A Distant View of the City
🚇 More tunnels for Boring Co. · Murder downtown of a 12-year-old · Laws going into effect · Much more!
Good afternoon, everyone. Today, G.K. Chesterton's observations in Nashville... 12-year-old murdered downtown... The Boring Co. expands its vision... And much more!
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From the Archive: G.K. Chesterton's commentary on Nashville and the broader South from his 1921 tour of the US still resonates
From Tyler Hummel
In early 1921, the great English Catholic journalist G.K. Chesterton visited the United States at the height of his literary career on a lecture tour that spanned the majority of the East Coast and Midwest, covering 30 cities including New York, Washington DC, Pittsburgh, Chicago, St. Louis, Oklahoma City, and Nashville. For four months, he and his wife enjoyed the highly anticipated tour, delivering 50 sold-out speeches and being swarmed by the press everywhere he went.
The following year, he published What I Saw In America, an essay collection documenting his experience of traveling through the U.S. that sold quite well in both the U.S. and England. My copy from 1922 is a fifth edition from December of that year, which suggests the book was flying off the shelves within the first four months of its publication.
While entire books could be written on the subjects he offhandedly mentions, Chesterton mentions Nashville four times in the book, and each mention warrants an examination as they speak to surprisingly concurrent issues, which isn’t surprising given the author’s reputation as the prophet of common sense.
✹ METRO COUNCIL WATCH
New Council Watch Features We've added additional features to Council Watch. In addition to who's funding your council member, you can now see how they vote and who they vote with most frequently. (Take a Look)
HEADLINES
- 🚨 12-year-old Murdered Downtown MNPD arrested 24-year-old Devin Orr on a criminal homicide charge after 12-year-old Damarion Morehead was fatally shot in the head Sunday night in the 400 block of Union Street downtown. Police say the shooting grew out of a planned fight among 10 to 15 teens, with an affidavit describing a group striking Orr before he drew a handgun and fired (WSMV).
- 📞 Human Trafficking Ring Busted Separately, the TBI charged five men after a two-day operation in Sumner County on June 11–12 aimed at recovering trafficking victims; investigators located nine possible victims—offered services through Thistle Farms—and booked the men on prostitution charges, with bonds ranging up to $1 million (WSMV).
- 🎓 TSU's enrollment rebounds after years of decline. Tennessee State University projects a fall 2026 freshman and transfer class of 1,600 to 1,800 students, more than triple last year's roughly 500, twhich the HBCU is calling an "unprecedented surge." More than 1,800 students have paid enrollment deposits under a recruitment push led by President Dwayne Tucker, who was appointed in 2025; the turnaround follows a roughly 22% enrollment drop between fall 2024 and 2025 and a long run of financial troubles, state audits, and a documented history of state underfunding. (Post)
- 📜 Dozens of new Tennessee laws hit the books July 1. Among the most consequential: county sheriffs must enter 287(g) immigration-enforcement agreements with ICE by Jan. 1, 2027 or risk losing state funds, and it becomes a Class A misdemeanor to remain in the state more than 90 days after a federal deportation order. The slate also expands deadly-force protections for defending property, makes drink-spiking a Class D felony while requiring bars to stock testing strips, enacts the "Charlie Kirk Act" campus free-speech mandate, bans digital devices in K–5 classrooms, entitles child influencers to a share of the money they generate, and requires citizenship checks for public benefits and professional licenses.
BORING CO. EXPANDS VISION
🪑 More Leg Room The Boring Co. tunnel, originally intended to connect the state capitol and airport, added a new leg with the purchase of property along West End Avenue. (More Info)
DEVELOPMENT
- Bartaco, Edley's Bar-B-Que buildings sell for $8.5 million (NBJ)
- Hattie B’s Prepares to Open New Outpost in East Nashville (Scene)
- Brentwood office building sells for $5.45M (Post)
THINGS TO DO
View our calendar for the week here.
📅 Visit our On The Radar list to find upcoming events around Nashville.
🎧 On Spotify: Pamphleteer's Picks, a playlist of our favorite bands in town this week.
👨🏻🌾 Check out our Nashville farmer's market guide.
TONIGHT
🎷 The Joshua Constantine Quartet @ Rudy's Jazz Room, 6p, $12, Info
🪕 Songteller Sessions with Dani Flowers & Friends @ Station Inn, 8p, $20, Info
🪕 Bluegrass Mondays with Kyle Tuttle @ Dee's Lounge, 6p, $10, Info
🪕 Val Storey, Carl Jackson, Larry Cordle & New Monday @ Station Inn, 8p, $20, Info
💀 Grateful Monday @ Acme Feed & Seed, 7p, Free, Info
🕺 Motown Monday @ The 5 Spot, 9p, $5, Info
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