TLN-6-16-21

L

EGACY Yesterday. Today. Tomorrow.

WEDNESDAYS • June 16, 2021

INSIDE McAuliffe beats election expectations - 2 A preview: A conversation with “Mr. K”-3 Pharrell launching Norfolk priv. school - 4

Richmond & Hampton Roads

LEGACYNEWSPAPER.COM • FREE

‘Return to Earn’ program would incentivize new workers with up to $1,000

“These bonuses will serve as an incentive for unemployed workers to get back into the workforce while also helping employers fill vacant jobs. The Virginia Return to Earn Grant Program is about empowering the true catalysts of our economic comeback—Virginia’s workers and small businesses.”- Gov. R. Northam KATE ANDREWS To combat Virginia’s tight labor market, the state plans to invest $3 million in a program to provide new employees of qualifying small businesses with up to $1,000 to support their transition back into the workforce, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Friday.

The Virginia Return to Earn grant program will match up to $500 from eligible small businesses that are paying new hires at least $15 an hour and employ fewer than 100 people.

The program will be funded through Virginia’s federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) funding, and additional COVID-19 pandemic recovery funds may be allocated based on demand, the governor’s office said.

“Many Virginians who lost their jobs as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic still face a variety of barriers to returning to work like access to affordable child care, transportation and a living wage,” Northam said in a statement.

“These bonuses will serve as an incentive for unemployed workers to get back into the workforce while also helping employers fill vacant jobs. The Virginia Return to Earn grant

Virginia’s ‘Return to Earn’ program will match employer bonuses with federal aid. program is about empowering the true catalysts of our economic comeback — Virginia’s workers and small businesses.”

To qualify for the state’s matching fund of up to $500 per person, businesses must pay that amount directly to a new employee hired after May 31, either as a lump sum or in installments to offset ongoing costs of child care, transportation or other barriers to reemployment. Funds will be reimbursed only to businesses that pay at least $15 per hour for

jobs that qualify as W-2 employment, either full time or part time.

Virginia has seen a staffing crisis this year, part of a national trend, as businesses that were shut down or at limited capacity during the pandemic are now fully reopening for businesses — or would if they had enough employees. There are a variety of reasons for the labor shortage, among them state and federal unemployment

(continued on page 3)

The LEGACY

2 • June 16, 2021

McAuliffe beats already sky-high expectations VM - Terry McAuliffe won Petersburg, the hometown of one of his top opponents, former delegate Jennifer Carroll Foy, who had accused him of neglecting the majority-Black city during his first term.

He won in Richmond, where Sen. Jennifer McClellan had an advantage due to her strong local following.

He won in Nelson County, a hotbed of opposition to the controversial Atlantic Coast Pipeline project that earned McAuliffe the ire of activists who pressed unsuccessfully for him to block it during his first term.

He got almost 65 percent support in Fairfax County, the biggest prize in prosperous Northern Virginia.

He did just as well or better in far Southwest Virginia, a region with some of the lowest per-capita incomes in the state.

He won everywhere. Literally.

By winning the most votes in all 133 of Virginia’s cities and counties, McAuliffe’s victory exceeded the most optimistic expectations of his own campaign, even with its cash advantages and built-in name recognition.

“If you’re a McAuliffe staffer, you might just be coming down from the high,” said Quentin Kidd, director of the Wason Center for Public Policy at Christopher Newport University.

Public polls had shown McAuliffe getting around 50 percent of the vote. Unofficial results showed him exceeding 62 percent, with almost as many raw votes as Gov. Ralph Northam got in his more competitive 2017 primary contest against former congressman Tom Perriello.

“Terry was overwhelmed to receive the support of all 133 cities and counties in Virginia,” said McAuliffe spokesman Jake Rubenstein. “Each and every one of these communities mean so much to Terry and Dorothy, and their confidence in his

Terry McAuliffe campaigns for governor in Richmond. (Ned Oliver/VM) record and vision mean the world.”

McAuliffe will now face off against Republican nominee Glenn Youngkin in what’s expected to be a closely watched, expensive generalelection battle.

In a post-race memo, the Carroll Foy campaign said her distant second-place finish could be partially attributed to “historically difficult” conditions for nonincumbent candidates. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the grueling 2020 presidential campaign, the memo said, “voter exhaustion was significant.”

“It became easier to default to the person voters knew: Terry McAuliffe,” the Carroll Foy campaign wrote.

Carroll Foy earned almost 20 percent of the vote, and her campaign touted the strides she made going from little-known newcomer to statewide contender in just a few years. But she has no other elected office to return to after quitting her House of Delegates position last year to focus on running for governor and raising money.

After her third-place finish at 11.6 percent, McClellan plans to continue serving in the Senate.

Unlike Carroll Foy, she didn’t sharply attack McAuliffe in the primary contest, perhaps preserving her standing in the party moving forward. Immediately after McAuliffe’s victory, the Youngkin campaign released an ad featuring a highlight reel of Carroll Foy’s criticisms of McAuliffe as a lackluster, throwback politician.

Though McClellan and Carroll Foy competed for resources and were often grouped together as two potentially history-making Black women, some political observers say it’s an oversimplification to suggest they hopelessly split a portion of the electorate that would’ve aligned against McAuliffe.

McAuliffe and McClellan were both competing in an establishment lane, Kidd said, while Carroll Foy was competing with Del. Lee Carter, D-Manassas, more the party’s progressive wing and running against the status quo. If McClellan hadn’t been in the race, Kidd said, some of her support might have gone to McAuliffe instead.

“I don’t think it would’ve all been to Carroll Foy,” Kidd said. “And even if it did, McAuliffe still would have doubled that.”

McAuliffe was also running against several candidates trying to make the leap from the General Assembly to the top Executive Branch job, forgoing the more traditional route of running for governor after serving as attorney general or lieutenant governor.

Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax’s hopes for higher office changed abruptly in February 2019, when two women accused him of sexual assault. He adamantly denied the allegations, but his fourth-place finish Tuesday showed the scandal was too much to overcome despite his higher profile as a statewide officeholder.

With Virginia’s gubernatorial contest serving as one of the first barometers of Democratic enthusiasm, there was debate Tuesday over what to make of the primary turnout. An estimated 8 percent of registered voters participated in the Democratic primary, according to the Virginia Public Access Project, down from the 2017 spike of 9.9 percent but up from 6.4 percent in 2009.

Stephen Farnsworth, director of the University of Mary Washington’s Center for Leadership and Media Studies, said he read the numbers as “a draw.”

“Turnout was not so high that Democrats can be gleeful and not so low that Republicans can be gleeful,” Farnsworth said. “It was better than some years, worse than others.”

Kidd said he thinks Democrats can feel good about not seeing a bigger dip toward 2009 turnout levels, even if it didn’t match the 2017 levels that foretold the eventual Democratic takeover of state government. The fact that McAuliffe ran against a diverse field and still walked away with more than 60 percent of the vote, Kidd said “says a lot.”

“It’s a resounding message of support among Democrats for him,” Kidd said.

www.LEGACYnewspaper.com

A conversation: ‘Mister K’ MARIA-PAULA Local radio luminary, Calvin King, recently celebrated the 50th anniversary of his history-making start in radio. On June 1, 1971, King took to the airwaves at WHSV/ WJWS in South Hill, becoming the first black deejay at the radio station. King helmed the show “Mr. K” beginning a career that spanned a decade/several years. In observance of June as Black Music Appreciation Month, this reporter communicated with King, to better understand the history of black music and black professionals in radio and what the future may hold.

Read this space next week for our full interview and Q&A with Mr. King.

Eric Terry, left.

‘Return to Earn’ (from page 1) benefits extended through Sept.

4 and a lack of child care options.

Businesses are offering signing and referral bonuses, as well as free meals and end-of-shift cocktails at some restaurants.

Hotels and restaurants have been hit particularly hard, notes Eric Terry, president of the Virginia Restaurant, Lodging & Travel Association, who estimates that about 56,000 hotel jobs were lost in Virginia last year, prompting some workers to move on to other career fields. Another pressure point

for some employers is Virginia’s minimum wage raise from $7.25 to $9.50 per hour in May, a first step toward $12 an hour by January 2023, and the fact that Northam has set the grant program eligibility at a $15-per-hour minimum.

In response to the governor’s announcement, Terry said, “We are very disappointed that the wage level was set so far above the state minimum wage of $9.50, which was just increased last month. This will do very little to ease the labor crisis our members are feeling as the tourism and restaurant industry tries to recover.”

June 16, 2021 • 3

4 • June 16, 2021

Op/Ed & Letters

The LEGACY

System ‘needs to be broken’: Pharrell Williams launching private school in city of Norfolk

ROGER CHESLEY Virginia Beach native and multiple Grammy Award winner Pharrell Williams has announced he’ll create a private school in Norfolk initially aimed at thirdto-fifth-graders from low-income families. He will thus become the latest entertainer around the country to spearhead an alternative to traditional schools.

It will be called Yellowhab and provide tuition-free education for the original 40 to 50 students, at least for the first year. The microThe LEGACY NEWSPAPER Vol. 7 No. 25 Mailing Address P.O. Box 12474 Richmond, VA 23241 Office Address 105 1/2 E. Clay St. Richmond, VA 23219 Call: 804-644-1550 Online www.legacynewspaper.com

school, opening this fall in as-yet undisclosed location, will offer “highly personalized education that knits together transformative learning opportunities at school, at home, online and in the community,” according to a news release. Students will be picked through a lottery, and the plan is to eventually open more schools.

There will be an emphasis on science, technology, engineering, art and math — or STEAM. The idea for the school is an outgrowth of STEAM-focused summer camps that Williams started in 2008, so he’s no 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 Other states - $75 Outside U.S.- $100 The Virginia Legacy © 2020

stranger to educational leadership.

He also took a shot at the current school model, which he contends fails too many young people.

“If the system is fixed and unfair, then it needs to be broken,” Williams said bluntly in the release.

“We don’t want lockstep learning where so many kids fall behind; we want bespoke learning designed for each child, where the things that make a child different are the same things that will make a child rise up and take flight.”

Sounds a little amorphous to me.

Then again, I’ve never won a baker’s dozen of Grammys. Or boosted my hometown with an array of musical acts and other events over a weekend in 2019, thus helping to reduce the violence that Virginia Beach officials seemed powerless to prevent on previous College Beach Weekends. Or been a partner in an ongoing $325 million multi-use project at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront.

It’s disappointing that so many schools, especially public ones, are failing their students around

the country. We know the usual culprits: a lack of readiness by young students; inadequate school funding; the constant need for new construction and renovation; crowded classrooms and low teacher pay that devalues the critical roles they play. (Though the COVID-19 pandemic has forced many parents, thrust into teaching burdens at home, to re-evaluate their attitudes toward educators.)

Nor is the presence of a big-name celebrity a guarantee of success for these alternative programs, which often are charter schools. It’s easy to find results that run the gamut.

LeBron James opened an “I Promise” school in Akron, Ohio, in 2018 for some of that district’s worst student performers, and it’s gained generally positive reviews. Graduates who attend the University of Akron now have the chance to get additional financial aid under a scholarship program announced this year.

Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, however, had a rocky

(continued on page 5)

www.LEGACYnewspaper.com

P.T. Hoffsteader, Esq.

June 16, 2021 • 5

(from page 4) tenure as a co-founder of the Prime Prep Academy in Dallas, a charter school that opened in 2012. It closed in early 2015, and The Washington Post reported “the school’s brief existence was marred by crushing debt, administrative infighting and a trail of lawsuits.”

A 2018 article at voanews.com tells of forays into education by singers, athletes and others with varying results.

None of that dissuades Leon Rouson about Pharrell’s effort in Norfolk. Rouson is a professor in the School of Education at Norfolk State University, and he says the Yellowhab project is “an effort to improve educational opportunities for all” – particularly for certain populations. “You have to give credit to that effort,” said Rouson, who’s been at NSU for 17 years and is a former public school teacher.

Some celebrities believe they can help groups who previously have

struggled in the classroom, he told me this week. “They want to have some kind of impact,” Rouson said.

“It has to start with education. They grasp that.”

Pharrell envisions his small private schools to expand to other locations. And there are no plans to seek local approval or funding to make the school a public charter, a Yellowhab official told The Virginian-Pilot. Such schools have sometimes been criticized for draining the public school system of

funding and other resources..

Nor do I think this is a vanity project for the talented entertainer.

He’s put his name, talent and money behind plenty of projects that he cares about.

For the children who attend Pharrell’s schools, the experience could spark all sorts of possibilities.

For their sake, I hope the project’s an overwhelming success. - VM Chesley worked at the (Newport News) Daily Press and The (Norfolk) Virginian-Pilot from 1997 - 2018.

6 • June 16, 2021

The LEGACY

804-644-1550 (office) • 800-783-8062 (fax) ads@legacynewspaper.com June 16, 2021• 7

www.LEGACYnewspaper.com

Classifieds

AUCTIONS, LEGAL, EMPLOYMENT, FOR SALE, SERVICES

Ad Size 3.4 inches - 1 column(s) X 1.7 inches) 1 Issue - $37.40

Rate: $11 perAUCTIONS column inch

Never Pay For Covered Up to $15,000.00 of Home Repairs Again!

GUARANTEED Life Complete Care Home Insurance! No medical exam Warranty COVERS ALL or health questions. Cash other states. Affordable MAJOR SYSTEMS AND Serving Richmond &toHampton Roads AUTOS, LIGHT TRUCKS & help pay funeral and Print and Digital Solutions APPLIANCES. 30 DAY RISK P.O. Box 12474 (mailing) • 105 1/2 E. Clay St. (office) MOTORCYCLES Please review the proof, make any needed changes return by fax or e-mail. other final expenses. Call reaching yourand target FREE. $200.00 OFF 2 SOUTHSIDE PLAZA VA 23219Life Insurance Physicians If your response is notDRIVE-IN received by deadline, your maypaper not be inserted. audiences.

Calladthis FREE Months! Richmond, 1-855-677(office) • Company800-783-8062 (fax) 844-509-1697 4975 Monday, July 12, 2021 or Landon Clark at Virginia 804-644-1550 Press Services 804-521or visit www.Life55plus.info/ ads@legacynewspaper.com GatesOkopen at 9:00 AM X_________________________________________ 7576, landonc@vpa.net ATTN. CONTRACTORS: vapress Auction begins at 10:00 AM Promote your business HOME IMPROVEMENT statewide and in other Auction will include the vehicles listed Vinyl Replacement Windows Life Alert. One press of a states. Affordable Print1and Ad Size: column(s) X 7.75 below plus many others: button sendsinches) help FAST, Starting at $235* Installed Ok with changes X _____________________________ Digital Solutions to reach UNK APRILLA SCOOTER 8152720 w/Free Trim Wrap Call 80424/7! At home and on the go.

2005 CHRYSLER PACIFICA 2C8GF68405R450721 Homeowners. Call Landon 2 Issues (6/16 & 6/23) - $85.25 per ad ($170.5 total) 2011 NISSAN ALTIMA 1N4AL2AP2BN403153 739-8207 for MORE details!

Mobile Pendant with GPS. Clark at Virginia Press 2004 INFINITI FX35 JNRAS08W14X202270 Rate: $11 per column inch Ronnie Jenkins II Siding, Services 804-521-7576, 2003 INFINITI M45 JNKAY41E03M002115 FREE First Aid Kit (with Gutters More!

2007 NISSAN MURANO REMINDER: JN8AZ08W37W633087 landonc@vpa.net DeadlineRoofing, is Fridays @ 5and p.m. subscription.)

CALL 866-8701999 FORD EXPEDITION 1FMPU18L5XLA12172 Includes Internet placement 1985 CHEVROLET C10 1GCEC14C9FF346660 9845 FREE Brochure.

GENERAC Standby 2007 FORD E250 1FTNS24L97DA59941 RECRUITMENT Generators provide backup 2003 GMC ENVOY 1GKDT13S332304559 Please review the proof, make needed changes and return by fax or e-mail.

HIRING? We can help any you fill 2003 DODGE DURANGO 1D4HS48Z43F515904 power during utility power Portableyour Oxygen If your response is not received by deadline, ad may not be inserted. your open positions!

Promote 2004 CADILLAC DEVILLE 1G6KD54Y04U230553 outages, so your home Concentrator May Be 2003 SATURN L300 1G8JW54R43Y579955 job listings regionally or and family stay safe and 2004 BMW X5 5UXFB53594LV05434 Covered by Medicare! statewide!

Affordable Print Ok X_________________________________________ 2008 CHEVROLET COBALT 1G1AL58F387274550 comfortable. Prepare now.

2006 ACURA TL 19UUA66256A039195 and Digital Advertising Reclaim independence and Free 7-year extended 2003 BMW 530i WBADT53443CE94788 Solutions reaching job warranty ($695 value!). mobility with the compact 2000 TOYOTA CAMRY 4T1BG22K3YU969225 seekers. this paper or Request a free quote today!

2005 FORD FIVE HUNDRED 1FAFP26175G194127 Ok with Call changes X _____________________________ design and long-lasting 2000 CHEVROLET MALIBU 1G1ND52JXY6351335 Landon Clark at Virginia Call for additional terms and battery of Inogen One. Free 2006 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE 1J4GR48K56C242866 conditions. 1-877-636-0738 Press Services 804-5212008 LINCOLN TOWN CAR 2LNHM84W98X642245 information kit! Call 888-6087576, landonc@vpa.net 2002 MERCEDES BENZ E320 WDBJF82J12X063060 REMINDER: Deadline4974 is Fridays @ 5 p.m.

2008 FORD FUSION 3FAHP081X8R239911 The Generac PWRcell, a 2008 CHEVROLET UPLANDER 1GNDV33188D201066 solar plus battery storage SERVICES 1997 JEEP CHEROKEE 1J4GZ58SXVC749735 system. SAVE money, reduce DIVORCE-Uncontested, 2004 HONDA ACCORD 1HGCM55744A113410 WANTED TO BUY 2013 FORD FUSION 3FA6P0H7XDR106099 your reliance on the grid, $395+$86 court cost.

OR TRADE 2004 VOLVO S60 YV1RS61T542382866 prepare for power outages WILLS-$225.00. No court 1997 HONDA ACCORD 1HGCD5609VA148883 FREON WANTED: We and power your home.

2003 BUICK CENTURY 2G4WS52J531194455 appearance. Estimated pay $$$ for cylinders 2005 NISSAN ALTIMA 1N4AL11D25C240049 Full installation services completion time twenty-one 2007 HONDA ACCORD 1HGCM66517A039287 available. $0 Down Financing and cans. R12 R500 R11 2006 DODGE RAM 1500 1D7HA16N06J184180 days. Hilton Oliver, Attorney Option. Request a FREE, no R113 R114. Convenient.

(Facebook).

757-490obligation, quote today. Call Certified Professionals.

0126.

Se Habla Espanol.

1-833-688-1378 BBB Member. https:// Call 312-291-9169 or visit hiltonoliverattorneyva.com.

RefrigerantFinders.com Eliminate gutter cleaning forever! LeafFilter, the most advanced debrisblocking gutter protection.

Schedule a FREE SEIBERT’S is now accepting LeafFilter estimate today. vehicles on consignment!

15% off Entire Purchase.

Reasonable Seller’s Fees.

CU00012453- Procurement 0615 10% Senior & Military HAMPTON SOLICITATION 642 W. Southside Plaza Dr. Discounts. Call 1-877614-6667 Richmond

PUBLIC AUCTION of ATTN. AUCTIONEERS: Advertise your upcoming Unclaimed Vehicles Includes Internet placement auctions statewide and in 200+/- IMPOUNDED

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

(804) 233-5757

WWW.SEIBERTSTOWING.COM VA AL # 2908-000766

Advertise here 804-644-1550 ads@legacynewspaper.com

Dont let the stairs limit your mobility! Discover the ideal solution for anyone who struggles on the stairs, is concerned about a fall or wants to regain access to their entire home. Call AmeriGlide today!

1-888-510-0805

CITY OF HAMPTON Wednesday, July 07, 2021

2:00 p.m. ET – RFP 22-06/CLP Entry Level Fire Recruit Written Testing Services For all forms or additional information, see our web page at https://www.hampton.gov/bids-contracts or call (757)727-2200.

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

Pleas If you

Final Expenses Check this off your to-do list!

Guaranteed, modified whole life coverage from Physicians Life Insurance Company that’s affordable and easy to get. This extra measure of protection can make a world of difference to your family — up to $15,000.00 • Guaranteed acceptance for ages 45 to 85* • No medical exam! No health questions!

• Lock in your rate for life Call for a FREE, no-obligation Information Kit. You’ll receive a FREE Final Wishes Planner just for calling!

1-844-971-0579 >> www.life55plus.info/legacy

*Ages may vary by state. Guaranteed for one of these life insurance policies. Benefits reduced first two years.

Insurance Policy L770 (ID: L770ID; OK: L770OK; TN: L770TN).

6238