Richmond Free Press December 22-24, 2022 edition

Eleven volunteers were still handcounting ballots at Free Press deadline to determine the winner of Tuesday’s Democratic “firehouse” primary in the 4th Congressional District.

Richmond state Sen. Jennifer L. McClellan remains heavily favored to become the party’s standard bearer over her three male rivals, including Petersburg state Sen. Joseph D. Morrissey, in the unfolding process to replace U.S. Rep. A. Donald McEachin, who succumbed to cancer Nov. 28 just three weeks after winning re-election to his fourth term.

The turnout of roughly 26,400 voters — about 5 percent of the district’s 554,000 voters — exceeded expectations for the balloting.

The party only provided eight polling places, creating long lines and waits of an hour or more — and drawing a fed-

eral lawsuit claiming the limit on voting violated the constitutional right to vote and seeking to bar such a limit in future elections.

The tabulation started around 10 a.m. Wednesday, with initially five volunteers, until the party called in reinforcements.

The winner of the four-way Democratic contest that also included former Delegate Joseph E. Preston and businessman Tavorise K. Marks will compete in the special election for the congressional post on Tuesday, Feb. 21.

The Republican contender is once again Leon Benjamin, a two-time, electiondenying loser to Rep. McEachin. He won a three-way contest Saturday to gain the GOP nomination in a district considered heavily weighted to Democrats.

The process has been rushed since Gov. Glenn A. Youngkin set the election date,

Virginia state Sen. Jennifer McClellan, right, and U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine are shown after voting Tuesday in a “firehouse” primary for the 4th Congressional District at Diversity Richmond. Sen. McClellan hopes to succeed the late Rep. A. Donald McEachin, who was re-elected to the seat last month, but died 20 days later. The winner of Tueday’s election would be almost guaranteed to win the special election set for Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023, given that the district that includes Eastern Henrico County and Richmond — and stretches through Petersburg into Southside Virginia — is rated solidly Democratic. If elected, Sen. McClellan will be the first Black woman sent from Virginia to Congress.

City wins $11M grant from Mellon Foundation for heritage center

Mayor Levar M. Stoney on Tuesday announced the award from the Mellon Foundation, the largest single grant awarded this year for a project to examine, preserve and re-imagine history.

The city’s grant is part of $16 million that the New York-based foundation awarded to Richmond history nonprofits, including the JXN Project that seeks to commemorate the history of Jackson Ward and The Valentine, the museum that focuses on

A reluctant Mazir George, 2, needs the support of her grandfather, Dr. Monroe Harris, for her conversation with Soul Santa (Floyd Brown) at the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia earlier this month.

Mayor Stoney

Richmond’s history.

“The grant will fund the creation of an interactive space inside Main Street Station that will be designed to “engage audiences in the full history of Shockoe.”

That includes the stories of free and enslaved Black people and Native Americans as well as Jewish people and other immigrant populations who also have been part of Shockoe Bottom’s history, he stated.

He stated the center would occupy 12,300 square feet in the north end of the first floor of the station in an area that now includes the state and city’s welcome center for visitors.

The new center would include programming and exhibition space and an immersive history experience for visitors. The city already has issued a request for proposals for a consulting firm to plan the space.

The grant will enable Richmond to take “a significant step toward bringing the heritage campus to fruition,” Mayor Stoney continued.

Phil Wilayto leads the Virginia Defenders, a quarterly newspaper that has pushed for 20 years to call attention to the city’s slavery history and the enslaved, expressed his reaction to the funding.

“We are happy that after two decades of community struggle,

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Local charity to open shelter for deadly cold spell

Jason “Jay” Brown, chief executive

officer of the charity, said CCC has the resources to operate the shelter nightly for two weeks at 1900 Chamberlayne Ave. in North Side, while it continues to work with City Hall in a bid to secure the financial support to continue and expand to a 60-bed shelter in the new year. With potentially deadly cold on the way, Mr. Brown said CCC considered it

important to make shelter available. “This is what we do,” he said, in carrying out the CCC mission of providing “quality, compassionate human services.”

He said the tentative plan is to operate the shelter from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. nightly, with those needing shelter securing re-

By Michael Casey The Associated Press

BOSTON

Harvard University announced last Thursday that Claudine Gay will become its 30th president, making her the first Black person and the second woman to lead the Ivy League school.

Ms. Gay, who is currently a dean at the university and a democracy scholar, will become president July 1. She replaces Lawrence Bacow, who is stepping down and has said he wanted to spend more time with family.

“This is crazy, right?” a beaming Ms.

Gay said as she was introduced to applause at the Smith Campus Center. She currently serves as the Edgerley Family Dean of Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences.

“I am absolutely humbled by the confidence that the governing board has placed in me,” she said. “I am also incredibly humbled by the prospect of succeeding President Bacow and leading this incredible institution.”

A child of Haitian immigrants, Ms. Gay is regarded as a leading voice on

free

and

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Harvard University via The Associated Press

Harvard University announced Dec. 15 that Claudine Gay will become its 30th president, making her the first Black person to lead the Ivy League school and only the second woman.

Franco Harris, Steeler who caught ‘Immaculate Reception,’ dies

Pittsburgh Steeler Franco Harris (32) eludes a tackle by Oakland Raider Jimmy Warren as he runs 42 yards for a touchdown after catching a deflected pass during an AFC Divisional NFL playoff game in Pittsburgh on Dec. 23, 1972. Mr. Harris died Wednesday morning, Dec. 21, 2022, at age 72, just two days before the 50th anniversary of “The Immaculate Reception.”

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By Will Graves The Associated Press

The ball fluttered in the air and all but one of the 22 players on the Three Rivers Stadium turf on that cold December day 50 years ago essentially stopped.

Franco Harris never did.

The Pittsburgh Steelers running back kept right on going, the instincts that carried him through his life both on and off the field during his Hall of Fame career taking over, shifting the perception of a moribund franchise and a reeling region in the process.

The Steelers rarely won before his arrival in 1972. The moment his shoe-top grab eternally known as

CherishedMemoriesHoliday B1

Commonwealth Catholic Charities was to open an additional 30-bed temporary shelter in Richmond on Thursday, Dec. 22, to keep homeless adults from freezing to death in the Arctic air blast expected to hit Richmond two days before Christmas.

Claudine Gay to be first black president at Harvard

Richmond has scored an $11 million grant to help launch the long-stalled Shockoe Heritage Campus, whose key purpose is to remember Richmond’s role as a center of the slave trade before the Civil War.

Regina H. Boone/ Richmond Free Press

Larger than expected voter turnout delays election results

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

Holiday closings

In observance of Christmas Day, Sunday, Dec. 25, please note the following:

Government State and federal offices: State offices close early on Friday, Dec. 23, to Monday, Dec. 26, and federal offices are closed on Monday, Dec. 26.

City of Richmond offices: Closed Friday, Dec. 23, to Monday, Dec. 26.

County offices in Henrico, Chesterfield and Hanover: Closed Friday, Dec. 23, to Monday, Dec. 24.

Public schools

Richmond, Chesterfield, Henrico and Hanover public schools closed through Friday, Dec. 30. Public schools will reopen Tuesday, Jan. 3.

Public libraries Public libraries will be closed in Richmond at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 22, through Monday, Dec. 26, in Henrico from Friday, Dec. 23 to Monday, Dec. 26, in Chesterfield from Wednesday, Dec. 22, at 5 p.m. to Monday, Dec. 26, and in Hanover on Friday, Dec. 23, through Monday, Dec. 26.

Garbage and recycling collection No delay on trash or recycling collection.

U.S. Postal Service Post offices closed and no regular mail delivery on Sunday, Dec. 25 and Monday, Dec. 26.

Regular service and delivery resume on Tuesday, Dec. 27.

Normal delivery service but limited pickup service will be available on Saturday, Dec. 24.

DMV service centers

All DMV offices closed Friday, Dec. 23, Saturday, Dec. 24, and Monday, Dec. 26.

GRTC

Buses operate on a Sunday schedule on Sunday, Dec. 25.

Buses operate on a normal weekday schedule on Monday Dec. 26, with no express routes.

Banks and financial institutions Closed Monday, Dec. 26.

ABC stores Retail stores will close 5 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 24, and reopen at noon Monday, Dec. 26.

Malls, major retailers, movie theaters Varies. Inquire at specific locations.

Richmond Free Press office Closed Monday, Dec. 26.

Christmas trees accepted for recycling

Henrico County will accept Christmas trees for recycling into mulch from Monday, Dec. 26, through Sunday, Jan. 8.

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

Trees will be accepted at the following locations:

•Henrico County Government Center, 4301 E. Parham Road, in the lower parking lot;

•Eastern Government Center, 3820 Nine Mile Road, in the front parking lot;

•Springfield Road Public Use Area, 10600 Fords Country Lane, near Nuckols Road and Interstate 295; and

•Charles City Road Public Use Area, 2075 Charles City Road.

Trees can be dropped off anytime at the Henrico Government Center and Eastern Government Center and from 7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily at the Springfield Road and Charles City Road public use areas. Trees must be free of tinsel, lights, ornaments, tree stands and water bowls.

Residents are reminded not to place trees in their waste carts or curbside for weekly trash collection service. Trees are not eligible for pickup, even if they are cut into pieces.

Free mulch is available to Henrico residents at the public use areas. For information, go to henrico.us/services/free-mulch or call (804) 501-7277.

Housing authority buys Grace Place

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

The city’s housing authority has purchased a failing 11-story apartment building in Downtown in a bid to keep it as an incomerestricted property offering lower than market rents.

Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority’s takeover of the 58-unit Grace Place at 400 E. Grace St. was announced Tuesday.

According to RRHA, about 15 units are still occupied. The authority has turned the property, valued at nearly $5 million, over to its development arm, Richmond Development Corp., city records show.

RRHA’s plan is to send engineers and contractors to assess the building’s condition and determine what improvements need to be made before resuming leasing to individuals and families that would qualify, according to a statement from the authority.

The building’s use as “affordable housing” dates to 2001. The building’s status as an income-restricted complex was to remain for 30 years under an agreement signed then.

The building’s most recent owner, Franklin Capital Corp. of Alexandria, struggled to maintain the property and collect rents. During the spring and summer, the company sought to evict all the tenants in order to clear the building and sell it, but the Central Virginia Legal Aid stopped that effort.

“They say, they’re losing money, and it costs too much to run the building. We don’t believe that that is legally a sufficient reason for them to evict people and shut the building down,” Martin D.“Marty” Wegbreit, CVLA’s director of litigation in Richmond, said.

In October 2021, the city condemned the building after finding 18 violations of health and safety codes, forcing Franklin Capital to bring it up to code before allowing residents to return.

RRHA had owned the land under the building since at least 2014, city records show, but had marketed the building. Now RRHA owns the building, too, the authority stated. The purchase price was not immediately disclosed.

Cityscape

Slices of life and scenes in Richmond

‘Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over’

Free Press staff report

Virginia’s Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over DUI enforcement and public education campaign is back on Virginia’s roads this holiday season. Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over, formerly known as Checkpoint Strikeforce, combines law enforcement efforts with research-based outreach to remind Virginians to plan for a safe ride home after drinking.

“Our goal is to ensure that every Virginian gets home safely to their families this holiday season,” said Gov. Glenn Youngkin. “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over is back to remind folks to celebrate responsibly and plan a safe ride home if they’ve been drinking.”

In 2020, more than 39 percent of all U.S. traffic fatalities on Christmas Day involved alcohol-impaired drivers. On New Year’s Day 2020, alcohol-impared traffic fatalities accounted for nearly 49 percent of all U.S. traffic fatalities. In

the Commonwealth alone, 445 Virginians were injured and 13 Virginians lost their lives because of alcohol-related crashes between Thanksgiving 2021 and New Year’s Day 2022.

“The research is clear: the winter holidays are one of the most dangerous times of the year due to alcohol-related crashes. It’s crucial that everyone does their part to keep themselves and their families safe this holiday season by making a plan for a sober ride home if your festivities include alcohol,” said Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles Acting Commissioner Linda Ford. “The Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles is proud to continue our collaboration with the Washington Regional Alcohol Program’s Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign to stop these tragedies at the source.”

Since the campaign’s launch in 2001, alcohol-related crashes have decreased by 40 percent, fatalities have decreased by 31 percent, and injuries have nearly halved. Last year in Virginia, 26 percent

of all traffic fatalities involved alcohol, representing a 9.2 percent decrease from 2020. However, there is still more work to be done to end the epidemic of drunk driving once and for all.

Virginia State Police personnel will work through the holiday as part of Operation CARE – the Crash Awareness Reduction Effort. CARE is a nationwide, state-sponsored traffic safety program that aims to reduce traffic crashes, fatalities and injuries caused by impaired driving, speeding, and failing to use occupant restraints. Virginia State Police’s participation in the program will begin Friday, Dec. 23, and run through Monday, Jan. 2. at midnight.

In addition, 120 Virginia law enforcement agencies will participate in the holiday wave of Virginia’s Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign through New Year’s Day. Law enforcement officers will conduct 536 individual saturation patrols and 95 sobriety checkpoints across the Commonwealth.

New charter commission established

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

It took nearly a year, but a nine-member commission to review the City Charter, the city’s state-approved constitution, is finally set up and starting work.

The advisory group that City Council created met Monday and received a brief overview from City Attorney Haskell C. Brown about previous efforts to modify or amend the current charter that dates back to 1948.

The council agreed to set up the commission in December 2021, then took three months to put legislation in place and another seven months to appoint the members, one from each district.

Among the charter changes the commission was set up to consider is whether the at-large mayor should be a member of the council as is the case in Norfolk, rather than continuing to be independent.

The commission also could consider whether council members’ four-year terms should be staggered to allow for four or five

members to be elected two years into a mayor’s term; whether the council should be able to amend the budget on a par with the mayor; and whether the council should set the salaries of its members rather than leaving it to the General Assembly.

Under the ordinance approved last March to create the commission, the group has until June to present recommendations to the council and the mayor.

In forming the commission, the council had indicated a wish to have a full package of changes approved and ready to present to the General Assembly for approval in the 2024 session.

The commission’s chair is Dr. Thad Williamson, an associate professor at the University of Richmond with experience in city government. That includes his service as the first director of the city’s anti-poverty initiative known as the Office of Community Wealth Building under Mayor Dwight C. Jones and as a policy adviser to Mayor Levar M. Stoney.

Other members include Vice Chair Rachael Deane and Antoine Williams, Bre’Auna Beasley, William Echelberger Jr., Kyle Elliott, Travis Gunn, Willette King and Steven Koski.

Council honors six with honorary street signs

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

Virginia’s first full-time Black judge and a coach who has been a mentor to Richmond youths for decades are among the latest group of people City Council has approved for recognition with honorary street signs.

The history-making judge is Willard H. Douglas Jr. He cracked Virginia’s lilywhite judiciary in 1974 when the General Assembly, prodded by then Richmond state Sen. L. Douglas Wilder, elected him to serve as a judge on Richmond’s Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court.

The veteran coach is Harold Harris, who for several decades has worked with youths at the Salvation Army Boys and Girls Club on R Street in Church Hill. He also is a former head coach of the Armstrong High School girls basketball team.

The council voted Dec. 12 to designate the 600 block of Edge Hill Road in Judge Douglas’ honor and to designate the blocks of R Street between 36th and 38th streets in Mr. Harris’ honor.

Four others also won council approval for posthumous recognition:

The late Rev. Kenneth E. Dennis Sr., pastor of Greater Mount Moriah Baptist

Church for 34 years, whose street sign will be posted on Charity Street next to the church in Gilpin Court;

The late Langston R. Davis Sr., a top Black contractor for decades as head of Davis Brothers Construction Co., whose street signs will be posted in the 900 and 1000 blocks of Overbrook Road in North Side;

The late Richard Jones and Bessie Jones, a Randolph neighborhood couple who were key figures in the Richmond Crusade for Voters for decades, who were approved for a street sign in the 1100 block of Eggleston Street in the near West End.

GRTC continues free bus rides through June 2024

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

GRTC will retain zero fares for at least 18 more months – saving regular riders $1,000 or more in yearly transportation costs.

The plan to keep GRTC fare free on buses and specialty CARE vans through June 30, 2024, won the unanimous support of the transit company’s board Tuesday, with a prospect that the elimination of fares could continue longer.

The extension was first broached at the GRTC Finance Committee meeting last week following a review of a 10-year projection of revenue and expenses.

The projection indicated the regional transit company would have the funds to continue fare-free service through at least June 30, 2025, Lincoln Saunders, the city’s chief administrative officer, noted during committee meeting.

Mr. Saunders, a member of the GRTC board,

secured agreement from the four other committee members from the city and the counties of Henrico and Chesterfield on that point.

A nonprofit, RVA Rapid Transit, has been campaigning to prevent reinstatement of fares, and the full board received more than 20 comments from riders and supporters of the freefare policy before voting to extend free fares for another year.

GRTC dropped fares after the pandemic hit in March 2020 and continued the initiative through the 2020-2021 and 2021-22 fiscal years, leading to a rebound in ridership in a period of national decline in transit usage.

The company was awarded an $8 million state grant in December 2021 to continue the zero-fare program for three additional years through mid-2025.

The grant is providing $4.5 million during the current 2022-23 fiscal year that began July

1. The grant will provide $2.5 million in the upcoming 2023-24 fiscal year and $1 million in the 2024-25 fiscal year.

Continuing free rides is a significant aid to GRTC users, who used to spend $20 a week or more on bus rides when fares were $1.50 one way, with the cost of a transfer adding an additional 25 cents to the cost.

According to a 2019 company survey, 70 percent of regular riders were then members of households with incomes of $25,000 a year or less, while 25 percent of riders made less than $10,000 a year.

Julie Timm, the former GRTC chief executive officer who initiated the free fare experiment during her tenure, noted that prior to COVID, GRTC collected $5 million in fares annually from bus riders, “many of whom were living at or below poverty. Transit fares maintained a very real barrier to critical resources such as food,

health care, education, and better paying jobs.

“Under Zero Fares, our most vulnerable neighbors are no longer forced to choose between the cost of transportation and the cost of food and medicine,” Ms. Timm stated.

GRTC has had to fill the gap between the grant and foregone fare revenue.

Funding from federal pandemic relief funds has helped as has new revenue from the Central Virginia Transit Authority, which collects and distributes income from a small increase in the sales tax and the gas tax to fund transportation projects in the Metropolitan Richmond area.

GRTC also has benefitted from a three-year contract with Virginia Commonwealth University, which pays $1.3 million a year to GRTC to gain free rides for students, faculty and staff, though GRTC staff told the committee that the contract might not be renewed after June 30, 2024.

Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press

Santa seemingly is coming down the chimney in a storefront on Grace Street between 5th and 6th streets in the old Miller & Rhoads building in Downtown Richmond. Santa Claus, the legendary figure who is the traditional patron of Christmas in the United States and other countries, brings gifts to children (and many grown-ups, too). His popular image is based on traditions associated with Saint Nicholas, a fourth-century Christian saint, according to Britannica. Miller & Rhoads was a Virginia-based department store chain with its Richmond location known for its “SantaLand” upstairs attraction. It closed in 1990, according to Wikipedia.

Larger than expected voter turnout delays election results

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as state law requires party candidates and independents to be in place 60 days before the election, in this case Friday, Dec. 23.

For Democrats, the good news is even if Sen. McClellan or Sen. Morrissey wins, they can still serve in the General Assembly in the upcoming session. The state Senate is now divided 21-18 with one Republican-leaning seat to be filled, so the departure of even one Democrat would top the balance of power.

If, as anticipated, Sen. McClellan wins this the initial party contest, she would be on track to become first black woman to represent Virginia in Congress.

“To be the first Black congresswoman from the area where I grew up would just be incredible,” the senator who was born in Petersburg said before she announced. She also noted that she would be following in the footsteps of John Mercer Langston, who won the 4th District seat in 1890 to become Virginia’s first Black congressman.

Sen. McClellan, who will turn 50 next week, became the front runner after she announced Dec. 13.

She corralled at least 200 endorsements, including the backing of Rep. McEachin’s widow, Colette W. McEachin, Richmond’s commonwealth’s attorney.

Just days after she announced, Henrico Delegate Lamont Bagby dropped his bid and his supporters, including Richmond Mayor Levar M. Stoney and Delegate Delores L. McQuinn, coalesced around Sen. McClellan.

She also outraised her opponents, collecting $100,000 in campaign donations the first day.

Sen. McClellan said if she does win the seat, she would model her service in Congress after that of Rep. McEachin. First elected in 2005 as a delegate, she served with him in the House of Delegates and succeeded him in the state Senate in 2017.

“He was a champion for the 4th,” she said “a social justice champion who really brought a servant leader’s heart to solving problems and improving people’s lives, and that’s what I’ve been doing for the past 17 years — fighting for an opportunity for many communities that are often ignored.”

In a mailer and in multiple appearances during the brief campaign, Sen. McClellan has touted her record as a champion

on a long list of issues, ranging from tackling climate change and environmental protection to upholding women’s rights on abortion, protecting voting rights and reforming Virginia’s criminal justice system.

Sen. Morrissey, a disbarred attorney with a checkered past, also campaigned as a champion for the voiceless and pointed to his record of pushing legislation to end the death penalty, re-establish parole for juvenile offenders and cap insulin prices, which Sen. McClellan also supported.

“I’ve spent the better part of the last decade fighting for issues important to Virginians, like the environment, reforming our criminal justice system, investing in affordable housing, fighting for Virginia’s health care and preventing gun violence,” he said as he announced his campaign outside Petersburg City Hall.

Still, Sen. Morrissey appeared to be facing an uphill fight. Election observers noted that Sen. McClellan’s base is in Richmond and Henrico, where 50 percent of the voters in the district reside. There was a heavy vote both in the city and the county, boding well for Sen. McClellan, who was considered to have the greatest chance to pile up a winning margin in those communities.

City wins $11M grant from Mellon Foundation for heritage center

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major funders outside the city are recognizing the tremendous historical importance of Shockoe to the Black community,” he said.

Mr. Wilayto said that his organization’s goal will be to ensure that the grant funds are used in a way that “will materially benefit the descendant community of the enslaved” through the creation of jobs as well as business opportunities.

According to the city, the project would follow the city’s minority business guidelines.

Envisioned for more than 10 years, the heritage campus is to include a memorial park on land where slave trading once flourished, and a national slavery museum.

“The city has already committed $27.9 million in capital improvement dollars for the campus,” the mayor noted.

However, a draft plan for Shockoe Bottom that was to guide development of the campus and other properties remains on hold. A draft plan that was released last year has not been finalized and presented to City Council for approval.

According to the Virginia Defenders newspaper, the Stoney administration has hired another consulting firm to determine if development of the proposed $220 million slavery museum in that low section of the city is feasible.

Mellon also awarded:

• $1.5 million to the JXN Project that Dr. Sesha Joi Moon and Enjoli Moon co-founded to support the project’s effort to create a reproduction of the home of Abraham Peyton Skipwith, the first Black person to live in Jackson Ward, and to build on their research and storytelling about a community that Mellon described as the nation’s first historically registered Black urban neighborhood.

• $1.2 million to The Valentine to re-imagine the studio of Richmond sculptor Edward Valentine, to re-interpret the Wickham House, a former enslavement site, and to provide the public with

Want a COVID-19 vaccine or booster shot?

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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 (1-877-8294682).

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) 205-3501 to schedule appointments.

New COVID-19 boosters, updated to better protect against the latest variants of the virus, are now available. The new Pfizer booster is approved for those age 12 and up, while the new Moderna booster is for those age 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 are now offering bivalent Pfizer and Moderna boosters to children between the ages of 5 to 11 in clinics in the near future. Children in this age range will be eligible after at least two months since their last vaccine dose.

New COVID-19 cases in Virginia rose by 22 percent during the last week, according to the Virginia Department of Health, and data from the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association showed hospitalizations statewide increased by 13 percent since last Wednesday.

Richmond and the counties of Chesterfield, Henrico and Hanover are now at medium levels of community COVID-19. Eight localities in Virginia are ranked at high community COVID levels, while 60 were ranked at medium as of last week.

A total of 84 new cases of COVID-19 were reported statewide Wednesday for the 24-hour period, contributing to an overall state total of 2,182,604 cases in Virginia since the pandemic’s outbreak. As of Wednesday, there have been 456,989 hospitalizations and 22,610 deaths statewide. The state’s seven-day positivity rate rose to 16.1 percent on Wednesday, after reaching 13.4 percent last week.

On Tuesday, state health officials reported that nearly 18.1 million COVID-19 doses had been administered, with 73.6 percent of the state’s population fully vaccinated at the time. State data also showed that over 5 million people in Virginia have received booster shots or third doses of the vaccine.

Among ages 5 to 11 in Virginia, 341,477 have received their first shots as of Tuesday, accounting for 47.1 percent of the age group in the state, while 300,318 children, or 41.4 percent, are fully vaccinated. In this age group, 54,423 children have received a monovalent booster, making up 7.5 percent, while 31,277 have gotten a bivalent booster shot, accounting for 10.8 percent of this group.

As of Tuesday, 61,534 children from the ages of zero to four have received their first doses, making up 13.5 percent of the population in Virginia, while 47,490 are fully vaccinated, or 10.4 percent of the population. On Wednesday, fewer than 1,600,740 cases, 7,590 hospitalizations and 105 deaths were recorded among children in the state.

State data also shows that African-Americans comprised 18.6 percent of cases statewide and 18 percent of deaths for which ethnic and racial data is available, while Latinos made up 9.3 percent of cases and 3.6 percent of deaths.

As of Wednesday, Richmond reported a total of 60,116 cases, 1,253 hospitalizations and 552 deaths; Henrico County, 84,878 cases, 1,681 hospitalizations and 1,045 deaths; Chesterfield County, 95,063 cases, 1,726 hospitalizations and 855 deaths; and Hanover County, 27,615 cases, 853 hospitalizations and 333 deaths.

Compiled by George Copeland Jr.

a deeper understanding of the Jim Crow era in Richmond.

• $1 million to Cary Forward, founded and led by renowned artist Paul Rucker, to support the multidisciplinary arts space and interpretive center he has opened in Carytown and enable him to provide for an artist/scholar residency and further develop an archival library to preserve and promote omitted history.

• $850,000 to Untold RVA led by Free Egunfemi to boost

its capacity to explore Richmond’s enslavement-era history and develop walkable routes for visitors to learn more the city’s past and its links to the African diaspora.

• $670,000 to Reclaiming the Monument to enable founding artists Dustin Klein and Alex Criqui to create more light shows addressing issues of historical, racial and social justice in the city and surrounding region.

Local charity to open shelter for deadly cold spell

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ferrals through the Greater Richmond Continuum of Care’s homeless hotline or its outreach team.

Mr. Brown praised the Community Foundation and CCC’s partners at the Greater Richmond Continuum of Care, particularly Homeward and the Salvation Army, for making the opening possible.

His hope is that the city officials will cut through the red tape that so far has held up the planned city financial support for CCC’s operation that the City Council has already approved.

City spokesperson Petula Burks, in response to a Free Press query, indicated that the city also is hoping to have an agreement in place shortly with CCC so that it can move forward as a city contractor to serve homeless single men and women.

CCC’s shelter is taking shape amid a forecast that calls for temperatures in Richmond to plunge into the low teens after sundown Friday, Dec. 23, and again after sundown Saturday, Dec. 24, and then be in the low 20s the next four nights. The

temperatures are predicted to ease temporarily after daybreak Thursday, Dec. 29.

Fifth District City Councilwoman Stephanie A. Lynch, chair of council’s Education and Human Services Committee, called CCC’s shelter essential.

“We have mothers sleeping in cars with their babies, we have folks with mental health challenges, we have elderly people who are living unhoused, and it is absolutely heartbreaking and unacceptable,” Ms. Lynch said.

While the city has set aside nearly $5 million to pay for four shelter operations for the homeless, so far only two have opened.

The city currently has contracted with a church and a nonprofit to operate inclement weather shelters with a total of 100 beds in South Side.

United Nations Church operates a 60-bed men’s shelter in its gymnasium at Wall and West 19th streets at the rear of its campus. RVA Sister’s Keeper operates a 40-bed shelter for women and children in former counseling center at 2807 Hull St. Both fill up quickly, leaving people who

are last in line out in the cold.

Rhonda Sneed, leader of the homeless services provider Blessing Warriors RVA, has posted Facebook videos of men she has come across who were outside with no place to go because the city’s two shelters as well as the dozen shelters other nonprofits operate were already full.

Ms. Sneed, along with other members of her group, has been handing out blankets, food and other supplies to help people survive, including several men who had just been released from a nearby hospital.

She also has begun directing people to the waiting room at the Greyhound bus station on Arthur Ashe Boulevard that is open 24 hours a day. The company so far has allowed people to stay on the benches overnight to keep warm.

Along with trying to make a deal with CCC, City Hall is pushing for quick passage of a special use permit that would enable Fifth Street Baptist Church in Highland Park to open an additional 30-bed shelter. The Planning Commission and City Council are anticipated to approve the permit in the first two weeks of January.

Claudine Gay to be first black president at Harvard

Continued from A1

the issue of American political participation. Among the issues she has explored is how a range of social and economic factors shape political views and voting. She also is the founding chair Harvard’s Inequality in America Initiative, which studies issues like the effects of child poverty and deprivation on educational opportunity and American inequality from a global perspective.

“Claudine is a remarkable leader who is profoundly devoted to sustaining and enhancing Harvard’s academic excellence, to championing both the value and the values of higher education and research, to expanding opportunity, and to strengthening Harvard as a fount of ideas and a force for good in the world,” Penny Pritzker, senior fellow of the Harvard Corporation and chair of Harvard’s presidential search committee, said in a statement.

In her speech, Ms.Gay called for greater collaboration among schools at Harvard and said there was an urgency for the university be more engaged with the world and to “bring bold, brave and pioneering thinking to our greatest challenges.”

“The idea of the ‘ivory tower’ — that is the past not the future of academia. We don’t exist outside of society, but as part of it,” she said. “That means that Harvard has a duty to lean in, engage and to be of service to the world.”

With Ms. Gay’s appointment, women will outnumber men as chiefs of the eight Ivy League schools. Dartmouth and the University of Pennsylvania appointed women earlier this year, joining Brown and Cornell. Columbia, Princeton and Yale are led by men. Drew Faust was the first woman to be president at Harvard. A noted historian of the American South and the Civil War, she stepped down in 2018 after 11 years.

Ms. Gay will be the only Black president currently in the Ivy League and the second Black woman ever, following Ruth Simmons, who led Brown University from 2001 to 2012.

Ms. Gay’s appointment is remarkable in part because relatively few U.S. universities are led by Black presidents, said Eddie R. Cole, a historian of college presidents and race at the University of California, Los Angeles. Harvard wields outsized influence in higher education, he

said, and other universities are bound to take notice.

“At a time when everyone continues to look at Harvard, this presidential hire will arguably be one of the most significant in American higher education for years to come,” Mr. Cole said.

As president of Harvard, Ms. Gay will shape decisions that can have impact at the local, state and federal level, Mr. Cole said. That includes racial issues that the campus has confronted in recent years, including affirmative action and the school’s own history with slavery.

Ms. Gay’s early challenges could include fallout from the Supreme Court’s review of the use of race in admissions. The court is weighing challenges to processes at Harvard and the University of North Carolina, which consider race among many factors when choosing students.

Lower courts have upheld practices at both universities, rejecting claims that they discriminated against Asian American applicants. But in oral arguments this year, the high court’s six conservative justices expressed doubts about the practice, which has been upheld under Supreme Court decisions reaching back to 1978.

Franco Harris, Pittsburgh Steeler great, dies at 72

Continued from A1

the “Immaculate Reception” entered the lexicon, they rarely lost.

Mr. Harris, whose heads-up thinking authored the most iconic play in NFL history, has died. He was 72. Mr. Harris’ son, Dok, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that his father died overnight. No cause of death was given.

His death comes two days before the 50th anniversary of the play that provided the jolt that helped transform the Steelers from also-rans into the NFL’s elite, and three days before Pittsburgh is scheduled to retire his No. 32 during a ceremony at halftime of its game against the Las Vegas Raiders. Mr. Harris had been busy in the run-up to the celebration, doing media interviews Monday to talk about a moment to which he is forever linked.

“It is difficult to find the appropriate words to describe Franco Harris’ impact on the Pittsburgh Steelers, his teammates, the City of Pittsburgh and Steelers Nation,” team President Art Rooney II said in a statement. “From his rookie season, which included the Immaculate Reception, through the next 50 years, Franco brought joy to people on and off the field. He never stopped giving back in so many ways. He

touched so many, and he was loved by so many.”

Even in retirement, Mr. Harris remained a fixture in the community and a team whose standard of excellence began with a young kid from New Jersey who saw the ball in the air and kept on running. It wasn’t uncommon for Mr. Harris to stop by the Steelers’ practice facility to chat with players who weren’t even born before his fateful play.

“I just admire and love the man,” Coach Mike Tomlin said. “There’s so much to be learned from him in terms of how he conducted himself, how he embraced the responsibilities of being Franco for Steeler Nation, for this community ... He embraced it all and did it with such grace and class and patience and time for people.”

Mr. Harris ran for 12,120 yards and won four Super Bowl rings with the Steelers in the 1970s, a dynasty that began in earnest when Mr. Harris decided to keep running during a last-second heave by Pittsburgh quarterback Terry Bradshaw in a playoff game against Oakland in 1972.

With Pittsburgh trailing 7-6 and facing

fourth-and-10 from its own 40-yard line and 22 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, Mr. Bradshaw drifted back and threw deep to running back Frenchy Fuqua. Mr. Fuqua and Oakland defensive back Jack Tatum collided, sending the ball careening back toward midfield in the direction of Mr. Harris. Game officials weren’t sure who deflected the pass; replays were inconclusive.

While nearly everyone else on the field stopped, Mr. Harris kept his legs churning, snatching the ball just inches above the turf near the Oakland 45, then outracing several stunned Raider defenders to give the Steelers their first playoff victory some four decades after founder Art Rooney Sr. brought the still-fledgling NFL to western Pennsylvania.

“That play really represents our teams of the ’70s,” Mr. Harris said after the “Immaculate Reception” was voted the greatest play in the league’s first 100 years in 2020.

While the Steelers fell the next week to Miami in the AFC championship, Pittsburgh was on its way to becoming the dominant team of the 1970s, twice winning backto-back Super Bowls, first after the 1974 and 1975 seasons and again after the 1978 and 1979 seasons.

Mr. Harris

Hundreds of Students. Millions in Scholarships.

Dominion Energy Educational Equity Scholarship recipients are on the path to success. Because our communities are only as strong as our next generation, we’re investing in hundreds of young scholars across the states we serve by committing millions of scholarship dollars to help students in minority and underserved communities attend college and realize their potential.

Students can learn more and apply at DominionEnergy.com/EquityScholarships.

Maulana

By George Copeland Jr.

The Capital City Kwanzaa Festival returns to Richmond on Friday, Dec. 30, bringing a suite of year-end celebrations united under the theme “Celebrating Black Futures.”

The Elegba Folklore Society will present the event, which will run from 5 to 10 p.m. in Exhibit Hall B at the Greater Richmond Convention Center, 5th and Marshall streets.

Kwanzaa is a Pan-African holiday of unity, strength, clarity and solidarity based on reconnection with essential African value systems.

Maulana Karenga, the creator of Kwanzaa and the Nguzo Saba or “The Seven Principles,” is the festival’s keynote speaker. Dr. Karenga is a professor and chair of the Department of Africana Studies at California State University, Long Beach, Calif. A prolific author, his latest book is “The Liberation Ethics of Malcolm X: Critical Consciousness, Moral Grounding and 2020 Transformative Struggle.”

“Richmond is a major center for the celebration of Kwanzaa,” Dr. Karenga said in a statement. “It is an important site of AfricanAmerican history and culture, and it has been a very welcoming and enjoyable experience for my wife, Tiamoyo and me.”

The festival’s opening begins with the African Market, featuring art, clothing, food, literature and more. The Pouring of Ancestral Libation and Kwanzaa Candle Lighting Ceremony will be led by Janine Y. Bell, artistic director for the Elegba Folklore Society.

“We are happy to see that tickets are selling at a steady pace, although we expect a pretty robust walk-up audience,” Ms. Bell said. “We are

humbled when people respond enthusiastically and positively to the programs that the Elegba Folklore Society invites them to.”

With the festival taking place on the fifth day of Kwanzaa, known as Nia, its sessions will include workshops focused on personal and community triumph, African economics, health maintenance and environmental justice. The Watoto Kwanzaa activities, meanwhile, will highlight art making and cultural education for children.

Various performances will be featured throughout the event, including the Pan Masters Steel Drum Orchestra, singer Kaay Taurus, and a mashup of West African dance, music and oral tradition courtesy of Plunky & Oneness and the Elegba Folklore Society.

“The Capital City Kwanzaa Festival is a joy for the Elegba Folklore Society to present for not only our community, but for those who visit from other cities,” Ms. Bell said. “We take our time to make sure that not only is it entertaining, but also that it is affirming.”

As COVID-19 remains an ongoing concern, the festival organizers ask attendees to take a COVID test in advance if they are experiencing any symptoms. Anyone with positive test results is encouraged to stay home, rest and recover.

Admission is $6 for advance tickets for the general public, and $7 at the door. Students ages 12 to 18 and seniors age 65 and older can purchase advance tickets for $5, or $6 at the door. Groups of 10 or more can purchase tickets for $5, but only in advance, while admission is free for children under age 12.

For more details, please visit Elegba Folklore Society’s website at www.efsinc.org/events/festivals/kwanzaa-festival, or call 804-644-3900.

Regina H. Boone/Richmond

The Grinch who Stole Christmas appears to be in a good mood and the youngsters of the Friends Association for Children in Gilpin Court are just as excited to wave to him Tuesday during their annual Holiday Vehicle Parade. Other parade participants included the Victory 7 Mustang Club, Richmond Police Department, members of Richmond City Council and School Board and the Richmond Public Schools Lit Limo, who had Santa waving from a bus window.

Regina H. Boone/ Richmond Free Press Rabbi Scott Nagel, left, and Cantor Sarah Beck-Berman of Congregation Beth Ahabah participate for the second year in the lighting of the City of Richmond’s menorah in the lobby of City Hall on the second evening of Hanukkah, Monday, Dec. 19. Mayor Levar M. Stoney, seated second from left, Richmond City Council President Cynthia Newbille, and 9th District City Council member Michael J. Jones listened as synagogue leaders performed celebratory songs.

Dr. Karenga

McClellan’s path to victory

By all accounts, Virginia State Sen. Jennifer L. McClellan has the makings of a formidable member of Congress. Arguably, she is the best qualified candidate to replace the late Rep. A. Donald McEachin, who died Nov. 28, 2022.

She would bring a strong résumé and a wealth of legislative experience to the job, more than 15 years in the Virginia House and Senate, as well as connections to the national Democratic Party as a member of the Democratic National Committee.

Both in the House and Senate, Sen. McClellan built a reputation as a knowledgeable lawmaker who worked to bridge progressive and establishment groups. She touts her record of working across the aisle with Republicans to get legislation passed, even when Democrats were in the minority in the General Assembly.

If she beats her senate colleague and main rival, Sen. Joe Morrissey, in this week’s “firehouse primary,” her path to victory should be a smooth one in the Democrat-friendly 4th District, where she would face off Feb. 21, against Republican Leon Benjamin. Rep. McEachin had twice defeated Mr. Benjamin by a considerable margin in two consecutive election cycles, 2020 and 2022.

(Democrats, Joseph Preston and Tavorise Marks, also contended for the nomination.)

Sen. McClellan picked up endorsements from Virginia U.S. Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, both former Democratic governors; Terry McAuliffe, the commonwealth’s most recent Democratic governor; Richmond Mayor Levar Stony, and Rep. McEachin’s widow Collette McEachin, Richmond’s top prosecutor.

If she wins the firehouse primary (the votes are still being counted as the Free Press deadline approaches), the Petersburg native, who turns 50 next week, would be the first Black woman from Virginia elected to Congress.

In a 2020 online HuffPost interview, Sen. McClellan said: “Black women have been the backbone of our communities and our economy but have been relegated to the shadows or the back over the past 400 years. “And again, whether it’s Sojourner Truth and Harriet Tubman, or Ida B. Wells, or Shirley Chisholm, you know, we’re going to keep pushing and keep striving for progress. We’re at a critical moment where we’ve broken through.”

Charleston’s new museum

Most people have at least heard about the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture in Washington, D.C., even if they have not visited yet.

That’s to the north. But in just a few weeks, you will be able to go south to find an equally impressive museum about the Black experience.

The new place is the International African American Museum in Charleston, S.C., a former fountainhead of the slave trade. While Richmond has dreamed about having such a major museum, Charleston has gotten it done.

The museum, now scheduled to open Jan. 21, has been created, according to the website, to tell the story of “a journey that began centuries ago in Africa, and still continues.

“It is about the journey of millions of Africans, captured and forced across the Atlantic in the grueling and inhumane Middle Passage, who arrived at Gadsden’s Wharf in Charleston, South Carolina and other ports,” the post continues.

“Their labor, resistance and ingenuity and that of their descendants shaped every aspect of our world.”

We can’t wait to see what this museum will offer.

Far-right school board candidates: “We’ll be back”

Last August, I wrote that getting “back to school” this year would also mean getting back to fighting far-right attacks on education. The threats included increased efforts to ban books, and the far-right’s efforts to take over local school boards. So how did the right do in this fall’s school board elections? Well, as in Congress, there was no conservative “Red Wave.”

However, the right did score just enough wins to keep coming back. And the groups behind those wins are promising to do just that.

According to news reports, about half the candidates endorsed by one national group, Moms for Liberty, and a third of those endorsed by another, the conservative 1776 Project PAC, won in November. Earlier this year Moms for Liberty racked up notable wins in their home state of Florida, where extremist Gov. Ron DeSantis gave them a boost. And, in addition to taking over some school boards in their home state, they took over some boards in a few districts in South Carolina.

Their strategy was to try

for a repeat performance of the Virginia election in 2021, where Republican Glenn Youngkin won the governor’s race on a similar cynical “parental rights” platform. The platform is code for highlighting culture war battles over issues like COVID mask and vaccine policies, “critical race theory,” and anti-LGBTQ activism. Let’s be clear, despite the

marketing behind this movement, it doesn’t represent the views of many parents.

And if the far-right doesn’t have good ideas, it definitely has plenty of money. The 1776 Project reportedly spent almost $2.8 million on ads and other campaign material for candidates. In Texas, a right-wing cellphone company called Patriot Mobile spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to help right-wing candidates in several school districts, and called it “just the beginning.”

In the end, this campaign strategy was not the universally successful formula the right hoped it would be. For starters, the socalled “parental rights” groups don’t speak for all parents –especially Black and brown parents. In many places, parents and teachers worked together to

push back against ultraconservative takeover attempts. Winning candidates endorsed by Moms for Liberty and the 1776 Project were in the few hundreds, far fewer than the thousands endorsed by the National Education Association – of which more than 70 percent won their races.

This time.

I’m an optimist at heart, and it gives me hope to see that the dishonest and damaging drive to take over school boards did not sweep the nation. It is very good to know that enough parents, teachers – and students – spoke out to prevent that from happening.

We want schools where all kids can flourish. We want schools where history lessons are not whitewashed to hide harsh realities about our nation’s troubled past.

As a parent, I don’t want my children lied to in school. That won’t help them succeed in school or in life. As a lifelong student of history, I know that we can’t understand our present reality or begin to shape a more inclusive future without being grounded in the complexity of our past.

But I also know the far right wants to make school board races a stepping stone to bigger things. Investing in school board takeovers is a power-building strategy. Ultraconservative activist Steve Bannon said it himself when

How I found my voice as a Black student

I was excitedly talking with my friends about our high school plans when one of my eighthgrade teachers stopped me in the hallway and asked which school I got into.

“Brooklyn Tech,” I said with a smile, thinking of the months I spent studying for the specialized high school exam, or SHSAT.

“Oh, good,” she said. “You know they only accepted seven Black students at Stuyvesant this year? It’s sad.”

I wasn’t sure what to say. I knew that specialized New York City high schools like Stuyvesant and Brooklyn Tech enrolled a small percentage of Black students. In 2019, the year I was accepted, merely 5.7 percent of students at Tech were Black; that’s 341 Black students out of a total enrollment of 5,940. When I was first admitted, those demographics didn’t bother me.

But that fall, after the first-day excitement wore off, I began noticing certain patterns. Like how I was one of, at most, three Black faces in my classes. And how none of my teachers looked like me.

Regularly hearing slurs coming from the mouths of my peers and snickering at racially charged jokes that shouldn’t have been made — it agitated me.

I didn’t stand up for myself, and I didn’t have a space to share my feelings of isolation and powerlessness. In previous years, I didn’t mind the lack of diversity in my friend groups. Now it bothered me that I only

had one Black friend at the start of my freshman year.

Then at a club fair a few weeks into the school year, I saw a table where a group of Black students was socializing. I made eye contact with one of the girls there. She smiled as she approached me and asked if I would like to put my email down to join Brooklyn Tech’s Black Student Union. Before then, I had no idea that this club existed. I

enthusiastically agreed.

The following Monday, I walked into my first Black Student Union meeting. I remember seeing a sea of Black faces and wondering how there could be so many of us here when I barely saw enough on a daily basis to count on one hand. I took a seat and looked around, excitedly.

“We know how small the Black population is here at Tech, so we wanted to have a space where we could all come together,” said one of the group’s leaders. “We want to create a family.”

Mondays at the Black Student Union became an anchor of my time at Tech. It was where I could have in-depth, honest conversations with peers. We processed George Floyd’s death and Kyle Rittenhouse’s acquittal. We talked about our experiences in and out of school, and shared our sadness, pain, anger and also joy.

Junior year, I tried out for (and made) the Step Team. It was a majority Black space; and I soon realized that the Black Student Union wasn’t the only place I could feel comfortable

and accepted.

I was spending most days after school in spaces surrounded by people who looked like me. I got to know the Black students I had seen in the hallways and in my classes. The microaggressions and uncomfortable stares didn’t stop, but the way I approached them did. Rather than staying quiet, I responded:

“Why do you think that’s OK for you to say?”

“That’s not funny.”

“Your words have an impact, you should choose them more wisely.”

Pointing out ignorance still wasn’t easy, but I knew I had a network of Black friends and Black teachers that I met through my clubs to confide in. Letting these comments slide was a form of compliance that I was no longer willing to accept.

It shouldn’t have been so difficult to feel welcomed in my own school. Something is wrong when students feel alienated in the space where they spend the majority of their time. My experience is part of a bigger problem. Black students remain vastly underrepresented at New York’s elite specialized high schools.

This doesn’t mean that Black students should avoid applying to these schools. Just the opposite. Simply enrolling as a student of color creates more inclusive spaces for future students. While it hasn’t been easy being one of a few Black students at my school, finding accepting communities has made the experience worthwhile.

Etana Williams, 17, is a senior at Brooklyn Technical High School. Her essay is courtesy of Chalkbeat New York.

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.

he claimed the path to “save” the nation will “go through the school boards.” Not only that, but extremists in the GOP – including former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos – now want to get rid of public education entirely. And yes, many public schools, including those in Black and brown neighborhoods, need to get better. But privatizing education is not the way to get there. So we must continue to monitor the right’s efforts to get control of school boards, because they’ll be back. We who care about honest teaching and inclusive public schools should go to school board meetings. We should pay attention to school board races and candidates. And if we can, we should run for the school board ourselves. Our kids’ educations, and their futures, depend on it. The writer is president of People for the American Way and Professor of the Practice at the University of Pennsylvania.

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Photographers Sandra Sellars sandrasellars@richmondfreepress.com Regina H. Boone reginaboone@richmondfreepress.com James Haskins, Rudolph Powell and Clinton A. Strane

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Etana Williams

Ben Jealous

Ho-ho-hold on … the holiday scammers are out there

As the holiday shopping season winds down, there’s still time to pick up a few bargains online – and time to get fleeced.

This is a cautionary tale, and as embarrassing as it is, I’m sharing it so maybe you can avoid getting duped out of your hardearned dough.

Charles (not his real name) considers himself to be pretty

computer literate and securitysavvy for a guy in his 70s. And yet, a tech support and advance fee scam left him $356.81 poorer last month.

Charles isn’t alone, probably.

In 2021, more than 92,000 victims 60 and older reported losses of $1.7 billion, according to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (aka IC3) – a whopping 74 percent increase over the numbers reported for 2020, Here’s what happened to Charles. But first, the biggest lesson he wants you to take away from

his tale of woe is: “Don’t try to resolve what appears to be an online security breach when you’ve just awakened – a little groggy – from an afternoon nap.”

Charles was a bit disoriented when he saw an email, allegedly from PayPal – the sender’s address “service@paypal.com” seemed legit. (Experts warn to be wary of “friendly appearing” altered domain names like paypa1.com or paypa!.com or one with letters transposed like serivce@paypal.com that look authentic at first glance.)

It said “Hello Charles (last name withheld): SERGIO ZAMUDIO sent you a money request

NOTE FROM SERGIO ZAMUDIO:

“We’ve detected that your PayPal account has been accessed fraudulently. If you did not make this transaction, please call us at toll free number +1 (888) 518-5136 to cancel and claim a refund. If this is not the case, you will be charged $500.00 today. Within the automated deduction of the amount, this transaction will reflect on PayPal activity after 24 hours. Our Service Hours: (07:00 a. m. to 06:00 p. m. Pacific

Time, Monday through Friday).”

Freaked out, Charles figured he’d better deal with this ASAP (brain still fogged).

When he dialed the number, a pleasantsounding man with an accent answered. (No red flags here; call center employees for some U.S. companies work from India, Brazil, the Ukraine and Poland).

But something seemed a little suspicious to Charles; there was very little background noise. Didn’t sound like a call center. But again, some customer service reps work remotely from home these days.

One hour and 40 minutes later, Charles had been scammed out of almost $360.

Along the way, the scheme involved downloading an iPhone app (GoToResolve – a legitimate tool used by IT support professionals) which gave the guy with an accent control of Charles’ smartphone screen. The advanced fee part resulted in Charles purchasing two, $200 GameStop gift cards on Amazon.com – which somehow, only cost him the $356 and change. Needless to say, the gift of GameStop went to the scammers and not Charles!

Irony of ironies: In hindsight, the scam was structured to obtain information from Charles so he could be reimbursed money he had never spent in the first place.

Don’t be Charles. Don’t let this happen to you.

I am Charles (last name not withheld) Taylor. And here’s a resource I wish I had been alert enough to consult before trying to tackle this scam: https://blog.avast.com/online-holiday-scams.

Embarrassment aside, as the old hymn goes (written in 1945 by Alma Androzzo and recorded by various gospel groups and popular singers since): “If I can help somebody as I travel along … my living shall not be in vain.”

Happy holidays!

P.S. According to the Federal Trade Commission’s Consumer Sentinel publication anyone can be scammed. “Many scams are harming younger people more than older adults,” the agency says. (link: https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/ data-visualizations/data-spotlight/2022/12/whoexperiences-scams-story-all-ages)

Charles Taylor is a freelance writer.

Analysis: Musk and Trump face their reckoning

By Calvin Woodward The Associated Press

WASHINGTON

Elon Musk and Donald Trump share bestride-the-colossus egos, an incessant desire to be the center of attention and a platform to showcase their eccentricities and erraticism.

Both the Tesla CEO and the former president have used that platform, Twitter, as a sword and a shield — a soapbox to rouse the passions (and tap the pocketbooks) of tens of millions of followers and repulse the other side.

Mr. Trump weaponized Twitter before he was banned after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Mr. Musk was a persistent Twitter poster, taunting stock market regulators and railing against his version of conformity in numerous tweets. Then he decided to buy the platform.

Now both face a reckoning this week brought on at least in part by their use of Twitter to advance their agendas and feed their outsize ID.

Mr. Trump is confronted with a select congressional committee’s unanimous recommendation to the Justice Department on Monday that he be criminally prosecuted for his part in the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol by supporters stirred to action that day by his public remarks, on and off social media.

Right behind that could come the release Tuesday of Mr. Trump’s tax returns, now in the hands of another House panel, that he has spent years fighting to keep private.

After firing about half the Twitter workforce and sowing chaos with impulsive and everchanging policies, Mr. Musk essentially asked users whether he should fire himself. In an unscientific poll he set up, a majority of the 17.5 million respondents said he should step down as Twitter chief. No word yet whether he will honor the result as promised.

The tribulations of these two June babies, born 25 years and continents apart, may be unlike anything thrown at them before.

“The biggest thing they have in common is little experience with true failure, that is, failure with consequences,” said Eric Dezenhall, a consultant to companies beset by crisis.

“Even though Trump has failed multiple times, he’s always been protected by family money and amazing luck,” Mr. Dezenhall said. “While Musk is a genius, he’s had the good fortune to have built multiple businesses on government funding rather than in the bruising free market.

“Given their life experiences, how could these guys not feel invincible?”

Kindred spirits at least in part, Mr. Musk invited Mr. Trump back on Twitter shortly after he bought it. So far, Mr. Trump is sticking with his own platform, Truth Social, which has miniscule reach in comparison.

Mr. Musk’s invitation was a selective exercise of the right to free speech, as he also suspended a variety of mainstream journalists from Twitter and banned links to “prohibited” social media sites like Facebook, before relenting to

some degree on both fronts.

Mr. Musk was until recently the world’s richest man, with the amount verified by the worth of his stock. Mr. Trump has often argued he should be considered among the wealthiest, though behind that claim was a mirage.

Both have operated from a sense that things begin and end by CEO fiat. But Mr. Musk has also built viable companies and

genuine wealth, in contrast with Mr. Trump’s record of self-branding, fraught real estate deals and dubious enterprises regarding steaks, vodka or even his own real estate investor “university.”

Mr. Musk registers 120 million Twitter followers; Mr. Trump, a Republican, had 88 million when he was barred from the platform after the Jan. 6 insurrection. The site has vastly amplified both their voices, in a way that has benefited Mr. Musk’s businesses and Mr. Trump’s political career over the years, though at a cost to their reputations.

“Ahater hellscape,” Mr. Musk called Twitter in 2017. But it also was a siren’s call to him.

“On Twitter, likes are rare & criticism is brutal,” he tweeted in 2018. “So hard core.

“It’s great.”

On that platform, Mr. Musk comes across less as the visionary engineer who made electric

vehicles hot, builds reusable rockets and cares deeply about climate change than as a petty settler of personal scores who can sink into right-wing conspiracy theories and misogyny.

A month ago, teasing Mr. Trump for holding out just after Twitter agreed to let him back in, Mr. Musk posted a depiction of a woman naked from the waist down, with the Twitter logo covering her genitals and Mr. Trump, as Jesus, looking on. “And lead us not into temptation,” read Mr. Musk’s post.

Both men have used Twitter to assail the mainstream media, spread misinformation, push the limits of what’s acceptable in social media and engage in provocations that can make it hard to look away.

But of the two, only Mr. Trump held the power of office.

For all his spacecraft, Mr. Musk’s universe is much smaller. In the public-opinion influence game, it’s made up mostly of tweets and corporate policy about how to manage them.

Their politics don’t match — Mr. Musk’s right-wing and

libertarian beliefs come with a devotion to controlling global warming, for example, and Mr. Trump’s don’t. Their personalities differ in some respects, too — Mr. Musk admits error and even apologizes on occasion; Mr. Trump doesn’t.

Their work ethic bears no resemblance to each other.

Mr. Trump, a 76-year-old from Queens in New York, spends most of his time at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Fla., after a presidency notable for ample time on the golf links. Mr. Musk, a 51-year-old native of South Africa who lived in Canada as a young man, is known for working insane hours, hands on, these days in Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters.

But as disrupters, they might as well be twins separated at birth.

“Both of these guys are freestylers,” said Mr. Dezenhall. “There is never a plan, never a strategy, just a collection of onthe-fly tactics. This has worked out very well for them.

“It wouldn’t be the case for the rest of us.”

Mr. Trump

Charles Taylor

The Associated Press These photos show former President Donald Trump during a rally at the Minden Tahoe Airport in Minden, Nev., Oct. 8, 2022, left, and Elon Musk in Wilmington, Del., July 12, 2021. Mr. Trump and Mr. Musk share a reputation as disrupters. Now, they’re grappling with tribulations that may be unlike anything thrown at them before.

Mr. Musk

Looking back

In 2022, sports brought every imaginable emotion.

Sport is the forum where it cannot be hidden, where the feelings that are pulsing through someone’s core at a particular moment — be it good or bad, joy or pain, exhilaration or anguish, relief or regret — can be captured in a single image.

It was there with Lionel Messi, maybe the greatest soccer player of all time, finally hoisting the World Cup trophy for Argentina. The euphoria, unmistakable.

We can’t wait to see what 2023 brings in the world of sports and athleticism

Argentina soccer team abandons parade amid swarms of people

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina

A parade to celebrate the Argentine World Cup champions was abruptly cut short Tuesday as millions of people poured onto thoroughfares, highways and overpasses in a chaotic attempt to catch a glimpse of the national team that won one of the greatest World Cup finals of all time.

So many jubilant, flag-waving fans swarmed the capital that the players had to abandon the open-air bus transporting them to Buenos Aires and get on helicopters for a flyover of the capital that the government billed as an aerial parade.

“The world champions are flying over the whole route on helicopters because it was impossible to continue by land due to the explosion of people’s happiness,” Gabriela Cerruti, the spokesperson for President Alberto Fernández, wrote on social media.

After flying over key points of Buenos Aires where fans

had gathered, the helicopters returned to the headquarters of the Argentine Football Association outside the capital.

Some fans continued celebrating in the streets, while others headed out of Buenos Aires with long faces, complaining they were not able to pay their respects to the team that brought home the country’s first World Cup trophy since 1986.

“We’re angry because the government didn’t organize this properly so we could all celebrate,” said Diego Benavídez, 25, who had been waiting since early morning to see the team. “They stole the World Cup from us.”

Others, however, took it in stride.

“I’m not disappointed, we lived the party,” said Nicolás López, 33, who was in downtown Buenos Aires with his 7-year-old daughter.

Football association head Claudio Tapia blamed law enforcement for the change in plans. “The same security organisms that were escorting us are not allowing us to move

French federation to go after abusers of World Cup players

PARIS

The French soccer federation wants to go after social media users who targeted some of the national team’s players with racist comments following France’s loss to Argentina in the World Cup final.

The federation said Tuesday that some players were hit by “unacceptable racist and hateful comments on social networks” and that it planned to file a complaint against those that posted abuse.

“The French soccer federation condemns with the utmost firmness these intolerable behaviors and abuses,” it said in a statement.

French government officials have expressed their indignation following the insults. Isabelle Rome, the minister in charge of gender equality, said Kylian

Mbappe and Kinglsey Coman were among those abused.

Mbappe and Coman are Black.

Coman’s club, Bayern Munich, also condemned the racist comments targeting the winger, one of the French

players who missed during the penalty shootout that decided Sunday’s final.

“The FC Bayern family is behind you, King. Racism has no place in sport or our society,” Bayern wrote on Twitter.

French sports minister Ame-

lie Oudea-Castera tweeted her support to Coman and all the players abused, saying the heinous comments “have no place in soccer or anywhere else.”

Anti-racism group SOS Racisme said in a statement that some players had to disable comments on their Instagram accounts because of “a torrent of racist slurs, with hundreds of users on the social network posting comments likening them to apes, slaves, or even urging them to go back to the jungle.”

The NGO said it will file a complaint.

France twice fought back for a 3-3 draw through extra time in Qatar before Argentina won a penalty shootout to cap one of the most exciting finals in World Cup history. Coman had an attempt saved by Argentina goalkeeper Emi Martinez and Aurelien Tchouameni then missed for France.

The

“This

The

the Civil Rights Act of 1964. If you need special assistance for persons with disabilities or limited English proficiency, contact the project manager listed above.

State Project: 0460-67-739, P101, R201, C501

Federal Project: NHPP-0674(303), NHPP-067-4(040, 041) UPC: 115405

The Associated Press

From left, France’s Matteo Guendouzi, Marcus Thuram, Randal Kolo Muani, Kingsley Coman, Raphael Varane, Kylian Mbappe and Olivier Giroud practice Dec. 8 during a training session at the Jassim Bin Hamad stadium in Doha, Qatar. France played England during their World Cup quarter-final soccer match Dec. 10.

The Associated Press

at its best.

Mali’s Falaye Sacko stands on the pitch during the African Cup of Nations 2022 group F soccer match between Mali and Mauritania at the Japoma Stadium in Douala, Cameroon, Thursday, Jan. 20.

Kentucky’s Dre’una Edwards (44) celebrates after making the winning shot to beat South Carolina in the NCAA women’s college basketball Southeastern Conference tournament championship game Sunday, March 6, in Nashville, Tenn. Kentucky won 64-62.

Vanessa James and Eric Radford, of Canada, compete in the pairs short program during the figure skating competition at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Friday, Feb. 18, in Beijing.

Errol Spence Jr., right, lands a punch on Yordenis Ugas, from Cuba, during a world welterweight championship boxing match Saturday, April 16, 2022, in Arlington, Texas.

Nia Ali, of the United States, falls while competing in a heat in the women’s 100-meter hurdles at the World Athletics Championships on Saturday, July 23, in Eugene, Ore.

Shilese Jones of the U.S. competes on the uneven bars during the Women’s All-Around Final at the Men’s Team Final during the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships at M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool, England, on Thursday Nov. 3.

Houston Astros relief pitcher Hector Neris celebrates the last out in the top of the seventh inning in Game 6 of baseball’s World Series between the Houston Astros and the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday, Nov. 5 in Houston.

Kansas State forward Nae’Qwan Tomlin (35) celebrates after making a basket during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Texas-Rio Grande Valley on Monday, Nov. 7, in Manhattan, Kan.

The Associated Press

Below, Argentina soccer fans crowd a highway for a homecoming parade for the players who won the World Cup title, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2022. Right, Argentina’s Lionel Messi celebrates with the trophy Dec. 18 in front of fans after winning the World Cup final soccer match between Argentina and France at the Lusail Stadium in Lusail, Qatar.

Argentina won 4-2 in a penalty shootout after the match ended tied 3-3.

forward,” Mr. Tapia wrote on social media. “I apologize in the name of all the champion players.”

bus had been moving at a snail’s pace for more than four hours through the throngs of humanity before the overland parade was cut short. Team

Captain Lionel Messi and the rest of the players waved at the massive crowd as they carried the World Cup trophy aloft.

is madness, it’s indescribable,” said Brian Andreassi, 23, as he walked downtown wearing the team’s jersey. “There are no words.”

World Cup and the success of the Messi-led squad brought much-needed good news for a country that has been stuck in economic doldrums for years, suffers one of the world’s highest inflation rates and where nearly 4 in 10 people live in poverty.

Photos by The Associated Press

The Associated Press photos

From retrieving balls to scoring points — Robert Osborne is VUU’s star attraction

It sounds like some make believe Hollywood movie title – “The ball boy becomes the star.”

Only in this case, it’s fact, not fiction.

While in grade school, Robert Osborne was Virginia Union University’s ball boy long before becoming a top candidate for CIAA Player of the Year.

He got his foot in the Barco-Stevens Hall door with the help of his mother, Kelli Osborne, who was a Panthers cheerleader and remained close to the program during the Dave Robbins’ coaching era.

“I used to hang around the gym, shooting on the side basket, and got to be the ball boy in 2006-2007,” he said.

“I knew the players and coaches and sometimes they even helped me with my homework.”

He mentioned Brad Byerson, Darius Hargrove and Duan Crockett as being among “my favorite players” during that era.

Now it’s Osborne – aka “The Wizard of Os” – who Panthers’ fans are looking up to.

Thus far he has spurred Coach Jay Butler’s squad to a 10-1 record (after winning 70-67 Dec. 17 in OT at Winston-Salem) and No. 13 national ranking (as of last week).

The 6-foot-5, 230-pound forward leads VUU in minutes played (31.9 per game) scoring (17.2), rebounding (9.1) and, surprisingly, assists, too, with 46.

It’s a rarity when a low-post operator leads in assists.

“Robbie may be the best passer on the team,” Coach Butler said. “He’s very unselfish and wants to win. He’s so good at throwing bullet, cross-court passes for open shots.”

If VUU foes double-team the powerful, left-handed Osborne in the paint, he’s likely to find an open man on the perimeter.

“I love to pass and get my teammates involved,” he said. “We have such good shooters, so much talent.”

Osborne began to flex his considerable muscles a season ago and during the CIAA tournament in Baltimore earlier this year.

Earning tourney MVP honors, he scored 57 points and grabbed 46 rebounds in three games, including a 25-point, 16-rebound command performance against Fayetteville State in the tough loss finals.

Changing his jersey No. from 35 to 23, he’s started this season

VSU Trojans heading to Virgin Islands for HBCU classic

Virginia State University’s basketball players may want to pack their swim fins with their sneakers for their next trip.

Coach Lonnie Blow’s Trojans (now 7-3) will ring in the new year in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, Dec. 31-Jan. 2, in the University of Virgin Islands HBCU Classic.

The Virgin Islands are about 1,100 miles southeast of Miami in the Caribbean Sea.

VSU’s quarterfinal foe Dec. 31 at 10 a.m. will be Edward Waters University of Jacksonville, Fla.

On Jan. 1 the Trojans will meet the winner of the Fisk, Tenn., and Tusculum, Tenn., match.

The championship game will be Jan 2. The other four schools are Clinton College, S.C., Kentucky State, Livingstone, N.C., and West Virginia State.

VSU boasts one of the top talents in all HBCU hoops in 6-foot-5 senior Terence Hunter-Whitfield, a second-generation Trojan. His father, Ricky Whitfield, wore the Orange and Blue from 1991 to 1995.

Out of Matoaca High in southern Chesterfield, just a few minutes from the VSU campus, Hunter-Whitfield transferred to his old neighborhood school following three seasons at Catawba, N.C. Through 10 games, Hunter-Whitfield was averaging 17.6 points and 5.3 rebounds. He’s scored in double figures each game.

VUU’s Jada Byers reaps many honors

During the regular season, Virginia Union’s Jada Byers racked up record totals for rushing yards and touchdowns.

With the season complete, he’s remained busy racking up individual honors.

The sophomore has been named first team NCAADivision IIAll-American by the American Football Coaches Association.

In helping the Panthers to a 9-2 record and an NCAA playoff berth, Byers rushed for a school and CIAA record 1,928 yards while piling up 21 touchdowns.

Before his All-American recognition, Byers was named CIAA Offensive Player of Year, Super Region 2 Offensive Player of Year and HBCU All-American.

One honor Byers failed to win was the Harlon Hill Award, which goes to the Division II Player of the Year. Colorado Mines senior quarterback John Matocha won this year’s Hill Award. Byers was a finalist.

like he ended last year. He opened his senior season with 19 points and 11 rebounds against Shippensburg.

Never taking a night off, he’s scored in double figures every outing, and five times registered double digits on the boards.

From ball boy, Osborne graduated a standout All-Colonial District performer at Hermitage High in Glen Allen.

Despite strong credentials, his college recruitment was light, and he chose Hampton University with less than a full scholarship.

He never took the floor for the Pirates.

“I may have been on the roster my first year, but I never played,” he recalled. “I was just a student there and was playing intramurals.”

It was during the hoopless COVID season (2020-21) that Osborne considered coming home. He had been actively recruited by VUU’s Coach Butler while at Hermitage.

“I went to Barco to play some open gym and began to talk to Coach Butler,” Osborne recalled. “He told me that if I needed a place to play, I was welcome at Union.”

Coach Butler refers to it as part of his “back end” recruiting.

“You recruit an athlete and sometimes you don’t get him on the front end, but you do on the back end,” Coach Butler explained.

Now the unlikely cycle is complete. The ball boy has become a star attraction.

“Robbie plays with a chip on his shoulder, with passion,” Coach Butler said. “He’s been a blessing.”

Jackson State loses to NCCU in Celebration Bowl

Jackson State University received the most media attention, by far, but North Carolina Central scored the most points, thanks to some overtime drama.

Deion Sanders’ well publicized coaching career at Jackson State lasted one game too long, as his Tigers were defeated, 41-34, in OT, in the Dec. 17 Celebration Bowl in Atlanta.

Televised by ABC, the contest billed as the HBCU National Championship Game drew 49,670 fans to Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Sanders had announced earlier he was leaving JSU for the University of Colorado. In three seasons in Mississippi, Sanders went 27-6 (12-1 this season) with two SWAC titles.

“I miss these guys already; I love them,” Sanders said of the Tigers in an emotional presser.

Central, under Coach Trei Oliver, qualified for the Celebration Bowl by winning the MEAC crown.

Sanders’ Tigers were 23-3 over the past two seasons, but both campaigns ended in Celebration Bowl losses. Jackson fell to South Carolina State a year ago.

Coach Oliver was asked about how he felt about the media’s infatuation with Sanders, aka “Coach Prime.”

“We played with a chip on our shoulder,” Coach Oliver sad. “The disrespect was real ever since we’ve been down here.”

MEAC schools now have won five of the six Celebration Bowls. North Carolina A&T, now in the Colonial Athletic Association, has won three times.

The SWAC’s only title was won by Grambling in 2016.

Sanders’son, sophomore quarterback Shedeur Sanders, was brilliant in defeat, passing for 329 yards and four touchdowns.

Shedeur Sanders is likely leaving with his father for Colorado. Others likely to depart are dazzling freshman Travis Hunter, who plays both receiver and defensive back, and freshman receiver Kevin Coleman.

Hunter, who has been compared to “a young Deion,” caught two TD passes, including one to tie the game on the final play of regulation. Coleman caught seven passes for 137 yards and a TD.

T.C. Taylor, a Sanders assistant this season, will move up to head coach in 2023.

Central’s Eagles were led by MVP quarterback Davius Richard, who passed for 177 yards, caught a 21-yard TD pass and ran for 94 yards and two TDS, including the game clincher in OT.

Among the spectators was NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, whose nephew, Charlie Goodell, plays for Jackson State.

Sanders’ Colorado Buffaloes will open their 2023 season Sept. 2 in Fort Worth against Texas Christian.

NSU eyes third straight MEAC title

Dana Tate found good fortune in Las Vegas without going anywhere near a card table or slot machine.

The 6-foot-7 Norfolk State University graduate student from Boston scored a career high 24 points as the Spartans defeated North Carolina A&T, 70-66, during the Chris Paul HBCU Challenge title at the MGM Grand.

Tate, who transferred to NSU from Rhode Island, hit six 3-pointers while also passing for three assists and grabbing three rebounds.

Kris Bankston added 16 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots against the Aggies.

The previous night, NSU topped Hampton, 78-66, with Joe Bryant scoring 23 points and 14 rebounds.

The victory lifted the Spar-

tans to 9-4 overall this season, and 4-0 against members of the Colonial Athletic Association (A&T, Hampton, William & Mary and Monmouth).

Coach Robert Jones’ squad is among the top HBCUs in the nation and on track for a third straight MEAC title and NCAA tournament berth.

Bryant, a graduate student from Norfolk’s Lake Taylor High, averages 16 points and

five rebounds and is clearly a candidate for a third straight MEAC Player of the Year Award.

The 6-foot-8 Bankston averages 14 points and seven rebounds and is the leader in blocked shots with 20. Cahiem Brown, a 6-foot-5 junior from Brooklyn, averages 13 points and five boards.

Daryl Anderson, a 6-foot-6 junior from North Chesterfield,

averages six points and four rebounds and has made 17 of 47 3-pointers.

The NET is the standard statistic that determines national rankings. Out of some 350 Division I schools, NSU ranked 186 starting this week. Only Grambling at 128 was higher.

Most of the HBCUs are well below 250, in part because they play so many road games in the early season.

Chris Paul earns college degree

The Phoenix Suns guard Chris Paul graduated from Winston-Salem State University on Friday, Dec. 16, at Winston-Salem Fairgrounds Annex. Paul earned a bachelor’s in mass communications, according to ESPN.

Paul originally attended Wake Forest, where he starred as a basketball player from 2003 to 2005 before entering the NBA draft as a sophomore. He returned to school across town at WinstonSalem State in 2020.

Paul had 15 points, 13 assists and seven assists in 36 minutes in the Suns’ 111-95 road win over the LA Clippers last Thursday. Around 11:30 p.m. PT, Paul and several family members took a private jet for the nearly

2,500-mile flight from Van Nuys, Calif., to Winston-Salem that took about 3 hours, 40 minutes and arrived at about 6:30 a.m. ET.

Two hours later, Paul headed to the graduation in his cap and gown.

“I didn’t want it to be about me,” Paul told Andscape after the ceremony. “I was trying to make it as normal as possible. You know, all these students here have fought their butts off for a while to get their degree. And I wanted to make sure that in no way I was trying to show them up on their special day. They had a lot of family, loved ones that’s here to support them and to see them. And I just wanted to be a graduate just like that.”

Stories by Fred Jeter

Robert Osborne got his foot in the Barco-Stevens Hall door with the help of his mother, Kelli Osborne, who was a Panthers cheerleader and remained close to the program during the Dave Robbins’ coaching era.

Coach Oliver

Dana Tate

Chris Paul

Another boost in the fight against hunger

Supporting community wellness and doubling employee donations.

Bank of America proudly continues to support our employees’ health and safety while addressing food insecurity in our local communities, which typically spikes during the winter months.

Our employees are taking action to support the important work of our local food banks. For those who let us know they’ve received a coronavirus booster and/or a flu shot, we’ll donate $50 for each to a local hunger relief organization. In addition, employees can double the impact of their personal donations to fight hunger with our matching gifts program. Through these efforts, we’ll donate more than $8 million to address food insecurity in our local communities.

The team here in Richmond recently presented Feed More with a check for $50,000. This contribution is in addition to our long-standing philanthropic support to help fight hunger and food insecurity across the country. We are proud to be able to help our community as we work together to move forward.

President,

Victor Branch

Bank of America Richmond

Cherished Holiday Memories

Holiday memories are created by family — whether it is the family in which we are born or the family we create through church, work or social interactions.

May these

Warmth of family, food and festivities

My most cherished holiday memories are rooted in family gatherings. Best of all was the Christmas tradition of our nuclear family traveling to Washington, D.C., to visit my father’s favorite cousin, Ethel Crawford Ellison, and her husband, Dr. John Malcus Ellison Jr.

Our family began the tradition in the late 1970s at the request of Cousin Ethel. After all, she and my father, Stafford A. Flowers, shared “favorite cousin” status that began during their childhood. My father’s mother, Lily Clayton Flowers, was the oldest of the “Clayton Girls” (originally from Surry County), and Cousin Ethel’s mother, Viola Clayton Crawford, was the youngest.

I remember the anticipation before traveling to Washington via I-95. I treasured going to the “Big City,” and seeing the National Christmas Tree, holiday lights at the Willard Hotel and Garfinckel’s Department Store. The funniest part of the journey was seeing the festively-attired street walkers on 14th Street, N.W., Downtown D.C. My father would say, “Hey boy, do you see that!” My mother would exclaim, “Oh my stars!” As a teenager, the street activity was shockingly educational.

Upon arrival at 1374 Tuckerman St., N.W., my cousin Deborah, would open the front door, and ,exclaim, “The ‘Big Staff’ is here!” Shortly thereafter, Cousin “Mac” would summon my father downstairs to

his bar by saying, “It looks like you need something for ‘the snake bite’ — (a colloquialism that referred to drinking alcohol after being bitten by a snake to relieve the pain). I would follow in tow to hear the two of them share “tall stories.”

One memorable story was how Cousin Ethel and “Mac” met. As a boy, my father had a newspaper route in Richmond, which included the campus of Virginia Union University, where Cousin “Mac’s” father, Dr. John Malcus Ellison, Sr., served as president. My father and “Mac” became good friends. Both stayed in contact over the years. One day, my father said, “I want to introduce you to my pretty cousin.” Cousin Mac retorted, “If she looks anything like you, I would rather not meet her!”

As the streets of friendship and family met at the intersection of fate, the two would wed and raise three children in the nation’s capital.

The Christmas dinners on Tuckerman Street were legendary! A buffet of turkey, ham, roast beef, combined with macaroni and cheese, collard greens, candied yams, string beans, and “bake and serve” three-section rolls. For dessert, we were served sweet potato pie, pound cake, an assortment of ice cream, and my father’s famous eggnog.

Cherished memories of family, food and festivities still warm my heart.

Sense of magic

Christmas was a magical time for me and my younger brother.

My parents worked to preserve our belief in Santa Claus. In my oldest memories, we didn’t even have a tree up when we went to bed on Christmas Eve after reading “The Night Before Christmas,” hanging our stockings by the fireplace, and leaving cookies out for the “jolly old elf.”

Then we woke up the next morning to the product of my parents’ all-nighter—a Christmas tree glittering with old metal tinsel hung strand by strand, red lights and red and silver balls, an HO scale train set running on its track around the tree, newly assembled bicycles and myriad other treasures wrapped and carefully displayed.

As we aged and grew from a family with three children to a family with six, traditions evolved. The kids participated in selecting and decorating the tree (including the tedium of hanging tinsel strand by strand), and one by one we discovered that Santa was a wonderful Christmas story rather than a person.

Some things remained unchanged, though preserving that sense of magic — a tree with only red lights and red and silver balls, stockings hung by the chimney with care, and readings of “The Night Before Christmas,” one preserved on an old recording with all of us reading for our grandmother.

Reveling in nostalgia

As the last leaves fall and the weather begins to change, lights begin to twinkle and once again “it’s the most wonderful time of the year.” Since I was a little girl, I’ve cherished Christmas and the traditions that make the holiday. My family might argue that I love the traditions a little too much.

The nostalgia that Christmas traditions bring is the true magic of the holidays. I remember those Christmases past, waking up to my mom’s pull apart rolls for breakfast and the Christmas that I got a camcorder. I remember baking cookies and lemon squares for family and friends and being reminded “it’s what Faith Norrell would do.” I remember reading my mom’s 1951 copy of “The Night Before Christmas.” I remember the year we couldn’t find the book and I had to print my own version to read.

Some of my earliest Christmas memories transport me to the land of the Sugar Plum Fairies and the Richmond Ballet’s production

of “The Nutcracker.” In 2007, I was honored to be in the ballet as an angel. Every year we would leave with a new nutcracker for our nutcracker tree, one of the four trees we put up. There was a traditional big tree, the tree that sat on the bar covered in airplane bottles called the “Tipsy Tree,” I later understood why it leaned a little to the right, and my mom’s all-white tree covered in mid-century modern ornaments. I have started my own tradition of hanging my tree upside down!

Every year after we open presents, we rewatch Christmas home videos, including the year my parents found out they were expecting me. Twenty-five years later, I’ve come to realize the true gift has always been time spent with family, giving back to others, and reveling in nostalgia. As the years go by, those traditions will continue to have a place in our family’s festivities as new ones continue the legacy.

Adventures to remember

Two Decembers ago, Chloe, and her 6-yearold persistence, created a new tradition for our little family. I often travel for work and each time Chloe asks, “Well, can I come?” For a while it was a monthly re-imagining of how to say, “Maybe next time, baby.” As a co-parent, I got creative at going out of town without her knowing. But while at her Dad’s house, she’d FaceTime me and ask, “Wait, Mommy where are you?”

In March of 2020, the world was locked down and by that December everyone had cabin fever, not to mention Chloe was inquiring about Christmas. Finances were tight during the pandemic and it was time for this mommy to pull out the holiday magic.

When I asked Chloe what she wanted for Christmas, she said for us to take a trip. She even offered compromises such as committing to an hour of her school Chromebook each day of vacation. My mommy magic pulled together a road trip for us to head to Nags Head, N.C. It was cold and rainy, but Chloe didn’t care. The Airbnb, the travel and the experience lit up her heart that seemed to splash a permanent grin across her little cheeks. Then came Christmas morning. I waited for the moment to remind her about the beach, but it was my 6-year-old re-telling the memories. She knew the true gift of the season was our quality time together.

Chloe’s enthusiasm pushed this mommy to plan for longer travel and warmer temperatures. In 2021, we went to Miami and I’m happy to

report that for 2022, we just returned from Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Our memories are actively evolving and every year we plan to expand our mother-daughter December adventures to remember.

When dreams come true

My most cherished holiday memory always reminds me how important it is to help provide hope in any way that you can during the holidays. I grew up in Grand Rapids, Mich., and during many of those years my family didn’t have much.

I’m not embarrassed to share that we lived on public assistance most of my childhood. There was one particular year when I was 9 or 10 years old where things were particularly difficult and we had to move in with my grandmother.

This happened right before the holidays and so there was not much of an expectation that me or my brother would get very much for Christmas.

He and I still spent a lot of time, dreaming. We would spend hours going through a huge JCPenney holiday catalog, circling all the things that we wanted for

Christmas. We always made sure that we put the correct initials by each item, and would even put a few stars on some things we really wanted.

We didn’t have a Christmas tree until about two days before Christmas when a local store was giving away Christmas trees for free.

My mom took us to the store, picked up the best tree we could find and we brought it home and had a ton of fun decorating. While decorating was fun, my mom made sure that she reminded us of how difficult things were and that we may not get very much for Christmas.

As a young kid on Christmas Eve, I still went to bed, hopeful. Little did I know the day before Christmas Eve my mom’s prayers were answered when she received a bag of toys specifically for my brother

and me from a local charity.

On Christmas morning, I woke up earlier than everyone. I woke my younger brother up and told him we should go downstairs to see if there’s anything under the tree. We both ran down and when we got there we saw two large black trash bags under the tree with a tag with our names on it. We could care less that they were not beautifully wrapped presents. We were just so happy that we had something.

We tore into those trash bags and were so excited to see basketballs, footballs, books, clothes and other items. I probably got in trouble five times that day for dribbling my new basketball around the house! That Christmas our hope was met by the kindness and generosity of others, and I’ll never forget that.

reflections of cherished holiday memories, shared by five Richmond residents, bring you a renewed sense of joy and peace now and in the coming year.

Donte Smith

Chelsea Higgs Wise

Claire Gastanaga

Liza Mickens

Gary Flowers

Photo Courtesy of Claire Gastanaga

Photos by Regina H. Boone/Richmond Free Press

Personality: Tracey Hardney-Scott

Spotlight on board chair of Help Me Help

Tracey Hardney-Scott is a tireless force for underserved Virginians, the result of her many years of advocacy work with several organizations.

The Prince George County native is the latest board chair of the Help Me Help You Foundation, a resource to the city of Richmond and the Virginia Department of Corrections to assist former jail and prison inmates. HMHY focuses on reducing recidivism and poverty, and providing aid for released inmates and their families.

“Each day I have an opportunity,” says Ms. HardneyScott, “to lead, to inspire, to help develop, to engage, and to train others to serve. To watch this team bring hope to those that feel hopeless. To truly make a difference in someone’s life. That means the world to me.”

As HMHY’s board chair, one of her top priorities is to push for better housing. She calls it “both the most important need and biggest challenge for returning citizens,” and it is an area in which she has developed a strong level of expertise.

Prior to being elected HMHY’s board chair in January, Ms. Hardney-Scott served as chair of the Virginia NAACP’s housing efforts. She plans to balance her new leadership with her roles as housing liaison for HMHY and chair of the Richmond NAACP’s Housing Committee.

“Housing (affects) everybody – health, criminal justice, education – that’s why it’s so important,” she says. “Housing establishes stability for employment, substance abuse treatment, and mental health care.

“When basic needs like housing aren’t met, individuals are at greater risk of returning

to crime and being reincarcerated,” she continues. “We can’t keep saying that people have the right to have their rights restored, but we only restore them partially.”

Keys to accomplishing this include educating landlords and asking them to pilot secondchance programs and advocacy to eradicate discriminatory practices.

“It’s going to be very challenging if the local and state government don’t put any measures in place to secure affordable housing, to eradicate rapid evictions, price gouging,” Ms. Hardney-Scott says. While she hasn’t seen much planning from local officials around housing issues, she believes the Richmond community is eager for solutions, and can be a great help in shining a light on HMHY’s work.

Ms. Hardney-Scott says HMHY wants to partner with a number of Richmond agencies to achieve long-term, mutual success. The group is preparing its legislative agenda for the 2023 Virginia General Assembly by meeting with stakeholders and working to improve its services.

“There’s a lot of justiceinvolved people out there that aren’t getting the services, that don’t know,” she says, referring to former criminal defendants. “We want to make sure that we have a full-fledged street team out in the public saying, ‘Hey, we are here and we’ll be able to help you and help you navigate through.’”

Meet an advocate for reducing recidivism and making improvements in poverty and housing, this week’s Personality, Tracey Hardney-Scott: Volunteer position: Board chair and legislative chair, Help

Me Help You Foundation.

Occupation: CEO, Tenant Landlord Resource Center.

Date and place of birth: Nov. 15 in St. Albans Queens, N.Y.

Education: Proud alumna of Grambling State University.

Family: Husband Randolph Scott, son Michael Santos, and two grandchildren, Ma’lonia and Ja’son.

Why I became involved with HMHY Foundation: HMHY founder and CEO Michelle Mosby invited me to become involved because of my passion for helping people. I share in her vision, and agree that once (a formerly incarcerated) individual have served their time and paid their debt to society they should be released as a returning citizen instead of being re-sentenced to a life of hardship. We realized that often, the so-called “debt to society”

You

was still being collected long after offenders had been released.

Why I accepted position as board chair: My spiritual gifts are service and administration. Serving as board chair presents a perfect opportunity to work alongside Michelle Mosby to work with a team of individuals committed to helping those who have been justice involved rebuild and restore their lives through advocacy and support.

Services offered by HMHY Foundation : HMHY offers high fidelity wrap-around services through Navigation Continuum of Care, including a licensed clinical social worker who oversees our case managers, lived experience experts (LEEs), navigators, and other direct support staff.

Through our partnership with J&G Workforce, we offer a back-to-work program in fields that many of our returning citizens would find difficult to access. HMHY also offers financial literacy programs through Bank of America, family support and mentoring, drug and alcohol treatment referrals,

Foundation

mental health referrals and housing referrals.

What people re-entering society and their families need most today: Social support from families and social support networks are critical for those who have been justiceinvolved as they transition from incarceration to the community. Many have burned bridges or their families believe they cannot accept the burden of providing housing, so many of the formerly incarcerated return home to nothing.

How to get involved with or obtain services from HMHY Foundation : Anyone may contact us at 1731 Wall St., Richmond 23224, or call our office at 804.384.9979.

Also www.hmhyfoundation. org, and hmhyfoundation@ gmail.com.

Upcoming events: We are currently preparing our 2023 calendar of events, which will include our annual HMHY luncheon.

A perfect day for me is: Spending time with my husband and grandchildren.

What I am continuing to learn about myself during the pandemic: One of the most important things I continue to learn

is to take care of myself and to devote more time to myself. The pandemic has escalated the need for advocacy. I realize I am no good for anybody if I’m not good to myself.

Something about me that people may not know: I get anxiety before public speaking.

A quote that inspires me: “I speak to the Black experience, but I am always talking about the human condition.” – Maya Angelou.

My friends describe me as: Direct, bold, courageous, nononsense.

At the top of my “to-do” list is: Complete my second book.

Best late-night snack: Cheese Doodles.

The person who influenced me the most: Definitely my mother.

Book that influenced me the most : “The Secret” by Rhonda Byrne.

What I’m reading now: “You Owe You: Ignite Your Power, Your Purpose, and Your Why” by Eric Thomas.

Next goal: The launch of my two new business ventures.

You are cordially invited to

Guest of Honor: Jesus

William Barber launches new center at Yale

By Jack Jenkins Religion News Service

Yale Divinity School is launching a new Center for Public Theology and Public Policy, an advocacy-focused body to be led by prominent pastor and activist the Rev. William Barber II.

“The goal of this center will be to prepare a new generation — what we call moral fusion leaders — that are going to be active in creating a just society both in the academy and in the streets,” Rev. Barber told Religion News Service in an interview.

Rev. Barber, a Disciples of Christ pastor and bishop with the Fellowship of Affirming Bishops, will begin teaching his first class at Yale with the start of the new semester in January. Though he’ll be “in and out” of New Haven with another base in the South, Rev. Barber said the new role will require some changes, including his retirement as pastor from Greenleaf Christian Church in North Carolina and shifting his duties with Repairers of the Breach, an advocacy organization he founded.

Rev. Barber, who also coleads the Poor People’s Campaign, a modern resurgence of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s final campaign, has emerged as a prominent activist over the past decade, launching several major protest movements that have attracted attention from liberal leaders.

He was a chief organizer of the Moral Monday movement in North Carolina in 2013 and, with the Poor People’s Campaign, has staged sizable demonstrations across the country focused on issues such as poverty and voting rights. A MacArthur “Genius” Grant recipient, Rev. Barber also has become a frequent speaker in religious and political circles alike, offering speeches at the Democratic National Convention as well as delivering the sermon at President Biden’s inaugural prayer service in 2021.

“I want to share what I have learned,” said Rev. Barber, who previously taught at schools such as Duke University and Union Theological Seminary. “I believe one of the critical keys in this society is for pastors to understand how to be engaged in pastoral care, the priestly function of the pastorate, but also to be engaged in prophetic and public policy.

All three of those things must go together.”

Rev. Barber, who has convened successful forums for presidential candidates in the past, noted the new Yale center plans to organize a “major gathering” every two years. It will take place “right during the middle of the presidential election,” he said, and will bring together scholars, activists and clergy.

The goal of the event would be to assemble people who “want to look at the real moral issues of this society,” he said, insisting they would do so not from a “partisan perspective, but from our deepest moral perspective.”

The center also will feature a liaison, based in the South, tasked with establishing a partnership with Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the region to help connect students with the organization’s programs.

Rev. Barber said he drew inspiration from a similar effort organized in the mid-20th century by prominent public theologians such as Howard Thurman and Reinhold Niebuhr.

In a statement, Yale Divinity School Dean Greg Sterling said he was “thrilled” to welcome Rev. Barber to the school.

“Dr. Barber’s work and service is in the tradition of public witness that produced Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truth, Walter Rauschenbusch and Howard Thurman, Ida B. Wells and Dorothy Day, Martin Luther King, Jr., Ella Baker, and Abraham Joshua Heschel,” Dr. Sterling said in a press release. “Establishment of the Center at YDS is an opportunity to deepen our relationship to a historical movement that revives nearly two centuries of social justice

Ford (Duke)

tradition to meet the complex social realities of our time.”

Rev. Barber told RNS his new position at Yale will require some professional transitions. He plans to retire as the longtime pastor of Greenleaf Christian Church in Goldsboro, N.C., where he has served for 30 years.

“It’s not easy,” he said, describing his plans to leave the church. “I love pastoring. I love the people. I love what it’s taught me. But I will not be selfish and not share (what I’ve learned) to generations coming.”

Rev. Barber called leaving the church “teary” but “exciting,” saying Greenleaf has fully embraced his retirement and has already selected an incoming

pastor — the Rev. Shyrl Uzzell. Rev. Barber said he and Rev. Uzzell will share duties at the church until June, when he will fully transition over to his new role at Yale.

Rev. Barber also will remain founder-president at Repairers of the Breach, he said, but the Rev. A. Kazimir Brown will become the new executive director and vice president.

“If we’re serious when we say the first goal of the society is to establish justice, or if we’re serious when we say the first premise of religion is love and justice and truth — that’s what we hope to bring, seed and propagate in the public square for this new Center for Public Theology and Public Policy,” he said.

Associated Press file photo

The Rev. William Barber II of the Poor People’s Campaign talks about the need for the “Build Back Better” plan, voting rights, health care, immigrant rights and action on climate change, during a news conference in Oct. 2021 on Capitol Hill in Washington.

City of Richmond, Virginia CITY COUNCIL

PUBLIC NOTICE Notice is hereby given that the City of Richmond Planning Commission has scheduled a public hearing, open to all interested citizens, on Tuesday, January 3, 2023 at 1:30 p.m in the Fifth Floor Conference Room of City Hall and the Council of the City of Richmond has scheduled a public hearing on Monday, January 9, 2023 at 6:00 p.m. in the Council Chamber on the Second Floor of City Hall, located at 900 East Broad Street, Richmond, Virginia, to consider the following ordinances:

Ordinance No. 2022-333

As Amended To authorize the special use of the property known as 2003 Dinwiddie Avenue for the purpose of three single-family detached dwellings and a home occupation with up to three employees who do not reside on the property upon certain terms and conditions.

Ordinance No. 2022-364

To rezone the properties known as 2017 Roane Street and 2021 Roane Street from the M-1 Light Industrial District to the B-7 Mixed-Use Business District. The City’s Richmond 300 Master Plan designates these parcels as residential Uses. Such areas are primarily neighborhoods consisting of singlefamily houses. Intensity of development calls for buildings up to three stories and two to ten housing units per acre. Small multi-family buildings are a secondary use.

Ordinance No. 2022-365 To authorize the special use of the property known as 2800 3rd Avenue for the purpose of emergency housing for up to 30 individuals on a yearround basis, upon certain terms and conditions.

The property lies in a “R-6 - Residential (Single Family Attached)” district, which limits emergency housing uses to thirty (30) individuals and a total of seven (7) days and only within the time beginning on October 1 of any year and ending on April 1 of the following year. The Richmond 300 Master Plan recommends a future land use of “Residential,” for which churches and places of worship (“institutional”) are recommended secondary uses; the parcel lies just outside the Six Points growth node.

Ordinance No. 2022-366

To authorize the special use of the property known as 211 East 15th Street, for the purpose of a single-family detached dwelling, upon certain terms and conditions.

The property is located in the R-7 Single- and TwoFamily Urban Residential District. The City’s Richmond 300 Master Plan designates a future land use for the subject property as Residential, which is defined as “Neighborhood(s) consisting primarily of single-family houses on large- or medium-sized lots more homogeneous in nature.” The proposed density of the parcel is 25 units per acre.

Ordinance No. 2022-367

To authorize the special use of the property known as 1219 North 31st Street for the purpose of a singlefamily detached dwelling, upon certain terms and conditions. The property is situated in an R-6Residential (Single Family Attached) zone. The City’s Richmond 300 Master Plan designates a future land use for the subject

property as Neighborhood Mixed-Use. Primary Uses: Single-family houses, accessory dwelling units, duplexes, small multifamily buildings (typically 3-10 units), and open space. Secondary Uses: Large multifamily buildings (10+units), retail/office/personal service, institutional, cultural, and government.

The density of the proposed development is approximately 16 units per acre.

Ordinance No. 2022-368

To authorize the special use of the property known as 3917 Corbin Street for the purpose of a single-family detached dwelling, upon certain terms and conditions.

The property is located in the R-2 Single-Family Residential District. The City’s Richmond 300 Master Plan designates a future land use for the subject property as Residential Uses. This designation is defined as a “neighborhood consisting primarily of single-family houses on large or medium- sized lots more homogenous in nature.

Ordinance No. 2022-369

To authorize the special use of the property known as 3206 Delaware Avenue, for the purpose of two single-family attached dwellings, upon certain terms and conditions. The property is situated in a R-6 Single-Family Attached Residential District. The City’s Richmond 300 Master Plan designates a future land use for the subject property as Residential, which is defined as neighborhoods “…consisting primarily of single-family houses on large- or medium-sized lots more homogeneous in nature.” (p. 54) The density of the proposed is approximately 22 units per acre.

Ordinance No. 2022-370

To authorize the special use of the property known as 100 West Leigh Street, for the purpose of a twofamily attached dwelling, upon certain terms and conditions. The property is located in the R-6 Single-Family Attached Residential District. The City’s Richmond 300 Master Plan designates a future land use for the subject property as Neighborhood MixedUse, which is defined as existing or new highly-walkable urban neighborhoods that are predominantly residential with a small, but critical, percentage of parcels providing retail, office, personal service, and institutional uses. The proposed density of the parcel is approximately 50 units per acre.

Ordinance No. 2022-371

To authorize the special use of the property known as 3617 Montrose Avenue for the purpose of a dwelling unit within an accessory building to a single-family detached dwelling, upon certain terms and conditions. The property is situated in an R-4 - Residential (Single Family) zone. The City’s Richmond 300 Master Plan designates a future land use for the subject property as Residential.

Primary Uses: Singlefamily houses, accessory dwelling units, and open space. Secondary Uses: Duplexes and small multi-family buildings (typically 3-10 units), institutional, and cultural.

Secondary uses may be found along major streets. The density of the proposed development is approximately 9.5 units per acre.

Ordinance No. 2022-372

To authorize the special use of the property known as 2235 Perry Street for the purpose of a day nursery for up to ten children, upon certain terms and conditions.

The property is situated in an R-6 - Residential (Single Family Attached) District. The City’s Richmond 300 Master Plan designates a future land use for the subject property as Residential.

Primary Uses: Singlefamily houses, accessory dwelling units, and open space. Secondary Uses: Duplexes and small multifamily buildings (typically 3-10 units), institutional, and cultural. Secondary uses may be found along major streets.

Interested citizens who wish to speak will be given an opportunity to do so by following the instructions referenced in the January 9, 2023 Richmond City Council Formal meeting agenda. Copies of the full text of all ordinances are available by visiting the City Clerk’s page on the City’s Website at https:// www.rva.gov/office-cityclerk, and in the Office of the City Clerk, City Hall, 900 East Broad Street, Suite 200, Richmond, VA 23219, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Notice is hereby given that the Council of the City of Richmond has scheduled a public hearing, open to all interested citizens, on Monday, January 9, 2023 at 6:00 p.m. in the Council Chamber on the Second Floor of City Hall, located at 900 East Broad Street, Richmond, Virginia, to consider the following ordinance:

Ordinance No. 2022-310 As Amended To amend City Code § 26-1065, concerning Downtown General Special Service and Assessment District boundaries, for the purpose of expanding the Downtown General Special Service Assessment District to include the Manchester area of the city.

Interested citizens who wish to speak will be given an opportunity to do so by following the instructions referenced in the January 9, 2023 Richmond City Council Formal meeting agenda. Copies of the full text of all ordinances are available by visiting the City Clerk’s page on the City’s Website at https:// www.rva.gov/office-cityclerk, and in the Office of the City Clerk, City Hall, 900 East Broad Street, Suite 200, Richmond, VA 23219, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Candice

D. Reid City Clerk

DIVORCE

VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE COUNTY OF HANOVER MARION THOMAS, Plaintiff v. JONATHAN THOMAS, Defendant. Case No.: CL22003671-00 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is to obtain a divorce from the bond of matrimony from the defendant on the ground of living separate and apart without any cohabitation and without interruption for a period exceeding twelve months.

It is ORDERED that the defendant, who is a nonresident of the Commonwealth of Virginia, appear here on or before the 7th day of February, 2023 at 9:00 AM, and protect his interests.

A Copy, Teste: FRANK D. HARGROVE, JR., Clerk I ask for this: Law Office of Dorothy M. Eure, P.C. Dorothy M. Eure, Plaintiff’s Attorney VSB# 27724 8460 Mount Eagle Road Ashland, VA 23005 (804) 798-9667

VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE COUNTY OF HANOVER RANAN GARRISON, aka ROMAN GARRISON, Plaintiff v. BITENA GARRISON, Defendant. Case No.: CL21000518-00 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is to obtain a divorce from the bond of matrimony from the defendant on the ground of living separate and apart without any cohabitation and without interruption for a period exceeding twelve months.

It is ORDERED that the defendant, who has been served with the Complaint by posted service appear here on or before the 8th day of February, 2023 at 9:00 AM, and protect her interests.

A Copy, Teste: FRANK D. HARGROVE, JR., Clerk

I ask for this: Dorothy M. Eure, Plaintiff’s Counsel VSB# 27724

The Law Office of Dorothy M. Eure, P.C. 8460 Mount Eagle Road Ashland, VA 23005 (804) 798-9667

VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE COUNTY OF HENRICO Mahmoud Elsayed Plaintiff, v. Flintayvia GB Williams Defendant, Case No. CL22006794-00 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is for the Plaintiff to obtain a divorce from the bond of matrimony from the defendant on the grounds that the parties have lived separate and apart without any cohabitation and without interruption, and with Plaintiff’s intent to terminate the marriage, for a period exceeding twelve (12) months, namely since June of 2020.

It appearing by affidavit that Plaintiff has no knowledge of the Defendant’s current address and Defendant’s present whereabouts are unknown and diligence has been used by or on behalf of the Plaintiff to ascertain in what county or city the Defendant is without effect.

It is accordingly ORDERED that Flintayvia GB Williams whose whereabouts are unknown, appear before this court on or before January 23, 2023 at 9 a.m. And do what is necessary to protect his interests herein.

A Copy Teste: HEIDI S. BARSHINGER, CLERK Richard J Oulton, Esq VSB #29640 America Law Group, Inc 8501 Mayland Drive #106 Henrico VA 23294 (804)308-0051 Fax: (804)308-0053

VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE COUNTY OF HENRICO Juan Francisco Villalobos Segura Plaintiff, v. Maria Elena Sanchez Hernandez Defendant.

Case No. CL22006795-00

ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is for the Plaintiff to obtain a divorce from the bond of matrimony from the defendant on the grounds that the parties have lived separate and apart

CLERK HENRICO CIRCUIT COURT Richard J Oulton, Esq VSB #29640 America Law Group, Inc 8501 Mayland Drive #106 Henrico VA 23294 (804)308-0051 Fax: (804)308-0053

VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE COUNTY OF HENRICO DARLENE KAY PATTON, Plaintiff, v. MARY FRANCYS PATTON, Defendant. Case No.: CL22-6380

AMENDED ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is to obtain a divorce from the bonds of matrimony from the defendant on the ground that the parties have lived separate and apart in excess of one year.

It appearing from an Affidavit filed by the plaintiff that the defendant’s whereabouts are unknown, it is ORDERED that the defendant appear before this Court on or before the 30th of January, 2023 at 9 a.m., to protect her interests herein.

I ASK FOR THIS: Shannon S. Otto, VSB 68506 L0CKE & OTTO 1802 Bayberry Court Suite 103 Richmond, VA 23226 Telephone: (804) 545-9408 Facsimile: (804) 545-9400 Email: otto@lockeotto.com Counsel for Plaintiff

VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE COUNTY OF HANOVER MELITO MCWILLIAMS, Plaintiff v. CATHERINE MCWILLIAMS, Defendant. Case No.: CL22003496-00

ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is to obtain a divorce from the bond of matrimony from the defendant on the ground of living separate and apart without any cohabitation and without interruption for a period exceeding twelve months.

It is ORDERED that the defendant, whose whereabouts are unknown appear here on or before the 12th day of January, 2023 at 9:00 AM, and protect her interests.

A Copy, Teste: FRANK D. HARGROVE, JR., Clerk I ask for this: Law Office of Dorothy M. Eure, P.C. Dorothy M. Eure, Plaintiff’s Attorney VSB# 27724 8460 Mount Eagle Road Ashland, VA 23005 (804) 798-9667

VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE COUNTY OF HANOVER MARIA MARROQUIN, Plaintiff v. JAIME ALVARADO, Defendant. Case No.: CL22003497-00 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is to obtain a divorce from the bond of matrimony from the defendant on the ground of living separate and apart without any cohabitation and without interruption for a period exceeding twelve months.

It is ORDERED that the defendant, whose whereabouts are unknown appear here on or before the 12th day of January, 2023 at 9:00 AM, and protect his interests.

A Copy, Teste: FRANK D. HARGROVE, JR., Clerk

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I ask for this: Law Office of Dorothy M. Eure, P.C. Dorothy M. Eure, Plaintiff’s Attorney VSB# 27724 8460 Mount Eagle Road Ashland, VA 23005 (804) 798-9667

VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE COUNTY OF HENRICO EBIKABORE WINIFRED ODIBO, Plaintiff v. KINGSLEY ERUTE ODIBO, Defendant.

Case No.: CL22-7195 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is to obtain a divorce.

It appearing from an affidavit that diligence has been used by or on behalf of the plaintiff to ascertain in what county or city the defendant is, without effect, it is ORDERED that the defendant appear before this Court on the 23rd day of January, 2023 at 9:00 AM, and protect his interests herein. A Copy, Teste: HEIDI S. BARSHINGER, Clerk

PROPERTY VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND JOHN MARSHALL COURTS BUILDING CITY OF RICHMOND, Plaintiff, v. MAZAL TOV DEVELOPMENT, LLC, et al, Defendants.

Case No.: CL22-3641 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is to subject the property briefly described as 414 Marx Street, Tax Map Number S0000320001 , Richmond, Virginia, to sale in order to collect delinquent real estate taxes assessed thereon in the name of the owner of record, Mazal Tov Development, LLC An Affidavit having been filed that said owner, MAZAL TOV DEVELOPMENT, LLC, has not been located and has not filed a response to this action; and that any heirs, devisees, assignees, successors in interest, successors in title and/or any creditors with a current or future interest in said property, have not been identified and/ or served despite diligent efforts to do so and are defendants to this suit by the general description of Parties Unknown.

IT IS ORDERED that MAZAL TOV DEVELOPMENT, LLC, and Parties Unknown , come forward to appear on or before FEBRUARY 16, 2023 and do what is necessary to protect their interests in this matter.

An Extract, Teste: Edward F. Jewett, Clerk Gregory A. Lukanuski, Esq. City of Richmond, Office of the City Attorney 900 E. Broad Street Richmond, VA 23219 804-646-7949

VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND

JOHN MARSHALL COURTS BUILDING CITY OF RICHMOND, Plaintiff, v. MAZAL TOV DEVELOPMENT, LLC, et al, Defendants.

Case No.: CL22-3640

ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is to subject the property briefly described as 1127 North 32nd Street, Tax

Map Number E0000803034 Richmond, Virginia, to sale in order to collect delinquent real estate taxes assessed thereon in the name of the owner of record, Mazal Tov Development, LLC

An Affidavit having been filed that said owner, MAZAL TOV DEVELOPMENT, LLC, has not been located and has not filed a response to this action; and that any heirs, devisees, assignees, successors in interest, successors in title and/or any creditors with a current or future interest in said property, have not been identified and/ or served despite diligent efforts to do so and are defendants to this suit by the general description of Parties Unknown.

IT IS ORDERED that MAZAL TOV DEVELOPMENT, LLC, and Parties Unknown , come forward to appear on or before FEBRUARY 16, 2023 and do what is necessary to protect their interests in this matter.

An Extract, Teste: Edward F. Jewett, Clerk Gregory A. Lukanuski, Esq. City of Richmond, Office of the City Attorney 900 E. Broad Street Richmond, VA 23219 804-646-7949

VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND JOHN MARSHALL COURTS BUILDING CITY OF RICHMOND, Plaintiff, v. JOHN J. CARY, et al, Defendants. Case No.: CL22-3431

ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is to subject the property briefly described as 4324 Shackleford Road, Richmond, Virginia, Tax Map Number C0090950084 to sale in order to collect delinquent real estate taxes assessed thereon in the name of the owners of record, John J. Cary and Diana S. Cary An Affidavit having been filed that said owner, John J. Cary has been served by posting and by mailing a copy of the complaint to his last known address and John J. Cary has not been personally located and has not filed a response to this action, and that any heirs, devisees, assignees, successors in interest, successors in title and/or any creditors with a current or future interest in said property, have not been identified and/or served despite diligent efforts to do so and are defendants to this suit by the general description of “Parties Unknown.”

IT IS ORDERED that JOHN J. CARY and Parties Unknown , come forward to appear on or before FEBRUARY 17, 2023 and do what is necessary to protect their interests in this matter.

An Extract, Teste:

Edward F. Jewett, Clerk Gregory A. Lukanuski, Esq. City of Richmond, Office of the City Attorney 900 E. Broad Street Richmond, VA 23219 804-646-7949

VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND JOHN MARSHALL COURTS BUILDING CITY OF RICHMOND, Plaintiff, v. CALVIN S. TWYMAN et al, Defendants. Case No.: CL22-4228

ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is to subject the property briefly described as 3600 Platinum Road, Richmond, Virginia, Tax Map Number C0090743008 to sale in order to collect delinquent real estate taxes assessed thereon in the name of the owner of record, Calvin S. Twyman

An Affidavit having been filed that said owner, Calvin S. Twyman who has been served by posting and by mailing a copy of the complaint to his last known address, has not been personally located and has not filed a response to this action, and that any heirs, devisees, assignees, successors in interest, successors in title and/or any creditors with a current or future interest in said property, have not been identified and/or served despite diligent efforts to do so and are defendants to this suit by the general description of Parties Unknown.

IT IS ORDERED that Calvin S. Twyman , and Parties Unknown , come forward to appear on or before FEBRUARY 16, 2023 and do what is necessary to protect their interests in this matter. An Extract, Teste: Edward F. Jewett, Clerk Gregory A. Lukanuski, Esq. City of Richmond, Office of the City Attorney 900 E. Broad Street Richmond, VA 23219 804-646-7949

BIDS

COUNTY OF HENRICO, VIRGINIA CONSTRUCTION BID

ITB #22-2464-12JOK AVR Campus Renovation Due: February 1, 2023 at 2:00 p.m. For additional information visit: https://henrico.us/ finance/divisions/purchasing/ solicitations

COUNTY OF HENRICO, VIRGINIA CONSTRUCTION BID

ITB #22-2457-11JL Replacement of Dry Pipe Sprinkler Systems at Three Schools Due: January 19, 2023 at 2:00 p.m. For additional information visit: https://henrico.us/ finance/divisions/purchasing/ Continued on next column

Thank you for your interest in applying for opportunities with The City of Richmond. To see what opportunities are available, please refer to our website at www.richmondgov.com. EOE M/F/D/V

St. John Baptist Church in Richmond, Va. Is looking for an experienced Minister of Music to coordinate the Music Ministry. Please send resume highlighting qualifications to: Chairman Claude Coleman, Trustee Ministry Rev. Dr. Janet Copeland, Minister of Music, 4317 North Avenue, Richmond, Virginia 23222. Closing date: December 30, 2022

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Candice D. Reid City Clerk