• For those keeping track at home, the little Russian boy who was shipped back to his country alone by his adoptive birth mother from Shelbyville is back in the orphanage. A mother of three adopted children from Wilson County has filed a court petition to become his guardian. [WTVF]
• Nashville has launched the Smart911 program for emergency response teams, which allows people to go online and fill out a profile with medical and personal information that will be automatically accessible to dispatchers in case of an emergency. It only takes a minute or two to register and you can do so here. [WSMV]
• Coach Fisher can’t wait to hear what Chris Johnson wants to do this year, since last year at training camp he set a goal to rush 2,000 yards and be the MVP. [City Paper]
• The Titans are also donating $50,000 to youth programs whose fields and equipment were damaged in the flood. [WTVF]
• And in other Titans news, still, the cheerleaders were out and about today entertaining all you crazies who are camped out in line for tickets. Is it football season yet? [Tennessean]

Photo by pr9000.

Good morning, Nashville. Tennessee has managed to make quite a spectacle of itself in the past few weeks with our strange array of fringe gubernatorial candidates and controversial statements from the not-so-fringe ones, but we’re here to tell you that at least this leg of the journey will be over soon. You have today and tomorrow to take advantage of early voting (which is on track to break some records, apparently) and then the real election is August 5th. Let us hope that things get a little less circus-y from here.

• Foreclosures on the rise. Foreclosures in Nashville and the surrounding areas are up 39% from the same 6-month time period last year. The phenomenon seems to be part of a larger pattern nationwide.
• Flippy-floppies. The kids of Franklin High School are planning to exercise a little civil disobedience on the first day of school by showing up in flip flops en masse to protest a change to the school’s dress-code that would ban such footwear. The protest, as you may have guessed, has been organized on Facebook.
• Bits & pieces. BNA is entering “Phase II” of their big renovation, which basically just means they’re getting some fancy automatic contraptions in the bathrooms … A group of Tennessee lawmakers will be field-tripping in Arizona today to deliver a resolution of support for their recent immigration crackdown … Lane Kiffin had a few things to say to the press about the Titans’ decision to sue him … Metro Police say that graffiti is on the rise in parts of Nashville … A DHS employee was charged with stealing more than $6,000 in food stamps since November 2008.

Photo by WJ11.

• We’ve ignored it for as long as we can, but here you go: Republican gubernatorial candidate Basil Marceaux is famous on the internet. He even made it onto Stephen Colbert last night. He wants to end slavery at traffic stops, plant vegetation in intersections, fine everyone who doesn’t own a gun, ban flags with fringe, and address school violents. He is both funny and sad. Can someone please go give this man a hug? (And thank you Ilisa for giving us a hashtag for all of this.) [Tennessean]
• Lebanon has a bit of a sinkhole problem. [WKRN]
• The wheels on the MTA bus go ’round and ’round, and then they fall off. [WSMV]
• A group of parents in Brentwood were so fed-up with the trashiness of the internet that they created their own G-rated social network, Neighbordog. [WKRN]

Photo by rumielf.

Good morning, Nashville. Thanks to the folks in the US House, our state is the proud recipient of $200 million more in federal flood relief aid. Though the midstate has made huge strides toward recovery in the past few months, many homes and businesses are still facing more damages than they can afford. Many folks have also been frustrated by the lack of help from FEMA and the Small Business Administration, or by the amount of time it’s taking to get to them. The SBA has actually denied 62% of all flood claims by small businesses, meaning that almost two out of three businesses applying for help aren’t receiving it.

• Trapped. News Channel 4’s I-team seems to be on a roll these days and are now investigating claims that MTA bus drivers and other employees were trapped inside the main MTA building and threatened with “retribution” by supervisors. Consequently, many of them lost cars in the flood waters and had to be rescued from the building by emergency crews.
• Following the leader. A group of Tennessee lawmakers are vowing to introduce an Arizona-like immigration measure next year, despite the constitutionality of the measure still being up in the air. The law would require non-citizens to cart around their immigration papers at all times so that police can stop and check anyone’s papers who looks illegal.
• Bits & pieces. Tennessee’s gubernatorial candidates are all vying pretty hard for the Christian vote … The Titans are having to shake things up since Lane Kiffin allegedly poached their running backs coach … Speaking of the Titans, the NFL won’t be punishing Vince Young for his scuffle at the strip club last month … Metro will likely be revealing their plans for the Bellevue Mall in the coming weeks, and we’re seriously doubting they will involve an Ikea … Still more storm chances today.

Photo by Jett Lowe.

• Downtown could see some “power blips” tomorrow and Saturday during the early morning hours courtesy of the Music City Center. But then y’all are getting used to this, right? [Tennessean]
• Mayor Dean is proposing a one-stop shop to deal with domestic violence and child abuse in hopes of dealing with our city’s growing problem. [WPLN]
• We suppose that someone always has to be the first one in line for Titans tickets, but already? Tickets don’t go on sale until Saturday morning. [WKRN]
• Breaking: Despite what lawmakers seem to think, most Tennessee voters are actually opposed to allowing guns in bars. Even the East Tennesseans! [Tennessean]
• News Channel 4 reports that Nashville’s tornado sirens were a little late to respond to the warnings on Monday night, taking a full 18 minutes to sound off after the first warning was issued. Typically, they don’t take longer than three minutes. [WSMV]

Photo by Lachlan Hardy.

No one celebrates National Ice Cream Month quite like Bravo Gelato. If you don’t follow them on Twitter (@BravoGelatoNash), you’ve probably missed out on the fantastic deals they’ve been offering every day this month at their Village Green location – Buy one get one free, quarts for the price of pints, large for the price of a small… We could go on and on. And with flavors like S’more, Cinnamon Cayenne Chocolate Chip, Maple Benton’s Bacon, Pina Colada, Cruze Dairy Buttermilk, Chocolate Hazelnut and Apple Pie, who can resist those kind of deals?

To top off National Ice Cream Month, Bravo Gelato will give away 1 regular sized gelato per person for FREE this Saturday, July 31 from 12-3pm at their Village Green location (off Hillsboro in the Green Hills Christie Cookie). All you have to do is show up! They’ll be featuring an assortment of locally-themed flavors for the special occasion. Think flavors with Yazoo, Olive & Sinclair, Jack Daniels and more.

If you haven’t been to Bravo Gelato yet, Saturday is a great time to get your feet wet in the wonderful world of gelato. But we’re warning you – You’ll probably get hooked. Don’t just take our word for it… Our blogging friends over at Style Blueprint, Erin’s Food Files, Eat. Drink. Smile., The Beer Snob and Nashville Foodies can back up our claims.

Photo by christyfrink.

Good morning, Nashville. If you’ve ever enjoyed a hot dog, popcorn or even a beer at a Titans or Preds game, it might be worth knowing that 62% of LP Field food vendors and 59% of Bridgestone Arena food vendors had major health violations according to a recent inspection. Vendors at both facilities were found  to have both non-critical and critical violations; critical violations could include “presence of insects or rodents, personnel working with infections or not washing their hands properly or toxic items not properly stored.” Gross, right?

• That’s a lot of charity. The IRS reports that 9,300 charities in Tennessee are at risk of losing their tax-exempt status because they haven’t filed the proper paperwork. You can view the list of at-risk organizations here.
• No more budget billing. Nashville Electric Service is kicking their Budget Billing program to the curb because it’s getting too confusing for customers. Previously, customers have had the option of paying for their average usage each month and then paying any remaining balance at the end of the year (or receiving a credit if they paid too much.) But because rates are fluctuating so much, people are ending up owing too much.
• Bits & pieces. Just when we thought we’d seen it all, Gwyneth Paltrow released a country single … The Farmer’s Market food court is reopening on Monday … Tennessee is one of only five states where the Nissan all-electric LEAF will be available for now … Massive, creepy-looking, tree-killing beetles have arrived in Tennessee … More storms possible today … Someone was busy slashing 20-30 cars’ tires last night in Bellevue.

Photo by Webslog.

• The National Weather Service was finally able to confirm that, yes, a tornado did touch down in northern Davidson County last night. Still no word on how strong it was. [Tennessean]
• Adios, Dove Awards! They’re taking the show to Atlanta after 41 years of being in Nashville. [Tennessean]
• Tennessee’s gubernatorial race has been making the rounds on the political tabloids lately, so a big thank you goes out to Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey for giving ‘em more fodder. [WTVF]
• Nobody in Tennessee likes Obama, but everyone just loves Governor Phil. [Tennessean]
• But our sky-high infant mortality rate is finally going down, so that’s cool! [Tennessean]

Photo by Paul Nicholson.

Good morning, Nashville.  Hopefully everyone is safe and sound after last night’s bout of bad weather. About 15 homes were damaged in the storm, but there were thankfully no reports of injuries. Though there was a report about an overturned semi on I-24, police determined that the story wasn’t true. The National Weather Service is still working on confirming the tornado in northern Davidson County. One good thing about all of that were the amazing pictures like the one above. But before you get too excited, you’ll want to brace yourselves for round two this afternoon.

• Bouncing back. The indoor part of the Nashville Farmer’s Market, which flooded pretty badly back in May, was finally issued a permit to rebuild and re-open. Get well soon, friends!
• Special treatment? A Metro police officer who provides security for the Titans admitted that he has engaged in a little ticket-fixing to get Titans players out of speeding tickets and other traffic violations.
• These people exist. Remember Cookeville’s real-life superhero, Viper? McMinnville’s Catman sort of gives him a run for his money.
• Bits & pieces. It’s that time of year when Kroger is giving away some free Titans tickets … The Better Business Bureau recommends that you avoid these businesses at all costs.

Photo by wjb13.

• Well, obviously the big news tonight is that the Titans are suing Lane Kiffin for poaching one of their coaches. Poaching a coach, they say! It even rhymes. Anyway, this should ensure that Lane Kiffin will never be able to so much as drive through Tennessee without having his tires slashed. [Tennessean]
• East Tennessee is facing a terrible plague of–you guessed it–sinkholes. On main roads, like I-40. Is there some sort of fancy geological forcefield we can construct to keep the midstate from collapsing in on itself? [WZTV]
• It is almost cute that a Dickson man mowed the words “Merry (sic) me Julee” into the grass to propose to his fiancé. Almost. As for the misspelling, he had this to say: “I couldn’t really cut an ‘A’ that well into the grass with a mower, so I wrote it with an ‘E’ and figured we’d laugh about it later.” Okay, fine, it’s cute. [WSMV]
• We heard something about a Beatle in town, or something? Watch out for the traffic near the Bridgestone. [Tennessean]

Photo by nathantbaker.