A panel of judges has blocked a new Tennessee law that would reconfigure the group overseeing professional sports facilities in Nashville by letting state leaders pick six of its 13 board members.

The three judges agreed the law targeting the Nashville Sports Authority likely violates home rule protections in the state constitution by singling out Nashville and failing to require approval by local voters or two-thirds of the metro council. The temporary injunction blocks the law while the lawsuit by the city proceeds through court. The law would have taken effect Jan. 1.

The ruling marks a fourth court decision against the state in the broader legal battle over laws passed by Republican legislators this year that dilute Democratic-leaning Nashville’s control, ranging from oversight of the international airport, to the size of the combined city-county metro council.

Established by city officials under a corporate charter in 1995, the Nashville Sports Authority has 13 board members picked by the city’s mayor and approved by the metro council. The new law lets the mayor retain a slim controlling majority with seven appointments, while splitting the other six picks among the House and Senate speakers and the governor.

Separately, judges blocked the law cutting the Metro Council from 40 to 20 seats before it would have taken effect for the August elections. That court case is ongoing.

Judges halted another change that would give the state a majority of the appointments to the board overseeing Nashville International Airport. The state has appealed in that case.

SCRI Oncology joins US Oncology Network

The US Oncology Network, the largest organization of its kind dedicated to advancing local cancer care and better patient outcomes, has announced that SCRI Oncology Partners has joined the network.

Nashville-based SCRI Oncology Partners is a dedicated cancer treatment center led by globally recognized oncologists with disease expertise in cancer care and clinical research. This center offers patients state-of-the art personalized cancer care and opportunities to participate in clinical trials with innovative treatments.

“Increasing access to clinical trials and enhancing local cancer care are significant priorities for us,” says Jason Hammonds, president, The US Oncology Network. “Which is why we are thrilled to welcome some of the nation’s most respected oncology clinical researchers into the network. These physicians provide comprehensive and personalized care with disease expertise, while also offering opportunities to participate in clinical research that help patients access newer options in care.”

In 2022, SCRI formed a joint venture with former US Oncology Research, the research arm of The US Oncology Network, to expand clinical trial access across the country. Today, SCRI’s research network brings together more than 1,300 physicians who actively enroll patients into clinical research studies at more than 250 locations in 24 states across the U.S.

Phosphorus raises $27M in new financing round

Phosphorus Cybersecurity Inc., the leading provider of unified security and device management for the xTended Internet of Things (xIoT), announced it has raised an additional $27 million in Series A2 funding led by Evolution Equity Partners.

Evolution’s investment arrives following a series of industry-leading innovations recently unveiled by Phosphorus which solidify its hold in creating an entirely new category of Unified xIoT Security Management.

The additional capital will enable Phosphorus to further expand its R & D and go-to-market initiatives to meet the growing demand for its award-winning Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) Protection Platform that proactively and safely reduces the risk of compromise for IoT, OT, IIoT and IoMT device estates.

The announcement extends the landmark Series A raised by the company in early 2022, which was one of the largest early-stage funding rounds for a cybersecurity company.

Metro food scraps pilot shows promise

In October, Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell joined Metro Waste Services staff in launching a one-year pilot curbside food scraps pickup program to learn how Metro can help residents reduce food waste going to landfill.

As of the end of November, the program had collected more than 12 tons of food scraps and other compostable material.

“The early returns from our food scraps pickup program show the potential we have for reducing waste in our landfills,” O’Connell says. “The 200 pilot participants saved 12 tons of scraps, and I am excited to see how much of an impact this program can have once we expand it citywide.”

The early success of this program is an exciting step toward achieving Nashville’s Zero Waste Master Plan, which aims to reduce reliance on landfill disposal for waste.

Food waste makes up about 25% of what Nashville currently throws away, making it a top priority to achieve zero waste, defined in the plan as reducing all waste to landfill by 90% by 2050.

Over the yearlong pilot program, Metro Waste Services’ staff will be collecting and analyzing both quantitative and qualitative data from the 750 participating households. At the end of the pilot, this data will be used to identify what would be needed to add a curbside food scrap collection to Metro Waste Service’s curbside trash and recycling program citywide.

State issues community development grants

The state’s Department of Economic and Community Development recently approved $36.6 million in Community Development Block Grants (CDBG), which will assist communities with infrastructure improvements, housing rehabilitations and health and safety initiatives.

The allocation of CDBG funds is based on priorities set through the public meeting process at the local community level. The CDBG program is funded through HUD and administered in Tennessee by the Department of Economic and Community Development.

Funds are available for water and sewer improvements, housing rehabilitation, health and safety projects and other improvements to enhance the quality of life in Tennessee’s rural communities.

In addition to traditional community improvement and safety projects, funding was also made available for community development projects, such as sidewalk and walking trail improvements, street paving and community centers.

Vanderbilt LifeFlight helps train service dogs

Vanderbilt LifeFlight is partnering with the local nonprofit Retrieving Independence to assist in the training of service dogs in simulated medical settings, the latest of several Vanderbilt University Medical Center partnerships that bring specially trained dogs to Medical Center facilities.

RI breeds, trains and places service dogs with people who are living with a physical, mental or emotional disability. The new partnership allows RI puppies to visit LifeFlight staff simulation events to gain exposure to medical equipment and staff like those they will encounter after completing training and being paired with an individual with medical needs.

Two Labrador retrievers, Mia and Kai, were the first puppies to take part in one of LifeFlight’s quarterly medical simulations, held Dec. 5 at the Vanderbilt LifeFlight Training Center in Nashville.

During the pilot project, puppies observed LifeFlight medical teams performing simulations with plastic mannequins. The dogs became acquainted with medical alarms and the inside of a LifeFlight ground ambulance, where they experienced laying on a gurney.

LifeFlight’s drills included Labor & Delivery, NICU and other scenarios, with equipment such as ventilators and cardiac monitors, said flight nurse Samantha Smith, RN. Because service dogs in training are not allowed in the hospital, the simulation provides an opportunity for them to adapt to such scenarios.