📰 What laws go into effect in January?

🎅🏽 Santa Claus Is in the House!

Santa Claus is coming … to the City Cast Nashville podcast! We’ve got an exclusive with the famous jolly fella responsible for so much Christmas joy. Warning: While the first half of this episode is perfect for kiddos, cover their ears for the second half. [🎧 City Cast Nashville]

🧑‍⚖️ New Year, New Tennessee Laws

New Tennessee state laws will go into effect starting Jan. 1, including two age verification laws to protect minors — one for social media and another for porn sites — a law blocking residents of some countries from owning agricultural land, and mandatory bartender sexual assault training. [The Tennessean]

🏥 How Transparent Are Hospitals?

After Nashville hockey player Phillip Faragalli’s elbow surgery, he received an alarming $20,500 bill. While the Hospital Price Transparency Rule requires hospitals to provide patients with estimated costs, multiple updates have complicated the rule. According to different studies, 12-66% of TN hospitals comply. [Nashville Banner]

🏫 MNPS Sued by Charter Network

LEAD Public Schools is suing Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) for changing LEAD Cameron Middle School into a choice school instead of a zoned school, arguing the change is a breach of contract and could force the school to close. [The Tennessean]

• What is a choice school? Here’s my guide. [Hey Nashville]

When I recently met a long-time friend in my old hometown of Music City, it was quite the reunion. For this much-needed, in-person check-in after more than four years, we decided on The Butter Milk Ranch, a popular bakery and brunch restaurant in Nashville, Tennessee, along the buzzy 12 South neighborhood thoroughfare.

We both loved the mid-century look of the building and the thoughtful blend of vintage and modern finishes inside that made the atmosphere feel more classic than dated. As we expected, the place was packed for Sunday brunch — as most places in this neighborhood have been for years. The infamous angel-wings mural is a stone's throw away, as are dozens of cute shops, coffee spots, and other restaurants that lure as many or more tourists as locals.

One of those other restaurants is Urban Grub, a casual-yet-upscale dinner destination that opened in 2012. Its ownership group opened The Butter Milk Ranch in 2021, a year after my friend and I last saw one another. She'd moved to another state when a massive tornado outbreak decimated parts of my (and our friends') East Nashville neighborhood on March 3, 2020, and returned to help with cleanup. Needless to say, this meeting was under much better circumstances.

Thankfully, she'd secured an early spot on the waitlist, which is only available during business hours (you can't make reservations). We had a nice spot in the front room with plenty of filtered sunlight coming in through the building's glass front, through which we could see the busy street scene. The warm wood and generous greenery made the space feel cozy, even when full.

As for the meal, we started with breakfast cocktails — a blueberry lavender mimosa for me and a BMR Irish coffee for her — and the most light, flavorful beignets with brown butter, lemon curd, and brown butter "snow." I ordered a seasonal salad with mixed greens, beets, and tomatoes, while she ordered the Avocado Benny with hollandaise — a take on eggs Benedict using a cube croissant foundation. We shared generous side servings of cheesy stone ground grits, fresh fruit, and bacon.