Richmond Free Press May 21-23, 2020 edition

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VOL. 29 NO. 22

RICHMOND, VIRGINIA

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MaY 21-23, 2020

Answering the call

Regina H. Boone/Richmond Free Press

Volunteers with the Virginia Medical Reserve Corps sometimes put their own health on the line to help during the COVID-19 pandemic

Dr. Veronica Ayala-Sims, a 48-year-old internal medicine physician, is among thousands of people across Virginia who have volunteered with the Virginia Medical Reserve Corps during the COVID-19 pandemic.

By Reginald Stuart

When Gov. Ralph S. Northam’s call went out for volunteers to help with COVID-19 efforts, Matilde Badillo responded.

The 59-year-old registered nurse, who works in Chesterfield County elementary schools, has been on the front lines helping at several community coronavirus testing sites in Richmond.

She is among the estimated 1,800 volunteers who have signed up since March to help with the Virginia Medical Reserve Corps. With a range of skills, they are using their expertise, time and desire to help support the state’s public health efforts during the COVID-19 emergency.

Not everyone is a trained medical professional like Ms. Badillo. But their talents have been put to use in everything from education, logistics, communication, coordination and other support for the Virginia Department of Health in more than 20 districts across the state.

“I could never imagine doing anything like this,” Ms. Badillo said recently after helping health officials with free COVID-19 tests for people who Please turn to A4

Richmond ramps up efforts for coronavirus testing, small business assistance

By George Copeland Jr.

The City of Richmond will be working during the next week to expand COVID-19 testing for highly vulnerable residents and helping small businesses in a major way, even as surrounding counties and most of the state continue to reopen businesses and non-essential services under limited rules.

On Tuesday, Mayor Levar M. Stoney announced a stepped up coronavirus testing initiative with support from the Virginia Department of Health that will include at least three events each week to be held around the city.

The testing will take place at a mix of previous testing sites and new locations, with a continued focus on high-risk communities.

“This is an unprecedented challenge and we must respond with unprecedented innovation,” Mayor Stoney said during a news conference held at Diversity Richmond in North Side. As he spoke, people wearing face masks and keeping a 6-foot distance from one another began lining up outside the building waiting

for COVID-19 testing to begin at 10 a.m.

More than 600 people have been tested at six different sites during the past four weeks, according to Dr. Danny T.K. Avula, head of the Richmond and Henrico County health

districts. He said city and health officials want to increase that number. The data collected from the testing events will help determine the city’s plans and reopening timeline.

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Area COVID-19 testing available Here are upcoming free coronavirus testing events conducted by the Richmond and Henrico County health districts: Thursday, May 21: Tuckahoe Middle School, 9000 Three Chopt Road, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Friday, May 22: Eastlawn Shopping Center, 1810 Creighton Road, East End, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Wednesday, May 27: Eastern Henrico Recreation Center, 1440 N. Laburnum Road, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Southwood Apartments, 1400 Southwood Parkway, South Richmond, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. In the event of rain, Southwood testing will be held at Second Baptist Church, 3300 Broad Rock Blvd.

Saturday, May 30: Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School, 1000 Mosby St., East End, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. In the event of rain, testing will be postponed to Saturday, June 6.

Walk-up testing will be offered while test supplies last. To register for an appointment, call the Richmond and Henrico COVID-19 hotline at (804) 205-3501 between 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Monday through Friday. The hotline will be closed on Memorial Day, Monday, May 25.

The Chesterfield County Health Department also is offering free COVID-19 testing for residents with symptoms and who are uninsured or underinsured. The testing will begin 9 a.m.

Wednesday, May 27, at Stonebridge Recreation Center, 230 Karl Linn Drive.

To make an appointment, call the Chesterfield Health Department at (804) 318-8207.

Regina H. Boone/Richmond Free Press

Hair stylists Renada Harris, 39, left, and Kim Washington, 52, make preparations to reopen Silk Hair Studio, which they have co-owned for 12 years. The shop in the 1600 block of West Broad Street has been shuttered since March 24, but they hope the shutdown will end next week when Richmond enters Phase One of the state’s reopening.

City businesses ready to reopen, welcome customers next week

By Ronald E. Carrington

Renada Harris, owner of Silk Hair Studio on Broad Street near Virginia Commonwealth University spent last Thursday calling clients to cancel appointments made for Friday, May 15, the date businesses were to partially reopen under Gov. Ralph S. Northam’s executive order.

But when Mayor Levar M. Stoney requested and was granted an 11th-hour delay for Richmond to remain closed another two weeks because of the jump in the number of COVID-19 cases, Ms. Harris suddenly had to change gears and quickly notify clients that their hair appointments were

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

By Ronald E. Carrington

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$354M federal grant injects needed boost into local drug company

RPS plans in-person and virtual graduation ceremonies for seniors Seniors attending Richmond Public Schools will have a graduation ceremony after all.

Superintendent Jason Kamras announced at Monday’s School Board meeting that RPS will hold virtual and in-person ceremonies, with care taken in the face of the coronavirus.

Mr. Kamras He said the two-pronged approach was reached after conferring with school principals.

Each school’s virtual graduation will be a video keepsake, with traditional commencement speeches, photos of each senior, as well as a slideshow.

“Each high school’s in-person ceremony will give graduates an opportunity to walk across the stage,” Mr. Kamras said, conducted either on the school’s football field or in the gymnasium.

He said graduates will be staggered in time intervals according to last name to accommodate safe health practices. Graduating

canceled at Silk.

“My clients were very understanding and patient of the schedule change, yet baffled because of the confusion,” said Ms. Harris, who had sanitized her shop from top to bottom and waited until two days before the expected reopening to take appointments.

She was frustrated to see customers coming and going at the Lowe’s home improvement store across the street. Because it falls into the category of an essential business under the executive order, Lowe’s has remained open dur-

Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press

Outdoor dining Harmony Johnson, 3, left, and her cousin, 6-year-old London Johnson, have lunch last Friday in Forest Hill Park on South Side. They were enjoying the park and warm temperatures with London’s mom, Kristina Johnson. After scattered thunderstorms on Friday and Saturday, the Memorial Day weekend is expected to be sunny, with high temperatures in the mid to low 70s.

Richmond has just become the national headquarters for a government effort to resolve a long-festering problem — American dependence on overseas supplies of life-saving medications.

A team led by Phlow Corp., a fledgling Downtown-based pharmaceutical manufacturing company, and Virginia Commonwealth University was awarded a $354 million grant to launch creation of a stockpile of critical drugs and their Dr. Edwards Dr. Gupton ingredients.

The award Tuesday from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services comes amid a heightened awareness of coronavirus-fueled disruptions of pharmaceutical supply chains that has spotlighted this country’s reliance on China and other countries for the manufacture of most of its medicines.

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May 21-23, 2020

Richmond Free Press

Local News

Cityscape Slices of life and scenes in Richmond

This sign in front of the Main Post Office on Brook Road in North Side salutes the letter carriers, clerks and other postal workers who have quietly but steadfastly continued to deliver mail and packages during the pandemic. They are among the ordinary, often overlooked workers who have helped maintain some semblance of normalcy during the COVID-19 shutdown — from restaurant workers to construction crews and road pavers, truck and transit drivers, agricultural workers and a host of others who have soldiered on despite the risks. The sign celebrating postal workers may have heightened significance as the U.S. Postal Service pleads for a bailout from Congress due to a rising tide of red ink.

So far, new funding has not been forthcoming amid growing concern about the public mail operation’s financial health and ability to sustain its operations given its losses since the coronavirus hit.

Regina H. Boone/Richmond Free Press

City tax bills go out Judge rules that fewer signatures needed without amnesty details for mayoral candidates to get on Nov. ballot Richmond residents have until Friday, Aug. 14, to pay city taxes on their real estate and vehicles without being hit with a penalty and interest for late payment under a recently approved ordinance.

But you wouldn’t know it from the bills that have begun hitting the mailboxes of taxpayers.

Those bills do not mention the amnesty that City Council passed May 11 — an amnesty requested by Mayor Levar M. Stoney and pushed by several council members.

Instead, the information attached to the bills contains the standard language of past years — including the threat that those missing the payment deadlines would have to fork over additional money.

The vehicle tax bills state that payment is due by Friday, June 5, with a 10 percent penalty to be imposed for late payment, plus interest.

The tax bill on residential and business property states the current payment is due by Monday, June 15, to avoid similar penalty and interest charges.

City Council approval of the amnesty came too late to include the information, according to city Finance Director John B. Wack, whose department issues the bills and collects the money.

In response to a Free Press query, Mr. Wack stated that “the property tax billing processes were essentially completed” before the council vote.

He noted that information about the amnesty is published on the front page of the Finance Department’s section of the city’s website, Richmondgov.com, to let people know they can delay payment for two months and still be on time. – JEREMY M. LAZARUS

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

Mayoral candidates in Richmond will need far fewer valid petition signatures to qualify for the ballot, thanks to a lawsuit one candidate filed challenging the current 500-signature requirement.

Richmond Circuit Court Chief Judge Joi Jeter Taylor on Monday reduced the number of signatures required to 150 based on an agreement between lawyers for the candidate, actress and businesswoman Tracey McLean, and the Richmond City Electoral Board and Richmond Voter Registrar Kirk Showalter.

During the brief hearing, Judge Taylor agreed to temporarily enjoin city election officials from enforcing the 500-signature rule in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic that has complicated the collection of required signatures.

Under the agreement, at least 10 registered voters from each of the nine City

Council districts would need to sign the petitions, with 60 more coming from any election district.

Representatives of state Attorney General Mark R. Herring, who supported the reduction, were in the courtroom as well.

Ms. Showalter said the ruling will impact anyone seeking to file for mayor. So far, four candidates have done so.

The ruling did not change the requirements for candidates for City Council or the School Board, who are still required to submit 125 valid signatures. No council or School Board candidate has gone to court to get that requirement reduced ahead of the Tuesday, June 23, filing deadline for candidates for city offices.

Ms. McLean’s attorney, James B. Thorsen, filed the challenge to the mayoral candidate signature requirement on May 1 as Ms. McLean struggled to gather sufficient signatures. She said after the hearing

she was still far short of gathering 500 signatures and welcomed the relief.

In addition to Ms. McLean, candidates who have filed to run for the city’s top elected post include incumbent Mayor Levar M. Stoney, 2nd District City Councilwoman Kim B. Gray and attorney M. Justin Griffin.

The mayor did not respond to the suit or appear in court.According to Ms. Showalter’s office, he has filed a portion of the signatures needed; but he is believed to need more.

Ms. Gray said she did not need the relief as she already has filed more than 500 signatures, including at least 50 from each of the nine council districts. She said with help from supporters, she had collected all of the signatures she needed before the coronavirus struck in March.

Mr. Griffin also said that he had overcome the challenge in recent weeks and collected sufficient signatures to meet the original requirement of 500.

New type of renter’s insurance covers security deposit

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

When it comes to renting an apartment, one problem people face is the big outlay.

Along with the first month’s rent, owners and landlords usually ask an applicant to provide the final month’s rent, as well.

In addition, they want a security deposit that can add $500 to $1,000 up front to cover any damage or repairs after the tenant moves.

But a new company, Rhino New York LLC has come up with a way to save money for would-be renters.

“Basically we replace cash security deposits with a low-cost insurance policy,” said Jordan Stein, head of public policy for the fast-growing insurance company The company, which calls itself just Rhino, was launched in New York in 2017 and is now spreading across the country, including into the Richmond area.

Instead of a renter having to put down the security deposit, the landlord offers renters an opportunity to take out a Rhino policy. The cost is variable, but can be as low as $5 a month for a unit that rents for $1,000 per month.

In Richmond, Rhino has gained a foothold. The Breeden Co., the area’s largest apartment manager with 7,700 units in 33 properties, including the Village at Westlake in South Side, offers the security deposit insurance policy as an option for its applicants. So does River City Holdings Group, which rents places in Church Hill and South Side.

Across the country, owners and landlords of more than 500,000 units now offer Rhino’s insurance. In Cincinnati, the city council there requires rental owners and landlords to offer such an insurance policy.

“This is a win-win situation for tenants and apartment owners and managers,” said Mr. Stein, who served as an adviser to Michael Bloomberg during his tenure as New York mayor.

The policy reduces friction, he said. Landlords and tenants no longer have to fight over the return of the security deposit.

Instead, if there is damage needing repair or even unpaid rent, the landlord files a claim and the company pays up to the limit of the policy, Mr. Stein said.

Mr. Stein said the need is evident. “Forty percent of Americans do not have even $400 in savings to their name to deal with an emergency.”

He said the online real estate group Zillow has noted that the costs of moving, including the security deposit, are a major barrier to relocation for 35 percent of renters.

Mr. Stein said Rhino’s co-founder and chief executive officer, Paraag Sarva, came up with the idea. As a longtime apartment owner in New York, Mr. Sarva has long been aware of the impact that up-front costs have on potential renters. He named the company Rhino in honor of the huge animal that can knock down barriers.

“That’s what we’re trying to do in the apartment world,” Mr. Stein said.

Final tribute

Photos by Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press

Richmond Police Chief Will Smith salutes and the department’s Honor Guard stands at attention as the family of the late Master Patrol Officer Dextor Lee Gadson Sr. prepares to enter the Joseph Jenkins Jr. Funeral Home last Saturday in the West End for a celebration of his life. Outside the funeral home, Officer Gadson’s photo rests on the windshield of his parked patrol car. The veteran officer, 55, died Monday, May 11, 2020, of health issues unrelated to the coronavirus, the department stated. He may have been best known for his work as a school resource officer at Henderson Middle School.

“Dextor was a great communicator who often used humor and his own way of expressing himself to lighten difficult situations or to give someone a different perspective,” Richmond Police Chief Will Smith wrote in an email to the Free Press.

“He had a widely varied career, which reflects the broad skills he possessed and what made him such a valuable resource to our youth. Above all, he was a man devoted to his family, a loyal friend. His loss is one that is felt across the department and community.”

Federal judge dismisses Hanover NAACP lawsuit to change Confederate school names

By George Copeland Jr.

A federal judge last week dismissed a lawsuit seeking to change the name, mascots and imagery of two Hanover County schools named for Confederate leaders, bringing a halt to a costly and contentious legal battle launched by the Hanover County Branch NAACP. The NAACP filed the suit last August against the Hanover County School Board and Hanover County alleging that students who attend Lee-Davis High School and Stonewall Jackson Middle School face a violation of their First Amendment and 14th Amendment constitutional rights through compelled speech sustaining “a legacy of segregation and oppression” in the county.

The high school is named for Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis, president of the former Confederate States of America, while the middle school is named for the Confederate general who died of wounds from friendly fire following the 1863 Battle of Chancellorsville in Spotsylvania County.

The suit was dismissed May 14 by U.S. District Court Judge Robert E. Payne, who wrote that while he recognizes the Confederate school names “may well be offensive” for some, the suit “fails to Mr. Barnette allege facts sufficient to state a claim for relief.”

He also said the two-year statute of limitations had expired to bring the suit; the high school and middle school were named in 1958 and 1969, respectively, during times of deep racial animus.

Hanover County was dismissed from the suit last October.

In a statement issued after last week’s decision, David Corrigan, an attorney who represented the Hanover School Board, said the board was pleased by the lawsuit’s dismissal.

“The School Board respects, values and cares about all students and will continue

to focus on providing them with the best educational opportunities possible,” the statement read.

Hanover County NAACP President Robert N. Barnette Jr. wrote in an email that while the chapter and its lawyers were disappointed by the decision, they “remain confident in the strength of their legal case and the righteousness of the cause.”

“While the discrimination experienced

by African-American students finds it roots in an ugly history, it is alive and having a real and consequential impact today,” Mr. Barnette wrote.

In previous conversations, Mr. Barnette mentioned the possibility of appealing any dismissal of the suit by Judge Payne.

“We have seen other jurisdictions in Virginia and throughout the country do the right thing by removing symbols of a racist past,” Mr. Barnette wrote. “This is not the end of the fight of the Hanover County NAACP to ensure that the impact of the veneration of the Confederacy is eliminated in Hanover County schools.”

Richmond Free Press

May 21-23, 2020

Help us shine a light on illegal scams.

As we continue to respond to the outbreak of the coronavirus, Dominion Energy is hard at work safeguarding the well-being of our communities. You depend on us 24/7 to serve you safely and reliably, and it is a responsibility we take seriously. But with a recent increase in scams, it is more important than ever that we look after one another. The following actions can help.

Identify

Remember

Signs of potential scam activity include: • Aggressive threats to disconnect service (usually within an hour or less)

Dominion Energy is NOT disconnecting customers for nonpayment right now.

• Insistence on immediate payment over the phone

We will never call, text, or email you to request personal information such as your Social Security number, credit card number, or bank account number. Scammers may be trying to steal your identity, your money, or both.

• Demand for a pre-paid debit card or credit card to be used for payment over the phone.

Verify If a scammer visits you in person, always ask to see their company photo identification card, and look for a vehicle clearly displaying the Dominion Energy logo. And if you receive a suspicious call, hang up and call us at 866-366-4357, or log in to your account online, to verify if payment is due.

Report If possible, collect information, such as phone numbers or names, to help us all track down scammers. Report suspicious calls, texts, and emails to Dominion Energy and to local authorities to help prevent you or anyone else from falling victim.

Never purchase a pre-paid card to avoid shut off – we will never insist on just one type of payment.

You can pay in-person, online through your account, or at a designated payment center.

And without an appointment, never allow anyone into your home.

For more information about how to recognize scams, and what to do if you think you have been a victim of a scam, visit DominionEnergy.com/scams.

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Richmond Free Press

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Local News

Answering the call during the COVID-19 pandemic Continued from A1

showed up to the testing site. She described it as a “humbling experience, to give to the community.”

A native of Cleveland, Ms. Badillo moved to Richmond six years ago. She said when the public schools shut down in March under the governor’s executive order to curb the spread of the potentially fatal virus, she found she had time on her hands. She decided to volunteer with the VMRC because “I felt I could help.”

The VMRC is part of a nationwide network of volunteers organized in 2002 in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, airliner terrorists’ attacks in New York, Washington and Western Pennsylvania.

Currently, the national network has nearly 1,000 local units and 200,000 volunteers.

In Virginia, VMRC members have helped with free health screenings at community events, senior living communities and homeless shelters, provided medical support at events such as the Summer Special Olympics in Richmond and the Rock and Roll Marathon in Virginia Beach and helped with public health outreach

and education efforts, including vaccination clinics during the H1N1 swine flu pandemic in 2009 and 2010.

Rouzbeh Hashemi, a VMRC volunteer for nearly five years, spoke with pride and honor in a recent phone interview about his work during the COVID-19 pandemic. Mr. Hashemi, who was a child when the Sept. 11 attacks occurred, grew up and went to college, earning his degree in energy security and emergency preparedness.

Now, at age 35, working as a security consultant for Accenture, Mr. Hashemi said nothing in his training prepared him for COVID-19.

“No one has ever thought of pandemic planning for this duration,” he said. “There’s nothing like this.”

He called it both “awesome” and “terrifying” to help out.

He talked about helping at a testing site in the Richmond area where a family came with a child who was very sick. He said another VMRC volunteer who happened to be an emergency medical technician recognized the seriousness and quickly rushed the girl to a nearby hospital.

He said he typically gets on a plane to go elsewhere to help in risky situations. Now, in the last few weeks, “I just get in my car” and drive nearby to help out.

At one free COVID-19 testing site, he was assigned to help register people arriving for the tests. Another time, he served as a contact tracer to help find and notify people who had had contact with someone who tested positive for the virus.

Volunteers can indicate the days and times they are available to help. The state Department of Health does a basic background check on each volunteer, then assigns them based on need and what training they may have. Any volunteer whose assignment brings them in direct contact with people is required to wear personal protection equipment that is provided, including a gown, head covering, gloves, shoe covers and a fitted face shield that meets established health standards.

Volunteers can work call centers, registration at test sites, do contact tracing or work in a community get-the-word-out effort. Volunteers qualified to do medical-related work may be asked to help with the nasal swab tests.

City businesses ready to reopen, welcome customers next week Continued from A1

ing the pandemic, a privilege Ms. Harris wished her business had.

Her plan for reopening was worked out, she said. She would take only one client at a time, with people wearing face coverings and washing their hands when they enter.

The irony, she said, was her location.

If her salon was situated just a few miles west on Broad Street in Henrico County, she would have been open for business on May 15.

Even as people went to Henrico, Chesterfield and Hanover counties last week to shop, have their hair done or dine at restaurants’ outdoor patios that were allowed to open at 50 percent capacity, not all merchants in the counties were open for business.

Anita Hill-Moses, a natural hair stylist who owns B.A.D. Braids and Dreds in Chesterfield, said she doesn’t plan to reopen until early June.

And even then, she said, she will use all of the safety precautions outlined by the state and regional health authorities — one client at a time after a forehead temperature check, stylists and clients alike wearing masks and washing their hands and frequent cleaning and sanitizing of the shop.

She and her four stylists were shut down for several weeks under the state’s COVID-19 order. During that time, Ms. Hill-Moses turned to social media to reinvent her business and stay afloat. Braids and Dreds has a line of hair care products

Regina H. Boone/Richmond Free Press

This sign on the front door of Silk Hair Salon reminds people that masks are required for entry into the building.

that she began to sell via the internet.

“My product line has been my saving grace and has helped me a lot financially,” Ms. Hill-Moses said.

“I have been doing a lot of online workshops with my clients with tips on how to take care of their hair at home,” she said.

“The product line has gone crazy because everything they need is available.”

Many of Richmond’s black-owned restaurants have turned to take-out to survive the crisis. The majority of them are small, seating fewer than 100 diners, and don’t

have outdoor seating, so they won’t have patio seating when the city plans to reopen on May 28 at the earliest.

Morgan Littleton, co-owner of Family Secrets restaurant in the Brookhill Azalea Shopping Center on North Side, said the restaurant is doing well with take-out business and will continue to provide that service.

He said during the initial days of the pandemic closure, he and his father, co-owner Reggie Littleton, were just surviving.

“A catering job for Costco and their employees reignited business,” Mr. Littleton said of the restaurant’s turning point.

“Dad and I opened (for take-out) when customers started to ask about us.”

Family Secrets is not planning to reopen its dining room if the business must comply with social distancing.

“We are a small business, accommodating less than 90 (people), and social distancing would cause long waits,” Mr. Littleton said. “We also could be held libel is someone gets sick in our restaurant if they contract the coronavirus by another diner sneezing on them.”

Croaker’s Spot, another well-known eatery with locations in Richmond and Petersburg, is only doing take-out despite the Petersburg restaurant having an outdoor dining area.

“The take-out business has boomed since we closed the main dining room,” said employee Journee Littlejohn.

She said no decision has been made on whether the outdoor dining in Petersburg will open.

Richmond ramps up efforts for testing Continued from A1

The City of Richmond, Accomack County and about a dozen cities and counties in Northern Virginia requested and were granted permission by Gov. Ralph S. Northam to delay entry into Phase One of the state’s reopening plan, “Forward Virginia.”

Most localities, including Henrico, Chesterfield and Hanover, began the reopening process on Friday, May 15, when restaurants were allowed to open their outdoor seating areas at 50 percent capacity, places of worship could reopen using 50 percent of their seating capacity and personal grooming establishments such as hair salons and barbershops were allowed to open under health and safety requirements.

Gov. Northam announced on Monday that the beaches at Virginia Beach and contiguous First Landing State Park will open Friday, May 22, to swimming and sunbathing, but no group sports and activities.

Under an agreement with the City of Virginia Beach, Gov. Northam said parking at the oceanfront will be reduced by 50 percent, enhanced cleaning of public areas will take place and a team of ambassadors will help remind people to wear face masks, socially distance and not congregate in large groups.

Other beaches around the state will remain on a limited schedule of being open only for fishing and exercise, he said.

The governor warned that the tougher restrictions will be reinstated if people fail to

heed the guidelines.

“If people swarm the beaches,” Gov. Northam said, “then we will close them.

You must be responsible,” Gov. Northam said.

Mayor Stoney’s Mayor Stoney request to delay Richmond’s reopening until at least May 28 was made after health data from the state showed a continuing increase in the percentage of positive COVID-19 cases in the city.

Since last Thursday’s request, the city’s positive percentage rate rose from a seven day average of 16.5 percent to 23.5 percent.

As of Wednesday, the Virginia Department of Health confirmed 835 positive cases of the coronavirus in Richmond and 19 deaths.

Statewide, officials reported on Wednesday 32,908 positive cases of the coronavirus with 1,074 deaths.

Dr. M. Norman Oliver, the state health commissioner, also reported that AfricanAmericans make up 5,082 of the cases and 226 of the deaths statewide. That equates to 23 percent of the cases and 24 percent of the deaths for which racial and ethnic data is available, he said.

Virginia’s Latino community also is disproportionately represented in the number of cases and deaths from COVID-19.

According to Wednesday’s data, Latinos comprised 10,167 of the positive cases, or 46 percent, and 87 deaths, or 10 percent of the deaths statewide.

Mayor Stoney also announced that 500 face masks and bottles of hand sanitizer will be given to members of Richmond City Council for distribution in their districts. Last week, efforts began in the city to distribute 20,000 face masks and 20,000 bottles of hand sanitizers provided by the state.

The Stoney administration also is assisting restaurants with outdoor seating possibilities to offer safe outdoor dining during reopening. The mayor asked City Council to work with merchants and neighborhood associations to help facilitate the opportunity for expanded patios with room to maintain social distancing.

“Moving forward, it’s important to make sure that our reopening is safe and equitable,” Mayor Stoney said. “When we reopen — and we will reopen — it will be done safely, with all Richmonders in mind.”

Gov. Northam also announced Monday the creation of an education work group to create recommendations on how to safely reopen schools and colleges in Virginia. The task force is made up of parents, teachers, college presidents, state officials, special education advocates and others from public and private schools across Virginia under state Secretary of Education Atif Qarni.

“It’s a nexus to bring the early childhood stakeholders, K-12 and higher ed all together to communicate what they’re working on” Mr. Qarni said.

“In the coming weeks, once those plans are ready, we’ll put them in front of the governor.”

RPS plans in-person and virtual graduation ceremonies Continued from A1

seniors, who will wear caps and gowns, can invite three guests.

Attendees will be required to wear face masks and practice social distancing.

The ceremonies will be held during the week of June 22.

“We are really, really thrilled to do this for our graduating seniors,” Mr. Kamras told the board.

“Students and parents look forward to a high school graduation,” said board Vice Chair Cheryl Burke, 7th District. “This is a stepping stone to adulthood and moving on to the next stage of life.”

Dr. Veronica Ayala-Sims, a 48-year-old internal medicine physician, initially was assigned as a VMRC volunteer to a health district call center. On another assignment, she was asked to help at a testing center.

“People volunteer for many reasons. People want to give whatever talents they have.” said Dr. Ayala-Sims, a mother of two children.

Asked whether she fears being exposed to the virus, Dr. Ayala-Sims said the possibility of exposure hasn’t escaped her attention. She said she has a friend who lost a loved one to COVID-19. Still, she said she feels the need to do her part.

“I have an occupation where I could easily be exposed,” she said. “The few hours I volunteer is my way of trying to give back.”

Many of the people at the free testing sites “may not speak English or have jobs that they are less able to take time off or don’t have (health) insurance,” she said. “The health department is trying to reach out to people who are most vulnerable.”

That makes her work as a volunteer even more critical, she said.

“The disease has shown us we are global.”

$354M federal grant injects needed boost into local drug company Continued from A1

The four-year grant to a team led by start-up Phlow Corp. aims to assist the company, the VCU School of Engineering’s Medicines for All Institute and other partners to produce generic drugs, ingredients and chemical compounds to reduce or prevent shortages, HHS officials said.

“We have an acute and long-term public health emergency in the United States that we are poised to help solve right now,” VCU President Michael Rao stated in celebrating the award.

“This public-private partnership positions us to ensure that our country will have the essential drugs it needs to treat public health threats such as COVID-19,” Dr. Rao stated.

The award drew plaudits from Virginia’s U.S. senators and representatives, though it could take at least a year or more for Phlow to open its initial plant, apparently slated for Petersburg.

The $354 million could just be the start of government support. The initial four-year grant made through HHS’ Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority is renewable and could generate $812 million over 10 years, the announcement noted.

Phlow, which is based in the Virginia Biotechnology Research Park in Downtown, opened earlier this year after gaining a $6 million start-up grant from HHS. Phlow is the creation of Dr. Eric Edwards, a physician, VCU alumnus and co-founder of the pioneering Richmond-based pharmaceutical firm Kaléo, and Dr. B. Frank Gupton, chair of Chemical and Life Science Engineering in VCU’s School of Engineering.

Along with Phlow, the partnership includes VCU’s Medicines for All Institute, which Dr. Gupton founded and leads as chief executive officer. The institute was created in 2017 with support from a Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation grant to improve the manufacturing of pharmaceuticals worldwide, with a particular focus on nations in Africa that struggle with drug shortages.

Other partners include Civica Rx, a Utah-based nonprofit that hospital systems created two years ago to manufacture scarce antibiotics and generic drugs that have been in short supply and often spike in price, and AMPAC Fine Chemicals in Petersburg.

AMPAC’s location in Petersburg is to be become Phlow’s first manufacturing site, Dr. Gupton said. He anticipates the creation of 350 high-paying, skilled jobs after the facility is built and opened.

Civica Rx also plans to build a factory at the site to make sterile injectable drugs and expects to have its plant ready within two to three years, according to Martin VanTrieste, chief executive officer.

The drugs, all of which the Food and Drug Administration lists as in short supply on its essential medicine list, would be distributed to hospitals, Mr. VanTrieste said, including pain medications fentanyl and lidocaine along with the sedative midazolam as well as a nerve blocker and an antibiotic.

Dr. Edwards and Dr. Gupton said that Phlow has been in talks for 18 months about its objective of building a national stockpile of ingredients needed to make essential drugs in the United States.

Dr. Gupton said Phlow’s initial focus would be on creating drugs to treat patients with COVID-19. He said the company also would build capacity to manufacture vaccines, antibiotics, pain medications and some over-the-counter items.

He said that Medicine for All is a key component. He noted the institute has trained engineers and scientists in low-income countries and worked to improve drug manufacturing processes in those nations.

Now he said the institute and the Phlow offshoot also will be able to work on solving America’s supply problem.

“This new U.S.-driven effort will allow us to focus on creating a more robust and sustainable supply chain for essential medications,” he continued. “COVID-19 has made us acutely aware of our current vulnerability.”

Dr. Gupton said that the situation has long been known, but “until recently, very few people were really thinking about it from a long-term, strategic perspective.”

Not everyone was pleased about the award, including Jeff Francer, chief executive officer of the Association for Accessible Medicines, the trade organization for generic drug manufacturers.

Mr. Francer said the association has long urged Congress and the administration to develop a strategy for manufacturing critical drugs in this country or in countries that are allies.

He expressed concern that HHS was less than transparent in awarding the huge contract to Phlow, which is so new that it has yet to go through the FDA-approval process for any drug or ingredients.

Mr. Francer said HHS was less than forthcoming about the opportunity and would have done better to have issued multiple contracts to established drug makers who produce the generics that account for about 90 percent of all prescriptions.

He said the Phlow grant represents the kind of assistance that manufacturers need to develop more American factories.

Richmond Free Press

May 21-23, 2020

African Americans are nearly twice as likely to have a stroke as other ethnic groups.

Every 40 seconds, someone in America suffers from a stroke — and that someone is far more likely to be African American. That same group is also more likely to die from that first stroke. If you or a loved one is showing symptoms of a stroke, call 911 right away.

Health factors that cause stroke Stroke A stroke occurs when blood to the brain is blocked or a blood vessel in the brain bursts Types of stroke: • ISCHEMIC: Blockage in blood flow to the brain; nearly 90% of all strokes are ischemic • HEMORRHAGIC: Caused by bleeding in the brain

• • • •

High blood pressure High cholesterol Obesity Diabetes

Reduce your risk • • • • • •

Stop smoking Limit alcohol intake Maintain a healthy diet Be active Maintain a healthy blood pressure and lower your cholesterol Control your diabetes

Warning signs If you have one or more of these symptoms, call 911 • You have sudden weakness or loss of balance or can’t walk • You suddenly can’t see out of one or both of your eyes

• You get sudden face and/or arm weakness or numbness • You suddenly can’t speak, or you can’t understand others

Do not delay emergency care. At the first sign of a stroke, call 9-1-1. © 2020 VCU Health. All rights reserved. Sources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; American Heart Association, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office Minority Health; Virginia Department of Health.

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Richmond Free Press

A6 May 21-23, 2020

Local News

Historic first: A. Benjamin Spencer named dean of W&M Law School Free Press staff report

As a University of Virginia law school professor, A. Benjamin Spencer has earned accolades for his knowledge of federal courts and civil litigation.

Now he is about to set a precedent of his own — becoming the first African-American dean of the nation’s oldest law school at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg.

A Hampton native, Mr. Spencer takes charge of the 241-yearold law school on July 1, the school has announced, noting he will be the first dean of color of any school at the state-supported university, which was started earlier in 1693.

Also to be the Chancellor Professor of Law at the school, he will succeed Davis M. Douglas, who served 10 years and is returning to teaching at the law school.

Mr. Douglas described his successor as “a marvelous leader and the right person to help the law school continue its forward momentum.”

For Mr. Spencer, his selection will continue a family tradition. His father, Judge James R. Spencer, was the first AfricanAmerican federal judge in Virginia in 1986, while his grandfather, Dr. Adam S. Arnold, was the first African-American professor at Notre Dame University.

Mr. Spencer’s mother, Alicia Spencer, is a retired elementary school principal in Newport News.

“William & Mary is thrilled to welcome Ben Spencer as our next dean of the law school,” Dr. Katherine A. Rowe, William & Mary’s president, stated in the announcement.

“We sought a leader who values all three aspects of the law: The academy, the bar and the bench,” she continued. “Ben brings that broad view of legal practice together with a deep appreciation of the citizen lawyer that has inspired (our) law school since its founding.”

A Morehouse College alumnus and 2001 graduate of Harvard Law School, Mr. Spencer also earned a master’s in criminal justice policy Mr. Spencer from the London School of Economics, where he was a British Marshall Scholar. He has built an extensive résumé in the education of law students in Virginia.

He credits his decision to leave private practice to teach the law from an unsuccessful recruitment effort by W&M in 2003.

He stated that he is “tremendously excited after all these years” to finally join the school’s “community of impactful scholars,” and cited the William & Mary approach to learning and education as an important reason he accepted the position.

Before joining the U.Va. faculty in 2014, he taught at the University of Richmond Law School and at Washington & Lee University, where he served as director of the Frances Lewis

Law Center and as associate dean for research.

He currently serves as the Justice Thurgood Marshall Distinguished Professor of Law at U.Va. and also has been a visiting professor at Harvard Law School.

He is a captain in the U.S. Army Reserve Judge Advocate General’s Corps, writing briefs and arguing appeals on behalf of the Army.

While at Washington & Lee, he also served as special assistant U.S. attorney for the Western District of Virginia for four years, where he handled pro bono appeals of federal cases on behalf of the government.

His experience includes a stint as clerk for Judge Judith W. Rogers of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia and as a litigation associate for a private firm.

A past winner of the state’s Outstanding Faculty Award, Mr. Spencer also is the author of the Wright & Miller Federal Practice and Procedure treatise, which has been renamed the Wright, Miller & Spencer treatise in recognition of his contribution.

An award-winning legal scholar, he also has written two books, “Acing Civil Procedure” and “Civil Procedure: A Contemporary Approach” that is widely used in law schools, authored multiple law review articles and contributed chapters to other law school texts.

Mr. Spencer has served on committees of the Virginia State Bar and the Virginia Bar Association and on the boards of nonprofit groups such as the Virginia Poverty Law Center, the Comfort Zone Camp and the Girl Scouts Commonwealth Council of Virginia.

Magistrate Judge Roderick C. Young of Richmond nominated to federal district court bench Free Press staff report

Roderick Charles Young started out as a public defender and has risen through the legal ranks to U.S. magistrate judge in Richmond.

Now after nearly six years in that post, Judge Young appears to be headed for a new promotion — as a judge on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, with a lifetime appointment.

President Trump submitted Judge

Young’s name to the U.S. Senate on May 6 as the nominee to fill a judicial vacancy for the section of the Eastern District that serves Norfolk, Newport News and other Hampton Roads communities.

Judge Young’s nomination requires a hearing before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee and a vote of the full Senate. But his nomination is expected to face few obstacles given that both of Virginia’s senators, Democrats Tim Kaine and Mark R. Warner, support his appointment.

Judge Young

If confirmed as anticipated, Judge Young would be the third active AfricanAmerican judge in that part of the district out of the four active judges, the first time any part of the Eastern District has had an African-American majority. The court’s Eastern District includes Richmond and Alexandria.

He would replace U.S. District Judge Rebecca Beach Smith, who has taken senior status.

Judge Young started his legal career as a public defender in Portsmouth before

joining the Richmond Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office. He served as a senior assistant commonwealth’s attorney for four years, then served 12 years as an assistant U.S. attorney in Richmond, where was the deputy criminal supervisor.

His résumé also includes a stint as a special assistant U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia.

In October of 2014, he was tapped by the judges of the Eastern District for an eight-year term as a federal magistrate judge.

School Board adopts $331M budget for 2020-21

By Ronald E. Carrington

The Richmond School Board on Monday adopted a $331 million budget for the 2020-21 fiscal year that begins July 1.

The budget is roughly $24 million less than the district hoped, but includes a 2 percent raise for teachers and staff, plus a 1.17 percent step increase for teachers, principals and nurses.

“This gives the district an added advantage as our teachers will be some of the highest paid in the region and the nation,” Superintendent Jason Kamras said, following the board’s 6-3 vote approving the budget plan.

The budget also includes new salary schedules for custodians, bus operators and instructional assistants, and includes money for 15 new K-3 teachers to reduce class sizes, 10 new English as a Second Language teachers, 10 new preschool teachers to help expand the Virginia Preschool Initiative enrollment by more than 250 students, nine new social workers, eight new middle school teachers and five additional school nurses.

To make $24 million in cuts from the budget, the board decided to eliminate three positions from the ASPIRE program that helps older students earn a diploma, for a savings of $300,000. Three teachers from the program will fill vacancies at other schools, Mr. Kamras said during his presentation.

Several board members wanted to completely phase out the ASPIRE program to save money.

Additionally, three vacant positions in the chief academic office in RPS’ central office were eliminated, saving another $300,000. Those vacant positions are an early childhood education coordinator, an exceptional education coordinator and director of assessment and research.

Some board members wanted 10 central office jobs to be cut.

Board members Kenya Gibson, 3rd District; Jonathan Young, 4th District; and Dr. Patrick

Sapini, 5th District, voted against approving the budget because of concerns that ample funding has not been set aside nor has enough contingency planning been done to address the coronavirus crisis and potential future impacts.

During the board’s meeting on May 14, Mr. Kamras expressed support for having year-round school. However, he reminded the board that additional school days would cost $5 million per week, which RPS does not have in reserve.

According to Mr. Kamras, Richmond is to receive $13 million in stimulus funding from the U.S Department of Education. However, Betsy DeVos, the U.S. secretary of education, has stipulated that $3 million must be shared with private schools.

“This is being challenged” by lawyers for RPS,” Mr. Kamras told the board.

The School Board also expressed worries about the 2020-21 academic year and the possibility that schools may remain closed or close again during a fall resurgence of COVID-19.

The school system is awaiting guidance from the state Department of Education, which is preparing plans to submit to the governor this month.

RPS Chief Academic Officer Tracy Epp and her staff presented details of a new K-8 reading and math curricula to be implemented during the upcoming academic year.

During the last three board meetings and information sessions, parents and teachers consistently expressed reservations about whether the next academic year will be the best time to implement a new curriculum because there is no concrete plan now on how the district will go back to school.

The budget adopted by the School Board included an amendment stipulating that if the board doesn’t approve $1.5 million for the new curriculum later in the year, the money will go to RPS’ COVID-19 response.

Public policy summer academy scholarships available to Richmond and Petersburg students Richmond and Petersburg middle and high school students are being offered scholarships to participate in a free online summer academy that will focus on youth and public policy amid the pandemic, it has been announced.

The public school systems in both cities are partnering with Policy Pathways to offer the two-week program that will run from Sunday, June 28, to Saturday, July 11, according to Dr. D. Pulane Lucas, founder,

president and chief executive officer of the nonprofit public policy educational organization.

Dr. Lucas said the program would allow participating students to hear from experts and be introduced to policy formulation and analysis, research methods, statistics and other aspects of policy development.

Applications are due Saturday, May 30.

Details: www.policypathways.org or (804) 465-6671.

We stand for ★ Equality ★ Justice ★ Opportunity ★ Freedom of expression

and we fearlessly fight for ★ Equality ★ Justice ★ Opportunity ★ Freedom of expression

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Richmond Free Press

May 21-23, 2020 A7

If I could do one thing, I’d make sure we stay healthy.

If you could do one thing for your community, what would it be? More walk-in clinics? More funding for health services closer to home?

Completing the 2020 Census is a safe and easy way to inform billions in funding for hundreds of services and programs in your community.

Respond online, by phone, or by mail.

Complete the census at:

2020CENSUS.GOV Paid for by U.S. Census Bureau.

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May 21-23, 2020

Memorial Day 2020 In memory of those we love “It is not the honor that you take with you, but the heritage you leave behind.”

— Branch Rickey

Regina H. Boone/Richmond Free Press

Can an old black man get the Manafort treatment?

There were 4,623 incarcerated people over 65 in federal prisons during the first week of May. Until May 12, Paul Manafort, President Trump’s one-time campaign manager, was one of them. The 71-year-old petitioned the court for release to home confinement because of his age, heart condition and “fear of coronavirus.”

Yet the federal correctional institution that housed Mr. Manafort had no coronavirus cases, and Mr. Manafort had served fewer than two years of his more than sevenyear sentence.

Recently developed federal guidelines suggest at-home confinement for those at risk who have served more than half of their sentence or have less than 18 months of jail time left to serve. Mr. Manafort meets none of these criteria, but he apparently had enough high-priced lawyers to push his case aggressively.

I’m not as outraged at Mr. Manafort’s early release as I am disturbed about the other 4,622 elderly inmates, most of whom lack the resources and access that Mr. Manafort had.

Nearly 40 percent of those incarcerated in federal prisons are African-American, many serving very long sentences for drug-related crimes. Many have some of the same underlying

medical conditions and “fear of coronavirus” that Mr. Manafort had. How many of them will get an early release and the relative luxury of home confinement?

The treatment of a wealthy, older white man and a poor, older black man is vastly different.

Prisons are a breeding ground for the coronavirus. Prisons are overcrowded, with social distancing an impossibility because an average cell, about 5 feet by 5 feet, does not allow 6 feet of dis-

Julianne Malveaux tancing. Recent studies show that the COVID-19 germs from a loud conversation or a cough linger for minutes, giving sufficient time to infect another person.

The notorious Rikers Island prison has eight times the COVID-19 infection rate of the New York City rate. Infection is not a possibility, but a near certainty. Prison infections are so widespread that some activists describe prisons as “death camps.”

Older people don’t commit violent crimes – although they commit financial crimes and perjury. Releasing those over age 65 who were convicted of drug crimes and other nonviolent crimes saves money and has little social cost.

But incarceration is an economic driver for some communities. Federal prisons employ tens of thousands of people. In some isolated communities, these

prisons are a significant source of employment. Releasing prisoners early may cause layoffs. Is this why we insist on keeping so many people locked up for such long periods?

Parole was eliminated in federal prison in the mid-1980s, allowing for “good behavior” only after 85 percent of a sentence has been served. But Mr. Manafort, citing “fear of corona,” ended up serving less than a quarter of his sentence.

Can an old black man get the Manafort treatment and serve the rest of his sentence in a cushy condo in Northern Virginia? Mr. Manafort had a lot less to fear at his minimum security prison than a black inmate might.

Other countries seem to understand that COVID-19 and crowding don’t work and are releasing prisoners. Meanwhile, our country, in Mr. Anderson’s words, is “addicted to punishment.” In keeping nonviolent inmates incarcerated, we are “prioritizing punishment over public health.”

The inmates aren’t the only ones at risk. Correctional officers, lawyers and visiting family members also are vulnerable. We are so committed to getting a “pound of flesh” from those incarcerated that we refuse to consider the high costs of incarceration.

Consider the case of former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. Convicted of perjury, obstruction of justice and other crimes, Mr. Kilpatrick was sentenced to 28 years for his

The fight for the 2020 vote Since the onset of COVID-19, voter registration in the United States has decreased by a whopping 90 percent.

Additionally, more than 18 million voters have been purged off the rolls since 2016. And with the all-important 2020 general election on the horizon, activists and others are working to ensure the registration of millions.

On Monday, May 4, the Transformative Justice Coalition and the Voting Rights Alliance held a tele-town hall titled, “The Fight for the Vote 2020: Our March to the Ballot Box.” Broadcast over Facebook Live, the presentation featured panelists who agreed that the election process would be severely hindered unless strategies are developed for more robust voter outreach and empowerment.

Panelists included National Newspaper Publishers Association President and CEO Benjamin F. Chavis Jr.; TJC Founder and President Barbara R. Arnwine; Moms Rising CEO Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner; and Vote.org CEO Andrea Hailey.

“A person without a vote is a person without protection,” stated Daryl D. Jones, an attorney and board chair of TJC, who served as a moderator.

The panelists tackled issues of

robust voter outreach and registration strategies, media and specialized outreach to purged voters and those on inactive lists, creating voter contact systems, onerous absentee ballot requirements and voter identification laws.

“The struggle for voting rights continues in America even amidst the pandemic, the struggle for the most fundamental right, the right to vote, continues,” Mr. Chavis stated.

“We have to be concerned that while we sit here tonight, there are tactics, strategies and

Stacy M. Brown efforts afloat in too many of these states to suppress the vote and to make people fearful of voting, such was the case 50 years ago,” he continued.

“We had to overcome those tactics of voter suppression, and we have to do it now,” he added.

No excuses and no barriers should be in place for mail-in ballots, Ms. Arnwine stated.

“Vote by mail works for white people, but it doesn’t for a whole lot of people of color,” she stated, adding that there were 1.3 million ballots mailed in Wisconsin, but 197,000 were not counted for various reasons, including the lack of postage stamps.

“In some of these states, they have this evil match law where if they don’t think your signature matches, they will not count your

vote,” Ms. Arnwine said.

“We have to be clear,” she continued. “You have to not only have vote-by-mail options and absentee balloting, but you have to have on-site, distancing and personal protective equipment for workers and voters.”

Ms. Rowe-Finkbeiner added that Moms Rising has more than 1 million members spread across all 50 states. She said mothers are high targets of voter suppression.

“You change your name, and you get pushed off the rolls,” Ms. Rowe-Finkbeiner stated.

“You have to check your status and make sure you have at least five friends ready to vote. The situation has never been more urgent.”

Ms. Hailey stated that Vote.org had team members working as late as 3 a.m. during recent primaries to monitor last-minute rule changes that affected voters.

“Confusion itself can be a voter suppression tactic, so we’re trying to cut through all of that noise to make sure there’s no confusion,” she noted.

“We see it as our job to monitor this and to work with state and local officials to have an understanding of what the voter experience is going to look like ...

People should not have to choose between their health and their ability to cast a ballot.”

The writer is a senior correspondent with the National Newspaper Publishers Association Newswire.

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.

crimes. He is not scheduled to be released until 2037. While Mr. Kilpatrick certainly deserved to be convicted, a 28-year sentence is excessive.

Recently, an inmate at the Oakdale, La., prison where Mr. Kilpatrick is being held died from the coronavirus. I’m sure Mr. Kilpatrick is as frightened of the coronavirus as Mr. Manafort is. But Mr. Kilpatrick is not likely to be allowed home confinement.

Unless there is intervention, Mr. Kilpatrick will be eligible for Social Security before he is released.

What is the purpose of such a long sentence? How much does it cost to incarcerate someone for 28 years? Is it worth it?

Mr. Manafort is out after less than two years. Thousands who are old and poor remain incarcerated The writer is an economist, educator and author.

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Richmond Free Press

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Commentaries/Letters to the Editor

Equal protection under the law ‘Reva Trammell In February, Ahmaud Arbery was hunted and shot down by neighborhood vigilantes while jogging in Brunswick, Ga. His killers were not taken into custody until a national outcry over leaked footage of the assault three months later.

That is unacceptable.

Every day on social media, by phone and in mail correspondence, I hear from critics challenging me to “move on” or to “not bring race into everything,” referring to my efforts in Congress to address the systemic racism ingrained in America’s status quo.

I wish that I could help them understand that, for many, Ahmaud’s death running from men who assumed a right to determine his fate based solely on his skin color is eerily similar to the hundreds of photos of dead black men, women and children who dangled at the end of ropes affixed like strange fruit to Southern and Midwestern trees.

It is clear that our nation has far more work to do.

Too many remain silent as black America vacillates between anger and grief, grappling with the increasing weight of our cumulative trauma and racial violence as we watch black bodies reminding us of our siblings, children, parents and friends bleed out on the concrete.

Each time, the men behind the triggers watch the life escape their victims’ bodies.

And, most times, believing themselves to be a singular authority — judge, jury and executioner — they don’t call for an ambulance or offer first aid.

The silence and willingness to justify Ahmaud’s murder in Brunswick are reflective of the long-standing American inner monologue that holds black people to blame for their own suffering at the hands of racist violence. Even in cases with insurmountable evidence, indictments are always rare and are even less frequently followed by convictions.

In social media comment sections

Rep. A. Donald McEachin and presidential news conferences alike, people form rationalizations like: “If only the audio were clearer, we’d know for sure he was innocent.”

“He was afraid for his life, he had to defend himself.”

“The video doesn’t show all the angles.

He could’ve been reaching for a gun.”

Thirty years ago, Ahmaud could have been me. As a black man in America, I know too well the feeling of being followed and suspected. Today, as a black father in this country, much remains the same. I am haunted with the same fear now for my own children — that they might one day find themselves victims of a senseless, racist assault.

That is not the America I believe in, but it is the America too many of us know.

We must continue to demand better.

The impending investigation must hold the parties responsible accountable and

reflect the most basic tenet of America enshrined in the Constitution — that equal protection under the law applies to us all.

We cannot continue to allow dead men who were already assumed guilty by their assailants to be placed on trial for their own murders in the court of public perception. This pattern of presumed guilt is especially reserved for black people in America, pervading our collective national consciousness and leaving men like Ahmaud lying on the asphalt breathing their last breath.

We all want so desperately to have moved forward; to step finally into the light on the other side of the shameful wounds of genocide, slavery and inequality that blight our nation’s past that it becomes easy to relegate things like racism to history — something to be associated with long gone civil rights leaders and politicians and folded away in long discarded Klan sheets and hoods.

When this is the approach we take, it is easy for some to believe racist brutality as being invalid and, if existent, not racially motivated.

We cannot afford to re-live that revisionist history anymore.

The writer represents the 4th Congressional District, which runs from Richmond south to the North Carolina border and includes all or parts of Richmond, Petersburg, Hopewell, Colonial Heights, Emporia, Suffolk and Chesapeake and the counties of Henrico, Chesterfield, Charles City, Prince George, Dinwiddie, Greensville, Southampton, Surry and Sussex.

What happens when we return to ‘normal’?

Where should we be focusing our attention as a community at this point in the COVID-19 pandemic?

First, while we are all waiting this out, I have only one piece of advice that will help you make it through this: Act like you have been already infected with the virus.

I know, it sounds strange.

Quickly, let me just say that, if you act like you have it, you’re going to do the right thing.

You’ll self-isolate; you’ll stay away from everybody; you won’t allow anyone to come near you; and you will follow all the precautions, as well as eat, rest and nourish your spirituality.

It’s just that simple.

Now as we are witnessing protests all over the country demanding that states reopen, the African-American community is collectively wondering, “How in the world are we going to get out of this mess?”

So, here’s the deal. My concern is what health and wellness will actually look like for us in this country.

What we’re seeing happen around us is a pandemic that is straining the human and financial resources of the entire public health system. Medical personnel are being shifted and “redeployed” to augment and help expand the capacity and capability of an already overburdened and costly medical industry.

Think about it for a moment. We spend more than $3 trillion annually on health care in this country. According to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics’ latest figures from 2018, that’s more than $8,045 for every man, woman and child in this country. Yet we still didn’t have enough people, equipment or money to accommodate our health care and public health needs during this crisis.

Can you even imagine, before all this,

hearing about ICU nurses not having enough protective gear? (Side note: I bet you we wouldn’t run out of bombs and bullets if we were at war with another country.)

Meanwhile, a percentage — probably larger than we realize — of the health care workforce, whatever setting that they are working in, is either sick, dead, burnt out or grieving the loss of a close loved one. As we come out of this, we will have

Glenn Ellis fewer doctors and nurses, as well as other allied health professionals. This, among the other challenges we face as a collective community, is what we need to pay close attention to and focus on.

There is universal agreement with the fact that Africans-Americans suffer disproportionately with chronic conditions. Put another way, we have higher rates of high blood pressure, arthritis, asthma, cancer, COPD, diabetes and some viral diseases such as hepatitis C and HIV/AIDS. What’s not universally agreed upon is that the racial gap in health outcomes is, in large part, the result of the impact and effect of the structural racism that has been a thread in the African-American experience for more than 400 years.

Regardless of your opinion of the “why” it’s like this, I say we look at the “what” is happening to us now. Don’t accept that poverty and lack of education are the reasons COVID-19 is wreaking havoc in our communities. CNN reported that in 2018, the African-American poverty rate was 20.8 percent, which was more than double the rate for white people of 10.1 percent. But it still leaves nearly 80 percent of African-Americans in the middle and upper classes. Like white people, black people also are more likely these days to live in suburbs (39 percent) than in cities (36 percent). Another 15 percent live in small metropolitan areas and 10 percent in rural regions, OK?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report found that 45 percent of patients with COVID-19 in the hospital were Caucasian compared to 33 percent who were African-American.

What’s it all mean?

All of us either know, or have heard, how sick you have to be in order to be admitted to a hospital during these times.

Black folks make up around 13 percent of the nation’s population, according to 2016 Census Bureau estimates. So if we are 33 percent of the folks in the hospital, then we are truly vulnerable and chronic conditions put us at even higher risk. Sixty percent of all deaths are due to chronic diseases.

The point of this column is twofold.

No one knows how long this pandemic will last. As long it is here, as a community African-Americans are a vulnerable population. Special attention must be paid to your own chronic condition or that of a family member. Be sure to follow your treatment plan and keep track of your doctor or usual place of primary care.

Know how, where and when you can access them. Monitor your medication supply and pay attention to any changes in hours or policies. Be supportive if you are in the home with someone who has a chronic condition.

Secondly, this, too, shall pass. We need to be mindful of the primary care that will be available as this crisis passes. It will be almost impossible for this country to ever return to normal. Our health care system will not look like it used to. What will become of the primary care that is essential in the successful management of chronic conditions? Will there be enough primary care doctors? Are there neighborhood clinics that will close due to the financial impact of COVID-19?

This, my friends, is where I think our heads and hearts should be.

The writer is a Harvard Medical School Research Bioethics Fellow and author.

is no racist’

Re “Racist memorabilia puts Trammell in the hot seat,” Free Press April 30-May 2 edition: I just finished reading Reginald Stuart’s article about Councilwoman Reva Trammell and the “Mammy jar” controversy. I was dismayed by some of the opinions that were expressed by Ms. Trammell’s antagonists.

While it is true that the “Mammy” caricature has been used as a stereotype of the African-American woman and is offensive to all of us, let’s be clear about one thing: Reva Trammell is no racist.

I have known Ms. Trammell for more than a quarter of a century. I know her heart and I know her mindset. She is one of the most caring, compassionate and genuine individuals that I have ever met.

Is she a little rough around the edges and should she bite her tongue more frequently? Perhaps so. However, she has a heart of gold and would give the shirt off her back to anyone in need.

What I did find distasteful about the article were those politicians who seized the moment to engage in a political hatchet job.

Everyone knows that there’s an election coming up in November and the Trammell haters out there used this “Mammygate” episode to disparage a very noble and decent councilperson.

Fortunately, Ms. Trammell’s 25,000 constituents — black, white, Latino and Asian — will have the final word on Nov. 3.

SEN. JOSEPH D. “JOE” MORRISSEY Richmond The writer represents the 16th District in the Virginia Senate.

There is hope

Recently, I learned about the number of people who, out of hopelessness and fear, are considering suicide during these challenging times.

My parents went bankrupt when I was 16. It was profoundly humiliating to go from upper-middle class to being evicted; to go from shopping anywhere I wanted, to shopping at thrift stores; to go from watching my mother write a check for a shopping cart full of groceries, to checking pockets and under sofa cushions for spare change.

The stripping away of those things that constructed my “image,” as immature as it was, was incredibly painful. I’d call it “being taken down to the studs.” Yet as difficult as it was, it was in that pit of despair where I found Jesus, or better said, where Jesus found me. That torturous experience changed my life completely and there isn’t one thing about it I regret or that I would take back.

Twenty-six years ago, my husband nearly died of a ruptured appendix. We had three small children and I was pregnant with our fourth. I was the only one able to care for my husband, who was unable to work for six months; our children; and our homestead. I knew what it was like to lose everything, so in many ways, I was better prepared to walk through the valley of the shadow of death again, because this time I had been walking with Jesus for decades and my hope, confidence and trust in Him were greater than ever.

All of this to say, you’re going to be OK. Everything is going to work out. There’s new life after loss. Don’t be ashamed to ask for help. Don’t hesitate to call upon Jesus.

CATHERINE CRABILL Irvington

Library sign no help The sign posted at the Franklin Street entrance of the Richmond Public Library’s Main Branch in Downtown states: “For updates go to RVALibrary.com.”

It is totally unhelpful to a non-computer-owning, real estate tax-paying library patron like myself.

In fact, it is implicitly insulting and I resent the insult bitterly.

KENNETH NYGREN Richmond

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A10 May 21-23, 2020

Richmond Free Press

Sports Stories by Fred Jeter

‘His Airness’ Michael Jordan also knew how to swing a bat Michael Jordan the basketball player is a global legend. His greatness is beyond debate.

Meanwhile, Jordan the baseball player remains a bit of a mystery, his status open to discussion.

The recent ESPN docuseries, “The Last Dance,” focuses on Jordan and the Chicago Bulls’ dynasty in the 1990s. But it also touches on the one outlying season of “His Airness” on the pro baseball diamond.

Jordan played right field in 1994 for the Birmingham Barons of baseball’s Class AA Southern League – the same level as the Richmond Flying Squirrels. The Barons were a farm club of the Chicago White Sox. Anticipating a season of baseball, Jordan worked out in the indoor batting cage at Chicago’s Comiskey Park during winter 1994 with some White Sox players.

In Birmingham, he wore jersey No. 45, the same number he sported more than a decade earlier for Laney High School in Wilmington, N.C. In 127 games, he hit .202 (88-for-436) with 17 doubles, one triple, 51 runs batted in and three home runs. He stole 30 bases in 48 tries.

Shaky defensively and inconsistent at the plate, Jordan made 11 errors and struck out 114 times.

Following the Barons’ season, he hit .252 for the Scotts- Michael Jordan suited up in 1994 for the Birmingham Barons. Below, Jordans baseball dale Scorpions in the Arizona card.

Fall League.

Jordan retired from baseball soon after to rejoin the Bulls Opinions vary on Michael Jordan and baseball and lead the franchise to three more NBA crowns.

While he was in Birmingham, the Barons shattered their Terry Francona (Michael Jordan’s manager in Birmingham; now manager of the Cleveland Indians), as told to Fox Sports: season attendance record, drawing 467,867 fans to the Hoover “I think that if he were willing to commit three years, I believe Met complex. Likewise, the Southern League prospered, setting he would have found his way to the major leagues. I really a record attendance of 2.4 million fans. believe that. One, because of the tools he had. But the other Jordan helped the Barons acquire a $350,000, 45-foot, 34-seat one, and maybe the more important, and I found out first hand, bus that came to be known as the “JordanCruiser.” All Class if you tell Michael “no,” he finds the answer to be “yes.”

AA travel is via bus.

John Stearns (veteran big league catcher and rival manager While playing for the Barons, Jordan lived in an upscale of Jordan’s team in the Arizona Fall League), as told to CBS gated community called Greystone in the Birmingham suburb Sports: “Michael can’t play baseball, but he’s not terrible. He of Hoover, adjacent to a golf course. Among his golfing partners doesn’t have power. He can’t throw. His instincts are poor. was ex-NBA great Charles Barkley.

But he can run a little bit and hit a little bit. Considering he hasn’t played ball all these years, it’s possible he could make After games, Jordan was often spotted at A.J.’s, a sports bar, someone’s team as the 25th man and hold his own.” and at Sammy’s Adult Entertainment, a topless gentleman’s Todd “Parney” Parnell (vice president and chief operating club. officer for the Richmond Flying Squirrels), as told to the Free It has been noted he also developed a taste for grits.

Press on the subject of making the big leagues: While Jordan played for Birmingham, his “It would be incredibly difficult for practically anyone, except actual contract was with the Nashsomeone like Michael, an other-planet athlete. But what he ville Sounds, the White Sox’s AAA had to match his talent was his competitiveness. Whatever he farm club. At the time, he was still was trying to do, he pushed himself, and others around him, earning about $4 million annually to the limit. The guys he was playing with had one step left in from the Bulls. the minors before the majors. It’s amazing he picked up a bat (after so long) and did what he did.”

Considered “one of the guys,” Jordan engaged in friendly pickup basketball games with teammates at manager Terry Francona’s apartment complex.

In the dual zone Between games, Jordan was the focal point of a national television advertiseOnly 13 athletes have ever played in both the NBA and ment for Ball Park Franks.

Major League Baseball.

The most recent was Danny Ainge, who played baseball So why the baseball experiment? for the Toronto Blue Jays from 1977 to 1979 and then played Theories include he was burned out in the NBA from 1981 to 1995. with hoops; he was honoring his deceased Most “double dippers” were from long ago, like Chuck father, James, who always wanted his son to play baseball; and Connors, who suited up for the NBA’s Boston Celtics and rumors of a gambling addiction that may have persuaded him MLB’s Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1940s. Some may recall the to escape the NBA spotlight.

6-foot-6 Connors as Lucas McCain from the TV western, One more theory: He was a classic case of “If you tell me I “The Rifleman.” can’t do something, I’m going to show you I can.”

Some who may have — but never did — played on the top While Jordan brought success to the box office, it didn’t carry level in both sports include these baseball Hall of Famers: over to the field. The Barons finished nine games under .500.

• Pitching great Bob Gibson averaged 22 points per game as a senior at Creighton University and played the 1957-58 The right-handed Jordan got his first hit, a single, in his season with the Harlem Globetrotters. eighth time at bat for the Barons. His first home run came in • Ferguson Jenkins, the first Canadian elected to the his 354th time up, July 30, 1994.

Baseball Hall of Fame, was a 6-foot-6 basketball star during After seeing the blast disappear over the left field fence, high school in Ontario. Later he played the 1967 and 1968 Jordan kissed his fingers and pointed to the heavens, honoring seasons with the Globetrotters. his father, who had been murdered a year earlier.

• Outfielder Dave Winfield, a 12-time, MLB All-Star, helped Jordan left his mark on the Deep South. His No. 45 jersey the University of Minnesota to the 1972 Big 10 basketball title. adorns a wall of the Birmingham Barons’ front office and a He was picked as a pitcher by the San Diego Padres fourth conference room is named in his honor. overall in the MLB draft and was drafted by both the NBA During his brief pro baseball career, Jordan insisted he was seriAtlanta Hawks and the ABA Utah Stars, along with the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings. ous about the sport and coined the phrase, “It’s no gimmick.”

We’ll never know for sure.

Baseball player, executive Bob Watson dies at 74 Bob Watson, who impacted baseball as a player and executive, died Thursday, May 14, 2020, in Houston at age 74. He had been in declining health for several years.

A native of Los Angeles, Mr. Watson played first base and the outfield in the big leagues from 1966 to 1984. He was an All-Star with the Houston Astros in 1973 and 1975.

Known as “Bull,” Mr. Watson finished his playing career with 188 home runs, 989 runs batted in and a .295 average.

Following retirement, Mr. Watson became general manager of the Houston Astros from 1992 to 1995, and later was general

manager of the New York Yankees from 1995 to 1998.

In 1996, the Yankees won World Series, making Mr. Watson the first African-American general manager to win baseball’s highest honor.

Later, he became Major League Baseball’s vice president for rules and on-field operations from 2002 to 2010.

Before signing a pro contract, Mr. Watson played catcher for Fremont High School’s Los Angeles city championship baseball team. His Fremont teammates included future big leaguers Willie Crawford and Bobby Tolan.

Miss local baseball?

You can still get the food Free Press staff report

With the coronavirus pandemic, fans are missing baseball. And some are missing ballpark food.

The Richmond Flying Squirrels are opening their concession stand on Fridays for curbside pickup from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. beginning Friday, May 22.

Squirrelly Fries, burgers, chicken tenders and the Flying Squirrels new official beer, Richmond Rally Cap, and official wine, Feelin’ Squirrelly, are among the items available for pickup on what’s called “Funnville Food Fridays.”

“We miss our fans terribly, and we know one of the things they miss right now is our Funnville food and beverages,” said Todd “Parney” Parnell, vice president and chief operating officer for the Flying Squirrels. “We

look forward to being able to give them the opportunity on Fridays to enjoy that through safe, social distance-oriented curbside pickup right here at The Diamond.”

Orders should be placed by 5 p.m. Wednesday each week, officials said, with beer and wine only for customers age 21 and older.

Food orders with time slot reservations can be made online at www.toasttab.com/ richmond-flying-squirrels/ v3. Customers are asked to enter The Diamond’s parking lot on Squirrels Way, where an attendant will direct vehicles to the order pickup location.

Details: www.milb.com/ richmond/

VCU snags another transfer player, Levi Stockard III Seems like just about any college basketball story nowadays includes the word “transfer.”

Among the latest to pack his bags and jump ship for a new hoops address is Virginia Commonwealth University-bound Levi Stockard III. The 6-foot-8 Stockard, a native of St. Louis, is transferring to VCU after three seasons at Kansas State University. He will Levi Stockard have one season of eligibility as a Ram. Whether he becomes eligible for the upcoming 2020-21 season was expected to be determined Wednesday, May 20, when the NCAA was to vote on whether to scrap the existing “one year residence rule” requiring undergraduate transfers to sit out a full season. The vote, however, was postponed indefinitely.

If there is no rule change, Stockard then would not become eligible until the 2021-22 season, although there still may be the possibility of a special waiver.

As a junior, Stockard averaged four points and three rebounds for a Kansas State squad that went 11-21. Stockard is one of five Wildcats transferring.

He becomes the second athlete to transfer to VCU this month, following 7-foot-2 Brendan Medley-Bacon who announced he is leaving Coppin State University for the VCU Rams.

On the debit side, VCU’s leading scorer and rebounder from the past season, rising senior Marcus Santos-Silva, is transferring to Texas Tech.

The addition of Stockard brings VCU to its maximum of 13 scholarships.

Since the end of the 2019-20 season, nearly 800 players at NCAA Division I schools have placed their names in the transfer portal. That includes about 155 who are classified as “graduate transfers.”

VCU will have two returning post players from this past season — 6-foot-8 senior-to-be Corey Douglas and 6-foot-9 rising sophomore Hason Ward.

Meanwhile, VCU Coach Mike Rhoades is very involved with recruitment of a pair of towering local athletes — rising high school seniors 6-foot-10 Roosevelt Wheeler at John Marshall High School and Steward School’s 6-foot-11 Efton Reid.

Former NBA All-Star Mo Williams to coach at Alabama State Alabama State University, a public HBCU in Montgomery, is hopeful a former NBA All-Star will bring success to its basketball program.

Mo Williams, an NBA guard from 2003 to 2017, has been hired to coach the Alabama State Hornets, a member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference, or SWAC. The Hornets were 8-24 this past season Mo Wiliams under Coach Lewis Jackson, including a 78-62 November loss at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Williams starred at the University of Alabama before joining the Utah Jazz as the 47th overall pick in the NBA’s 2003 draft. He later played with Milwaukee, the Los Angeles Lakers, Portland, Minnesota, Charlotte and Cleveland.

Averaging 13 points per game during his career, Williams was an All-Star in 2009 with the Cleveland Cavaliers and a member of its 2016 NBA championship squad.

Williams served as an assistant coach during the past two seasons at California State University-Northridge under his former college coach, Mark Gottfried.

May 21-23, 2020 B1

Section

B

Richmond Free Press

Happenings

Personality: Duron Chavis Spotlight on Resiliency Garden project leader Hundreds of raised garden beds distributed throughout the region, ready to house healthy crops. Hundreds more in demand by residents in Richmond and its neighboring counties.

And potentially hundreds of new urban farmers, ready to work and serve their communities at a time of great need.

The coronavirus hasn’t just impacted social and economic institutions. It also has increased many inequalities that already existed for marginalized communities.

Duron Chavis, founder and director of the Happily Natural Festival, knows this well and is moving the nonprofit toward correcting one of these issues— an inability to grow, maintain and obtain healthy fruits and vegetables in food-insecure communities.

“It’s really important,” Mr. Chavis says. “Even before COVID-19, communities of color struggled with lack of access to healthy food, but now that issue is even more amplified.”

Mr. Chavis founded Happily Natural in 2003 while he was working at the Black History Museum & Cultural Center of Virginia. It was originally and simply Happily Natural Day, a summer festival celebrating the African-American community, showcasing history and building pride in ancestry.

For more than a decade, the festival has shone a light on this history through a variety of ways, including “the promotion of holistic health, cultural identity and social change,” according to Mr. Chavis, aided by community partners and an enthusiastic audience that stretches as far as Canada and the United Kingdom.

In the years following its creation, Happily Natural has

evolved to encompass a much larger mission. Today, the nonprofit isn’t just reconnecting black people to their history, but to the land itself, “through sustainable agriculture and resilient food systems.”

To achieve that goal, Happily Natural is operating the Resiliency Garden project as part of the Beautiful RVA coalition. The organization delivers raised beds to the community without charge to help increase access to healthy food for communities in need throughout the region during the pandemic.

Since April 1, the group has delivered more than 100 beds, with more than 300 requests received from across the region.

It’s a telling sign of both the lack of options for many when it comes to healthy food, but also a deeper desire to expand skills and mitigate the stress of the current moment.

As Mr. Chavis puts it, “farming and gardening are ways to build self-sufficiency and relieve anxiety during this stressful time.”

Moving forward, Happily Natural is helping build urban farms across the city in an effort to localize Richmond’s food system. The organization is collaborating with the Mechanicsville-based Farm to Family, with an eye toward a plentiful, healthy summer harvest for the community.

Happily Natural also is developing a six-week boot camp for people new to growing food, as well as a 12-week training program for the city’s urban farmers.

Mr. Chavis is aware of the limits of the group’s ability to do this work and more, as their need for volunteers and community contributions is tempered with the knowledge that, as a black nonprofit, they

pily Natural: Founder and director.

When and why Happily Natural was founded: To celebrate blackness through the promotion of holistic health, cultural identity and social change. Founded in 2003 while I worked at the Black History Museum & Cultural Center of Virginia, the event started as a festival celebrating blackness that instilled pride in being of African ancestry.

see less support than similar groups. But they soldier on regardless, ready to address a clear and present need in the Richmond area.

“So many people are losing their jobs and are immunocompromised right now,” Mr. Chavis says. “Being able to grow your own food helps ensure that, no matter what happens with the food system, you will be able to feed yourself.”

Meet a back-to-the-earth advocate and this week’s Personality, Duron Chavis: Occupation: Urban farmer.

Date and place of birth: Sept.

24 in Richmond.

Current residence: North Side.

Education: Virginia State University, mass communications.

Family: My partner, Nikiya Ellis, and our children, Asaun, Zion, Kinyasa, Tahja, Kai and Mali.

Volunteer position with Hap-

How Happily Natural has evolved: Happily Natural has grown to be more than a festival through its promotion of reconnecting people of color back to the land through sustainable agriculture and resilient food systems. When COVID-19 dies down, we look forward to getting back to delivering the festival. But in the meantime, we are planning for a virtual version.

1. We have developed a system of socially distanced volunteerism where folks deliver wood, build boxes and provide soil and seedlings to folks in need.

We also provide online videos and instruction to help build folks’ skills in growing their own food.

look forward to having a lush and abundant summer harvest of healthy fresh fruit and vegetables for the community to partake in.

We could do more: If we had more funding and volunteers, we could do more faster. As a nonprofit, specifically a black nonprofit, we know the studies show that we get less funding than our white counterparts.

We also are an all-volunteer run effort so we don’t have a development staff or grant writers on our payroll to assist in our fundraising efforts.

If I had more time, I would: Write a book about the 20 years of activism I have participated in through Happily Natural Day and other initiatives. I am a native Richmonder and have been active in many initiatives throughout the city. And if I had more time, I would definitely love to tell my story in full.

How Happily Natural is financed: We are funded in this work through the generous contributions from community members.

Strategy for achieving it: Our primary work is urban farming and teaching people how to farm sustainably to feed their families. Our main initiative today is the Resiliency Garden project where we deliver raised beds to the community at zero cost to help increase access to healthy food for food insecure communities throughout the Richmond region during COVID-19.

Happily Natural COVID-19 response is providing: Support for the community in becoming resilient through the act of growing your own food.

Farming and gardening are ways to build self-sufficiency and relieve anxiety during this stressful time. So many people are losing their jobs and are immunocompromised right now, and being able to grow your own food helps ensure that no matter what happens with the food system, you will be able to feed yourself. It’s really important. Even before COVID-19, communities of color struggled with lack of access to healthy food, but now that issue is even more amplified.

Number of people you serve and how: So far, we have received more than 300 requests for raised beds across the region.

To date, we have delivered more than 100 raised beds since April

Upcoming projects: We are building urban farms across the city to help localize our food system. Currently, we are collaborating with Farm to Family in Mechanicsville and

No. 1 objective: Right now our focus is on building food security.

How I start the day: Thankful for the opportunity to serve and excited about how to improve our work.

A quote that I am inspired by: “The oppressed must be their own example in the struggle for their redemption.” ― Paulo Freire, from “Pedagogy of the Oppressed.”

Kindergarten taught me: Sharing is caring.

Best late-night snack: A fruit smoothie.

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

I am an artist, having had to learn how to design flyers and posters for Happily Natural over the years.

Book that influenced me the most: “The Fire Next Time”

by James Baldwin.

What I’m reading now: “How To Be An Antiracist” by Ibram X. Kendi.

My next goal: Launching a six-week boot camp for new growers and developing a new, 12-week training for urban farmers in the city, and looking forward to supporting black and brown people in being integral elements in a resilient and equitable food system.

DIAMONDS • WATCHES JEWELRY • REPAIRS 19 EAST BROAD STREET RICHMOND, VA 23219 (804) 648-1044

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Richmond Free Press

B2 May 21-23, 2020

Happenings

Photos by Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press

Growing their own A bevy of volunteers work to weed and produce a bountiful harvest of vegetables at the Broad Rock Community Garden located at the intersection of Broad Rock Road and Stockton Street in South Side.

The effort is part of the Resiliency Garden project under the coalition Beautiful RVA to increase access to healthy foods in an area that had been designated as a food desert by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The City of Richmond provided the land as a Richmond Grows Gardens site, with the Ginter Urban Gardeners building the raised beds, an outdoor kitchen, play area for children and rainwater containers to use to water the crops. Briana Stevenson, manager of the garden, boxes the kale picked by Deneen Tyler, left, and Marcella Lee. Duron Chavis, this week’s Free Press Personality and Happily Natural are part of the coalition.

President Obama inspires Class of 2020, Princeton senior is first black valedictorian in adroitly criticizes current leaders for university’s history mishandling pandemic crisis Free Press wire report

Free Press staff, wire report

WASHINGTON Hours after former President Obama delivered two measured and inspiring national commencement speeches to the Class of 2020 college and high school graduates last Saturday, social media lit up with comments of “Great speech, Mr. Obama.

We miss you!” and “That’s what a president should be like. November 2020 can’t get here soon enough.”

People praised the 44th president for his poise, leadership and statesmanship, drawing comparisons to the current occupant of the White House, who petulantly criticized Mr. Obama as “grossly incompetent” when he was asked Sunday by reporters if he’d tuned into Mr. Obama’s speech that was carried live on most major television and cable news networks.

Without calling President Trump’s name, Mr. Obama on Saturday criticized U.S. leaders overseeing the nation’s response to the coronavirus crisis, telling college graduates in an online commencement address that the pandemic shows many officials “aren’t even pretending to be in charge.”

Mr. Obama spoke Saturday afternoon on “Show Me Your Walk, HBCU Edition,” a two-hour event for students graduating from historically black colleges and universities broadcast on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. His remarks were unexpectedly political, given the venue, and touched on current events beyond the virus and its social and economic impacts.

“More than anything, this pandemic has fully finally torn back the curtain on the idea that so many of the folks in charge know what they’re doing,” Mr. Obama said. “A lot of them aren’t even pretending to be in charge.”

Later on Saturday evening, during a second televised commencement address for high school seniors, Mr. Obama panned

“so-called grown-ups, including some with fancy titles and important jobs” who do “what feels good, what’s convenient, what’s easy.”

“Which is why things are so screwed up,” he said.

Mr. Obama did not name President Trump or any other federal or state officials in either of his appearances. But

Former President Obama

earlier this month, he harshly criticized President Trump’s handling of the pandemic as an “absolute chaotic disaster” in a call with 3,000 members of his former administration.

The commencement remarks were the latest sign that Mr. Obama intends to play an increasingly active role in the upcoming election. He has generally kept a low profile in the years since he left office, even as President Trump has disparaged him. Mr. Obama told supporters on the telephone call that he would be “spending as much time as necessary and campaigning as hard as I can” for Joe Biden, who served as his vice president.

As he congratulated the college graduates Saturday and commiserated over the

enormous challenges they face given the devastation and economic turmoil the virus has wrought, the former president noted the February shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery, 25, who was killed while jogging just blocks from his home in Georgia.

“Let’s be honest: A disease like this just spotlights the underlying inequalities and extra burdens that black communities have historically had to deal with in this country,” Mr. Obama said. “We see it in the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on our communities, just as we see it when a black man goes for a jog and some folks feel like they can stop and question and shoot him if he doesn’t submit to their questioning.”

“Injustice like this isn’t new,” Mr. Obama went on to say. “What is new is that so much of your generation has woken up to the fact that the status quo needs fixing, that the old ways of doing things don’t work.”

In the face of a void in leadership, he said, it would be up to the graduates to shape the future.

“If the world’s going to get better, it’s going to be up to you,” he said.

It is a perilous time for HBCUs across the nation that have long struggled with less funding and smaller endowments than their predominantly white peers and are now dealing with the financial challenges of the coronavirus. Even at the better-endowed HBCUs, officials are bracing for a tough few years.

Mr. Obama’s message to high school students came at the end of an hourlong television special featuring celebrities, including LeBron James, Alicia Keys, Yara Shahidi and Ben Platt, and was less sharp-edged than his speech to the college graduates. He urged the young graduates to be unafraid despite the current challenges facing the nation and to strive to be part of a diverse community.

“Leave behind all the old ways of thinking that divide us — sexism, racial prejudice, status, greed — and set the world on a different path,” Mr. Obama said.

Nicholas Johnson is making history and making his family proud.

The Princeton University senior is the first black valedictorian in the 274-year history of the Ivy League school in New Jersey.

As the top academic student, he will participate in Princeton’s virtual commencement for the Class of 2020 on Sunday, May 31.

A native of Montreal, the 22-year-old Mr. Johnson studied operations research and financial engineering and Mr. Johnson also is pursuing certificates in statistics and machine learning, applied and computational mathematics and applications of computing.

After transferring to Princeton from Marianopolis College in Quebec, he also had international internships and cultural immersion trips to Peru, Hong Kong and the United Kingdom. He worked last summer as a software engineer at Google’s headquarters in California.

Mr. Johnson’s senior thesis, “Sequential Stochastic Network Structure Optimization with Applications to Addressing Canada’s Obesity Epidemic,” focused on algorithms to develop a health intervention plan that could help curb obesity in Canada.

His work also has applications to public health interventions designed to increase adherence to strict social distancing to curb the spread of COVID-19.

The time spent in the books and labs did not detract from Mr. Johnson’s interactions with others. He said he values his relationships with classmates the most during his time at Princeton.

“My favorite memories of my time at Princeton are memories of time spent with close friends and classmates engaging in stimulating discussions — often late at night — about our beliefs, the cultures and environments in which we were raised, the state of the world, and how we plan on contributing positively to it in our own unique way,” Mr. Johnson said.

He plans to spend the summer interning as a hybrid quantitative researcher and software developer at the D.E. Shaw Group before entering the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the fall to earn his Ph.D. A writing fellow at Princeton’s Writing Center, Mr. Johnson is editor of Tortoise: A Journal of Writing Pedagogy. He served as a residential adviser at Princeton’s Whitman College, and is a member of the Princeton chapter of Engineers Without Borders and served as its co-president in 2018.

Mr. Johnson has won numerous academic awards. He was elected to Phi Beta Kappa in the fall of 2019 and to Tau Beta Pi engineering society in 2018, where he served as president of the Princeton Chapter in 2019.

Philanthropy steps up during the COVID-19 crisis

By Ronald E. Carrington

The rapid spread of COVID-19 has created a statewide and global health and economic crisis that is testing the fabric of people and communities and area charities as needs expand.

Central Virginia philanthropic foundations are playing an important role in addressing the immediate and long-term implications of the coronavirus crisis by offering everything from food to families and special grocery shopping hours for seniors and donating personal supplies and resources to front line workers.

The Central Virginia COVID19 Response Fund, created by The Community Foundation for a Greater Richmond and the Emergency Management Alliance of Central Virginia, has raised more than $4.6 million to support organizations providing help to families and individuals most af-

fected by the coronavirus pandemic crisis.

Donations to the fund have come from businesses, individuals and faith communities, with the United Way of Greater Richmond and Petersburg managing online donations.

The United Way also matched up to $100,000 in donations to the fund made through its website.

“The COVID-19 crisis is impacting the community both positively and negatively at the same time,” said James L.M. Taylor, president and chief executive officer of the United Way of Greater Richmond and Petersburg.

“The positive side, we stepped in as the front door for donations to the Central Virginia COVID-19 Response Fund,” he said. “On the negative side, a lot of our normal group presentations or workplace fundraising activities are impossible

Mr. Taylor

Ms. Armstrong

due to COVID-19 restrictions.”

This means most of the United Way’s campaigns have been wrapped up for the fiscal year and the remaining events won’t happen.

When public schools across the state were shut down in March to curb the spread of the coronavirus, Richmond Public Schools announced it would beef up its online learning for students. However, thousands of city students were without access to laptops and internet service.

To help bridge the gap, The Com-

munity Foundation donated $500,000 and $125,000 came from the Robins Foundation to help RPS reach its ultimate goal of $1 million for student technology needs.

About $300,000 of The Community Foundation’s award came from the Central Virginia COVID-19 Response Fund, $100,000 from the R.E.B. Foundation and $100,000 from an anonymous donor.

The Community Foundation also issued a $150,000 challenge to help the school system meet the goal by the end of May. More than $80,000 has been raised toward that challenge.

Overall, The Community Foundation “earned grants totaling $1.1 million and donated to 25 organizations providing immediate support to those most impacted by the coronavirus pandemic,” said Sherrie Armstrong, president and chief executive officer of The Community Foundation.

“We provide grants to safety net clinics like CrossOver Healthcare Ministry that work with the uninsured population for free health care, to help with increased staffing, conversion to telehealth delivery and coordinating safe access to appointments and medication,” she said.

Funding also has gone to homeless service providers for staffing, supply costs and new shelter options, staffing costs and cleaning supplies for a shelter for victims of domestic violence and child care centers for essential personnel, according to the foundation’s website.

Mr. Taylor wants the community to know that United Way is focusing on bringing people together to solve problems and help others.

“Check on your neighbors, especially the older ones, and look at what you can do to help them out,” he said.

Richmond Free Press

May 21-23, 2020

B3

Obituary/Faith Directory

Dr. Clinton V. Turner Sr., former Virginia commissioner of agriculture and consumer services, dies at 76

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

his family said.

Dr. Turner is credited with Dr. Clinton Vassett Turner seizing the opportunity to focus Sr., the first African-American attention on food production to serve as Virginia com- and the important role agriculmissioner of agriculture, has ture plays in the economy. died.

He also assisted Gov. Wilder A longtime Richmond resi- in efforts to expand Virginia’s dent, Dr. Turner’s death was farm trade with African nations, reported Friday, May a new territory for 15, 2020. The cause Virginia, which preof death was not disviously had focused closed. He was 76. mainly on Europe Dr. Turner, aland Asia. ready known to farmBorn in the Spout ers through his work Spring community of at Virginia State Appomattox County, University, gained Dr. Turner was deDr. Turner a larger platform in voted to spreading 1991 with his appointment to information to farmers to help lead the Virginia Department them become more producof Agriculture and Consumer tive.

Services.

He became an extension Newly installed Gov. L. specialist in 1976 after earning Douglas Wilder, then the na- his bachelor’s and master’s in tion’s first elected African- agriculture from VSU. He later American governor, brought earned a doctorate of education Dr. Turner from VSU to lead from Virginia Tech. the state department and break In his initial extension posithe color barrier in the state’s tion, Dr. Turner taught classes in executive suite. home purchasing, home repair Dr. Turner was the first and home remodeling. Four African-American in the na- years later in 1980, Dr. Turner tion to hold a state cabinet became the first African-Amerlevel position in agriculture, ican district director for the

St. Peter Baptist Church

Virginia Cooperative Extension Service, a major breakthrough for the farm and rural education and outreach program that had long maintained all-white leadership.

Just as importantly, Dr. Turner represented both VSU and Virginia Tech in working to bring research, data and new ideas to farmers and rural residents.

He also gained experience working with local governments, state agencies, farm cooperatives and regional groups to help farmers modernize their

operations.

Recognizing his work, VSU named him administrator of its cooperative extension program in 1984 and then promoted him to associate vice president for agriculture and extension four years later.

Dr. Turner received several awards. Most notably, in December 2016, the Professional Agricultural Workers Conference inducted him into its George Washington Carver Public Service Hall of Fame in Tuskegee, Ala. He was the first and only Vir-

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

Dr. Alonza L. Lawrence, Pastor

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

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

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

Bible Study Opportunities Thursdays: All Bible Study sessions have been suspended for the remainder of the month.

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

Be safe. Be blessed.

Tithing Opportunities Download the Tithe.ly giving s of for yearapp ChApple ristianand Android tingis safe/secure and goes Servto our agift devices. Your directly r b e i ce l church.Ce

151

See you there!

2IVERVIEW

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

$R +IRKLAND 2 7ALTON 0ASTOR

Worship Opportunities

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

SUNDAY, MAY 24, 2020 Morning Worship 11:00 AM Drive-In Service in our Parking Lot

Baptist Church

Also Visit Us On Facebook Sunday Service – 11:00 AM 2604 Idlewood Avenue Richmond, Va. 23220 (804) 353-6135 www.riverviewbaptistch.org Rev. Dr. Stephen L. Hewlett, Pastor Rev. Dr. Ralph Reavis, Sr. Pastor Emeritus

1858

¹4HE 0EOPLE´S #HURCH²

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

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

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

Broad Rock Baptist Church 5106 Walmsley Blvd., Richmond, VA 23224 804-276-2740 • 804-276-6535 (fax) www.BRBCONLINE.org Early Morning Worship ~ 8 a.m.

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

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

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

Sermons Available at BRBCONLINE.org

“MAKE IT HAPPEN�

Building Churches for over 100 years.

Est. 1908

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

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

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

8LIQI JSV 1SFMPM^MRK *SV 1MRMWXV] 6IJVIWLMRK 8LI 3PH ERH )QIVKMRK 8LI 2I[ We Embrace Diversity — Love For All! Come worship with us!

Sunday Service will not be held in our sanctuary.

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

Rev. Dr. Yvonne Jones Bibbs, Pastor

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

Contact Davis Brothers Construction Company, Inc.,

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

(Jeremiah 29:11, NRSV)

Twitter sixthbaptistrva

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

BUILDING OR RENOVATING A CHURCH IN THE FUTURE?

Ebenezer Baptist Church

A 21st Century Church With Ministry For Everyone

Good Shepherd Baptist Church

Pastor Kevin Cook

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

7M\XL &ETXMWX 'LYVGL

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

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

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

Rev. Dr. Paul A. Coles, Pastor

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

day, May 23, at Scott’s Funeral Home Chapel, 116 E. Brookland Park Blvd., and livestreamed on the funeral home’s website at scottsfuneralhome.com. Internment will take place at the Mt. Shiloh Baptist Church Cemetery in Spout Spring in Appomattox County.

Survivors include his wife of 51 years, Lelia Aldora Turner, a retired Richmond Public Schools teacher; two sons, Clinton V. Turner Jr. and Michael B. Turner; and two granddaughters.

Barky’s

“The Church With A Welcome�

Moore Street Missionary

ginian to receive the honor.

Along with serving on state and national agricultural policy committees, Dr. Turner also was a member and past president of the board of the Eppington Foundation, which Chesterfield County created to preserve, maintain and restore the 18th century plantation.

He was a life member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, the Masonic Lodge in Appomattox and Fourth Baptist Church in Richmond.

A private funeral service will be held 11 a.m. Satur-

400 South Addison Street Richmond, Va. 23220

(near Byrd Park)

(804) 359-1691 or 359-3498 Facebook Fax (804) 359-3798 sixthbaptistrva www.sixthbaptistchurch.org

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

SERVICES

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

DR. JAMES L. SAILES PASTOR

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

Thirty-first Street Baptist Church

C

e with Reverence elevanc R g in Rev. Dr. Joshua Mitchell, Pastor-Elect bin â?– om

SUNDAYS

Corporate Office Richmond, Va.: s &AX

Langston R. Davis email: ldavis@davisbrotherscc.com

Atlanta, Ga. Office: s &AX

Langston R. Davis Jr. email: ldavisjr@davisbrotherscc.com

New Deliverance Evangelistic Church

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

Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic NDEC Sunday services are suspended until further notice.

Bishop G. O. Glenn D. Min., Pastor

Mother Marcietia S. Glenn First Lady

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

Please join us for virtual live streaming Church services at www.ndec.net Sundays at 9:30 a.m.

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

Hebrew 12:14 (KJV) Wednesday Evening Bible Study 7:00 p.m.

(Bible Study) www.ndec.net

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

â?–

SATURDAY

THIRD SUNDAY 10:30 a.m.

Children’s Church Higher Achievement

8:30 a.m. Intercessory Prayer

6 weeks to 4th grade Before and After Care

Church School 9:30 a.m.

Morning Worship 10:30 a.m. â?–

WEDNESDAYS Bible Study 7:00 p.m.

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

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

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

Visit www.ndec.net.

CHRISTIAN ACADEMY (NDCA) NOW ENROLLING!!!

For more information Please call

(804) 276-4433

Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm

Richmond Free Press

B4 May 21-23, 2020

Legal Notices/Employment Opportunities To advertise in the

Richmond Free Press call

644-0496

Follow the Free Press on @FreePressRVA @RichmondFreePressUSA

City of Richmond, Virginia CITY COUNCIL PUBLIC NOTICE Notice is hereby given that the Council of the City of Richmond has scheduled a public hearing, open to all interested citizens, on Monday, June 8, 2020 at 6:00 p.m. to consider the following ordinances: Ordinance No. 2020-116 To amend City Code §§ 2167 and 21-68, concerning public procurement, for the purpose of conforming the sections to the requirements of Va. Code §§ 2.2-4302.2 and 2.24303.1. (COMMITTEE: Governmental Operations, Thursday, May 28, 2020, 12:00 p.m.)

Ordinance No. 2020-117 To authorize the Chief Administrative Officer, for and on behalf of the City of Richmond, to execute a Records Management System User Agreement between the City of Richmond and Virginia Commonwealth University for the purpose of contracting for the use of equipment and materials as allowed

by Va. Code § 15.21736 by allowing the Virginia Commonwealth University Police Department to become an operational user of the Department of Police’s records management system for the input, retrieval, and storage of records and facilitating interoperability between the Department of Police and the Virginia Commonwealth University Police D e p a r t m e n t . ( C O M M I T T E E : Governmental Operations, Thursday, May 28, 2020, 12:00 p.m.)

This meeting will be held through electronic communication means pursuant to and in compliance with Ordinance No. 2020093, adopted April 9, 2020. This meeting will be open to participation through electronic communication means by the public and closed to in-person participation by the public. Less than a quorum of Richmond City Council will assemble in the Council Chamber on the Second Floor of City Hall, located at 900 East Broad Street, Richmond, Virginia, and most Council members and other staff will participate by teleconference/ videoconference via Microsoft Teams.

Audio of the meeting will be streamed live online at the following web address: https:// richmondva.legistar.com/ Calendar.aspx. To listen to the meeting’s live audio stream at the web address provided, find and click the link that reads, “In Progress� in the farthest right hand column entitled, “Video�.

The agenda for the Richmond City Council meeting is accessible through the City’s legislative website at the following web address: https://richmondva. legistar.com/Calendar. aspx.To view the agenda at the web address provided, find and click the link that reads, “Agenda� associated with the June 8, 2020 Richmond City Council Formal meeting listed in the calendar.

Interested citizens who wish to speak at the Richmond City Council meeting will be given an opportunity to do so by following the “Formal Meeting Access and Public Participation Instructions� attached to the June 8, 2020 Richmond City Council Formal meeting agenda.

Citizens are encouraged to provide their comments in writing to CityClerksOffice@ richmondgov.com in lieu of calling in. The person responsible for receiving comments in writing is Candice D. Reid, City Clerk. All comments received prior to 10:00 a.m. on Monday, June 8, 2020, will be provided to Council members prior to the meeting and will be included in the record of the meeting.

Copies of the full text of all ordinances are available by visiting the City Clerk’s page on the City’s Website at http:// www.richmondgov.com/ CityClerk/index.aspx.

Candice D. Reid City Clerk

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, June 1, 2020 at 1:30 p.m. and the Council of the City of Richmond has scheduled a public hearing on Monday, June 8, 2020 at 6:00 p.m. to consider the following ordinances: Ordinance No. 2020-118 To amend Ord. No. 91220-208, adopted Jul. 8, 1991, which authorized use of the properties known as 1704 and 1706 Floyd Avenue, containing 4847.82 square feet located on the north side of Floyd Avenue between Vine Street and Allen Avenue, being more completely described as follows: beginning at a point being 43.00 feet west of the west line of Vine Street, thence fronting 37.58 feet in a westerly direction along the north line of Floyd Avenue and extending back 129.00 feet between parallel lines, parallel to the west line of Vine Street, to the south line of a 10.75 foot wide eastwest public alley, to be split into two separate lots, for the purpose of a twofamily dwelling on each property, to authorize a third dwelling unit at 1706 Floyd Avenue, together with accessory parking, upon certain terms and conditions. The current zoning for this property is R‑6, Single Family Attached Residential. The City of Richmond’s Master Plan designates a future land use category for the subject property as Single Family Residential at Medium densities. Primary uses for this category are single‑family and two‑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 semi‑public uses. The density of the proposed use of 1706 Floyd Avenue would be approximately 54 units per acre.

Ordinance No. 2020-119 To amend Ord. No. 2019089, adopted Apr. 22, 2019, which authorized the special use of the properties known as 5400 Hull Street Road, 5336 Hull Street Road, and 5348 Hull Street Road for the purpose of self-storage facilities and multifamily dwellings containing up to 245 dwelling units, to modify the site plans, upon certain terms and conditions. The property is located in the B-3 General Business District and the R-4 Single-Family Residential District. The City of Richmond’s Master Plan designates a future land use category for the subject property as General Commercial.

Primary uses include a broad range of office, retail, general commercial, wholesale and service uses, typically located along major transportation corridors and serving large portions of the City, the region or the traveling public. No residential density is specified for this land use designation. The residential density of the proposed development would be approximately 20 units per acre.

Ordinance No. 2020-120 To authorize the special use of the property known as 7345 Longview Drive for the purpose of a wildlife rehabilitation facility accessory to an existing single-family detached dwelling, upon certain terms and conditions.

The property is located in the R-2 Single-Family Residential District.

The City of Richmond’s Master Plan designates the subject property for Single‑Family (Low Density) uses. Primary use is single‑family detached dwellings at densities up to seven units per acre. Includes residential support uses such as schools, places of worship, neighborhood parks and recreation facilities, and limited public and semi‑public uses.

Ordinance No. 2020-121 To authorize the special use of the property known as 2100 West Cary Street for the purpose of a retail use on the ground floor, upon certain terms and conditions.

The property is situated in a R-63 Multifamily Urban Residential District.

The City Master Plan calls for a future land use recommendation for this property for single‑family medium density uses. Primary uses are single‑family and two‑family dwellings, both detached and attached, at densities of 8 to 20 units per acre.

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known as 301 West 6th Street for the purpose of a multifamily dwelling containing up to 350 dwelling units, upon certain terms and conditions. The property is situated in the RF-2 Riverfront Zoning District. The City of Richmond’s Downtown Plan designates a future land use category for the subject properties as Downtown – Urban Center Area (DT-UCA).

The Urban Center area is characterized by higher density, mixed-use development, typically arranged on a fine-grained street network, with wide sidewalks, regular tree planting, and minimal setbacks. The proposed density of the project is approximately 156 units per acre.

Ordinance No. 2020-123 To rezone the properties known as 400 Maury Street and 418 Maury Street from the M-2 Heavy Industrial District to the TOD-1 TransitOriented Nodal District and the property known as 401 Maury Street from the B-7 Mixed-Use Business District to the TOD-1 Transit-Oriented Nodal District. The City of Richmond’s Master Plan designates 400 Maury Street and 418 Maury Street for Industrial land use, which includes a wide variety of manufacturing, processing, research and development, warehousing, distribution, office, warehouse and service uses. Office, retail and other uses that complement industrial areas are often secondary support uses. 401 Maury Street is within the Master Plan’s Downtown Urban Center Area designation which is characterized by higher density, mixed-use development, typically arranged on a fine-grained street network, with wide sidewalks, regular tree planting, and minimal setbacks.

Ordinance No. 2020-124 To d e c l a r e t h a t a public necessity exists and to authorize the acquisition by gift, purchase, condemnation, or otherwise of the property known as 1201 Porter Street for the public purpose of implementing a Spot Blight Abatement Plan adopted in accordance with Va. Code § 3649.1:1 for such property.

The subject property is zoned in the R-8 Urban Residential District. The Downtown Plan includes the subject property in a General Urban Area.

The General Urban Area is characterized b y m e d i u m - d e n s i t y, mixed-use development, distributed along mediumsized bocks.

The meetings will be held through electronic communication means pursuant to and in compliance with Ordinance No. 2020093, adopted April 9, 2020. The meetings will be open to participation through electronic communication means by the public and closed to in-person participation by the public. Less than a quorum of Richmond City Planning Commission members and Richmond City Council will assemble in City Hall, located at 900 East Broad Street, Richmond, Virginia, and most members and other staff will participate by teleconference/ videoconference via Microsoft Teams.

The meetings will be streamed live online at the following web address: https://richmondva. legistar.com/Calendar. a s p x . To w a t c h a meeting’s live stream at the web address provided, find and click the link that reads, “In Progress� in the farthest right hand column entitled, “Video�.

The agenda for the Richmond City Council meeting is accessible through the City’s legislative website at the following web address: https://richmondva. legistar.com/Calendar. aspx. To view the agenda at the web address provided, find and click the link that reads, “Agenda� associated with the June 8, 2020 Richmond City Council Formal meeting listed in the calendar.

Interested citizens who wish to speak at the Richmond City Council meeting will be given an opportunity to do so by following the “Formal Meeting Access and Public Participation Instructions� attached to the June 8, 2020 Richmond City Council Formal meeting agenda.

Ordinance No. 2020-122 To authorize the special use of the property

Citizens are encouraged to provide their comments in writing to CityClerksOffice@ richmondgov.com in lieu of calling in. The person responsible for receiving comments in writing is Candice D. Reid, City Clerk. All comments

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received prior to 10:00 a.m. on Monday, June 8, 2020, will be provided to Council members prior to the meeting and will be included in the record of the meeting.

Copies of the full text of all ordinances are available by visiting the City Clerk’s page on the City’s Website at http:// www.richmondgov.com/ CityClerk/index.aspx.

Candice D. Reid City Clerk

Divorce VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE COUNTY OF HENRICO CHIOME ALISA FRANK, Plaintiff v.

ROBERT C. “BARRY�

FRANK, Defendant.

Case No.: CL19002690-00 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is for the Plaintiff to obtain a divorce from the bond of matrimony from the Defendant because they have lived separate and apart, without cohabitation or the intention to resume cohabitation for more than one year.

The Defendant shall appear and protect his interests before this Court on or before June 22, 2020 at 9 a.m.

An Extract Teste: Heidi S. Barshinger, Clerk Robert L. Flax, Esq., 8 South Sheppard Street Richmond, Virginia 23221 (804) 355-8425 VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE COUNTY OF HANOVER PAMELA SHAWNAY FLOYD, Plaintiff, v.

HERBERT LAMONT FLOYD, Defendant.

Case No.: CL19002232-00 ORDER OF PUBLICATION TO: Herbert Lamont Floyd

241 W. Hansberry Street

Philadelphia, PA 19144

The object of this suit is for Plaintiff to obtain a divorce a vinculo matrimonii from the Defendant, Herbert Lamont Floyd, on the grounds of parties having lived separate and apart, continuously and without interruption for more than one (1) year, and the parties having two (2) children born of this marriage, namely Octavia Shawnay Floyd, born November 14, 2006, and Elijah Lamont Floyd, born April 28, 2008; and an affidavit having been made and signed that due diligence has been used to ascertain the Defendant’s location and residence without success; and that his last known address is as indicated above; and accordingly, it is therefore

Adjudged, Ordered and Decreed that Defendant shall appear and protect his interests as he deems necessary within fifty (50) days from the date of entry of this Order, being on or before June 15, 2020 at 9:00 a.m.

A Copy Teste: FRANK D. HARGROVE, Clerk I ASK FOR THIS: William D. Hamner, Esq. (VSB# 17836) LANE & HAMNER, P.C. 3520-A Courthouse Road Richmond, Virginia 23236 804-745-2144 804-745-7880 Fax VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE COUNTY OF HANOVER IVELISSE CALDERON, Plaintiff v.

ROMULO DUBON GARCIA, Defendant.

Case No.: CL20000553-00 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 1st day of July, 2020 at 9:00 AM, and protect his interests.

A Copy, Teste: FRANK D. HARGROVE, JR., Clerk I ask for this: Dorothy M. Eure, Esquire VSB# 27724 Law Office of Dorothy M. Eure, P.C. 8460 Mount Eagle Road Ashland, VA 23005 (804) 798-9667 VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE COUNTY OF HANOVER TAMISHA KEY, Plaintiff v.

EMANUEL KEY, SR., Defendant.

Case No.: CL20000959-00 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

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

It is ORDERED that the defendant, whose whereabouts are unknown, appear here on or before the 1st day of July, 2020 Continued on next column

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at 9:00 AM, and protect his interests.

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

Case No.: CL20001450-00 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

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

It is ORDERED that the defendant, who is a nonresident of Virginia, appear here on or before the 1st day of July, 2020 at 9:00 AM, and protect his interests.

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

Virginia CA19000002-00 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of the abovestyled suit is to obtain a Final Order of Adoption for the minor child.

It appearing by affidavit filed according to law that the Mother, Jessica Lynn White’s current address is unknown, and that her last known address is 3006 Krouse Street, Richmond, Virginia 23234, and that due diligence has been used by and on behalf of the petitioners herein to ascertain in what county or city the natural mother, Jessica Lynn White, is without effect and that her consent is

unobtainable; it is therefore ORDERED that the said Mother, Jessica Lynn White, appear before this Court on or before the 15th day of July, 2020, at 1:00 p.m., at which time I will appear before this Court to request an Order be entered regarding the adoption of the minor child to this suit, counsel fees and court costs, and do what is necessary to protect her interest in this suit.

I ask for this: Mary Wilkins Hunt, Esquire VSB#77904 Family Law Associates of Richmond, PC 3711-C Westerre Parkway Richmond, Virginia 23233 (804) 270-7153

VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE COUNTY OF HANOVER ISOKE GRIFFIN, Plaintiff v.

MICHAEL GRIFFIN, Defendant.

Case No.: CL20001309-00 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 1st day of July, 2020 at 9:00 AM, and protect his interests.

A Copy, Teste: FRANK D. HARGROVE, JR., Clerk I ask for this: Dorothy M. Eure, Esquire VSB# 27724 Law Office of Dorothy M. Eure, P.C. 8460 Mount Eagle Road Ashland, VA 23005 (804) 798-9667 VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE COUNTY OF HANOVER WILLIAM HASKETT, JR., Plaintiff v.

ROSEMARIE LEEHASKETT Defendant.

Case No.: CL20001512-00 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

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

It is ORDERED that the defendant, whose whereabouts are unknown, appear here on or before the 1st day of July, 2020 at 9:00 AM, and protect her interests.

A Copy, Teste: FRANK D. HARGROVE, JR., Clerk I ask for this: Law Office of Dorothy M. Eure, P.C. Dorothy M. Eure, Plaintiff’s Attorney VSB# 27724 8460 Mount Eagle Road Ashland, VA 23005 (804) 798-9667 VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE COUNTY OF HANOVER TERILYN CRADDOCK GREEN, Plaintiff v.

JUSTIN GREEN, Defendant.

Case No.: CL20001513-00 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

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

It is ORDERED that the defendant, whose whereabouts are unknown, appear here on or before the 1st day of July, 2020 at 9:00 AM, and protect his interests.

A Copy, Teste: FRANK D. HARGROVE, JR., Clerk I ask for this: Law Office of Dorothy M. Eure, P.C. Dorothy M. Eure, Plaintiff’s Attorney VSB# 27724 8460 Mount Eagle Road Ashland, VA 23005 (804) 798-9667 VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR CHESTERFIELD COUNTY IYABO EBUN OYEDIRAN, Plaintiff v.

OYEDEJI OYEDIRAN Defendant.

Case No.: CL19-2994-00 ORDER OF PUBLICATION April 30, 2020

On this day the Petitioner appeared by counsel upon an Affidavit for Service

by Publication, pursuant to section 8.01-316 of the Virginia Code.

It is hereby ORDERED that Oyedeji Oyediran appear at the above-named court and protect his interests on or before July 1, 2020 at 10:30 a.m.

An Extract Teste: WENDY S. HUGHES, Clerk D. Scott Caslow, Esq. VSB# 92050 FRIEDMAN, FRAMME & THRUSH, P.A. 6800 Paragon Place, Suite 233 Richmond, VA 23294 (804) 377-0061 (phone) (410) 559-9009 (fax) Counsel for Petitioner

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EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

NOTICE PUBLIC NOTICE NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the undersigned songwriter/executor, desiring to engage in business under the following art/ fictitious name FREDERICK JOHN ANDREWSŠ has registered the said name with the VIRGINIA STATE CORPORATION COMMISSION. Frederick- John: Andrews 5517 Noble Avenue Richmond, Virginia Republic 23227

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

custodY

VCDC is currently seeking a full-time Director of Equity Funds to join our team.

For more details and how to apply visit: www.vacdc.org/careers

VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE COUNTY OF ESSEX ARTHUR D. WHITE, JR., AND ANITA T. WHITE, Petitioners, In re: Jahon Lynwood White Born: February 7, 2014 Birth Certificate Registration No. 145-14-009005 Registered in the Commonwealth of Virginia CA19000002-00 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of the abovestyled suit is to obtain a Final Order of Adoption for the minor child.

It appearing by affidavit filed according to law that the Father, Larick Demond White’s current address is unknown, that his last known address is 3166 Nine Mile Road, Richmond, Virginia 23223, and that due diligence has been used by and on behalf of the petitioners herein to ascertain in what county or city the natural father, Larick White, is without effect and that his consent is unobtainable; it is therefore ORDERED that the said Father, Larick Demond White, appear before this Court on or before the 15th day of July, 2020, at 1:00 p.m., at which time I will appear before this Court to request an Order be entered regarding the adoption of the minor child to this suit, counsel fees and court costs, and do what is necessary to protect his interest in this suit.

I ask for this: Mary Wilkins Hunt, Esquire VSB#77904 Family Law Associates of Richmond, PC 3711-C Westerre Parkway Richmond, Virginia 23233 (804) 270-7153 VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE COUNTY OF ESSEX ARTHUR D. WHITE, JR., AND ANITA T. WHITE, Petitioners, In re: Juhsaun Lyrick White Born: December 14, 2012 Birth Certificate Registration No. 145-12-095818 Registered in the Commonwealth of Virginia CA19000001-00 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of the abovestyled suit is to obtain a Final Order of Adoption for the minor child.

It appearing by affidavit filed according to law that the Mother, Jessica Lynn White’s current address is unknown, and that her last known address is 3006 Krouse Street, Richmond, Virginia 23234, and that due diligence has been used by and on behalf of the petitioners herein to ascertain in what county or city the natural mother, Jessica Lynn White, is without effect and that her consent is unobtainable; it is therefore ORDERED that the said Mother, Jessica Lynn White, appear before this Court on or before the 15th day of July, 2020, at 1:00 p.m., at which time I will appear before this Court to request an Order be entered regarding the adoption of the minor child to this suit, counsel fees and court costs, and do what is necessary to protect her interest in this suit.

I ask for this: Mary Wilkins Hunt, Esquire VSB#77904 Family Law Associates of Richmond, PC 3711-C Westerre Parkway Richmond, Virginia 23233 (804) 270-7153

VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE COUNTY OF HANOVER HEATHER REMINGTON, Plaintiff v.

JON REMINGTON Defendant.

VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE COUNTY OF ESSEX ARTHUR D. WHITE, JR., AND ANITA T. WHITE, Petitioners, In re: Jahon Lynwood White Born: February 7, 2014 Birth Certificate Registration No. 145-14-009005 Registered in the Commonwealth of

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Virginia Community Development Corporation (VCDC)

Vice President; Lead Cnslt – Tech App Engin sought by Bank of America N.A. to develop web apps using Microsoft tech (ASP.Net, C#, MVC), SQL, Web Services, Javscript, jQuery, HTML, CSS, Ajax, XML, RDBMS (e.g. Oracle, MS SQL Server), Autosys & SharePoint. Reqs: Bach degree or equiv. & 5 yrs exp. in: Gathering and analyzing req & designing architecture utilizing workflow charts/diagrams, documentation, & software implementation; Developing web apps utilizing .NET, C#, REST, SOAP, XML, JSON, Oracle, SQL Server, HTML 5, JavaScript, JQuery, NUnit, & authentication/authorization mechanisms. Job Site: Richmond, VA. Ref#4858103 & submit resume to Bank of America N.A. NY1-050-03-01, 50 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10020. No phone calls or emails. EOE. COMPARE.COM SEEKS ONE DATABASE DEVELOPER/DATA WAREHOUSE ARCHITECT: To design & implement Database IT solutions.

Analyze functional business processes & requirements. Lead Data Warehouse Architect projects including modeling, ETL, dashboards, reports & BI solutions. Plan processing including inception, tech. design, & development.

Implement testing & issue resolutions. REQS: Bachelor’s degree in Info. Tech., or related IT ďŹ eld, or foreign equiv.; 5 yr’s exp. developing & designing IT Data Warehouse; & 2 yrs’ concurrent exp. using IT Architecture, MSBI, Data Analytics, DWH, SSIS, SSAS, SSRS, Microsoft SQL, Visual Studio, Tableau, TFS. JOB LOCATED: Glen Allen, VA. Only applicants sending cover letter, CV, salary requirements and reference to: Brandi Cooper, Sr. HR Generalist, 140 East Shore Dr., Ste 300, Glen Allen, VA 23059 will be considered.

COMPARE.COM SEEKS ONE SOFTWARE DEVELOPER: To deliver & manage internetbased solutions respective to a predominantly Microsoft technology stack. Will create complex, multi-tier front & backend apps & provide operational support for existing programs.

Supervise 2 developers on team.

REQS: Master’s degree in Comp. Apps, Comp. Sci., or related IT ďŹ eld, or foreign equiv.; 3 yrs’ exp. as Software Developer; (or Bachelor’s degree in Comp. Apps, Comp. Sci. or related IT ďŹ eld, or foreign equiv. & 5 yr’s exp. as Software Developer) & 2 yrs’ concurrent exp. using Microsoft Azure, WCF Services, ASP.NET, C#, MVC, Web API, Angular, AngularJS, TypeScript, JavaScript, Jasmine, JQuery, XML, HTML, MS Test, NUNIT, SQL Server, New Relic, Google Tag Manager, TFS. JOB LOCATED: Glen Allen, VA. Only applicants sending cover letter, CV, salary requirements and reference to: Brandi Cooper, Sr. HR Generalist, 140 East Shore Drive, Suite 300, Glen Allen, VA 23059 will be considered.

COMPARE.COM SEEKS ONE TECHNICAL PROJECT MANAGER: To create backlog items upon business requests. Perform technical analysis to review & prep. reqs. & tech. approach docs. Review technical design docs to afďŹ rm validation of reqs. Oversee project implementation into production. Review reqs., specs., test docs., implementation, support, training & maintenance plans to ensure in line with business objectives.

Suggest enhancements to integration checklist based on result of new capability entering system.

REQS: Master’s degree in Info. Sys. & Security, Info. Tech., or related IT ďŹ eld, or foreign equiv.; 3 yrs’ exp. as Project Manager (or Bachelor’s degree in Info. Sys. & Security, Info. Tech., or related IT ďŹ eld, or foreign equiv.; 5 yr’s exp. as Project Manager); and 2 yrs’ concurrent exp. using C#, Biztalk 2010, SQL Server 2008 R2, Rhino Mocks, TDD, TFS 2010. JOB LOCATED: Glen Allen, VA. Only applicants sending cover letter, CV, salary requirements and references to: Brandi Cooper, Sr. HR Generalist, 140 East Shore Dr., Ste 300, Glen Allen, VA 23059 will be considered.

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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