Who's Parrotin' Who?

Last night, the council devoted almost the entire meeting to a bill that merges the Gulch with downtown’s Central Business Improvement District. Two weeks ago, we asked Councilmember Jacob Kupin to explain a bit more about the expansion of CBID. The Gulch has its own business improvement district, but it expires in 2026. Instead of reinstating it, stakeholders would like to merge with the downtown district to take advantage of additional sales tax revenue that they can only charge by joining the CBID. 

The controversy surrounding the bill came from a few different places. For one, certain council members felt uncomfortable with the lack of transparency regarding how funding has been spent by the CBID over the last 20 years. Others didn’t like the idea of a coalition of local stakeholders that provide public services through tax dollars without the full oversight of Metro government.

During public comment, locals have pushed back on the CBID’s contracts with off-duty troopers who are helping the Metro Nashville Police Department keep the peace downtown. Some also blamed the coalition for the fire in the Nashville library parking lot during last night’s hearing. 

Meanwhile, people like Isaiah Henderson—a Nashville Downtown Partnership outreach worker who used to be homeless—spoke in support of the merger. “What this team does every day is nothing short of life saving,” he said. “There's a narrative that we're doing the wrong thing, and that's just not true.”

On the flip side, Kelly, a former employee of the People’s Alliance for Transit, Housing, & Employment who lives in District 21, called out the way council members lean on lobbyists for information. “Y'all in here are way [more] undereducated on these issues than we are, because we spend our free time—hours, dozens and hundreds of hours of our free time—educating ourselves,” she said. “We can tell when you're reading lobbyist talking points, because you can't answer any questions beyond the talking points. It's very obvious.”

She’s right. It can be very obvious when council members are parroting lobbyist talking points. Sometimes, you can even tell the exact lobbyist a member has been talking to based on how they frame an issue. That said, it’s also very obvious when the same coalition of activists show up every time there’s a hot mic, claiming they “represent the actual people in Nashville." It’s people with Southern Movement Committee and “Eat The Rich” t-shirts on, all wearing the same sticker or button. Last night, the stickers said “No Big Bad Bids.” 

Even the anti-bid posters put up in the courthouse bathrooms were outsourced and created by a group in California. “Block, by block, by block, locked out, gentrified, criminalized,” read the signs by the Western Regional Advocacy Project, which is headquartered in San Francisco. The flyers showed a person imprisoned by the downtown grid of Second Avenue, First Avenue, Broadway, and S. Main Street, and continued: "Business improvement districts destroy our communities.”

The hypocrisy is like nails on a chalkboard. The same people asking for local representation and nuanced conversation employ hyperbole and get reinforcement from activist groups across the country. Over the last two meetings, an awful lot of time was dedicated to the narrative that the Nashville Downtown Partnership has developed a shadow police force that’s scooping up the homeless, sending them off to jail, or shoving them on buses with a one-way ticket to God knows where. It’s these theatrics that make it difficult to have the real conversation.

That said, the majority of council members didn’t feel the need to draw out the performance. The body passed the bill 29 to 6, with one abstention. The members even compromised in the name of diplomacy, and passed the legislation with a few amendments that add council oversight of CBID board appointments and annual report requirements, including reports on the interactions between security officers and the homeless. MEGAN PODSIEDLIK

🖋️ Edited by Megan Podsiedlik and Davis Hunt.

⚖️ Fit to Stand Trial Criminal Court Judge Steve Dozier issued a 24‑page order on Tuesday, finding 30‑year‑old Shaquille Taylor competent to stand trial for the November 2023 shooting death of 18‑year‑old Belmont University freshman Jillian Ludwig. Although Taylor had been ruled incompetent in another case earlier in 2023, Dozier concluded that the defense “had not proven his incompetence” after viewing several newly introduced videos, including one in which Taylor calmly discusses the shooting with a psychologist and asks to review surveillance footage so he can “determine what evidence there is against [him].”

The judge wrote that this recorded exchange was “prima facie evidence” of Taylor’s ability to understand the proceedings and assist counsel. Yet he also acknowledged the “limitations caused by [Taylor’s] intellectual disability” and encouraged defense attorneys to request accommodations during trial. Taylor remains charged with first‑degree murder for firing at a passing car and striking Ludwig with a stray bullet while she was running in a Nashville park.

Jillian Ludwig’s parents, Matt and Jessica Ludwig, welcomed the ruling, calling it “a major step on the road to justice for Jillian.” They told NewsChannel 5 that the same videos that persuaded the judge convinced them Taylor “knew what he had done,” could use legal terminology, and even showed remorse. Jessica said she “burst into tears” when the decision came down, describing a wave of relief after months of bottled‑up anxiety and anger. No trial date has been set, but the family views the competency finding as the crucial first milestone toward holding Taylor accountable.

🪧 Good Trouble Protest Councilmember Zulfat Suara helped organize the fourth annual John Lewis Way March this Saturday. Nashville’s demonstration will run in tandem with thousands of "Good Trouble Lives On” protests taking place across the country this week. According to Axios, the event in Music City offers yet another chance for Nashvillians to protest the current administration, immigration policies, and other initiatives.

"It is a protest in the way of John Lewis,” said Suara in a video posted on Instagram. “It's a non-violent protest. It's a way of saying that we want change,” she continued, asking those who oppose Trump’s crackdown on DEI and illegal immigration to march alongside her.

We’ve heard the idea of “good trouble” before, invoked by the likes of Justin Jones and the Tennessee Three. The type of good trouble that led to the Nashville courthouse burning during a peaceful protest. The type of good trouble that Governor Gavin Newsom told Nashville progressive activists could land them in jail. 

📚 Library Reopening The Nashville Public Library Board of Directors announced that the downtown library is set to reopen on July 29, seven weeks after a fire broke out in the parking garage. While the partially collapsed parking structure will remain off limits, officials expect to restore access to everything except the auditorium and conference center areas by the end of this month. 

Only 10 percent of the building sustained direct damage, while the majority of the recovery will require a light cleaning for soot and smoke damage. Preliminary investigations have ruled out arson as the cause of the fire, but recent reports mention that it originated in a storage area on the fourth floor. Although there is no evidence pinpointing how the fire started, several flammable substances in the storage area further fueled the blaze.

DEVELOPMENT

• Equinox reveals details, timeline for Nashville debut in the Gulch (NBJ)

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THINGS TO DO

View our calendar for the week here and our weekly film rundown here.

📅 Visit our On The Radar list to find upcoming events around Nashville.

🎧 On Spotify: Pamphleteer's Picks, a playlist of our favorite bands in town this week.

👨🏻‍🌾 Check out our Nashville farmer's market guide.

TONIGHT

🎺 The Budos Band @ The Basement East, 8p, $39.36, Info

🎸 Nightosphere @ DRKMTTR, 8p, $12, Info

💀 Tennessee Dead @ Tennessee Brew Works, 6p, Info

🪕 Bluegrass Night @ The American Legion Post 82, 7p, Free, Info

📰 Check out the full newsletter archive here.

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Today's newsletter is brought to you by Megan Podsiedlik (Nashville), Edward Landstreet (Local Noise), and Davis Hunt (everything else).