VOL. 48 | NO. 40 | Friday, October 4, 2024
Helene dumps 40 trillion gallons of water on South
More than 40 trillion gallons of rain drenched the Southeast United States in the last week from Hurricane Helene and a run-of-the-mill rainstorm that sloshed in ahead of it – an unheard of amount of water that has stunned experts.
That’s enough to fill the Dallas Cowboys’ stadium 51,000 times, or Lake Tahoe just once. It’s enough to fill more than 60 million Olympic-size swimming pools.
“That’s an astronomical amount of precipitation,” said Ed Clark, head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Water Center in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. “I have not seen something in my 25 years of working at the weather service that is this geographically large of an extent and the sheer volume of water that fell from the sky.’’
The flood damage from the rain is apocalyptic, meteorologists said. The death toll passed 133 earlier this week.
Private meteorologist Ryan Maue, a former NOAA chief scientist, calculated the amount of rain, using precipitation measurements made in 2.5-mile-by-2.5 mile grids as measured by satellites and ground observations.
He came up with 40 trillion gallons through Sunday for the eastern United States, with 20 trillion gallons of that hitting just Georgia, Tennessee, the Carolinas and Florida from Hurricane Helene.
Clark, who spends much of his work on issues of shrinking western water supplies, said to put the amount of rain in perspective, it’s more than twice the combined amount of water stored by two key Colorado River basin reservoirs: Lake Powell and Lake Mead.
Nashville makes list for FIFA Club World Cup
Nashville has been chosen as one of 11 cities selected to host the inaugural FIFA Club World Cup 2025.
Nashville’s Geodis Park is one of 12 venues selected as a host site for the inaugural event which will bring together soccer clubs from each of the six international confederations – AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, OFC and UEFA. Thirty-two teams will compete June 15-July 13 in 62 matches over the 29 days.
“We’ve had world-class soccer on our stage before, but never quite like this. I’m so excited for our passionate soccer fans, and we can’t wait to welcome the world’s best teams to Music City,” says Mayor Freddie O’Connell.
“We are tremendously proud and honored that GEODIS Park has been selected as one of the 12 venues for the historic FIFA Club World Cup 2025,” says Nashville SC CEO Ian Ayre. “This tournament will bring the world’s best clubs to Nashville, showcasing our stadium, our city, and our passionate fan base on a global stage.”
Clubs qualify for the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 via their respective continental club competitions. Qualification is based on sporting merit across a four-year cycle, ensuring continental champions and clubs demonstrating consistency are rewarded.
The official FIFA Club World Champions to be crowned at MetLife Stadium in New York New Jersey July 13, 2025.
Southwest extends BNA service to six new cities
Southwest Airlines continues to expand its service out of Nashville International Airport, with six new routes scheduled to launch in April 2025.
The new slate of cities served includes resumption of service to Albuquerque, New Mexico and Providence, Rhode Island, as well as the carrier’s first intra-Tennessee service to Memphis.
Southwest opened its newest flight crew base in Nashville in May, and will add the following cities to its BNA service:
• Albuquerque, New Mexico (last served in 1998)
• Albany, New York
• Jackson, Mississippi
• Memphis
• Providence, Rhode Island (last served in 2011)
• Tulsa, Oklahoma
Southwest has extended its flight schedule through June 4, 2025, opening customer bookings through the Memorial Day weekend.
Agencies form Nashville Early Education Coalition
Close to 30 community organizations have come together to address the area’s growing child care crisis as the Nashville Early Education Coalition.
With more than half Nashville’s children lacking access to affordable, high-quality early childhood education, the NEEC was created to move forward solutions that will impact the lives of families and children across the region.
“Access to quality early education is a gamechanger for our city,” says Melanie Shinbaum, executive director of NEEC. “We have heard loud and clear from parents and providers that our fragmented child care system is not working. NEEC is here to bring these voices together and create a comprehensive path to support Nashville’s youngest learners.”
NEEC was formed from a coordinated effort by organizations, including the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, United Way of Greater Nashville, and the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce.
These entities, alongside the coalition’s stakeholders representing leaders from the early education sector, the business community, local and state government, and philanthropy, recognized that despite many well-meaning initiatives, there was no centralized system to connect resources, policymakers and providers.
60% of families in Nashville report employment disruptions due to the lack of available child care and low-income communities face the greatest barriers to access. NEEC’s collaborative approach brings together leaders from diverse sectors to create lasting change for Nashville’s future.
NEEC’s priorities include:
• Uplifting Educators: Increasing compensation, retention stipends, and mental health support for early childhood educators.
• Advocacy: Championing policy changes to improve the early childhood education system and support educators.
• Leadership Development: Establishing a Director’s Catalyst Cohort to support early childhood education leaders while championing the field within the broader community to elevate public perception, increase recognition, and expand access to diverse funding streams.
Information, including full list of participating organizations
Redfin: Homes selling at lowest rate in decades
Just 25 out of every 1,000 U.S. homes changed hands in the first eight months of 2024, the lowest turnover rate in decades, according to a new report from Redfin, the technology-powered real estate brokerage.
Redfin conducted an analysis of housing turnover by comparing the first eight months of 2024 across different metro areas, home and neighborhood types. The company is using turnover as a measure of housing availability; it indicates how often homes are sold in a given area.
Redfin’s analysis used data from between 2012-2024, but zooming out further, this year’s turnover rate is the lowest in at least the past 30 years. Existing home sales were similar in the early-mid 1990s, but the number of homes that existed was much smaller – meaning the turnover rate was higher.
There were 37.5% fewer homes sold this year than during the middle of the pandemic buying frenzy in 2021 (40 of every 1,000) and 31% fewer homes sold than during the last pre-pandemic year in 2019 (36 of every 1,000).
Homes are changing hands at historically low rates for a number of interconnected reasons, including elevated mortgage rates, rising prices on low supply, and economic and political uncertainty.
Vonlane sets Knoxville routes for UT games
Vonlane, the regional premium transportation company, has launched a weekend service between Nashville and Knoxville to support passenger demand for an easier transportation solution between the Tennessee cities.
The service offers Friday, Saturday, and Sunday departures from each city on select weekends this fall tied to the University of Tennessee home game schedule. The schedule also includes special options for Thanksgiving holiday travel and the much-anticipated Volunteers – Vanderbilt matchup in Nashville.
Fall weekend service between Nashville and Knoxville include: Oct. 11-13 (versus Florida), Oct. 18-20 (versus Alabama), Nov. 1-3 (versus Kentucky) and Nov. 8-10 (versus Mississippi State)
The Vonlane terminal and local hotel partner in Knoxville is The Tennessean Hotel, located at 531 Henley St. Conveniently located, the hotel is a one-mile walk to Neyland Stadium. The terminal and hotel partner in Nashville is the Omni Nashville Hotel, located at 250 Rep. John Lewis Way S.
One-way fares are $120 if purchased more than seven days in advance; $130 if less than seven days; and $140 if less than 24 hours. Pricing is a flat rate with no additional fees or taxes.
The Nashville-Knoxville routes are a prelude for a daily route that will begin in late January with twice-daily departures from each city. The schedule and reservation system will be released in December.
Information
NEC restructures accelerator programs
Nashville Entrepreneur Center has announced a major restructuring of its programs, aimed at increasing the odds of success for founders by giving them more autonomy and reducing their time-to-market.
All programs are now aligned to one calendar timeline, providing more flexible, efficient, and targeted support for entrepreneurs at every stage of their journey.
The revamped structure, led by CEO Sam Davidson and vice president of programs Dakota Simpson, reflects input from NEC’s board and industry leaders, emphasizing speed, flexibility and impact.
Starting in 2025, NEC will host two accelerator cohorts – spanning 12 weeks each – designed to meet the unique needs of founders. Participants will gain access to on-demand webinars, expert mentorship and personalized learning paths.
Key elements of the new structure include:
• Efficient learning tracks: Entrepreneurs are no longer confined to one learning path. Instead, they can opt in to multiple programs during the same 12-week period to go further faster.
• Broader network: Founders will intersect across programs multiple times, broadening their networks significantly and building a larger community.
• Condensed time investment: NEC has streamlined its programming to help entrepreneurs bring products to market faster, cutting the learning time to just 1-4 or hours per week over a 12-week period.
• On-demand access: Entrepreneurs can now access key content and mentorship when they need it, ensuring timely support during critical business phases.
The two new 2025 cohort time frames are Feb. 24-May 16 and Sept. 8-Dec. 5.
Information/application