😱 How wages compare to our cost of living

🚨 ICE Arrests Immigrants With No Criminal History

In a joint statement, the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement claim they’ve arrested 196 undocumented immigrants in Nashville. Less than half had prior criminal convictions or pending charges. [Nashville Banner]

• The kitchens of several downtown bars owned by Pres. Trump supporter Steve Smith closed over the weekend due to staff staying home in fear of ICE. [Nashville Scene]
• A first-hand account of ICE activity in Nashville [🎧 City Cast Nashville]

📰 Metro Council Supports Hiring Gun Investigator

Metro Council unanimously supported a resolution to hire a dedicated firearms dispossession investigator to ensure people barred from owning guns don’t have access to them. Nearly 40% of victims in domestic violence shootings were killed by someone who should not have had a gun. [WPLN]

• WPLN’s Paige Pfleger explains our current firearm dispossession laws. [🎧 City Cast Nashville]

💰 Budget Hearings Begin

Mayor O’Connell’s 2026 budget proposal includes a 26% property tax increase, even though the tax rate is the lowest in decades. Metro Council must approve the budget first. Hearings began May 12. [The Tennessean]

• Property values in Nashville, explained [🎧 City Cast Nashville]

🏠 The High Cost of Affordable Housing

Many of Nashville’s affordable housing units are priced at 80% of the Area Median Income, calculated by looking at Nashville and surrounding counties. Because Williamson Co. is included, our AMI is $114,800 a year for a family of four, which sets the average affordable housing rent at $2,296.25 a month. [NewsChannel 5]

• According to a recent study, wages in Nashville are failing to keep up with our high cost of living. [WPLN]

Nashville’s oldest operating movie theater turns 100 this year! Belcourt Theatre first opened in 1925, and while it’s gone through many changes over the years, it’s still a thriving local institution, with approximately 190,000 visitors annually. Here’s a glimpse into the Belcourt’s 100-year history.

🎞️ The Belcourt Opens

When the Belcourt opened its doors on May 18, 1925, it was called Hillsboro Theatre, and had an entrance on 21st Avenue, where The Villager Tavern sits today. Moviegoers on that first day watched the silent film “America” on Nashville’s largest stage, sitting in one of 800 leather-covered seats, with a Kimball organ as accompaniment. It wasn’t Nashville’s first movie theater. Alhambra Theatre opened in 1909, Princess Theatre in 1912, and Bijou Theatre — exclusively for African American patrons — in 1917. However, the Belcourt was the only theater that lasted, due to popular programming, reinvention, and community support.

📻 The Belcourt’s Early Years

From 1934-1936, the Grand Ole Opry recorded at the Belcourt, still called Hillsboro Theatre. Because the theater was small, performers often performed twice to separate audiences at night. The Nashville Children’s Theatre, the nation’s oldest youth theater, also performed at the Belcourt in the 1930s.

In 1937, the Belcourt was renamed Nashville Community Playhouse, where it hosted numerous community events and performances.

🏗️ Transformations & Renovations

In 1927, the Belcourt’s 21st Avenue entrance was sold, and a box office was built on what is now Belcourt Avenue. In the 1950s, French Quarter flourishes were added, while seating was decreased.

In 1966, Fred Massey purchased the theater and renamed it Belcourt Cinema. He returned it to its original purpose of showing films by building a second auditorium, making it the city’s first two-screen movie theater.