📚 What’s the status on the library garage?

🚦 ‘No Right on Red’ Proposal Deferred for Community Feedback

Metro Council has deferred voting on proposed legislation that would ban right turns at select red lights in Nashville until its Oct. 6 meeting. The bill’s lead sponsor, Councilmember Sandra Sepulveda, submitted a substitute to her original bill that would affect 59 intersections rather than more than 700, and allow the Nashville Department of Transportation and Infrastructure nine months to study additional intersections. [WKRN; Nashville Banner]

• Since 2025, there have been at least 22 pedestrian injuries and one fatality related to cars turning right on red lights. [Nashville Banner]
• Metro Council and NDOT will host a community meeting about the legislation on Sept. 22.

📲 Community Speaks Out Against ICE Call Center

Also at Tuesday’s Metro Council meeting, dozens of Nashvillians spoke against the proposed Immigration and Customs Enforcement call center in Donelson. While federal records point to an office building at 801 Royal Parkway near the airport as the call center’s location, federal officials haven’t confirmed. Metro Council has yet to file bills that could stop the call center. [WSMV; Fox 17]

• Koniag Government Services appears to be currently hiring for the call center. [Koniag Government Services]

🏛️ More Metro Council Decisions at Tuesday’s Meeting

Councilmembers approved the mayor’s appointments to the Convention Center Authority; voted on the second of three readings to pass the mayor’s proposed small business incentive programs; passed Councilmember Erin Evans’ guidelines for how to use legal settlement funds from opioid manufacturers; and accepted a U.S. Department of Transportation grant to partially fund the East Nashville Spokes project. Read more about their meeting here. [Nashville Banner]

• The East Nashville Spokes project aims to build more bikeways. [Nashville.gov]

🧑‍🌾 Sumner County’s Queerest Farm

This Saturday, Fruity Farm will host the second annual Affirming Sumner Pride Festival. On today’s podcast, we’re talking to one of Fruity Farm’s owners, Nashville-born and nationally beloved artist Morgxn. Morgxn shares how the festival came to be, and why small-town Pride matters. [🎧 City Cast Nashville]

• The event is free, but an RSVP is required to receive the address!

📚 Library Garage Gets Closer To Reopening

It’s been more than a year since a fire damaged the Nashville Public Library’s downtown garage, and NDOT has now developed an interim plan to reopen it. NDOT’s proposal would restore 450 of the garage’s 1,300 parking spaces by reopening the first four levels, while levels 5 through 7 remain closed. Before the lower levels can be opened, the Metro Codes Department and fire marshal must approve the plans. [WKRN]

• Until then, NPL is partnering with nearby garages for other parking options. [Nashville Public Library]

🏀 Nashville’s Got Good Vibes

Music City’s new women’s professional basketball team now has a name: the Nashville Vibe. Headed by former Metro Councilmember Nancy VanReece, the Vibe is the sixth team to join the UPSHOT league and will debut next summer. “The Nashville Vibe captures everything that makes this city special — our music, our energy, and the spirit that brings people together,” said VanReece. [🔐 The Tennessean]

• We chatted with VanReece last year about why Nashville could become the center of the women’s basketball universe. [🎧 City Cast Nashville]

💸 How Financial Stress Impacts Local Kids

According to a new report, Tennessee ranks 42nd in children’s economic well-being, with some of the steepest declines in the U.S. While the state’s education metrics are improving, test scores show a decline among low-income students. Local education professor Dr. Zachary Barnes says parents worried about money have less time to engage in conversations with their children, and he encourages the state to invest in public pre-K programs, especially with childcare now costing more than college tuition. [WPLN]

• Another recent study found that Tennessee families must earn 85%-164% above the federal poverty limit to afford basic necessities. [Tennessee Lookout]
• Metro Council is trying to make it easier to open daycare centers to address Nashville’s childcare crisis. [🎧 City Cast Nashville]