WASHINGTON, DC – The US House select committee investigating the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, released its final report on Thursday. The 845-page report, which was adopted unanimously by the committee after its final meeting earlier this week, includes eight chapters, an executive summary, and a list of 11 legislative recommendations. The report details arguments and evidence presented during the committee’s public hearings and its first-ever slate of legislative recommendations, including a proposal to prohibit former President Trump from holding future office under the 14th Amendment due to his alleged involvement in the “insurrection.”
The report also calls for increased subpoena enforcement for Congress and more aggressive oversight of the Capitol Police, among other suggestions. The committee’s investigation has been ongoing since it was established in the summer of 2021.
The committee’s criminal referrals, which include accusations of inciting, assisting, and comforting an insurrection, obstructing an official proceeding, conspiracy to defraud the US, and conspiracy to make a false statement, are symbolic and do not carry legal weight.
Trump, who is running for president again in 2024, has denied any wrongdoing on January 6 and has labeled the committee’s investigation a “witch hunt.”
If you plan to move to Nashville, you will certainly never get bored. It is a lively city that gets even livelier during the Holiday season. There are numerous festivals, events, and places to visit around Christmas and late November. Most of the content you can see is family-friendly, so it’s an opportunity to take your kids with you to experience everything together and make memories. However, if you haven’t visited Nashville before, you are probably a little lost. Today we will talk about the most visited, popular, and high-ranked fun Christmas events in Nashville so that you get an idea of what you want to see first.
One of the best Christmas events in Nashville: Zoolumination
Every year, from late November to January, there is a Christmas event in Nashville called Zoolumination. It is a lantern festival based on Chinese mythology and culture. Visiting this festival is undoubtedly a must. Whether you are interested in Chinese culture and want to learn more, or your intention is just to enjoy the lighting – you should stop by this place. It is beautiful and flashy, and if you come with your family and friends, it could be a great place to spend a New Year’s Eve. Ultimately, you have to pay for a ticket, but you won’t make a mistake doing so. You will get to enjoy the lanterns and hopefully learn about Chinese culture, as well.
Visit Zoolumination for an unforgettable Christmas experience (Photo by: Min An | pexels.com).
The Gaylord Opryland Christmas festivities
If you have never heard about it, the Gaylord Opryland is a massive hotel in Nashville that is well-known and highly visited around Christmas time. It has become a tradition for the residents of Nashville to go there every December. There is a lot of effort put into the breathtaking decorations they do every year, so it’s no wonder people are so eager to see it and experience it yearly. Plenty of people come to see the exterior and interior lights, which are one of the best parts of this event. Besides ornaments, Christmas trees, and lighting, there are a lot of fun wintertime activities for you and your children, like ice skating. You will be able to see beautiful ice figures as well and take pictures.
Ice skating is the perfect way to spend Christmas with friends or family. (Photo by: Cottonbro Studio | pexels.com).
The Nashville Christmas parade
The Nashville Christmas parade is something you should miss. Being one of the most visited Christmas events in Nashville – there is everything you need to see and more. From singers to dancers, mascots, and enormous helium balloons – it is truly an unforgettable experience. Your children will love it – so bring them with you! They will make some beautiful memories and stories to tell. The energy performers and the public give are cheerful and festive. There is no way that you could feel sad watching something like this. Even if you suffer from an anxiety disorder, it will get you in a better mood and make you more positive. This festival has even won a prestigious Emmy award, which indicates how good the show is.
The Dancing lights of Christmas
As we said, Nashville’s lively and optimistic energy attracts people and makes Christmas even better, especially during the holidays. You and your children will be able to visit spectacular events such as the Dancing lights of Christmas, for example. This particular event is full of lighting and decorations in every shape and form. It is also a drive-through event which is pretty unique.
Holiday lights at Cheekwood
Cheekwood is an enormous botanical garden that turns even more gorgeous during the holiday season. People come to see the mesmerizing lights, which are countless and all in different colors. They are placed in trees, paths, plants, and grass. Basically – everywhere. It is one of the best Christmas events in Nashville and a fantastic place to take photos – so have that in mind when you visit. If you move to Nashville, all of this will be within your reach. It is a great place to come to with kids. Since moving to another place can be stressful for them, so make sure to take them to festivals and events, so they have some entertainment. Show them that their new home is as great as the old one. Maybe it is even better.
Franktown festival
Franktown is another festival with an incredible light show. It features approximately 200 light displays. Like the Dancing lights of Christmas, it is a drive-through event. For the price of a ticket, you and your loved ones can enjoy this show from your car. This can be interesting to the kids. If you move to Nashville, you will enjoy events like these every year, but what if you want to stay home during the holidays? In this case, you should again consult a professional to help rent a storage unit during the holidays. You should consider this option since you may have trouble with free space in your house. A storage unit can help you with presents or furniture and make space for your guests.
Enchant Christmas in Nashville
Knowing exactly where you are going is one way to cut stress out of holiday travel planning. One place you should visit in the winter is Enchant Christmas. It takes place at First Horizon Park. At Christmas time, the park is filled with decorations and lights. You can go ice—skating as well. We are confident that you will love it.
Enchanted Christmas is a must-see Christmas event in Nashville! (Photo by: Jonathan Meyer | pexels.com).
Final words
Another reason to move to Nashville is all those beautiful festivals during Christmas. You and especially your children will love it. We hope this gave you some ideas on where to go and which Christmas events in Nashville you should visit. But whichever you pick – it’s a good choice.
Author’s Bio: Andrew Jenkins is a professional moving advisor and a content writer for Master Moving Guide. In his spare time, he enjoys hiking and camping with his fiancée and their dog.
For five years, the question on everyone’s minds has been when SZA would release a new album. SZA’s previous album CTRL was released in June of 2017 and has remained a fan favorite with hits like “The Weekend” and “Love Galore” featuring Travis Scott. Well, on December 9th, after giving us the singles “Good Days”, “I Hate U” and “Shirt”, SZA finally dropped her newest album titled SOS. After giving it a few listens, it’s clear that the wait was worth it.
The thing about SZA is she gives you a variety of songs and this album was in that same vein as CTRL. Songs like “Shirt” give you the classic sound that SZA is known. But then you have tracks like “Low” and “Smoking on my Ex Pack” where she sings and has a melodic rap flow throughout the song and then there are tracks like “F2F” that have a little pop/rock feel to it. And in all these songs, the vocal styling of SZA is unmistakably there and the uniqueness is still there.
While there are a variety of songs, the signature vocals of SZA are still there and they are still as smooth and crisp as they once were on the previous album. The one thing she does well is know her lane and what it is. That is shown perfectly in the song “Nobody Loves Me”. SZA hits the necessary notes but doesn’t sway from the range she knows she does and does not have. And for that, we get another good song from her.
With her unique sound and variety of songs, SZA always is going to bring a variety of topics. From “Kill Bill” to the song “Blind”, she talks about her feelings of anger with a past relationship to self-love among other topics on this album. The different variety of songs comes off like a story or walk through the feelings of life whether you like them or not. And when albums flow together like that, it makes it really hard to skip a record.
Overall, this album is a good album. I would not say it is better than her previous effort on CTRL, but this is still a good album and one that will have you listening to it over and over again.
Nashville Mayor John Cooper announced that the Metro Council has approved $10 million in American Rescue Plan dollars for Fisk University to establish an entrepreneurship center at Burrus Hall. This will be Nashville’s first public-private partnership with its oldest institution of higher learning.
The late Darrell Freeman, a trailblazing entrepreneur and leader in the Nashville business community
The center, which was inspired by the late Nashville entrepreneur and business icon Darrell Freeman, will be a resource for emerging business owners to access resources, make connections to investors, and take classes. It will also help bring opportunities to communities that have not benefited from Nashville’s growth.
Nashville Mayor John Cooper
Mayor Cooper stated that “for too long, Nashville paid wealthy, out-of-state corporations to bring jobs here instead of creating and growing businesses by investing in local entrepreneurs already living in our city.” He added that with the creation of the entrepreneurship center at Fisk University, the city is “investing in our own residents’ futures by transforming this historic building into an innovation and entrepreneurship center to create the next generation of Nashville’s business leaders.”
Mayor Cooper expressed his gratitude to the Metro Council, the Director of Economic Growth and Small Business Development Latanya Channel, Fisk University, and everyone who has worked to make this dream a reality.
Nashville, TN – Tea Rose, a new company in Nashville offering mobile tea parties, premium loose-leaf tea, and tea accessories, is proud to announce its launch. Owned by the dynamic mother-daughter duo, Jasmine and Jaila Rose, Tea Rose is dedicated to cultivating experiences through tea to create memorable moments.
Jasmine, the founder of Tea Rose, explains that enjoying tea parties at home as a child with her parents was a favorite pastime, but she never imagined owning a business offering loose-leaf tea blends and hosting luxury tea parties. However, after countless tea parties at home with her daughter Jaila, who is affectionately known as the ParTea Princess, Jasmine’s love for tea was rekindled. This inspired the two to combine their intimate mother-daughter tea pastime with their vacation tearoom experience to host tea parties in homes and event spaces across Music City and the surrounding areas.
Jaila is the namesake of the business and is passionate about sharing the tea experience with everyone. It is therefore important to both Jasmine and Jaila that Jaila is involved in the success of Tea Rose from start to finish. In addition to allowing her to express her creativity in party themes and event decor, Jasmine believes that cultivating her business acumen through marketing, inventory management, and finance will only propel her further in her future aspirations.
At Tea Rose, every tea party is carefully curated to embody sophistication with a touch of southern flair and whimsical grandeur. From intimate gatherings to grand events, Tea Rose’s mobile tea parties offer a unique and refined experience for any occasion. In addition to their mobile tea parties, Tea Rose also offers a selection of premium loose-leaf teas and tea accessories for purchase on their website.
Tea Rose’s mission is to bring the magic of tea to people in and around Nashville and to create moments that will be treasured for a lifetime without the distractions of modern living. “The regality of a tea party is to be fully present, therefore our guests can look forward to an unplugged experience that allows true social engagement,” Jasmine said. “We have several interactive activities and conversation starters that encourage guests to ‘spill the tea.’ Guests of all age ranges can expect basic etiquette instruction, a personalized, luxury experience with the finest organic loose-leaf tea blends, a compilation of old-world charm and modern elegance with our china collection and tablescape, and a host to deliver white glove treatment.”
Nashville, TENN – Nashville Smiles Up, a premier provider of dental care in Nashville, Tennessee, has recently expanded its services to include 24-hour emergency dental care. This means that no matter what time of day it is, you can get the emergency dental care you need.
The clinic is now open for emergency care from 5 pm to 8 am Tuesday through Saturday and is available 24 hours on Sunday and Monday. This makes Nashville Smiles Up the first dental clinic in Nashville to offer 24-hour emergency services.
“It is important to have a 24-hour emergency dental service available because patients should have the opportunity to access immediate dental care without incurring unnecessary medical bills, and without having to miss important work hours to get dental work done,” says Dr. Drake Dudley, founder of Nashville Smiles Up. “Our emergency services have been very successful and impactful in the Nashville community and surrounding areas. We have already provided many important emergency dental services for patients in need.”
In addition to its emergency services, Nashville Smiles Up offers a full range of dental procedures, from general checkups and fillings to cosmetic procedures and dental implants. Their team of highly skilled technicians is led by Dr. Dudley and provides individualized care to every patient.
Nashville Smiles Up is committed to making its services as accessible and convenient as possible and is proud to offer 24-hour emergency services. “Our team is dedicated to offering a customer experience that is unmatched,” says Dr. Dudley. If you’re in need of emergency dental care in Nashville, don’t hesitate to contact Nashville Smiles Up. They’re here to help you get the care you need, no matter what time of day it is.
For more information about Nashville Smiles Up and their expanded emergency services, visit their website at www.nashvillesmilesup.com.
Averianna the Personality is a popular radio personality who can be heard live on the hip-hop and rhythm & blues radio station 101.1 The Beat, every Sunday evening. While she is known to work heavily in the Nashville music scene including a position at the National Museum of African American Music, Averianna’s journey to being a radio personality in Music City began when she least expected it.
As a child growing up, the Haynes Manor native always dreamed of working in front of the camera. After graduating from Middle Tennessee State University with background in media and communications, Averianna went to Los Angeles in search of success as an entertainment television personality. She worked the red carpet contracting for various news organizations where she seemed to have achieved her goals—but not for long. The contracts would soon dry up, forcing her to head back home to Nashville. From there, Averianna would take another leap, as she would get a multimedia journalist position in Jackson, Tennessee. Unfortunately, the Covid pandemic hit, and her job there was discontinued, again bringing her back home to Nashville.
Although it may have seemed like her career was taking a hit, the setback turned out to be good preparation for where she would end up. “I was talking with DJ C-Dub when I got back to Nashville after Covid shut down my last job,” Averianna explained. “He suggested that I come to work for him at his radio station here, 99.3 FM, which I did not want to do at first, but I eventually tried it.”
She tried her hand at the radio and began to enjoy the experience and feel as comfortable behind a microphone as she did in front of the camera. In the last three years, she has gone from working at 99.3 FM to 96.7 FM to now being a part of the iHeart Radio family at 101.1 The Beat.
The trip to the radio may not have been intended as such, but once there, it’s clear what the mission is: to get Nashville noticed for its local music scene. “It is simply time and long overdue for Nashville to have some respect on its name for more than country music,” Averianna said.
On her popular Sunday evening show Cashville Spotlight on 101.1 The Beat you can catch her highlighting Nashville area artists who are making their mark on the Rap/R&B and introducing her listeners to those who make good music. She is giving them more than the attention they deserve—she’s also representing her hometown city.
Her career has also come full circle where she now hosts ATP’s Music City Check In where she interview some the favorite faces in Hollywood.
Averianna’s unlikely journey is a prime example of being exactly where you are supposed to be at the right time. That along with people stepping in and giving guidance has led Averianna to where she is now and will more than likely continue to guide her to bigger dreams as she continues to grow and emerge as a shining star in the city.
The Napier Looby Bar Association (NLBA), The Nashville Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), the Nashville Chapter of the National Association of Real-Estate Brokers (NAREB), and the Urban League Young Professionals of Middle Tennessee (ULYPMT) held a joint holiday party on December 15, 2022, to celebrate the professional achievements of African Americans in the city.
Held at the Yay Yay’s on Jefferson in historic North Nashville, the event was attended by a diverse group of professionals from various industries, including journalism, real estate, and business. Guests enjoyed a festive atmosphere filled with holiday cheer, delicious food, and lively conversation.
The holiday party was a great opportunity for attendees to network and connect with fellow professionals, and celebrate the many accomplishments of African Americans in Nashville. The event was a testament to the strong sense of community and support within the city’s professional African American community.
NLBA, NABJ, NAREB, and ULYPMT are all committed to promoting diversity and inclusion in the workplace, and the holiday party was a testament to this commitment.
Overall, the holiday party was a fantastic celebration of professional African Americans in Nashville, and a great opportunity for attendees to come together and celebrate their achievements. It was a true testament to the strength and resilience of the city’s professional community, and a reminder of the important role that diversity and inclusion play in the success of any organization.
Editor’s Note: Nashville Voice Publisher Jason Luntz is the current President of the Nashville Chapter of NABJ.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Mayor John Cooper and Dr. James E.K. Hildreth, President and CEO of Meharry Medical College, today announced they have reached an agreement on a path forward for the buildings that currently house Nashville General Hospital through the end of the current lease agreement, which expires at the end of December 2027. The agreement resolves all outstanding issues and establishes an updated rent structure for the buildings Meharry leases to the city for Nashville General Hospital.
Under the proposed agreement, Metro will pay a fair market rent to Meharry, which has been validated by two independent real-estate evaluation experts, for the use of the Nashville General Hospital buildings starting at $6.3 million this current year, with a 2.5% increase for each consecutive year. Previously, the city was paying only the underlying bonds issued in 1995 and which were set to expire next year. The agreement also settles all outstanding claims between the two parties. This agreement will not affect the city’s funding of Nashville General Hospital, or the possibility for a new hospital building in the future after the expiration of the current lease.
The agreement includes the resolution of receivables and other financial issues between the city and Meharry, which first began leasing the buildings on its campus for use as the city’s safety net hospital in the mid-1990s. The settlement and lease agreement require approval by the Metro Council.
“I am proud to renew Nashville’s firm commitment to the nation’s oldest and largest historically black medical institution and to our safety net hospital Nashville General,” said Mayor John Cooper. “Meharry and Nashville General are at the center of our efforts to address health disparities in Nashville, and this new agreement sets the stage for that work to grow stronger in 2023. There is no better example of those efforts than Dr. Hildreth and Meharry’s essential partnership with the city to help lead our response to the pandemic. I’m looking forward to strengthening that partnership and moving forward together toward a more equitable future.”
The 415,000 square foot property located on Albion Street was originally built to house Meharry’s Hubbard Hospital. In the 1990s, the city negotiated a lease agreement with Meharry to relocate its safety net hospital from its location on Hermitage Avenue. Following renovation, Nashville General Hospital reopened; Meharry physicians and residents have treated patients at the hospital and its clinics for more than two decades.
“This is an important day for Meharry and forour faculty, students and residents,” said Dr. Hildreth. “The city of Nashville has been our home for 146 years, and we are proud to have played a critical part in caring for the community, especially during the pandemic when we tested, treated and vaccinated hundreds of thousands of Nashvillians. This agreement demonstrates the commitment of Mayor Cooper and city leaders to Meharry, and we look forward to working together to create a healthier future for Nashville.”
Back in August, I wrote that getting “back-to-school” this year would also mean getting back to fighting far-right attacks on education. The threats included a rising number of efforts to ban books, and the Right’s efforts to take over local school boards.
So how did the Right do in this fall’s school board elections? Well, as in Congress, there was no conservative “Red Wave.” However, the Right did score just enough wins to keep coming back. And the groups behind those wins are promising to do just that.
According to news reports, about half the candidates endorsed by one national group, Moms for Liberty, and a third of those endorsed by another, the conservative 1776 Project PAC, won in November. Earlier this year Moms for Liberty racked up notable wins in their home state of Florida, where extremist Gov. Ron DeSantis gave them a boost; and in addition to taking over some school boards in their home state, they took over some boards in a few districts in South Carolina.
Their strategy was to try for a repeat performance of the Virginia election in 2021, where Republican Glenn Youngkin won the governor’s race on a similar cynical “parental rights” platform. The platform is code for highlighting culture war battles over issues like COVID mask and vaccine policies, “critical race theory,” and anti-LGBTQ activism. Let’s be clear, despite the marketing behind this movement, it doesn’t represent the views of many parents.
And if the Far Right doesn’t have good ideas, it definitely has plenty of money. The 1776 Project reportedly spent almost $2.8 million on ads and other campaign material for candidates. In Texas, a right-wing cellphone company called Patriot Mobile spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to help right-wing candidates in several school districts, and called it “just the beginning.”
In the end, this campaign strategy was not the universally successful formula the Right hoped it would be. For starters, the so-called “parental rights” groups don’t speak for all parents – especially Black and brown parents. In many places, parents and teachers worked together to push back against ultraconservative takeover attempts. Winning candidates endorsed by Moms for Liberty and the 1776 Project were in the few hundreds, far fewer than the thousands endorsed by the National Education Association – of which more than 70 percent won their races.
This time.
I’m an optimist at heart, and it gives me hope to see that the dishonest and damaging drive to take over school boards did not sweep the nation. It is very good to know that enough parents, teachers – and students – spoke out to prevent that from happening. We want schools where all kids can flourish. We want schools where history lessons are not whitewashed to hide harsh realities about our nation’s troubled past. As a parent, I don’t want my children lied to in school. That won’t help them succeed in school or in life. As a lifelong student of history, I know that we can’t understand our present reality or begin to shape a more inclusive future without being grounded in the complexity of our past.
But I also know the Far Right wants to make school board races a stepping stone to bigger things. Investing in school board takeovers is a power-building strategy. Ultraconservative activist Steve Bannon said it himself when he claimed the path to “save” the nation will “go through the school boards.” Not only that, but extremists in the GOP – including former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos – now want to get rid of public education entirely. And yes, many public schools, including those in Black and brown neighborhoods, need to get better. But privatizing education is not the way to get there.
So we need to stay alert to the Right’s efforts to get control of school boards because they’ll be back. We who care about honest teaching and inclusive public schools should go to school board meetings. We should pay attention to school board races and candidates. And if we can, we should run for the school board ourselves. Our kids’ educations, and their futures, depend on it.
Ben Jealous serves as president of People For the American Way and Professor of the Practice at the University of Pennsylvania. A New York Times best-selling author, his next book “Never Forget Our People Were Always Free” will be published by Harper Collins in January 2023.
