Johnny Cash’s granddaughter starts petition to ask mayor to close Lower Broadway
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NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) — The granddaughter of Johnny Cash has started a petition asking Nashville Mayor John Cooper to close Broadway to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
“So many of the citizens of Nashville and its small businesses have made huge sacrifices for the safety of our community while these tourist traps on lower Broadway continue to operate using a food sale loophole,” Chelsea Crowell wrote in the online petition. Crowell is the daughter of Rosanne Cash, Johnny Cash’s daughter, and Rodney Crowell.
“They are drawing in and catering to maskless patrons from out of town who leave us to deal with the rising number of COVID cases.”
Crowell said the city has been “sold to the tourism industry over and over, but now this industry and the very alarming way they are conducting business and ignoring mandates is endangering the health of Nashville residents.”
Heat maps released by the Metro Public Health Department showed the downtown Nashville area as a hot spot for COVID-19 in Davidson County.
On Tuesday, Cooper announced that he would require restaurants that serve alcohol to close at 10 p.m. beginning Friday.
“Closing at 10 p.m. is not going to help this problem,” Crowell wrote. “COVID does not turn into a pumpkin after 10 p.m. The virus really only cares if you are maskless and close to others, preferably drunk, as people tend to get at bars.”
Crowell said Nashville citizens need our health and lives prioritized over money and the tourism industry.
“We need our leaders and lawmakers to take this seriously,” Crowell wrote. “So many of us cannot return to work or send our children safely back to school until the virus is under control.”
Metro Schools announced it will hold virtual classes until at least Labor Day because of the COVID-19 virus. Tennessee State University has also announced the first two weeks of classes in the fall semester will be held remotely.
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