AGP Executive Report

Housing Watch: Home prices are sliding faster in some metros, with Memphis showing one of the biggest year-over-year drops in list price per square foot (-4.1%), as higher mortgage rates and shifting supply-and-demand push sellers toward more realistic pricing. AI & Chips: Elon Musk says SpaceX is locking in Nvidia hardware for its AI and computing stack, a move that could raise compute costs but streamline procurement and software across SpaceX and xAI. Local Business & Jobs: Greenheck plans to buy and repurpose a former Macy’s distribution site in Owasso, Oklahoma, aiming for a $300M manufacturing expansion and 700+ jobs—an example of retailers’ warehouse shakeups turning into new industrial demand. Public Safety Tech Backlash: Texas and Florida are moving to stop spending on Flock license-plate cameras, signaling growing political resistance to plate-reading surveillance. Community & Veterans: Texas Roadhouse is hosting a Sept. 14 fundraiser for Wreaths Across America, with 10% of sales supporting wreath placements at local veteran cemeteries in Tennessee. Tennessee Data Point: ZIP 37919 reported 5,960 Social Security beneficiaries in Dec. 2024, up 2.3% from the prior year.

Banking & Retail Restructuring: Simmons Bank says it will close 26 branches, including several in the Mid-South, as it shifts customers toward digital and self-service banking. Public Finance & Housing: Tennessee Housing Development Agency awarded Eastern Eight Community Development Corp. $276,210 to rehabilitate 36 Comcare units in Greene County, preserving affordable housing for adults with developmental disabilities. Rural Healthcare Investment: Tennessee’s Rural Health Transformation Program is funding 53 projects statewide; Dayton is among the initial recipients for its “Dayton Active Living Enhancement Project.” Workforce & Education Access: tnAchieves brought its Prosperity Tour to Greene County, highlighting COMPLETE coaching and emergency grants that have lifted its three-year graduation rate to 45%. College Affordability: THEC is marking September as College Application and Exploration Month, promoting TN Direct Admissions and expanded college access support at 34 new high schools. Energy & Regulation: Tennessee issued a first-of-its-kind commercial nuclear fusion byproduct material license to Type One Energy for Project Infinity at the TVA’s Bull Run site. Cost Pressures for Businesses: Record-high diesel prices are hitting Tennessee Valley farmers and freight-dependent operations, raising costs across the supply chain. Local Business Operations: Chattanooga is posting multiple weekend road closures for events and ongoing Main Street paving work. Crime & Courts: Four men were sentenced in federal court for selling guns in the parking lot of a Memphis hotel, tied to an operation that officials say fueled broader criminal activity.

AI Outage: Multiple major chatbots went down at nearly the same time, with ChatGPT drawing 340,000+ user reports, raising fresh questions about shared infrastructure and reliability. Retail Expansion: Zaxby’s is opening its first Henry County location in Paris, Tenn., Sept. 8, adding more chicken-finger demand to West Tennessee. Auto Executive Shuffle: Volkswagen named Marco Schubert to lead North America, replacing Kjell Gruner as the automaker pushes sales and transformation plans. Banking/Finance: Simmons Bank will close 26 branches as it seeks to strengthen its bottom line, including six in Arkansas. Healthcare Recognition: NHC Healthcare’s Rita Durbin won Tennessee Health Care Association’s 2026 Nurse of the Year award in Nashville. Data Centers & Courts: Nashville and West Memphis continue fighting over Google data center records, with judges weighing trade-secret and reporting disputes. Policy Watch: Senators Blackburn and Blumenthal escalated pressure on TikTok over a safety-feature experiment tied to 15 million US users.

Banking & Housing: Freddie Mac says the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate hit 6.71%, the highest since last July, cooling homebuying in Nashville while sellers lean on incentives to close deals. Public Safety Tech: Chattanooga Police launched a Drone First Responder pilot, sending live video from FAA-authorized drones to officers on eligible 911 calls within a 3-mile radius. Cybersecurity: Thomson Reuters disclosed a C-Track case-management breach affecting court systems in multiple states, including Tennessee, after an unauthorized party accessed certain files. Sports Media & Business: The Athletic’s internal review found Dianna Russini’s relationship with Patriots coach Mike Vrabel violated newsroom standards, and reports say Barstool Sports/Dave Portnoy are leading a bid for her return. Local Governance: Memphis City Council members sparred over an honorary street renaming for former Mayor Lee Harris tied to Regional One Hospital funding disputes. Retail Banking: Simmons Bank plans to close 26 branches across six states, including six in Tennessee, citing a shift in customer preferences. Tech Reliability: SpaceXAI apologized after a Memphis compute center outage took Grok offline for hours.

Fusion Licensing: Tennessee issued its first fusion-specific byproduct material license to Type One Energy, clearing a path for a new commercial fusion project and signaling a new state regulatory framework for nuclear innovation. Banking Leadership: FirstBank named Joe Salvato market president for Crossville and Cookeville, expanding its regional growth focus. Retail & Jobs: H. Audrey opened a second boutique location at McEwen Northside in Franklin, adding a new retail footprint and styling-focused services. Air Travel: Southwest will open airport lounges in Austin, Baltimore, Honolulu and Nashville starting late 2027, with access tied to a new Chase premium card; Avelo also extended Florida flight schedules through April 2027. Local Economy & Land: Farm Credit Mid-America reported farmland values up 7.1% overall, with Tennessee averaging a 9.2% increase but highly local market differences. Sports Business Tie-In: Tennessee football’s new First Horizon Bank jersey patch deal is worth more than $12 million annually, and a poster mix-up highlighted the sponsor’s rollout timing. Corporate Earnings: Genesco posted fiscal Q2 profit of $3.5 million as growth continues in Journeys and Johnston & Murphy.

Banking & Courts: A Memphis federal judge sentenced Courtney Trenell, 34, to 15 years for helping carry out two armed bank robberies and joining a conspiracy targeting six banks, underscoring continued federal pressure on violent financial crime. Travel & Consumer Spending: Southwest Airlines will open its first-ever airport lounges in Austin, Baltimore, Honolulu and Nashville in late 2027, with access tied to a new Chase premium Rapid Rewards credit card—another shift toward paid perks. Cybersecurity: Thomson Reuters says an unauthorized party accessed files tied to its C-Track court platform, affecting systems including Tennessee, after the company detected the incident in June and traced file access to March. Workforce: Kilgore Flares Company filed a WARN notice for a permanent reduction in force affecting 127 workers effective Oct. 31, 2026. Local Business: VEG ER for Pets opened a new 24/7 emergency veterinary clinic in Knoxville, its fourth Tennessee location. Energy & Industry: Novonix says it delivered a mass-production qualification sample of synthetic graphite anode material from its Tennessee facility to Panasonic Energy, aiming to deepen North American battery supply chains.

Aviation & Premium Travel: Southwest Airlines says it will open its first airport lounges—starting with Austin, Baltimore, Honolulu and Nashville in late 2027—partnering with Chase and rolling out a new co-branded credit card to drive lounge access. Healthcare Antitrust: The FTC approved a final consent decree in the Ascension/AmSurg deal, requiring Ascension to divest seven ambulatory surgery centers and adding a 10-year prior notice requirement for future ASC acquisitions in affected markets. Commercial Real Estate: Hamilton Development has begun construction on buildings 4 and 5 at NorthPark Logistics in Clarksville, adding to a 12-building, 2.2 million-square-foot industrial park with Phase One deliveries targeted for Q1 2027. Local Business & Community: Tennessee’s blood supply is running low, and Lifeline Blood Services is urging donors statewide as it runs a September blood drive push. Energy Watch: GasBuddy reports Tennessee fuel prices remain above year-ago levels, with Bedford County midgrade hitting a weekly low of $3.76 and diesel in Henry County averaging $5.14. Scam Alerts: BBB Scam Tracker data shows Shelbyville logged two scam reports in July, placing it among 39 Tennessee cities tied for 40th.

Data Centers & Local Rules: Bulloch County commissioners rejected a proposed data-center prohibition, keeping a moratorium in place while a working group studies the issue, alongside other zoning and liquor-store decisions. Energy & Power Demand: A new report highlights rapid growth in U.S. energy storage, with utility-scale capacity nearly doubling in the first 18 months as grid operators chase reliability for rising electricity needs. AI Drug Discovery: St. Jude and partners unveiled AdaptiveFlow, an open-source AI platform aimed at cutting the cost of ultra-large virtual drug screening, with results published in Nature Biotechnology. Social Media Settlement: Meta agreed to pay up to $17.1B to settle state claims over teen harms, including Tennessee’s $751.9M share for youth mental health and safety programs. Tennessee Business & Finance: Tennessee comptroller rejected Jackson’s FY27 budget over delinquent audit issues, while Tennessee employers and workforce efforts continue to be spotlighted. Sports Business Note: The Nashville Predators traded Luke Evangelista to the New Jersey Devils for two 2028 draft picks, a move framed as roster and salary-cap flexibility.

Tech & Courts: A federal appeals court revived NetChoice’s bid to block Tennessee’s social media age-verification law, setting up another fight over minors’ accounts and First Amendment claims. Energy & Industry: NOVONIX says it won’t buy 17.5 acres next to its Chattanooga Riverside site, even as it continues to report losses and previously secured $103M in federal tax credits for the project. Higher Ed & Talent Pipelines: Peyton Manning awarded four University of Tennessee freshmen with his namesake scholarship, feeding UT’s leadership program. Public Funding & Local Safety: Tennessee announced $700,000 for a Dunlap bicycle pump track park, and McMinn County fire departments received more than $600,000 in state volunteer firefighter grants. Business & Growth: First Horizon Bank added Nick Zalk as a Chattanooga commercial relationship manager. Economy & Culture: Nashville tourism hit a record $11.6B in 2025 visitor spending, while BMG and Concord completed their merger with global HQ in Nashville.

Tennessee Economy & Energy: Delek US Holdings says it welcomed the Trump EPA decision granting small refinery exemptions for the 2025 compliance year, framing it as job- and investment-supportive for small refiners. Capital Markets & Biotech: Percheron Therapeutics secured firm commitments for a $2.3M institutional placement to fully fund a Vanderbilt Health investigator-sponsored clinical trial of HMBD-002 for AML/MDS, adding to a recently received $700K R&D tax incentive rebate. Local Business & Taxes: Acme Feed & Seed in Nashville is set for its first appeal over a historic property tax rate hike after taxes jumped nearly 400%, with the owner arguing the assessment system isn’t distinguishing historic buildings from new high-rises. Community & Workforce Development: TVA opened applications for K-12 STEM education awards (up to $5,000 per project) for educators across its seven-state region, with $1.5M in partnership funding. Public Health & Consumer Watch: Tennessee American Water customers are set to receive additional PFAS settlement credits, while multiple food recalls—including a Lundberg jasmine white rice recall—are prompting consumer alerts.

Nuclear Innovation: Gov. Bill Lee and TDEC issued Tennessee’s first fusion-specific byproduct material license to Type One Energy, positioning the state as a regulatory hub for commercial fusion. Construction & Logistics: Atlantic Aviation has started work on a second Nashville FBO, while SSK Logistics says Memphis freight still runs on “airport time,” building its operating model around late-cycle cutoffs. Business Expansion: SAM acquired Wilson & Associates, a major Tennessee geomatics firm, expanding SAM’s surveying and geospatial footprint across the Southeast. Legal/Tech: A federal court let independent artists’ Copyright Act and DMCA claims against Suno move forward, while tossing their Tennessee consumer protection claim. Utilities & Water: Tennessee American Water issued additional PFAS settlement bill credits, topping $71 per account to date. Energy Costs: GasBuddy reports the lowest midgrade prices in Wilson County at $3.69 for the week ending Aug. 22. Public Safety/Immigration: ICE carried out a targeted Memphis operation that advocates say detained more than 100 people at a bar. Local Economy: Chattanooga’s tourism generated about $1.88B in 2025 spending, up 4% year over year. Culture & Business: Dolly Parton’s estate announced DollyFest for Nashville and London in 2027, and Parton was laid to rest after a private family funeral.

Tennessee Small Business Support: The Acceleration Project’s free “Edge” financial coaching program is open to Tennessee small businesses, with 10–15 hours of coaching over 10 months across spending, saving, borrowing and planning; applications are due Monday. Adult ADHD Care in Nashville: Nashville Concierge Medicine rolled out new educational guidance on adult ADHD treatment options, pointing patients to a personalized, holistic approach. Workforce Training Funding: As “Workforce Pell” expands, more short-term job training programs are becoming eligible for Pell grants, with students in states including North Carolina seeing new pathways to affordable certification. Tech Layoff Reality Check: New reporting shows 2026 layoffs are increasingly concentrated in fewer companies but larger rounds, with Apple, TikTok and Zillow cited as examples of shifting staffing needs. Memphis Immigration Enforcement: Advocacy groups and witnesses say more than 100 people were detained during an ICE-linked operation at a Northeast Memphis nightclub, prompting protests and calls for details. Local Economy & Healthcare Spending: New Medicaid spending snapshots across Tennessee communities show rising procedure and anesthesia payments in multiple areas, underscoring how local billing patterns move with care demand. Nashville Airport Renaming Push: After Dolly Parton’s death, momentum is building to rename Nashville International Airport in her honor, tying tourism branding to a major public-facing decision.

Dolly Parton’s Private Farewell: Parton was privately laid to rest in Nashville, with her niece Lainey Mae Parton confirming the burial after a small family service and urging donations to the Imagination Library. Entertainment Backlash: Bill Maher faced backlash for a crude Dolly tribute joke during his HBO monologue, with critics calling it disrespectful. Nashville Airport Renaming Push: Tennessee’s governor renewed momentum to rename Nashville International Airport in Parton’s honor, as petitions and public support continue to grow. Housing Costs Watch: Zillow reports rents rising again, with median asking rent up 2.3% year over year to nearly $2,000—signaling landlords may be regaining leverage. Local Business & Regulation: Clarksville City Council advanced proposed distance limits for future smoke and vape shops, aiming to define the businesses and spread them out. Energy & Travel Signals: WestJet cut 27 U.S. routes amid softer Canada-U.S. travel demand, including changes affecting Nashville (BNA). Healthcare Spending Snapshot: Medicaid anesthesia billing rose sharply in West Memphis in 2024, while Maryville saw anesthesia payments climb as well.

Meta Child-Safety Settlement: Meta’s chief legal officer met Tennessee AGs in Nashville in August to push a major deal tied to a federal trial over online harm to children, with states weighing up to $19B plus teen-safety changes. Family Business Fight: Jack Daniel’s parent Brown-Forman faces a bitter feud as heirs to the $11B fortune accuse the board of poor performance and press for a $15B takeover; CEO Lawson Whiting says he’ll step down. Local Recovery After Storm: Memphis-area nonprofit Urban Promise 901 hosted an “After the Storm” giveaway for families still reeling from a week of power outages. Nashville Airport Renaming Push: Tennessee’s governor is moving to rename Nashville International Airport for Dolly Parton, as public momentum grows after her death. Sports & Jobs Watch: With NFL roster cutdown day looming, teams including the Titans and Bears are finalizing 53-man squads; meanwhile, Tennessee youth soccer coach sentenced to 30 years for child abuse.

Public Finance & Retirement: A new tax-planning breakdown argues some Tennessee retirees can withdraw from traditional IRAs in 2026 with little or no federal income tax by stacking standard and senior deductions—while warning the “unused” space won’t carry into 2027. Local Justice: Homeland Security Investigations says a Middle Tennessee youth soccer coach was sentenced to 30 years for sexually exploiting children and recording the abuse, after a device tied to the case was found in 2023. Tennessee Business & Tourism: Gov. Bill Lee and Nashville leaders are backing a proposal to rename Nashville International Airport “Dolly Parton International Airport,” teeing up a Sept. 17 airport authority vote. Consumer & Labor: Starbucks Workers United announced a boycott over contract talks with unionized baristas, with walkouts reported in Tennessee among other states. Sports Economy: Southwest says spring 2027 will bring record Sunday departures to Las Vegas and Nashville, with more seats and higher demand as the airline’s new fee-and-assigned-seating model takes hold. Tech & Healthcare Leadership: Arisa Health promoted its CFO successor after a chief financial officer transition in the nonprofit behavioral health sector.

Energy & Jobs: Nth Cycle says a new U.S. Department of Energy grant worth up to $100 million will help fund a South Carolina battery-recycling refining facility, “Project SHIELD,” targeting up to 24,000 metric tons of lithium-ion “black mass” annually and aiming for operations by 2029. Local Utilities: Greeneville Energy Authority selected Whitney Winter, president of MECO Corporation, for its board, and also ratified a $53 million bond tied to broadband expansion and other projects. Public Safety & Immigration: ICE detailed how Camilo Campos-Hurtado, convicted for drugging and sexually assaulting Nashville children via a soccer program, allegedly used counterfeit immigration documents and left devices behind that contained child sexual abuse material. AI Surveillance Backlash: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered state agencies to pause funding for Flock AI license-plate cameras as cities cancel contracts over privacy concerns. Tennessee Aviation & Tourism: Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee and the Metro Nashville Airport Authority backed a proposal to rename Nashville International Airport for Dolly Parton, with the change slated for discussion at the Sept. 17 authority meeting. Community Giving: United Way of Blount County kicked off its 2026 campaign aiming for $2 million, reporting 42% of the goal already collected.