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- Traffic stops surge in Bellevue’s police precinct
Traffic stops surge in Bellevue’s police precinct
Plus, two new restaurants and a property owner ordered to clean it up
Nashville Newsletters
February 08, 2023
⚡️ SPEED READ
Traffic stops in the police precinct that covers Bellevue have increased 417% compared to the same period last year.
A new bill would punish people for leaving unlocked guns in cars.
Two new restaurants are planned in or near Bellevue: Teriyaki Madness and Sweet Sofia’s
Metro ordered the owner of a former restaurant property in Bellevue to clean it up after someone complained about trash and homeless people.
A bill to cut the Metro Council in half is moving quickly through the state legislature.
Plus: a petition to block naming a road after former President Trump, a fight over a new housing development in Bellevue, and restaurant inspections
👮♀️ Traffic stops surge in Bellevue’s police precinct
More people are getting pulled over by police.
Since January 1, Metro Police reported 181 traffic stops in the West Precinct. That’s a 417% increase compared to the same period last year.
Stops are still down 94% compared to five years ago. The city rolled out new traffic stop training in 2018 after “two independent reports found that Black drivers were being stopped and searched at disproportionate rates,” WPLN reported.
The recent increase in traffic stops has not translated to more arrests. Those dropped nearly 24% compared to last year, according to police data.
Punishment for leaving unlocked guns in cars
75% of guns stolen in Nashville last month were taken from vehicles. That’s more than 100 guns.
A new bill would require gun owners to take a safety course if they leave a gun in their car, don’t hide it, and don’t lock it up.
Guns taken from vehicles are “routinely involved in criminal activities, including carjackings and robberies,” police said.
🗳️ Today’s poll
🍴 New restaurants coming to Bellevue area
Teriyaki Madness filed a permit application to open at 7068 Charlotte Pike. You can see the menu here.
Sweet Sofia’s, an ice cream shop, filed documents with Metro to open at 7087 Old Harding Pike.
⚠️ City: clean up closed Bellevue restaurant property
Metro’s Codes Department ordered the owner of a former restaurant at 7105 Highway 70 South to clean up the property.
In a complaint filed with the city, someone reported “trash and homeless activity increasing” since a restaurant closed on December 23. A codes employee found a violation of the city’s rules for open storage of junk, trash, and debris.
They’re scheduled to return on February 27 for an inspection.
🏛️ Bill to cut the Metro Council in half moves forward
A bill that’s widely seen as punishment for the Metro Council blocking the 2024 Republican National Convention is moving quickly through Tennessee’s House.
It would cut the size of the Metro Council from 40 to 20. If it passes, council districts will be redrawn. Members will serve more constitutents.
The sponsor, Representative William Lamberth, argued a smaller council will be more efficient. Vice Mayor Jim Shulman reminded a House subcommittee last week that Nashville’s voters repeatedly rejected the idea.
“The combination of my day job workload doubling from when I took office, and the State’s decision to double the size of our districts translates into more time demand than available,” Bellevue council member Gloria Hausser wrote in her newsletter. “If it were not for these two conditions there would be no question, I would run for another term.”
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🤠 THE ROUNDUP of other news
A petition urges lawmakers to reject a bill that would remove civil rights leader Representative John Lewis’s name from a portion of road and turn it into President Donald Trump Boulevard.
Nashville Scene: “Bellevue Residents Weigh Legal Options in Bid to Stop New Housing Development”