Richmond Free Press January 2-4, 2020 edition

Richmond Free Press © 2019 Paradigm Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.

VOL. 29 NO. 1

RICHMOND, VIRGINIA

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Foremost Wishes for the new year

JANUARY 2-4, 2020

2020 vision Mayor Stoney reflects on his accomplishments of the past 3 years, his goals for the final year of his term and prospects for re-election

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

Mayor Levar M. Stoney is heading into 2020 confident that Richmond voters will reward him with another four years based on his accomplishments.

Gearing up for re-election — and as yet unchallenged despite signals that others might run — the mayor ticked off the full funding for Richmond Public Schools requests this year, the construction of three new schools, an increase in street paving and the launch of the state’s first Eviction Diversion Program as the top items on his list of notable achievements.

The youngest mayor in city history when he took office in 2017, Mayor Stoney, who will turn 39 in March, talked up the improvements he has ushered in and brushed off rumors that he might seek state office in 2021

during a recent interview at City Hall with the Free Press.

“You will see me on the ballot,” said the mayor, known for his quick smile and fast patter. “And I will fulfill my time, not just this year and this term, but in the second term as well.

“I think I’ve got the best job in the Commonwealth,” he said. “When I wake up, it challenges me each and every day. This city has grown, but I also see myself as growing in this role as well. I will be a better mayor in year 4 than I was in year 1. And I’ll be a better mayor in year 8 than I will be in year 5.”

He won a four-way race four years ago to secure the position. At the moment, the only potential opponent being mentioned for the November

Mayor Stoney

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Explanations sought on City Council’s consulting contract cost

VUU announces $5,000 tuition cut

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

Virginia Union University will cut the yearly cost of undergraduate tuition by $5,000 beginning next fall in an apparent bid to attract more students and end a quiet, but dramatic two-year drop in enrollment.

The upshot of what amounts to a 32 percent tuition reduction: The private, historically black and Baptist-affiliated university will become the least expensive four-year institution in Richmond and will rank among the lowest-priced public or private fouryear institutions of higher education in Virginia, most notably for students from out of state.

The tuition rollback appears to be almost unprecedented among the nation’s colleges and universities, where the norm has been annual tuition increases that Dr. Lucas outpace inflation.

But with the total number of incoming freshmen and transfer students down by 50 percent and total undergraduate enrollment dropping to the lowest level in decades, VUU appears to have needed a game-changing move.

That came last week on Dec. 24 when Dr. W. Franklyn Richardson, chairman of the VUU Board of Trustees, and VUU President Dr. Hakim J. Lucas announced the board’s approval of the rollback in annual tuition to $10,530 for

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

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14 candidates make Dems presidental primary ballot in Va. All 14 Democrats who filed to run in Virginia’s March 3 Democratic presidential primary made the ballot, according to the Virginia Department of Elections.

The candidates’ names will appear in the following order on the ballot, the department stated, based on the results of a drawing: Cory Booker, Julian Castro, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Marianne Williamson, Michael Bennett, Joe Biden, Amy Klobuchar, Tulsi Gabbard, Deval Patrick, Pete Buttigieg, Tom Steyer and Michael Bloomberg.

Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press

Happy Noon Year!

More than 2,000 people erupt into cheers at the coming of 2020 at the Science Museum of Virginia’s Noon Year’s Eve celebration. At the stroke of noon on Dec. 31, confetti dropped from the top of the rotunda as youngsters and their families celebrated New Year’s early on Tuesday. The annual celebration is geared to the young and those who have a hard time staying up until midnight to welcome the new year.

When a divided Richmond City Council voted 5-4 on Dec. 9 to proceed with hiring C.H. Johnson Consulting to review the $1.5 billion Richmond Coliseum replacement plan, most members had no idea that the company’s bid had come in 13 percent higher than the amount council had approved to pay a consultant.

Council members learned a week later when they received calls from council C h i e f of Staff Lawrence Anderson Mr. Anderson notifying them that C.H. Johnson had been awarded a contract worth $215,000 — $25,000 more than the $190,000 council had agreed to set aside for hiring a consultant.

Under a timetable, C.H. Johnson is to provide a preliminary report to City Council on Jan. 31 and file a final report on Feb. 10, two weeks before the council is scheduled to vote on the massive redevelopment plan.

According to Betty J. Burrell, director of city procurement, Mr. Anderson authorized the increase in the contract price Please turn to A4

Congressman John Lewis fighting biggest battle: Pancreatic cancer Free Press wire reports

ATLANTA Messages of support are pouring in for Congressman John Lewis, known as “the conscience of the Congress,” following his announcement Sunday that he is facing a foe like none before: Advanced pancreatic cancer.

As a civil rights activist at 25, Rep. Lewis was beaten so badly his skull was fractured and the TV images from an Alabama bridge in the 1960s forced a nation’s awakening to racial discrimination.

As a congressman today at 79, the veteran Democratic congressman from Georgia said, “I have never faced a fight quite like the one I have now.”

He said Sunday in Washington that the stage 4 cancer was detected earlier this month and confirmed in a diagnosis.

Rep. Lewis has had many battles, and this he views as one more dawning. He was arrested at least 40 times Please turn to A4

Rep. Lewis

Hearing Jan. 14 on Hanover NAACP suit to rename Confederate schools

By George Copeland Jr.

Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press

Lighting the way Kiante Tate, 12, lights one of the seven candles of the kinara at the annual Capital City Kwanzaa Festival last Saturday. The event, held at Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School by the Elegba Folklore Society, drew hundreds of people honoring the seven principles highlighted during Kwanzaa’s seven days. Kwanzaa was founded in 1966 in the United States by Dr. Maulana Karenga. Please see more photos, B4.

The fate of a federal lawsuit brought by the Hanover County Branch NAACP in a bid to force the Hanover County School Board to rename two schools currently named for Confederate leaders could be decided on Jan. 14.

That’s when U.S. District Court Judge Robert E. Payne will hear arguments on the School Board’s request to dismiss the NAACP’s suit seeking a court order requiring new names for Lee-Davis High School and Stonewall Jackson Middle School.

Judge Payne, who will hear the case at the courthouse in Downtown Richmond, has already expressed concerns about the suit that he wants attorneys for the Hanover NAACP to address.

In a preliminary order, he Mr. Barnette directed those attorneys to show that this is a genuine dispute over which the branch is entitled to sue. Judge Payne also ordered the NAACP lawyers to identify any

cases that support its arguments or to show that their argument is based “on the extension of existing legal principles.”

The lawsuit was launched on Aug. 16 by the Hanover NAACP led by President Robert N. Barnette Jr., who also is president of the Virginia State Conference of the NAACP. The suit aims to “eradicate the vestiges of a shameful, racist educational system in Hanover County that forces African-American students to champion a legacy of segregation and oppresPlease turn to A4

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January 2-4, 2020

Richmond Free Press

Local News

Photos by Regina H. Boone/Richmond Free Press

Cityscape Slices of life and scenes in Richmond

GRTC official: No money for transfer station proposed by Navy Hill

By Jeremy M. Lazaarus

GRTC lacks the funding to develop and operate the modern transfer center that is part of the $1.5 billion city and Navy Hill District Corp. plan to replace the Richmond Coliseum and develop nearby blocks, according to the bus company.

Julie Timm, chief executive officer of the public transit company, has made the point in recent discussions with the GRTC board.

While she consistently has supported the Navy Hill proposal’s inclusion of an accessible transfer center for riders to change buses, she also has stated that GRTC lacks the money to make the center a reality if the redevelopment plan wins City Council approval.

In response to a Free Press query, GRTC Ms. Timm spokeswoman Carrie Rose Pace stated that Ms. Timm has noted “that the funding sources for any increase in transit service and infrastructure, including any transfer center, regardless of size or location, still need to be identified.”

While the Navy Hill plan envisions beginning the process by building a shell building at 9th and Clay streets that could become the center, Ms. Pace noted the Navy Hill proposal “does not currently address” the costs GRTC would face to finish and outfit the building or the money needed for operations.

So far, neither GRTC nor the city has figured out how to pay for such a center, Ms. Pace stated. Currently, GRTC has a much-criticized “temporary” outdoor transfer station that extends along 9th Street past City Hall.

GRTC has studied multiple locations in the past 20 years, including the proposed Navy Hill site, for a transfer center. City Council has rebuffed GRTC’s previous proposals for developing a center at sites including Main Street Station, 6th and Grace streets and at a Cary Street parking lot in Downtown.

With the overhaul of routes in the past year, Ms. Timm and others involved with transit company also have talked about the need to create smaller transfer centers at various points where different routes intersect.

In Ms.Timm’s view, both are needed, and both lack funding, Ms. Pace stated.

Area Christmas tree disposal, recycling sites announced Now that the holiday has come and gone, Christmas tree recycling has begun in the Richmond area.

The Richmond Department of Public Works has announced it will pick up trees left curbside or by Supercans through Friday, Jan. 10.

Residents also can drop off trees every day except Sunday at the East Richmond Road Convenience Center, 3800 E. Richmond Road, DPW announced. The Hopkins Road Convenience Center is closed to personal vehicles during its renovation.

Also, Richmonders can take their Christmas trees to the 11th Annual “Bring One for the Chipper” recycling event to be held 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 11, at the recycling center at 1710 Robin Hood Road across from The Diamond baseball stadium.

The free city event also will include collection of used electronics along with household hazardous waste, such as paint and pesticide, and offer document shredding, the department noted.

Henrico County residents can drop off their Christmas trees through Wednesday, Jan. 8, at several sites, it has been announced.

The sites include the lower parking lot at the Henrico Government Center, 4301 Parham Road; the front parking lot of the Eastern Government Center, 3820 Nine Mile Road; the Springfield Road Public Use Area, 10600 Fords Country Lane; and the Charles City Road Public Use Area, 2705 Charles City Road.

In Chesterfield County, residents can bring their Christmas trees on designated days to either the Northern Area Convenience Center, 3200 Warbro Road, or the Southern Area Convenience Center, 6700 Landfill Drive.

The Northern Center will accept trees on Mondays, Tuesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, while the Southern Center will accept trees on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, according to the county. Both sites will accept trees through Friday, Jan. 31, the county stated.

Correction Richmond Free Press photographer Regina H. Boone, whose 2016 photo of a youngster affected by the contaminated water in Flint, Mich., made CNN’s list of “100 photos that defined the decade,” turns 50 on Friday, Jan. 3.

An incorrect age was published in an article about her recognition in the Dec. 26-28 edition of the Richmond Free Press.

Additionally, she was featured in a documentary produced

by NHK World-Japan about her search for her grandfather, a Japanese immigrant who died after imprisonment by U.S. authorities during World War II. The story incorrectly listed her as a producer of the documentary.

The Free Press regrets the errors.

Nancy Ward, left, and her friend and neighbor, Lorraine Cavell, stand in front of their new apartment building in the Armstrong Renaissance complex that has replaced Armstrong High School in the 1600 block of North 31st St. Center, Ms. Ward unpacks groceries in her new kitchen, while, right, Ms. Cavell shows off her new living room and bedroom. The two, who had lived for 35 years in the nearby Creighton Court public housing community are among 37 seniors from Creighton Court who have moved into the newly completed building as part of the first step to redeveloping the public housing complex. The Community Builders of Boston undertook the Armstrong Renaissance development with the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority.

New chair for School Board?

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

The Richmond School Board could start the new year with a new chair at the helm.

Several School Board sources told the Free Press there is a move afoot to elect Linda B. Owen, 9th District, to replace the current chair, Dawn C. Page, 8th District, Ms. Page who has held the post since 2017.

The decision on School Board officers is to be made at the board meeting on Monday, Jan. 6.

According to one member, who requested anonymity, support has begun to coalesce around Ms. Owen, a retired teacher,

out of concern that Ms. Page has been less collegial in the post.

“She has issued statements on behalf of the board without first consulting the rest of us. And she also has made decisions on spending and personnel without reviewing the matters with the board,” the member said. “Promises that items would be on the agenda have not always been kept.”

Ms. Owen Ms. Owen “has been a straight-shooter,” the member said, acknowledging that Ms. Owen has been a loyal supporter of Ms. Page and generally voted in lockstep with her.

“Still, a change at the top would signal that the board sees a need for change ahead of the next election,” the member said.

Richmond Police fine-tuning new crime data system to help public

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

Local police departments have long kept a tight grip on their information, only grudgingly releasing crime statistics and usually keeping data on officer activity off limits to taxpayers.

But the Richmond Police Department is taking a different tack.

Instead of keeping its data locked up behind a “blue wall,” the goal is now to provide as much transparency as possible without disclosing information on specific incidents or arrests that involve courts and testimony.

In the process of opening up, the department is on the way to creating what many see as a national model that other departments might emulate.

A new records management system is being installed in the department with the help of Soma Global, a consulting firm.

Chief Will Smith recently showed off the system to members of the media, noting it will offer city residents a clearer of view of the department’s work.

The department is planning to hold more “focus” meetings to get input on ways the system can be improved before taking it live within six months.

Behind the scenes, Pierre Redding is leading the development of the new system in his role as technology manager for the internal records management system and field mobility solutions for the computers in cars.

Also involved in upgrading officers’ cell phones and having patrol officers’ computers more portable, Mr. Redding said the new system he’s involved in creating will be a sea change from what is now available to the department and the public.

The team he is working with also includes another technology manager with the department, Larquel D. Way, and two technology support employees, Lakesha S. Monroe and Natasha C. White.

He said the new system would transform the current static data that the department presents on its website into a dynamic system that will allow people to create graphs and charts and overlay maps to show them

Jeremy M. Lazarus/Richmond Free Press

Richmond Police Chief Will Smith listens as technology manager Pierre Redding describes the new records management system and what it will offer during a recent event for the media and others who will use the data.

where crime is occurring and trends.

People will be able to drill down into areas as small as neighborhoods and blocks and track data over short or long periods of time on everything from reported crime to arrests and internal and public complaints against officers, he said.

Instead of waiting weeks, the system will feed in data in real time, he said, something that has not been possible with the current system.

“We’ve never had anything like this before,” said Mr. Redding, and he’s not sure any other department has anything like it.

Whether the results address the concerns of groups such as the Richmond Transparency and Accountability Project, or RTAP, that have been advocating for the department to release more of its internal information remains to be seen.

The new system represents the latest step in the department’s efforts to be more open that began under former Police Chief Alfred Durham.

Shootings and homicides up in city, but major crime down 3% from 2018 Sixty people as of noon Dec. 31, were fatally shot, bludgeoned or knifed to death in Richmond in 2019, according to city Police Department statistics.

Christmas was especially bloody as three people were reported killed by gunfire on Dec. 25. That includes two men found shot to death in Gilpin Court and a father of five children who was killed at a Shockoe Bottom restaurant when an angry patron shot into the building, also injuring three others.

The total number of homicides in Richmond represents an 11 percent increase over 2018 when 53 people were killed, but still fewer than the most recent peak in 2017 when 66 people were slain.

The homicide numbers added to an uptick in other violent crimes, including reported rapes, robberies of businesses, carjackings and aggravated assaults that left the victims bloody and in serious condition, the police crime data show.

Shootings during aggravated assaults spiked dramatically, according to the data. As of Dec. 29, 266 people had been shot in Richmond during 2019, up 32 percent from the same period a year ago when 201 people were shot during assaults, the data show.

Still, on the bright side, overall major crime in the city — including crimes involving property — declined by about 3 percent from 2018, the data also show.

As of Dec. 29, police had documented 9,703 major crimes, 329 fewer than at that point in 2018.

The drop in total major crimes in 2019, according to the police statistics, was the result of fewer bank robberies, a decline in reported robberies of individuals, a reduction in reported domestic assaults and drops in reported burglaries, larcenies and thefts of motor vehicles, mopeds and bicycles. — JEREMY M. LAZARUS

In February 2018, Chief Durham began having the department to post on its website weekly crime reports that previously were only circulated within the department.

Advocates began pressing him to release more information following the May 2018 shooting death of Marcus-David Peters, a 24-year-old biology teacher who stripped naked during a mental breakdown and charged a Richmond Police officer who shot him twice. The officer’s actions later were upheld by then-Richmond Commonwealth’s Attorney Michael N. Herring, who rejected the efforts of Mr. Peters’ family to have the officer charged.

RTAP pressed for the release of more information about police interactions with citizens, and Chief Durham promised to do so after a new records management system was developed.

Chief Smith, who took over the department in January 2019, authorized the first public release of officers’ field interview reports, or FIRs, that result from contacts with the public. Monthly reports on complaints involving officers also are posted.

RTAP and Dr. Liz Coston, a sociology instructor at Virginia Commonwealth University who works with the group, created a report from the FIR data that confirmed that African-Americans in Richmond received the most attention from police.

However, Chief Smith also used the data to rebut the view that racial bias was a motivation.

“When we mapped the data, it showed our officers are focusing on areas of the city where crime is occurring,” he said.

He said that became clearer when crime maps were overlaid with the FIR reports. Mr. Redding said that process will be simpler with the new system. The results offered “no indication that officers are targeting neighborhoods or individuals based on race or ethnicity,” Chief Smith said.

Chief Smith said residents will find the new system “much easier to use and more in tune with our philosophy of community policing — focusing on officer-citizen interactions. It will allow anyone to access and analyze unclassified data.”

Richmond Free Press

January 2-4, 2020

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Special Feature

Foremost wishes for the new year With the start of 2020, the Richmond Free Press invited select state and local officials to share their foremost wishes for the new year.

Here are their responses:

Gov. Ralph S. Northam

Lt. Gov. Justin E. Fairfax

Attorney General Mark R. Herring

My hope for Virginia in 2020 is that we continue to value each other — as individuals, as a community and as a Commonwealth.

That means we learn more about each other and we learn more about ourselves. We recognize ourselves in our neighbors and we teach our children to do the same. We treat each other as we want to be treated.

It means we honor our shared humanity, but we aren’t naive enough to pretend we’re all the same. We know some of us have been born with advantages we didn’t earn ourselves —advantages that come from the color of our skin, our birthplace or the family that raised us.

Valuing each other means being honest about this fact.

It means we recognize that the playing field is not level and that past discrimination continues to play out in the inequities that exist today.

Most importantly, valuing each other means we do more than talk. We take action to right the wrongs of the past. We protect each other. We care for one another.

As your governor, I am committed to doing this work.

In 2020, let’s continue to value each other, take care of each other and move forward together.

I wish you and your loved ones a happy and peaceful new year.

My wish for the 2020 new year is for the Commonwealth and the country to start the next 400 years by rejecting the old, negative and destructive politics of the past and instead embracing a new politics of positivity, results and hope.

Our time in public service should be focused like a laser on building people and communities up and not attempting to tear them down.

While the state’s current leadership has put Virginia on a highly successful course, we must continue to fight to provide more economic security and opportunity for all Virginians. We must fight for a living wage and more good jobs so families can rise. We must remake our crumbling public school infrastructure and provide full access to technical and vocational training and multiple paths to affordable higher education.

We must make housing more affordable, health care more accessible and broadband universal. We must make our criminal justice system fairer and more humane and finally dismantle Virginia’s school-to-prison pipeline piece by piece.

We must do all of this and more.

But our politics must rise to the challenge of this unique moment in our history in order for us to succeed and rise together. I am prepared and excited about the future we will create.

My foremost wish for 2020 is that we, as Virginians, seize the opportunity to build a more just, fair and equal Commonwealth. Justice, equality and opportunity must be guaranteed for each and every person who calls Virginia home, no matter where they live, what they look like, how they worship, who they love or how much money they have. Virginia cannot have different systems and standards of justice, or different educational, housing or employment opportunities depending on the color of a person’s skin or their wealth.

We know there is a tremendous amount of work ahead to fulfill the promise of justice, equality and opportunity, and each of us has a role to play, whether as an elected official, community leader or simply a citizen of our Commonwealth.

One area I will focus on in 2020 is enacting badly needed reforms to our criminal justice system. For example, I believe we need to completely overhaul Virginia’s cannabis laws to reduce the number of Virginians saddled with a criminal conviction because of marijuana possession, and to address immoral and unacceptable racial disparities in enforcement.

We also need to expand opportunities for Virginians who have earned a second chance to have their records cleared of old convictions, move away from the “cash bail” system that causes too many Virginians to sit in jail for days or weeks on end simply because they don’t have enough money to pay bail, and increase safety, transparency and accountability in policing and use of force.

I believe we can do all this and so much more in 2020.

There are other huge challenges we must tackle, like making it easier to vote, investing in our schools and expanding access to affordable health care, but I have never been more optimistic about our ability to get it done.

Best wishes for a healthy and happy 2020!

Mayor Levar M. Stoney My foremost wish for 2020 is that Richmond realizes its potential as a “can-do” city.

Too often, we have let past failures keep us from being bold, moving forward and seizing opportunities to improve the lives of all of our residents.

It’s time we believe in our ability to accomplish important things and stop being bogged down by fear and those who focus more on fighting than on working together and on problem seeking rather than problem solving.

I am optimistic we can accomplish big things because we are already on our way.

Richmond is changing — and changing for the better by becoming more diverse, inclusive and equitable. Three years ago, there was no Maggie Walker statue in Jackson Ward, no Arthur Ashe Boulevard and no “Rumors of War” monument of a man on a horse who looks like the majority of the residents in our city.

Our poverty rate and violent crime rate are declining, and our population and employment are increasing.

After years of disinvestment, stagnation and lost opportunity, we are building new schools and sit on the cusp of the biggest economic empowerment project in the city’s history.

Simply put, Richmond, we can.

I see that spirit in our city workers, who are delivering better service, filling potholes and paving roads. I see hope in the faces of our city’s schoolchildren, whom I visit every year and who are bursting with promise and curiosity.

And finally, I see resilience in the hard-working residents of our city, our lifeblood, who are ready to make the next year and the next decade better for the next generation.

They don’t want us to go backward. They don’t want us to stand still. They want us to move forward.

It’s time to stop talking about it and start being about it. Richmond is on the rise and poised to do great things.

We need to believe it and make it happen.

Dr. Amy E. Cashwell

Superintendent of Henrico County Public Schools My foremost wish for 2020 is the advancement of equity in public education.

It can be overwhelming to address an issue with so many facets. There’s only one way to start: “Think globally, act locally.”

I want Henrico County Public Schools to continue the progress we’ve made in addressing equity and opportunity and be a leader in a continuing conversation about these issues.

The motto of Henrico Schools expresses our vision of equity for all our students: “The right to achieve. The support to succeed.” Our school division has made progress in fulfilling that promise, but there is more to do. A small sample of our progress so far: • We approved a school calendar for 2020-21 that includes student holidays in observance of Yom Kippur, Diwali, Christmas and Eid al-Fitr.

• Our Equity and Diversity Advisory Committee recently completed a comprehensive study on how to give more students the chance to take advanced courses and support them in those classes.

• Thanks to our citizens’ support, the Henrico meals tax is giving new life to aging schools, ensuring that all Henrico children have first class facilities.

• Because it’s crucial to keep students in school and learning, we completely re-imagined our approach to discipline, emphasizing continuity across the county, as well as student support, earlier intervention and conflict resolution.

• We are training all staff members in implicit bias, adding more culturally relevant materials to classes and developing a plan to recruit and retain a more diverse workforce.

• Because not all families have the same financial resources, we are reducing the student laptop fee and eliminating it entirely by 2021-22.

Working for equity isn’t just the right thing to do — it’s essential if we want to enable all our children to reach their potential and be creative, engaged citizens. Expanding opportunity creates stronger families, stronger economies and stronger communities. That is a vision for 2020 we can all share.

Richmond Police Chief Will Smith For 2020, I wish for more opportunities and assistance to engage in youth violence prevention. I wish for members of the community to seek out those who are at risk of and engaged in violence in our community and provide them with support, education and guidance in how to handle conflict without hurting others.

As a community, we need more people who are willing to come forward to build relationships with those most at risk. This is a difficult task, as every parent can attest. How we, as the older generation, communicate our life skills and knowledge to our younger generation is a challenge that has been experienced throughout time.

Modern life presents unique and unprecedented challenges — the instant availability of internet information and communication with large audiences via social media create a challenging, emotionally charged environment that our children are expected to navigate. While I am glad I grew up without the internet, cell phones and social media, I know that I need to be a better communicator to convey life experience to young people.

The violent crime that we most frequently encounter are young adults and teenagers who respond to perceived slights using deadly weapons — a permanent solution to a temporary problem.

For our city to be safer and our communities stronger, our youths need better coping skills and mechanisms to prevent them from being victims or victimizers.

We all have a part to play, and it is for all these reasons that I wish for more opportunities and assistance to build a safer city for all.

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Richmond Free Press

News

Mayor Stoney reflects on his accomplishments of the past 3 years, his goals for the final year of his term and prospects for re-election Continued from A1

contest is 2nd District Councilwoman Kim B. Gray, though she has not said if she will run for mayor or seek re-election to City Council.

On the campaign trail and if re-elected, Mayor Stoney said he plans to use the same approach that helped him win the office.

He said he would “lean into my ‘One Richmond’ agenda and the pillars of ‘One Richmond,’ more investment in improving public education, more investment in affordable housing, more investment in mass transit and public transportation and more investment in job creation and workforce development.”

He has taken heat for pushing for tax increases to provide more revenue to make such investments.

While he lost a bid to increase the city’s real estate property tax, he succeeded in getting City Council to pass a 1.5 percent hike in the local meals tax on restaurant and other prepared food to finance construction of three new schools that will open in September. He also secured passage of the city’s first tax on cigarettes, a 50-cent tax that is expected to raise about $3 million in new revenue.

As he prepares the next Richmond budget for presentation in March, he would not rule out another tax increase. “Every option is on the table,” he said.

However, he added, “I’m not silly. I recognize that City Council has rejected proposals for raising the real estate tax rate. I’m keeping that in mind. And just because all options are on the table doesn’t mean I will be proposing a tax increase.”

He said, though, it would be irresponsible of him not to look at all the options during the budget preparation process.

The mayor also said he would continue lobbying efforts in the state legislature to secure more funding for public schools, road improvements and public transit.

“We can’t tackle it alone,” he said, and would need help “from our friends in the General Assembly.”

The biggest item on his to-do list remains the $1.5 billion Richmond Coliseum replacement plan that he has spent much of

Explanations sought on City Council’s consulting contract cost Continued from A1

on behalf of City Council.

She stated her department doesn’t make such decisions and only proceeds to award a contract when the department requesting the goods or services is found to have sufficient funds “available in the accounting code identified in the requisition.”

She also noted that the council’s request at the Dec. 9 meeting to shorten the turnaround time for the report’s submission from 90 days to less than 60 days didn’t affect the price.

She stated that the notice of intent to award the consulting contract was issued on Nov. 26, and the $215,000 price tag was known and agreed upon at that time. However, Ms. Burrell added that the price was not publicly available information” even to City Council until after the contract was issued to C.H. Johnson at 5:15 p.m. Dec. 16.

In the end, Mr. Lawrence agreed to the extra cost, but left most council members in the dark.

That has raised concern among some council members.

Councilwoman Kim B. Gray, 2nd District, told the Free Press she has asked Mr. Anderson to spell out his authority to authorize a higher-priced contract for C.H. Johnson, “but I haven’t gotten an explanation.”

Ms. Gray led the effort Dec. 9 to reject the consulting contract, but lost when five members, including newcomer Stephanie Lynch, 5th District, voted to award C.H. Johnson the contract.

Mr. Anderson has not responded to a Free Press request for comment, nor has Council President Cynthia I. Newbille, 7th District.

Despite voting with the majority to hire C.H. Johnson, Councilwoman Ellen F. Robertson, 6th District, expressed frustration at the Dec. 9 meeting that council was flying blind in taking the vote.

Ms. Robertson noted that city procurement rules, designed to prevent political interference in contracting, blocked the governing body from getting any information about the bidders or their bids or even learning about the cost.

She urged her colleagues to consider changing the rules to allow City Council to secure more information in advance of a contract award when the governing body is the party involved with procurement.

Congressman John Lewis fighting pancreatic cancer Continued from A1

during the Civil Rights Movement when he worked with and later served as chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, and several more times as a congressman since first being elected in 1986. Recently, he has been rallying to help reunite immigrant families separated by the Trump administration.

The youngest and last survivor of the Big Six civil rights activists who organized the 1963 March on Washington, a group once led by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Rep. Lewis made clear that he has no plans to step aside while he undergoes treatment.

He said being elected to Congress “has been the honor of a lifetime” and that he will continue working for his constituents from Capitol Hill.

“I have been in some kind of fight — for freedom, equality, basic human rights — for nearly my entire life,” he said.

Added Lewis: “I have a fighting chance.”

“If there’s one thing I love about @RepJohnLewis, it’s his incomparable will to fight. I know he’s got a lot more of that left in him. Praying for you, my friend,” former President Obama said in a social media message of support for Rep. Lewis.

Expressions of encouragement and faith were posted by the powerful in Congress to the people Rep. Lewis represents and others around the country.

He declined to say where he would receive cancer treatment or what that would entail.

“I may miss a few votes during this period, but with God’s grace I will be back on the front lines soon,” he said in asking for prayers.

Rep. Lewis also said he was “clear-eyed about the prognosis” even as doctors have told him that recent medical advances have made this type of cancer treatable in many cases. He added that “treatment options are no longer as debilitating as they once were.”

The American Cancer Society estimates 3 percent of patients with stage 4 pancreatic cancer are alive five years after being diagnosed.

his first term spearheading with the Navy Hill District Corp. and its leader, Thomas F. Farrell II, the top executive at Richmondbased utility giant Dominion Energy.

Mayor Stoney has yet to gain approval from City Council, but he remains upbeat about the prospects ahead of the council’s scheduled vote in late February.

While he currently appears to be falling short of securing the seven votes needed to propel the project, he is not ready to throw in the towel.

“I am one of the most optimistic public servants you will find, and I remain optimistic that the plan for Navy Hill stands on its own merits,” Mayor Stoney said.

“My hope for 2020, my wish is that council will strengthen this project so we can get to a ‘yes,’ ” he said. “If they have concerns, if they have issues, we need to hear about them so we can create a compromise that benefits everyone. This is a transformative project. This is not about buildings. This is about economic empowerment. This is about people. ‘No’ is not a plan for success.”

If the Navy Hill project should go down, however, he’s prepared. He said he would be revving up the long-stalled plan to redevelop 60 acres of city property at Arthur Ashe Boulevard and Robin Hood Road near The Diamond. The city invested $19 million to clear city and school operations from the site.

But the city put that development on hold while waiting for the governor and General Assembly to approve a plan to replace the state Alcohol Beverage Control headquarters and warehouse on Hermitage Road, which finally is happening.

Once the ABC relocates to new suburban quarters on which construction is beginning, Virginia Commonwealth University is on track to obtain the old site for development of a new baseball stadium to be used by the university’s team and the Richmond Flying Squirrels.

Mayor Stoney confirmed rumors that the city’s development staff is expected to issue a request for proposals this spring to seek a master developer for the property.

In the interview, he pledged there would be a more public process before decisions are made on what would be developed, a contrast with the secretive approach the administration initially followed with the Navy Hill development that has drawn fire from critics.

He said nearby residents and business owners would need to be consulted and enabled to offer their views on what should be developed as part of the process. He said the city also would need to work with VCU, which he said also will likely own

the Sports Backers track and field stadium that currently is on a portion of the site.

And Richmond Public Schools would need to be involved, he said, as the current owner of the Arthur Ashe Jr. Athletic Center, which occupies a key corner.

At this point, there is no plan for replacing the Ashe Center, which is in declining condition.

“We all believe that the schools deserve a better facility,” he said in calling the Ashe Center an example of the deferred maintenance of city property.

Whether he wins re-election or not, Mayor Stoney believes he has made an impact as he begins the final year of his term.

He notes with pride his work with City Council to provide Richmond Public Schools with $19 million in additional operating funds and $18 million in additional funds for maintenance.

That $37 million increase in funding is the largest amount of new money provided to schools in at least 20 years, he said, and is coupled with the $150 million earmarked to yield two new elementary schools and one new middle school this fall.

“This was my No. 1 priority. I ran as the education mayor and I’m elated that we achieved full funding not only for academics, but in the facilities that kids walk into everyday,” he said.

He acknowledged, however, that it would be tough to continue to provide such increases every year. Still, he’s happy that it was done for at least one year.

“As we go into 2020, we obviously are expecting results.

But I believe we have put RPS on a path for success, and that is what we were charged to do.”

He also believes that Richmond’s efforts at eviction diversion will pay off with fewer families losing their homes.

“Richmond ranks No. 2 in the country in the percentage of our residents being evicted,” he said. “As good governments do, you have to respond.” The city’s response is a safety net program that already has worked with 56 families and is getting increasing calls to help others.

Through the program, “pro bono attorneys have been activated to respond to the needs,” and a separate Eviction Task Force that includes apartment managers, landlords, tenants and nonprofits is seeking to “to come up with solutions to prevent evictions,” he said.

The root of the problem, though, is the rising cost of housing in the city, he said, which he said will require more investment in the creation of quality housing that is more affordable.

As a result, looking ahead, he sees plenty more to do.

VUU announces $5,000 tuition cut Continued from A1

undergraduates beginning with the fall 2020 semester.

The announcement was coupled with a separate announcement that VUU is awarding $250,000 in need-based scholarships to 115 financially struggling students using donations from alumni and corporate and individual donors. The individual awards averaged $2,173.

VUU’s current listed annual tuition is $15,530 for the 2019-20 school year, though most students pay significantly less based on their family income, according to published documents. Students also pay $1,753 in fees, which will remain unchanged.

Including room and board, the total price to attend VUU would drop from around $25,865 a year to less than $21,000 a year, both for Virginia residents and outof-state students.

Also next year, students will be offered new extended payment options, including five- to six-year payment plans, VUU noted.

When the reduction goes into effect, VUU’s tuition charge of $12,283 including fees would make the school less costly than state-supported Virginia Commonwealth University. This year, VCU is charging full-time, in-state students $14,596 a year in tuition and fees, with the total cost rising to $25,419 when room and board are included.

More significantly, VCU this year is charging non-Virginia residents $35,904 in tuition and fees, and $46,727 including room and board. That’s about $25,000 more than the total charge VUU will impose next year.

The University of Richmond, a Baptistaffiliated school like VUU, listed annual tuition for the 2019-20 school year at $54,690 per undergraduate, with another $12,900 for room and board.

A check of Virginia’s two historically black public universities, Virginia State and Norfolk State universities, shows that both

still would have a slightly lower charge for tuition and fees than VUU would for in-state students, but the price tags would be about equal when room and board are added in.

However, out-of-state students at VSU or NSU would pay at least $10,000 more to attend next year compared with VUU’s projected total for tuition, fees and room and board.

The VUU leaders did not mention the enrollment slump in announcing that tuition was being reduced to a level where it was 10 years ago.

Instead, they highlighted the initiative as supporting VUU’s goal of offering greater access and affordability to a more diverse student body.

“We realize how crippling loan debt has become for students nationwide,” Dr. Lucas stated.

“Students enroll in college seeking a career path that will allow an opportunity for long-term financial stability,” he continued. “However, they end up spending most of their working years paying back student loans.

“Virginia Union is doing what it can,” he noted, “to ensure that students … have access to an education that will equip them with the tools they need to be successful while avoiding the crippling bill waiting at the other end of graduation.”

The announcement came as the enrollment slide became more noticeable, according to figures VUU reported to the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia.

VUU reported undergraduate enrollment of 1,153 students for the 2019-20 school year, the smallest enrollment in the past 27 years, according to annual enrollment data SCHEV posts online that allows a look back to the 1992-93 school year. The last time enrollment approached that low number was in the 1999-2000 school year, when VUU reported 1,172 undergraduates.

In most years, VUU has reported between 1,300 and 1,500 undergraduates.

Undergraduate enrollment also slipped

below 1,200 undergraduates in the 2018-19 school year, the SCHEV data show.

The drop is most noticeable among first-time undergraduate students.

In the 2018-19 school year, the most recent data SCHEV has posted online, VUU reported 201 such students, or 145 fewer than in the 2017-18 school year when 346 new students were enrolled.

According to the posted SCHEV data, VUU enrolled an average of 481 new students in each of the 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17 school years.

When transfer students are added, the total new enrollment in each of those years averaged 581 students. Including 94 transfers in the 2018-19 school year, the 295 new students represented a 50 percent decline.

It is unclear what impact the tuition cut would have on the discounts that VUU has previously offered.

According to the website Collegesimply. com, VUU provided students with family incomes of less than $110,000 with grant aid that averaged nearly $10,000 a year.

The largest discounts, according to the website, were provided to those with family incomes below $48,000 a year.

As part of the tuition overhaul, VUU plans to raise tuition next year for graduate students enrolled in its master’s and doctoral programs, which primarily involve training of ministers. The master’s program tuition will cost $451 per credit hour, an increase of $92, and doctoral program tuition will cost $551 per credit, an increase of $295, VUU stated.

“This was an important decision for the trustees as we work to meet the needs of our students,” Dr. Richardson stated.

“Virginia Union University is a special place where students are nurtured academically and spiritually,” he stated. “This decision will change the future for our current students by reducing and, in some cases, eliminating their student loan debt. It will also give the opportunity to students who may have felt that higher education was financially impossible.”

Hearing Jan. 14 on Hanover NAACP suit to rename Confederate schools Continued from A1

sion” by attending schools named for rebels who fought to maintain slavery.

The lawsuit argues that the names contribute to a “hostile and discriminatory environment for African-American students” enrolled at the schools.

The suit cites incidents of racial harassment against African-American students on the part of staff and other students.

The main argument, though, is that the Hanover County School Board is violating the First and 14th amendments of the U.S. Constitution by forcing AfricanAmerican students to attend schools with such names.

The lawsuit argues that this amounts to government-compelled speech in an “unequal learning environment” and that

African-American students are harmed by being forced to experience such speech in everything from school sporting events to graduation ceremonies.

Lee-Davis, named for Confederate General Robert E. Lee and Confederate President Jefferson Davis, opened in 1958, and Stonewall Jackson opened in 1969 at a time of heightened racial conflict in a county that was one of the last in Virginia to desegregate its public schools.

When the lawsuit was launched, Mr. Barnette urged the School Board to come up with a resolution to avoid the cost of a lawsuit. The board, though, has declined and decided just before Thanksgiving not to change the names.

“The board is not taking any action on this item,” School Board Chairman Roger Bourassa announced on Nov. 22 following

a closed-door discussion.

Like most governmental entities, the School Board did not comment on pending litigation.

In statements made before the Nov. 22 decision, Mr. Bourassa said that Lee-Davis High and Stonewall Jackson Middle School eventually would be rebuilt and renamed, in order to comply with current School Board policy that bars any school in the county from being named after a person, living or dead.

Mr. Barnette questioned the board’s choice to “continue to spend thousands of dollars on a lawsuit” rather than take the initiative to change the school names and forego expensive litigation, particularly in light of Mr. Bourassa’s statement.

“I guess you could say the ball is in their court,” Mr. Barnette said.

Richmond Free Press

January 2-4, 2020

A5

News

“What is your wish for the new year?”

As we ring in 2020, many people are looking forward to the new year with a sense of hope and increased opportunity.

The Richmond Free Press took to the street to ask Richmond area residents: “What is your wish for the New Year?”

Here are their answers: Interviews and photos by Ronald E. Carrington/Richmond Free Press

Ms. McQuay

Mr. Washington

Janene McQuay, 74, The Fan, retired: “Peace on earth and calmness in the United States. That’s a lot.”

Alonzo Washington, 57, Highland Park: “My wish for the new year is for God to continue to change things and make life better as we walk in His world. As the world is being challenged right now, I hope God will give

Mr. Damon

Mr. Tinsley

us and our leaders strength to make a great difference in this world.”

Eric Damon, 30, Church Hill, manufacturing technician: “I want peace, love and happiness for everybody.”

Jalique Tinsley, 25, The Fan, interior design assistant: “I wish for the new year that everyone is happy.”

Mrs. Woodson

Mr. Collins

Mr. Chapel

Brenda Woodson, 57, accounting supervisor: “I wish for 2020 to have more love, more peace and more understanding among all races and all economic levels. I just want all of us to get along and look out for those that are less fortunate, as well as thank God for every day that we are on Earth.”

Charlie Collins, 85, East End, retired military:

Mr. Cashwell

“I would like to see fewer guns on the street in our society.”

Gayland Alexander Chapel, 23, North Side: “My hope for the new year is prosperity for everyone.”

Peter Cashwell, 56, South Side, Richmond Public Schools teacher: “My wish for the new year is a change in the White House.”

What drives black consumer spending? Nielsen thinks it knows Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from Nielsen

African-American consumers want more for themselves and from corporate America, and they express it with their dollars as they move through the consumer journey from brand awareness to purchase, according to Nielsen’s 2019 Diverse Intelligence Series Report on African-Americans.

“It’s in the Bag: Black Consumers’ Path to Purchase” explores the non-linear and uniquely technologically driven road that African-Americans follow to make purchasing decisions, which ultimately maximizes both online and in-person shopping options.

This path highlights several differences in shopping behavior and purchasing when compared to the total U.S. population, according to the report.

The report also includes deeper insights into how culture, socioeconomics and business influences how, why and what motivates AfricanAmerican spending in a special co-authored section by advocate and media commentator Angela Rye, chief executive officer and principal of Impact Strategies.

“At 47.8 million strong and a buying power that’s on par with many countries’ gross domestic products, African-Americans continue to outpace spending nationally,” said Cheryl Grace, Nielsen’s senior vice president of community alliances and consumer engagement and co-creator of the report.

“This year, we wanted to help brands and marketers understand the multi-faceted process that blacks take to buy the products they buy.

There are several drivers, but culture is at the

center of them all.

“Further, with their love for technology, they are much more savvy and conscious consumers.

They are as we say, ‘woke.’ They pay attention to how companies are speaking to them. As they spend more, they want more for themselves and from the brands they support.”

Key takeaways from the report include: • African-Americans are welcoming recipients of advertising across all channels. However, while the trends of the black buying power and over-indexing in spending continue to increase, companies’ investments to advertise to them have decreased.

• African-Americans are more likely than the total population to agree that advertising provides meaningful information on most platforms.

• Advertising spending designed to reach black consumers declined 5 percent between 2017 and 2018.

• Physical appearance reflects a sense of cultural pride and self-expression in the black community. This is evidenced by the top spending priorities for African-Americans from everyday soap to luxury handbags.

• African-Americans outspend the total market on personal soap and bath needs by nearly 19 percent ($573.6 million).

• Men are making an impact with grooming habits, outpacing the total market by 20 percent on toiletry items.

• African-Americans are 20 percent more likely than the total population to say they will “pay extra for a product that is consistent with the image I want to convey.”

• They are also more likely to say they shop at high-end stores, including Saks Fifth Avenue

(63 percent), Neiman Marcus (45 percent) and Bloomingdales (24 percent).

While online shopping grows, AfricanAmericans continue to head to physical stores for the personal touch and feel experience — but with more discerning eyes.

• More than half (52 percent) of AfricanAmericans find in-store shopping relaxing, compared with 26 percent of the total population.

• Fifty-five percent of black consumers say they enjoy wandering the store looking for new, interesting products.

• When shopping, African-Americans are more influenced than the total population by store staff (34 percent more likely), in-store advertising (28 percent more likely) and merchandising (27 percent more likely).

The “for us by us” trend of black-owned brands is profoundly impacting the African- American path to purchase and consumer marketplace.

Black consumers support brands that align with their lifestyles and values.

• African-Americans dominate the ethnic hair and beauty aids category, accounting for almost 90 percent of the overall spend.

• 42 percent of black adults expect brands they purchase to support social causes (16 percent higher than the total population).

• 35 percent of African-American shoppers are more likely to agree, “when a celebrity designs a product, I am more likely to buy it.”

• Procter & Gamble is the largest advertiser in African-American media, spending more than a half-billion dollars ($544.3 million). Five of the top 20 baby care category products come from P&G’s Pampers and Luvs brands.

Soul food also drives African-American con-

sumers’ top grocery purchases. These consumers also are passionate about the environment, wanting to buy safe, locally sourced food items.

• African-Americans outpace the general market on: Quaker grits ($19 million); Louisiana Fish Fry ($11 million); Glory Greens (frozen and fresh, $9.5 million combined) and Jay’s Potato Chips (nearly $2.7 million).

• 61 percent say produce is the most important category to buy local, followed by bakery and prepared foods (56 percent), eggs (55 percent) and dairy (52 percent).

• African-Americans over-index the total population concerned about food safety issues: antibiotic use in animal production (by 20 percent); artificial ingredients (by 19 percent) and GMO crop development due to climate change.

The biggest worry is rising prices due to trade tariffs (68 percent for African-Americans versus 56 percent for the total population).

“Nielsen continues to unearth undeniable data and insights that highlight both the agency and power of black consumers and the plethora of opportunities that exist for companies that are focused on nurturing and empowering how they move through the world,” said Jonathan Jackson, former 2019 Nieman-Berkman Klein Fellow in Journalism Innovation at The Nieman Foundation for Journalism and a member of Nielsen’s African-American External Advisory Council.

This is Nielsen’s ninth report highlighting the media consumption, purchasing habits, lifestyle interests and economic advancements of AfricanAmericans. It is the third in a theme released by Nielsen this year following the comprehensive purchasing processes of Asian-American and Latinx consumers.

Second Amendment sanctuary push aims to defy new gun laws

By Denise Lavoie Associated Press

BUCKINGHAM A standing-room-only crowd of more than 400 packed the meeting room, filled the lobby and spilled into the parking lot recently in rural Buckingham County. They had one thing on their minds: Guns.

The vast majority favored a proposal to protect their right to carry firearms, declaring the county a Second Amendment Sanctuary.

Similar scenes have played out across Virginia during recent weeks. Gun owners are descending on local offices to demand that their government leaders establish sanctuaries for gun rights.

The resolutions, promoted heavily by the gun rights group Virginia Citizens Defense League, vary from locaty to locality, but most declare the intention of local officials to oppose any “unconstitutional restrictions” on the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. In the last two months, more than 100 counties, cities and towns in Virginia have approved such resolutions.

(In December, the Hanover County Board of Supervisors approved a resolution supporting the Second Amendment right to bear arms, while the Henrico County Board of Supervisors sidestepped the sanctuary issue and adopted a resolution stating only that the county would uphold the Virginia and U.S. Constitutions. The Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors has discussed the issue, but has not taken any action.)

The current movement began last year in Illinois and quickly

spread to numerous states, including California, Colorado, New Mexico and Florida.

In Virginia, headquarters of the National Rifle Associations, lawmakers in both parties have traditionally supported gun rights. But in recent years, Democrats have backed tighter restrictions on guns.

The Second Amendment Sanctuary movement began after Democrats promising new gun control laws took over both chambers of the state legislature in the Nov. 5 election.

Gun control proposals gained momentum after a shooter killed 12 people and injured four others at a Virginia Beach municipal building in May. But a special legislative session called by Democratic Gov. Ralph S. Northam after the mass shooting failed to produce any new gun control bills when Republicans shut it down after just 90 minutes.

Gun control advocates are now proposing an array of new restrictions, including universal background checks, assault weapon bans and red flag laws that would allow authorities to temporarily take guns away from people deemed dangerous to themselves or others.

One proposal by incoming Senate Majority Leader Dick Saslaw has enflamed gun rights advocates and helped fuel the Second Amendment Sanctuary movement. The bill, as initially proposed, would make it a felony to sell, manufacture, purchase or possess assault weapons and certain magazines. Sen. Saslaw has since said that allowing current owners to keep their weapons “makes sense,” and he expects to amend the bill.

But many see Sen. Saslaw’s

Steve Helber/Associated Press

Spectators break into applause as the Buckingham County Board of Supervisors vote unanimously on Dec. 9 to approve a resolution making the county a Second Amendment Sanctuary as a safe space for gun owners who reject gun control measures.

bill as the first step down a slippery slope that will end with their guns being taken away.

“We have the right to defend our households and we have the right to defend ourselves — period,” said Jake Eubanks, 35, of Buckingham County, about 75 miles west of Richmond, where officials approved a sanctuary resolution in December.

Darrell Miller, co-director of the Duke Center for Firearms Law, said the sanctuary movement is largely a phenomenon in rural communities, where people have grown up hunting and treasure their guns.

“For whatever reasons, people, especially in these communities, have a deep-seated fear that universal firearm confiscation is just around the corner,” Mr. Miller said.

David Campbell, vice chairman of the Effingham County Board in Illinois, said his

county was one of the first in the nation to pass a Second Amendment Sanctuary resolution in April 2018. He said he and a local prosecutor chose the word “sanctuary” as a swipe at Democratic leaders who used the word to describe their refusal to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement in the “sanctuary cities” movement.

“We thought, well, if they can do that, why can’t we make Effingham County a sanctuary for legal, law-abiding gun owners?” Mr. Campbell said.

The movement caught fire, and today, 70 out the 102 counties in Illinois have approved the resolutions, Mr. Campbell said.

“What it’s designed to do is to send a message to our legislators letting them know we are not going to stand for unconstitutional laws being

passed like they are trying to do,” Mr. Campbell said.

The two sides differ on how effective such resolutions will be.

In an advisory opinion issued Dec. 20, Virginia Attorney General Mark R. Herring called the resolutions “part of an effort by the gun lobby to stoke fear” and said the resolutions “have no legal effect.”

Fourth District Congressman A. Donald McEachin of Richmond told the Washington Examiner that Gov. Northam could cut off state funds to counties that don’t comply with new gun control laws and could even call in the National Guard to enforce the laws, if necessary.

Gov. Northam’s spokeswoman, Alena Yarmosky, said the governor has “absolutely no plans to call in the National Guard.”

Gov. Northam said he’s not

“looking for retaliation” against localities that pass the resolutions and is confident that local law enforcement agents “will continue to enforce constitutional laws.” He said Virginians made it clear after the Virginia Beach massacre that they support new gun restrictions.

“Virginians spoke after that mass tragedy. They spoke on Nov. 5, and they basically said, ‘Enough is enough,’ ” Gov. Northam said.

But Philip Van Cleave, president of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, said the resolutions will have teeth if local sheriffs and prosecutors agree to refuse to arrest or prosecute people who break new laws they believe violate the Second Amendment.

“The counties are saying this stuff is unconstitutional. We don’t want it, we don’t want to enforce it, and in most cases, we won’t enforce it,” he said.

One Virginia sheriff has vowed to deputize thousands of county residents “to protect their constitutional right to own firearms.”

“Every Sheriff and Commonwealth Attorney in Virginia will see the consequences if our General Assembly passes further unnecessary gun restrictions,” Culpeper County Sheriff Scott Jenkins wrote on Facebook.

At the Buckingham County meeting, local resident Marie Flowers was one of the few who opposed the sanctuary proposal. Ms. Flowers said she believes the NRA has sold the “John Wayne syndrome” to gun rights activists.

“Nobody’s freedom is being taken away except for these people who are being murdered,” she said.

Richmond Free Press

Downtown fountain in lights

Editorial Page

A6

January 2-4, 2020

Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press

Trump’s ‘revolution’ is destroying America

Best wishes for a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year!

From the

Richmond Free Press

As the U.S. House of Representatives has voted to impeach President Trump, it is time for reflection.

The House has indicted the president for abuse of his office — trying to enlist a foreign government to intervene in our election by announcing an investigation of his potential opponent in the upcoming presidential race — and for obstruction of justice in his extreme efforts to block the congressional investigation of his abuses.

This is an indictment focused, for simplicity’s sake, on a single course of action and its coverup. In fact, the challenge posed

by PresidentTrump is far greater than that.

President Trump is leading a counterrevolution against the America that is and the America that will be. He does so by savagely attackingAmerican institutions and by his unrelenting lies designed to produce a cocoon of misinformation — an alternative reality — to con his ardent supporters. He has scorned the U.S. Constitution and its tripartite division of power. He scorns the Congress — both the Democratic House and the Republican Senate — ignores its subpoenas, dismisses its powers and holds himself and his administration immune from its oversight.

He traduces the courts, appointing right wing activist judges while impugning the motives of any justice that rules in ways he does not like. He floods the courts with lawsuits, many groundless, to delay and to avoid accountability both personally and as president.

He abuses the press, accusing the media of being the enemy of

Jesse L. Jackson Sr. the people and of spreading “fake news,” even as he retweets and recycles false conspiracy theories and big lies.

He has dismantled the interagency national security process, upended American policy — often with the sole apparent motive of reversing anything President Obama accomplished — while abusing allies, his own appointees and the career professionals with sudden reversals of policy and pronouncement.

He has clearly decided that the presidency is above the law, as well as beyond the reach of Congress and the courts.

While I and many other reformers agree with some of President Trump’s stated goals — to bring the “endless wars” to a close, to transform our trading policy, to pressure the Federal Reserve to keep its foot off the brakes of the economy without clear evidence of rising inflation — his imperious and impetuous actions do more to discredit those goals than to

serve them.

In other areas, most significantly in the existential threat posed by catastrophic climate change, President Trump has abandoned the most important responsibility of the president to defend the nation’s security. His conscious political strategy is to foster division, inflaming racial, gender and other divides. This has fed an already rising tide of hatred that is breeding more violence in this land.

Rather than signing the bipartisan immigration reform that he previously had agreed to support, he chose instead to preserve the contention rather than move to solve the challenge. The result of this reckless and ruthless course is a country even more divided.

He clearly has cemented the support of about 40 to 45 percent of the American people. That support has cowed Republican legislators — senators and representatives — who now rise to defend behavior that they know is dangerous and policies that violate their previously cherished conservative principles — from free trade to support for allies to presidents serving as moral examples.

Now, as U.S. senators gear up for holding what looks to be a sham trial on the impeachment charges brought from the House, they might pause for reflection.

For many, this vote may be their last historic vote, one that will help define their legacy. All face constituents — President Trump’s so-called “base” — who demand

Placing profits over people Who would have thought that amid the Christmas holidays we would learn that billionaire Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg is using convicted prisoners to make calls for his campaign?

He will say he did not know, or that “anybody” might have made a similar mistake.

After all, subcontracting is the name of the predatory capitalist game. That’s how a convict labor exploiter can bid to pay $7.25 an hour for a job that might pay $11 or $12 an hour on the open market.

However, the prisoners will see nothing like $7.25 an hour.

Try paying these folks just a dollar an hour or so. The subcontractor, who pays the incarcerated just a dollar for a fair wage, would have to pay 10 times that in the regular job sector. Someone who was not exploiting convict labor couldn’t compete with the low pay prisoners are earning.

Those who own stock in these prison labor companies are getting their profits, too. The companies who subcontract with prisons are making three or four times what they might earn if they used general labor.

The use of convict labor is one of the cruelest illustrations of the evils of predatory capitalism. Predatory capitalists extract surplus resources by tilting the rules of the game to favor capital instead of labor. People who are working full time are getting pennies to the dollar in the name of

“crime and punishment.”

So, here’s the Bloomberg story. The three-term mayor of New York contracted with a firm to make phone calls for his fledgling campaign. The women, incarcerated at a facility in Oklahoma, are obliged to say they are calling for the Bloomberg campaign. They don’t have to

Julianne Malveaux disclose that they are incarcerated.

Anyone receiving a call is given the impression that they are being called by a campaign volunteer, not an exploited worker.

Oklahoma limits the amount of money an inmate can make to $27 a month. This money may go for things like phone calls, snacks or other “prison comfort.”

If Pro Com, the company that runs the prison work, says it pays $7.25 an hour for prison labor, but inmates can’t earn more than $27 a month, who wants to bet that these prisoners are working just four hours to reach their maximum monthly pay? Or is Oklahoma paying them a dollar or so an hour and profiting from their work by keeping the rest of the money?

In this 21st century, we are mired in a 19th century predatory convict labor system.

Inmates aren’t only making phone calls for Mr. Bloomberg’s campaign. They also are making furniture for state office buildings, processing motor vehicle requests and being used as lowcost substitutes for workers who might be fairly paid. The worst of it is that the work inmates are doing does not guarantee them a job post-incarceration.

Instead, their “experience” opens no doors for any future opportunities.

Lots of people like to play “woke” and economically progressive. But if your “woke” and cost-cutting ways sideline the people who work for you, then you aren’t actually “woke.” You are just a predatory capitalist placing profits over people. Economic justice and profit maximization may be incompatible.

After he was outed, Mr. Bloomberg said he and his campaign did not know that Pro Com had contracted with the convict labor providers, and he moved to sever the relationship quickly.

Good for him. But he is smart enough to ask questions before contracting.

African-Americans are nearly half of those incarcerated in this country, despite being just about 13 percent of the population. This incarceration is a throwback to enslavement when black folks got major penalties for minor offenses. The convict labor system especially oppresses black people, and the Bloomberg case makes it all too apparent.

Convict labor is exploitation and an abomination. It makes black bodies a profit center for capitalistic exploitation. Companies like Pro Com must be held accountable, but so should the many others who thrive on contract labor.

It is time to put an end to this exploitation.

Instead of throwing billions into his long-shot campaign, why can’t Mr. Bloomberg spend a billion or two stopping convict labor?

The writer is an economist, author and educator.

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.

that they support the president no matter what he does.

This is a test of leadership. True leaders don’t follow opinion polls.

They mold opinion. They do not allow the fervent few to drown out the call of their conscience.

They recognize the obligations of party, but also the call of honest patriotism, of acting in moments of historic decision for the sake of the country. They realize that history will hold them to account, as well as their own children and grandchildren.

President Trump’s minions are demanding abject loyalty. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky, already has confessed that he is taking his clues from the White House.

Before bowing to that pressure, senators should pause, reflect, look in the mirror and probe their conscience. Who are they? What are they prepared to stomach?

The writer is founder and president of the national Rainbow PUSH Coalition.

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Richmond Free Press

January 2-4, 2020 A7

Commentary

Help for those facing eviction During the past several months, the Mayor’s Office has communicated with dozens of individuals and families potentially facing evictions.

We’ve talked to elderly residents who, after years of living in their rental units, are facing rising rents due to a change in property ownership. We’ve talked to individuals who can’t afford to pay their rent due to unforeseen circumstances, such as health and employment issues. We’ve talked to families who live in public housing and are struggling to stay afloat.

Although the circumstances differ, there is one common denominator: All are experiencing housing insecurity — a national epidemic — and they shouldn’t be.

Each year in Richmond, approximately 18,000 eviction lawsuits are filed, resulting in nearly 3,000 evictions. Many other tenants voluntarily move before they are forcibly evicted.

About 95 percent of these eviction lawsuits involve nonpayment of rent.

This problem doesn’t operate in a vacuum. Housing insecurity creates a downward spiral, often leading to joblessness, health problems, lack of access to quality food and transportation, disruption to a child’s academic performance and overall trauma.

We hear the stories and we see that those who are most impacted are some of our most vulnerable residents — lowincome communities of color, including female-led, singleparent households.

Tackling this injustice has become a top priority for Mayor Levar M. Stoney’s administration. Housing is a right that should be afforded to all, and several efforts are underway to help build equity into a housing system that has not worked for our black and brown communities for far too long.

Mayor Stoney’s Eviction Diversion Program, now in its third month, provides support to our city’s most vulnerable

residents who are facing eviction as a result of past due rent.

This program, the first ever in the Commonwealth of Virginia, provides financial assistance to participants, helping to ensure the individual stays in his or her home and the landlord receives the rent due.

The program refers tenants to supportive services that can help provide a more holistic approach to other challenges residents may face.

Scores of families already have been helped; the program is on track to stopping up to 500 evictions in its first year.

In mid-November, Mayor Stoney announced the formation of an Eviction Task Force to help identify and address the root causes of evictions and to

Osita Iroegbu focus on eviction prevention.

While the Eviction Diversion Program is a win-win for the tenant, the landlord and the community, it targets individuals who already have received an eviction lawsuit. The Eviction Task Force, however, will focus on what can be done to help prevent a person from facing the threat of an eviction in the first place.

Residents, housing advocates, scholars, housing attorneys, landlords, property managers and housing nonprofit leaders are some of the stakeholders who make up the diverse task force. The areas of focus include tenant support from prevention through post eviction; support for tenants who are at zero to 30 percent of the area median income; eviction policies; tenant and landlord education; and centralized coordination of housing services and resources.

The Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority also has been appointed to the task force and has agreed to work with the city’s Eviction Diversion Program to help reduce the number of its evictions in the city.

In addition to the Eviction Task Force and Eviction Diversion Program efforts, we have been working alongside community partners on a city affordable and equitable

housing strategy. The plan is being crafted in a way that takes into account the historical denial of access to quality, affordable housing for communities of color. It also attempts to create a framework in which some of our most historically marginalized groups are centered, including black and brown residents, low-income communities, seniors, youths exiting, foster care, disabled persons, military veterans and returning and formerly incarcerated individuals. The city also is working on a homelessness strategic plan that would further provide the needed services and support to our most vulnerable residents.

We know that the issue of evictions and housing insecurity is a complex one, with historical roots stemming from discriminatory redlining practices, racist Jim Crow-era policies and the insidious institution of slavery.

This, like most of the social issues we face, is a systemic, institutional problem that warrants systemic and structural changes.

In this new year, we look forward to even greater collaboration with the community and

Calling Organization Leaders

our partners to lift up our most historically oppressed communities. We thank all who have lent their support in this mission, and, if you aren’t already, ask you to join us in this fight.

The writer is Mayor Levar M. Stoney’s senior policy adviser for community engagement, diversity and inclusion.

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Route 7667 (Skipwith Rd.) and Route 157 (Pemberton Rd.) Bridge Rehabilitations Henrico County Design Public Hearing Thursday, January 23, 2019, 5-6:30 p.m.

Gayton - Henrico County Public Library 10600 Gayton Rd Henrico, VA 23229 Find out about the proposed rehabilitation of the Route 7667 (Skipwith Rd.) and Route 157 (Pemberton Rd.) bridges over Interstate 64 in Henrico County. Route 7667 traffic will be reduced to one lane through the construction. Two-way traffic flow will be allowed by alternating the direction of traffic via temporary signals on the approaches to the bridge. Route 157 (Pemberton Rd.) traffic will be detoured to Gaskins Rd. through construction.

The meeting will be held in an open public forum format from 5–6:30 p.m. to allow participants to meet and discuss the proposed project directly with project staff members.

Review the proposed project plans and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) documentation at the public hearing or at VDOT’s Richmond District Office located at 2430 Pine Forest Drive in Colonial Heights, 804-524-6000, 1800-367-7623, TTY/TDD 711. Please call ahead to ensure the availability of appropriate personnel to answer your questions.

Give your written or oral comments at the hearing or submit them by February 2, 2020, to Anthony Haverly, PE, PMP, project manager, Virginia Department of Transportation, 2430 Pine Forest Drive, Colonial Heights, VA 23834-9002. You may also email your comments to Anthony.Haverly@vdot.virginia.gov. Please reference “Route 7667 and Route 157 Bridge comment” in the subject line.

VDOT ensures nondiscrimination and equal employment in all programs and activities in accordance with Title VI and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. If you have questions or concerns about your civil rights in regards to this project or special assistance for persons with disabilities or limited English proficiency, contact the project manager listed above. *In the event of inclement weather on January 23, this meeting will be held January 30 from 5-6:30 p.m. at the Tuckahoe- Henrico County Public Library, 1901 Starling Drive, Henrico, VA 23229 State Projects: 7667-043-911, P101, R201, C501, B644 and 0157-043-923, P101, R201, C501, B648 Federal Projects: STP-BR0-4(287) and STP-BR0-4(287)

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Richmond Free Press

A8 January 2-4, 2020

Sports

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Stories by Fred Jeter

Detroit Pistons’ Andre Drummond heading for another rebounding title Latrell Scott

Coach Scott renews contract at NSU Football Coach Latrell Scott has signed a new two-year contract at Norfolk State University.

The 44-year-old former Lee-Davis High School and Hampton University standout will coach the Spartans through at least the 2021 season.

NSU was 5-7 this past season under Coach Scott following a 1-5 start. In five seasons, the Spartans are 18-33 overall and 14-21 in MEAC under Coach Scott’s leadership.

Prior to his arrival at NSU, Coach Scott posted a 6-5 record in 2010 as head coach at the University of Richmond and 19-3 at Virginia State University in 2013 and 2014.

He also has been an assistant coach at James Madison University, the University of Tennessee, Western Carolina University and the University of Virginia.

Andre Drummond is building a case to be recognized as the NBA’s top rebounder of the 21st century.

The bruising 6-foot-10, 280-pound Detroit Pistons center has won the rebounding title three of the past four years and is well on his way to making it four of five.

After 30 games this season, the 26-year-old native of Mount Vernon, N.Y., was averaging 15.9 rebounds per contest. That’s well ahead of second place Clint Capela, averaging 14.4 for the Houston Rockets.

Drummond’s career 13.8 average is tops among active players.

Here’s how he described his success to the Hartford Courant newspaper: “I want it more. That’s all it is,” he said of the physical battles under the backboards. “Nobody wants to get hit every possession going for the rebound, but I do.”

The 2012 first round draft pick out of the University Connecticut was the NBA top board man in 2016 (averaging 14.8 rebounds per game), 2018 (16.0 rebounds per games) and last season (15.6 rebounds per game).

Drummond’s 16 rebounds-per-game norm in 2018 was the best since the Chicago Bulls’ Dennis Rodman won the title with 16.1 rebounds per game in 1997.

Wearing jersey No. 0, Drummond is more than just a rebounder. He averages 18 points and two blocked shots a game, while hitting 56 percent from the field.

His weakness is clearly the foul line, 2012, 2013 and 2014. where he has connected on just 46 percent Tied with three refor his career. bounding titles are But Drummond doesn’t lack Drummond, Elvin confidence.

Hayes and DeAndre “I think I’m the best (rebounder) of Jordan. all time,” he told The Detroit News.

Virginia Union “I don’t think anyone is remotely University star Ben close to me.”

Wallace won two reThe big fellow may need to bounding titles with check the record book regarding the Pistons in 2002 that boast, however. and 2003.

Wilt Chamberlain is the NBA’s The two-time, all-time leader in most rebounding All-Star Drummond titles —11; highest average for season is making $27.5 mil— 27.2 in 1961; and highest career averlion this season in age — 22.9. the final year of his Andre Drummond However, in fairness to Drummond, current contract. He Chamberlain had more opportunities. becomes a free agent at the end of this season.

Drummond has averaged just 31 minutes per Drummond played just for his freshman season at game for his career, while the tireless Chamberlain the University of Connecticut before opting for the NBA averaged 45.8 minutes per game, including a record draft. He was selected ninth overall by Detroit.

48.5 minutes per game in 1962.

While his “best ever” claim may seem far-fetched Chamberlain, with 11 rebound titles, is followed now, he likely has another 10-plus seasons to keep

by Dennis Rodman, seven; Petersburg’s Moses adding to his rebound collection.

Malone, six; Kevin Garnett and Dwight Howard, Whatever the final tally, anytime a player is in five each; and Bill Russell, four. same conversation with Wilt Chamberlain, he’s on Howard, who went straight from high school the fast track to the Naismith Memorial Basketball to the NBA, won rebound crowns in 2009, 2010, Hall of Fame.

K’von Wallace playing for a national win for Clemson

A local athlete figures to have a large say in who becomes the next NCAA football champion.

Clemson University’s K’Von Wallace, a senior defensive back who played for Henrico County’s Highland Springs

High School, is making a difference in the Tigers’ secondary.

Following standout performances against the University of Virginia in the ACC Championship game and Ohio State University in the national semifinals, Wallace is gearing

Former St. Christopher’s players making an impact on college teams College basketball players from Richmond’s St. Christopher’s School are popping up all over.

No less than five former Saints standouts — all having played under Coach Hamill Jones — are competing on the NCAA Division I level.

Making an impact at Delaware State University, which is part of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, is Ameer Bennett, a 6-foot-8, 220-pound junior.

Bennett is averaging 12 points and eight rebounds for the Hornets, while logging 30 minutes per outing. Bennett has not backed down from the toughest teams on Delaware’s slate. He

up for the test of his life.

Wearing No. 12 in Clemson orange, Wallace will be among those trying to slam the brakes on Louisiana State University quarterback extraordinaire Joe Burrow.

In what could be dubbed the “Striped Cats Bowl,” the Clemson Tigers will face the LSU Tigers on Monday, Jan. 13 for all the marbles.

Burrow is the 2019 Heisman Trophy winner coming off a performance for the ages in LSU’s 63-28 annihilation of the University of Oklahoma in last Saturday’s other semifinal game in Atlanta.

The LSU senior passed for 493 yards and seven touchdowns — all in the first half — as LSU rolled.

By defensive back standards, Wallace is on a hot streak, too.

The 205-pound Clemson Tiger

was co-Defensive figures to hear his Player of the Game name called in the in Clemson’s win 2020 NFL draft. over U.Va. He had Richmond area nine tackles and two players aren’t new to passes broken up.

Clemson heroics. A In Clemson’s 29year ago, Clelin Fer23 victory over Ohio rell, from Benedictine State in Glendale, College Preparatory, K’von Wallace Ariz., Wallace had was a ringleader in five tackles, including a sack, Clemson’s win over the Univerand broke up two passes. sity of Alabama in the playoff On the season, Wallace has finale. Ferrell then became the been in on 68 tackles (three fourth overall pick in the NFL sacks), with 12 pass break-ups draft by the Oakland Raiders. and two interceptions, including While Ferrell was a naone he returned for a 66-yard tionally recognized recruit at touchdown against Syracuse Benedictine, Wallace flew a University. bit under the radar at Highland He was selected third team Springs High despite winning All-ACC. All-State honors on defense Wallace has enjoyed a stellar and as a wide receiver. His career with arguably the nation’s only offers following his sepremier football program. He nior season were from James has been in on more than 700 Madison University and the snaps over four seasons and University of Cincinnati. Tak-

Cat fight What: NCAA College Football Playoff Championship When: Monday, Jan. 13 Time: 8 p.m. kickoff Where: Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans Opponents: Clemson Tigers (14-0) versus the Louisiana State University Tigers (14-0) Early favorite: LSU favored by 3.5 points Coverage: Game to be broadcast on ESPN television and radio

ing matters into his own hands, he mailed out game footage to bigger name colleges and his stock took off.

Confident in his ability, Wallace aimed for the stars and he has successfully hit his target.

VCU silent on questions about ‘Jabo’ Wilkins’ retired jersey and number

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

Ameer Bennett

Arnold Henderson VI

Nick Sherod

had 13 points against Virginia Tech and 13 points and nine rebounds against the University of Georgia.

A standout junior guard at Lafayette College in Easton, Pa., is 6-foot-2 junior guard Alex Petrie, who was the Patriot League Rookie of the Year as a freshman.

After averaging 15 points per game as a freshman and sophomore, the former Saint is currently sidelined with a medical condition.

The Atlantic-10 Conference especially is well represented by former players at the West End private school founded in 1911.

At St. Louis University, a freshman contributor is 6-foot-5 Gibson Jimerson.

Jimerson, though sidelined with a foot injury, averages 11 points for the Billikens while hitting 43 percent from beyond the arc.

Closer to home, junior guard Nick Sherod averages 14 points per game for the University of Richmond. Sherod, the grandson of former Virginia Commonwealth University basketball star Ed Sherod, is the Spiders’ leader in 3-pointers with 36.

St. Christopher’s contribution to VCU’s roster is walk-on freshman guard Arnold Henderson VI, nicknamed “Six.” Coming off the bench with much energy, Henderson has played in five games this season with a 3-pointer to his credit.

Henderson, the nephew of former Rams great Gerald Henderson, was once a VCU ballboy.

The Prep League school does its part to promote Saints hoops.

Home and away games are streamed on YouTube, with St. Christopher’s students handling the camera and commentary and writing articles for the school website and campus newspaper.

The broadcasts form one aspect of a program called Sports Information under the direction of Assistant Coach Steve Lewis.

been ignored.

Among the first African-American Silence. athletes to represent VCU, Mr. Wilkins That’s the response from Virginia set the career and single season marks Commonwealth University to several Free for scoring average and rebounds, and Press inquiries on what happened to the no one since has come close to equaling formal recognition for one of his statistics. its greatest basketball playDuring the 1969-70 seaers, the late Charles “Jabo” son, he averaged 27.8 points Wilkins. and collected16.6 rebounds While the jerseys of five per game, astonishing for any other players hang from the college player even today. rafters above the Rams’ The Maggie L. Walker home court at the Siegel High School graduate played Center, Mr. Wilkins’ jersey one season at Fayetteville is conspicuously absent even State University before though his No. 40 jersey was Charles ‘Jabo’ Wilkins transferring to VCU, where retired and put on display 48 years ago as he became a dominant player for the the result of his still-unmatched basketball fledgling Rams basketball team. achievements.

He was such a force that the university University officials, including Presi- announced before the start of his final dent Michael Rao; Pam D. Lepley, vice home game that it was retiring his No. president for university relations; and 40 at the end of the 1970-71 season. The Chris Kowalczyk, assistant athletic di- retirement was conducted by Chuck Noe, rector for athletic communications, have then VCU’s head coach and athletic direcnot responded to questions about what is tor. That decision is recorded in an article perceived as a snub to the memory of Mr. published Feb. 23, 1971, in the Richmond Wilkins, who died of cancer in October daily newspaper.

2018 at age 70.

Mr. Wilkins set his scoring and reboundVCU’s Athletic Department issued ing records in playing 72 total games for a comment in November 2018: “We’re the Rams during the 1968-69, 1969-70 and looking into it.” Queries since then have 1970-71 seasons, and he capped his stel-

lar career by scoring 40 points in VCU’s 81-76 win over Virginia Union University that wrapped up his career.

Mr. Wilkins was inducted into the VCU Athletic Hall of Fame in 1996. His No. 40 jersey was kept on display through at least the 1970s above the Rams’ former home court in the Franklin Street Gymnasium.

But the jersey never made the move to the Siegel Center when it opened in 1999.

While other VCU players went on to play in the NBA, including three of Mr. Wilkins’ teammates, Jesse Dark, Bernard Harris and Greg McDougald, Mr. Wilkins did not. He built a commercial cleaning business in Greenville, N.C., where he lived out his life.

In the years since Mr. Wilkins played, VCU has retired the jerseys — though apparently not the numbers — of Eric Maynor, No. 3; Calvin Duncan, No. 5; Bradford Burgess, No. 20; Gerald Henderson Sr., No. 22; and Kendrick Warren, No. 23.

In addition to Mr. Wilkins’No. 40 jersey not being posted in the Siegel Center, VCU has allowed at least four other players to wear the number after Mr. Wilkins.

A project called “Justice for Jabo,” which was begun after Mr. Wilkins’ death, has drawn the support of many former Rams, along with friends and supporters of Mr. Wilkins.

January 2-4, 2020 B1

Richmond Free Press

Section

Happenings

B

Personality: Savon Shelton Sampson Spotlight on president of the Junior League of Richmond As 2020 begins, Savon Shelton Sampson is readying for an “exciting” new year serving as president of the Junior League of Richmond.

“It’s a new decade,” the Glen Allen resident says. “It’s endless amounts of opportunity for us to really close the gap in amplifying our impact in the community.”

The 37-year-old, who began her one-year term as JLR president in May, is leading the nonprofit organization’s efforts to promote and develop volunteer work among women leaders to improve the Greater Richmond community.

JLR was formed in 1926 by 59 women, becoming part of the wider Association of Junior Leagues International a year later. The Richmond group now boasts 852 members dedicated to local community service and a variety of annual events it uses to achieve its mission.

The Henrico native first joined JLR in the summer of 2010 following a yearlong venture in Minneapolis. She joined at the suggestion of a friend.

What Mrs. Sampson initially saw as an avenue to make new friends and contribute to the community has grown to a deep dedication to an organization for which she has served as a new member adviser, vice president of membership and chair of multiple committees over the course of nearly a decade.

“The league has been such a safe place for me to grow and develop as a leader,” Mrs. Sampson says. “It’s a place where you can fail. It’s a place where you can learn. It’s a place where you can succeed. It’s a place where you can innovate all while still doing your day job or whatever passions that you have.”

Mrs. Sampson’s tenure at

the helm already has led to several accomplishments for JLR, from efforts to ensure the group’s financial stability “for the next 93 years,” she says, to a record-breaking “Touch A Truck” fundraiser at the Richmond Raceway to opening “The Rolling Rack,” a mobile companion to The Clothes Rack thrift store the group operates.

The Junior League most recently expanded its community focus area from the city’s East End to the Greater Richmond community in September as part of a new initiative, “Women Helping Women and Girls.”

While Mrs. Sampson’s tenure ends in mid-2020, she has multiple plans for where she wants to take JLR before she steps down, ranging from improving member engagement to a fourpoint strategic plan for the next four years that includes greater communication with local partners and new methods to increase JLR’s visibility.

These projects will work to address what Mrs. Sampson sees as JLR’s greatest challenge: Improving its impact in the Greater Richmond community.

She says more than half of JLR’s members are “sustainers,” who regularly pay dues but largely serve in an advisory capacity. That’s a marked contrast to the more active members Mrs. Sampson says JLR needs “to pinpoint our impact” in Richmond and more easily explain the good JLR does to the public at large.

“We’re not able to say that right now and that’s really where we’d like to be,” Mrs. Sampson says.

Despite the work ahead, Mrs. Sampson remains confident that 2020 will be a good year for the organization that she

says engenders and places so much trust in its leaders, while supporting them with a diverse coalition united in elevating the Richmond community.

“Every single year we give a new leader the opportunity to manage a million-dollar nonprofit,” Mrs. Sampson says. “You’ve got this whole group of people who’ve got your back. And to me, that’s what makes it so special.”

Meet a leader shaping others dedicated to the community good and this week’s Personality, Savon Shelton Sampson: Occupation: Senior strategic leader at EAB, an education consulting firm that partners with K-12 schools, as well as colleges and universities.

What I do: I collaborate with colleges and universities to develop strategies that will help grow the enrollment of adult learners and graduate students at their institutions.

No. 1 volunteer position: Presi-

dent of the Junior League of Richmond.

Date and place of birth: N o v. 2 7 i n H e n r i c o County.

Current residence: Glen Allen.

Education: Bachelor’s in economics from Hollins University.

Family: Husband, Ernesto Sampson, and two daughters, Alice, 4, and Erica, 2.

When I was elected: Elected president-elect in January 2018; the gavel passed to me as president on May 21, 2019.

Why I wanted to serve: JLR has given me so much in regards to leadership development and I’m passionate about paying it forward to help develop other women to become premier leaders. I am also a huge proponent of sharing measurable outcomes that correlate directly to JLRs impact on the greater Richmond community.

When Junior League of Richmond was formed: 1926.

Mission of JLR: The Junior League of Richmond is an organization of women committed to the mission of promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women and improving the community through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers.

Latest achievement: In September 2019, we voted to change our community focus area to women helping women and girls within the Greater Richmond community.

When and how I got involved with JLR: I joined in the summer of 2010 after one of my friends suggested I join. I had moved back to RVA from Min-

neapolis.

My reason: I wanted to join as a way to make new friends and give back to the community.

JLR’s top projects: For the 2019-2020 league year, I am focused on developing a new strategic plan for 2020-2023; being intentional about leadership development for our members and our community; keeping our members engaged; and being visible and impactful in the community, which includes selecting our new community focus area.

A good leader is: Authentic, empowering, empathetic, experienced, courageous, inclusive, strategic and valuable.

Number of JLR members: 852.

JLR’s interest in diversity of members: JLR welcomes all women who value our mission.

We are committed to inclusive environments of diverse individuals, organizations and communities.

What JLR does to promote diversity: This is still a work in progress. We have a committee dedicated to developing our approach to promote diversity and inclusion within JLR and they should be providing their recommendations to the board by the end of the league year on May 31.

JLR’s No. 1 challenge: Amplifying our impact to the greater Richmond community.

How I plan to meet it: Starting now and continuing for the next few years as part of our new strategic plan, we will: 1. Empower our leaders to challenge the status quo and think differently about how we quantify our impact and outcomes; 2. Communicate our expectations around quantifiable outcomes with our community partners;

3. Launch a new community focus area, Women Helping Women and Girls; and 4. Invest in a relevant marketing strategy and leverage storytelling to showcase our impact.

How I start the day: Assuming positive intent.

A perfect day for me is: Doing something fun with my family and friends.

How I unwind: Working out — running or CrossFit. At the top of my “to-do” list is: Learning more about my college and university partners so I can deliver value that will translate into enrollment growth.

Something I love to do that most people would never imagine: Ride roller coasters!

Best late-night snack: Popcorn.

A quote that I am inspired by: “Volunteering is the ultimate exercise in democracy. You vote in elections every year, but when you volunteer, you vote every day about the kind of community you want to live in.” — Unknown The best thing my parents ever taught me: Giving back to my community should be a priority in my life.

Persons who influenced me the most: My daughters. They have taught me how to be selfless and empathetic, to lead with grace and to love unconditionally.

Book that influenced me the most: “Expect to Win: 10 Proven Strategies for Thriving in the Workplace” by Carla A. Harris.

What I’m reading now: “From Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Sicily and Finding Home” by Tembi Locke.

If I’ve learned one thing in life, it is: Strive for excellence, not perfection.

Next goal: Learn to play golf!

Richmond Free Press

B2 January 2-4, 2020

Happenings

Looking back at 2019

Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press

The past 12 months have seen a lot of highs and lows, with the Richmond Free Press there documenting events and life in and around Richmond. Photographers have captured through their work many of those ups and downs — from the newly named Arthur Ashe Boulevard to blackface and sex scandals that struck the state’s top three officials.

Here are photos of some of the highlights of 2019.

Regina H. Boone/Richmond Free Press

Gov. Ralph S. Northam explains during a news conference in February that he is neither the person in blackface nor the person dressed in the Ku Klux Klan robe and hood that are pictured on his 1984 medical school yearbook page, despite his public apology a day earlier. Right, just days later, Lt. Gov. Justin E. Fairfax, center, is swarmed by reporters inside the Capitol Rotunda as he responds to allegations that he sexually assaulted a woman in 2004 while he was a law school student. Following that allegation, Virginia Attorney General Mark R. Herring announces he dressed in blackface at a fraternity party in 1980 when he was a student at the University of Virginia. All three men remain in office.

Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press

Virginia Union University’s award-winning Athletic Director Joseph “Joe” Taylor and his cousin, Annie Reese, receive special recognition from Richmond City Council in March for their accomplishments. Mr. Taylor, one of the nation’s winningest coaches, was saluted for his induction into the National Football Foundation’s College Football Hall of Fame for his stellar coaching career.

Ms. Reese served 50 years as a member of the Richmond Police Department Crossing Guard Unit, helping schoolchildren cross the street safely as they traveled to and from school.

Ava Reaves

Capping the April installation of Dr. William Eric Jackson Sr. as the ninth pastor of Fourth Baptist Church, visiting ministers and church deacons participate in a “laying of hands” ceremony with Dr. Jackson, seated, in the sanctuary of the historic Church Hill congregation.

Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press

Tibetan Buddhist monks from the Drepung Loseling Monastery in India create a sand mandala in May at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts to share Tibet’s sacred visual and performing arts in conjunction with an exhibit at the museum.

Ava Reaves

Richmond City Councilwoman Kim B. Gray, center, unveils new Arthur Ashe Boulevard signs during a ceremony outside the Virginia Museum of History & Culture in June dedicating the new name of the street to honor the late Richmond native and tennis great Arthur Ashe Jr. With her are Mr. Ashe’s nephew, David O. Harris Jr., left, and Mayor Levar M. Stoney.

Photos by Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press

A flier bearing the picture of Markiya Dickson, 9, is posted near an entrance to Carter Jones Park where the third-grader was shot and killed at a community cookout during Memorial Day weekend. Her family members grieve at a vigil in early June at the South Side park.

They are from left, her father, Mark Whitfield Sr., who is holding young Mark Jr.; mother Ciara Dickson; sister Samaya Dickson; and uncle Dion Tuell.

Richmond Free Press

January 2-4, 2020

B3

Happenings

Regina H. Boone/Richmond Free Press

Supporters of tougher gun laws in Virginia wave signs and banners during a rally in July at the Bank Street entrance to the State Capitol before a special General Assembly session called by Gov. Ralph S. Northam to deal with gun violence in the wake of the shooting death of 9-year-old Markiya Dickson in Richmond and the mass shooting in Virginia Beach that left 12 dead. The Republican-led General Assembly adjourned, however, without considering the governor’s package of bills.

Brian Palmer

Queen mothers from the Institute of Whole Life Healing in Kentucky anoint people during a sunrise cleansing and healing ceremony at Buckroe Beach in Hampton as part of the August events commemorating the 400th anniversary of the first Africans arriving via slave ships in English North America.

Regina H. Boone/Richmond Free Press

Participants at the Black Lives Global Summit in August march in a line along the Richmond Slave Trail beside the James River in remembrance of the thousands of enslaved people led in coffles from the Old Manchester docks to markets in Shockoe Bottom before the end of the Civil War. Richmond was one of the largest markets in the South for the sale of enslaved people. The summit focused on emotional and psychological healing from the lingering impact of slavery.

Regina H. Boone/Richmond Free Press

“Voices from the Garden: The Virginia Women’s Monument” on Capitol Square features seven life-size bronze statues of noted Virginia women, with more to come. The monument was dedicated in October.

George Copeland Jr./Richmond Free Press

Members of Extinction Rebellion Richmond stage a silent die-in on the steps of City Hall in October to call attention to the need to act to abate climate change. Looking on are members who call themselves the “Red Rebel Brigade.”

Regina H. Boone/Richmond Free Press

Richmond Delegate Delores L. McQuinn touches the Kente cloth covering one of 17 boxes of human remains found in 1994 in a well on Virginia Commonwealth University’s medical campus. The remains, returned during a ceremony in November, will be stored temporarily by a state agency until a burial and memorial are held.

Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press

Ghazala F. Hashmi receives cheers and applause from supporters as she address the crowd at the Democrats’ victory party following her upset win in November in the Richmond area’s 10th Senate District.

She is the first Muslim elected to the state Senate.

Below, Stephanie A. Lynch celebrates her victory in November’s special election in the Richmond City Council 5th District contest.

Regina H. Boone/Richmond Free Press

Richmond Firefighter John Lukhard works to remove a drape caught on the hair of Kehinde Wiley’s “Rumors of War” sculpture during an unveiling ceremony in December at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.

Regina H. Boone/Richmond Free Press

Richmond Free Press

B4 January 2-4, 2020

Happenings

Lizzo named Entertainer of the Year

Eight-time Grammy nominee Lizzo has more accolades she can add to her resume.

The singer-rapper has been named Entertainer of the Year — not just by one organization, but two.

The Associated Press named the breakthrough artist Entertainer of the Year on Dec. 27 following a vote by entertainment staffers of the news cooperative.

Earlier in December, Time magazine awarded the 31-yearold the same title, featuring her in a fabulous photo spread and interview in the publication.

Richmond Public Library opens exhibit, ‘Evicted in Richmond,’ on Friday The Richmond Public Library’s Main Branch in Downtown is hosting a new exhibit on one of the city’s biggest problems — evictions.

“Evicted in Richmond,” a multimedia exhibition, will open with a public reception at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 3, as part of First Fridays RVA, it has been announced.

The library at 101 E. Franklin St. has joined with Housing Opportunities Made Equal, the National Building Museum and Virginia Commonwealth University to present the exhibit.

The library also plans to host discussions with Matthew Desmond, author of “Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City,” at noon Friday, Jan. 17, and 6 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 22, to help showcase the exhibition, which will remain on view through February.

The goal is to answer the question of how Richmond became a national leader in evictions, according to the library. The exhibit will enable people to explore the city’s role in this housing crisis through the interactive presentation, according to a news release.

Based on a Princeton University student, Richmond ranks No. 2 in the country for its rate of evictions. In 2017 alone, 9,381 renters in the city received a writ of eviction, according to statistics.

Details: (804) 646-7223.

Lizzo, who has won over fans for promoting body positivity and denouncing fat shaming, dominated the pop, R&B and rap charts in 2019 with songs like “Truth Hurts” and “Good As Hell.”

Although she released her first album in 2013, Lizzo dropped her major label debut, “Cuz I Love You,” this year and the success has made her the leading nominee at the 2020 Grammy Awards, where she is up for eight honors.

Her live performances have been revered. The classically trained flutist grinded as an independent and touring artist for years. She performed with Prince on his 2014 “Plectrumelectrum” album, which was released two years before his death.

Lizzo also had a role in the film “Hustlers” opposite Jennifer Lopez, Constance Wu and Cardi B, and she voiced a character in the animated picture “UglyDolls.”

Her new music video for her No. 1 hit, “Good As Hell,” has garnered rave reviews as she performs the song with the Southern University Human Jukebox — the HBCU’s famous marching band — and the Fabulous Dancing Dolls.

In the video, which was shot during Southern University’s homecoming in November, Lizzo dons a marching band uniform and shows off her chops on the flute. She also dons a sequined dancers’ outfit to perform with the band’s dancers.

Evan Agostini/Invision/Associated Press

Lizzo performs at Z100’s iHeart Radio Jingle Ball Dec. 13 at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Community forum Jan. 7 on the past, present and future of black business “Can We Get Down to (Black) Business?” is the title of a community conversation at The Valentine from 6 to 8 p.m.

Tuesday, Jan. 7, at the museum, 1015 E. Clay St., it has been announced.

Open to the public without charge, the event will feature speakers focusing on the past, present and future of black-owned businesses in Richmond.

The event is co-hosted by The Valentine and Coffee With Strangers RVA host Kelli S. Lemon. It is part of the museum’s Controversy/History series in partnership with Richmond 300, the city’s master planning process.

Details: www.thevalentine.org or (804) 649-0711.

Photos by Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press

In celebration of Kwanzaa

Partying for good More than 100 people turned out for the 3rd Annual Holly Ball Gala sponsored by the Richmond Metropolitan Chapter of The Charmettes to raise money for cancer research. Chapter President Edna Rodwell, left, shares a moment with Melissa Dilworth, chair of the committee that staged the benefit dinnerdance on Dec. 27 at the Belmont Recreation Center in Henrico County.

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Hundreds of people peruse the various wares in the African Market at the 29th Annual Capital City Kwanzaa Festival held last Saturday at Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School. The event featured speaker Dr. Runoko Rashidi, a noted anthropologist and historian, who addressed the group via Skype, as well as numerous activities for families and entertainers. This year’s theme: “Ascension,” marking the crossing from the 400th year of the arrival in Virginia of the first enslaved Africans to the hope for the future. Below, Tiya Shaw, left, works with her 7-year-old daughter, Shawn, on a harvest craft project in the festival’s area for youths.

Above, Imani Bell of the Elegba Folklore Society, which puts on the festival, performs with African drummers, while

Niambi Sala, left, and Thandiwe of the hip-hop/soul duo OSHUN inspire the crowd with song. The annual celebration of African-American culture ran Dec. 26 through Jan. 1, honoring seven principles — unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity and faith.

:30 - 11

fast Men

Richmond Free Press

January 2-4, 2020

B5

Faith News/Directory

Latest spate of religious violence again raises safety questions Free Press wire reports

People across the nation were grappling with a spate of religious violence that struck at a rabbi’s New York home Saturday during a Hanukkah celebration and erupted at a North Texas church on Sunday.

The incidents, which resulted in the deaths of two people at West Freeway Church of Christ in White Settlement, Texas, outside of Fort Worth, are raising questions about security at churches and synagogues and whether arming congregants to subdue threats is the safest and best policy.

Federal prosecutors on Monday filed hate crime charges against Grafton Thomas, 38, who is accused of going on a stabbing rampage during a Hanukkah celebration at a rabbi’s home north of New York, saying the suspect kept journals containing references to Adolf Hitler and “Nazi Culture.�

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York filed the charges.

On Sunday, Mr. Thomas was arraigned on five counts of attempted murder in a state court in the town of Ramapo, N.Y. He is accused of stabbing five people on Saturday night with what the criminal complaint described as a “machete� after bursting into a Hanukkah celebration that included dozens of people at Rabbi Chaim Rottenberg’s home in Monsey, N.Y., about 30 miles north of New York. The town is in Rockland County, home to a large Orthodox Jewish community.

The suspect appeared in federal court in White Plains, N.Y., on Monday afternoon to face five counts of obstruction of free exercise of religious beliefs involving an attempt to kill and use of a dangerous weapon resulting Grafton in bodily Thomas harm.

Handwritten journals confiscated from the suspect’s home in Greenwood Lake, N.Y., contained anti-Semitic sentiments, including “referring to ‘Adolf Hitler’ and ‘Nazi culture’ � as well as a drawing of a swastika, FBI agent Julie Brown said in the complaint. She said his cell phone was used to search “Why did Hitler hate the Jews� on Nov. 9, Dec. 3, Dec. 7 and Dec. 16.

Agent Brown also said the phone showed searches for Jewish temples in Elizabeth, N.J., and Staten Island, N.Y., both on Dec. 18, and for prominent American companies founded

by Jews on Dec. 27.

The complaint identifies the victims of Saturday’s attack only by initials. Four of the five people stabbed were released after being treated at a local hospital. One was still hospitalized Tuesday with a skull fracture.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo denounced “a scourge of hate in this country.�

3HARON "APTIST #HURCH

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THURSDAYS WEDNESDAYS 1:30 p.m.

6:00 p.m. ..... Prayer Service Bible Study 6:30 p.m. ..... Bible Study

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2604 Idlewood Avenue Richmond, Va. 23220 (804) 353-6135 www.riverviewbaptistch.org Rev. Dr. Stephen L. Hewlett, Pastor Rev. Dr. Ralph Reavis, Sr. Pastor Emeritus

SUNDAY SCHOOL - 9:45 A.M. SUNDAY WORSHIP SERVICE 11:00 A.M.

Usher Badges • Clergy Shirts • Collars • Communion Supplies • Much More!

18 East Broad Street Richmond, VA 23219 • (804) 643-1987 Hours M-F 9:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.

Sat. 9:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Honoring God ... and serving people THANKS TO YOU for over 64 years and looking for 64 more years

Dr. Robert L. Pettis, Sr., Pastor

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Sunday Service 10 a.m.

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Church School 8:45 a.m.

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Wednesday Bible Study 7p.m.

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Transportation Services (804) 859-1985

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“Reclaiming the Lost by Proclaiming the Gospel�

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Tuesday Sunday 10:30 AM Bible Study 9:30 AM Church School 6:30 PM Church-wide Bible Study 11:00 AM Worship Service 6:30 PM Men's Bible Study (Each 2nd and 4th) (Holy Communion Thursday each 2nd Sunday) Wednesday (Following 2nd Sunday) 6:30 PM Prayer Meeting

11:00 AM Mid-day Meditation

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

Early Morning Worship ~ 8 a.m.

Sunday School ~ 9:30 a.m.

Morning Worship ~ 11 a.m.

4th Sunday UniďŹ ed Worship Service ~ 9:30 a.m.

Bible Study: Wednesdays, 11:30 a.m. & 7 p.m.

Sermons Available at BRBCONLINE.org

“MAKE IT HAPPEN�

Pastor Kevin Cook

8 A.M. 9:30 A.M. 11 A.M.

Unity Sundays (2nd Sundays): Church School 8:30 A.M. Morning Worship 10 A.M.

Bible Study: Tuesday - 9 a.m.

Wednesday - 7 p.m.

Thursdays: Mid-Day Bible Study 12 Noon Prayer & Praise 6:30 P.M. Bible Study 7 P.M. (Children/Youth/Adults)

Prayer Services: Wednesday (1st & 3rd ) 7 a.m.

Every Wednesday 8 p.m.

Communion - 1st Sunday

-OUNTAIN 2OAD s 'LEN !LLEN 6IRGINIA /FlCE s &AX s WWW STPETERBAPTIST NET

Sixth Baptist Church

Ebenezer Baptist Church 1858

Theme for 2018-2020: Mobilizing For Ministry Refreshing The Old and Emerging The New We Embrace Diversity — Love For All! A 21st Century Church

¹4HE 0EOPLE´S #HURCH²

216 W. Leigh St. • Richmond, Va. 23220 Tel: 804-643-3366 • Fax: 804-643-3367 Email: ebcofďŹ ce1@yahoo.com • web: www.richmondebenezer.com

Come Worship With Us!

Sunday, January 5, 2020 10:45 AM Worship Celebration Message by: Pastor Book of Psalms Series Theme: “It’s A Wonderful Life�

Part Three Psalms 27

Sunday Worship Sunday Church School Service of Holy Communion Service of Baptism Life Application Bible Class Mid-Week Senior Adult Fellowship Wednesday Meditation & Bible Study Homework & Tutoring Scouting Program Thursday Bible Study

400 South Addison Street Richmond, Va. 23220

2901 Mechanicsville Turnpike, Richmond, VA 23223 (804) 648-2472 ~ www.mmbcrva.org Dr. Price London Davis, Senior Pastor

New Deliverance Weekly Worship: Sundays @ 10:30 A.M. Church School: Sundays @ 9:00 A.M. Evangelistic Church Bible Study: Wednesdays @ Noon & 6:30 P.M.

1701 Turner Road, North Chesterfield, Virginia 23225 (804) 276-0791 office (804)276-5272 fax www.ndec.net

“I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality‌. I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word.â€? —Martin Luther King, Jr.

It’s All About Celebrating Jesus!

If you want to celebrate the Lord info us to share your gift

Tuesday, December 31, 2019 @ 10:00 P.M. Thirty-first Street Friday, January 24, 2020 Bishop G. O. Glenn 2317 Harvie Rd. Richmond, VA 23223 Baptist Church D. Min., Pastor 7:30 P.M. MMBC Creative Arts Ministry

“Redeeming God’s People for Gods Purpose�

1384 New Market Road, Richmond, Virginia 23231 | 804-222-8835

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Mother Marcietia S. Glenn Presents First Lady

That Christmas

Sunday, January 26, 2020 9:00 A.M

Lenten Season

SUNDAY Dessert Theater 8:00 a.m. Sunday School Rev. Dr. Price L. Davis, Pastor 21, 2019@ 4:00P.M. Mosby joins with the larger Christi Saturday, December 9:00 a.m. Worship Service SUNDAYS in celebrating the Lenten season â?–

Church School 9:30 a.m.

Morning Worship 10:30 a.m. â?– DR. JAMES L. SAILES PASTOR

Weekly Worship: Sundays @ 10:30 A.M. Church School: Sundays @ 9:00 A.M. Bible Study: Wednesdays @ Noon & 6:30 P.M.

Dr. Wallace J. Cook, Pastor Emeritus Rev. Dr. James E. Leary, Interim Pastor

(near Byrd Park)

SERVICES

11:00 a.m.

9:30 a.m.

Every 3rd Sunday 2nd Sunday, 11 a.m.

Mon. 6:30 p.m.

Tues. 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Wed. 6:45 p.m.

Wed. 4:30 p.m.

Wed. 6:00 p.m.

Thurs., 11:45 a.m.

We Pray God’s Richest Blessings for You & Your Family in The New Year!

24th Founders’ WatchNight 2019 and

Ring in the New Year with Church Gospel Baptist Church & MMBC this year!

Anniversary

(804) 359-1691 or 359-3498 Fax (804) 359-3798 www.sixthbaptistchurch.org drbibbs@sixthbaptistchurch.org

Antioch Baptist Church

A MISSION BASED CHURCH FAMILY EXCITING MINISTRIES FOR CHILDREN, YOUTH, YOUNG ADULTS & SENIOR ADULTS BIBLE REVELATION TEACHING DIVERSE MUSIC MINISTRY LOVING, CARING ENVIRONMENT

"APTIST #HURCH

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Sundays: Morning Worship Church School Morning Worship

Church School - 9:30 a.m.

Worship Service - 11:15 a.m.

SUNDAY WORSHIP HOUR – 10:00 A.M. CHILDREN’S CHURCH & BUS MINISTRY AVAILABLE SUNDAY SCHOOL (FOR ALL AGES) – 9:00 A.M. TUESDAY MID-DAY BIBLE STUDY – 12 NOON WEDNESDAY MID-WEEK PRAYER & BIBLE STUDY – 7:00 P.M.

2IVERVIEW

Worship Opportunities

2003 Lamb Avenue Dr. Arthur M. Jones, Sr., Pastor (804) 321-7622

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Barky’s

the gunman with a single shot, authorities said.

Mr. Wilson is being hailed for saving lives by quickly ending the shooting. More than 240Â parishioners were in the church at the time of the shooting, authorities said, and the service was being live streamed to countless homes.

The Texas Department of Public Safety called the parishioners’ actions in quickly stopping the gunman “heroic.�

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Baptist Church

Twitter sixthbaptistrva

Kinnunen and returned fire, killing him.

The FBI is working to identify the shooter’s motive.

Matthew DeSarno, the Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Dallas field office, said the gunman was “relatively transient,� but had roots in the area.

A senior minister at the church confirmed Monday that the church had provided Mr. Kinnunen with food on multiple occasions. The minister also said Mr. Kinnunen had asked for money, but was not given any.

According to media reports, Mr. Kinnunen’s criminal past included charges of assault, theft, arson and possession of an illegal weapon in Texas, Oklahoma and New Jersey.

Jack Wilson, a volunteer with the church’s security team and firearms instructor who trained parishioners using a range at his home, brought down

St. Peter Baptist Church

Triumphant

Rev. Dr. Yvonne Jones Bibbs, Pastor

2006 Decatur Street Richmond, VA 23224 zbcoffice@verizon.net

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Dr. Sylvester T. Smith, Pastor “There’s A Place for You�

Rev. Dr. Paul A. Coles, Pastor

With Ministry For Everyone

Zion Baptist Church

1127 North 28th St., Richmond, VA 23223-6624 s Office: (804) 644-1402

500 E. Laburnum Avenue, Richmond, VA 23222 www.sharonbaptistchurchrichmond.org (804) 643-3825

8:30 a.m. ....Sunday School 10:00 a.m. ...Morning Worship and Holy Communion

a Sunday news conference the city had seen a 21 percent increase in anti-Semitic hate crimes in 2019.

Meanwhile, a man authorities identified as Keith Thomas Kinnunen, 43, who reportedly has a long criminal history and was described by his ex-wife as “battling a demon,� fatally shot two people at a White Settlement Church on Sunday before being shot and killed by church security.

Mr. Kinnunen was believed to have been wearing a disguise, including a fake beard and wig, when he stood up from a pew during communion, pulled a shotgun from his clothing and opened fire inside the church, killing Anton “Tony�

Wallace, a 64-year-old church deacon from Fort Worth, and 67-year-old Richard White of River Oaks.

Volunteer church security immediately approached Mr.

Good Shepherd Baptist Church

“The Church With A Welcome�

SUNDAY, JANUARY 5, 2020

“Its ignorance is intolerance.

But it’s also illegal. And it’s spreading,� Gov. Cuomo told CNN a day after calling the stabbing an act of domestic terrorism.

N e w York City Mayor Bill de Blasio pointed to a “national crisis of Keith Thomas anti-SemKinnunen itism� in an interview with MSNBC. Mr. Thomas’ family said through his attorney he had a long history of mental illness, no known history of anti-Semitism and no prior convictions.

Late last week, New York’s police department said it was stepping up patrols in heavily Jewish neighborhoods. Commissioner Dermot Shea told

WEDNESDAYS Bible Study 7:00 p.m.

WEDNESDAY SERVICES

Noonday Bible Study 12:00 p.m. (Noon) Sanctuary - All Are Welcome!

Wednesday Evening Bible Study 7:00 p.m. (Bible Study)

â?–

SATURDAY

THIRD SUNDAY 10:30 a.m.

Children’s Church Higher Achievement

8:30 a.m. Intercessory Prayer

823 North 31st Street Richmond, VA 23223 (804) 226-0150 Office

You can now view Sunday Morning Service “AS IT HAPPENS� online!

Also, for your convenience, we now offer “full online giving.�

Visit www.ndec.net.

Tune in on Sunday Morning to reflection, fasting & prayerful conse WTVR - Channel 6 - 8:30 a.m.

on the journey and follow along wi Calendar at www.mmbcrv CHRISTIAN

ACADEMY (NDCA) ENROLL NOW!!!

Accepting applications for children 2 yrs. old to 5th Grade Our NDCA curriculum also consists of a Before and After program.

Now Enrolling for our Nursery Ages 6 weeks - 2yrs. old.

For more information Please call (804) 276-4433 Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm

Richmond Free Press

B6 January 2-4, 2020

Legal Notices/Employment Opportunities City of Richmond, Virginia CITY COUNCIL PUBLIC NOTICE 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 13, 2020 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. 2019-247 As Amended To amend ch. 8, art. II of the City Code by adding therein a new § 8-34, concerning unsolicited offers to give or dedicate interests in real estate to the City, for the purpose of imposing certain reporting requirements when the City receives an unsolicited offer to give or dedicate interests in real estate to the City.

Ordinance No. 2019-314 As Amended To amend City Code §§ 24-523, concerning the obligation to maintain, repair or reconstruct the site of an excavation, and 24-551, concerning the obligation to comply with excavation requirements in public rights-of-way, for the purpose of imposing a time period within which an excavation site shall be maintained, repaired, or reconstructed and prescribing new penalties for violations of ch. 24, art.

VII of the City Code.

Ordinance No. 2019-318 As Amended To amend City Code § 1211, concerning the form of the budget submitted to the Council, for the purpose of requiring, with some exceptions, that each capital project included in the Proposed or Adopted Capital Improvement Plan shall be listed individually and not grouped into one listed project with other, unrelated capital projects.

Ordinance No. 2019-319 To reduce the speed limit on Libbie Avenue between Guthrie Avenue and the City’s corporate boundary from 35 miles per hour to 25 miles per hour.

Ordinance No. 2019-320 To reduce the speed limit on Patterson Avenue between Willow Lawn Drive and Pepper Avenue from 35 miles per hour to 25 miles per hour.

Ordinance No. 2019-329 To amend Ord. No. 2019041, adopted May 13, 2019, which adopted the Fiscal Year 2019-2020 General Fund Budget and made appropriations pursuant thereto, by revising the title of the Non-Departmental line item entitled “Young Men’s Christian Association of Greater Richmond North Richmond Teen Center� for the purpose of removing the restriction that the appropriation for this line item be expended only for the North Richmond Teen Center.

Ordinance No. 2019-330 To amend Ord. No. 2019041, adopted May 13, 2019, which adopted the Fiscal Year 20192020 General Fund Budget, by increasing anticipated revenues from fees for employees of the Department of Police who provide law enforcement services at certain special events and the amount appropriated to the Department of Police’s Police-Operations program by $350,000.00 for the purpose of providing funding for overtime costs associated with providing law enforcement services for certain special events.

Ordinance No. 2019-331 To amend Ord. No. 2019044, which appropriated and provided funds for financing the school budget for the fiscal year commencing Jul. 1, 2019, and ending Jun. 30, 2020, to make transfers from the contingency reserves major classification to other major classifications to facilitate the implementation of the School Board’s strategic plan.

Ordinance No. 2019-332 To authorize the Chief Administrative Officer to accept funds in the amount of $165,000.00 from the Commonwealth of Virginia 9-1-1 Services Board; to amend the Fiscal Year 2019-2020 Special Fund Budget by creating a new special fund for the Department of Emergency Communications called the Next Generation 9-1-1 Implementation Special Fund; and to appropriate the grant funds received to the Fiscal Year 20192020 Special Fund Budget by increasing estimated revenues and the amount appropriated to the Department of Emergency Communications’ Next Generation 9-1-1 Implementation Special Fund by $165,000.00 for the purpose of funding costs for improvements to the 9-1-1 call handling equipment within the City’s emergency Continued on next column

Continued from previous column

communications network.

Ordinance No. 2019-333 To authorize the Chief Administrative Officer to accept grant funds in the amount of $19,000.00 from the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, and to appropriate the funds received to the Fiscal Year 2019-2020 Special Fund Budget by increasing estimated revenues and the amount appropriated to the Department of Fire and Emergency Services’ SHSP Special Fund by $19,000.00 for the purpose of funding improvements to the Department of Fire and Emergency Services’ emergency mobile command post camera system.

Ordinance No. 2019-334 To authorize the Chief Administrative Officer, for and on behalf of the City of Richmond, to accept a donation of professional services and associated tools valued at approximately $75,000.00 from Greenlink Analytics, Inc., and in connection therewith to execute a Contract for Donated Goods and Services between the City and Greenlink Analytics, Inc., for the purpose of providing a citywide climate and energy model.

Ordinance No. 2019-335 To authorize the Chief Administrative Officer, for and on behalf of the City of Richmond, to execute a Deed of Quitclaim of Utility Easement Portion and Deed of Correction between the City of Richmond and Sauer Properties, Inc. for the purpose of releasing a portion of a utility easement and correcting a deed reference in an Easement Deed.

Ordinance No. 2019-336 To authorize the Chief Administrative Officer, for and on behalf of the City of Richmond, to execute a Deed of Utility Easement between the City of Richmond and Regency Goodwyn, LLC, for the purpose of granting a variable width water line easement to the City.

Ordinance No. 2019-337 To adopt an amendment to the Master Plan for the City of Richmond, adopted by the City Planning Commission on Nov. 6, 2000, and by the City Council by Ord. No. 2000371-2001-11, adopted Jan. 8, 2001, as previously amended by Ord. No. 2017-148, adopted Sept.

25, 2017, to incorporate the James River Park System Master Plan: Final – 16 October 2019 with the Richmond Riverfront Plan Amendment 1: Downriver Update 2017, applicable to the downriver area along the James River identified in the Richmond Riverfront Plan, to include the area from Huguenot Flatwater Park east to the border with Henrico County, as part of the Master Plan.

Ordinance No. 2019-338 To repeal ch. 26, art. V, div. 3 (§§ 26-397—26408) of the City Code and to amend ch. 26, art. V, by adding there a new div. 3 (§§ 26408.1—26-408.11) for the purpose of modifying the requirements for the partial exemption of rehabilitated structures from real estate taxation.

Ordinance No. 2019-339 To authorize the Chief Administrative Officer, for and on behalf of the City of Richmond, to accept in-kind goods and services in the form of a facility upgrade, supplies, installation services, and additional equipment valued at $142,803.35 from the Commonwealth of Virginia 9-1-1 Services Board, for the purpose of funding costs for improvements to the 9-1-1 call handling equipment within the City’s emergency communications network.

Ordinance No. 2019-340 To amend ch. 12, art. IV of the City Code, concerning fees for City services, by adding therein a new § 12-123, concerning fees for employees of the City’s Department of Police who provide law enforcement services at special events, and to amend Appendix A of the City Code by adding therein new fees for City Code § 12-123, for the purpose of establishing the fees to be charged for employees of the City’s Department of Police who provide law enforcement services at special events.

Ordinance No. 2019-341 To amend section 21-4 of the City Code, concerning public procurement, for the purpose of revising the definition of emerging small business.

Ordinance No. 2019-342 To establish the Citizens’ Capital Improvement Plan Commission to advise the Council and the Mayor on matters involving funding priorities within the Capital Improvement Continued on next column

Continued from previous column

Plan established by Ord. No. 2019-043, adopted May 13, 2019.

Interested citizens who wish to speak will be given an opportunity to do so.

Copies of the full text of all ordinances are available by visiting the City Clerk’s page on the City’s Website at www.Richmondgov. com 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 MIKHAIL KURYLENAK Plaintiff v.

DINA VALEEVA, Defendant.

Case No.: CL19003747-00 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 5th day of February, 2020 at 9:00 a.m. 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 ALAN MICHAEL CASH Plaintiff v.

NATASHA CASH, Defendant.

Case No.: CL19001840-00 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 16th day of January, 2020 at 9:00 a.m. 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 FOR THE COUNTY OF HANOVER SHAUNITA WYATT Plaintiff v.

BRANDEN WYATT, Defendant.

Case No.: CL19003523-00 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 16th day of January, 2020 at 9:00 a.m. 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 BRENDA FRANQUI Plaintiff v.

JIOELIS FRANQUI, Defendant.

Case No.: CL19003509-00 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 16th day of January, 2020 at 9:00 a.m. 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 Continued on next column

Continued from previous column

Attorney VSB# 27724 8460 Mount Eagle Road Ashland, VA 23005 (804) 798-9667 VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE COUNTY OF HANOVER ANDRA BARRETT, Plaintiff v.

COHANE BARRETT, Defendant.

Case No.: CL19003393-00 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 16th day of January, 2020 at 9:00 a.m. 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

PROPERTY VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND JOHN MARSHALL COURTS BUILDING CITY OF RICHMOND, Plaintiff, v.

WILLIAM B. MITCHELL, et al, Defendants.

Case No.: CL19-3797 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is to subject the property briefly described as 1612 North 28th Street, Richmond, Virginia, Tax Map Number E0000864/023, to sale in order to collect delinquent real estate taxes assessed thereon in the name of the owner of record, William B. Mitchell.

An Affidavit having been filed that said owner, WILLIAM B. MITCHELL, 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 WILLIAM B. MITCHELL, and Parties Unknown, come forward to appear on or before FEBRUARY 13, 2020 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 804-646-7940 VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND JOHN MARSHALL COURTS BUILDING CITY OF RICHMOND, Plaintiff, v.

PATRICIA MACK, et al, Defendants.

Case No.: CL19-4528 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is to subject the property briefly described as 2317 Warwick Avenue, Richmond, Virginia, Tax Map Number S0071629/012, to sale in order to collect delinquent real estate taxes assessed thereon in the name of the owner of record, Patricia Mack.

An Affidavit having been filed that said owner, PATRICIA MACK, who has been served by posting and by mailing a copy of the complaint to her 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 PATRICIA MACK and Parties Unknown, come forward to appear on or before FEBRUARY 13, 2020 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 804-646-7940 VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND JOHN MARSHALL COURTS BUILDING CITY OF RICHMOND, Plaintiff, v.

GLENN BROWN, et al, Defendants.

Case No.: CL19-4298 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is Continued on next column

Continued from previous column

Continued from previous column

to subject the property briefly described as 1809 Stegge Avenue, Richmond, Virginia, Tax Map Number S0071133/017, to sale in order to collect delinquent real estate taxes assessed thereon in the name of the owner of record, Glenn Brown.

An Affidavit having been filed 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 Parties Unknown, come forward to appear on or before FEBRUARY 13, 2020 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 804-646-7940

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 E A R L W. T RI M M E R , SHIRLENE B. TRIMMER, and Parties Unknown, come forward to appear on or before FEBRUARY 13, 2020 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 804-646-7940

VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND JOHN MARSHALL COURTS BUILDING CITY OF RICHMOND, Plaintiff, v.

EARL W. TRIMMER, et al, Defendants.

Case No.: CL19-3923 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is to subject the property briefly described as 1705 Magnolia Street, Richmond, Virginia, Tax Map Number N0000663/019, to sale in order to collect delinquent real estate taxes assessed thereon in the name of the owners of record, Earl W. Trimmer and Shirlene B. Trimmer.

An Affidavit having been filed that said owner, EARL W. TRIMMER, has not been located and has not filed a response to this action; that said owner, SHIRLENE B. TRIMMER, who has been served by posting and by mailing a copy of the complaint to her 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 Continued on next column

LICENSE La Cabana NC LLC Trading as: La Cabana 4086 Crockett St. Henrico County, Virginia 23228-4114 The above establishment is applying to the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage C ontrol (ABC) AUTHORITY for a Wine and Beer on Premises license to sell or manufacture alcoholic beverages.

Natividad Castro and Jose Ramos, member NOTE: Objections to the issuance of this license must be submitted to ABC no later than 30 days from the publishing date of the first of two required newspaper legal notices. Objections should be registered at www. abc.virginia.gov or 800-5523200.

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

PART-TIME ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT TO PASTOR/CHURCH

Administrative Assistant at Great Hope Baptist Church provides administrative support to ensure eďŹƒcient operation of the Church oďŹƒce, 20 hours per week. Position will support Pastor and church members through a variety of tasks related to the church and community. Responsibility includes: Oversee conďŹ dential and time sensitive material.

Compose letters and correspondence to churches and other civic organizations. ProďŹ cient in Microsoft OďŹƒce: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Excel. The ability to eectively communicate via phone, email, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, ensuring all duties are completed accurately and delivered with high quality in a timely manner. Interested applicants please submit resume to: ghbcsec@comcast.net

by January 9, 2020.

Rio Grande LLC Trading as: Rio Grande Mexican Restaurant 7128 Hull Street Road Chesterfield County, Virginia 23235 The above establishment is applying to the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage C ontrol (ABC) AUTHORITY for a Wine and Beer and Mixed Beverages on Premises license to sell or manufacture alcoholic beverages.

Jose Galo, Managing Member NOTE: Objections to the issuance of this license must be submitted to ABC no later than 30 days from the publishing date of the first of two required newspaper legal notices. Objections should be registered at www. abc.virginia.gov or 800-5523200.

Director of Accounting Chester�ield County, Virginia (Richmond-Metro Area), a recognized leader and award-winning local government, is seeking an innovative, innovative and forward-thinking leader who will lead, plan, direct and oversee the Department of Accounting.

To review the recruitment pro�ile and application instructions, click the link Director of Accounting or visit http://www.chester�ield.gov/careers/. The deadline to apply is January 23, 2020 at 5 p.m.

An Equal Opportunity Employer Committed to Workforce Diversity

Dominion Energy Services, Inc. seeks a Sr. Info.

Security Analyst for their Richmond oďŹƒce. Will work independently, assisting in developing security policies, standards, and procedures, for multiple platforms and diverse systems environments. Work closely with Specialists in Systems Security and Network Systems Operations. Consults on risk assessments, and implementation of appropriate data security procedures and products, advising management and sta. Administers information security safeguards. Coordinates investigation and reporting of major data security incidents. Works with multiple business units on multi-project assignments. The qualiďŹ ed candidate will possess a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science (foreign academic equivalency accepted) and 5 years experience in IT Engineering positions. Forward a cover letter referencing “SRISAâ€? with your resume to Dominion Energy Services, Inc., Attn: JH-SHRS, RE: SRISA, 5000 Dominion Blvd, Glen Allen, VA 23060. Dominion Energy is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to a diverse workforce. EOE M/F/D/V.

FULL-TIME SENIOR PASTOR Thirty-first Street Baptist Church of Richmond VA, located in historic Church Hill, seeks a full-time senior pastor. The pastor’s education, training, and experience should include seminary degree(s) and a minimum of three years in a ministerial leadership role serving in a Baptist church. The pastor will be responsible for church leadership, both spiritual and biblical, through preaching, teaching, training, counseling and evangelism.

Demonstrating godly leadership and keen administrative skill, the pastor will minister to the current needs of the church, while preparing and equipping the fellowship with the tools to assist membership sustainability for the next generation church. The pastor will work collaboratively with the Trustees, Deacons, Deacons Auxiliary Ministry, staff and congregation to uphold and cultivate the church mission and vision while developing disciples. The deadline for accepting applications is January 17, 2020. Candidate should include easily accessible links to videos of two recent sermons.

Mail resumes to: THIRTY-FIRST STREET BAPTIST CHURCH 823 N. Thirty-first Street Richmond, Virginia 23223 ATTN: Pastor Search Committee Email resumes to: info@31sbc.org

Notice of Funding Availability for

Affordable Housing Trust Fund The City of Richmond is excited to announce a pilot loan program for the Affordable Housing Trust Fund (AHTF). The Pilot will be a competitive low interest loan. The AHTF will be used to assist and support with housing projects that are aligned with the Mayor’s priorities to increase the supply of quality affordable housing units in the City. All Affordable Housing Trust Fund applications must be for projects that have a direct impact on low and moderate income City residents. AHTF funds may not be used to supplant existing commitments of permanent financing.

There will be two application workshops held at the Main Street Station located at 1500 E. Main Street, Suite 400 on January 13, 2020. The workshop will begin at 10am until 12pm and 5pm to 6:30pm.

Application packages will also be available on January 13th on the City of Richmond websites: http://www.richmondgov.com/index.aspx, and at Main Street Station 1500 E. Main Street. All Project/Program funding requests must be submitted on the current application form. All applicants must submit two (2) hard copies of the application and all attachments to the Department of Housing and Community Development, 1500 E. Main Street, Suite 400 Richmond, VA 23219.

All proposals and applications must be received no later than 4:00 PM on Friday, January 31, 2020. Faxes, e-mails and late submissions will not be accepted. Please direct all questions to the Department of Housing and Community Development at 804-646-1766. The City of Richmond does not discriminate on the basis of disability status in the admission or access to its programs. Virginia Relay Center - TDD users dial 711.

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