We’re like Maya Rudolph playing Beyonce in that Hot Ones sketch asking her assistant to put six ice cubes under her wig right now. No ma’am, we are not okay with any of this sticky heat. If you thought yesterday was hot, it can always get worse – and it will. Our temperature and dew point will remain steady through Monday. That’s all there is to say about it. We’ll be over here fanning ourselves. [NashSevereWx & YouTube]
Maybe, just maybe, something has gone horribly wrong with your society and morality if you’re charing homeless people with felonies for not having a place to live. Punishing people already suffering, regardless of the reason, makes you and your government terrible. Shameful. A controversial law making unauthorized camping on all public property a felony is once again in the spotlight after Nashville police made their first arrests under the law earlier this summer. [The Tennessean]
A Nashville coffee shop that soft opened less than 2 weeks ago is donating a portion of its sales to help families affected by a deadly earthquake in Colombia. Alma Viva Café owners Sarah Gallego and her brother moved from Colombia to Nashville five years ago. The Café is celebrating its grand opening this weekend and will donate 5% of all sales through Sunday to earthquake relief efforts in Colombia. The café is located at 130 19th Avenue North, Nashville, TN 37203. [News Channel 5]
All this to entertain some far-right incels who don’t know how to use a search engine. Power plants, an oil refinery and a chemical plant are among Tennessee’s top climate polluters. If Elon Musk’s sprawling xAI data center campus in Memphis were included in that lineup, it would rank second. What’s driving those emissions amounts to a private fossil fuel power plant to keep Musk’s artificial intelligence facilities running. [WPLN]
That this is a “top story” on WKRN should be embarrassing for the entire region. The reporter should be shamed (if you’re too young to know what shame is, google it, don’t ask your “AI”) for thinking this is anything but gross and amoral. Darrell Hines, a Tennessee inmate set to be executed this week, has selected his final meal. [WKRN]
260 pounds of confetti. Dozens of people dressed as ice cream store employees. 300 lights and lasers. If you guessed that these were the key pieces of the Tame Impala and Djo concert on Aug. 4, then you would be correct. Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena served as the halfway point for Tame Impala’s “Deadbeat Tour” this summer. [Vanderbilt Hustler]
“They’re Putting Kids’ Lives at Risk”: How Abuse in a Tennessee Businessman’s Juvenile Prisons Remained Under Wraps. The video clip lasted less than two minutes, but Tonya Webb remembers every second as heartbreaking. The grainy surveillance footage, dated June 29, 2024, showed a teenager in an anti-suicide smock being dragged violently by other teens across the floor at Middle Tennessee Juvenile Detention Center. [ProPublica]
In the age of AI, is college worth it? As Tennessee rapidly expands AI and tech training programs, one student wonders whether a four-year degree is still worth the cost. Call us crazy but it’s probably time for someone well-informed to sit this kid down to explain that while college isn’t for everyone, “AI” as it exists is mostly hype. Not all hype but mostly. [Nashville SUNN]
The International Black Film Festival and the Nashville Symphony will present RESPECT in Concert on Tuesday, Sept. 22, at Schermerhorn Symphony Center. The event, which serves as a pre-festival program for the International Black Film Festival, will feature a screening of the film RESPECT accompanied by a live performance from the Nashville Symphony. [Tennessee Tribune]
The 2026 Wilson County-Tennessee State Fair is here, running from August 13th through the 22nd. Daily gate admission is $14 for adults, $5 for children 6-12 and anyone under 5 years of age is free. All fair attendees will be required to walk through metal detectors upon entry, and bags will be searched. Speaking of bags – there’s a clear bag policy. [WZTV & State Fair]
A forthcoming report from the Community Review Board says the Metro Nashville Police Department’s written use of force policies align with many best practices, but that a review of use of force incidents over the past two years show racial disparities and raise questions about training and transparency. CRB staff presented a draft version of the report during a meeting at the East Park Community Center on Monday night, detailing their findings and policy recommendations. [Nashville Banner]
As football season quickly approaches, the Tennessee Titans are gearing up to play their final season in the current Nissan Stadium. The franchise is also sharing updates about the progress of the new stadium. “Walking through the concourse, it’s starting to feel like a stadium,” the Titans said. “Walls and ceilings are going up on the concourse and press levels, and drywall is taking shape in some of the most important rooms in the building, including the event level end zones, field club, and home locker room.” [WSMV]
Melissa Joan Hart explains it all and is is weighing in on the Cheekwood situation. From her Instagram: If you like in Tennessee and have ever visited Cheekwood, you would know it’s a peaceful, beautiful place to wander the gardens with friends, tour the mansion with family, sip hot cocoa while checking out millions off Christmas lights, spend a quiet picnic all alone by the ponds, or walk your kids through the train garden. Some neighbors are trying to close it down. [Melissa Joan Hart & Save Cheekwood]
DC Blox, after ignorantly spending $23 million, is suing Metro Government alleging a ‘targeted attack.’ So let’s all roll our eyes together and play some tiny violins. The Atlanta-based firm behind the controversial data center development next to the Nashville Zoo is suing the city for its recently imposed data center moratorium. [Nashville Business Journal]
Republican, Democrat or something else, here’s something you should watch. You are being misled about renewable energy technology. Turn it on in the background if need be. We promise it’s interesting and worth your time. [YouTube]
