Nashville Film Festival Opens with Tennessee Films

The Nashville Film Festival got more submissions this year than ever before: in excess of 28-hundred movie-makers from points around the globe vied for a spot on the schedule. But as the festival opens tonight, the focus will be closer to home, with movies from Tennessee.

Christian students at Vanderbilt are trying to attract the attention of university trustees during their final meeting of the school year. Groups who’ve chosen not to comply with a newly-enforced nondiscrimination policy want the board to intervene.

The state senate will soon take a floor vote on a proposal backed by the governor to overhaul the Tennessee Regulatory Authority. The board oversees private rates for utilities like water and gas.

About 40 schools take part in it every year, but that number is about to double, with financial help from Franklin-based Nissan North America.

This weekend, Cheekwood will reopen a garden with its roots in East Nashville. Wildings was the private garden of Cora Howe, but it was enjoyed by thousands every year for nearly four decades.

Earlier this spring, student groups at Vanderbilt University fought back against a requirement that they accept “all comers.” The rule upset some Tennessee lawmakers, too, and they can vote on Thursday for a bill to essentially express their disapproval. But one is asking for an opinion on whether the bill passes legal muster.ristian groups said if they couldn’t require potential leaders to be Christian, they’d leave the campus.

Two young men from Nashville have filed a lawsuit against ABC, accusing the television network of racial discrimination. Both plaintiffs were turned down to be “The Bachelor.”

Parents could stop their kids from joining extracurricular groups in public schools under a bill that passed today in the state Senate. As The proposed law would give parents veto power in advance.

The Tennessee Senate approved a bill today to allow students to cite their religious beliefs in doing schoolwork and to allow prayer groups to be formed as easily as a chess club.

A state trooper from north of Cookeville was arrested today for having sex with an underage girl while he was off duty. State officials say they’re reacting strongly, in part out of concern for the reputation of the Tennessee Highway Patrol.