:15:12 +0000

A judge decided that a Nashville nurse who made national headlines after being convicted of criminally negligent homicide after administering the wrong medicine to a patient will serve three years of probation and avoid any jail time. Nurses and supporters cheered the news, saying it was wrong for medical mistakes to lead to criminal charges.
Nashville Mayor John Cooper wrote in a newspaper column that the city must act on replacing Nissan Stadium or it will be on the hook for tens of millions of dollars until 2038, but stopped short of committing to a specific plan on how the funding will be covered. The state has committed $500 million towards the project.
Cooper is also the subject of a Nashville Scene cover story in collaboration with the Nashville Banner as he looks ahead to his reelection bid in August 2023.
A census by the Metro Development and Housing Agency says that there are 1,900 homeless people living in Nashville, a five percent decrease over a similar point-in-time survey taken last year. Some advocates say the methodology is excluding at least 500 people.
More than 1,000 people marched this weekend at the State Capitol in support of abortion rights, spurred by the release earlier this month of a draft Supreme Court decision that would allow abortion bans to be enforced.
Residents of River Chase Apartments in East Nashville are in a race against time to find new housing as the developer moves forward with plans to redevelop the property. About 60 families are said to be trying to find new housing.
The NFL released the full 2022-23 football schedule, which has the Tennessee Titans opening the season at home against the New York Giants on September 11. The team will be featured once on Monday Night Football and Sunday Night Football, along with two Thursday night games.
Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill caused a stir when he told reporters it was “not his job” to mentor the team’s draft pick Malik Willis, but Williams and the coaching staff said there is no issue with that stance.
Nashville is near the bottom of a list of major cities by their solar energy use following the end of a program where the Tennessee Valley Authority would buy excess energy back from homeowners. The replacement program aims to connect residents with installers.
Nashville SC opened their US Cup campaign with a big 3-2 come-from-behind win over Atlanta Wednesday before dropping a 2-0 regular season game to Houston Dynamo Saturday. The team hosts CF Montreal this Wednesday and Atlanta United again this Saturday in regular season play.
Ticket-selling companies are continuing their crackdown on automated bots for events in Nashville, though the moves can prevent the transfer of tickets on secondary markets.
Non-profit Root Nashville is looking to add a half million trees to the city’s canopy, with some replacing those that were lost in the March 2020 tornadoes and other storms.
A bill that enacts tougher penalties for bars and restaurants that have security staff is heading to the Governor’s desk for signature, but not without opposition from those businesses that say the penalties for non-compliance threaten their operations. The bill was passed after Dallas Barrett died of suffocation following an encounter with bar staff on Lower Broadway last year.
The family of a victim from the 2018 Waffle House shooting in Antioch has been awarded $212 million in damages in their civil suit against convicted murderer Travis Reinking. It is the largest personal injury judgement in the court’s history, though most observers point out the defendant is unlikely to ever pay pay the judgement in full.
Separately, Reinking’s father has been convicted of a weapons charge for returning the firearms to his son after they were confiscated by law enforcement.
The increase in mortgage rates and an already tight market is making it difficult for some home buyers to find and close on a property.
Comedian Joshua Lipscomb, known by his stage name Josh Black, has sued the Nashville Fire Department again for what he calls retaliation for an earlier suit aimed at silencing his criticism of Metro Government on social media.
Recommendation site Yelp has listed Nashville’s Southern Grist brewing as it’s top craft brewery in Tennessee based on user reviews.

Photo by Sean Davis. Want to see your photo featured here?

Weekly News Rodeo: Avoiding Brooms, Funk Stays, and Banned Books

Stephen Yeargin — Mon, 09 May 2022 13:00:21 +0000

Vice President Kamala Harris spoke at this past weekend’s commencement at Tennessee State University, where she also received an honorary doctorate.
Hundreds rallied outside the new Federal Courthouse in downtown Nashville after reports of a draft opinion from the U.S. Supreme Court indicated an end to abortion rights protections. Tennessee is one of several states with “trigger laws” that ban abortions statewide should the high court decide to overturn the Roe vs. Wade precedent.
District Attorney Glenn Funk won his re-election bid for an eight-year term over Sarah Beth Meyers and Danielle Nellis with 44 percent of the vote.
At least one vendor outside of the urban services district has been struggling to meet their recycling pickup obligations, residents say. The city has promised twice-monthly recycling pickups by July 1.
There were a lot of judicial races also on the ballot last Tuesday, with a few incumbents losing and a former mayor earning a seat on the Circuit Court.
A referendum for the August ballot would change the threshold of the number of signatures required to create a referendum question, and require that the language be reviewed for compliance with existing laws prior to signatures being collected. The Metro Council approved the ballot measure in response to a failed attempt to roll back property tax increase and and lower the requirements for a recall election.
Former staffers at the city’s Homeless Impact Division say the department has shifted its focus to forced closures of encampments, a departure from their stated aim of partnering with groups to provide services.
A new state law will jail folks for camping on public land without a permit, a move that advocates for the homeless call cruel and counterproductive.
Nashville SC picked up a 2-0 win over visiting Real Salt Lake, the first victory in Geodis Park. The team hosts Atlanta United Wednesday in the opening round of the U.S. Open Cup before going back out on the road against Houston Dynamo next Saturday.
Game 1 saw the Predators drop a 2-7 decision to the host Colorado Avalanche Tuesday. They played much better (with their third option at goaltender), but still lost 1-2 in overtime Thursday. The Series came back to Nashville, but the result was 3-7 on Saturday in favor of the Avalanche. So now it comes down to Game 4 tonight in Nashville with the Predators tailing 0-3 in a best of seven series hoping to avoid the sweep.
The Nashville Public Library is already running out of “I Read Banned Books” cards shortly after their release in response to some municipalities removing books from their libraries because of their subject matter.
Short-term rental service Airbnb is cracking down on summer party houses, forcing renters to agree not to host events with their reservation and blacking out certain weekends.
Nashville International Airport was the scene of a creative marriage proposal to a Southwest Airlines flight attendant.
Several groups are coming together to address transportation issues in downtown Nashville, including connections for public transit and ride share services.

Photo by Paul Nicholson. Want to see your photo featured here?

Playoff Preview: Nashville Predators vs. Colorado Avalanche

Stephen Yeargin — Tue, 03 May 2022 16:44:08 +0000

Nashville Predators (8) vs. Colorado Avalanche (1)

^{Western Conference Quarterfinals (Round 1)}

Most analysts had the Nashville Predators well out of the playoff picture when the season started, arguing that they were in a “competitive rebuild” that could quickly become just a “rebuild” if things didn’t improve. Bounced out of the playoffs in the first round last season in six games by the Carolina Hurricanes and losing Ryan Ellis, Calle Jarnkrok and Viktor Arvidsson in the off-season did not instill a lot of confidence. They also lost four of their first five games, so writing them off was easy. Somewhere along the way, the newer players started to gel, while Filip Forsberg, Matt Duchene and Ryan Johansen decided to turn in career years with Juuse Saros threatening to earn a Vezina Trophy for stealing games much in the style of his predecessor Pekka Rinne. The late-season slump and an injury to Saros unfortunately sets the tone for this match-up, with the team squandering a chance to move up into the first wild-card slot in their last game against a hapless Arizona Coyotes team, coughing up five unanswered goals in the loss.

The Opponents

Unlike the Predators, the Colorado Avalanche have been Stanley Cup favorites all season. They finished second overall and earned the first seed in the Western Conference. They also score … a lot, finishing fourth overall during the regular season. So talented forwards like Gabriel Landeskog and Nathan McKinnon heading into a series against a backup goaltender (for at least the first two games)? This was likely not the match-up the Predators would have preferred, but we all know stranger things have happened. The Avs will also have a bit of chip on their shoulder after the last playoff round in 2018 where the Predators took a 4-2 series from them before bowing out to Winnipeg.

Series Previews from Around the Web

Local Outlets
- OnTheForecheck:
- Predlines: Have a little hope
- The Tennessean:
  - How the Nashville Predators got here, first-round prediction
  - NHL playoffs first-round breakdown
- Nashville Scene: Please Come to Denver, She Said No: Preds Open Playoffs Against Top-Seeded Avs
- AtoZ Sports:
  - Nashville Predators will face Colorado Avalanche in first round of 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs
  - The ideal lineup for Game 1 against the Avalanche
National Outlets
- The Hockey Writers: Predators vs. Avalanche: 2022 First-Round Playoff Preview
- Daily Faceoff: Stanley Cup playoff series preview and pick
- Sportsnet: Avalanche vs. Predators
- Sporting News: Predictions, odds, schedule, TV channels, live streams for first round in 2022 NHL Playoffs
- The Athletic (subscription required): 2022 NHL playoff preview: Avalanche vs. Predators
The Other Guys
- Mile High Hockey: Playoff Preview: Injury in net could give Avalanche advantage
- The Denver Post: Colorado Avalanche vs. Nashville Predators: Who has the edge, five things to watch and predictions

The Games

Game	When		Where	Television
Nashville Predators at Colorado Avalanche	Tuesday, May 3	8:30 PM CT	Ball Arena (Denver)	BSSO, ESPN
Nashville Predators at Colorado Avalanche	Thursday, May 5	8:30 PM CT	Ball Arena (Denver)	BSSO, TNT
Colorado Avalanche at Nashville Predators	Saturday, May 7	3:30 PM CT	Bridgestone Arena (Nashville)	BSSO, TNT
Colorado Avalanche at Nashville Predators	Monday, May 9	8:30 PM CT	Bridgestone Arena (Nashville)	BSSO, ESPN
Nashville Predators at Colorado Avalanche*	Wednesday, May 11	TBD	Ball Arena (Denver)
Colorado Avalanche at Nashville Predators*	Friday, May 13	TBD	Bridgestone Arena (Nashville)
Nashville Predators at Colorado Avalanche*	Sunday, May 15	TBD	Ball Arena (Denver)

How to Watch

Unlike last season, there are no COVID-19 restrictions or capacity limits at Bridgestone Arena. There are still tickets available on the team’s website for Saturday’s game and beyond, ranging from $89 up to $327. The team already has the traditional “smash car” on the plaza where folks can pay to take out their frustrations on the opposing team (or at least, a car with their logo and colors on it) with a sledgehammer for charity.

Then again, you might want to nervously pace around your own home for the games, or perhaps you need to give an assist to a bartender that cannot find the correct channel for a game. Either way, these are the channels.

Bally Sports South (BSSO): Direct TV (646); Spectrum (810); Comcast/xfinity (1250); AT&T U-Verse (1725 or 1729)
ESPN: DirectTV (206); Spectrum (300); Comcast/xfinity (701); AT&T U-Verse (606); Dish (140)
TNT: DirectTV (245); Spectrum (28/781), Comcast/xfinity (38); AT&T U-Verse (108/1108); Dish (138)
NHL Network: DirectTV (215); Spectrum (321/828); Comcast/xfinity (716/1217); AT&T U-Verse (638/1638); Dish (157/9540)

Where to Watch

The Predators have also compiled a list of “Preds Approved” venues for the playoffs. These are bars and restaurants that promise to have the game on and to play the audio over the speakers. If you have never watched playoff hockey at a bar, be prepared for spontaneous chants and no, it doesn’t matter that they cannot hear you.