April Update

Brush Pick-up begins in:

• Area 8 (Green Hills, Hillsboro West End, Belmont Hillsboro, Percy Warner, Devonshire) on April 4
• Area 9 (Bellevue, West Meade, Hillwood, White Bridge, Cherokee Park, Richland West End, Sylvan Park, Sylvan Heights, Hadley, Fisk Watkins Park) on April 8
• Area 10 (Whites Bend, Charlotte Park, Cockrill Bend, Nations, TSU, College Heights, Germantown, Buena Vista) on April 15
• Area 11 (Joelton, Whites Creek, Marrowbone, Scottsboro, Bells Bend, Bordeaux, Haynes Heights, Haynes Manor ) on April 25
• Area 12 (Goodlettsville, Dalemere, Bellshire) on April 29

Effective April 3, WeGo Public Transit will implement system-wide service changes. Route changes were made based on shifting ridership demands that required reallocation of service hours. New route schedules can be found on the WeGo website. WeGo has also implemented a new flexible payment system that allows riders to pay for their fare using a reloadable card, smartphone app, or traditional paper ticket on all WeGo routes, services, and vehicles. Find out how to create an account and get a reloadable card here.

The Metropolitan Action Commission has nearly 700 paid work experiences, internships, and peer leader opportunities available for Davidson County youth between the ages of 14-24 years old. The deadline has been extended to Friday, April 15.

The agency’s POWER Youth Summer Employment initiative partners with employers within Metro Government, businesses, non-profits, and other organizations to provide seasonal, part-time, year-round and career preparation experiences. To access the portal, applicants should go to the Nashville.gov website. The youth summer opportunities are coordinated by age-appropriate groupings.     

• Ages 14-15. Experience Work participants make $12 per hour while working on art or community development projects.
• Ages 16-19. High School Interns make $14 per hour work independently at private, public, non-profit, and university job sites, and receive pre-program training and coaching to ensure they have the skills needed on the job.
• Ages 20-24. Peer Leaders make $17 per hour, while developing skills that are transferrable to a career in youth development.

All positions, except for the year-round positions, will begin June 6 and end July 22. Applicants must have a Davidson County address to be eligible for the POWER Youth Summer Employment program. Metro Action has partnered with Goodwill Career Center-Lifsey Building (located at 937 Herman Street) to ensure youth and young adults in the 37208 community have access to available computers to create their POWER Youth free account and access to the online portal to apply for positions. For questions regarding the POWER Youth Summer Employment programs or how to apply, contact Katina Bass or call 615-862-8860 x77431 or visit the Power Youth web page.

The Nashville Soccer Club and Stand Up Nashville are joining forces and hosting a total of six job fairs around Nashville. The jobs include maintenance, parking and security roles, among others, and pay more than $15 per hour. The first two job fairs took place in March, and the two organizations are planning further career fairs in the coming weeks:

• Southeast Community Center on April 9, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
• Coleman Center on April 20, 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.
• Martha O’Bryan Center on April 26, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
• Hadley Park on May 7, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.

More information is available at the Nashville Soccer Club website.

The Islamic Center of Nashville (ICN) invites anyone interested in learning more about our Muslim neighbors in Davidson County to join them for an educational dinner event during Ramadan, which runs from April 1 through May 1. There are 6 dinner events to choose from to break fast with ICN members during Ramadan and learn a bit more about Muslims in Nashville and common misconceptions via their Islam 101 presentation & Q/A:

ICN 12South (2515 12th Ave S) Tues. Apr. 5 Wed. April 13 Thurs. April 21 Sun. April 24

ICN Bellevue (7337 Charlotte Pike) Sun. April 10 Mon. April 18

More information is available at at the Islamic Center of Nashville website. Email to RSVP

International Dark Skies Week is April 22-30.

The Rock and Roll Marathon is taking place April 23 and 24. Distances have been added so everyone can participate. Choose from Marathon, Half Marathon, 6.15 Mile, 5K, 1 Mile, KiDSROCK, and Doggie Dash. Register by April 17 Rock and Roll Marathon website. Information about street closings is available here.

Saturday, April 23 is Earth Day. The Centennial Park Conservancy is planning an Earth Day celebration at Centennial Park from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm. This free family event brings the Nashville community together to celebrate our planet, inspire positive environmental change, and support sustainable small businesses & nonprofits. Nashville Earth Day will feature engaging & educational activities from a variety of exhibitors and vendors, including local growers & makers, nonprofits, sustainable small businesses, and state/metro government agencies. There will be free live music, Kidsville activities, and local food vendors. Information is available at the Nashville Earth Day website. The Nashville Tree Foundation will distribute 500 trees at the event, on a first come first serve basis. The trees include: red maple, white oak, sweetbay magnolia, American yellowwood, and flowering cherry. This is also a great day for neighborhood clean-ups and plant swaps.

The Richland Creek Run is returning for its 16th year on April 16. This year the race will be in person starting from Pearl Cohn School by Richland Park. Runners can support Greenways and enjoy a five mile certified course or introduce children to racing in the one mile dinky dash. Register here.

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 judge 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 deal with 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
• Division 9 – Incumbent Lynda Jones and Brian Horowitz

Criminal Court:

• Division III – Incumbent Cheryl Blackburn and Kyle Parks
• Division V – Incumbent Monte Watkins and Khadija Babb
• Division VI – Cynthia Chappell, Seth Norman, Tillman Payne, Marcus Shute Jr.

Others:

• Circuit Court, I – David Briley and Wendy Longmire
• Circuit Court, VII – Larry Hagar, Andra Hedrick, and John Manson
• Circuit Court, VIII – Incumbent Kelvin Jones and Lynne Ingram
• Circuit Court Clerk – Joseph Day, Howard Jones, and Pam Murray
• District Attorney General Incumbent Glenn Funk, Sara Beth Myers, and Danielle Nellis

School board elections will also be partisan this year because of decisions by the state legislation and the Davidson County Election Commission. There are both republicans and democrats running for all four even numbered district positions.

Candidates are

• District 2 – Incumbent Rachael Anne Elrod, Edward Arnold, Janeen Kingma, and Todd Pembroke
• District 4 – Incumbent John Little, Berthena Nabaa-McKinney, and Kelli Phillips
• District 6 – Incumbent Fran Bush, Natalie Martin, and former school board member Cheryl Mayes
• District 8 – Erin O’hara Block, Chris Moth, and Amy Pate

At the polls voters will be asked to choose which party’s ballot to vote on. The ballots show only the candidates running in the primary for the party that the voter has chosen, so it is advisable to look over a sample ballot before heading to the polls. The link can be found here.

Metro has over 75 Boards and Commissions that help implement the goals and policies of the Metro Departments. These are made up of citizens from all over the county who bring their diverse perspectives and expertise to ensure good decision making. Board members are appointed by the mayor and approved by the Metro Council. The Mayor’s Office is always looking for good people to server. Within the next few months, there will be openings on the Transportation Licensing Commission, Parks Board, and Metro Historic Zoning Commission, Continuum of Care for Homelessness, and Tourism and Convention Bureau. Anyone who is interested in being considered can send me a resume, and I will forward it to the mayor’s office. More information about Boards and Commissions is at the Nashville.gov website.

I hope everyone is having a great spring. Make sure you get out and enjoy Nashville’s parks and greenways. They are treasures! Contact me at burkley.allen@nashville.gov or 615-383-6604 with your thoughts and concerns.

Regards,
Burkley Allen
Metro Council At-Large