Merry Christmas from A Disgruntled Republican

Merry Christmas 

from 

A Disgruntled Republican

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A response to Will Pinkston's attack on the Chamber by Mark Rogers

Mark Rogers

Mr. Disgruntled,


I read your post on Pinkston. Here is my Facebook comment on Will and his opinion of the Chamber.

 Is the Chamber of Commerce really an enemy of Public Education in Nashville? If one believes School Board member, Will Pinkston, then the only conclusion is that the Chamber has a not-so-secret plan to keep Nashville's public school children uneducated.

Pinkston, it will be remembered, is the School Board member who's hostile behavior toward those who dare disagree with him is legendary. His bid for re-election resulted in a wafer-thin victory, suggesting that he does not speak for as many citizens of Nashville who care about public education as he thinks. His attack on the Nashville Chamber, in the form of a response to the Nashville  Education Report {a valuable publication that is worth regular reading} embodies the ugliness of Pinkston's 'my way or the highway' attitude. Worse, it may be reflective of the views of other School Board members and leading members of Metro government, something that could lead to worsening in any consensus for improving Metro Schools.

In his own words: "I am more convinced than ever that the Chamber is an enemy of public education — and frankly, it has been for a long time."

Right. Because greedy capitalists only need uneducated workers with low incomes. Companies like Bridgestone and HCA and Nissan look forward to the glut of $7 per hour workers they are creating by undermining public education. "The fact is the Chamber, through its lack of understanding of public education and lack of leadership in this community, helped to enable poor-performing superintendents for the better part of two decades — while at the same time trying, mostly ineffectively, to destabilize the school board in local elections."

The Chamber lacks an understanding of public education? In my experience, business people, particularly successful ones, understand a great deal about education and about the people in their communities. That is to say, their employees and their customers. "Thankfully, the Mayor, the Metro Council, and the school board are finally on the same page. We’re all working together to lead public education forward, no thanks to the Chamber." I am really excited to see if a reporter will ask Her Honor, the Mayor, if she agrees with her political ally, Mr. Pinkston, about that. "MNPS is going to succeed despite you, not because of you."

I want Metro Public Schools to succeed. But my guess is that Pinkston's ideas, more money and more bureaucracy and less accountability, won't work. More to the point, if the major problems facing Education in Nashville are related to the home, the School Board isn't going to be able to deal with the fundamental problems.

Perhaps, instead of fighting political and ideological wars with people who want to help, Pinkston and his allies ought to reach out and target poverty and homelessness and poor parenting. And they might find that the Chamber can be helpful there too.

Mark Rogers is a prominent Nashvillian active in Republican Party politics and public affairs.

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Will Pinkston calls the Chamber of Commerce, "an enemy of public eucation."

The following is an unedited Facebook post from  District 7 School Board member Will Pinkston.  I am not posting this to magnify the voice of Will Pinkston or because I agree with him; I most certainly do not.  I think  his words speak for themselves and illustrate how a reactionary opponent of education reform attacks the bearer of bad news and how he views involvement as meddling and interfering.  In my view, it is because we have people like Will Pinkston on the school board that our schools are not considerably better than they otherwise are. 

by Will Pinkson - After digesting the news accounts of yesterday’s 2016 Education Report Card staged by the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, I am more convinced than ever that the Chamber is an enemy of public education — and frankly, it has been for a long time. Consider this passage in Nashville Public Radio’s report, taken directly from the Chamber Report Card:

Over the past two decades, Metro Schools has launched various district reading and literacy initiatives, with no discernible impact on overall reading results.

This is true. However, this line could easily be rewritten to read:

Over the past two decades, the Chamber has meddled constantly in the affairs of Metro Nashville Public Schools, with no discernible impact on overall results. 

The reality is: The last two directors of MNPS — Jesse Register (2009-15) and Pedro Garcia (2001-08) — were the Chamber’s hand-picked superintendents who presided over stagnant growth in reading proficiency and, in Register’s case, a proliferation of struggling schools and lack of innovation to assist English learners, who represent the fastest-growing segment of our student population. I know this because I serve Nashville School Board District 7, where 43% of our students are struggling to learn English. Our lack of progress in helping these kids was a big reason why I led the charge in 2014 to exit Register from the school system and install new management that can think and act strategically. What was the Chamber’s response? Not surprisingly, the Chamber did not step forward and agree that a leadership change was needed at MNPS. To the contrary, the Chamber and its rubber-stamp Report Card Committee instead attacked me and other board members who actually were confronting problems, versus turning a blind eye to the situation. The fact is the Chamber, through its lack of understanding of public education and lack of leadership in this community, helped to enable poor-performing superintendents for the better part of two decades — while at the same time trying, mostly ineffectively, to destabilize the school board in local elections.

Adding insult to injury, the Chamber has advocated to strip the school board of local control while vigorously endorsing vouchers and the unabated growth of charter schools, which drain finite resources at a time when MNPS is now universally considered to be an under-funded school system. If the Chamber and the Report Card Committee aren’t happy with the lack of progress, perhaps they should take a look in the mirror and do some soul-searching. I daresay they won’t see any profiles in courage.

All that said: I’m optimistic that MNPS is finally headed in the right direction. This year, the school board exerted overdue independence and sidelined the Chamber during the search for our new MNPS director. In typical passive-aggressive fashion, Chamber leaders pouted throughout the months-long search process, then tried to take credit for the favorable outcome, and then attempted (albeit unsuccessfully) to oust from elected office one-third of the school board — members who played key roles in ushering in the new leadership. Our new director of schools, Dr. Shawn Joseph, now is doing yeoman’s labor getting his arms around years of problems that have been either created or exacerbated by the Chamber.

Thankfully, the Mayor, the Metro Council, and the school board are finally on the same page. We’re all working together to lead public education forward, no thanks to the Chamber. So now let me send the same message to Ralph Schulz and the Chamber that I sent to former Tennessean columnist Frank Daniels (whose sycophantic and obsequious support of the Chamber helped perpetuate some of this mess): MNPS is going to succeed despite you, not because of you.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

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The Education Report Card from the Chamber of Commerce shows Metro Schools losing ground.

by Rod Williams, Dec 22, 22016 -Since 1992, the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce has organized a diverse group of Nashvillians to evaluate the progress Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools (MNPS).  In assessing the 2015-2016 academic year, the 22-member Education Report Card Committee spent six months interviewing Metro Schools’ staff and administration, Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) officials, state and local elected leaders, nonprofit organizations, and experts from higher education and parents, and reviewing data. The committee visited four schools as an opportunity to talk to students and teachers, as well as observe instructional practices.

While the Chamber is generous in concluding that Metro Schools did not improve for the second year in a row, a look at the data the Chamber compiled actually shows Metro schools are losing ground.  The graduation rate fell from 81.6 percent in 2015 to 81 percent in 2016. The percentage of those scoring at least a 21 on the ACT dropped from 30 percent in 2015 to 28 percent in 2016.

For anyone who wants a good understanding of the challenges facing Metro public schools as well as an understanding of the Metro public school system status and structure, I highly recommend you read the report. Here are a few facts gleamed from the report:

• The current Metro Schools budget reflects a $33.3 million increase over the prior year (4.1%).
• The FY2016-2017 budget is $843,299,700.
• Metro Schools' operating budget is 41 percent of Metro Government’s total budget.
• 75% of students in Metro public schools are economically disadvantaged.
• 16% of students in Metro public schools are Limited English Proficient
• Only 31% of the students in Metro schools are White non-Hispanic. Blacks are 44%, Hispanic 21%
• Schools vary greatly in academic quality as evidenced by Students Scoring Above ACT Benchmarks: Hume-Fogg 97%, Whites Creek 4%.

To read the report follow this link:  Education Report Card 2016.

This is a very disheartening report.  While Nashville is the "it" city in many regards and has much to offer, people with children locating to Nashville should consider the cost of putting their children in private schools or consider not actually living in Nashville, but living in one of the surrounding counties.  Our poor schools are a reason not to move to Nashville. Apparently most Nashvillians are not displeased with our poor quality of schools.  In the last school board election four reformers were defeated by four supporters of the status quo. 

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TennesseeCAN releases 2016 Tennessee Education Policy Report Card

Report shows positive movement over last year, adds new policy areas to report, and identifies key areas needing further improvement
 

Press release, NASHVILLE, TN, 12-20-2016 – This morning, TennesseeCAN: The Tennessee Campaign for Achievement Now released the 2016 Tennessee Policy Report Card. This is the fourth annual publication of this kind looking at model education policy practices and current state law. This report focuses on 25 education policy issues in Tennessee around educator quality, school choice, data and transparency and systems flexibility.

With the release of this year’s report card, TennesseeCAN Deputy Director Daniel Zavala said, "Our state continues to maintain strong policies related to educator quality and make strides toward model practice in school choice and school systems flexibility. We are looking forward to continued progress in these areas and the positive impact they will have on student outcomes for all of Tennessee."

“Tennessee's commitment to "all means all" is commendable," added TennesseeCAN Director of Policy and Strategy Charlie Bufalino.  "In order to remain the fastest improving state in education, educators, policymakers and community leaders must remain committed to ensuring that every Tennessee student has access to an effective teacher and a high-quality school--particularly those students from historically underserved backgrounds."

Below are some of the highlights and key findings from the report card:

• Of the 25 policies examined, our state has a strong rating in nearly 1/3, with key progress in others. This positive movement is yet another item reinforcing Tennessee’s recent gains.
• The state maintains a model standard in identifying quality instruction and practice with educators through robust evaluation rubrics and performance-based policies.
• Tennessee’s commitment to providing students quality school options through expanded school choice is reflected, along with some highlighted areas where greater choice programs are needed.
• This year also saw strong efforts to ensure our educators, state entities and the greater public have increased access to quality data.
• Tennessee continues to need improvement around student assignment practices and school improvement strategies.
• Several changes were made to existing policy rubrics that were in the previous year’s report. 

To view the 2016 Tennessee Policy Report Card in its entirety, click here.

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New Short-term rental policing, rules for sidewalk closure and enforcement of property standards on the way

Consultants will follow-up with a report on the Metro Public Works permitting process for street and sidewalk closures 

Metro press release, 12-20-2016 - Consultants engaged to review the operations of the Metro Codes Department’s Property Standards Division have released their findings in a new report presented to the Metro Council and public at-large.

One of the first items to be implemented from the report will be for Metro to utilize the HOST Compliance software that will help track and identify active STRPs within Nashville. This will assist Metro in collecting any unpaid taxes on the properties and give the Codes Department a list of properties suspected of improperly operating an STRP without a permit. Additionally, Mayor Barry will be seeking an increase in the budget for the Codes Department to hire the additional staff members required to meet the needs of our growing city.

“Rules and regulations are only effective if you have consistent enforcement,” said Mayor Barry. “I appreciate all of the community leaders who participated in creating this report, which will guide our efforts to ensure a better quality of life for residents of every neighborhood.”

The report from Fiscal Choice Consulting, commissioned by Mayor Megan Barry in response to concerns about the enforcement of Short Term Rental Property (STRP) regulations, lists a variety of recommendations on how the property standards division can improve service to the community. The division’s principal responsibility within the Metro Department of Codes & Building Safety to monitor and enforce issues such as minimum property maintenance standards for existing buildings and structures, high grass and weeds, junk, trash and debris, abandoned vehicles on the public right-of-way, and short-term rental properties.

“In the Metro Codes Department, we always strive to provide the best service possible to the citizens of Davidson County,” said Terry Cobb, director of the Codes Department. “It is great to have a fresh set of eyes come in and offer ways to improve operations and service. Our staff is looking forward to ensuring that these recommendations are implemented as quickly as possible to improve enforcement throughout the city.”

Recommendations on how to improve operations include:

• Filling any vacant positions within the property standards division and hiring an additional seven staff members to allow for more proactive and responsive enforcement
• Having at least one customer service representative and one inspector on staff that is fluent in Spanish in order to address language barriers
• Using HOST Compliance software to identify and locate active STRPs in Nashville that may be operating without a permit or not paying required taxes
• Improving forms and data collection methods to better interact with the public and address their concerns
• Coordinating with the Metro Nashville Police Department to record and track habitual violations of the noise ordinance at STRPs
• Creating better processes to deal with high grass/weeds and abandoned vehicles
• Enacting an administrative hearing officer in lieu of environmental court in order to expedite enforcement of codes violations (the Vice Mayor and Metro Council are already empowered to do this under 2.20.130 of the Metro Code of Ordinances)

As Metro begins implementation of the recommendations in this report on the property standards division, Mayor Barry has requested that the same consultants begin a review of the permitting process in Metro Public Works. The department is responsible for issuing permits for sidewalk and street closures, the volume of which has increased dramatically in response to a large increase in building permits and the installation of fiber throughout the city.

“It is incredibly frustrating to drive down streets, especially downtown, and continuously see sidewalks and street lanes blocked off for no discernible reason,” said Mayor Barry. “Some closures are inevitable with the level of growth we are undergoing, but we need to be far more intentional and purposeful in seeking alternatives to closing off streets and sidewalks.”

The goal of the permitting process review is to determine whether Nashville is following best practices established in other cities for determining how and when to issue road or sidewalk closures, in addition to reviewing the staffing and organizational structure within the department. The report is anticipated to be released by the end of the first quarter in 2017.

To view the full report follow this link: Property Standards Division Report.

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What happened at the 12-20-16 Council meeting: Sheriff's office approved for east Nashville, Council ask School Board to "consider" seat belts for buses, Father Breen honored (sort of) and Nashville may be getting back into the nursing home business.

This is a relatively short meeting at under an hour.  For access to the agenda, the staff analysis and my commentary on the agenda, follow this link.

The "invocation" is a secular poem performed by the author, Cassie Martin, Nashville's 2016 Poet laureate.  The one appointment to a commission is approved.  The three resolutions on public hearing, all to grant an exemption to the minimum distance requirements for obtaining a beer permit, are approved.

There are 16 resolutions. These are the resolutions of interest:

RESOLUTION NO. RS2016-469  which approves 750 South 5th Street as the location of the new administrative offices facility for the Sheriff, passes on a voice vote with minimal discussion. You may recall that initially the sheriff wanted a new headquarters and jail located in Antioch but that ran into considerable opposition from the community and the council. This bill is for the sheriff's administrative offices and is welcomed in east Nashville, near the Envision Casey development.  The jail, called the criminal justice center, is being rebuilt at its current location.

RESOLUTION NO. RS2016-482  request the School Board to require all new school buses purchased be equipped with seat belts. This was deferred last meeting. This resolution is a response to the tragedy in Chattanooga recently where six school children lost their lives. The contention that school buses need seat belts is in dispute. The Federal Highway Traffic Safety Administration says school buses are designed to be safe with or without seat belts. Requiring seat belts in all new bus purchases could add as much as $12,000 to the cost of each new bus. One reason for that cost is that with seat belts each bus could hold fewer students, only two per bench seat, so more buses would have to be purchased. The bill is amended to ask the school board to "consider" seat belts rather than to "require" seat belts.  To see the discussion see timestamp 19:12-22:42.

RESOLUTION NO. RS2016-501 which honors Father Breen of St. Edwards, passes on the consent agenda. Father Breen served for a very long time as pastor of St. Edwards. He was theologically and politically liberal, he was influential, he served on various boards of organizations and was a good compassionate man. I am quite surprised that this resolution was not accompanied by a presentation, speech and standing ovation. I expected more than just a resolution passed on the consent agenda. It almost seems like a slight. If anyone know why this resolution was passed without the appropriate fanfare, please share. All Bills on First Reading pass with a single vote as is the norm. One late filed bill is on the agenda that bears watching. Rules have to be suspended in order for it to be considered. It seeks to void a contract that metro has with the company that is running a metro-owned nursing home. In 2014 metro got out of the nursing home business and essentially privatized the Bourdeau nursing home, now know as Autumn Hills. The reason for this ordinance is that the operator does not have insurance among other concern.  I do not know if this action is justified or not and if I was in the Council, I would not vote to block it by opposing suspending the rules and I would vote for it on first reading. However, I would be very reluctant to support any bill that gets metro back in the nursing home business. In may view, Metro should completely get out of the  nosing home business so stepping back in and  taking over the operation is not even an option.  To see the discussion see timestamp 24:50 - 29:52.

 Bills on Second Reading:  These are the only ones of interest.

BILL NO. BL2016-494  funds the Metro Property Tax Relief Program assistance to low-income elderly residents of the county.  There is a State Property Tax Relief  Program and this bill increases the amount of that relief by matching what the State provides. Follow the link for more information. If you or someone you know are elderly and low income, look into this.  Due to escalating property values, many elderly low-income residents would be forced out of their home if not for this tax relief program. It passes on a voice vote.

BILL NO. BL2016-496 which would prohibit vehicles from parking in electric charging station spaces is deferred a meeting.  I have never done it but I have been tempted to take one of those spaces myself.  I attend a monthly luncheon downtown and park in the parking garage below the library.  When the garage is full, I have driven though the garage repeatedly looking for a space to park and seen the empty charging stations and been tempted.  There are three of them, I believe.  I have never seen them in use.  If I were in the Council, I would ask for a report of how often they are used and how much revenue the city is losing by providing those spaces. Maybe we only need one or none at all. 

 Bills on Third Reading. There are 16 bills on Third reading. Most are zoning bills which do not interest me.  This is the only one of interest.

SUBSTITUTE BILL NO. BL2016-414,  is a zoning bill in Councilman Scott Davis district that is disapproved by the Planning Commission and has been to Public Hearing twice.  It is deferred indefinitely. For background on this see what I wrote here

To see The Tennessean's report on the meeting follow this link: East Nashville approved for new sheriff's office headquarters.

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Don't stop believing! Don't accept reality! Don't grow up! Every time a liberal says, "I guess Trump won," a liberal fairy dies.

My dear liberal friends,

You have one more change to stop Trump. A joint session of Congress is scheduled to meet Jan. sixth
to certify the results of the Electoral College vote. Please spend million and million to stop Congress from doing so. You could have petition drives and get celebrities to make videos urging Congress to do the right thing, you could post messages to social media, you could offer bribes and issue death threats, and you could protest.

I know the vote recount resulted in more votes for Trump than had previously been recorded and the call for electors to be faithless and not vote for their pledged candidate resulted in twice as many unfaithful electors not voting for Hillary as unfaithful electors who did not vote for Trump, but maybe you can persuade Congress not to certify the Electoral college results. Maybe? Just maybe? It is your last chance to stop a Trump presidency. 

Just because you lost the election, the recount, and the electoral college vote, is no reason to give up and recognize and accept the result of the election. Why stop just because you are losing? Stay stuck on denial! Don't move on! Don't stop believing! Don't accept reality!  Don't grow up! Every time a liberal says, "I guess Trump won," a liberal fairy dies.

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(update) What's on the Council agenda for 12/20/16: Seat belts for school buses, a contentious rezoning in Councilman Scott Davis's district and not much else.

This blog post was updated after reading the council staff analysis which was not posted until late Tuesday December 20th. Nothing significant changed from a previous version.

The Metro Council will meet Tuesday, December 20th,  at 6:30 PM in the Council chamber at the Metro Courthouse. To watch the Council meeting, you can go to the courthouse and watch the meeting in person, or you can watch the broadcast live at Metro Nashville Network's Government TV on Nashville's Comcast Channel 3 and AT&T's U-verse 99 and it is streamed live at the Metro Nashville Network's livestream site. You can catch the meeting the next day (or the day after the next) on the Metro YouTube channel.

Council meetings are really, really boring.  I am sure this close to Christmas people who have a real life have something better to do.  So, if you will wait, I will watch it for you and post the video and point out the good parts so you can go to that point in the video and watch just those segments. Also, I will  tell you what I think about what happened.   I watch the Council meetings so you don't have to.

If you are going to watch a council meeting, you really need the agenda and  the Council staff analysis, otherwise you will be clueless about what is going on.  Follow the highlighted links above to view the agenda and staff analysis.Below is my commentary and analysis.

There is only one appointment to a Board or Commission on the agenda and it is insignificant and will be approved. There are three resolutions on public hearing, all to grant an exemption to the minimum distance requirements for obtaining a beer permit.

There are 16 resolutions on the consent agenda. Resolutions on "consent" are passed by a single vote of the council instead of being voted on individually. If a resolution has any negative votes in committee it is taken off of consent.  Also any council member may ask to have an item taken off of consent or to have his abstention or dissenting vote recorded.  These are the resolutions of interest: 

RESOLUTION NO. RS2016-469  approves 750 South 5th Street as the location of the new administrative offices facility for the Sheriff. I do not expect this to be controversial. 

RESOLUTION NO. RS2016-482  request the School Board to require all new school buses purchased be equipped with seat belts. This was deferred last meeting. This is a response to the tragedy in Chattanooga recently where six school children lost their lives. The contention that school buses need seat belts is in dispute. The Federal Highway Traffic Safety Administration says school buses are designed to be safe with or without seat belts. Requiring seat belts in all new bus purchases could add as much as $12,000 to the cost of each new bus. One reason for that cost is that with seat belts each bus could hold fewer students, only two per bench seat, so more buses would have to be purchased.
RESOLUTION NO. RS2016-500  settles a personal injury claim against the city in the amount of $75,000.00, to  be paid out of the Self-Insured Liability Fund. The victims were hit from behind by a Davidson County Sheriff’s Office employee, who was transporting prisoners in a bus owned by the Metropolitan Government.  These type resolutions often generate some discussion but the only issue should be are we better off litigating or settling.  I have always trusted the judgement of Metro legal.
RESOLUTION NO. RS2016-501 honors Father Breen of St. Edwards.  A fitting tribute. There will most likely be scroll and ceremonial presentation at the start of the meeting.    

Bills on First Reading. There are 16 bills on First Reading but I usually don't review bills on First Reading. First reading is a formality that gets bills on the agenda. They are not evaluated by committee until they are on Second Reading. All bills on First Reading are lumped together and usually pass by a single vote. Only rarely is a bill on First Reading considered separately.

Bills on Second Reading. These are 19  bills on Second reading. One addresses  placement of handicapped parking spaces on public streets outside residential properties and one requires approval by the Metropolitan Council for obstructions or excavations which close or occupy any portion of the public right of way for a period in excess of one  year and one prohibits non-electric vehicles from parking in spaces designated as electric charging station. I don't expect any of them to generate controversy. Here is one bill of interest. 

BILL NO. BL2016-494 reestablishes the Metro Property Tax Relief Program assistance to low-income elderly residents of the county.  There is a State Property Tax Relief  Program and this bill increases the amount of that relief by matching what the State provides. Follow the link for more information. If you or someone you know are elderly and low income, look into this.  Due to escalating property values, many elderly low-income residents would be forced out of their home if not for this tax relief program.

Bills on Third Reading. There are 16 bills on Third reading. Most are zoning bills which do not interest me.  This is the only one of interest.

SUBSTITUTE BILL NO. BL2016-414,  is a zoning bill in Councilman Scott Davis district. Last council meeting it was on public hearing and third reading and then deferred to this meeting. The only reason I am calling attention to this bill is because it is is a bill that is disapproved by the planning commission. I don't know anything about the merits of the bill and have no opinion, except I tend to take seriously the recommendations of the planning commission and the burden of proof would be on the sponsor to convince me to vote for it, if I had a vote.  It takes 28 votes in favor to pass a bill disapproved by the Planning Commission.This bill was on the agenda of the October 6th Council meeting on Public Hearing in a different form. Here is what I reported at that time:

It would change  from R6 to RM40-A zoning for various properties along Elvira Avenue, Maynor Avenue, and Keeling Avenue. This would allow 220 units of apartments to be build in a district that does not currently permit that. Quite a few people speak in opposition. Davis closes the pubic hearing and proposes substituting the bill by changing the the zoning from RM40-A to SP zoning which would still allow the development but impose additional restriction, and proposes the bill be referred back to the Planning Commission.  Several council members express concern and say that the bill should come back to the Council for a new public hearing after the substitute is considered by the Planning Commission.  After the discussion by council members, Davis says he will permit a second hearing after the PC considers the substitute. The substitute is passed by a roll call vote of 24 in favor and 18 against.  The bill as substituted is then approved 28 to 10, rereferred to the Planning Commission and the public hearing is reopened. For those who are interested in understanding what is permitted under different zoning classifications, this link is a good resource.  To view the discussion of this bill see timestamp 1:27:25-2:19:52 (at this link).  I am pleased with this outcome. Bills which are substantially changed, I think, should come back to the Council for a second pubic hearing.  Also, I think the Council should take the recommendations of the Planning Commission very seriously.

Last Council meeting when the bill was a again on Third Reading and again on public hearing, this is what I reported:

 There are a lot people in the attendance supportive and more people opposed to the rezoning. The proposed units would be units for sale that would be affordably priced.  It is much easier to turn people out in opposition than people in favor of something, so effort must have gone into turning out the proponents, but I don't know who was behind it.  Maybe it was not an organized effort but it is hard to believe that many people would turn out in favor without an organized effort. The proponents are for the bill because they support affordable housing and would like to be able to buy a home in east Nashville.  These are real people and not the normal affordable housing advocates. Opponents make the normal arguments about density, traffic, stress on infrastructure, and character of the neighborhood.

The Planning Committee of the council had recommended a deferral of the bill one meeting, so deferral is automatically deferred "by rule."  The sponsor can bring the bill back and will not have to have another public hearing. To see the discussion on this bill see timestamp 14:00 - 1:19:30 (at this link).

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The Bastiat Society meets Monday, Jan.9th. "Unintended consequences of eduction policy" is topic.

The Bastiat Society

Unintended Consequences of Education Policy 

Adam Peshek

Join us for our first meeting of the Nashville Bastiat Society in 2017!
We will examine the unintended consequences of our education policy over the past several decades and discuss needed reforms to get our country back on track in this area.

Joining us this month will be guest speaker Adam Peshek from the Foundation for Excellence in Education (FEE). Adam Peshek is the Director of Education Choice for FEE. Previously, Adam was legislative director for the Foundation for Florida’s Future and a research associate at the Reason Foundation. He received his undergraduate degree from Florida State University and is currently a graduate student at Johns Hopkins.


Register Now!
Where: Scarlett Leadership Institute 840 Crescent Centre Drive #120 Franklin, TN 37067

When: Monday January 9, 2017 from 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM CST

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(update) Tennessee Electors Unanimously Vote For Trump For President amid protest

WTVF ,NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Tennessee's 11 presidential electors cast their ballots for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and vice presidential. .... Electors said they received tens of thousands of emails prior to the vote on Monday urging them to change their votes away from Trump and Pence.  (link)

Tennessee electors formally cast votes for Donald Trump

by Jake Lowary, The Tennessean -  Despite claims of harassment and a federal investigation into

The protestors

hacking, Tennessee's members of the Electoral College unanimously voted for Donald Trump on Monday at the capitol.

The formal voting event was not without disruption, however. Two outbursts from women in the gallery caused the state's Election Coordinator Mark Goins to bang his gavel and demand order.
One woman who shouted "bull****" during a short speech from one of the electors was escorted from the gallery by state troopers. ... Beth Scott Clayton Amos, one of Tennessee's electors, delivered remarks that were interrupted by one of the outbursts. She said she's received some 70,000 emails since Nov. 8, and "99.9% of them were from non-Tennesseans." .... Some had expected to see as many as 500 protesters, but less than 100 turned out.

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Trump loses two electors; Clinton loses four!

After all of the money spent to persuade electors pledged to Trump to not vote for him, after all of the harassing of electors, the petitions signed, the social media campaign, celebrity videos, offered  bribes, death threats, and protest in the nation's state capitals today, only two Trump electors broke faith and voted for someone other than Trump.  With no effort at all, twice as many electors who were pledged to Clinton broke faith and votes for someone else. I LOVE IT!

With all Republican states reporting, Trump only lost the two electors in Texas. Clinton lost four electors in Washington state — three voted for former Secretary of State Colin Powell and one voted for Native American tribal leader Faith Spotted Eagle. (link)

Will the anti-Trump folks finally suck it up and accept the results of the election?  The next action in the process of Trump becoming president is that a joint session of Congress is scheduled to meet Jan. sixth to certify the results of the Electoral College vote. Will the Hillary voters who are still in denial try to persuade Congress not to certify the results or finally face reality and accept defeat?

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How the Council voted on "unfair" bill to exempt non-polluting cars from auto-emissions testing.

Last Council meeting the Council considered a bill that would have exempted from auto emissions

testing vehicles less than three years old. Vehicles less than three years old almost never fail an auto emission test. The Council rejected this sensible move because it would not be fair to people who can't afford a newer car.  They allowed to let stand however, the emission testing exemption of cars less than one year old.  To be fair, should not all vehicles, even brand new vehicles that still have that new-car smell be tested also?  To be fair, should not non-polluting all-electric vehicles be tested?

Here is what I wrote at the time:

RESOLUTION NO. RS2016-406  would expand from one year old to three years old, the vehicles that are exempt from being required to be tested for auto emissions. This makes sense. Vehicles not over three years old almost never fail the emissions test.There are about 60,000 of these cars. This was deferred the last three meeting.  There is concern that this proposal favors people who can afford new cars.  I think this is representative of liberal-think. The logic for why we even have auto emission testing has to take a backseat to the concept of justice that says government should unnecessarily inconvenience all people equally. There is also an argument is made that the city needs the revenue. This is disgusting. The resolutions failed on a machine roll call vote. I will post that roll call vote at a latter date when it is available. To see the discussion see timestamp 2:17:53- 3:10:35.(To see the discussion follow this link and see the time stamp portion of the video.)

Here are minutes of the meeting. You can see how they voted:

 RESOLUTION NO. RS2016-406
A resolution allowing exemption of motor vehicles registered in Davidson County that are three (3) or less model years old from the required vehicle inspection and maintenance program to attain or maintain compliance with national ambient air standards. The resolution was not recommended for approval by the Health, Hospitals, and Social Services Committee. Ms. Gilmore moved to adopt the resolution, which motion was seconded and failed by the following roll call vote:

“Ayes”:  Cooper, Swope, Scott Davis, Hagar, Glover, Huezo, Rhoten, Weiner, Dowell, Coleman, Henderson, Rosenberg (12);[note, this is a vote for the exemption. These people voted the right way.]

“Noes”: Hurt, Shulman, Leonardo, Hastings, Haywood, Withers, Anthony Davis, VanReece, Pridemore, Pardue, Syracuse, Freeman, Sledge, Allen, Roberts, Kindall, Mina Johnson, Murphy, Pulley, Elrod, Vercher, Karen Johnson, Bedne (23);

 “Abstaining”:  Gilmore, Mendes, O’Connell (3).

Potts was absent for this meeting. Blalock, who I think of as one of the "good councilmen," did not vote. I do not know why.  Abstaining is different than not voting.  Abstaining is pushing the button to be recorded as abstaining.  Sometimes council members may be out of the room or distracted or simply choose not to vote. 

The names  in bold red above are members of the Council who I think of as the "good councilmen."  I am pleased to see they voted the right way on this resolution. There are a couple of members who I thought might have voted the right way, who disappointed me. Most voted the way I expected.

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