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EGACY Yesterday. Today. Tomorrow.

WEDNESDAYS • March 14, 2018

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INSIDE GRTC partnership for East End RVA - 2 Examining suicide amongst pastors - 8 Appropriation: Defending Bruno Mars - 10 Free credit freezes coming your way - 15

Richmond & Hampton Roads

LEGACYNEWSPAPER.COM • FREE

EPI study: No progress for blacks in homeownership, unemployment and incarceration in 50 years LAUREN VICTORIA BURKE Late last year, “The Washington Post” wrote that African Americans were the only group that showed no economic improvement since 2000.

They based their conclusions on Census data. This year, there was even more sobering news in a report by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI). The new study issued found “no progress” for African Americans on homeownership, unemployment and incarceration in 50 years.

Much of what was included in the EPI study was stunning data on African American economic progress.

Fifty years after the famous and controversial Kerner Commission Report that identified “white racism” as the driver of “pervasive discrimination in employment and

education” for African Americans, EPI concluded that not much has changed.

The EPI study stated the obvious and pointed to glaring statistics.

Regarding the justice system, the share of incarcerated African Americans has close to tripled between 1968 and 2016, as blacks are 6.4 times more likely than whites to be jailed or imprisoned.

Homeownership rates have remained unchanged for African Americans, over the last 50 years. Black homeownership is about 40 percent, which is 30 percent behind the rate for whites.

Regarding income, perhaps the most important economic metric, the average income for an African American household was $39,490 in 2017, a decrease from $41,363 in

2000.

A press release about the report said that: “Black workers still make only 82.5 cents on every dollar earned by white workers, African Americans are 2.5 times more likely to be in poverty than whites, and the median white family has almost ten times as much wealth as the median black family.”

In 2017, the black unemployment rate was 7.5 percent, up from 6.7 percent in 1968, and still roughly twice the white unemployment rate.

In 2015, the black homeownership rate was just over 40 percent, virtually unchanged since 1968 and trailing a full 30 points behind the white homeownership rate, which saw modest gains over the same period.

President Trump has bragged

about the black unemployment rate has reached record lows and homeownership has reached record highs under his presidency. What Trump leaves out is the overall statistical data over many years.

Much of what the data shows is connected to systemic policy problems that have been persistent for decades.

In the press release about the EPI report, EPI economic analyst Janelle Jones said that it’s clear that structural racism is the root cause of the economic inequality between blacks and whites.

“Solutions must be bold and to scale, which means we need structural change that eliminates the barriers that have stymied economic progress for generations of African American workers,” said Jones.

The LEGACY

2 • March 14, 2018

News

Bon Secours, GRTC implement RVA bus stop and pedestrian infrastructure improvements Transportation has long been identified as a critical social condition that impacts individual and community health. And now in an effort to promote community health and improve the Richmond region’s transportation infrastructure, Bon Secours and GRTC have joined forces to contribute matching $100,000 investments to install new bus stops and related pedestrian improvements in Richmond’s East End. “Transportation was identified by community members as a top health need in Bon Secours’ 2016 Community Health Needs Assessment,” said Tyler Agee, program manager of community health for Bon Secours Richmond Health System.

“Given the resounding input we received from the community on the important connection between transportation and health and GRTC’s interest in collaborating to make these enhancements, we believe this investment is both responsive to resident voice and impactful from a community health perspective.”

In partnership with RVA Rapid Transit, termed the leading regional advocacy group for public transportation, Bon Secours and GRTC

collaboratively focused on bus stop and pedestrian enhancements as a key need with achievable, measurable and visible impacts within Richmond’s East End. With this goal, in the coming months Bon Secours and GRTC will conduct additional public engagement to help identify possible East End bus stops in need of improvement. Proposed enhancements include installation of new bus stop amenities, including benches, trash cans and shelters, as well as evaluating pedestrian safety and accessibility surrounding bus stops.

“GRTC is pleased to combine resources with Bon Secours to implement needed improvements at critical points in the transit system for this neighborhood,” said David Green, CEO, GRTC Transit System. “We see this as a long term partnership to benefit the transportation needs of East End residents, helping to build a healthy neighborhood.”

“I applaud this innovative collaboration and tangible common-sense action plan that will help create a healthier community in Richmond’s East End by improving elements of the public transit

Cynthia Newbille system,” said Cynthia Newbille, PhD, Richmond City Council, East End 7th District. “This partnership advances a focused initiative that is highly responsive to our residents and precisely aligned with the city’s Richmond Transit Network Plan.”

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THIS BUS IS HEADED TO THE FUTURE. Streamlined routes are on the way.

Get ready for faster, more consistent transit service. Because GRTC will soon have new routes. Many buses will come more frequently. Connections will be easier. Bus route names will be simplified. And at the same time, we’re launching the new Pulse route. Go to ridegrtc.com to explore the changes, or call 804-358-GRTC. You can even schedule up to three free “practice runs” of your route with a GRTC Travel Buddy.

www.LEGACYnewspaper.com

March 14, 2018 • 3

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The LEGACY

4 • March 14, 2018

U of R junior honored as Newman Civic Fellow SUBMITTED REPORT University of Richmond junior Alicia Jiggetts of Suffolk, has been announced as a 2018 Newman Civic Fellow. She is the first UR student to receive this honor. Jiggetts is double majoring in criminal justice and political science and is a Bonner Scholar.

The Newman Civic Fellowship is a one-year experience emphasizing personal, professional and civic growth though Campus Compact, a national coalition of more than 1,000 colleges and universities.

The fellowship provides a variety of benefits, including networking at a national conference and access to apply for exclusive scholarship and post-graduate opportunities.

“As a Bonner Scholar, I committed myself to four years of civic engagement and to the fight for social justice for everyone,” Jiggetts said. “I am excited about this opportunity because I believe that as a young person, I have a crucial role to play as a catalyst for change.”

Jiggetts, is the editor of RVAGOV, a student-run website supported by the University of Richmond

Alicia Jiggets with former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe.

Downtown that provides citizens with up-to-date information on local government. As a UR Downtown student coordinator, she has interned with the Restoration of Rights Division of the Office of the Secretary

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of the Commonwealth and is currently volunteering with the City of Richmond's Center for Workforce Innovation.

“In her internships and volunteer work, Alicia balances her hunger to affect the system with ongoing education about the ways the system impacts people around her and has shown determination to contribute

her time and energy to the Richmond community,” said University of Richmond President Ronald. A. Crutcher in her application.

“She cares deeply about making the justice system more ethical from the inside and helping people affected by the system understand it and influence it for themselves.”

www.LEGACYnewspaper.com

March 14, 2018 • 5

Three new genetic markers associated with risk for depression able to isolate changes in DNA that increase risk for major depression and published a paper on the discovery in the journal Nature.

The most recent findings take this a step further by determining that the additional genetic markers are relevant to the disease in a subset of people who have not experienced extreme adversity.

Kendler, M.D., professor of psychiatry and human molecular genetics in the Department of Psychiatry in the School of Medicine, and one of five VCU faculty authors, said the work could shed more light on subtypes of depression and their treatment.

“We have struggled for years using twin and family studies to try to understand how genes and environment interrelate in causing depression,” Kendler said. “This is the first study where we have been able to do this using molecular variants. This is an important advance in our understanding of this important, severe and common psychiatric disorder.”

The researchers collected information on environmental adversity measures from their subjects. Environmental adversity includes experiences of extreme stressful life events such as childhood sexual and physical abuse.

Observing groups who were adversity exposed and non-adversity exposed allowed researchers to account for diverse causes of depression, or the disease’s etiological heterogeneity, in determining genetic causes, Peterson said.

“Identifying genetic risk variants

for major depressive disorder has been difficult, likely due to associated clinical and etiological heterogeneity,” Peterson said. “Here, we highlight individual differences in clinical presentation and the importance of collecting symptom level data to tackle clinical and etiological heterogeneity in complex psychiatric traits.”

Peterson said the ultimate goal is to identify high-risk individuals for early intervention and personalized medicine. Cai said the discovery could lead to additional findings on potential links between metabolism and depression.

“Some of the genes implicated by variants we found to be associated with depression are involved in mitochondrial function and metabolism,” Cai said. “So, one potential direction for future research is to try to understand the link between depression and metabolism.”

Kenneth Kendler, M.D. After becoming the first to definitively discover genetic markers for major depression, researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University and collaborators have found more genetic clues to the disease.

A study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry details the discovery of three additional genetic risk markers for depression, which builds on the groundbreaking discovery of two genetic risk factors in 2015. Lead authors include Roseann Peterson, Ph.D., an assistant professor of psychiatry at the VCU Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, and Na Cai of the European Bioinformatics Institute and the Wellcome Sanger Institute in the United Kingdom.

Both sets of findings were the result of an international collaboration among researchers from the Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, the University of Oxford and throughout China to shed light on genetic causes of the disease. Principal investigators Kenneth Kendler at VCU and Jonathan Flint at the University of California, Los Angeles led this large-scale collaborative effort, which resulted in a study of more than 10,000 Han Chinese women from 50 hospitals across China.

Initially, the researchers were

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6 • March 14, 2018

Op/Ed & Letters

The LEGACY

More treatment, less incarceration needed for the mentally ill

CONTRIBUTED EDITORIAL Less than 10 percent of crimes can be directly attributed to mental illness, and those suffering from mental illness are 10 times more likely than the general population to themselves be victims of crime.

Nonetheless, more than a quarter of inmates incarcerated in Virginia’s 59 prisons and local and regional jails last year were mentally ill, according to a report released in November by the Compensation Board.

Out of an average daily inmate population of 26,350, “there were a total of 7,451 inmates known or suspected to be mentally ill in jails during the month of June, 2017,” according to a survey the board conducted.

The Hampton Roads Regional Jail is not only the largest correctional facility in Virginia, it also the largest de facto mental health treatment center for people diagnosed with

The LEGACY NEWSPAPER Vol. 4 No. 11 Mailing Address 409 E. Main Street 4 Office Address 105 1/2 E. Clay St. Richmond, VA 23219 Call 804-644-1550 Online www.legacynewspaper.com

schizophrenia, delusional and bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and other conditions listed in the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic & Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, even though a 2014 study found that only 7.5 percent of crimes are directly linked to mental illness.

More mentally ill people wind up in jail than in therapeutic settings, according to the Arlington-based Treatment Advocacy Center, which notes that “like every state in the nation, Virginia incarcerates more individuals with severe mental illness than it hospitalizes.”

Although Virginia has made some progress in changing the way it deals with the mentally ill in recent years, there’s obviously a lot more that can be done to not only lessen the social stigma of mental illness, but also to help those afflicted and their families, who often do not have the resources or skills to deal with a loved one’s mental illness.

Mental Health America of Virginia, the commonwealth’s oldest mental health advocacy group, is tracking a number of mental health bills as they wind their way through the General Assembly this session, including one that would expand Crisis Intervention Teams statewide.

CITs train law enforcement officers how to de-escalate conflicts with the mentally ill and, when appropriate,

The LEGACY welcomes all signed letters and all respectful opinions.

Letter writers and columnists opinions are their own and endorsements of their views by The LEGACY should be inferred. The LEGACY assumes no responsibility for unsolicited material.

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divert them to a treatment facility instead of incarcerating them.

Bruce Cruser, the group’s executive director, told the Free Lance–Star that both the Senate and House versions of the state budget include $1.5 million for more CIT training statewide. This is a worthwhile program that should be included in any final budget deal.

Even though the Senate budget does not include expanding Medicaid, it actually provides more overall funding for mental health issues, including $3 million for jail discharge planning so mentally ill prisoners “are not just dumped on the street,” Cruser pointed out. Some localities do this already, he added, “but that is the exception rather than the rule.”

The Senate budget also includes $7 million over two years to provide alternative transportation to mental health facilities for children and adults in crisis. Long trips are often necessary since a state law introduced by state Sen. Creigh Deeds, D–Bath—whose mentally ill son Austin attacked him before committing suicide in 2013—made state hospitals “the bed of last resort.” But being handcuffed and transported for long distances in a police or deputy sheriff’s car often re-traumatizes the patient as well as tying up valuable time that could be better used for law enforcement.

Virginians also need to do a better job of dealing with mental health issues before they spiral out of control. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, “half of all mental health

disorders show first signs before a person turns 14 years old, and threequarters of mental health disorders begin before age 24. Unfortunately, less than 20 percent of children and adolescents with diagnosable mental health problems receive the treatment they need.”

The Mayo Clinic lists a number of warning signs, including mood and behavioral changes, intense anxiety, difficulty concentrating, unexplained weight loss, stomachaches and headaches, substance abuse and self harm. But “even if you know the red flags, it can be difficult to distinguish signs of a problem from normal childhood behavior.”

In addition, a certain reluctance by parents, physicians and educators to “label” a child as mentally ill even when there are obvious symptoms can hinder early intervention. But “the sooner they get help, the better the outcome,” Cruser noted.

Virginia ranks 42nd among the states for access to mental health services, even though studies show that early intervention and permanent supportive housing that provides a continuum of services are effective in stabilizing people with mental illness and allowing them to live productive lives.

And since providing these services is less expensive for taxpayers in the long run than paying for hospital and prison beds, the commonwealth’s goal should be to reduce the incarceration rate and expand the support system for the mentally ill as much as humanly possible.

www.LEGACYnewspaper.com

March 14, 2018 • 7

P.T. Hoffsteader, Esq.

Thoughts on black youth pathology

People ask why black kids keep killing black kids in black communities. I think a huge part of it is because black kids in black communities are not cultivated in anything close to a true knowledge and immersion in a positive and affirming ethnic cultural identity.

The folks who get funding to do work in low-income communities are either white or are of the caste of black people who have been validated by the white establishment. I am fully convinced that this is one of the many reasons why radical left organizations are underfunded despite the amazing work they do on shoestring budgets. I know many far too many for which this is the case for it to be ineptitude and lack of conviction.

That validation by systems of white domination for many means a distancing of themselves from culturally responsive teaching. An unspoken requirement by systems of European domination is that you dont talk about that black stuff. It makes those who value systems of white domination uncomfortable.

This discomfort if followed all the way through requires a confrontation of systems of inequity, historical oppression and the evolution of white supremacy across generations.

As result of this inconvenience, the system doesn’t immerse black children in an understanding of their culture.

In absence of an affirming ethnic cultural identity – what is in its place? Mask Off by Future… #percocet #molly #percocet

Thinking today about how important how in sustainable horticulture and agriculture we talk about “right plant, right place”.

The idea is that if you plant a plant and it isn’t in the right place it will have a higher proclivity to disease not develop at its highest genetic capacity.

I am reminded of when I worked for the Indoor Farm we tried to grow red lettuce and the red in the red lettuce wasn’t coming in. We had to change the type of light. All light isn’t created equal. When we changed to the right type of light – the red in the red lettuce came it. The full genetic potential of the red lettuce wasn’t unleashed until it got under the right type of light.

So think about black children who haven’t gotten the right type of light (information) their full potential isn’t being activated. They are planted in a slum filled with limited opportunity and lack of access to resources (poor soil). This is the science project of the projects. Put all the poor people in one area and see what happens when you put crack in there, guns in there and lock the fathers up.

You getting exactly what you knew you would get.If the kids are looked at like plants – we got them in poor soil. We aren’t giving them the right type of light for their genetic identity.

Then as it relates to food minerals and nutrients, they aren’t being fed physically as they should because the neighborhood the housing projects are built in don’t have healthy food within a mile or more. Documented that nutrient deficiency causes all types of behavior and emotional issues.

I mean what is supposed to come out of that situation?

Duron Chavis via FB Richmond

Dem statements

We are happy that House Republicans are taking a step to take a close look at school safety,

and we accept their invitation to participate in their select committee on the issue. We are nonplussed, however, that House Republicans have announced a committee that by their own admission, will not discuss the issue of gun violence.

The issue of safety in schools is not a substitute for a greater conversation on gun violence, which is a crisis not just in our schools, but in spaces both public and private in communities throughout the nation. As we participate in this select committee, we will also be convening meetings throughout the Commonwealth to discuss the greater issue of gun violence, and we invite House Republicans to participate in this initiative as well.

As part of this effort, we will hold town hall meetings to discuss the gun violence crisis, and we encourage our Republican colleagues to join us at these meetings. While we may have different views about how to diminish gun violence in America, there is bipartisan consensus in Virginia that we must redouble our efforts to address not just school safety, but also gun safety in America.

David J. Toscano & Charniele Herring

Voicing concern

The NAACP is deeply concerned

by Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson’s move to dilute the agency’s long-standing mission.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development Act, which established HUD as a cabinet-level agency, declared a purpose: “[T] o provide for full and appropriate consideration, at the national level, of the needs and interests of the Nation’s communities and of the people who live and work in them.” This purpose is sustained through the agency’s mission to “build inclusive and

sustainable communities free from discrimination.” Secretary Carson’s action not only threatens HUD’s founding purpose, but also reveals plans of regression.

Dr. Carson’s attempt to diminish HUD’s mission comes on the heels of the 50th anniversary of the Kerner Commission’s report which affirmed that discrimination and segregation had long permeated much of American Life and continues to threaten the future of every American; and at a time when the Trump administration seeks to cut billions of dollars in housing aid for low-income families.

Despite these attempts, the promise of discrimination-free practices lives on in the Fair Housing Act which has the central objective of prohibiting race discrimination in sales and rentals of housing.

The hope of continued progress in America rests in the hands of communities across the country that continue to push their elected leaders to preserve programs designed to help disadvantaged communities and promote policies that make economic inclusion a reality.

The NAACP recognizes the importance of an inclusive economy and economic policies that address the challenging realities facing our country including poverty, lack of jobs and disproportionate high unemployment, lack of affordable housing, and foreclosures. The NAACP Economic Department’s work enhances the capacity of African Americans and other underserved groups through financial economic education; individual and community asset building initiatives; diversity and inclusion in business hiring, career advancement and procurement; and monitoring financial banking practices.

National NAACP

8 • March 14, 2018

Faith & Religion

The LEGACY

In isolated world of pastors, churches mum on troubling clergy suicides CP - In the fall of 2013, the Rev. Teddy Parker Jr.’s wife found him in the driveway of their Warner Robins home in Georgia with a “selfinflicted gunshot wound.” Many were stunned.

Parker never believed in suicide and often admonished his parishioners against it.

“I’m very surprised because he didn't preach that. He preached totally against it. It’s something that the congregation don’t really understand,” Russell Rowland, a member of the Bibb Mount Zion Baptist Church in Macon, Georgia, where Parker was leader, said at the time.

“Everybody is just kind of stunned right now. I think a lot of people are just trying to understand why that happened. We’re just praying to the Lord for guidance on this,” he said.

A few months after Parker’s death in April 2014, then pastor of Community Bible Church in High Point, North Carolina, Robert McKeehan, 42, was found hanging inside his home. He was the same age as Parker and was also a father of two.

These pastor suicides have not just been unfortunate isolated events.

An alarming number of pastors have taken their own lives in the last five years. And despite the increasing prevalence of suicide nationally, and the troubling rates at which the epidemic has been affecting certain groups of clergy, many churches remain silent on the issue.

Parker’s suicide came just three weeks ahead of Pastor Ed Montgomery’s in November 2013.

Three months later it was the Rev. Allen “Tommy” Rucker. Two months after that it was Pastor Robert McKeehan. Less than a month later is was Pastor DB Antrim. Then three months later it was the Rev. William “Bill” Scott who also killed his wife Charlotte.

Less than a year later in May 2015 it was Phil Lineberger, former president of the Baptist General Convention of Texas and pastor of Sugar Land Baptist Church. Three months after that in August 2015 it was the Rev. Seth Oiler. About a year later in August 2016, it was Pastor Lawrence “Larry” DeLong. Less than six months later and just before Christmas in December 2016 it was Pastor Daniel Randall who also took the life of his 27-year-old daughter Claire. Then last December, after a brutal struggle with his mental health, suicide expert and senior pastor of Christ the Rock Community Church in Menasha, Wisconsin, Bill Lenz, took his life too.

Troubling statistics A 2016 data brief from the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics said from 1999 through 2014, the age-adjusted suicide rate in the United States increased 24 percent from 10.5 to 13.0 per 100,000, with the pace of increase greater after 2006. Suicide rates, the brief said, increased

Late pastor, Teddy Parker Jr., (far back) his wife Larrinecia Parker (center) and their two daughters Kamry (r) and Kerrington (l) in happier times. FAMILY PHOTO for both males and females and for all ages 10–74.

The rates are at the highest levels in nearly 30 years, a federal data analysis showed. Data illustrating this jump shows that in raw numbers the total number of people who died by suicide nationally jumped from 29,199 in 1999 to 42,773 in 2014.

While no one knows for sure the exact number of pastors who are among those who die by suicide, the National Occupational Mortality Surveillance database, which includes records on almost 4 million deaths during the period 1999, 2003–2004, and 2007–2012, provides a studied estimate on how many pastors are affected.

In examining deaths by profession, this CP reporter looked at data provided to The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health by 23 selected state vital statistics offices and the National Center for Health Statistics.

NIOSH calculates the proportionate mortality ratios or PMR when data for the population at risk are not available and death rates cannot be computed.

“A PMR will tell you if there is a greater proportion of suicides in a profession compared to the general population. A PMR above 100 is considered to exceed the average background risk compared to all occupations,” Julie Eschelbach, health communications specialist for the CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, explained.

Looking at the data for all clergy combined regardless of sex or race, the PMR of 70 does not exceed the average background risk. When the data is broken down by sex and race, however, black male and white female clergy members

showed elevated PMRs of 110 while the PMR for white male clergy stood at 52.

Counseling experts who track research on mental health among pastors are also raising concerns.

While acknowledging that he wasn’t aware of any specific studies that looked specifically at suicides among pastors, Dr. Jared Pingleton, vice-president of professional development at the American Association of Christian Counselors, who is a licensed clinical psychologist and a credentialed minister, said of the suicide rate among clergy, “I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s not at least as high as the general population. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s higher.”

Chuck Hannaford, a clinical psychologist who consults for the Southern Baptist Convention, told The Gospel Coalition in 2016 that he believes the rate of pastor suicides has increased during his 30 years of practice and suggested the problem was worsening.

“Being a pastor is a dangerous job,” he said.

“Especially in certain evangelical circles, where you have more of a fundamentalist orientation theologically, you find pastors who will reduce their depression or their negative thought processes to strictly spiritual problems.”

The silence Christian media reported on each of the pastor suicides highlighted in this report, but church staff caring for the affected families and congregations all declined to discuss the matter publicly, especially in the days and weeks following the tragic events.

For example, Lakesia Toomer, a Bibb Mount Zion Baptist Church official, said in 2013, “We consider this a private matter between the family and the BMZ church family. We kindly ask that the public respects our privacy at this time.”

More than four years later, when asked if he was willing to share anything from the experience of losing a pastor to suicide in February, Paul Little, the church’s new senior pastor, said the time wasn’t yet right.

“I’d be willing to do something. Just trying to make sure the family is comfortable. I think it’s necessary for us to tell the story but we also have to be sensitive to the timing as well,” Little said.

Pingleton explained that the reluctance of churches to openly discuss suicide and other mental health issues is one of the reasons the problem endures.

“I attribute what you experienced to what I called the unholy trifecta — silence, shame and stigma — about mental health issues and especially suicide being the chief of those, there is a deafening silence,” he said.

“And there is pervasive shame which causes

(continued on page 9)

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(from page 8) us to hide from Genesis 3 on, and then there is this consistent stigma for mental and relational health problems, because suicide is a relational thing. It’s not just a mental thing. It is often referred to as the ultimate act of selfcenteredness, for example, or the ultimate act of last revenge, to play the quintessential or penultimate guilt trip on one’s loved ones,” he continued.

“We need to end the silence, eradicate the shame and erase the stigma because there’s still so much [to deal with]. It’s against the rules to struggle in a church. You just don’t have enough faith, you don’t read the Bible enough, you need to pray more. We would never say that to somebody with diabetes or cancer or that you shouldn’t take medication,” he said.

A 2014 LifeWay study found that 66 percent of Protestant senior pastors seldom discuss issues of mental health with their congregations. That number includes 49 percent who rarely or never address the issue. Just 16 percent speak about mental illness once a year while 22 percent are reluctant to help those who suffer from acute mental illness because it takes too much time.

Jerram Barrs, professor of Christian Studies & Contemporary Culture who is also a resident scholar of the Francis A. Schaeffer Institute at Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri, says he has experienced the death of three pastors who were either close friends or acquaintances over his 72 years of life.

He agrees that “many churches don’t handle emotional and mental problems” well and silence on the issue is a major problem.

“I think almost all churches need to handle it better. There are very few where people who are very severely or mentally broken who feel comfortable and welcome (in churches),” Barrs said. “Richard Baxter said the church is a mere hospital in the present age and we’d do well to remember that. A good church should be like that.”

In discussing the suicide of a pastor who was a close friend that happened nearly 25 years ago, Barrs asked for discretion in highlighting his name or even referencing the friend’s church because the pastor had been battling personal sins which most of his congregation did not know about.

The pastor’s burden Mark Medina is a transitional pastor who is helping Valley Presbyterian Church in Green

March 14, 2018 • 9 Valley, Arizona, recover from the 2016 suicide of their late pastor, Lawrence “Larry” DeLong.

While he was not authorized to discuss DeLong’s case, he said that in decades of coaching other pastors he has found that many pastors struggle because they don’t know how to selfdifferentiate.

“I work with high-conflict churches and a lot of churches I know, in the past that I have worked with, they don’t know how to deal with conflict.

And that’s a lot of pastors that do not know how to deal with conflict.

A lot of them don’t have the skillset, and I’m talking about all kinds of pastors,” he said.

“A lot of pastors lose their clergy objectivity that they get so enmeshed in a system they can’t see their way through. A lot of the folks that I’ve worked with in helping them get out of difficult situations is to give them some skills on how to create an environment where you can have discussions and not take it personally,” Medina continued.

“A lot of seminaries and Bible colleges do not teach people how to deal with conflict or to even mediate.

So yes, you can have the Gospel of Jesus Christ as your guiding light and things like that, but you still have to work in a church that is full of broken people.

“The pastor has to understand that he or she is also a broken person and has to rely on God and also has to have the skillset to deal with a particular church. So that’s why I’m always about working with pastors,” he said.

To highlight the burden of the various roles that clergy are often called to play, researchers in a 2002 report called Mental Health Issues Among Clergy and Other Religious Professionals: A Review of Research, cite the work of Dennis Orthner, a social work professor at the University of North Carolina on United Methodist ministers.

Orthner’s national survey of 2,000 United Methodist ministers, found that while pastors found their work to be rewarding it was also seen as demanding. He noted that among their many responsibilities, pastors are required to fill a variety of roles at once “including administrator, teacher, preacher, counselor, and fundraiser. There are few times when pastors are not ‘on call,’ and they often must deal with persons who are severely troubled.”

In their role as counselors, the report notes, “researchers have found that pastors are the primary mental health counselors for tens of millions of Americans. They are frequently the first persons to help with a family or marital problem or a personal crisis.”

The National Institute of Mental Health also found that clergy are as likely as mental health specialists to have a person with a Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders diagnosis come to them for help.

When it came to clergy and their own mental health, however, the authors of the study who looked at five databases of medical, nursing, psychology, religious and sociological research on a group of 250 religious professionals spanning the period 1975–2000, found Protestant clergy suffered the most work-related stress and had low levels of coping support.

“Among the group, Protestant clergy had the highest overall workrelated stress and were next to the lowest in personal resources to cope with the occupational strain.

Ministers, especially those who were sole pastors, indicated that they frequently felt isolated and had few friends and colleagues to ... turn for help. Many Protestant clergy expressed concern about their inability to set time limits, show their vulnerability, or express appropriate anger with parishioners,” the report said.

While most United Methodist pastors were found to have high levels of self-assurance, researchers raised concern about “the nearly one in six clergy who showed signs

of serious distress with their high levels of isolation, loneliness, fear, abandonment, anger, and boredom.

Pastors without a strong sense of well-being and personal adjustment will have a hard time guiding others in their spiritual development,” the report said.

Family problems and expectations Ministry was also found to place much strain on the marriages of clergy who are expected to oftentimes meet numerous and unrealistic expectations from their congregations, the study said.

“Researchers found that almost one in three pastors leaving ordained ministry had family difficulties, and clergy rank third in percentage among professionals who are divorced,” the review said.

Some 21 percent of UMC clergy studied cited poor communication as a major problem and 43 percent cited inadequate companionship.

“The most often cited areas of discord were: inadequate time with spouse, lack of affection, financial problems, not enough time with children, and sexual relations.

Marital conflict was most common among young pastors and those unhappy in their work and with

(continued on page 12)

Muslim refugee history to be discussed amid global immigration debate Zeyneb Sayilgan (right), visiting professor of Islamic theology and religious pluralism at Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria, will keynote the Dawe Lecture at Union Presbyterian Seminary March 22 from 7:30 - 9 p.m.

The lecture, “The First Muslim Refugees in the Christian Kingdom of Abyssinia: Implications for Christian-Muslim Relations Today,” will take place in Lake Chapel at the Early Center, 1106 Westwood Ave., in Richmond. It is free and open to the public.

The Migration to Abyssinia, present-day Ethiopia and Eritrea, in the year 613 was an episode in early Islamic history where the first Muslims fled from prosecution and sought refuge in the Christian kingdom of Abyssinia.

In her presentation, Sayilgan will reflect on how this historical encounter can inform ChristianMuslim relations today in constructive ways, guiding people of faith in the current debate on

immigration.

Union Presbyterian Seminary's annual Dawe Lecture series promotes ethical and religious understanding. It pays tribute to Dr. Donald and Nancy Dawe, and is funded through The Donald and Nancy Dawe Fund for Emotional and Ethical Growth. Dr. Dawe was professor emeritus of Union Presbyterian Seminary until his death in 2012.

10 • March 14, 2018

The LEGACY

Richmond Ballet presents ‘Art for Understanding’ Richmond Ballet and Binns of Williamsburg are the hosts of ‘Art for Understanding’ , a collaboration and cultural exchange between Richmond Ballet’s outreach program Minds In Motion and the Israeli artists group Matter of Color through March 16, more than 70 artists and guests from Israel, including Miri Shafir Navon, wife of former Israeli President Yitzhak Navon, will travel to Virginia as part of Art For Understanding.

This collaboration and cultural exchange connects students from Minds In Motion, Richmond Ballet’s celebrated outreach program reaching nearly 2,000 students throughout Virginia and Israel, and Matter of Color, a group of artists from Israel.

The brainchild of Thomas Smith of Binns of Williamsburg, Art For Understanding came to be after Mr. Smith was introduced to Minds In Motion through the

Virginia Israel Advisory Board.

“I was inspired by all that Richmond Ballet does in both Virginia and Israel,” said Smith.

“I have strong ties to Israel, and upon seeing how Minds In Motion uses the power of dance to break through barriers, connecting the Jewish and Arab communities, I wanted to help bring awareness to this incredible program.”

Matter of Color artists, led by instructor and curator Bruria Hassner of Tel Aviv, have been painting together for over two decades. The group is comprised of approximately 120 women and a few men who paint weekly and explore a variety of themes through the creation and expression of their art.

As part of the Art For Understanding exchange, Matter of Color artists have created a special exhibition of over 100 paintings tied to the theme of empathy and understanding.

From now until March 9th the public has the unique opportunity to view the artwork by visiting many locations throughout the commonwealth, from Northern Virginia to Central Virginia to Hampton Roads.

All paintings are available for bid online at richmondballet.com/a4u.

During their time in Virginia, the artists are traveling throughout the commonwealth, meeting with various groups and dancing and painting with Minds In Motion students.

The public is invited to attend two special events with the artists. The first being An Evening of Empathy & Understanding on March 14, a ticketed event at Kingsmill Resort which includes dinner and a unique opportunity for open dialogue with the Matter of Color artists. On March 15, the cultural exchange will culminate at the Art For Understanding Exhibit,

a celebration of Israeli art and culture at Binns of Williamsburg.

From 3 - 9 p.m. guests may view the entire collection of paintings as well as clothing and jewelry by Israeli designers. Highlights of this event include an appearance by renowned Yemenite jeweler Ben Zion David and upscale clothing from noted Israeli fashion house Maskit. Proceeds from the art auction and related events will support the Minds In Motion programs throughout Virginia and Israel.

“Art For Understanding provides an opportunity for our communities to meet each other personally, share and explore our similarities, and celebrate our rich cultural and personal differences,” said Brett Bonda, managing director for Richmond Ballet. “The Richmond Ballet mission is to uplift and awaken the human spirit, and I cannot think of a better way to do so than by bringing together communities through art and movement.

“We hope the commonwealth will be a part of this incredible exchange by bidding on a painting or attending one of the events.”

Art For Understanding is sponsored by Binns of Williamsburg and the Virginia Israel Advisory Board. Minds In Motion, bringing the joy of movement and performance to students since 1995, is the cornerstone of Richmond Ballet’s Outreach programming.

Nearly 2,000 students annually are rapidly transported into the world of dance through the inspiring curriculum that is brought to them through professional teaching artists and musicians. Through the highly acclaimed Minds In Motion program, Richmond Ballet notes that it continues to practice its commitment to creating more compassionate communities throughout Virginia as well as the Jewish and Arab communities in Israel.

Richmond Ballet pointe shoes painted by Matter of Color artists

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March 14, 2018 • 11

Bruno Mars was accused of cultural appropriation

Charlie Wilson, among others, defended him TRAVIS M. ANDREWS When Bruno Mars burst onto the music scene in 2010, he was praised by many for blending various styles and for his “eclectic array of sounds.”

His first album featured “nearperfect songs that move from power ballads to bedroom anthems to popreggae,” according to Rolling Stone’s review.

Since then, Mars has incorporated R&B, funk, new jack swing and more into his music, racking up two Super Bowl appearances and 10 Grammy awards along the way.

But now, eight years after his debut album “Doo-Wops & Hooligans” and a couple of months after his first Grammy win for album of the year, Mars’s genre-blending has become the subject of debate about cultural appropriation.

The argument, which raged throughout the weekend, began with an episode of the Web series “The Grapevine,” which bills itself as a “fresh and innovative take on the panel style discussion.” The episode featured a panel of more than a dozen young writers and artists answering the question “Is Bruno Mars a cultural appropriator?”

A two-minute clip from the episode featuring writer Seren Sensei quickly went viral, racking up nearly 3 million views and being curated into a Twitter moment by Sunday night.

“Bruno Mars 100 percent is a cultural appropriator,” Sensei said in the video. “He is not black, at all, and he plays up his racial ambiguity to cross genres.”

Cultural appropriation refers to someone taking aspects of a minority culture, such as its music, and using it for personal gain. Elvis Presley, who became famous by performing songs written by black artists, is considered by many to be a cultural appropriator.

While Mars collaborates with many African American artists, such as CeeLo Green and B.o.B., he isn’t African American. The 32-year-old artist was born in Honolulu to a halfPuerto Rican and half-Ashkenazi Jewish father and a Filipino mother.

Sensei continued, saying “because people have realized that they prefer their black music and their black culture from a non-black face. … We have artists now that are much more willing to step into black genres.”

Bruno Mars performs a tribute to Prince at the 2017 Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. PHOTO: Matt Sayles Many agreed. One Twitter user wrote, “This is the perfect assessment of the current state of the music industry.”

Quickly, though, many prominent black commentators began defending Mars.

R&B singer Charlie Wilson praised the musician, calling him “a genuine talent” and “one of the best we have” who is “destined to be one of the greats.”

Mars “helped bring back that classic New Jack/R&B sound to the masses when it was left for dead years ago and hard for artists to get that sound back on mainstream radar,” Wilson wrote, adding, “Bruno’s songs on this album are original and no different from any other artist pulling inspiration from genres before him.”

Activist and writer Shaun King, who is biracial, tweeted: “I just want to be practical here. Are people saying that Bruno Mars shouldn’t sing? Or that when he sings he needs to somehow whiten … up and sound more like Rod Stewart. I’m dead serious. What type of music is this man ‘allowed’ to do?”

The debate soon left Twitter, as critics began to defend Mars.

For example, Marjua Estevez of Vibe wrote, “in no room is Bruno Mars a white person. Given his Puerto Rican and Filipino ancestry — both of which have African roots … one could argue Bruno’s artistry pulls from intrinsic knowledge and influence.”

Critic Stereo Williams wrote for Billboard: “Sensei’s take is ahistorical, in that she presupposes that appropriation is now more prevalent and prominent than ever.

White folks making Black music is not a new phenomenon.”

Williams added: “We’ve reached a tipping point in the ‘cultural appropriation’ conversation. It’s become knee-jerk and lacks nuance.”

Then came the counter-argument to the counter-argument: a third voice saying each side’s argument had merit.

“Bruno Mars makes phenomenal music. He also benefits as a nonBlack musician in a system that maligns Black artists. Can’t both of those things be true and valid and worth grappling with?” culture writer

Evette Dionne tweeted.

Mars himself remained silent throughout the debate, though since attaining fame, he has consistently spoken about the role black music played in his formation as an artist — and that he doesn’t think it gets enough recognition.

“When you say ‘black music,’ understand that you are talking about rock, jazz, R&B, reggae, funk, doo-wop, hip-hop, and Motown. Black people created it all. Being Puerto Rican, even salsa music stems back to the Motherland,” meaning Africa, Mars told Latina magazine last February. “So, in my world, black music means everything. It’s what gives America its swag.”

He added that his influences were black artists such as “Whitney, Diddy, Dr. Dre, Boyz II Men, Aaliyah, TLC, Babyface, New Edition” and Michael Jackson.

“I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for these artists who inspired me,” Mars said. “Watching them made me feel like I had to be as great as they were in order to even stand a chance in this music business.”

12 • March 14, 2018

The LEGACY

UR professor discusses national monument debate with Anderson Cooper on ‘60 MINUTES’ Sought after for his expertise in U.S. history and civil rights, University of Richmond leadership studies professor and historian Julian Hayter discussed the national debate about Confederate monuments with Anderson Cooper on “60 MINUTES,” which aired Sunday, on the CBS Television Network.

A CBS News release noted that through interviews with a variety of experts, including Hayter, Cooper examined the question many people have been asking about the hundreds of Confederate monuments standing on public property across the country, mostly in the South.

Some believe these monuments should be taken down because of the painful memories they represent while others, like Hayter, believe the monuments are a part of the country’s shared history and should stay.

“No state has more Confederate monuments than Virginia, where in the Confederacy’s old capital, Richmond, there are five Confederate statues standing on the city’s historic Monument Avenue,” he said during a segment.

Cooper visited both the University of Richmond campus and Monument Avenue to discuss this hotly debated issue with Hayter.

“All these years later, the Civil

(from page 9) their financial situation,” the report explained.

It was further noted that many pastors and their families are “placed on a pedestal” that makes it difficult for them to form normal friendships.

This situation often results in feelings of loneliness and isolation in clergy families that lead to the “fish bowl” effect of living in the public eye. This limited social support creates stress for many clergy families.

Stress and sexual misconduct Another study of Southern Baptist senior pastors working in six southeastern states also linked stress among pastors to sexual misconduct with adult members of the church.

“They found that high levels of stress and sexual misconduct were strongly associated. Ministers with chronic stress from several sources were at the greatest risk of such misconduct. For example, clergy in the midst of a personal crisis (such as

War, in many ways, is still contested ground,” Hayter told Cooper.

“Monument Avenue is not just a national tourist attraction but an

international tourist attraction.”

Hayter was appointed to Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney’s Monument Avenue Commission due to his

expertise in U.S. history and civil rights. Stoney also appeared in the segment.

painful marriages or other emotional difficulties) are particularly vulnerable, especially if they are unable to reach out for needed counseling,” the report said. “In addition, those with less confidence in their training as counselors were more likely to engage in sexual misconduct than those with more confidence in it.”

forget the service. I think one of the essential things in such a setting is I think you encourage people to give voice to the pain that they’re feeling rather than to cover it over. And I preached that day on Lamentations Chapter 3 where Jeremiah speaks very passionately and very, very bluntly and painfully about his sorrow for his people. ...

Yet at the end of the passage there is hope,” he said. “In my sermon I was encouraging the congregation to express their grief and also their anger. The Lord’s quite capable of handling that and to be completely honest about the way they felt.”

In order for a church to heal from a pastor’s suicide, Barrs explained that, in his experience, people should be honest and open about how they really feel. That honesty, he said, can sometimes be expressed in unexpected ways.

He then recalled how the congregation reacted when they went to bury his friend at the graveyard.

“And then they went to the graveyard and I’ve never seen anything like it after,” he said of the burial service he had expected to be brief. “... [I] put the first trowel full of dirt on his coffin and some of his family who had come from other parts of the world did the same. Then the members of the congregation each started one by one putting a trowel full of dirt on the coffin and they just started singing hymns. They actually were there for, I think, what must have been three hours or so until the whole grave, at just a trowel full at a time [was full],” he said.

“They were singing the whole time.

I don’t think the undertakers had ever seen anything like it either. And it was just an outpouring of pain and love. And it just was extremely moving, and I think that encouraging the congregation like that to express their sorrow was very important when somebody is grieving anything rather than pretending everything is fine.

The aftermath of a pastor suicide In recalling the aftermath of the suicide of his pastor friend, Barrs, who delivered his eulogy, explained how it affected him personally as well as the congregation at large.

“Well, obviously it is very, very painful. I think people, many of them (congregants), had become believers, all of them had been discipled by him and he had been their pastor and teacher for many years. He was very greatly loved. He’d been a good pastor,” Barrs said.

“I think many people of course felt betrayed. ... But I will never

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March 14, 2018 • 13

Cardiac Care report: Mortality and readmission rates on the decline With roughly 630,000 Americans dying of cardiovascular related diseases each year (and climbing), heart disease remains the leading cause of death among men and women in the United States, according to Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Virginia Health Information publishes its Cardiac Care report each year during American Heart Month to help consumers learn more about heart disease, find doctors who treat it and compare the quality of care in Virginia acute hospitals. VHI notes that it’s the nonprofit organization that businesses, consumers, the commonwealth of Virginia and health insurance companies come to for health information.

Offered as a free, online, searchable tool, the cardiac care report can be valuable for patients and caregivers seeking information about their heart care options prior to an emergency or planned medical procedure. Visitors can use the report to compare five years of most recent mortality and

readmission rates for 73 Virginia hospitals. Statewide summaries for all cardiac discharges from acute and non-acute hospitals include: • Medical Cardiology: The largest category, representing 64 percent of cardiac care, includes non-surgical therapy for heart disease such as angina, congestive heart failure and heart attacks; •Invasive Cardiology: Accounting for 29 percent of cardiac care such as cardiac catheterization, cardiac pacemaker insertion, balloon angioplasty and placement of cardiac stents; • Open Heart Surgery: About 7 percent of cardiac care is for coronary artery bypass graft surgery and cardiac valve operations.

Also contained in the statewide summaries are details on heart care by age, race and gender.

Based on 2016 invasive cardiology data, mortality rates were less than expected for 40 to 49 year old patients and readmission rates were less than expected for 40 to 59 year

Survey: Blue Wave looms in Va.’s 2018 congressional midterms Energized by backlash to President Donald Trump, Virginia Democrats head into the 2018 midterm elections with significant advantages, according to a new voter survey by the Wason Center for Public Policy at Christopher Newport University. “The question is no longer whether there is a Blue Wave coming, but rather, how high the storm surge will get,” said Rachel Bitecofer, assistant director of the Wason Center.

Significantly more Democrats (60 percent) than Republicans (45 percent) are ‘very enthusiastic’ about voting in November. Voters prefer Democrats to Republicans on the generic ballot (45 -33 percent) and want Democrats to control Congress after the election (51-38 percent). Those gaps widen among likely voters.

“This enthusiasm gap suggests several Republican House seats could be in play,” said Bitecofer, singling out the 1st, 2nd, 7th, and 10th districts.

Half of the voters surveyed say they believe individuals in the Trump campaign coordinated

with the Russian government to interfere in the 2016 election, while 42 percent said they do not believe any coordination happened. Party identification is a strong determinant, with 81 percent of Republicans rejecting the idea of collusion and 81 percent of Democrats believing it.

Independents are evenly split.

On issues, Virginia voters overwhelmingly support the Dream Act (71-25 percent), which provides a pathway to legal status or citizenship for children brought into the country illegally by their parents. They strongly oppose drilling for oil off Virginia’s coast (54-37 percent), a ban on which was recently lifted by Trump. And they are evenly divided on the recently enacted Tax Cut and Reform Bill (45 percent approve-47 percent disapprove).

“From the enthusiasm gap to the Dream Act to collusion with the Russians, a sharp partisan divide is evident among Virginia voters,” said Quentin Kidd, the center’s director.

“Nine months out, it looks like we’re setting up for a base election with Democrats holding an upper hand.”

old patients. To complement the report, VHI provides consumers with resources to help fight and care for heart disease including profiles of Virginia physicians who specialize in its treatment.

Risk factors for heart related conditions include high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, physical inactivity and excessive alcohol use. Locations in Virginia with a high population of patients with these conditions include Alleghany, Danville, Northampton, Petersburg, and Portsmouth based on CDC’s Interactive Atlas of Heart Disease

and Stroke. VHI’s Cardiac Care report includes information to help consumers learn how to help prevent heart disease, avoid hospital readmissions and know heart attack warning signs. VHI also helps you learn about hospital quality with patient satisfaction ratings.

These overall satisfaction ratings are gathered and released by CMS through patient surveys and are categorized into three measures: communication, comfort and overall ratings for each facility. Surveys collected April 2016 through March 2017 were released in December 2017.

Norfolk Sister Association hosts Young Artist Showcase event The Norfolk Sister City Association, as a part of Sister Cities International, hosted the 2018 Young Artist Young Showcase Reception last week for local students who submitted 2D flat artwork pieces and photography to this year’s Young Artist Authors Showcase Competition.

This year’s reception was held at the Salvation Army Ray and Joan Kroc Center of Hampton Roads, in Norfolk.

The Young Artist Showcase, was presented by Sister Cities International, encourages youth from around the globe to express the mission of Sister Cities International through original artwork, literature, film, and photography. Each year, students ages 13-18 are presented with a theme and then can create a piece of artwork, of various mediums, that reflects this theme.

This year’s theme, “The Art of Diplomacy”, exemplifies the mission

of Sister Cities International which aims to promote peace through mutual respect, understanding, and cooperation -one individual, one community at a time, according to the association.

During the course of the night awards were presented to students whose art pieces were selected to advance in the competition. The finalist will be announced in June, after which, one international and one national grand prize winner will be selected.

All artwork by finalist will go on a yearlong tour to select cities around the U.S. hosted by local sister city programs, such as The Norfolk Sister City Association. The Grand prize winners will receive a cash prize of $1,000.00 from Sister Cities International In addition to being presented at the reception, all artwork is on display at the Kroc Center through March 28.

14 • March 14, 2018

The LEGACY

Professional bondspeople and TV personalities, Duane “Dog” Chapman and Beth Chapman visit Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Virginia).

PSA As a person who is passionate about Alzheimer’s disease, and, as an Alzheimer’s Association volunteer, I have started a campaign for an revenue sharing ALZHEIMER’S LICENSE PLATE through DMV. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, anyone with a brain should be concerned about Alzheimer’s and, the license plate is a great way to raise funding for awareness and support.

Since 2000, deaths from Alzheimer’s disease have increased by 89 percent. Alzheimer’s is the only cause of death in the top 10 that cannot be prevented or treated and has no cure. This must change.

Today, 130,000 Virginians are living with Alzheimer’s, and 400,000 are caregiving for someone who has it. We must effectively prevent and treat Alzheimer’s disease soon and support those impacted by it until researchers achieve this goal.

We need your help! Together all Virginians can help us get the required 450 prepaid applications needed to be able to get DMV to produce the ALZHEIMER'S LICENSE PLATE. Amanda Chase, Senator, has agreed to present this license plate bill to General Assembly in January 2018 once 450 applications are collected.

Once 1000 license plates are in circulation in the state of Virginia, $15 of the annual $25 cost for the ALZHEIMER’S LICENSE PLATE will be donated to the Alzheimer's Association. *REGISTER TODAY* Online registration available at www.vaendalz.com!

Email: vaendalz@gmail.com for information about the license plate.

Katy Reed, Louisa, VA - 540-967-7098

Beth Chapman recently hailed passage of what she called a landmark crime bill in the U.S. House Judiciary Committee.

“It’s About Time!” said Beth Chapman, president of the Professional Bail Agents of the U.S. “For far too long, our tax dollars have been used to turn repeat and violent offenders out onto the streets of this country without any accountability whatsoever. Thankfully, the House Judiciary Committee has seen fit to hold someone accountable for how our tax dollars are used.”

H.R. 2152, The Citizens Right to Know Act, as passed last out of the House Judiciary Committee, would require pretrial release programs that receive federal funds to report annually: • The amount of federal funds received each year by local pretrial release programs; • The identity, criminal history and previous failures to appear of individuals released through federally funded pretrial release programs; and • Appearance rates for arrestees and defendants released through pretrial release programs.

There are approximately 300 state and local pretrial release programs within the United States that are supported by millions of federal taxpayer dollars. There is no measure of the quality or effectiveness of these programs.

Pretrial release programs arose in the 1960s to secure the release for nonviolent, indigent arrestees unable to afford commercial bail while awaiting trial. These programs release the arrestee on just a signature and a promise to appear in court, but often place conditions on them, including periodic checkins and a promise to pay a monetary fine if the arrestee fails to appear for trial. Over time, pre-trial release programs have exceeded their original purpose. Over 300 such programs exist throughout the nation

that routinely release back into society arrestees who have prior arrests, prior failures to appear for trial, and have the means to secure commercial bail.

In theory, pretrial release programs operate similar to commercial bail in that arrestees must pay a monetary fine should they fail to show up at their trial. In practice, however, these “fines” for failure to appear are rarely collected. Meanwhile, fugitive rates –the arrestees who never appear for trial—are much higher for these pre-trial release programs than are fugitive rates for commercial bail programs.

“The big-money groups pushing for so-called ‘criminal justice reform’ fought this common-sense bill tooth and nail. They say that sunlight is the best disinfectant, so it really makes you wonder what they’re trying to hide with their pretrial services experiments. Thankfully, taxpayers are now on the first steps to finding out.”

“These sensible reporting requirements for pretrial release programs are way overdue. They will bring much needed accountability to our criminal justice system.

Chairman Bob Goodlatte has shown tremendous leadership in bringing this bill before the Committee.”

“Congress, and the public should know whether these pretrial release programs are effective, said Chapman. “It’s time to bring accountability to the system.

Taxpayers deserve to know if their hard-earned money is being spent wisely and if their communities are being protected.”

H.R. 2152 will now move to the House floor for consideration before the full House of Representatives.

PBUS, which notes that it is the nation’s largest organization representing bail agents, fights to protect the 8th Amendment of the Constitution, representing 15,000 bail agents nationwide.

National Megan’s Law Helpline & Sex Offender Registration Tips Program Call (888) ASK-PFML (275-7365)

March 14, 2018 • 15

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Free credit freezes coming for all U.S. consumers LALITA CLOZEL & ANNA MARIA ANDRIOTIS WIRE — Consumers are on track to get one thing from Congress in response to last year’s massive Equifax Inc. hack: free freezes of their data held by the creditreporting companies.

The bipartisan agreement, set to be approved in the Senate by next week as part of a broader banking bill, would require credit-reporting companies to let consumers block access to their credit reports to potential lenders without paying a fee. Freezing access to credit data is a crucial measure consumers can take if they want to protect themselves from identity theft.

Credit-reporting firms are mixed about the measure, which would erode a source of revenue, while consumer advocates worry it doesn’t go far enough to give people more control over their data.

The provision would set a single national standard for credit freezes.

Currently, 42 states allow creditreporting firms to charge for the service unless an individual was a victim of identity theft. Eight states and the District of Columbia mandate waiver of the fees under all circumstances.

The U.S. has three main reporting companies—Equifax, Experian and TransUnion—that typically charge $10 or less each to freeze or reinstate credit-data access, depending on a patchwork of state laws. The measure bars fees for both.

Under the provision, creditreporting firms would have to place the freeze within one to three days after receiving a consumer’s request. Consumers would also be able to unfreeze their credit within an hour, if the process is requested electronically, or three days if requested by mail.

Consumer groups are concerned the measure would override future efforts by states to implement stricter freeze requirements on credit-reporting firms—for instance, making credit freezes a default setting for credit reports, essentially requiring consumers to approve any credit inquiry from potential lenders.

“It’s stopping the states from doing anything better in the future, and that’s a problem,” said Mike Litt, a director at U.S. PIRG, a consumerrights group.

Sen. Mark Warner (D., Va.), one of the chief sponsors of the broader Senate bill, said he regretted the legislation—the result of a compromise between the political

parties—doesn’t do more to rein in credit-reporting companies.

“They have all of our personal information,” Warner said. “And there are not clear standards and clear penalties.”

The credit-reporting firms have accepted the change is coming. “This is likely to be Congress’s opportunity to address the credit-reporting industry,” said Francis Creighton, head of the Consumer Data Industry Association, a trade group that represents credit-reporting companies.

“We think it’s fair that we’re able to charge a fee on a freeze,” Creighton, said. But, “given that [policy makers] don’t agree with us, this bill is perfectly reasonable,” he added.

“We are not upset with the provision of the proposed law. We support a federal security freeze statute that simplifies the process for consumers,” Experian said.

The provision likely will result in credit-reporting firms pitching creditmonitoring and other subscriptionbased services, according to a person familiar with the matter. People who contact the firms to sign up for the freeze will likely be marketed services that have a monthly fee attached to them, the person said.

Credit-reporting firms don’t break out what share of their revenue comes from credit freezes, though an industry executive says it is much smaller than other services they sell consumers, such as credit monitoring and identity-theft protection. But removing freeze fees would eliminate funds some of the companies say they use to help cover the costs associated with the freezes, including maintaining call centers. In some cases, the companies incur losses from the service.

The provision’s impact likely extends to lenders who receive loan applications from consumers with frozen reports. In some cases, lenders that contact the firms for the applicant’s credit reports and receive a notice that the report is frozen will still pay for that service. The lenders in most cases wouldn’t move forward

with the loan application without a credit report.

Some firms are letting consumers place limits on their credit reports at no cost. Equifax and TransUnion offer a free service that allows consumers to lock and unlock their credit reports, while Experian charges for it. Locks are similar to credit freezes in helping to block identity thieves from obtaining financing in another person’s name.

While they offer more convenience, such as control of data via an app, locks also give consumers less legal

protection, consumer advocates say.

The credit-freeze provision is one of several proposals circulating in Congress since last year’s disclosure of the massive Equifax hack, which compromised the personal information of 147.9 million people. Many of the proposals go further than this bipartisan deal, with provisions to impose stricter regulatory oversight on the credit bureaus, charge penalties in the event of further breaches, or establish credit freezes as the default option for consumers.

16 • March 14, 2018

Calendar 3.16 & more

Transit Driver Appreciation Day is observed this year on Friday, and you’re encouraged to say, “Thank you!” to your bus operator that day – and every day.

GRTC employs more than 250 operators who consistently provide safe service. GRTC will also welcome employee commendation submissions from customers. If you want to recognize an outstanding pperator, contact GRTC Customer Service.

Kings Dominion Express service (Route 102x) will begin on March 24, earlier than ever before, to coincide with the Spring opening of Kings Dominion. This route provides direct, convenient service for park guests, as well as reliable transportation to work for Kings Dominion employees.

Final public timetables for the new routes will be available online.

Closer to the launch, GRTC will begin distributing paper timetables to area displays.

GRTC also notes that it is working on a new Trip Planner tool to help you compare your old travel patterns with your new routines. It will be available soon. Closer to the launch, GRTC’s Customer Service hours will extend to earlier morning and later at night, open Monday – Friday 4:30 a.m. – 11:30 p.m. and Saturday – Sunday 8:30 a.m. – 7 p.m.

Addtionally, GRTC Pulse vehicles will test to offer free Wi-Fi to riders.

M ...advertised here. oments &e m o r i e s

Submit your calendar events by email to: editor @legacynewspaper.com.

Include the who, what, where, when & contact information that can be printed. Submission deadline is Friday.

The LEGACY

COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES & EVENTS

Henrico to offer classes on treating opioid overdoses with naloxone Henrico Area Mental Health & Developmental Services (MH/DS) will present a free class Tuesday, March 27 and Thursday, April 19 on how to administer naloxone to potentially save the life of someone who has overdosed on opioids.

The Revive! Opioid Overdose and Naloxone Education for Virginia class will be offered from 1:30 to 3 p.m. March 27 at the Varina Area Library, 1875 New Market Road, and from 5 to 6:30 p.m. April 19 in the clubhouse at Oakland Village Apartments, 1400 Old Bronze Drive.

Each session is open to the public, but registration is required at surveymonkey.com/r/Q8HM7CZ for the March 27 session and surveymonkey. com/r/WWKN9SR for the April 19 session.

Naloxone, which is available in Virginia from pharmacists without a prescription, can temporarily reverse the toxic effects of an opioid or heroin overdose, allowing time to seek professional medical attention. Naloxone is available in a generic form and under the brand name Narcan. The Revive! class, developed by the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, will provide hands-on instruction on how to administer the drug in its nasal spray form.

For more information on the Revive! trainings and resources for overcoming addiction, go to bouncebackhc.com.

3.21, 7:30 p.m.

The March meeting of the Ostomy Association of Greater Richmond will be an “open mike” night.

This will give members of this patient support group the opportunity to voice any problems with their colostomy, ileostomy or urostomy …or offer product usage tips for the membership. The meeting will be in Williamsburg-A conference room at Henrico Doctor’s Hospital, 1601 Skipwith Rd. See Richmond UOAA #296 online.

For more information, call Mile Rollston at 804-232-1961 or email agriva@comcast.net.

3.31, 10 a.m.

Dominion Energy Family Easter, a favorite Easter event at Maymont will allow guests to celebrate Easter on the Carriage House Lawn with games and activities, food trucks, live entertainment, and more – all while soaking in the sunshine and spring blooms.

The event showcases activities for the whole family, from visits with the Easter Bunny and storytelling under the Bunny Tree, to bonnet parades and an interactive chalk zone. Kids can get crafty making Easter baskets and bonnets, express themselves with face painting and temporary tattoos, grow their green thumbs at a planting station, or partake in life-sized board games and an egg-on-spoon hopstacle course. Guests can also sit back and watch live entertainment

by Jonathan Austin, Maymont environmental educators, local performance troupes, and more!

Food will be available for purchase.

Tickets, $2 each, are required for most activities. For each ticket redeemed, participants will receive an Easter egg filled with a prize. For more information, call 804-358-7166.

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March 14, 2018 • 17

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Payday lenders, watchdog agency exhibit cozier relationship KEN SWEET NEW YORK — The former CEO of a payday lending company that had been under investigation by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has asked to be considered for the top job at the watchdog agency, this reporter has learned.

Such a request would have been extraordinary in the years when the agency was run by an Obama appointee and often targeted payday lenders. Along with recent actions taken by the CFPB, it suggests a cozier relationship between industry and regulator since the Trump administration took over in November.

Under Mick Mulvaney, Trump’s budget director and acting director of the CFPB, the bureau has taken a decidedly friendlier approach to the financial industry including cutting down on enforcement and dropping investigations or lawsuits against payday lenders and other companies.

It has also proposed to revise or rescind many rules put into place by Richard Cordray, the first permanent director of the agency, including some that would have put additional restrictions on payday lenders.

Under Cordray, the CFPB opened in investigation into lending practices at World Acceptance.

On Jan. 22, the company said the investigation had been completed without enforcement action. It also said CEO Janet Matricciani had resigned after 2-and-a-half years in that position.

Two days later, Matricciani sent an email to what appears to be Mulvaney’s personal email address to pitch herself as a candidate to lead the CFPB. The email was shared exclusively with The Associated Press by Allied Progress, a leftleaning consumer advocacy group, which obtained the document as part of a Freedom of Information Act request.

“I would love to apply for the position of director of the CFPB. Who better than me understand the need to treat consumers respectfully and honestly, and the equal need to offer credit to lower income consumers in order to help them manage their

John Michael Mulvaney daily lives?,” Matricciani wrote to Mulvaney. She attached her resume to the email.

She goes so far as to cite the CFPB’s investigation into her company as an experience that uniquely qualifies her for the job.

“I have indepth (sic) experience of what a CFPB investigation is like, and so I am in an unparalleled position to understand the effect of various CFPB actions on a company, its workforce, its customers and the industry,” she says.

World Acceptance, one of the nation’s biggest payday lenders, is based in South Carolina and gave Mulvaney thousands of dollars in campaign contributions while he represented the state in Congress.

Matricciani’s email suggests she and Mulvaney have corresponded in the past. The email is sent to his personal email address and Matricciani starts off by saying, “I have always enjoyed our interactions on business and regulatory situations ever since I became CEO of World Acceptance Corporation in 2015.”

There is no evidence that Mulvaney acted upon Matricciani’s request

other than forwarding the email to his official government email account. President Trump has not announced a nominee for a permanent director of the CFPB and a senior adviser for Mulvaney said in response to questions from The Associated Press that Matricciani is not being considered for any jobs at the CFPB. World Acceptance had been under investigation by the CFPB for threeyears over its lending practices after ProPublica published an examination of the company’s lending tactics, finding evidence it repeatedly trapped its customers in debts they could not repay and charged them interest rates higher than what they disclosed when the customers took out the loan. The bureau has said the decision to drop its investigation into World Acceptance was made by career staff, and not by Mulvaney or any other political appointee.

Allied Progress has called for an investigation into Mulvaney’s actions as CFPB head. Karl Frisch, executive director of the group, said in a statement that he believes Matricciani felt comfortable asking

Mulvaney for his backing because of the earlier campaign contributions.

Attempts to contact Matricciani through her former employer and through LinkedIn were unsuccessful.

World Acceptance said it had no knowledge that Matricciani inquired about a position at the bureau after her departure.

The CFPB has made other moves that have benefited payday lenders since Mulvaney has come into office.

Late last year, the bureau put into place regulations that would have made it more difficult for payday lenders to make repeat loans to customers. The practice is particularly profitable, but largely criticized by consumer groups as a tactic that buries payday lending customers - mostly the poor - in debts for months or even years.

While most of the key rules won’t go into effect until 2019, the CFPB under Mulvaney is reconsidering those rules and has delayed implementation.

The bureau also dropped a lawsuit against another payday lender, Golden Valley.

18 • March 14, 2018

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