Mayor John Cooper
MDHA retaliated against whistleblower, according to federal investigation
The Metro Development and Housing Agency retaliated against a whistleblower who reported poor supervision of workers participating in a federal jobs program, suspending her without pay and effectively demoting her last year. Two federal investigation reports detailed the findings that MDHA retaliated against Amanda Wood, a veteran of the agency with a track record of […]
Editor’s column: The hottest ticket in town
Political tongues have been flapping all over Nashville since community organizer and activist Odessa Kelly announced her candidacy for the Democratic nomination in the 5th Congressional District in early April. Kelly is taking on incumbent Jim Cooper, who has served in the 5th District seat since his election in 2002 (and in the 4th Congressional […]
North Nashville residents will get to decide how to spend $2 million through participatory budgeting
Residents of North Nashville and Bordeaux will be able to direct some public money to community gardens, potholes, reparations or whatever else they choose over the next year, through a process called “participatory budgeting.” Metro named a group of local leaders to a committee on Thursday night, in a dance studio at the Hadley Park […]
Nashville Power Poll: Power poll respondents strongly oppose tax reduction referendums
Nashville Power Poll members are overwhelmingly opposed to rolling back the city’s recent property tax hike. They also oppose amending the Metro Charter in a host of other areas, such as requiring elections if taxes are increased by more than 3%. Requiring such referendums would significantly weaken the mayor, and Metro Council, and turn us […]
A fight over bus routes, an awkward budget hearing and growing skepticism over Metro’s new NDOT
Drowned out in a Metro budget cycle largely defined by a chorus of cooperation was an 11th hour dust-up between Mayor John Cooper’s administration and Councilman Freddie O’Connell over mass transit funding. With minor tinkering, Cooper’s budget sailed through council on a unanimous voice vote. But an amendment filed by O’Connell to re-route $1.1 million […]
Crisis center partners with Metro Nashville cops on de-escalation training
The disheveled, middle-aged man struggled against the Metro Nashville Police officer hauling him into the Crisis Treatment Center for a psychiatric evaluation, his loud mumbling muffled by the glass in the treatment room. From an enclosed glass room in the center of the facility, mental healthcare workers watched calmly as the man was processed and […]
After Metro Nashville Council passes $2.6B budget, focus turns to Chancellor Perkins’ ruling in referendum lawsuit
After three years of bruising budget fights, Metro Council breezily passed a $2.6 billion opening budget on Tuesday night. The unanimous vote was a far cry from the contentious council meetings in recent years when property tax hikes were debated. In both 2018 and 2019, the margin for rejecting the proposed property tax increases came […]
Commentary: Fund our schools, not the police
Mayor John Cooper’s budget for fiscal year 2022 includes some important measures to mitigate damage from the pandemic, including increased funding for affordable housing, transit, and emergency management. Mayor Cooper’s budget also brings our tax rate down, to the third-lowest level in Metro Nashville’s history. We are grateful for specific parts of this budget. As members […]
Study: Bristol Motorsports plan would reduce racing noise at Fairgrounds Nashville
Between using the racetrack less frequently and implementing several noise-mitigation strategies, Bristol Motor Speedway would vastly reduce the noise impact on the neighborhoods surrounding the fairgrounds, according to a consultant’s report made public on Tuesday. Jackson Wrightson with the Texas-based firm WJHW presented the study results to the Metro Nashville Board of Fair Commissioners on […]
Critics say proposed referendum wouldn’t lead to much tax relief
The proposed Metro charter amendment, currently slated for a special election on July 27, wouldn’t bring residents much property tax relief any time soon, critics say. The property tax portion of the proposal, which would completely overhaul how Metro government functions, seeks to reduce the property tax rate to its level prior to last year’s […]
While battles loom over landfills, Middle Tennessee hurtles toward a trash crisis
From a lawsuit over the rejected expansion of a landfill in Nashville to the protracted political battle over closing the landfill in Murfreesboro, the urgency of Middle Tennessee’s trash crisis has increased in intensity in recent months. The situation has all the ingredients for a political logjam. Neighborhoods across the region have made blocking new […]
Painting project aims to dress up bombed Second Avenue
Ashley Bergeron had plans to be home in Nashville for Christmas morning, but a nagging feeling told her to make a last minute change of plans. The next morning, she woke up to the news that a suicidal man had detonated a bomb on historic Second Avenue, destroying a huge swath of it. The blast […]