Tag: Nashville

Mayor John Cooper Limits Prayer Vigil to Fewer than 25 People Because of Social Distancing

Chris Butler

  Nashville Mayor John Cooper held a public prayer vigil before Tuesday’s Metro Council meeting on the front lawn of the Metro Courthouse — public to the extent that fewer than 25 people could attend. Cooper limited the gathering to fewer than 25 people because of COVID-19 for, according to an emailed press release, security and social distancing reasons. But former Nashville mayoral candidate Carol Swain wondered Tuesday why Cooper limited the number of participants at that particular event — but he didn’t impose similar requirements this past Saturday at the George Floyd rally at Legislative Plaza. As reported, several thousand protestors descended upon Nashville’s Legislative Plaza Saturday on behalf of Floyd. Many carried signs demanding that government either defund or abolish the police. “The day before he sent out a tweet in celebration of LGBT month, and the next day he participates in a prayer rally. I’m always a believer in prayer. I believe that prayer can change lives and nations and cities,” Swain told The Tennessee Star Tuesday. “Once Cooper had decided to have that mass demonstration on Saturday I wish he had seen the importance of prayer at that event. Maybe it wouldn’t have turned so violent by…

Read the full story

Host Leahy and TN State Senator Roberts Discuss Mayor Cooper’s Pandering to the Left During Saturday’s Protest

Julie Carr

Live from Music Row Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. –  host Leahy welcomed all-star panelist and Tennessee state Senator Kerry Roberts to the studio.

During the second hour, Leahy and Roberts discussed Saturday’s rally where Mayor Cooper sat and listened to local left-wing social justice warrior Justin Jones advocate for overcoming oppressors and de-funding the police department. They noted that it was at that point Cooper should have left the rally but instead stayed and was followed by violence in downtown Nashville.

Read the full story

Nashville Protestors Tear Down Statue of Edward Carmack

Chris Butler

In Nashville, Tennessee and in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, statues of people criticized for racist views – but without Confederate ties – were targeted during Saturday night’s riots.

Protesters in Nashville toppled Saturday a statue of Edward Carmack, a state lawmaker in the early 1900s and newspaper publisher who had racist views and wrote editorials lambasting the writings of prominent Tennessee civil rights journalist Ida B. Wells, The Tennessean reported.

Read the full story

Metro Council Members Warned John Cooper Not to Attend Saturday’s Rally

Chris Butler

Nashville Council member at Large Steve Glover didn’t want Mayor John Cooper to attend Saturday’s rally at Legislative Plaza for George Floyd, and neither did Council member at Large Sharon Hurt.

As reported, several thousand protestors descended upon Legislative Plaza Saturday. Many protestors carried signs demanding that government either defund or abolish the police. Cooper embraced the protestors, spoke at their rally and even thanked them for wearing COVID-19 masks. But later in the day, protesters resorted to violence and vandalized the Metro Courthouse and parts of Lower Broadway.

Read the full story

Calls for Mayor Cooper’s Resignation as Nashville Erupts in Violence Following Rally He Promoted

Chris Butler

Nashville resident Paul Frey delivered a simple and direct message to Nashville Mayor John Cooper Saturday night, and Frey said it in only one word — resign.

Countless people took to Cooper’s Facebook page Saturday and scolded the mayor for allying himself with anti-police protestors earlier in the day. They also rebuked Cooper for not taking an aggressive enough stance against protestors later in the day when protestors resorted to violence — by trashing the Metro Courthouse and, later, parts of downtown Broadway.

Read the full story

Nashville Boutique Venues: Ruby and Clementine Owner Dan Cook Explains What Phase Two Means for His Business

Julie Carr

Live from Music Row Friday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. –  host Leahy welcomed Nashville Boutique Venue Owner Dan Cook to the newsmakers line.

At the top of the third hour, Cook described phase two of Mayor Cooper’s reopening plan and how it recently became downgraded from a 50 person capacity to 25 after his pleas for help. He did, however, positively highlight Governor Lee’s recent executive order that now links weddings and funerals to church services allowing for a quicker re-opening under the “freedom of religion” rule book.

Read the full story

New Numbers Show Tennessee’s ‘Staggering Increase in Unemployment’

Chris Butler

Officials with the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development released statistics Thursday showing what they call “a staggering increase in unemployment for each of Tennessee’s 95 counties” in April. This, as many businesses closed to help slow the spread of COVID-19, according to a TDLWD press release.

“The unprecedented and historic spike in unemployment impacted some counties more drastically than others, but no area of Tennessee escaped the pandemic’s effect on the state’s workforce,” the press release said.

Read the full story

Carol Swain Helps NoTax4Nash.com and 4GoodGovernment.com in Nashville to Stop the 32 Percent Property Tax Increase

Julie Carr

Live from Music Row Thursday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. –  host Leahy welcomed Dr. Carol Swain to the studio.

At the top of the second hour, Swain described two local grassroots groups she is working with that hope to offer budgetary alternatives in order to avoid Mayor John Cooper’s proposed 32% property tax increase. She urged people to get involved and make their voices heard by going to NoTax4Nash.com and 4GoodGovernment.com and by contacting their local city council members.

Read the full story

Nashville Health Department to Continue Sharing COVID-19 Patient Data with Law Enforcement

Admin

The Metro Public Health Department in Nashville will still provide COVID-19 patient information to first responders and law enforcement.

Metro Public Health Director Michael Caldwell said the practice is “temporary,” but that it’s working, WPLN reported Thursday.

“This is an emergency,” he says. “This is critical, timely, life-saving information that has reduced and contained the spread of this disease within our medical institutions and within our jails. I’m puzzled by why the state reversed course.”

Read the full story

Inside the New Poll Showing Unpopularity of Mayor Cooper’s Proposed Property Tax Increase

Julie Carr

Live from Nashville, Tennessee Monday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m.– Leahy was joined on the newsmakers line by Nashville Smart’s Lonnie Spivak.

At the top of the second hour, Spivak reviewed recent Triton Polling data which showed that almost a third of Davidson County registered voters disapproved of Mayor John Cooper’s 32% property tax increase. He was certain that with such unfavorable polling results that Mayor John Cooper should definitely rethink his direction.

Read the full story

Nashville Fatal Overdose Numbers Spike Sharply During COVID-19 Restrictions

Chris Butler

Nashville seems to have had an increase in the number of overdoses since March, according to statistics the city’s Metro Public Health Department provided Tuesday.

Mid-March was right around the same time that local, state, and federal officials in the United States first restricted people’s movements and other freedoms because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of overdose deaths for March, April, and May of this year are substantially higher than March, April, and May of last year, according to the Metro Public Health data.

Read the full story

Tennessee Authorities Investigating String of Five Officer-Involved Shootings, Including Off-Duty Officer

Anthony Gockowski

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has opened investigations into five different officer-involved shootings in the last nine days, including the shooting of an off-duty Metro Nashville officer.

According to a statement from the Metro Nashville Police Department, Officer Darrell Osment was “inexplicably” shot in the back “without warning or provocation” while walking his dog Thursday night. Osment said he was in plain clothes when he encountered a man he did not know on the street.

Read the full story

Poll Shows Nearly Two-Thirds of Liberal Davidson County is Against Mayor Cooper’s Proposed 32 Percent Property Tax Hike

Jason M. Reynolds

  A new Triton poll finds decidedly liberal Davidson County is solidly against Mayor John Cooper’s proposed 32 percent property tax hike. The poll is available here. It was conducted last Thursday and Friday by Triton Polling & Research and was paid for by Nashville Smart, a local 501(c)(4). Lonnie Spivak, an election expert, is with Nashville Smart. He spoke with The Tennessee Star about the poll Monday. Spivak also will be on Tuesday morning’s The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am. On Monday, Spivak said Nashville Smart, as a 501(c)(4), has no position on whether the tax increase should pass, and that it commissioned the poll for informational purposes. “We wanted to judge what the public opinion of the tax increase is going into the budget season,” Spivak said. “Metro Council doesn’t have the resources to poll.” The Triton poll sampled 769 registered voters, with 53.5 percent identifying as Democrat, 28.8 percent Republican, 15.3 percent Independent and 2.4 percent Not Sure/Undecided. Mayor Cooper had a 47.1 percent favorable rating, 25.6 percent unfavorable, and 25.7 had heard of him but had no opinion. Regarding Cooper’s…

Read the full story

Boutique Venues of Nashville Owner Dan Cook Can’t Get Response From Mayor Cooper’s Office Regarding His Declining Business

Julie Carr

On Friday’s Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. – host Michael Patrick Leahy and all-star panelist Crom Carmichael welcomed the owner of Nashville Boutique Venues Dan Cook to the newsmakers line.

During the third hour, Cook described his attempts to contact Mayor John Cooper’s office to discuss the phase openings and how it’s negatively impacted his business. He expressed his disappointment that he has not received any type of return communication from the mayor’s office after several attempts but appeared hopeful with the local media attention he’s been able to attain.

Read the full story

Music City Dedicates This Year’s Fourth of July Celebration to First Responders

Bethany Bowman

Music City will honor healthcare heroes, first responders and frontline workers with a televised fireworks show from downtown Nashville on July 4th, the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp announced today. There will be no public concert or spectators allowed in parks. A short fireworks display will be set to recorded music by Nashville artists, which will air locally on NewsChannel 5.

Country music superstar Brad Paisley, who was previously scheduled to headline this year’s July 4th event, will instead headline in 2021, giving the community something to look forward to and visitors a reason to book a trip to Nashville next year. 

Read the full story

Vanderbilt Poll Claims ‘Sky High’ Approval for Mayor Cooper, Just 19 Percent of Participants Were Republicans

Anthony Gockowski

A new poll from Vanderbilt University claims the approval rating for Mayor John Cooper is “sky high,” but only 19 percent of respondents said they identify as Republicans.

Another 45 percent of respondents said they identify as Democrats, while 26 percent said they are Independents and 10 percent said they are “something else.” Only 21 percent said their political views are “very conservative” or “conservative,” compared to 30 percent who said they are “liberal” or “very liberal.” Forty-eight percent said their political views are “moderate.”

Read the full story

Nashville Bar Owner Takes Bill Lee and John Cooper to Court Over COVID-19 Orders

Chris Butler

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee relied on erroneous information about COVID-19 and acted against the state and U.S. constitutions when he passed down executive orders that forced one Nashville businessman to close his bar.

This, according to the federal lawsuit that The Local Spot owner Geoffery Reid filed this week. The lawsuit names Lee and Nashville Mayor John Cooper, among others, as defendants.

Read the full story

Nashville Felon Who Legally Wasn’t Supposed to Have a Gun Uses One in Alleged Carjacking Attempt

Chris Butler

A man Nashville Police described as “a dangerous felon with a gun” allegedly tried to carjack a woman in Nashville, but police later arrested the suspect, according to a press release.

Jamontez Deshun Howse, 20, of Enchanted Circle, is jailed in lieu of $105,000 bond on charges of attempted carjacking, theft of a Cadillac Escalade, and theft of a .45 caliber loaded semi-automatic pistol that he dropped moments before his arrest, according to a Nashville press release.

Read the full story

About 400 Complaints Lodged Against Nashville Businesses During COVID-19 Reopening, City Official Says

Chris Butler

Nashville officials have received 400 complaints about businesses since the city entered Phase One of its planned reopening after COVID-19, Metro Public Health Director Michael Caldwell said at a press conference Monday.

“Most of these complaints are about employees not wearing facial coverings properly. We are following up with each one of these businesses. What we are finding out is that a lot of these businesses just didn’t really understand the rules. We will continue our education and observations this week, if we find that, after we have already communicated with a business, that they continue to not be in compliance then we will start fining,” Caldwell said.

Read the full story

#FreeTN Rally Draws Attendees from Across Tennessee and Speakers on the Subject of Freedom

Laura Baigert

  NASHVILLE, Tennessee – A third #FreeTN rally held Sunday included attendees from across Tennessee and out-of-state visitors as well as subject matter experts on the topic of freedom. The event was held across the street from the Tennessee Department of Health in Nashville, which also happens to be the lawn that sits below the state capitol with a few hundred in attendance. Counties as far away from Nashville as Carroll, Knox, Maury and Putnam were represented as were neighboring counties of Sumner, Robertson, Rutherford and Williamson. Residents of other states, such as Wyoming and Washington also took time to attend. Even the highly esteemed Dr. Alan Keyes – a champion of returning the United States to a God-honoring nation who served in the administration of President Ronald Reagan and more recently founding IamTV – made the drive from Sevier County. He told The Tennessee Star that, as he has conducted interviews about the impact of the coronavirus, he wanted to see what the #FreeTN movement was all about. While Kim Edwards spearheaded the non-partisan, grassroots #FreeTN movement to push for the reopening of Tennessee’s economy by pointing out that everyone is essential, it has evolved into protecting constitutional liberties…

Read the full story

Music Spotlight: Brian Callihan

Bethany Bowman

Born and raised on a small farm in South Georgia, Brian Callihan was your typical country boy as he hunted and played baseball and football. However, he found his true passion when he started listening to Keith Whitley.

Callihan said when he was around 10 or 11 years old he got a “Keith Whitley’s Greatest Hits for Christmas,” which was his dad’s favorite singer.

Read the full story

Nashville’s Affordable Housing Residents Aren’t Exactly Lining Up for COVID-19 Tests

Chris Butler

Droves of people who live in Nashville’s affordable housing projects aren’t volunteering for COVID-19 tests, despite city officials initially believing they would.

Nashville Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency spokeswoman Jamie Berry told The Tennessee Star in an email Friday that only 219 residents tested Thursday at Metro’s Edgehill Apartments and James A. Cayce affordable housing units.

Read the full story

Nashville Boutique Venues Owner Dan Cook Describes Mayor Cooper’s Matrix of Ridiculous and Unfair Reopening Phases

Julie Carr

On Friday’s Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. – host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed the owner of Nashville Boutique Venues Dan Cook to the newsmakers line.

During the third hour, Cook explained where his business falls in the convoluted phases of reopening in Nashville stating that he has been unable to get anywhere at Mayor John Cooper’s office and in desperation has reached out to local media.

Read the full story

Carol Swain Question’s Mayor Cooper’s Spending While Expecting More Bailout Money from the Federal Government

Julie Carr

Live from Music Row Thursday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. – Leahy was joined on the newsmakers line by all-star panelist and former Vanderbilt Professor of Law Dr. Carol Swain.

At the bottom of the second hour, Swain reported from credible sources that Mayor Cooper has purchased 40,000 thermometers for Metro employees while keeping his hands out for federal coronavirus bailout money. She added that the coronavirus numbers don’t add up to a shutdown which has forced Nashville to the top of the list of metropolitan cities that are losing the most money during the pandemic.

Read the full story

Nashville Officials Scold White House for Reporting False COVID-19 Data Despite Nashville Officials Making Similar Claims Two Weeks Ago

Chris Butler

Metro Coronavirus Task Force Chair Alex Jahangir scolded members of the White House Thursday for saying — falsely — that Nashville had a sudden 129 percent increase in confirmed COVID-19 cases earlier this month.

Jahangir said a spike at a prison in nearby Trousdale County had a lot to do with the White House reporting false data about Nashville. This, even though, as The Tennessee Star reported, Jahangir earlier this month made misleading claims about Trousdale County numbers and how they relate to Nashville.

Read the full story

Nashville Has Reportedly Suffered the Steepest COVID-19 Consumer Spending Drop in the Nation

Laura Baigert

Nashville has suffered the steepest drop in consumer spending of any major metropolitan area in the U.S due to COVID-19, according to a report Wednesday in the Nashville Business Journal.

The Journal used information obtained from Harvard’s new Opportunity Insights Economic Tracker, working with Brown University and the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation to pull data from a variety of sources.

Read the full story

Former Nashville Healthcare Executive Pleads Guilty to Embezzling More Than $700,000

Anthony Gockowski

The former president of Nashville-based Omnis Health pleaded guilty last week to embezzling $763,887 from the company and evading taxes.

U.S. Attorney Don Cochran for the Middle District of Tennessee said 50-year-old Robert Burton was charged in February with wire fraud and tax evasion related to his embezzlement scheme. Burton was the president of Omnis Health, which sells diabetic testing kits, from July 2013 to May 2017.

Read the full story

Nashville Official Says No Truth to Claims Housing Project Residents Being Forced to Test for COVID-19

Chris Butler

A Nashville official on Saturday denied that she and her colleagues are forcing residents of the city’s housing projects to test for COVID-19, even though some people on social media say that’s what’s happening.

On Friday a Nashville resident named Hatuey Hiawhatha shared a photo of what looked like Nashville Police officers and National Guard troops outside a housing project.

Read the full story

Nashville Police Will Show Up if Newly-Reopened Businesses Don’t Follow COVID-19 Rules

Chris Butler

Nashville business owners who are gearing up to reopen Monday better comply with all of Mayor John Cooper’s safety rules for COVID-19, or else police might pay them a visit.

As The Tennessee Star reported Friday, after days in quarantine, Nashville will move to Phase One of Cooper’s plan to reopen the city’s economy, at least partially, this coming Monday.

Read the full story

Commentary: Mayor Cooper’s Tax Increase Would Torpedo an Already Reeling Nashville

Admin

Mayor John Cooper’s proposed 32 percent property tax increase is a terrible idea and would be detrimental to the city of Nashville, potentially creating a chilling effect across Middle Tennessee. An increase of such magnitude would bring additional pain and suffering to untold thousands of Nashvillians already harmed by the government-mandated COVID-19 lockdown and the tornado that preceded it.

Decisions about tax increases should be delayed until next spring. After the Mayor has made significant cuts and structural changes in Metro government. It also must come after Mayor Cooper has hosted townhall meetings in every Nashville neighborhood. At such times he can educate voters about what he will have done to cut spending and exactly how he will operate the city in a fiscally conservative manner.

Read the full story

The Beacon Center’s Mark Cunningham: People Need to Look at City Leadership Over These Past 10 Years

Julie Carr

Towards the end of the third hour of Monday’s Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy, The Beacon Center’s Marks Cunningham weighed in on Mayor Cooper’s proposed 32% property tax increase stating that it was the wrong time to be doing this to the citizens of Nashville in lieu of the government-mandated shutdown and recent tornado destruction. He suggested that government cuts and freezes need to be put on the table if they are going to hinder small businesses while corporate businesses receive tax breaks and incentives.

Read the full story

Jahangir: COVID-19 Didn’t Hit Nashville as Hard as Some Originally Feared

Chris Butler

Metro Coronavirus Task Force Chair Alex Jahangir said Monday that COVID-19 didn’t hit Nashville as hard as computer models originally predicted.

“Just a few weeks ago we were planning for a 1,000-bed auxiliary hospital because models had shown that our hospitals would be overrun,” Jahangir said, without saying how many people in Davidson County were to have supposedly caught COVID-19, per those models.

Read the full story