Latest news with #JacobKupin
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
New Nashville bus stop farmer's market aims to boost safety, tackle food insecurity
A new farmers' market is coming to the Downtown Nashville plaza between the Elizabeth Duff Transit Center and Nashville Municipal Auditorium. It will serve fruits and vegetables every other Wednesday through October. Nashville leaders said the market's meant to be much more than just a simple diversion for passengers catching a bus ride to or from the downtown transit center, though. It's also intended to boost safety and increase access to healthy foods. Both goals were an emphasis on July 9, when local officials from Metro Nashville Council member Jacob Kupin to Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell gathered to celebrate the first WeGo Farmers' Market. 'The goal here is simple: bringing fresh, healthy, local food where people already are,' said Kupin, who represents the area as part of District 19. 'We know in our city, food access is so important.' Here's what else leaders said about the new market earlier this week. Several speakers at the July 9 market opening — from O'Connell to Sabrina Sussman, the chief program officer overseeing the Choose How You Move transportation improvement program — noted that events like this serve an important purpose: 'activating' the space. Broadly speaking, that means taking a public space that may otherwise have been underutilized and giving it purpose. But in this case, transit leaders have made it clear that it's also intended to help improve security at the downtown bus center. Several security enhancements were announced earlier this year, including a more than 60% increase in on-site security staffing. Also, Metro Nashville Police Department Captain Brian Williams was appointed transit liaison. 'I'll say already, we see signs of a focus on safety paying off,' O'Connell said. 'In the last two weeks, we have zero reports of any violent or property crime at any of WeGo's transit centers, and so far this year, we already have a 50% reduction in crime at all transit locations. And that's important, because transit centers do more than move people — they connect people to jobs, to health care, to schools and to opportunity.' The same day of the market opening, O'Connell's office shared a news release calling for community engagement to identify creative solutions to food deserts in Nashville. According to that release, more than 40,000 Davidson County residents live in 'food deserts' — communities where healthy grocery options are scarce or out of reach altogether. The problem's been exacerbated by an average year-over-year population growth of roughly 2% and an increased cost of living over the past decade, the release reads. 'We want to improve food access in neighborhoods across the city, building bridges to healthier outcomes, and that is what we're doing today,' O'Connell said at the market opening. 'The launch of WeGo Market is a step forward, one that meets people where they are (and) gives them access to fresh produce from local farms. We're responding to the challenge of food insecurity in part here, but we're doing more than that — we're also growing the local economy by helping people who grow our food.' O'Connell said dwindling federal support is making the issue even worse. He said that's affected agencies like Second Harvest Food Bank, which has lost access to millions of dollars in funding and programming that otherwise would have allowed it to purchase more locally-produced food. 'Whether we have federal support or not, we're going to keep pushing on programs that bring dignity and opportunities for more Nashville residents,' O'Connell said. Austin Hornbostel is the Metro reporter for The Tennessean. Have a question about local government you want an answer to? Reach him at ahornbostel@ Get Davidson County news delivered to your inbox every Wednesday. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: New Nashville bus stop farmer's market to boost safety, fresh food
Yahoo
14-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
‘A sigh of relief': Nashville church reopens 5 years after tornado
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – A historic church in Buena Vista is back open after it was destroyed by a powerful tornado more than five years ago. On March 3, 2020, an EF-3 twister crossed over the interstate, striking the then 135-year-old Mount Bethel Missionary Baptist Church. The impact destroyed their church building and Christian Life Center on the 3-acre property, leaving them to have to rebuild from the ground up. The storm was part of a major tornado outbreak in Middle Tennessee that left 25 people dead. On June 1, over 500 people came through the front doors of the new and improved version of the church on Arthur Avenue. It took about two years of construction to complete the $6.2 million rebuild project. News 2 On Tour | Explore the communities that shape Middle Tennessee 'The truth is the tornado tried to end our story, but God, he turned the page,' said Rev. Jacques Boyd, pastor at Mount Bethel Missionary Baptist Church. 'There were people from all over the city of Nashville that joined us, members who have been a part of this family of faith for 80 plus years to members who just joined us on that day.' District 19 Metro councilman Jacob Kupin was there for the long-awaited return. He called it a really special day for the neighborhood. 'A huge testament to the leadership of Pastor Boyd and this whole community to stay strong, to keep building, to keep going forward to this beautiful moment,' Kupin said. 'There were bumps along the road, but that's the journey of life, right?' The history and soul behind Brown's Diner Boyd said he believes everything happens for a reason. 'Here we are five years later, a pandemic later, and something is different,' Boyd said. 'Because the truth of the matter is, family, we have moved from programs to purpose. We've moved from members sitting to disciples serving. Let's be honest, our youth are engaged, our seniors are active, our worship is alive, and we don't just do church, we are the church.' Construction crews are still working on building a 120-spot parking lot behind the church building. Mount Bethel officials are hoping it will be complete in the next two weeks. Despite that, Boyd told News 2 it's good to finally be home. 'It's a sigh of relief,' Boyd said. 'I know the five years has been a long time for all of us, but I believe that the ends justify the means, and we're just excited to be back here in North Nashville and Buena Vista to do the work that God has called us to do.'To learn more, visit Mount Bethel Missionary Baptist Church's website. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
31-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
‘People are dying': Deadly street racing crash in Antioch highlights citywide problem
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — One Antioch resident has called for infrastructure improvements from city leaders after a street racing fatality in his neighborhood. The Metro Nashville Police Department announced that an 18-year-old driver died from injuries sustained during a street racing-related crash in the 2900 block of Anderson Road just before 9 p.m. Thursday. Two 17-year-old passengers were also injured in the crash and were taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center for treatment. ORIGINAL STORY: Teen killed in street racing crash on Anderson Road in Antioch '[I was] watching the TV and I heard a big bang — a big noise, and then I I came out; I found all this mess,' homeowner Amer Ameen told News 2, gesturing to debris in the yard. The accident left Ameen's yard in shambles and he's been left to pick up the debris. The vehicle traveled through his yard, hitting a mailbox, a light pole and Ameen's parked van. Ameen said he's thankful he had parked the van where he did because the vehicle could have crashed directly into his house. Street racing has been a problem in areas across Nashville. In 2020, the MNPD started its Street Racer Enforcement Initiative. Metro Councilmember for District 19, Jacob Kupin, said that the initiative has made more stops. Earlier this year, two tourists were killed in Kupin's district in a high-speed street racing related crash in The Gulch. He believes there's a lot more to do to stop street racing. DECEMBER 2024 | 'I feel like we owe it to victims and their families': Residents advocate for stricter street racing enforcement 'People are dying,' Kupin said. 'Council worked together with the Minority Caucus and a number of our colleagues to pass a resolution asking MNPD for additional traffic enforcement in the areas of speeding and reckless driving, drunk driving — things like that.' Ameen told News 2 that he believes it's time for the city to invest a traffic light at the intersection of Anderson Road and Kinwood Drive to help slow down cars. He also thinks the signage could help save lives. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Salemtown neighbors help cottontails during breeding season with nesting baskets
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Spring brings new life for both flora and fauna, even in the urban jungle of downtown Nashville. Neighbors in the Salemtown area of Nashville have taken initiative to ensure the safe continuation of the cycle of life by helping cottontail rabbits have safe places to breed. Per the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, Tennessee is home to three species of rabbits: the eastern cottontail, the swamp rabbit, and the Appalachian cottontail. The eastern cottontail is the most abundant and widespread in Tennessee, according to the TWRA. Neighborhood News: Stories impacting your community | Read More According to District 19 Councilman Jacob Kupin, the strange baskets popping up in the neighborhood are meant to help the rabbits have a space to protect their vulnerable young from predators and other hazards from the human-centered world. The baskets have small holes that are just big enough for a mother rabbit to enter and exit in order to protect her young from lawn mowers, weed eaters, people's pets and other predators in the area. Having protective areas like these baskets is another example of a 'great partnership' between urban livers and nature to help take care of the natural world around them. 'It's great to see these baskets popping up to help the Cottontails breed and survive,' he told News 2. 'Even in an urban environment, it's important that that's accentuated.' 'We know in an urban environment there are a number of car conflicts and people conflicts, especially as we continue to build in the city, so this is a way to make sure that [the rabbits] are protected and have the space to do what they need to do and reproduce and continue to be a beautiful part of our urban core,' Kupin added. The idea of the protective baskets was organic from the neighbors themselves, according to Kupin, which highlights how involved neighborhood associations are in their local communities. Dog credited with saving family's life during severe storms 'These are communities that are deeply invested in their neighborhoods and take steps like this to enhance it, which is really exciting for me to see,' he told News 2. Having this type of human intervention to protect natural species also displays the desire of community members to keep green spaces and more natural elements of their environment in tact in the face of growing development. 'There's a lot of really great pieces of nature in our city,' Kupin said. 'Sometimes in urban cores you kind of lose that—it becomes a cement jungle. It's important to me that we maintain our greenery and maintain our flora and fauna.' Do you have news happening in your neighborhood? Let us know by sending an email to neighborhoodnews@ Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
