Restoring votes for returning citizens

Free Press staff report

Members of the New Virginia Majority, Virginia NAACP, League of Women Voters of Virginia, Virginia Organizing, ACLU of Virginia, and Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy, along with Del. Don Scott, House Minority Leader, and Sen. Mamie Locke participated in a press conference at the Bell Tower in Capitol Square to speak against the current rights restoration process of the current administration.

Virginia’s three previous administrations have worked toward a more streamlined rights restoration process, which have helped innumerable returning citizens regain their civil rights, including serving on a jury,

Department of Conservation and Recreation to support the purchase. The city’s full cost for the purchase was not disclosed.

The plan is for the island, once a summer recreation area and home to minor league baseball in Richmond, become part of James River Park.

The city first set a goal of buying and incorporating the island into its park system in 1982 as part of its planning for the riverfront.

In an updated 2012 riverfront plan that also included acquisition as a goal, the city described the island as “strategically located to serve communities on both the north and south sides of the river as a premier regional public open space.” fordable housing units.

Council President Michael J. Jones, 9th District, said the resolution hopefully would push the administration and the council to be “proactive and creative to ensure that teachers, restaurant employees, domestic workers and other working people can live in the city” and it can be attractive to college running for office, serving as a notary and the right to vote, stated members of various organizations and state legislators.

“Continuing to disenfranchise returning citizens continues to punish them by denying their access to the democratic process. The process that was a pathway to becoming a productive member of society was not broken, and needs to be reinstated as quickly as possible,” said Tram Nguyen, co-executive director of New Virginia Majority.

Duane Edwards, a member of the Virginia Organizing State Governing Board who had his rights restored in 2014, said, “An individual’s civil rights shouldn’t be political. For the last 13 years, Virginia had a fluid process for restoration of rights that had clear instructions. Now the governor has closed the door and Virginians don’t even know what the process is for getting their rights back.”

“The significant reduction of restoring felons’ rights to vote is a step backward and undoes the previous work that granted thousands of Virginians who served their time a second chance,” said Robert N. Barnette Jr., president, Virginia NAACP.

By Jeremy M. Lazarus Lamont Bagby

is officially a state senator.

On Tuesday, the 46-year-old Democrat took the oath of office and became the new representative for the 9th Senate District, the final step in the process following his victory in a special election March 28. His ceremonial installation took place a day before the General Assembly reconvened to deal with Gov. Glenn A. Youngkin’s vetoes and amendments to legislation.

Sen. Bagby took over the seat previously held by now Democratic U.S. 4th District Congresswoman Jennifer L. McClellan and will fill out the final nine months of her

Expelled Black lawmaker Pearson to return to Tennessee House

The Associated Press MEMPHIS, Tenn.

The second of two Black Democrats expelled from the Republican-led Tennessee House will return to the legislature after a Memphis, Tenn., commission voted to reinstate him Wednesday, nearly a week after his banishment for supporting gun control protesters propelled him into the national spotlight.

Hundreds of supporters marched Justin Pearson through Memphis to the Shelby County Board of Commissioners meeting, chanting and cheering before entering the commission chambers, where officials quickly voted 7-0 to restore him to his position.

“The message for all the people in Nashville who decided to expel us: You can’t expel hope. You can’t expel justice,” Rep. Pearson said at the meeting, his voice rising as he spoke. “You can’t expel our voice. And you sure can’t

The Associated Press Justin Pearson celebrates Wednesday with supporters after being reinstated to the Tennessee House of Representatives by the Shelby County Board of Commissioners in Memphis, Tenn. Republicans expelled Rep. Pearson and Rep. Justin Jones last week over their role in a gun control protest on the House floor after a Nashville school shooting left three children and three adults dead.

A trio of Richmond-based financial operations have been collectively awarded $10.5 million from the U.S. Treasury to advance their service to low- and moderate-income communities.

Among the recipients is RVA Financial Federal Credit Union, whose membership includes City Hall and Richmond Public Schools employees. RVA Financial was awarded $4.96 million, according to the Treasury Department’s announcement on Monday.

Separately, the Virginia Community Development Fund, which supports creation of and manages affordable housing communities, received $4.71 million, while Virginia Community Capital, a real estate, small business and community lender, received $895,000, the Treasury Department stated.

The awards are part of a historic $1.73 billion that the Treasury stated it would distribute to 603 community development financial institutions (CDFIs) across the country to enable them to increase resources flowing into primarily minority communities to aid pandemic recovery.

“These grants will enable hundreds of community lenders to invest in small businesses and entrepreneurs and also provide home loans for families, financial services for nonprofits and capital for community organizations,” Vice President Kamala Harris stated in announcing the awards with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

City Council on Monday cleared the way for a pilot Pathways scholarship proposed by Mayor Levar M. Stoney that would cover tuition and provide a monthly stipend to Richmond high school graduates attending Reynolds Community College.

The council authorized the Stoney administration to award $1.75 million of unexpended funds from the 2021-22 fiscal year that ended on June 30 to the nonprofit Great Aspirations Scholarship Program, which will distribute the funds in partnership with the city and Reynolds.

GRASP already works with students in city high schools on planning for college, and this would be an additional tool for the organization that has been helping students seek scholarships and prepare for college costs since its establishment in 1983 by the late Republican state Sen. Walter Stosch and educator Ray Gargiulo.

The purpose of the new scholarship program is to remove financial barriers for young people from income-challenged families to enroll in certificate and two-year programs that could lead to higher-paying jobs, the mayor has said.

Mayor Stoney has expressed hope that the one-time city contribution would be matched by major local corporations, such as Altria and Dominion, as well as area foundations to extend the life of the program.

The details of the scholarship initiative are still being worked out, the council was told prior to the vote. The goal is to have the program underway by the fall semester.

Dr. Terricita Sass, a Reynolds vice president, told council that the scholarship program would open the door to individuals who might not have considered the college’s varied career development and training programs.

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

Laura K. Drewry is the new city attorney and first woman to hold City Hall’s top legal post.

City Council on Monday voted unanimously to promote the veteran city lawyer to a post that is equivalent to attorney general for city government. She will lead a staff of 18 attorneys who represent all elements of the government, including council, the Mayor’s Office, all administrative departments and all boards, commissions and agencies, including the transit and retirement systems and the public libraries.

Saying, “I am honored and appreciate the opportunity,” Ms. Drewry was immediately sworn in as the replacement for Haskell C. Brown III, who retired after being arrested for drunken driving earlier this year.

A graduate of the George Mason University Law School, Ms. Drewry joined the office in 2006 and previously was one of five deputy city attorneys.

Her role as deputy included managing civil litigation, particularly in the areas of employment and workers compensation. She also has been the primary legal representative for the fire department, GRTC, human resources, the Richmond Library Board, the Richmond Personnel Board and the Richmond Retirement Board.

The Associated Press

The politically divided Virginia General Assembly has convened in Richmond to work through scores of Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s proposed amendments to legislation during a one-day session.

The legislature could also challenge the Republican governor’s three vetoes Wednesday.

Of the 819 measures the General Assembly sent to Gov.Youngkin during the regular session that ended in late February, the governor signed 738 into law and proposed amendments to 78. Some of the changes lawmakers are set to take up Wednesday are small or technical; for other measures

Gov. Youngkin sought a more wholesale rewrite.

Lawmakers won’t be voting on the full state budget bill, as negotiators have yet to reach a deal.

In one of its first actions, the state Senate honored Abigail Zwerner, a Newport News first-grade teacher who was shot and wounded by a 6-year-old student in

January.