VOL. 48 | NO. 16 | Friday, April 19, 2024
Commercial developers giving buyers what they want along major corridors
Construction cranes continue to populate the skies across Nashville’s urban core. But there’s plenty of dirt being moved farther afield, as well, showing that Davidson County’s continued growth is continuing good news for the counties that surround it.
Homebuilders have long known that amenities sell. Granite countertops, specific lighting and high-end cabinetry. The list goes on and on.
JOE ROGERS: MY TAKE
The latest poll by the Beacon Center of Tennessee, a conservative think tank, is out. Full of surprises it is not. Upon surveying 1,197 registered Tennessee voters online, it reports that:
RICHARD COURTNEY: REALTY CHECK
For the 13th time in the past 12 months, a single-family home in Davidson County has sold for more than $6 million. This time the sale goes to a newly constructed home in Forest Hills, with Barbara Keith Payne as the listing agent. The buyer was not represented, as is often the case.
REAL ESTATE
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Prospective homebuyers are facing higher costs to finance a home with the average long-term U.S. mortgage rate moving above 7% this week to its highest level in nearly five months.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The spring homebuying season is off to a sluggish start as home shoppers contend with elevated mortgage rates and rising prices.
Top Davidson County commercial real estate sales for March 2024, as compiled by the Nashville Ledger.
NASHVILLE PREDATORS
Not many losses feel like wins, but that’s exactly what happened when the Nashville Predators fell to the Winnipeg Jets 4-3 in overtime April 9 at Bridgestone Arena.
Having recently played his 100th career regular season NHL game, Predators forward Luke Evangelista is early in what looks like it could be a long career and is making the transformation into a veteran player who can do things that very few others can on the ice.
NEWSMAKERS
Bridget A. Stewart is joining the business litigation service group at Stites & Harbison, PLLC.
BRIEFS
TriStar Health has announced it plans to apply for a certificate of need with the Tennessee Health Facilities Commission to build a full-service, acute-care hospital in Spring Hill.
BEHIND THE WHEEL
Buying a plug-in hybrid vehicle, or PHEV, can be a great way to ensure fuel efficiency. These are hybrid vehicles that drive just like a regular hybrid but have a chargeable battery that allows you to first drive a short distance on all-electric power. Frequently charging the battery at home can significantly reduce your gasoline use.
PERSONAL FINANCE
American workers expect to retire at a median age of 65, reveals a 2023 survey from the Employee Benefit Research Institute, or EBRI. But the actual median age for retirement is 62, the survey found.
MILLENNIAL MONEY
It takes considerable work to make a household run smoothly, and the thread that runs through all the labor is money. It’s money that makes it possible to fix a broken appliance, enroll the children in summer camp and save up to replace the aging car.
TENNESSEE TITANS
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee Titans have been among the league's biggest spenders in free agency, and they still won't be able to fill all the remaining holes with only seven selections in this NFL draft.
MUSIC INDUSTRY
Famous fans react to the death of Allman Brothers singer, songwriter and guitarist Dickey Betts, who died at 80.
NEW YORK (AP) — At an age when many contemporaries contemplate retirement, musician T Bone Burnett has made big changes in his life and art.
STATE GOVERNMENT
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee's Republican-dominant Statehouse approved a $52.8 billion spending plan Thursday for the upcoming fiscal year that includes an eye-popping $1.95 billion tax break and refund for businesses, but little new tax relief for most Tennessee families.
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) — A Tennessee judge on Wednesday seemed ready to agree with an attorney for Nashville police that the writings of a school shooter could be released as public record once the investigation is officially closed.
COURTS
NEW YORK (AP) — Two jurors in Donald Trump's hush money trial were dismissed Thursday, one after expressing doubt about her ability to be fair following disclosure of details about her identity and the other over concerns that some of his answers in court may have been inaccurate.
NEW YORK (AP) — When the first batch of potential jurors was brought in for Donald Trump's criminal trial this week, all the lawyers had to go on to size them up at first were their names and the answers they gave in court to a set of screening questions.
NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
ELECTION 2024
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden will accept endorsements from at least 15 members of the Kennedy political family during a campaign stop Thursday in Philadelphia as he aims to undermine Donald Trump and marginalize the candidacy of independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Wednesday misstated key details about his uncle's death in World War II as he honored the man's wartime service and said Donald Trump was unworthy of serving as commander in chief.
AUTO INDUSTRY
Tesla's stock tumbled below $150 per share, giving up all of the gains made over the past year as the electric vehicle maker reels from falling sales and steep discounts intended to lure more buyers.
DETROIT (AP) — Thousands of workers at a big Mercedes-Benz factory near Tuscaloosa, Alabama, will vote next month on whether they want to be represented by the United Auto Workers union.
CRIME
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department is ramping up its efforts to reduce violent crime in the U.S., launching a specialized gun intelligence center in Chicago and expanding task forces to curb carjackings.
ECONOMY
WASHINGTON (AP) — The head of the International Monetary Fund said Thursday that the world economy has proven surprisingly resilient in the face of higher interest rates and the shock of war in Ukraine and Gaza, but "there is plenty to worry about,'' including stubborn inflation and rising levels of government debt.
The number of Americans filing for jobless benefits didn't change last week as the labor market continues to defy efforts by the Federal Reserve to cool hiring.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
U.S. stock indexes drifted to a mixed close following more reports showing the economy remains stronger than expected.
Google has fired 28 employees in the aftermath of protests over technology that the internet company is supplying the Israeli government amid the Gaza war, further escalating tensions surrounding a hot-button deal.
Booming sales of cold drinks at Starbucks have created a problem: growing amounts of plastic waste from the single-use cups that Frappuccinos, Refreshers, cold brews and other iced drinks are served in.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration has reached an agreement to provide $6.1 billion in government support for Micron Technology to produce advanced memory computer chips in New York and Idaho.
HELSINKI (AP) — Wireless and fixed-network equipment maker Nokia on Thursday reported a smaller-than-expected profit and a double-digit fall in sales in the first quarter due to a market weakened by a lack of clients investing in 5G technology.
CSX dealt with weather challenges and the closure of the Baltimore port as the railroad saw its first-quarter profit slip 10%, but it still managed to keep most of its customers happy with reliable service.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — House congressional leaders were toiling Thursday on a delicate, bipartisan push toward weekend votes to approve a $95 billion package of foreign aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, as well as several other national security policies at a critical moment at home and abroad.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Some Democrats are entertaining the prospect of coming to House Speaker Mike Johnson's rescue should Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., force a vote seeking his ouster, though it will likely depend on his ability to deliver an emergency aid package focused on Ukraine and Israel.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Legislation that could ban TikTok in the U.S. if its China-based owner doesn't sell its stake won a major boost late Wednesday when House Republican leaders included it in a package of bills that would send aid to Ukraine and Israel. The bill could be law as soon as next week if Congress moves quickly.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. and U.K. on Thursday imposed a new round of sanctions on Iran as concern grows that Tehran's unprecedented attack on Israel could fuel a wider war in the Middle East.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Speaker Mike Johnson has unveiled a long-awaited package of bills that will provide military aid to Ukraine and Israel, replenish U.S. weapons systems and give humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza.
CAPRI, Italy (AP) — Top NATO and European Union officials urged foreign ministers from leading industrialized nations on Thursday to take quick, concrete steps to provide more air defense systems and artillery to Ukraine, warning that continued delays could tilt the war in Moscow's favor.
BEIJING (AP) — Europe wants two things from China: First, a shift in its relatively pro-Russia position on the war in Ukraine. Second, a reduction in the trade imbalance — Chinese goods exports to the EU exceeded its imports from the 27-nation bloc by 291 billion euros ($310 billion) last year.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Iran's attack against Israel over the weekend has spurred a flurry of bipartisan legislative action in Congress, uniting lawmakers against the country even as the risk of a larger regional war looms.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate dismissed all impeachment charges against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Wednesday, ending the House Republican push to remove the Cabinet secretary from office over his handling of the U.S.-Mexico border and shutting down his trial before arguments even began.
NEW YORK (AP) — A New York man has pleaded guilty to sending death threats to the state attorney general and the Manhattan judge who presided over former President Donald Trump's civil fraud case, prosecutors said Thursday.