Richmond Free Press March 7-9, 2019 Edition

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MARCH 7-9, 2019

Mr. CIAA is OK

Where in the world is Mr. CIAA? That was the big question on the minds of CIAA fans last weekend when Abraham “Ham” Mitchell, known as Mr. CIAA, was conspicuously absent from the annual basketball tournament.

For more than four decades,

Related stories on A8, B2 Mr. CIAA has been a fan favorite as he struts his colorful, one-ofa-kind suits through the tournament arena, often changing his dazzling outfits during halftime from the colors of one team to that of the opposing team.

Cameras flash as people photograph him in his stylish attire, often stopping him to talk and take pictures with him.

But he was absent from this year’s

Mayor Stoney proposes tax hikes on real estate, cigarettes and utility rates to generate more money for city needs

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

More money, more money, more money.

That’s what Mayor Levar M. Stoney wants from taxpayers as he introduced his 2019-20 budget to Richmond City Council on Wednesday.

He proposed to pump millions of dollars into public schools, street paving and a wage increase for city workers to “build a more inclusive, more competitive and more equitable city.”

To pay for those “investments,” he waded into waters most politicians shun — tax increases.

Rather than calling for cuts in City Hall operations, he urged City Council to raise about $21 million in new revenue with a 9-cent increase in the city’s real estate tax, the first increase in decades and a reversal of the longstanding city policy of, when possible, reducing the tax on property — the city’s biggest source of revenue.

If approved, the tax hike would require the owner of a property valued at $100,000 to pay an additional $90 a year in property tax.

Mayor Stoney, who broke his 2016 campaign pledge to not

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Herring breaks silence on blackface; GOP offers reward for evidence

Please turn to A4

The Republican Party of Virginia is offering a $1,000 reward for photographic evidence of Virginia Attorney General Mark R. Herring in blackface.

GOP officials announced the offer Tuesday in a news release while also issuing large “wanted” posters with Mr. Herring’s name across the front.

The political stunt comes during a week in which Mr. Herring spoke publicly for the first time in nearly a month since he admitted to wearing blackface to attend a party as a 19-year-old freshman at the University of Virginia.

Speaking Monday on The Kojo Nnamdi Show on WAMU radio in Washington, the 57-year-old Mr. Herring apologized repeatedly for dressing up like rapper Kurtis Blow with a wig and blackface in 1980.

“It was a one-time occurrence, and it is something that has haunted me for

Kamras releases details of approved schools cuts

By Ronald E. Carrington

Richmond Public Schools Superintendent Jason Kamras made public on Monday details of the 74 positions to be eliminated in a $300 million budget plan that was adopted Feb. 25 by the Richmond School Board.

Mr. Kamras had come under criticism from the board and schools advocates for a lack Mr. Kamras of transparency in not releasing details to the public before the budget plan was approved by the board.

Mr. Kamras announced in January that he planned to cut 49 jobs from the Richmond Public Schools’ central administration in an effort to trim $13 million from the budget. He said at the time and maintained recently that privacy rules prevented him from disclosing more details about the jobs to be slashed.

The surprise in the details released Monday showed that 74 Please turn to A4

On a roll Shamika Robinson and her 18-month-old daughter, Londyn Bryant, head toward the delicious smells of food coming from a bevy of food trucks Sunday on Hull Street in South Side.

The food truck rodeo kicked off the 2019 Richmond Black Restaurant Experience. Children’s games also were part of the festivities. Please see more photos, B3.

decades, and I’m so very sorry for the hurt that I’ve caused,” Mr. Herring said.

His admission in early February to wearing blackface came just days after he’d condemned Gov. Ralph S. Northam for similar behavior.

In the radio interview, Mr. Herring defended his decision calling for the governor’s resignation, saying he only did so when it became clear that Gov. Northam had lost the public’s trust.

“For me, it was really about the public trust. And I want to be clear about this — I would hold myself to the same standard,” Mr. Herring said.

He also was questioned during the interview whether his admission to wearing blackface was prompted by media inquiries of a photo from that time. Mr. Herring told the radio host he came forward to “maintain my credibility.”

He also said he is uncertain whether Please turn to A4

Cotton boll becomes pressure point during tour with Mrs. Northam

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

Regina H. Boone/Richmond Free Press

Free Press staff, wire report

Virginia First Lady Pam Northam met privately Saturday with a mother and daughter to discuss their concerns that went viral about Mrs. Northam’s efforts to offer Executive Mansion visitors insight into the hardships enslaved people had endured.

The meeting was unannounced, and neither Mrs. Northam nor Leah Walker and her daughter, Alexandra, an eighthgrader who served as a Senate page during the General Assembly session, issued any statements regarding the discussion about the way the first lady handed out samples of raw cotton during a Feb. 21 tour for pages of the mansion and the restored exterior kitchen of the house in Capitol Square.

Still, the meeting may have ended the flap that drew international interest and fresh attention to Gov. Ralph S. Northam’s troubles over his use of blackface in 1984.

The Virginia NAACP, among others, used the uproar to renew the call for the governor to resign. The Rev. Kevin Chandler, state NAACP president, stated that the “recent statements and actions of First Lady Pam Northam further demonstrate the troubling insensitivity and tone deaf response to Virginia’s past involvement in and acceptance of slavery and its malignant effects.”

The uproar began when Mrs. Northam held the traditional tour of the Governor’s Mansion for about a 100 teens who served as pages in during the 2019 General Assembly session that was about to adjourn.

The youths broke into several smaller

groups for the tour.

Among other things, Mrs. Northam, a former elementary and high school teacher and advocate for early childhood education, stopped in the cottage on the grounds outside the mansion that once was the kitchen used by enslaved African-American cooks

from the first lady.

However, Alexandra wrote a letter to Mrs. Northam afterwards, describing the show-and-tell as “beyond inappropriate, especially considering recent events” involving the governor.

The 14-year-old primarily was con-

Gov. and First Lady Northam

and workers to serve past governors. The enslaved also slept there.

As described in multiple reports, Mrs. Northam handed a cotton boll to the visitors and asked them to imagine what it would be like to work all day picking cotton.

Alexandra, who was one of three African-Americans in her smaller tour group, found Mrs. Northam’s words and actions upsetting and did not take the cotton boll

Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press

cerned that Mrs. Northam appeared to focus on her and the other two AfricanAmericans when she handed out the cotton boll. While Alexandra declined to take it from Mrs. Northam, she said one of her friends did and “it made her very uncomfortable.”

“I will give you the benefit of the doubt Please turn to A4

Richmond Free Press

A2 March 7-9, 2019

Local News

Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press

New upscale apartments are filling 15 acres on the campus of Union Presbyterian Seminary in North Side.

The $50 million Canopy at Ginter Park development at 3401 Brook Road, which is to include 15 new buildings with 301 rental units and a clubhouse, is heading toward completion.

The development overcame significant opposition from neighbors who battled unsuccessfully for nearly four years with the seminary, City Hall and in the courts in an attempt to halt the loss of what was considered a community park, despite its private ownership.

In a bid to accommodate opponents, the seminary dropped any immediate plans to develop 19 additional acres of open land next to the complex that includes a

No details released on meeting about Councilman Agelasto Will he or won’t he?

Richmond Commonwealth’s Attorney Michael N. Herring remains mum about whether he will file for a special writ in Richmond Circuit Court to remove 5th District City Councilman Parker C. Agelasto.

Mr. Herring declined comment on his plans after meeting Friday with former City Councilman Sa’ad El-Amin about seeking a writ of quo warranto to remove Mr. Agelasto from office because Mr. Agelasto moved last year out of the 5th District, which he was elected to represent, to a home in the city’s 1st District.

As the Free Press reported last week, Mr. El-Amin called on Mr. Herring to seek the writ and warned that he would file for the writ himself if the commonwealth’s attorney did not proceed.

Mr. El-Amin would not discuss what the two men spoke about, but described the meeting with Mr. Herring as productive.

“I am confident this matter is moving in a positive direction,” Mr. El-Amin said.

At this point, he added, “the ball is in the commonwealth’s attorney’s court.” — JEREMY M. LAZARUS

Google to host free internet workshop Friday Google, the giant internet search engine, will host a free workshop aimed at boosting the digital skills of job seekers and small business owners at 10:30 a.m. Friday, March 8, at the Richmond Public Library’s Main Branch, 101 E. Franklin St. Dubbed “Grow with Google,” the workshop will offer training by a Google team of computer coaches to help participants take advantage of the training and tools the company offers.

The program is to include group activities and one-on-one help, the company stated.

Richmond is just one of the stops Google is making at libraries that offer job search assistance and basic digital skills training.

Details and registration: G.co/GrowVirginia.

walking trail and community garden.

Construction on the apartment project began in the summer of 2017, nearly two years after the seminary gained the final green light from the city.

The seminary partnered with Tennessee-based Bris-

Cityscape

Slices of life and scenes in Richmond tol Development Group to create the development and retained a minority ownership interest as part of the deal. Seminary officials have stated that the project was undertaken to improve housing for its adult students and their families and as a way to generate revenue for

operations and scholarships by leasing the majority of the apartments to the public.

Started in Prince Edward County in 1812, the seminary has been a fixture in Richmond since 1898.

The development, which is going up on land donated to the seminary in 1910, occupies just a portion of the 56-acre campus.

Seminary President Brian Blount is confident area residents will come to see the Canopy at Ginter Park as a high-quality development that adds to the aesthetics and housing choices in North Side.

Opponents of plans to turn some traffic lanes on Brook Road to dedicated bike lanes cited the extra traffic the development is expected to generate in their failed bid to halt the bike lane proposal.

Mayor says Coliseum plan on hold for now

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

The $1.4 billion plan to replace the Richmond Coliseum and build new offices, hotels, retail stores and more than 2,800 apartments in 10 blocks near City Hall has been moved off the fast track.

The rush to get the project underway has ended, Mayor Levar M. Stoney disclosed in his first public comments on the grand plan to remake a section of Downtown north of Broad Street.

He said the proposal still is not ready to present to City Council and, at best, would not be until well after work is completed on the 2019-20 budget that begins July 1.

“It’s going to take more than four months” of additional legal work, and even then, there might not be a deal, the mayor indicated.

He offered the comments in response to a question about the planned Navy Hill project at the Feb. 28 Mayorathon, a review of the mayor’s first two years that Richmond Magazine and a host of Richmond area nonprofits staged at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Institute for Contemporary Art. Among other things, Mayor Stoney said he wants to ensure that the proposal would be a revenue gusher that could in the next 30 years provide the city with huge increases in tax revenue over and above the cost of construction and debt repayment

for a new 17,500-seat coliseum.

The city’s financial adviser suggested that the city could gain over three decades $1.1 billion in new revenue, excluding the new arena’s cost. That is a rosier outlook than even the Navy Hill group has projected.

“Our attorneys are at the table with the developers’ attorneys,” the mayor told the audience, and “if those returns were not to materialize — I don’t want that to be on the backs of city residents and taxpayers.

“In the past, we’ve rushed opportunities Mayor Stoney like this. I think we need to dot our ‘i’s and cross our ‘t’s this time,” he said.

Mayor Stoney’s current note of caution on the project pulls back from the enthusiasm with which he introduced the proposal in November on behalf of the Navy Hill development group that Dominion Energy’s top executive, Thomas F. “Tom” Farrell II, is leading.

Last year, the mayor believed the proposal was ready to roll and was beginning to lobby the council for support.

The mayor and his top administrators also had criticized the council for voting in December to create a citizen commission to review the proposal the

mayor had hinted could be sent to City Council before Christmas, though that never happened.

At that time, Chief Administrative Officer Selena Cuffee-Glenn told the council that the city had spent more than a year carefully reviewing the proposal as she argued against a commission that she said could delay the start of the project.

In preparation, the city moved its homeless shelter to the Conrad Center in Shockoe Bottom and closed the Richmond Coliseum in early January, with project supporters expecting demolition to possibly begin this month. The Coliseum’s management contract is set to expire this month, according to the council.

Ms. Cuffee-Glenn joined the mayor in endorsing a City Council proposal to hire its own consultant to review the project proposal.

However, the administration has yet to provide any funding. The council has requested $150,000 be included in the 2019-20 budget, although the money would not be available until July 1.

SMG, which manages arenas in the United States and overseas, has run the city’s Coliseum since 2000 and has long had a Richmond partner, Johnson Marketing Inc. City Hall has not issued any new requests for qualifications for a Coliseum manager, indicating that it has no immediate plans to reopen the existing arena.

Settlement reached in former city employee’s legal suit

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

A former city employee is moving to settle her federal lawsuit against the City of Richmond for wrongful termination and violations of federal laws regarding medical leave and overtime pay.

City Attorney Allen L. Jackson confirmed that the city and Dikiviya Howell reached an agreement Feb. 27, but would not disclose the terms.

Ms. Howell could not be reached for comment, and her attorney, Nichole B. Vanderslice, declined to comment.

The city initially denied Ms. Howell’s claims of federal law violations and had requested the U.S. District Court in Richmond to dismiss the suit for alleged lack of evidence.

According to people with knowledge of the settlement, the city plans to pay Ms. Howell between $70,000 and $80,000, but will not reinstate her. They declined to be named as they are not authorized to comment on the suit.

A city employee for more than 11 years with a good record, Ms. Howell sued after she was terminated last June from her job as a tax enforcement officer in the city Department of Finance.

According to her suit, Ms. Howell sought to work from home

while caring for her two seriously ill children.

She initially gained approval, then her superiors in the department refused to pay her for her work, revoked her telecommuting privilege without explanation and ultimately fired her for being “absent without leave” even though she was still covered by the federal Family and Medical Leave Act, her suit claimed.

Ms. Howell also alleged that city Finance Director John B. Wack barred her and the other tax enforcement officers from claiming overtime pay when they worked more than 40 hours a week. When she filed for overtime, the city’s computerized payroll records were changed to eliminate it, the suit alleged.

Photos by Regina H. Boone/Richmond Free Press

‘Unbound 2019: Truth & Reconciliation’ In one of his first public appearances since the blackface scandal, above, Gov. Ralph S. Northam, second from left, and former Gov. Bob McDonnell, left, attend the opening of “Unbound 2019: Truth & Reconciliation” on Feb. 28, at The Gallery at Main Street Station. This is the first part of a yearlong exhibition launched by the Richmond Slave Trail Commission to tell the stories of Africans in the Americas before 1619 through the present day. Left, Gov. Northam is guided toward the artifacts

by Delegate Delores L. McQuinn of Richmond, chair of the commission, while Mieko M. Timmons, above, explains some of the exhibition pieces. Located on the first floor, the exhibition is open to the public without charge 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily at the station, 1500 E. Main St. Under Gov. McDonnell’s administration, the state put up $11 million for various historical projects related to memorializing the enslaved in Virginia, including the Lumpkin’s Jail site and a related museum in Shockoe Bottom and funds for the improvement of the Richmond Slave Trail.

Richmond Free Press

March 7-9, 2019

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Richmond Free Press

A4 March 7-9, 2019

News

No repeat for John Marshall H.S. John Marshall High School’s standout basketball season ended Tuesday night.

Competing in the State Class 3 semifinals held in Newport News, the Justices were defeated 74-71 in overtime by Phoebus High School of Hampton.

Coach Ty White’s squad was seeking a second straight state title.

DeMarr McRae led John Marshall with 18 points, followed

by Jairus Ashlock with 14 points, Elijah Seward with 13 and Levar Allen with 12.

John Marshall finishes the season with a 21-5 record, while Phoebus improves to 25-2. Phoebus now advances to play Northside High School of Roanoke on Thursday, March 7, in the state final at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Siegel Center. Tipoff is 2:30 p.m. — FRED JETER

Mr. CIAA is OK Continued from A1

tournament held Feb. 26 through March 2 at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, N.C. And people noticed. Many were worried that something happened to Mr. CIAA, a senior citizen who doesn’t tell his age.

The Free Press learned Tuesday that Mr. CIAA is OK. He missed the tournament because of a transportation mix-up.

It was really that simple, Mr. Mitchell explained. “My car was in the shop needing a front end alignment and my nephew arranged for someone else to drive me to Charlotte.”

His nephew, Peter Mitchell, who played on Norfolk State University basketball teams that won three CIAA titles in the early 1970s, claimed responsibility and remorse for the problem. He has been taking his uncle to the tournament since 1975, but because of a business commitment this year, asked a friend to drive Mr. Mitchell from his home in Suffolk to Charlotte instead.

“My friend didn’t show up,” Peter Mitchell said. “I don’t think he knew the significance of my uncle’s appearance or his historical entertainment and engaging role at the tournament.

“It was totally my fault,” he continued. “I feel bad about it.”

Mr. CIAA had prepared 10 new suits, matching shoes and walking canes for the basketball classic and was ready, too, for an interview with radio personality Tom Joyner during the “Sky Show” on Friday, March 1.

The interview never took place.

Mr. Mitchell, who was inducted into the CIAA Hall of Fame in 2016, and his nephew said they will not miss next year’s tournament, which will be the last one held in Charlotte before the tournament moves to Baltimore through 2023.

And because Mr. CIAA didn’t get a chance to wear this year’s assortment of attire, he promises next year there will be a double dose of fashion entertainment and excitement.

Kamras releases details of schools cuts Continued from A1

positions would be stricken under the approved budget, while another 25 positions would be added, bringing the total reduction to 49.

Ten of the positions slated for elimination are currently vacant.

The majority of the job cuts — 51 positions — would come from RPS’ chief operating office and chief schools office, including cutting the jobs of 17 attendance officers who check on students who are chronically absent from school and nine slots in facilities that include custodial and maintenance workers.

The Richmond school system has been under siege because of dilapidated conditions of school buildings and lack of maintenance and upkeep. RPS also has one of the highest student dropout rates in the state at 19.5 percent, meaning nearly 1 in every 5 students in city schools drops out.

Also targeted in the cuts are five exceptional education instructors and two in the Virginia Pre-School Initiative. Four professional development positions also would be cut.

Under the plan, a security and safety specialist would be added, along with five school-based custodians among other positions.

Board members questioned how the 25 jobs funded through the school system’s strategic plan, which was funded in Mr. Kamras’ budget, will factor into the equation.

Mr. Kamras said he would get that information to the board at a later date.

Board members Kenya Gibson, 3rd District, Dr. Patrick Sapini, 5th District, and Felicia Cosby, 6th District, said at Monday night’s meeting that they are concerned about dayto-day operations and possible negative effects by the cuts on classroom instruction.

Mr. Kamras responded that his administration is looking at the best way to move forward with the proposed cuts while honoring the affected employees with respect and dignity.

“In this process, we want to engage our (affected) employees and many of those conversations will be taking place in the next several weeks,” he said, noting officials will offer those targeted for cuts with options of transferring to other positions within the school system or elsewhere in city government.

Fourteen employees, who addressed the School Board during Monday’s meeting, expressed concern about what would happen to the employees and the families of those whose jobs are slated for elimination.

“A reasonable and possible solution to the budget problem would be a hiring freeze, which is common practice in the private sector,” said a woman who works in the RPS payroll office, but did not want to be identified.

A soon-to-be cut media manager, who also did not want to be identified, told the board, “while school systems all over the state would love to have a creative services team, this administration doesn’t see the department’s value.” He said multimedia productions are potential income generators for the school system and could provide an additional revenue stream to support the schools’ strategic plan.

The $13 million in cuts comes as Mayor Levar Stoney announced Wednesday that his city operating budget would include $18 million more for RPS to help fund the strategic plan.

In other matters, Mr. Kamras introduced his vision and goals for a rezoning plan that he hopes to be complete in June and would go into effect for the 2020-21 school year, giving parents and students time to adjust to any changes.

He said the goals for the rezoning would include easing overcrowding, while planning for future population trends; placing students in modern facilities through potential school consolidations and closures; and increasing diversity within schools.

Mayor Stoney proposes more taxes Continued from A1

raise taxes with last year’s increase in the meals tax to raise money to build new schools, went all in by also calling for City Council to impose the city’s first tax on cigarettes — a 50-cent per pack levy that would raise $3 million.

He also called for boosting utility rates that he said would add nearly $6 a month to the average customer’s bill.

It was all too much for 8th District Councilwoman Reva M. Trammell, who after the budget presentation, accused the mayor of waging war on already struggling families and telling him that he had damaged his re-election prospects.

“We’re not going to have you around much longer,” she said.

However, Council President Cynthia I. Newbille provided evidence of support, praising the mayor’s plan as a “bold initiative.”

Including utilities, the mayor’s proposed spending plan tops $1.5 billion, but most of the focus will be on the general fund, which is used to pay for most government operations, ranging from parks and courts, schools, public works and more.

Under the mayor’s plan, general fund expenditures would grow to $757.9 million in the new fiscal year that is to begin July 1, up from $719.9 million approved in the current 2018-19 fiscal year. That’s a $38 million increase.

In a city of about 230,000 people, the mayor’s plan proposes spending about $3,300 per person, or $175 more per person than the approximate $3,125 per person being spent this year.

In his address, Mayor Stoney argued that Richmond cannot make needed investments because income — even with soaring real estate values — is not keeping pace.

He said while the city would bring in more revenue, virtually all of that increase would be sopped up by rising costs, such as increases in employee health insurance and retirement benefits, jumps in the cost of medical care and food service for inmates at the city jail and increased investment in a tax relief program for the elderly and disabled.

“The costs of doing business as a city government are going up,” Mayor Stoney said. The higher costs and the slow growth in revenue means “we only have enough to maintain the status quo. I do not believe the status quo will advance our city into the upper echelons of American cities.”

He said the decision in 2006 to cut the tax rate from $1.29 per $100 of assessed value to $1.20 per $100 and the Great Recession had left the city with too little money.

He said that he and the council “must demonstrate we have the courage and the vision to take the actions required to make Richmond not just a Top 10 place to visit, but a Top 10 place to live” by restoring the tax rate to $1.29, still far below previous levels.

If council approves the tax increases, he said the city could provide $18.5 million in new funding to Richmond Public Schools to fully fund its budget request, including covering the cost of launching its strategic plan; the local share of a state-approved 5 percent pay increase for teachers; and the costs of school crossing guards and of after-school transportation.

The tax increase also would be used to boost spending on street paving and sidewalk installation by $16.2 million and increase funds to build affordable housing.

The money also would be used to boost Greater Richmond Transit Company’s ability to improve service and route frequency in Church Hill and other areas that need it most.

In addition, he said the budget provides funding to provide a 3 percent wage increase for city workers, the largest increase in years.

He said the city cannot deal with the disrepair of its streets, offer competitive pay for its employees or provide a quality education for Richmond’s children without more funds.

However, the mayor can expect to hear more from people like 4th District School Board member Jonathan Young, who noted that the board cut $13 million from its expenses before seeking an increase.

Mr. Young said the city needs to do the same thing before asking for more revenue from taxpayers, and he promised to oppose any school budget that included funding from any increase in city property taxes.

Meanwhile, 2nd District Councilwoman Kim B. Gray, who struggles like many families to pay the bills, said she wants the mayor to say whether he will be personally affected as a property owner by the increase in taxes.

Mayor Stoney said he is ready for the debate. He acknowledged his budget proposal is not “the easy thing to do, but it certainly is the right thing to do.

“It is designed to build on our successes while addressing years of deferred maintenance and delayed investment in our city,” he said.

Referencing a phrase from poet Langston Hughes, Mayor Stoney said, “Whether it’s the dream of strong and thriving neighborhoods – or the Dreams4RPS strategic plan — we cannot allow these dreams to be deferred or denied any longer.”

Herring breaks silence on blackface; GOP offers reward for evidence Continued from A1

any photos exist.

“Does anyone really believe him?”

GOP state officials said in a news release on Tuesday.

“Herring stated that he spoke with ‘college friends’ about his appearance in blackface and double checked if anyone had photo evidence of his indiscretions,” the news release stated. “…The Republican Party of Virginia is seeking further evidence of Mark Herring’s blackface and the witnesses to his racist past.”

The RPVA then stated they are offering a $1,000 reward for a “verified copy” of a photo showing Mr. Herring in blackface or verifiable contact information for one of his U.Va. fraternity brothers who could produce such a photo.

Gov. Northam initially apologized for being in a racist photo that surfaced on his 1984 medical school yearbook page showing one person in blackface and another in full Ku Klux Klan robe and hood. A day

later, Gov. Northam said he wasn’t in the picture, but had worn blackface later that year portraying Michael Jackson during a dance competition when he was a medical resident in San Antonio.

Controversy built with Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax being accused by two women of sexual assault, allegations the lieutenant governor vehemently denies.

Many of the Democrats who called for Gov. Northam’s resignation have been more forgiving of Mr. Herring, who would be replaced by a Republican if he stepped down. Gov. Northam would be replaced

by Lt. Gov. Fairfax.

Critics have assailed both Gov. Northam and Lt. Gov. Fairfax for how they’ve handled their respective scandals. Gov. Northam has been ridiculed for an awkward performance at a news conference, while Lt. Gov. Fairfax has been criticized for comparing himself to Jim Crow-era lynching victims.

Mr. Herring has kept an extremely low profile after issuing his initial statement.

During the radio interview, Mr. Herring did not directly respond to questions about whether he still thinks Gov. Northam should resign. The governor has resisted widespread calls to step down, instead saying he wants to focus on racial reconciliation during his remaining three years in office. Mr. Herring has said that is what he wants to do as well.

As for Lt. Gov. Fairfax, Mr. Herring said, “The women deserve to be heard, deserve to be treated with respect. All parties want some type of impartial investigation. The question is how that can happen. … I favor some path to have the facts come out.”

Before the blackface scandals erupted, Mr. Herring said he planned to run for governor in 2021. He said Monday that those plans are not on his mind at the moment.

“Obviously, I am not thinking about that at all. What I am focused on is what has happened in Virginia over the last month and what I might be able to do to repair the damage,” Mr. Herring said.

Cotton boll becomes pressure point during tour with Mrs. Northam Continued from A1

because you gave it to some other pages,” Alexandra wrote, “but you followed up by asking: ‘Can you imagine being an enslaved person and having to pick this all day?,’ which didn’t help the damage you had done.”

Alexandra’s mother then wrote a scathing email, attached her daughter’s letter, and sent it to state lawmakers and the governor’s office with a request that it be given to Mrs. Northam, according to a spokesperson for Mrs. Walker, who has not responded to a request for an interview.

Mrs. Walker’s email message included a claim from her daughter that Mrs. Northam asked that question only of the African-American students in the group. Others on the tour, however, said that did not happen.

“I cannot for the life of me understand why the first lady would single out the African-American pages or why she would ask them such an insensitive question,” wrote Mrs. Walker, who manages the Virginia Department of Education’s Office of Equity and Community Engagement.

Mrs. Walker noted that Gov. and Mrs. Northam had sought forgiveness for racially insensitive past actions, but “the actions of Mrs. Northam … do not lead me to believe that this governor’s office has taken seriously the harm and hurt they have caused African-Americans in Virginia or that they are deserving of our forgiveness.”

Mrs. Walker’s message and her daughter’s letter went viral after the Washington Post published a story about their allegations on Feb. 25.

The Walkers found themselves bombarded with requests for interviews, while the governor’s office was besieged with requests for a response. The Walkers did not respond, and the first lady mostly let the governor’s office respond.

Mrs. Northam later stated, “I regret I have upset anyone.”

But she also defended her decision to highlight the role enslaved people played in building the Governor’s Mansion in 1813 and

in cooking there during her tours and other programs.

On Mrs. Northam’s behalf, the governor’s office said that she considers it important to call attention to the enslaved people who worked there rather than just focusing on the past governors and their families who lived in the house.

According to the governor’s office, Mrs. Northam began using cotton bolls and tobacco leaves as props during her tours after meeting with experts at Monticello to get information on presenting a more complete picture of enslaved workers. That has become a significant focus of the tours at the Charlottesville area home of slave-owning President Thomas Jefferson.

Republican Sen. William M. Stanley Jr. was among a bipartisan group of legislators who defended the first lady. He said his daughter, who was a page and participated in the same tour as Alexandra, said the cotton boll was passed around and every page had a chance to hold it, though she noted some of the group chose not to.

“The first lady’s intent was to make sure that everyone felt the pain (enslaved people) felt in some small measure,” Sen. Stanley said.

He also noted that his wife was among a group of lawmakers’ spouses who received a similar tour by Mrs. Northam a week before the pages. He said the spouses also handled samples of cotton and tobacco.

Following the pages’ tours, no one filed a complaint with the Senate clerk or the clerk of the House of Delegates. Reportedly, the only mention was that a page fainted during the kitchen tour and had to be revived.

Delegate Marcia S. Price of Newport News, a member of the Virginia Black Legislative Caucus, and others issued statements praising Alexandra for speaking up.

“Cotton, itself, is a symbol of murder, rape and displacement,” Delegate Price stated.

While the brouhaha has begun to subside, the incident reflects the racial edginess in which the state and its leadership are operating.

Richmond Free Press

March 7-9, 2019

A5

News

Petersburg schools superintendent retiring June 30

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

Dr. Marcus J. Newsome is retiring as superintendent of Petersburg Public Schools at the end June with his school improvement plan only half completed.

The 65-year-old educator who has spent three years in the post made the announcement Wednesday afternoon. He plans to wrap up a 40-year career in education that includes 16 years as a superintendent.

Dr. Newsome has led Petersburg schools since July 2016, when he delayed his retirement to accept the post following a successful tenure as superintendent in Chesterfield County.

At the time, Gov. Terry McAuliffe and the state secretary of education, Anne Holton, encouraged Dr. Newsome to take on Petersburg, one of the most troubled school districts in Virginia that regularly ranked around the bottom in student achievement.

In his letter Wednesday to the Petersburg School Board, Dr. Newsome wrote, “I share your pride in knowing that we are in a much better place than we were three years ago. ...

Together, we have established a solid foundation for the future.”

While state data has yet to show much improvement in pass rates on reading, writing and math tests, Dr. Newsome cited an array of changes,

Community paint party Saturday for Maggie Walker Murals

A community paint party to create murals inside the Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School will be held 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Saturday, March 9, at the school, 1000 N. Lombardy St., it has been announced.

“Everyone is welcome,” said Richmond artist Colleen P. Hall, who has designed 12 murals celebrating the Richmond banker and

businesswoman that are to be installed in an entryway at the school.

Ms. Hall said the designs have been set up in a paint-by-numbers fashion to allow community members to participate.

Details: Ms. Hall, (804) 501-6898 or colleenphall@gmail.com

Free Press wire report

MORENO VALLEY, Calif.

A black activist said he has taken the helm of what has been billed as one of the nation’s largest neo-Nazi groups to put it out of business.

Corporate records show James Stern of Moreno Valley, Calif., is now president of the National Socialist Movement. He replaces previous longtime leader Jeff Schoep.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Mr. Stern said last week that he established a yearslong dialogue with Mr. Schoep and convinced the former leader to transfer the organization to him when Mr. Schoep said he planned to disband it.

“The National Socialist Movement put a poison pill into the truth of history. I think we can put in the antidote to make sure that we correct some of those wrongs,” Mr. Stern said.

Mr. Stern said he prefers to control the group and neuter it rather than see it disband and reconstitute in the shadows.

“If he dissolved the group, all anyone would have to do is take it and reincorporate it and carry on the same shenanigans as if it never stopped,” Mr. Stern said.

Mr. Schoep’s resignation comes as he and the National Socialist Movement are among a slew of defendants in a civil lawsuit filed by survivors of a violent 2017 white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va. Plaintiffs in that case recently filed a motion accusing Mr. Schoep of doing everything he could to cause procedural delays and duck accountability for his conduct.

In a phone interview, Mr. Schoep said Mr. Stern essentially

including providing laptop computers loaded with textbooks to every student in grades two through 12 and introducing all students to computer coding.

During his tenure, he said there has been a 20 percent increase in students reading on grade level. He Dr. Newsome also pointed to improved budgeting, a free teacher supply store and improved training for assistant principals.

He also led the creation of a five-year strategic plan launched last year aimed at upgrading the student learning experience and that was the basis of the corrective action plan the school system signed with the state Department of Education last October.

He also touted the stronger relationships that have been created with the city government, as well as with faith, business and nonprofit groups to build support for the school district.

Petersburg has eight schools and serves about 4,000 students.

School Board Chairman Kenneth L. Pritchett praised Dr. Newsome for his work and expressed regret that he is leaving.

“The School Board and I wish that Dr. Newsome’s retirement announcement could be

delayed for several more years. We know that our schools are stronger than they were three years ago.”

He said the seven-member board would quickly begin the process of finding a “talented and experienced superintendent to built on the foundation that we and Dr. Newsome have laid.”

Mr. Pritchett stated that the board has hired B.W.P. & Associates, an educational leadership search firm, to take charge of recruiting applicants.

Dr. Newsome began his career as an art teacher in public schools in Washington and later switched to mathematics in joining the Prince George’s County school system in Maryland, where he rose through the administrative ranks to executive director.

Newport News tapped him in 2003 to lead its school division, and Dr. Newsome was lauded for the academic improvements that won recognition for that city’s high schools.

In 2006, he became superintendent of Chesterfield County Public Schools, which saw improvements in the percentage of students passing state SOL tests and graduation rates reach all-time highs. He also switched students from textbooks to laptop computers and won recognition from the Obama administration in 2015 for changing to the digital environment.

Black activist says he took over neo-Nazi group to kill it Mr. Stern

tricked him into transferring leadership. He said Stern suggested that the plaintiffs would no longer pursue the lawsuit against Mr. Schoep and the NSM if Mr. Schoep handed over the reins.

Mr. Schoep said he was preparing to leave the party leadership anyway, and agreed to Mr. Stern’s proposal as a way to try to reduce the party’s legal liability.

“He has that piece of paper, but he is absolutely not recognized as the leader of the National Socialist Movement,” Mr. Schoep, a Detroit resident, said of Mr. Stern.

Mr. Stern, though, says he can speak for the NSM, and filed T:11” his own motion in that case on Feb. 28, saying the group now admits its liability in the lawsuit.

“Justice must be served and the truth must be told,” Mr. Stern wrote in the motion. “Consequences must be excepted (sic).”

It is unclear whether the judge will accept Mr. Stern’s status to speak for the organization.

Mr. Stern’s actions invited comparisons to the recent Spike Lee movie “BlacKkKlansman” in which a black police officer infiltrates a Colorado branch of the Ku Klux Klan.

The lawsuit against Mr. Schoep, the National Socialist Movement and other white nationalist groups describes NSM as one of the nation’s largest neo-Nazi groups, but a former officer in the group recently told the AP that it had only about 40 active, dues-paying members last year.

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Richmond Free Press

Saucer magnolia on South Side

Editorial Page

A6

March 7-9, 2019

A word to the wise We are disappointed and feel duped by Richmond Schools Superintendent Jason Kamras and the poor way in which he has handled the public school system’s budget plan.

Mr. Kamras expected the Richmond School Board to vote on a proposed $300 million budget without releasing full copies of the plan to them or to the public for thorough review and scrutiny.

The future of Richmond’s 25,000 public schoolchildren cannot be determined in secrecy and without transparency. We believe Mr. Kamras’ actions were in violation of the state’s open records law, and he should be taken to task for it.

Mr. Kamras claims he was protecting the privacy of the school employees whose jobs are slated for elimination under his budget.

But while Mr. Kamras announced weeks ago that he would cut 49 positions in his budget plan, he didn’t release until Monday the actual plan that showed he would be eliminating a total of 74 positions, but adding 25 others. Nor is it clear if any of the new jobs are part of another 25 called for in the school system’s strategic plan that is to be funded in the budget.

At a town hall meeting last week, Mr. Kamras indicated that he was showing the public that Richmond Public Schools could be fiscally responsible by cutting $13 million that included funding for the 74 positions.

Mr. Kamras’ public relations ploy has backfired. He has damaged his credibility and squandered some of public trust he has gained during his first year on the job by playing fast and loose with the budget process.

Transparency is paramount in Richmond, particularly because of the past problems of non-disclosure by former Superintendent Dana Bedden of an $8 million surplus when parents, teachers, students and advocates were begging the city for additional money to fix broken down schools.

Mr. Kamras needs to stop the smoke and mirrors and follow the law, particularly when it comes to money and RPS. Otherwise, like Dr. Bedden, he may be out before his contract ends.

If Mr. Kamras and the School Board can find the resources, perhaps they should hire retiring Petersburg Schools Superintendent Marcus J. Newsome as a consultant. Dr. Newsome’s long and successful record leading school districts in Newport News, Chesterfield County and Petersburg could only be a plus for Richmond.

Herring and blackface We listened to Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring’s radio interview Monday on the Kojo Nnamdi Show on WAMU in Washington.

It was Mr. Herring’s first public interview since confessing to his own blackface episode dressing as rapper Kurtis Blow in 1980 when he was a 19-year-old freshman at the University of Virginia. To listen to it or to read a transcript, go to https://thekojonnamdishow. org/shows/2019-03-04/mark-herring.

Mr. Herring said during the interview that he has spent the last four weeks since his blackface revelation in early February meeting and talking with legislators, community officials, friends and others across Virginia to apologize directly and to find out whether “they still trusted me to continue to do the job effectively.”

He said one theme throughout his conversations is the “renewed focus on race” in Virginia and the desire “to make something good come of this — that maybe we can have a more honest dialogue about our nation’s history and the legacy of white privilege and institutional and systemic racism that persists today as a result of that,” including “specific ways we might be able to rectify the ongoing discrimination that happens.”

We are glad that the 57-year-old Mr. Herring has awakened since his college days to the demeaning and humiliating statement blackface conveys. And we believe he owes the people of the Commonwealth an apology for his actions, as well as acknowledgment of what critical and positive change needs to happen now.

But we were struck at the numerous times Mr. Herring apologized during the interview for what he called his “shameful act,” as though he was reciting the Act of Contrition given him by a priest in a confessional to absolve his sins.

He also used his loop of apology to sidestep questions on why he is not holding himself to the same standard he demanded of Gov. Ralph S. Northam in calling for his resignation for a blackface routine in 1984 as Michael Jackson in a dance contest when the governor was a 24-year-old medical resident in Texas.

Mr. Herring also reeled off his apology in dodging questions about whether he still believes Gov. Northam should resign, whether the surfacing of Gov. Northam’s yearbook page showing a person in blackface and another in full Ku Klux Klan garb was politically motivated and whether Mr. Herring’s public disclosure about himself was prompted by media inquiries about the possible existence of a photo showing him in blackface at U.Va. We believe Mr. Herring must answer those questions head-on rather than hiding behind an apology that started sounding canned and rehearsed. There is no ducking and dodging when it comes to issues of race. People in power, particularly Caucasians, have perpetuated many of the racist policies, practices and laws growing out of the long-held mistaken beliefs of white supremacy and white privilege because they want to dodge the mirror of truth when it comes to race. That time is up now in Virginia.

Mr. Herring, Gov. Northam and others cannot continue to hide or put off the deep and disturbing issues arising from this blackface scandal. Mr. Herring must come clean if he, like Gov. Northam, wants to remain in office.

We note the difference in age — and likely maturity levels — between Mr. Herring and Gov. Northam when their blackface episodes took place. While Mr. Herring was a young college student, Gov. Northam was out of college, had finished medical school and had started his residency. We would expect more from someone of the governor’s experience, knowledge and understanding at age 24.

We also note that Mr. Herring has done so much more for African-Americans and underrepresented communities in Virginia during his last five years as attorney general than Gov. Northam has done in his four years as lieutenant governor and first year as governor, Medicaid expansion not withstanding.

If Mr. Herring is sincere about committing to action to bring about change, then we need to see it rather than mere lip service.

We have urged the African-American community to focus on shaping what reconciliation looks like and to articulate to Mr. Herring, Gov. Northam and other state elected officials the specific changes that need to be made to laws and policy to secure a more equitable future for African-Americans and people of color.

We find it despicable that the Republican Party of Virginia is offering a $1,000 reward to the first person who can produce a verifiable photo of Mr. Herring in blackface or for a verifiable contact with one of his college fraternity brothers that ultimately leads to a photo of Mr. Herring in blackface.

We find it grossly inappropriate and disgusting for the GOP to offer such a bounty, like a reward for an outlaw or for body parts of a lynching victim. Their request may come back to haunt them.

Certainly, with the GOP’s history of racist members of its own, it would be no wonder if photos of their stalwarts in blackface, KKK robes, Nazi or Confederate get-ups surface for free — without charge or a $1,000 bounty.

The GOP should beware.

Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press

Selma can be a beacon

Political leaders from across the country gathered last weekend in Selma, Ala., to commemorate “Bloody Sunday,” the 1965 march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge where peaceful demonstrators, attempting to cross the bridge, were violently driven back

by Alabama State Troopers, Dallas County sheriff’s deputies and a horse-mounted posse wielding billy clubs and water hoses to savage the crowd.

The horrors played on TV sets across the country generated a national outrage that provided the final impetus for passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. In many ways, Selma is the birthplace of modern democracy in America, helping to secure the right to vote for AfricanAmericans and the young, and for providing the foundation for future battles for equality, including equal rights for women.

When former Alabama Gov. George Wallace was ill late in his life, I joined him for prayer.

I asked him why he unleashed the troopers on the demonstrators in 1965. He said, “I did them a

favor.” Gov. Wallace argued that the mob would have been much worse on the peaceful marchers.

He never even considered that he might have used the troopers to protect the marchers from the mob. That was a mentality that, as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. taught, could only be challenged by nonviolent protest that

Jesse L. Jackson Sr. demonstrated our humanity while demanding our rights.

In the commemorative ceremonies this year, presidential candidates U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, as well as U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton were joined by many legislators and political leaders. They sensibly called on participants to rise up again to challenge the revival of systematic efforts to suppress the vote and to push back against the outrageous U.S. Supreme Court decision in Shelby v. Holder.

This decision gutted enforcement provisions of the Voting Rights Act, and opened the floodgates to a wave of discriminatory state laws meant to keep people of color from exercising their right to vote.

There are laws that now re-

quire new forms of ID, voting districts have been gerrymandered and voter rolls purged.

Laws now limit early voting and polling places have been closed or move without notice, and much, much more.

The brave marchers in 1965 did their part for democracy.

Now it is up to us to defend it and extend it. At the same time, while Selma is the birthplace of modern democracy, it is in danger of becoming a prop. Selma is the ninth poorest small town in America and 40 percent of its residents live in poverty. It exemplifies the rural and smalltown America that has been left out of the recovery. Democrats tend to see rural America as Trump country.

President Trump appealed to rural voters by stoking their fears and turning them against each other, but he has come up with no plan to help them.

President Trump offers only hate, not hope.

The new Democratic majority in the U.S. House of Representatives is in many ways the fruit of the sacrifices made at Selma and elsewhere. Democrats should see Selma and rural America as both an obligation and an opportunity.

What’s needed is a comprehensive rural reconstruction plan, a modern version of what President

Reparations I was looking into how the issue of reparations to AfricanAmericans who descended from slaves has returned to the national political conversation—and wondering why—when a little story in Michael Cohen’s opening statement last week to the House Oversight Committee reminded me.

As an illustration of why he described his former boss, President Trump, as a “racist,” Mr. Cohen recalled a day when they were riding through a “struggling neighborhood in Chicago.”

“He commented that only black people could live that way,” Mr. Cohen said. “And he told me that black people would never vote for him because they were too stupid.”

Right. How could we, black people, sensibly resist President Trump’s heartfelt appeal for our votes: “What the hell do you have to lose?”

Is Mr. Cohen telling the truth?

Although I approach President Trump and his team like Ronald Reagan dealt with Russia, “Trust but verify” — except I have learned to reverse that with President Trump to “Verify, then trust” — Mr. Cohen’s account squares with other low opinions of black people that we have heard attributed to President Trump, who in his early real estate days was accused by the federal government of discriminating against black apartment applicants.

I spent years covering the struggling Chicago neighbor-

hoods like the one Mr. Cohen described. I also know a lot of success stories that have come from public-private partnerships between low-income residents and enlightened downtown executives who know a simple truth of urban life: Inside every ghetto there’s a neighborhood struggling to make a comeback.

Clarence Page I think neighborhood development could be a form of reparation, but it will have a much broader consensus of support if we don’t limit it to African-Americans.

Reparations is an issue that began around the end of the Civil War. In 1865, Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman issued special field orders to grant each freed family “40 acres of tillable land” in the sea islands and around Charleston, S.C., for the exclusive use of black people who had been enslaved.

About 40,000 freed slaves were settled on land in Georgia and South Carolina.

But after President Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, President Andrew Johnson reversed the order and the land was returned to its original owners.

It was one of many betrayals of black aspirations that would reimpose second-class citizenship on black Americans with the end of Reconstruction.

The former Rep. John Conyers Jr., D-Mich., pushed without success for almost 30 years, beginning in 1989, to pass a bill to create a commission to study the “impact of slavery on the social, political and economic life of our nation” and propose

possible reparations. It went nowhere.

Most serious proposals, by the way, ask not for a big lumpsum payout to black folks, as many imagine, but programs and policies to reduce inequality and promote education and skills training.

Sounds good to me. Even though I could possibly benefit as a descendant of American slaves, I’m not holding my breath waiting for my 40 acres and a mule.

In fact, the idea of a lump sum was effectively shot down by, among others, comedian Dave Chappelle, who produced a famous skit that imagined a lumpsum reparations payday for black folks. By sundown, the recipients were all broke again.

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont prefers economicbased remedies over race-based remedies. That was basically President Obama’s preference, knowing that it is much easier to build a multiracial consensus around programs like the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare, that offer benefits to the disadvantaged regardless of race.

But it remains to be seen how much racial “identity politics” will get in the way of productive Democratic Party politics, especially when and if more pragmatic center-left hopefuls, such as former Vice President Joe Biden or U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio, enter the race.

President Obama’s model isn’t perfect, but it beats the right wing’s fantasy that reparations mean a massive socialist giveaway to black folks of at least 40 acres, with or without the mule.

Let the debate begin.

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.

Franklin D. Roosevelt did when he built the Tennessee Valley Authority and modernized the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which literally electrified rural America.

Today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has the authority and the capacity to invest in water and sewage systems, modernize utilities, provide broadband to underserved communities, offer zero interest loans to community centers and subsidize affordable housing. What we need is a plan and a budget to get this done.

House Democrats should make this a priority.

Let’s honor those who sacrificed so much by repealing voter suppression laws. But let us also make Selma the birthplace of a new economic justice in rural America. Selma should be more than a symbol of past struggles.

It must also become a beacon for a new hope.

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Richmond Free Press

March 7-9, 2019

A7

Letter to the Editor/Commentary

Due process for Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax Speaking on behalf of thousands of voters who voted for Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax in 2017, we urge Mr. Fairfax not to resign.

The current situation is nothing but an abuse of power against both Mr. Fairfax and the voters who voted for him, particularly African-American voters.

While I, and many others, donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t disparage those who have accused him, we ask the lieutenant governor to stand firm in the coming days, weeks and months. Our interest is in seeing due process used to work through this situation.

What comes to mind in this situation is â&#x20AC;&#x153;buck breaking,â&#x20AC;? a vicious game used by people of power in Virginia and

elsewhere in America that continues even today in more subtle and much more effective ways. History is very clear about how many African-American men have been beaten, damaged, destroyed and killed resulting from the system of supremacy practiced regardless of political party or clandestine association.

As a black woman who is very active in the civil rights community and the activist community pushing for justice reform, I can assure you that increasing numbers of AfricanAmerican women take offense at how Lt. Gov. Fairfax is being treated.

Sadly, more than 50 years after so many hard-fought civil

rights achievements, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dream continues to be a dream deferred as reflected by efforts to cast Lt. Gov. Fairfax and the votes of so many African-Americans on the trash heap because of political survival and brinksmanship by people in both political parties and corporate chieftains in Richmond and the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Now more than ever, the voices of many are being heard privately, forming into a mighty force that, if nothing else, will be heard at the ballot box in June and November.

LYNETTA THOMPSON Richmond

Think F.A.S.T. when it comes to strokes The idea of a stroke can be frightening because it comes without warning and can change your life forever. Unfortunately, nearly 800,000 people will experience a new or recurrent stroke every year. Stroke is a leading cause of disability in the United States.

In any given year, 100,000 African-Americans will have a stroke, and stroke is the third leading cause of death in the AfricanAmerican community. Overall, African-Americans suffer more

Glenn Ellis strokes than any other group of people.

Studies show that if you are black and of African or Caribbean origin, you are twice as likely to have a stroke â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and at a younger age â&#x20AC;&#x201D; than white people. The reasons for this are complex and not completely understood.

While stroke is a leading cause of disability, it is also the leading cause of preventable disability.

In fact, research shows that up to 80 percent of strokes could have been prevented.

There are two main types of stroke â&#x20AC;&#x201D; those that block arteries and those that cause arteries to bleed. â&#x20AC;˘ Hemorrhagic Stroke: These strokes are caused by bleeding in the brain. They happen due to a weak spot in the wall of the blood vessel, which can cause an aneurysm, or bulging of the vessel wall. The vessels also can be weakened by chronic, very high blood pressure and break from force. When the vessel breaks, the blood leaks into surrounding tissue and the brain doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get the oxygen and nutrients it needs. â&#x20AC;˘ Ischemic Stroke: These strokes result from blocked arteries, which often occur from cholesterol buildup, called plaque.

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The risk of ischemic stroke â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the most prevalent type of stroke, which is caused by a blood clot that blocks an artery â&#x20AC;&#x201D; is three times higher in African-Americans than in white people.

Interestingly, nearly half of all stroke patients suffered from transient ischemic attacks.

You can think of plaque like scabs on the inside of the vessel. As an example, if you have ever lifted up a scab on your arm, if you lift too far, you can cause it to bleed again because itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not done healing underneath. Then youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve created a new injury. In the case of your arm, a new scab forms by forming a clot, which is great for helping the skin heal.

Similarly, plaque on the inside of the vessel can be fragile when blood flows past, causing the plaque to lift. But in your blood vessel, when plaque lifts up and the body tries to heal it like it would a scab on your arm, it makes a clot, which blocks blood flow and can lead to an ischemic stroke.

We all know too much stress in our daily lives is unhealthy. It can cause headaches, upset stomach, anxiety, difficulty sleeping and a whole lot more. But does stress cause stroke?

Chronic stress has been thought to be a risk factor for stroke. In studies, acute stress has been found to be a trigger for stroke, that is to say that strokes occur immediately after a stressful event more often than would be expected.

Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the connection between stress and stroke risk?

According to the American Medical Association, roughly 80 percent of doctor visits are stress-related, but what about major, deadly conditions like stroke?

A University of Michigan study found that men who were more physiologically reactive to stress as measured by high blood pressure were 72 percent more likely to suffer a stroke.

However, while stress is linked but not firmly established as an independent risk factor for stroke, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s important to note that stress is linked

with several firmly established risk factors for stroke, such as high blood pressure, smoking and obesity.

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s important to be able to recognize the symptoms of a stroke as soon as possible.

The quicker you can spot the symptoms, the sooner youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll receive medical attention and the better your chances of recovery.

The symptoms are generally the same regardless of the type of stroke. The F.A.S.T. guide is an easy way to remember the signs of a stroke and check on a possible stroke victim. â&#x20AC;˘ Face drooping. Typically, one side of the face will droop or become numb. Ask the person to smile. If itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s uneven, thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a sign.

â&#x20AC;˘ Arm weakness or numbness. A stroke will leave one arm weak or numb, making it difficult for a person to hold both arms up at the same level. See if one arm stays lower than another. â&#x20AC;˘ Speech difficulty or slurred speech. A stroke causes confusion and makes it hard to understand speech. Check on whether the victim can repeat a simple sentence clearly. â&#x20AC;˘ Time to call 911. As soon as you recognize these symptoms, call 911. Even if these symptoms are only temporary, get the sufferer proper treatment. Keep in mind the exact time the symptoms started so you can reference it later.

By understanding the root causes of a stroke, you can minimize your risk of having one.

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Richmond Free Press

A8 March 7-9, 2019

Sports Stories by Fred Jeter

VSU Trojans, VUU Lady Panthers win CIAA; next stop NCAA regionals Trojans triumph The powerful engine that is Virginia State University basketball barely tapped its brakes rumbling through Charlotte, N.C., and the CIAA Tournament championship last weekend.

Now, with whistles steaming and the furnace burning overtime, the Trojans’ next destination is the NCAA Division II playoffs.

“We’ll enjoy this a bit, but there’s more stuff to do,” VSU Coach Lonnie Blow said after the team’s 77-66 win over Shaw University last Saturday to claim the CIAA championship at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte.

The victory marked VSU’s fourth CIAA title in an event dating to1946. The Trojans previously won in 1947, 1988 and 2016.

“This tournament is historic,” Coach Blow said. “I tell our kids that to win this makes you a champion for life.”

Few teams anywhere carry more momentum.

The Trojans head to the NCAA playoffs with a 27-4 overall record, including 18-1 against CIAA opponents. VSU has won seven straight games and 23 of the last 24 matchups.

More to come: VSU will be making its third trip to the NCAA Division II Regionals in the last four years. In each previous trip, the Trojans lost in the second round.

As of Feb. 24, VSU was ranked third in the NCAA Atlantic Region, behind Indiana University of Pennsylvania and West Liberty University of West Virginia.

If form holds, VSU will travel to Indiana University (Penn.) for the Atlantic Regional starting Friday, March 15. The Trojans know the way; VSU lost to Indiana 70-67 on Nov. 10.

The Howze is on fire: Earning CIAA MVP honors was VSU’s Jahmere Howze. The rugged

Randy Singleton

Virginia State University team members celebrate after winning the CIAA title last Saturday in Charlotte, N.C. The Trojans defeated Shaw University 77-66 in the final.

6-foot-6, 230-pound senior center had 28 points and 12 rebounds against Shaw University. The Cleveland native dominated the Bears’ 6-foot-9 Alex Owens inside. After scoring 22 points in Shaw’s CIAA semifinal win over Virginia Union University, Owens was held scoreless against VSU. A transfer from California University of Pennsylvania, Howze is one of three front-line Trojans seniors who came to Ettrick with just one season of eligibility. Others were point guard C.J. Wiggins, a transfer from North Carolina Central University, and Jalen Jackson, from the University of Tennessee-Martin.

Coach Blow took a chance on his “one-year wonders” and so far it couldn’t have worked out better.

Howze was joined on the CIAA All-Tournament team by VSU teammates Jackson and Cyonte Melvin. Jackson had 16 points and eight rebounds against Shaw, while hitting four of eight behind the arc. Melvin is arguably the conference’s premier perimeter defender.

Wiggins, hailing from Benedictine Prep, had 11 points and six assists in the tournament finale, while Andrew Corum added 11 points and eight rebounds in reserve.

For Shaw University, Amir Hinton, the

McNeill takes Lady Panthers to top spot Virginia Union University may have discovered something even more valuable than home court advantage.

Call it the hometown girl advantage.

Shareka McNeill turned in a historically brilliant performance in leading the VUU Lady Panthers to the CIAA Tournament title with a 74-41 win over Fayetteville State University last Saturday at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, N.C. The win marked the Lady Panthers’ third CIAA title in four years under Coach AnnMarie Gilbert.

Next up for the team is the NCAA Division II Atlantic Region playoffs that start March 15.

A feeling of familShareka McNeill iarity may have played a role in southeastern North Carolina.

The Spectrum Center is just 4.7 miles from Harding High School in Charlotte, where Shareka and her twin sister, Shameka, starred before enrolling at VUU. To underscore the close proximity, the Harding High ROTC Color Guard even performed prior to the CIAA championship game.

“It made a big difference playing before my family and friends and this great crowd.

It was amazing,” McNeill said.

“Amazing” was the word of the week in describing the 5-foot-5 sophomore as she wore out defenders and statisticians alike.

In three games, McNeill tallied a tournament record 134 points, including 59 points against Livingstone College, 38 against Lincoln University of Pennsylvania and 37

see it every day. My job is to squeeze every bit of that talent out of her before she leaves.”

For the season, McNeill scored a CIAAbest 23 points per game.

At VUU’s postgame press conference on Saturday, McNeill was asked if she had ever scored so much even in high school.

“No, I think the most I ever got in high school was 25,” she said.

With a response that cracked up the room, Coach Gilbert quickly chimed in, “Must be the coaching.”

Sister Shameka McNeill had four steals in the final game and 6-foot-1 Randy Singleton junior Jasmine Carter, Lady Panthers Coach AnnMarie Gilbert cuts down the net from Richmond’s John in the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, N.C., following Virginia Marshall High School, Union University’s victory over Fayetteville State University contributed 18 points last Saturday to claim the CIAA championship crown. and 14 rebounds. in the final against Fayetteville State. She VUU will carry a 27-2 record and six had 30 points at halftime during the final straight victories into the NCAAs. before easing off the gas.

According to a Feb. 24 poll, the Lady Combined, she was 42 for 76 from the Panthers are ranked No. 1 in the Atlantic field, 24 of 39 behind the arc and 26 of Region and 12th nationally in Division II. 29 at the foul line.

That places the Lady Panthers in the pole As the CIAA Player of the Year, position to host the Regionals for the third McNeill was a no-doubt-about-it CIAA time in four years.

Tournament MVP. If so, VUU will not only have a home“Seeing this may be new to the rest of town girl advantage in Carter but the home the world,” Coach Gilbert said. “But we court advantage as well.

VCU in place to win A-10 Tournament

Since joining the Atlantic 10 Conference, VCU has compiled the conference’s best basketball record while being shut out for two prestigious individual awards.

The Rams are 100-38 combined against A-10 opponents since 2012, but have never had a Player of the Year or Coach of the Year winner.

That may — some say should — change March 12 or 13 when this year’s honors are announced during the A-10 Tournament at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.

The awards are voted on by coaches and media.

VCU guard Marcus Evans and secondyear Coach Mike Rhoades deserve serious consideration from the pollsters.

After defeating the University of Richmond 69-66 last Saturday, VCU is 23-6 overall and 14-2 in the A-10, a full two games ahead of runner-up Davidson College. The UR victory was the Rams’ 10th in a row.

Evans has been a catalyst. Entering this final week of the regular season, the 6-foot-2 junior from Chesterfield County leads the Rams with a 13.9 point scoring average, 96 assists and 55 steals.

His aggressive, penetrating style has led to being the most-fouled Ram. And Evans has responded nicely, hitting 123 of 159 free throw attempts for 77 percent.

Evans’ numbers would be larger if not for VCU’s deep, effective bench.

A transfer from Rice University in Houston, Evans averages just 27.2 minutes per game, much Coach Rhoades less than most other Player of the Year candidates.

The team is vastly improved from a year ago when Coach Rhoades’ inaugural Rams team went 18-15 overall and 9-9 in the A-10.

The upgrade has come as a surprise, especially when considering the loss of both leading scorer-rebounder Justin Tillman, and playmaker Jonathan Williams, from a year ago.

The Rams were picked to finish seventh in a preseason poll, but now are in a com-

Grande finale

The Virginia Commonwealth University Rams will close their regular season Friday, March 8, against St. Joseph’s University. Tipoff is 9 p.m. at the Siegel Center in Richmond, with ESPN2 televising the game. VCU is 15-1 this season at the Siegel Center.

manding position to earn a first-place banner.

Coach Rhoades, a former VCU assistant under former Coach Shaka Smart, would seem to have little competition for the Marcus Evans best coach award.

Evans’ top A-10 challengers might be scoring leader Charlie Brown of St. Joseph’s University, Kellan Grady and Jon Axel Gudmunsson of Davidson, Obi Toppin of the University of Dayton and the University of Richmond’s Grant Golden.

It also could be Evans will have to share votes with teammates Marcus Santos-Silva, De’Riante Jenkins and Issac Vann.

The Rams’ balance and bench production, along with some lopsided victories, tend to water down individual statistics. In many cases, the starters were off the floor late in games. No VCU player ranks near the A-10 leaders in minutes played.

VCU’s last Player and Coach of the Year awards came when the Rams were members of the Colonial Athletic Association. Eric Maynor was VCU’s last Player of the Year in 2009, while Anthony Grant was the last Coach of the Year in 2007.

nation’s leading scorer in the NCAA Division II, had 34 points and DaVaughn Kelsie, from Richmond’s Thomas Jefferson High School, had 17 points, with five 3-pointers.

Sideline supervisor: VSU came to the Charlotte tournament as the No. 1 seed and also a leader in bling. During the week, Coach Blow wore his two previous CIAA championship rings — earned at St. Augustine’s University in 2010 and in 2016 at VSU. Now he’ll be fitted for a third.

It’s about time for Coach Blow to be mentioned with some of the CIAA’s all-time coaching greats, including the likes of Clarence “Big House” Gaines, Dave Robbins, Charles Christian, Ernie Fears, Mike Bernard, Steve Joyner and Bobby Vaughan.

Since the 2015-16 season, VSU is 98-21 overall under Coach Blow and 58-10 in the CIAA. He was 63-27 previously at St. Augustine’s.

Sitting it out: The Trojans might have been even stronger if not for the unfortunate injury to senior Walter Williams, who had been named preseason All-CIAA. The former Henrico High School standout suffered a season-ending foot injury in November. Fortunately, he will receive a medical redshirt and return to action in the 2019-20 season.

Looking ahead: The CIAA Tournament returns to Charlotte in 2020 before moving to Baltimore in 2021. The event has been held in Charlotte since 2006.

Minus one: This was Chowan University’s final CIAA Tournament appearance. The university in Murfreesboro, N.C., will be leaving the CIAA as a full-time member to join Conference Carolinas in 2019-20. The Hawks will remain a CIAA associate member for football and bowling.

Chowan, while not an HBCU, has been a CIAA affiliate since 2007.

men’s team still one to watch next season You can make a case for Virginia Union University being the team to beat next CIAA basketball season.

The Panthers came up short this year, losing to Shaw University 70-58 in the tournament semifinals Friday, March 1, in Charlotte, N.C. “Fifty-eight points isn’t going to get it against Shaw,” said Panthers Coach Jay Butler. “We needed to bring our A game and the shots just didn’t drop.”

Still, there’s much to be excited about looking forward for the maroon and steel.

The Panthers had to replace seven seniors who were on last year’s tournament championship team.

This season, the team posted these Terrell Leach achievements: • 19-11 overall record, 13-4 in the CIAA; • Winners of eight of the last 10 games; • Second in the CIAA Northern Division behind eventual tournament champion Virginia State University; and • The only CIAA team to beat Virginia State University this season.

While last year’s team was nearly wiped out by graduation, most of this year’s primary contributors will return for an encore.

Will Jenkins and Terrell Leach will be seniors next season and each could contend for CIAA Player of the Year.

Will Jenkins Jenkins, the CIAA Defensive Player of the Year, had 23 points and eight rebounds in the 79-71 tournament quarterfinal win over Johnson C. Smith University.

Leach tossed in a combined 41 points in the two Charlotte outings after averaging 21 points for the season.

Also returning for his sophomore year will be 6-foot-5 Demarius Pitts, the CIAA Rookie of the Year.

Jordan Peebles, a 6-foot-7 high riser from Greenville, scored 10 points in each CIAA match and appears on the verge of stardom.

Jordan White and CIAAAll-Rookie pick Raemaad Wright both made strides this season toward becoming Demarius Pitts consistent, front-line players.

There is a hole to plug.

Coach Butler will need to find a new point guard after losing seniors Jemal Smith, who was out with an injury during the final month, and Eric Bowles.

Applying for the lead ball-handler role will be Darian Peterson from Chesterfield’s Monacan High School.

Peterson received quality minutes earlier this season but didn’t play in Charlotte as Coach Butler says he “shortened the rotation.”

Help is already on campus.

Players sitting out as redshirts were 6-foot-5 Shawn Sanders, a former All-Tidewater star at Green Run High School in Virginia Beach, and 6-foot-7 Bilal AbdurRahim, a transfer from Division I University of Southern Mississippi.

Among those receiving VUU scholarship offers is John Marshall High School point guard Levar Allen.

“And we’re always looking for that 6-foot-10, 6-foot-11 kid to put in the middle,” Coach Butler said. Jenkins, at 6-foot-7, was the Panthers’ tallest starter this season.

March 7-9, 2019 B1

Section

B

Richmond Free Press

Happenings

Personality: Kimberly Battle Spotlight on Richmond Branch president of the National Association of University Women A small, low-key group of women is working hard to address education issues in the United States and abroad by working with women, youths and the disadvantaged in local communities and in developing countries.

“We are small … but mighty,” says Kimberly Battle, president of the Richmond Branch of the National Association of University Women.

Among its efforts, the group provides reading materials to youngsters at the Peter Paul Development Center in the East End; awards a $1,000 scholarship each year to a Richmond area high school graduate that is renewable for up to four years; helps increase the number of AfricanAmericans in bone marrow and organ donation databases; and supports Alzheimer’s disease research, awareness and caregiver programs.

“We deal with the practical sides of programs and the nitty-gritty side of support and what we can do to make our community better,” Ms. Battle explains.

That’s a lot for the 16 women in NAUW’s Richmond Branch that traces its local beginnings to Virginia Union University in 1931, two decades after the national organization’s inception in Washington in 1910.

On Saturday, March 9, the branch will celebrate the vision and purpose of the organization with a Founders’ Day Luncheon honoring seven local “Unsung Heroes,” people who “demonstrate a commitment to uplifting the disadvantaged and improving the lives of African-Americans” in Metro Richmond, Ms. Battle says.

Honorees are Kevin L. Banks, a key figure in the restoration of historic Evergreen Cemetery; Shynetta Campbell, who established “Your Life Matters,” a nonprofit that increases community awareness of people impacted by depression, mental illness and suicide; retired Army Maj. Debbie M. Dozier, a registered nurse and kidney donor who promotes organ donation in the African-American and minority communities; Natima Jones, a former youth center director who continues to work with Armstrong High School’s leadership and cheerleading programs; Ronald Russell, a Scout leader who has mentored more than 25 young AfricanAmericans helping them to achieve the Boy Scouts’highest award, the Eagle Scout; Deacon Leon F. Jones, a longtime Cub Scout master and member of the Astoria Beneficial Club who started a mentoring program for elementary school students; and Marquella Whiters, a life coach who created a program to boost students’ self-esteem.

“This is one of our biggest programs,” Ms. Battle notes.

The Richmond Branch’s work follows NAUW’s national theme for the next two years: “A Legacy of Service and Com-

Want to go?

What: Richmond Branch of the National Association of University Women Inc.’s Founders’ Day Luncheon When: Noon to 2 p.m. Saturday, March 9, at Quioccasin Baptist Church, 9011 Quioccasin Road.

Speaker: Richmond Public Schools teacher Rodney Robinson, a finalist for National Teacher of the Year.

Honorees: Ceremony honors seven local “Unsung Heroes:” Kevin Banks, Shynetta Campbell, Retired Army Maj. Debbie M. Dozier, Leon Jones, Natima Jones, Ronald Russell and Marquella Whiters.

Tickets: $35.

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Details and tickets: nauw.richmond@yahoo.com

mitment to Action.”

“It’s important to have a legacy of service and a commitment to action,” Ms. Battle says. “We are about action.”

Historically, branch members have largely been educators, Ms. Battle says. But as the role of women has expanded in society, so have the professions of the branch members.

“Now our membership consists of women in government, accounting, social work, business, law and health care,” she says.

Ms. Battle is a family nurse practitioner and nursing educator.

During her tenure in office, which ends in 2020, she hopes to expand the chapter’s Unsung Heroes awards program, increase the chapter membership and community service hours and extend the group’s offerings to more Richmond youths.

“We have to change (and grow) with the times,” Ms. Battle says. “That’s what we are doing. We have to embrace change.”

Meet this week’s Personality and community advocate, Kimberly Battle: Occupation: Family nurse practitioner and nursing educator.

No. 1 volunteer position: President of the Richmond Branch of the National Association of University Women.

Date and place of birth: Sept.

24 in Richmond.

Current residence: Hanover County.

Education: Bachelor’s of science in nursing, Hampton University; master’s in nursing, Georgetown University; doctorate, Catholic University.

Family: Single.

Mission of National Association of University Women: To serve women, youths and the disadvantaged in our communities and in developing countries by addressing educational issues and strategically partnering with allied organizations.

The organization embodies this mission by promoting and conducting educational activities designed to provide

community outreach services at every level of development. Our national theme for the next two years is “A Legacy of Service and Commitment to Action.”

Membership requirements: Any women holding a bachelor’s degree or higher from an accredited college, university or scientific school listed by the United States Department of Education is eligible for membership in NAUW. Women from other countries must hold a baccalaureate equivalent to a four-year or higher degree in the United States from a certified accredited institution in their country or the country from which they receive their degree.

NAUW members come from varied backgrounds. Although the majority of us are educators, we do have members from professions in business, health care, social work, government and law. Most importantly, what we do have in common is a sincere desire to serve the communities in which we live and work and to continue to promote the goals and mission of NAUW. We are always looking for members who have the same commitment and interest.

Our website is nauw1910.org for more information.

Why I am excited about this organization: I am so excited about our commitment to uplifting youths by supporting literacy programs through the provision of reading materials and sponsoring a monthly birthday celebration with Peter Paul Development Center; awarding a scholarship annually to one recipient from the Metropolitan Richmond area for four years (total value $4,000); financially supporting HBCUs; supporting increasing the number of African-Americans in the bone marrow, tissue and kidney organ donation databases, as well as participating in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease.

I also enjoy the fellowship, personal enrichment and professional development I receive from my NAUW sisters locally, regionally and nationally.

How I start the day: Excited to wake up and put my feet on the floor and start a new day!

Quality I most admire in another person: Integrity.

Something I love to do that most people would never imagine: Dance.

NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR

Beautillion 2019

PROC Foundation, Inc. is currently accepting applications for its 2019 Beautillion. All male high school sophomores and juniors are welcome to submit an application. The “Beaux” will participate in community service projects, social etiquette classes and leadership development workshops. The culmination of the Beautillion Season will be a formal presentation of the young men at an elegant black-tie affair on November 16, 2019 at the Richmond Convention Center. In addition to cultural and educational activities, participants will have an opportunity to earn scholarships and prizes. An Information Session will take place on Sunday, March 10, 2019. The Session will begin at 3pm in the Fellowship Hall of Holy Rosary Catholic Church located at 33rd and R Streets. This Session will provide the necessary information to help you make your decision on participation. A mandatory Orientation Session will be held on Sunday, March 31, 2019 at 3pm at the Fellowship Hall of Holy Rosary Catholic Church. To obtain an application or additional information, contact Mrs. Brenda J. Foster at beautillion@procfoundation.org , 740-6162 or visit our website at www. procfoundation.org. The deadline to submit an application is March 31, 2019.

Professionals Reaching Out to the Community (PROC) Foundation, Inc. is a not-for-profit, non-stock corporation of Pi Rho Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

nurturerva.org

A quote that I am inspired by: “Nothing can dim the light which shines from within.”— Maya Angelou.

How I unwind: Watching TV. Best late-night snack: Potato chips.

Top of my “to-do” list: Organize my home office.

The best thing my parents ever taught me: Kindness really matters.

The person who influenced me the most: My parents, Phillip E. Battle and Myrtle T. Battle, who is deceased.

The book that influenced me the most: “The Purpose Driven Life: What On Earth Am I Here For?” by Rick Warren.

What I’m reading now: “Becoming” by Michelle Obama.

My next goal: To pick up my tennis racket and start playing!

Presents

Hosted by: The Honorable Levar Stoney

Friday, April 5, 2019 VIP Reception 6:00 p.m.

Elegant Dining 7:00 p.m.

New Elegant Venue The Main Street Station –The Shed 1500 E. Main Street, Richmond, VA For Sponsorship Opportunities and to Purchase tickets, go to www.vuu.edu/Gala or call 804.342.3938

Richmond Free Press

B2 March 7-9, 2019

Happenings

CIAA! Photos by Randy Singleton

The annual CIAA Tournament is known for its fun — inside and outside the basketball arena. And this year in Charlotte, N.C., was no exception, as HBCU alumni, fans and family enjoyed four days of food, fun and activities in the Queen City.

Top left and right: The Virginia State University Trojans don championship shirts and pose for a formal photo after winning the men’s title on Saturday. The Virginia Union University Lady Panthers break into glee after capturing the CIAA women’s title Saturday at the Spectrum Center.

Left: Shantavia Edmonds, Miss Claflin University, is crowned Miss CIAA 2019 at the CIAA Fan Fest Saturday at the Charlotte Convention Center. The junior biochemistry major who is a part of Claflin’s Alice Carson Tisdale Honors College also receives a $2,500 scholarship. Opposite: The renowned and often-imitated Virginia State University Woo Woos cheerleading squad shows off the moves they are known for during the game.

Left: Nine-time Grammy nominee Kelly Price entertains the audience during halftime at the women’s championship game Saturday, while singer, songwriter and actor Bobby V, right, takes the mic during halftime at the men’s final on Saturday, where Fayetteville State University cheerleaders were his backup dancers.

Bottom left: Presidents of the CIAA member schools are recognized at half-court during the tournament. Right, S. Dallas Simmons Jr., center, accepts the citation inducting his late father, former Virginia Union University President S. Dallas Simmons, into the CIAA Hall of Fame. With him are Dr. James Anderson, chair of the CIAA Board of Directors and chancellor at Fayetteville State University, and CIAA Commissioner Jacqie McWilliams.

Rev. T.C. Milner

Pharrell launching ‘Something in the Water’ in Va. Beach

NEW YORK Singer-songwriter Pharrell Williams is heading home to Virginia Beach to launch a new music and culture festival.

The Grammy-winning superstar announced Monday “Something in the Water, a multi-day event he’s calling a “cultural experience” that will debut April 26 through 28. He will perform on a stage set on the beach. Other performers include Missy Elliott, Travis Scott, Migos, Dave Matthews Band, Janelle Monae, Diplo, SZA, Lil Uzi Vert and Pusha T. Tickets go on sale Friday.

Mr. Williams said in an interview with The Associated Press that he created the festival to give back to the community that raised him and helped him achieve his goals and dreams.

“Virginians are taste-makers,” he said, naming famous Virginians from Ella Fitzgerald to Allen Iverson to Missy Elliott.

“Virginia has been home to some of the most gifted artists, athletes and scientists to ever live. And it makes sense. The people of Virginia are one-ofa-kind — uniquely gritty, bold and brilliant,” Mr. Williams said.

“Virginia needs this right now, and the world will see what we Virginians have known all along — there really is ‘Something in the Water.’ ”

The festival won’t just focus on music. The film “The Burial of Kojo,” acquired by Ava DuVernay’s ARRAY company, will be screened, followed by a discussion. The film will premiere on Netflix on March 31.

“Something in the Water” also will include a pop-up church service, karaoke featuring trap music, as well as moments with wellness expert Deepak Chopra and Geoffrey Canada, president of the Harlem Children’s Zone whose work has transformed the lives of thousands of inner-city youths.

Other musicians set to perform include Jaden Smith, Anderson .Paak, Kaytranada, Ferg, Jhene Aiko, Rosalia, Leikeli47, Maggie Rogers, Mac DeMarco, Masego, Virgil Abloh and John-Robert.

“It’s been fun curating the artistperformers,” said the Oscar-nominated Mr. Williams, who has produced hits for everyone from Jay-Z to Britney Spears.

Virginia Beach Mayor Robert “Bobby” Dyer said the festival “is going to be a transformative event for our city.”

“We are absolutely thrilled with the plans Pharrell and his team have for this year. There will be no doubt that what is ‘in the water’ around Virginia Beach is ‘something’ very special,” he said.

Details and tickets: www.somethinginthewater.com.

Regina H. Boone/Richmond Free Press

Nutzy’s ‘Block Party’ Nutzy, one of two mascots for the Richmond Flying Squirrels baseball team, shows off some of his salsa moves with Carmen Santiago of Petersburg last Saturday during Nutzy’s Block Party 2019. The annual event at The Diamond, complete with music, food, information and giveaways, was the opening day for individual ticket sales for the Flying Squirrels’ upcoming season. Opening day at the Richmond ballpark on the Boulevard is Thursday, April 4, when the Squirrels play the Hartford Yard Goats.

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Richmond Free Press

March 7-9, 2019 B3

Happenings 2nd Annual Richmond Children’s Business Fair Saturday Young entrepreneurs who have created a product or service will show off their wares at the 2nd Annual Richmond Children’s Business Fair 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, March 9, at the Children’s Museum of Richmond, 2626 W. Broad St. The marketplace is free and open to the public.

Participating youngsters ages 5 to 17 are

responsible for the setup, sales and interacting with customers. The event, presented by the Youth Business Exchange, is part of an initiative by two Texas organizations, the Acton School of Business and the Acton Academy, to help give students an opportunity to launch their business interest and creativity.

Details: www/childrensbusinessfair/org/ richmond-metro-rva-teens.

Photos by The Jones Photography & Media Co.

Courthouse renaming

Photos by Regina H. Boone/Richmond Free Press

‘Mobile Soul Sunday’ Teresa Rogers, below, leans out of the window of her food truck business, Sweet Temptations

by Teresa, to sell a sweet treat to Evangeline Wood of Ashland on Sunday on Hull Street. Ms.

Rogers’ food truck was among 15 in South Side for “Mobile Soul Sunday,” the kickoff of the 2019 Richmond Black Restaurant Week Experience. The event, which runs through Sunday, March 10, highlights Richmond’s black-owned restaurants, food truck and cart operators, caterers and local chefs. Above, Malcolm Andress makes a “Soul Shaker” as Mikala Weston holds up 5-year-old Jayden Pope to watch, along with the youngster’s mother, Tiera Snead. Below, Kelli Hughes and Mica Younger enjoy steak egg rolls from RVA Steak.

The courthouse in Charles City County has a new name. On Feb. 17, it was renamed the Iona Whitehead Adkins Courthouse in honor of the county’s late circuit court clerk. In 1967, Mrs. Adkins, shown at left in a photo held by her granddaughter, Kaci Easley, was the first African-American elected to a court of record in the United States since Reconstruction. Mrs. Adkins served as the court clerk for 21 years until her retirement in 1988.

She also was active with the local NAACP branch, the Charles City Civic League and St. John Baptist Church in Charles City until her death in October 2004. An array of elected officials attended the ceremony, including former Gov. Terry McAuliffe and Congressman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott. A plaque with Mrs. Adkins’ photo hangs in the courthouse foyer.

UNA125-1819 RICHMOND FREEPRESS | 7.278”W x 10”H | CMYK

Breakdancing an Olympic sport?

Free Press wire reports

Breakdancing, an art form started by African-American teenagers that has spread all over the world, may break into the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris as a new sport.

Olympic organizers announced recently that it will propose that the International Olympic Committee add breakdancing and three other sports — surfing, climbing and skateboarding — for inclusion in the quadrennial competition.

The IOC will consider the proposal and must reach a decision

by December 2020.

Tony Estanguet, a three-time canoeing Olympic champion and head of the Paris 2024 organizing committee, said the inclusion of the new sports would make the Olympics “more urban” and “more artistic.”

Breakdancing is an acrobatic form of street dancing set to hip-hop music. Breakdancing appeared in 2018’s Summer Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, Argentina, choreographed as battles decided by judges.

Russia’s Sergei Chernyshev, competing under the nickname “Bumblebee,” won the first gold medal for boys at the Youth Olympics, while Japan’s Ramu Kawai won the girls’ title.

The contests fell under the auspices of the World Dance Sport Federation.

Organizers said the same format used for “breaking” at the Youth Olympics —competitors involved in “head-tohead” battles —would be used during the Paris Olympics.

Breakdancing was created by black teens in the late 1960s and 1970s.

Since then it has been pracRamu Kawai of Japan is the first ticed all over the female gold medalist world, including in breakdancing in Japan, Rusafter beating sia, Cambodia, Emma Misak of Brazil, France, Canada during the Japan, Latvia and Breaking B-Girls South Korea.

Gold Medal Squash’s failure Battle at the to make the list of Summer Youth proposed sports for Olympic Games last the Olympics was met October in with disappointment Buenos Aires, by that sport’s governArgentina. ing bodies.

The number of athletes who will participate in the 2024 Olympic games will be capped at 10,500, according to Agence France-Presse.

Wang Lili/Xinhua

When UVA researchers and data scientists set out to find a way to fight

MACULAR DEGENERATION, they never imagined they would also find a way to fight Alzheimer’s and atherosclerosis. But by working together and asking bolder questions, they have made a groundbreaking discovery that could potentially protect more than 200 million people from blindness —— and help more than 670 million live healthier lives.

UNAFRAID TO

VIRGINIA.EDU /MACULAR

una125-1819_mac_freepress_7.278x10_M.indd 1

1/25/19 10:30 AM

Richmond Free Press

B4 March 7-9, 2019

Faith News/Directory

United Methodist Church keeps ban on gay clergy, same-sex marriage Free Press wire, staff reports

ST. LOUIS “We’re in this to the end,” sang LGBTQ United Methodists and their allies.

They prayed. They hugged. They pulled out more chairs as people packed a worship service hosted by the LGBTQ-affirming Love Your Neighbor Coalition on Feb. 27 in a hotel meeting room, a day after a three-year push to make their church more inclusive had been blocked.

Many at the worship service committed to staying in a denomination that voted on Feb. 26 to reiterate language in the

Book of Discipline, its rulebook, saying LGBTQ people could not marry or be ordained in its churches.

“Our work is to live like that Book of Discipline no longer exists and to be the church,” said the Rev. David Meredith, an Ohio pastor who has faced denominational discipline hearings since he married his longtime partner in 2016.

“Let us not step back from challenging, resisting, everything — ignoring the book so that we can simply be beloved children of God and the beloved people of God,” Rev. Meredith said.

The 864 delegates to the United Methodist Church General Conference, the global denomination’s decision-making body,

NFL team owner, human trafficking and faith-based communities chosen it if they had other viable options.

Anyone can be trafficked and anyone can be involved in trafficking. Trafficking happens when there is someone with power exploiting someone who is powerless.

Q: What might motivate someone like Mr. Kraft to be involved in something like this?

A: Though we are still finding out more details about this situation, in general, people’s misplaced desires can drive them to exploit others’ vulnerabilities. People who buy sex are often trying to fill loneliness

Q: How do you hope the NFL will respond?

A: The NFL is facing a dilemma. With all of the players that have been involved in domestic abuse situations, and now with this sex trafficking situation, the NFL needs to stand for the dignity of people who are suffering. They need to require more from their owners, have higher expectations and expect more from their players.

No matter how good a player is, people’s lives are of more value than any game.

Q: What can faith-based groups do about human trafficking?

ship, we can see our vulnerable neighbors as people — people who can be loved.

The news that New England Q: Can you give me an Patriots owner Robert Kraft has example of how a faith combeen charged with soliciting sex munity has helped stop human and prostitution in a spa as part trafficking? of a monthslong investigation A: A friend of mine is into a massive human trafficking a pastor whose church in ring is dominating headlines for Ridgewood, Queens, in New its shocking revelation about a York, works with immigrants legendary owner and current in his community. One day he Super Bowl champion. was handing out coats to the Mr. Kraft has denied any most vulnerable in the area. A wrongdoing, but the scandal of young woman came in for ashuman trafficking at the heart sistance. He found out that she of the allegations is not any had a job at a massage parlor single person’s story. next door.

Exposing and eradicating About a month later, somethis global — and local — one told him about a problem has been a brothel advertisement primary goal for Raleigh that had been shared on Sadler, founder of Let their community FaceMy People Go Network, book page. It was the which works to engage same woman to whom churches in combating he had given a coat. human trafficking. He He connected with is also the author of local law enforcement the new book “Vulnerwho began an investigaable: Rethinking Human tion. His suspicions were Trafficking,” which he right. What began with wrote from his perspecone pastor recognizing tive as an evangelical a need eventually led to Christian.

24 illicit massage parlors Religion News Serclosing. vice contributor Jamie Q: Anything else Aten, executive director you’d like to share? of the Humanitarian A: I want to see people Disaster Institute at all over the country realElise Amendola/Associated Press Wheaton College, asked ize that we may not be Mr. Sadler about the New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft yells to fans during the able to do everything, but Kraft scandal and about team’s victory parade Feb. 5 through downtown Boston to celebrate we can all do something. how faith communities the Patriots’ Super Bowl win over the Los Angeles Rams.

But before I could ever be can respond to human or desire for companionship.

A: First, as communities of a part of the solution to human trafficking. The interview has been edited for length and However, others do so out of a faith, we must become adept at trafficking, I had to realize that need for power or control. identifying those in our com- I was part of the problem. I, clarity.

Q: How widespread is hu- munities who are most suscep- too, was investing in a culture Q: What was your reaction tible to the lures of a trafficker. of brokenness, not through when you heard about Robert man trafficking?

A: According to the Global Once we discover those who soliciting prostitution, but in Kraft being charged with soSlavery Index, as many as 40.3 are marginalized or stigmatized the food I ate, the clothing I licitation?

A: It’s easy to think that the million people are impacted and enter into their lives, it wore and the entertainment I only people that solicit prosti- by various forms of human makes us better positioned to consumed. I needed to repent tution are those who don’t fit trafficking. Whether they are identify where force, fraud or from that.

Mr. Kraft may have been Mr. Kraft’s mold — especially trafficked for sex in an illicit coercion — the means of husomeone who seemingly has it massage parlor, forced to work man trafficking — intersects unintentionally perpetuating a larger systemic issue. all. It’s not clear if Mr. Kraft in an orange grove or coerced with their vulnerability.

We can learn the red flags.

We have to really have our knew about the spa’s connec- to be a live-in domestic servant tion to a human trafficking ring. for little to no pay, people are We have to stop seeing people eyes open to the vulnerable Regardless, the news (that came commercially exploited around through a transactional lens, around us. You will see most out of a police investigation into the world. Cases have been where we view people as clearly the exploitation of vulprostitution and sex trafficking) reported in every country as problems to be solved. Instead, nerability when you are focused through the context of relation- on loving the vulnerable. shines a light on the fact that well as every state. those in prostitution can be victims of trafficking.

We must re-examine our Zion Baptist Union Baptist Church assumptions. Many see nothChurch  ing wrong with the solicitation 2006 Decatur Street  of those in prostitution. Yet, Richmond, VA 23224  this case highlights a horrible 1813 Everett St., Richmond, Va. 23224  zbcoffice@verizon.net 804-231-5884 truth that many of those who

 Reverend Robert C. Davis, Pastor Dr. Robert L. Pettis, Sr., are “in the life” are not there Pastor  on purpose, or would not have Celebrating Our Church’s  th Sunday Service 10 a.m.  Church School 8:45 a.m.

Theme:  Remembering Our Past, Wednesday Bible Study Celebrating Our Present 7p.m.  and Approaching Our 2604 Idlewood Avenue Transportation Services  Richmond, Va. 23220 Centennial (100 Years) (804) 859-1985 Religion News Service

 

2IVERVIEW

passed the Traditional Plan, the most conservative of three plans proposed, with 53 percent of the vote.

The plan strengthens the enforcement of language regarding LGBTQ United Methodists written into the rulebook in 1972 that states “the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching” and that “self-avowed practicing homosexuals” cannot be ordained as ministers, appointed to serve or be married in the church.

The special session in St. Louis of the General Conference, it was hoped, would allow the church to move forward together despite deep, decades-long divides over the inclusion of its LGBTQ members. The three plans were presented by a specially appointed Commission on a Way Forward that delegates had approved when their regular 2016 meeting came to a stalemate over the debate.

The options also included the One Church Plan, recommended by the denomination’s Council of Bishops, that would have allowed individual churches and regional conferences to decide whether to ordain and marry LGBTQ people.

But LGBTQ United Methodists and their supporters still see reason for hope.

In April, the Traditional Plan goes to the denomination’s top court, the Judicial Council, which already has found parts of it to be unconstitutional. Not all of those parts were able to be amended by delegates before they approved the plan.

(In Richmond, the Rev. Matthew Bates, senior minister, and Joe Speidel, church council chair, at Centenary United Methodist Church in Downtown issued a statement saying the congregation is “deeply disappointed” by the decision made by the General Conference, noting it has “created a deeper division within the United Methodist Church.”

“We disagree with the current church policy, which states that ‘the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching,” Dr. Bates and Mr. Speidel stated. “We intend to continue to be an open church, fully inclusive and open to all God’s children across the theological and social spectrum.”)

The vote hurt many who support a full welcome of LGBTQ members.

Jen Ihlo, a delegate from the Baltimore-Washington Conference, said it is hard for her to believe the Judicial Council “will do the right thing,” she said. “But we’ll see.”

Numb and exhausted after the General Conference, Ms. Ihlo said she came to the Love Your Neighbor Coalition’s worship service because she needed to be with her community and will later figure out her next steps.

“I was baptized and confirmed in the United Methodist Church, but that church doesn’t seem to exist anymore. It’s judgmental. It’s divisive, it’s harmful. And that’s not what Jesus preached,” she said.

“That was why I needed to be here. And that’s what I was hoping for and fighting for as a delegate.”

The Wesleyan Covenant Association Council also met Feb. 27 and 28 to analyze the decisions made by the General Conference and determine its next steps.

Before the vote, the Rev. Keith Boyette, president of the WCA, had said he would recommend the association leave the United Methodist Church and form its own denomination if LGBTQ members were permitted to become clergy and marry. But following the vote, Rev. Boyette said such a split was “unlikely.”

The Rev. Adam Hamilton, a prominent pastor and delegate from the Great Plains Conference who had advocated the One Church Plan, said approval of the Traditional Plan alienated not just progressive United Methodists, but also those in the middle.

A number of people who hadn’t been engaged in the debate, were now hurt, angry and energized, he said.

“I ain’t going nowhere,” said Adama Hathaway-Brown, a certified candidate for ministry in the New England Conference, who identified herself as a “same-gender-loving woman.”

“There are just too many people to serve and I’ve come way too far to leave them now.”

In her conference, she said, there are people to feed at the soup kitchen; veterans and senior citizens to reach; and a number of people wanting to worship in a community that welcomes and affirms LGBTQ people. They were there before the General Conference, she said, and they are still there after the meeting.

Barky’s

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

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

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

New Deliverance Evangelistic Church

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

Remember...

At New Deliverance, You Are Home!

See you there and bring a friend.

97 Anniversary

"APTIST #HURCH (804) 353-6135 www.riverviewbaptistch.org Rev. Dr. Stephen L. Hewlett, Pastor Rev. Dr. Ralph Reavis, Sr. Pastor Emeritus

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



SCRIPTURE: Joshua 4:5-8 COLORS: Lavender and White

Sunday, March 10, 2019

“Reclaiming the Lost by Proclaiming the Gospel”

Sunday School – 9:30 AM Morning Worship – 11:00 AM Speaker: Rev. June F. Rice

Ebenezer Baptist Church 1858

±4HE 0EOPLE´S #HURCH²

216 W. Leigh St. • Richmond, Va. 23220 Tel: 804-643-3366 • Fax: 804-643-3367 Email: ebcoffice1@yahoo.com • web: www.richmondebenezer.com Sunday Worship Sunday Church School Service of Holy Communion Service of Baptism Life Application Bible Class Mid-Week Senior Adult Fellowship Wednesday Meditation & Bible Study Homework & Tutoring Scouting Program Thursday Bible Study

Upcoming Events & Happenings

Cedar St. Baptist Church of God

3:00 PM

11:00 a.m.

9:30 a.m.

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

Mon. 6:30 p.m.

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

Wed. 6:45 p.m.

Wed. 4:30 p.m.

Wed. 6:00 p.m.

Thurs., 11:45 a.m.

Dr. Wallace J. Cook, Pastor Emeritus

Rev. Dr. James E. Leary, Interim Pastor

 

Sunday Morning Worship March 10, 2019 @ 10:30 A.M.

REV. ROBERT C. DAVIS, PASTOR

Women’s Weekend March 15-17, 2019

This weekend includes the Secret Sister Purse Swap, Women’s Prayer Breakfast & Women’s Day Special Worship Service. Check our website for additional details.

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

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

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

Bishop G. O. Glenn D. Min., Pastor Mother Marcietia S. Glenn First Lady

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

Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: Hebrew 12:14 (KJV) www.ndec.net

Wednesday Services

Tune in on Sunday Morning to WTVR - Channel 6 - 8:30 a.m.

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

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

CHRISTIAN ACADEMY (NDCA)

Saturday 8:30 a.m. Intercessory Prayer

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.

“I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality…. I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word.”

ENROLL NOW!!!

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

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

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

Richmond Free Press

March 7-9, 2019

B5

Faith News/Directory 1st Anniversary

Pastor and People Sunday March 17, 2019

Reverend Dr. and the Quioccasin Baptist

Church Family

8:30 a.m. - Church School 10 a.m. - Morning Worship Rev. Dr. Percy High of Durham, N.C.

12:30 p.m. Lunch

2:30 p.m. - Anniversary Service Rev. Dr. Emanuel C. Harris, Pastor New Jerusalem Baptist Church, Manakin-Sabot, VA

Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press

A piece of history sits in front of Thirty-first Street Baptist Church in the East End. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the original bell from the church tower that was placed between 1915 and 1917, according to accounts from the church website. When the church was destroyed by fire in November 1966, a new building was completed by May 1969. The original bell was placed on the church grounds in 1987.

Devotional guide marks 400 years since the arrival of Africans in Virginia

By Adelle M. Banks Religion News Service

drawing on the example of African people who were forced into slavery and protested WASHINGTON it, she said.

A Christian anti-hunger group has released â&#x20AC;&#x153;That spiritual resistance is actually a a devotional guide to mark the 400th annisource of hope and still is a source of hope,â&#x20AC;? versary of the arrival of enslaved Africans Rev. Walker-Smith said. in Jamestown.

The guide will be promoted through partâ&#x20AC;&#x153;Lament and Hope: A Pan-African Denerships with global, African and American votional Guideâ&#x20AC;? was produced by Bread for networks of churches. It features monthly the World and is was dedicated at a prayer entries written by current and former leaders service at a Washington church on Feb. 28, of the Angola Council of Churches, the United the last day of Black History Month.

Theological College of the West Indies and The free guide addresses past and current the Ecumenical Poverty Initiative. issues of unequal access to land, housing The dedication service and the guide itself and education. It begins with verses from will encourage participants to contemplate the Bibleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Book of Lamentations that speak disparities that remain across the globe and of homelessness and affliction and conclude determine ways to advocate to eliminate with a proclamation of the â&#x20AC;&#x153;steadfast love them, Rev. Walker-Smith said.

Image courtesy of Bread for the World of the Lord.â&#x20AC;?

Bread for the Worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 2019 PanAt the end of the service, there was a â&#x20AC;&#x153;call â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are saying that the history of people African Devotional Guide. to action to say you have a role in this narof African identity has been a legacy of rative, you have an opportunity to be a part spiritual resistance,â&#x20AC;? said the Rev. Angelique Walker-Smith, of this legacy,â&#x20AC;? Rev. Walker-Smith said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;What are you doing editor of the guide. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been that resistance against the and how can you further this sense of hope?â&#x20AC;? evils of enslavement and all the things that accompanied that.â&#x20AC;?

The devotional has been released at the start of a year in which many activities commemorating the arrival of the first African captives in Jamestown are planned, including some by the U.S. Department of the Interiorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 400 Years of African-American History Commission that was established by Rev. Walkeran act of Congress and signed into law by Smith President Trump in early January.

Rev. Walker-Smith, senior associate for Pan-African and Orthodox Church relations at Bread for the World, said a delegation of young adults from across Africa plans to represent her organization in August at events in Jamestown, where people from the modern-day southwest African country of Angola were brought 400 years ago.

Photo by Arthur Rothstein/LOC/Creative Commons Bread for the Worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s guide was produced to help readers Evicted sharecroppers along Highway 60 in New Madrid answer questions about how to move from lamentation to hope, County, Mo., in January 1939.

$6.3M raised for synagogue massacre families, survivors PITTSBURGH A fund established in the wake of the Pittsburgh synagogue massacre has raised $6.3 million that will be split primarily among the families of the dead and survivors of the worst attack on Jews in U.S. history.

The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh made the announcement Tuesday.

The group set up a â&#x20AC;&#x153;Victims of Terror Fundâ&#x20AC;? after the Oct. 27 attack at Tree of Life synagogue that killed 11 and wounded seven. The fund took in donations from more than 8,500 people, companies and organizations in 48 states and at least eight countries.

Organizers say about $5.3 million will be given to those most directly impacted by the attack. Most of the balance will go to the three impacted congregations, with some of the money funding repairs to the heavily damaged synagogue.

BAPTIST MINISTERS CONFERENCE OF RICHMOND & VICINITY PRESENTS

9011 Quioccasin Road, Henrico, Virginia 23229 Email: QBC@quioccasin.org or visit: http://www.quioccasin.org/ OfďŹ ce (804) 741-2313, Fax (804) 741-1501

Rev. Dr. Theodore T. Brown, Pastor

â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Church With A Welcomeâ&#x20AC;?

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

SUNDAY, MARCH 10, 2019 8:30 a.m. ....Sunday School 10:00 a.m. ...Morning Worship

THURSDAYS WEDNESDAYS 1:30 p.m.

6:00 p.m. ..... Prayer Service Bible Study 6:30 p.m. ..... Bible Study (The Purpose Driven Life)

Sixth Baptist Church Theme for 2018-2020: Mobilizing For Ministry Refreshing The Old and Emerging The New We Embrace Diversity â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Love For All! A 21st Century Church

Come Worship With Us!

With Ministry For Everyone

SUNDAY, MARCH 10, 2019 10:45 AM Worship Through Prayer and Meditation 11:00 AM Worship Celebration Message by: Pastor Bibbs

Twitter sixthbaptistrva

Rev. Dr. Yvonne Jones Bibbs, Pastor

Facebook sixthbaptistrva

400 South Addison Street Richmond, Va. 23220

(near Byrd Park)

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

Good Shepherd Baptist Church 1127 North 28th St., Richmond, VA 23223-6624 s Office: (804) 644-1402 Dr. Sylvester T. Smith, Pastor â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s A Place for Youâ&#x20AC;?

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

11:00 AM Mid-day Meditation

Serving Richmond since 1887 &BTU #SPBE 4USFFU 3JDINPOE 7JSHJOJB r

SUNDAY 9:00 a.m. Sunday School 10:00 a.m. Worship Service

WEDNESDAY 12:00 p.m. Bible Study 7:00 p.m. Bible Study

History tolls

ALL ARE WELCOME

1 3 Prayer and Praise 6:15 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Worship begins at 7:00 p.m.

Combined Mass Choir from the City of Richmond and surrounding counties.

MONDAY, MARCH 11

DR. MAURICE WATSON Senior Pastor Metropolitan Baptist Church Largo, Maryland

19

Broad Rock Baptist Church 5106 Walmsley Blvd., Richmond, VA 23224 804-276-2740 â&#x20AC;˘ 804-276-6535 (fax) www.BRBCONLINE.org

Early Morning Worship ~ 8 a.m.

Sunday School ~ 9:30 a.m.

Morning Worship ~ 11 a.m.

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

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

Sermons Available at BRBCONLINE.org

â&#x20AC;&#x153;MAKE IT HAPPENâ&#x20AC;?

Pastor Kevin Cook

St. Peter Baptist Church

$R +IRKLAND 2 7ALTON 0ASTOR

Worship Opportunities

SPEAKERS TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY, MARCH 12 AND 13

DR. RALPH WEST Founder & Senior Pastor Church Without Walls Houston, Texas

Sundays: Morning Worship Church School Morning Worship

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

Unity Sundays (2nd Sundays): Church School 8:30 A.M. Morning Worship 10 A.M. Thursdays: Mid-Day Bible Study 12 Noon Prayer & Praise 6:30 P.M. Bible Study 7 P.M. (Children/Youth/Adults)

REV. DR. CHERYL IVEY GREEN, BMCRV PRESIDENT

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

Richmond Free Press

B6 March 7-9, 2019

Legal Notices/Employment Opportunities City of Richmond, Virginia CITY COUNCIL PUBLIC NOTICE Notice is hereby given that the City of Richmond Planning Commission has scheduled a public hearing, open to all interested citizens, on Monday, March 18, 2019 at 1:30 p.m. in the Fifth Floor Conference Room of City Hall and the Council of the City of Richmond has scheduled a public hearing on Monday, March 25, 2019 at 6:00 p.m. in the Council Chamber on the Second Floor of City Hall, located at 900 East Broad Street, Richmond, Virginia, to consider the following ordinances: Ordinance No. 2019-035 To rezone the property known as 3516 Belt Boulevard from the R-4 Single-Family Residential District to the M-1 Light Industrial District. The property is zoned in the R-4 Single-Family Residential District. The City of Richmondâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Master Plan designates the subject property for Industrial uses. Primary uses in this category include a wide variety of manufacturing, processing, research and development, warehousing, distribution, officeâ&#x20AC;&#x2018;warehouse and service uses.

Ordinance No. 2019-036 To authorize the special use of the property known as 507 North 30th Street for the purpose of a dwelling unit within an accessory building, upon certain terms and conditions.

The property is situated in a R-63 Multifamily Urban Residential District. The City of Richmondâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s current Master Plan designates the subject property for Mixed Use Residential (MUR) uses which include asingle, two, and multifamily dwellings, live/work units and neighborhood serving commercial uses developed in a traditional urban form. No residential density is specified for this land use designation.

Ordinance No. 2019-037 To authorize the special use of the property known as 700 North 31st Street for the purpose of up to six single-family attached dwellings, upon certain terms and conditions. The property is situated in a R-6 Single-Family Attached Residential District. The City of Richmondâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s current Master Plan designates the subject property for Single Family Medium Density (SFâ&#x20AC;&#x2018;MD). Primary uses are singleâ&#x20AC;&#x2018;family and twoâ&#x20AC;&#x2018;family dwellings, both detached and attached, at densities of 8 to 20 units per acre. Includes residential support uses such as schools, places of worship, neighborhood parks and recreation facilities, and limited public and semiâ&#x20AC;&#x2018;public uses. The density of the proposed project is approximately 26 units per acre.

Ordinance No. 2019-038 To authorize the special use of the property known as 1113 North 32nd Street for the purpose of a twofamily detached dwelling, upon certain terms and conditions. The property is zoned in the R-6 Single-Family Attached Residential District.

The City of Richmondâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Master Plan designates the subject property for Singleâ&#x20AC;&#x2018;Family (Medium Density) uses. Primary uses in this category are â&#x20AC;&#x153;singleâ&#x20AC;&#x2018;family detached dwellings at densities between 8 and 20 units per acre.â&#x20AC;? The density of the parcel if developed as proposed would be a ratio of approximately 22 units per acre.

Ordinance No. 2019-039 To authorize the special use of the property known as 6807 Midlothian Turnpike for the purpose of permitting certain signs, upon certain terms and conditions. The subject property is situated in a B-3 General Business District. The Master Plan designates the area in which the subject property is located as an Economic Opportunity Area. The Master Plan states these areas are â&#x20AC;&#x153;sitespecific areas identified in a District Plan as appropriate for a range of general office, corporate office, retail, general commercial, service, or light industrial usesâ&#x20AC;ŚThis category identifies areas or large sites appropriate for new development or redevelopment that will generate significant private investment and employment opportunities.

Interested citizens who wish to speak will be given an opportunity to do so. Copies of the full text of all ordinances are available by visiting the City Clerkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s page on the Cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Website at www.

Richmondgov.com; the Main City Library located at 101 East Franklin Street; and in the Office of the City Clerk, City Hall, 900 East Broad Street, Suite 200, Richmond, VA 23219, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Candice D. Reid City Clerk

Divorce VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE CITY OF Richmond CATINA (GREGORY) HICKS, Plaintiff v.

SHELTON DETROIT HICKS, Defendant.

Case No.: CL19-613-8 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is to: Obtain a divorce a vincullo matrimonii or from the bonds of matrimony.

It appearing from a affidavit that diligence has been used without effect, by or on the behalf of the plaintiff to ascertain in what county or city defendant is.

It is ORDERED that Shelton Detroit Hicks appear at the above-named court and protect his/her interests on or before the 1st day of May, 2019 at 9:00 a.m.

A Copy Teste: EDWARD F. JEWETT, Clerk VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE COUNTY OF HANOVER TRAMAINE CEPEDA, Plaintiff v.

MIKE CEPEDA, Defendant.

Case No.: CL18003821-00 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 22nd day of April, 2019 at 9:00 a.m. 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 FOR THE CITY OF Richmond WILLIAM EDWARD MENEFIELD, Plaintiff v.

HAVETTE MENEFIELD, Defendant.

Case No.: CL19-572-8 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is to: Obtain a divorce a vincullo matrimonii or from the bonds of matrimony.

It appearing from an affidavit that diligence has been used without effect, by or on the behalf of the plaintiff to ascertain in what county or city defendant is.

It is ORDERED that Havette Menefield appear at the above-named court and protect his/her interests on or before the 19th day of April, 2019.

A Copy Teste: EDWARD F. JEWETT, Clerk VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE COUNTY OF HANOVER ANGELA LEE SHOOK, Plaintiff v.

BRAD ROBERT SHOOK, JR., Defendant.

Case No.: CL19000442-00 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is to obtain a divorce from the bond of matrimony, from the defendant, on the ground that the parties hereto have lived separate and apart continuously, without cohabitation and without interruption for more than one year.

And it appearing from an affdavit that the whereabouts and address of the defendant are unknown and that he may not be a resident of Virginia, it is Ordered that the defendant appear before this Court on April 3rd, 2019, at 9:00 a.m. pursuant to this notice and protect his interests herein.

A Copy, Teste: FRANK D. HARGROVE, JR., Clerk I Ask For This: Donald M. White, Esquire 130 Thompson Street Ashland, Virginia 23005 (804) 798-1661 VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE COUNTY OF HENRICO MICHAEL L. WINSTON Plaintiff, v.

VALERIE COLEY, Defendant.

Case No.: CL18-5455 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is to obtain a divorce from the bond of matrimony from Valerie Coley on the ground that the parties have lived separate and apart for a period exceeding one year.

It appearing by affidavit that the Defendantâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s last known address is not known, the Defendantâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s present whereabouts are unknown, and diligence has been used by or on behalf of the Plaintiff to ascertain in what county or city the Defendant is without effect, it is ORDERED that the Defendant appear before this Court on or before March 18, 2019 at 9 a.m. and protect her interest herein.

A Copy Teste: Heidi S. Barshinger, Clerk Law Offices of Leonard W. Lambert & Associates 321 North 23rd Street, Richmond, Virginia 23223 (804) 648-3325 Continued on next column

Continued from previous column

Continued from previous column

Continued from previous column

Continued from previous column

Continued from previous column

Continued from previous column

VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE COUNTY OF HANOVER DERRICK WILLIAMS, SR., Plaintiff v.

LAVON STRONG, Defendant.

Case No.: CL19000289-00 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 29th day of March, 2019 at 9:00 a.m. and protect her 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

at the above-named Court and protect his/her interest on or before 05/14/2019, at 2:20 PM, Courtroom #2

deceased, or his heirs, devisees, assignees or successors in interest, ALENA CRADDOCK, UNITED MORTGAGE SERVICING CORP, an entity not listed in the records of the Virginia State Corporation Commission, Beneficiary of a Deed of Trust filed in the records of the Richmond Circuit Court at Deed Book 661D page 210 on November 17, 1969, and Parties Unknown, come forward to appear on or before APRIL 25, 2019 and do what is necessary to protect their interests in this matter.

An Extract, Teste: Edward F. Jewett, Clerk Gregory A. Lukanuski, Esq. City of Richmond, Office of the City Attorney 900 E. Broad Street Richmond, VA 23219 804-646-7940

JOHN MARSHALL COURTS BUILDING CITY OF RICHMOND, Plaintiff, v.

ELVIN H. JEFFERSON, JR, et al, Defendants.

Case No.: CL18-5896 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is to subject the property briefly described as 3018 Grayland Avenue, Richmond, Virginia, Tax Map Number W0001354/026, to sale in order to collect delinquent real estate taxes assessed thereon in the name of the owner of record, Elvin H. Jefferson, Jr. and Dorothy F. Jefferson.

An Affidavit having been filed that said owner, ELVIN H. JEFFERSON, 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 said owner, DOROTHY F. JEFFERSON, 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 CECIL STONE and SHELIA THOMPSON, TRUSTEES of a Credit Line Deed of Trust filed in the records of the Richmond Circuit Court at Instrument Number 06-22744 on July 6, 2006, or their successor/s in title, 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 â&#x20AC;&#x153;Parties Unknown.â&#x20AC;?

IT IS ORDERED that ELVIN H. JEFFERSON, JR, DOROTHY F. JEFFERSON, upon information and belief deceased, or her heirs, devisees, assignees or successors in interest, CECIL STONE and SHELIA THOMPSON, TRUSTEES of a Credit Line Deed of Trust filed in the records of the Richmond Circuit Court at Instrument Number 0622744 on July 6, 2006, or their successor/s in title, and Parties Unknown, come forward to appear on or before APRIL 25, 2019 and do what is necessary to protect their interests in this matter.

An Extract, Teste: Edward F. Jewett, Clerk Gregory A. Lukanuski, Esq. City of Richmond, Office of the City Attorney 900 E. Broad Street Richmond, VA 23219 804-646-7940

a Deed of Trust filed in the records of the Richmond Circuit Court at Instrument Number 02-211 on January 2, 2002, MICHAEL E. MYERS, Trustee of a Deed of Trust filed in the records of the Richmond Circuit Court at Instrument Number 02-211 on January 2, 2002, and Parties Unknown, come forward to appear on or before APRIL 25, 2019 and do what is necessary to protect their interests in this matter.

An Extract, Teste: Edward F. Jewett, Clerk Gregory A. Lukanuski, Esq. City of Richmond, Office of the City Attorney 900 E. Broad Street Richmond, VA 23219 804-646-7940

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 â&#x20AC;&#x153;Parties Unknown.â&#x20AC;?

IT IS ORDERED that THERESA TAYLOR S PA R K S , a n d P a r t i e s Unknown, come forward to appear on or before APRIL 25, 2019 and do what is necessary to protect their interests in this matter.

An Extract, Teste: Edward F. Jewett, Clerk Gregory A. Lukanuski, Esq. City of Richmond, Office of the City Attorney 900 E. Broad Street Richmond, VA 23219 804-646-7940

CUSTODY VIRGINIA: IN THE JUVENILE AND DOMESTIC RELATIONS DISTRICT COURT OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND Commonwealth of Virginia, in re EMMANUEL DEJESUS NOLASCO-HERNANDEZ File No. J-093900-08 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is to: Terminate the residual parental rights (â&#x20AC;&#x153;RPRâ&#x20AC;?) for Marvin DeJesus Nolasco Albertos (Father) of Emmanuel DeJesus Nolasco-Hernandez, child DOB 05/05/2011, â&#x20AC;&#x153;RPRâ&#x20AC;? means all rights and responsibilities remaining with parent after transfer of legal custody or guardianship of the person, including but not limited to rights of: visitation; adoption consent; determination of religious affiliation; and responsibility for support.

It is ORDERED that the defendant Marvin DeJesus Nolasco Albertos (Father) to appear at the abovenamed Court and protect his/her interest on or before 05/23/2019, at 2:00 PM, Courtroom #3 VIRGINIA: IN THE JUVENILE AND DOMESTIC RELATIONS DISTRICT COURT OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND Commonwealth of Virginia, in re SAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;RENITY HOPE ALLISONâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;BEST File No. J-096175-03-04 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is to: Terminate the residual parental rights (â&#x20AC;&#x153;RPRâ&#x20AC;?) for Christy Rivera (Mother) & Unknown (Father) of Saâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;renity Hope Allisonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Best, child DOB 06/30/2018, â&#x20AC;&#x153;RPRâ&#x20AC;? means all rights and responsibilities remaining with parent after transfer of legal custody or guardianship of the person, including but not limited to rights of: visitation; adoption consent; determination of religious affiliation; and responsibility for support.

It is ORDERED that the defendants Unknown Father and Christy Rivera (Mother) to appear at the abovenamed Court and protect his/her interest on or before June 3, 2019, at 10:00 AM, Courtroom #4 VIRGINIA: IN THE JUVENILE AND DOMESTIC RELATIONS DISTRICT COURT OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND Commonwealth of Virginia, in re KING WENDELL AUSTIN File No. J-091783-08-09 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is to: Terminate the residual parental rights (â&#x20AC;&#x153;RPRâ&#x20AC;?) of Unknown (Father) and Special Mitchell (Mother) of King Wendell Austin, child DOB 11/21/2015, â&#x20AC;&#x153;RPRâ&#x20AC;? means all rights and responsibilities remaining with parent after transfer of legal custody or guardianship of the person, including but not limited to rights of: visitation; adoption consent; determination of religious affiliation; and responsibility for support.

It is ORDERED that the defendants Unknown (Father) and Special Mitchell (Mother) to appear at the above-named Court and protect his/her interest on or before 05/14/2019, at 2:20 PM, Courtroom #2 VIRGINIA: IN THE JUVENILE AND DOMESTIC RELATIONS DISTRICT COURT OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND Commonwealth of Virginia, in re JONIA MONIQUE AUSTIN File No. J-091-782-08-09 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is to: Terminate the residual parental rights (â&#x20AC;&#x153;RPRâ&#x20AC;?) of Jonathan Andre Austin (Father) and Special Mitchell (Mother) of Jonia Monique Austin, child DOB 08/17/2014, â&#x20AC;&#x153;RPRâ&#x20AC;? means all rights and responsibilities remaining with parent after transfer of legal custody or guardianship of the person, including but not limited to rights of: visitation; adoption consent; determination of religious affiliation; and responsibility for support.

It is ORDERED that the defendants Jonathan Andre Austin (Father) and Special Mitchell (Mother) to appear Continued on next column

VIRGINIA: IN THE JUVENILE AND DOMESTIC RELATIONS DISTRICT COURT OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND Commonwealth of Virginia, in re ZAYâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ONA M. HOPKINS Case No. J-093277-14 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is to: Terminate the residual parental rights (â&#x20AC;&#x153;RPRâ&#x20AC;?)

Unknown Father of Zayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ona M. Hopkins, child DOB 03/31/2013, â&#x20AC;&#x153;RPRâ&#x20AC;? means all rights and responsibilities remaining with parent after transfer of legal custody or guardianship of the person, including but not limited to rights of: visitation; adoption consent; determination of religious affiliation; and responsibility for support.

It is ORDERED that the defendant Unknown Father to appear at the abovenamed Court and protect his/her interest on or before 05/20/2019, at 9:20 AM, Courtroom #4 VIRGINIA: IN THE JUVENILE AND DOMESTIC RELATIONS DISTRICT COURT OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND Commonwealth of Virginia, in re Quinshell Bailey Case No. J-78250-13-00 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is to: Terminate the residual parental rights (â&#x20AC;&#x153;RPRâ&#x20AC;?)

ELROY JONES (FATHER), of Quinshell Monae Bailey, child DOB 02/28/2006, â&#x20AC;&#x153;RPRâ&#x20AC;? means all rights and responsibilities remaining with parent after transfer of legal custody or guardianship of the person, including but not limited to rights of: visitation; adoption consent; determination of religious affiliation; and responsibility for support.

It is ORDERED that the defendants Elroy Jones (Father) to appear at the above-named Court and protect his/her interest on or before 05/14/2019, at 9:00 AM, Courtroom #2 VIRGINIA: IN THE JUVENILE AND DOMESTIC RELATIONS DISTRICT COURT OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND Commonwealth of Virginia, in re CHASIDY JAQUEL CARDWELL Case No. J-78955-12-00, J-78955-13-00 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is to: Terminate the residual parental rights (â&#x20AC;&#x153;RPRâ&#x20AC;?)

CHAUNCERY SHERROD C A R D W E L L ( Father ) & Unknown FATHER ( Father ) o f C h a s i d y Jaquel Cardwell, child DOB 10/14/2007, â&#x20AC;&#x153;RPRâ&#x20AC;? means all rights and responsibilities remaining with parent after transfer of legal custody or guardianship of the person, including but not limited to rights of: visitation; adoption consent; determination of religious affiliation; and responsibility for support.

It is ORDERED that the defendants Chauncery Sherrod Cardwell (Father), & Unknown Father (Father) to appear at the abovenamed Court and protect his/her interest on or before 05/14/2019, at 9:00 AM, Courtroom #2

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

WALTER L. CRADDOCK, et al, Defendants.

Case No.: CL18-6180 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is to subject the property briefly described as 738 Arnold Avenue, Richmond, Virginia, Tax Map Number N0001153/026, to sale in order to collect delinquent real estate taxes assessed thereon in the name of the owners of record, Walter L. Craddock and Alena Craddock.

An Affidavit having been filed that said owner, WALTER L. CRADDOCK, 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; that said owner, ALENA CRADDOCK, who has been served by posting and by mailing a copy of the complaint to her last known address, has not been personally located and has not filed a response to this action; that UNITED MORTGAGE SERVICING CORP, an entity not listed in the records of the Virginia State Corporation Commission, Beneficiary of a Deed of Trust filed in the records of the Richmond Circuit Court at Deed Book 661D page 210 on November 17, 1969, 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 â&#x20AC;&#x153;Parties Unknown.â&#x20AC;?

IT IS ORDERED that WALTER L. CRADDOCK, upon information and belief Continued on next column

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

HAWTHORNE VENTURES, LLC, et al, Defendants.

Case No.: CL18-5997 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is to subject the property briefly described as 901 North 2nd Street, Richmond, Virginia, Tax Map Number N0000069/021, to sale in order to collect delinquent real estate taxes assessed thereon in the name of the owner of record, Hawthorne Ventures, LLC.

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 â&#x20AC;&#x153;Parties Unknown.â&#x20AC;?

IT IS ORDERED that Parties Unknown, come forward to appear on or before APRIL 25, 2019 and do what is necessary to protect their interests in this matter.

An Extract, Teste: Edward F. Jewett, Clerk Gregory A. Lukanuski, Esq. City of Richmond, Office of the City Attorney 900 E. Broad Street Richmond, VA 23219 804-646-7940 VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND JOHN MARSHALL COURTS BUILDING CITY OF RICHMOND, Plaintiff, v.

SONNYâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S PAINTING, LLC, et al.

Defendants.

Case No. : CL18-6179 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is to subject the property briefly described as 1524 North 19th Street, Richmond, Virginia, Tax Map Number E0000930/007, to sale in order to collect delinquent real estate taxes assessed thereon in the name of the owner of record, Sonnyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Painting, LLC.

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 â&#x20AC;&#x153;Parties Unknown.â&#x20AC;?

IT IS ORDERED that Parties Unknown, come forward to appear on or before APRIL 25, 2019 and do what is necessary to protect their interests in this matter.

An Extract, Teste: Edward F. Jewett, Clerk Gregory A. Lukanuski, Esq. City of Richmond, Office of the City Attorney 900 E. Broad Street Richmond, VA 23219 804-646-7940

VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND

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

ANTHONY JOHNSON, et al, Defendants.

Case No.: CL18-6024 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is to subject the property briefly described as 3118 4th Avenue, Richmond, Virginia, Tax Map Number N0000997/017, to sale in order to collect delinquent real estate taxes assessed thereon in the name of the owner of record, Anthony Johnson.

An Affidavit having been filed that said owner, ANTHONY JOHNSON, 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 TINA B. MCDANIEL, Registered Agent for NECTAR PROJECTS, INC, Trustee per a Substitution of Trustee filed in the records of the Richmond Circuit Court at Instrument Number 03-29785 on August 11, 2003, who has been served by posting and by mailing a copy of the complaint to her last known address, has not been personally located and has not filed a response to this action; that FIELDSTONE MORTGAGE COMPANY, an entity purged from the records of the Virginia State Corporation Commission, Beneficiary of a Deed of Trust filed in the records of the Richmond Circuit Court at Instrument Number 02211 on January 2, 2002, has not been located and has not filed a response to this action; that MICHAEL E. MYERS, Trustee of a Deed of Trust filed in the records of the Richmond Circuit Court at Instrument Number 02-211 on January 2, 2002, 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 â&#x20AC;&#x153;Parties Unknown.â&#x20AC;?

IT IS ORDERED that ANTHONY JOHNSON, TINA B. MCDANIEL, Registered A g e n t f o r N E C TA R PROJECTS, INC, Trustee per a Substitution of Trustee filed in the records of the Richmond Circuit Court at Instrument Number 0329785 on August 11, 2003, FIELDSTONE MORTGAGE COMPANY, an entity purged from the records of the Virginia State Corporation Commission, Beneficiary of

Continued on next column

Continued on next column

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

JENNY ORGRODNIK, et al, Defendants.

Case No.: CL18-6113 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is to subject the property briefly described as 2605 Q Street, Richmond, Virginia, Tax Map Number E000-0475/003, to sale in order to collect delinquent real estate taxes assessed thereon in the name of the owner of record, Jenny Orgrodnik.

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 â&#x20AC;&#x153;Parties Unknown.â&#x20AC;?

IT IS ORDERED that Parties Unknown, come forward to appear on or before APRIL 25, 2019 and do what is necessary to protect their interests in this matter.

An Extract, Teste: Edward F. Jewett, Clerk Gregory A. Lukanuski, Esq. City of Richmond, Office of the City Attorney 900 E. Broad Street Richmond, VA 23219 804-646-7940

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

THERESA TAYLOR SPARKS, et al, Defendants.

Case No.: CL18-6111 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is to subject the property briefly described as 3837 Old Post Road, Richmond, Virginia, Tax Map Number C0090687/003, to sale in order to collect delinquent real estate taxes assessed thereon in the name of the owner of record, Theresa Taylor Sparks.

An Affidavit having been filed that said owner, T H E R E S A TAY L O R SPARKS, has not been located and has not filed a response to this action, and Continued on next column

BID COUNTY OF HENRICO, VIRGINIA CONSTRUCTION BID ITB# 19-1824-2JCK Replacement of Chiller at Administration Building Due 2:30 pm, March 27, 2019 Additional information available at: http://www. henrico.us/purchasing/ COUNTY OF HENRICO, VIRGINIA CONSTRUCTION ITB # 19-1821-2CLE â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Glen Lea Elementary School and Newbridge Learning Center Toilet Renovations â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Due 3:00 pm, March 28, 2019. Additional information available at: https://henrico. us/finance/divisions/ purchasing/.

S.B. Ballard Construction Company is soliciting building package bids from certified Minority businesses and Emerging Small Businesses, to participate as subcontractors and/or suppliers for the construction of the E.S.H Greene Elementary, in Richmond, VA on 3.19.2019 at 2:00PM Building Package Only. S.B. Ballard at 2828 Shipps Corner Road, Virginia Beach, VA 23453, 1-800-296-0209, or fax quotes or request for drawings to 757-451-2873 or chennig@sbballard.com SBBCC is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

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

DEAN OF ENROLLMENT Position: #FA404

Reynolds Community College, located in Richmond, Virginia is seeking a dynamic, creative, and experienced enrollment management professional to develop and provide leadership over the collegeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s strategic enrollment goals. The Dean of Enrollment (Dean) will provide overall leadership and direction for Reynolds Community Collegeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s student recruitment, admissions, and financial aid programs.

The Dean will be responsible for developing an enrollment management program built upon quantitative analysis, strategic decision-making, and an ethos of continuous improvement, while fostering a culture that emphasizes strong personal relationships, a high-touch â&#x20AC;&#x153;white gloveâ&#x20AC;? customerservice approach, communication and transparency, flexibility, and collaboration. The Dean will report directly to the president to establish an ambitious vision for enrollment management that can be clearly articulated. Masterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s degree in student personnel administration or a related field required. Doctorate or advanced graduate studies in community college leadership preferred.

TYPE OF APPOINTMENT: Full-time, twelve-month administrative faculty-ranked appointment. Salary commensurate with the education and experience of the applicant. Salary range: $67,932-$140,320.

Approximate maximum hiring salary: $90,000.

Application reviews will begin, APRIL 18, 2019. This position has an anticipated hire date of July 1, 2019.

Additional information is available at the Collegeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s website: www.reynolds.edu.

AA/EOE/ADA/Veterans/ AmeriCorps/Peace Corps/ Other National Service Alumni are encouraged to apply.

AVAILABLE Downtown Richmond first floor office suite 5th and Franklin Streets 422 East Franklin Street Richmond, Virginia 23219

804.358.5543 Bedros Bandazian

Associate Broker, Chairman

Raffi Bandazian

Principal Broker, GRI

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