🪰 Brace for impact

🪰 They’re Heeeere

Judging by my backyard, the Brood XIX cicadas are officially emerging from their 13-year naptime. This is either extremely exciting or apocalyptic, depending on your point of view. To keep it positive around here, I encourage everyone to read this wonderful explainer from local naturalist Jo Brichetto, who answers any and all questions you may have about what we’re about to endure this joyous occasion. [Sidewalk Nature]

💸 Mayor Freddie Presents His First Budget Proposal

This week also marked the annual emergence of the budget cycle as Mayor Freddie O’Connell unveiled his 2024-25 proposal to Metro Council on Wednesday. With revenue stagnant, the $3.28 billion plan doesn’t have much wiggle room. Expect haggling, most likely around the suggested $20-an-hour “living wage” pay floor, in a town where $20 an hour is not a living wage for much of anyone. [Nashville Banner]

🏠 The Way Forward For Nashville’s Unhoused Community

The final installment of the Scene’s series on our neighbors experiencing homelessness hit newsstands yesterday, as Brittney McKenna zooms in on The Beat, a tiny grassroots group in Madison. Operating out of City Road Chapel and his own home, founder Darrin Bradbury attempts to fill the gaps left by insufficient social services and unavailable housing options. A must-read, given the blurb above. [Nashville Scene]

• Be sure to check out The Beat’s May 10 fundraiser at Amqui Station, headlined by Becca Mancari.

📰 Can Nonprofit News Save the South from Itself?

The state of local journalism is crumbling across the country, but happily, we’ve got quite a few nonprofit news outlets up and running here in Nashville. The Nashville Banner, the Tennessee Lookout, and WPLN (plus many more across the state) use their digital platforms and small, nimble reporting teams to dig up great stories that might otherwise be missed. Bookmark ‘em, y’all. [New York Times]

🪷 Becoming A Buddhist Monk in Murfreesboro

Don Srisuryo, a 26-year-old student affairs coordinator at MTSU, recently undertook a Thai rite of passage to become a Buddhist monk. Char Daston reports and Rachel Iacovone contributes gorgeous photos from Wat Lo Buddharam temple in Murfreesboro, documenting the ritual and Don’s reasons for such a dramatic, albeit temporary, transformation. [WPLN]