Responding to a new state law that abolishes community oversight boards, new Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell mandated that Metro reconstitute the current board as a civilian review board.

The existing community oversight board engaged independent counsel and elected not to file suit against the state. Metro Legal Director Wally Dietz agreed with that decision, stating, “When the legislature passed the new law requiring all police oversight boards to comply with new restrictions and requirements, we advised the COB leadership that Metro would not file a lawsuit challenging the law because we did not have legal claim we could file in good faith.

“Unlike other legislation that targeted solely Metro Nashville (council size, airport authority, fairgrounds renovations) the COB legislation affected police oversight boards in four cities: Nashville, Memphis, Chattanooga and Knoxville,” Dietz says. “Also, the law applies prospectively to all local governments. That means the legislation did not violate the Home Rule Amendment of the Tennessee Constitution. We do not file lawsuits as a form of protest. We file only when we have solid grounds to do so.”

O’Connell is expected to recommend Jill Fitcheard as executive director and to retain current staffing levels. He believes that transition can be complete within the next six weeks.

“Civilian oversight is important, and I am committed to getting our civilian review board up and running as quickly as possible,” O’Connell says. “I have also confirmed that our human resources department will work with current employees who are in the unfortunate state-mandated position of having uncertainty surrounding how they are employed.”

169 TN Promise mentors needed in Davidson County

With less than two weeks remaining until the Oct. 20 tnAchieves mentor application deadline, Davidson County still needs 169 mentors to meet local student demand. More than 3,500 volunteer mentors are still needed statewide.

Many TN Promise students will be the first in their families to go to college. These students often need extra support and encouragement as they navigate a confusing college-going process. Mentors provide irreplaceable local support for students who may otherwise be without guidance or encouragement in the college-going process.

tnAchieves mentors commit one hour per month to serve students in their community. tnAchieves provides training, a handbook and weekly updates throughout the year. tnAchieves also provides monthly webinars to ensure mentors have ongoing support in their work with students.

Mentors must be 21 years of age and are subject to a background check. Those interested in applying to mentor can visit www.tnachieves.org/mentors.

Belmont earns highest Bar passage in Tennessee

Belmont College of Law earned the top spot for the July 2023 Bar Exam among all Tennessee schools, based on bar passage results recently released by the Tennessee Board of Law Examiners. 93.4 percent of Belmont’s first-time test takers, or 85 of the 91 graduates who sat for the exam, earned a passing score.

Cryoport partners with British company

Nashville-based Cryoport, Inc., a global provider of products and services to the fast-growing cell and gene therapy industry, and the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult, an independent innovation and technology organization specializing in the advancement of cell and gene therapies, have entered into a new strategic partnership to support the advancement of cell and gene therapies.

Through this collaboration, Cryoport Systems will establish its first global supply chain logistics centre in the U.K., a Good Manufacturing Practice-compliant facility located within the bioscience cluster in Stevenage, U.K., at the CGT Catapult’s large-scale cell and gene therapy Stevenage Manufacturing Innovation Centre.

NHTSA ready to issue ARC air bag recall

The U.S. government appears poised to order a recall of millions of air bag inflaters due to a manufacturing flaw that could send metal shrapnel rocketing through a car’s interior.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration held a public hearing Oct. 5 to field commentary and testimony on inflaters made by ARC Automotive Inc. of Knoxville, which supplies the devices to air bag makers and several major auto companies. At least 25 million vehicles containing ARC-made air bags could be affected.

At the heart of the issue is a metal inflater canister inside the air bag device. The government contends that a crucial flaw could cause this canister to “rupture” upon impact. Instead of releasing pressurized gas to inflate the air bag, the canister essentially explodes, sending metal shrapnel into the vehicle at head height.

Clio rolls out expanded legaltech platform

Clio, a provider of cloud-based legal technology, announced its plans to help legal professionals improve their interactions with court systems, with the introduction of a new electronic filing (e-filing) and electronic service (e-service) solution, Clio File.

The announcement aligns with Clio’s ongoing investments into improving the attorney-court relationship, and enables legal professionals to electronically file, serve, and deliver court documents directly from Clio’s flagship practice management product, Clio Manage.

Beginning with Texas, Clio aims to roll out this service in early 2024 to select states that accept e-filing and e-services in their court systems.

Main Street Health announces expansion

Main Street Health, the nation’s largest value-based health care organization exclusively serving rural America, has announced its expansion into 26 states. In conjunction with this announcement, Main Street has raised over $315 million in new capital including investment from strategic health plan and provider partners.

Main Street partners with primary care clinics in rural America by placing a Health Navigator in each partner clinic. The Health Navigator assists the clinic’s providers with care coordination activities including ensuring patients have preventive screenings, calling patients to remind them to pick up their medications, scheduling patients for primary care visits after they are discharged from the hospital and assisting patients with social determinants of health needs.

Main Street partners with more than 900 clinics across 18 states with plans to expand into an additional eight states in 2024. The average clinic Main Street partners with has 2.5 providers and is located in a town of 3,000 to 5,000 people.

Mews acquires Nomi for hotel guest experiences

Mews, an industry-leading hospitality cloud, has today announced its acquisition of Nomi, a Nashville-based hospitality startup, as it continues focusing on its mission to enable remarkable guest experiences. Nomi will be included within Mews Guest Journey, empowering hoteliers to provide a hyper-personalized experience for guests.

Founded in 2021, the Nomi team has developed a local tour guide for travelers, using predictive analytics and AI to respond to recommendation requests while considering the personality type of each user, unique preferences, interests and needs. For hotels, Nomi delivers real-time customer insights, helping them to better understand their guests, make data-informed operational decisions and provide brilliant guest experiences.

Nomi was founded by Tim Drisdelle, a former Apple engineer who worked on Siri and Apple retail payments, and Natasha Drisdelle who has worked in the hospitality industry for almost 20 years, including time as a director of Omni Hotels & Resorts. Natasha was also founder and CEO of hotel management company Lord & Liberty Hotels where the idea for Nomi originated.

The acquisition was managed by Mews Ventures, the company’s venture and investment arm which was launched to accelerate the technological transformation of the hospitality industry. The Nomi acquisition marks the seventh acquisition for Mews Ventures, with previously acquired companies including Cenium (2022), Bizzon (2022) and Hotello (2023).

Belmont, Compassion team for global entrepreneurs

Child development organization Compassion International and Belmont Innovation Labs have announced a new partnership to pilot Impact Teams, groups of expert volunteers and mentors who will come alongside social innovators dedicated to addressing the world’s most formidable challenges.

Impact Teams are designed to work with global and local entrepreneurs who are making a positive change in their communities.

Josh Yates, director of Belmont Innovation Labs, explains, “Our work is focused on mobilizing social innovation ecosystems that enable human flourishing. This new pilot project with Compassion will select alumni from their child sponsorship program who are now pursuing social enterprises and connect them with leaders who can support their efforts to transform communities. It’s a dynamic initiative that will foster both an empowering environment and a supportive network to unleash enduring and impactful solutions.”

Research indicates that the primary reasons most social ventures fail are a lack of mentoring and encouragement, limited access to crucial technical assistance and chronic underfunding. Impact Teams embed visionary entrepreneurs into communities of dedicated mentors, collaborators and champions.

THP taking applications for Citizens’ Academy

The Tennessee Highway Patrol is accepting Citizens’ Academy applications for the Nashville classes. The Citizens’ Academy starts Oct. 26 and will meet weekly until Dec. 7. The one-day-a-week sessions are on Thursdays and run from 5:45-8:30 p.m. CT. This is not a state trooper academy.

The Citizens’ Academy is designed to give citizens a better understanding and awareness of THP and the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security. Citizens will receive hands-on instruction and training from state troopers and other department personnel throughout the academy. Classes will be held at the Tennessee Highway Patrol and Department of Safety and Homeland Security Training Center.

Participants must be at least 21 years old, available to attend weekly sessions with no more than one absence, sign required waivers and agreements and have no criminal history.

Applications are available upon request via email via [email protected]. The deadline to register is Oct. 17.