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A daily look at the most significant and interesting stories affecting Nashville. Written by Nate Rau and Adam Tamburin.

Axios Nashville Thought Bubble

Thought Bubble

Majority of residents say Nashville is "on the wrong track" after ice storm

That's a stark reversal from last year's Vanderbilt Poll.

News

<a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Optimism in Nashville" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/nashville/2025/04/04/optimism-right-direction-vanderbilt-poll" data-vars-content-id="284ea409-d087-4f99-803e-9e208b3ce827" data-vars-headline="Majority of residents say Nashville is &quot;on the wrong track&quot; after ice storm" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/nashville/2025/04/04/optimism-right-direction-vanderbilt-poll" target="_self">Optimism in Nashville</a> cratered in a new Vanderbilt University poll released Thursday, with a majority of respondents saying the city is on the wrong track.Why it matters: Music City&#x27;s mood has soured in the aftermath of the devastating ice storm that left <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="nearly half the city" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/nashville/2026/01/25/nashville-electricity-power-outages-ice-storm" data-vars-content-id="284ea409-d087-4f99-803e-9e208b3ce827" data-vars-headline="Majority of residents say Nashville is &quot;on the wrong track&quot; after ice storm" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/nashville/2026/01/25/nashville-electricity-power-outages-ice-storm" target="_self">nearly half the city</a> without power at its peak.<ul><li>Approval for city leaders sank in the following weeks, according to the poll results.</li></ul>

Analysis: Nashville could be in for a competitive mayor's race

Contradicting polling data gives a mixed sense of where things stand for Mayor O'Connell.

Politics

Four years ago at this time, a slate of serious candidates surveyed the political lay of the land in Nashville and decided to challenge <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Mayor John Cooper" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/nashville/2023/01/31/mayor-john-cooper-nashville-wont-seek-reelection" data-vars-content-id="0135be9f-d739-4d90-bf62-55618a3e7cb3" data-vars-headline="Analysis: Nashville could be in for a competitive mayor&#x27;s race" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/nashville/2023/01/31/mayor-john-cooper-nashville-wont-seek-reelection" target="_self">Mayor John Cooper</a> for the city&#x27;s top job.Why it matters: There&#x27;s increasing chatter among Metro insiders that another hotly contested mayoral election could be coming in 2027.

82% of Nashvillians say they can't afford to buy a house in Nashville

A growing share of Nashvillians are pushing for progress on affordability.

Real Estate

The vast majority of people who live in Nashville say they can&#x27;t afford to buy a house in the city, according to <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="a new poll from Vanderbilt University" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/nashville/2026/03/26/vanderbilt-poll-majority-nashville-wrong-track" data-vars-content-id="a165775d-23c4-467d-9764-bc192956e735" data-vars-headline="82% of Nashvillians say they can&#x27;t afford to buy a house in Nashville" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/nashville/2026/03/26/vanderbilt-poll-majority-nashville-wrong-track" target="_self">a new poll from Vanderbilt University</a>.Why it matters: Affordability remains a deep concern across the city, the poll shows, and residents want to see leaders do more to ease the cost of housing.

Nashville Zoo stops plastic water bottle sales to avoid waste

The move is expected to reduce plastic waste by about 1 metric ton per year.

<a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="The Nashville Zoo" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/nashville/2025/05/12/nashville-zoo-welcomes-southern-pudu-fawn" data-vars-content-id="4bdbc35f-c72c-4036-ba29-35ab2fe1c4ca" data-vars-headline="Nashville Zoo stops plastic water bottle sales to avoid waste" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/nashville/2025/05/12/nashville-zoo-welcomes-southern-pudu-fawn" target="_self">The Nashville Zoo</a> announced this week it would no longer sell one-time use plastic water bottles at its concession stands, switching instead to aluminum cans of water.Why it matters: The zoo <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="reports" data-vars-click-url="https://www.nashvillezoo.org/our-blog/posts/nashville-zoo-eliminates-single-use-plastic-water-bottles" data-vars-content-id="4bdbc35f-c72c-4036-ba29-35ab2fe1c4ca" data-vars-headline="Nashville Zoo stops plastic water bottle sales to avoid waste" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.nashvillezoo.org/our-blog/posts/nashville-zoo-eliminates-single-use-plastic-water-bottles" target="_blank">reports</a> the move is expected to reduce plastic waste by about 1 metric ton per year.

Police investigating threats, harassment against Nashville Electric Service

NES CEO Teresa Broyles-Aplin said the cases involved "credible death threats."

Police are investigating death threats and harassment against Nashville Electric Service employees.The big picture: The threats follow the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="devastating ice storm" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/nashville/2026/01/27/ice-storm-recovery-nashville-power-outages" data-vars-content-id="54903d25-d445-423d-a3aa-db4fc18c88f4" data-vars-headline="Police investigating threats, harassment against Nashville Electric Service" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/nashville/2026/01/27/ice-storm-recovery-nashville-power-outages" target="_self">devastating ice storm</a> that hobbled the NES grid and left thousands of people without power for a week or more.

Speaker Sexton proposes $10M toward ALS research at Vanderbilt

Tennessee Speaker Cameron Sexton proposed new state funding to help grow the Vanderbilt ALS Research Center.

House Speaker Cameron Sexton earmarked $10 million for <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="the Vanderbilt ALS Research Center" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/nashville/2022/11/28/als-fundraiser-nashville-vumc-livelikelou" data-vars-content-id="12be071f-1015-40f2-b1df-281e36cb1cf6" data-vars-headline="Speaker Sexton proposes $10M toward ALS research at Vanderbilt" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/nashville/2022/11/28/als-fundraiser-nashville-vumc-livelikelou" target="_self">the Vanderbilt ALS Research Center</a> in a proposed state budget amendment.Why it matters: The state funds could position Tennessee to level up as a nationally recognized hub for ALS research.

Tennessee lawmakers want to legalize pot to help pay for roads

Two Democrats are pitching a "pot for potholes" plan to solve the state's road budget shortfall.

State Sen. Heidi Campbell wants to legalize cannabis in Tennessee to help fund critical road repairs.Why it matters: Campbell and her partner in the House, state Rep. Aftyn Behn, both Democrats, are calling the plan &quot;pot for potholes.&quot;

Tennessee lawmakers pitch plan for safer parks and greenways

State lawmakers are pushing legislation to create a comprehensive safety plan for Tennessee parks and greenways.

Two state lawmakers from Nashville are pushing a plan they hope will make parks and greenways in Tennessee safer.Why it matters: The legislation is named in honor of Alyssa Lokits, who was murdered while running on a greenway in Antioch in 2024.

Nashville library launches Memory Lab for digitizing home movies

The reservable self-service space launches Monday at the Donelson branch.

Starting Monday, anyone can book time to turn their old home movies, photos and slideshows into <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="timeless digital artifacts" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/nashville/2025/09/25/nashville-library-digitize-family-movies-vhs" data-vars-content-id="6cd60561-d068-4053-aa1b-bbfdd5ba4059" data-vars-headline="Nashville library launches Memory Lab for digitizing home movies" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/nashville/2025/09/25/nashville-library-digitize-family-movies-vhs" target="_self">timeless digital artifacts</a>.Why it matters: Every family has a stash of old VHS tapes or slides that hold priceless memories. But as VCRs and projectors became outdated, many of them slid into obscurity.<ul><li>Now the Nashville Public Library is offering to help preserve those memories for generations to come.</li></ul>

Dolly Parton reassures fans at first public appearance in months: "All's good"

"I've been missing you," she told an adoring crowd of fans.

Dolly Parton is <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="back" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/nashville/2025/10/08/dolly-parton-health-problems-i-aint-dead-yet" data-vars-content-id="79c1df36-fa74-4143-a196-94eae7132cc6" data-vars-headline="Dolly Parton reassures fans at first public appearance in months: &quot;All&#x27;s good&quot;" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/nashville/2025/10/08/dolly-parton-health-problems-i-aint-dead-yet" target="_self">back</a>, and she&#x27;s hard at work.The latest: The Smoky Mountain songbird made her first public appearance in months this week to celebrate the opening of a new season at Dollywood in East Tennessee.<ul><li>&quot;I&#x27;ve been missing you,&quot; she told an adoring crowd of fans.</li></ul>

NES failed to follow its own communication plan after ice storm

Plans obtained by Axios directed agency officials to tell customers quickly about when they could expect total restoration.

In the thick of January&#x27;s ice storm, when <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="hundreds of thousands of residents wanted to know when their power would be restored" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/nashville/2026/02/02/nashville-mayor-ratchets-up-criticism-of-nes-following-power-outages" data-vars-content-id="fb6d6ba0-5bf8-4b74-908d-742c7e855ae3" data-vars-headline="NES failed to follow its own communication plan after ice storm" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/nashville/2026/02/02/nashville-mayor-ratchets-up-criticism-of-nes-following-power-outages" target="_self">hundreds of thousands of residents wanted to know when their power would be restored</a>, the Nashville Electric Service failed to follow its own storm response communication plan that called for speedier answers.Why it matters: NES has been hammered by public officials and residents who have accused the utility of slow-walking information after over 230,000 customers lost power.<ul><li>The utility has acknowledged its shortcomings. But newly acquired public records show the scale of the communication breakdown.</li></ul>

Metro leaders pitch plan to bring more day care centers to Nashville

O'Connell is rolling out policies to expand day care offerings.

Metro leaders rolled out a plan last week aiming to cut bureaucratic red tape so <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="more child care centers" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/nashville/2024/09/27/nashville-early-childhood-education-crisis-coalition" data-vars-content-id="6359c997-e4e5-4ac3-a8a7-bee885aefa60" data-vars-headline="Metro leaders pitch plan to bring more day care centers to Nashville" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/nashville/2024/09/27/nashville-early-childhood-education-crisis-coalition" target="_self">more child care centers</a> can open in the city.<ul><li>The strategy is a partnership between Mayor Freddie O&#x27;Connell and Metro Councilmembers Rollin Horton and Clay Capp.</li></ul>Why it matters: Nashville is in the midst of a child care crisis — there aren&#x27;t enough facilities to meet the community&#x27;s needs.

Push to ban Pride flag dies in committee

Bipartisan opposition stops effort to ban Pride flag

A line chart that shows the share of Nashville adults saying the city is headed in the right direction or on the wrong track from 2017 to 2026. Right direction falls from 68% to 44%, while wrong track rises from 26% to 56%. The lines cross in 2022, reverse in 2024-25, then split again in 2026.

News 🗞

Nashville Zoo stops plastic water bottle sales to avoid waste

Bipartisan opposition stops effort to ban Pride flag

Majority of residents say Nashville is "on the wrong track" after ice storm

Police investigating threats, harassment against Nashville Electric Service

Trump visits Memphis to tout crime policies