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WEDNESDAYS • Sept. 12, 2018
Richmond & Hampton Roads
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The deafening silence of Colin Kaepernick The former star is using social media savvy, and a total lack of interviews, to control the narrative of protests in the N.F.L.
A tall, unemployed man took his niece to see Serena and Venus Williams play each other at the United States Open on Friday of last week. The man, a free-agent football player clad in a simple black T-shirt, was briefly shown on the video board at Arthur Ashe Stadium to thunderous applause from the crowd. His response was little more than a smile, enough to light up social media with messages of support. On Monday, the same player shared on Twitter a new advertisement by Nike featuring a closeup of his face and nine words of type that, while drawing acclaim from many, also drove other people to social media to post photos of themselves destroying their Nike gear. Such is life for Colin Kaepernick, a hero to some and a pariah to others, who has become one of the most influential athletes in the current sports landscape, all while rarely saying a word. It was Kaepernick who, as a quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers, sat then, after consulting a military veteran, started kneeling during the national anthem before N.F.L. games in 2016. He said he wanted to raise awareness of racism, social injustice and police brutality against “black people and people of color.” He was soon joined in that protest by Eric Reid, a former teammate who was also by his side the other night at the Open. Their protest, which other players have continued even as Kaepernick and Reid have not been signed by any teams, continues to stir debate online, divide fans and the league owners, captivate celebrities and athletes and motivate President Trump to persistently tweet his anger over it. For her part, Serena Williams — who invited Kaepernick and his niece to meet with her after the match last week — described herself on Twitter as “especially proud” of Nike for the
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Colin Kaepernick posted this photo with Kenny Stills of Miami Dolphins calling him “My brother”.
The LEGACY
2 • Sept. 12, 2018
News (from page 1) campaign, in which she is also a featured athlete. After her win over Karolina Pliskova on Tuesday she expanded on that thought, saying it was sad that Kaepernick had paid such a high price for his protest and that she hoped the backing by a huge industry force like Nike could be a step in the right direction. “I feel like that was a really powerful statement to a lot of other companies,” she said. But Kaepernick, through it all, has kept his own voice largely out of those debates. As he works his way through a grievance against the N.F.L., accusing it of colluding to keep him out of a job, he has employed a savvy use of Twitter and other social media platforms, along with the occasional carefully staged public appearance, to make his points. And by all indicators most people are getting the message loud and clear. The declaration of silence In November 2017, with the reality setting in that teams were not going to sign him despite his having led the 49ers to a Super Bowl appearance after the 2012 season, GQ named Kaepernick the magazine’s Citizen of the Year. The issue was executed with Kaepernick’s permission and assistance, and he posed for photographs, but he declined to be interviewed. In an article titled “Colin Kaepernick Will Not Be Silenced,” GQ’s editors said “he has grown wise to the power of his silence” and that Kaepernick was hoping to reclaim the driving force of the protest movement from President Trump, who the editors said had distorted it into something entirely different. The Amnesty International speech Kaepernick stayed true to that public silence as he filed a grievance against the league. Over the course of the 2017 season, Kaepernick
millions follows him on multiple platforms and tracks his public appearances. His use of social media is especially intriguing because it is often lost just how rarely the words are actually coming from Kaepernick himself. Kaepernick has posted to Twitter more than 11,000 times, but since his declaration of silence to GQ, the overwhelming majority of the posts are retweets or posts under his name where he is simply sharing the words of others.
Colin Kaepernick in 2016. let others point out the fact that, statistically, he was a superior option to nearly every team’s backup, and several teams’ starters. It wasn’t until April, when he accepted Amnesty International’s Ambassador of Conscience award, that he publicly discussed, in any meaningful way, the protest, what it means to him and what life is like without a team. The speech, delivered in the Netherlands, lasted just over seven minutes. He expressed concern that Reid had paid the same price he had for the protest and he sought to emphasize the original rationale of his protest: “As police officers continue to terrorize black and brown communities, abusing their power, and then hiding behind their blue wall of silence, and laws that allow for them to kill us with virtual impunity, I have realized that our love, that sometimes manifests as black rage, is a beautiful form of defiance against a system that seeks to suppress our humanity. A system that wants us to hate ourselves.” Speaking without speaking Kaepernick’s ability to remain in the public spotlight — and at the heart of the N.F.L.’s protests — stems largely from his use of social media, where an audience in the
Whom he follows The 119 Twitter accounts he follows tell a story by, for the most part, fitting into four tidy categories: political accounts, celebrities, athletes and his family members. He follows the activists DeRay Mckesson and Shaun King, the filmmaker Ava DuVernay and politically-vocal athletes like Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, Marshawn Lynch and Stephen Curry. He notably does not follow Malcolm Jenkins, the Philadelphia Eagles player who is the active player most associated with protesting during the anthem. Kaepernick and Reid were reported to have had a falling out with Jenkins last year over Jenkins’ willingness to compromise with the N.F.L. in a deal that provided $89 million for various social causes. What he posts Rather than posting his own thoughts, Kaepernick mostly retweets other accounts. His selection includes messages of support for protesting players, relevant news, posts by Reid and other athletes, and frequently the thoughts of his girlfriend, the radio and television host Nessa Diab, and his close friend Ameer Hasan Loggins, a doctoral candidate at the University of California at Berkeley who posts under the name @LeftSentThis. On Instagram and Facebook, where the ability to recirculate posts from others can be tricky, he
still rarely posts in his own voice. That so much of his message is delivered through the words of others only served to amplify Kaepernick’s personal posts of support to the Miami Dolphins players Kenny Stills and Albert Wilson, both of whom knelt during the anthem before a preseason game last month. He did not post, or even retweet, in support of Miami’s Robert Quinn or Philadelphia’s Jenkins, both of whom raised a fist during the anthem. In an interesting twist, Kaepernick got a taste of his own social media medicine on Tuesday when Tom Brady, the biggest star in the N.F.L. and a player with a somewhat complicated relationship with President Trump, liked an Instagram post from GQ’s account that shared Kaepernick’s Nike ad. The wordless gesture, interpreted by many as support for Kaepernick, sent people on social media scurrying to figure out what the click could mean. Where does he go from here? Last week, an arbitrator denied the N.F.L.’s request to have Kaepernick’s collusion complaint dismissed. The news of the decision was announced on social media by Kaepernick’s lawyer, Mark Geragos, and it was declared by many to be a significant step in Kaepernick’s ability to remain a thorn in the N.F.L.’s side, even if the bar for winning his case is fairly high. Kaepernick, as was to be expected, kept his voice out of the mix. His personal account retweeted Geragos’s announcement along with a post by Russell Okung, a politically minded player, expanding on the decision. But Kaepernick wasted little time on his personal victory before moving on by retweeting further messages of support for the protests of Stills and Wilson, both of whom knelt again during the anthem before that night’s preseason game. Kaepernick’s message is focused. His voice remains silent.
www.LEGACYnewspaper.com
Sept. 12, 2018 • 3
2nd Street Festival celebrates 30 years in Jackson Ward The 30th Anniversary of the 2nd Street Festival, presented by Altria and Dominion Energy, will take place Saturday-Sunday, Oct. 6-7, to celebrate the rich culture of the Historic Jackson Ward neighborhood. This free event is produced by Venture Richmond Events, LLC. This year the festival features co-headliners Stokley, former lead singer of Mint Condition, and The Art of Noise, and spotlights the extraordinary talents of Richmond’s keyboardist Debo Dabney. Mighty Joshua, Curv Appeal, Comedian Antoine Scott, Rodney The Soul Singer, Guitarist Zack Artis and many other performers will be showcased over the two-day event. As always, the 2nd Street Festival takes place the first full weekend in October. Over the years, it has grown to be one of the Mid-Atlantic's largest street festivals. Nearly 40,000 people visit historic Jackson Ward to reminisce about the days when 2nd Street was the heart and soul of Richmond's African American community and the neighborhood was known as “the Harlem of the South.” The festival features four stages of musical entertainment, along with food vendors, a marketplace, a Kidz Zone programmed by the Children’s Museum of Richmond, balloon twisting by Balloons By Extreme and Artists Row featuring David Marion with Liberated Flow, creator of this year’s festival poster. This is his fourth poster for the festival. Additional artists include: Kelvin Henderson, Fruit of the Spirit; Abdul Badi, The Art of Abdul Badi; and Reshada Pullen, Jireh. Saturday’s headliner will be Stokley. Stokley, a two-time Grammy Award nominee, is the former lead vocalist of R&B band Mint Condition.
In the mid-1980s Stokley became a founding member of Mint Condition, and after several years of gigs, the band crossed paths with that of lauded multiplatinum producers and his Minneapolis hometown heroes Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis. Fresh off the success of Janet Jackson’s “Rhythm Nation”, Jam & Lewis recruited Mint Condition to their label’s roster and released their debut, “Meant to Be Mint”, in 1991. The group soon found success in their Billboard Top hit classics “Breakin’ My Heart (Pretty Brown Eyes),” “U Send Me Swingin’,” “Forever in Your Eyes” and “What Kind of Man Would I Be”. Stokley charts a new course with his debut solo album, “Introducing Stokley”, offers listeners a fresh perspective of a dynamic voice that has resonated with core fans around the world for over two decades. Some of his hit songs as a solo performer include “Level,” “Organic” and “Not My Daddy,” with Kelly Price. The Art of Noise will headline Sunday. The Art of Noise draws music lovers of all ages, races and genders who have a true appreciation for the art that is music. The pictures are painted as each DJ, artisans in the skill of hip hop, feed and vibe off each other’s groove and rock the crowd. DJ Lonnie B and DJ Marc transform the noise of the streets into nostalgia. The experience is like colorful impulses stimulated by the record scratching, the base booming and the vibration of the treble. Mad Skillz and Kelli Lemon help the audience come together as bodies move like fluid and voices sing in unison. Their performances produce “a magnetic energy flowing throughout the room when they play that one song and the crowd erupts as people start to remember exactly
Stokely will headline this year’s 2nd Street Festival what they were doing when that song came out.” Venture Richmond Events will provide FREE guided walking tours led by Gary Flowers who has a fourgeneration family connection to Historic Jackson Ward. "Educating the public to the place Historic Jackson Ward holds in commerce, education, and dismantling racial segregation in the United States of America is critically important to me,” Flowers said. Flowers will also conduct a “Renaissance Roll Call.” This will allow attendees to be drawn to a special recognition of the many religious, benevolent, fraternal, and sororal institutions, which were
organized in the 1800s and early 1900s to uplift Richmond’s black community during the Jim Crow era in Jackson Ward. A "Renaissance Roll Call" will be conducted for current members – as well as people whose families were members – of organizations such as, but not limited to: The Independent Order of St. Luke, Independent Order of the True Reformers, Historic churches in Jackson Ward, The Richmond Planet, The Astoria Beneficial Club, The Theban Beneficial Club, Masonic Lodges, The Order of the Eastern Star, Divine 9 historically Black fraternities and sororities, among many others.
National Megan’s Law Helpline & Sex Offender Registration Tips Program
Call (888) ASK-PFML (275-7365)
The LEGACY
4 • Sept. 12, 2018
REAL ID: DMV to offer optional upgraded DL, IDs REAL ID compliant credentials will be marked with a small star in the upper right corner. If you choose to keep your current style of credential, you will receive a driver’s
license or ID marked “Federal Limits Apply” when you renew or request a replacement on or after October 1, in order to comply with federal requirements.
Nominations now open for Richmond History Makers & Community Update The Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) wants to make sure all Virginians who decide to apply for an optional REAL ID compliant Virginia driver’s license or ID bring the right documents to DMV. Beginning Oct. 1, DMV will offer Virginians the option to upgrade their current Virginia driver’s license or ID to a REAL ID compliant credential. First-time applicants will also have the choice between a REAL ID compliant or standard credential. The documents needed to apply for a REAL ID are readily accessible to Virginians and are similar to those needed when many applied for their original Virginia driver’s license or ID. All applicants for a REAL ID compliant credential, including current Virginia credential holders, must apply in-person and provide DMV with physical documentation of their identity, legal presence in the United States and Social Security number, as well as two proofs of residency. If the name listed on your proof of identity document does not match your current full legal name, you must present documents, such as a marriage certificate or divorce decree, that connect the names. Multiple documents may be necessary if your name has changed
more than once. A list of the most commonly used documents is included on the next page. However, there are many other documents you can use. A complete list is available in "Obtaining a Virginia Driver's License or Identification Card”. The REAL ID compliant credential will be available for a one-time $10 surcharge, in addition to standard fees. It can be used for all of the same purposes as your current driver’s license – including driving, voting and accessing federal benefits – but, beginning October 1, 2020, it also can be used as the federal identification which will then be necessary for boarding domestic flights and entering secure federal facilities and military bases. Several other forms of ID, including a U.S. Passport and some military IDs, will also be accepted for federal identification. Since REAL ID is optional, many Virginians may decide they don’t want or need one. Those Virginians may continue to renew their driver’s license or ID as they always have. Should they need to board a domestic flight or enter a secure federal facility, they may use another approved form of ID; a full list is available at dmvNOW.com/ REALID.
The Valentine has opened nominations for the Annual Richmond History Makers and Community Update. Launched in 2005, the program recognizes individuals and organizations that have made lasting contributions to the Greater Richmond region. The Valentine and the Capital Region Collaborative (CRC) will once again partner to highlight the work of six honorees and provide data on the progress being made in the region. The program, which will include recognition of honorees as well as the CRC’s annual community update, will take place at Virginia Union University on March 12, 2019. “We are excited to continue our partnership with the Capital Region Collaborative in order to recognize the good work taking place right in our backyards,” said Valentine Director Bill Martin. “Heading into the 14th year of this event, we are looking forward to further engaging with the community and sharing some truly amazing Richmond stories.” Executive Director of the
Richmond Regional Planning District Commission and Capital Region Collaborative Founding Partner Martha Shickle says having the opportunity to highlight citizens who are making an impact in the region is unique. “Our nine localities work closely together on so many issues and we have a partnership with the business and civic community that is really unique,” Shickle said. “We’re excited about the second year of celebration with the Valentine History Makers. Telling the story of our region and the people and organizations who make it ‘greater together’ is why we’re here.” The business community believes in the importance of elevating the region, Kim Scheeler, President of Chamber RVA said. “We all work together,” Scheeler said, “to highlight the progress we’re making in our region. We want to be a place that is attractive to ‘live, work and play’, and to get there, we have to work together. The Collaborative brings us together to discuss the issues and priorities that matter. Highlighting the great work that is happening in our region is an important part of how we get there.”
Nominations for the 2019 Richmond History Makers & Community Update Program are being accepted through Oct. 22. You can learn more about the program, view past honorees and nominate your own Richmond history maker at RichmondHistoryMakers.com.
www.LEGACYnewspaper.com
Sept. 12, 2018 • 5
Kaine, far ahead in his Senate race, tries to expand the map in Virginia for other Democrats ANTONIO OLIVO VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Sen. Tim Kaine (D) has ventured deep into Virginia’s red zone during the past several weeks — Appomattox, Lee County and portions of the Eastern Shore that were once safely Republican. Little of that has to do with his Republican opponent, Corey A. Stewart, in the Nov. 6 midterm election. Instead, Kaine is devoting time and money in the two months before Election Day, trying to expand the map for Democrats in Virginia to help his party win back control of the House. “We’re going to send a message of hope this November,” Kaine recently told a cheering crowd of business owners and executives packed inside a Virginia Beach hotel ballroom to meet Democrat Elaine Luria. “Do you want to be part of that?” With that, Luria, a former U.S. Navy commander running her first campaign, had some more volunteers in a bid against Rep. Scott Taylor (R) that has been gaining steam amid charges that the congressman’s staffers forged signatures to get a spoiler candidate on the ballot. “When you’re out there talking about the election,” Luria told the crowd. “Tell them: ‘Kaine and Elaine on November 6.’ ” Kaine, far ahead in campaign cash and poll numbers over Stewart, has traveled this summer to all seven House districts where Democratic challengers — five of them firsttime candidates — are taking on a Republican. The senator’s political action committee, Common Ground, has donated $5,000 apiece to the seven challengers — the maximum allowable amount — spending a total of $66,420 in Virginia this year, records show. The main focus has been on four districts Democrats consider vulnerable: Taylor’s 2nd District,
Sen. Tim Kaine at a recent Danville campaign event. which is largely Virginia Beach but includes the Eastern Shore, the sprawling 5th District in central and western Virginia being vacated by Rep. Thomas Garrett, Rep. Dave Brat’s 7th District in the central part of the state, and Rep. Barbara Comstock’s 10th District in Northern Virginia. Whether the extra help will make a difference remains to be seen, especially in conservative-leaning areas where Republicans have held office for as many as 20 years. “There may be Republicans who would vote for Tim Kaine but might be tempted to revert back to the party for the congressional race in that district,” said Stephen Farnsworth, a political-science professor at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg. But, Farnsworth said, the strategy is worth the effort in a state where Republicans appear to be divided over both Trump and Stewart, whose controversies over ties to white supremacists have led several House candidates in his party to steer clear of his campaign. “You’re talking about a Democratic
senator who wants to cover as much of the state between now and Election Day anyway,” Farnsworth said. “Given that he is more popular and better known than other Democrats on the ballot, it makes perfect sense for them to have joint events.” Kaine, who helped deliver Virginia to presidential candidate Hillary Clinton as her running mate in 2016, said half the battle is simply showing up. “You’ve got to be present, so I’m doing that as much as I can,” he said during a recent stop in Appomattox to campaign with Democratic journalist Leslie Cockburn in her 5th District race against Republican businessman Denver Riggleman. “If you have the right policies, but you’re not here, then people don’t really believe you’re sincere about the policies,” Kaine said. “The other thing that I think is important is, you’ve got to rally the team.” Crowds of Democrats have indeed lined up to get a glimpse of the genial former Virginia lieutenant governor and governor, posing for selfies with the man supporters like
to call “America’s Dad.” During those appearances, Kaine makes the case that a House majority for Democrats would, among other things, make less expensive health care available to more people under the Affordable Care Act and set the table for immigration restructuring that would include a path to citizenship for immigrants brought to the United States illegally as children. “We are the ‘for all’ party in 2018,” Kaine says in his stump speeches, a reference to the last words in the Pledge of Allegiance. “We have a president who is not a ‘for all’ kind of guy.” Stewart, chair of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors, whom Kaine has outraised $19.3 million to $1.3 million, barely gets a mention in those speeches. Still, Stewart supporters have shown up to counter Kaine’s effort in some areas. In Appomattox, where Kaine and Cockburn celebrated the opening
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Op/Ed & Letters
The LEGACY
There is no redemption in your cowardly op-ed MEHDI HASAN You claim, on the opinion pages of the “failing” New York Times no less, that senior officials working for the president of the United States “are working diligently from within to frustrate parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations.” “I would know,” you add dramatically. “I am one of them.” Sorry, what was the point of this particular piece? And what is it that you want from the rest of us? A thank-you card? A round of applause? The nation’s undying gratitude? Screw. You. There is no redemption; no exoneration for you or your colleagues inside this shit-show of an administration. You think an op-ed in the paper of record is going to cut it? Gimme a break. You cannot write an article admitting to the president’s “anti-democratic” impulses while also saying you want his administration “to succeed.” You cannot publish a 965-word piece excoriating Donald Trump’s “worst inclinations” while omitting any and all references to his racism, bigotry, Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, and white nationalism. You did find space, however, to heap praise on yourself and your fellow officials. “Unsung heroes.” “Adults in the room.” “Quiet The LEGACY NEWSPAPER Vol. 4 No. 37 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
resistance.” “Steady state.” Are you kidding me? Where were your “unsung heroes” when this administration was snatching kids from their parents and locking them in cages? Drugging them and denying them drinking water? Where were your “adults in the room” when this administration left 3,000 Americans in Puerto Rico to die because, apparently, it is an island “surrounded by water, big water, ocean water”? Where were they when the president was denying that Hurricane Maria was a “real catastrophe” and lobbing paper towels at the survivors? Where was your “quiet resistance” when the president was extolling far-right racists as “very fine people” and blaming the violence in Charlottesville on “both sides”? How “quiet” were you when he later disowned his half-hearted and belated denunciation of the “KKK, neo-Nazis, white supremacists and other hate groups” as “the biggest fucking mistake I’ve made”? Where was your “steady state” when the president fired the director of the FBI because, he told NBC News, “this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made-up story”? Or when he sacked Preet Bharara, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Sally Yates, the acting attorney general? Or when he tweeted, 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
earlier this week, that Attorney General Jeff Sessions shouldn’t have indicted two Republican allies of his over alleged financial crimes? The reality is that you and your fellow officials are enablers of Trump; you are his protectors and defenders. You say it yourself. Why were there only “whispers within the cabinet of invoking the 25th Amendment,” which provides for the cabinet to remove the president from office if he is unable to do the job? Why not invoke it and let Mike Pence take over? (Are you, by the way, Mike Pence?) If as you claim — and we all agree! — that the president you serve “continues to act in a manner that is detrimental to the health of our republic” with “misguided impulses,” then how can you advocate for anything other than his swift removal from office? Your defense is that “no one wanted to precipitate a constitutional crisis.” Seriously? You don’t agree with former Secretary of State John Kerry that we’re already in the midst of “a genuine constitutional crisis,” given your own op-ed outlining his “erratic behavior” and “reckless decisions” and Bob Woodward’s new book describing “an administrative coup d’etat” and a “nervous breakdown” at the center of the Trump White House? You are keen to remind the liberal
readers of the New York Times that yours “is not the popular ‘resistance’ of the left” and that you believe this administration’s policies have “already made America safer and more prosperous.” You cite “historic tax reform” and “effective deregulation” as the supposed “bright spots that the near-ceaseless negative coverage of the administration fails to capture.” But by tax reform, do you mean the Trump tax cuts that give the richest 1 percent of Americans almost half of the benefits? And by deregulation, do you mean the rescinding of Obama-era protections for the oceans; the lifting of controls on toxic air pollution; and the green light to Wall Street to once again cause havoc in the financial markets? What is it, then, that you object to? Well, it seems, your biggest concern is “not what Mr. Trump has done to the presidency,” but how Americans have “sunk low with him and allowed our discourse to be stripped of civility.” You’re joking, right? The widespread dishonesty, the rampant corruption, the brazen racism, the growing authoritarianism, the accusations of collusion — none of that tops your list of Trumpian abuses and infractions? But the “civility” of our discourse does? Fuck civility.
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www.LEGACYnewspaper.com
Sept. 12, 2018 • 7
P.T. Hoffsteader, Esq.
‘A disaster’
We don’t know if this is the beginning of a trend or not. Three polls are just three polls, though Trump’s approval rating has declined to its lowest level since April, according to the “FiveThirty Eight” and “RealClearPolitics” trackers. Still, the President’s approval rating did not shift in the Gallup’s weekly tracker. But if there is a trend emerging of Trump’s approval rating dropping into the 30s, it’s very bad news for House Republicans heading into the midterm elections. Voters’ feelings toward the President are arguably the most important factor in the elections. Polling shows that if voters like what he’s doing, they’re probably casting their ballots for Republican House candidates. If voters don’t like what he’s doing, they’re probably casting their ballots for Democratic House candidates. CNN’s last poll, for example, had only a 2-point difference between Trump’s net approval rating among registered voters and the Democratic margin on the generic congressional ballot.
So far, the President’s approval rating has stayed high enough that Republicans still have a chance at maintaining control of the House. Most polls over the last few months have had Trump’s approval rating in the low 40s and a Democratic lead on the generic congressional ballot of around 7 to 8 points. This has translated into a potential Democratic pickup of 30 to 35 seats. Although that’s more than the 23 net gain Democrats need to pick up the House, it’s close enough to 23 that it’s well within the margin of error for Republicans to hold on to the House, given the current polling. If Trump’s approval rating drops into the 30s, the bottom may fall out for House Republicans. Since 1946, a point decline in a president’s approval rating is worth about 0.25 to 0.33 point in the national House vote. That is, a drop in Trump’s approval rating from 42 percent (CNN’s latest poll) to 36 percent (the ABC News/Washington Post poll) could increase the Democratic advantage by 2 percentage points. That may not seem like a lot, but a look at the House map suggests it could be a very big deal. If you were to shift that national environment 2 points toward the Democrats, it might result in Democrats picking up, on average, around 45 seats or more in the House. To put that 45-seat gain in perspective, it would be the largest for the Democrats since Watergate. This estimate, though, may not be friendly enough to Democrats.
Historically, the relationship between how voters feel about the president and how they vote for Congress isn’t as strong as it is today. Given what the last CNN poll showed (just a 2-point difference between voters’ net approval rating of the President and the Democratic advantage on the generic ballot), a 36 percent approval rating could translate into a Democratic popularvote win of well above 10 points. The latest ABC News/Washington Post poll showed a Democratic advantage of 14 points on the generic congressional ballot, for example. This would be good enough for a Democratic gain of 50 seats or more. Democrats last gained this many seats in an election in 1948. Indeed, we already saw how such a low Trump approval rating could affect an election earlier this cycle. His approval rating was around 36 percent to 37 percent nationally, when Democrat Doug Jones won the special Senate election in ruby red Alabama. Yes, Republican Roy Moore was a bad candidate, but the President managed just a 48 percent approval rating in the exit poll of that race. In other words, he was of little help to Moore in a very Republican state. For Republicans to have a realistic (within the margin of error) shot of maintaining control of the House in 2018, Trump’s approval rating must remain at least in the low 40s nationally. For them to have a 50 percent chance of holding on to power in the
House, Trump’s approval rating will likely need to rise into the mid-40s. Right now, Trump and his fellow Republicans are, if anything, going the other (wrong) way. -Defender
(from page 6) Also, what did you think would happen when you signed up to work for a reality TV star who was accused of sexual assault by more than a dozen women, and of rape by his first wife? Who stiffed hundreds of contractors, ripped off Trump University students, cheated on his third wife just months after she gave birth, and cut off health care coverage to his own nephew’s sick baby in a fit of rage? You knew all of this and yet you still chose to work for him at the highest level of government. You now acknowledge that “the root of the problem is the president’s amorality.” But how about your own amorality? I hate to agree with your boss, but you are “gutless.” You’re a shameless coward, a cynical opportunist. Don’t hide behind anonymity. Don’t pretend that you have “gone to great lengths” to restrain Trump and “put country first.” Tell us your name. Quit your job. Call out this president in public. Call him out for his bigotry, his mendacity, his sheer mental and emotional unfitness for the office he occupies. Call him out in front of a congressional committee. Or a court of law. Otherwise, I say again: Screw. You.
8 • Sept. 12, 2018
Faith & Religion
The LEGACY
Black church networks seek more voters ADELLE M. BANKS RNS — The months ahead of midterm elections, often a time of lower turnout among AfricanAmericans and others, have become a focus of passionate activity by black Christian leaders. “The attacks on the Voting Rights Act and other setbacks in civil rights have alerted the faith community that we need to take action,” said the Rev. Barbara Williams-Skinner, co-chair of the National African American Clergy Network. “We need to be proactive and not reactive.” It’s been five years since the Supreme Court invalidated a key The Rev. Barbara Williams-Skinner speaks during a demonstration provision of the VRA, and voters by Christian leaders opposing President Trump’s proposed budget at in almost two dozen states face the U.S. Capitol on March 29, 2017. PHOTO: Lauren Markoe stricter rules. In response, black denominations and networks people being turned away on Nov. 6. members to address social justice focused on people of color and the Pastors and other leaders can serve issues. poor are gearing up in hopes of “We’re concerned about voter getting more people to the ballot box as advocates on their behalf, said Williams-Skinner, who is also CEO registration and voter turnout in November: of the Maryland-based institute. because without those things we This week, leaders of the African “We’re saying that vulnerable cannot make America fair for the Methodist Episcopal Church plan voters need to have protection and elderly who need affordable health to continue their “AME Righteous we believe that the most respected care, our children, especially poor Vote” initiative with mobilization leaders (and) the influential children,” he said, “who in the past briefings, Capitol Hill meetings stakeholders should be there,” she received health care and food.” and a “Call to Conscience” vigil at said. “As they stand in line with Likewise, Faith in Action is talking Lafayette Square across from the people, people will stay in line no with prospective voters about issues White House. matter what happens.” they care about, from the alleviation Faith in Action, the grassroots Before its Washingtonof poverty to mass incarceration. As organization formerly known as area activities this week, the the midterms near, the network is PICO National Network, hopes to AME Church held an “annual partnering with historically black reach more than a million people in denominations and justice-centered 150 cities with phone calls and door- empowerment seminar” in June in Atlanta to encourage its leaders to evangelical organizations to focus on to door visits before Election Day on be involved in educating prospective minority communities that generally Nov. 6. voters in the upcoming elections. In get little attention in get-out-the A “Lawyers and Collars” program one announcement, Bishop Frank M. vote efforts. co-led by the Skinner Leadership Reid III, chair of the denomination’s “Our work is really about making Institute and Sojourners plans to Social Action Commission, stressed sure that our communities have train clergy on voter protection, the need for turnout “in this access to resources, to skills, to tools hold meetings with state elections important spiritual and political that can maximize the vote,” said officials and spend Election Day season.” the Rev. Michael McBride, director at the polls with lawyers to assist In an interview, Reid explained of Faith in Action’s Live Free voters. that the call to elective action relates campaign. Stricter rules at polling places directly to the desire of church Although pre-election activity is — such as ID laws — could lead to
reaching a new volume with the election just two months away, some groups shone attention on the issue earlier in the year. At the annual convention of the Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network in April, U.S. Rep. G.K. Butterfield, D-N.C., was among the speakers on a panel about the black church and voter mobilization. He explained that congregants can’t knock on doors as representatives of their congregation and advocate for a particular candidate. But they can be involved in a range of nonpartisan activities. “If the church is engaged in a get-out-the vote effort, you can use a church van, church bus, church resources as long as it’s not a partisan activity,” said Butterfield, a lifelong Baptist who co-moderated the panel featuring clergy and political action committee leaders. Church of God in Christ Bishop Talbert Swan, who was one of the NAN panelists, said in a recent interview that the changes in voting rules that often affect African-American communities — such as reductions in early voting opportunities — have made the initiatives more necessary. “I think there’s a renewed sense of urgency because it seems that the nation is trying to go back to a time prior to voting rights of AfricanAmericans,” said Swan, who cited the Supreme Court’s nullification of a key provision of the VRA. “While it’s still on the books, we essentially right now don’t have a Voting Rights Act, which is the reason why states across the nation can opt to put in place voter suppression regulations and laws.” The Rev. Kelly Brown Douglas said that in the past, the Supreme Court was seen as an ally, handing
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(from page 5) of the local Democratic Party committee’s new headquarters, a small group stood across the street holding campaign signs for Trump, Stewart and Riggleman. “We like guns; we like religion,” said Wayne Schmitt, 73, holding a Trump campaign sign. “Counties that hunt vote Republican.” Trump won Appomattox County by 47 points in 2016. Stewart, who models himself after the president, won the June primary election by 15 points and last year’s GOP gubernatorial primary by 12 points, although he fell short statewide to Republican Ed Gillespie. When Kaine was elected to the Senate in 2012, he lost Appomattox by 34 points. In 2005, when he became governor, he lost the county by 18 points. That history — replicated in large swaths of the 5th District south of Charlottesville — has both the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics and the Cook Political Report predicting the congressional race will lean Republican, despite Garrett’s surprise announcement in the spring that he would resign to seek alcohol addiction treatment. Samuel E. Carter, chair of the Appomattox County Board of Supervisors, said there may be enough frustration in the area since Trump took office for Democrats to mine. Appomattox has been reeling economically since the 2010 closure of a Thomasville Furniture Industries plant led to the loss of about 1,100 local jobs. With no major improvements under Trump, “there is some dissatisfaction out there,” said Carter, who says Republicans may lose the 5th District despite his own plans to vote for Riggleman and Stewart. “I see it going Democrat, I really do.” Kaine says he can help less seasoned Democrats seize on such potential openings by offering wisdom gained after nearly 25 years in Virginia politics, as well as logistical help, such as computer software, field offices and reams of detailed voter data. “Having somebody who has run
Sept. 12, 2018 • 9 a few campaigns who can work together with them, I do think that helps,” the senator said, after his Virginia Beach appearance with Luria in the 2nd District. That race has intensified after an investigation was launched earlier this month into allegations that Taylor’s staffers forged signatures to get an independent candidate on the ballot. The once-conservative district that is home to about 35,000 federal employees in the Virginia Beach-Norfolk area — most of them military personnel — has in recent years ping-ponged between Democrats and Republicans. Gov. Ralph Northam (D), an Eastern Shore native who represented the area in the General Assembly, won there by four points in November. In 2016, Trump won by three points. In 2012, President Barack Obama won by one point, and Kaine won by four points. Stewart lost most of the area to state Del. Nick Freitas (R-Culpeper) during the June GOP primary and hasn’t campaigned there much since, local Republican Party officials say. Taylor, who won his 2016 election with 61 percent of the vote, has kept a mostly low profile since the forgedsignatures controversy, though on Twitter, he called the backlash “white noise.” His campaign did not return messages for comment about the election. In Virginia Beach, the scandal pulled some voters to Luria. “I think Scott Taylor made a terrible mistake” with the forged signatures, said Ann Wright, 73, an independent who initially planned to vote for the congressman over his support on some environmental issues, including protecting wildlife in the Chesapeake Bay. “He’s discredited himself.” Chad Green, a York County supervisor who sits on the state Republican Party’s central committee for the 2nd District, said Taylor has garnered enough goodwill in the district to weather the storm. Green cited efforts by Taylor to increase federal spending in the area as a member of the House Appropriations Committee and the fact that the congressman is a former U.S. Navy SEAL. -WP
(from page 8) 7 percent of voters in the 2016 down dramatic civil rights court decisions, such as the Brown v. Board of Education ruling that declared school segregation unconstitutional. Now, she said, with the Supreme Court turning more conservative, congressional races are crucial. “Particularly when we talk about civil rights and people of color and African-Americans, our progress has come because we’ve had the court on our side,” said Douglas, dean of the Episcopal Divinity School and canon theologian of Washington National Cathedral. “We don’t have that. We’ve lost that.” Trump’s 2016 win, which shocked and disappointed many black faith leaders, has certainly been a galvanizing factor as some voters head to the polls with renewed energy. Black Protestants made up
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election, according to Pew Research. Ninety-six percent voted for former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, while only 3 percent voted for Donald Trump. Overall, African-Americans made up 10 percent of voters, according to Pew. Ninety-one percent supported Clinton, while 6 percent supported Trump. Pew also reported their turnout was down compared with the 2012 election. But, citing how the black faith community was credited with helping defeat Roy Moore in his bid to become an Alabama senator, Douglas said it is possible to have successful get-out-the vote campaigns that remain nonpartisan. “You don’t have to tell people who to vote for,” she said. “You don’t have to be partisan. You just have to tell them to vote and you trust your constituency.”
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10 • Sept. 12, 2018
The LEGACY
Tourist spending in Henrico surpasses $915m Henrico County captured $915.9 million in spending by domestic travelers during 2017, the most of any locality in central Virginia and the fifth-highest total in Virginia, according to a study for the Virginia Tourism Corp. Tourist spending in Henrico increased by 4.1 percent over its total for 2016, tracking with the statewide increase of 4.4 percent. Among Virginia localities, tourism spending in Henrico trailed only the totals for the counties of Arlington, Fairfax and Loudoun and the city of Virginia Beach. The total reflects spending on food, lodging, transportation, entertainment, retail and other services by travelers from the United States who had stayed
overnight in paid accommodations or had taken day or overnight trips at least 50 miles from home. In 2017, tourism in Henrico supported nearly 8,600 jobs with a combined payroll income of $223.7 million. It also generated tax receipts of $28.2 million for the county and $34.0 million for the state. Overall, Virginia attracted $24.8 billion in visitor spending, which supported 232,223 jobs and provided $1.7 billion in state and local taxes. Regionally, Henrico and seven neighboring localities combined to attract nearly $2.5 billion in visitor spending, supporting 24,400 jobs with a payroll of $574 million. “Travelers continue to visit Henrico to take advantage of the many qualities and amenities that
make the county a great place to live and work,” County Manager John A. Vithoulkas said. “Tourism is steadily becoming a billion-dollar industry for Henrico. Whether they’re here for recreation, sports, history, shopping or other entertainment, visitors contribute to Henrico’s high quality of life by staying in our hotels, eating in our restaurants and supporting other businesses. Every dollar spent sends ripples through the local economy and helps to fund our schools, parks, public safety and other local services.” Henrico launched the Visit Henrico County initiative in 2013 to attract leisure travelers as well as national and regional tournaments to its athletic fields and complexes. The visithenrico.com website and
a smartphone app help visitors plan where to stay, shop and eat, and what to do. In 2017, Henrico’s parks and sports complexes hosted 150 tournaments and other events, which generated an estimated $47.3 million in local spending, according to the Division of Recreation and Parks. In addition to its many historic sites and sports complexes, the county’s attractions include Richmond Raceway, the site of NASCAR’s Go Bowling 250 on Friday, Sept. 21 and the Federated Auto Parts 400 on Saturday, Sept. 22. Other visitor-friendly sites include Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, Three Lakes Park and Nature Center, and the Dabbs House and Meadow Farm museums.
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Sept. 12, 2018 • 11
2020 Olympics: HU swimmer shows off her talent
WG - Latroya Pina is indeed a sensation when it comes to swimming. The Howard University (HU) student is grabbing everyone’s attention with her breaststrokes. She’s been consistent and has been so good at it that Bison has been tipped to have her represent Cape Verde during the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. Swimming talent is evidently in Pina’s family. Along with her sister and brother, Jayla and Troy, the three will make history when they represent Cape Verde National Swim Team at the Confederation Africaine de Natation Championship Meet, an event set for September 10-16 in Algeria, reports the Howard Bison. Pina, who was brought up in
Massachusetts, is very happy about her achievements. With her siblings by her side, she’s confident that it’s all going to be good when the competition finally goes down in Algeria. “It’s not far-fetched, three members of one family all going to the World Championships and the Olympic Games,” Pina told the Attleboro Sun Chronicle. “We’re not just swimming for our colleges or schools, but for a nation so we want to do our best.” Pina, who was named Howard Bison of the Month this past January, has scooped many awards. She won the women’s 100 breastroke and 200 individual medley in Howard’s Senior Night victory against Marymount. She was also
part of the two relay teams that won against the Cardinals, taking home the 200 medley and 200 freestyle wins. Pina, a senior biology major has expressed confidence ahead of the Algeria competition and is also excited about representing the western African country. “Cape Verde is trying to make swimming a big sport now, so it’s our responsibility to represent our country,” Pina said. “People in Cape Verde and all the Cape Verdeans in the U.S. will be looking up to us.” Her school community is equally happy for her. “To represent your country at the Olympic level is every swimmers dream,” said Howard Swimming & Diving Head Coach Nicholas Askew.
Howard is currently the only HBCU that has both men and women swimming teams. “We are excited for Latroya and have no doubt, she will make Howard University and Cape Verde very proud.” Pina’s mother, Maria Alfama, is considerably the most proud of Pina. Despite admitting that she’s not been so much into this kind of sport, Alfama said she’s been very supportive to her daughter. “I don’t even know how to swim!” Alfama told the Sun Chronicle. “I was happy just watching. I’ve spent a lot of miles on the road, a lot of hours at pools with them. My life began when they got involved with sports and swimming. I was a super sports mom.”
12 • Sept. 12, 2018
The LEGACY
Ex-GOP chair says he knows identity of op-ed writer STACY M. BROWN Former Republican Party National Chairman Michael Steele goes on the record with NNPA Newswire and it turns out there are more resisters inside the White House – a high-level group of Republican resisters to President Donald Trump — not a single individual, but a large and still growing group. In an NNPA Newswire exclusive, Steele said the damning New York Times op-ed by a senior Trump administration official was likely written by a team of the president’s trusted hierarchy and it’s a clear signal that America is now witnessing a White House in utter chaos. Steele, who served as party chair from 2009 to 2011, said Trump has devastated the party and has led Republicans to the brink of a midterm that could see a blue wave from sea to shining sea. “I think the midterms are going to be a correction election. Voters will correct what they see in government not being about the people’s business or government that’s more caught up in Donald Trump,” Steele said. “The voters may take the House from the Republicans in order to wake them up,” he said. On Friday, Trump said he wants Attorney General Jeff Sessions to investigate and uncover the identity of the senior administration official who penned the anonymous op-ed in The New York Times last week. “Yeah, I would say Jeff should be investigating who the author of this piece was because I really believe it’s national security,” Trump told reporters Friday aboard Air Force One. Trump has called the author “gutless” and a “coward” and the White House reportedly has a list of 12 people whom they believe could be the author of the piece which claimed there’s a “resistance” within
Former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele. the administration. Steele said he believes he knows the identity of the author – or, rather he said, authors. “In many senses, it’s a cry for help, an acknowledgment within Trump’s White House that, as the saying goes, ‘Houston, we have a problem,’” Steele said. However, unlike so many others who believe it’s the work of one senior official, Steele said he thinks more than one staffer is behind the damning article. “It’s my take that this isn’t the hand of or the handprint of one individual,” he said. “I’ve read that and I can hear a lot of different voices that I know personally.” He compared the matter to a group of employees all of whom are upset with the boss. “No individual will want to go to the boss or go public, so they sit there talking and they write a letter together and give it to one person to take it – in this case to the press,” Steele said. “That letter reflects the views and
concerns of many individuals inside the White House.” As to why he wouldn’t reveal the identities, Steele likened it to journalists who maintain anonymous sources. “You have contacts and I have contacts,” Steele said. “My contacts tell me a lot of things that was inspired in the books by Michael Wolfe, Omarosa Manigult Newman and Bob Woodward,” he said of the authors of recent books that paint the president as unhinged and out of control. Steele said he couldn’t relate to those like Sen. Ted Cruz supporting Trump because of the nasty attacks the president made against Cruz and his family during the 2016 campaign. “I’m sorry, no election is worth my dignity,” he said. “When I wake up in the morning and look in the mirror for a shave, I want to like the guy that’s looking back at me from the mirror. Ted Cruz is in a battle for his political life when he really should be walking away with this election.” Steele said he believes the
Republican Party has lost its soul. He said it was once the party that supported and advocated for Civil Rights and Voting Rights, but now the GOP has become infamous for demeaning and racist statements like referring to certain places as “shithole” countries. “When you give [credence] to the idea that people from this culture are thieves, murderers and racist and come from shithole countries, I don’t know how you come to them and say we want your vote,” Steele said. Finally, he said the upcoming midterms will represent a challenge for Republicans because Trump has had two years in office and voters are now more likely to seek the antiTrump. “Before they had Trump against Hillary, someone they didn’t like,” Steele said. “Now, it’s Trump by himself and instead of comparing Trump to Hillary, they are comparing candidates running for office against Donald Trump.”
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Sept. 12, 2018 • 13
Virginians prepare for Hurricane impacts Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM) teams have worked throughout the weekend preparing for what may be Virginia’s most significant hurricane event in decades. With Virginia under a state of emergency, and forecasts showing Florence zeroing in on the Mid-Atlantic, the time for all Virginians to prepare is now. While it was too soon to know the exact track that Hurricane Florence will take at press time Monday, the majority of forecast models are indicating significant potential impacts to Virginia in the form of coastal storm surge, catastrophic inland flooding, high winds and possible widespread power outages. Virginia emergency managers and first responders are already mobilizing to prepare for the storm. Gov. Ralph Northam declared a state of emergency late Saturday in order to mobilize personnel and resources for storm impacts, and to speed the response to those communities that are damaged by the storm. This includes resources from VDEM, the Virginia Department of Transportation, Virginia State Police, Virginia Department of Health, Virginia National Guard and others. All Virginians should expect potential impacts and life-threatening conditions from this storm. It’s not the winds, it’s the water The largest threat to life from hurricanes is not the high winds. Flooding is the deadliest result of these storms. Current forecast models indicate that Florence could strike the Carolinas and enter Central Virginia, possibly stalling and dropping more than 20 inches of rain in some areas. This will lead to widespread and dangerous flooding, inundation of roads and damaged infrastructure. Potential widespread power outages are also expected. Citizens should prepare for rising waters, flash flooding, and remember to never drive across flooded roadways. Most injuries
and deaths occur when motorists try to cross flooded roads. Roads and bridges can be damaged or completely washed away beneath flood waters, and a few inches of water can sweep vehicles downstream. Remember, turn around, don’t drown. Coastal Virginia threats and potential evacuations Some forecast models are indicating a possible strike more directly on the Hampton Roads region and Coastal Virginia. If this track becomes a reality, Coastal Virginians can expect significant flooding, damaging winds and storm surge flooding throughout
the region. If the storm moves on a coastal track, it would require the Commonwealth to enact its tiered evacuation plan, commonly known as Know Your Zone. Residents in Coastal Virginia, especially those in evacuation zones A and B, should begin preparing for potential evacuation. If an evacuation is ordered, instructions about evacuation will be communicated via social media, television, radio, newspapers, and through local and state emergency management websites. Citizens should make necessary preparations now to evacuate to higher ground, starting with
knowing in which zone your home and business are located. You can type in your address at www. KnowYourZoneVA.org to find out your designated zone. Resources are also available on the Know Your Zone website to learn more about the program, what to plan for and expect in the event of an evacuation, and how to ensure you are ready once you receive evacuation instructions. Once you Know Your Zone, you should stay tuned to local media for detailed instructions from your local emergency manager about where to go, available shelters and evacuation routes, and when you will be able to return to your home. Don’t wait until it’s too late With the onset of tropical storm force winds and rain only a couple of days away, the time to prepare is now. Get your home, business and family ready for whatever impacts this storm may bring. Hurricane season lasts through Nov. 30, so more storms may target Virginia this year.
14 • Sept. 12, 2018
The LEGACY
Exposed: Prescription opioids Purdue Pharma pushed into Virginia Newly unsealed data shows that Purdue Pharma pushed nearly 150 million opioid pills and patches into Virginia between 2008 and 2017, through their rigorous marketing and sales programs, filling nearly 2.2 million opioid prescriptions. The scale of Purdue’s opioid promotion was revealed in a newly unredacted complaint in Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring’s lawsuit against the company for its role in creating and perpetuating the opioid crisis. “Purdue Pharma built an empire profiting off of pain and addiction in Virginia by pushing an astounding 150 million prescription opioids into our communities, which, in most years, meant that twice as many drugs were pushed into Virginia as there were people,” said Herring. “So often, addiction begins at home in the medicine cabinet, but Purdue ignored its responsibilities and, instead, boosted its sales and marketing programs to increase numbers. I filed suit against Purdue because they must be held accountable for the role that they played in creating this devastating opioid epidemic and the ways they actively prolonged it, long after the terrible effects were evident.” Between 2008 and 2017, Purdue promoted and sold an estimated $18.7 billion in opioids resulting in 2,157,959 prescriptions filled in Virginia and 149,658,236 pills and patches making their way into communities across Virginia. In the majority of this ten-year period, the number of pills and patches was nearly double the population of the state. Additionally, the complaint details the lies Purdue Pharma told about the dangers of their drugs and further explains their extensive sales program that incentivized sales reps to push as many opioid
prescriptions as they could on health care providers. According to the unredacted Complaint, Purdue went to great lengths to misrepresent the addictiveness of their drugs and, as a result of their zealous promotion and sales tactics, pushed nearly 150 million prescription opioid pills and patches into Virginia communities. Purdue also had an Incentive Bonus Program that deterred sales reps from reporting overprescribing healthcare providers. “If a Purdue sales representative reported a suspicious provider, that sales representative did so at the risk of removing sales attributable to that provider from the representative’s bonus calculations.” The company structured their bonuses to focus on healthcare providers who prescribed the most drugs, which it termed “core” and “super core” prescribers. Purdue also created a points system that allocated bonuses and rewarded sales reps who had “the highest percentage of total sales calls with ‘super core’ or ‘core’ prescribers.” All of these incentives programs created a sales culture of getting as many drugs as possible into the hands of healthcare providers who would, in turn, prescribe them in great numbers. Because of a preexisting Confidentiality Agreement between the Parties, the Commonwealth redacted certain portions of the Complaint for public viewing, and filed an unredacted, sealed Complaint with the Court. Since the original filing, the parties have discussed confidentiality issues and agreed to unseal the unredacted Complaint and make it public. Herring sued Purdue Pharma back in June accusing them of profiting from an opioid crisis that it helped create and prolong through a decades-long campaign of lies and
Purdue Pharma, which manufactures the painkiller OxyContin, has been on the move trying to settle opioid lawsuits all over the country. misrepresentations in violation of the Virginia Consumer Protection Act. Since 2007, 8,000 Virginians have died from an opioid overdose, including 5,000 from a prescription opioid overdose. During the same
period, Purdue made false claims about the purported safety, efficacy, and benefits of its opioids, including OxyContin, pushed tens of millions of pills and patches into Virginia, and reported billions in profits.
Did you know? The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Cassipa (buprenorphine and naloxone) sublingual film (applied under the tongue) for the maintenance treatment of opioid dependence. “There’s an urgent need to ensure access to, and wider use and understanding of, medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder. The introduction of new treatment options has the potential to broaden access for patients. For example, the FDA recently described a streamlined approach to drug development for certain medication-assisted treatments that are based on buprenorphine. This streamlined approach can reduce drug development costs, so products may be offered at a lower price to patients and we can broaden access to treatment,” said FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D. “The FDA is committed to helping those with opioid use disorder transition to lives of sobriety. We’ve taken a number of steps to advance the development of new FDA-approved treatments for opioid dependence and encourage health care professionals to ensure patients are offered an adequate chance to benefit from these therapies. We’re also working to address the unfortunate stigma that’s sometimes associated with the use of opioid replacement therapy as one approach to the successful treatment of addiction. Despite what some may think, individuals who successfully transition onto medication-assisted treatment are not swapping one addiction for another. Opioid replacement therapy can be an important part of effective treatment. Opioid use disorder should be viewed similarly to any other chronic condition that is treated with medication.”
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Sept. 12, 2018 • 15
16 • Sept. 12, 2018
Calendar
The LEGACY
COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES & EVENTS
GRTCS wants YOU!
9.17, 6 p.m.
GRTC’s next round of marketing is about to kick off with the service expansions and enhancements taking effect Sept. 16. The transit company will provide snacks and a sit-down lunch for all volunteers, but the bragging rights to your friends are all yours! GRTC is looking for volunteers to participate in the following opportunities: Photography Day 1 – Sept 13 (back-up rain day- Sept 14) from 7:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Photography Day 2 – Sept 17 (back-up rain day - Sept 18) from 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m. GRTC is looking for all demographics, ages 7 and up. Feel free to bring friends or relatives who are also interested in participating. Reply to carrie.rosepace@ridegrtc. com ASAP if you are interested and available for any of the above. When you respond, include a photo of yourself, your availability and your contact info.
Tuckahoe District Supervisor Patricia S. O’Bannon will host a Tuckahoe Town Meeting to discuss GRTC’s expanded transit service in Henrico County as well as its specialized CARE services and new Pulse bus-rapid-transit line. The meeting will be held at Tuckahoe Area Library, 1901 Starling Dr. Residents are welcome to attend or watch via a livestream on the Henrico County Government channel on YouTube, at youtube. com/c/henricocountygovernment. O’Bannon will be joined by Carrie Rose Pace, director of communications for GRTC Transit System. For more information, call 804-501-4208.
9.19, 7 p.m.
Members of the Ostomy Association of Greater Richmond, a support group for ostomates, will dedicate their September meeting to offering tips and trials based on personal experiences. They’ll meet in the Williamsburg- A conference room, Henrico Doctors’ Hospital, 1601 Skipwith Rd. Newcomers and friends alike are invited to attend. Questions? Call Mike Rollston at 804- 232-1916, or email him at agriva@comcast.net.
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Sept. 12, 2018 • 17
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Why Newspapers For Tourism IN VIRGINIA, NEWSPAPERS, NEWSPAPER WEBSITES AND E-EDITIONS REACH 34% OF ADULTS 18-34 YEARS, 45% OF ADULTS 35-54 YEARS Newspaper Readers Travel They are 75% more likely than non-readers to have taken 10 or more personal vacation trips in the last year. Newspaper Readers Like Wine & Craft Beer They are 67% more likely to be frequent wine drinkers and visit wineries and 50% more likely to have drank a craft beer in the last month. Newspaper Readers Stay In Bed & Breakfasts They are 88% more likely than non-readers to book at local bed & breakfast inns Newspaper Readers Are Music & Theater Patrons They are 58% more likely than non-readers to regularly go to concerts, symphony & live theater.
18 • Sept. 12, 2018
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Ad Size: 3 inches (1 column(s) X 3 inches) 1 Issue - $37.40 Rate: $11 per column inch HALDER GROUP, LLC Thinking of 2 issues - Sept. 12 & 19 - $66 TRADING as AAA Deals Includes Internet placement 8920 W. Broad St, buying a new or Includes Internet placement Richmond VA 23294-5803 Please review theCounty) proof, make any neededused changescar? and return by fax or e-mail. (Henrico If your response is notis received inserted. Please review the proof, make any needed changes and return b The above establishment applying by deadline, your ad may not be If your response is not received by deadline, your ad may no to the VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF ALCOHOLIC CONTROL OkBEVERAGE X_________________________________________ Ok X_____________________________________ for a wine and beer off premises license to sell alcoholic beverages. PRANESH HALDER, OWNER. Ok with changes X _____________________________ Call to get current Ok with changes X _________________________ Note: Objections to the issuance of promotional pricing this license must be submitted to and local dealer ABC no later than 30 days from the incentives for free. REMINDER: Deadline is Fridays @ 5 p.m. REMINDER: Deadline No is Fridays 5 p.m. publishing date of the first of two hassle.@No required newspaper legal notices. obligation. Objections should be registered at abc.virginia.gov or 800-552-3200.
Drivers CDL-A
Call: 866-974-4339
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HEALTH/PERSONALS/MISCELLANEOUS IF YOU HAD HIP OR KNEE REPLACEMENT SURGERY AND SUFFERED AN INFECTION between 2010 and the present time, you may be entitled to compensation. Call Attorney Charles H. Johnson
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Resource Information Help for the Disadvantaged and Disenfranchised (RIHD) P.O. Box 55 Highland Springs, Virginia 23075 (804) 426-4426 NEW Email: rihd23075@gmail.com Website: http://www.rihd.org/ Twitter: @rihd
Sept. 12, 2018 • 19
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ANNOUNCEMENTS DC BIG FLEA & ANTIQUE MARKET Sept 15&16 In conjunction with the Chantilly Glass & Pottery Show An AMAZING Treasure Hunt! Dulles Expo, Chantilly,Va 4320 Chantilly Shop Ctr 20151 Sat 9-6…Sun 11-5 Park free…Adm $10 757-430-4735 AUCTIONS AUCTION “COUNTRY STORE” ANTIQUES 30+ YEAR COLLECTION SAT. SEPT. 15th @10AM ONSITE 9900 CARRIAGE ROAD PROVIDENCE FORGE VA MORE INFO AND OVER 100 PHOTOS AT WWW.ISGETTAUCTION.COM W. O. ISGETT JR. VA A.L. 2426 EDUCATION/CAREER TRAINING AIRLINES ARE HIRING – Get FAA approved hands on Aviation training. Financial aid for qualified students – Career placement assistance. CALL Aviation Institute of Maintenance SCHEV certified 877-204-4130 HELP WANTED / SALES EARN $500 A DAY: Lincoln Heritage Life Insurance Wants Insurance Agents * Leads, No Cold Calls * Commissions Paid Daily * Agency Training * Life License Required. Call 1-888713-6020. MISCELLANEOUS SAWMILLS from only $4397.00. MAKE & SAVE MONEY with your own bandmill. Cut lumber any dimension. In stock ready to ship! FREE Info/DVD: www.NorwoodSawmills.com 800 567-0404 Ext.300N SERVICES DIVORCE–Uncontested, $395+$86 court cost. No court appearance. Estimated completion time twenty-one days. Telephone inquiries welcome-no obligation. Hilton Oliver, Attorney (Facebook) 757-490-0126. Se Habla Español. BBB Member. WANTED TO BUY OR TRADE FREON R12 WANTED: CERTIFED BUYER will PAY CA$H for R12 cylinders or cases of cans. (312) 291-9169; www. refrigerantfinders.com
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156- Procurement 0907 HAMPTON SOLICITATION CITY OF HAMPTON Thursday, September 27, 2018 2:30 p.m. EST –ITB 19-22/AP Winter Weather Facility-Double Wall Anti-Icing Storage Tanks Tuesday, October 9, 2018 2:00 p.m. EST-ITB 19-21/EA On-Call Concrete and Asphalt Repair Services
For additional information, see our web page at http://www.hampton.gov/bids-contracts A withdrawal of bid due to error shall be in accordance with Section 2.2-4330 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.
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