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EGACY Yesterday. Today. Tomorrow.

WEDNESDAYS • July 12, 2017

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INSIDE

Wage theft affecting communities - 3 Inside Virginia’s latest execution 4 ‘The state of hate in America’ - 5 DOC sued for treatment denied - 14

Richmond & Hampton Roads

LEGACYNEWSPAPER.COM • FREE

‘The NRA does not believe in protecting black and brown lives’

Tamika Mallory (pictured above) wants the National Rifle Association (NRA) to start protecting the Second Amendment rights of black and brown people.

The co-organizer of the Women’s March said in a phone interview that the recent actions of the NRA prove the organization only cares about defending the Second Amendment rights of white gun owners. Mallory specifically pointed to two NRA ads targeting progressive activists as well as the NRA’s silence on the death of Philando Castile.

“In the NRA’s mission statement on their website, they say that they are one of the oldest civil rights organizations,” said Mallory. “If that is, in fact, the case, if that is the history that they want to claim, Philando Castile should be one of the first people that they speak on behalf of. If you’re following in the tradition of the civil rights movement, Philando Castile is an example of exactly what it means to defend the

civil rights of a person who has been violated by this country.”

Castile, a black man who worked at a school, was shot and killed in July of last year by a police officer in Minnesota during a routine traffic stop. He was carrying a licensed gun when the officer pulled him over and, although Castile clearly informed the officer that he had a licensed firearm on him, the officer fatally shot him.

The officer, Jeronimo Yanez, was acquitted of all charges in June .

Initially the NRA released a very vague statement that the organization would not comment on an investigation that was ongoing and would wait until all the facts were known. That is the only statement the NRA has made about Castile’s death.

In a recent open letter to Wayne LaPierre, the executive vice president of the NRA, Mallory demanded that the NRA release a statement defending the Second Amendment rights of Philando

Castile. Mallory wrote the letter in response to an inflammatory NRA ad which insinuated that “law-abiding” citizens need to arm themselves against the threat of violent liberal protesters, most of whom are people of color and women.

If, in fact, the NRA was an organization that represents all people, why would you not have a response to Philando Castile?

The NRA responded to Mallory’s letter with a new ad titled “We Don’t Apologize For Telling The Truth,” featuring conservative talk-show host Grant Stinchfield. Four days after the ad was published, the Women’s March announced a protest against the NRA to be held in Virginia outside the NRA’s headquarters and in front of the Department of Justice on July 14 and 15.

“The NRA does not believe in protecting black and brown lives,” said Mallory. “They are not an organization that represents all people. Because if, in fact, the NRA

was an organization that represents all people, why would you not have a response to Philando Castile?”

Mallory said she believes that the NRA should have been the first organization to step up and defend Castile.

“We [at the Women’s march] believe that the NRA should be speaking on Philando Castile’s behalf,” Mallory said. “They should issue a very public call for a federal indictment against the officer who killed Philando Castile, because he was in direct violation of not only the civil rights of Philando Castile, but everyone who was in that car was in danger because of this officer’s actions.”

Mallory said everything from the two most recent NRA ads to the organization’s silence on Castile’s death is connected.

“Dana Loesch’s NRA ad makes it very clear...that not only will the NRA not defend and protect black and brown lives, they will also take up arms against black and brown people,” Mallory said. Wire

The LEGACY

2 • July 12, 2017

News

Feds approve transmission line across the river The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has granted final approval for Dominion Energy to build a power transmission line across the James River near Jamestown, enabling a project that historic preservationists say would spoil a view little changed since Capt. John Smith helped found the nation’s first permanent English settlement there more than 400 years ago.

Richmond-based Dominion says the 500,000-volt line and 17 towers that will carry it across the James are needed because federal environmental regulations are forcing the shutdown of two coalburning power plants in Yorktown.

Without the new line, the utility said, the Peninsula region would not have reliable access to power.

But environmentalists have joined historians in opposing the project, arguing that in addition to changing the landscape, the giant towers would endanger a fragile population of river sturgeon that is struggling to make a comeback.

“There is only one Jamestown, and once development of this magnitude begins, there is no undoing its impacts,” Theresa Pierno of the nonprofit National Parks Conservation Association said Thursday after the Corps of Engineers approved the permit.

“We cannot stand by and let that happen. We will continue to fight to protect historic Jamestown and are considering all options, including legal action.”

Jamestown and its surroundings are a cradle of American history, the root of the English colonies that went on to become the United States.

The original fort at Jamestown, begun in 1607 and long thought lost beneath the waters of the river, has been unearthed in recent years, which led to a renewal of interest in the site. In 2019, the Virginia General Assembly plans a major event at Jamestown to mark

Historic Jamestown and surrounding area is a cradle of American history. the 1619 origins of the House of Burgesses and celebrate 400 years of representative democracy.

In a column published last year, then-National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis objected to the power line project as “forever marring the river, the view and the setting that framed the experiences of this nation’s first settlers.”

He lamented that the power line would ruin something rare: the ability “to stand on that sacred ground at Jamestown and look downriver, feeling the isolation and challenges our first citizens experienced. If the proposed power line moves forward, that historic view will be overrun with towers, power lines and blinking lights.”

Dominion said it considered several other locations for the line but found that the current one — just south of Jamestown, running from Surry County to a spot in James City County near Carters Grove Plantation — would be the least disruptive. The utility also said the towers crossing the river should not be visible from the Jamestown site.

The Corps of Engineers said it considered 23 alternatives, including burying the line under the river.

“We believe the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has done a diligent and thorough review,” Dominion spokeswoman Bonita Billingsley Harris said. She said the permit allows construction to begin on the line leading up to the river crossing.

The utility agreed to take steps to limit the environmental impact, such as doing construction work during times of year when sturgeon are not spawning.

Dominion also agreed to a design that uses the fewest towers possible and to paint them in a way that minimizes their appearance.

The Virginia Marine Re­sources Commission also approved the project this week despite hundreds of letters and emails in opposition, as well as testimony from some 25 people at a public hearing.

A public hearing was held July 11 at the James City County Board of Supervisors for a permit to build the switching station that connects to the line. WaPo

www.LEGACYnewspaper.com

July 12, 2017 • 3

Stolen paychecks: How immigrant workers get ripped off ALYSON KAY

CNS - Victor came to the U.S. 15 years ago looking for steady work.

In many ways, the U.S. has met his expectations and he gets hired most days to do day labor for construction companies or commercial contractors.

But one thing he may not have expected is that some employers wouldn’t pay him what they promised.

Victor, an immigrant from Guatemala, said he’s cheated on as many as 20 percent of the jobs he takes. “Sometimes it looks like a big contractor and then at the end of the day, they say, ‘I’ll call you in a week,” to set up a payment arrangement.

Frequently, he said, the call never comes. (Reporter is withholding Victor’s last name to protect him from possible retaliatory actions by employers.)

Wage theft is a big and growing problem in the U.S. and affects a wide variety of mostly low-wage workers. It’s an especially big issue in immigrant communities, where workers are often hired off the books and are vulnerable due to their legal status and limited proficiency in English.

In fact, attorneys who work with immigrants say that wage theft is one of the most common reasons why Latin American and other non-native workers seek legal services.

“It’s not an exaggeration to say that day laborers are ripped off of millions of dollars of wages each year throughout the United States,” says Steve Smitson, an immigration attorney in Ellicott City at Smitson Law LLC. “Day laborers are the most vulnerable workers because often they’re least equipped to defend their rights and they’re seen as easy targets for unscrupulous employers.”

As cities and states across the U.S. move to increase the minimum wage, the number of employers violating the rules grows. According to the Economic Policy Institute, workers in the U.S. lose between $8.6 billion and $13.8 billion a year because they are paid below their state’s minimum wage. That estimate– which includes all workers, native-born and immigrants–was extrapolated based on a study prepared for the U.S.

According to a 2012 Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) report entitled Review of Employee Misclassification in Virginia, “A Virginia Employment Commission (VEC) audit of one percent of Virginia employers found 5,639 workers were misclassified in 2010. Based on findings in other states, Virginia could have on the order of 40,000 misclassifying employers and 214,000 misclassified workers.”

Department of Labor of minimum wage violations in 2011 in New York and California, two states with relatively high minimum wage requirements. The study also found that non-citizens were 1.6 to 3.1 times more likely to be affected by minimum wage violations, according to the EPI. Kim Bobo, the executive director of the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy, said the numbers in the Labor Department study likely understate wage theft because they only included incidents that were reported and many immigrant workers don’t report their grievances to the government. The data may also exclude incidents when workers aren’t paid at all or what was promised, even if the amount was above minimum wage.

“If you are feeling vulnerable about getting or keeping a job, you will tend not to complain even when you know your employer is breaking the law,” said Bobo, the author of the 2011 book, “Wage Theft in America.” Without complaints, she said, “most enforcement agencies don’t investigate and wage theft continues.”

It’s not just businesses doing the cheating. CASA de Maryland, the largest Latino and immigrant advocacy organization in the Washington area, said homeowners who hire workers for landscaping and furniture moving jobs sometimes short-change workers, too. CASA legal services once spent two months trying to force a local homeowner to pay $60 to two workers who spent

several hours laying mulch on her property. The homeowner promised to pay each worker $60, but after the work was completed, she paid the men half the agreed upon amount.

After CASA threatened legal action, the homeowner finally paid up.

Economists say that wage theft drives poor families deeper into poverty, prompting them to apply for federal subsidies such as the Earned Income Tax Credit and free school breakfast and lunch for children.

That hurts taxpayers to the benefit of employers that skirt the laws.

The Maryland, D.C. and Virginia area is especially ripe for such abuses, says attorney Smitson, due to the large amount of construction taking place in the state. While wage theft occurs in many industries, construction contractors and subcontractors in particular use day laborers frequently and have more complaints against them.

Victor said employers find lots of ways to cheat. In December 2016, he was hired for a framing job that lasted three days. The employer agreed to pay him $300 for the work.

At the end of the three days, the employer paid Victor with a check.

But when he tried to cash the check, the bank said it wasn’t negotiable.

“When I go back and catch him to get my money, he said, ‘No! I don’t got money right now,’” said Victor.

He didn’t want to cause problems or bring attention to himself, and gave up trying to collect.

Attorneys at the Community Legal Services of Prince George’s County say such stories have

become common. Valerie Adeyeye, a worker’s rights lawyer at the center, said wage theft cases are the most frequent that the center sees.

When a client comes to the worker’s rights clinic, Adeyeye contacts the employer and tries to arrange a settlement. “We can write demand letters on their behalf,” said Adeyeye.

“We can help them file a complaint.”

Rarely do the cases go to court.

She also helps workers file complaints with the state departments of labor, Licensing and Regulation or the D.C Office of Employment.

While stricter enforcement by the government could reduce minimum wage violations for most American workers, there is little that can be done to help undocumented immigrants. Bobo said while there is a need for more enforcement, employer groups and trade associations can play a part in the solution by setting higher standards for their business members.

Consumers can also help, especially when people buy a contracted service.

“The consuming public needs to ask questions,” Bobo said. “When we hire somebody we need to ask ‘Are you paying your workers fairly?

Do you pay them as employees?

Do you pay them as independent contractors?’ There are things that as consumers both as individual consumers, but if we’re purchasing contracted services to our companies or to our congregations, we can be ethical consumers as well and ask questions.”

The LEGACY

4 • July 12, 2017

Virginia carries out execution despite pleas inmate was mentally ill WIRE - A Virginia man who killed a hospital security guard and a sheriff’s deputy after escaping from custody in 2006 was executed last week after an unsuccessful campaign to spare the inmate’s life over concerns about his mental health.

William Morva, 35, was pronounced dead at 9:15 p.m. after a lethal injection at the Greensville Correctional Center in Jarratt. It was the first execution carried out in Virginia under a new protocol that makes more of the lethal injection procedure secret.

Morva’s execution came hours after Virginia’s Democratic governor announced that he would not spare Morva’s life despite pressure from mental health advocates, state lawmakers and attorneys who said the man’s crimes were the result of a severe mental illness that made it impossible for him to distinguish between delusions and reality.

Morva, who was wearing jeans and a blue shirt, said “no” after he was asked whether he had any last

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Gov. Terry McAuliffe words. A few minutes later, he could be heard speaking, but it was not clear what he was saying.

In denying a clemency petition, Gov. Terry McAuliffe concluded Morva received a fair trial. The Democratic governor noted that

Sex Offender Helpline The helpline provides support to communities on issues related to accessing sex offender registration information; responsible use of information; sexual abuse prevention resources; and accessing crime victim support services.

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Tips can also be provided at www.parentsformeganslaw.org.

This program is not intended to be used to report police emergencies.

experts who evaluated the man at the time found he didn’t suffer from any illness that would have prevented him from understanding the consequences of his crimes. He also said prison staff members who monitored Morva for the past nine years never reported any evidence of a severe mental illness or delusional disorder.

“I personally oppose the death penalty; however, I took an oath to uphold the laws of this Commonwealth regardless of my personal views of those laws, as long as they are being fairly and justly applied,” McAuliffe said in a statement.

Morva was awaiting trial on attempted robbery charges in 2005 when he was taken to the hospital to treat an injury. There, he attacked a sheriff’s deputy with a metal toilet paper holder, stole the deputy’s gun, and shot an unarmed security guard, Derrick McFarland, in the face before fleeing. A day later, Morva killed another sheriff’s deputy with a bullet to the back of the head. The deputy, Eric Sutphin, had been searching for Morva near Virginia Tech’s Blacksburg campus when he was shot.

Experts who examined Morva

for his trial said he suffered from personality disorders that resulted in “odd beliefs.”

After his trial, a psychiatrist diagnosed him with delusional disorder, a more severe mental illness akin to schizophrenia that made him falsely believe, among other things, that he has lifethreatening gastrointestinal issues and that a former presidential administration conspired with police to imprison him, his attorneys said.

His lawyers argued that Morva escaped and killed the men because he was under the delusion that he was going to die in jail.

Relatives described Morva as a happy child who began to deteriorate mentally as a teen. In the years before the killings, Morva regularly slept in the woods and was known around Blacksburg as “Crazy Will” and “Barefoot Will” for his tendency not to wear shoes, even in winter.

He was banned from Virginia Tech’s campus after police found him half naked on a bathroom floor.

Morva was the first inmate executed in Virginia since officials made changes to the state’s protocol that have drawn fire from attorneys and transparency advocates. Those

(continued on page 12)

July 12, 2017 • 5

www.LEGACYnewspaper.com

Leavell tells how she plans to lead the Black Press (TriceEdneyWire.com) - Loud laughter, greetings and chatter between old friends and fellow publishers filled the Sunset Room near the Gaylord Hotel on the National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Md. The aroma of hot hors devours hang heavily in the air as tunes of oldies but goodies drifted from the dance floor. It was the opening reception of the NNPA summer convention.

But neither the music, the energetic conversations; nor the smell of shrimp tempura could cover the thick scent of politics in the atmosphere.

By the end of the week, the ballots were all counted and a new chair of the National Newspaper Publishers Association had been elected.

Dorothy Leavell, publisher of the Chicago and Gary Crusader newspapers, once president of the federation, had excelled to the top of the organization that represents more than 200 blackowned newspapers - descendants of Freedom’s Journal, founded 190 years ago. Last week, in an interview, she told her plans for NNPA, in which many members are facing severe challenges with advertising, digital growth and shrinking staff sizes.

“We will develop a strategic plan that we will follow to the letter,” Leavell said in an interview. “We really have been devastated by a lack of advertising for our newspapers.

What we will do is we will map out where we’re going to go first.”

Known for her feisty personality, Leavell listed just a few of the huge corporations that will soon get a strategic call from the Black press.

Amazon, Starbucks, Microsoft – “all of those big companies. We need to do what we must to make sure we are successful as an organization but that our newspapers are also successful.”

Washington Informer Publisher Denise Rolark Barnes, now chairemeritus, immediately conceded Leavell’s win following the contentious election that allowed absentee ballots for the first time.

“NNPA has made tremendous strides in the last two years. It is my hope that it will continue moving in

Denise Rolark Barnes and Dorothy Leavell embrace after Leavell is announced winner. PHOTO: Roy Lewis an innovative direction,” she told a reporter. “We need to stay focused on how to broaden our reach and expand our content; not only in print, but in digital…I look forward to supporting NNPA’s efforts in those areas.”

Leavell said national advertising dollars, building bridges with traditional civil rights organizations, and an editorial campaign focused on gun violence in America’s black communities will be among her top priorities.

“I’m energized and ready to go. Our number one project is to save our young people,” she said.

She said she will also urge national civil rights leaders to understand that their support should be going to the Black Press. “Many of them are doing extremely well financially.

They should be one of our greatest supporters.”

For example, the NAACP has its annual corporate report card, Leavell pointed out. “The Black Press ought to be a part of that report card. Do they support the Black Press? Do they advertise in the Black Press?

That should be one of those things that they consider when they grade.”

Leavell said she is not overly concerned with the fact that President Donald Trump has yet to grant an interview to a black-owned publication. According to sources, including civil rights stalwart Barbara Arnwine, during a January meeting, Trump assistant Omarosa Manigault promised NNPA President Ben Chavis the first interview with the president. But Manigault denied that promise when this reporter asked about it in mid-March. She then publicly assured him that he would get an interview. But Chavis said he hasn’t heard from her since.

“If we report the news and we’re actively involved, they’re going to want to have a relationship with us,” said Leavell.

Boxing promoter Don King, owner of the Cleveland Call & Post, an NNPA member, is a friend and associate of Trump’s. Leavell says she will reach out to King “and try to get a perspective on how he thinks we ought to do” as it relates to the

Trump administration.

Although she has big vision for the work ahead, Leavell says she will maintain a team leadership style. Houston Forward Times publisher Karen Carter Richards was re-elected as first vice chair of the organization; New Tri-State Defender Bernal Smith was elected second vice chair; Indianapolis Recorder publisher Shannon Williams will continue as secretary and Atlanta Voice Publisher Janis Ware will continue to serve as treasurer.

Leavell is not new to NNPA leadership. Over the years, she has served as president of the association, chair of the foundation, and was once named publisher of the year. Leavell says she and her leadership team will pursue holding a panel discussion in September during the Congressional Black Caucus Annual Legislative Conference. Last week was the same week that NNPA holds its annual board meeting and leadership reception. “So, we’re going to hit the ground running.”

6 • July 12, 2017

Op/Ed & Letters

The LEGACY

Lives in the balance: Society’s moral test REP. ELIJAH CUMMINGS Civilized societies ultimately are judged upon how we treat our citizens when they are most vulnerable, and few in our society are more vulnerable than our neighbors in need of healthcare.

It should not be difficult to understand, therefore, why the American people – at heart, a humane and generous society – are so opposed to Republican efforts to gut the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare).

On June 7, the highly respected Quinnipac University poll found that American voters clearly understand the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) analysis of the House Republican’s efforts to “repeal and replace” Obamacare: 23 million Americans would lose their health insurance coverage.

Public opinion rejected that proposal by 62-17 percent, a fact understood by some of the House Republicans who, nevertheless, voted for the measure in the hope that the Senate’s version of “repeal and replace” would substantially mitigate this blow.

This was not to be. On June 26, the CBO released its analysis of the Senate Republicans’ plan, finding its impact upon our basic American values to be just as deadly as the House Republicans’ plan: 22 million The LEGACY NEWSPAPER Vol. 3 No. 28 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

Americans would be deprived of health insurance by 2026, including 15 million Americans who would lose their Medicaid coverage.

A USA Today – Suffolk University Poll determined that only 12 percent of Americans support the Senate Republicans’ plan.

For some, however, the scope of the human devastation that would be wrought upon our society if either of these measures were to become law might be so overwhelming as to be emotionally numbing. This is why I asked our Democratic staff on the Committee of Oversight and Government Reform to perform an analysis that everyone, including my Republican colleagues, could understand.

On June 27, our staff experts completed their work, and we released state-specific projections of the human cost that the Republican proposals would have upon children with severe disabilities and special health care needs – helpless and deserving children who need our help to survive and thrive.

Children who have special health care needs such as cerebral palsy, Downs Syndrome, and autism come from all backgrounds, families with the lowest household incomes have the highest incidence of children with these challenges.

It should not surprise any of us that families who have children 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.

Annual Subscription Rates Virginia - $50 U.S. states - $75 Outside U.S.- $100 The Virginia Legacy © 2016

with special health care needs face extreme financial difficulties. These children rely wholly or partially on public insurance programs such as Medicaid.

The costs are significant – requiring a significant federal role. Because children with special health care needs often require intensive longterm care and support services, on average they are about 12 times more costly to state Medicaid programs than children without such needs.

This is just one of the reasons why Republican efforts to slash and fundamentally restructure Medicaid funding would fail every test of humanity that we hold dear. These assaults on our morality as a people would be especially harmful for the children of our community – despite the reality that these children have done absolutely nothing to warrant such treatment.

Yet, that is precisely the damage that these Republican “repeal and replace” proposals would inflict upon these most vulnerable of our neighbors.

Consider this. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office determined that the Republican House bill would slash Medicaid funding by $834 billion over ten years and leave 14 million fewer Americans with health insurance through Medicaid. The Republican

Senate bill would harm Medicaid even more profoundly than the House-passed bill by further restricting the growth rate for future federal funding.

The Senate bill would disguise these larger cuts by delaying their implementation until later years, but the CBO also determined that the Senate bill would leave 22 million more Americans uninsured by 2026, including 15 million Americans who would lose their Medicaid coverage.

These are the human – and humane – reasons that the American people are rebelling against Republican measures to “repeal and replace” the Affordable Care Act, reverse its Medicaid expansion, and drastically limit future Medicaid funding.

Children and adults with disabilities, children in poverty, elderly Americans in nursing care, and the “working poor” are among the Americans whom our federal tax dollars have been helping through the Affordable Care Act. A recent Kaiser Family Foundation poll revealed that the ACA’s Medicaid expansion is supported by 84 percent of the public, including 71 percent of Republicans. The American people understand what my Republican colleagues apparently do not.

(continued on page 7)

www.LEGACYnewspaper.com

July 12, 2017 • 7

P.T. Hoffsteader, Esq.

Turning back the clock

The health care repeal that Republicans are pushing through Congress is a direct attack on the lives of black people throughout the country.

Just as these right-wing politicians are pushing us out of the voting booth, they want to push us out of doctor’s offices and hospitals, further into medical debt, and closer to the grave.

Some think repealing “Obamacare” will reset the clock to 2008. In truth, the repeal plan being considered by the Senate takes us back beyond 1964, before voting rights, civil rights, and before Medicaid.

Medicaid is the program that more than any other opened the door to health care for African American people in the United States, and the lives of black people are exactly what's at stake in the fight over repeal.

The legislation proposed by Republican leaders doesn’t just gut the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

It also aims to destroy Medicaid, cutting a quarter of its budget and capping funds, ending the guarantee that the program will be funded according to how much care is needed and used.

This will result in more than 22 million people across the country losing their coverage entirely, while many more will lose critical services they need - everything from help with long-term care to cancer treatment.

We know these cuts won’t be felt equally. Black adults are twice as likely to get their coverage through

Medicaid than white adults.

Although struggling people of all races will suffer under this health care repeal, the effects will hit black communities hardest.

African Americans have higher rates of diabetes, stroke and high blood pressure, and African American men are twice as likely to die from prostate cancer. All of these conditions are easily treatable with well managed health care, which is what the ACA is all about.

The cruelty of taking away health care is unfathomable. Many black adults got health insurance for the first time in their life under “Obamacare” when many states expanded Medicaid. Unfortunately, too many people were shut out of these gains because some states refused the Medicaid expansion.

When Louisiana finally opened Medicaid to more people, there were newspaper reports of patients crying with relief. These right-wing politicians want to steal that right out of their hands. They don’t care who lives or dies as long as they can hand over a giant tax break to their billionaire and corporate donors.

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan has tried to sell health care repeal by calling it “freedom.” How ridiculous!

That's the emptiest, cruelest version of freedom I can think of the freedom to go without health care you need and can’t pay for, the freedom to go bankrupt over medical debt, the freedom to die.

Without insurance, families face devastating financial consequences.

More than half of all bankruptcies are due to insurmountable medical

bills. Lack of health insurance isn’t freedom, it is a poverty sentence that can last for generations.

When it comes to health care, the Affordable Care Act didn’t get us all the way, just as Medicaid hasn’t either. But the ACA put us in the right direction, and it’s that progress the right-wing politicians want to destroy - and that makes them so afraid.

Janice “Jay” Johnson Hampton Roads

Fourth Estate is vital

Thanks to the Fourth Estate (the press) in general and the Black Press in particular, people have the chance to sort out things that daily impact their lives and livelihood.

This aids greatly in making informed decisions, even in contemporary times when we encounter people who spread hyperbole, “fake news”, misinformation, disinformation, “alternative facts”, historical inaccuracies, etc.

Apparently, all people (for better or worse) seek to get their stories out to the public, and the press is seen as a vital delivery vehicle; thus, many in the press are discipline to the extent to carefully scrutinize and objectively analyze that which is received before presenting it to the public in a finished form.

In our daily actions, we seek to interact with other people and operations that display credibility.

This is the glue that forms any representative government. This is so important since contemporary political parties have become

incubators for those who tend to prostitute themselves before lobbyists (domestic and foreign) and/or look out for their own selfish interests. The true nature of representative government is to positively impact people so they may grow, develop, prosper and advance; not to argue over “the lesser of two evils” or “the evil of two lessers” - for that matter.

As a youth, growing up in America in the 1960s, I took great interest in the press-- the Black Press in particular. It always carried information on local, state and international occurrences. Much of this we cannot find today, although a much smaller Black Press still exists.

Let us all continue to challenge ourselves to show greater support for the Black Press, financially and otherwise, so it can make an even greater impact on society.

Kamau Islam Tri-Cities

(from page 6) Our choice as a society is clear.

Either we work toward the best and most cost-effective ways to care for those who are in need – or we become a society that allows her people to suffer and die.

This, in a nutshell, is the test that we, as a people, are facing in the national debate over health care funding.

Lives are in the balance in this struggle – and some of the lives at stake are our own.

Cummings represents Maryland’s 7th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.

8 • July 12, 2017

Faith & Religion

The LEGACY

The state of hate in America: An analysis WIRE - It feels like nearly every week, America is rattled by a new incident of hate.

In June, a white man in a Chicago Starbucks was filmed calling a black man a slave, and a white woman in a New Jersey Sears was videotaped making bigoted comments against a family she believed was Indian (they were not). In May, two men on a Portland train were stabbed to death trying to stop a white supremacist's anti-Muslim tirade against two teenagers.

Hate symbols are showing up around the country: nooses in the nation's capital, racist graffiti on the front gate of LeBron James’ Los Angeles home, a banner with an anti-Semitic slur over a Holocaust memorial in Lakewood, N.J. On Saturday, the Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan rallied in Charlottesville, Va., less than two months after white supremacist Richard Spencer — who coined the term "alt-right" — led a similar protest in the city against the removal of a Confederate monument.

Several white nationalist groups are planning another rally for Aug. 12.

In an America where deep divisions exposed in the presidential election have only intensified in the past eight months, these incidents take on new meaning as they become more widespread.

“They’re increasing not only in number but in terms of their ferocity,” said Chip Berlet, a scholar of the far right.

Groups that track these incidents — including the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), the AntiDefamation League (ADL) and the non-profit news organization ProPublica, which is creating a national database of hate crimes and bias — say hate incidents are a national problem whose scope we don’t fully grasp. Tracking them is notoriously difficult:

A Black Lives Matter community forum takes place before a planned protest by the Ku Klux Klan on July 8 in Charlottesville. The KKK is protesting the planned removal of a statue of General Lee in Charlottesville. PHOTO: Chet Strange Not all law enforcement agencies send hate crime data to the FBI. Five states don’t have any hate crime protections.

Many states don’t include protections for LGBTQ people.

Incidents of public harassment motivated by hate bias may not meet the legal definition of a “hate crime.”

While a patchwork of data means we don’t have a complete picture of the problem, the SPLC and the ADL say available numbers show disturbing trends. In its most recent hate crimes report, the FBI tracked a total of 5,818 hate crimes in 2015, a rise of about 6.5 percent from the

previous year, and showed that attacks against Muslims surged.

The SPLC documented an uptick of hate and bias incidents after the presidential election, tracking 1,094 in the first month alone. The organization also says the number of hate groups in the U.S. increased for a second year in a row in 2016. In April, the ADL reported anti-Semitic incidents in the U.S. rose 86 percent in the first quarter of 2017.

“Even though the data is incomplete, we still think it’s statistically significant, and in that it’s troubling to see more manifestations of prejudice than

we’ve seen in the past,” said Jonathan Greenblatt, the CEO of the ADL. Minorities feel less safe By 2055, the U.S. will not have a single racial or ethnic majority, a change driven by immigration, according to the Pew Research Center. An analysis conducted by the Public Religion Research Institute and The Atlantic — based on surveys taken before and after the election — reveals that members of the white working class concerned

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July 12, 2017 • 9

(from page 8) about immigration were more than 3.5 times more likely to vote for President Trump. Nearly half of white working-class Americans said, “things have changed so much that I often feel like a stranger in my own country.”

Heidi Beirich, leader of the SPLC’s Intelligence Project — which publishes the organization’s Hatewatch blog — said right now minorities feel less safe, particularly Muslim and immigrant communities. According to the Pew Research Center, 41 percent of Hispanics say they have serious concerns about their place in America since the presidential election.

“People feel like they could be attacked at any moment,” she said. “Often, they also don’t trust the police to help them.”

While the FBI’s data typically show 5,000 to 6,000 hate crimes a year, the Department of Justice’s estimates are much higher. A report out this month from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data from the National Crime Victimization Survey, show Americans experienced an average of 250,000 hate crime victimizations each year from 2004 to 2015. About a quarter of hate crime victims who didn’t report said they feared police wouldn’t be able to help them.

Us vs. Them For years before he ran for president, Trump roused the “birther” movement that falsely questioned the legitimacy of Barack Obama, the nation’s first black president. During the presidential campaign, Trump said an Indianaborn federal judge was biased because of his “Mexican heritage.” Since becoming president, Trump has taken a hard stance on immigration, instituting a travel ban on immigrants from six Muslim-majority countries, which the Supreme Court partially reinstated in late June.

Trump’s ascendance, Berlet said, was built upon a narrative of “us vs. them,” language that resonates with many Americans who fear cultural shifts brought on by changing demographics.

After the deadly shooting at Pulse nightclub in June 2016, then-candidate Trump said, “The Muslims have to work with us. They have to work with us. They know what’s going on. They know that he was bad. They knew the people in San Bernardino were bad. But you know what?

They didn’t turn them in. And we had death and destruction.”

“When a public figure with a high status identifies a group that is described as threatening to the stability of the community or the nation, in certain conditions this can lead people to conclude that they have to defend their way of life from these ‘others,’” Berlet said. “These scapegoated or demonized others have to be either silenced or eradicated.”

Protesters gather in Charlottesville prior to the KKK rally under heavy police presence. KKK and supporters held a 30 minute rally despite an overwhelming number of counter protesters.

Trump has been repeatedly asked to do more to denounce hate associated with his name.

Expressions of bigotry among his supporters were well-documented during his campaign and Trump himself has been accused by civil rights groups of using hateful and violent rhetoric, as well as being too reticent in condemning it. Just this month, Trump posted a CNN smackdown clip on Twitter that was taken from a Reddit troll who the ADL says has “a consistent record of racism, antiSemitism and bigotry.”

Of the 1,094 hate and bias incidents the SPLC counted in the month after the election, 37 percent of them directly referenced either Trump, his campaign slogans or his remarks about sexual assault.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer has denied that such hate incidents have increased since Trump’s election victory. And many Americans who support Trump — though they admire his bluntness and tendency to eschew political correctness — say they don’t condone racism or violence either.

“It doesn’t make one racist to have voted for Trump, and I’m sure many didn’t pay that much attention to the campaign,” Beirich said.

“That said, Trump’s rants against Mexicans, Muslims and women were widely reported. So clearly Trump’s views on these matters weren’t disqualifying for many Trump voters. For those Trump voters bothered by this racism, I hope they will speak out against it. It could help increase civility in the U.S.” A nation divided Increased political polarization is part of what moves hate from the margins to the mainstream,

Greenblatt said. Sentiments once considered extreme become validated and “people feel the pain of prejudice in a manner that is really beneath our values as a country,” he said.

The Pew Research Center found about half of Democrats and Republicans say the other party makes them feel “afraid.” More than 40 percent of Democrats and Republicans say the opposite party’s “policies are so misguided that they threaten the nation’s well-being.”

“I don’t think either side of the ideological spectrum is exempt from intolerance,” Greenblatt said. “Whether it’s the U.S. president, or a university president ... I think we should expect our leaders to stand up and speak out against manifestations of hate.”

And the rest of us? We remain where we always have, Greenblatt said, capable of moving the country away from cruelty and toward greater justice.

When the approximately 50 KKK members converged on Charlottesville over the weekend to protest what Klan member James Moore called “the ongoing cultural genocide ... of white Americans,” more than a thousand counterprotesters showed up to decry hate in their city. The Klan members were heavily outnumbered, chants of “white power” drowned out by “racists go home.”

“I think all of us have an obligation to interrupt intolerance when it happens and to be an ally when we see others being subjected to harassment and hate,” Greenblatt said. “We owe it to ourselves to make sure we call upon our better angels when we see people that we know, or don’t know, who are being treated unfairly because of how they look or how they pray or who they love. Every one of us is capable of rising to that occasion.”

10 • July 12, 2017

The LEGACY

At summer camp, VCU students mentor Richmond-area children of incarcerated parents BRIAN McNEILL Gilberto, a Richmond elementary school student, is standing at the edge of a ravine at the Surry County camp Chanco on the James and is hooked to a zip line nicknamed “Wile E. Coyote.”

“Ready to fly!” Gilberto yells.

“Fly on,” a voice calls back from across the ravine, as Gilberto steps forward gingerly and zooms through the woods to the other side.

“Whew, I did it!” he said, greeted by a crowd of cheering children and Virginia Commonwealth University students.

Gilberto was among 32 campers from Richmond-area elementary schools who have an incarcerated parent. Through a program of the Virginia Conference of The United Methodist Church called “All God’s Children,” the children attended camp at Chanco on the James for a week, getting an opportunity to zip line, take nature walks, work on arts and crafts, canoe on the James River, practice archery and much more.

Mentoring the campers were 15 VCU students and recent graduates, most of whom were taking part through “Mentoring Children AtRisk,” a summer field study course taught by Geri Lotze, Ph.D., a teaching associate professor of developmental psychology in the Department of Psychology in the College of Humanities and Sciences.

“One of the biggest struggles for kids with incarcerated parents is relationships. Imagine if your mom — who is, in many cases, your primary caregiver — was incarcerated. Kids really struggle with that,” Lotze said. “So, here at camp, what they have is a one-to-one relationship with a VCU student mentor.”

“It allows the children to come to camp and forget about the struggles at home and just be children again.”

The camp is meant to serve as a sanctuary for children who face many challenges in their lives, including economic poverty, temporary living conditions, loneliness, low self-

esteem, violence and drugs.

“This is such an important program because it allows the children to come to camp and forget about the struggles at home and just be children again,” said camp director Lori Smith. “It is also important because they attend a class each day where they learn about conflict resolution and self-esteem building, allowing them to use these tools and skills when they return home. Here at camp, they learn that they truly are somebody and really begin to live into that.”

Gilberto’s mentor, Leslie Golding, a junior psychology major, said she had no idea how quickly she would grow close to and care deeply about Gilberto and the other young campers.

“It’s only been a couple days, but I have bonds with all of them already,” she said. “Gilberto and I are really tight. He misses his mom a lot, so I think he feels appreciative that I’m there for him and making him feel less homesick. We had an especially

fun time tubing yesterday, we went out on a banana boat. That was a really great time.”

While the camp only lasts a week, the experience often leads to a lasting relationship between the mentors and children, Lotze said.

“There’s been some interesting research looking at the impact of mentoring. One recent paper found that at-risk children who met with mentors a total of four hours each month for a year were positively impacted,” she said. “My students ask: ‘What kind of impact are we going to have in one week?’ And I tell them, ‘Count up the hours.’

We’re providing a one-to-one close relationship between at-risk children and a mentor for more hours this week than most mentors are able to provide in a year.”

For many of the mentors, the camp is just the beginning of their relationship with the camper.

“I have had VCU students mentor kids from the D.C. area [who attended a previous camp]. The VCU

students would go up and visit them once a month and take them out for ice cream,” Lotze said.

“I’ll mail things [on behalf of] students. We’ll mail birthday cards, welcome back to school cards, they’re invited to take children out — as it’s OK with the children’s caregivers, of course. We encourage that.”

Jordan Schramm, who recently graduated from VCU with a psychology degree, attended last year’s camp as a student and decided to return this year as a volunteer.

“It’s nice to be a role model, be someone that they can look up to, especially when they might not necessarily have that sort of figure at home,” she said. “I still talk to my mentee [from last year]. We exchanged contact info after camp last year. That way, you can still be there for them after the camp experience is over.”

Schramm, like many of the VCU mentors, saw the camp partly as an

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The LEGACY

(from page 4) changes came after attorneys raised concerns in January about how long it took to place an IV line during the execution of convicted killer Ricky Gray.

Execution witnesses used to be able to watch inmates walk into the chamber and be strapped down. A curtain would then be closed so the public could not see the placement of the IV and heart monitors. After the curtain was reopened, inmates would be asked whether they have any final words before the chemicals started to flow.

In Morva’s execution, the curtain was closed when the witnesses entered the chamber and was not opened until he was strapped to the gurney and the IV lines were in place. Virginia used a three drug mixture, including midazolam and potassium chloride that it obtained from a compounding pharmacy whose identify remains secret under state law.

Morva’s lethal injection began about 9 p.m. after the warden read

him the court order of his execution.

Shortly after the drugs began flowing, his stomach moved up and down quickly several times before he became motionless.

Morva is the third inmate to be executed since McAuliffe took office in 2014. In April, McAuliffe granted clemency to Ivan Teleguz, saying jurors in the murder-for-hire case were given false information that may have swayed sentencing.

Among those who had urged McAuliffe to spare Morva’s life were the daughter of the slain sheriff’s deputy, two United Nations human rights experts, and representatives from the Hungarian Embassy.

Morva’s father was born in Hungary and Morva was a HungarianAmerican dual national.

“Our message and William’s story and his family’s story were resonating with a lot of people, and I don’t know why it didn’t resonate with the governor,” Morva’s attorney Dawn Davison said after the execution.

VSP: It’s prime time for auto theft

Summertime is prime time for auto theft, which is why the Virginia State Police Help Eliminate Auto Theft (HEAT) program is reminding motorists to secure their unattended vehicles.

Of the 9,575 motor vehicle theft offenses in 2016, 3,523 occurred

between June and September. For the calendar year, August had the dubious distinction of leading all months with 957 auto theft offenses. July had the second-most offenses with 924. A total of 9,719 motor vehicles were reported stolen in 2016.

with at-risk population but also because she loves working with kids.

“I went to summer camp as a kid myself and I remember how much my mentors meant to me,” she said.

“So the idea of helping to make a summer awesome for a kid sounded like it’d be really cool.”

Golding, Gilberto’s mentor,

encouraged other VCU students to sign up for the class next year.

“If you’re thinking about doing it next year, you definitely should,” she said. “It’s a great opportunity and I don’t regret it at all. Even though there’s no air conditioning.”

(from page 10) learning and work with youth,” opportunity to gain experience with working with at-risk children and to get a firsthand look at the effects of incarceration on families.

“I wanted to try out different experiences to try and find my career pathway with psychology and what I wanted to pursue my master’s in,” she said. “I’m going to be applying for my master’s in social work to start in fall of 2018 [at VCU].”

The best part, Schramm said, is that the camp provides the mentors with a chance to help children simply have a great time for a week in the summer.

“It’s nice to get to experience a week with them of things they don’t usually get to do,” she said. “For some of them, this might be most of the fun they get to experience this summer — and you get to be a part of that.”

Nora Schaefer, who graduated in May and majored in criminal justice at VCU’s L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs, also decided to volunteer this year after taking the class last summer.

“I wanted to do some service

she said. “At first, I took the class because I just needed a psych requirement, but I also [was interested] because it involves working with children of incarcerated parents. I really wanted to work with that population and understand what it’s like from the kids’ perspective and help them.”

The experience, Schaefer said, can be challenging, but also rewarding.

“You learn a lot about yourself. It can be a trial by fire or it can just be a joyful experience. But whatever happens, you learn about them and you learn about yourself,” she said.

“Last year,” she added, “[a camper who was] not my mentee but a different girl, she was worried that her mentor didn’t love her. I took her aside and assured her that her mentor loved her very much, and just calmed her down. It got through to her that we were all there for her, that she was looked after, and that she was loved.”

Kayleigh Smith, a junior psychology major, heard about the course while taking Lotze’s adult development class. She wanted to participate, she said, to explore what it’s like working

© VCU

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July 12, 2017 • 13 NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC OF AN APPLICATION BY VIRGINIA ELECTRIC AND POWER COMPANY, FOR REVISION OF RATE ADJUSTMENT CLAUSE: RIDER S, VIRGINIA CITY HYBRID ENERGY CENTER CASE NO. PUR-2017-00073 • Virginia Electric and Power Company d/b/a Dominion Energy Virginia (“Dominion”) has applied for approval to revise its rate adjustment clause, Rider S. • Dominion requests a total revenue requirement of $244.981 million for its 2018 Rider S. • A Hearing Examiner appointed by the Commission will hear the case on December 6, 2017, at 10 a.m.

• Further information about this case is available on the SCC website at: http://www.scc.virginia.gov/case.

On June 1, 2017, Virginia Electric and Power Company d/b/a Dominion Energy Virginia (“Dominion” or “Company”), pursuant to § 56-585.1 A 6 of the Code of Virginia (“Code”), filed with the State Corporation Commission (“Commission”) an annual update of the Company’s rate adjustment clause, Rider S (“Application”). Through its Application, the Company seeks to recover costs associated with the Virginia City Hybrid Energy Center (“VCHEC” or “Project”), a 600 megawatt nominal coal-fueled generating plant and associated transmission interconnection facilities located in Wise County, Virginia.

In Case No. PUE-2007-00066, the Commission approved Dominion’s construction and operation of VCHEC and also approved a rate adjustment clause, designated Rider S, for Dominion to recover costs associated with the development of the Project. VCHEC became fully operational in 2012.

In this proceeding, Dominion has asked the Commission to approve Rider S for the rate year beginning April 1, 2018, and ending March 31, 2019 (“2018 Rate Year”). The two components of the proposed total revenue requirement for the 2018 Rate Year are the Projected Cost Recovery Factor and the Actual Cost True-Up Factor. The Company is requesting a Projected Cost Recovery Factor revenue requirement of $227,619,000 and an Actual Cost True-Up Factor revenue requirement of $17,362,000. Thus, the Company is requesting a total revenue requirement of $244,981,000 for service rendered during the 2018 Rate Year.

Dominion utilized a rate of return on common equity (“ROE”) of 11.5% for purposes of calculating the Projected Cost Recovery Factor in this case. This ROE comprises a general ROE of 10.5%, plus a 100 basis point enhanced return applicable to a conventional coal generating station as described in § 56-585.1 A 6 of the Code. For purposes of calculating the Actual Cost True-Up Factor, the Company utilized an ROE of 11% for the months of January 2016 through March 2016, which comprises the general ROE of 10% approved by the Commission in its Final Order in Case No. PUE-2013-00020, plus the 100 basis point enhanced return, and an ROE of 10.6% for the months of April 2016 through December 2016, which comprises the general ROE of 9.6% approved by the Commission in its Final Order in Case No. PUE-2015-00060, plus the 100 basis point enhanced return.

If the proposed Rider S for the 2018 Rate Year is approved, the impact on customer bills would depend on the customer’s rate schedule and usage. According to Dominion, implementation of its proposed Rider S on April 1, 2018, would decrease the monthly bill of a residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt hours per month by approximately $0.38.

The Company indicates it has calculated the proposed Rider S rates in accordance with the same methodology as used for rates approved by the Commission in the most recent Rider S proceeding, Case No. PUE-2016-00062.

Interested persons are encouraged to review the Application and supporting documents for the details of these and other proposals.

TAKE NOTICE that the Commission may apportion revenues among customer classes and/or design rates in a manner differing from that shown in the Application and supporting documents and thus may adopt rates that differ from those appearing in the Company’s Application and supporting documents.

The Commission entered an Order for Notice and Hearing that, among other things, scheduled a public hearing on December 6, 2017, at 10 a.m., in the Commission’s second floor courtroom located in the Tyler Building, 1300 East Main Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219, to receive testimony from members of the public and evidence related to the Application from the Company, any respondents, and the Commission’s Staff.

Any person desiring to testify as a public witness at this hearing should appear fifteen (15) minutes prior to the starting time of the hearing and contact the Commission’s Bailiff.

The public version of the Company’s Application, as well as the Commission’s Order for Notice and Hearing, are available for public inspection during regular business hours at each of the Company’s business offices in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Copies also may be obtained by submitting a written request to counsel for the Company, Lisa S. Booth, Esquire, Dominion Energy Services, Inc., 120 Tredegar Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219. If acceptable to the requesting party, the Company may provide the documents by electronic means.

Copies of the public version of the Application and other documents filed in this case also are available for interested persons to review in the Commission’s Document Control Center located on the first floor of the Tyler Building, 1300 East Main Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219, between the hours of 8:15 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. Interested persons also may download unofficial copies from the Commission’s website: http://www.scc.virginia.gov/case.

On or before November 29, 2017, any interested person wishing to comment on the Company’s Application shall file written comments on the Application with Joel H. Peck, Clerk, State Corporation Commission, c/o Document Control Center, P.O. Box 2118, Richmond, Virginia 23218-2118. Any interested person desiring to file comments electronically may do so on or before November 29, 2017, by following the instructions on the Commission’s website: http://www.scc.virginia.gov/case. Compact discs or any other form of electronic storage medium may not be filed with the comments. All such comments shall refer to Case No. PUR-2017-00073.

On or before September 15, 2017, any person or entity wishing to participate as a respondent in this proceeding may do so by filing a notice of participation. If not filed electronically, an original and fifteen (15) copies of the notice of participation shall be submitted to the Clerk of the Commission at the address above. A copy of the notice of participation as a respondent also must be sent to counsel for the Company at the address set forth above. Pursuant to Rule 5 VAC 5-20-80 B, Participation as a respondent, of the Commission’s Rules of Practice and Procedure (“Rules of Practice”), any notice of participation shall set forth: (i) a precise statement of the interest of the respondent; (ii) a statement of the specific action sought to the extent then known; and (iii) the factual and legal basis for the action. All filings shall refer to Case No. PUR-2017-00073. For additional information about participation as a respondent, any person or entity should obtain a copy of the Commission’s Order for Notice and Hearing.

On or before October 20, 2017, each respondent may file with the Clerk of the Commission, and serve on the Commission’s Staff, the Company, and all other respondents, any testimony and exhibits by which the respondent expects to establish its case, and each witness’s testimony shall include a summary not to exceed one page. If not filed electronically, an original and fifteen (15) copies of such testimony and exhibits shall be submitted to the Clerk of the Commission at the address above. Respondents also shall comply with the Commission’s Rules of Practice, including: 5 VAC 5-20-140, Filing and service; 5 VAC 5-20-150, Copies and format; and 5 VAC 5-20-240, Prepared testimony and exhibits. All filings shall refer to Case No. PUR-2017-00073.

The Commission’s Rules of Practice may be viewed at http://www.scc.virginia.gov/case. A printed copy of the Commission’s Rules of Practice and an official copy of the Commission’s Order for Notice and Hearing in this proceeding may be obtained from the Clerk of the Commission at the address above.

VIRGINIA ELECTRIC AND POWER COMPANY

14 • July 12, 2017

The LEGACY

Lawsuit seeks to provide treatment for Virginia’s Hepatitis C-infected inmates A class action lawsuit filed June 26 contends that Terry A. Riggleman, an inmate at Virginia’s Augusta Correctional Center has been refused treatment for Hepatitis C despite repeated requests for treatment and his worsening condition.

According to Riggleman’s attorneys, he was diagnosed with the virus in 2005 while incarcerated at Lawrenceville Correctional Center, a private prison overseen by Virginia Department of Corrections (VDOC).

Since then, he has not received any treatment fight the infection that will ultimately lead to liver cirrhosis and death.

Nexus Services Inc. filed and is funding the lawsuit through the law firm Nexus Caridades Attorneys Inc.

Mike Donovan, president and CEO of Nexus Services, Inc., condemned the Virginia Department of Corrections’ treatment of Riggleman and other inmates’, noting that refusing treatment is a violation of their 8th Amendment constitutional rights.

“With 30 to 40 percent of Virginia DOC inmates suffering from Hep C, Nexus Services Inc. is proud to fund this class action lawsuit so that we can bring to an end the DOCs course of conduct which literally condemns inmates like Mr. Riggleman to die…,” said Donovan, who held a press conference in Richmond this week announcing the lawsuit.

In 2008, three years after Riggleman’s diagnosis, he experienced severe abdominal

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and liver pain that accompanied digestive and bowel issues. He verbally complained and filed formal grievances, and his family made phone calls to the Va. DOC for months until he was finally taken to MCV Hospital in Richmond. There he was diagnosed with gallstones and had them removed.

His digestive issues persisted, however, and his liver enzyme levels elevated. His attoney’s contend that he was told by the medical staff at the Augusta Correctional Center that his enzyme levels were not elevated enough to receive treatment.

In 2013, Riggleman learned about a new direct-acting antiviral drug (DAAD) that improves the treatment module for Hepatitis C infections.

FDA approved DAAD medications called Sovaldi, Olysio, and Harvoni can reduce treatment durations by 75 percent, and they are administered orally rather than by injections.

“Mr. Riggleman and other inmates with his condition have not been condemned to die by a court of proper jurisdiction, and therefore the Director of the Department of Corrections has no authority to cause their execution,” said Mario Williams, the chief of the Civil Rights Division at Nexus Caridades Attorneys Inc. Hepatitis C is a viral infection that attacks the liver and impairs its ability to assist the body in digesting essential nutrients, filtering toxins from the blood, and preventing disease. According to the CDC, HCV is volatile in a prison-type environment because it is primarily spread by contact with infected blood.

HCV is more commonly discovered in Caucasian men, however, because of the higher population of nonwhite inmates, there are consequently more examples of Hepatitis C present in those races when they are incarcerated. The CDC found that HCV killed more Americans than any other infectious disease when the virus reached 19,659 deaths in 2014, surpassing even HIV. Chronic Hepatitis C is the leading cause of cirrhosis (irreversible scarring

of liver tissue) and liver cancer, and it is the most common cause of liver transplants. Each day without treatment increases the likelihood of these ailments, as well as complications from the disease, death from liver failure, and risk of transmitting Hepatitis C to others.

Treatment with a combination of antiviral medicines can fight the viral infection and prevent serious liver problems like cirrhosis or liver cancer, according to published health information.

“Reportedly, the reason Clarke and Amonette have refused to allow for treatment of Terry Riggleman’s deadly and infectious Hepatitis C, was because his condition had not progressed far enough.

“What in the world is that supposed to mean? The very fact that these Virginia Department of Corrections officials are aware of Terry Riggleman’s potentially lethal medical condition, is an automatic call to action to treat his illness. Mr. Riggleman has a U.S. Constitutional right to receive treatment with intent to cure. And because now, Hepatitis C is actually curable, the mandate to treat with intent to cure is greater than ever… BEFORE the victim reaches his deathbed,” said Rev. Frank Jackson, managing director, Americans Resisting Minority & Ethnic Discrimination, Chicago office.

Correctional systems in California, Illinois, Washington, Wisconsin, Oregon, andNew York have developed procedures to provide DAADs to individuals that fall within their guidelines, however, the Va. DOC director, Harold Clarke, and the chief medical director of the VDOC, Mark Amonette, refuse to implement similar policies, according to Nexus.

Thirty to 40 percent of inmates under the supervision of the Va. DOC are currently infected with Hepatitis C. “Mr. Clark and Mr. Amonette knowingly permit inmates to carry the Hepatitis C infection

(continued on page 15)

July 12, 2017 • 15

www.LEGACYnewspaper.com

Cosby will face another criminal prosecution STACY M. BROWN A trial date of November 6 has been set by Montgomery County Judge Steven O’Neill, the District Attorney announced via Twitter on Thursday.

In June, a 12-member jury split on whether to convict or acquit the entertainer on three counts of indecent aggravated assault stemming from an incident between Cosby and former Temple University employee Andrea Constand, that happened more than a dozen years ago.

After more than 52 hours of deliberation, the panel alerted O’Neill that they could not reach a unanimous verdict. Prosecutor Kevin Steele immediately announced plans to retry the case. In 2015, Reuters reported that Steele “campaigned for district attorney on the promise of becoming the first in the United States to charge comedian Bill Cosby with sexual assault.”

Steele narrowly defeated Republican Bruce Castor for the seat; his margin of victory was less than a percentage point.

Tom Mesereau, the famous attorney who successfully defended actor Robert Blake in the murder of his wife and pop star Michael Jackson on child molestation charges, told TMZ that a retrial is a waste of taxpayers’ money and a gross waste of time.

“I predicted the mistrial. I thought the defense would win and they did a great job,” Mesereau said.

“Whenever prosecutors lose, they immediately say they want a retrial.

It’s a weak case and they should have known that.

“It’s a very weak case and I think the judge helped Bill Cosby when he limited the other accusers who could testify in the case and, on the other hand, he helped the prosecution when the one witness the defense wanted to use to impeach the accuser, the judge wouldn’t let in.”

So far, neither Cosby nor his spokesman Andrew Wyatt, have commented on the retrial announcement.

(from page 14) and deliberately fail to treat said inmates,” note the attorneys.

Amonette reported on many occasions to Clark that VDOC inmates known to be infected by HCV are not receiving treatment and even instructed medical staff to not treat inmates with HCV. Riggleman was denied his request for direct-acting antiviral treatment on the grounds that the expensive treatment is prioritized for inmates whose illness has advanced to a fatal state, a criteria enacted because the VDOC does not want to pay for the treatment. A 400 mg pill of Sovaldi is $1,000 according to Hepatitis C Online, which would accumulate to be $84,000 after the 12-week treatment concludes.

An analysis in the New England Journal of Medicine found that treating all Hepatitis C-positive inmates would cost nearly $33 billion, more than triple the combined total spending for medical carein 44 state prison systems.

“Harold Clarke should be ashamed of the Virginia Department of Corrections that he administers, for the agency’s failure to provide life sustaining medical care for Mr. Riggleman and inmates like him,” said King Salim Khalfani, managing director, Americans Resisting

Donovan speaks at last week’s press conference.

Minority & Ethnic Discrimination, Richmond office. “Inmates in the DOC are under the custody and care of the Director. Mr. Clarke must prove his commitment to doing what’s right by immediately permitting Mr. Riggleman and other inmates to receive a cure from a disease that with otherwise debilitate and eventually kill them.”

Riggleman requested to see his medical file so that he could file a civil complaint and was told three months laterthat it was not policy to allow inmates to view their entire file unless he paid $0.10 per page to obtain a copy. According to Donovan, Riggleman continued to see the medical staff at ACC for a year complaining of chronic joint pain, nerve pain, digestive issues,

and chronic care. On Feb. 19, 2017, Riggleman discovered that a viral load of his blood work dated Nov. 30, 2011, was submitted with his Hepatitis C referral request on Nov. 3, 2016, confirming that his labs were not being taken annually, as VDOC policy mandates.

Nexus Caridades Attorneys, Inc. are filing for injunctive relief that would force Clark and Amonette to implement a Hepatitis C treatment policy that meets the community standards of care for patients with the virus. Hepatitis C is often overlooked by government officials, but it is an epidemic that is sweeping the prison system, rendering one in six inmates victim across the U.S., according to the CDC.

16 • July 12, 2017

Calendar Chesterfield County Public Library will host award-winning author Louis Sachar, recipient of the Newbery Award and the National Book Award, for the book “Holes.”

The event will take place Saturday, July 15, 7-8 p.m. at Monacan High School, 11501 Smoketree Dr., North Chesterfield, 23236. (This is a location change.)

The best-selling author, also known for the “Wayside School” series, has written 25 books for children and young adults. Sachar will share stories of being a noontime supervisor at an elementary school to becoming a well-known writer.

Copies of Sachar’s books will be available for sale. A book signing will take place after the program.

Members of the Friends of the Chesterfield County Public Library will get priority seating at the event. Registration is required.

For more information or to register, call 804-751-CCPL or visit library. chesterfield.gov.

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

Include who, what, where, when & contact information that can be printed.

Submission deadline is Friday.

The LEGACY

COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES & EVENTS

National Museum of African American History and Culture July Programming The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, will, on Sunday, July 16, at 3 p.m., host the quarterly programs series Culinary Cousins will present culinary historian Jessica Harris to discuss the decade-long career of Leah Chase, co-founder of the renowned Dookie Leah Chase Chase Restaurant in New Orleans.

Registration for this program is recommended and is available online at https://nmaahc.si.edu/.

Additionally, the Clement A. Price Lecture Series: The Summer of Black Power: The Uprising in Newark Reconsidered, will be held Saturday, July 29, from 4 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. This is the first of two symposia named in honor of the late Clement A. Price, Ph.D., founding director of the Institute on Ethnicity, Culture and the Modern Experience at Rutgers-Newark University and member of the National Museum of African American History and Culture’s Scholarly Advisory Committee. In the tradition of the Marion Thompson Wright lecture series, which Price established in 1981, the museum will organize an evening-long discussion, examining the economic, and social conditions that lead to days of rioting in July 1967.

WIN A 1965 CORVETTE STING RAY.

Valiant Virginians, a 501(c)3 non profit, is raffling a classic numbers matching 1965 Corvette Sting Ray Coupe. Proceeds from the raffle go to help Virginia families who have lost their means of transportation and need a car or car repairs to get to work.

When merited, Valiant Virginians (www.valiantvirginians.org) “gifts” donated cars to deserving families or helps repair a family car. Ben Jones, aka “Cooter” of Dukes of Hazzard fame, will draw the winning ticket on July 30 at the Cooter’s Last Stand event in beautiful Luray, Virginia (4768 US-211). To view photos and to BUY A TICKET ONLINE, visit www.valiantvirginians. org. Order by phone at 540-746-1962. Tickets $100 each. Hurry! Only 1200 tickets being sold. Winners not required to be present. For more info email, greg@valiantvirginians.org or call 540-746-1962.

National Megan’s Law Helpline & Sex Offender Registration Tips Program

Call (888) ASK-PFML (275-7365)

7.20, 5:30 p.m.

The Henrico County Division of Fire and Henrico Area Mental Health & Developmental Services (MH/DS) will present a free class 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 held at the MH/DS offices at 4825 S. Laburnum Ave. The class, developed by the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, is open to the public.

Participation will be limited to the first 50 registrants. To sign up, go to surveymonkey.com/r/9Q35Q6T or call 804-727-8574. Callers will be asked to leave an email address where they can receive a link to register for the class.

7.25, 6:30 p.m.

Participants can learn about the process of purchasing a home and obtaining a mortgage at a free seminar offered by Virginia Credit Union.

The First-time Homebuyers Seminar will be held at Virginia Credit Union in the Boulders Office Park, 7500 Boulder View Dr., Richmond.

Mortgage experts will be on hand to answer specific questions.

To register to attend, call 804323-6800 or visit https://www.vacu. org/Learning_Planning/Financial_ Education/Seminars_Workshops/

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July 12, 2017 • 17

www.LEGACYnewspaper.com

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18 • July 12, 2017

Classifieds

The LEGACY

ads@legacynewspaper.com

Ad Size 3 inches - 1 column(s) X 1.5 inches)

LEGAL, EMPLOYMENT, ANNOUNCEMENTS, FOR SALE, SERVICES 1 Issue (July 12) - $33

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HELP WANTED

HEALTH/PERSONALS/MISCELLANEOUS Includes Internet placement

Thank you for your interest in applying for opportunities with The City of Richmond.

To see what opportunities are available, please refer to our website at www.richmondgov.com.

AUTO CLUB SERVICE

Please reviewHAD the proof, make needed changes and return by fax or e-mail.

IF YOU HIP ORany KNEE REPLACEMENT If your response is not received by deadline, your ad may not be inserted.

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TRACTOR TECHNICIAN REEFER TECHNICIAN Marten Transport, Ltd., is in search of experienced technicians at our Colonial Heights location.

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EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY NOTICE

We are pledged to the letter and spirit of Virginia's policy for achieving equal housing opportunity throughout the commonwealth.

We encourage and support advertising and marketing programs in which there are no barriers to obtaining housing because of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, elderliness, familial status or handicap.

Call 804 644 1550

For more information or to file a housing complaint, call the Virginia Housing Office at (804) 367-8530; toll-free call (888) 5513247. For the hearingimpaired, call (804) 367-9753 or e-mail fairhousing@dpor. virginia.gov.

July 12, 2017 • 19

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CITY OF HAMPTON Thursday, August 3, 2017 2:00 p.m. EST ITB #17-105/EA Closed Circuit Cooler Holding a mandatory pre-bid conference on Tuesday, July 18, 2017 at 10:00 AM at the Public Safety Building, 40 Lincoln Street, Hampton, VA 23669

HELP WANTED/TRUCK DRIVERS

For additional information, see our web page at http://www.hampton.gov/bids-contracts

CDL TRAINING FOR LOCAL/ OTR DRIVERS! $40,000-$50,000 1ST Year! 4-wks or 10 Weekends for CDL. Veterans in Demand!

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A withdrawal of bid due to error shall be in accordance with Section 2.24330 of the Code of Virginia. All forms relating to these solicitations may be obtained from the above listed address or for further information call; (757) 727-2200. The right is reserved to reject any and all responses, to make awards in whole or in part, and to waive any informality in submittals.

Minority-Owned, Woman-Owned and Veteran Businesses are encouraged to participate.

MISC

SERVICES

DIVORCE – Uncontested, $395 + $86 court cost. No court appearance. Estimated completion time twenty-one days. Telephone inquiries welcome - no obligation.

Hilton Oliver, Attorney. 757-4900126. Se Habla Español.

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PRINT & DIGITAL AD SALES EXECUTIVE

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The LEGACY is looking for a reliable, highly-motivated, goal-driven sales professional to join our team selling print and digital advertising in the Richmond and Hampton Roads areas.

Duties include: Building and maintaining relationships with new/existing clients Meeting and exceeding monthly sales goals Cold calling new prospects over the phone to promote print and online advertising space

Qualifications: Proven experience with print (newspaper) and/or digital (website) advertising sales; Phone and one-on-one sales experience; Effective verbal and written communication skills, professional image and; Familiarity with Richmond and/or Hampton Roads areas.

Compensation depends on experience and includes a base pay as well as commission.

The LEGACY is an African-Americanoriented weekly newspaper, circulation 25,000, with a website featuring local and national news and advertising.

E-mail resume and letter of interest to ads@ legacynewspaper.com detailing your past sales experience. No phone calls please.

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