Mayor Karl Dean gave his annual “State of Metro” address Monday, just after cutting the ribbon at Nashville’s largest ever public building project. Here’s the video of that speech.

Fort Campbell is seeing waves of soldiers return from Afghanistan. Most don’t have orders to deploy again, and budget cuts mean they’ll stay at the post longer than expected. But that’s a change many service members like.

Nashville Mayor Karl Dean insists a planned bus-rapid transit system known as the Amp can get federal funding, despite doubts from the city’s Congressman. Last week Rep. Jim Cooper’s office said it could be tough to get the federal $75 million the Amp’s fate is riding on.

In her only high school graduation commencement speech this year, First Lady Michelle Obama told graduating seniors at Nashville’s Martin Luther King Jr. High School that they were lucky to attend such a good school.

The days are numbered for coal-fired power on the campus of Vanderbilt University, which has had its own plant since the 1800s. Like many older colleges, Vandy is now getting away from coal. Instead, it plans to keep making electricity using more natural gas.

TVA executives will hold their first face-to-face meetings with the Obama Administration Tuesday about possibly privatizing the public utility. The idea was floated in the President’s budget plan.

The Music City Center opened its doors to the public for the first time Sunday afternoon. The grand opening continues with a ribbon-cutting and concert Monday evening.

Tennessee Senator Lamar Alexander is again coming to the aid of fishermen. At a press conference Friday, he announced that he “brokered” a deal to save the state’s federal fish hatcheries.

Six people are facing federal charges for trying to defraud Nissan North America. According to the US Attorney’s office in Nashville, 44 year old Kenneth Carter worked as an arbitration specialist for the Franklin-based automaker, where he helped settle warranty claims filed by Nissan owners.

The architects of the Music City Center are admiring their own work ahead of this weekend’s grand opening. They say the 1.2 million square foot building represents an evolution in how people think about convention centers.

The Music City Center is Nashville’s largest public building project, costing at least $585 million. Here’s a look back at previous major projects and their cost to taxpayers.

Tennessee veterans and their families can now permanently qualify for discounts on home loans worth an average of $100 a month. A state agency that promotes home buying has extended what was a pilot program to give military homeowners a break.

Mayor Karl Dean gave a press tour of the soon-to-open Music City Center on Wednesday. We sent photographer Stephen Jerkins along to give a sneak peak. Here’s a slideshow:

One of the Music City Center’s most iconic features is a green roof that can be seen from the nearby Interstate. It’s part form and part function.

The song “I Drive Your Truck” is a No. 1 country hit. It began with a father’s remembrance of his son, who was killed in action in Afghanistan — and a songwriter who just happened to be listening.

Piedmont Natural Gas says it’s cleaned up a spill near Radnor Lake that happened over the weekend, but still has work to do reaching out to nearby homeowners. The company spent the last year reassuring people of its plan to build a new pipeline south of Nashville, right through a highly protected park.

The first visitors to explore the 1.2 million square feet of Music City Center this week are gawking at its sheer size. But as convention centers go, it’s relatively small potatoes.

Longtime State Senator Doug Henry today confirmed his retirement plans and took a look back at his political career, which began in to the mid-1950s.

ABC executives said little about the TV show Nashville today except to confirm that it’s staying put.

Nominations for the Americana Music Awards were announced today, with husband and wife duo from Charleston leading the pack.