The deadline to participate in Metro Nashville/Davidson County’s first-ever countywide Participatory Budgeting Program has been extended to noon Tuesday, June 20.

More than 800 project ideas have already been submitted, representing every district in the city, and interested parties can still nominate projects via PBNash.com or hub.nashville.gov. All Nashville residents age 14 and older are eligible to participate, regardless of citizenship status – no registration is required.

Participatory Budgeting allows communities to decide together how government money is spent. In December 2022, Metro’s Financial Oversight Committee recommended that $10 million in American Rescue Plan funds be used for a citywide Participatory Budgeting program in 2023. Metro Nashville Council unanimously approved the funding in January.

County residents can nominate projects they think should be undertaken in the 2023 cycle. Ideas must serve a public use or purpose – meaning they must deliver a direct, primary, concrete or quantifiable benefit to the people of Davidson County.

All submissions will be distilled into a ballot with 35 potential projects – one from each council district. Starting in October, residents can vote for up to five projects to support.

After voting closes Nov. 30, the projects with the most votes will get funded in order until all funds have been spent. Preference will be given to projects that meet the criteria of the Social Vulnerability Index, which uses U.S. Census data to help identify under-resourced communities.

For questions about the participatory budgeting process, contact Fabian Bedne in the Mayor’s office.

WIN teams with state for career readiness

Teens preparing to graduate from high school have a new tool available to prove they’re ready to successfully join the workforce.

The Tennessee Career Readiness Opportunity Program will help statewide 11th- and 12th grade students earn nationally recognized credentials in career readiness at no cost to help them make better-informed choices about their potential career paths.

WIN’s assessments help students understand the value of core skills by applying them to workplace situations.

WIN Learning, a national leading developer of career-readiness solutions, was awarded this opportunity by the Tennessee Department of Education to certify that students in local districts and public charter schools are career-ready.

WIN Learning’s Tennessee career readiness solution includes three qualifying assessments resulting in three stackable career-readiness credentials validating the foundational soft skills, workplace employability skills and basic digital literacy skills most in-demand by employers around the nation.

Turo taps Yoshi for virtual inspections

Yoshi, a delivery platform for mobile car care, is teaming with Turo’s peer-to-peer car sharing marketplace to offer virtual vehicle inspections for Turo hosts nationwide.

Taking a vehicle for an inspection at a brick-and-mortar service shop can be a time-intensive process filled with headaches and hassle for the typical driver. By partnering with Yoshi, Turo expects to make it more convenient for its hosts to ensure the safety of their vehicles, seamlessly manage their businesses, and optimize earnings on the platform.

“Virtual vehicle inspections are yet another innovative way that the Yoshi platform is making car ownership and management frictionless for a major population of car owners,” says Jon Miller, Yoshi’s Head of Growth. “Our technology is well-positioned to help drivers nationwide through our unique combination of a certified technician, AI-powered customer service, and data insights from connected car vehicles.”

As of the end of 2022, Turo has more than 160,000 active hosts, 320,000 active vehicles, and 2.9 million active guests from around the world participating in its marketplace.

Trend Management opens Nashville office

Full-service talent management agency, Trend Management, expands to Nashville in addition to the Houston, Texas headquarters and bicoastal representation in New York City and Los Angeles.

Trend’s expansion to Nashville will allow for continued growth for the company as it follows CEO and founder Ted Raad’s mission to provide a client-first experience that advocates for the creators, their personal brands and their individual entrepreneurial opportunities.

Trend’s new office, which is currently being renovated, will be located in the Wedgewood-Houston neighborhood on 4th Avenue South and is indicative of extensive plans for the future of the company.

Though the move to Nashville is new, the team is no stranger to the Nashville community and has deep roots in the entertainment industry. Trend’s Nashville team includes senior talent manager McKenna Monk, a native of Nashville and the granddaughter of Charlie Monk, the late radio personality and co-founder of the Country Radio Seminar.

BJ’s Wholesale opens in LaVergne June 14

BJ’s Wholesale Club announced its newest club in LaVergne will open June 14. The club, located at 543 Industrial Boulevard, marks the first BJ’s Wholesale Club in the state of Tennessee.

The retailer will now have a total of 238 U.S. clubs, expanding the company’s footprint to its 19th state.

The new club has a BJ’s Gas location on-site, offering members everyday low fuel prices, with the opportunity to earn extra savings through BJ’s Fuel Saver Program. The LaVergne BJ’s Gas station opened June 2 and offers regular, premium and diesel fuels.

At BJ’s, members can choose from a variety of convenient shopping options like in-club shopping, curbside pickup, in-club pickup, same-day delivery and standard delivery from BJs.com.

BJ’s is offering a limited-time founding member offer for local shoppers interested in joining the club through June 15. Shoppers can sign up for a membership can visit BJs.com/LaVergne or sign up in person at the membership center located at 543 Industrial Boulevard in LaVergne.

SmileDirectClub launches AI tool

SmileDirectClub, Inc., the next generation oral care company with the first medtech platform for teeth straightening, announced the U.S. launch of its innovative SmileMaker Platform, expanding its patented technology to its largest market.

The SmileMaker Platform is available for free through the SmileDirectClub App and leverages advanced artificial intelligence technology to show consumers their potential smile transformation within minutes.

SmileDirectClub piloted SmileMaker Platform with its launch in Australia in late 2022.

Consumers can download the SmileDirectClub App and capture a mobile 3D scan of their teeth, bite and alignment using their phone’s camera. This patented technology is an industry first, upgrading current 2D remote scanning options and introducing real-time AI to capture a 3D view of the teeth.

First FARM cost share recipients announced

Agricultural and forestry businesses are on track to strengthen and expand operations thanks to an innovative new program. The Tennessee Department of Agriculture has announced the first round of recipients for the Tennessee Forestry, Agriculture and Rural Markets (FARM) cost share.

The FARM cost share is designed to stabilize and strengthen the agriculture and forestry supply chain. Businesses that receive financial assistance through FARM are not required to repay the funds. In this first period, more than $18 million was awarded to 20 agricultural, food, forestry and nonprofit entities in Tennessee.

Each application was scored independently by three different TDA staff members and then reevaluated by a larger group of TDA staff with agribusiness expertise.

Scores were based on weighted criteria including the economic designation of the county of origin, operational increase expected from the completed project, anticipated impact on Tennessee’s food and fiber supply chain, readiness and evidence of financial capacity to complete the project, and demonstration of collaboration with industry and community partners.

An independent consulting firm assisted with the process by advising on the application, the score card and data management.

An estimated $15 million will be awarded in the second round of FARM funding. That application period is Nov. 1-30.

TDHS opens Families First grant applications

The Tennessee Department of Human Services has opened applications for the 2023 Families First Community Grant Program, an initiative that will make available approximately $30 million in funding to nonprofit organizations providing direct services to strengthen Tennessee families in need and promote self-sufficiency.

Qualifying nonprofit organizations are invited to apply through July 7 at 5 p.m. CDT

The Families First Community Grant program was created as an additional method to invest TANF funds in ways to provide assistance to low-income families and help them move toward sustainable economic stability.

The grants will support a wide range of services in the areas of education, health and well-being, economic stability and fostering safe, stable and nurturing relationships.

VUMC tests ChatGPT for decision support

A recent study finds promise in the artificial intelligence program ChatGPT for speeding review and improvement of computer system alerts used to support day-to-day clinical decision-making.

In a blinded test at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, a panel of four physicians and one pharmacist reviewed suggestions from ChatGPT 3.5 mixed with suggestions from teams of clinical specialists, the test involving seven alerts from among the myriad logic-based alerts in use at VUMC.

The judges, rating suggestions on a scale of one to five, gave an average rating of 3.6 to suggestions from clinical specialists, 3.3 to suggestions from ChatGPT. They rated 65 suggestions in all, 36 composed by ChatGPT, 29 by clinical specialists. Of the test’s 20 top-rated suggestions, nine were from ChatGPT.

The test, led by Siru Liu, a postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Biomedical Informatics, and Adam Wright, professor of biomedical informatics and medicine and director of the Vanderbilt Clinical Informatics Center, was reported in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association.