Trump charged with 34 felony counts in hush money scheme

The Associated Press NEW YORK

A stone-faced Donald Trump made a momentous courtroom appearance Tuesday when he was confronted with a 34-count felony indictment charging him in a scheme to bury allegations of extramarital affairs that arose during his first White House campaign.

The arraignment in a Manhattan courtroom was a stunning — and humbling — spectacle for the first ex-president to ever face criminal charges. With Mr. Trump watching in silence, prosecutors bluntly accused him of criminal conduct and set the stage for a possible criminal trial in the city where he became a celebrity decades ago.

The indictment centers on allegations that Mr. Trump falsified internal business records at his private company while trying to

Cityscape

Henrico to offer free instruction on CPR, AEDs

Free Press staff report

Henrico County will hold a series of open houses from April 15 through 26 to teach residents to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and use an automated external defibrillator (AED) to potentially save the life of someone in cardiac arrest. More than 356,000 cardiac arrests occur outside a hospital in the U.S. each year, according to the American Heart Association.

“We are excited to be able to give our residents an opportunity to learn and practice skills that could potentially help them save someone’s life,” said Jenn Welch, emergency management coordinator for the Department of Emergency Management and Workplace Safety. “In cardiac emergencies, every second counts. Our community will be stronger and safer if we have knowledgeable residents who can step in during an emergency and render aid until first responders arrive.”

The open houses are free, with no registration required. Participants will receive instruction in noncertification CPR, which involves the delivery of chest compressions.

Each open house will include an opportunity for questions and a demonstration, which will allow participants to practice chest compressions on a mannequin and follow the prompts of an automated external defibrillator. Each portion will last about 15 minutes and be offered continuously during the two-hour open houses, allowing participants to arrive and leave at their convenience. The sessions are sponsored by the Henrico Department of Emergency Management and Workplace Safety in partnership with Community Safety and Response Educators

The open houses will be held these locations:

Saturday,April15,10a.m.-noon, pickleball courts at Pouncey Tract Park, 4747 Pouncey Tract Road;

Wednesday, April 19, 5-7 p.m., Deep Run Recreation Center, 9900 Ridgefield Parkway;

Wednesday, April 19, 5-7 p.m., Dorey Park Recreation Center, 2999 Darbytown Road;

Wednesday, April 19, 5-7 p.m., Hidden Creek Recreation Center, 2417 Brockway Lane;

Saturday, April 22, 10 a.m.noon, Lakeside Volunteer Rescue Squad, 2007 Timberlake Ave.;

Saturday, April 22, 10 a.m.noon, Sandston Branch Library, 23 E. Williamsburg Road;

Wednesday, April 26, 5-7 p.m., Glen Allen Branch Library, 10501 Staples Mill Road; and

Wednesday, April 26, 5-7 p.m., Tuckahoe Area Library, 1901 Starling Drive.

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

Stoney

Even as Mayor Levar M.

and City Council revive a citizen commission to help Richmond eliminate slaverydefending Confederate names from streets and bridges, the city Department of Public Utilities has created a new shrine to fallen Civil War rebels.

DPU has spent more than $16,000 to create the shrine on the grounds of its substation in the 2400 block of Wise Street in South Side, according to department records.

April Bingham, DPU director, did not respond to Free Press requests for comment about the activity that was undertaken without any apparent review or approval from the council or elements of city government that are charged with considering alterations to public property.

Ornamental fencing now surrounds a marker the United Daughters of the Confederacy placed on the site in 1939 to remember 100 South Carolina Confederate soldiers who died at a makeshift Civil War hospital that once filled the home at 2408 Wise St., across from the marker.

A bench costing $1,068 has been placed in the enclosure facing the marker and remains covered with wrapping.

At the time it was installed more than 73 years ago, the city promised to maintain the marker in perpetuity. However, the Virginia Supreme Court has ruled that such promises are unenforceable.

Michael “Mike” Sarahan, a community

It is not clear why the Confederate marker has been allowed to remain. DPU, itself, has stated that the marker is not located where anyone was buried. DPU information on the Wise Street substation states that the department “relocated the graves to the rear of the site several decades prior to erecting the utility building,” meaning there are no dead bodies on the grounds.

The department’s action appears to counter efforts of the mayor and the council to eliminate the last vestiges of the Confederacy from city property.

At the March 27 meeting, council approved the mayor’s plan to revive the History and Culture Commission that was launched in 2018 to advise on dealing with the city’s Confederate statues, but largely remained a paper advisory group.

Most of the statues were removed in 2020 during an outbreak of protests over police brutality, though the final one did not come down until two years later due to legal complications. Confederate markers also were removed, notably one at the Manchester Courthouse that Mr. Sarahan had lobbied for the city to eliminate.

The revived commission is to have nine members, five appointed by the mayor and four by the council, according to the newly passed ordinance.

Once the advocate who has pushed for removal of the Wise Street marker along with others, has been raising concern about the shrine development, seeing it as flouting the new city policy of removing Confederate memorials from public spaces.