LASTING LEGACY
OLYMPICS BOUND
JUNE 20, 2024 | VOLUME 36 | NUMBER 24
PAGE 3
PAGE 5
Chancellor, Tennessee Star trade shots over publishing Covenant shooter’s journal MNPD alleges Covenant leak could have come from whistleblower BY CONNOR DARYANI, NASHVILLE BANNER
Davidson County Courthouse
This story is a partnership between the Nashville Banner and The News. The Nashville Banner is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization focused on civic news. Visit nashvillebanner.com for more information.
PHOTO: ED UTHMAN _ FLICKR.COM_PHOTOS_EUTHMAN
Schools and greenways headline $18.3 billion buildings budget
Capital Improvements Budget passes council with little discussion BY ELI MOTYCKA
The Metro Council officially approved Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s 2025 Capital Improvements Budget Tuesday night without fanfare at a special-called meeting. The budget, which includes $18.3 billion in total requests, functions as a planning tool for facility and equipment upgrades eyed by the city over the next six years. School expansions and renovations, new and improved libraries and park land acquisition make up the bulk of the budget. City officials describe the annual CIB as Metro’s running “menu” of upgrades. A line item can sit here for years or receive direct
funding via intermittent Capital Spending Plans, which green-light priority projects roughly every year. O’Connell’s most recent CSP came in January. Most new requests added to a long list of school expansions and renovations on the horizon for Metro Nashville Public Schools. Those includes $535 million for HVAC updates, $176 million for elementary schools in Cane Ridge and Antioch, and $6.3 billion for “district-wide projects” and “school renovations.” Park maintenance, greenway land acquisition and community center improvements claim another $2
billion. The CIB also includes various other small-dollar projects, like sidewalks and crosswalks, that typically come from district councilmembers hoping to secure funding for their neighborhoods. O’Connell can choose to elevate any of these projects onto the next CSP. Most are funded by general obligation bonds, which allow the city to borrow against its tax base on the bond market. This story was first published by our sister publication Nashville Scene.
The battle over the writings of the Covenant School shooter took a turn last week when a conservative outlet involved in the case was ordered by Chancellor I’Ashea Myles to show cause why they are not in contempt of court. In response, the Tennessee Star requested an emergency hearing on the constitutionality of the judge’s request. Last week, the Star published multiple stories using leaked documents from MNPD, not from court records. Chancellor Myles filed a motion last Tuesday ordering Michael Patrick Leahy of the Tennessee Star to appear in court on June 17 and show why his publishing of leaked information “does not violate the Orders of this Court subjecting them to contempt proceedings and sanctions.” Conservative media outlets have published a number of stories over the past year built around leaked police documents, generally focusing on the shooter’s gender identity. Last Wednesday afternoon, Leahy’s attorney responded to Myles’ order. >> PAGE 2
THENEWS @ FWPUBLISHING.COM | 615.298.1500 | INFO@THENEWSTN.COM TICKED OFF: tickedoff@fwpublishing.com
PRESORTED STANDARD U.S. POSTAGE PAID NASHVILLE, TN PERMIT # 338