Tag: Nashville

Owner Carey Bringle of the Peg Leg Porker BBQ Restaurant in Downtown Nashville Joins Leahy to Discuss His Recent Letter to Mayor Cooper

Julie Carr

Live from Nashville, Tennessee, 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.– Leahy was joined on the newsmakers line by Carey Bringle who is the local business owner of the popular BBQ restaurant located in The Gulch of downtown Nashville the Peg Leg Porker.

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Nashville School Board Members Say No to More Charter Schools

Chris Butler

Members of the Metro Nashville School Board this week shot down the idea of having five more charter schools.

Members offered a variety of reasons.

Board members said, among other things, that charter school staff didn’t meet the county school district’s curriculum standards. Board members also said that charter schools relied on too many volunteers and turned in too many generic applications.

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Nashville’s Small Business Owners Have New Resources to Reopen After COVID-19

Chris Butler

Nashville’s small business owners have new online resources to help them reopen and navigate their way out of COVID-19.

Nashville Metro At-Large Council member Steve Glover announced one new website, SBTFNashville.com at a press conference Monday.

Glover co-chairs the city’s Small Business Task Force. For assistance, business owners may sort through that website for a list of financial resources, he said.

“We are also working with the Metro Health Department in the coming days to try to develop a systematic plan for how we help you and the employees train, get ready for how to reopen and hopefully determine a date [to reopen],” Glover said, adding he and members of the task force are coordinating with Mayor John Cooper’s office.

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Senator Kerry Roberts Weighs in on What Tennessee’s April Revenues Will Look Like While Davidson County Remains Closed Under Mayor Cooper Rule

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. – Leahy was joined on the line during the program’s second hour by Tennessee state Senator Kerry Roberts.

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Public Art about COVID-19 and Recent Tornadoes on the Way, Courtesy of Nashville Taxpayers

Chris Butler

Metro Nashville officials plan to spend taxpayer money to create public art that, in some way, acknowledges the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic as well as the tornadoes that battered Middle Tennessee last month.

Last Friday Metro Nashville Arts Commission board members approved re-allocating $40,000 from their operating funds toward this project, part of their THRIVE program, said Metro Arts spokeswoman Emily Waltenbaugh.

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Metro Councilman At-Large Steve Glover Weighs in on Mayor Cooper’s Sharp Tax Increase Proposal

Julie Carr

During the third hour of Monday’s, Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy, Metro Councilman at Large Steve Glover expressed his disagreement with the significant property tax increase proposed by Mayor Cooper last week. He stated that he didn’t believe that this was a solution to the problem and vowed to stand up to his promise of protecting the people of Davidson County’s wallets.

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Nashville Chief Public Defender Wants Even More Inmates Released Due to COVID-19

Chris Butler

Metro Nashville Chief Public Defender Martesha L. Johnson has formally asked that members of the Davidson County Criminal Court immediately release an additional number of inmates from jail because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

These inmates are housed in the Davidson County Sheriff’s Department and at Core Civic facilities, Johnson said.

“It is perhaps an unprecedented request for relief in Nashville, but has been utilized in jurisdictions across the country,” Johnson said in her motion.

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Nashville Nurses Pray Over Patients on Hospital Roof During Their Break: ‘Go to the Helipad and Pray’

Admin

A group of Nashville nurses went to the roof of the hospital during their break to pray for hospital staff and patients suffering from coronavirus.

Nurses Angela Gleaves, Sarah Franklin Kremer, Beth Hofflin Tiesler and McKenzie Gibson went to the roof of Vanderbilt University Medical Center to pray over the patients and staff in their hospital. Photographs show the nurses praying with hands folded on the rooftop of the building before posing for selfies with one another.

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Nashville Mayor Reveals Plan to Raise Property Taxes Amid Tornado Devastation and Coronavirus Pandemic

Anthony Gockowski

Nashville Mayor John Cooper announced during his virtual State of the Metro address Tuesday that he plans to “sharply increase” the city’s property tax rate.

Cooper said the Nashville Finance Department predicts that revenue from sales taxes and other activities will be down between $200 and $300 million because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Because of the unusual circumstances, Cooper didn’t have a budget proposal to discuss but said the budget ordinance he plans to present to the Metro Council in April will “sharply” increase the city’s property tax rate. Cooper said the final rate will still be lower than other cities throughout Tennessee.

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Tennessee Medical Association Asks All Mayors to Issue Shelter in Place Orders

Anthony Gockowski

The Tennessee Medical Association (TMA) sent a letter to every mayor in the state Friday asking them to request authority from Gov. Bill Lee to issue shelter-in-place orders for their communities.

Lee has thus far declined to issue a statewide shelter-in-place order, which prompted more than 2,000 health care workers to sign a petition asking him to change course, The Tennessee Star reported. As of Sunday, 26 states had issued stay-at-home orders, including the neighboring states of North Carolina and Kentucky.

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Governor Bill Lee Orders Bars And Restaurants to Close

Anthony Gockowski

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee issued an executive action Sunday ordering the closure of bars, restaurants, and other places of public accommodation in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has created both an economic and a health crisis and our response must continue to address both aspects,” Lee said in a statement. “Our goal is to keep the public, especially vulnerable populations, safe while doing everything possible to keep Tennesseans in a financially stable position.”

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Davidson County Sheriff Reduces Jail Population During Coronavirus Emergency

Chris Butler

Nashville-Davidson County Sheriff Daron Hall announced he has initiated plans to reduce the number of inmates in sheriff’s office custody as the coronavirus emergency continues.

This, according to a press release Hall put out this week.

Those plans include expanding pre-trial release criteria and eliminating the work release program. PTR participants are expected to double over the next few days and all work release inmates are being furloughed immediately, the press release said.

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Gov. Lee Says Churches Are ‘Risking People’s Lives’ By Continuing to Hold Services

Anthony Gockowski

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said during a Friday press conference that churches that continue to hold services are putting people’s lives at risk.

“Churches that continue to meet and gather with elderly and putting groups of people in the same setting, quite frankly, they’re risking people’s lives,” Lee said during an update on the COVID-19 outbreak in Tennessee. “There are ways to worship and there are ways to serve without congregating people, and I’m urging and challenging churches to do just that.”

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Kid Rock’s Steakhouse in Nashville Originally Defied Order, But Will Now Close

Chris Butler

Staff at Kid Rock’s Big Honky Tonk Rock N’ Roll Steakhouse announced Monday night that they will temporarily close, per a city order that all bars on Lower Broadway must shut down.

This, even though Kid Rock’s Steakhouse owner originally said he would defy that order.

As The Tennessee Star reported, on Sunday members of the Metropolitan Board of Health of Nashville and Davidson County declared a public health emergency that forced business owners to either close their doors or limit capacity. Bars on Lower Broadway and throughout Davidson County must close until further notice.

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Metro Councilman At-Large Steve Glover Urges City Officials to Think Through Decisions and Their Consequences as Music City Shuts Down

Julie Carr

During the top of the third hour on Monday’s Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy, Metro Councilman Steve Glover gave his take on how he thought the city of Nashville may have made drastic decisions without thoroughly thinking through the consequences. He suggested that the city needs to look at the economic impact of all the things that have occurred to us over the last two to three weeks as our number one priority.

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Government Red Tape May Keep Nashville Business Owners from Getting Tax Relief During Coronavirus Emergency

Chris Butler

Nashville Democratic Mayor John Cooper hinted Monday that city officials will help businesses in the city that have either had to shut down or limit capacity because of the Coronavirus emergency, per city orders.

Will city officials offer tax relief?

Metro officials say a maze of government rules complicate matters.

On Sunday members of the Metropolitan Board of Health of Nashville and Davidson County declared a public health emergency that forced business owners to either close their doors or limit capacity, according to the city’s website.

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