🦟 Tips for surviving mosquito & tick season

🦟 Protect Yourself From Nashville’s Pests

Nashville is a fantastic outdoor city, but the mosquitoes and ticks are no fun. How can we protect ourselves from these pesky critters? Local naturalist and author Jo Brichetto, who popularized the “Mosquito Bucket of Doom,” is on today’s City Cast Nashville podcast with her tips for warding off the bitey guys while enjoying and protecting summer’s other amazing bugs. [🎧 City Cast Nashville]

🧑‍🏫 Teacher Shortages Across Middle Tennessee

School districts across Middle Tennessee are experiencing teacher shortages, with students returning to school soon. Metro Nashville Public Schools has 137 teacher openings, though spokesperson Sean Braisted says that’s fewer than last year’s 190 openings. [Fox 17]

• Check out MNPS’s job listings [MNPS]

🏗️ Race for Planning Committee Chair

Two councilmembers, Rollin Horton (D20) and John Rutherford (D31), have emerged as leading contenders for chair of the Metro Council Planning Committee, which will have an integral role in zoning, housing development, and neighborhood changes in the next two years. [Nashville Banner]

🏞️ Governor Wants To Establish More State Parks

Governor Bill Lee wants to add a record 14 new state parks before leaving office. Lee also aims to make our parks the most accessible in the nation. “It’s about making sure that regardless of your ZIP code, your physical ability, your demographics, that you have access to these parks," Lee said. [Axios Nashville]

• Tennessee state parks have been adding adult-sized changing tables. [Axios Nashville]
• Many have all-terrain wheelchairs [📰 Hey Nashville]
• Including Radnor Lake [🎧 City Cast Nashville]

Nashville’s longest running home music venue, The Mouthhole, is coming to an end after 12 years of providing a safe space for musicians, artists, and other creatives to experiment with their art. They’re celebrating with one last FEST(er) on August 1-2, an annual music and art festival that I know from experience is gonna be pretty wild — I read poetry at a previous FEST(er)! Here’s my conversation with The Mouthhole’s Michael Sadler about the venue, and what’s in The Mouthhole’s future.

How did The Mouthhole get started?

“When I was going to college in Huntington, WV, I was in a car accident that ended up paying me a decently sized insurance settlement. I had the idea to take that money, buy a house, and fill it with my artist friends from college. I hoped it would be an incubator for art and community, but my parents talked me out of it. Years later, I moved to Nashville with the lingering idea still stuck in the back of my mind. That’s when Travis and his brother Zac joined me. We were living in a small apartment with too many people when we all decided to find a place with a basement and take a stab at making a DIY art/music space. We came up with the name and the concept and have endured as Nashville’s longest-running house/DIY space!”

What do you have planned for The Mouthhole’s last FEST(er)?

“For the Mouthhole’s last Fest(er), we have two days jam-packed with music, and a comedian! We managed to talk some bands from years past into coming out of hiatus and gracing the Mouth stage one more time. We have over 20 acts performing on Aug 1-2. As always, it’s free, so come on out!”