Richmond Free Press June 25-27, 2020 edition

Beyoncé drops single on Juneteenth B2

Richmond Free Press

VOL. 29 NO. 27

© 2020 Paradigm Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.

RICHMOND, VIRGINIA

www.richmondfreepress.com

Under fire

ee Fr

Fr ee

Meet board chair of Feed More B1

JUNE 25-27, 2020

Calls grow for Interim Chief Blackwell to resign after word of his fatal 2002 officer-involved shooting

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

Interim Richmond Police Chief William V. “Jody” Blackwell is supposed to be the right person to focus on “necessary public safety reform, healing and trust building within the community.”

That is what Mayor Levar M. Stoney said when he announced June 16 that he

asked then-Chief Will Smith to resign and promoted his chief of staff, Maj. Blackwell, to be the city’s top cop until a permanent replacement is selected.

After meeting with disgruntled police officers upset over Chief Smith’s abrupt dismissal, the mayor doubled down on his decision. He said Chief Blackwell has the discipline and composure the job needs,

Regina H. Boone/Richmond Free Press

Interim Chief William “Jody” Blackwell refuses to answer any questions about his fatal shooting of Jeramy O. Gilliam in 2002 during his introductory news conference last week at the Richmond Police Training Academy.

adding, “I know that he’s the man to get the job done.”

However, if Chief Blackwell was supposed to be out front making his presence felt, quite the opposite appears to be happening.

Instead, he has avoided making any public appearances — a sharp contrast for a city used to police chiefs who court the news media and are eager to be seen and heard around the city.

Chief Blackwell has rejected requests for interviews and has not turned out for major public events, including the Juneteenth celebrations last week during his first days at the helm.

It is not clear whether he has been out at demonstrations with his officers or what his role has been in ordering the firing of tear gas, pepper spray and rubber bullets to disperse protesters during several demonstrations earlier this week that the police declared an “unlawful assembly.”

It also is not clear whether Chief Blackwell has met with civic or business leaders, talked with members of City Council or begun building community connections to tackle the mayor’s plan for police reform.

At the same time, his ability to command community respect and allegiance might have been undermined from the start as Please turn to A4

Home health workers often overlooked in state COVID-19 protection efforts

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press

Ropes hang from the statue of Confederate Gen. J.E.B. Stuart at the intersection of Monument Avenue and Lombardy Street as protesters tried to topple it Sunday night. Police later arrested six people.

City Council members call for ban on police use of tear gas, pepper spray as demonstrations continue

By Jeremy M. Lazarus and George Copeland Jr.

Ban the tear gas, pepper spray, flash bangs and rubber bullets that Richmond Police and their law enforcement partners have used repeatedly to disperse protesters clamoring against police brutality and racial injustice.

That’s the cry from two Richmond City Council members who have witnessed the demonstrations and choked on the tear gas, and believe its use by police needs to end.

Photo feature on A8 Ninth District Councilman Michael J. Jones and 5th District Councilwoman Stephanie A. Lynch plan to introduce legislation next Wednesday at a special meeting the full council is expected to hold.

There is no indication that a majority of City Council will support the legislation.

Both Dr. Jones and Ms. Lynch were persuaded to push for a ban after attending protests last week and choked and gasped Please turn to A4

Ever since the COVID-19 emergency was declared in March, the state has pushed a well-publicized effort to get masks, gowns and other protective gear for doctors, nurses and other health care workers in hospitals and nursing homes.

But three months into the pandemic, the state finally has begun to focus on providing protection gear to a littlenoticed group of front line

Sen. Jennifer L. McClellan announces her candidacy for governor

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

Related story on A9 health workers — the aides providing care to thousands of elderly and disabled people in their homes.

On Wednesday, 30,000 masks were being assembled in packages to be shipped to personal care workers, acChris Gordon/DMAS cording to Christina Nuckols, From left, Mary Carter, Sharon Stone and Arqam Ahsan with the state Department of spokeswoman for the state De- Medical Assistance Services pack masks and other personal protection equipment for partment of Medical Assistance home health care workers who aid thousands of elderly and disabled Virginians with Services, which runs the state’s bathing, dressing, toileting and meals under the Medicaid program.

Medicaid program.

“Given the barriers that exist, this has been a unique process to secure and distribute personal protection equipment to our personal care workers. But we have worked hard to accomplish this important goal for these essential home and communitybased providers,” said Dr. Vanessa Walker Harris, deputy state secretary for health and human resources.

The move is aimed at ending the neglect of often overlooked personal care and certified nursing assistants who almost daily

By Ronald E. Carrington care for at least 20,000 people across the state.

There was no glitz and glamour or boisterous cheering Thomasine Wilson, 60, of Richmond, executive committee typical at graduations, but students in the Class of 2020 at chair of a local union for home health care workers, said the work two Richmond high schools had the adoration and cheers of Please turn to A4 family Tuesday when they accepted their diplomas during ceremonies that practiced social distancing.

In separate ceremonies at Armstrong and Richmond ComFree COVID-19 testing munity high schools, groups of six or seven seniors were ushered at 15-minute intervals to the back of the schools’ Free community testing for COVID-19 continues.

The Richmond and Henrico County health districts are auditoriums. At each school, they walked one by one to the offering testing 9 to 11 a.m. Thursday, June 25, at the Eastern stage, received their diploma and had their photo taken, while Henrico Recreation Center, 1440 N. Laburnum Ave. family was able to watch from the audience.

Appointments are encouraged by calling the Richmond and While staging for the commencement exercises at both Henrico COVID-19 Hotline at (804) 205-3501 from 8 a.m. to schools was the same, each had a unique ceremony filled 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. with enthusiasm.

Walk-up testing will be offered while test supplies last.

At Armstrong High School in the East End, the atmosphere The Chesterfield Health District is hosting free testing for was festive outside the building on Cool Lane. A truck’s huge those who are uninsured or underinsured from 5 to 7 p.m. speakers blasted R&B music from the parking lot, while a Wednesday, July 1, at Falling Creek Ironworks Park, 6407 teacher with a bullhorn sitting in the open truck bed loudly Jefferson Davis Highway.

Testing is limited, with some walk-up testing available. congratulated each graduate and their family as they first People with COVID-19 symptoms should make an lined up in front of the building.

After 15 years in the General Assembly, Sen. Jennifer L. McClellan wants to play a bigger role in shaping state policy.

The Richmond lawmaker promised to offer leadership that would allow Virginia to “boldly step into the future” in entering the race for governor.

Now in her second term in the General Assembly’s upper chamber, Sen. McClellan announced on June 18 her bid for the state’s top elected office in 2021 and portrayed herself as the person to guide the state that is at a “critical crossroads right now about what direction we’re going to go.”

The main focus of her campaign, Sen. Sen. McClellan McClellan told the Free Press this week, will be on restoring faith in government as a “positive force for change and for solving problems” in dealing with the health, economic and racial crises Please turn to A4

RPS students, families celebrate at ‘different’ graduation ceremonies

appointment for testing by calling the Chesterfield Health Department at (804) 318-8207.

Please turn to A4

Ronald E. Carrington/Richmond Free Press

A line of seniors and their families wait outside Armstrong High School on Tuesday for their turn to enter the building for the ceremony where diplomas were awarded one student at a time to curb the spread of COVID-19.

A2

June 25-27, 2020

Richmond Free Press

Local News

Rep. McEachin handily wins Democratic primary contest

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

Richmond voters joined others in the 4th Congressional District in supporting Rep. A. Donald McEachin for a third term in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The 59-year-old congressman crushed his little known opponent, R. Cazel Levine, by a nearly 4-1 margin in Tuesday’s Democratic primary.

With most precincts reporting, Rep. McEachin, who was first elected in 2016, won 31,043 votes to Ms. Levine’s 8,063 votes, a state Elections Department report shows.

In a statement issued Tuesday night, Rep. McEachin commended Ms. Levine for stepping forward as a candidate in the primary. He said his first time running for public office more than 20 years ago was “daunting.”

“Now, I ask her to join us, to stay engaged and to help ensure that we move our Commonwealth and our nation forward in a just, equitable and progressive way,” he said.

Republicans are scheduled to choose an opponent for the November general election during a 4th Congressional District convention on Saturday, June 27.

In other primary races Tuesday, incumbent U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner, a Democrat, learned who he would face in November in seeking a third, six-year term.

Republican voters chose retired Army lieutenant colonel veteran and college professor Daniel Gade of Fairfax County.

Making his first bid for public office, Mr. Gade was declared the winner after securing 67 percent of the vote against two other first-time candidates, schoolteacher Alissa Baldwin and defense contractor Thomas Speciale.

Ahead of the balloting, Sen. Warner already challenged his eventual GOP opponent to three debates.

In other races, Democratic Rep. Elaine Luria will face a rematch against the Republican she ousted from the 2nd Congressional District seat in Virginia Beach and parts of Hampton Roads.

The former congressman, Scott Taylor, easily won a three-way race for the Republican nomination to challenge Rep. Luria.

In the 3rd Congressional District, veteran Rep. Robert C. “Bobby” Scott will have a GOP challenger in November, businessman and retired Marine Sgt. John Collick.

A political newcomer, Mr. Collick beat two others, Madison Downs and George Yacus, to win the Republican nomination to take on the incumbent Democrat who will be seeking his 15th term.

Meanwhile, Dr. B. Cameron Webb, a physician, beat three other Democrats to take on Republican nominee Bob Good in the 5th Congressional District west of Richmond.

Mr. Good beat incumbent Rep. Denver Riggleman at a GOP convention, and Democrats are hoping Dr. Webb, an AfricanAmerican, can flip the seat into Democratic hands for the first time since 2000.

In the 1st Congressional District that includes parts of Hanover and New Kent counties, attorney Qasim Rashid, a Pakistani immigrant who lives in Stafford County, won a close Democratic primary race against defense contractor Lavangelene “Vangie” Williams to challenge GOP Rep. Rob Wittman in November. Ms. Williams lost to Rep. Wittman in the 2018 general election.

In the 11th Congressional District in Northern Virginia, incumbent Rep. Gerry Connolly beat Democratic primary challenger Zainab Mohsini by a nearly 3-1 margin to hold his seat.

Henrico police chief to retire

By George Copeland Jr.

Another area police chief is stepping down as protests continue against police violence and racial injustice.

Henrico Police Chief Humberto I. “Hum” Cardounel Jr. announced Monday that he is retiring effective Sept. 1.

A 31-year veteran of the Henrico County Police Division, Chief Cardounel has led the division and its 863-member staff of officers and unsworn personnel for the past four years. A national search already is underway for his replacement.

“I started this career as a 21-year-old college graduate with little thought as to what the future held for me,” Chief Cardounel wrote in an email to the division. “I thought I would do this for just a few years, but it wasn’t long after that I realized this was my ‘home.’ It felt right, Henrico was the right place for me. Nearly 32 years later, Henrico is still my home and still the right place for me.”

Chief Cardounel, who joined the division in 1988 as a patrol officer and SWAT team medic, plans to take advantage of Henrico’s Voluntary Retirement Incentive Program available during the coronavirus pandemic that gives additional benefits to eligible employees choosing to retire. It is a cost-cutting measure for the county.

In a statement, Henrico County Manager John A. Vithoulkas said the chief “has left an irreplaceable mark on Henrico and its Police Division,” while demonstrating “what it means to serve with heart.”

“Henrico is stronger, safer and eternally grateful that he selected our community as his home,” Mr. Vithoulkas said.

The last two years of Chief Cardounel’s tenure have not been without controversy. Last September, Henrico police shot and killed Gay Plack, a 57-year-old woman with bipolar disorder, inside her home in a Short Pump subdivision. Her psychiatrist had asked police to go to her home for a welfare check, where they entered through an unlocked back door, kicked open a locked bedroom door and found her in the attached bathroom.

According to reports, she emerged swinging an ax and the two officers fired at her.

Her family has been critical of how police handled the situation with someone who was mentally ill, even after Henrico Commonwealth’s Attorney Shannon Taylor cleared the officers of any wrongdoing. The case also was reviewed by prosecutors in Hampton and Stafford County.

Concerns recently were raised by Varina District Supervisor Tyrone E. Nelson and county residents about the Henrico Police Division’s involvement in the continuing protests in Richmond in which police have fired tear gas, pepper spray and rubber bullets at demonstrators.

Rev. Nelson wrote in a social media post Monday that he had met with Chief Cardounel to discuss the concerns and has assurances that Henrico officers had not assisted Richmond Police with the protests for about a week “and does not presently have any plans to participate.”

“I will continue to keep a watchful eye and will continue to seek answers on your behalf,” Rev. Nelson posted on his public Twitter account.

When his social media followers questioned Richmond’s use of a Henrico “spy plane” during recent protests and its cost to county taxpayers, Rev. Nelson responded that the plane is shared by several jurisdictions in the region that each contribute $127,334 during the current fiscal year under the regional agreement.

Regina H. Boone/Richmond Free Press

Cityscape Slices of life and scenes in Richmond

Ms. Carleton

This “Black is Beautiful” billboard stands at the corner of Jackson Street and Chamberlayne Parkway on the edge of Jackson Ward and just across Interstate 95 from Gilpin Court. It’s a message that resonates amid the upheaval in the city. The billboard is the work of Dream for Purpose, which describes itself on its website as a “research-led creative house that provides brands with guidance and insights on how to maneuver in an ever-changing digital age.”

Dr. Hampton

Ms. Hartsfield

Dr. MassenburgJohnson

Dr. Probst

Ms. Tobe

RPS names 6 new principals Free Press staff

Open High School and five preschool centers will have new principals when Richmond Public Schools begins the 2020-21 academic year.

Superintendent Jason Kamras announced last week that Clary Carleton has been named to lead Open High School, while Dr. Victoria M.O. Hampton has been named principal at Maymont Preschool Center; Crystal Hartsfield, principal at Martin Luther King Jr. Preschool Center; Dr. Johnnye Massenburg-Johnson, principal at Mary Scott Preschool Center; Dr. Elaine Probst, principal at Blackwell Preschool Center; and Kelly Tobe, principal at Summer Hill Preschool Center.

“In each one of these candidates, we saw great leaders who we know will lead with love and inspire our students to greatness,” Mr. Kamras stated in the announcement.

“Every student deserves to have a school leader who will set high expectations and provide a loving and motivating environment,” stated School Board Chairwoman Linda Owen.

Ms. Carleton, the 2017 RPS Teacher of the Year, has spent her entire 20-year teaching career at Open High School.

She has taught AP English literature and served as the school’s administrative dean.

Most recently, she served as the school’s interim principal. She has a bachelor’s in art history from George Mason Univer-

sity; master’s in English literature from Virginia Commonwealth University; and a post-master’s certificate in educational leadership and policy from the University of Richmond.

Dr. Hampton began her career in education as a teacher at J.L. Francis Elementary School. She has held various leadership roles, including professional development specialist, instructional specialist and academic interventionist. Most recently, she served as assistant principal of Lakemont Elementary School in Petersburg. She has a bachelor’s in elementary education from Virginia Union University; a master’s in curriculum and instruction from Averett University; and a doctorate in educational leadership and administration from Capella University.

Ms. Hartsfield most recently served as building leader at MLK Preschool Center, and previously served as an instructional coach and inclusion teacher. She has a bachelor’s in elementary education from VUU; a master’s in education with a concentration in curriculum and instruction from Averett University; and a postgraduate certificate in educational leadership from Longwood University.

Dr. Massenburg-Johnson is a 32-year veteran with RPS, most recently serving as preschool manager for the school system’s early childhood program. Her previous experience includes serving as a speech pathologist and audiologist for

public schools in Baltimore and Durham, N.C., and serving as an adjunct professor at Virginia State University. She has a bachelor’s in speech pathology and audiology from Hampton University; a master’s in audiology from Towson State University; a master’s in theology from Richmond Virginia Seminary; a master’s in educational leadership and a master’s in crisis trauma and disaster care from Liberty University; and a doctorate in theology from Piedmont Theological Institute.

Dr. Probst, a former lead coach for the Virginia Preschool Initiative Plus Grant, has more than 25 years of early childhood and elementary education experience focused on building collaborative relationships with parents, staff, students and community partners. Most recently, she served as the building lead at the Blackwell Preschool Center. She has a bachelor’s from Bennett College and a master’s and doctorate in educational leadership from VSU. Ms. Tobe has led several Title I schools to accreditation in Chesterfield County and Petersburg. She has held central office and administrative positions, including assistant principal, Virginia Preschool Initiative Plus coordinator and as an adjunct professor at VCU. She has a bachelor’s in Spanish and speech from Indiana University; a teaching degree from UR; a master’s in reading from VCU; and two post-master’s certificates in administration and English as a Second Language.

City sets up $6M eviction assistance plan to aid during COVID-19

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

Janice Lacy had a job she loved transporting elderly and disabled people. But then COVID-19 hit and she was laid off in mid-March after the state of emergency was declared.

Despite daily efforts, promised unemployment checks have yet to flow, and Ms. Lacy has fallen far behind in her bills, including paying her rent and utilities.

“I’ve never been behind, but now I have a stack of bills I can’t pay and I’m worried,” Ms. Lacy, who also cares for other family members, told City Council Monday night.

Only moratoriums on evictions and utility disconnections have enabled her and her family members to remain in their home, but she has fallen into despair.

Some help could be on the way for Ms. Lacy and hundreds of other Richmond residents facing financial ruin because of the pandemic.

Mayor Levar M. Stoney announced Monday that $6 million in federal CARES Act money is being poured into a relief fund to partially stem the eviction flood that is about to hit the city. The funding will be focused on aiding Richmond residents like Ms. Lacy to avoid losing their homes as the result of coronavirus-related job losses.

One of the single largest appropriations ever for low-income housing, the city plans to distribute the money through ACTS RVA, a Henrico County-based nonprofit that works with people facing a financial crisis. The city funding would be a huge infusion for ACTS, which operates on less than $450,000 a year.

Opened in 2006, the organization is linked with 60 area congregations and other partners that provide financial support.

The state is expected to contribute additional money through a $50 million statewide fund Gov. Ralph S. Northam

announced Wednesday and that the state Department of Housing and Community Development is to administer.

The relief effort is timely. The state Supreme Court on Tuesday lifted its pandemicrelated hold on civil cases and directed lower courts to begin hearing cases, including evictions, on Monday, June 29.

At least 1,900 cases involving nonpayment of rent have piled up in Richmond alone, according to the city, including cases landlords filed prior to the governor’s declaration of a health emergency.

Martin D. “Marty” Wegbreit, director of litigation for Central Virginia Legal Aid Society, said he expects an “eviction tsunami” and he appealed to City Council on Monday to make affordable housing a top priority.

He said that in a city notorious for its large numbers of evictions, the backlog means the courts will be hearing double the number of cases normally heard and the number of homeless people is likely to expand.

Mr. Wegbreit said more than 1,300 eviction cases were set to be heard in the final two weeks of June before the state’s highest court temporarily shut down such hearings on June 8 at the request Gov. Northam. Those cases and more no longer will be delayed.

Mayor Stoney, who had been urged to act by a faith-based group, Richmonders Involved to Strengthen Our Communities, announced the $6 million contribution to the relief fund. That is about 30 percent of $20.1 million the city has received in federal dollars to cover pandemic-related costs.

He stated the $6 million would support households currently facing eviction as well as those at risk of eviction because of economic challenges arising from COVID-19.

“It is paramount that Richmond residents do not face housing insecurity during this pandemic,” Mayor Stoney stated. “We want to make sure the city is doing everything

it can to empower residents.”

The city Office of Community Wealth Building is to administer the $6 million through Emergency Fund Assistance-RVA, which is being created by the office and expected to be in operation by next Monday, according to Sharon Ebert, city deputy chief administrative officer for economic and community development.

The money will be distributed through ACTS, Area Congregations Together in Service, whose motto is “closing the door on homelessness.” ACTS, which began operating in 2006, is to manage the EFARVA, Ms. Ebert stated.

The fund will help income-eligible households with rental assistance or mortgage payments. In some cases, the program could pay off several months of unpaid housing bills, she stated, noting that decisions would be on made on a case-by-case basis.

The EFA-RVA is part of a new statewide program, with Richmond’s program expected to be eligible for a portion of the state funds.

However, Ms. Ebert noted that many of the families facing eviction “will not be eligible” for help because landlords already had filed a court action for nonpayment prior to March 31 and the federal funding can be used only for those who could not pay beginning April 1.

Of the 1,900 eviction cases on the court dockets in Richmond, at least 950 and possibly more would not qualify for assistance from the new fund, Ms. Ebert stated.

Another smaller city program, eviction diversion, which Housing Opportunities Made Equal administers, might help some of those ineligible families if their landlords agree. That program seeks to set up payment plans for tenants who are in arrears and are able to keep current while also paying off the past due rent over several months.

Richmond Free Press

June 25-27, 2020

A3

Speed?

Oh, we’re way past that. Ĺœ+&16 !")&3"/0 *,/" 1% + '201 # 01 +1"/+"1C &1% Ĺœ+&16 5 &D 6,2 $"1 1%" 2)1&* 1" ,+1/,) ,3"/ 6,2/ %,*" & & +"14,/(C "" 4%, &0 ,++" 1"! +! "3"+ - 20" 6,2/ & & 4&1% 1%" 5 & --C )20D $"1 -" " ,# *&+! 4&1% + !!"! ) 6"/ ,# -/,1" 1&,+ #,/ )) 6,2/ ,++" 1"! !"3& "0C % 1N0 +1"/+"1 * !" simpleD easyD awesomeC

Get Xfinity Internet & TV starting at

54

$

99

Upgrade to DOUBLE the download speed – FREE for 1 year

a month for 12 months

Get xFi Advanced Security — FREE with the xFi Gateway

Equipment, taxes and other charges extra, and subject to change. See details below.

, 1, 5Ĺœ+&16C ,*D )) :WA99W5Ĺœ+&16 ,/ 3&0&1 + Ĺœ+&16 1,/" 1,! 6.

Offer requires enrollment in both automatic payments and paperless billing through Xfinity My Account. Offer ends 7/21/20. Restrictions apply. Not available in all areas. New residential customers only. Limited to the Choice Double Play with Performance 100 Mbps Internet service. Equipment, installation, taxes and fees, including Broadcast TV Fee (up to $14.95/mo.), Regional Sports Fee (up to $8.75/mo.), and other applicable charges extra, and subject to change during and after promo. After 12 mos., speed reduced to Performance 100 Mbps unless customer calls to add Performance Pro. After promo, or if any service is canceled or downgraded, regular rates apply to Choice Double Play. Comcast’s service charge for Choice Double Play is $89.99/mo. (subj. to change). Service limited to a single outlet. May not be combined with other offers. TV: Limited Basic service subscription required to receive other levels of service. Internet: Actual speeds vary and are not guaranteed. For factors affecting speed visit www.xfinity.com/networkmanagement. Xfinity xFi is available to Xfinity Internet customers with a compatible Xfinity Gateway. Ability to pause limited to home WiFi network. Does not apply to Xfinity WiFi hotspots. Call for restrictions and complete details. NPA231765-0002 NED AA CDP V1

137523_NPA231765-0002 Choice DP 11x21 Richmond.indd 1

6/16/20 1:53 PM

Richmond Free Press

A4 June 25-27, 2020

News

City Council calls for ban on police use of tear gas, pepper spray Continued from A1

for breath themselves when police fired tear gas to clear the demonstrators.

The Richmond protests have been going on for 26 days. Initially sparked by the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, the local protests are now focusing on police violence and racial injustices in Richmond.

From what he witnessed, Dr. Jones said police are using tear gas to disperse “innocent civilians.”

“There are other ways to de-escalate a crowd,” he said.

Ms. Lynch said she saw police indiscriminately use tear gas on June 15 during the early morning and then later that night to disperse hundreds of loudly chanting protesters outside police headquarters on West Grace Street in Downtown.

She said tear gas during the nighttime assault was rained over a six-block area “far beyond where the protesters were.” At one point, she and Dr. Jones had to duck when a canister whizzed by their heads.

She said the tear-gassing is not just impacting protesters, but also is wafting into apartments and homes and impacting people who are not involved.

She also witnessed police fire a volley of rubber bullets at protesters without provocation.

Ms. Lynch said police can use other nonlethal equipment to disperse crowds that does less damage.

She said use of the noxious chemicals and gas and rubber bullets have largely backfired, creating more anger among protesters. She noted

the night protest on June 15 was a reaction to previous police assaults.

“I believe the police could do better if they were talking with people rather than attacking them,” she said.

She also expressed disappointment that police statements about what happened do not mirror the events. For example, she said a police statement indicated that people were throwing rocks and bottles at officers on June 15 before the tear gas and rubber bullets were fired, but “I did not see any of that.”

The most recent use of the chemicals came early Tuesday morning, when police dispersed a makeshift encampment protesters set up on Marshall Street in front of City Hall, blocking the street.

The camp was set up around 7 p.m. as a City Council meeting was in session. Participants were there to call for policy changes, including creation of a civilian oversight board for police; removal of Confederate statues; creation of a mental health response team to respond to certain emergencies instead of police; dismissal of charges against arrested protesters; and the release of the names of officers under investigation for use of force.

Police arrived at the encampment after midnight and, after issuing warnings to disperse from a declared “unlawful assembly,” moved in on the protesters who remained.

A task force of city and state police used tear gas, flash bang grenades and rubber bullets around 12:40 a.m., with videos on social media showing some officers firing at protesters at

close range. The Richmond Police Department reported 12 people were arrested on charges of unlawful assembly.

Earlier on Sunday night, police also issued a declaration of unlawful assembly during a protest at the J.E.B. Stuart Monument, where protesters attempted to topple the statue. Six people were arrested.

The choice to assemble Monday night outside City Hall came after protesters opted to leave their camping area around the Robert E. Lee statue on Monument Avenue. Beginning Monday night, the state closed the grounds around the Lee statue from sunset to sunrise and imposed additional restrictions at the popular site.

The area was renamed by demonstrators as the Marcus-David Peters Circle in memory of the 24-year-old biology teacher who was shot and killed by a Richmond Police officer in 2018 when he appeared to be having a mental crisis.

On Tuesday, Gov. Ralph S. Northam addressed the ongoing protests. He said while the hundreds of demonstrations across the state had been overwhelmingly peaceful, it had become clear that Richmond needs a “different path forward.”

“After three weeks, it is no longer clear what the goals are or a path to achieve them,” Gov. Northam said. “Clearly, Richmond needs a different path forward. These nightly conflicts cannot continue indefinitely.”

Early Wednesday, police dispersed a gathering on the grounds reportedly without incident or use of tear gas.

In a statement issued earlier this week, the ACLU of Virginia slammed Gov. Northam for

restricting activity around the Lee statue.

“This action will serve only to escalate the tensions between protesters and police and will do nothing to advance either free speech or public safety,” the statement read.

Local health professionals and legislators also have expressed concerns about the actions of Richmond Police. Five doctors associated with the VCU Health System released a letter Tuesday that was sent to the RPD calling for restrictions on the use of tear gas. The letter echoed warnings by other health officials nationally and globally that its usage risks an increase in the spread of the coronavirus.

“We are horrified to see the use of pepper spray and other chemical irritants against protesters,” the letter reads. “Pepper spray causes de-masking, coughing and heavy breathing. The use of pepper spray is antithetical to the public health guidance for avoiding COVID-19.

Meanwhile, multiple lawsuits, including a class action suit, have been filed against the Richmond Police Department growing out of the assaults on protesters.

Richmond attorney Thomas H. Roberts filed the class action suit on behalf of five Richmond protesters who attended a rally on June 1 at the Lee statue. The five, among other peaceful protesters, are seeking damages after being teargassed by Richmond Police nearly 30 minutes before a city curfew was to start.

Mayor Stoney and then-Police Chief Will Smith publicly apologized at a subsequent meeting of about 1,500 people outside City Hall the next day.

Calls grow for Interim Richmond Police Chief William Blackwell to resign Continued from A1

his face and name were blasted on social media as an officer who killed a civilian.

At a moment when Richmond and other cities continued to be shaken by protests over police violence and racial bigotry ignited by a police officer killing George Floyd in Minneapolis, the discovery of that skeleton in Chief Blackwell’s closet has come at the wrong time.

As recounted in 18-yearold news articles, then-Officer Blackwell fatally shot Jeramy O. Gilliam, in 2002 during a burglary investigation in a neighborhood near Byrd Park.

As reported, Officer Blackwell confronted Mr. Gilliam on Idlewood Avenue, three blocks from the burglary location, and asked for his ID, although Mr. Gilliam did not fit the description of the suspect broadcast by police.

Officer Blackwell asserted at

the time that Mr. Gilliam pulled a gun instead. As he recounted, after knocking the gun away, Officer Blackwell reported the two men got into a wrestling match as he sought to subdue Mr. Gilliam, and he shot Mr. Gilliam twice in the back in self-defense during the altercation.

Richmond’s Commonwealth’s Attorney at the time, former Judge David M. Hicks, took the case to the grand jury, which declined to indict the officer for involuntary manslaughter, keeping Chief Blackwell’s life and career on track.

Since then, Chief Blackwell has risen through ranks and held various positions, including successful leadership of the Fourth Precinct that covers Downtown and portions of North Side that drew department praise for crime reduction.

The Gilliam case was one of five police killings of civilians in Richmond in 2002 that sparked

Home health workers often overlooked Continued from A1

of bathing, grooming, serving light meals and helping people go to the bathroom requires close physical proximity, rather than the 6 feet social distancing under general COVID-19 guidelines.

“Many of us travel by bus, and we bring what we pick up into the home,” said Ms. Wilson, a longtime advocate for the workers.

“We need the protection for our clients and for ourselves so we don’t bring the virus home to our families.”

Most of the workers serve people who receive care through Medicaid. And despite the critical services they provide, the workers are among the most overlooked element in health care, Ms. Wilson said.

Currently, the state limits pay for the largely female workforce to $8 an hour and lists them as contract workers, which makes them ineligible for overtime. The state also bars clients from paying them extra.

Home care workers also are not eligible for paid sick leave or vacation pay, Ms. Wilson said.

“If we don’t work, we don’t get paid,” she said, “and the pay is not a living wage, which is what we need. The time with any one client is limited to a certain number of hours, and often we have to find multiple clients to work with in order to get close to 40 hours a week.”

The pandemic has been devastating for home health care workers, Ms. Wilson said. “They face a difficult choice: Stay home without income and live, or go to work, get sick and die.”

“Our union has been pressing for the state to provide PPE for home care workers,” said David Broder, president of Service Employees International Union’s Virginia 512 unit that includes the home health care employees.

He said the state’s failure to prioritize PPE for home health care workers — a majority of whom are African-American — reflects many of the embedded wrongs that leave women and people of color at the bottom in such matters.

He said the SEIU has sought to fill in by buying masks for members, but it falls short of what the state can do with the federal funding it has received.

“Our members are making $15,000 to $20,000 a year, with none of the perks that other health care workers enjoy,” he said.

“They even have to pay for their own transportation. They should have been a priority. But, once again, they were not.”

Mr. Broder noted that without such home health care workers, the Medicaid program would be paying large sums to care for the clients in nursing homes and other institutions. “Our members are saving the state huge amounts of money, but there has been little change in their conditions.”

He said there was some movement in a recent session of the General Assembly, which passed protections for domestic workers and included home health care workers. The home health care workers also are eligible for the increase in the state’s minimum wage that is to be effective next year.

“Home care workers need and should get a living wage,” Mr. Broder said. “They provide incredibly important services that enable people to stay in their homes and familiar surroundings.

They deserve better.”

reforms in police training. Only one officer, Sgt. David Melvin, ultimately faced trial, and he was acquitted after juries twice deadlocked in earlier trials.

Mayor Stoney has said he knew about the Gilliam slaying when he appointed Chief Blackwell.

So far, members of City Council have stayed mum about the new interim chief and his personnel record. The appointment was solely within the mayor’s discretion, with the council having no formal say.

However, since the Gilliam killing was unearthed, plenty of other people have expressed dismay over Chief Blackwell’s appointment, including members of the General Assembly

and Petersburg native R&B singer Trey Songz, who just days after dining with Mayor Stoney and Councilman Jones in Richmond last weekend, called for the mayor to resign as a result of the appointment.

Separately, the family of Mr. Gilliam also expressed surprise and dismay that the man who killed their loved one is now leading the Richmond Police Department.

In a letter that went public, the family said they were told in 2002 that Chief Blackwell had left the city police department, although that was not the case.

They also raised questions about Chief Blackwell’s version of Mr. Gilliam’s slaying.

“We had no doubt about the integrity of Mr. Blackwell; now we question Mayor Levar Stoney’s integrity,” the letter reads. “Maybe it’s time for him to step down!”

Richmond For All, a member-driven political group, was among a host of organizations that weighed in. The group tweeted that the appointment of Chief Blackwell “reinforces what the public already know: Justice lies in the hands of the people not the police. Community oversight now.”

Meanwhile, John I. Dixon III, president of the Richmond Crusade for Voters and a former Petersburg Police chief and former Richmond officer, is hoping that Mayor Stoney’s plans for

reform are not derailed by the focus on the new chief’s past.

“I welcome the call for reform,” Mr. Dixon said. “What is needed is a change from the warrior mentality in the police to a guardian mentality. The calls for reform are sweeping the country and the world, and Richmond needs to be part of this movement.”

Mr. Dixon, who did not want to comment specifically on Chief Blackwell’s past, said the mayor correctly spotlighted the problem — that the police are being involved in too many areas, ranging from domestic abuse to drug treatment to mental health and homelessness.

“It is time for a change,” Mr. Dixon said.

RPS students, families celebrate at ‘different’ graduation ceremonies Continued from A1

Hallways leading to Armstrong’s auditorium were lined with orange and blue balloons — the school’s colors — and posters congratulating the Class of 2020.

Inside the mood-lit auditorium, the classic commencement song “Pomp and Circumstance” was playing softly in the background. Standing on the stage, in front of a banner bearing the orange and blue Armstrong Wildcat logo, was School Board Vice Chairwoman Cheryl Burke, a retired Chimborazo Elementary School principal, and Armstrong Principal Willie J. Bell Jr., who were ready to award 156 diplomas at the ceremony starting at 11 a.m.

Before each graduate walked down to the stage, his or her family was escorted to an area 6 feet from the stage, where they could view and capture the special moment on cell phone when their teenager completed a 12-year educational journey to begin the next phase toward the future.

The graduate and their family then were escorted out of the auditorium and

through Armstrong’s hallways, where a red carpet-style backdrop with the school’s logo was available for more family photos before they left the building.

New graduate Jada Wiggins, 18, who plans to attend J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College in nursing, said she thought commencement was cool, but added, “I would have liked to do this at the Altria Theater with the entire class.”

As Dalqan Washington’s mother Margo Richardson watched him with admiration, the 18-year-old Armstrong graduate said he was not really happy with the abbreviated ceremony brought on by the pandemic.

He said he preferred a regular graduation, but his mother said she was glad Armstrong even had a ceremony.

At Richmond Community High School, graduates and their parents lined up in front of the school on Brookland Park Boulevard before the ceremony’s start at 8 a.m.

Many families of the school’s 46 graduates were holding balloons and signs. About six or seven students and their families were allowed to enter the auditorium one at a

time, with the families seated in rows far apart as their students stood 6 feet apart in the back.

As their names were called, the graduates marched and ascended the stage where Principal Kenya Massenburg presented them their diplomas.

After one group was finished and escorted out, another group entered.

Students’ reactions to the ceremony varied.

Ayonden Coleman, 18, who will be attending Virginia Commonwealth University, said, “I have a lot of memories with my class, and it makes me sad because I can’t enjoy this full moment with them. It is not the best, but I am accepting of it.”

But Jakayla Collins, 18, who is headed to North Carolina Central University to study physics and engineering on a full scholarship, has another point of view.

“This was unexpected,” she said. “It was very difficult to process at first. But we are still getting our diplomas. It’s just different.”

Sen. McClellan announces her candidacy for governor Continued from A1

that have upended business as usual.

“We need to rebuild Virginia’s economy, restore health care and the social safety net and overcome the systematic inequities that we have been dealing with,” she said. “I am ready to lead Virginia forward through these crises,” said the 47-year-old Petersburg native who has long made Richmond her home and public service a mainstay of her life.

An attorney and married mother of two, Sen. McClellan said she is negotiating a leave of absence from Verizon, where she works as an assistant legal counsel.

Sen. McClellan hopes to become the state’s first female and the nation’s first African-American woman governor. She is the second Democratic candidate to officially announce her bid for the nomination, although others are waiting in the wings to jump in.

Prince William Delegate Jennifer Carroll Foy, also an African-American, declared her candidacy in late May. Lt. Gov. Justin E. Fairfax and former Gov. L. Douglas Wilder, the nation’s first elected African-American governor who served from 1990 to 1994, remain the only African-Americans elected to statewide office in Virginia.

Sen. McClellan served 11 years in the House of Delegates before winning a special election in January 2017 for the Senate

seat after former state Sen. A. Donald McEachin was elected to Congress.

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

Sen. McClellan was a leader in putting Virginia on the path to 100 percent clean energy by 2045 and providing stronger protections for pregnant workers.

She also was chief Senate sponsor on the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment, while Delegate Carroll Foy took the lead in the House.

Sen. McClellan led the effort to strengthen Obamacare by creating a state health care insurance exchange and in the expanding Medicaid that has led to health coverage for more than 430,000 adults who were not previously covered.

Sen. McClellan, who serves on the state Democratic steering committee, also has been engaged in racial justice issues as vice chair of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus and as chair of the Virginia Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Commission.

As chair of the King Commission, she is now engaged in bringing a new statue honoring emancipation and freedom to Brown’s Island and in marking the 150th anniversary of the 14th and 15th Amendments to the

U.S. Constitution that have been critical to protecting African-American rights.

On criminal justice, Sen. McClellan has been a leader in pushing parole reform and stopping the school-to-prison pipeline.

She also supports making the disciplinary history of police officers public and is supporting other police reforms that are expected to dominate an upcoming special session of the legislature in August.

In her view, the time is ripe to consider how resources are allocated for public safety and to focus more “resources on prevention and addressing underlying causes.”

Like other Virginia Legislative Black Caucus members, Sen. McClellan supports the removal of Confederate statues.

She noted conversations have begun on removing Confederate statues in Capitol Square and in the State Capitol.

Meanwhile, Democratic competitors are gathering. Former Gov. Terry McAuliffe is weighing running to succeed Gov. Ralph S. Northam. So are Lt. Gov. Fairfax and Attorney General Mark R. Herring.

Still, Sen. McClellan, like Delegate Carroll Foy, is undaunted. She said she has been flooded with expressions of support.

“This is not a time to sit on the sidelines,” she said. “Black women have been the backbone of our communities and our economy but have been relegated to the shadows or the back over the past 400 years.

But we’re going to keep pushing through to lead and keep striving for progress.”

Richmond Free Press

June 25-27, 2020

African Americans tend to have more severe forms of Parkinson’s disease.

And they’re less likely to seek treatment from movement specialists. If you or a loved one suffers from Parkinson’s disease, please contact VCU Parkinson’s and Movement Disorders Center today.

Parkinson’s Disease More than 500,000 people in the U.S. currently live with the disease.

For those 65 years or older, Parkinson’s disease affects one out of every 100 people. Less commonly, it can start as early as age 40 or younger.

Parkinson’s disease occurs when brain cells are damaged by a special protein called alpha-synuclein which collects in a deep part of the brain.

Symptoms: • • • •

Tremors Stiffness Difficulty walking Slowness of movement

Treatment for Parkinson’s disease:

•

VCU’s Parkinson’s and Movement Disorders Center offers access to: • • • • • •

•

Movement disorder neurologists and physician assistants Neuropsychologists Physical, occupational and speech therapy Social workers Imaging and laboratory services Treatment for other movement disorders such as tremors, dystonia, ataxia, restless legs syndrome, tic disorders and Huntington’s disease Opportunities to participate in cutting-edge clinical research studies

• •

Exercise, healthy diet and drinking plenty of water Physical, occupational and speech therapy Medications and procedures that fit your unique symptoms. Options include but are not limited to: · Carbidopa/levodopa · Dopamine agonists · MAO-B inhibitors · DBS surgery

To schedule an appointment call 804-360-4669. © 2020 VCU Health. All rights reserved. Sources: National Center for Biotechnology Information; Boston University School of Medicine; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society; Medtronic; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

A5

Richmond Free Press

A6 June 25-27, 2020

Local News

Mr. Hill

Mr. Robinson

Ms. Randolph

Mr. Mitchell

Mr. Boone

Mr. Wilder

Who should be on Monument Avenue?

By Ronald E. Carrington

Who should go on the pedestals along Monument Avenue once the Confederate statues are removed?

The answers, offered recently by Richmonders, range from local legal icons in the 20th century struggle for civil rights to men and women of color who have contributed to the community, to reserving the space for fountains, reflection and conversations.

Legals scholars and practitioners Oliver W. Hill Sr. and Spottswood W. Robinson III, who laid the foundation for the celebrated Brown v.

Board of Education decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1954 ending the racially discriminatory doctrine of “separate but equal,” should be honored on Monument Avenue, according to a proposal by the Oliver Hill Sr. Foundation.

J. Maurice Hopkins, president of the foundation, said he has been advocating for more than five years to have a statue of Mr. Hill replace the one of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. Gov. Ralph S. Northam announced June 4 that the 12-ton statue of Lee, which is owned by the state and has long been a symbol of white supremacy and division, will be removed.

Similarly, Mayor Levar M. Stoney and the unanimous members of City Council have said they will start the process on July 1 to remove

the four other city-owned statues honoring Confederates on Monument Avenue.

Plans for their removal are advancing despite lawsuits and a Richmond judge’s injunction blocking it for now.

Mr. Hopkins said he has submitted the foundation’s proposal to Gov. Northam and Lt. Gov. Justin E. Fairfax for consideration.

“Having Mr. Hill’s statue in that location is very appropriate because the social justice aspect of his life is ideal for Virginia,” Mr. Hopkins said.

“It would also be appropriate to include Spottswood Robinson because he is a part of Mr. Hill’s legacy,” he added.

Others, including a Richmond historian and families with long and deep ties in the community, want to see African-Americans replace the current statues that glorify slavery and the oppression of Black people.

Dr. Lauranett L. Lee, a public historian and visiting lecturer at the University of Richmond, was a member of the mayor’s Monument Avenue Commission that recommended in July 2018 that the statue of Confederate President Jefferson Davis be removed from Monument Avenue and contextual signs be added to the rest.

Protesters pulled down the statue of Jefferson Davis on June 10.

“Why do we have to have just men?” Dr.

Lee asked when queried about whose statue should replace the Confederates.

She said although she understands what the statues mean to African-Americans, she is ambivalent about their removal because “I know what it feels like to have your history erased, denigrated or removed,” the historian says. “I would not wish that on anyone.”

However, she named a variety of women from Richmond and Virginia that could replace the Confederate monuments, including Virginia Estelle Randolph, a brilliant educator whose system of upgraded vocational education was replicated across the country and parts of Africa.

A school in Henrico County is named for her.

Dr. Lee also suggested Mary Peake, who was born in Norfolk in 1823. Ms. Peake was a dedicated educator and creator of a school under the Emancipation Oak located on Hampton University’s campus that began in September 1861 for African-American adults to attend in the evenings.

“Women are very underrepresented in the public space,” Dr. Lee said. “There are a number of women who have done tremendous work to advance, not only African-Americans, but Virginia history.”

She also suggested statues of crusading journalists be placed on Monument Avenue – John Mitchell Jr., editor of the Richmond Planet

newspaper in the late 1800s and the early 1900s, and Raymond H. Boone Sr., the late founder and publisher of the Richmond Free Press.

“They were journalists who got news out to Black people that otherwise wouldn’t be published,” Dr. Lee said.

Carmen Foster, a Richmond historian and leadership coach, asked why statues of people need to be erected on those spaces. She believes they should become a public space containing a healing, peaceful sculpture or water fountain or possibly a meditative space for spiritual solace and introspection. The public could interact there and share their perspectives in a safe environment, she said.

“What type of symbols do we have that go beyond individual ideologies and reveal the nature of the healing spirit?” she asked. “Richmond needs to honor something deeper and more powerful than fighting battles.”

James E. “J.J.” Minor III, president of the Richmond Branch NAACP, said Richmond needs a symbol of justice on Monument Avenue.

However, “I prefer to see statues of people representing justice — Oliver Hill, Henry Marsh and former Gov. Douglas Wilder and a few others — on Broad Street, where there is more traffic,” he said. “They helped to change the climate in Richmond, the capital of the Confederacy, as well as the state.”

City attorney cautions officials against any emergency order to remove Confederate statues

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

Calls for City Hall to remove the last three city-owned Confederate statues on Monument Avenue before people are injured or killed trying to pull them down appeared to die this week after Interim City Attorney Haskell C. Brown III cautioned that city officials and any contractors hired to do the work could face felony charges.

The issue of emergency action to remove the statues arose after protesters attempted to pull down the statue of Confederate Gen. J.E.B. Stuart at Monument Avenue and Lombardy Street

Sunday night. Police thwarted the protesters actions.

Court action continues to block Gov. Ralph S. Northam’s effort to remove the state-owned statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee on Monument Avenue. But City Council is poised to use its new authority on Wednesday, July 1, to legally remove the cityowned statues of Confederates, including those of Gen. Stuart, Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson and Matthew Fontaine Maury, on Monument Avenue.

Two City Council members, Stephanie A. Lynch, 5th District, and Michael J. Jones, 9th District, began the push for emergency removal following the Sunday night battle over the

City Council starts process to rename Lee Bridge and other Confederate memorials

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

Legal tangles continue to block removal of state-owned statues honoring Confederate Robert E. Lee on Monument Avenue and in the State Capitol.

But Richmond City Council took the first step Monday night toward stripping the slavery-defending general’s name from a key bridge over the James River — the first legal step in removing Confederate symbols, names and memorials that litter the city.

In a unanimous vote, the council approved 5th District Councilwoman Stephanie A. Lynch’s resolution instructing Lenora Reid, the city’s interim chief administrative officer, to start a renaming process that would include the public.

Other steps could quickly follow.

Councilwoman Reva M. Trammell, 8th District, who is recuperating from an injury and did not participate, has submitted a renaming resolution for the portion of U.S. 1 in South Side known as Jefferson Davis Highway, in tribute to the former Confederate president.

That resolution is considered likely to pass on Monday, July 27. Ms. Trammell is calling for that stretch of road to be renamed Richmond Highway.

The council also is considering meeting at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, July 1, to introduce legislation to remove the remaining Confederate statues the city owns. The late-night/early-morning meeting would come just a minute after a new state law goes into effect allowing local governments to take down such statues.

Councilman Michael J. Jones, 9th District, is teaming with Mayor Levar M. Stoney on the legislation.

Ahead of the legislation, Richmond protesters already have toppled three Confederate statues, including the Jefferson Davis statue on Monument Avenue.

Ms. Lynch said she has received calls from people urging elimination of Confederate names from public honor. She cited an African-American constituent who has always wondered why the city would name the bridge for a traitorous general.

The bridge was dedicated to Gen. Lee when it opened in 1934, and the council made no move to rename it when a new bridge replaced it in 1989.

In other business, City Council authorized the Stoney administration to market the former Public Safety Building on 9th Street near City Hall.

The city hopes to issue requests for proposals from developers and plans to

begin negotiations with a private group that proposes replacing the aging and decaying building with a 17-story, mixed-use, taxable development that would provide medical offices for Virginia Commonwealth University and space for two hotels to serve relatives of those undergoing treatment at the hospital.

Also, the council voted 6-1, with one abstention, to approve regulations for hotellike short-term rentals of housing.

Dr. Jones abstained. Ms. Lynch cast the lone vote against the ordinance that allows homeowners to secure a permit to rent their primary residence to visitors. Ms. Lynch objected to the fact that investors who have bought homes and converted them to short-term rentals could be wiped out.

They could not legally operate such properties without obtaining a special use permit, city officials said.

By some estimates, as much as 80 percent of current short-term rentals are owned and managed by investors who have converted single-family homes.

Councilman Chris A. Hilbert, 3rd District, voted for the measure despite being disappointed that owners who rent their property would not have to pay transient lodge tax to the city as hotels and motels now do.

Stuart statue that led to police tear-gassing protesters and arresting six people.

Their push came after five other statues have been toppled, including the latest Saturday night at a park on Meadow Street in The Fan that paid tribute to Virginia soldiers who fought in the Revolutionary War. Others ripped down by protesters include the statue of Confederate President Jefferson Davis on Monument Avenue and one of explorer Christopher Columbus in Byrd Park.

In a letter, Dr. Jones and Ms. Lynch wrote the city attorney asking about the legal authority to act under emergency authority.

“Protesters have clearly shown they are willing to take the removal of those statues into their own hands. There is a risk of injury in an attempt to damage or remove the remaining monuments,” they wrote.

But at a council session Monday night, Mr. Brown said he could find no way around the current law that makes it a criminal offense to remove the statues. On July 1, the law changes, allowing localities to make that decision. He said City Council needed to ask Richmond Commonwealth’s Attorney Colette W. McEachin if she would charge people should such emergency removal take place.

During the meeting, council members made no effort to get in touch with Mrs. McEachin. She has not publicly commented.

Mr. Brown also suggested the city seek authority from Gov. Northam to remove the statues under his emergency authority and via an executive order.

However, when asked by Ms. Lynch about emergency authority, Mr. Brown said neither the mayor or his administration has authority under the City Charter or state law to declare a local emergency and that such a declaration would not meet the criteria to remove the statues.

He did not mention the state law on emergencies that allows local officials to declare an emergency with the consent of the governing body.

Mayor Levar M. Stoney said his administration is still exploring ways of gaining legal authority to remove the statues immediately.

Meanwhile, Richmond Circuit Court Judge Bradley B. Cavedo last week threw out a lawsuit seeking to block removal of the Lee statue. The suit was filed by a descendant of people who donated the land on which the statue stands to the state.

Judge Cavedo ruled that the descendant, William Gregory, had no rights to the land and thus no right or standing to sue.

Still, he gave Mr. Gregory time to file an amended complaint and set a new hearing for Thursday, July 23, to consider the matter again. Judge Cavedo also extended his temporary injunction blocking removal of the Lee statue until then.

All the loving comfort of home.

AT IMPERIAL PLAZA, OUR PRIORITY IS UNWAVERING ATTENTION

With care that goes above

• Monitoring of staff according to CDC recommendations

and beyond.

TO OUR RESIDENTS’ HEALTH.

• Medication delivery and administration to our residents • On-site assistance available 24/7 UNCERTAIN TIMES CALL FOR CERTAIN CARE — AND A COMMUNITY THAT’S WARM, ENGAGING AND CONNECTS WITH YOU.

TO LEARN MORE OR TO TAKE A VIRTUAL TOUR, VISIT IPSENIORLIVING.COM INDEPENDENT LIVING • ASSISTED LIVING • MEMORY CARE I P S E N I O R L I V I N G .CO M • 8 0 0. 8 41 .72 5 0 1 7 1 7 B e l l ev u e Ave n u e • R i ch m o n d , VA 23 227

Richmond Free Press

June 25-27, 2020 A7

DON’T WAIT FOR A STORM TO PREPARE. Create an emergency kit with flashlights, batteries, cleaning supplies and face coverings.

Prepare a first-aid kit with bandages, anti-bacterial wipes, over-thecounter medications, and prescription medications.

Remember to carry your healthcare information with you and to prepare your medical devices, especially if you are disabled or elderly.

Prepare a supply of water and non-perishable food.

Charge your phone and other electronic devices fully before the storm arrives.

Make sure your contact information is updated at DominionEnergy.com so that we have a way to get in touch with you.

Follow us on and and bookmark the interactive power outage map at DominionEnergy.com to report and track your outage.

Download the Dominion Energy App to track restoration efforts and report outages quickly.

For more tips, visit DominionEnergy.com/HurricanePrep.

A8 June 25-27, 2020

Richmond Free Press

Photo Feature

Protests continue

Reginia H. Boone/Richmond Free Press

Hundreds gather for a Juneteenth candlelight vigil in front of the former monument to Confederate President Jefferson Davis, whose statue already has been torn down. The display capped the all-day celebration of the liberation of slaves on Friday, June 19. R&B singer Trey Songz was among the participants in the candlelight event that began at the Lee statue and culminated at the Davis monument.

Right, a traffic cone is propped on the head of Confederate Gen. J.E.B. Stuart and a rope is around his neck Monday, evidence of the Sunday night effort to pull him off his pedestal at Lombardy Street and Monument Avenue. Richmond and State Police used tear gas and other means to stop the protesters from taking the statue down.

Regina H. Boone/Richmond Free Press

Front porch lights along Monument Avenue offer a glimpse of the crowd around the J.E.B. Stuart statue around 9 p.m. Sunday. The gathering included people trying to topple the statue.

Regina H. Boone/Richmond Free Press

Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press

This scene shows two of the six people that police officers arrested for failing to leave the area of the J.E.B. Stuart statue after an unlawful assembly was declared.

Ninth District City Councilman Michael J. Jones sought to negotiate with the officers, but police ultimately used tear gas and pepper spray to disperse the crowd.

Left, R&B singer Trey Songz of Petersburg prays during a Juneteenth event at the Lee statue Friday, June 19. Below, from left, Mymy Hardon, Joel Charles and Amira Jones hold candles during a vigil at the Lee statue to help close out the program at the daylong celebration of the liberation from slavery.

Right, 8-year-old London Miles stands on the stairs of the Lee monument and carrying a sign with the slogan “Black Kids Matter” at the event.

Photos by Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press

Regina H. Boone/Richmond Free Press

Cyclists participating in the Black Lives Matter Father’s Day Bike Ride pause to take a group picture Sunday in front of the Lee statue during the ride through the city. The Urban Cycling Group and R&B singer Trey Songz organized the unifying event that drew hundreds to ride peacefully through the city.

7 7

8 8

Richmond Free Press

June 25-27, 2020 A9

Local News

9 9

Virginia to enter Phase Three of reopening on July 1 10 10 report Free Press staff, wire

Restrictions on businesses and public gatherings across the state will be further relaxed beginning Wednesday, July 1, as Virginia moves into Phase Three of its reopening plan during 11 11 the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gov. Ralph S. Northam announced the coming change during a news conference on Tuesday, saying trends related to cases of COVID-19, hospitalizations and other key health metrics were moving in the right direction.

12 “It is in all of our hands as we move 12 forward,� Gov. Northam said, reminding those present and watching to be mindful of social distancing, wearing masks and taking other precautions against the coronavirus. “If we can continue to do that, I think our numbers will continue to trend favorably.�

13 Under Phase Three, restaurants and 13 non-essential retail stores would no longer have to limit indoor capacity to 50 percent of what their space can hold but would still have to keep customers 6 feet apart.

Gyms could14go from 30 percent capacity to 75 percent, 14 and social gatherings of up to 250 people would be allowed. Outdoor swimming pools could operate with fewer restrictions at 75 percent of their normal Gov. Northam capacity.

15 15 Recreation and entertainment venues such as movie theaters and zoos may operate at 50 percent occupancy, or a maximum of 1,000 people, while certain “high-contact� entertainment venues remain closed in Phase Three.

Gov. Northam, who is a physician, said Virginians are 16 still “safer at home,� especially if 16 they are elderly or have underlying health conditions that make them more vulnerable to COVID-19. “I want to reiterate that everyone should continue to take this pandemic very seriously. Cases are on the rise in many 17 other states. ... I do not want to see 17 that happen in our Commonwealth,� he said.

Social distancing and teleworking are still recommended whenever possible, and the requirement that individuals wear face coverings in indoor public settings will continue, he added.

18 18 The governor also said he expects Richmond and Northern Virginia to move into Phase Three with the rest of the state.

Those areas previously requested and were granted delays in other stages of reopening, but he said they had not made such a request this time.

19 19 Gov. Northam also announced late last week that the Virginia Department of Health will now identify on its website the nursing homes in the state that have had a coronavirus outbreak.

The move was a significant reversal from when Gov. Northam previously stated that releasing the information could violate 20 20 the privacy of patients.

However, he noted in a news release that the spread of the virus in Virginia at this point would not compromise anonymity or keep the facilities from participating in public health investigations.

21 21

State officials also cited state code in the past that labeled these facilities as “people� when it comes to not disclosing this information, a consideration that no longer seems to be a concern for the administration.

According to state health department data, deaths from COVID-19 in long-term care facilities make up 60 percent of Virginia’s total virus-related deaths.

The Virginia Department of Health on Wednesday reported 59,514 total cases of COVID-19, 5,955 hospitalizations and 1,661 deaths. African-Americans make up 18.7 percent of the positive cases and 23.1 percent of the deaths in which racial and ethnic data are available, while Latinos make up 45.3 percent of the positive cases and 11.3 percent of the deaths.

COVID-19 testing sites

COVID-19 Public Testing Sites COVID-19 Public Testing Sites In addition to free community testing sites, COVID-19 testing is offered at health clinics, urgent care centers and drug store If you have a primary care provider, contact them to see if they offer testing for patients. The practices below are offering testing for NEW patients.

Ifclinics you have a primary care contact them see if they offerprovided testing for by patients.

The practices are offering testing for NEW patients. throughout the provider, Richmond area.

Theto chart below, the Richmond andbelow Henrico County health districts, lists &RQWDFW WKH SUDFWLFH IRU PRUH LQIRUPDWLRQ RQ WKHLU VSHFLÂżF WHVWLQJ FULWHULD DQG WR VHH LI WKH\ WDNH \RXU LQVXUDQFH &RQWDFW WKH SUDFWLFH IRU PRUH LQIRUPDWLRQ RQ WKHLU VSHFLÂżF WHVWLQJ FULWHULD DQG WR VHH LI WKH\ WDNH \RXU LQVXUDQFH

details about insurance and self-pay options at those sites. For specifics, contact the clinic directly.

Name of Name of Practice Practice AFC Urgent AFC Urgent Care Care

Better Med Better Med Urgent Care Urgent Care

Capital Area Capital Area Health Network Health Network (CAHN) (CAHN)

CVS Minute CVS Minute Clinic Clinic

Daily Planet Daily Planet Health Services Health Services

Good Health Good Health Express Express Health Brigade Health Brigade KidMed KidMed Pediatric Pediatric Urgent Care Urgent Care MedExpress MedExpress Urgent Care Urgent Care Patient First Patient First Urgent Care Urgent Care Patterson Patterson Avenue Family Avenue Family Practice Practice

Type Practice Type Practice / Populations / Populations Served Served

Registration Registration

Insurance Insurance

Testing Locations, Hours, and Phone Number Testing Locations, Hours, and Phone Number

Private Urgent Private Urgent Care: general Care: general public public

Make appointment ahead of time.

Make appointment ahead of time.

Drive-through testing by appointDrive-through testing by appointment only. ment only.

Ć” Richmond/Henrico: 804-376-9613 (everyday, Ć” Richmond/Henrico: 804-376-9613 (everyday, 8AM-5PM) 8AM-5PM) Ć” 0LGORWKLDQ &KHVWHUÂżHOG Ć” 0LGORWKLDQ &KHVWHUÂżHOG (everyday, 9AM-4PM) (everyday, 9AM-4PM)

Private Urgent Private Urgent Care: general Care: general public public

Make appointment ahead of time.

Make appointment ahead of time.

Call preferred location by phone Call preferred location by phone or register online at https://www. or register online at https://www. bettermedcare/com/ bettermedcare/com/

Federally Federally 4XDOLÂżHG +HDOWK 4XDOLÂżHG +HDOWK Network: general Network: general public, uninsured public, uninsured

Make appointment ahead of time.

Make appointment ahead of time.

Call to make a televist appointCall to make a televist appointment. Patients will be seen by a ment. Patients will be seen by a clinician who will schedule followclinician who will schedule followup testing as needed. up testing as needed.

Must do online assessment and Must do online assessment and registration ahead of time. Must registration ahead of time. Must have at least one symptom or risk have at least one symptom or risk factor. Drive-through only. Must do factor. Drive-through only. Must do nasal self-swab. Do not need to nasal self-swab. Do not need to be a documented citizen or have be a documented citizen or have a social security number. Register a social security number. Register using this link: https://www.cvs. using this link: https://www.cvs. com/minuteclinic/covid-19-testing com/minuteclinic/covid-19-testing

Ć” Accepts most major private insurances, Ć” Accepts most major private insurances, Medicaid, and Medicare Medicaid, and Medicare Ć” Does not accept Cigna Connect Ć” Does not accept Cigna Connect Ć” AFC will charge a co-pay at the visit Ć” AFC will charge a co-pay at the visit Ć” For self-pay cost is $180 for in person and Ć” For self-pay cost is $180 for in person and $75 for televist $75 for televist Ć” Accepts most major private insurances and Ć” Accepts most major private insurances and Medicare Medicare Ć” Will charge a co-pay at visit Ć” Will charge a co-pay at visit Ć” For self-pay, cost is about $300 for exam and Ć” For self-pay, cost is about $300 for exam and lab testing lab testing Ć” Call 804-639-7555 for more info on insurance Ć” Call 804-639-7555 for more info on insurance and billing and billing Ć” Accepts most major private insurances, Ć” Accepts most major private insurances, Medicare, Medicaid, and has self- pay options Medicare, Medicaid, and has self- pay options

Private Urgent Private Urgent Care/ Care/ Pharmacy: Pharmacy: general public general public

Federally Federally 4XDOLÂżHG 4XDOLÂżHG Health Center: Health Center: uninsured, priority uninsured, priority populations populations Private Urgent Private Urgent Care: Bon Care: Bon Secours, general Secours, general public public Free Clinic: Free Clinic: Uninsured Uninsured Private Urgent Private Urgent Care: general Care: general public ages 0-26 public ages 0-26

Private Urgent Private Urgent Care: general Care: general public public

Only accepts new patients who are Only accepts new patients who are homeless, live or work in a shelter, homeless, live or work in a shelter, are seen by other safety net are seen by other safety net partners, or are uninsured. Must partners, or are uninsured. Must make appointments ahead of time make appointments ahead of time )LUVW FRPH ÂżUVW VHUYH 'ULYH )LUVW FRPH ÂżUVW VHUYH 'ULYH thru testing only. Call for more thru testing only. Call for more information. information. )LUVW FRPH ÂżUVW VHUYH :DON XS )LUVW FRPH ÂżUVW VHUYH :DON XS only. only.

)LUVW FRPH ÂżUVW VHUYH 'ULYH WKUX )LUVW FRPH ÂżUVW VHUYH 'ULYH WKUX testing only. testing only.

Make appointment ahead of time.

Make appointment ahead of time.

Private Urgent Private Urgent Care: general Care: general public public

Make appointment ahead of time.

Make appointment ahead of time.

Call preferred location by phone.

Call preferred location by phone.

Family Practice: Family Practice: Bon Secours, Bon Secours, general public general public

)LUVW FRPH ÂżUVW VHUYH 'ULYH )LUVW FRPH ÂżUVW VHUYH 'ULYH through testing only. Call for more through testing only. Call for more information. information.

Ć” Ć” Ć” Ć”

No cost for those that qualify No cost for those that qualify Accepts most private insurances, Medicaid, Accepts most private insurances, Medicaid, Medicare and covers uninsured Medicare and covers uninsured

All locations are open everyday, 8AM-6PM All locations are open everyday, 8AM-6PM Ć” Regency Square: 804-821-0010 Ć” Regency Square: 804-821-0010 Ć” Short Pump: 804-362-8345 Ć” Short Pump: 804-362-8345 Ć” Chester: 804-823-9260 Ć” Chester: 804-823-9260 Ć” Ashland: 804-537-2905 Ć” Ashland: 804-537-2905 Call 804-780-0840 for all locations Call 804-780-0840 for all locations Ć” Northside Medical Center: (M/W/Th 8AM-9PM, Ć” Northside Medical Center: (M/W/Th 8AM-9PM, Tu 8AM-5PM, F 8AM-7PM) Tu 8AM-5PM, F 8AM-7PM) Ć” Vernon J Harris Medical Center: (MondayĆ” Vernon J Harris Medical Center: (MondayFriday 8AM-5PM) Friday 8AM-5PM) Richmond: Richmond: Ć” 5001 W Broad St: 804-282-5421 Ć” 5001 W Broad St: 804-282-5421 Ć” 5001 Forest Hill Ave: 804-232-3333 Ć” 5001 Forest Hill Ave: 804-232-3333 Henrico: Henrico: Ć” 3001 Lauderdale Dr: 804-360-7598 Ć” 3001 Lauderdale Dr: 804-360-7598 Ć” 8820 W Broad St: 804-270-6433 Ć” 8820 W Broad St: 804-270-6433 Ć” 1205 N Laburnum Ave: 804-343-2012 Ć” 1205 N Laburnum Ave: 804-343-2012 &KHVWHUÂżHOG &KHVWHUÂżHOG Ć” 811 Forest Hill Ave: 804-320-7367 Ć” 811 Forest Hill Ave: 804-320-7367 Ć” 8121 Midlothian Tpke: 804-560-9481 Ć” 8121 Midlothian Tpke: 804-560-9481 Ć” 13180 Midlothian Tpke: 804-379-9060 Ć” 13180 Midlothian Tpke: 804-379-9060

Ć” Accepts uninsured and Medicaid Ć” Accepts uninsured and Medicaid

Ć” West Grace Health Center: 804-783-2505 Ć” West Grace Health Center: 804-783-2505 (Monday-Friday 8AM-4:30PM) (Monday-Friday 8AM-4:30PM)

Ć” Accepts Medicaid, Medicare, and most major Ć” Accepts Medicaid, Medicare, and most major private insurances private insurances Ć” Self-pay is $125 upfront and can charge up to Ć” Self-pay is $125 upfront and can charge up to $250 for visit and lab bill $250 for visit and lab bill Ć” Free testing for uninsured and spanishĆ” Free testing for uninsured and spanishspeaking communities speaking communities Ć” Accepts most private insurances and Ć” Accepts most private insurances and Medicaid.

Medicaid. Ć” Will charge a co-pay for private insurance Ć” Will charge a co-pay for private insurance

Ć” 9851 Brook Rd, Glen Allen, VA 23059: 804Ć” 9851 Brook Rd, Glen Allen, VA 23059: 804893-8702 (M-Sa, 8AM-5PM) 893-8702 (M-Sa, 8AM-5PM)

Ć” Accepts most major insurances, Medicare, Ć” Accepts most major insurances, Medicare, and select VA Medicaid plans and select VA Medicaid plans Ć” Will charge a co-pay for private insurance Ć” Will charge a co-pay for private insurance

Ć” Accepts most private insurances, Medicare, Ć” Accepts most private insurances, Medicare, and Medicaid and Medicaid Ć” No out of pocket cost for insured patients Ć” No out of pocket cost for insured patients Ć” For self-pay, cost is about $145 for exam and Ć” For self-pay, cost is about $145 for exam and lab testing lab testing Ć” Accepts Medicaid, Medicare, and most major Ć” Accepts Medicaid, Medicare, and most major private insurances private insurances Ć” Self-pay is $50 upfront and lab bill is $55 Ć” Self-pay is $50 upfront and lab bill is $55

Ć” 1010 N Thompson St, Richmond VA (Every Ć” 1010 N Thompson St, Richmond VA (Every Saturday 9AM-12PM, except 07/04) Saturday 9AM-12PM, except 07/04) Call 804-422-5437 for all locations.

Call 804-422-5437 for all locations.

All locations are open M-Fr 2PM-9PM and All locations are open M-Fr 2PM-9PM and Saturday-Sunday 10AM-6PM Saturday-Sunday 10AM-6PM Ć” Glen Allen (4687 Pouncey Tract Rd) Ć” Glen Allen (4687 Pouncey Tract Rd) Ć” Mechanicsville (8356 Bell Creek Rd) Ć” Mechanicsville (8356 Bell Creek Rd) Ć” Midlothian (5021 Craig Rath Blvd Building IV) Ć” Midlothian (5021 Craig Rath Blvd Building IV) Ć” Richmond/Henrico: 804-346-0927 (everyday, Ć” Richmond/Henrico: 804-346-0927 (everyday, 8AM-8PM) 8AM-8PM) All locations offer COVID-19 appointments between All locations offer COVID-19 appointments between 9AM-1PM and 2PM-6PM. 9AM-1PM and 2PM-6PM. Ć” Parham Center in Henrico/Richmond: 804-270Ć” Parham Center in Henrico/Richmond: 804-2702150 x5 2150 x5 Ć” Genito Center in Midlothian: 804-744-6310 x5 Ć” Genito Center in Midlothian: 804-744-6310 x5 Ć” 9600 Patterson Avenue: 804-741-6200 (M-F Ć” 9600 Patterson Avenue: 804-741-6200 (M-F 8AM-5PM; Saturday 8AM-2PM) 8AM-5PM; Saturday 8AM-2PM)

Virginia: Open with care.

COVID-19 isn’t over.

We’re making progress, but we can’t leave behind all the safety measures we’ve been taking. They’re working! That’s why, when you visit your local stores, restaurants, and places of worship, they’ll only allow in half as many people as before. And they need all of us to do our part to keep them safe.

Please continue to:

6 ft.

Wear a mask in public.

Stay 6 feet away from others.

Wash your # ) . *Č… )ŃŽ

Get tested if you’re sick!

More at vdh.virginia.gov, or call 2-1-1 for help with food, shelter or safety.

Richmond Free Press

Early bird catch in North Side

Editorial Page

A10

June 25-27, 2020

Disturbing We supported Mayor Levar M. Stoney’s call for the resignation of former Richmond Police Chief Will Smith.

But we were shocked when information surfaced last week that the newly appointed interim police chief, William “Jody” Blackwell, had been charged in a fatal officer-involved shooting of a man nearly two decades ago.

Even more disturbing is that Mayor Stoney has stated that he knew about Chief Blackwell’s record and appointed him anyway to head the Richmond Police Department as daily protests over police violence and abuse continue.

What was Mayor Stoney thinking?

Maybe during a different time, Chief Blackwell would be appropriate to lead the department. But tensions continue to escalate between police and large numbers of protesters in Richmond, who began taking to the streets after the horrendous Memorial Day killing of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police.

But the Richmond crowds have grown more and more angry in recent days, with videos showing police almost nightly pepper-spraying, tear-gassing, and firing rubber bullets into the demonstrators and once nearly running over protesters on bicycles with a police SUV. At least two City Council members who have witnessed the protests have called for police teargassing to end.

As city leaders make moves to bring people to the table for less inflamed discussions over changing policing, the new face of Richmond’s police leadership cannot be someone who was charged with involuntary manslaughter in an innocent man’s death.

Chief Blackwell had been on the Richmond Police force about four years when he stopped Jeramy O. Gilliam, who was walking in a Byrd Park neighborhood in July 2002, and asked him for his ID. According to media reports at the time, Chief Blackwell thought Mr. Gilliam was a suspect in a nearby robbery, although he did not fit the physical description of the robber. After a scuffle between the two men, Mr. Gilliam was shot in the back by then-Officer Blackwell and killed.

Chief Blackwell told investigators the shooting happened after Mr. Gilliam pointed a pistol at him.

There are questions about whether Mr. Gilliam’s fingerprints were on a gun found 35 feet away from where he was shot.

There were no witnesses and no police body cameras at the time. While Chief Blackwell was charged with involuntary manslaughter, a grand jury declined to indict him.

In a statement issued last week, Mr. Gilliam’s family said they were told at the time that the police officer involved, who had been put on administrative leave, was no longer on the police force. Since finding out in recent days that information was false, they, like others, also have called for Mayor Stoney to resign.

“What happened to Jeramy is no different than what happened to Rayshard Brooks in Georgia,” the family wrote. “There just was no one there to tape it.”

This is a cloud, not just over the chief, but over the entire Police Department and Mayor Stoney.

We call on Chief Blackwell and Mayor Stoney to address the issue publicly and to release to the public the transcript or record of any internal hearing or investigation of the 2002 shooting and any record of the proceedings leading up to Chief Blackwell being cleared of any wrongdoing.

During this time when police departments across the nation are under scrutiny for excessive force, violence, abuse and killings of unarmed African-Americans, we believe the people of Richmond deserve truth and transparency about the past so that real change can be made for the future.

It is important to build community trust going forward with the mayor’s “Roadmap for Public Safety Reform.” But all of the goals and objectives will be meaningless if the public sees no effort to fully acknowledge and address Chief Blackwell’s past.

During a brief news conference last week after his official appointment, Chief Blackwell refused to answer any questions about the 2002 fatal shooting.

He called it “a completely different situation,” saying, “We’re not going to go into any details associated with it because that’s not what we’re here for today.”

He has since turned down all media interviews and avoided any public appearances, including during last weekend’s historic Juneteenth celebrations around Richmond. He has not been out among the people or talking with protesters.

True leadership comes not with shrinking from mistakes, but by acknowledging them, learning from them and showing how this community will not suffer the same pitfalls in the future because new systems will be put in place.

If that can’t be done, then both Chief Blackwell and Mayor Stoney should go.

Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press

I stand with the ‘looters and lowlifes’

According to the Washington Post, the 45th president told 19,126 lies between his inauguration in January 2017 and June 1, 2020. By now, the number has likely edged toward 20,000, as his Tulsa “rally” last Saturday yielded dozens more.

This president has no allegiance to the truth, but that’s no surprise. Leading up to his ill-timed gathering amid the coronavirus, he projected he would have more than 1 million attendees. Instead, the Trump campaign could not even fill the 19,000-seat stadium. And because the Trump campaign has no one to blame but itself for its spotty turnout, No. 45 instead blamed “bad people,” the media and others.

The president’s bizarre bloviation was more evidence of his instability, but also illustrated his venom toward a sizeable portion of the people he purportedly represents. I was especially struck by his constant ridicule of “looters and lowlifes,” wondering if he comprehended the similarities between the behavior he would describe as that of “looters and lowlifes” with his conduct in office. Not only has he derided “looters and lowlifes,” but he

also has threatened to use the full force of federal law enforcement against people’s legal right to protest.

As soon as he uttered those threatening words, No. 45 was a looter who threatened the civil rights and civil liberties of lawful protesters who have legitimate complaints against nationwide police brutality.

Who’s looting who? If we carefully examine history, it is clear that Black people have been looted — defined as “stealing

Julianne Malveaux goods from a place, typically in a war or riot.” From my perspective, Black people have been at war with white supremacy forces as long as we have been on these shores. We have been subject to violence, exploitation, expropriation of fair compensation of our wages and further exploited through Jim Crow and other laws.

There are documented cases of looting Black communities— Wilmington, Tulsa and Rosewood — because of economic envy, plundering our homes, and then using the power of the majority media to turn a massacre into a “riot.” Accounts from a survivor of 1921 Tulsa document a massacre, not a riot.

All it took to light the match was Black men standing to

speak up for themselves. White folks could not stand Black selfdetermination or Black wealth.

They destroyed the thriving Greenwood community in 1921.

But Black men and women are still standing up for ourselves.

That’s why folks have taken it to the streets, protesting night after night, wearing shirts that read “Black Lives Matter” and “I Can’t Breathe.”

The protesters aren’t just Black folks. If you have a heart, it could not help but shatter a bit when you saw the inexcusable, murderous knee to George Floyd’s neck.

If I could have just 3 minutes with Mr. Trump, I’d like to ask him, “Who’s looting who?”

Losing tax dollars to support your decrepit lifestyle and multiple golf trips is looting. Taking money from public schools to help your pet private schools is stealing. Why don’t you think about the fire that ran people out of Greenwood, the broken windows that destroyed Black presses, the looting that has stolen Black wealth?

Then there is the term “lowlife.” The dictionary describes such folks as people who have “low social status” or “low moral character.”

So what kind of moral character does a man have who brags about grabbing women by their genitals? What kind of moral character does a man have who derides people because of their

Even for conservatives, no denying reality Too many white people on the right and left only want to listen to Black people who agree with them on everything.

The horrifying murders of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd have sparked unprecedented conversations about race in America on every imaginable platform. I have been touched by many white friends reaching out and asking about my experiences of being Black in America. But I also have been frustrated by how much of the conversation still seems to be dominated by white people both conservative and liberal.

Far too many of my Black friends and family members have experienced white people of all ideological stripes lecturing them on what they should feel and think.

Perhaps the most outrageous of these cases occurred when my good friend and mentor to countless conservatives—black, white, young and old—Kay Coles James, president of The Heritage Foundation, penned a thoughtful and balanced reflection on the current state of affairs in our nation.

Her words reflected what nearly every Black American conservative I know feels: We love our country, we refuse to use race as an excuse not to be and do our best, but we know America still has a race problem.

Tucker Carlson, who has a popular show on Fox News, responded to Mrs. James’ incredibly moving piece by accusing her on his television program of

penning “a long scream denouncing America as an irredeemably racist nation.” This is beyond absurd. Mrs. James wrote, “There is no other country like ours in the world—nothing compares to its greatness.” Like countless Black leaders before her, she was merely calling us to live up to America’s best ideals. And you can’t do that if you won’t acknowledge there’s a problem in the first place.

The work of healing America’s racial wounds is not done.

Rev. Dean Nelson Mrs. James has a responsibility, as not only the leader of America’s pre-eminent conservative think tank, but also as a Black female conservative, to speak out on difficult issues regarding race relations. But Mr. Carlson’s comments remind me that some on the right and left want to engage Black people in the “national conversation” only when those Black people are saying exactly what they want to hear. If you are a Black liberal, you’d better not challenge the liberal orthodoxy surrounding abortion or family structure. You will be canceled.

And if you are a Black conservative, you’d better not acknowledge that racism exists or plays any role in the challenges our nation faces today, or you will be denounced as an America-hater, no matter how many decades you have worked to make your country the best it can be.

The Black conservatives I know are not conservative because we think race is not a problem in this country. We are

conservative because we think that economic prosperity, limited government and strong families are best for all Americans, including Black Americans.

I enjoyed a very happy childhood in rural Fauquier County, Va., but I heard the N-word as a matter of course. There was a restaurant in our town that refused service to Black people well into the 1980s. As children, my cousin and I were chased into the woods by a white man with a gun.

As an adult, I have—like nearly every Black man in America—been pulled over by cops for no reason, as has my almost 19-year-old son. A white woman allowed her dog to bite me while I was jogging on a public sidewalk in my own neighborhood because she said I got too close to her. My daughter was falsely accused of shoplifting at 13. Like most, I could go on.

I want to clarify that my experiences have been very, very mild compared to those of many of my friends and relatives, and that I have never been traumatized or defined by them. I have raised my kids to love this country and to never use their race as an excuse for not working as hard as they can.

But I will not raise them to deny the realities they and their friends and relatives experience, nor do I want to leave them a world where Black people are only allowed in the conversation to the degree that we make people like Mr. Carlson comfortable.

The writer is chairman of the Douglass Leadership Institute, a nonprofit education and public policy organization based in Greenbelt, Md.

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.

race or gender? What kind of person calls people he disagrees with “sons of bitches?”

At 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., the house that enslaved people built, our tax dollars are housing the lowlife in chief. We have endured more than three years of this man’s venom, vituperation, name calling and contempt of the people who are merely exercising First Amendment rights by taking it to the streets.

Many of the so-called “looters and lowlifes” are descendants of enslaved people who have had enough. I stand with the looters and lowlifes, the people who, in the shadow of the poet Langston Hughes, ask “What happened to a dream deferred?” It explodes.

Since 1619, since 1865, since 1964, it has been exploding.

I stand with the looters and lowlifes and reject a man whose unfamiliarity with truth is a vexation, abomination and a despicable affront to decency.

The writer is an economist, educator and author.

Richmond Free Press 422 East Franklin Street Richmond, VA 23219 Telephone (804) 644-0496 FAX (804) 643-7519 Mailing Address: P.O. Box 27709 Richmond, VA 23261 ______________

Founder Raymond H. Boone President – Publisher Jean P. Boone

jeanboone@richmondfreepress.com

Managing Editor Bonnie V. Winston bonniewinston@richmondfreepress.com

Vice President – New Business Development Raymond H. Boone Jr.

jrboone@richmondfreepress.com

Vice President – News Enhancement Jeremy M. Lazarus

jeremylazarus@richmondfreepress.com

Vice President – Production April A. Coleman

aprilcoleman@richmondfreepress.com

Staff Writers Fred Jeter, Frances Crutchfield Hazel Trice Edney Photographers Sandra Sellars

sandrasellars@richmondfreepress.com

Regina H. Boone

reginaboone@richmondfreepress.com

James Haskins, Rudolph Powell and Clinton A. Strane ______________

Vice President – Administration Tracey L. Oliver traceyoliver@richmondfreepress.com

Advertising Traffic Coordinator Cynthia Downing advertising@richmondfreepress.com classifieds@richmondfreepress.com

Advertising Fax: (804) 643-5436 National Advertising Representative NNPA ______________

Distribution GouffyStyle LLC ______________

Richmond Free Press is published weekly by Paradigm Communications, Inc. Copies of the Richmond Free Press (one copy per person) are free of charge at outlets in the Richmond area. Back copies are available at the Free Press office at $3 per copy. Bulk orders can be made prior to any upcoming edition at special rates.

A Publication of PARADIGM COMMUNICATIONS, INC.

422 East Franklin Street Richmond, VA 23219 Telephone (804) 644-0496

Follow the Free Press on @FreePressRVA @RichmondFreePressUSA

Richmond Free Press

June 25-27, 2020 A11

Letters to the Editor

Put Confederate monuments in their place Flying or displaying a Confederate flag outside of a museum is a tacit acceptance of the evil that it represents — slavery, Jim Crow, bigotry, racism, and death, not to mention treason.

I believe in the principles of free speech.

Accordingly, I will defend someone’s right to own the flag and to display it, but I will not otherwise agree with them about it on any level.

Unspeakable acts continue to be committed under the banner of that flag, not just in this country’s history, but every day, right now.

I was born and raised in Richmond, aka “The

Cradle of the Confederacy.� I went to (Confederate Gen.) J.E.B. Stuart Elementary School. I spent my high school years living in Church Hill. My school bus during the week and my Mom’s car on the weekends had to drive past statue after statue of Confederate “heroes� on their horses. I regularly experienced us sharing the road with pickup trucks with the Confederate flag in the window just behind a rack of loaded shotguns. And yes, on at least one occasion, I actually heard someone utter the phrase “The South will rise again.�

Reminder of new laws taking effect July 1 or later The General Assembly passed hundreds of new laws earlier this year, most of which will go into effect on July 1.

Here are 10 laws that we should be aware of: 1. Possession of marijuana is still illegal in Virginia, but possession of a small amount is no longer criminal. Possession of 1 oz. or less of marijuana is now subject to no more than a $25 civil fine.

2. It is against the law to leave a loaded, unsecured firearm accessible to a child under the age of 14. Violation is a class one misdemeanor (up to 12 months in jail and/or a fine of up to $2,500).

3. Failure to report a lost or stolen firearm can result in a summons and a fine of no more than $250.

4. Richmond and other localities have been given authority to ban possession of firearms from public buildings, parks and recreation and community centers as long as there is clear notice to the public of the ban.

5. It is a class 6 felony (1 to 5 years imprisonment) for a person who is the subject of a protective order to possess a firearm while the protective order is in effect.

6. The threshold amount to charge a person with grand larceny has been raised from $500 to $1,000.

7. Custodial interrogation of a juvenile can take place only after law enforcement has attempted to notify the parent or guardian that the juvenile is in custody, except in limited circumstances.

8. The charge of disorderly conduct cannot be brought against any student at an elementary or secondary school if the behavior occurred on school property, on a school bus or during a school sponsored activity.

9. Previously, it was assumed that it was reckless driving if you drove more than 80 mph on the highway. That speed has now been increased to 85 mph.

10. Using a cell phone while you are driving a moving vehicle currently is against the law in the City of Richmond. It is a

Field Day for ham radio operators On June 27 and 28, thousands will be involved in the American Radio Relay League Field Day. Because of the pandemic, more than 40,000 licensed amateur radio operators will set up their temporary stations or operate from their home stations during a virtual ARRL Field Day. During this event, manufacturers show off new technologies — either equipment, antennas or other interesting items — and actively communicate with other operators via their sophisticated equipment.

One key function of amateur radio is theAmateur Radio Emergency Service, or ARES, that has stood against major catastrophes such as dangerous weather events or during Sept. 11, 2001. Ham operators, a nickname amateur radio operators have had since 1909, engage in delivering urgent communications throughout the United States from one licensed operator to another, many of whom can operate on emergency generators if necessary.

For more information on amateur radio, visit arrl.org, and on Field Day at www.arrl.org/ field-day.

DAVE MINYARD Vienna

primary offense, which means that a police officer can conduct a traffic stop for that offense alone. The penalty for a first offense is $125 and $250 for a second or subsequent offense. “Hands free� cell phone usage will be required throughout the

state as of Jan. 1, 2021.

COLETTE WALLACE McEACHIN Richmond The writer is the commonwealth’s attorney for the city of Richmond.

‘Cut losses and ties’ with Washington team

Re: “Washington NFL team to skip training in Richmond,�

Free Press June 18-20 edition: I love watching the Washington pro football team practice here in Richmond. It might be a blessing in disguise that they will not be coming this year.

When they were here, I would ask certain businesses if they were receiving a big bump from the team being here, and almost every time, the answer would be “no.� The revenue was not pouring in as was projected.

Diversity also was not being displayed, with only two—and sometimes only one — Black vendor inside the stadium.

This type of good ol’ boy network of letting your business friends inside the stadium should have been stopped. Richmond is a diverse city and this type of favoritism with vendors, etc., does not sit well with me.

My solution? If the team is not interested in equaling the playing field for more minority participation, then they can stay up there in D.C. Richmond taxpayers deserve better. The money that was being handed out by the city to the Washington team can now transition to help the city schoolchildren, youths and homeless people who many people have forgotten. I know we will get more bang for the buck if we follow this course of action.

I know more fanfare comes when you bring a professional team to a city for the summer to practice. But enough of the fanfare.

The City of Richmond should cut its losses and ties with the team.

It is now time to invest in a sure thing – the people.

ERNEST PARKER JR. Richmond

Inequality and racism was visible and evident. I saw it meted out against family, friends, acquaintances and strangers. Thankfully, I was sheltered and well-educated by my family about civil rights, racism and other issues of social injustice. Many of the battles of the 1960s had been fought and won by the time I attended elementary, middle and high school in Richmond. Schools were integrated by then, by both students and teachers. I received an excellent public education and was taught by amazing teachers of many races.

Accordingly, I was somewhat prepared to deal with the subtle and not so subtle lingering vestiges of racism and inequality that came with living in a city where some folks valued the city’s Confederate legacy more highly than the lives, rights and well-being of its Black residents.

My adopted state of California doesn’t get a pass either. I was rather amazed the first time that I saw a Confederate flag in California —

the first place, by the way, that I was called a “n‌.râ€? to my face, and where I am still, not infrequently, followed in stores by clerks and often notice women clutching their purses a little tighter in my presence. I contend that these types of microaggressions, as well as more overt and life-threatening aggressions, are born of this Confederate legacy.

I will shed no tears over the calls for accountability for those who would flaunt their “Godgiven� legacy, whether it be a Confederate flag or monument. It’s about time that every vestige of this legacy be relegated to its proper place — a museum, a documentary or history book — rather than celebrated and thrown in our faces.

If I never see another Confederate flag or monument in my lifetime, it will not be too soon.

PAM KELLY San Mateo, Calif.

Amended Public Notice RICHMOND CITY COUNCIL PUBLIC HEARING AMENDMENT TO THE 2016-2020 CONSOLIDATED PLAN & 2020-21 ANNUAL ACTION PLAN July 27, 2020 at 6:00 p.m.

In accordance with HUD citizen participation requirements, a 30-day public comment period for the 2016-2020 Consolidated Plan and the proposed 2020-21 Annual Action Plan (City FY 2021) which began on May 7, 2020 has been extended until July 20, 2020.

)XUWKHUPRUH 5LFKPRQG &LW\ &RXQFLO ZLOO KROG D SXEOLF KHDULQJ RQ WKH &LW\¡V &RQVROLGDWHG Plan and its PY 2020 Annual Action Plan (City FY2021) on Monday July 27, 2020 at 6:00 p.m. (this is a change in date from previous notice, no public hearing was held on June 8, 2020) in Council Chambers located in City Hall, 900 E. Broad Street. The Richmond City Council will hold a public hearing on the 2020 Annual Action Plan and FY 2020-2021 budget for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), HOME Investment Partnership (HOME), Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG), and Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) programs.

The HOPWA funds are allocated to the City to administer for the Richmond-Petersburg MSA.

7KH 3ODQ ZLOO VHUYH DV D FRPSUHKHQVLYH SODQQLQJ GRFXPHQW GLVFXVVLQJ 5LFKPRQG¡V FRPPXQLW\ development and housing needs with particular emphasis on the provision of decent affordable housing, a suitable living environment, assisting and preventing homelessness, assisting special needs community, and the expansion of economic opportunities, particularly for low- and moderate-income persons.

Copies of the 2016-2020 Consolidated Plan and proposed 2020-21 Annual Action Plan are available for public review on request via e-mail, USPS deliver or reviewed on the Department of Housing and Community Development website. To request a copy, contact Daniel Mouer at daniel.mouer@richmondgov.com or by mail at the City of Richmond, Department of Housing & Community Development, 1500 E Main Street, Suite 400, Richmond VA 23219-3571. The City of Richmond does not discriminate on the basis of disability status in the admission of, or access to, or treatment in its federally assisted programs or activities. Virginia Relay Center TDD Users - 1-800-828-1120.

Citizens and interested persons are invited to give their views regarding the use of CDBG, HOME, ESG and HOPWA funds for the proposed Annual Action Plan. The City will arrange for reasonable accommodations for non-English speaking persons or those persons with visual, KHDULQJ RU PRELOLW\ LPSDLUPHQWV ZKHQ QRWLÀHG ZLWKLQ ÀYH EXVLQHVV GD\V RI WKH FORVH RI WKH public comment period. Submit comments and views in writing to: Daniel Mouer, Housing and Community Development Administrator, Housing and Community Development, 1500 E. Main Street, Suite 400, Richmond, VA 23219-3571 or by e-mail to daniel.mouer@richmondgov.com.

,EGAL .OTICE NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC OF AN APPLICATION BY VIRGINIA ELECTRIC AND POWER COMPANY D/B/A DOMINION ENERGY VIRGINIA FOR APPROVAL OF A RATE ADJUSTMENT CLAUSE RIDER S, VIRGINIA CITY HYBRID ENERGY CENTER CASE NO. PUR-2020-00102 •Virginia Electric and Power Company d/b/a Dominion Energy Virginia (“Dominionâ€?) has applied for approval to revise its rate adjustment clause, Rider S. •Dominion’s request represents an increase of $194,215,000 million annually, which would decrease the bill of a typical residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt hours per month by $0.23. •A Hearing Examiner appointed by the State Corporation Commission will hold a hearing in this case on December 15, 2020. •Further information about this case is available on the SCC website at: https://scc.virginia.gov/pages/Case-Information.

On June 1, 2020, Virginia Electric and Power Company d/b/a Dominion Energy Virginia (“Dominionâ€? or “Companyâ€?), pursuant to § 56-585.1 A 6 of the Code of Virginia (“Codeâ€?), ÂżOHG ZLWK WKH 6WDWH &RUSRUDWLRQ &RPPLVVLRQ Âł&RPPLVVLRQ´ DQ DQQXDO XSGDWH RI WKH &RPSDQ\ÂśV UDWH DGMXVWPHQW FODXVH 5LGHU 6 Âł$SSOLFDWLRQ´ 7KURXJK LWV $SSOLFDWLRQ WKH Company seeks to recover costs associated with the Virginia City Hybrid Energy Center (“VCHECâ€? or “Projectâ€?), a 600 megawatt nominal coal fueled generating plant and associated transmission interconnection facilities located in Wise County, Virginia.

In Case No. PUE-2007-00066, the Commission approved Dominion’s construction and operation of VCHEC and also approved a rate adjustment clause, designated Rider S, for Dominion to recover costs associated with the development of the Project. VCHEC became fully operational in 2012.

In this proceeding, Dominion has asked the Commission to approve Rider S for the rate year beginning April 1, 2021, and ending March 31, 2022 (“2021 Rate Year�). The two components of the proposed total revenue requirement for the 2021 Rate Year are the Projected Cost Recovery Factor and the Actual Cost True Up Factor. The Company is requesting a Projected Cost Recovery Factor revenue requirement of $198,535,000 and an Actual Cost True Up Factor revenue requirement of ($4,320,000). Thus, the Company is requesting a total revenue requirement of $194,215,000 for service rendered during the 2021 Rate Year.

For purposes of calculating the revenue requirement in this case, Dominion utilized an enhanced rate of return on common equity (“ROE�) of 10.2%. This ROE comprises a general ROE of 9.2% approved by the Commission in Case Nos. PUR-2017-00038 and PUR-2019-00050, plus a 100 basis point enhanced return applicable to a conventional coal generating station as described in § 56-585.1 A 6 of the Code.

If the proposed Rider S for the 2021 Rate Year is approved, the impact on customer bills would depend on the customer’s rate schedule and usage. According to Dominion, implementation of its proposed Rider S on April 1, 2021, would decrease the bill of a residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt hours per month by approximately $0.23. The Company indicates it has calculated the proposed Rider S rates in accordance with the same methodology as used for rates approved by the Commission in the most recent Rider S proceeding, Case No. PUR-2019-00088, with the exception that in this case the Company did not remove federal customers’ and retail choice customers’ load and usage for the purpose of designing rates.

7KLV $SSOLFDWLRQ LV RQH RI VL[ ÂżOLQJV 'RPLQLRQ PDGH RQ RU DERXW -XQH IRU UHFRYHU\ RI IXQGV UHODWHG WR FDSLWDO SURMHFWV ,I WKH UHYHQXH UHTXLUHPHQWV LQ WKHVH ÂżOLQJV DUH approved as proposed, the cumulative impact would be a monthly increase of approximately $0.96 for a residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt hours per month.

Interested persons are encouraged to review the Application and supporting documents for the details of these and other proposals.

7$.( 127,&( WKDW WKH &RPPLVVLRQ PD\ DSSRUWLRQ UHYHQXHV DPRQJ FXVWRPHU FODVVHV DQG RU GHVLJQ UDWHV LQ D PDQQHU GL྾HULQJ IURP WKDW VKRZQ LQ WKH $SSOLFDWLRQ DQG VXSSRUWLQJ GRFXPHQWV DQG WKXV PD\ DGRSW UDWHV WKDW GL྾HU IURP WKRVH DSSHDULQJ LQ WKH &RPSDQ\œV $SSOLFDWLRQ DQG VXSSRUWLQJ GRFXPHQWV A public hearing on the Application shall be convened on December 15, 2020, at 10 a.m., to receive the testimony of public witnesses and the evidence of the Company, any responGHQWV DQG WKH 6WD྾ )XUWKHU GHWDLOV RQ WKH KHDULQJ ZLOO EH SURYLGHG E\ VXEVHTXHQW &RPPLVVLRQ 2UGHU RU +HDULQJ ([DPLQHUœV 5XOLQJ The Commission has taken judicial notice of the ongoing public health emergency related to the spread of the coronavirus, or COVID-19, and the declarations of emergency issued at both the state and federal levels. In accordance therewith, all pleadings, briefs, or other documents required to be served in this matter should be submitted electronically to the extent authorized by 5 VAC 5-20-150, Copies and format RI WKH &RPPLVVLRQœV 5XOHV RI 3UDFWLFH DQG 3URFHGXUH ³5XOHV RI 3UDFWLFH´ &RQ¿GHQWLDO DQG ([WUDRUGLQDULO\ 6HQVLWLYH information shall not be submitted electronically and should comply with 5 VAC 5-20-170, &RQ¿GHQWLDO LQIRUPDWLRQ, of the Rules of Practice. For the duration of the COVID-19 HPHUJHQF\ DQ\ SHUVRQ VHHNLQJ WR KDQG GHOLYHU DQG SK\VLFDOO\ ¿OH RU VXEPLW DQ\ SOHDGLQJ RU RWKHU GRFXPHQW VKDOO FRQWDFW WKH &OHUNœV 2ྜFH 'RFXPHQW &RQWURO &HQWHU DW (804) 371-9838 to arrange the delivery.

Pursuant to 5 VAC 5-20-140, )LOLQJ DQG VHUYLFH RI WKH &RPPLVVLRQÂśV 5XOHV RI 3UDFWLFH WKH &RPPLVVLRQ KDV GLUHFWHG WKDW VHUYLFH RQ SDUWLHV DQG WKH &RPPLVVLRQÂśV 6WDŕľľ LQ WKLV PDWWHU VKDOO EH DFFRPSOLVKHG E\ HOHFWURQLF PHDQV 3OHDVH UHIHU WR WKH &RPPLVVLRQÂśV 2UGHU IRU 1RWLFH DQG +HDULQJ IRU IXUWKHU LQVWUXFWLRQV FRQFHUQLQJ &RQÂżGHQWLDO RU ([WUDRUGLQDULO\ Sensitive Information.

An electronic copy of the Company’s Application may be obtained by submitting a written request to counsel for the Company, Lisa R. Crabtree, Esquire, McGuireWoods LLP, Gateway Plaza, 800 East Canal Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219, or LCrabtree@mcguirewoods.com ,QWHUHVWHG SHUVRQV DOVR PD\ GRZQORDG XQRྜFLDO FRSLHV IURP WKH &RPPLVsion’s website: https://scc.virginia.gov/pages/Case-Information.

2Q RU EHIRUH 'HFHPEHU DQ\ LQWHUHVWHG SHUVRQ PD\ ÂżOH FRPPHQWV RQ WKH $SSOLFDWLRQ E\ IROORZLQJ WKH LQVWUXFWLRQV IRXQG RQ WKH &RPPLVVLRQÂśV ZHEVLWH https://scc.virginia. gov/casecomments/Submit-Public-Comments. All comments shall refer to Case No. PUR-2020-00102.

2Q RU EHIRUH 6HSWHPEHU DQ\ SHUVRQ RU HQWLW\ ZLVKLQJ WR SDUWLFLSDWH DV D UHVSRQGHQW LQ WKLV SURFHHGLQJ PD\ GR VR E\ ÂżOLQJ D QRWLFH RI SDUWLFLSDWLRQ 6XFK QRWLFH RI SDUWLFLpation shall include the email addresses of such parties or their counsel. The respondent simultaneously shall serve a copy of the notice of participation on counsel to the Company.

Pursuant to Rule 5 VAC 5-20-80 B, 3DUWLFLSDWLRQ DV D UHVSRQGHQt, of the Commission’s Rules of Practice, any notice of participation shall set forth: (i) a precise statement of the LQWHUHVW RI WKH UHVSRQGHQW LL D VWDWHPHQW RI WKH VSHFL¿F DFWLRQ VRXJKW WR WKH H[WHQW WKHQ NQRZQ DQG LLL WKH IDFWXDO DQG OHJDO EDVLV IRU WKH DFWLRQ $Q\ RUJDQL]DWLRQ FRUSRUDWLRQ RU government body participating as a respondent must be represented by counsel as required by Rule 5 VAC 5-20-30, &RXQVHO RI WKH 5XOHV RI 3UDFWLFH $OO ¿OLQJV VKDOO UHIHU WR &DVH No. PUR-2020-00102.

2Q RU EHIRUH 2FWREHU HDFK UHVSRQGHQW PD\ ¿OH ZLWK WKH &OHUN RI WKH &RPPLVVLRQ DQG VHUYH RQ WKH 6WD྾ WKH &RPSDQ\ DQG DOO RWKHU UHVSRQGHQWV DQ\ WHVWLPRQ\ DQG H[KLELWV E\ ZKLFK WKH UHVSRQGHQW H[SHFWV WR HVWDEOLVK LWV FDVH DQG HDFK ZLWQHVVœV WHVWLPRQ\ VKDOO LQFOXGH D VXPPDU\ QRW WR H[FHHG RQH SDJH ,Q DOO ¿OLQJV UHVSRQGHQWV VKDOO FRPSO\ with the Commission’s Rules of Practice, including 5 VAC 5-20-140, )LOLQJ DQG VHUYLFH; and 5 VAC 5-20-240, Prepared testimony and exhibits $OO ¿OLQJV VKDOO UHIHU WR &DVH 1R PUR- 2020-00102. $Q\ GRFXPHQWV ¿OHG LQ SDSHU IRUP ZLWK WKH 2ྜFH RI WKH &OHUN RI WKH &RPPLVVLRQ LQ WKLV GRFNHW PD\ XVH ERWK VLGHV RI WKH SDSHU ,Q DOO RWKHU UHVSHFWV H[FHSW DV PRGL¿HG E\ WKH &RPPLVVLRQœV 2UGHU IRU 1RWLFH DQG +HDULQJ DOO ¿OLQJV VKDOO FRPSO\ IXOO\ ZLWK WKH UHTXLUHPHQWV RI 9$& Copies and format, of the Commission’s Rules of Practice.

The Company’s Application, the Commission’s Rules of Practice and the Commission’s Order for Notice and Hearing may be viewed at: https://scc.virginia.gov/pages/Case-Information.

VIRGINIA ELECTRIC AND POWER COMPANY d/b/a DOMINION ENERGY VIRGINIA

T:11” S:10.5”

A12 June 25-27, 2020

Richmond Free Press

you’re summering in or celebrating out, catch music-themed movies, enjoy your favorite music networks, and stream top apps like Pandora, Music Choice and more right to your TV. This is what summer sounds like. And no matter what it brings, Xϛnity Black Film & TV has your soundtrack. Simple. Easy. Awesome.

Visit xϙnity.com/discovermore to learn more.

L

.9600

Restrictions apply. Not available in all areas. XŜnity TV service subscription required.

CLIENT

COMCAST

FILE NAME: CMCCO20037M12_11X21_BMM_RIchFreePress_v02.indd

T:21”

Celebrate all the legends and soon-to-be legendary music that heats up summer with Xϛnity. This Black Music Month, whether

S:20.5”

Let the summer play.

Richmond Free Press

June 25-27, 2020 A13

Sports

FBI finds no hate crime in old noose in Bubba Wallace’s NASCAR garage Free Press wire report

TALLADEGA, Ala. NASCAR went to Talladega Superspeedway last weekend on heightened alert after Bubba Wallace, its only Black driver, took on an active role in a push for racial equality.

Wallace had successfully called for the ban of the Confederate flag and received threats. Fans paraded past the main entrance of the Alabama track on Sunday displaying the flag, and a plane circled above the speedway pulling a Confederate flag banner that read “Defund NASCAR.” So NASCAR moved quickly Sunday when one of Wallace’s crew members discovered a rope shaped like a noose in his garage stall. The sanctioning body called in federal authorities, who ruled Tuesday the rope had been hanging there since at least last October and was not a hate crime.

U.S. Attorney Jay Town and FBI Special Agent in Charge Johnnie Sharp Jr. said the investigation determined “nobody could have known Mr. Wallace would be assigned” to that same stall. NASCAR said it was the lone garage stall with a pull down rope that resembled a noose.

NASCAR has defended its reaction and insisted it would call the FBI again. Wallace said there is no confusion and the rope had been fashioned into a noose.

“I wanted to make sure this wasn’t just a knot,” Wallace said on CNN. “It was a noose. Whether it was tied

Brad Burgess

in 2019 ... it is a noose.”

Wallace never saw the rope. He said NASCAR President Steve Phelps came to see him Sunday night at the track with “tears running down his face.”

“The evidence he brought to me was that a hate crime has been committed,” said Wallace, who instantly began to fear for the safety of his family.

Even after the FBI concluded that it was not a hate crime, Wallace remained angry at what he perceives as constant tests of his character. He holds no ill will toward NASCAR. “I stand behind Steve and I stand behind NASCAR,” he said. “NASCAR was worried about Talladega. We had that one circled on the radar with everything going on.”

Wallace, a 26-year-old native of Mobile, Ala., took center stage at the Martinsville Speedway in Southside Virginia on June 10 when he publicly showed his support of the sweeping global movement calling for an end to police violence and for racial justice by wearing a shirt that read “I Can’t Breathe” over his firesuit. His No. 43 car also sported the words Black Lives Matter.

Wallace said NASCAR assigned him two sheriff’s deputies for security at Martinsville after he called for the ban on Confederate flags. He said in a tweet earlier this week after the noose incident that he has found support among fellow drivers for his stance on banning the flag.

“Our sport has made a commitment to driving real change and champion-

Jesse Dark

Gerald Henderson

Steve Helber

Driver Bubba Wallace waits for the start of a NASCAR Cup Series auto race June 10 in Martinsville.

ing a community that is accepting and welcoming of everyone,” he wrote on social media. “Nothing is more important and we will not be deterred by the reprehensible actions of those who seek to spread hate.”

On Sunday, NASCAR opened the Talladega gates to 5,000 fans, its highest number so far during the coronavirus pandemic. The first word of the noose came in a sharply worded statement in which NASCAR said it was “angry and outraged” over the “heinous act” that the series directly linked to racism.

The FBI sent 15 agents to Talladega for Monday’s rescheduled race at the same time the industry rallied around Wallace. In an unprecedented show of solidarity, every team member on pit road lined up behind him during the national anthem.

Phelps has taken only nine questions about the finding in Wallace’s garage and none provided any details of the incident. Because of health protocol restrictions, a limited number of personnel had access to the garage. Only a handful of Wallace’s crew members and NASCAR saw the rope.

Roughly 48 hours after the discovery, federal authorities said video confirmed the rope “was in that garage as early as October 2019” hanging from

Luqman Jaaber

Michael Perry

a garage door. The rope was referred to as a noose, but can be used as a handle when closing the door.

Phelps continued to call it a noose after authorities said no charges would be filed, and held firm in that NASCAR is investigating why the rope was tied that way. He was pleased it wasn’t a hate crime directed at Wallace, but insisted NASCAR would have conducted its investigation the same way even now knowing it was just a coincidence.

“We would have done the same investigation. It was important for us to do,” he said.

“The evidence was very clear that the noose that was in the garage was in there previously. The last race we had in October, that noose was present. The evidence we had, it was clear we needed to look into this,” Phelps said.

He took no questions on the FBI’s findings.

Meanwhile, another racing team, Wood Brothers Racing, said it cooperated with the investigation and an employee recalled “seeing a tied handle in the garage pull down rope from last fall,” when that team had the stall.

The noose discovery stunned the stock car series as it takes an active position in a push for inclusion.

Edmund Sherod

Keith Valentine

Five years ago, former NASCAR chairman Brian France tried to ban flying Confederate flags at tracks, a proposal that was not enforced and largely ignored.

NASCAR has yet to detail how it will answer Wallace’s call to stop the display of the flag.

In other sports, the NCAA last Friday expanded its policy banning states with prominent Confederate symbols from hosting its sponsored events, one day after the Southeastern Conference made a similar declaration aimed at the Mississippi state flag.

The current NCAA ban, in place since 2001, applies to what the NCAA calls predetermined sites, such as for men’s basketball tournament games.

Mississippi is the only state currently affected by the policy. The expanded ban — supported by all eight public universities in the state — means that even when sites of NCAA events are determined by performance, as they are in baseball, women’s basketball and softball, Mississippi schools will not be permitted to host.

“We must do all we can to ensure that NCAA actions reflect our commitment to inclusion and support all our studentathlete. There can be no place within college sports where any student-athlete is demeaned or unwelcome,” NCAA President Mark Emmert said.

“Why did the NCAA not take this position years ago?” said Ellen Staurowsky, sports management professor at Drexel University and author of “College Athletes for Hire.” “To me it means the NCAA has taken a step, but it certainly does not exempt them from examining deeply the institutional racism that exists in its own industry.”

Dr. Staurowsky noted as the NCAA and college sports join the fight for racial equality, they are simultaneously lobbying Congress for protection for its amateurism rules that prevent athletes — the majority of whom are Black in revenue-generating football and basketball — from earning money on the free market.

“To take a stance on the Confederate imagery associated with the Mississippi flag, but not to dismantle amateurism, it speaks to a disingenuousness that should not be supported,” she said.

Kendrick Warren

Peter Woolfolk

Local high school-to-college talent picked for fantasy ‘Home Sweet Home’ hoops team

By Fred Jeter

With a lull in the sports world, it’s time to announce Richmond’s all-time “Home Sweet Home” basketball team.

To be eligible, a “baller” had to make headlines for both his city high school—public or private—and a Richmond college.

This talented, stay-at-home group was never far from mom’s kitchen and washing machine.

Just for fun and totally unofficial, here goes the Top 10-ish in alphabetical order:

• Brad Burgess (Benedictine College Preparatory, Virginia Commonwealth University): He set the NCAA record of 146 starts (2008-2012) while scoring 1,684 points and spurring the VCU Rams to the 2011 Final Four. He also helped Benedictine to 2007 State VISAA title.

• Jesse Dark (Maggie L. Walker High School, VCU): After playing for the Virginia Interscholastic Association state champion Green Dragons, “Bodine” scored 1,584 points in just 88 games for the Rams (1970-1974).

He became VCU’s first ever NBA draftee.

• Gerald Henderson (Huguenot High School, VCU): He scored 1,542 points for the Rams (1974-1978) before going on to win four NBA championship rings with the Boston Celtics and the Detroit Pistons.

• Luqman Jaaber (George Wythe High School, Virginia Union University): Among the NCAA leaders in steals and assists, he was the consummate floor leader and brilliant defender on VUU’s 2005 NCAA title team. He later became VUU’s head basketball coach.

• Michael Perry (Thomas Jefferson High School, University of Richmond): A member of Thomas Jefferson’s 1975

state championship team, he went on to score the then-school record 2,145 points for the Spiders (1977-1981).

• Edmund Sherod and grandson Nick Sherod (Edmund, John Marshall High School and VCU; Nick, St. Christopher’s School and UR): “Easy Ed” led the State AAA division in scoring at John Marshall and then accumulated 1,324 points and 582 assists for the Rams (1977-1981), helping VCU to its first two NCAA appearances.

After setting the St. Christopher’s school record and state record of 2,815 points, Nick moved quickly into Coach Chris Mooney’s lineup at UR. Still with his senior season to go, he has 1,192 points, 441 rebounds and 147 assists.

• Keith Valentine (Thomas Jefferson High, VUU): He earned All-State honors on Thomas Jefferson’s 1975 state championship team. He later was named

MVP of VUU’s 1980 NCAA Division II championship team.

• Kendrick Warren (Thomas Jefferson High, VCU): He earned McDonald’s AllAmerican honors at Thomas Jefferson, then collected 1,858 points and 1,049 rebounds for the Rams, despite missing much of his junior season because of an injury.

• Peter Woolfolk (Jefferson-HuguenotWythe Complex, UR): He led JeffersonHuguenot-Wythe to the 1984 State AAA title. He scored 1,604 points and grabbed 859 rebounds at UR, helping the Spiders to NCAA upsets over University of Indiana and Georgia Tech.

And the MVP of the “Home Sweet Home” team is ... in a close call, Henderson’s four NBA championships are the undisputed tie breaker.

This team has a deep bench.

Others considered: Len Creech (George Wythe High, VCU); Duan Crockett (Thomas Jefferson High, VUU); Trey Davis (Benedictine, UR); Bo Jones (Huguenot, VCU); Reggie Jones (John Marshall High, VUU); Jerry Hargrove (Armstrong High School, VUU); Richard Jones (Maggie Walker, VCU); Johnny Moates (Benedictine, UR); Warren Peebles (John Marshall High, VUU); and Jesse Pellot-Rosa (George Wythe High, VCU).

Also, Donald “Cisco” Ross (Armstrong High, VCU); LaMar Taylor (John Marshall High, VCU); Bobby Ukrop (George Wythe High, UR), Jabo Wilkins (Maggie Walker High, VCU); Cravelyn Williams (Maggie Walker High, VUU); and Greg Williams (Jefferson-Huguenot-Wythe, VUU).

There were surely many more. Hopefully, many more are yet to come.

Few African-American golfers on PGA tour

By Fred Jeter

When Tiger Woods burst onto the PGA scene in 1997, many expected a deluge of AfricanAmerican golfers to follow.

Instead, there’s been a drought.

Harold Varner III and Cameron Champ, each making news at the June 11-14 Charles Schwab Challenge, are exceptions.

With Woods always the headliner, AfricanAmericans make up only four of the PGA’s approximately 260 tour regulars.

Woods, now 44 and arguably the premier golfer in history, did not play in the Schwab Challenge, an event in Fort Worth, Texas, that drew more than the usual national attention.

The Texas tournament marked the first PGA event since March and the coronavirus pandemic began. There were no spectators. Also, it was among the first pro sporting events of any kind following the tragic death of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May. With Woods sidelined, that left the stage open to Varner, who challenged for the lead until the final holes, and Champ, who actually surpassed the fading Varner in the end.

In a prepared statement, here’s what Varner had to say about Mr. Floyd’s death and the global fallout that has followed: “Sometimes life is not simple and things don’t make sense. How can we call our country the greatest on Earth when our standards fall to

senseless killing?

“That’s a tough and important question.

But I still say we are not as fractured as it seems.”

The PGA honored Mr. Floyd with a moment of silence each Harold Varner III of the four days of the tournament. At precisely 8:46 each morning, following three loud bursts from a horn, all action stopped both on the course and in practice areas. The 8:46 represented the agonizing length of time during which Mr. Floyd was brutalized and suffocated to death under the knee of a Minneapolis policeman who is now charged with his murder.

Known as “HV3,” Varner is a 29-year-old native of Gastonia, N.C., who played at East Carolina University before turning pro in 2012.

His lone PGA victory thus far is the 2016 Australian Open.

Varner was making all the early headlines in Fort Worth. He was tied for the lead with a 63 after the first 18 holes and actually held first place, by a stroke, after two rounds at 129.

He was still only three strokes from the top after three rounds before faltering on the final day.

Still, his 271 final total was worth $95,625.

Taking more of a tortoise-like approach during the Fort Worth tournament was Champ.

The 25-year-old from Sacramento, Calif., had rounds of 65-7165-68 for a 270 total and $129,375.

A former Texas A&M University standout, Champ is a two-time PGA winner, Cameron Champ taking top honors at the 2018 Sanderson Farms Open in Jackson, Miss., and the 2019 Safeway Open in Napa, Calif.

Champ’s father is African-American and his mother is Caucasian. His father, Jeff Champ, played the 1988 and 1989 baseball seasons as a catcher in the Baltimore Orioles’ affiliate chain.

The only other African-American golfer currently on the PGA circuit is 33-year-old Wyatt Worthington II. An Ohio native, Worthington played at Methodist University in Fayetteville, N.C., before earning a PGA card in 2011.

An absence of African-Americans on golf’s most prestigious circuit is puzzling to some.

Before Woods, many African-Americans excelled on golf’s highest level.

Calvin Peete won 12 PGA titles between 1979 and 1986. During the 1980s, the Detroit native was second only to Tom Kite for most tour earnings with $2,302,353.

Until 1961, the PGA’s “whites-only” clause eliminated African-Americans from any opportunity.

Charlie Sifford, famous for his ever-present cigar, was the first African-American to win a PGA card in 1961, after many years on minor league circuits, including the National Negro League.

The late Mr. Sifford, now a member of the PGA Hall of Fame, went on to win the Greater Hartford Open in 1967 and the Los Angeles Open in 1969.

Lee Elder, James Dent, George Johnson and Charlie Owens were other African-Americans winning PGA tour events prior to the 1990s.

So why the absence of African-Americans now?

Some point to the sport’s ever growing cost.

Nowadays, it would be hard climbing the ladder without a private swing coach, custom-made clubs and full access to courses and driving ranges.

Then there’s the disappearance of caddies in an activity that has become increasingly mobilized with carts. Many of the “old timers” were introduced to the game carrying bags.

All that leads to a lack of role models on tour. Outside of Woods, few people can name an African-American golfer.

With basketball and football easily the most popular sports among young African-Americans, golf isn’t an activity with a lot of street cred.

But for several days in Fort Worth, in the aftermath of Mr. Floyd’s senseless death, Harold Varner III, a rare African-American man playing a white man’s sport, caught everyone’s attention for all the right reasons.

A14 June 25-27, 2020

Richmond Free Press

SUBSCRIBE. DONATE. ADVERTISE. During times of crisis, crucial information about your community îIJīøŒ ċŎIJī ĦIJîÔĦ ŎøŋIJLjøŎŒ̵ Access to high quality information is øŒŒøĬřĔÔĦ̵ )ŒŋøîĔÔĦĦŸ ĦIJîÔĦ ĔĬċIJŎīÔřĔIJĬ̵ Ĭô øŒŋøîĔÔĦĦŸ ĬIJŲ̵ đÔřʹŒ đÔŋŋøĬĔĬČ ĔĬ IJŞŎ îIJīīŞĬĔřĔøŒ̼ đÔřʹŒ řđø impact? How are our local leaders responding? For answers to these questions, we rely on the hard work IJċ IJŞŎ ĦIJîÔĦ ŎøŋIJLjøŎŒ̵ Œ Ô ŎøŒŞĦř̶ readership of local news outlets has ŎøÔîđøô ŎøîIJŎô đĔČđŒ̵

But due to COVID-19, most local news ŋŞíĦĔîÔřĔIJĬŒ ÔŎø ĦIJŒĔĬČ īIJĬøŸ̶ ċÔŒř̵ ôűøLjĔŒĔĬČ đÔŒ ŋĦŞīīøřøô ôŞŎĔĬČ řđø îŎĔŒĔŒ ÔĬô ŎøÔôøŎŒ ÔŎøĬʹř ŒŞíŒîŎĔíĔĬČ ċÔŒř øĬIJŞČđ řIJ ǁĦĦ řđø űIJĔô̵ đĔŒ đÔŒ Ħøô řIJ řđIJŞŒÔĬôŒ IJċ ĦIJîÔĦ ŎøŋIJLjøŎŒ íøĔĬČ ĦÔĔô IJƸ̵ PŞŒř ÔŒ IJŞŎ ŒIJîĔøřŸ ċÔîøŒ ĬŞīøŎIJŞŒ̶ ŞŎČøĬř îđÔĦĦøĬČøŒ̵ Millions of people are in danger of losing access to the authoritative local

ĔĬċIJŎīÔřĔIJĬ řđøŸ Ĭøøô řIJ ŒřÔŸ ĔĬċIJŎīøô̵ đÔřʹŒ ŲđŸ řđø TIJîÔĦ ZøôĔÔ ŒŒIJîĔÔřĔIJĬ ÔĬô řđø TIJîÔĦ ZøôĔÔ IJĬŒIJLjĔŞī ÔŎø working with local news providers to íŞĔĦô Ô ŒřŎIJĬČ ċŞřŞŎø ċIJŎ ĦIJîÔĦ ĠIJŞŎĬÔĦĔŒī̵ Ĭô řđÔřʹŒ ŲđŸ IJŞŎ ĦIJĬČͦřĔīø ŋÔLjĬøŎ Google is purchasing ads like this in local publications across the country, as well as providing a Relief Fund to help ŒřŎŞČČĦĔĬČ ĦIJîÔĦ ĬøŲŒ IJŞřĦøřŒ̵ Şř řđIJŒø ÔîřĔIJĬŒ ÔĦIJĬø ÔŎøĬʹř øĬIJŞČđ̵

Please consider supporting the local news organizations you rely IJĬ̵ ŞíŒîŎĔíø řIJ řđøī̵ %IJĬÔřø řIJ řđøī̵ Ĭô Ĕċ ŸIJŞ đÔűø Ô íŞŒĔĬøŒŒ řđÔřʹŒ ÔíĦø řIJ̶ ÔôűøLjĔŒø ŲĔřđ řđøī̵ ¦IJŞŎ ŒŞŋŋIJLj ĔŒ îŎĔřĔîÔĦ řIJ ŒŞŒřÔĔĬĔĬČ řđø ôøôĔîÔřøô ĠIJŞŎĬÔĦĔŒřŒ ŒøŎűĔĬČ ŸIJŞŎ îIJīīŞĬĔřĔøŒ̵ Our local news outlets help keep us ŒÔċøŎ̵ TøřʹŒ đøĦŋ ģøøŋ řđøī IJŋøĬ̵

đĔŒ īøŒŒÔČø ŒŞŋŋIJLjøô íŸ

ŞŋŋIJLjTIJîÔĦ[øŲŒ[IJŲ̵îIJī

June 25-27, 2020 B1

Section

B

Richmond Free Press

Happenings

Personality: William ‘Danny’ Robinson Spotlight on board chair of Feed More During the COVID-19 pandemic that has thrust thousands of Virginians into joblessness and unemployment assistance providing some but not total relief, the need for food aid has rarely been greater. Fortunately, this is where Feed More, led by board chairman William “Danny” Robinson has stepped in to address the community’s needs.

Working with programs and networks collecting, preparing and distributing food through food pantries, soup kitchens and other sites across 34 cities and counties in Central Virginia, Feed More has gone into overdrive to help alleviate hunger during this critical time.

“The work that Feed More employees, volunteers and agencies do contributes to the strengthening of our community,” Mr. Robinson says.

“When people go hungry, their ability to reach their full potential is limited. When people are food insecure, they are disproportionately affected by diet-sensitive chronic diseases.

When children go hungry, it restricts their physical and mental health.”

While there were initial concerns that the pandemic would impact Feed More’s ability to fully serve those in need, the response to an early request for more volunteers help quelled those fears, the Richmond resident says. From March 10 to May 3, more than 1,000 applications from potential volunteers were submitted online to the organization.

This generosity and community spirit is welcomed and appreciated, says Mr. Robinson, who is in the midst of a two-year term as board chair. It was a role he accepted in 2019 on the advice of Feed More’s president and chief executive officer, Doug Pick, with assurance that his involvement as board chair could advance Feed More’s mission of fighting hunger.

Asked why he got involved with Feed More, the advertising agency executive is direct: “I’m a simple guy and I like uncomplicated things. There was no ambiguity to the goals and mission of Feed More. I could articulate it in seconds to anyone who asked, and I believed I could use my marketing and advertising skills to help make them better.”

Beyond continuing Feed More’s primary mission during the pandemic, Mr. Robinson also is using his advertising experience to help raise Feed More’s profile in the community.

It’s a lot of responsibility for anyone to have on their plate, but for Mr. Robinson, the

experience seems to be one that remains satisfying, nourishing and fulfilling.

“Feed More gives me the opportunity to be a part of something that, without question, positively impacts the lives of my neighbors,” Mr. Robinson says. “When Feed More makes good on its mission, it does more than help those with immediate need. It helps lift entire communities.

It is my responsibility to find a way to do just that.”

Meet community and antihunger advocate and this week’s Personality, William “Danny” Robinson:

understood it. I could articulate it in seconds to anyone who asked, and I believed I could use my marketing and advertising skills to help make them better.

No. 1 volunteer position: Chair of the Feed More Board of Directors.

Date and place of birth: May 11 in Hampton.

Current residence: Richmond.

Occupation: Chief client officer, The Martin Agency.

What I do: I work with account leaders to recognize and sell embryonic creative ideas, work with creatives to understand their client’s business, and partner with clients to sell culture impacting work throughout their organizational ranks.

Education: Bachelor’s in art education, Hampton Institute; and MBA, Atlanta University.

Family: Spouse, Paula SaylorRobinson; children, Spencer, 31, and Shelby, 28.

Feed More’s mission: Through its programs and network of agencies, Feed More collects, prepares and distributes food to neighbors across 34 counties and cities in Central Virginia who struggle with hunger.

Feed More is important because: The work that Feed More employees, volunteers and agencies do contributes to the strengthening of our community. When people go hungry, their ability to reach their full potential is limited.

When people are food insecure, they are disproportionally affected by diet-sensitive chronic diseases. When children go hungry, it restricts their physical and mental health.

Major focus of organization today: A singular focus to fight hunger.

When elected chairperson: 2019.

Length of term: Two years.

No. 1 objective or project as chairperson: I am an adviser and partner to the CEO of Feed More, Doug Pick. It is my job to ensure that the board implements the organization’s strategy.

Additionally, I’ve leveraged my background as an advertising professional and have been an integral part of the planning and execution of the Feed More brand communication that includes advertising, visual branding and strategy.

Strategy for achieving it: Simple: Stay close to Doug (he’s smart as hell); stay close to the board members (they’re smart as hell); continue to lend my marketing expertise; and don’t get in the way of the plan.

Why I accepted this position: I trusted the opinion of CEO Doug Pick and other advisers who believed that I was the right person for the job. And if it meant that my presence could advance the mission, then I agreed to be all in.

When and why I became involved with Feed More: I’m a simple guy and I like uncomplicated things. There was no ambiguity to the goals and mission of Feed More. I

M����������� D����� A-����� BBB ������� : In business since 1994 ; Seeking serious-minded business owners and individuals to work from home in our expansion team.

• No Experience Necessary • Will Train • Earn $300 to $1000 a week or more • Daily Pay-$1000 Bonus-Residual Income-Promotions • Offer New Car Bonuses and Bill Pay Programs

We can make you RICH.

www.The Money.Group | 804-321-2368 | 24 hrs

What Feed More means to me: Feed More gives me the opportunity to be a part of something that, without question, positively impacts the lives of my neighbors. My wife and I have made commitments to find ways to join organizations that directly affect the people we see every day. When Feed More makes good on its mission, it does more than help those with immediate need. It helps lift entire communities.

It is my responsibility to find ways to do just that.

Communities in which Feed More operates: The Feed More service area stretches across 29 counties and five cities in Central Virginia. From the Northern Neck out west to Louisa and down to the North Carolina line, Feed More distributes more than 24 million meals every year.

Services we provide include: Feed More collects, prepares and distributes food to those in need. With the support of the community, Feed More provides the 1 in 8 Central Virginians who are food insecure with a hand up in their times of need. Our recipients, served through nearly 300 food pantries, soup kitchens, group homes and other community

YOU CAN STILL FILE

Chapter 7 Bankruptcy

Get rid of debts that you can’t pay.

“Get A Fresh Start” Keep paying on your house and car as long as you owe what they are worth.

sites, are largely the working poor who come to seek our assistance in emergency situations.

Empathetic.

Feed More programs that distribute nutritious meals: The Kids Cafe, Weekend Backpacks, Hunger Hotline, Summer Food Service Program, Mobile Pantry, Meals on Wheels, the Commodity Supplemental Food Program, The Emergency Food Assistance Program and School Market.

How I unwind: Dropping a Prince album on the turntable and sitting back with a glass of something.

Foremost Feed More challenge during pandemic: Initially, the concern was the threat of a decrease in our volunteer base. We put out a call for additional help early and our community stepped up in a big way. From March 10 through May 3, we received more than 1,100 online volunteer applications from individuals who wanted to lend a helping hand. Thanks in large part to the outreach from a generous and big-hearted community, Feed More is healthy and thriving.

Volunteers play a critical role at Feed More, and every year, more than 1,600 compassionate individuals donate their time and talents to our mission.

What makes me tick: The idea that I can, every single day, create something that the day before did not exist.

How I start the day: Planning.

Calculating how I can get all that I need to get done and balance that with all of the things that I want to get done.

The three words that best describe me: Creative. Wry.

Best late-night snack: A bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch with ice cold almond milk.

Something I love to do that most people would never imagine: I’m a video gamer.

I have a standing daily online “Call of Duty” session with a few of my friends.

A quote that I am most inspired by: “Art is the elimination of the unnecessary.”— Pablo Picasso.

At the top of my “to-do” list: To finish this questionnaire.

Best thing my parents ever taught me: It’s important to be a generalist, but make sure you find a specialty. Then be great at that thing.

Person who influenced me the most: My father. My demeanor, my life philosophy, my balding head, all passed on from a very wise, quiet and really smart man.

Book that influenced me the most: “Hollywood Animal” by Joe Eszterhas did not influence me so much as had the longest lasting effect on me.

What I’m reading now: “JAY-Z: Made In America” by Michael Eric Dyson.

Next goal: I’m working on a 47-panel series of small paintings that capture images from Childish Gambino’s “This IsAmerica” video. I have completed eight. I got to get to work.

About 1 in 12 African Americans have

Sickle Cell Trait.

Also Chapter 13 “Debt Adjustment” STOPS FORECLOSURES, GARNISHMENTS AND HARASSING PHONE CALLS

OTHER LEGAL SERVICES PROVIDED: Divorce, Separation, Custody, Support, Home Buy or Sell

Start with as little as $100

Call Rudy McCollum at (804)218-3614 24-7. Talk to an attorney for free

and get legal restrictions, fees, costs and payment terms.

Rudolph C. McCollum, Jr., Esq. McCollum At Law, P.C.

Mail to: P.O. Box 4595, Richmond, VA 23220 422 E. Franklin St., Suite 301, Richmond, VA 23219 (Franklin & 5th Sts.) We are a federally designated Debt Relief Agency under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code and we help people file for bankruptcy.

Web Address: McCollumatLaw.com E-mail: rudy@mccollumatlaw.com

BIRTH.BIRTHDAY.AWARD.GRADUATION.HONOR. ENGAGEMENT.WEDDING.ANNIVERSARY.LIFE.

When two people with Sickle Cell Trait have a child, there is a 1 in 4 chance with each pregnancy, that the child will have a painful life threatening disease called Sickle Cell Disease.

Do you have Sickle Cell Trait?

GET TESTED! For more information, call SICKLE CELL ASSOCIATION OF RICHMOND - OSCAR 804-321-3311

Milestones are meant to be celebrated.

Share accomplishments in a special person’s life by announcing it in the Richmond Free Press.

Contact Cynthia Downing, advertising coordinator, today to find out more about affordable celebratory advertising rates to celebrate a special achievement or a special occasion.

Richmond Free Press The People’s Paper

422 East Franklin Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219 www.richmondfreepress.com advertising@richmondfreepress.com PHONE (804)644-0496 | FAX (804)643-5436

Richmond Free Press

B2 June 25-27, 2020

Happenings Beyoncé drops new surprise single on Juneteenth; sales to benefit Black businesses Free Press wire report

LOS ANGELES Beyoncé did not let Juneteenth pass without dropping one of her signature surprises — a new single called “Black Parade.”

“I’m going back to the South, I’m going back where my roots ain’t watered down,” Beyoncé sings, opening the track. At several points on the new release, the singer tells listeners to “Follow my parade.”

Proceeds from the song will benefit Blackowned small businesses in need, a message entitled “Black Parade Route” on the singer’s website said. According to the post, sales will go to “BeyGOOD’s Black Business Impact Fund administered by the National Urban League.” The post included links to dozens of Black-owned businesses.

“Happy Juneteenth. Being Black is your activism. Black excellence is a form of protest.

Black joy is your right,” the message said.

Juneteenth commemorates the day in 1865 when the last enslaved African-Americans learned they were free following the Civil War. While President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation in 1862 freed slaves in the South beginning Jan. 1, 1863, it wasn’t enforced in many places until

after the end of the Civil War two years later. Confederate soldiers surrendered in April 1865, but word didn’t reach the last enslaved Black people until June 19, when Union soldiers brought the news of freedom to Galveston, Texas.

“We got rhythm, we got pride, we birth kings, we birth tribes,” Beyoncé sings toward the end of the nearly 5-minute song.

Juneteenth was marked with new urgency this year amid weekslong protests over police brutality and racism sparked by the May 25 death of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer.

Beyoncé spoke out on social media in the wake of Mr. Floyd’s death.

“We’re broken and we’re disgusted. We cannot normalize this pain,” she said in an Instagram video that called for people to sign a petition demanding justice for Mr. Floyd.

Playwright August Wilson to get Hollywood Walk of Fame star Free Press wire report

PITTSBURGH August Wilson is going Hollywood.

The famed late playwright from Pittsburgh will be honored with a posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame along Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street in Los Angeles.

Mr. Wilson was among the Hollywood Walk of Fame’s 2021 honorees announced last week. Also announced as honorees in the Live Theatre/Live Performance category were English classical crossover singer Sarah Brightman and the late noted opera tenor Luciano Pavarotti.

Also getting stars will be performers including Portsmouth native Missy Mr. Wilson Elliott, Salt-N-Pepa, Kelly Clarkson and Jefferson Airplane and actors including Don Cheadle, Josh Brolin, Benedict Cumberbatch, Jimmy Smits “and a double star for Ali MacGraw and Ryan O’Neal.”

With ceremonies on hold because of the coronavirus pandemic, however, even some 2020 honorees are still awaiting their Hollywood moment.

Mr. Wilson wrote mostly about the 20th century AfricanAmerican experience from growing up in Pittsburgh’s historically African-American Hill District.

He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for “Fences” in 1987 and “The Piano Lesson” in 1990. The film version of “Fences” gained Oscar nominations for Mr. Wilson for adapted screenplay and for star Denzel Washington and a best supporting actress Oscar win for Viola Davis.

Netflix CEO and wife donate $120M to HBCUS Free Press wire report

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings and his wife, Patty Quillin, are donating $120 million toward student scholarships at historically black colleges and universities.

The couple is giving $40 million to each of three institutions: Morehouse College and Spelman College, both in Atlanta, and the United Negro College Fund.

The institutions said it is the largest individual gift in support of student scholarships at HBCUs. “We’ve supported these three extraordinary institutions for the last few years because we believe that investing in the education of Black youths is one of the best ways to invest in America’s future,” Mr. Hastings and Ms. Quillin said in a statement. “Both of us had the privilege of a great education and we want to help more students — in particular students of color — get the same start in life.”

“HBCUs have a tremendous record, yet are disadvantaged when it comes to giving,” their statement continued. “Generally, white capital flows to predominantly white institutions, perpetuating capital isolation. We hope this additional $120 million donation will help more Black students follow their dreams and also encourage more people to support these institutions — helping to reverse generations of inequity in our country.”

Dr. Mary Schmidt Campbell, president of Spelman, said the women’s college

Mike Tyson

Actor Jamie Foxx to play heavyweight champ Mike Tyson in biopic Jamie Foxx is in the gym muscling up for what he hopes will be a knockout performance.

The 52-year-old actor will play the lead role in an upcoming biopic on the controversial career of former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson.

Mr. Foxx is known for his great performances in such film roles as Ray Charles in “Ray” (2004); Django Freeman in “Django Unchained” (2012) and Walter McMillian in “Just Mercy” (2019). He also is an accomplished singer, comedian, songwriter and producer.

Speaking on Instagram Live with Hollywood producer Mark Birnbaum, Mr. Foxx announced production “is in the works” on “Finding Mike.”

“It’s a definite yes. We’ve officially got the ball rolling,” Mr. Foxx assured.

Few details were given but Mr. Foxx promises he is pushing himself to pack on muscle and to appear more like the powerful Mr. Tyson.

Along with lifting weights, Mr. Foxx said he is doing “60 pull ups, 60 (bar) dips and 100 push-ups per day.”

The 5-foot-9 Mr. Foxx hopes to weigh about 216 pounds when shooting begins. Mr. Tyson, now 53, was listed at 5-foot-10 and about 220 pounds during a brilliant ring career.

Known as the “Baddest Man on the Planet,” Mr. Tyson was only 20 when he won the WBC World title in 1986.

Mr. Foxx was quite an athlete himself growing up in Terrell, Texas. He starred in basketball and football and was the first quarterback in Terrell High history to pass for more than 1,000 yards.

Patty Quillin and Reed Hastings

will use its allocation to fund a scholarship named for Spelman alumna Dovey Johnson Roundtree, a civil rights and criminal defense attorney born in Charlotte, N.C., whose groundbreaking 1955 bus desegregation case in Washington, D.C., helped dismantle the practice of separate but equal.

Annually, the gift will provide 20 talented, first-year students with full scholarships, including tuition and room and board.

“At the end of 10 years, we will have educated 200 students who will graduate debt free,” Dr. Campbell said in a statement. “It’s a liberating gift that will allow our students to work toward change in their respective communities and careers without financial strain.”

Mr. Hastings has a history of supporting educational causes, including charter schools. He launched a $100 million education fund in 2016, beginning with

money toward college scholarships for Black and Latino students.

Mr. Hastings said now is the time when “everyone needs to figure out” how to contribute to solving racism. He said HBCUs have been resilient “little-known gems” for Black education.

Amid protests over police brutality that began three weeks ago, companies and business leaders have been pledging solidarity with their Black employees and the Black community. But tech companies, including Netflix, have fallen short in hiring, retaining and promoting underrepresented minorities within their own ranks.

Other tech industry donations in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests have largely been on the company level.

On June 17, Google CEO Sundar Pichai outlined plans toward racial equity at the company that includes increasing the number of Black and other underrepresented minority executives and creating a $175 million “economic opportunity package” that includes $100 million in funding for black-led venture capital firms and startups.

During the previous week, Apple CEO Tim Cook announced the company will spend $100 million on a new Racial Equity and Justice Initiative, investing in education and criminal justice reform among other things. YouTube, meanwhile, pledged $100 million to help Black artists and other creators.

Aunt Jemima being retired by Quaker Oats Free Press wire report

Jamie Foxx

Beyoncé

The singer also joined the call for charges against the officers involved in the killing of Breonna Taylor, who was gunned

down in March by officers who burst into her Louisville, Ky., home. Beyoncé wrote in a letter last Sunday to Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron that the three Louisville police officers “must be held accountable for their actions.” Mr. Cameron has asked for patience amid a probe, but Louisville’s mayor announced last Friday that one of the officers would be fired.

The release of “Black Parade” is the singer’s latest philanthropic effort. In April, she announced her BeyGOOD charity would partner with Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey’s Start Small campaign to provide $6 million in relief funds to a variety of groups working to provide basic necessities in cities including Detroit, Houston, New York and New Orleans.

It’s also the latest surprise release from the singer, who along with husband Jay-Z, released the nine-track album “Everything Is Love” in 2018 with no notice. In 2013, Beyoncé released the self-titled album “Beyoncé,” also without any notice.

“I hope we continue to share joy and celebrate each other, even in the midst of struggle,” she wrote in an Instagram post announcing the release of “Black Parade.”

“Please continue to remember our beauty, strength and power.”

NEW YORK America’s painful struggles over racism have finally caught up with Aunt Jemima, that ubiquitous fixture served up at breakfast tables for 131 years.

Quaker Oats announced June 17 that it will retire the Aunt Jemima brand, saying the company recognizes the character’s origins are “based on a racial stereotype.”

Indeed, the logo was inspired by a 19th century minstrel celebrating the “mammy,” a Black woman content to serve her white masters. A former slave, Nancy Green, became the first face of the pancake product in 1890.

Aunt Jemima’s downfall is the latest signal of the powerful cultural moment unleashed by the Black Lives Matter protests, which have spread around the world and prompted companies to rethink their policies, from hiring practices to giving employees off for Juneteenth, which commemorates the day in 1865 when the last enslaved African-Americans learned they were free following the Civil War. Other companies said they are reconsidering racial imagery in their branding.

The owner of the Uncle Ben’s rice said the brand will “evolve” in response to concerns about racial stereotyping.

Caroline Sherman, a spokeswoman for parent company Mars, said the company is

listening to the voices of consumers, especially in the Black community.

Geechie Boy Mill, a familyowned operation in South Carolina that makes locally grown and milled white grits, said it is “listening and reviewing our overall branding,” although no decisions have been made.

Geechie is a dialect spoken mainly by the descendants of African-American slaves who settled on the Ogeechee river in Georgia, according to MerriamWebster.com. In a statement to The Associated Press, the company said a name change has been under consideration for the past year and discussions have ramped up given the current climate.

Earlier this year, Land O’Lakes announced that it would no longer use the Native American woman on its packages of butter, cheese and other products since the late 1920s.

But reconsideration of the images also raises questions about why they have endured for so long in the first place, beyond the Civil Rights Movement and ensuing decades of protests against discrimination and violence against African-Americans.

Brands with ethnic and racial stereotypes still abound, from Nestle’s Eskimo Pie and Miss Chiquita of banana fame, to the ongoing debate over the name of the Washington NFL team.

Dr. Riché Richardson, an associate professor of AfricanAmerican literature at Cornell University, called for Aunt

Jemima’s retirement five years ago in a New York Times opinion piece — part of a wider discussion about Confederate statues and other imagery after the massacre of nine black parishioners at a church in Charleston, S.C. Dr. Richardson said Aunt Jemima epitomizes the dark comfort that some Americans take from imagery of black servitude, so normalized that it’s on their box of pancake mix. She said it was problematic that Aunt Jemima is such a ubiquitous symbol of Black femininity when there are so many real women who are icons of African-American history.

“The question becomes, ‘Do we want to hold onto images that hearken back to a past when Blacks were servants and expected to know their place?’ “ Dr. Richardson said. “People who are holding onto these symbols are almost suggesting that those are times they are nostalgic about. I don’t think people intend to send that message, but at this time, we cannot afford to send mixed messages.”

Quaker, which is owned by PepsiCo, said its overhauled pancake mix and syrup will hit shelves by the fourth quarter of 2020. The company will announce the new name at a later date. PepsiCo also announced a five-year, $400 million initiative “to lift up black communities and increase black representation at PepsiCo.” “We recognize Aunt Jemima’s origins are based on a

racial stereotype,” said Kristin Kroepfl of Quaker Foods North America. “While work has been done over the years to update the brand in a manner intended to be appropriate and respectful, we realize those changes are not enough.”

Quaker tried through the years to purge Aunt Jemima of her “mammy” roots, exchanging her kerchief for pearls by 1989. Still, the image was of eager domesticity and her name could not be dissociated from its racist origins.

Aunt Jemima’s years of success as a marketing image made it risky for the company to part with it completely, said Brenda Lee, founding director of the marketing research firm Vision Strategy and Insights.

“It’s a huge deal. They’ve invested quite a bit in establishing that brand with all that goes along with the logo,” Ms. Lee said. “The calling to make this change has been around for years and the most they had been willing to do was update her looks, but they were not willing to relinquish the name.”

Ms. Lee said the risk calculation for companies is quickly changing, in part because of the Black Lives Matter movement’s effort to draw attention to where Black dollars are spent.

Earlier last week, the singer Kirby posted a TikTok video called “How to Make a Non Racist Breakfast” explaining some of the backstory of the Aunt Jemima brand. That video went viral.

Richmond Free Press

June 25-27, 2020

B3

Obituaries/Faith News/Directory

Music educator and band director John H. Scott Jr. dies at 59

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

As a young man, John Henry Scott Jr. loved playing the trumpet in marching bands in high school and college.

As an adult, the Richmond native shared his passion for lively music and choreography with young people as a band director and music educator for nearly four decades, most notably with Henrico County Public Schools.

His talent for teaching music and performing everything from classical to R&B is being remembered following his death Wednesday, June 17, 2020. He was 59.

His family gathered Monday, June 22, at the Affinity Funeral Home Chapel in Henrico to celebrate his life. Burial followed in Riverview Cemetery.

Mr. Scott was best known for the more than 30 years he spent as band director at Henrico High School. Under his leadership, the Marching Warriors Band won numerous awards, competitions, trophies and medals. In 2007, the band was named Grand Champions in the National High Stepping Marching Band Competition.

The smaller jazz, concert and percussion bands Mr. Scott also led repeatedly earned excellent and superior ratings in competi-

Longtime coach Marvin Bridges succumbs at 65

By Fred Jeter

Marvin Bridges, a longtime football and basketball coach in Richmond on the youth and high school levels, died Monday, June 8, 2020.

He was 65.

Mr. Bridges served as football coach at John Marshall High School from 2005 to 2013, posting several winning seasons. His 2011 squad went 7-3 and in 2012 his Justices were 6-4.

Before that, Mr. Bridges coached for many years at Hotchkiss Field in Highland Park.

His teams won numerous city championships in both football and basketball.

After leaving his coaching position at John Marshall, Mr. Bridges served as an assistant football coach for Atlee High School in Hanover County and Lloyd C. Bird High School Mr. Bridges in Chesterfield County.

A student at both Maggie L. Walker and Huguenot high schools, Mr. Bridges, who was known as “Coach B,� worked most of his adult life at Reynolds Metals Co. He and his wife, Columbia, owned A Touch of Class Event Hall in Henrico County.

In addition to his wife, Mr. Bridges is survived by two daughters, Jennifer Bridges and Latesha Thompson; three sons, Marvin Bridges Jr. and DeMario Bridges Sr., and Ronson Giggetts; his mother, Mary Elizabeth Bridges; several grandchildren; one great-granddaughter; and five sisters.

A funeral was held Saturday, June 13, at Wilson & Associates’ Funeral Service’s East Chapel, followed by burial in Oakwood Cemetery.

7M\XL &ETXMWX 'LYVGL

sixthbaptistrva

Fax (804) 359-3798 www.sixthbaptistchurch.org

Ebenezer Baptist Church 1858

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

For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.

(Jeremiah 29:11, NRSV) Please visit our website Ebenezer Baptist Church Richmond, VA for updates http://www.richmondebenezer.com Dr. Wallace J. Cook, Pastor Emeritus

Rev. Dr. Adam L. Bond, Pastor-Elect

Thirty-first Street Baptist Church

C

Moore Street Missionary

2IVERVIEW

Baptist Church

1408 W. Leigh Street ¡ Richmond, Va. 23220 (804) 358—6403

Dr. Alonza L. Lawrence, Pastor

All church ac�vi�es are canceled un�l further no�ce.

Follow us on Facebook for “A Word from Moore Street’s Pastor� and weekly Zoom worship info.

Come worship with us!

(near Byrd Park)

g inin b om

The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against a Virginia county for “imposing restrictive zoning requirements� that blocked an Islamic nonprofit from building a cemetery.

The suit, filed June 19, argues that Stafford County violated the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act by imposing overly restrictive regulations on the religious practice of All Muslim Association of America Inc. The Virginia-based nonprofit runs the country’s largest Muslim cemetery, which also is the only one in the state.

The cemetery provides affordable burial services to the region’s low-income Muslims.

But it has run into unexpected hurdles as it sought to expand to add a second graveyard. “We are running out of space, and we desperately need this new cemetery,� said Mossadaq Chughtai, an AMAA board member. “All we want to do is help people without means get a burial in accordance with their faith. We followed all the rules and worked to appease Stafford County, but they still refuse to let us build our cemetery.�

In May 2015, AMAA purchased 45 acres in Stafford County for a new cemetery. The county’s cemetery ordinances

Be safe. Be blessed.

South Addison Street rs of Christ400 iaRichmond, g 151 yeaTwitter n Ser Va. 23220 sixthbaptistrva ratin b vice e l e (804) 359-1691 or 359-3498 Facebook Rev.CDr. Yvonne

Jones Bibbs, Pastor

Free Press wire report

We Embrace Diversity — Love For All! Sunday Service will not be held in our sanctuary.

Join us for 11:00 AM Worship by going to our website www.sixthbaptistchurch.org

ance with Reverence Relev Rev. Dr. Joshua Mitchell, Pastor-Elect â?–

Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic All regular activities have been suspended until further notice.

Please join us on

Facebook or YouTube

10:30 a.m. Sundays 7:00 p.m. Wednesdays-Bible Study

Marching Band when he was not on the gridiron.

Mr. Scott earned a bachelor’s in music education with a minor in trumpet at Howard University, where he played in the High Stepping Bison Band before graduating. He later earned a master’s in applied music at Virginia Commonwealth University.

In his spare time, Mr. Scott was always available to play or fill in. He performed with the Petersburg Symphony, the Trademark Band & Show, Festival Brass, the Henrico Concert Band, the Brass Consort and Chester Brass as well as his own band, Masterpiece.

Through the years, he also served as minister of music at Abundant Life Church of Christ; as youth choir director at From the Heart Church; and as minister of music and praise group director at The Way of the Lord Fellowship Church Ministry.

He was a life member of Phi Mu Alpha professional music fraternity, and a member of the National Association for Music Education and the Virginia Music Educators Association.

Mr. Scott had an array of other interests, including photography, camping, carpentry and motorcycle riding.

Survivors include his wife of 34 years, Karen G. Scott; two children, Jonathan Scott and Danielle S. Whesu; a sister, Toni S. Halsey; and one grandson.

Feds sue Stafford County over law blocking Islamic cemetery

Drive-thru giving will be available the 1st and 3rd Saturday from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. at the church. (Bowe Street side) You also may give through Givelify.

8LIQI JSV 1SFMPM^MRK *SV 1MRMWXV] 6IJVIWLMRK 8LI 3PH ERH )QIVKMRK 8LI 2I[ A 21st Century Church With Ministry For Everyone

tions during his tenure.

To help his band and music students excel, Mr. Scott, who won Teacher of the Year honors at Henrico, ran summer band camps and training programs outside the classroom.

He also offered private lessons.

His teaching career spanned nearly 40 years. He taught his first classes at Abundant Life Church of Christ Christian School until he found a position at Thomas Jefferson High School in Richmond as band director.

Mr. Scott His work at Thomas Jefferson High led to his hiring at Henrico High School. Before retiring in 2018, he spent his final two years with the Henrico school system as band director at Wilder Middle School.

He continued to teach part time at the private Greater Richmond School of Music.

Mr. Scott started developing an interest in music at age 8, and his parents arranged for him to take trumpet lessons. He later added the piano and bass guitar to his instrumental repertoire.

Athletic as well as musical, he played linebacker on the Huguenot High School football team and participated in the Falcons

"APTIST #HURCH Sunday School – 9:45 AM Sunday Services – 11:00 AM Via Conference Call (515) 606-5187 Pin 572890# Also Visit Us On Facebook Sunday Service – 11:00 AM 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

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. “Due to the Corona All services Sunday SchoolVirus: ~ 9:30 a.m.

Morning Worship ~ 11 a.m. at Broad Rock Baptist Church 4th Sunday UniďŹ ed Worship Service ~ 9:30 a.m. are until further notice.â€?

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

Sermons Available at BRBCONLINE.org

“MAKE IT HAPPEN�

Pastor Kevin Cook

St. Peter Baptist Church $R +IRKLAND 2 7ALTON 0ASTOR

Worship Opportunities Sundays: All Sunday services have been suspended for the remainder of the month. Join us for online streaming this Sunday at 10 AM. Visit our WEBSITE, look under “/NLINE 3ERVICES,� and access the “0ASTOR S -ESSAGE.�

permitted the use at the time, and the land was already zoned appropriately.

But the following year, as the group ran out of plots in its existing cemetery, the county amended an ordinance to limit cemeteries within 900 feet of private wells, reservoirs or streams that drain into reservoirs. All of the newly purchased land is within 900 feet of a lake and creek, and nearby homes use private wells.

The ordinance, which had not been updated for well over a decade, requires nine times more distance from private

“The Church With A Welcome�

3HARON "APTIST #HURCH 500 E. Laburnum Avenue, Richmond, VA 23222 www.sharonbaptistchurchrichmond.org (804) 643-3825 Rev. Dr. Paul A. Coles, Pastor

SUNDAY, JUNE 28, 2020 Summer Hours

Morning Worship 10:00 AM Drive-In Service in our Parking Lot

2006 Decatur Street, Richmond, VA 23224 ZBCOFFICE@VERIZON.NET • (804) 859-1985 or (804) 232-2867 Church OďŹƒce Dr. Robert L. Pettis, Sr., Pastor

You may join us on Facebook Live: Zion Baptist Church (South Richmond) For Sunday Services at 10:30 AM Bible Study, Wednesdays at 7 PM Dr. Robert L. Pettis, Sr., Pastor Listeners can call: (508) 924-3234 Support us Online through the Givelify App

Good Shepherd Baptist Church 1127 North 28th St., Richmond, VA 23223 s Office: (804) 644-1402 Dr. Sylvester T. Smith, Pastor “There’s A Place for You�

Due to the COVID-19 Corona Virus All regular activities have been suspended until further notice.

Visit https://youtu.be/qqzhnIEQyQc for inspirational messages from Pastor Smith

New Deliverance Evangelistic Church

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

JUNE 28, 2020 9:30AM

Tithing Opportunities Download the Tithe.ly giving app for Apple and Android devices. Your gift is safe/secure and goes directly to our church.

Service

Bishop G. O. Glenn

Following COVID-19 guidelines:

D. Min., Pastor

s -ASK AND FACE COVERINGS must be worn

First Lady

s 0RACTICE SOCIAL DISTANCING BY REMAINING six (6) feet distance

SUNDAY

s !LL ATTENDEES must REMAIN in their vehicles�

Mother Marcietia S. Glenn

8:00 a.m. Sunday School 9:30 a.m. Worship Service

Follow peace with all WEDNESDAY SERVICES men, and holiness, Noonday Bible without which Study no man 12:00 p.m. (Noon) shall see the Lord: Sanctuary - All Are Welcome!

Hebrew 12:14 (KJV) Wednesday Evening Bible Study 7:00 p.m.

(Bible Study) www.ndec.net

Tune in on Sunday Morning to WTVR - Channel 6 - 8:30 a.m.

SATURDAY

6 weeks to 4th grade Before and After Care

8:30 a.m. Intercessory Prayer

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

See you there!

Zion Baptist Church

Bible Study Opportunities Thursdays: All Bible Study sessions have been suspended for the remainder of the month.

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

wells than the 100 feet required by the Virginia Department of Health.

In 2018, the Department of Justice launched an investigation into whether county leaders discriminated in their handling of the case. The suit also raises concerns about the involvement of one planning commissioner who lived near the proposed cemetery.

Earlier this month, theAMAA filed a federal lawsuit arguing that Stafford County and its Board of Supervisors showed bias toward Christian graveyards and against Muslim ones.Â

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.

CHRISTIAN ACADEMY (NDCA) NOW ENROLLING!!!

For more information Please call

(804) 276-4433

Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm

Richmond Free Press

B4 June 25-27, 2020

Legal Notices/Employment Opportunities Divorce VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND FELICIA L. HASKINS, Plaintiff v.

JEREMY A. WALKER, Defendant.

Case No.: CL20-2355-2 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is for the petitioner to obtain a divorce from the defendant.

It is ORDERED that the defendant, Jeremy A. Walker, whose last known address was 3213 Terminal Avenue, Richmond, Virginia 23234, and whose whereabouts are now unknown, appear here on or before the 3rd day of August, 2020 at 9:00 a.m. to protect his interests.

An Extract, Teste: Edward F. Jewett, Clerk VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE COUNTY OF HANOVER BETTY TILLMAN, Plaintiff v.

WILLIAM SHIPP, III, Defendant.

Case No.: CL20001752-00 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 27th day of July, 2020 at 9:00 AM, and protect his interests.

A Copy, Teste: FRANK D. HARGROVE, JR., Clerk I ask for this: Law Office of Dorothy M. Eure, P.C. Dorothy M. Eure, Plaintiff’s Attorney VSB# 27724 8460 Mount Eagle Road Ashland, VA 23005 (804) 798-9667 VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE COUNTY OF HANOVER WALLESHA CARTER, Plaintiff v.

SHAE CARTER, Defendant.

Case No.: CL20001565-00 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 27th day of July, 2020 at 9:00 AM, and protect his interests.

A Copy, Teste: FRANK D. HARGROVE, JR., Clerk I ask for this: Dorothy M. Eure, Esquire Law Office of Dorothy M. Eure, P.C. VSB# 27724 8460 Mount Eagle Road Ashland, VA 23005 (804) 798-9667 VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE COUNTY OF HANOVER BHARAT PATEL, Plaintiff v.

DAXA DALAL, Defendant.

Case No.: CL20001751-00 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

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

It is ORDERED that the defendant, who is a nonresident of the Commonwealth of Virginia, appear here on or before the 27th day of July, 2020 at 9:00 AM, and protect her interests.

A Copy, Teste: FRANK D. HARGROVE, JR., Clerk I ask for this: Law Office of Dorothy M. Eure, P.C. Dorothy M. Eure, Plaintiff’s Attorney VSB# 27724 8460 Mount Eagle Road Ashland, VA 23005 (804) 798-9667 VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE COUNTY OF HANOVER MELINDA MILLER, Plaintiff v.

ROBERT MILLER, JR., Defendant.

Case No.: CL20001042-00 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

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

It is ORDERED that the defendant, who is a nonresident, appear here on or before the 27th day of July, 2020 at 9:00 AM, and protect his interests.

A Copy, Teste: FRANK D. HARGROVE, JR., Clerk I ask for this: Dorothy M. Eure, Esquire VSB# 27724 Law Office of Dorothy M. Eure, P.C. 8460 Mount Eagle Road Continued on next column

Continued from previous column

Ashland, VA 23005 (804) 798-9667 VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR COUNTY OF HENRICO SANNAH HOLMES, Plaintiff v.

RAYMOND FREDERICK HOLMES III, Defendant Case No.: CL20-2328 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this action is to obtain a divorce a vinculo matrimonii from the Defendant on the grounds of having lived separate and apart for more than one year; Upon affidavit that after due diligence, Defendant’s whereabouts remain unknown to Plaintiff;

It is ORDERED that the Defendant appear and protect his interests on or before August 3, 2020.

A Copy Teste: HEIDI S. BARSHINGER, Clerk VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE COUNTY OF HANOVER MWILA BATES Plaintiff v.

TYRELLE BATES Defendant.

Case No.: CL20001683-00 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 20th day of July, 2020 at 9:00 AM, and protect his interests.

A Copy, Teste: FRANK D. HARGROVE, JR., Clerk I ask for this: Law Office of Dorothy M. Eure, P.C. Dorothy M. Eure, Plaintiff’s Attorney VSB# 27724 8460 Mount Eagle Road Ashland, VA 23005 (804) 798-9667 VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE COUNTY OF HANOVER ERICA BROADFOOT Plaintiff v.

TYLER BITTEL Defendant.

Case No.: CL20001682-00 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 20th day of July, 2020 at 9:00 AM, and protect his interests.

A Copy, Teste: FRANK D. HARGROVE, JR., Clerk I ask for this: Law Office of Dorothy M. Eure, P.C. Dorothy M. Eure, Plaintiff’s Attorney VSB# 27724 8460 Mount Eagle Road Ashland, VA 23005 (804) 798-9667 VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE COUNTY OF HANOVER DANIELLE SIMMONS Plaintiff v.

JAMES SIMMONS Defendant.

Case No.: CL19001047-00 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

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

It is ORDERED that the defendant, who is a nonresident, appear here on or before the 20th day of July, 2020 at 9:00 AM, and protect his interests.

A Copy, Teste: FRANK D. HARGROVE, JR., Clerk I ask for this: Dorothy M. Eure, Esquire VSB# 27724 Law Office of Dorothy M. Eure, P.C. 8460 Mount Eagle Road Ashland, VA 23005 (804) 798-9667 Virginia: In the Circuit Court of the COUNty of HENRICO ESTHER OKOROAFO RUFFIN, Plaintiff, v.

MAURICE STEPHFAN RUFFIN, Defendant.

Civil Law No.: CL20-2664 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of the abovestyled suit is to obtain a divorce from the bonds of matrimony from the defendant on the grounds that the parties have lived separate and apart without interruption and without cohabitation for a period of more than one year, since April 15, 2015.

And it appearing by Affidavit filed according to law that Maurice Stephfan Ruffin, the above-named defendant, is not a resident of this state and that due diligence has been used by or in behalf of plaintiff to ascertain in what county or city the defendant is, without effect.

It is therefore ORDERED Continued on next column

Continued from previous column

Continued from previous column

Continued from previous column

that the said Maurice Stephfan Ruffin do appear in the Clerk’s Office of the Law Division of the Circuit Court of Henrico County, 4301 East Parham Road, Richmond, Virginia 23273, on or before July 13, 2020 and do whatever necessary to protect her interest in this suit.

An Extract, Teste: HEIDI S. BARSHINGER, Clerk I ask for this: Rudolph C. McCollum, Jr. VSB #32825 P.O. Box 4595 Richmond, Virginia 23220 Phone (804) 523-3900 Fax (804) 523-3901

RICHMOND JOHN MARSHALL COURTS BUILDING CITY OF RICHMOND, Plaintiff, v.

GEORGE E. UNDERWOOD, et al, Defendants.

Case No.: CL20-984 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is to subject the property briefly described as 1203 North 35th Street,, Richmond, Virginia, Tax Map Number E0001408002, to sale in order to collect delinquent real estate taxes assessed thereon in the name of the owners of record, George E. Underwood.

An Affidavit having been filed that said owner, GEORGE E. UNDERWOOD, 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 GEORGE E. UNDERWOOD, and Parties Unknown, come forward to appear on or before AUGUST 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 804-646-7949

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 N AT H A N I E L P O R T E R , JR, TONYA TOWNSELL aka TONYA L. PORTER, RONALD LEE PORTER, upon information and belief deceased, or his heirs, devisees, assignees or successors in interest and Parties Unknown, come forward to appear on or before AUGUST 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 804-646-7949

CUSTODY VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND JOHN MARSHALL COURTS BUILDING In the matter of the adoption of a child to be known as Shevontae Alexis Crutchfield (Virginia Birth Registration Number 145-06-080646)

by Nicole Angela Johnson.

Case No.: CA20-16 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is to: 1. Terminate the parental rights of the birth mother, Shanta Alexus Crutchfield, the punitive birth father, Timothy Dillard and/or any unknown father whose whereabouts are unknown; 2. To grant leave to Nicole Angela Johnson to adopt, Shevontae Alexis Crutchfield date of birth October 10, 2006; and 3. To have the name of said child changed to Shevontae Alexis Johnson.

It is ORDERED that Shanta Alexus Crutchfield, Timothy Dillard and/or any unknown father appear at the above-named Court and protect her interests on or before July 15, 2020 at 1:00 p.m.

An Extract, Teste: Edward F. Jewett, Clerk I ask for this: Lynn L. Robinson, Esquire (VSB #43143) 8 West Leigh Street Richmond, Virginia 23220 TEL: (804) 225-9027 FAX: (804) 225-9076

PROPERTIES VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE CITY OF RICHMOND ANGELO D’LIMA, et al, Plaintiffs, v.

ESTATE OF ROD B. RADIVOJEVIC, et al, Defendants.

Case Number: CL20000939-00-7 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is to quiet the title of a certain property in the City of Richmond located at 3312 W Grace Street, Richmond, Virginia, 23221, City of Richmond Tax Parcel ID W0001523030 (the “Property”).

IT APPEARING by the affidavit filed with this Court that the defendant or defendants to be served are made parties to this suit by the general description of “parties unknown” (the “Parties Unknown”), and are deemed interested in the subject of this instant matter, i.e. the Property”. The nature of the interest of the Parties Unknown are rights inherited through a relevant will or through intestacy from the previous owner. Rod B. Radivojevic, after his death.

It is ORDERED that the Parties Unknown appear before this Court, located at the John Marshall Courts Building, 400 North Ninth Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219, on or before the 24th day of July, 2020 and do what is necessary to protect their interests herein.

An Extract, Teste: Edward F. Jewett, Clerk VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND JOHN MARSHALL COURTS BUILDING CITY OF RICHMOND, Plaintiff, v.

ROSA LELIA FLEMING, et al, Defendants.

Case No.: CL20-936 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is to subject the property briefly described as 2114 Newbourne Street, Richmond, Virginia, Tax Map Number E0120286024, to sale in order to collect delinquent real estate taxes assessed thereon in the name of the owner of record, Rosa Lelia Fleming.

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 AUGUST 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 804-646-7949 VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE CITY OF Continued on next column

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

SAMUEL EDWARDS, et al, Defendants.

Case No.: CL20-1094 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is to subject the property briefly described as 2613 Wise Street, Richmond, Virginia, Tax Map Number S0000793017, to sale in order to collect delinquent real estate taxes assessed thereon in the name of the owners of record, Samuel Edwards, Jacqueline Evans, Francine Edwards, LaTanya Edwards and Samuel Edwards, Jr.

An Affidavit having been filed that said owners, S A M U E L E D WA R D S , J A C Q U E L I N E E VA N S , FRANCINE EDWARDS, and SAMUEL EDWARDS, JR, who have been served by posting and by mailing a copy of the complaint to their last known address, have not been personally located and have not filed a response to this action; that said owner, LATANYA EDWARDS, has not been located and has not filed a response to this action; and that any heirs, devisees, assignees, successors in interest, successors in title and/or any creditors with a current or future interest in said property, have not been identified and/or served despite diligent efforts to do so and are defendants to this suit by the general description of “Parties Unknown.”

IT IS ORDERED that S A M U E L E D WA R D S , J A C Q U E L I N E E VA N S , FRANCINE EDWARDS, SAMUEL EDWARDS, JR, LATANYA EDWARDS, and Parties Unknown, come forward to appear on or before AUGUST 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 804-646-7949

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

VIRGINIA L. TURNER, et al, Defendants.

Case No.: CL20-137 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is to subject the property briefly described as 3324 Belmont Road, Richmond, Virginia, Tax Map Number C0080939008 to sale in order to collect delinquent real estate taxes assessed thereon in the name of the owners of record, Virginia L. Turner and Osborne L. Turner.

An Affidavit having been filed that JAMES A. BECK, Beneficiary of a Deed of Trust filed in the records of the Richmond Circuit Court at Instrument Number 08-32136 on December 31, 2008, 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 that JAMES A. BECK, Beneficiary of a Deed of Trust filed in the records of the Richmond Circuit Court at Instrument Number 08-32136 on December 31, 2008, and Parties Unknown, come forward to appear on or before AUGUST 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 804-646-7949

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

NATHANIEL PORTER, JR, et al Defendants.

CL19-5446 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is to subject the property briefly described as 1407 Bryan Street, Richmond, Virginia, Tax Map Number E0000606016, to sale in order to collect delinquent real estate taxes assessed thereon in the name of the owners of record, Nathaniel Porter, Jr, Ronald Lee Porter, and Tonya Townsell aka Tonya L. Porter .

An Affidavit having been filed that said owners, NATHANIEL PORTER, JR and TONYA TOWNSELL aka TONYA L. PORTER, who have been served by posting and by mailing a copy of the complaint to their last known address, have not been personally located and have not filed a response to this action; that RONALD LEE PORTER, upon information and belief deceased, or his heirs, devisees, assignees or successors in interest, have not been located and have not filed a response to this action; and that any heirs, devisees, assignees, successors in interest, successors in title

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

AGNES V. KEILHACKER, et al, Defendants.

Case No.: CL20-1650 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is to subject the properties briefly described as 4107 Lynhaven Avenue, Tax Map Number S0090224012 and 4109 Lynhaven Avenue, Tax Map Number S0090224013, Richmond, Virginia, to sale in order to collect delinquent real estate taxes assessed thereon in the name of the owners of record, Agnes V. Keilhacker and Anna Keilhacker Corrado.

An Affidavit having been filed that said owners, AGNES V. KEILHACKER, upon information and belief deceased, or her heirs, devisees, assignees or successors in interest and ANNA KEILHACKER CORRADO, upon information and belief deceased, or her heirs, devisees, assignees or successors in interest, have not been located and have 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 AGNES V. KEILHACKER, upon information and belief deceased, or her heirs, devisees, assignees or successors in interest, ANNA KEILHACKER CORRADO, upon information and belief deceased, or her heirs, devisees, assignees or successors in interest, and Parties Unknown, come forward to appear on or before AUGUST 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

Continued on next column

Continued on next column

Continued from previous column

900 E. Broad Street Richmond, VA 23219 804-646-7949 VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND JOHN MARSHALL COURTS BUILDING CITY OF RICHMOND, Plaintiff, v.

CESCA JANECE WATERFIELD, et al, Defendants.

Case No.: CL20-263 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is to subject the property briefly described as 14 West 24th Street, Richmond, Virginia, Tax Map Number S0000685015, to sale in order to collect delinquent real estate taxes assessed thereon in the name of the owners of record, Cesca Janece Waterfield.

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

IT IS ORDERED that CESCA JANECE WATERFIELD, and Parties Unknown, come forward to appear on or before AUGUST 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 804-646-7949 VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND JOHN MARSHALL COURTS BUILDING CITY OF RICHMOND, Plaintiff, v.

JAMES B. PETTIS, et al, Defendants.

Case No.: CL20-1321 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is to subject the property briefly described as 1904 North 25th Street, Richmond, Virginia, Tax Map Number E0120397006, to sale in order to collect delinquent real estate taxes assessed thereon in the name of the owners of record, James B. Pettis and Estelle Pettis.

An Affidavit having been filed that said owners, JAMES B. PETTIS, upon information and belief deceased, or his heirs, devisees, assignees or successors in interest, and ESTELLE PETTIS, upon information and belief deceased, or her heirs, devisees, assignees or successors in interest, have not been located and have not filed a response to this action; that EDWARD E. BERLING, TRUSTEE of a Deed of Trust filed in the records of the Richmond Circuit Court at Instrument Number 0437165 on November 5, 2004, said deed of trust per its terms maturing on January 2, 2006, 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; that DAVID N. JONES, Beneficiary of a Deed of Trust filed in the records of the Richmond Circuit Court at Instrument Number 04-37165 on November 5, 2004, said deed of trust per its terms maturing on January 2, 2006, has not been located and has not filed a response to this action; and that any heirs, devisees, assignees, successors in interest, successors in title and/or any creditors with a current or future interest in said property, have not been identified and/or served despite diligent efforts to do so and are defendants to this suit by the general description of “Parties Unknown.”

IT IS ORDERED that JAMES B. PETTIS, upon information and belief deceased, or his heirs, devisees, assignees or successors in interest, ESTELLE PETTIS, upon information and belief deceased, or her heirs, devisees, assignees or successors in interest, EDWARD E. BERLING, TRUSTEE of a Deed of Trust filed in the records of the Richmond Circuit Court at Instrument Number 0437165 on November 5, 2004, said deed of trust per its terms maturing on January 2, 2006, DAVID N. JONES, Beneficiary of a Deed of Trust filed in the records of the Richmond Circuit Court at Instrument Number 04-37165 on November 5, 2004, said deed of trust per its terms maturing on January 2, 2006, and Parties Unknown, come forward to appear on or before AUGUST 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 804-646-7949 VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE CITY OF Continued on next column

Continued from previous column

Continued from previous column

RICHMOND JOHN MARSHALL COURTS BUILDING CITY OF RICHMOND, Plaintiff, v.

REGINALD L. DUCKETT, JR, et al, Defendants.

Case No.: CL20-902 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is to subject the property briefly described as 3102 Columbia Street, Richmond, Virginia, Tax Map Number S0080632004 to sale in order to collect delinquent real estate taxes assessed thereon in the name of the owner of record, Reginald L. Duckett, Jr.

An Affidavit having been filed that said owner, REGINALD L. DUCKETT, JR 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; that JOHN C. LUMPKIN, REGISTERED AGENT for EVFS, LLC, TRUSTEE of a Deed of Trust filed in the records of the Richmond Circuit Court at Instrument Number 0726803 on August 7, 2007, has not been located and has not filed a response to this action; and that any heirs, devisees, assignees, successors in interest, successors in title and/or any creditors with a current or future interest in said property, have not been identified and/or served despite diligent efforts to do so and are defendants to this suit by the general description of “Parties Unknown.”

IT IS ORDERED that REGINALD L. DUCKETT, JR, JOHN C. LUMPKIN, REGISTERED AGENT for EVFS, LLC, TRUSTEE of a Deed of Trust filed in the records of the Richmond Circuit Court at Instrument Number 07-26803 on August 7, 2007, and Parties Unknown, come forward to appear on or before AUGUST 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 804-646-7949

to collect delinquent real estate taxes assessed thereon in the name of the owner of record, Mamie M. Elleby.

An Affidavit having been filed that said owner, MAMIE M. ELLEBY, upon information and belief deceased, or her heirs, devisees, assignees or successors in interest, have not been located and have not filed a response to this action; that WILLIAM ADAM WHITE, Registered Agent for SAMUEL I. WHITE, PC, TRUSTEE, on a Substitution of Trustee filed in the records of the Richmond Circuit Court at Instrument Number 01-5515 on March 7, 2001, has not been located and has filed a response to this action; that SALOMON BROTHERS REALTY CORP, a corporation not registered with the Virginia State Corporation Commission, Beneficiary of an Assignment of Deed of Trust filed in the records of the Richmond Circuit Court at Instrument Number 0225637 on August 16, 2002, has not been located and has 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 MAMIE M. ELLEBY, upon information and belief deceased, or her heirs, devisees, assignees or successors in interest, WILLIAM ADAM WHITE, Registered Agent for SAMUEL I. WHITE, PC, TRUSTEE, on a Substitution of Trustee filed in the records of the Richmond Circuit Court at Instrument Number 01-5515 on March 7, 2001, SALOMON BROTHERS REALTY CORP, a corporation not registered with the Virginia State Corporation Commission, Beneficiary of an Assignment of Deed of Trust filed in the records of the Richmond Circuit Court at Instrument Number 0225637 on August 16, 2002, and Parties Unknown, come forward to appear on or before AUGUST 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 804-646-7949

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

MAMIE M. ELLEBY, et al, Defendants.

Case No.: CL19-5650 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is to subject the property briefly described as 3113 5th Avenue, Richmond, Virginia, Tax Map Number N0050999007, to sale in order Continued on next column

To advertise in the

Richmond Free Press

call

644-0496

Follow the Free Press on @FreePressRVA @RichmondFreePressUSA

TRANSIT SYSTEM

ENTERPRISE RESOURCE PLANNING (ERP) CONSULTANT REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS GRTC Transit System invites all interested parties to submit proposals for enterprise resource planning (ERP) consultant.

Interested firms may download a copy of RFP # 189-20-06 from GRTC’s website www.ridegrtc.com (menu options: About Us, then Procurement) or obtain a copy by calling Allan Cox at (804) 358-3871 ext 371.

An optional pre-proposal video-conference will be held on July 7, 2020 at 10 am.

Proposals are due no later than 11:00 am on August 18, 2020. All inquiries pertaining to the request or any questions in reference to the solicitation documents should be directed to: Allan Cox Purchasing Manager (804) 358-3871, extension 371 Supplier diversity program – “providing equal opportunities for small businesses” EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

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

Director of Public Works/ County Engineer County of Henrico, Virginia

IRC127984. Manages the County’s Department of Public Works (DPW) operations and staff and serves as the County Engineer per Code of Virginia § 15.2-526; provides administrative oversight and direction for DPW’s operational divisions responsible for: construction and maintenance of County roadways, traffic engineering for County roadways and intersections, transportation, public works construction projects including the design, engineering and inspections; environmental compliance and management, including drainage and erosion control; surveying; and performs related work as required. For a more specific description of duties and qualifications and to apply, visit our iRecruitment site on the Internet at https://henrico.us/services/jobs.

Deadline 7/6/2020. EOE.