Richmond Free Press August 10-12, 2023 edition

Hot and unhoused Richmond Free Press

Millions struggle to pay AC bills in heat waves

The Associated Press DENVER

Bobbie Boyd is in a losing battle against near triple-digit temperatures in Northwest Arkansas.

and, like several hundred other homeless people, must find his own place to lay his head at night out of sight of authorities who would push him to leave.

He said he found a wooded spot in North Side where he

The Associated Press

Her window air conditioner runs nonstop and the ballooning electric bill carves about $240 out of her $882-a-month fixed income. So the 57-year-old cuts other necessities.

Ms. Boyd eats one meal a day so her 15-year-old grandson, who she’s raising alone, can have two. She stopped paying car insurance and skips medical appointments.

“The rent and the light bill. And I’m broke,” said Ms. Boyd, who needs the cooling to stave off her heat-induced

City’s

Charter

Review Commission releases report

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

After eight months of work, a commission set up to review Richmond’s constitution or City Charter has stopped short of recommending a major overhaul of the city’s form of government.

The nine-member commission determined that more study would be needed for any proposal to return to the city councilcity manager form of government in which the mayor would be directly elected and serve as council’s presiding officer.

The commission also tabled a recommendation for shrinking the council from nine to six members.

The final report includes discussion “of a more comprehensive reset for city government,” said Dr. Thad Williamson, the associate University of Richmond professor and former city official who led the commission.

Library workshop details new laws about expungement reform

Electoral Board reverses decision after earlier action ruled illegal

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

The Richmond Electoral Board, as anticipated, voted last Friday at a special meeting to reverse course and open two more sites for in-person early voting that will begin next month 45 days ahead of the Nov. 7 general election for General Assembly seats.

Instead of remaining shuttered, the Hickory Hill Community Center in South Side and City Hall in Downtown this time secured board support to serve as early voting sites, joining the voting headquarters site, the Office of Elections at 2134 W. Laburnum Avenue in North Side.

All three sites will open Friday, Sept. 22, and operate from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays, according to Voter Registrar Keith G. Balmer. The three sites will be open as well on Oct. 28 and Nov. 4, the final two Saturdays before Election Day. None of the sites will offer Sunday voting, he stated.

Mr. Williamson

However, he said the council would need to appoint another commission to delve into such issues to ensure they are fully considered and that any proposal would “fully comply with relevant state and federal voting rights laws.”

That decision dampens hopes of some council members who have privately advocated for a return to the council-manager government and pushed for creation of the commission in hopes of bringing an end to the separation of powers that the current mayor-council form created in 2005.

Council voted in March 2022 to set up the commission to conduct a comprehensive review of the Charter that mostly dates to 1948, but dawdled on appointing the members, keeping the commission from starting up until November.

Some significant changes are included in the commission report that was delivered to council last week.

The council could set them aside or send some or all to the General Assembly, which must pass any proposals before the Charter changes can become effective.

One key item: A recommendation of higher pay for the mayor and for council members.

Please turn to A4

Richmond fireman Rodney Jermaine Coles, 49, dies

Free press staff report

The Richmond Fire Department has announced the death of a 15-year veteran, Rodney Jermaine “Cup” Coles.

Mr. Coles “experienced a sudden medical emergency and did not recover,” the department stated in a release mourning his loss.

His death occurred Friday, Aug. 4, 2023, the same day the former corrections officer joined the city Fire Department in 2008.

According to State Police, the 49-year-old Petersburg resident was driving on Interstate 95 and inexplicably ran off the road and struck bushes at mile marker 58 in Chesterfield County. He was pronounced dead at an area hospital.

Bobbie Boyd talks Aug. 9about this summer’s heat in her apartment that she shares with her 15-year-old grandson, Jeremiah Williams, in Fayetteville, Ark. On a fixed income, Ms. Boyd sacrifices meals, health care, and car insurance among other necessities, to pay rent and keep cool in the midst of this summer’s prolonged heat waves.

Photos by Darlene Johnson/Richmond Free Press Nearly two dozen people attended a July 15 expungement workshop to

Federal aid reaches only a fraction

COVID-19 hospitalizations show slight increase

By George Copeland Jr.

Local and national health officials are reminding the public to stay safe during the summer season amid record high temperatures and a small but noticeable increase in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.

Cases in Virginia have been on the rise recently, with diagnosed cases increasing from 593 during the week of June 24 to 1,249 during the week of July 29. Local health officials are unsure if this trend will continue, but are keeping watch regardless.

“It’s challenging to know if this increase will be ongoing or fall back down, we’ll have to continue to monitor the trend,” said Louise Lockett Gordon, epidemiology supervisor for Richmond and Henrico health districts. “Since 2020, we have tended to see lower volumes of COVID-19 illness in summer months compared to winter months.”

Officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also noted an uptick in recent hospitalizations weeks earlier, rising by 12.1% as of July 22, alongside increases in emergency department visits, test positivity and viral detection in wastewater.

While CDC officials speculated that it could be part of a late summer wave, they also note that the numbers so far remain a far cry from the heights seen in the previous summers. There are also no plans to change current CDC health recommendations in response, as they continue to monitor the situation.

Michelle Doll, the system hospital epidemiologist for VCU Health, believes the rise in cases and hospitalizations recently seen is likely due to the gatherings and celebrations that tend to occur during the summer season.

“We are now back to travel as it was before the pandemic, the theme parks, water parks are packed, the beaches are packed,” Dr. Doll said. “I think there is more opportunity to be around a lot of other people and opportunity for exposure.”

Dr. Doll and Ms. Gordon recommended the public stay updated on their COVID-19 and flu vaccinations and boosters, and encouraged the usage of masks and social distancing to help avoid any potential spread.

New vaccines focusing on the latest omicron subvariant, XBB.1.5, are set to be released in September.

Free community testing for COVID-19 continues

The Richmond and Henrico County health districts are offering testing at the following locations:

• Thursday, Aug. 10, 1 to 5 p.m. - Henrico Arms Apartments, 1566 Edgelawn Circle.; 4 to 6 p.m. - Fulton Neighborhood Resource Center, 1519 Williamsburg Road

• Friday, Aug. 11, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. - Southside Women, Infant and Children Office, 509 E. Southside Plaza

Call the Richmond and Henrico COVID-19 Hotline at (804) 205-3501 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday for more information on testing sites, or go online at vax.rchd. com.

The Virginia Department of Health also has a list of COVID-19 testing locations around the state at www.vdh. virginia.gov/coronavirus/covid-19-testing/covid-19-testingsites.

Want a COVID-19 vaccine or booster shot?

The Richmond and Henrico health districts are offering free vaccines for COVID-19 and more at the following locations:

• Thursday, Aug. 10, 1 to 4 p.m. - Cary St. Fast Track Clinic, 400 East Cary St., TDAP, Meningitis and HPV shots. Walk-ups welcome, but appointments encouraged.

• Tuesday, Aug. 15, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. - Henrico East Fast Track Clinic, 1400 N. Laburnum Ave., TDAP, Meningitis and HPV shots. Walk-ups welcome, but appointments encouraged.

• Wednesday, Aug. 16, 10 a.m. to Noon - Henrico West Health Department, 8600 Dixon Powers Drive, Bivalent Moderna boosters for ages 6 years and older, Bivalent Pfizer boosters for ages 5 years and older, Novavax primary shots for ages 12 and older, JYNNEOS shots and Moderna/Pfizer baby bivalent boosters; 1 to 4 p.m.Henrico West Fast Track Clinic, 8600 Dixon Powers Drive, TDAP, Meningitis and HPV shots. Walk-ups welcome, but appointments encouraged.

People can schedule an appointment online at vase.vdh. virginia.gov, vaccinate.virginia.gov or vax.rchd.com, or by calling (804) 205-3501 or (877) VAX-IN-VA (1-877-829-4682). VaccineFinder.org and vaccines.gov also allow people to find nearby pharmacies and clinics that offer the COVID-19 vaccine and booster.

Those who are getting a booster shot should bring their vaccine card to confirm the date and type of vaccine received. RHHD also offers at-home vaccinations by calling (804) 2053501 to schedule appointments.

The Pfizer booster is approved for ages 12 and up, while the new Moderna booster is for ages 18 and older.

As with previous COVID-19 boosters, the new doses can only be received after an initial two vaccine shots, and those who qualify are instructed to wait at least two months after their second COVID-19 vaccine.

The Richmond and Henrico Health Districts also offer bivalent Pfizer and Moderna boosters to children between the ages of 5 and 11. Children in this age range will be eligible after at least two months since their last vaccine dose.

Compiled by George Copeland Jr.

City hires urban forester

Free Press staff report

Michael Webb is the City’s first urban forester. Mr. Webb will work with the community to develop the City’s Urban Forestry Master Plan. In addition to creating policies, practices and procedures, the master plan will:

• Boost community engagement and public awareness

• Improve transparency

• Provide maintenance that focuses on preventive measures geared toward extending the lives of trees

• Utilize an equity-based approach to tree maintenance, planting, and removal

• Increase the number of trees planted in underserved communities

• Expand the overall canopy in the city

Mr. Webb has a degree in urban forestry from Virginia Tech, and is an ISA board-certified master arborist and is tree risk assessment qualified.

For more information on the Department of Public Works, please visit to www.rva.gov/public-works or email at AskPublicWorks@rva.gov

Cityscape

Slices of life and scenes in Richmond

say

The Associated Press

NEWPORT NEWS

In the moments after a 6-year-old shot his teacher in a Virginia classroom last January, the boy made statements, including “I shot that (expletive) dead,” and “I did it. I got my mom’s gun last night,” according to recently unsealed police search warrants.

The new court documents in the city of Newport News offer fresh details regarding a shooting that critically wounded a first grade teacher and shocked the nation.

The teacher, Abby Zwerner, survived despite being shot in the hand and chest and is suing Newport News Public Schools for $40 million. The 6-year-old’s mother, Deja Taylor, was charged with felony child neglect and a misdemeanor count of reckless storage of a firearm. A plea hearing for Ms. Taylor’s case is set for next week.

The search warrants, which were unsealed after six months, said a reading specialist at Richneck Elementary was walking by Ms. Zwerner’s classroom when she heard a gunshot.

“Several children ran out of classroom #11,” the warrants stated. The reading specialist then saw Ms. Zwerner run past while bleeding from her hand and upper torso.

The specialist entered Ms. Zwerner’s classroom and saw the boy standing by his desk with the handgun on the floor nearby, the warrants stated. The specialist grabbed the child and held him in place until police arrived.

“While restraining him, (the child) made statements like, ‘I shot that (expletive) dead.’ And ‘I did it.’ ‘I got my mom’s gun last night,’ ” the warrants said.

When police arrived, they found a loaded 9mm handgun on the classroom floor and eventually found a spent shall casing nearby, the search warrants stated.

Ms. Zwerner was later interviewed at the hospital. She told investigators that, before the shooting, she had broken up her first-grade class into reading groups following recess.

The 6-year-old boy was standing by his desk when he pulled a gun from his jacket pocket and pointed it at Ms. Zwerner, who asked the child, “What are you doing with that?”

The 6-year-old “paused and then fired one shot that struck Ms. Zwerner in her left hand and upper torso,” the warrants said.

Newport News investigators also interviewed the child’s mother at police headquarters.

“Ms. Taylor stated she either stores her firearm in her purse with a trigger lock in place or in a lock box,” the warrants said. “Ms. Taylor believes on the morning of Jan. 6, 2023 that her firearm was stored in her purse with the trigger lock in place and that her purse was on top of her bedroom dresser. Ms. Taylor stated she keeps the key for the gunlock under her bedroom mattress.”

In their search warrants, Newport News police had also sought to search the boy’s

backpack, which had black and white checkers and images of sharks. His initials were written on it in black ink.

Police also seized a notebook with starfish that belonged to Ms. Zwerner as well as a laptop and a manilla folder labeled with the name of the boy who shot her, according to the search warrants.

Ms. Zwerner’s $40 million lawsuit accuses the school system of gross negligence and describes a series of warnings that school employees gave administrators in the hours before the shooting. Her lawsuit also claims that school officials dismissed concerns about the boy’s violent behavior over the course of months.

The School Board has pushed back, arguing in court documents that the boy was being evaluated and treated for possible ADHD — which causes inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity, while state and federal laws call for keeping such children in the classroom when possible.

Going green with RVA Urban Ag Kickoff

Urban agriculture and the benefits of a sustainable community will be the focus of a new event in Richmond on Thursday, Aug.17, as the inaugural RVA Urban Ag Kickoff is set to be held at Miles Jones Elementary School at 200 Beaufont Hills Drive from 1 to 3 p.m.

The event will bring free food, farming resources and materials, and potential connection with farmers, friends, and neighbors to Richmonders, courtesy of collaboration between the United States Department of Agriculture and the Virginia

State University Small Farm Outreach Program.

The kickoff is also one part of the Virginia Cooperative Extension, a joint program between local, state and federal organizations which seeks to promote agricultural initiatives, sustainability and improving community well-being.

Those interested can register at www.ext.vsu.edu/ events/2023/08/17-rva-urbanag-kickoff. More information can be found at the VSU College of Agriculture’s social media pages.

Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press

Seventy-three years ago, 10 men made history as the first Black firefighters in Richmond. In 2021 artists Sir James Thornhill, Jason Ford and Kevin Orlosky paid tribute to the firefighters with a mural painted on the wall of Mocha Temple on North 2nd Street in Jackson Ward. Charles L. Belle, William E. Brown, Douglas P. Evans, Harvey S. Hicks II, Warren W. Kersey, Bernard C. Lewis, Farrar Lucas, Arthur L. Page, Arthur C. St. John and Linwood M. Wooldridge manned Engine Company No. 9 in September in 1950, according to published reports.

A 6-year-old said ‘I did it’ after shooting his teacher at Virginia school, warrants

The inaugural RVA Urban Ag Kickoff! presented by the Department of Agriculture and the Virginia State University Small Farm Outreach Program is on Aug. 17 at Miles Jones Elementary School.

Councilwoman urges City to open shelter for disabled people, families and children

Continued from A1 camps out, but he refused permission to be photographed or have his camp photographed because he said he has been forced to leave other places.

“But it’s not like I can turn on the air conditioning,” he said. “I’m just hoping something will change and more shelter beds will open.”

So does Fifth District City Councilwoman Stephanie A. Lynch, chair of council’s Education and Human Services Committee.

With the support of colleagues, she just authored a memorandum outlining homeless services initiatives the council would like to see implemented by Mayor Levar M. Stoney’s administration, which already has rejected the committee’s call to open a summer shelter for the disabled and for families with children.

As has been the case for several years, the top priority, according to the memo the council issued July 28, is the creation of a year-round shelter where those who are admitted could get counseling and connection to housing resources, including the city’s rapid re-housing program.

In response to the memo, the Stoney administration, which has about $4.35 million to spend, is poised to deliver a plan to “comprehensively expand the safety net” of shelter and other services to assist the homeless to the council in early September, according to Lincoln Saunders, the city’s chief administrative officer.

One focus of the plan is expected to be on having shelters in place for the rapidly approaching winter to keep homeless people from freezing to death when the network of nonprofit shelters is full. Last winter, the city struggled to get additional shelter space open.

“We have reviewed several sites and providers and are evaluating the most viable options” as well as gathering cost estimates, he wrote in his own memo.

He stated that the potential shelter sites that the city is considering might require special use zoning permits as well as a memorandum of understanding with the private organizations that would operate the venues.

Mr. Saunders also stated that another crucial element of the city plan involves the development of a “coordinated entry process for those with the most urgent and serious needs.” The city would not go it alone, he added, but would work with the regional homeless services network, called the Greater Richmond Continuum of Care or GRCOC, to improve the entry process that city would mostly use federal grants to pay for.

The initiative he outlined would apparently build on the current entry process, which primarily operates through a dedicated phone line, (804) 972-0813, manned by representatives from homeless shelters.

However, Mr. Saunders cautioned that any last-resort shelter operations that the city contracts with private groups to open would not link clients to rapid re-housing, which he said is the province of the existing shelters in the region that do operate year-round.

Some advocates remain skeptical that Mr. Saunders efforts will result in a year-round shelter, pointing to several examples of initiatives that have not gotten off the ground.

Three years ago, the city ordered Padow’s Deli to move out of a prime first-floor space in City Hall to make way for a one-stop housing resources center, but that center has never opened.

In addition, a regional effort to use a collective $11 million in federal funding to buy a hotel or motel for a combination shelter and resource center also has gone nowhere. Richmond

and the counties of Chesterfield and Henrico have jointly agreed instead to use their individual pots of federal grant dollars to develop permanent supportive housing in their respective localities instead of a regional shelter.

Other priorities listed in the city memo include beefing up the city’s Family Crisis Fund that is administered by the nonprofit HumanKind, formerly Presbyterian Homes and Family Services.

The fund, which seeks to stave off evictions and utility cutoffs, was created to provide the cash that individuals and families lack. The fund already has received $2 million from the city, but council wants an additional $700,000.

Mr. Saunders stated in his memo that the city already has added $600,000 and would soon add an additional $250,000.

The council also wants the administration to increase the cap on payments HumanKind can make to help families avoid eviction and utility cutoffs from $2,500 to $5,000 and more aggressive marketing to increase the number of people applying for assistance.

In addition, the council is calling on the administration to provide $120,000 to enable Daily Planet to continue its counseling program for the homeless through November, which Ms. Lynch describes as a trusted, critical service.

Mr. Saunders stated that “our comprehensive package” to be presented next month “will propose expansions for flexible intervention funding like the Family Crisis Fund, housing navigators, street outreach and case management and as well as a site for information and referral.”

In partnership with members of GRCOC, he concluded that the aim of the city’s plan would be to “bolster the array of community services to help persons either avoid or quickly exit homelessness.”

Millions struggle to pay AC bills in heat waves

asthma attacks.

Compared to food stamps, which reach over 80% of the eligible population nationwide, the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEAP, falls far short even as climate change helped make July Earth’s hottest month on record and air conditioning becomes a means of survival.

That’s because most states run out of their federal funding every year, according to the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the program.

“We’re likely to see the energy insecure population grow unless we have some pretty significant and substantial government intervention,” said Michelle Graff, who studies the federal subsidy at Cleveland State University.

As it stands, many states don’t even offer the assistance for summer months, and those that do often run out of funds before the hottest days roll around. The program was founded decades ago with a focus on winter heating bills and has been slow to adapt to climate change’s hotter summers.

President Biden has promoted LIHEAP as “crucial for lowincome families to help with their energy bills,” saying last week that during the sweltering summer, “even when the heat is over, many of our families may see their largest-ever energy bill.”

On a visit Tuesday, President Biden told a crowd north of Phoenix — where residents endured 31 straight days above 110 degrees in which at least 18 people died indoors without air conditioning — that “extreme heat is America’s No. 1 weatherrelated killer.”

Still, in Arizona, the nation’s hottest state where roughly 650,000 low-income households qualify for the federal energy help for cooling assistance, only about 11,600 actually received it, according to the federal data.

Samira Burns, a Health and Human Services official, said in a statement that the Biden administration doubled the LIHEAP budget through the American Rescue Plan and that HHS has updated

Electoral Board reverses decision after earlier action ruled illegal

Continued from A1

The board led by Republican C. Starlet Stevens voted 2-1 at a July meeting to only open the Laburnum Avenue site to save money given the prospects for a small turnout.

But as the Free Press reported last week, the board had to hold this fresh vote after City Attorney Laura K. Drewry issued an opinion that the vote to keep the two satellite early-voting sites closed was illegal under state law. City Council in 2020 had determined both Hickory Hill and City Hall would be satellite sites for early voting, Ms. Drewry informed the board, and she noted that board no longer had authority to change that decision.

The board does have authority to set days of operation and to the disappointment of voting advocates, declined to open inperson early voting on Sundays given the turnout projections.

Richmond fireman Rodney Jermaine Coles, 49, dies

Continued from A1

Mr. Coles was born on Nov. 8, 1973. He was educated in the Lunenburg County Public School System and was a graduate of Central High School Class of 1992. Mr. Coles loved the outdoors, fishing, golfing, softball and hunting. He was also a “die-hard” Dallas Cowboy fan, according to his online obituary.

Mr. Coles was dedicated throughout his tenure as a public safety officer. He served various public emergency services, Central State Hospital Forensic Unit, Popular Springs Hospital, and the Department of Corrections, for 18 years. His final contribution to the community was his employment with the Department of Fire and Emergency Services and was planning to celebrate his 15th anniversary serving his community as a firefighter, according to his online obituary.

Mr. Coles is survived by his wife, Amy Coles; two daughters Rachelle Bragg and Jazzmen Pope; parents Daniel and Zelda Coles; two brothers, Daniel L. Coles and Calvin Coles; one sister, Natasha Coles; and two grandchildren Riley and Reign Fagbemi. Funeral services will take place 1 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 13, at the Altria Theater in Richmond. Burial will follow at Oak Grove Baptist Church in Kenbridge. A public viewing will take place 12 to 3 p.m. Aug. 12, at the Petersburg Chapel of the Joseph M. Johnson and Son Funeral Home, and from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Third Baptist Church, 550 Farmer St. in Petersburg.

guidance to help states target support during extreme heat.

“The Biden-Harris administration has prioritized ensuring that eligible households seek and receive the utility assistance they need,” she said. “We know we must continue to do all that we can.”

Just outside Phoenix five years ago, the death of 72-year-old Stephanie Pullman on a sweltering day after her electricity was cut off because of a $51 unpaid bill brought attention to the danger heat poses to people who are energy insecure.

While Arizona power companies are now banned from cutting off customers during the hottest months, last year nearly 3 million people had their power disconnected for failing to pay bills — a third within the three hottest summer months, according to data collected by the Energy Justice Lab.

“In the more extreme, but not at all rare circumstance, the risk is death,” said Sanya Carley, who studies energy policy at the University of Pennsylvania and is co-director of the Energy Justice Lab.

When Candace Griffin of Houston received disconnection notices this summer, she scrambled to keep the electricity flowing by seeking nonprofit assistance to pay monthly bills that surpassed $400. There wasn’t anywhere else to pull extra money from.

“I have to pay the energy bill, I have to have lights, I have to have AC,” the 51-year-old said. And, “I have to eat.”

The poorest Americans and minority communities already live

in hotter neighborhoods and many suffer without air conditioning at all. While there are tax credits and rebates to help install air conditioning, most remain out of reach for impoverished households.

But even with air conditioning, those with the lowest incomes face higher costs than their wealthier counterparts — in part because they are more likely to live in older, less insulated and drafty homes.

Energy insecure households paid 20 cents more per squarefoot for energy usage than the national average, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

The federal Weatherization Assistance Program helps shore up low-income homes to make them better insulated, less leaky and reduce reliance on air conditioning and heating altogether. Still, while almost 40 million low-income households are eligible, only about 35,000 households get the help each year, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

The program is critical because it reduces energy bills, which tip roughly a quarter of low-income households into debt, according to Ms. Carley of the Energy Justice Lab. And, if electricity is disconnected, costs just add up. The fridge warms and the food goes bad; utility companies charge hefty reconnection fees.

“It becomes very, very difficult for them to dig out and to be able to ... pay their next energy bill,” said Ms. Carley, who added that about half of households who are disconnected have been disconnected before.

Library workshop details new laws about expungement reform

Continued from A1

attendees at a July 15 expungement workshop at the Richmond Public Law Library. There they learned about updates to state laws that took effect July 1, 2021, and will all be effective by July 1, 2025.

The Virginia General Assembly passed legislation for expungement reform in Virginia during the 2021 session. This legislative success was not without compromise that resulted in fewer charges qualifying for expungement and record sealing.

“We’re not totally satisfied with what we got,” said Rob Poggenklass of Justice Forward Virginia’s leadership team that was a presenter at the event. “It’s a big foot in the door that we’ve been working on. If we want to try to expand this for future years, we can work toward that.”

In 2025, Virginia will be one of the few states to allow automatic record sealing for some convictions. Misdemeanor nonconvictions, along with convictions such as disorderly conduct and petit larceny or concealment, will be eligible for automatic record sealing, according to the literature distributed during the workshop. All misdemeanors except DUIs and assault and battery on family or household members, as well as convictions and deferred dismissals of Class 5 and Class 6 felonies and felony larceny, are all eligible for petition-based record sealing if certain requirements are met.

Meanwhile, Mr. Campbell considers his situation to be a “manifest of injustice” and he was disappointed to learn that his

Sheba Williams, founder of Nolef Turns, and Rob Poggenklass, executive director of Justice Forward Virginia, speak at the July 15 expungement workshop. Left, Teenora Thurston, 46, of North Side, attended the workshop to learn about her options to have her records expunged.

conviction does not qualify for expungement or record sealing.

“I’m walking around with my old penitentiary number … 095517 … on my back right now,” he said.

Another workshop participant, Teenora Thurston, 46, said that she was convicted of felony malicious wounding at age 18.

Under a plea bargain, she was sentenced

to five years with four years suspended, and served 10 months in jail. Although she did not have a prior record, she said that her convictions do not qualify for expungement or record sealing, and disqualifies her from utilizing the upcoming law changes.

Since her 2001 release, Mrs. Thurston, a Richmond mother of four children, said she has worked to change her circumstances, and wants to ensure that others do not have to fight the same fight. She currently works with the Legal Aid Justice Center and runs a nonprofit organization, Mothers to Others, which seeks to “fill the gap” and provide resources for Richmonders in need of basic necessities.

Mrs. Thurston encourages people who have convictions to “show their power” and share their stories with legislators and organizations.

Sheba Williams, founder of Nolef Turns, a member of the Expungement Council and a speaker during the workshop, encouraged attendees to “vote, run, serve, lead.”

People who have not been involved in the criminal justice system are the ones making decisions currently, she said.

“The people who represent you, tell them what you want,” Ms. Williams added. “Don’t let them tell you what they’re going to do for you. Tell them what you need to have sustainability, to change the barrier to crime laws, change the decisions around them.”

City’s Charter Review Commission releases report

Continued from A1

That proposal calls for the mayor’s pay to jump from $125,000 a year to around $200,000 a year or whatever is equal to the average for the five highest paid administration officials. Council members’ pay could rise from $25,000 to $55,000 a year or whatever amount is equal to the midpoint or median income for city residents.

The higher pay, if approved by the council and the legislature, could become effective for those who are elected in 2024.

The commission’s proposals would require the mayor to provide regular briefings to the council on the administration’s ongoing activities and allow the council to get a more thorough briefing on the next budget plan before it is publicly presented.

The recommendations also would provide new authority for the council to amend the budget during the fiscal year and to potentially fire the chief administrative officer (CAO), the No. 2 city official, with a super-majority of seven votes.

Currently, only the mayor can offer amendments once council passes the budget, which usually happens in May ahead of the July 1 start of a fiscal year.

The mayor also appoints the CAO, though council must confirm the nominee, and has sole authority to dismiss.

The commission also recommends language that would give the mayor direct authority to hire and fire directors. Currently, the charter vests that authority in the CAO.

Other recommendations include having

the mayor appoint the city attorney, who would be confirmed by the council. The mayor, with a vote of five council members, could remove the city attorney or seven members of the council could vote for removal under the proposal.

A separate recommendation would allow seven members of the council to hire an outside attorney to provide legal advice on a specific matter if they are dissatisfied with the city attorney.

Currently, the council appoints the city attorney.

Other recommendations call for term limits for members of the Planning Commission and Board of Zoning Appeals and a requirement for the council to set up a charter review commission at least once every 10 years.

Photos by Darlene Johnson/Richmond Free Press

New law addresses temporary detention orders during mental health crises

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

A new state law might have prevented Jamisha L. Seward’s ordeal nearly a year ago when she was handcuffed and shackled by her leg to a hospital bed for more than 80 hours while a rotating shift of Henrico County police officers kept an eye on her.

Ms. Seward, a 40-year-old medical technician, was held in the emergency room of Henrico Parham Doctor’s Hospital under a threeday temporary detention order (TDO) alleging she was a danger to herself and others, according to documents in her case.

A new law that Gov. Glenn A. Youngkin recently signed will allow a person to be released sooner than three days if an evaluation shows the individual is no longer a threat or suicidal and no longer needs hospitalization.

“This is another step in reshaping our behavioral health system,” said Charlottesville state Sen. Creigh Deeds, who sponsored the Senate version of the bill that Republic Delegate Robert B. Bell patroned in the House.

The law went into effect July 1.

“I just wish this law had been in place so I wouldn’t have needed to go through what I did,” Ms. Seward said. “A law like this was needed. Of course you want to let people go when it is clear they don’t need to be in a hospital. That’s just common sense.

“But it certainly didn’t happen in my case, and if it takes a state law to make it happen, then I’m fine with that.”

Ms. Seward was released on the fourth day after her appointed attorney persuaded a Henrico County magistrate at a hearing that there was no evidence in her file to support sending her to a state hospital for a 30-day observation period as physicians at the hospital had recommended.

She was deemed no longer a patient at risk for violence within eight hours of her arrival at the hospital, according to hospital records that she obtained and shared with the Free Press.

While being held, Ms. Seward said she was not allowed to contact family and friends to let them know her situation that began Sept. 11, 2022.

The records also show that she generally was not provided with any of the prescription medicine she takes to control heart and stomach issues.

The doctors assigned to her at the hospital never consulted her primary care physician about the medications she might need or the therapist she has been seeing to treat the depression, anxiety and other neuroses, the Free Press confirmed.

says she was held in the emergency room of a Henrico County hospital for more than three days last September. A new state law allows a person to be released sooner than three days if an evaluation shows the individual is no longer a threat, suicidal and no longer needs hospitalization.

New behavioral health language

be the norms in serving patients.

Ms. Seward has no criminal record and has not been diagnosed as having violent tendencies, according to a review of court and behavioral health records.

Her ordeal grew out a conflict with her daughter, who came to stat with her on Sept. 11, 2022, to avoid being homeless. The daughter has not been available for comment.

When the officers refused to remove the daughter because she had permission to be there, Ms. Seward made a decision that backfired.

She said she offered to go to a mental hospital so she could separate from her daughter, and then threatened to stab her daughter if police did not assist her to go to the hospital.

For the officers, that was enough for them to seek an emergency custody order and take her to Henrico Parham for further evaluation. As is department protocol, she was handcuffed for the trip.

Ms. Seward said she just spoke the words to get away from her daughter and had no intention of carrying out the threat. Then, she found out how unpleasant the situation could become.

She is not alone. Delegate Bell and Sen. Deeds both have said they proposed the legal change after learning the about the difficulties people have faced in gaining quicker release from a TDO.

Two lawyers, who represent patients under temporary detention orders and spoke on condition of anonymity, separately said that keeping mental patients in restraints is normal in emergency rooms while they await admission to a psychiatric ward in the hospital or at another location.

In Ms. Seward’s case, she remained in the emergency room when, the records show, no place was found in which to transfer her. The hospital did not admit her.

There has been plenty of concern about the current TDO system.

In December, Gov. Youngkin set up a task force to gain recommendations on ways to speed up the process of placing people who are suffering a mental health issue or crisis.

“The present TDO process has failed by not delivering care to patients when they need it most,” Gov. Youngkin’s administration stated in announcing the task force.

Behavioral Health HB 1976/SB 1299. Temporary detention; release of detained individuals. The law permits the director of a facility where a person is awaiting transport to the facility of temporary detention pursuant to a temporary detention order to release the person if an employee or a designee of the local community services board, in consultation with the person’s treating physician, (i) conducts an evaluation of the person, (ii) determines that the person no longer meets the commitment criteria, (iii) authorizes the release of the person, and (iv) provides a discharge plan.

The records also show the doctors assigned to her also refused to provide her with a CPAP machine, even though, she has been diagnosed with severe sleep apnea — or breathing disruption during sleep — and had been prescribed the continuous positive airway pressure equipment in order to prevent her from constantly waking up to reopen her airways.

To view more 2023 changes to Virginia’s laws, visit https://dls.virginia.gov/pubs/idc/idc23.pdf ment on her case, though the records she provided confirm the general accuracy of Ms. Seward’s statements about how she was treated.

“It was traumatizing and scary and continues to affect my everyday life,” said Ms. Seward, who works in the medical field as a medical technician and cares for an ill cousin in her Henrico County apartment.

The hospital did not respond to Free Press requests for com-

Overall, the hospital and its practitioners did not appear to have followed the patient care policy that the owner, HCA Health Services of Virginia, has issued. The policy promises that those who come will receive “quality, safe and professional care without discrimination and will be free of all forms of abuse and harassment.” The policy states that “consideration and respect” would

The new laws, such as the one allowing for early release from a TDO, represent efforts by the governor and the legislature to address known issues while the task force does its work.

When police bring patients such as Ms. Seward to an emergency room under an emergency custody order, they retain responsibility and can be tied up until the patient is admitted to a mental care facility, according to the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police. The result, according to the association, is that it can take days for officers to be released back to duty.

For Ms. Seward, the worst part is that no one at the hospital would listen to her.

“They were so convinced I was the crazy one, they just did want they wanted,” she said. “It was so unfair. Everyone else was in control, and I had to accept that because it could only get worse.”

Your Primary Care Is

• Primary residence

the property

• This program is only available in select market areas

• Available for purchases and eligible refinances

• Gift funds can be used

• Household income limits apply

• Homeownership counseling certificate required prior to closing if a First Time Homebuyer

• Can be used in conjunction with other down payment assistance

• Fixed and Adjustable Rate financing options available

• No Mortgage Insurance required

‘A law like this was needed’ says woman who faced hospital stay

Jeremy M. Lazarus/Richmond Free Press

Jamisha Seward

Richmond’s new police chief details plans to deter crime, build community outreach, be transparent

By Debora Timms

After a nationwide search, Richard “Rick” Edwards’ interim position as Richmond’s police chief became permanent when the 24-year veteran of the Richmond Police Department was sworn in July 24 as the city’s 21st police chief.

A total of 26 applications were submitted, including that of then Interim Chief Edwards who stepped into the role last October after former Police Chief Gerald Smith resigned. Chief Edwards was one of just three candidates who were eventually interviewed for the position of chief of police by a panel of nine Richmond city government and community leaders.

In announcing the panel’s unanimous selection to lead the men and women of RPD, Mayor Levar Stoney said he could think of “no one better suited to this role at this time than Chief Rick Edwards.”

Two weeks after his official swearing-in, the Richmond Free Press asked Chief Edwards to address some of the issues affecting his department and Richmond.

RFP: How do you feel being appointed the City of Richmond’s new police chief?

Chief Edwards: I am excited at the opportunity to lead this fine department. I am so proud of the men and women of RPD and it’s a true honor to be their chief.

RFP: Last year, as acting chief, you noted morale and recruitment as two of your top priorities. What actions have you taken in this regard and with what success?

Chief Edwards: Morale is higher than when I took over in October. I know that because of the feedback I get every day from our officers and civilians. It’s my job to make sure that we continue that progress going forward.

There is no doubt we need more sworn officers. One thing we are doing is we are turning every Richmond Police employee into a recruiter. As of July 1, 2023, any employee that refers someone to the police department gets a $500 bonus if that person is eventually hired. Furthermore, they get another $500 bonus after that newly hired officer completes their 12th month with the department. We have seen a 74% increase in the number of police officer applications for the first half of 2023 versus the same time period in 2022. It’s important to widen the pool of potential recruits because even though we are short-staffed we will not lower our standards. We only want the best representing RPD.

RFP: What are some ways your department is working to improve community-police relations and build trust with residents?

Chief Edwards: It is critical that our community members meet and interact with our officers when there is not an emergency going on. That is why we have monthly sector walks, monthly community “pop-up” events and outdoor roll calls. Building those relationships and getting to know each other as people is so important. I want our officers to find opportunities to get out of their cars and get to know our citizens. I also want our citizens to view members of their police department as legitimate guardians of this city. That is my definition of community policing.

I think transparency is incredibly important. We complete quarterly crime briefings where we inform our community about crime trends and important topics and also answer questions from the media. I have also created a new policy of providing “critical incident briefing” videos after fatal officer-involved shootings in Richmond. Nothing has a greater potential of creating mistrust between a community and its police force than the use of deadly force. When these incidents occur, it is very important that our community knows that we will be honest

and transparent with them.

It’s also important to note that in addition to crisis intervention team training, this year RPD has mandated new training for all officers called Integrating Communication Assessment and Tactics (ICAT). This training focuses on de-escalation and helps officers mitigate the use of deadly force when confronting subjects who are armed with weapons other than firearms. It’s based on lessons learned from police in Scotland, where most officers do not carry firearms. Scottish officers still

encounter armed subjects, but they are mostly armed with knives or blunt objects.

RFP: Gun violence continues to be a crisis in the city. What strategies are in place to address the issue of crime reduction and ensure public safety? How will you collaborate with other local agencies and community organizations to address public safety concerns effectively?

Chief Edwards: One of my first meetings after being named the acting chief of police was with Col. Gary Settle of the

Virginia State Police. I asked Col. Settle for support with a city-state partnership in the summer of 2023. We’ve had those types of operations in the past, but not for several years. Col. Settle agreed, and we are currently in the midst of “Operation Safe Summer.” Other partners such as the FBI, ATF and the U.S. Marshals Service have joined us. We have a strategy that focuses on deterrence, enforcement and community outreach. In the first seven months of 2023, we had a 7% reduction in all violent

crimes. We had an increase in homicides (34 in 2022 versus 40 in 2023), but a 27% decrease in non-fatal shootings I will never be satisfied with any violent crime in our city, but this reduction shows that when we work with our law enforcement and community partners and have a detailed plan we can have some success. I’m excited to see what we can do as our staffing increases!

RFP: What are the department’s plans to address traffic safety and reduce accidents in the city?

We have a robust traffic

enforcement plan. Each precinct has 10 areas of focus for speed enforcement based on the “high injury network” and citizen complaints from speeding. We also want to leverage technology, such as speed and red light cameras, in an effort to slow drivers down. We have partnered with Virginia State Police on several traffic and DUI checkpoints. Furthermore, we have a media campaign about our efforts. The goal is not to write a bunch of tickets; the goal is to affect behavior and make our roadways safer.

City of Richmond, Virginia Richmond Circuit Court

PUBLIC NOTICE

Notice is hereby given to the voters of the City of Richmond, Virginia, in accordance with Sections 24.2-682, 24.2-684, and 58.1-4123 of the Code of Virginia, a referendum shall be held during the general election of Tuesday, November 7, 2023, on the following question:

CASINO GAMING

Shall casino gaming be permitted at a casino gaming establishment in the City of Richmond, Virginia, at 2001 Walmsley Boulevard and 4700 Trenton Avenue, Richmond, Virginia 23234 as may be approved by the Virginia Lottery Board? [ ] Yes [ ]

Brian Palmer/Richmond Free Press

City of Richmond Chief of Police Rick Edwards speaks to the audience after his July 24 swearing-in ceremony at Richmond City Hall.

Riverfront brawl brings unwelcome attention to historic civil rights city in Alabama

By Kim Chandler

The Associated Press MONTGOMERY, Ala.

Three white boaters in Alabama’s capital city will be charged with misdemeanor assault for a riverfront brawl with a Black boat captain that drew nationwide attention, with more charges likely to come, police said.

Videos of the incident, which circulated widely on social media, have proven crucial in investigating what happened, Montgomery Police Chief Darryl Albert said. One person has turned himself in and the other two agreed to turn themselves in by the end of the day Tuesday.

“The investigation is ongoing and more charges are likely,” Chief Albert said on Tuesday.

The fight was largely split along racial lines and began on Aug. 5 when a moored pontoon boat blocked the Harriott II riverboat from docking in its designated space along the city’s riverfront, Chief Albert said. The Harriott II had 227 passengers aboard for a tour.

The viral video of white boaters assaulting a Black riverboat captain and the following melee brought unwelcome attention to the historic city — which is known across the country for the Montgomery bus boycott in the 1950s and voting rights marches in the 1960s. The city in recent decades has tried to move beyond its

reputation as a site of racial tension and to build a tourism trade instead based on its critical role in the Civil Rights Movement.

“I don’t think you can judge any community by any one incident. This is not indicative of who we are,” Mayor Steven Reed said Tuesday. He noted that the people on the pontoon boat were not from Montgomery. “It’s important for us to address this as an isolated incident, one that was avoidable and one that was brought on by individuals who chose the wrong path of action,” Mayor Reed said.

Before the fight began, the riverboat captain tried to contact the pontoon boat owner by loudspeaker. People on the other boat responded with “obscene gestures, curse words and taunting,” the police chief said. The riverboat co-captain took another vessel to shore to attempt to move the pontoon boat and “was attacked by several members of the private boat.” Chief Albert said several people from the riverboat came to the co-captain’s defense, “engaging in what we all have seen since on social media.”

Video captured by bystanders showed that once the Harriott II docked, several people from the riverboat rushed to confront the people on the pontoon boat and more fighting broke out. The video showed people being shoved, punched and kicked, and one man hitting someone with a folding chair. At least one person was knocked

Pregnant woman sues Detroit, police officer after arrest involving facial recognition

The Associated Press LANSING, Mich.

A Detroit woman is suing the city and a police officer, saying she was falsely arrested when she was eight months pregnant and accused of a carjacking based on facial recognition technology that is now the target of lawsuits filed by three Black Michigan residents.

Porcha Woodruff, 32, was preparing her two children for school on Feb. 16 when six Detroit Police officers showed up at her house and presented her with an arrest warrant for robbery and carjacking, according to a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan on Thursday.

“My two children had to witness their mother being arrested,” Ms. Woodruff said. “They stood there crying as I was brought away.”

Ms. Woodruff’s case was dismissed by the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office in March for insufficient evidence, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit states that Ms. Woodruff has suffered, among other things, “past and future emotional distress” because of the arrest. Ms. Woodruff said her pregnancy already had multiple complications that she worried the stress surrounding the arrest would further exacerbate.

“I could have lost my child,” Ms. Woodruff told The Associated Press in a phone interview.

Ms. Woodruff was identified as a subject in a January robbery and carjacking through the Detroit Police Department’s facial recognition technology, according to a statement from the office of Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy. Detroit detectives showed a photo lineup to the carjacking victim, who positively identified Ms.Woodruff.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan is now calling on the Detroit Police Department to end the use of facial recognition technology that led to Ms. Woodruff’s arrest. It is the third known allegation of a wrongful arrest by Detroit police based on the technology, according to the ACLU.

Robert Williams, a Black man, who was arrested when facial recognition technology mistakenly identified him as a suspected shoplifter, sued Detroit police in 2021 seeking compensation and restrictions on how the city uses the tool.

Another Black man, Michael Oliver, sued the city in 2021 claiming that his false arrest because of the technology in 2019

caused him to lose his job.

Critics say the technology results in a higher rate of misidentification of people of color than of white people. Ms. Woodruff’s lawsuit contends that facial

recognition has been “proven to misidentify Black citizens at a higher rate than others,” and that “facial recognition alone cannot serve as probable cause for arrests.”

into the water.

“The co-captain was doing his job. He was simply trying to move the boat just enough so the cruise ship could park safely, but it quickly escalated,” Chief Albert said.

The police chief said so far the charges are against people from the pontoon boat who assaulted the co-captain and a 16-year-old who got involved. Police are trying to locate and

question the man with the chair.

The brawl sparked dozens of internet memes and videos with some joking that the chair should be placed in a local museum.

Chief Albert said while some made racial taunts, the police department does not believe the motivation behind the fight rises to the standard of a hate crime. Alcohol is believed to have been an escalating factor, he said.

Request for Qualifications

Contract ID #: C00119112DB131

Route 1 and I-95 Improvements at Exit 126

The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) is seeking Statements of Qualifications for the Route 1 and I -95 Improvements at Exit 126 design-build project from qualified and experienced respon dents with design and construction experience of highway facilities. This operational and safety improvement project is located in Spotsylvania County, Virginia. This project includes improvements to US 1 and I -95 including widening of US 1 from 4 to 6 lanes between the ramps to I -95 and the addition of a left turn lane from US 1 onto I -95 SB. The project also includes the addition of a left turn lane from US 1 onto I-95 NB. On I-95, this project includes milling and overlay of both the inside and outside shoulder to accommodate the addition of one thru lane for I-95 NB from the US 1 on ramp to Courthouse Road (Route 208). The improvements to I-95 NB will also require the addition of a noise barrier wall along I-95 SB for a length of approximately 4,700 feet. The work includes but not limited to: roadway design, survey, pier protection on existing structures, environmental, soundwalls, geotechnical, hydraulics and stormwater management, traffic control devices transportation management plan, utility relocation public involvement/relations and stakeholder coordination, quality assurance and quality control, construction engineering and inspection, and overall proje ct management.

Q uestions/clarifications regarding the Request for Qualifications (RFQ) should be submitted to Bryan W. Stevenson, PE, DBIA (Bryan.Stevenson@vdot.virginia.gov)

Copies of the RFQ and additional submittal requirements can be found on Bid Express (bidexpress.com)

The Department assures compliance with Title VI requirements of non -discrimination in all activities pursuant to this advertisement.

NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC OF AN APPLICATION BY VIRGINIA ELECTRIC AND POWER COMPANY FOR APPROVAL OF A PROPOSED UPDATE TO THE RATES, TERMS, AND CONDITIONS OF A UNIVERSAL SERVICE FEE TO BE PAID BY RETAIL CUSTOMERS TO FUND THE PIPP, AND FOR EXPEDITED CONSIDERATION CASE NO. PUR-2023-00105

Ms. Woodruff

Smoke and mirrors

Last week, City Hall pulled back from installing a “burn building” where firefighters could train in handling simulated fires on 2-acres of lawn at the Hickory Hill Community Center in South Side.

Mayor Levar M. Stoney said the decision was based on additional feedback from the community, including a scorching column in Richmond’s daily newspaper condemning the idea.

Instead of a city site, the new building, supported by grant from the Virginia Department of Fire Programs, will be developed in Sandston on the site where the current decayed and essentially unusable “burn building” is located – the site that Fire Chief Melvin Carter loudly decried as unacceptable.

The real reason for the pullback may never be known, although it came as a relief to members of the majority Black community who had fought the development as an unwanted, noisy intrusion that would destroy a wholesome and environmentally friendly community space that is adjacent to a bird sanctuary and includes a soccer play area and a walking trail.

But it may have been concern about the blowback due to come from the eventual exposure of the errors and omissions that became part of the Stoney administration’s campaign to win approval from internal city bodies such as the Planning Commission as well City Council.

Chief Carter, in advocating for the Hickory Hill site, told everyone who would listen that the department was spending nearly $1 million a year to send trucks with new recruits and veterans to Sandston to undergo required training at the decaying “burn building” in Sandston.

By bringing the “burn building” to the city, that travel cost could be saved. Meanwhile, the department would be able to offer classes to Richmond residents when the “burn building” was not in use.

That was worth the trade-off of Hickory Hill losing a small portion of its green space. In the administration’s view, if a key public safety agency could do its training at home, rather than traveling elsewhere, and so become more embedded in the community, that was to the good.

So what, the administration said, if it meant flouting the city’s policies calling for an expansion of parks and other green space in the city and particularly in South Side. That loss could more than be made up by expanding green space elsewhere, the administration argued.

However, Chief Carter and the administration hid the fact that the “burn building” was going to be a regional operation that was going to be used by at least five other departments.

A check of the actual grant the city submitted in January 2022, and that the state agency approved for a $480,000 award, called for the “burn building” to serve the fire departments of Petersburg and Fort Adam-Gregg as well as those in Hanover, Henrico and New Kent counties.

A review of statements made shows that fact was conveniently omitted as the administration urged the Urban Design Committee, the Planning Commission and the council to rubber-stamp the project. The UDC and the commission rejected the proposal; the council approved it.

Also kept hidden: The address. When Lincoln Saunders, the city’s chief administrative officer, filed the grant application 18 months ago, the city listed 3401 E. Belt Blvd. as the address where the “burn building” would be developed.

Notice that address is for a vacant parcel located on the odd side of the street, whereas Hickory Hill’s listed address is 3300 E. Belt Blvd., the even side of the street. In other words, the city told the state agency that it would build at a different location and then in a classic bait-and-switch, began pushing the Hickory Hill site.

We detail this information because we believe that public officials should not engage in hiding information or saying one thing and doing another.

What a great way to undermine trust and confidence in the public officials who are supposed to be serving us, the public.

At one time we could confidently turn to the U.S. Supreme Court for relief from extremist behavior that attempted to take away rights we already had or rights we were fighting to achieve. Today, unfortunately, we experience extremism in so many areas of our lives.

Our forever President Barack and First Lady Michelle Obama are sounding the alarm and have asked all of us to join with activists who’ve been sounding the alarm on extremism for years. Unfortunately, many never even dreamed racism and all the other negative “isms” would ever become as threatening as they are today!

We thought Donald Trump, Ronald DeSantis, and a big chunk of the MAGA crowd were just a joke. It must be clear now that

they are for real, and people who we thought were semi-sensible have come down front to prove we were wrong. Many of these people have spent years building their strength to damage us in many ways. I don’t think we ever thought we would witness a leader in the White House (Donald Trump) who would work so

hard to harm us. Or that such a large group of people running for president would mirror Trump behavior and support the same turmoil that has been created by him. Can you imagine a Black leader being convicted or having as many serious indictments as Mr. Trump who would still be walking the streets freely?

I talk with many people who’ve lost faith that Mr.Trump will ever pay for his thuggish behavior. If you think there is

any hope that we will be able to head off a bunch of local and state “Trumps,” we’ve got to take an interest and action in heading off the destruction of our local communities.

We must attend our city council, school board, county council, and political party meetings. We can’t fight the extremism that’s growing all around us by waiting for somebody else to handle things. We must stand up and help fight this extremism.

Extremists want to cancel true African-American history, fair voting rights, and rights to be educated at certain universities. Teachers are being fired. Books have been banned. Affirmative action rights to correct past wrongs are canceled, and for women, our right to choose what happens with our bodies—all of that has happened just over the past few months.

Just think about what will happen in the coming years with any one of the current presidential candidates challenging

FTC hindering Black economic achievement

The Biden administration has been pushing hard for credit for its significant economic successes. Coining the phrase “Bidenomics,” the term is meant to direct attention toward the administration’s striking successful economic agenda.

Under President Biden, the rate of inflation has been more than cut in half, employers have created more than 13 million jobs, wage growth has outpaced inflation, and the unemployment rate of Black workers is at a record-breaking, historic low. Now, the administration wants the public to give it credit.

Yet, the key to widespread public support is not through grandiose statements or flashy catchphrases. Instead, it is through the ongoing prioritization of policy that enhances the everyday, lived experiences of Americans—especially Black Americans. On this front, the FTC can play a crucial role.

The Federal Trade Commission is charged with protecting American consumers from everyday threats permeating the domestic marketplace. Appointed by President Biden, Lina Khan is chair of the commission, and she has adopted a unique, ultraprogressive approach to the FTC’s mandate.

Soon after assuming leadership, Ms. Khan de-prioritized the consumer welfare standard, a time-tested precedent that puts individual well-being at the forefront of any and all policy discussion, deeming it “too narrow.” Instead, the FTC has embraced a broad view of consumer wellbeing, focusing on antitrust cases that could theoretically have sweeping, long-term impacts on the economy.

While I appreciate this ap-

proach, a loss of focus on the FTC’s bread-and-butter consumer protection issues could have a devastating impact on Americans’ economic wellbeing, especially those most vulnerable. We have already witnessed the consequences of a loss of focus on fundamental issues at the FTC. As the Commission focused their energy on theoretical risks rather than real threats posed to consumers, consumer fraud cases soared. From 2021 to 2022, fraud losses increased by over 30%. Last year, alone, consumers lost $8.8 billion to fraudsters — and Black Americans are disproportionately suffering from the consequences of this tragic phenomenon.

According to the FTC’s “Serving Communities of Color” report, “predominantly Black communities filed consumer reports at a higher rate than predominantly White or Latino communities.” Beyond that, Black and Latino individuals have reported higher instances of fraud via payment methods that do not have refundable protections. Without a solution from the FTC, they remain at a loss—exacerbating income inequality for consumers already working in traditionally marginalized communities.

Americans are increasingly turning to gig economy work to make up for losses to increasing fraud, to keep up with rapid inflation, or simply to gain extra spending money. In fact, Black and Hispanic individuals are most likely to take up gigwork, compromising over half of workers in the industry. Nearly one-third of Hispanic adults have earned money through the gig economy, while over a quarter of African-American adults have earned money through these platforms.

Despite this trend, Ms. Khan now has turned her attention to gig economy workers, with the commission vowing to “use its full authority” to investigate gig companies and worker practices.

At an FTC Open Meeting, app-based workers warned the commission against pursuing unnecessary legislation. Advocacy groups such as the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and National LGBT Chamber of Commerce called on the FTC to consider that these apps serve as a resource to members looking to empower themselves through another income stream.

Yet their pleas went unconsidered, and Ms. Khan decided to release a policy statement giving the FTC the power to regulate the American labor market in the form of gig-worker regulation — despite the fact that opposing commissioners claimed the decision “meanders in and out of our jurisdiction into matters of employment law.”

The Biden administration claims its goal is to “lower costs and help entrepreneurs and small businesses thrive.” To achieve this, the FTC must recommit to its most fundamental pillar: The consumer welfare standard. This commitment will especially benefit Black Americans, who have become innocent bystanders as foolhardy legislation renders them even more vulnerable at the hands of scammers.

When Americans feel the impact of thoughtful policy, they will be vocal in their support.

From gig-economy workers to small business owners to highlevel corporate executives— every single American benefits from a vigorous FTC committed to protecting consumer interests. The FTC must recommit to the day-to-day needs of consumers, rather than distant, theoretical policies that fail to benefit lived experiences of Americans.

The writer is an economist, author and former university president and administrator.

The Free Press welcomes letters

The Richmond Free Press respects the opinions of its readers. We want to hear from you. We invite you to write the editor. All letters will be considered for publication. Concise, typewritten letters related to public matters are preferred. Also include your telephone number(s). Letters should be addressed to: Letters to the Editor, Richmond Free Press, P.O. Box 27709, 422 East Franklin Street, Richmond, VA 23261, or faxed to: (804) 643-7519 or e-mail: letters@richmondfreepress.com.

President Biden, who is trying his best to put our nation back on a sensible course for which it professes to stand. We have people we once thought to be friends and to have a concern about our human rights now toying with giving aid and comfort to the enemies of our people. Whether or not they carry out their dangerous plans, we need to remind them of the negative impact their present course of actions will have on the 2024 presidential, senatorial, and house results. You know who they are. As much as Dr. Cornell West has usually been on the right side of issues, we question his intention now. Sen. Joe Mansion always has been suspect, and has failed us at crucial times. I don’t think any of us can explain Joe Kennedy—so spread the news when somebody figures it out!

The writer is president of The Dick Gregory Society.

Julianne Malveaux

Dr. E. Faye Williams

Virginia NAACP responds to traffic stop data

The Virginia State Conference NAACP (Virginia NAACP) acknowledges the findings of the 2023 Report on Analysis of Traffic Stop Data Collected under Virginia’s Community Policing Act. It continues to be alarming that Black drivers are 19.4% of the driving population but make up 30.4% of those who are stopped. The report findings are also alarming that Hispanic and Native American/Indian Americans also are stopped at a higher percentage than their population.

“Based on this report, it is clear that Black Virginians are stopped by police for traffic violations more often than other Virginians,” said Robert N. Barnette, Jr., president of the Virginia NAACP. “This is not a one city or county problem, this is a problem across the

Commonwealth. The Virginia NAACP is prepared to work with local police departments, sheriff departments, and the Virginia State Police to address this issue.”

The Virginia NAACP’s commitment is to work with law enforcement agencies to ensure transparency in training and recruitment and to review its diversity, equity and inclusion policies and training.

The Virginia NAACP will continue to fight against unfair policing and work toward ending structural racism in our justice system.

KAREN E. JONES Director of Administration Virginia State Conference NAACP

Richmond Area SCLC opposes closing early voting locations

The Richmond Area Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which represents Central Virginia as a chartered member of the national SCLC, would like to express our disappointment with and determination to address the decision by the City of Richmond Electoral Board to close two satellite early voting offices for the upcoming 2023 November election.

The SCLC has stood up to the injustice of voter suppression and disenfranchisement for more than 65 years. We will not turn a blind eye to an attempt to reverse the gains in voter accessibility and convenience that have been made on behalf of all the people of the city of Richmond.

To close the early voting location on the South Side of the city, at Hickory Hill, is especially egregious to those citizens who live all the way on the other side of the city from the Office of Elections on Laburnum. For many seniors it is virtually impossible to get to that location based on the current public transportation options in the city.

Essentially, this decision is a blatant attempt to suppress the votes of people living on the South Side of Richmond. Closing the office in City Hall is equally discriminatory for those who live in Shockoe Bottom, Church Hill, Fulton, Jackson Ward and the East End. While public transportation is more accessible Downtown than on the southside, not having an early voting office centrally located to many of the minority

and young voters in the city is classic Jim Crow era voter suppression.

We are asking the City of Richmond Electoral Board to reconsider this decision and to restore the two satellite sites as early voting locations. We want to make it perfectly clear that we will use every available resource to address this decision if it is not reversed. We will attend meetings and express our disapproval at every opportunity.

We also will support any legal action initiated to address this violation of civil rights. Because the people of the city of Richmond have a long history of fighting injustice dating back to John Mitchell Jr. and Oliver Hill, we will stand on the shoulders of these giants to say, “The Struggle Continues” and we will fight the good fight to be sure that Jim Crow era tactics will never again be tolerated in the city of Richmond.

We invite all concerned citizens of Richmond to join us in our refusal to accept efforts to suppress votes in the city of Richmond. The Struggle Continues.

WILLIAM F. McGEE, President Richmond Area SCLC

Editor’s Note: A week after voting not to open two satellite locations for early voting for this fall’s elections, the Richmond Electoral Board reversed itself on Aug. 4 following public outcry that led other state and local officials to point out the move appeared to violate state law.

Stories by Fred Jeter

Harris takes his turn steering Vikings ship

‘I knew all along I’d come back,’ says TJ’s coach

Eric Harris, a familiar face around Richmond for decades, is the new head football coach at Thomas Jefferson High.

But he is certainly not new to the sport.

“This is my 24th year of coaching; it’s not like I’m some green guy walking through the door,” said Coach Harris, who succeeds the highly successful Josef Harrison as Vikings sideline supervisor.

Harrison, who stepped down for personal reasons, was 15-7 in his two seasons at the West End school with two trips to the postseason. Coach Harris was his offensive coordinator in 2022.

Before then, Coach Harris served nine years as an assistant coach at Douglas Freeman High and he was a TJ assistant under Chad Hornik.

“I knew all along I’d come back,” said Coach Harris.

A native of Detroit, Coach Harris came to Richmond in the mid-1990s on a Virginia Union University basketball scholarship under Dave Robbins. His VUU teammates included Ben Wallace and current VUU hoops Coach Jay Butler.

During his junior and senior seasons at VUU, he also played football under Willard Bailey.

Starting with Hornik in 2014, TJ has become the city’s source of pride in the autumn. After losing 47 straight games at one stretch, the Vikings have turned into a perennial playoff team in Class 2.

TJ advanced to the state semifinals in 2019 (under Coach P.J. Adams) and might have won the state crown in 2020, if not for a lost season due to COVID.

“They had everyone coming back in ’20,” said Coach Harris.

TJ started last season 7-0 before finishing 8-4. The Vikings might have fared better if not for a late-season injury to Aziah Johnson.

The multipurpose Johnson is now a

City football schedule

freshman at Michigan State.

Another key loss is quarterback Quinton Wallace, now a freshman at Ferrum College.

Wallace’s replacement is junior Rashaud Cherry, a promising athlete with loads of upside.

Other players to watch are receiver Carmelo McCloud and powerhouse nose guard Cedric Pearce.

“We have seven starters coming back on each side of the ball,” Coach Harris said. “And the kids replacing our lost seniors all got some time last season.”

Coach Harris will be busy as both a coach and father during the upcoming season.

His son Latrell Sutton, who had a distinguished career at Highland Springs High, is a sophomore receiver at Virginia Tech. His other son, Emmanuel Harris, is a defensive back at Ferrum after playing for Douglas Freeman.

“I’d have probably come back to TJ earlier, but I wanted to coach Emmanuel at Freeman,” he said.

The Vikings season opener will be one to watch 7 p.m. Aug. 25 at Huguenot.

Like TJ, the Falcons have a new coach in Charles Scott.

TJ will play two “home” games at Virginia Union’s Hovey Field – Sept. 29 against John Marshall and Oct. 27 against Armstrong. TJ does not have lights for evening games on campus.

“Alumni have their privileges,” said Harris, noting that both he and former TJ Coach Harrison are VUU grads.

Until the 1980s, Hovey Field served as home turf for Maggie L. Walker High.

There also will be a change in administration this year at TJ. Shea Collins, a former athletic director at Huguenot and Midlothian, is now with the Vikings.

Collins replaces the retiring Dr. William Holt, who also played a pivotal role in TJ’s gridiron recovery.

Washington

HBCU alumni are down but not out in the Nation’s Capital.

While the Washington Commanders overall roster is more than 60 percent Black, Danny Johnson, Trent Scott and rookie Joshua Pryor are the lone HBCU reps.

As preseason drills continue in Ashburn, none is assured of making the final cut, although Johnson seems be in good standing as a backup safety/ cornerback.

In his sixth season out of Southern University in Baton Rouge, La., Johnson was the lone HBCU alumni on last season’s roster.

Graham is VUU’s human stop sign

Shamar Graham wears jersey No. 36, but an octagon stop sign in maroon and steel colors might better describe his gridiron duties.

Not much in the way of ball carriers or pass receivers get past Virginia Union University’s aggressive, always ready to rumble linebacker out of nearby (3.2 miles apart) Thomas Jefferson High.

“You don’t get 80 tackles standing around in a great defense like ours,” Coach Alvin Parker said. “Shamar makes plays … he’s a playmaker.”

In his first season as a starter, Graham had 84 tackles in 2022, including 7.5 for losses. He added two sacks, and three passes broke up.

“I like to go full speed to the ball, sideline to sideline … and never give up on a play,” Graham said.

National spotlight

Sunday, Sept. 3 Virginia Union vs. Morehouse College, HBCU Hall of Fame Classic, Canton, Ohio. NFL Television Network. 4 p.m.

His ability to crush opponent’s best-laid plans has earned him a nickname – “Showtime.”

Among all returning CIAA players, Graham has the most tackles from the 2022 season.

“He plays at such a high speed,” Coach Parker said. “He sees where the ball is going, and he goes after it.”

The 6-foot-1, 225-pound Graham was here, there and everywhere in a defensive unit that dominated opponents in a 9-2 season that produced an NCAA Division II invitation.

Allowing just 17.9 points per game, VUU ranked second in the CIAA behind only conference champion Fayetteville State (17.3).

Graham hails from a winning background. As a TJ senior in 2019, he earned All-State honors as a running back and linebacker as the Vikings reached the Class 2 state semifinals.

The Richmonder is just warming up at VUU. Despite his tackling heroics, he didn’t make All-CIAA as a sophomore.

That’s an award he’s in line for in 2023. The stop sign isn’t going away.

There is good news and bad news regarding players coming and going.

All-CIAA receiver John Jiles entered the transfer portal and will not likely be back, according to Coach Parker.

The North Carolina native caught 40 passes for 627 yards and nine TDs last season after transferring to VUU from Fort Scott Community College in Kansas.

On the plus side, 6-foot-3, 215-pound quarterback J’Bore Gibbs, a former starter at FCS power South Dakota State, has transferred to VUU where he will compete with returnees Christian Reid and R.J. Rosales.

carries

During a 10-day competitive and sightseeing trip to Greece, the VCU Rams routed the Athens All-Stars and Petras All-Stars, both by about 50-point margins.

VCU Rams score victories in Greece

New VCU basketball Coach Ryan Odom is piling up the miles on his “Odometer” before his first season begins. He’s also accumulated two victories – albeit exhibitions – to show on his early résumé.

During a 10-day competitive and sightseeing trip to Greece, the Rams routed the Athens All-Stars and Petras All-Stars, both by about 50-point margins.

Coach Odom cleared the bench in both contests with 6-foot8 sophomore Tobi Lawal scoring 43 points in the two games combined.

VCU made a similar “business with pleasure” trip to Italy in 2012.

The Rams have a long history in overseas travel dating to December 1972.

Under Coach Chuck Noe the Rams traveled to Portugal, Spain and France, winning in Lisbon and splitting two games in Madrid.

The 1972 games were played over the winter break. VCU went on to post a 15-5 record during a period in which the Rams were transitioning to Division I and had difficulty finding opponents.

Among the key players during the 1972-1973 season were Reggie Cain, Jesse Dark, Bernard Harris, Howie Robertson, Dave Edwards and Tom Motley.

Undrafted, Johnson has been with

Gibbs, a native Chicagoan, had a banner freshman year at South Dakota State in 2019 before suffering a knee injury. He later transferred to the University of Idaho where he had yet another knee injury.

on HBCU tradition

Washington since 2018, accumulating 79 tackles, 13 pass deflections, one interception, one forced fumble and one sack.

He signed a two-year contract extension in March.

The 6-foot-5, 320-pound Scott was undrafted coming out Grambling State,

La., in 2018. He spent time with the Chargers, Panthers and Steelers before signing with Washington this past fall. The offensive lineman has played in 61 NFL games with 20 starts. Pryor, a 23-year-old defensive end in his first pro season out of Bowie State, Md., will have to impress in the preseason to have a chance of sticking around.

An All-CIAA performer, Pryor drew attention as the Defensive MVP of the Legacy Bowl. He signed with the Commanders as a free agent.

Simone Biles dazzles in

The Associated Press HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill.

Simone Biles spent two years trying to distance herself from those strange days in Tokyo and all the outside noise that came along with it. She dove into therapy and slowly — very slowly — returned to training even though she wavered on whether she was really up for a third Olympics and all of the pressure and expectations that come with it when you’re considered the greatest of all time.

It wasn’t until mid-spring that she committed to training seriously after talking about it over margaritas with her coaches. It wasn’t until late June that she committed to Saturday night’s U.S. Classic. And it wasn’t until she stepped onto the podium and heard the shrieks of support and the sea of handmade signs that the noise she’d been grappling with for 732 days finally fell silent.

She was back in her safe space. Back

Former VUU star Fairley dies

Nathan Fairley, a swift, bruising fullback during a highly successful era of Virginia Union football, died Monday, July 31, 2023, of natural causes. He was 65.

Under Coach Willard Bailey, Mr. Fairley played for the Panthers from 1976 to 1979. During that time VUU posted an overall record of 34-11-1 and made their first trip to the NCAA Division II playoffs in 1979 at Delaware.

return from a 2-year layoff to dominate the U.S. Classic

Mr. Fairley scored a total of 19 touchdowns for VUU while averaging 5.7 yards per carry. His best seasons were 1977, when he had nine TDs, and 1979, when he crossed the goal line on nine occasions.

His first TD came as a freshman with an 85-yard highlight reel special against Fisk University.

It was his very first carry as a Panther.

At 255 pounds, he also was a powerful blocker in Coach Bailey’s Wing-T attack. He was recruited to VUU following an outstanding career at Patrick Henry High School in Ashland.

Mr. Fairley is survived by his wife, Patricia, and the couple’s only child, Nate Jr., who played football at Lee-Davis High School, the University of Richmond and Elizabeth City State Univerity.

her

in front of a crowd. Back in control. Back to being the Simone Biles — albeit a more mature, married, 26-year-old version — who has spent a decade redefining her sport.

The buzz around Biles’ return is palpable.

The gymnastics star seems intent on tuning it out. Confidence growing with every rotation, Biles soared to victory in her first meet since the Tokyo Games. Her all-around score of 59.100 was five points better than runner-up Leanne Wong. And made all the more remarkable by the fact she didn’t really pour herself into preparing until after her wedding to Green Bay Packers safety Jonathan Owens in late April.

“I feel really good about where I am right now, mentally and physically,” Biles said. “I still think there are some things to work on in my routines, but for the first meet back, I would say it went pretty well.

I’m very shocked. Surprised.”

She posted the best score on three of four events, turning what is typically a tune-up meet for the U.S. Championships

into a showcase that she remains — when she’s at or near her best — a singular force in her sport.

The only time she seemed out of place at the NOW Arena was when she was introduced. She scrambled from one side of the floor to the other, unsure of where she was supposed to go.

The moment passed. Minutes later she raised her hands and saluted the judges. Then it was the same as it ever was for the most decorated female gymnast in history.

Rocking a black-and-white bedazzled leotard and a silicone wedding band she bought from Amazon to wear while she competes, Biles electrified a packed house that roared with every spin, every flip, and yes, twist.

While she admitted she is still a little nervous while doing the twisting elements in her routines, she certainly looked comfortable during two hours that offered a taste of what could come in the run-up to Paris next summer.

Coach Harris

a full five points ahead of Leanne Wong.

Courtesy VCU Basketball

Danny Johnson

Joshua Pryor

Shamar Graham

Trent Scott

The doctors you chose, the plan to match

Keep your doctors with an accepted plan

You chose your Bon Secours care team — a team whose focus is, and always has been, on providing quality, compassionate care for those we serve. Now it’s time to choose the Medicare plan to match. Due to stalled negotiations between Bon Secours and Anthem (otherwise known as Elevance Health), your coverage may be impacted.

Our Medicare Advantage contract with Anthem Virginia was terminated effective August 1 and Bon Secours providers are considered out-of-network for nearly 13,000 Richmond-area patients who have Anthem Medicare Advantage health insurance.

If you are a Bon Secours patient with Anthem Medicare Advantage coverage, here is what you can do to make your voice heard:

1. Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment opens October 15. Talk to your broker, or call the Centers of Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) at 1-800-633-4227, and understand your options to pick a plan that keeps your Bon Secours providers in-network. Bon Secours remains in-network with all other major Medicare Advantage health plans in Virginia.

2. Call Anthem at the number on the back of your insurance card and tell them how important it is for you to keep you uninterrupted in-network access to Bon Secours.

Bon Secours is committed to continue doing our part and working hard to reach a new agreement with Anthem on behalf of our patients and the communities we serve — so nothing comes between you and the caregivers you know and trust.

Jay-Z’s Made in America fest canceled

Fans spot rapper, producer during wife Beyoncé’s performance at Fedex Field

The Associated Press

Jay-Z’s annual Made in America festival, scheduled for next month in Philadelphia, has been canceled.

“Due to severe circumstances outside of production control, the 2023 Made in America festival will no longer be taking place,” the festival shared in a statement on social media.

Made in America had been scheduled for Sept. 2-3 on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway with Lizzo and SZA as the headliners.

“This decision has been difficult and has not been made lightly nor without immense deliberation,” the statement continued. “Made in America has a legacy of delivering exceptional experiences for music fans and concert goers, and it is our commitment to always deliver a top-tier festival experience.”

A specific reason for the cancellation was not made immediately clear. Promoter Live Nation referred questions back to the Made in America statement.

The statement also included language about looking forward to returning next year, and that refunds will be available to ticket holders.

Held over Labor Day weekend in Philadelphia

Down

every year since 2012, with the exception of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the news arrived two months after its lineup was revealed.

Miguel, Tems, Metro Boomin, Ice Spice, Coi Leray, Latto, Lil Yachty, Doechii, Lola, and many more were scheduled to perform.

Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney expressed disappointment at the abrupt change of course.

“Since 2012, Made in America has grown into a Philly tradition on Labor Day Weekend celebrating music and promoting worthwhile social causes,” the mayor said in a statement.

“We are grateful for all the partners and festival goers who have contributed to this event’s incredible success over the years, especially our partners at Roc Nation, and we look forward to bringing Made in America back and bigger than ever to the Benjamin Franklin Parkway next year.”

A representative from Roc Nation did not immediately return AP’s request for comment.

Meanwhile, Jay-Z was seen inside suburban Washington’s Fedex Field on Sunday shortly before his wife, Beyoncé, went on stage for her Renaissance World Tour performance.

With hundreds of screaming fans calling his name, the rapper, record producer and entrepreneur appeared unbothered that heavy rain and

lightning caused a two-hour delay of Beyoncé ‘sperformance.

Despite the delay, the show did go on with Beyoncé often performing in the rain, further delighting her 50,000 fans who drove or flew from several parts of the United States, including Richmond.

The singer’s tour paid $100,000 to keep 98 D.C. metro stations open an extra hour so fans could get home.

Richmond Free Press editor and writer Bonnie Newman Davis contributed to this report.

Home Family Reunion is ‘Bringing the World Home’

The 32nd Annual Down Home Family Reunion will bring music, dance, stories, food, shopping and enrichment to Jackson Ward’s Abner Clay Park on Saturday, Aug. 19. Presented by the Elegba Folklore Society, this year’s cultural arts festival highlights “A Celebration of African American Folklife.”

The festival, which was named last year’s Tourism Event of the Year by Richmond Region Tourism, connects West African and African-American cultural traditions and highlights the influence they have had on the American South. Locating the event within Historic Jackson Ward serves to highlight the neighborhood’s rich Black heritage alongside its future potential, according to the Elegba Folklore Society.

World music and dance will be featured on the Zeke Allison Main Stage. Listeners can groove along with Dikki Du and the Zydeco Krewe as well as reggae originals and classics

from Tunji Band. Vocalist Angelica Baylor will bring her neo-soul vibe, Richmond legend Lady E will sing the blues and the Elegba Folklore Society’s performance company will deliver an interactive program of African dance, music and oral tradition.

Closing out this year’s event will be, Be’la Dona, an all-female band out of Washington D.C. that mixes “sensual crank” with rock, R&B, gospel, pop, jazz and D.C.’s go-go.

Children and teens can create in the Annie Tyler Children’s Place and design a craft in recognition of the family reunion’s theme, “Bringing the World Home.”

Then there’s the food, an event centerpiece with Southern style chicken, fried fish, down home vegetables, frozen fruits and mouthwatering desserts that are African-inspired and Southern favorites.

This free family festival will take place between 4 and 11 p.m. and those planning to attend can visit www.efsinc.org for parking and shuttle schedules.

Closing out this year’s event will be, Be’la Dona, an all-female band out of Washington, D.C., that mixes “sensual crank” with rock, R&B, gospel, pop, jazz and D.C.’s go-go.

Courtesy Elegba Folklore Society

Free Press staff report

Jay-Z

Beyoncé

Raven Bates, the board president of the Richmond-based nonprofit Art on Wheels, says the best thing her parents Robert and Tracey Wilkinson ever taught her was not to fear being different or independent.

She continues to embrace that life lesson together with her husband of almost seven years, Alan Bates, and their rescue dog, Trout.

For example, travel tops her “to-do” list and Mrs. Bates loves finding places that are offthe-beaten path to visit. Just last year, she discovered the Bread and Puppet Theater’s museum in Glover, Vt., where half a century’s worth of the theaters’s puppets, masks, paintings and graphics are housed inside a 150-year-old barn.

“It turns the idea of a traditional museum on its head,” Mrs. Bates said by email. “Eventually the barn will be reclaimed by the elements, so this place is not likely to be around forever. Experiencing it was special.”

Another example can be found in the inspiration she takes from a Ray Bradbury quote about jumping off a cliff and building wings on the way down. “You don’t grow in your comfort zone,” Mrs. Bates said. “I’ve learned a lot about myself through pushing through challenging times and seeking new experiences that may not always be comfortable.”

Facing new challenges and adapting to change is familiar to Art on Wheels, whose mobile programming brings music, dance and visual arts programming to communities with limited access to the arts.

“COVID brought challenges to our business model because we are very hands-on and pride ourselves on physically being present in the communities we serve through our programs,” Mrs. Bates said.

She is proud of Art on Wheels’ adjustments, which include pivoting to an art kit model and trained staff already

Personality: Raven Bates Spotlight on Art on Wheels board president

present in communities that enable participants to continue experiencing the benefits of art during uncertain times.

“I’ve seen art work its magic in people’s lives firsthand, especially through my grandmother’s journey,” Mrs. Bates shared. “As she aged, her passion for artistic expression gave her a profound sense of purpose, pride and joy that’s hard to ignore.”

Mrs. Bates says she is inspired by the art all around us and tries to bring that into her daily life, using fashion as a way to express her creativity. She created a small business out of her love of crafting her own jewelry—dagNABit designs. She makes and sells bold, funky laser cut and handmade earrings and accessories at various pop-ups around the Richmond area.

And as she comes to the end of her second three-year term as board president, Mrs. Bates says Art on Wheels is continuing to work to meet new challenges. A big one is getting the funding it needs to enable the organization to meet increasing demand for its programming. Another is building its board of directors and bringing new members on board to help the organization expand its reach.

“We are looking for creative and driven people to help Art on Wheels grow and become an even more deep-rooted nonprofit,” she says. Meet an advocate for art and community and this week’s Personality, Raven Bates.

Volunteer position: Board president, Art on Wheels.

Occupation: Director of communication and administration at VCDC, a nonprofit driving positive change in low-income communities through strategic

investments in affordable housing and economic development real estate, innovative programs, and collaborative partnerships, and owner and maker, dagNABit designs LLC.

Date and place of birth: Sept. 20 in Falls Church.

Where I live now: Lakeside.

Education: Bachelor’s in media arts and design with a minor in anthropology, James Madison University.

Family: Husband, Alan Bates, and our rescue dog Trout.

Art on Wheels is: Connecting community members to the healing power of the arts through music, dance and visual arts programming.

Art on Wheels home base: Our office is based in Richmond, but all our programs are mobile, traveling to meet community members where they are. We serve communities throughout the Greater Richmond Region, the Tri-Cities area, and parts of Southside Virginia.

Brief history: Art on Wheels

started as an idea in 2007 in a dining room with a bookshelf crammed with art supplies. The idea was this: that making art— creating something from nothing—something that is uniquely yours, is powerful, and healing, and not enough people get the chance to do that. Since that initial idea, Art on Wheels has developed four program areas that travel to meet our communities where they are: Aging in the Arts, Healing in the Arts, Arts and Disability, and Art in the Community.

Mission: Art on Wheels enriches lives by sharing diverse artistic experiences in communities with limited access to the arts.

Founders: Kevin and Andrea Orlosky.

Art on Wheels is specifically for: Everyone! We believe in art for all and welcome anyone who is interested.

How Art on Wheels works: Art on Wheels collaborates with various community partners, including public libraries, parks, for-profit and non-profit organizations, and any group serving our community’s needs. These partners offer space to host our programming, tailored to each community’s schedule and partnership objectives. Additionally, program partners contribute financial support and often offer staff or volunteer assistance, ensuring a positive experience for participant artists and our teaching artists during each session.

Why it is vital for people to have access to art: Because the idea that life can be better, happier, and healthier with art is true. Art provides important opportunities for self-expression,

personal autonomy, stress management, and exercise for fine and gross motor skills and cognitive skills, among many other benefits. Additionally, our programs are wonderful, positive social opportunities, which is important for communities we serve.

How I became involved with Art on Wheels: In 2016, I began volunteering with Art on Wheels, contributing to the powerful Impressions of Courage art project. This monumental community-sourced collagraph print was a heartfelt tribute to all those impacted by cancer. Through my involvement, I lovingly honored my nephew’s brave battle with cancer, a journey that tragically concluded just two months before the creation of the print.

Why Art on Wheels is meaningful to me: Because I experience the joy, power and release it brings everyday and want to be able to share that with everyone – especially as common as it is to hear people say they are not creative or artistic because that has been erased from them at a young age. I believe we all deserve to experience the freedom, joy and personal growth creative expression can offer, and Art on Wheels reignites that spark that is too often extinguished too soon.

Proudest moment for Art on Wheels: Art on Wheels has had numerous wonderful moments with our community partners and participant artists, but one of our proudest achievements is successfully navigating the intense sea of change over the past few years while continuing to serve our communities. Hows to get involved with Art on Wheels: info@artonwheelsva.org to learn more about volunteering, joining our board of

directors, or other ways to get involved. Also, Art on Wheels events are available on Instagram @artonwheelsva.

How I start the day: Alive, alert, awake, enthusiastic! If you’ve ever been to or worked at a summer camp you likely know – it’s never gotten out of my head.

The three words that best describe me: Spirited, eclectic and adventurous.

If I had 10 extra minutes in the day I would: Use the 10 minutes to practice a habit of mindfulness or most realistically fold the laundry I neglected.

Best late-night snack: Any salty and sweet combo.

Something I love to do that most people would never imagine: I love to find random off-the-beaten-path places to visit wherever I go. Give me a unique roadside attraction and I am happy.

A quote that inspires me: “Jump off the cliff and learn how to make wings on the way down.” I think this is often attributed to many people, but I think Ray Bradbury started it. I am inspired by progress, and not letting perfect get in the way of good and the learning that comes along with a process. At the top of my “to-do” list: Travel.

The best thing my parents ever taught me: Don’t be afraid to be different or independent. After all they named me Raven – which I love and they weren’t afraid to do so even before the Baltimore Ravens or “That’s so Raven” was a thing. Book that influenced me the most: “The Sirens of Titan” by Kurt Vonnegut. I read it at a formative time in my life where I was coming of age and the commentary of meaning and purpose – or absence of – has stayed with me ever since. Next goal: Keep finding new things to try and new places to visit.

Summer sounds visit Highland Park

The St. Elizabeth Catholic Church Jazz & Food Festival bills itself as blending traditional and contemporary jazz with great food in a Christian, family-oriented atmosphere.

When celebrating its 13th year last Saturday in the Highland Park community, attendees wasted no time striking a chord and chorus while grooving to local professional jazz musicians, perusing vendors and sampling food and beverages.

Since its inception in 2008, the St. Elizabeth Jazz & Food Festival has served as the sole annual fundraiser for this St. Elizabeth Parish and its various ministries. Most importantly, it helps promote evangelization among St. Elizabeth Catholic Church and Highland Park, according to its organizers. Images and performers from this year’s event include:

Left, Seshat from Seven Stones Crystals chats with Renee Johnson and Janet Worlds

about the wonder of crystals. Below left, William Fleming III, Alonzo Whitherspoon and Zackery Knight play a friendly game of dominoes while listening to Richmond’s legendary James “Plunky” Branch, above, and James “Saxmo” Gates, left, bring their usual energy and excitement while performing riveting tunes on saxophone. Corey EL’s fresh perspective to musical styles inspired by the pioneering sounds of soul, funk and hip-hop delights the crowd, including Dawn Wood, who was among the 300 fans who appreciated all of the musicians’ soulful sounds and artistry.

Photos by Sandra Sellars/ Richmond Free Press

Charles Ogletree,

The Associated Press CAMBRIDGE, Mass.

Charles J. Ogletree Jr., a law professor and civil rights scholar with a distinguished career at Harvard Law School, and whose list of clients ranged from Anita Hill to Tupac Shakur, died Friday, Aug. 4, 2023, after a lengthy battle with Alzheimer’s disease. He was 70.

A California native who often spoke of his humble roots, Mr. Ogletree worked in the farm fields of the Central Valley before establishing himself as a legal scholar at one of the nation’s most prominent law schools where he taught Barack and Michelle Obama.

Harvard Law School Dean John F. Manning shared news of Mr. Ogletree’s death in a message to the campus community Friday.

“Charles was a tireless advocate for civil rights, equality, human dignity, and social justice,” Mr. Manning said in the message that the law school emailed to The Associated Press. “He changed the world in so

longtime

legal

and civil

rights scholar at Harvard Law School, dies at 70

many ways, and he will be sorely missed in a world that very much needs him.”

Mr. Ogletree represented Ms. Hill when she accused Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment during the future U.S. Supreme Court justice’s Senate confirmation hearings in 1991. He defended the late rapper Tupac Shakur in criminal and civil cases. He also fought unsuccessfully for reparations for members of Tulsa, Okla.’s Black community who survived a 1921 white supremacist massacre.

Mr. Ogletree was surrounded by his family when he died peacefully at his home in Odenton, Md., his family said in a statement.

Mr. Ogletree went public with the news that he’d been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2016. He retired from Harvard Law School in 2020. The Merced County courthouse in California’s agricultural heartland was

named after him in February in recognition of his contributions to law, education and civil rights.

Mr. Ogletree grew up in poverty on the south side of the railroad tracks in Merced in an area of Black and brown families. His parents were seasonal farm laborers, and he picked peaches, almonds and cotton in the summer. He went to college at Stanford University before Harvard.

Mr. Manning said in his message Friday that Mr. Ogletree had a “monumental impact” on Harvard Law School.

“His extraordinary contributions stretch from his work as a practicing attorney advancing civil rights, criminal defense, and equal justice to the change he brought to Harvard Law School as an impactful institution builder to his generous work as teacher and mentor who showed our students how law can be an instrument for change,” he said.

Mr. Ogletree is survived by his wife, Pamela Barnes, to whom he was married for 47 years; his two children, Charles J. Ogletree, III and Rashida Ogletree-George; and four grandchildren.

Services scheduled for Dr. Adelaide Winfree Simpson

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

Dr. Adelaide Winfree Simpson loved helping people learn to cope with challenges, deal with traumas and handle the troubles in their life.

For more 36 years, she worked with a wide array of individuals as a practicing clinical psychologist in the Richmond area.

“She was a warm and kind with a gentle, but passionate spirit and a smile that would light up the room,” said her stepdaughter, Kendra Abeleda, while also advocating for diversity and social justice.

A service for Dr. Simpson, who died on Wednesday, July 19, 2023, at age 78, is scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 19, at Woody’s Funeral Home, 1771 N. Parham Road in Henrico County.

A Philadelphia native, Dr. Simpson followed a winding path to her psychology career. After earning degree in French from Wheaton College, she worked as a government translator in Washington. She

later taught in Connecticut and Washington, D.C., and earned a master’s in education from Bank Street College in New York.

Dr. Simpson also tested a dance career, serving as an understudy for a Washington company and also training with the Alvin Ailey Dance Company in New York for four years.

But psychology gained a hold, and she came to Richmond to secure a doctorate in clinical psychology from Virginia Commonwealth University, which she finished in 1983.

While earning that degree, she received a trainee award from the National Institutes of Mental Health and a fellowship from the American Psychological Association’s Minority Fellowship Program.

Dr. Simpson served as a clinical supervisor and coordinator for Henrico Area Mental Health and Development Services and operated a private practice with Medical and Counseling Associ-

ates, now Zoe Therapy Services. She continued seeing patients until her health began failing in May, her family said. She was a member of several professional groups, including the Virginia and American Psychological associations, the Association of Black Psychologists and the American Association of Behavioral Therapists. She also served on the boards of the Richmond Behavioral Health Authority and the Richmond Psychological Association. Other organization in which she was a member included the Virginia Area Chapter of Pi Lambda Theta, the Chrysalis Group, the professional women’s support group Solidarity and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority.

Good Shepherd Baptist Church

1127 North 28th Street, Richmond, VA 23223-6624 • Office: (804) 644-1402

The Rev. Sylvester T. Smith, Ph.D., Pastor “There’s A Place for You”

“Working

Joseph

Winston; and three grandchildren.

Before the service on Saturday, AKA members will hold an “Ivy Beyond the Wall” ceremony in Dr. Simpson’s honor at 6 p.m. Friday, Aug. 18, at Woody’s Parham Chapel, and the family will receive visitors after that ceremony.

“BACK IN SERVICE” Our doors are open again every Sunday @ 11:00 am. Live Streaming Every Sunday At: BRBConline.org or YouTube (Broad Rock Baptist Church) “MAKE IT HAPPEN”

Join us at 11:00 a.m. each Sunday for in-person worship service or Live-stream on YouTube (Good Shepherd Baptist Church RVA).

Broad Rock Baptist Church 5106 Walmsley Blvd., Richmond, VA 23224 804-276-2740 • 804-276-6535 (fax)

www.BRBCONLINE.org

“BACK IN SERVICE” Our doors are open again Mask required • Must provide vaccination card Every Sunday @ 11:00 am.

Live Streaming Every Sunday At: BRBConline.org or YouTube(Broad Rock Baptist Church)

“MAKE IT HAPPEN”

Pastor Kevin Cook

Survivors also include her husband, Richmond artist Dennis Winston, son, Dr. Sean Simpson; stepson Dennis “DJ”

St. Peter Baptist Church

Antioch Baptist Church “Redeeming God’s People for Gods Purpose”

New Market Road, Richmond, Virginia 23231 | 804-222-8835

JAMES L. SAILES PASTOR

For You In This Difficult Hour”