Metro Police said the person who killed six people, including three 9-year-old children, had been planning the massacre for months.

Police have not established a motive for the shootings at The Covenant School, a small Christian elementary school where the 28-year-old shooter was once a student, according to a Monday news release from the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department. Both Nashville police and FBI agents continue to review writings left behind by Audrey Hale, both in Hale’s vehicle and home, police said.

“It is known that Hale considered the actions of other mass murderers,” police said.

The three children who were killed in the shooting were Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs and William Kinney. The three adults were Katherine Koonce, 60, the head of the school, custodian Mike Hill, 61, and 61-year-old substitute teacher Cynthia Peak.

Hale fired 152 rounds during the attack before being killed by police. That included 126 rifle rounds and 26 nine-millimeter rounds, according to police.

Outside the state Capitol on Monday, thousands rallied in a call for gun reform, many of them students from Nashville-area schools who walked out of their classes en masse. Some other students sat outside the House speaker’s office in the legislative building.

The crowd outside the Capitol echoed chants such as “thoughts and prayers are not enough” and sang along to songs like “All You Need is Love” – adding to it, “and action!” At one point, they sat for a moment of silence, raising posters above their heads that read, “Thoughts and prayers are useless to dead children,” “Book bags not body bags,” and “2nd graders over 2nd amendment.” Some students wore orange shooting-target stickers on their shirts.

– The Associated Press

New law allows police officers in private schools

Gov. Bill Lee has signed a law allowing private schools to contract with local law enforcement so they can hire school resource officers, days after a Nashville shooting at a private Christian school left six dead, including three children.

The Republican governor quietly approved the law without issuing a statement. A spokesperson for Lee did not immediately return a request seeking comment. The law goes into effect immediately.

Supporters said the bill was needed to clarify statutes that had kept private schools from working with local governments to hire school resource officers. The law now clears the path for them to do so, but does not make it a requirement.

Lee was expected to unveil his own proposals this week in response to The Covenant School shooting in the coming days. However, he has remained largely out of the public eye this week after announcing that his wife, Maria, was close friends with Katherine Koonce, who was among the six who were shot and killed in the March 27 shooting.

Reports: Fewer building permits a bad harbinger

The MTSU Business and Economic Research Center’s statewide report for the fourth quarter of 2022 reveals the noticeable drops in single-family and total construction permits “are likely to generate pressure on the housing market and overall economy,” noted report author Murat Arik, director of the BERC at MTSU.

Yet home prices continue to rise, and weekly unemployment claims, jobs numbers, homeowner and rental vacancy rates, real estate transfer tax collections, and mortgages past due improved from the same time the previous year.

Other report highlights:

• In Home sales, quarterly and annual closings were negative for the Nashville, Knoxville and Memphis regions. Quarterly closings decreased by 16.7% in Nashville, 12.4% in Knoxville and 20% in Memphis. Annually, closings were reduced by 35% in Nashville, 24% in Knoxville and 25.8% in Memphis.

• Home prices for all MSAs in Tennessee increased, however, the increase in the third quarter was more rigorous than the fourth quarter. The Memphis MSA had the smallest annual growth of 15.3%.

• Home prices from the previous quarter rose slightly for Tennessee (1.4%) and the United States (0.57%). Annual expansion for Tennessee was 17.5% and 12% in the United States.

• Tennessee’s total home construction permits all fell both quarterly (down 26%) and yearly (down 52.6%). Total permits for the year declined by 13.8% in the South and 22% in the United States.

• Quarterly and year-over-year closings for the Nashville, Knoxville and Memphis regions were down.

• Inventories were up across the state, though attributed to a drop in closings. Nashville had the most significant quarterly growth of 13%, followed by Memphis with 11% and Knoxville with 7%.

• Yearly changes in inventory were also most significant for the Nashville area, with an increase of 105%. The Knoxville and Memphis areas saw expansions of 71% and 28.8%, respectively.

Full report, more detailed breakdowns

Stites & Harbison makes list of top patent firms

The Patent Lawyer Magazine has named Stites & Harbison, PLLC to the 2023 Top 10 Patent Firms and IP Practices in North America – South list. This is the firm’s second year being honored.

The editorial and research staff at The Patent Lawyer Magazine reviews law firms by country and jurisdiction based on a variety of criteria for the Top 10 lists. Examples of research criteria include recent legal achievements, recognition by third party rankings and honor directories, client testimonials, regular articles or presentations on timely topics and active participation in intellectual property organizations.

The Patent Lawyer Magazine rankings

Interstate construction halted for Easter holiday

The Tennessee Department of Transportation will suspend all interstate construction work on Easter weekend in anticipation of increased holiday travel.

TDOT crews and contractors will stop all road construction work that requires lane closures beginning Thursday at 6 p.m. through Monday at 6 a.m. This will provide maximum roadway capacity to motorists expected to travel across the state this holiday weekend.

Motorists will still encounter some long-term lane closures on construction projects that will remain in place. While lane closure activity will be stopped, some workers may be on-site in construction zones, and reduced speed limits will still be in effect.

RecNation acquires first Nashville location

RecNation Storage, a leading owner, operator and developer of specialized recreational vehicles and marine storage facilities, announced that it has acquired its first premier recreational storage facility in Nashville at 1360 Pleasant Hill Road near Nashville International Airport.

RecNation is the first institutional grade specialized storage company created to serve the growing need for recreational vehicle storage. The company is focused on designing, building and operating premium recreational and marine storage facilities, as well as developing full-service recreational hubs across the country in an effort to cultivate a national community of outdoor enthusiasts.

As a leading, best-in-class storage operator in the U.S., the company has quickly expanded its footprint to serve a growing base of customers looking for safe, secure storage for their beloved toys.

The new facility will offer well-lit driveways, 24-hour accessibility, electrical outlets, dump facilities and 24/7 video surveillance.

Locale to open new East Nashville boutique hotel

Locale Hospitality, a leading manager of premium apartment-style accommodations, and a team of Nashville developers announced the April 2023 opening of The Eighteen by Locale, a boutique apartment hotel in Nashville’s Five Points neighborhood located at 18 McFerrin Avenue.

The property features 11 custom-designed short-term rental units, including two bespoke penthouses, a ground-floor commercial space, and a rooftop deck with sweeping views of downtown Nashville.

In addition to a spacious bedroom and living room, guests will have access to a full kitchen and in-unit washer and dryer. Locale’s 24-hour virtual concierge service and keyless self-check-in technology provides a seamless stay.

Powell, an award-winning design-build firm based in East Nashville, handled the architecture, construction, and interior design of The Eighteen by Locale. The firm drew inspiration from the uniqueness of the neighborhood and quirkiness of the footprint to create the property’s modern feel with an organic twist. Intricately-veined quartz, hand-hewn tile, warm walnut and oak wood tones, concrete-look porcelain tile with accents of indigo blues, and black plumbing and hardware were layered together to achieve the look.

Hankook is official tire of MLB for ’23

Leading global tiremaker Hankook Tire will enter the 2023 Major League Baseball season as the league’s Official Tire in the U.S. and South Korea.

An official partner of MLB since 2018, this year, the Hankook logo will be featured in signage behind home plate in select games, along with other marketing activities such as advertisements, promotions, and activities at MLB events.

Hankook will benefit from media assets on MLB Network, exposure on digital platforms such as MLB.com and also leverage social media content associated with the league. In addition, Hankook will be the presenting sponsor of the Wild Card series during the Postseason.

TDEC adds $203M for water infrastructure

The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation announced 43 grants totaling $203,244,525 from the state’s American Rescue Plan fund, part of which TDEC is administering in the form of drinking water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure grants.

Of the 43 grants announced, 14 are collaborative grants and 29 are noncollaborative grants. Collaborative grants involve multiple entities (cities, counties or water utilities) partnering on projects to work toward a shared purpose. All grants awarded represent 132 individual drinking water, wastewater and/or stormwater infrastructure project(s).

These grants announced bring the total ARP funds awarded by TDEC to $401,694,562 since August.

Tennessee received $3.725 billion from the ARP, and the state’s Financial Stimulus Accountability Group dedicated $1.35 billion of those funds to TDEC to support water projects in communities throughout Tennessee.