EVENTS
Brush Pick-up begins
- March 7 in Area 4 ( Donelson, Airport, Percy Priest, Northeast Antioch )
- March 14 (Pi Day) in Area 5 (Antioch, Cane Ridge, Paragon Mills)
- March 22 in Area 6 (Brentwood, Crieve Hall, Grassmere, Abbay Hall, Sidco, WeHo)
- March 29 in Area 7 (Edgehill, 12th South, Battlemont, Green Hills)
The Metro Council is sponsoring a resolution encouraging Nashville to join many other cities around the globe in celebrating Earth Hour on Saturday March 26, 2022, from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. As one of the first cities in the south to adopt a Dark Skies ordinance, Nashville is already ahead of the pack in recognizing the energy and ecological impact of overlighting the night sky. Nashvillians are encouraged to turn off lights for this hour on March 26 to show their support for climate action. Organized by the World Wildlife Fund, Earth Hour is a global grassroots movement uniting people to take action on environmental issues and protect the planet. Earth Hour was first held on March 31, 2007, in Sydney, Australia, when more than 2.2 million individuals and 2,000 businesses turned their lights out for one hour. It has since grown to engage millions of supporters in more than 185 countries and territories, inspiring individuals and organizations worldwide to take action for the environment, and driving major legislative changes by harnessing the power of the crowd. Earth Hour is held annually on the last Saturday in March. Earth Hour is especially important this year, as world leaders will come together later this year to attend a critical United Nations conference on nature and biodiversity.
Neighbor2Neighbor (N2N) invites everyone to attend its Conference for Neighborhoods C4N Nashville 2022. Scheduled for Saturday, April 2nd at the Music City Center, the conference will focus on five major issues facing our neighborhoods today, including development, dangerous driving, the litter crisis, homelessness in our neighborhoods, and the lack of engaged neighbors. Sign up here.
WeGo has announced a new payment system and spring route changes. Through QuickTicket, WeGo’s new electronic fare payment system, riders can pay for their fare using a reloadable card, a smartphone app, or non-reloadable ticket on all WeGo routes, services, and vehicles. Click here to purchase fare or find out how to use QuickTicket.
Spring route changes include
- More trips during weekday peaks
- 6 Lebanon Pike
- 14 Whites Creek
- 17 12th Avenue South
- 19 Herman
- 28 Meridian
- 29 Jefferson
- 42 St. Cecilia/Cumberland
- Weekday evening frequency improvements
- 3 West End/White Bridge
- 5 West End/Bellevue
- 7 Hillsboro Pike
- 8 8th Avenue South
- Additional trips in the late evening/night on weekdays, Saturdays, and Sundays
- 3 West End/White Bridge
- 22 Bordeaux
- 23 Dickerson Pike
- 55 Murfreesboro Pike
- 56 Gallatin Pike
- 50 Charlotte Pike
- 52 Nolensville Pike
- Weekend frequency improvements
- 6 Lebanon Pike
- 7 Hillsboro (Saturday and Sunday)
- 8 8th Avenue South (Saturdays)
- 55 Murfreesboro Pike (Saturdays)
- Expanded service hours:
- 6 Lebanon Pike – longer span of service on Saturdays and Sundays, with hourly service from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.
- Access On Demand – extend hours to 8 p.m.
- Route adjustments
- 4 Shelby – change routing from Gallatin Pike; no service on Ardee between Gallatin and Kennedy
- 76 Madison – extend to Dickerson Pike
- 77 Thompson – combine with route 21; extend from Tennessee State University 26th & Clarksville via Ed Temple Boulevard
- Route renumbering
- 3 West End/White Bridge – combine with route 5 and rename 3 West End; White Bridge portion named 3A
- 5 West End/Bellevue – combine with route 3 and rename West End; Bellevue portion named 3B
- 21 Wedgewood – combine with 77 Thompson and rename 77 Thompson/Wedgewood
- 25 Midtown – renumber to 75 Midtown
- 77 Thompson – combine with 21 Wedgewood and rename 77 Thompson/WedgewoodService
Changes go into effect Sunday, April 3. For more information, visit WeGoTransit.com, email WeGoTransit@nashville.gov, or call Customer Care at 615-862-5950.
The Richland Creek Run is returning for its 16th year on April 16! Runners can support Greenways and enjoy a certified 5-mile course through Historic Sylvan Park and along the beautiful Richland Creek Greenway, and a fun post-race party at M.L. Rose Craft Beer & Burgers with awards, door prizes, silent auction, and beer specials. Information is available here.
ISSUES
Metro has over 75 Boards and Commissions who provide invaluable expertise and perspective on issues ranging from the Airport Authority to the Zoning Appeals Board. These boards are made up of citizens from all over Nashville who volunteer their time to ensure that Metro’s policies are implemented fairly. As openings occur, the mayor’s office is always looking for interested citizens to fill vacant slots. People interested in serving can visit the Boards and Commissions web page to see what the different boards are, what they do, and when their members might be rolling off. Planning and Parks have terms ending in March and April that might present opportunities for new members. Anyone interested in serving can send me a resume with a description of your interest and qualifications, and I will forward it to the mayor’s office for consideration.
Metro Elections are underway for judges and even numbered school board members. Judges are elected in Nashville on an eight year cycle, and they all come up at the same time. The primary election is May 3, followed by the general in August. Most candidates run as democrats, so the May 3 vote determines the final outcome in almost all of the races. Metro has four different types of courts, and each of those has different divisions, circuits, or parts. General Sessions Court is the first place that most small civil or criminal matters go. The cases may be settled there or sent to Circuit or Criminal Court (for felony cases with a jury). Cases that involve larger sums of money are seen in Chancery Court.
Candidates who are running in contested races include:
General Sessions –
- Division 2 – Incumbent Melissa Blackburn and Kenneth Reddit
- Division 5 – Incumbent Dianne Turner and Robin Kimbrough Hayes
- Division 6 – Frank E. Mondelli, Jr., Jim Todd, and Paul J. Walwyn
- Division 7 – Marcus Floyd and David G. Ridings
- Division 8 – Incumbent Rachel Bell and Erin Coleman
Criminal Court –
- Division III – Incumbent Cheryl Blackburn and Kyle Parks
- Division IV – Incumbent Monte Watkins and Khadija Babb
-
Division VI – Cynthia Chappell, Seth Norman, Tillman Payne, Marcus Shute Jr.
- Circuit Court, I – David Briley and Wendy Longmire
- Circuit Court, VII – Larry Hagar, Andra Hedrick, and John Manson
- Circuit Court, VIII – Incumbent Kelvin Jones, Luvell Glanton, and Lynne Ingram
- Chancery Court Part III – Johnny Ellis and I’Ashea L. Myles
Nashville Organizing for Action and Hope (NOAH) held an informative webinar explaining some of the different courts on February 17, which can be viewed on their Facebook page. Voters must be registered by April 4 to participate in the May 3 election. Absentee ballots can be requested through April 26. Early voting is set to run April 13-28.
Opportunity Nashville, an education advocacy organization, is giving families, educators, and voters an opportunity to make their voices heard, by facilitating a series of public listening sessions in the four districts on the ballot in the 2022 school board race.
These events are designed to gather input from the community about what the school board needs to do to improve educational equity across Nashville. The format of the listening sessions will be the reverse of the typical political forum where candidates share their positions and platform. Instead, parents and voters will be invited to share their ideas, which Opportunity Nashville will document and disseminate in a voter guide after the events.
Some school board districts have changed through Nashville’s recent redistricting process. Voters can use this interactive map created by the Metro Nashville Planning Commission to identify their school board district by searching their home address.
Advance registration for the listening sessions is encouraged, but not required. Complete event information in English, Spanish, and Arabic can be found online here.
Dates & Locations (All four events will be held from 6-7:30 p.m.):
- District 4 – Monday, March 21, Nashville Public Library, Hermitage Branch, 3700 James Kay Lane, 37076
- District 2 – Thursday, March 24, Nashville Public Library, Edmondson Branch, 5501 Edmondson Pike, 37211
- District 8 – Monday, March 28, Nashville Public Library, Green Hills Branch, 3701 Benham Ave, 37215
- District 6 – Tuesday, March 29, Nashville Public Library, Southeast Branch, 5260 Hickory Hollow Pkwy #201, 37013
Trash pick-up should be getting back on schedule. The combination of our primary waste hauler Red River’s bankruptcy, supply chain issues grounding Metro’s fleet, and pandemic-related labor shortages hindered efforts to complete all scheduled routes on time at the beginning of the year. Nashville was fortunate to have extra trucks bought for expanding recycling that we were able to redirect temporarily during the worst labor and equipment shortages in January. Recycling was resumed in February, but Red River continued to run behind on many trash routes in February. Now that a judge has ruled that the city can hire additional haulers as part of the bankruptcy settlement, March should see a return to regular schedules. Residents are asked to put trash cans out as early as possible on the scheduled pick-up day, to report missed pick-ups on HUB.nashville.gov, and to leave the trash carts out until they are picked up. The city has long range plans to change our trash hauling contract process to shorter contracts with multiple haulers to decrease dependence on any single company.
Volunteer to tutor in MNPS at tutor.mnps.org. Metro Nashville Public Schools are recruiting community members to volunteer as tutors and work one-on-one with students who need a little extra help in reading or math. This has been shown to be an effective way to help overcome the learning loss that occurred over the past two years during the pandemic shut-down. With a commitment of 90 minutes a week, volunteers can help accelerate a child’s learning progress and lay a foundation for future success. The Accelerating Scholars program is currently focused on students in most need of support as determined by school personnel based on individual assessments in 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade literacy and 8th and 9th grade math. Volunteers don’t need to be a literacy expert or a math whiz to be a successful tutor. MNPS will train volunteers on the content and on how to structure a tutoring session. All sessions will be virtual. Volunteers need to meet with their students for three 30-minute sessions a week for 10 weeks, scheduled according to availability. Sign up here!
COVID-19 case numbers continue to decline in Nashville. It appears that enough people are finally either vaccinated or immune from having a case that serious disease is much less of a threat. Metro Schools have announced that they will change to masks being optional for students and teachers after spring break. Airports and some venues are still requiring masks or proof of vaccination or a negative test to enter. Households can still receive up to 4 free at-home COVID-19 tests at COVIDTests.gov. Some medical insurance will cover up to 8 at-home over-the-counter COVID-19 tests per covered member each month at no cost. I am grateful for the health care providers that have worked for two years on prevention and treatment. Their efforts have reduced the loss of life that could have occurred, and we finally seem headed back to normal.
I hope everyone got through what should be our last snow of the winter. Happy Spring!
Please let me know how Metro can serve you at burkley.allen@nashville.gov or 615-383-6604.
Regards,
Burkley Allen
Metro Council At-Large