Tennessee voucher schools often exclude LGBTQ+ students and those with disabilities from inclusivity policies, citing religion and bandwidth. ✏️: Lillian Avedian and @sarahgracetaylor.bsky.social

This year, @nashvillebanner.bsky.social has spent a lot of time and resources reporting on the Tennessee Highway Patrol, like last week's report that the agency rarely documented why it was pulling people over when it worked with ICE in May:

A Banner analysis of 1,700 pages of incident reports from the May ICE sting shows that the Tennessee Highway Patrol rarely documented traffic stops. Of the 607 total reports, only approximately 14% provided a reason for the initial traffic stop.

Despite a THP spokesperson saying "all stops were made after observations of traffic violations," only about 14 percent of 607 reports from the May 2025 ICE/THP sting list a reason for the traffic stop.

Been sitting in this seat long enough I could have flown to Paris

One main focus of Tuesday’s Metro Council meeting will be public hearings for proposed changes to the zoning code initiated by the Metro Planning Department. ✏️: @stelliott.bsky.social

Claude Whelan is a putz, a stuffed-shirt bureaucrat whose actions put people in danger, maybe the most incompetent and/or spineless character on Slow Horses, a show filled with incompetent and/or spineless characters i adore this doofus wrote about it www.vulture.com/article/slow...

The MNPS Board determined in its annual evaluation that Dr. Adrienne Battle met district goals for student performance. That evaluation did not include discussion of the $6.5 million settlement reached in a suit against the superintendent this year. ✏️: Lillian Avedian

The Metro Board of Ethical Conduct on Monday unanimously dismissed allegations that Metro Councilmember Joy Kimbrough had improperly demanded a payment in exchange for a rezoning. ✏️: @stelliott.bsky.social

Very exciting stuff. Read more in the @nashvillebanner.bsky.social here:

At a short Metro Council meeting on Tuesday night, the body advanced legislation that would explicitly permit holiday decorations at Nashville homes, hand over management of Ascend Amphitheater to the company behind the Grand Ole Opry and move the city toward a 308-acre expansion of Beaman Park.

Wright Middle School’s mariachi ensemble plays shows all over Nashville. On Thursday, they’ll open for Jason Isbell at the Ryman. Along the way, they’ve learned to play with pride from Maikel Rodriguez, who wants them to embrace their talent. ✏️: @mikeiereiland.bsky.social

Charlie Hatcher, ex Tennessee ag commissioner and scion of the Hatcher Family Dairy, is running against US Rep Andy Ogles in the GOP primary next year.

The Davidson County Election Commission voted Monday to name John Richardson the next elections administrator for Nashville. Until last week he was an active member of the TNGOP Executive Committee, a partisan position that gave pause to some commissioners. ✏️: @stelliott.bsky.social

We’ll be discussing the Banner/WPLN reporting on housing and neighborhoods at noon today:

Feels good to be voted Third Best of Nashville! Thank you, @nashvillescene.com readers!

Despite claims that community engagement is a priority for the project, residents of one South Nashville neighborhood were taken aback when they learned that The Boring Company had purchased property within a stone’s throw of their homes. “I don’t want the tunnel nowhere near us,” said one.

After a day of interviews with candidates and debates over partisanship and impartiality, the Davidson County Election Commission failed to reach a decision to hire a new administrator of elections and will reopen the application period. ✏️: @stelliott.bsky.social

I'm biased, but I think the Nashville Banner is the best source for Nashville and Tennessee news. There's no paywall on the stories, and the daily morning newsletter is free, too. It includes our stories plus exclusive news blurbs and links. Sign up here:

We got new footage of a May ICE arrest in Nashville. Every law enforcement face is blurred and the THP refuses to identify the trooper who repeatedly covers them removes his bodycam. But in this clip, you can hear the trooper and ICE discussing flaws in the local sting and changes at ICE.

I demand @nashvillescene.com revive TV recap blogging culture for 911:Nashville.

I'm looking for people to meet, events to attend and stories to tell in the 37217 ZIP code (Percy Priest, Smith Springs, Nashboro Village, part of Murfreesboro Pike and south side of the airport). If you know of anything I should check out in the area, please let me know.

one thing that remains unchanged between now and 100 years ago: if you have a big baby, they’re gonna put you in the news

Sara Jane Moore, who attempted to assassinate President Gerald Ford in 1975, died in Franklin today. She was 95. nashvillebanner.com/2025/09/24/s...

Bob Mendes, a top adviser and campaign supporter of Mayor Freddie O'Connell, is leaving the Nashville mayor's office at the end of next month.

Today's edition includes the news that the Metro Audit Committee approved an audit of the Office of Homeless Services requested by Councilmember Ginny Welsch. For that and more, subscribe to our free email list:

WeGo and mayor’s office representatives are outlining the free bus fare program for low-income riders funded by the 2024 transit referendum and set for implementation in the coming months.

I'm biased, but I think the Nashville Banner is the best source for Nashville and Tennessee news. There's no paywall on the stories, and the daily morning newsletter is free, too. It includes our stories plus exclusive news blurbs and links. Sign up here:

On being a pedestrian on Dickerson: “It will make you shit in your britches. Hold your breath, talk to the Lord before you cross.” @iamstevenhale.bsky.social

GOP Senator Cynthia Lummis: "Under normal times, in normal circumstances, I tend to think that the First Amendment should always be sort of the ultimate right... I don't feel that way anymore." www.semafor.com/article/09/1...

Mark Green retired from Congress to go into business with a lobbyist, hoping to compete with Chinese companies in other countries.

In 2021, a Nashville woman was shot and tased by police during a mental health crisis. A district court dismissed her federal lawsuit, but an appeals court revived it this week.

The Metro Council meets Tuesday night, when it will continue its review of a proposed land swap with a Dolly Parton hotel downtown. See what else is on the agenda: nashvillebanner.com/2025/09/16/n... ✏️: @stelliott.bsky.social

“We don’t have any belief that there’s going to be National Guard movement here,” Metro Nashville Police spokesperson Don Aaron told the Banner.

The Metro Council is currently considering four proposals from the Planning Department aimed at encouraging new types of housing development and alleviating demand for affordable housing. Here’s what you need to know about the bills: ✏️: @stelliott.bsky.social

A back-and-forth between Metro and Elon Musk’s The Boring Company highlights the complications of dealing with a boundary-pushing startup jealous of its trade secrets while complying with public records laws. ✏️: @stelliott.bsky.social

Rep. Andy Ogles hosted a closed Q&A event in Spring Hill on Saturday, getting in multiple screaming matches with protesters and doubling down on threats to send National Guard to police Nashville as part of his ongoing political fight with Mayor Freddie O’Connell ✏️: @sarahgracetaylor.bsky.social

I saw Muyl doing this ritual in Ugly Mugs this very afternoon. Was halfway through a dog eared copy of Demons by Dostoevsky. Couldn’t respect a professional athlete more.

Metro and local health care officials on Wednesday marked what they described as the resolution of years of conflict between two Nashville institutions: Nashville General Hospital and Meharry Medical College. ✏️: @stelliott.bsky.social

My story at the @nashvillebanner.bsky.social today is about how overcrowded Nashville's jail system is and how it got that way: nashvillebanner.com/2025/09/03/o...

New commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Agriculture

Noooooooooo

Data from nearly two dozen MNPS schools suggests that enrollment and chronic absenteeism rates fluctuated across South Nashville as immigration raids swept across the city last May. As students return to school, families are still afraid. Story: Lillian Avedian

Bad sign that Nashville housing market is trending toward NYC when 12 day “sublets” start popping up

With housing costs on the rise, and the city expected to again fall woefully short of building the number of units needed in the next decade, Nashville officials are pushing a series of localized and countywide zoning changes. In some cases, neighborhoods are pushing back.

Nashville needs more housing stock — but where? As the city considers new zoning rules there's a great divide between "not in my backyard" and "yes in my backyard" attitudes. wpln.org/post/one-sou...

Losing your home and everything in it, then having to invest time and money to repair and replace everything, is extremely difficult; navigating insurance companies, government agencies, and legal issues is nerve-racking. To help you through it, @grist.org put together a guide to the process.

Anyone know of a cute mountain/woods/river type place to stay in the late fall in the Smoky Mountains or maybe Upper Cumberland area?

East Bank Boulevard — the street to serve as the major corridor in Nashville’s East Bank neighborhood — is causing debate. Metro put forth a six-lane proposal, but pushback suggests the city could choose a safer and more creative design. wpln.org/post/what-ki...