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| |  | The 6th annual InterNASHional Night Market is this Saturday. (Courtesy of Good Neighbor Festivals) |
| 🏛️ Does This Budget Request Violate State Law? | Mayor Freddie O’Connell included $735,000 for the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition in his proposed budget, which is sparking criticism from some Republican lawmakers. Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton says the budget request could violate state law against sanctuary city activity, and is watching it closely. U.S. Sen. and gubernatorial candidate Marsha Blackburn posted on X that she’s “outraged” by the request. [Tennessee Lookout] | - What is TIRRC? TIRRC is a statewide, immigrant and refugee-led advocacy group. They provide legal resources to local immigrants and refugees, give citizenship classes, advocate for pro-immigrant policies, host community-building events, and more. [Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition; 🎧 City Cast Nashville]
- Community events: This weekend, TIRRC’s 6th annual InterNASHional Night Market food festival is at GEODIS Park. [InterNASHional]
- Sanctuary city policies: In 2025, the state legislature passed a “sanctuary city” law, making it a felony for local government officials to vote for or implement policies that could hamper ICE enforcement. The law targeted Nashville. However, the Tennessee Attorney General has agreed not to enforce the law, after local councilmembers filed a lawsuit arguing the law is unconstitutional. Sanctuary cities are already illegal in Tennessee. [🎧 City Cast Nashville; Nashville Banner]
- Related: Last week, the ACLU and National Immigration Law Center filed a lawsuit challenging a new Tennessee law that makes it a crime for undocumented immigrants to enter or remain in the state. [Tennessee Lookout]
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| What Nashville's Talking About |
| | 🚨 How MNPD’s New Drone Program Works | The Metro Nashville Police Department is testing a new emergency response drone program in Madison. On today’s podcast, WPLN Metro reporter Cynthia Abrams explains how it works, why some residents and activists are raising concerns about surveillance and the program’s legality, and what questions we should all be asking as this new technology takes flight. [🎧 City Cast Nashville] | | 💰 Next Steps for the CBID Budget Proposal | Last week, Metro Council narrowly rejected a proposed budget for downtown’s Central Business Improvement District, which the Nashville Downtown Partnership manages. Some councilmembers have criticized the NDP for impeding the implementation of safe infrastructure downtown. NDP can now revise its budget, though Councilmember Jacob Kupin says it might resubmit the same budget, since it lost by a single vote and 10 councilmembers were absent. Councilmembers will consider the budget again on June 16. [Nashville Scene via Nashville Post] | | | 🌨️ NES Grilled on Winter Storm Response | The Winter Storm Commission questioned Nashville Electric Service in a three-hour hearing last week, focusing on communication breakdowns during January’s ice storm, and areas for future growth. NES says it’s updated its emergency plan, and rebuilt communications. The commission will create a report with recommendations by the end of summer, and NES CEO Teresa Broyles-Aplin says the independent review she requested should be complete in the next two weeks. [WSMV] | | 🏗️ Board Struggles To Get Started | Nashville’s fledgling worker safety board is having trouble getting off the ground as it undergoes leadership changes and works to determine its procedures and what authority it has. Councilmember Sandra Sepulveda proposed the board after a 20-year-old Guatemalan man died while working on a construction site at a local high school in 2024. [Nashville Banner] |
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