TLN122618

L

EGACY Yesterday. Today. Tomorrow.

WEDNESDAYS • Dec. 26, 2018

Richmond & Hampton Roads

LEGACYNEWSPAPER.COM • FREE

She was denied a heart transplant four times

Cherron Gilmore called her husband as she sat anxiously in a North Carolina hospital room in September 2018. They both were listening intently when — at age 37 — Gilmore learned she was going to die.

“You’re too risky and we don’t think you’ll make it through surgery,” Gilmore said the doctor told her. “Even if we put it in, we don’t think you’ll make it through transplant.”

It was the fourth time she was turned town for a heart transplant from three hospitals in her home state.

Without knowing how much time she had left, Gilmore began preparing for her death by writing goodbye letters to her three children, ages 17, 13 and 8. She drafted notes filled with the musings she’d like her young daughter to know when she went to prom and on her future wedding day.

It was not until Gilmore was medevacked to VCU Health’s Pauley Heart Center — defeated and on her deathbed — that she realized her story did not yet have an ending.

A fatal diagnosis during pregnancy Gilmore was 29 and pregnant with her third child in 2010 when she was diagnosed with peripartum cardiomyopathy, often referred to as postpartum cardiomyopathy — a rare condition characterized by weakness of the heart muscle during pregnancy. However, her local doctors didn’t know right away that there was an issue.

“I started having some symptoms that didn’t feel like pregnancy symptoms,” Gilmore said.

The first doctor told her the extreme shortness of breath was normal, and everything was fine.

Knowing what it was like to have carried two children prior, Gilmore got a second opinion.

The second doctor came bearing the bad news.

“When you’re pregnant, you don’t even know [peripartum cardiomyopathy] is a possibility,” Gilmore said. “I’d never heard of it.”

Gilmore gave birth to a daughter, Khori, three

Cherron Gilmore, middle, with the VCU Health Pauley Heart Center surgeons who saved her life, Daniel Tang, M.D., left, and Vigneshwar Kasirajan, M.D. PHOTO: Allen Jones months early. The baby weighed only 3 pounds.

Mother and daughter spent a combined month and a half in intensive care following the delivery.

To compound the matter, Gilmore’s heart wasn’t recovering.

“You’re supposed to be able to recover once the baby is removed, and I guess I was just one of those women who didn’t.”

“You’re supposed to be able to recover once the baby is removed, and I guess I was just one of those women who didn’t.”

Six months after the delivery, Gilmore’s doctors gave her an implantable cardioverter defibrillator because she was in danger of experiencing sudden

death.

“It just went all the way downhill from there,” she said.

In 2011, her heart function was declining. She visited three hospitals before a doctor told her she needed a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implanted in her heart to help it pump blood.

Without the procedure, she had only one month left to live.

“When I got my LVAD, it was so unexpected,” Gilmore said. “We weren’t prepared at all. It was like, if we don't put this thing in right now you're not going to wake up tomorrow type of thing.”

(continued on page 3)

The LEGACY

2 • Dec. 26, 2018

News

Startup connects patients with better access to medical transportation ERICA NAONE Ankit Mathur wants to get you to the doctor. In particular, he wants everyone to have transportation to the doctor.

Mathur, 37, has devoted his career to building software systems and improving inefficiencies. He is cofounder and chief technology officer of RoundTrip, a startup with offices in Richmond and Philadelphia that connects people to reliable medical transportation while reducing wait times, insurance headaches and extra expense.

For people with transportation barriers, doctor and hospital visits can present all kinds of problems.

For example, Mathur said if a patient doesn’t have a ride readily available when being discharged from the hospital, the care coordinator or care manager picks up the phone to coordinate a ride and figure out whether it can be paid for

by Medicaid or other coverage. In the meantime, the patient is waiting and the hospital’s resources are tied up.

“When you see patients who are waiting hours for getting rides back home, when you see clinicians spending half of their day on the phone coordinating rides instead of health care, you think that there has to be a solution out there for this,” Mathur said.

He learned about these issues in 2016 from his current business partner, Mark Switaj, CEO of RoundTrip. Switaj had worked for large emergency and nonemergency medical transportation companies and was concerned about how problems with the usual approach,

Ankit Mathur such as long wait times when one contracted company can’t provide a vehicle immediately, could affect patients’ health. He wanted to start a company to address those issues, but needed help designing the product. A mutual friend connected him with Mathur.

“I knew I could get behind someone who was so passionate about fixing transportation for health care,” Mathur said.

“Seeing how inefficient our health care system is in this country really sparked me to want to make some sort of a difference,” he added.

While transportation is a small part of the overall system, Mathur said, it has an impact on how well people are able to take care of their health. A 2014 study, “Traveling Toward Disease: Transportation Barriers to Health Care Access,” published in the

Journal of Community Health, surveyed 61 studies on the problem of transportation and concluded that, especially for those with lower incomes or those who lack adequate insurance, problems with transportation are an important barrier that can prevent people from accessing needed health care.

The authors of the study found that ethnic minorities often had less access to the transportation they needed for health care, even after taking income into account.

Transportation issues translated to problems such as lack of regular medical care, missed appointments and a lack of ability to follow doctors’ instructions, such as by keeping up with prescriptions.

RoundTrip addresses the problem with software that handles many logistics automatically and seamlessly. When a care manager

or patient logs in, RoundTrip figures out if special needs dictate what sort of ride is needed, whether the ride can be paid for by insurance, and how to surmount what Mathur calls “the last 100 feet,” which refers to the difficulties of navigating medical complexes so that drivers and patients actually find one another. The software is compliant with privacy laws concerning the protection of patient data.

Ankit Mathur wants to get you to the doctor. In particular, he wants everyone to have transportation to the doctor.

Through partnerships with medical transportation companies, ride-sharing company Lyft and public-transit authorities such as the Greater Richmond Transit Co., RoundTrip’s system is designed to connect a patient with a ride in 90 seconds or less. Though the patient still must wait for the ride to arrive, by having access to multiple providers, RoundTrip’s software keeps that wait shorter than it might be otherwise. Rides can be scheduled in advance or arranged as needed. Through RoundTrip’s partnership with GRTC, Richmondarea residents with disabilities also can use the software to access transportation in general, such as for rides to work.

RoundTrip currently serves 16 states. Mary Faith Cressman, a medical social worker at the Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Delaware, said the system works.

“RoundTrip was able to get an ambulance for one of my families

(continued on page 5)

www.LEGACYnewspaper.com

Dec. 26, 2018• 3

(from page 1) Gilmore underwent the LVAD procedure and went on to live a normal life for nearly eight years.

She got her children ready for school each morning, participated in local heart walks, and was selected as a 2018 Forsyth County Go Red Woman for having made lifestyle changes to be heart healthy.

She was doing well, until she wasn’t.

Four times denied In August 2018, Gilmore’s health declined dramatically.

“She did seem like she recovered well enough, so a year [after the LVAD procedure] they took her device out,” said Daniel Tang, M.D., cardiac surgeon at the Pauley Heart Center, as he reflected on Gilmore’s case. “She then had recurrent heart failure. And not only did it recur, but it was just as bad as before.”

No medications or lifestyle changes were making a difference as her health declined. “I had been denied four times for a transplant,” Gilmore said.

One hospital told her she was too much of a risk for a heart transplant. Another said she wasn’t sick enough. “Everybody has their own reasons for why. … It was so many different factors. I had built up a wall because I felt like everywhere I went, they didn’t know how to treat me,” Gilmore said.

Feeling tired, defeated and on the brink of death, Gilmore had just about given up when her local hospital referred her to VCU. “When I came [to VCU Health] it was at night and I was flown here by a helicopter. I was just told by my local hospital that they were ready to pull the plug on me,” she said.

“From the moment I got off that helicopter [I felt like the team] was like, ‘OK, let's do this. Let’s get her work done,’” Gilmore said. “I was just confused, because I came from someplace where everything was dark and gloomy to a place that said,

‘Well, we can do that.’”

‘When I woke up, I was painless’ “When she was transferred [to VCU Health] she was pretty sick,” Tang said.

Gilmore was admitted to the Pauley Heart Center on Sept. 6 and within four days was in the operating room, where Tang and a skilled team removed her heart and replaced it with a total artificial heart.

Total artificial heart implants are rare, but are becoming an option for those on the waitlist for a heart transplant. “In the future, many patients unable to receive a heart transplant may instead get an artificial heart that is fully internalized and silent,” said Vigneshwar Kasirajan, M.D., chair of the Department of Surgery at VCU Medical Center. “The next five to 10 years, I expect we will see some pretty remarkable advances in this technology.”

According to SynCardia, the manufacturer of the total artificial heart, VCU Health Pauley Heart Center ranks No. 4 worldwide in total artificial heart implants, having implanted 114 to date.

Kasirajan said VCU is one of the most active sites in the country for total artificial hearts.

With her total artificial heart, Gilmore was able to go home to be with her family. Three weeks later, she got the call she had been praying for: She was getting a heart.

“It was almost like my body needed a couple weeks to heal up and then

Left: Gilmore and her husband, Geoffrey in 2016.

Right: Cheyne Gray, Cherron Gilmore, Gian Gilmore and Khori Gilmore, in front, participated in the 2017 American Heart Association Heart and Stroke Walk in Winston-Salem. PHOTOS: Gilmore family boom. It happened so fast,” she said.

“When I got [the call] I was like, ‘Oh my God, oh my God!’” The next day, at sunrise on an October morning, she was back in the operating room as Kasirajan and the heart transplant team performed the surgery Gilmore never thought would happen. The surgery also marked a milestone for the Pauley Heart Center — 600 heart transplants performed in the transplant program’s history.

“It was crazy because they put the heart in and it was like a complete change. I haven't felt like this in a long time,” Gilmore said.

Coming home Days after her surgery, Gilmore sat in a hospital room with her husband and reflected on what she had gone through and the life ahead of her.

“I never had to look much toward the future. Now I have a future to

look forward to,” Gilmore said.

She said she lives every day to the fullest, grateful for the time she has, and without any limits or regrets.

When she finally returned home 13 days after surgery, her children came rushing out of the house — screaming — ready to hug the mother they’d been missing.

“They also definitely had a lot of questions about the transplant and everything,” Gilmore said. “My daughter even asked if I’d start acting like the person whose heart I received. I explained to her that souls go to heaven — organs don’t.

So even though I have that person’s heart I don’t, however, have their soul. But we pray every day that their soul is resting peacefully. And we thank their family for passing the blessing on and allowing me to continue to be here to raise you.

“It just really feels like all is OK in the world now.” - VCU News

The LEGACY

4 • Dec. 26, 2018

HR area jail violated constitutional, federal laws The five cities that send inmates to the Hampton Road Regional Jail said in a joint statement that they have “no intentions of pulling any inmates from that facility” after a scathing Department of Justice report found it violated the constitutional rights of inmates.

The Department of Justice completed an investigation that started in December of 2016 into the Hampton Roads Regional Jail in Portsmouth, and it concluded that there is reasonable cause to believe that the jail failed to provide constitutionally adequate medical and mental health care to prisoners.

DOJ’s Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia conducted the investigation and learned that the prisoner’s Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments were not protected.

The investigation also revealed that the jail places prisoners with serious mental illness in restrictive housing for prolonged periods of time under conditions that violate the Constitution.

Officials said the investigation was spurred after several inmate deaths, including 24-year-old Jamycheal Mitchell. Mitchell had been in jail for 100 days. He was awaiting trial for stealing $5 worth of snacks from a convenience store.

“We suspected, believed, that there were systemic problems that led not only to Mr. Mitchell’s death but to others and to the conditions and suffering of inmates every day,” said American Civil Liberties Union Spokesperson Bill Farrer.

The department also concluded that the Jail’s restrictive housing practices discriminate against prisoners with mental health disabilities in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

As required by the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons

Col. David Hackworth Act (CRIPA) and the ADA, the Department provided the Jail written notice of the supporting facts for these alleged conditions and the minimum remedial measures necessary to address them.

“The Constitution guarantees all prisoners necessary medical care, including mental health care, treatment, and services,” said Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband for the Civil Rights Division in a press release. “Our investigation found reasonable cause to conclude that the Jail fails to provide constitutionally adequate medical and mental health care and that prisoners experience serious harm as a result. The Justice Department hopes to continue to work with the jail to resolve the department’s concerns.”

This investigation was conducted by attorneys with the Special Litigation Section of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.

“Our investigation uncovered evidence of significant violations of inmates’ constitutional rights to adequate medical and mental

health care, as well as violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act,” said U.S. Attorney G. Zachary Terwilliger of the Eastern District of Virginia in a press release. “We look forward to working with the Jail to ensure the rights of those incarcerated are not violated.”

Col. David Hackworth released a statement about the investigation saying jail officials strive to provide the “best service” to those individuals incarcerated in the Hampton Roads Regional Jail.

“We routinely review our policies, procedures, and practices to ensure we are providing our services to comply with state and federal law,” he said. “We will continue to do so as we move forward into the future.

“In addition, we look to utilize the best practices possible as evident by our accreditations with the Virginia Board of Corrections, National Commission on Correctional Health Care, and the American Correctional Association. I feel that this report will be a beneficial tool to the Hampton Roads Regional Jail and we are looking forward to meeting with the United States Department of Justice in the very near future.”

The five sheriff's offices including Portsmouth, Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, and Chesapeake said in a joint statement that they expect all inmates to be treated with dignity and respect and we have zero tolerance for mistreatment.

“We believe appropriate measures have been taken to ensure changes to both cultural and correctional practices and to comply with federal and state law,” noted the sheriffs of member cities that comprise the Hampton Roads Regional Jail (HRRJ).

Earlier this year, the HRRJ Board hired Hackworth to take over the administration of the HRRJ. Board members noted that he has 31 years of correctional experience and over 20 years in leadership and

management positions. To date, they note that Hackworth has increased transparency and communication with both the board and the public and has earned their full support.

“Since taking over, Hackworth has made great strides in improving medical and mental health care” noted board members. “Nearly all correctional staffing vacancies have been filled and the HRRJ has been reaccredited by the American Correctional Association.”

In May 2018, an assessment from the Virginia Department of Corrections found the HRRJ to be in 100 percent full compliance with their standards, board members noted.

“We have no intentions of pulling any inmates from that facility,” the boards statement continued. “We collectively believe the steps being taken by the new superintendent will restore the public’s trust in the jail and its leadership. We also support Col. Hackworth as he continues to work diligently with the DOJ to meet and address any and all concerns outlined in the report.”

Virginia Attorney General Mark R. Herring also released a statement about the investigation noting that the conditions detailed in the DOJ report should not exist in the facility or anywhere in Virginia.

“I requested this investigation because it was clear the Hampton Roads community needed and deserved answers about what was going on in this facility, especially in light of the deaths of Jamycheal Mitchell and Henry Clay Stewart, Jr. and the lack of transparency and accountability surrounding those deaths,” noted Herring. “The Department of Justice’s findings should be a serious wake-up call, and a catalyst for even more work at HRRJ and around the commonwealth to ensure the safety and health of inmates, especially those with mental illness.”

www.LEGACYnewspaper.com

Dec. 26, 2018• 5

(from page 2) from Nemours in Wilmington, Delaware, all the way to Pittsburgh’s Children’s Hospital so this kiddo could have a transplant,” Cressman said. “The Pittsburgh trip would have taken a significantly longer time if I had to pick up the phone and call multiple providers.”

To make the service work, Mathur not only has to integrate a variety of technological systems, but also take on the many roles a small startup requires. Aside from the work he does to design a software platform that can automatically interface with the software used by insurance companies, transportation providers and health care providers, Mathur looks at financial models, examines product requirements, researches what RoundTrip’s users need and more.

Mark Switaj He said he finds it exciting and compares the work to his time as an undergraduate at VCU. He was a B student and knew he needed to work a little harder to stand out. He went to VCU Career Services, where they helped him find internships. At one point during his senior year, he

Report on school safety emphasizes mental health The House Democratic Caucus has released a minority report in response to the House Select Committee on School Safety’s final report and recommendations.

In the minority report, House Democrats commend the committee for its successes and address its shortcomings.

“The formation of the Select Committee was a historic and necessary step to protect our students, educators, and school staff,” said House Democratic Leader David Toscano and Caucus Chair Charniele Herring in a joint statement. “However, House Democrats said from the beginning that we must focus on mental health and confront issues of gun violence, no matter how difficult.

“We felt it was our duty to present a minority response, because Virginians across the commonwealth share our concerns and understand the magnitude of this issue. At the end of the day, what matters is the legislation we pass, not the report that we write.”

The select committee was formed in March 2018, after House Democrats pushed for safety legislation in the wake of the mass shooting at Del. Jeff Bourne Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. The House Speaker appointed 12 Republicans and 10 Democrats, and as chair, announced that the committee would not address gun violence prevention. Democrats continued to advocate for commonsense gun safety in the select committee, as well as established the Safe Virginia Initiative to discuss gun violence issues.

Democratic delegates, Schuyler VanValkenburg, Jeff Bourne, and

(continued on page 11)

worked with the city of Richmond, the state and two companies, all at the same time.

“Having four jobs at once, simultaneously, while going to school full time, really set me up for success,” Mathur said with a laugh.

Now Mathur is focused on continuing to build RoundTrip.

The company recently announced a deal to provide transportation for the largest research hospital in America, the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. And earlier this year, VCU Health collaborated with RoundTrip to launch a comprehensive transportation program for patients.

“We’re excited to partner together with RoundTrip and expand access to a strong network of transportation providers in the Richmond area,” said Ryan Raisig,

director of care coordination at VCU Health. “Our partnership will provide greater insight into transportation utilization overall and will give us real-time insight into the supply and demand of transportation across all of our facilities.”

In the future, Mathur said, the company might partner directly with insurance companies, which could offer transportation benefits in an effort to encourage patients to seek care earlier and avoid the larger health problems that arise from going untreated.

Mathur said he wants to focus on “real-world problems,” such as transportation, that could make a real difference in health care.

“I believe that a healthier society will elevate the lifestyle for all people in our country, not just some,” he said. - VCU News

NNPD welcomes inaugural Young Adult Police Commission The Newport News Police Department (NNPD) is working hard to build strong relationships with young people throughout the City. To support these important efforts, the NNPD created the Young Adult Police Commissioners (YAPC) program, a youth advisory board conducted in partnership with Newport News Public Schools. The YAPC gives youth a voice about matters that affect them while problem solving and developing strategies that address current and emerging issues.

The goal is to provide young adults with a better understanding of what the police department does and the importance of working together. “Our Young Adult Police Commissioners are going to take back positive messages to their peers and will do great things,” said Chief Steve Drew.

The NNPD recently held a swearing-in ceremony for the 24 high school students who were

chosen by their School Resource Officer and Principal to participate in the program. During the ceremony, youth heard from NNPD and City leadership, all of whom shared the important role young people play in strengthening the relationship between the police department and youth and how they can help create safer neighborhoods.

The new Commissioners were then sworn in by General District Court Judge, The Honorable Tyneka L. D. Flythe.

In addition to the YAPC program, the NNPD offers a Citizen Police Academy to give adults the opportunity to learn about police operations. They are currently accepting applications for the next academy, which will begin on Feb. 21 and will last 12 weeks.

Participants must be at least 18 years of age and be a Newport News resident, business owner, or be employed in the city.

6 • Dec. 26, 2018

Op/Ed & Letters

The LEGACY

“OZs” - the new Trump EO ROGER CALDWELL After almost two years, President Trump has laid out a policy with an executive order to spend money and investments in the “distressed communities across the country.” Recently, at an executive order signing at the White House, with a majority of African Americans in attendance, President Trump said, “this order would draw investment into neglected and underserved communities in America.”

With a sea of black faces, starting with billionaire Bob Johnson, U.S. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina and United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson, Trump has assured the mainstream media that this is one of the solutions to fix the numerous economic problems in urban America. Under the leadership and direction of Carson, 13 federal agencies have already put together a list of 8,761 potential designated action zones.

“The White House’s new executive The LEGACY NEWSPAPER Vol. 4 No. 52 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

order for agencies to prioritize OZs is a positive first step to transform more communities into walkable, equitable, and thriving places and repair the mistakes of the 20th century that led to sprawl and disinvestment,” said Christopher Cotes, director of LOCUS, a program of Small Growth America. “Most importantly, this new council must encourage greater transparency to ensure any federal investment in OZs achieves equitable development outcomes that are good for both residents and businesses.”

On paper, “Opportunity Zones” appears to be an excellent concept and major corporations have an opportunity to invest in distressed communities and get a break on their taxes. These Opportunity Zones were created a year ago under the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, but a year later there are still no established rules to implement the program.

All 50 states, the District of Columbia, and five U.S. territories are able to participate in the Opportunity Zones initiative.

State governors are responsible for nominating low-income communities based on qualified census tracts, and the U.S. Department of the Treasury will certify Opportunity Zones within 30 days of receiving 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

nominations.

Presently, the major question is how will the African American community benefit from Opportunity Zones?

To begin, very few African Americans are aware of or have information about Opportunity Zones, and many consumer advocates warn that the investments may not reach distressed areas.

Many of these projects will be a public-private-partnership, and many companies refuse to invest money in a poor community, where they don’t see them getting a return on their investment.

But, at the executive order signing, different prominent blacks spoke in favor of the project. Pastor Donte’ Hickman of the Southern Baptist Church and in partnership with other faith-based stakeholders’ institutions, has created the East Baltimore Revitalization Plan, addressing development needs of 100 acres, approved and adapted by the City Planning Development of Baltimore.

“Our area has been federallydesignated as an Opportunity Zone, and this bipartisan legislation can

leverage public and private funding toward community revitalization,” said Pastor Hickman. After Hickman give his remarks, Johnson of BET spoke.

Johnson is also a big supporter of Opportunity Zones. “What this proves is the efficacy, Mr. President, of a program that allows capital to flow to places where people are seeking out opportunity. And I am convinced that this program, where the tax incentives out of the Treasury Department to business people, will cause people to invest money where before they saw risk, now they see opportunity,” saidJohnson of BET. It is too early to make an informed opinion on this Opportunity Zone project. There are different numbers from different leaders to the amount of money the government is willing to invest. Some say $1.3 billion and others say $2.2 billion, but both numbers are substantial.

As everyone gets excited about the Opportunity Zones project, we must remember no Opportunity Zones have been identified, and the Treasury Department has yet to establish rules for the program.

www.LEGACYnewspaper.com

Dec. 26, 2018• 7

P.T. Hoffsteader, Esq.

Honoring Kwanzaa: It is time to unite and prosper!

Kwanzaa, by definition, is a celebration held in the United States and in other nations of the Africa Diaspora in the Americas and lasts a week. The celebration honors African heritage in the African/Caribbean-American culture, and is observed from Dec. 26 to Jan. 1, culminating in a feast and gift-giving. Kwanzaa has seven core principles: Umoja – Unity; Kujichagulia - SelfDetermination; Ujima – Collective work and Responsibility; Ujamaa – Cooperative Economics; Nia – Purpose; Kuumba – Creativity; and Imani – Faith. Africa House Global LLC has adopted these principles!

In this age of uncertainty, our neighborhoods are under attack by the scourge of the drug culture.

Our schools are under-funded, many of our students graduate

illiterate, and joblessness is soaring.

In the United States alone people of color have a purchasing power of approximately $1.3 trillion. When you add that to the worldwide spending power of nations such as the 54 countries that make up the African continent, Brazil, member nations that make up CARICOM in the Caribbean, and the many other countries throughout the world with significant black populations such as Great Britain, Canada, Central America, other South American countries, and beyond; you have is a tremendous amount of purchasing power to harness, as well as a huge manufacturing base!

People of color will never have any REAL power unless they have ECONOMIC power. And we DO have power – over $3 trillion of GDP in Africa, and at least another trillion and a half in the U.S., Caribbean and elsewhere. But if we don’t unite together and start looking out for our OWN economic interests, we will get sidelined again by the huge multinationals like Amazon and Alibaba; companies that are making hardly any investment in our communities, if any at all. Making that investment in our future is what Africa House Global is all about.

The economies of Africa and the Caribbean are entering a golden age. Economic growth across both regions is above the world average,

and private foreign direct investment into Africa is at record levels. With a population nearly equal to China and India COMBINED, corporations are waking up to the huge spending power of Africa’s new middle class.

People of color in America are likewise prospering. If African Americans were our own country, we would be the 15th richest country in the world.

So, what is the problem? Hundreds of millions of people of color are being completely left behind.

Multinationals are making huge profits in Africa, while millions of people there still have no safe drinking water, hundreds of thousands are dying from waterborne illnesses, and 40 billion hours are wasted every year collecting water. Here in America, the richest country history has ever known, an entire generation of young black men is being channeled straight from high school to prison by a system that has utterly failed them. If record prosperity across the world hasn’t helped those left behind, and hasn’t given them hope, what will?

If we are to have a future, we must do what black people have always done; we must stick together. Africa House Global is a group of committed individuals, entrepreneurs and businesses committed to pouring back a very large portion of AHG’s profits into projects that serve

disadvantaged people of color around the world. When you see the AHG logo, you know you’re dealing with a business with a higher purpose, one committed to seeing the world’s prosperity reach EVERYONE. Millions of African women can get jobs instead of spending their time gathering water or mourning for children poisoned by filthy water.

Millions of black men in America can get vocational training instead of incarceration, and the economic strength of the united people of color will increase that much more; because there is no power without economic power.

Nothing will ever change for disadvantaged people of color unless we all do your part. Contact us at info@africahouseglobal.com and we will update you on this movement.

We have got to stick together, every one of us, and that includes YOU! Visit www.AfricaHouseGlobal.com and learn how you can become part of this great movement!

J. Anderson Daye

8 • Dec. 26, 2018

Faith & Religion

The LEGACY

Southern Baptist seminary report ties founders to slaveholding, white supremacy ADELLE M. BANKS RNS — Founders of one of the nation’s largest seminaries owned more than 50 slaves and said that slavery was morally correct.

But an internal investigation found no evidence the school was directly involved in the slave trade, according to the seminary’s president.

A 71-page report released this month from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, the Southern Baptist Convention’s flagship seminary, says its early trustees and faculty “defended the righteousness of slaveholding.”

“They argued first that slaveholding was righteous because the inferiority of blacks indicated God’s providential will for their enslavement, corroborated by Noah’s prophetic cursing of Ham,” the report reads. “They argued second that slaveholding was righteous because southern slaves accrued such remarkable material and spiritual benefits from it.”

The seminary was founded in 1859 in Greenville, S.C., but suspended operations in 1862 during the Civil War and reopened in Louisville in 1877.

The Southern Baptist Convention was founded in 1845 when its members defended the right of missionaries to own slaves.

Southern Seminary President R. Albert Mohler Jr. told Religion News Service the investigation expanded the knowledge and truth of what that defense meant.

“What we did not know and should have known was the degree to which open expressions of white racial supremacy were a part of the

defense of slavery even on the part of some of the founding faculty of this school,” he said.

The report demonstrates how interwoven Southern Seminary’s history has been with the wider racial and political history of the denomination and the nation. It follows a 1995 resolution passed

by Southern Baptists on the 150th anniversary of the denomination in which they said “we lament and repudiate historic acts of evil such as slavery” and “we genuinely repent of racism of which we have been guilty.”

Brantley Gasaway, chair of Bucknell University’s religious studies department, said the report, like the earlier resolution, is “symbolically significant.” It shows that some Southern Baptist leaders have grown in their sensitivity to diversity and racial reconciliation, he said.

But he said it did not point to

substantive policy or structural changes.

“The leaders of Southern Seminary confess and lament their racist heritage, but they pledge only to continue to welcome and celebrate racial diversity at their institution,” said Gasaway, whose research focuses on evangelicals. “Such an approach reflects most evangelicals’ view that racial reconciliation does not necessarily include any reparations or recompense for the injustices suffered by minorities.”

Mohler said his decision to call for a one-year investigation by a team of six faculty — three African-American and three white — was prompted by actions of other institutions of higher education, specifically Princeton University, which released a report last year on its ties to slavery, including the sale of slaves on its campus.

Mohler said Southern was not found to be involved in the slave

trade as an institution.

Asked if the seminary will apologize for its founders’ stances, Mohler said he could offer “a very clear statement of institutional sorrow,” but it is not possible to apologize for the dead.

“We certainly want to make very clear that we are a very different institution than we were then,” he said, noting its more recent history of inviting the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. to the school in 1961. That visit prompted white Southern opponents in the Baptist denomination to withhold money from the school and the seminary’s president at the time to issue an apology.

Asked if the seminary is repenting for its ties to slavery, Mohler said “to the extent that repentance rightly applies, we surely repent.”

“The problem is theologically repenting for the dead,” he said.

“We cannot repent for the dead.”

In his written introduction, Mohler said he rejoices in the “new humanity” now demonstrated on his campus. He expressed appreciation for the school’s black students, alumni, trustees and faculty. In its 2017-18 academic year, the seminary had 228 blacks enrolled, comprising 4.26 percent of the total student body of 5,354.

“Right here, right now, we see students and faculty representing many races and nations and ethnicities,” he wrote. “Our commitment is to see this school, founded in a legacy of slavery, look every day more like the people born anew by the gospel of Jesus Christ, showing Christ’s glory in redeemed sinners drawn from every tongue and tribe and people and nation.”

www.LEGACYnewspaper.com

Dec. 26, 2018• 9

Episcopal Church’s support for historically black universities cited in Saint Augustine’s turnaround DAVID PAULSEN ENN - The Episcopal Church’s longtime support for historically black colleges and universities was credited recently in a major success story in Raleigh. Saint Augustine’s University, a school the church helped establish more than 150 years ago, announced that its accrediting agency had taken the institution off probation, indicating that it finally had turned the corner on its financial struggles and enrollment decline.

Saint Augustine’s President Everett Ward sounded euphoric at a press conference to present the good news.

“By God’s grace, I am here today and can report to you that we have saved Saint Augustine’s University,” Ward said, according to the News & Observer. In a subsequent press release, Ward touted a “turnaround strategy” that drew support from alumni, faculty students and community partners.

“I would like to especially highlight Saint Augustine’s University President Everett Ward speaks Dec. 11 at a news conference to announce the university has received a 10-year accreditation. PHOTO: Saint Augustine’s, via YouTube and thank the Episcopal Church for its unwavering support,” Ward Carolina. The Episcopal Church only for Saint Aug’s, but the church Curry’s leadership, though Episcopal said in the press release. “From has invested millions of dollars can be very proud that one of its ties to these academic institutions Presiding Bishop Michael Curry’s in the two schools in recent years institutions will continue to provide dates back further to the postletters and encouragement, to the while also providing administrative quality education for students Civil War period. Colleges and church’s HBCU committee and guidance and fundraising support. and support for their families and universities like Saint Augustine’s their consultants’ foundational, Voorhees’ accreditation was not in continue to exist for the years to and Voorhees were founded to administrative, and advisory doubt, but in 2016, the Southern come,” the Rev. Martini Shaw said provide educational opportunities support, and to all who offered Association of Colleges and Schools’ after the announcement. to black men and women who were gifts of prayer as well as financial accrediting board placed Saint Shaw, who is rector at the African excluded from white institutions contributions.”

Augustine’s on probation because of Episcopal Church of St. Thomas in of higher learning because of The Episcopal Church at one point concerns about its financial security.

Philadelphia, serves as chair of the segregation. supported 11 HBCUs in Louisiana, When the board met last weekend, HBCU committee of the Episcopal Saint Augustine’s was established Mississippi, North Carolina, South the stakes were high for Saint Church’s Executive Council. The in 1867 by the Episcopal Church Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Augustine’s.

Losing accreditation council established the HBCU and opened its doors the following Virginia. By 1976, only three could have dealt a devastating and committee in 2017 to continue work January. The school that later remained, and in 2013, one of potentially fatal blow to the school. begun by an HBCU task force that would become Voorhees College was those three, Saint Paul’s College in Instead, the board decided to renew formed in 2015. founded in 1897, and the Episcopal Lawrenceville, Virginia, also folded.

Saint Augustine’s accreditation for The church’s recent work with Church has supported it since 1924.

The two survivors are Saint 10 years.

HBCUs coincides with an emphasis Augustine’s and the much smaller “It’s really a wonderful time, not on racial reconciliation under (continued on page 13) Voorhees College in Denmark, South

10 • Dec. 26, 2018

The LEGACY

New exhibition at University of Richmond explores civil rights history through the stories of Richmond residents “Growing Up in Civil Rights Richmond: A Community Remembers”, a new exhibition organized by University of Richmond Museums, pairs oral histories with photographic portraits of 30 Richmond residents whose lives were altered by their experiences as children and youth during the civil rights movement.

“Growing Up in Civil Rights Richmond” will run Jan. 18 to May 10 at the Joel and Lila Harnett Museum of Art at the University of Richmond’s Modlin Center for the Arts.

“This history is vital to the complex story of America, as well as to understanding many of the issues that continue to face our nation and our city today,” said Richard Waller, executive director of University Museums.

The exhibition showcases vibrant, large-scale portraits created by Richmond-based visual journalist Brian Palmer. Portraits are accompanied by excerpts from interviews conducted by Laura Browder, UR’s Tyler and Alice Haynes professor of American Studies, as she spoke with participants about their personal experiences.

“Full of fortitude, resilience, and conviction, their stories offer nuanced, often linked perspectives of a Jim Crow past, that contribute to a fuller, more faithful historical narrative of our city,” said Browder.

“The exhibition underscores how critical it is for these stories to be recorded and shared.”

The entire project encompasses an exhibition, educational programs for the campus and greater Richmond communities, and a 105-page catalogue featuring the interviews,

Leonard Edloe, a long time pastor and business owner -- pharmacist -- in the city. portraits, as well as essays by Browder; exhibition curator Ashley Kistler; Richmond-based public historian, author, and lecturer Elvatrice Belsches; and Richmond Times Dispatch columnist Michael Paul Williams.

“Despite its wide-ranging impact, civil rights history in Richmond has received far less attention than it merits,” said Kistler. “The exhibition catalogue will serve as a lasting document of the diverse voices and faces of this group of individuals who lived through and helped shape that era locally.”

The public is invited to attend an opening reception and preview exhibition at the Harnett Museum of Art, Modlin Center for the Arts, Jan.16, 7 p.m.

Additional exhibition programming includes: * Civil Rights Richmond Gallery Walk Through, Jan. 17, 1:30 p.m.

Exhibition curator Ashley Kistler will lead a walk through the gallery.

Modlin Center for the Arts, Harnett Museum of Art * Civil Rights Richmond Exhibition Open for MLK Day, Jan. 21, 11:30 a.m.

Modlin Center for the Arts, Harnett Museum of Art * Civil Rights Richmond Panel Discussion, Jan. 27, 2 p.m.

Modlin Center for the Arts, Camp Concert Hall Panelists will include: Michael Paul Williams, Richmond Times Dispatch; Brian Palmer, photographer; Ashley Kistler, curator; Laura Browder, oral

historian; and UR American studies professor Elvatrice Belsches, public historian, author, and lecturer based in Richmond. * Gallery Talks, Feb. 24 & Mar. 31, 2 p.m.

Modlin Center for the Arts, Harnett Museum of Art * Student Performance, April 9, 6 p.m.

Modlin Center for the Arts, Harnett Museum of Art UR students enrolled in the course “Growing Up in Civil Rights Richmond,” taught by Browder and Patricia Herrera, associate professor of theatre, will perform their docudrama incorporating oral histories and archival materials.

All events are free and open to the public.

www.LEGACYnewspaper.com

(from page 5) Mike Mullin were the first members to make recommendations to the committee, which they proposed in a memo in July. The memo drew from their expertise in school and youth safety – VanValkenburg is a teacher, Bourne is a former twoterm school board member, and Mullin is a former prosecutor with a focus on juvenile courts. Some of their proposals were included in the committee’s final report, such as the memorandums of understanding between schools and police, but many others were not, including increasing the ratio of students to school counselors and ways to keep minors from unauthorized access to firearms.

“Above all, we have to frame school safety in a student-centered, rather than an institutions-centered approach,” said VanValkenburg.

“If the focus is infrastructure like bullet-proof dry-erase boards, then we’re essentially only trying to decrease the extent of the damage.

When we instead emphasize students’ mental health and wellbeing, then we are solving the

C.L. Belle’s

E Z Car Rental 3101 W. Broad Street

(804) 358-3406

FALL L SPECIAL

ALL Cars

Small - Medium -

29

$

Large

95

a day

Free Pickup in Richmond Area

NO CREDIT CARD NEEDED

www.ezcarrentalsrva.com

Dec. 26, 2018• 11 root causes and preventing unsafe situations from ever happening.”

“We have to allocate our limited resources to where they will have the most impact,” said Bourne. “Time and again, we heard from parents, students, and educators that mental health resources, particularly school counselors, would make the biggest difference.”

In addition to House Democrats’ recommendations on student mental health, they also make several common-sense proposals to prevent minors from accessing firearms, including a youth risk protection order that would secure guns away from minors who have been deemed to be at serious risk of hurting themselves or others.

“When our children stand up and demand solutions to gun violence in schools, it’s past time to take action,” said Mullin. “Mass shootings are an unacceptable tragedy, but that’s not even the full extent of the issue – we are also losing too many students to suicide and domestic homicides with firearms. We cannot keep ignoring gun violence because it’s controversial.”

ADVERTISE WITH US If you’re reading this, so are your potential customers!

Stack the odds in favor of your awesome business.

Ask Alma

Dear Alma, I have a problem with my mother-in-law. She does not treat my husband and his brother the same. My husband and I have two grown children—a son and a daughter.

Both are living on their own; neither is married; and my son lives in another state.

My husband has one brother.

He’s gay and doesn’t have any children. I don’t think he ever will.

Every Christmas my motherin-law gives my husband and me $250 each. She gives our adult children $250 each, and she gives my brother-in-law $1,000.

We don’t think that’s fair. She’s giving us less money because we are a family.

I have a right mind to bring this to her attention.

What do you think?

—Anita, Chicago Hold on, Miss Candy Cane, That’s not your right mind speaking. That’s your wrong

mind—so don’t you listen.

You’ve worked yourself into a tizzy because, basically, you want your MIL to give you and your husband more money.

No, wait; or maybe you want her to stop giving your adult children money…I’m confused.

Either way, it ain’t your money to regulate. You can’t tell a gift giver how to give. Evidently she’s budgeting $2,000 to spend on her family.

Clearly, she’s dividing the amount in half between her two sons. She’s giving one son the full amount, and then she’s dividing the rest by the number of immediate family members of the other. And you have a problem with that? Tough tinsel!

The fact that your MIL gives money, period, is a generous act in itself. Stop scrutinizing her gift-giving practices. Where’s the gratitude in knowing you’re on her gift list and not her sh*t list. You see what I’m sayin?

What you and your husband need to do is—drop it. Stop looking for ways to compare the brothers, cause that’s really what this is all about.

Everybody’s grown now, so get over it. Christmas is a season filled with priceless holiday traditions. What’s more important than making family memories that will last a lifetime? Before you both are uninvited home for the holidays, check your gift-giving guidebook under the chapter “Common Sense.” I’m sure it mentions that your MIL isn’t obligated to give a Christmas gift to any of you.

12 • Dec. 26, 2018

The LEGACY

Transit access for the low-income an issue, even after GRTC reroute While recent changes to Richmond’s public bus network have improved the region’s access to retail, business and job centers, transit accessibility for the area’s low-income households remains the same or has decreased, according to a new study by the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs at Virginia Commonwealth University.

The study by the Wilder School’s Center for Urban and Regional Analysis, “Impact of the GRTC 2018 Reroute on the City’sDisadvantaged Population,” examines the recent redesign by the Greater Richmond Transit Co. of the bus network in the city and neighboring counties of Chesterfield and Henrico.

Known as The Great Richmond Reroute, the redesign coincided with the inauguration of the city’s first bus rapid transit system — the

Pulse — and represents the first major transit network update in more than 80 years since trolleys stopped running in the 1940s.

The redesign includes the route Sarin Adhikari extension to Short Pump in western Henrico, a major regional jobs hub.

“The Pulse and the reroute have made significant changes to the city’s transit network system,” said Sarin Adhikari, Ph.D., research economist with the Center for Urban and Regional Analysis.

“While GRTC has taken a forwardthinking approach to improving jobs accessibility, there is still room for improvement related to improving

transit access to affordable housing and increasing highconnectivity nodes near low-income neighborhoods.”

The study focused on economically disadvantaged households within the original GRTC network to determine if any significant changes in accessibility occurred after the reroute while also maintaining GRTC’s goal of a high-connectivity route design.

The analysis found networkwide accessibility improvements, as well as an increased connection to major job centers: about a 6 percent increase for jobs within one-quarter mile of a transit stop, and an 11 percent increase for those within a half-mile.

However, the results also show the number of residential units within one-quarter mile of transit stops decreased by about 22 percent after the reroute; units within a half-mile decreased by 3 percent.

About half of residential units in low-income neighborhoods are not served by transit stops with high connectivity. The study determines high connectivity by measuring variables such as frequency, average speed on the route, average distance to destination and the number of available routes that serve the stop.

“While the city is pursuing a path of further economic development and growth, it is our collective responsibility — and, in particular, of policy and decision makers — to ensure the whole community reaps the benefits of this Richmond economic expansion,” said Fabrizio Fasulo, Ph.D., director of the Center for Urban and Regional Analysis.

“This is especially important for the marginalized and disadvantaged communities in the region that have felt, and rightfully so, left behind in past developments.”

Rake in the savings this Fall This month only rent a 2 bedroom, 1 bath Independent Living apartment for the price of a 1 bedroom, 1 bath apartment! Move into one of our spacious 2 bedroom apartments for only $1195 a month!

Call now to take advantage of these special rates!

800.790.4863 I NDEPEN D E N T L I V I N G | ASSISTED LIVING | MEMORY CARE

Imperial Plaza A Richmond Tradition

*Available on select apartments for a limited time.

1 7 1 7 B e l l ev u e Ave | R i c h m o n d , VA 2 3 2 27 8 0 0. 6 4 8 .0 9 1 9 | www. i p s e n i o r l i v i n g .co m

www.LEGACYnewspaper.com

Dec. 26, 2018• 13

Black conservatives criticize, Va. sen. supports “First Step Act” Black conservative leaders are speaking out against the “First Step Act”criminal justice reform bill. They say provisions in the bill would undermine the benefits of mandatory minimum sentencing.

Members of the Project 21 black leadership network, who offer their own set of criminal justice reform recommendations, said the bill as currently written “would be a step back” for public safety and “have an especially harmful effect on minority communities.”

“As presently drafted, the First Step Act is the first step toward a dramatic reversal in the successful anti-crime strategies that have made America’s cities among the safest in the world,” said Project 21 Co-Chairman Horace Cooper, a former professor of constitutional law and former counsel to congressional leadership.

“Accountability and detention are time-tested techniques for achieving

(from page 9) About 100 such schools are still open today across the United States, accepting students of all races, and some of the financial and enrollment challenges faced by Saint Augustine’s and Voorhees are common among other historically black colleges and universities.

The demographics of those colleges’ student bodies are changing as well. Pew Research Center reported last year that less than 9 percent of black students attended a historically black college in 2015, down from 17 percent in 1980.

Over the same period, historically black colleges and universities have become more racially diverse, with the number of students who aren’t black rising from 13 to 17 percent.

Overall enrollment at HBCUs also has been in decline since hitting a peak in 2010, when 327,000 students attended one of the

Minority Communities” – Cooper and fellow Project 21 co-chairmen Pennsylvania State Constable Council Nedd II and nationally syndicated talk radio host Stacy Washington wrote: “While the legislation is well-intentioned and includes some good provisions, its efforts to undermine mandatory minimum sentencing threaten to reverse the significant progress made in recent decades in reducing crime.”

President Donald J. Trump recently addressed his remarks in support of the First Step Act, calling it a step in rewriting justice laws. They noted that mandatory minimums eliminated “overly lenient sentencing that was low crime rates. In the case of the It changes to mandatory pervasive from the 1960s through First Step Act, blacks and poor minimums would apply to federal the early 1990s that put dangerous Americans will likely suffer the most sentencing. It aims to lower the when offenders return back to these recidivism rate and reduce sentences criminals back on the streets prematurely.” Additionally, they communities and new offenders for certain nonviolent offenders. “keep offenders off the street longer, learn that they won’t be punished.”

Warner and Kaine cast their votes and while they aren’t on the street, The First Step Act is supported in support of the legislation they they can’t commit crime.”

by President Donald Trump and say will reform the federal criminal This benefits minority several Democrats, including justice system.

Virginia senators, Mark R. Warner In a new report – “Watch Your (continued on page 15) and Tim Kaine.

Step: First Step Act Could Harm colleges, according to the federal government’s National Center for Education Statistics.

The agency’s Digest of Education Statistics shows that Voorhees increased its fall enrollment that year, to 752 students, but Saint Augustine’s was already beginning its downward trend, falling from the 1,529 students it had enrolled in 2009 to 1,508 students.

The decline at Saint Augustine’s gained speed in the first half of this decade, with enrollment dropping to just 810 students by fall 2015. Ward was named president that year, after taking the reins as interim president a year earlier.

In 2016, Saint Augustine’s logged its first enrollment increase in seven years, welcoming 944 students that fall. The number grew to 974 in 2017 but dropped sharply to 767 this fall, which the university blames on a negative article on HBCUDigest.com

suggesting the university was near closure. By easing the uncertainty around its accreditation, Ward and other university officials see further opportunities to expand enrollment and academic programs.

“The relevancy of any intellectual community has got to be that you grow and advance with the changing society, because we’re producing the leaders of society here at Saint Augustine’s and subsequently you have to embrace diversity,” Ward, a graduate of Saint Augustine’s, told ENS in 2017 for a Q&A during the university’s 150th anniversary year.

The Episcopal Church’s financial support has helped stabilize the two schools and, in Saint Augustine’s case, bring it back from the brink of losing accreditation. General Convention has approved about $2 million to support HBCUs with Episcopal ties for the past several triennia. After Saint Paul’s closed in

2013, the money was split between the remaining two colleges.

The 2016-2018 budget included $1.1 million for each college, and the same amount has been approved in the 2019-2021 budget. Separately, the church’s Development Office has worked to increase awareness of the schools within the church and to help with fundraising.

Saint Augustine’s also points to improved internal controls and an increase in alumni giving in allowing the institution to end its 2018 financial year with a surplus.

As they build on these successes, university officials will continue to have the support of the Episcopal Church.

“We as the church are going to continue to work very closely with them to assure that they succeed,” Shaw said. “We don’t want to lose another one of our Episcopal schools.”

14 • Dec. 26, 2018

The LEGACY

Study: Children of problem drinkers are more likely to marry someone with a drinking problem The study also reveals that children of parents with alcohol use disorder are more likely to marry at younger ages and less likely to marry at older ages Children of parents who have alcohol use disorder are more likely to get married under the age of 25, less likely to get married later in life, and more likely to marry a person who has alcohol use disorder themselves, according to a new study by researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University and Lund University in Sweden.

“There are many pathways through which a parent’s alcohol problems can influence our own risk for alcohol problems. One important pathway, of course, has to do with the genes that parents pass to their children,” said the study’s lead author, Jessica E. Salvatore, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology in the College of Humanities and Sciences at VCU. “But another important pathway, which we demonstrate here, is through the social environment.”

The study, “Parental Alcohol Use Disorder and Offspring Marital Outcomes,” was published in the most recent issue of the journal Addiction. It is based on data from legal, medical and pharmacy registries with detailed information on 1.17 million people in Sweden who were born between 1965 and 1975.

“Although there have been many studies along these lines in the past, there were some key methodological limitations to these prior studies, including the reliance on small samples,” Salvatore said. “We were able to leverage the Swedish national registries to look at these questions in a large sample of over 1

million people.”

The researchers set out to discover if alcohol use disorder (AUD) — which affects an estimated 16 million people in the United States — among parents would predict their adult offspring’s likelihood of marriage and marriage to a spouse with alcohol use disorder.

“We know from previous research that who you marry plays a big part in whether you develop an alcohol problem,” Salvatore said. “What we found in this study is that who you marry is not random — and, in fact, the people who are at greatest risk for developing an alcohol problem (because they have an affected parent) are most likely to end up with a spouse who is going to exacerbate this risk.”

Researchers found that parental alcohol use disorder is associated with a higher probability of marriage at younger ages, a lower

probability of marriage at older ages and a higher likelihood of marriage to an affected spouse compared with no parental alcohol use disorder.

“In this case, we found that you do marry someone who is like your parents,” Salvatore said.

The researchers also found that most of these effects become stronger when the number of parents with alcohol use disorder increases from one to two. Most effects also held after statistically controlling for parents’ socioeconomic status, marital history, other externalizing disorders, and the offspring’s own alcohol use disorder status.

Additionally, daughters of affected mothers are more likely to have an affected spouse, the researchers found.

The researchers were interested in their findings because previous research has shown that forming and maintaining romantic

relationships with “prosocial” spouses reduces one’s risk of developing alcohol use disorder.

“And what we find here is that people who are at risk of developing AUD (by virtue of growing up with an AUD-affected parent) are less likely to find themselves in these types of protective marital environments,” Salvatore said.

From a practical standpoint, she said, the study’s findings could be useful for clinicians and others who work with the offspring of parents with alcohol use disorder to raise awareness of how parental AUD can influence the types of social environments that can increase one’s risk for alcohol use disorder.

“There are large international organizations, like Al-Anon and Alateen, that are geared towards helping and supporting the family members, and in particular children of people affected by alcohol use disorders,” Salvatore said. “I think that there is a role for findings like ours as part of these types of family education programs. Specifically, becoming aware of how a parent’s alcohol problem might shape one’s own likelihood of ending up in the kind of marriage that will increase risk for alcohol problems may help people choose differently.”

In addition to Salvatore, the study was conducted by Kenneth S. Kendler, M.D., professor of psychiatry and human and molecular genetics in the Department of Psychiatry at VCU’s School of Medicine; Elizabeth Long, Ph.D., in the Institute for Drug and Alcohol Studies at VCU; and Alexis Edwards, Ph.D., at VCU’s Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics; along with Swedish colleagues Sara Larsson Lönn, Ph.D.; Jan Sundquist, M.D., Ph.D.; and Kristina Sundquist, M.D., Ph.D., of the Center for Primary Health Care Research at Lund University.

Dec. 26, 2018• 15

www.LEGACYnewspaper.com

(from page 13 communities where prematurely released convicts are likely to return.

“Periodically reviewing mandatory minimum sentences and making revisions to ensure that they are appropriate and reflect societal values may make sense,” suggested Project 21’s leadership. But mandatory minimum sentences “ensure that laws are applied equitably and that judicial discretion isn’t permitted to devolve into judicial activism.

“How many grandmothers must be assaulted and how many of our kids must face gangs and drug dealers before we remember the important lessons of fighting crime? Real reform would start with ending government’s revenueenhancing use of jails and fines as a substitute for taxation. But reform that results in higher levels of criminality especially among the most vulnerable is a huge step backwards.”

“Public safety is at risk as long as threats to mandatory minimum sentences remain in the First Step Act,” said Nedd, a law enforcement officer in central Pennsylvania.

“Senator Tom Cotton is doing a huge service to his colleagues by citing as one the ‘major problems’ with the bill the problem of early release for those who have committed serious crimes. We don’t want a reversal of falling violent crime rates. Criminal justice reform is long overdue, but there are better ways to protect our

Unanimous Bill to ensure vets receive full housing benefits

Horace Cooper communities and rebuild relations between the police and the people.”

Project 21 released criminal justice reform recommendations earlier this year as part of its “Blueprint for a Better Deal for Black America.”

Among the organization’s recommendations are reforming asset forfeiture rules and getting police out of the business of regulatory enforcement.

Additionally, Project 21’s Blueprint recommends that fines and fees should go into general funds to prevent police from focusing on revenue-generating activities and straining relations with the communities they serve. Fines should also fit the crime and not incur harsh penalties that could lead to people losing their driver’s licenses or facing jail time for minor offenses.

Still, the legislation now heads to the House of Representatives, which earlier this year passed a similar bill in a broad bipartisan vote.

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

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

The U.S. Senate has unanimously passed the Forever GI Bill Housing Payment Fulfillment Act, bipartisan legislation backed

by U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (DVA), and others, to ensure the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) reimburses veterans for missed or underpaid Forever GI Bill housing benefits.

“Thousands of Virginia veterans and their families depend on Forever GI Bill housing benefits while pursuing higher education.

But the VA has dropped the ball in carrying out the law as Congress intended,” said Warner. “Now that this bill has passed overwhelmingly in the Senate, it’s time to get this bill through the House and swiftly signed into law so that veterans can receive the full housing benefits they rightfully earned and deserve.”

The Forever GI Bill that was signed into law in July 2017 included changes to how veteran housing benefits are calculated.

However, because of missteps in updating their IT systems combined with a lack of internal processes, the VA has failed

to provide timely or accurate payments as set by the Forever GI Bill. Delayed or insufficient VA payments have forced many student veterans into difficult financial circumstances. However, the VA has indicated that it will be more than a year before it will be able to correctly calculate veterans’ housing allowance under the Forever GI Bill.

The Forever GI Bill Housing Payment Fulfillment Act would require the VA to: · End improper payments soon; · Establish a team of specialists who will be responsible to report to Congress a detailed plan to correct this egregious error; · Provide a report to Congress by July 2020 that identifies how many beneficiaries were impacted and to what extent, aggregated by state; and · Certify the department is fully compliant with the law.

Last month, Warner and Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) sent a letter to Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert Wilkie, calling on the VA to immediately address the lack of timely payments to veterans.

16 • Dec. 26, 2018

The LEGACY

Calendar

COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES & EVENTS

12.26-29

1.6, 4 p.m.

The Washington Redskins are partnering with Petersburg City Public Schools to offer discounted tickets and help raise money for classroom supplies.

Petersburg students, families, teachers, school employees and community members can buy tickets to Washington’s Dec. 30 game against the Philadelphia Eagles, the 2018 Super Bowl champs. The discounted price is $50 - $70 per ticket, with $10 from each ticket going to Petersburg City Public Schools for classroom supplies.

This is the final regular season game, and it starts at 1 p.m. Dec. 30 at FedEx Field.

Tickets are available online at : https://fevo.me/ petersburgcityspecialoffer

Henrico County will accept Christmas trees for recycling into mulch through Jan. 6.

The free service, sponsored by Keep Henrico Beautiful and the Department of Public Utilities, preserves landfill space and protects the environment. It is available to Henrico residents only.

Trees will be accepted at: •Henrico Government Center, 4301 E. Parham Road, lower parking lot; •Eastern Government Center, 3820 Nine Mile Rd., in the front parking lot; •Springfield Road Public Use Area, 10600 Fords Country Ln., near Nuckols Road and Interstate 295, and •Charles City Road Public Use

Ongoing GRASP (GReat Aspirations Scholarship Program, Inc. provides free, college financial aid assistance on Wednesdays from 6-8 pm at the Belmont Library, 3100 Ellwood Ave., Richmond.

Assistance includes help with FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) completion and information about the overall financial aid process. Call 804 5277772 to make an appointment. For more information, visit the website www.grasp4va.org.

12.29, 1-9 p.m.

Elegba Folklore Society presents the 2018 Capital City Kwanzaa Festival at Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School in Richmond.

The theme this year is “Shifting the Vibration” where Legacy (Kwanzaa Holiday) meets Legacy (Martin Luther King, Jr.).

Its focus is to enrich residents and visitors at the largest Kwanzaa event in Virginia. The ceremony will include and address from a keynote speaker, performances, workshops, engagement for children, The African Market and more.

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

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

CHTravels.com One-stop for travel planning and booking. We’ll do the work so you don’t have to.

Dec. 26, 2018• 17

www.LEGACYnewspaper.com

DENTAL Insurance Physicians Mutual Insurance Company

A less expensive way to help get the dental care you deserve If you’re over 50, you can get coverage for about $1 a day* Keep your own dentist! You can go to any dentist you want No wait for preventive care and no deductibles – you could get a checkup tomorrow

Coverage for over 350 procedures – including cleanings, exams,

fillings, crowns…even dentures

NO annual or lifetime cap on the cash benefits you can receive

FREE Information Kit

1-855-401-3274 www.dental50plus.com/legacy

*Individual plan.

Product not available in MN, MT, NH, NM, RI, VT, WA. Acceptance guaranteed for one insurance policy/ certificate of this type. Contact us for complete details about this insurance solicitation. This specific offer is not available in CO, NY; call 1-800-969-4781 or respond for similar offer. Certificate C250A (ID: C250E; PA: C250Q); Insurance Policy P150 (GA: P150GA; NY: P150NY; OK: P150OK; TN: P150TN) 6096E-0917

MB17-NM008Ec

18 • Dec. 26, 2018

Classifieds

ads@legacynewspaper.com

Ad SizeLEGAL, 3.4 inches -EMPLOYMENT, 1 column(s) X 1.7 inches) ANNOUNCEMENTS, 1 Issue - $37.40

Rate: $11 per column inch NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT THE CITY OF RICHMOND BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS

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.

EOE M/F/D/V

The LEGACY 409 E. Main St. #4 (mailing) • 105 1/2 E. Clay Richmond, VA 23219 804-644-1550 (office) - 1-800-782-8062 ads@legacynewspaper.com 409

FOR SALE, SERVICES

PUBLIC Did you Ad Size: 11.8 inches (2AUCTION columns X 5.9ofinches) Unclaimed Vehicles know... 2 Issues - Dec. 19 250+/IMPOUNDED & 26 - ($129.80 per run) $259.60 t

Will hold a Public Hearing in the 5th Floor Conference Room, City Hall, One of the 900 East review Broad Street, Richmond, VA needed on January 2, 2019, consider Please the proof, make any changes andto return by fax or e-mail. strong the under Chapter 30 of the by Zoning Code: your ad may not be inserted. benefits If following your response is not received deadline,

AUTOS, LIGHT TRUCKS & Rate: $11 per column inch MOTORCYCLES SOUTHSIDE PLAZA DRIVE-IN Includes Internet placement

of newspaper Monday, Jan.14, 2019 Ok X_________________________________________ advertising is Gates open atchanges 9:00 AM Please review the proof, make any needed and return by that newspapers 37-18 (CONTINUED FROM NOVEMBER 7, 2018 MEETING): An Auction begins at 10:00 If your response is not received by deadline, your adAM may not application of Tim Farrow for a building permit to construct a one-story offer a variety of Auction will include the vehicles listed addition (13’Ok x 15’) the rear of single-family (attached) dwelling at withonchanges X a_____________________________ below plus many others: ways to target Ok X_______________________________________ 622 HOLLY STREET. 2002 FORD EXPEDITION 1FMPU16L52LA10126 a particular 2006 FORD FREESTAR 2FMDA58236BA34941 2001 HONDA ACCORD 1HGCG16521A000175 BZA 01-2019: An application of James & Carmela DePasquale for a audience.

2004 VOLVO XC90 YV1CM59H241068964 REMINDER: Deadline is Fridays @ 5 p.m. building permit to convert an office building into a multi-family (5-units) 1998 LEXUS LS 400 JT8BH28F9W0136253 Ok with changes X ___________________________ Whether it’s 2007 CHEVROLET IMPALA 2G1WB55K979112428 dwelling at 18 WEST FRANKLIN STREET. 2003 TOYOTA CAMRY 4T1BE32KX3U196287 zoning inserts 2013 TAOTAO SCOOTER L9NTELKG1D1080078 Are you in a suicide crisis? BZA 02-2019: An application of Cheshire Developments for a building 1997 NISSAN ALTIMA 1N4BU31D9VC171082 by zip code or REMINDER: 1986 VOLVODeadline 740 YV1FX884XG1061849 is Fridays @ 5 p.m. permit to enclose an existing covered front porch on a single-family 2000 CHEVROLET MALIBU 1G1ND52J6Y6136065 using a niche 1996 NISSAN MAXIMA JN1CA21DXTT701609 dwelling at 309 WEST 14th STREET. 1985 FORD E150 1FTEE14H3FHB90710 publication to 1996 TOYOTA COROLLA 2T1BA02E3TC131240 1996 BUICK LESABRE 1G4HP52K7TH415263 BZA 03-2019: An application of NTC, LLC for a building permit to target a certain 2001 CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO 2G1WX15K519318394 convert from a retail (book store) use to establish a specialty food/ 2005 SUBARU LEGACY 4S3BP686156317449 1990 TOYOTA CAMRY 4T1SV21E3LU261079 ethnic group beverage store in 2,621 square feet of an existing (first floor) tenant 2002 ACURA RSX JH4DC53092C006431 space at 2601 WEST MAIN STREET. 1999 CHRYSLER 300 2C3HE66G8XH666710 or behaviorally 2002 MERCEDES-BENZ ML320 4JGAB54E32A309181 2007 SCION Tc JTKDE167670215821 targeting a BZA 04-2019: An application of Nancy and Ernest Bush, Jr. for a 1992 MERCEDES-BENZ 300D WDBEB28D7NB718626 2000 MERCURY MYSTIQUE 1MEFM6532YK603437 certain group building permit to construct a new single-family attached dwelling at 2006 FORD CROWN VIC 2FAHP71W76X164517 900 NORTON STREET. 2005 DODGE GRAND CARAVAN 2D4GP44L95R288414 HEALTH/PERSONALS/MISCELLANEOUS on a newspaper website, SEIBERT’S is now accepting BZA 05-2019: An application of Rackley LLC for a building permit to IF YOU HAD HIP OR KNEE REPLACEMENT vehicles on consignment! construct a new single-family detached dwelling at 1601 NORTH 22nd newspaper SURGERY AND SUFFERED AN INFECTION between STREET. Reasonable Seller’s Fees. products offer 2010 and the present time, you may be entitled to compensation. a wide range of Roy W. Benbow, Secretary Call Attorney Charles H. Johnson Phone: (804) 240-2124 products to target Fax: (804) 646-5789 1-800-535-5727 any audience E-mail: Roy.Benbow@richmondgov.com an advertiser is 642 W. Southside Plaza Dr. looking to reach.

Richmond Talk to us (804) 233-5757 Resource Information Help for more WWW.SEIBERTSTOWING.COM for the Disadvantaged and information.

VA AL # 2908-000766 BEGINNING AT 1:00 P.M.

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-8255

CHTravels.com

One-stop for travel planning and booking.

We’ll do the work so you don’t have to.

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

Drivers Mr. Bult’s is hiring Local Class A CDL Drivers. Home Every Night, $1100+/week, Amazing Benefits!

Text WORK to 55000

Dec. 26, 2018• 19

www.LEGACYnewspaper.com

AUCTIONS ATTN. AUCTIONEERS: Advertise your upcoming auctions statewide or in other states. Affordable Print and Digital Solutions reaching your target audiences. Call this paper or Landon Clark at Virginia Press Services 804-521-7576, landonc@ vpa.net 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 / DRIVERS NEED CDL Drivers? Advertise your JOB OPENINGS statewide or in other states. Affordable Print and Digital Solutions to reach truck drivers.

Call Landon Clark at Virginia Press Services 804521-7576, landonc@vpa.net REAL ESTATE FOR SALE ATTN. REALTORS: Advertise your listings regionally or statewide. Print and Digital Solutions that get results! Call Landon Clark at Virginia Press Services 804-521-7576, landonc@vpa.net 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) 757490-0126. 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) 2919169; www.refrigerantfinders.com

Place your “For sale”, “Wanted”, and “Service”... ads here.

Dominion Energy has been named America’s best managed electric and gas company.

It helps when 1 in 5 new hires is a veteran.

This year’s “Management Top 250,” published by The Wall Street Journal, ranks the best run U.S. companies based on customer satisfaction, employee engagement and development, innovation, social responsibility and financial strength. Dominion Energy was ranked as the top electric and gas utility. And military publication G.I. Jobs ranks Dominion Energy top in our industry and 5th among all U.S. companies. It marks the 10th consecutive year Dominion Energy has been recognized as a military-friendly company. So to each and every one of our 16,000+ dedicated employees, THANK YOU for your commitment to excellence, your dedication to community and most of all for the energy you bring to this company each and every day.

S A D D I Q K . H O L L I DAY T E C H N I C A L S E R G E A N T— A I R N AT I O N A L G UA R D H U M A N R E S O U R C E S— D O M I N I O N E N E R GY

Careers.DominionEnergy.com