Nashville Zoning Bills Paused for Infrastructure Review

 Density, housing affordability discussion not going away ‘anytime soon,’ sponsor Quin Evans Segall says

By Stephen Elliott. Nashville Banner, March 7, 2024 - Two of the more substantial pieces of a planned zoning reform push are being put off until next year as the lead Metro Council sponsor considers input from city departments and the community.

First-term Councilmember At-Large Quin Evans Segall said Wednesday she is withdrawing bills 2024-185 and 2024-186 until completion of a Metro study of the infrastructure needs of different housing types, estimated to be delivered in March 2025. (continue reading)

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Nashville mayor leaning toward raising sales tax to help fund a new transportation plan

Wants to raise it by half a cent

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Franklin named South’s 2nd-best rising city in 2024 by Southern Living

 Franklin named South’s 2nd-best rising city in 2024 by Southern Living

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The Amazingly Long List of former Members of the Trump Inner Circle who have turned Critics and Warn of the Danger of Trump

by Rod Williams, March 5, 2024- I was at a Republican luncheon today and a speaker said Trump was bound to win the 2024 election unless he was caught having sex with a goat on 5th Avenue. I spoke up and said even that wouldn't deter his supporters from voting for him. The speaker agreed and the room laughed. Unfortunately, I think it is true. 

I think I have some insight into what originally motivated Trump supporters and his appeal, but still yet, not for the life of me can I explain the continuing support. Trump is crude and rude. He is uninformed and undisciplined. He says dangerous things, bigoted things, sexist things, lies, calls people names, makes fun of people with disabilities, and dishonors wounded veterans, He attempted to prevent the peaceful transfer of power and remain in office after losing an election. He was found civilly liable for rape. Despite all of this, his supporters stand by him.  They still love him. Trump's people who served him in his first administration, however, know he is unfit for office and have turned on him. 

Every president has the occasional critic from within his administration. Whether is to make money from a tell-all book deal, argue a contentious policy issue, or revenge a slight, the disgruntled former advisor or cabinet member turning critic is not uncommon. With Trump however, supporter-turned-critic is an avalanche. No president has ever attracted more public detractors who were formerly in his inner circle.

Those who served in his administration, including many of his closest advisors, say he is unfit to serve in office, say he is morally corrupt, temperamentally unfit, and they say he does not understand government, is irrational, and dangerous. This does not sway his supporters. 

I don't know that anything will dissuade a Trump supporter from voting for him, but just in case anyone who might see this and is unaware of what those who were closest to him think of him, I am posting a few comments made by his former allies turned critics. 

Vice President Mike Pense

Former Vice President Mike Pense: "He asked me to put him over the Constitution and I chose the Constitution, and I always will.” 

“President Trump is wrong. I had no right to overturn the election. The presidency belongs to the American people, and the American people alone. And frankly, there is no idea more un-American than the notion that any one person could choose the American president.”

Referring to Trump's action on January 6th he said the president was "reckless." "The president's words that day at the rally endangered me and my family and everyone at the Capitol."

Attorney General Bill Barr

Former Attorney General Bill Barr: "The fact of the matter is he is a consummate narcissist, and he constantly engages in reckless conduct that puts his political followers at risk and the conservative and Republican agenda at risk. … He will always put his own interest and gratifying his own ego ahead of everything else, including the country’s interest. There’s no question about it. … He’s like a 9-year-old, a defiant 9-year-old kid, who’s always pushing the glass toward the edge of the table defying his parents to stop him from doing it.”

"Among the current crop of potential nominees, Trump is the person least able to unite the party and the one most likely to lose the general election." He has said Trump is unfit to serve and has probably committed crimes.

Defense Secretary James Mattis

Former Defense Secretary James Mattis: " He is he first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people. We are witnessing the consequences of three years of this deliberate effort. We are witnessing the consequences of three years without mature leadership. We can unite without him, drawing on the strengths inherent in our civil society. This will not be easy, as the past few days have shown, but we owe it to our fellow citizens; to past generations that bled to defend our promise; and to our children.” “We must reject and hold accountable those in office who would make a mockery of our Constitution.” 

Former National Security Advisor John Bolton: "By the time I left the White House, I was convinced he was not fit to be president. … I think it is a danger for the United States if he gets a second term.”

National Security Advisor John Bolton

“I hope [history] will remember him as a one-term president who didn’t plunge the country irretrievablyinto a downward spiral,” Bolton said in an interview with ABC News. "We can get over one term. I have absolute confidence. … Two terms, I’m more troubled about.”

"(Under a new Trump term) the chief requirements for duty will be how quickly you say ‘yes, sir.'" "And I think that’ll apply to the DNI and CIA director in particular.” A second Trump term would be "unacceptable." "He doesn’t have a conservative philosophy. He follows his own personal interest, and that’s not what you need in a president.”

White House chief of staff
 John Kelly

Former White House chief of staff John Kelly, retired four-star general: "(Trump is) a person who admires autocrats and murderous dictators. A person that has nothing but contempt for our democratic institutions, our Constitution and the rule of law.”

“What’s going on in the country that a single person thinks this guy would still be a good president when he’s said the things he’s said and done the things he’s done?”  “It’s beyond my comprehension he has the support he has."

“I came out and told people the awful things he said about wounded soldiers, and it didn’t have half a day’s bounce. You had his attorney general Bill Barr come out, and not a half a day’s bounce. If anything, his numbers go up. It might even move the needle in the wrong direction. I think we’re in a dangerous zone in our country.” 

Former Navy Secretary Richard V. Spencer: "The President has very little understanding of what it means to be in the military, to fight ethically or to be governed by a uniform set of rules and practices ..."

Omarosa Manigault Newman, former director of communications for the White House Office of Public Liaison: "Donald Trump, who would attack civil rights icons and professional athletes, who would go after grieving black widows, who would say there were good people on both sides, who endorsed an accused child molester; Donald Trump, and his decisions and his behavior, was harming the country. I could no longer be a part of this madness.”

Former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci: "For the last 3 years I have fully supported this President. Recently he has said things that divide the country in a way that is unacceptable. So I didn’t pass the 100% litmus test. Eventually he turns on everyone and soon it will be you and then the entire country.” "... racist and unacceptable.”

Fiona Hill, a top Russia adviser on the National Security Council in Trump’s administration: “He wants to weaponize the intelligence community. And the fact is you need to look with a 360 degree perspective. He can’t just cherry pick what he wants to hear when there are so many U.S. adversaries and countries that don’t wish the U.S. well.” 

Stephanie Grisham, the press secretary who resigned after the Capitol riot: She described Trump as a "con man." "The Republican Party really needs to look within right now and decide are we going to go with the voters, who hire us, or are we going to go with this one man, Donald Trump?" 

“Anytime you speak out, all the haters come out and say you’re just disgruntled. All the Democrats come out and say it’s too little, too late. I do think that’s where so many people are,” she said. 

She warms about the backlash that comes with Trump attacking you — or his supporters turning on you. “It’s actual threats for your safety and your family. As we get closer to the election, it’s only going to get more intense. Why am I putting my family and my friends through this if we’re now going to get threats?”

Chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff
Mark Milley

Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff: Trump suggested Milley deserved execution for his disloyalty.  Mr. Milley criticized Mr. Trump in a speech without naming him. 'We don’t take an oath to a country. We don’t take an oath to a tribe. We don’t take an oath to a religion. We don’t take an oath to a king or a queen, or to a tyrant or a dictator. And we don’t take an oath to a wannabe dictator.”

Former White House national security adviser H.R. McMaster: "President Trump and other officials have repeatedly compromised our principles in pursuit of partisan advantage and personal gain.”

Asked if Trump was as big a threat to election integrity in the U.S. as Russia, McMaster was unequivocal. “He is aiding and abetting Putin’s efforts by not being direct about this,”

Former Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar: "Unfortunately, the actions and rhetoric following the election, especially during this past week, threaten to tarnish these and other historic legacies of this administration. The attacks on the Capitol were an assault on our democracy and on the tradition of peaceful transitions of power that the United States of America first brought to the world.”

Former White House counsel Ty Cobb: “He has never cared about America, its citizens, its future or anything but himself. In fact, as history well shows from his divisive lies, as well as from his unrestrained contempt for the rule of law and his related crimes, his conduct and mere existence have hastened the demise of democracy and of the nation. Our adversaries and our allies both recognize that even his potential reelection diminishes America on the world stage and ensures continued acceleration of the domestic decline we are currently enduring. If that reelection actually happens, the consequences will extinguish what, if anything, remains of the American Dream.”

Former defense secretary Mark T. Esper: "I have a lot of concerns about Donald Trump. I have said that he’s a threat to democracy. I think the last year, certainly the last few months of Donald Trump’s presidency, will look like the first few months of the next one if that were to occur.”

US Ambassador to the United Nations
 Nikki Haley

Former US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley:  "He went down a path he shouldn’t have, and we shouldn’t have followed him and we shouldn’t have listened to him. And we can’t let that ever happen again.”

Regarding Trump's tweet attacking Pence as a mob of his supporters roamed the Capitol chanting that he should be hanged, Haley said, "When I tell you I'm angry, it's an understatement. Mike has been nothing but loyal to that man. He's been nothing but a good friend of that man. ... I am so disappointed in the fact that [despite] the loyalty and friendship he had with Mike Pence, that he would do that to him. Like, I'm disgusted by it."

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson

Former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson: "Moron.” 

Tillerson said he found it challenging "to go to work for a man who is pretty undisciplined, doesn’t like to read, doesn’t read briefing reports, doesn’t like to get into the details of a lot of things, but rather just kind of says, ‘This is what I believe.’” 

"His understanding of global events, his understanding of global history, his understanding of U.S. history was really limited. It's really hard to have a conversation with someone who doesn't even understand the concept for why we're talking about this." 

 "We all remember in 2016 he said if he got elected there was going to be so much winning and winning and winning and winning, they'd get sick of winning," Christie recently said on ABC. "None of us knew at the time he was actually talking about the Democrats."

The above are quotes from only a few of the former Trump administration officials who have publicly criticized the former president. Below is a partial list of others who have done so: 

• Former Governor and Republican candidate for President Chris Christie
• Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
• Marc Short, Pence’s longtime chief of staff and a former Trump adviser
• Former Homeland Security adviser Tom Bossert
• Cliff Sims, former special assistant to the President and director of White House Message Strategy
• Gary Cohn, former National Economic Council director.
• Former Transportation secretary Elaine Chao who resigned.
• Bill Stepien, Trump's 2020 campaign manager
• Trump's former U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, B.J. Pak
• Former White House lawyer Eric Herschmann
• Former White House Communications Director Alyssa Farrah Griffin
• Anthony Scaramucci, Trump's White House communications director
• Senior adviser and Director of the National Economics Council, Gary Cohn
• Trump lawyer Michael Cohen
• Former Attorney General Jeff Sessions
• Former Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos
• Former Republican presidential nominee and US Senator Mitt Romney

Also, various journalist report that other former Trump advisors and members of his administration and current members of congress say much the same in private but don't want to alienate Trump supporters and their career by publicly saying anything negative about Trump. Also, some fear for their lives should they speak out.  

For source of quotes and more follow link, Link, link, link, link, and link. 

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Rethinking Zoning: How Minneapolis's Land Use Reforms Offers a Blueprint for Housing Affordability

 Rents stayed flat as more apartments were built, even as the rest of Minnesota saw increases

Reposted from Pew Charitable Trust, March 5, 2024, originally published January 4, 2024, By: Linlin Liang, Adam Staveski & Alex Horowitz- Minneapolis was once among the cities whose zoning policies prevented sufficient housing construction. In the early 2000s, the city maintained strict requirements related to parking, land use, and building height, width, and bulk. Then rising housing costs prompted policymakers to rethink their zoning rules.

Starting in 2009, the city enacted a series of policy changes that reduced and then eliminated minimum parking requirements, allowed construction of accessory dwelling units, and lowered minimum lot size requirements in residential zones, all with the goal of encouraging the construction of more housing. These changes culminated in Minneapolis 2040, a comprehensive plan that took effect in 2020 and codified the city’s commitment to expanding its housing supply, especially near commerce and transit.

Communities nationwide face housing dynamics similar to those in Minneapolis. Because of a record low number of available housing units, rents and home prices have soared in recent years. This shortage exists in nearly every state. In fact, housing underproduction has been worsening in nearly 75% of the country’s metropolitan areas. Much of the problem can be linked to overly restrictive zoning codes, which often prevent new housing development in areas that have good access to jobs and other amenities. Research shows that communities with strict zoning requirements tend to have higher home prices, rent growth, and levels of homelessness than those with more permissive zoning laws.

Policymakers in other cities can learn from Minneapolis’ experience in implementing land use reforms. Since 2009, policymakers in the city have enacted four major housing policies that have allowed Minneapolis to expand its housing supply. In recent years, leaders have acted to:

• Eliminate minimum parking requirements for new developments. Parking garages add to the cost of new residential developments. For example, one national study found that every new parking space below grade adds $50,000 in per-unit development costs. When built above ground, parking spaces are still costly and reduce the total amount of land that can be developed. In Minneapolis, policymakers have reduced parking requirements several times. In 2009, they eliminated parking minimums in downtown zoning districts. Then, in 2015, they eliminated parking minimums for buildings with 3 to 50 units near transit and reduced them by 50% for buildings with more than 50 units near transit. Finally, in 2021, all citywide parking mandates were eliminated.

• Encourage apartment development on commercial corridors. In Minneapolis 2040, the city added several zoning districts that increase the amount of housing that can be constructed near transit and along commercial corridors. The “corridor” districts permit three-to-six-story buildings along most of the city’s transit routes, while “transit” districts allow 10-to-30-story buildings on lots adjacent to light rail stations and bus rapid transit.

• Establish building height minimums in high-density zones. Throughout downtown Minneapolis and along major transit corridors, Minneapolis 2040 established minimum height requirements for new developments. Since this policy was adopted in 2020, it has helped to create more housing units in high-demand areas.

• Permit duplex and triplex construction on all residential lots. Before recent changes, duplexes and triplexes—small buildings that contain two or three housing units—were not allowed on more than half of lots in the city. Since key elements of Minneapolis 2040 took effect, such structures can be built on lots that were previously restricted to single-family housing.

Together, these policies have helped Minneapolis expand its housing supply at a faster rate than what other Midwestern cities and other parts of Minnesota have achieved. But not all of the policy changes have had the same impact. From 2017 to 2022—including some years before Minneapolis 2040 took effect but after the city cut parking requirements near transit—nearly 21,000 new units of housing were permitted in Minneapolis. Of those, Pew estimates that 87% were in buildings with 20 or more units, and just 1% were in buildings with two to four units. (See Figure 1.)

These results indicate that the city’s duplex and triplex policy has so far had a modest impact on the housing stock, while reforms promoting apartment building construction have expanded the number of available units. In part, the limited success of the duplex and triplex policy may be linked to other aspects of Minneapolis’ zoning code that make building such structures challenging, including low maximum floor-area ratios and 2.5-story height limits in the lowest-density zones. In contrast, upzoning along commercial and transit corridors and eliminating minimum parking requirements have made housing development cheaper and easier. In other places that have expanded the availability of apartments in commercial areas and eliminated parking requirements, more housing has been built and affordability has improved.

Minneapolis’ success in building new apartments has enabled the city to substantially add to its housing supply and keep rent growth low. From 2017 to 2022, Minneapolis increased its housing stock by 12% while rents grew by just 1%. Over the same period, the rest of Minnesota added only 4% to its housing stock while rents went up by 14%. (See Figure 2.) Both Minneapolis and the rest of the state experienced population growth (1% and 3%, respectively) and household growth (10% and 7%, respectively), but despite increased demand, Minneapolis was able to limit rent growth by building more housing.

These findings are in line with a robust body of research showing that jurisdictions that expand their housing supply experience slower housing cost growth than those that do not. Although some observers have worried that allowing more housing would fuel higher rents that lead to the displacement of some residents, research indicates that enabling the construction of more multifamily housing is associated with reduced displacement risk and increased racial diversity.

Indeed, census data shows that Minneapolis gained Black residents from 2017 to 2022. And, because rent growth is 13 percentage points lower than in the state as a whole, Minneapolis renters are paying an estimated $1,700 less per year than if rents had increased at the same rate as in Minnesota overall. That makes it more likely that families of modest means can remain in the city. Meanwhile, the level of homelessness in Hennepin County, which includes Minneapolis, dropped 12% from 2017 to 2022 while it rose 14% in the rest of Minnesota.

Minneapolis has shown a path to expand housing availability and tame rent growth by ensuring the availability of more homes. Policymakers’ move to allow duplexes and triplexes on lots formerly reserved for the most expensive kind of homes—single-family housing—is a step forward that has added a modest number of homes to date. Their more consequential reforms so far, however, were those that allowed more apartment buildings near transit and commerce.

Linlin Liang is a principal associate, Adam Staveski is a senior associate, and Alex Horowitz is a project director with Pew’s housing policy initiative.

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Chaos Erupts During Nest Meeting. Changes Zoning Rules to Allow More Housing is a National Trend and is often Resisted.

click above to watch

by Rod Williams, March 3, 2024- Yesterday I attempted to attend the NEST meeting at Belmont University but could not get in. The meeting had been moved from another location to the Belmont location in order to accommodate a larger anticipated crowd, but there must have been a hundred people outside who still could not get in.  From the talk in the crowded hall, it seems I was one of the few waiting to get in who actually tends to favor the proposals before us.  People in the hall and outside wanting to get in were upset. And as people are wont to do, they saw their inability to get in as a plot to keep them from being heard. And being heard, I think, is what the people attending wanted.  I don't think they were in a mood to listen. From the reports on local TV, the people who did get in were not happy. During the meeting, there was yelling, chanting and general chaos, it is reported. 

If you are not familiar with NEST, it is a group of nine bills that would make changes to zoning laws and among other things allow quadplexes to be built where there are currently single-family homes and eliminate the lot size requirements. It is designed to increase housing affordability and increase the price range choice for housing in Nashville. 

Up until the early 80's duplexes could be built on any residentially zoned lot in Nashville except in the satellite cities within Davidson County. Council meeting by council meeting for many years, neighborhood after neighborhood were rezoned single-family only. In the post on this blog I consistently pointed out the consequences of these zoning changes. These zoning changes obviously restricted the supply of housing. Another way in which we restrict supply is our zoning prohibits residential housing from being built in areas zoned commercial. Where you do see residential over businesses that is the result of a rezoning, such cannot be built as a matter of right. 

This restriction on density cannot help but restrict the supply of housing.  With a restriction on supply, prices rise. In addition to rising home prices in Nashville we see the countryside gobbled up by subdivisions and our roadways crowded with commuters. I understand the opposition to the proposals. People who have a nice quite single-family neighborhood want to keep it.  However, you cannot "preserve the character" of Nashville neighborhoods and have affordable housing and avoid urban sprawl and commuter traffic. It is common to want contradictory things. I want some contradictory things. "You can't have your cake and eat it too," is a well-known maxim. There is nothing wrong with preferring to preserve the character of your neighborhood over affordable housing and combating urban sprawl, but one should not pretend it is not a choice. Of course, it is not a binary choice, one can have more of one and less of the other and try to strike a balance between contradictory things. 

Restricting supply has consequences.  I am pleased to see a recognition of this economic truth. Often it is liberals who deny the science of economics but in Nashville as other places, it is progressives who are leading the effort to reform zoning codes to allow a greater housing supply. Will the proposed changes, if passed, result in more affordable housing?  It is not a certainty.  There are other variables. Economic laws are sort of like gravity. Just because an airplane can stay in the air does not mean the law of gravity does not apply. Economic laws are also like gravity in that if you don't believe in gravity and step off of a ledge you will still fall. Economics is a science. Supply and demand is a fact. Allowing greater density may not immediately solve the problem of affordable housing, but it influences the trend line.  

It is gratifying to see people recognize the truth of economics. It is happening all over the country.  

The hottest trend in U.S. cities? Changing zoning rules to allow more housing.

by Laurel Wamsley, NPR, FEBRUARY 17, 2024 - America is facing a housing crisis.

The U.S. is short millions of housing units. Half of renters are paying more than a third of their salary in housing costs, and for those looking to buy, scant few homes on the market are affordable for a typical household.

To ramp up supply, cities are taking a fresh look at their zoning rules that spell out what can be built where and what can't. And many are finding that their old rules are too rigid, making it too hard and too expensive to build many new homes.

So these cities, as well as some states, are undertaking a process called zoning reform. They're crafting new rules that do things like allow multifamily homes in more neighborhoods, encourage more density near transit and streamline permitting processes for those trying to build.

One city has been at the forefront of these conversations: Minneapolis.

That's because Minneapolis was ahead of the pack as it made a series of changes to its zoning rules in recent years: allowing more density downtown and along transit corridors, getting rid of parking requirements, permitting construction of accessory dwelling units (ADUs), which are secondary dwellings on the same lot.

And one change in particular made national news: The city ended single-family zoning, allowing two- and three-unit homes to be built in every neighborhood. (read more)

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Tennessee General Assembly Week 7 Recap

From Rep. Susan Lynn, March 2, 2024-

Rep. Susan Lynn House Advances School Choice, Bolsters Public Education   Plan gives families the power to use their tax dollars to choose the best school that meets the needs of their child House Republicans this week unveiled a sweeping proposal to improve education in Tennessee by expanding school choice opportunities for families and strengthening existing public schools statewide. House Bill 1183, as amended, represents the culmination of months of diligent work by the chairs of the House education committees to ensure the needs of every student are met. The legislation advanced out of the K-12 Subcommittee on Tuesday after more than two hours of discussion. “We have been listening to our teachers, our superintendents and our students all across the state,” said State Rep. Mark White, R-Memphis, who is guiding passage of the bill. “This legislation before us is an opportunity to rethink education in our state.” The proposal would establish the Education Freedom Scholarships Act (EFSA), giving parents the power to use their tax dollars to choose the best school that meets the needs of their child.  A total of 20,000 scholarships would be available to families for the 2024-25 school year. Priority would be given to students who are currently eligible for an Education Savings Account followed by those from households at or below 400 percent and 500 percent of the federal poverty level respectively. Recipients must be U.S. citizens and not enrolled in a homeschool program. Growth of the EFSA program would be limited to 20 percent of the number of scholarships awarded during the previous year. The Department of Education would also be required to submit an annual report on the utilization of the scholarships. “We’ve put caps on the growth of this to make sure that if it grows, it grows sensibly (and) it grows in a way that the General Assembly can afford as it moves forward,” said State Rep. Scott Cepicky, R-Culleoka. “It is driven by usage.” Additional funding, more flexibility for public schools Tennessee public schools will also benefit from House Bill 1183 through additional funding, reductions in testing and evaluations along with increased flexibility in various other areas. “The bulk of this bill is what we’re trying to do for our public schools, because 90 percent of our children go to public schools,” White said. “We are trying to build up what our public schools are doing.” The General Assembly in 2022 approved the Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement (TISA) Act, which overhauled the way the state funds education to prioritize the individual needs of students. The proposed base funding for each public school student in Tennessee for the 2024-25 school year is $7,075. With House Bill 1183, the weighted allocation per student in small districts would increase by 3 percent while the amount for each student in sparse districts would increase by 1 percent. There would also be $75 in additional funding per student to address local school infrastructure needs.  Additionally, the state would increase its health care plan contribution for districts from 45 percent to 60 percent. This would amount to an estimated $160 million in additional funding during the first year for districts to use at their discretion. The legislation would also reduce the number of K-12 standardized tests annually and align them more to federal requirements, adding approximately 300 hours of instructional time back into the classroom. “Time is the most valuable asset for our teachers,” Cepicky said. “If we can put more time into the classroom and still be able to gather the data we need to make sure our students are progressing, we all win.” Higher-performing teachers would be evaluated less frequently and license recertifications would occur every eight years instead of every five years under the proposal. Districts would also have increased flexibility regarding promoting students in grades 4 through 8.  Other highlights of the legislation include: Protecting public school scores from being affected by late-transferring students Flexibility for districts to choose either a traditional 180-day school year or equivalent hours-based schedule Increasing district improvement plan submissions to every three years Preventing athletic recruiting by aligning with current TSSAA policies regarding transfer eligibility Dissolving the Achievement School District in 2026 House Bill 1183 is scheduled to be heard in the Education Administration Committee on March 6.

House Approves Bill to Increase Private School Safety The House of Representatives on Monday passed legislation aimed at increasing safety at more private schools in Tennessee. House Bill 1631, sponsored by State Rep. Gino Bulso, R-Brentwood, allows a private school with students in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade to adopt a handgun carry policy for its campus.  “All of our children in public school or private school deserve to be protected,” Bulso said Monday. “The most dangerous place to be in Tennessee, or any other state in this country, is in a gun free zone, and… if private schools want to have an armed response at the school to protect children, they should have that ability.” Existing state law only allows K-12 private schools to establish a handgun carry policy. The companion version of House Bill 1631 is still advancing through the Senate.

Tennessee Businesses Against Trafficking Program Launches Members of the Tennessee General Assembly this week joined Secretary of State Tre Hargett and community advocates for the launch of a new initiative to combat human trafficking statewide.  Created through the passage of legislation in 2023, Tennessee Businesses Against Trafficking engages corporations and private entities in voluntary efforts to identify, prevent and combat human trafficking in communities across the state. Participants will be able to identify the warning signs of trafficking and assist in the reporting of suspected criminal activity to the authorities. “Through Tennessee Businesses Against Trafficking, businesses will be effective partners in the ongoing fight against trafficking crimes,” said State Rep. Debra Moody, R-Covington. “While we have made considerable progress in Tennessee, we must all continue to do our part and stand with victims, survivors and their families.” Participating businesses will adopt a zero-tolerance policy and participate in training, public awareness and education campaigns. They will also encourage employees to participate and share best practices that effectively combat human trafficking with the Secretary of State’s office. Human trafficking is the second-fastest growing criminal industry in the United States, only behind drug trafficking, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. There have been cases of human trafficking crimes reported in all 95 Tennessee counties. Additional information about Tennessee Businesses Against Trafficking, including how to join the program, can be found online at tbat.tnsos.gov.

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Mark Green nixes retirement plan after Trump pleas for him to vie for another term

 House Homeland Security Chair Mark Green nixes retirement plan after Trump pleas for him to vie for another term

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Meeting Tomorrow re the New Zoning Bills (NEST)

 

link

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“The Soviets had a term for people like Tucker: useful idiots.”

by Rod Williams, March 1, 2024- I watched about half of the Tucker Carlson interview with Vladimer Putin shortly after it aired and then got distracted and didn't get around to watching the other half until watched last night. I am flabbergasted and disgusted. Tucker showed himself to be Putin's lapdog. Tucker asked nothing but softball questions and allowed Putin to filibuster. This was propaganda. If you have not watched it, here it is: 

Republican Senator Thom Tillis nailed it by saying, "The Soviets had a term for people like Tucker: useful idiots."

It was not just that Tucker Carlson gave Putin a platform to justify his invasion of Ukraine that makes him a useful idiot but Tucker's gushing praise for life in Russia. A trip to a grocery store radicalized Tucker he says when he realizes that Russians have decent grocery stores and food cost so much less.

 What? He didn't think they had packaged bread in Russia?  Anyone who has traveled to less wealthy countries has probably enjoyed the lower prices of the host country.  Most of us, however, probably understand how exchange rates work.  Yes, a cart full of groceries may cost less, but to the local person of that country, they take a much greater share of that person's income. The average wage in Russia is 73,383 RUB per month which is $791 with today's exchange rate (1). Over 60% of Russians spend half of their salary on food, according to Russia's state-owned news agency TASS. Over 60% of Russians spend half of their salary on food, according to Russia's state-owned news agency TASS.

Carlson really embarrassed himself by marveling over grocery cart technology. If you have ever shopped at Audi's here in Nashville, you know what I am talking about. One must put in a quarter to get a shopping cart and when you return it, you get the quarter returned. Apparently, this is common throughout the world. Maybe Carlson doesn't get out much and never visits a grocery store.

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About Biden's War on Energy

by Rod Williams, Feb. 29, 2024- The Republican talking point is that there is a Biden war on energy. The Democrat talking point is that under President Biden the United States is producing more power from renewables than ever before.

The Democrat talking point is true, but it is also true that under Biden the US is producing more oil and natural gas than ever before.  Neither Republicans nor Democrats want to advertise the fact that under President Biden there is an increased production of oil and natural gas.  Wind and solar and oil and gas have boomed under President Biden. The data shows energy independence has strengthened under Biden.

Under President Trump, the US set a record for oil and natural gas production. Fracking was responsible for much of that increased natural gas production. Well, guess what? Biden has broken the Trump record. Under Biden the country has set records for natural gas output. In the first half of 2023, the United States was the world’s largest exporter of liquefied natural gas.

If one reads the news for facts rather than just listening to pundits, the facts are there. 
Read this article from The New York Times, A Muffled Boom.
See this from CNN Business: US becomes world’s top exporter of liquefied natural gas.

From Forbes: U.S. Energy Independence Soars To Highest Level In Over 70 Years.

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What is NEST? Nashville's Essential Structures for Togetherness. What does it do?

 

by Rod Williams, Feb. 29, 2024- Change is difficult and I understand the desire of people to preserve the character of their community. However, our zoning codes have contributed to urban sprawl, crowded highways, limited housing choice, and a shortage of work force housing.  Many of our health care providers, teachers, policemen, firemen, musicians, and service industry workers have to live in places like Bethpage or Watertown because they cannot afford to live in Nashville. Young people find it difficult to buy that first "starter" home in Nashville and the elderly who may want to downsize can hardly find a smaller, more affordable home. We need to make changes to our zoning codes that will make it feasible to develop a broader range of housing types.  

To learn more about the proposed zoning changes before the Council, follow this link. 

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