Nashville is the number 1 of "The 25 Best US Cities To Spend a Weekend."

Thrillist Travel listed The 25 Best US Cities to Spend a Weekend and (drum roll, please),  Nashville came in at number one!

1. Nashville, TN

Must-eat/drink: Hot chicken/a Goo Goo Cluster (or three) and a Bushwhacker at Edley's

Don't leave without: Going to church, and we mean the Mother Church

Weekend highlights: Nashville is rapidly becoming as synonymous with food as it is music -- hello hot chicken and BBQ! -- attracting as many celebrity chefs as musicians and plenty of opportunities for delicious collaborations. (Planning a trip in the fall? Check out Music City Food + Wine Festival, founding members include Kings of Leon and chef Jonathan Waxman.) Take a guided tour of all the foodie hotspots with Walk Eat Nashville, hop on a Nashville Brew Bus to explore the local craft breweries, or treat your party to whiskey tastings at nearby distilleries like Nelson’s Green Brier Distillery and Corsair Distillery.

Having a great time in Nashville doesn’t mean you have to deplete your savings. There are more than 150 venues in town and many of them offer live music every night for FREE. And the honky tonks on Lower Broad play all day long, too -- just don’t forget cash for the tip jars. You can even catch a show while buying records at Grimey’s New & Preloved Music or attend a live-to-acetate recording at Jack White’s Third Man Records.

While you definitely should hit Ascend Amphitheater, a 6,800-capacity outdoor venue on the riverfront, if you want to take in a larger act, there’s no better sound in town than one coming from Ryman Auditorium. As for sports, depending on the season you're visiting, you've got the Tennessee Titans, Nashville Predators, and the new 10,000-seat First Tennessee Park to enjoy a Nashville Sounds game. (Watch from the outfield on the patio of The Band Box with a frozen whiskey and Coke in hand. Just a suggestion.) -- Kendall Mitchell Gemmill, Thrillist Nashville contributor

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No tax increase in 2016 but look for a whopper of an increase in 2017!

Mayor Megan Barry has announced that she will not seek a tax increase this year.  I am not surprised. It takes a while to get a handle on the needs and scope of Metro government and usually new mayors do not ask for a tax increase their first year in office. I do expect a large tax increase, however, in year 2017. Here is why.

Mayor Barry has a mandate to raise taxes. Like it or not, when Nashvillians went to the polls in 2015 we elected the most progressive candidate for mayor of the slate of candidates running.  Anyone who voted for Barry was essentially voting for a tax increase. We who want a more efficient and innovative government and less government, lost the election. Not only did the candidate for mayor most likely to raise taxes get elected, but in those contested council races in which the contest was between a less liberal candidate and a more liberal candidate, in almost every contest the more liberal candidate won. Elections have consequences.

Advocates for more and more government spending are relentless in their quest while opponents of tax increases only pay attention in the year of a proposed tax increase. I served in the Council in the decade of the 80's and have observed the operation of Metro government for many more years. Day in and day out, year in and year out, advocates of more spending push for their favorite cause; advocates of low taxes only speak out in the year of a proposed tax increase. If you watch the pubic hearing on the budget, in a year in which there is not a proposed tax increase, speaker after speaker will urge more funding for their favorite cause. There is an absence of those who call for abolishing departments or ending funding for any project or who point out wasteful spending or who call for reform or call for efficiency studies. No one ever says taxes should be cut. The pressure is always for more and more spending.

In 2012 when Mayor Dean raised taxes 12% there was a lot of people organized by The Nashville Tea Party wearing day-glow lime green tee shirts with the printed message "no tax."  These people have not been seen since.  In the meantime, the Council has heard from Friends of the Library, Friends of the Parks, advocates of saving General Hospital, family of firemen and policemen, advocates of more sidewalks and greenways, and advocates of public education. They have not heard from those concerned about waste and inefficiency and the burden of high taxes.  No one appears at the budget hearing arguing we should privatize General Hospital or abolish the Department of Human Relations. No one points out that one of the reasons we have less affordable housing is that high property taxes discourages new affordable housing and makes existing affordable housing less affordable.

Mayor Barry has structured the budget process to build a case for more taxes. Up until this year, the Mayor in giving direction to department heads to prepare for the Mayor's budget hearings would instruct them to present their budget and include in their presentation what cuts they would make if they got x% less than they requested. This year, Mayor Barry has asked department heads instead of following that "old model" to look ahead at the next three years and take a strategic approach to "solving our problems."  She is calling her budget hearings, "public investment plans." Even the formality of looking at cost saving is out the window.

Tax increases will be hidden in the reappraisal process.  This year all property in Nashville will be reappraised to reflect current market values. By law, a general reappraisal cannot result in more tax revenue. A reappraisal does not raise more taxes but equalized taxes to reflect current values. By law, the city must adopt a tax rate that bring in no more revenue than was realized before the reappraisal. What will most likely happen is that the council will adopt the new certified property tax rate and then in the same meeting, adopt a new higher tax rate. Since most of the public does not understand this process, they will blame much of their higher property taxes on the reappraisal.

Here is a link to The Tennessean's report on the Mayor's announcement that she would not be seeking a tax increase: Megan Barry rules out tax increase in first budget.

Below is Mayor Barry's budget announcement.

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More Americans Are Again Moving to Suburbs Than Cities

It is so easy to believe things that are simply not true.  For one thing, something may be said so much that you just assume it is true and secondly, your observation may influence your thinking when what you are observing may not be typical.  Until reading this article in the Wall Street Jornal, I would have thought that people are flocking to cities and that there had been a basic change in the way we live. Not so.

I myself like living in the city. Well, not exactly downtown but close to downtown. I would not want to live in a downtown high-rise condo. I would not want to give up my car.  I want do be able to dig in the dirt. I like flowers and having a yard. I live within two miles of the center of downtown however and can walk to a coffee shop, a couple restaurants, a couple convenience stores, and a Dollar General. I am within two miles of a Krogers, a liquor store, my bank and my drug store.  I am also within about 5 miles of several hospitals and my and my wife's doctors. I seldom have to drive further than five miles from my home. Downtown traffic doesn't bother me, because I can take Uber from my house to downtown cheaper than I can park. I would not want to live in the country.  The country is a nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there.

Seeing all the growth in Nashville, I had assumed every one wanted to live downtown and the suburbs had lost their appeal. Well, that is simply not correct. Except for a one year abnormality, the suburbs are growing faster than the urban areas.

There is no political point to this post except to say policy makers should base their policies on solid facts, not opinion, and issue like affordable housing, poverty, and mass transit and where to invest resources should not be based on faulty assumptions. It is undeniable that a change has occurred and continues to occur in many urban areas.  At one time, the cities were abandoned and left to be occupied by only poor people and now, cities are being "gentrified" and the poor are moving to the suburbs.  

Cities have become desirable places to live again but that does not mean most people do not still prefer to live in the suburbs. As this article points out, "population trends underscore that people flocking to cities remain a select class, mostly of the young, educated and affluent who can afford rising prices. In the meantime, America overall continues to suburbanize."  For more on this, read More Americans Are Again Moving to Suburbs Than Cities.

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Metro General seeks $7.5M more, on top of a recent $10M more, on top of the budgeted $33.5M subsidy.

Metro's money pit known as Metro General hospital is seeking an additional $7.5 million dollars on top of the $10 million it received two months ago.  Is there no end!

Metro does not even have to be in the hospital business and should get out of it,  just as we got out of the nursing home business last year when the city privatized Bordeaux Long-term Care and Knowles Home Assisted Living and Adult Day Services, saving the city $10.5 million a year.

Many years ago there was a need for local governments to provide charity hospitals and many cities did. As healthcare changed and low income people no longer had to go to the charity hospitals but could go to the hospital of their choice, the justification for such safety net hospitals went away, but with government slow to change, many cities continued their funding of charity hospitals as did Nashville. Overtime other changes occurred which made General even less viable, such as more people being treated as outpatients rather than being admitted into hospitals and length of stay in hospitals being shortened.

Metro General Hospital opened as the City Hospital on April 23, 1890 as Nashville’s first full-service hospital. In 1891 the hospital started a school of nursing and in 1913 it opened a pediatric ward. The hospital grew and flourished until after World War II when admissions began declining. As more hospitals opened in Nashville customers had more choice. St. Thomas opened in 1898 and then Baptist Hospital, first known as the Protestant Hospital, opened in 1917. Park View, which was the first in what was to became a chain of hospitals known as HCA, opened in the mid 1960’s. Vanderbilt Hospital opened in the 1970’s and there have been numerous expansion and additions of other hospitals since then.

Not only did more choice mean less demand for General, but when Medicare and Medicaid were signed into law in 1965 that meant that low income people could go to any hospital and not depend on city charity. By the 1990’s General was facing a crisis. Not only did low income people have choice, but General, dependent on Metro’s level of funding, did not have the resources to acquire the latest in technology and equipment. Also the building, by this time a hundred years old, was in need of rebuilding or major rehabilitation.

Maharry Medical College was also facing a financial crisis in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. In an effort to help both institutions, in October 1991 Nashville approved of a plan to merge the Meharry Hospital with Metro General. The merger phased out services at the Metro General Hospital site on the bluffs of the Cumberland, now known as “Rolling Mill Hill,” and relocated services to Meharry-Hubbard hospital. General Hospital became the teaching hospital for Meharry Medical School and metro heavily subsidized the 116-bed facility.

General has had a difficult time competing with the many other hospitals in the area despite Metro’s generous subsidy, although the subsidy is not as generous as it was when the merger first occurred. Last year Metro’s subsidy was $33.5 million and then an additional $10 was appropriated two months ago.  Despite Metro’s continued subsidy of the hospital, the hospital struggles to attract patients. All Metro prisoners are treated at Mehary-General and Metro employees are given an advantageous deal if they will use Meharry, and yet still the hospital struggles.

In 2012 the city commissioned a study of Meharry-General conducted by the firm of Alvarez and Marsal. The study found that as currently operating Meharry General was not sustainable. One thing plaguing meharry is that it cannot fill its beds. They only have an occupancy rate to about 42%, but even if they operated at full capacity they would have a per patient loss per day of $1,602. The per patient loss is higher with fewer patients, but the overall loss would be greater with more patients.

The consultants offered a range of options for addressing the situation, ranging  from “maintaining the status quo to re-purposing the hospital as an ambulatory care facility with reduced inpatient services to a full scale re-design of the business model focused entirely on outpatient and clinical service.”

Last year Metro spun off its nursing homes and saved the city $10.5 million a year. A city owned nursing home is as about as archaic as a city poor farm, yet ending metro’s ownership and operation of a nursing home was not without its opponents and yet the city did it. Even Megan Barry voted to privatize Boudreaux and Knowles.

Running for office last year Megan Barry, as did all of the mayoral candidates, pledged to continue supporting Meharry. This speaks more to the influence of the Black vote than any rational reason to continue supporting Meharry.  I find it very disappointing that among a 40-member council there is not a single council member who will stand up and speak the truth, and that is, that a city charity hospital is not mandatory nor needed and Metro needs to get out of the hospital business. 

The read The Tennessean report on this development see  Metro General Hospital seeks $7.5M to pay late bills.

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Conservative Groups meets Thursday March 31st. Guest speaker Dr. Omar Hamada

Our meeting this month will be held at Logan's Steak House on Elliston Place near Vanderbilt University. The meeting will be held on Thursday March 31, 2016 starting at 5:30PM for networking and the meeting will be from 6:00 to 7:00PM. The agenda for the meeting is a wake-up call for the state of Tennessee and the Nation. The agenda will concentrate on the importance of elections and the issues involved in the upcoming years through policies, new legislature, and the effects on the American People.

Concentration on Healthcare, insurance, and political issues will be the focus of this meeting. Dr. Our

Dr. Omar Hamada

keynote speaker is Dr. Omar Hamada is an obstetrician-gynecologist in Brentwood, Tennessee and is affiliated with multiple hospitals in the area, including Baptist Hospital and Baptist Memorial Hospital for Women. He received his medical degree from University of Tennessee College of Medicine and has been in practice for more than 20 years. He specializes in Obstetrics & Gynecology. He also speaks multiple languages, including Arabic, French and Italian. Omar L. Hamada, MD, MBA, (FAAFP | FACOG | FICS), USASOC, a heavily decorated veteran, Major of the United States Army Special Forces (Airborne), is an accomplished physician and business executive in both civilian and military healthcare markets living in Nashville, Tennessee with his wife, Dr. Tara Hamada, and their four children.

Dr. Hamada will speak on the problems with Obama-Care and its far-reaching effects on the American Republic, the effects of this country moving away from our allies and entrusting our enemies, and what our approach should be in our Christian belief. We ask all interested in running for office to attend this event as well. Please RSVP to Tony Roberts at Chylon549@gmail.com or Dan Davis at ddd18247@gmail.com.

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Bellevue Republican Breakfast Club to meet April 2nd. Guest, Michael Patrick Leahy.

From Betty Hood:

Dear BRBC Friends,

Our monthly breakfast club will be meeting Saturday, April 2 at 8 AM at the Shoney’s on Hwy 70. Michael Patrick Leahy, a Breitbart News Contributor and author of Covenant of Liberty: The Ideological Origins of the Tea Party Movement.

Our guest speaker will be

A native of upstate New York, Leahy is a magna cum laude graduate of Harvard University and has an MBA from Stanford University.  He has proudly been a resident of state income-tax-free Tennessee since 1991.

Leahy is best known for the key role he played in launching the Tea Party Movement in 2009. As founder of Top Conservatives on Twitter, and the associated well known #tcot hashtag, Leahy organized and hosted the conference call that launched the movement on February 20, 2009.

In Tennessee he is known for his role as the founder and leader of the BEAT LAMAR project, an independent SuperPAC that endorsed Joe Carr and conducted an independent door to door canvassing effort to support his candidacy. He is a frequent guest on Ralph Bristol's Nashville Morning News on 99.7 FM WWTN and occasionally guest hosts on that station for Dan Mandis and Michael DelGiorno. A top investigative journalist, Leahy proved that there is no credible evidence to support Sen. Elizabeth Warren's false claim that she has Native American ancestry. He also proved that liberal actor Ben Affleck has at least 14 slave holding ancestors, a fact Affleck and PBS host Henry Gates tried to conceal from the public.

Hope you will plan to be with us to hear Michael. See you soon!

Betty

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Joan Nixon Tapped as Interim Administrator for Election Commission

3/21/2016, NASHVILLE, Tenn., Press Release – Joan Nixon will serve as interim administrator for the Davidson County Election Commission while a search is underway to replace current administrator Kent Wall who retires March 31.

Nixon, a 30-year veteran of the Election Commission, currently serves as deputy administrator of elections.  “I’ve agreed to fill the role on a temporary basis and look forward to teaming with a new administrator for the upcoming elections,” Nixon said.

Nixon said she is not interested in applying for Wall’s position and is on the search committee for a new administrator. The Election Commission is working with Metro Nashville Department of Human Resources on the administrator search process.

“Joan has invaluable historical and election law knowledge, and we appreciate her willingness to step in as interim administrator,” said Jim DeLanis, chair of the Election Commission. “We’re working with Metro HR to identify qualified candidates, and I am confident we will have a new administrator in place before the August 4 State Primary and County General election.”

Wall announced his retirement from the Election Commission on Jan. 5, 2016. He is a business management and marketing professional and served as president of Johnston & Murphy Shoe Company before retiring. He came out of retirement in November 2013, when Davidson County Election Commissioners appointed him administrator and asked him to focus on recruitment of Poll Officials and upgrade election training and materials.

The Davidson County Election Commission is responsible for providing free and fair elections to every eligible citizen. The Election Commission is regulated by State of Tennessee law and funded by Metro Nashville government. The main office is located at 1417 Murfreesboro Pike, Nashville, TN 37217. For more information, visit www.nashville.gov/vote.

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Law Enforcement Investigative Files Are Not Public Records, Holds Tennessee Supreme Court

By Daniel Horwitz: [Disclosure:  The author filed an amicus curiae brief in support of the victim in this case on behalf of four organizations committed to preventing domestic and sexual violence.  The author’s brief is accessible here.]

In one of the most eagerly anticipated and hotly contested decisions in recent memory, the Tennessee Supreme Court has ruled 4-1 that the Nashville Police Department’s investigative records concerning the Vanderbilt rape case are not subject to disclosure under the Tennessee Public Records Act.  The Court’s ruling comes approximately ten months after the case’s closely-watched oral argument, which pitted a vast media coalition headlined by The Tennessean against Metro government, the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office, and the alleged victim in the case, who intervened to protect her privacy under the pseudonym “Jane Doe.” (continue reading)

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Davidson County Election results for the election of at-large delegates to the Republican Convention

Below is a partial list of the outcome of election in Davidson County for delegates to the Republican convention starting with those who got the most votes. This is only for Davidson County only and the election for at large delegates is statewide, so keep that in mind.  Also, just because someone got more votes than someone else that does not mean they are going to the convention as a delegate. The candidate to which they were pledged had to reach a threshold to win any delegates. These are just Davidson County numbers, but I think some Republican would find this interesting. I have not tried to identify every person, these are just the ones that jumped out at me. To see the full list follow this link.

Due to difficulty in formatting this post, I am breaking it into two parts. see the post below for the results of the 5th Congressional delegate election results.

 At Large
Candidate                                  Vote total

B. CAMPBELL

11617 This is Beth Campbell, active in every election, know by everyone and serves on the State Executive committee.

R. DUVALL

11166  Robert Duvall. Former Metro Councilman, former Chair of the Davidson County GOP

C. BLACKBURN

10465

S. GILL

10327 Steve Gill. Former radio personality

V. ASHE

10238 Victor Ashe, Former mayor of Knoxville

J. JOHNSON

10059

R. ELLIS

9984

J. CARR

9922 State rep. Joe Carr who recently challenged Lamar Alexander for his Senate seat.

J. G. EVANS

9824

M. BEAVERS

9803 Mae Beavers, State Representative

W. H. BEAVERS

9544

K. BENNETT

9494 Karen Bennett, former Metro Councilman, member of the State Executive Committee of the TN GOP.

B. DAVID BOX

9487

O. BROCK

9428

J. BROCKMAN

9376

S. CAMPFIELD

9347 Stacy Campfield, former State Representative

J. T. FEY

9333

M. RUTH BROWN

9129 Martha Brown.

L. DOUGLAS

9095 Lee Douglas of the 9-12 group.

B. HORNBACK

9038

S. L. FEY

9033

B. KELSEY

8971

S. ARNOLD

8940

K. KELSEY

8924

D. C. HAIRSTON

8887

D. DEAVER

8821

T. HOEHN

8492

S. BUTT

8477 State Rep Sheila Butt

J. MATHENY

8466

B. D. GREGSON

8379

L. HUTCHINSON

8373

J. INMAN LITTLE

8350

M. WINSLOW

2836 Mark Winslow is the Republican member of the State Executive Committee know to work to elect Democrats to office. Also who has formerly sued the State party and political opponents.

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5th Congressional District Republican convention delegate candidate vote totals

These are the results of the Davidson County election for delegates to the Republican Convention representing the 5th Congressional District. Only three delegates get to serve, but I thought readers may be interested in who got how many votes. I did not attempt to id all of the candidates, just those that quickly jumped out at me. To see the official results, follow this link . 5th Congressional District candidates                                votes
L. ELLIOTT 7105   J. STITES 6713 Josh Stites, former councilman. Delegate pledged to Ted Cruz J. JOHNSON 6653 C. HUNTER 6542 R. McDOW 6181 Ron McDow, member of the state executive committee Z. W BLAIR 6026 C. CATO 5971 D. BLALOCK 5946 Council member Davette Blalock J. DeVANTIER 5053 M. SMITHSON 4838 former candidate for Metro Council R. WILLIAMS 4826 Rick Williams, former long-time Democrat who recently switched to the GOP. He was politically active in Save the Fairgrounds and the Stop AMP movements. Trump delegate R. KUYKENDALL 4513 H. MARK ROGERS 3573 Mark Rogers D. TURKLAY 3252 K. DUNCAN 3132 B. SCHWARTZ 3078 Bob Schwartz, former candidate for the Republican nomination seeking the 5th Congressional seat. S. RIES SNYDER 3053 Stacy, daughter of Bob Ries, member of the Ex. Comm. of Davidson GOP. T. ROBERTS 2749 S. J. BRADY 2746 T. NIKNEJAD 2736 F. CLIPPARD 2620 A. N. BROOKS 2542 B. HAGERTY 1676 D. MATTHEW TEAGUE 1528 C. HAGERTY 1220 J. WILLIAMS 856 J. ROBERTS 728 B. RIES 691 Bob Ries, chair of the county GOP, running uncommitted. J. HELTON 545 M. COLLINS 538 Matt Collins, former controversial Vice chair of the county GOP N. BROOKS 535 J. BRUCE SALTSMAN 386 T. DRAKE JARMAN 324 P. D. VOYSEY 299 M. BRADEN 297

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Draft Housing Policy and Inclusionary Zoning Feasibility Study report now online

3/18/2016, Metro Gov. website - The Metro Planning Department has released the Draft Housing Policy and Inclusionary Zoning Feasibility Study report. The contents of this report reflect not only the research and analysis specified in the city’s request for proposal, but also analysis of specific relevant concerns, data, and issues that arose throughout the process of stakeholder involvement. In terms of involvement, this process included: three meetings with stakeholders (a group of 50 industry representatives, elected officials, developers, and advocates); two meetings with the Planning Commission, which were open to the public; a public open house; individual and group interviews with stakeholders; as well as targeted subject focus groups.
Read the Draft Housing Policy and Inclusionary Zoning Feasibility Study Report
Inclusionary Housing Discussion March 21
Inclusionary Housing Public Meeting March 22

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New Meetup: Tennessee Politics and Philosophy

A meet-up designed to discuss current issues in Tennessee state politics in light of different political philosophies.  Residents of Tennessee's 50th House District (Bellevue, Joelton, Goodlettsville) especially encouraged but open to everyone with a concern for Tennessee's political future. Some topics to consider are Taxation, Education, Private Property, Religious and Firearms' Rights from a conservative, libertarian, or practical perspective.

This meetup is connected with the Bill Bernstein Campaign for TN House District 50 but will NOT be involved in campaigning, fund raising and the like. Link

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Republican eight-state rule does not apply to the 2016 Convention.

One of the obstacles that has presumed to have been in the way of any candidate except Donald Trump having their name placed in nomination at the Republican convention was a rule that required a candidate to have won  the primary or the caucus in at least eight states or territories in order to have his name placed in nomination.  This rule was instituted in 2012 as a move to stop Ron Paul from having his name in nomination. Paul could not have won the nomination but he could have fired up his supporters and highlighted discord within the party.  If that rule was to apply to the upcoming 2016 nomination, then at this time, only Donald Trump would be eligible to seek the nomination. Most likely Donald Trump would still be the only candidate meeting that threshold by convention time.

One thing that was never clear to me is how a delegate could cast their vote for a name not in nomination. Most States have laws that say delegates must vote for the candidate for whom they are pledged on the first ballot.  In Tennessee, delegates must vote for the candidate to whom they are pledged on the first two ballots. How does one cast a vote for a name not in nomination?  I don't know. 

In any event, the rule that required a candidate to have won eight states or territories does not apply in 2016, Republican officials have said. Republican officials will meet in Cleveland just prior to the convention itself to draw up rules for 2016.

While I want to see Donald Trump stopped, if Trump has close to the necessary 1,237 delegates by convention time and rules are manipulated to give the nomination to another candidate, Trump supporters which justly be outraged. If the Party alienates the Trump Republicans, the election will be handed to Hillary Clinton. Republicans need to walk a thin line between offering a path to the nomination for a nominee other than Trump and stealing the election. How and where exactly to draw that line is a challenge.

To read more about this follow this link: GOP insiders: Nominee won't be limited to winner of 8 states.

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