Nashville’s gross domestic product growth for 2021 was 12%, the second-highest growth rate in the U.S. for metropolitan areas.

The U.S. GDP grew 5.7% for that same period.

The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis released its metro and county GDP numbers for 2021 earlier this month. GDP is the measure of the total monetary value of all goods and services produced, or the output of an economy.

The Nashville area saw a significant decrease in GDP in 2020, sliding 2.5%, as did most of the country due to the economic effect of the pandemic.

San Jose, California, is the only metro area to have outpaced Nashville, growing 13.3% during the same time frame.

Nashville saw a significant decrease in its tourism sector due to the initial set of pandemic lockdowns, but has come back strong and increased 10% from pre-pandemic levels.

Nov. unemployment rate steady at 3.5%

The November statewide unemployment rate in Tennessee held steady heading into the holiday season, the Department of Labor and Workforce Development reports. The seasonally adjusted jobless number for November 2022 remained unchanged at 3.5%.

In a year-to-year comparison, the statewide unemployment rate is down 0.1%. Tennessee has recorded unemployment rates at or below 3.5% since January 2022.

Statewide, Tennessee employers added 6,400 new jobs to their payrolls in November. The accommodation and food services sector experienced the biggest jump in new jobs, followed by the wholesale trade sector and then the transportation, warehousing and utilities sector.

Over the last year, Tennessee employers created 119,400 new jobs across the state. The largest share of that increase came from the leisure and hospitality sector. The education and health services sector accounted for the second-largest increase, with the trade, transportation, and utilities sector next on the list.

Across the nation, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in November also remained unchanged at 3.7%. Compared to November 2021, the national rate has decreased 0.5%.

WeGo announces holiday schedules

WeGo Public Transit will operate its buses and Access vans on a Sunday/holiday schedule On Dec. 25-26 in observance of Christmas. WeGo also will operate a Sunday/holiday schedule Jan. 1-2 in observance of the New Year’s Day holiday.

In addition, WeGo will not operate the WeGo Star or its express bus routes Dec. 26 and Jan. 2.

WeGo buses will operate Saturday schedules Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. Full schedules

State parks to start new year with first-day hikes

Tennessee State Parks will ring in the New Year with First Day Hikes Jan. 1 in parks across Tennessee.

The hikes are for all ages and abilities and will be held at nearly all of the 57 state parks. Hikers are also encouraged to enjoy overnight stays at campsites, cabins or lodge rooms at parks throughout the state.

Hikers are urged to prepare for the weather, have sturdy footwear, and bring water and snacks. The First Day Hikes are part of America’s State Parks First Day Hikes initiative in all 50 states. They begin Tennessee State Parks’ annual Signature Hikes series held throughout the year.

While Tennesseans are encouraged to participate in First Day Hikes, visitors are reminded that the parks are open 365 days a year and are great places anytime to improve mental and physical well-being. Tennessee State Parks have more than 1,000 miles of trails.

Details of First Day hikes at all parks

Lee: Execution report complete, will release later

Gov. Bill Lee announced Friday that the independent review into the state’s lethal injection procedure has been completed, but he refused to immediately release the findings.

Instead, Lee promised that the entire review will be released before the end of the year, while denying that he was attempting to bury any potentially negative findings over the holidays.

“I think it’s important that I get a chance to read the report and that we internalize it and absorb the information,” Lee told reporters.

Lee paused all executions in May after acknowledging that the state had failed to ensure its lethal injection drugs were properly tested. The oversight forced Lee to abruptly halt the execution of Oscar Smith an hour before he was to die in April. The governor’s office then refused to release records that could have illuminated his decision, citing attorney-client privilege and the disputed “deliberative process privilege.”

Lee appointed former U.S. Attorney Ed Stanton to review circumstances that led to the failure. Stanton was tasked with reviewing the clarity of the state’s lethal injection manual and looking at Tennessee Department of Correction staffing.

Documents obtained through a public-records request later showed that at least two people knew the night before that the lethal injection drugs the state planned to use hadn’t undergone some required testing.

The records showed experts – who were not named – say testing was not performed for so-called endotoxins, which usually come from bacteria. Such testing is considered vital because it could be an indication of problems with the manufacture of the drugs.

On Friday, Lee maintained his administration was being transparent with the report even if they weren’t immediately disclosing it to the public. The governor added that he had not yet finished reading the document but confirmed that the state plans to take action.

State deploys avian flu detection system

The Tennessee Department of Agriculture says they’re offering a new service to help bird owners following a new detection of highly pathogenic avian influenza.

The agency said Thursday that the detection occurred in Weakley County, where it affected a backyard flock of egg-producing chickens.

Department officials say that people who have backyard flocks or pet birds can now sign up to receive email alerts on the health of domesticated birds in Tennessee.

Notifications will range from new HPIA detections, changes to movement or sales requirements, and other issues affecting domesticated birds.

Metro, Meharry rework hospital lease terms

Officials from Metro Nashville and Meharry Medical College 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.

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.

Holidays see big jump in store credit cards

A year after consumer interest in store credit cards plunged, more Americans say they’re considering applying for one this holiday season. New data from LendingTree finds that store cards are the most common in Nashville and Baton Rouge, Louisiana with Kohl’s being the king of all store-branded cards, topping the list as the most popular in American’s wallets.

Thirty-five percent of Americans say they’re at least somewhat likely to apply for a store credit card this holiday season, up from 29% a year ago and the second-highest percentage in the five years of data from LendingTree.

Store cards are most common in Tennessee and Louisiana. Nashville tops the list (47.5%), followed by Baton Rouge (47.2%), Knoxville (46%) and New Orleans (45.2%).

The most popular store card across the 100 largest metros is from Kohl’s (9.5%). Lowe’s (6.3%) and Amazon (6.2%) immediately follow.

To save big and earn rewards, more than a third of Americans say they’re eying store credit cards this holiday season. However, the magic of those new cards might wear off as soon as the holiday decorations are put away. Nearly 4 in 10 people who have a store card say they’ve regretted getting at least one of them, and 14% say they’ve regretted getting several store cards.

GELF connects families via virtual story time

Governor’s Early Literacy Foundation, which has a mission to strengthen early literacy in Tennessee, partners with United Through Reading to connect military service members with their children through the gift of reading this holiday season.

GELF is providing 10,000 books for military service members to video-record reading them aloud, and the recording and book will be sent to their children at home in Tennessee.

Through GELF’s gift, 1,220 military-connected children, birth to age eight across Tennessee, including Tennessee National Guard, Air National Guard, Naval Support Activity Mid-South, NSA Mid-South CDC, families stationed at Fort Campbell, and the 4th Marines Recruiting District, will receive eight high-quality, age-appropriate books to keep families reading together and a book light to remind them of their loved ones.

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