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We live in a city where concerts, performances, and sporting events are wildly abundant. But what if the hottest ticket is one to a Metro Council meeting on data centers?
Yep. Data centers are as hot as our weather these days.
Officials are debuting a new public comment protocol in the wake of tension over the way it has conducted hot-button public hearings. Plus, they anticipate a lotof speakers.
Let’s get into what you should know about tomorrow’s council meeting …
WHAT TO KNOW
Alexandra Crawford holds a sign outside a Metro Planning Commission meeting on June 11. Photo: George Walker IV / AP
🎟️ Ticket allocation starts at 5 p.m. on the 2nd floor of the Metro Courthouse.
🎟️ The meeting starts at 6:30 p.m.
🎟️ Everybody who wants to speak on data centers will be heard.
🎟️ Each speaker will be allocated the standard 2 minutes.
🎟️ Tickets are only required for people who want to talk about the data center legislation. (Anyone who wants to talk about other items on public hearing will not need a ticket.)
The council says the goal is to minimize time spent standing in line. It’s important to note that things could still take time because the proposed data center regulations and moratorium are the last items on the public hearing agenda.
In particular for this meeting, there are two topics that are getting a lot of attention:➡️ establishing zoning regulations around new centers — this would ban data centers over 500,000 square feet (like Elon Musk’s xAI supercomputer in Memphis), and create building restrictions for smaller centers
➡️ enacting a temporary moratorium, ceasing permits for centers either through November, or until the zoning restrictions take effect
As Metro Reporter Cynthia Abrams reports, despite covering hot button topics before, this is the first time the council has required tickets to speak at a public hearing. And it comes after complaints about the long lines to speak at previous meetings:
“I’m disturbed by the fact that there are seniors, there are folks with disability, there are folks with children, there are those who don’t speak the language well, who are vying for an opportunity to get in this line,” said DarKenya Waller, the executive director for the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee. “And it is the strongest, the fittest, who are getting there first.”
We are curious: How do you feel about this new process? Will you be getting a ticket at the council meeting tomorrow? Reply to this email to give us your thoughts.
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On today’s episode of the NashVillager podcast
with host Nina Cardona 🎙️
After the legislative session and around the start of July comes the next phase in the annual cycle of lawmaking: court cases seeking to stop or alter new laws. Plus the local news for July 6, 2026, and echoes between the new Nashville Congressional districts and an old North Nashville wound.
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MORE TO KNOW
- Residents in Clarksville are calling for a federal investigation into the arrest of Darius Chappell, who died in custody on Friday. He’d been arrested days earlier in an incident caught on camera in which a police dog is seen biting the man. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has been put on the case and a Clarksville officer has been placed on administrative leave.
- Food aid could get much more expensive in Tennessee unless the state administers the program better. The federal law punishes states for sending too much or too little money to families for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Those errors could cost the state more than $160 million a year in the future. [Tennessee Lookout]
- As a lawsuit against a state immigration law moves forward, Tennessee attorneys will be working with a group of doctors to decide how to enforce it.The new law would have required the state health department to report families without legal status to immigration authorities, including severely ill and disabled kids who rely on state programs for life-saving treatment. It came to Tennessee as part of the state’s collaboration with the White House, bringing federal immigration policy to the state level. The court has stopped the law from taking effect this week, but now, both parties will have to agree on how to proceed.
- Tensions around AI in the music industry has crescendoed again because of revelations in an article from The Atlantic magazine. It focused on a unique search tool that allows musicians all over the world to search and try to determine whether their songs have been used without consent. Nashville-based digital strategist Charles Alexander noted it was one of the first events for the public to glimpse a bit of the training models. “It’s natural if you are a creator and a writer and an artist and a musician to go, ‘Oh my God, it’s in this database. Therefore, it has been used.’ ” Alexander says the reality is complicated and he’s advising artists to be more proactive to understand the terms that come with various online services when they share music. [WPLN]
Are you a fan of Nina Cardona, Steve Inskeep, Ailsa Chang, Blake Farmer and Marianna Bacallao? Enjoy our social media feed for the latest and most curious stories? Does your family listen to WNXP DJ Celia Gregory on the way to school?
Nashville Public Radio is offering fun, educational (and air-conditioned!) tours for families in July.
We’ve got two family-friendly tours at our studios in MetroCenter. You and the kids will get a behind-the-scenes look at your favorite public radio stations.
Tour dates: Tuesday, July 21 at 1:30 p.m.
Thursday, July 23 at 11 a.m.
Space is limited, so please RSVP. These tours will be best enjoyed by children ages 5-12 (though family members of all ages are welcome.) Please note that children must be accompanied by an adult.RSVP today
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