Notable quotables from our local coverage in Nashville.

This week we covered the end of the legislative session, the FAIR RX bill involving CVS, how Middle Tennessee has more clarity around how the Nashville Electric Service, and a win for the Duck River (no matter what side of the political fence you are on).

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“This isn’t about liberals and conservatives. This is about protecting natural resources,” said Doug Jones, a resident in Hickman County.

The Tennessee General Assembly passed a bill to protect the Duck River from landfill construction. Landfills have been proposed across the state in recent years — including in the Duck River watershed.

The new legislation creates a two-mile buffer around the river and its tributaries, reports Caroline Eggers, our Environmental Reporter.

The Duck River is widely considered the most biodiverse river in North America due to its numerous fish and mussel species. Its water sustains life in the bordering habitats of limestone glades, oak forests, prairies, caves and wetlands.

“This is sort of wild country — what’s left of Middle Tennessee’s wild country,” said Jones, whose property borders the Duck River. He identifies as conservative and supported the legislation through the Duck River Conservancy.

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Photos: Caroline Eggers/WPLN and Paul DeWitte/Duck River Conservancy

It’s not every day a high school student makes the finals in a global competition. But Brentwood’s Adam Rakmanov has, and he’s up for a $250K scholarship prize.

Rakmanov, an 18-year-old student at Ravenwood High School, created a video explaining how a specific bacterium in water called Ideonella Sakainesis can help break down plastic in 6 weeks.

He entered his video into the Breakthrough Junior Challenge, a global competition where students simplify complex science topics into a 2-minute video.

“Plastic is a big problem, the plastic epidemic has wreaked havoc on our whole globe,” Rakmanov said. “There’s so many defects that are coming from plastics, where new research is coming up every single day.”

The $250K prize winner is expected to be announced in May. If he wins, Rakmanov plans to use the money for college. Even if he doesn’t win, he’s pleased with making it this far.

“Being in the top 16 out of 3000 is already impressive in itself, especially for college, but I really hope I win.”

Wherever he goes, he plans on majoring in pre-med, attending medical school and becoming an entrepreneur in the medical world.

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Nashville’s industrial East Bank is in the midst of a long-term transformation. One of the biggest changes to the area will be a new Tennessee Performing Arts Center (TPAC).

The new facility, which will be relocating from its current downtown location near the state capitol, will play a key role in the East Bank’s revitalization. The project, which was finalized in an agreement between Metro and TPAC late last year, will be costly.

The state has dedicated $500 million toward construction, contingent on TPAC raising private matching dollars and Metro’s involvement.

TPAC has enlisted prominent Danish architect Bjarke Ingels, in collaboration with William Rawn Associates and Nashville-based HASTINGS Architecture.

This week TPAC unveiled the structural new design, complete with sweeping waves of metal encasing the facility.

Construction of the new facility is expected to start in early 2027.

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Photos: Bloomimages

f you’re simultaneously taking care of children and aging parents, we want to hear from you — because you’re in good company.

HealthQ co-host Cara Anthony had a sandwich generation moment when she found herself balancing work, taking her mom to the doctor, and looking out for her daughter who was home sick from school. For others, it’s when they started packing pillboxes for Dad or fielding medical questions from Mom — or when their families had to adjust to their parents moving in.

Share your experience in the comments or as a DM for an upcoming show from HealthQ, a collaboration between Nashville Public Radio and @kffhealthnews

It is designed to boost your healthcare know-how.

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A rural Tennessee Emergency Medical Services team is taking action to fight infections. It is something that ambulance teams have not done before. And it could save lives across America.

Untreated infections are still one of the leading causes of hospitalization in the U.S. If people with infections go without antibiotics, they can enter sepsis – a severe, life-threatening condition that disproportionately affects people in rural areas who don’t have easy access to hospitals or clinics. Rural hospital closures spurned by cuts to Medicaid are making it worse.

But one emergency medical service agency in Tennessee might have an answer. Hawkins County EMS is giving paramedics and EMTs the training and antibiotics they need to identify and treat sepsis in patients before they even reach the emergency room.

This is a departure from the way people have historically been treated on ambulances. For decades, paramedics and EMTs were trained to treat symptoms and stabilize patients all while getting them to a hospital as quickly as possible. But in rural areas, ambulance rides average 30-45 minutes. By the time they reach a hospital, it could be too late.

Now, Hawkins County EMS is improving outcomes for patients in rural Tennessee, say local medical providers.

Tap link in bio for more info, and follow along for more stories from our Healthcare Hollow series.

Photos: Pierce Gentry / WPLN News