|
| |  | Will these bills prevent a data center from being built beside the Nashville Zoo? (Margaret Kingsbury / City Cast Nashville) |
| 🦓 Metro Council Passes Data Center Bills | At Tuesday’s Metro Council meeting, three bills related to data center construction passed on their final reading, including Councilmember Rollin Horton’s two linked bills that set zoning regulations. The bills ban large data centers, and establish environmental protections and distance requirements from certain places such as schools, parks, and zoos. Councilmembers added nine amendments to the bills that require data center developers to provide public and environmental reporting and establish an emergency response and power resiliency plan. [Nashville Banner; 🎧 City Cast Nashville] | - Councilmember Courtney Johnston’s temporary data center ban also passed. The bill places a moratorium on new data center permits until Dec. 1, to allow time for additional regulations to be passed. “There are several amendments that were not even brought forth because we all had a collective thought process that getting something on the books tonight is imperative,” said Johnston. [Nashville Banner; 🔐 The Tennessean]
- Councilmembers advanced Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s eminent domain legislation. If passed, this would allow Metro to buy the land by the Nashville Zoo from DC BLOX, the Atlanta developer that plans to build a data center on the property, at fair market value. Because DC BLOX applied for permits before the zoning bills passed, the regulations likely don’t apply to the company. It should be up for a final vote at the Aug. 4 meeting. [Nashville Banner]
- Some councilmembers are critical of the eminent domain legislation, arguing that it’s an irresponsible use of Metro’s budget and that it opens the city up to a lawsuit. [Nashville Scene]
- While public outcry has primarily focused on the data centers by the zoo and at Fisk University, a more than 100,000-square-foot data center is nearing completion in North Nashville, across from Richard Dinkins Middle School. [NewsChannel 5]
|
|
|
|
| | | Visit the Magic City, where the community is alive with excitement and adventure. Entertainment enthusiast? Check out the many theatres for concerts + musicals. Lover of the outdoors? Enjoy near-year-round perfect golf + a multitude of hiking trails. Seeking a family-friendly getaway? Create priceless memories from interactive museums to the state’s largest zoo. From world-class dining to exhilarating sports, Birmingham, Alabama is ready for you! |
|
|
|
| What Nashville's Talking About |
| | 🍷 Your Guide to Nashville’s Wine Scene | It’s wine time! On today’s podcast, contributor Amelia Edelman shares Nashville’s best wine bars, restaurants, bottle shops, and nearby wineries. Plus, she explores where to learn about what you’re drinking, find an exciting bottle, and whether Nashville has finally become a great wine town. [🎧 City Cast Nashville] | | 🏛️ More Metro Council Decisions | Metro Council had a busy meeting Tuesday. In addition to passing data center legislation, councilmembers debated who should hire and manage the Nashville Entertainment Commission’s director and passed a resolution asking the mayor’s office and the Nashville Department of Transportation “to renew and accelerate its commitment to Vision Zero initiatives to eliminate pedestrian fatalities.” [Nashville Banner] | - Listen to our conversation about pedestrian safety with District 19 Councilmember Jacob Kupin and Vision Zero Advisory Committee member Charlie Weingartner. [🎧 City Cast Nashville]
| | 🏙️ Fighting Nashville’s Gentrification | A group of nonprofits, including the Urban League of Middle Tennessee and Rebuilding Together Nashville, is attempting to stop the displacement of Black and working-class residents in Nashville’s most gentrified neighborhoods. Nashville is considered the most gentrified city in the U.S., and Black residents are the only significant demographic group to see a decline in population. However, without support from state and local governments and corporate partners, it’s difficult to fight the city’s gentrification. [🔐 The Tennessean] | | 📺 Deepfake Campaign Ads | A law requiring political ads to disclose deepfakes — where candidates use AI to depict people doing something they never did — went into effect on July 1. But because the law applies only to state campaigns, two Republican District 6 congressional candidates, Van Hilleary and Johnny Garrett, have been using deepfakes in their ads without the disclosure. [Nashville Banner] | - District 6 includes a portion of Nashville. Check out our guide to the election before heading out to vote. [📰 City Cast Nashville]
|
|
|
|
|
Some restaurant news: 42-year-old Tex-Mex restaurant San Antonio Taco Company has been sold to a group of investors that includes Edley’s Restaurant Group founder Will Newman. And Noshville is closing in 2027! | | Before you go, don’t forget to take our reader survey so we can learn more about you and how this newsletter can better serve you! Plus, you can win swag and money! 🤑 | | |
| |
|
|
|
