Richmond Free Press November 19-21, 2020 edition

Richmond Free Press © 2020 Paradigm Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.

VOL. 29 NO. 48

Gov. Northam

Remembering Larry Bland B3

RICHMOND, VIRGINIA

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Meet founder of The Giving Heart B1

NOVEMber 19-21, 2020

‘Time to legalize’

Charges dismissed against Sen. Lucas

Gov. Ralph S. Northam lights fire under legislation on use and sale of marijuana

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

Sen. Lucas

Free Press wire, staff report

PORTSMOUTH A Richmond judge dismissed charges on Monday that were filed against the highest-ranking Black state senator and several other Portsmouth officials after police said that she and others conspired to damage a Confederate monument in the Hampton Roads city.

Charges against state Sen. Louise Lucas, who serves as president pro tempore of the state Senate, were dismissed at the request of Portsmouth Commonwealth’s Attorney Stephanie Morales. She said there was not enough evidence to prove the elements of the crimes, including intent.

Richmond General District Court Judge Claire G. Cardwell, who was brought in from Richmond because Portsmouth judges recused themselves, dismissed the cases. Judge Cardwell expressed concern that Portsmouth Police had filed the charges without the approval of local prosecutors and attempted to block Ms. Morales from prosecuting the case by attempting to subpoena her as a witness.

Police labeled Ms. Morales as a witness, which would not have allowed her to prosecute the case. However last month, a Richmond-based judge ruled there was no reason to call the prosecutor as a witness. In Monday’s hearing, Judge Cardwell said the effort to call Ms. Morales as a witness was an attempted “end run” on the city’s top prosecutor.

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AP File Photo

This Sept. 11, 2018, photo shows a marijuana plant in the coastal mountain range of San Luis Obispo, Calif. Virginia has lagged behind many states when it comes to relaxing laws on marijuana. With lawmakers approving an expansion of the state’s medical marijuana program in 2018, supporters of decriminalization are hoping that momentum will continue in 2020.

12-year-old activist, minister Elijah Lee is finalist for Kid of the Year

By Ronald E. Carrington

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Elijah Lee

LEXINGTON The Virginia Military Institute has selected a retired U.S. Army major general to serve as its interim superintendent amid a leadership shakeup that followed a newspaper article describing allegations of persistent racism at the school.

Maj. Gen. Cedric T. Wins will step in to lead the military college until a permanent superintendent is chosen, the school announced late last week. Maj. Gen. Wins, a 1985 VMI graduate who went on to a distinguished 34-year military career, will be the first Black leader to serve as superintendent, a VMI spokesman said.

The move comes after VMI’s former superintendent, retired Gen. J.H. Binford Peay III, resigned last month under pressure from the governor’s office following the publication of a Washington Post article that described incidents such as lynching threats and a white professor reminiscing in class about her father’s Ku Klux Klan membership.

Earlier this month, the General Assembly approved adding $1 million to the state

School Board approves demolition of Elkhardt-Thompson Middle School building

By Ronald E. Carrington

The Richmond School Board has approved the demolition of the ElkhardtThompson Middle School building on South Side.

At its meeting Monday night, the board voted 8-0 vote to demolish the building at 7825 Forest Hill Ave., next to Huguenot High School. Board member Dr. Patrick Sapini, 5th District, did not attend the meeting.

The building has been replaced by the new $64.5 million, 1,500-student capacity River City Middle School on Hull Street Road in South Side.

Superintendent Jason Kamras told the board in a presentation that the middle school opened in 1966 and was inherited by the City of Richmond in the 1970 annexation of part of Chesterfield County.

He said the building is no longer fit for student or staff use, its roof, boilers, chiller and cooling tower are all well beyond their life expectancy and at, or nearly at, their failing point.

“Razing the building now would put the district in a position to potentially build a new middle school on the site at some point in the future when needed,” Mr. Kamras said.

Estimates received to demolish the

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VMI appoints Black interim superintendent amid shakeup

Free Press wire, staff report

At the tender age of 12, Elijah Lee has grown an extensive résumé as a spiritual leader, nationally known child advocate and speaker. Add to that finalist for the first-ever Kid of the Year Award.

On Nov. 2, Nickelodeon and TIME magazine announced their inaugural Kid of the Year honor. Twenty finalists were selected following a nationwide search in which more than 5,000 inspirational youngsters were nominated.

Elijah, a seventh-grader at Swift Creek Middle School in Chesterfield, is among the 20 finalists recognized as extraordinary young leaders who are making a positive impact in their communities.

The top five honorees will be featured on a TV special hosted by Trevor Noah 8 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 5. The show will be simulcast on Nickelodeon, CBS, TeenNick and Nicktoons, and will feature celebrity guests, including

Marijuana legalization is poised to become another victory for the racial justice movement that rocked Richmond during the late spring and summer, swept away racist Confederate statues and shook up politics as usual.

Along with a wave of police reforms that swept through the General Assembly — ranging from a ban on no-knock warrants to approval of civilian review boards — momentum fueled by racial justice concerns is building to add Virginia to the growing list of states that allow people 21and older to possess and consume cannabis.

Should it happen, Virginia would become the first in the South to join the District of Columbia, several territories and 15 other states — including four that approved marijuana legalization in the Nov. 3 election — that have made toking a joint as legal as sipping whiskey.

Even South Dakota — as

building are around $650,000, he told the board.

Mr. Kamras said demolition of the old George Mason Elementary and E.S.H. Greene Elementary buildings are on track to begin early next year.

“The administration is presently scoping out all of the details in preparation for those demolitions,” he said.

George Mason was replaced with the new Henry L. Marsh III Elementary on 28th Street in Church Hill, while Greene Elementary was replaced with the new Cardinal Elementary School on Catalina Please turn to A4

Maj. Gen. Wins

budget to pay for an independent investigation into the allegations.

The VMI Board of Visitors

has appointed a superintendent search committee and will work with an executive search firm to identify candidates over the next several months. A new, permanent superintendent is expected to be in place during the summer, according to school officials.

In a formal statement, VMI board president John William “Bill” Boland said the board is “pleased” that Maj. Gen. Wins agreed to come on board “during this critical time of transition. … I am confident that Maj. Gen. Wins’ experience and values will provide steady Please turn to A4

Free COVID-19 testing Free community testing for COVID-19 continues.

The Richmond and Henrico County health districts are offering testing at the following locations: • Thursday, Nov. 19, 9 to 11 a.m., Regency Square Mall parking deck, 1420 N. Parham Road, Western Henrico. Drive-thru testing.

• Monday, Nov. 23, 10 a.m. to noon, Eastern Henrico Health Department, 1400 N. Laburnum Ave., Eastern Henrico. Drive-thru testing only for those pre-registered.

Appointments are encouraged by calling the Richmond and Henrico COVID-19 Hotline at (804) 205-3501 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Monday through Friday.

Testing will be offered while test supplies last.

The Chesterfield County Health Department also is offering free COVID-19 testing at the following locations: • Faith and Family Center, 7900 Walmsley Blvd., 4 to 5 p.m.

Thursday, Nov. 19.

• Chesterfield Health Department, Smith-Wagner Building Multi-Purpose Room, 9501 Lucy Corr Circle, 10:30 to 11:30 a.m.

Saturday, Nov. 21.

• Walmsley Boulevard United Methodist Church, 2950 Walmsley Blvd., 4 to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 24.

• Second Baptist Church, 5100 W. Hundred Road, Chester, 10 to 11 a.m. Friday, Nov. 20; and 2 to 3 p.m. Monday, Nov. 23 and Nov. 30.

Testing is encouraged for those who have COVID-19 symptoms.

The testing is free, and no reservations are necessary.

Details: Chesterfield County Health Department at (804) 318-8207.

New COVID-19 restrictions and guidelines were put in place this week in Virginia by Gov. Ralph S. Northam to stem the spread of the virus.

As of Sunday, Nov. 15, public and private in-person gatherings are limited to 25 people, down from 250. Indoor and outdoor recreational sports can continue, but with no more than 25 spectators.

Masks are required for all indoor public spaces for anyone age

5 and older.

Restaurants cannot sell alcohol past 10 p.m., with patrons seated within required to finish alcoholic drinks by 10 p.m. Restaurants, bars and other places must close for on-site dining or gathering at midnight, with takeout alcohol sold until 11 p.m. Food takeout and delivery can still be offered from midnight to 5 a.m.

Additionally, all essential retail businesses must adhere to

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Richmond Free Press

November 19-21, 2020

Local News

Thanksgiving food programs go on with COVID-19 changes

Light and art decorate the stone and brick gazebo at Petronius Jones Park on Idlewood Avenue in the Randolph neighborhood. The display, called “Marcus-David Peters Circle” and done by artists Dustin Klein, Alex Criqui, Miguel CarterFisher and Josh Zarambo, is just one of example of the illuminated art that was spread across the city during the InLight Richmond show that ended Sunday. The 1708 Gal-

By George Copeland Jr.

In the midst of surging cases of COVID-19, various Richmond groups have reworked their community Thanksgiving initiatives to maintain safety as they aid the hungry and others in need during this season.

The Giving Heart, a nonprofit that puts on the annual Community Thanksgiving Feast at the Greater Richmond Convention Center, is offering carry-out meals and curbside pickup this year instead of its usual sit-down dinner.

To-go meals, along with donated clothes, blankets and other necessities, will be given to visitors from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Thursday, Nov. 26. Meals are first come, first served, with a limit of two meals per person.

Meanwhile, curbside meals will be available for pickup at specially marked places outside the convention center on Thanksgiving Day at three different times — 11:30 a.m., 12:15 and 1 p.m. — through orders placed on The Giving Heart’s signup on its website, www.thegivingheart.org. Each order will feature a Thanksgiving dinner, dessert and beverage, with meals served in a microwavable container for reheating.

People picking up meals are required to wear masks.

Details: www.thegivingheart.org or (804) 749-4726.

Following are other food and fellowship programs for the holiday:

Cityscape Slices of life and scenes in Richmond

lery in Downtown added a new twist to the 13th edition of the artistic illumination that it sponsors. Rather than using one site as in the past, the artwork was placed in various locations around Richmond to encourage social distancing, including this small park and at the former Richmond Community Hospital building in North Side. As always, the show offered the works of a variety of Richmond area artists.

Putting Communities Together Inc. Annual Thanksgiving Turkey Giveaway Putting Communities Together Inc. is collaborating with Club 533, the Richmond Police Department, the Richmond NAACP, state Delegate Delores L. McQuinn and Richmond City Council President Cynthia Newbille for its annual Thanksgiving Turkey.

The event will be held 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 24, at Club 533, 700 E. 3rd St. until the turkey supply is exhausted.

Thanksgiving Hot Meal Drive-Thru Diversity Richmond, BlackPrideRVA and the Laughing Gull Foundation are collaborating to distribute hot meals 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 26, in the parking lot of Diversity Richmond, 1407 Sherwood Ave. Food will be distributed by order of arrival.

People are asked to stay in their vehicle and only open their windows when it’s their turn to get food to ensure COVID-19 safety guidelines are met.

Details and to volunteer: Luise Farmer at (804) 304-3034, Lacette Cross at (804) 922-6051 or BlackPrideRVA@gmail.com Thanksgiving Baskets for Veterans, Seniors and Families City Councilwoman Ellen F. Robertson is leading an effort to distribute Thanksgiving baskets from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, Nov. 21, in the parking lot of the Military Retirees Club, 2220 Sledd St. Several groups are collaborating in the effort. While organizers have identified all of the people that will receive baskets, they’re still looking for volunteers.

Details: (804) 972-2322.

7th Annual Branch’s Community Thanksgiving Branch’s Baptist Church, 3400 Broad Rock Blvd., is providing meals for pickup and delivery from noon to 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 26, to various neighborhoods. Donations of food, money and other resources can be dropped off at the church from 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 25, and from 9 a.m. to noon, Thursday, Nov. 26.

The church also needs volunteers to help receive and organize donations, prepare food, deliver meals and assist with cleanup.

Details, including a list of acceptable food donations: (804) 276-5000 or www.facebook.com/Branchs-CommunityThanksgiving-2096555873723015/.

Henrico PAL Thanksgiving Turkey Giveaway Volunteers and donations are needed for the event to take place 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 21. Volunteers are organizing at 8655 Staples Mill Road in ​Henrico County. To volunteer, email info@henricopal.org.

Details: Henrico PAL, (804) 262-4725 or www.henricopal.org/ thanksgiving-turkey-giveaway.html Southside Community Center Turkey Distribution Richmond City Councilman Michael J. Jones will be distributing 1,000 turkeys from noon to 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 21, at the Southside Community Center, 6255 Old Warwick Road, as part of his 3rd Annual Turkey Giveaway.

While registration for the giveaway ended Nov. 18, those who faced issues trying to register, or who have questions, can call Summer Morris at (804) 456-6514.

‘Ambassadors’ to help RRHA families with virtual learning

By Ronald E. Carrington

Three public agencies have partnered to ensure that families in the city’s public housing communities have the technical tools and resources to ensure effective daily virtual learning for their children.

Ambassadors from the Richmond Office of Community Wealth Building are joining Richmond Public Schools and the Virginia Health Department in launching the Virtual Learning Project. Each school day, a community ambassador known as a “Community Connector” will check in with households and students living in Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority housing to ensure they are prepared for virtual learning.

The ambassadors will offer support to parents and engage and assist students with access to RPS resources, including online programming, meal distribution and tutoring sessions.

“Considering the expansive network of support the city, school district and nonprofit community offer, sometimes the most valuable resource for families is a trusted navigator,” Mayor Levar M. Stoney stated.

“This program will employ neighbors to point families in the right direction and keep children engaged.”

Since the beginning of RPS’ virtual school year, community ambassadors have distributed about 1,000 desk and chair sets to students for dedicated workspace at home so they can focus on their schoolwork.

The distribution has benefited families in the city’s six public housing complexes, as well as families living in Southwood Apartments, Old Midlothian Mobile Home Community, participants in the Office of Community Wealth Building programs and child care programs at Mount Olivet Church and Blacktop Kings and Queens.

Regina H. Boone/Richmond Free Press

City still sorting out all-weather homeless plan

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

As freezing weather descended this week, Richmond faced the biggest test yet of its new cold-weather shelter system — one based on using hotel rooms rather than a city building as the overflow space after existing shelters are filled.

How well the system worked under the guidance of a coalition of nonprofits known as the Greater Richmond Continuum of Care and backed by the city with millions of dollars in federal funds has yet to be determined.

The city, Homeward and GRCOC have not issued any data on the number of homeless people accommodated.

But concern about the adequacy of the new system and its narrow focus on cold weather to the exclusion of other severe weather conditions, such as the heavy rain that hit the city last week, is leading one City Council member to push for creation of a year-round city shelter that could serve people in need during periods of high heat and heavy rainfall, as well as when temperatures fall below 40 degrees at night.

Councilwoman Kristen N. Larson, 4th District, chair of the council’s Education and Human Services Committee, has introduced a resolution earlier this month requesting that Lenora Reid, the city’s interim chief administrative officer, present a report “identifying a location for an inclement weather shelter.”

The shelter would operate when the outdoor or wind chill temperature falls to 40 or below as was the case Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, but also when the outdoor temperature is 92 degrees or hotter or when the forecast calls for an inch of rain, a tropical storm, a tornado or high winds, according to the resolution.

Ms. Larson plans to take up the resolution at the Thursday, Dec. 3, meeting of her committee.

Creation of an all-weather shelter has been a top priority for homeless advocates and would be a first for the city, which has largely limited shelter service to winters, although it has opened daytime cooling space offering water and air-conditioning during the hottest summer days.

Ms. Larson’s idea picks up from a unsuccessful effort of outgoing 2nd District Councilwoman Kim B. Gray, who had pressed since the summer for the reopening of the Annie Giles Community Resource Ms. Larson Center as a shelter and urged that it serve people during all inclement weather.

While Ms. Gray failed to win council backing, Ms. Larson’s resolution offers the city an opportunity to find other space to offer an expanded operation.

There is no published data on the current need. The last report published in May on Homeward’s website indicated that the GRCOC coalition was accommodating 368 people during one week in existing shelters and in hotels that were brought online after pandemic funding provided accommodations for the homeless.

One report, though unsupported by documentation from Homeward, indicated that 120 people were accommodated in hotels in October when the temperature on one night dipped below 40.

Under the current system, the main link to shelter is the Homeless Crisis Line, (804) 972-0813, which often takes messages that are returned later.

But not everyone knows to call.

Renaming of Jefferson Davis Highway rolls ahead

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

His statue has already come down from Monument Avenue.

Now the name of Jefferson Davis — the president of the failed slavery-defending Confederacy — is about to be erased from a major Richmond traffic artery.

Richmond City Council’s Land Use, Housing and Transportation Committee on Tuesday swiftly cleared a proposal to make Richmond Highway the new name for the stretch of U.S. 1 in South Side that for generations has borne the name of the racist who led the 19th century revolt aimed at breaking up the United States.

Without discussion, Committee Chair Ellen F. Robertson, 6th District, and Vice Chair Kim B. Gray, 2nd District, voted to send the highway renaming proposal

to the full council, which is expected to easily approve the change at its next meeting on Monday, Dec. 14.

Councilwoman Reva M. Trammell, 8th District, introduced the renaming proposal in June as demonstrations for racial justice occurred almost daily in Richmond. She had the support of City Council Vice Chair Chris A. Hilbert, 3rd District, and Mayor Levar M. Stoney.

The city has estimated it will cost $40,000 to replace the street signs along Jefferson Davis Highway, the only significant cost to taxpayers.

There has been no evidence of organized pushback from the community since Ms. Trammell submitted the proposal, and only one person spoke at the committee meeting to raise concern about the lack of renaming options.

Minor re-elected president of Richmond NAACP Free Press staff report

Mr. Minor

“There were some still sleeping outdoors unaware” of how to connect to the new shelter system, said Rhonda Sneed, a founder and director of the volunteer group Blessing Warriors RVA that has been on the front lines of providing food, clothing and other aid to the homeless.

In a Facebook post on Tuesday, Ms. Sneed noted that she learned for the first time that Homeward had contracted with the nonprofit transportation provider Go to Work RVA, (804) 548-4310, to provide homeless people free rides to the hotels when they were approved for a room.

She also stated that different people involved in the shelter operation offered different information. For example, she stated she was told at a hotel that people could just show up, but then was informed by another person that those seeking to check in “must first go through the crisis line.”

Ms. Sneed also stated some people who called the crisis line were turned away because they asked for a hotel room and did not say safety net. The crisis line also closed at 9 p.m., so homeless people later found outdoors could not connect, she noted.

Ms. Sneed reported that “a young lady was turned away and had to sleep in her car” Monday night, when the temperature fell to 39 degrees.

The Free Press confirmed Wednesday that there is a shortage of beds in a call to the Homeless Crisis Line. The responding operator reported that all hotel rooms designated for the “safety net shelter” were taken and that no information was available on whether additional space would be provided.

“There are still people out there, but I have no idea where to direct them,” Ms. Sneed said. “No one knows what to do.”

James E. “J.J.” Minor III will continue to lead the Richmond Branch NAACP. The son of Richmond Delegate Delores L. McQuinn, Mr. Minor was elected to his third, two-year term as president of the city branch of the national civil rights

group following the Nov. 9 biennial vote of members.

The results were announced Nov. 12 at the branch’s executive committee meeting.

“My plan is to continue to carry out the mission of the state and national NAACP,” Mr. Minor said.

He said the branch also re-elected the current slate of officers who serve with him.

Jefferson Davis Highway

Both Ms. Robertson and Ms. Gray signed on as patrons after approving the proposal, and most of the remaining council members are expected to join as patrons when the issue comes up for a vote.

Calls for changing the name of the highway have been heard in recent years from the likes of the Richmond Branch NAACP and the Virginia Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality, but the council ignored them until the protests evolved during the spring and summer over racial injustice and police brutality.

Richmond would be following in the footsteps of Alexandria, which replaced Jefferson Davis Highway with the name Richmond Highway two years ago; Arlington County, which

changed the name to Richmond Highway in 2019; and Prince William County, voted to rename its 12-mile stretch of the highway in early September.

So far, Chesterfield County has not moved to replace the Jefferson Davis name on U.S. 1 within its jurisdiction.

Richmond already has changed the name of Confederate Avenue, a small, residential street in North Side. The council voted Nov. 9 to rename the street Laburnum Park Boulevard, following a two-year process.

Still, there are other name changes that remain on hold, including the renaming of the Robert E. Lee Bridge, which bears the name of the white supremacist Confederate military leader.

Richmond Free Press

November 19-21, 2020

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Richmond Free Press

A4 November 19-21, 2020

News

Gov. Ralph S. Northam lights fire to legalize marijuana Continued from A1

Republican as any place could be — joined the movement by overwhelmingly passing legalization that GOP loyalists saw as an endorsement of personal responsibility and freedom and a slap at the federal government, which still ranks marijuana as a dangerous drug.

In Virginia, reform already has begun. Two years ago, the General Assembly cleared the way for medical marijuana dispensaries, one of which is now located in Richmond. Virginia also ushered in decriminalization of small amounts on July 1, with those caught facing a $25 fine instead of a criminal charge.

Legalization seemed a bridge to fire, until the issue caught fire amid the demonstrations, with those in support framing the fight as a new front in the battle for racial and social justice.

Members of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus figured prominently in pushing reform.

This week, Gov. Ralph S. Northam, a physician who previously had only backed decriminalizing pot possession, jumped on the bandwagon, pointing to racial justice as a key reason he

said “the time has come to legalize marijuana.”

Abandoning caution, the Democratic governor announced Monday that he would be supporting and introducing legislation to make it happen in the upcoming session of the General Assembly — though he noted it could take at least two years before retail selling might begin.

Calling it “time to legalize,” he stated, “Marijuana prohibition has historically been based in discrimination, and the impact of criminal laws has disproportionately harmed minority communities as a result,” embracing the argument that Black people would benefit most.

He pointed to a new report from the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission, the legislature’s watchdog agency, which confirmed once again that Black Virginians are arrested and convicted for marijuana use at more than three times the rate of white Virginians, despite almost identical levels of use among both populations.

Legalization, the governor said, provides an opportunity to undo the damage and remedy the harms that such biased enforcement has caused

for untold thousands who have endured significant jail time and damage to their reputations and families.

In his view, any approved legislation would need to include the erasure or expungement of criminal records and convictions stemming from marijuana charges.

JLARC estimated that change alone could improve the lives of 120,000 state residents, including 60,000 Blacks. The governor also stated that any legislation should ensure that Black and minority entrepreneurs have a real shot to participate in the distribution and retail operations that would be created.

The massive, 245-page JLARC report — essentially a playbook examining both the opportunities and complexities — offered a variety of recommendations on ensuring Black inclusion.

The issue of racial equity is likely to be prominently mentioned in a soonto-be-released report from a task force of agencies the governor established.

Both reports were requested by the legislature to help shape the debate when the legislature reconvenes in January.

While racial justice appears to have

bolstered prospects for passage of this change in state drug laws, marijuana, like gambling, also is offering business and revenue prospects that would make commercial interests eager to back legalization.

According to JLARC, a new marijuana industry could create 8,000 to 11,000 new jobs and generate up to $300 million a year in new revenue for the state based on taxation of the product.

At this point, the Democraticcontrolled House of Delegates is expected to have less trouble passing such legislation.

In July, as the demonstrations were ongoing, House Democratic Majority Leader Charniele L. Herring of Alexandria, a lawyer and member of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus, cheered marijuana decriminalization, but called it just a first step in the move toward “legalization with a framework that addresses both public safety and racial equity in an emerging market.”

The Virginia Senate, which is split 21-19 between the majority Democrats and minority Republicans, is considered dicey. Democratic Majority Leader Richard Saslaw of Fairfax

Elijah Lee is finalist for Kid of the Year Continued from A1

Olympic gymnast Simone Biles.

The youngster ultimately recognized as Kid of the Year will be featured on a cover of TIME Magazine with a companion story in TIME for Kids.

“It is so hard to put into words what an honor this really is,” Elijah said in a Free Press interview this week. “I was bouncing off the walls and was so excited to receive such a national honor, as well as to be considered and looked at like this. The honor gives power to my work.”

The pre-teen social justice activist and ordained minister is devoted to combating child abuse and helping those currently dealing with it. He has organized his own annual child abuse awareness march and served as a speaker on the issue at conferences.

Born in the small town of Roanoke Rapids, N.C., Elijah calls himself a “biracial male.”

“My mother is white and my father, Marine Sgt. Marvin Lee, who passed away when I was 3-years-old, was AfricanAmerican,” he said.

His mother, Jessica Lee, moved him and his 11-year-old sister, Trinity, to Virginia on July 1.

He said he has taken this activist path because, at a very early age, he learned how children sometimes are looked at – objecti-

fied or as a fixture in a family’s house—or are mentally or sexually abused.

He said he learned when he was in the first grade that one of his female classmates was being hit by a family member. After having an uncomfortable conversation with his mother about child abuse, Elijah assisted his classmate in getting help.

However, that incident placed a lingering burden on his heart, he said, knowing he was blessed with a loving mother, sister, church and friends protecting him. These blessings ultimately led to him organizing his first annual child abuse awareness march at age 10, in Roanoke Rapids. The march was attended by more than 200 people.

Two more marches followed in consecutive years, with the last march attracting more than 450 residents.

His fourth march will be held on Zoom because of the pandemic. It is scheduled for 1 to 2 p.m. March 6, in Chesterfield.

Gov. Ralph S. Northam will be a virtual speaker, he said.

In honor of Elijah’s work, the county of Halifax, N.C., and the city of Roanoke Rapids have named the first Saturday in March Child Abuse Awareness Day. His community involvement, inspired by his growing knowledge of Angela Davis, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the late Congressman John Lewis of Georgia, continued in Roanoke Rapids, with Elijah

raising money to develop two pediatric safe rooms at a local hospital there. Rooms will be converted into a safe, welcoming space for children who have experienced trauma and abuse.

In his spiritual life, Elijah was ordained as a minister at age 10 by Bishop Nathaniel Dupree at the Church Of The Holy City in Emporia.

He believes his spiritual work is necessary.

“My job on this Earth is to continue to fight for our young people — empower and encourage them, to have their voices heard and stand up for what is right,” he strongly said.

Looking toward the future, Elijah said he is interested in politics. “I want to be a congressman and address racism, systemic racism within our court and legislative systems and public education, especially for low-income children.”

Being recognized as a finalist for Kid of the Year is just the latest honor for the young man.

His years of activism led him to be honored with the designation of Marvel Hero on the Marvel Hero Project streaming on Disney Plus, episode 2, “Incredible Elijah.”

He also was featured in PEOPLE Magazine for his work with the Marvel Hero Project, and is featured in “Kids Speak Out About Violence,” a book published

by Rourke Educational Media.

VMI appoints Black interim superintendent Continued from A1

and principled leadership as we continue to move the institute forward.”

As a VMI cadet, Maj. Gen. Wins was a standout basketball player for the statesupported school, becoming one of the top five scorers in the school’s history. After earning his bachelor’s in economics, he was commissioned into the Army as a field artillery officer, according to a biography provided by the school.

He held many leadership and staff assignments during his military career, including in the Headquarters Department of the Army and the Joint Staff at the Pentagon. In his final command, Maj. Gen. Wins was the first Commanding General of the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command.

He is highly decorated, with a Bronze Star Medal and the Legion of Merit with one Oak Leaf Cluster.

Maj. Gen. Wins also earned two master’s degrees, one in national security and strategic studies from the National War College and the other in management from the Florida Institute of Technology.

In a statement, he said he was “excited” to return to VMI.

“Now, more than ever, the lessons and values of VMI are needed in the world, and I am humbled to be a part of making that happen,” Maj. Gen. Wins said.

Delegate Jennifer Carroll Foy of Prince William County, one of the early Black female graduates of VMI, said in a statement published in The Washington Post that she was pleased by Maj. Gen. Wins’ appointment.

“We are having global conversations about race and equity, and those conversations must be had at VMI,” said Delegate Carroll Foy, a Democratic candidate for governor who announced a multipoint plan for change at VMI shortly after the racial controversy arose.

“This isn’t just a moment for VMI to rise up to the challenge,” she continued. “It’s a moment for all our public institutions to do better. VMI is off to a good start after adopting several of the recommendations I laid out: Hire a chief diversity, inclusion and equity officer; implement meaningful diversity training; and recruit a more diverse cadet class and administration.”

In late October, the VMI board voted to remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson that currently stands in front of the historic barracks on campus.

VMI spokesman William “Bill” Wyatt said the board also voted to take a number of other steps toward addressing issues of diversity, including directing the adoption of a diversity hiring plan and creating a permanent diversity office.

Before he resigned, former superintendent Gen. Peay announced the college would change some of its long-standing traditions but would not be removing Confederate statues, including the Jackson statue that, until a few years ago, cadets had to salute.

“Unlike many communities who are grappling with icons of the past, VMI has direct ties to many of the historical figures that are the subject of the current unrest.

Stonewall Jackson was a professor at VMI, a West Point graduate who served in combat in the Mexican War, a military genius, a staunch Christian, and yes, a Confederate general,” Gen. Peay wrote in July.

Mr. Wyatt said in October that the VMI administration would handle “the orderly movement of the statue.” He said it would be put in an “appropriate location, perhaps the Battlefield at New Market.” Dozens of VMI cadets who fought in that May 1864 battle were killed or wounded in that battle in Shenandoah County.

School Board approves demolition of Elkhardt-Thompson Middle School building Continued from A1

Drive in South Side.

“If RPS remains virtual in the second semester, the demolition (of the ElkhardtThompson building) can be done while no students are present at Huguenot High,” Mr. Kamras said.

He added, “There is a cost for not demolishing Thompson, including boarding up the building, mothballing and other measures and upfront costs of $60,000; an ongoing annual cost of $100,000 for utilities and facility upkeep; and addressing existing roof leaks to prevent mold

and other damage at a cost upward of approximately $1 million.”

In others matters, RPS parents have an opportunity to voice their thoughts, concerns and desires about how the school district should move forward for the second semester.

RPS has launched two surveys—one for families and one for staff members—to assist the School Board and administration to determine if schools should reopen for in-person learning when the second semester begins on Feb. 8.

Surveys received to date from 15 percent of RPS families and 80 percent of

RPS teachers and staff show most want to continue with virtual learning during the next semester.

The survey, which can be completed anonymously, is open until Dec. 6 on the RPS website, www.rvaschools.net. The survey also asks questions regarding academic support services for RPS students, transportation needs if students were to attend a hybrid school schedule and the family’s economic situations. It also contains a space for comments, which will be posted on the RPS website, along with as survey results.

The School Board will make a final decision at its Dec. 7 meeting.

reportedly suggested the odds of passage are 50-50, although Republicans are not uniformly opposed to such a change.

Attorney General Mark R. Herring, who has been an advocate for reform since at least 2018, agrees with the governor that the time is ripe for the state to take this step.

Citing the JLARC report, Mr. Herring stated that “Virginia needs to allow legal, regulated adult use of marijuana as a matter of public safety, justice, equity and economic opportunity.”

He cited figures on the growing number of arrests in the past 10 years, noting that first-time marijuana convictions have risen by 53 percent to 10,000 a year, and that total arrests for possession have increased by 220 percent to 29,000 a year, with the impact falling most heavily on Black men and women.

“For too long, the Commonwealth’s approach to cannabis was needlessly and disproportionately saddling Black Virginians and people of color with convictions,” Mr. Herring stated, “and the JLARC report shows just how important legalizing marijuana is for promoting equity in Virginia.”

Charges dismissed against Sen. Lucas Continued from A1

After the case was dismissed, Sen. Lucas said the police officers involved had made a “mockery of the justice system.”

“The persecution is over and we are grateful that law and justice prevailed today,” Sen. Lucas stated. “This gives people in the community hope that when they come to these courtrooms that they will be treated in a fair and just manner. Even though you may have a rogue police department that intends to criminalize the justice department against people like me — rogue police officers, I repeat it, rogue police officers — who made a mockery of the justice system by bringing these bogus charges against us in the first place.”

Shortly before the judge’s decision Monday, Portsmouth Police Chief Angela Greene was fired. She said she plans to sue for wrongful termination.

“I believe I was wrongfully terminated for upholding the law,” the former chief said Monday at a news conference.

Sen. Lucas, three officers of the Portsmouth Branch NAACP, attorneys from the public defenders officer, a member of the Portsmouth School Board and a public relations specialist were among those charged, known as the Portsmouth 19.

They were charged in August with conspiracy to commit a felony and injury to a monument in excess of $1,000. The charges stemmed from a protest in June that drew hundreds of people to the city’s Confederate monument. Heads were ripped off of some of the monument’s statues, while one was pulled down and critically injured a demonstrator.

Sen. Lucas’ allies, including Gov. Ralph S. Northam, said the charges were shamelessly political. Sen. Lucas is a high-profile Democratic powerbroker and presides over the state Senate in the absence of the lieutenant governor. She was charged in a warrant the day before state lawmakers met to work on various police reforms, including ones Sen. Lucas championed.

Legal observers also questioned the strength of the case because it was based on Sen. Lucas’ words, not her actions. The senator’s attorney, Delegate Don L. Scott Jr. of Portsmouth, said she had left the scene hours before the statue was torn down.

Portsmouth is a majority Black city of nearly 100,000 people.

The damage to the memorial and the protester’s injuries prompted blame against protesters and police alike. Sen. Lucas also had called for the resignation of Chief Greene, who also is Black.

The former chief said in August that “several individuals conspired and organized to destroy the monument as well as summon hundreds of people to join in felonious acts.”

Charging documents filed by police said Sen. Lucas arrived at the monument on June 10 and told police they could not arrest anyone who put paint on the memorial.

William & Mary law professor Timothy Zick told The Associated Press in August that he questioned the strength of the case. He said that speech that calls for an unlawful action is protected unless it is “directed to inciting an imminent violation and that violation is likely to occur,” Mr. Zick said.

James Boyd, president of the Portsmouth Branch NAACP, said bringing down the Confederate monument, long a symbol of racism and slavery, was a critical component in healing race relations in the city, but more heavy lifting remains in removing instruments of racism.

“That was one symbol of oppression and slavery that came down, but there are several others in our education system. There are several others in our economic system, and there are several others in every other system in our city. We are still pursuing that justice and we will not stop,” Mr. Boyd said.

Free COVID-19 testing Continued from A1 statewide guidelines for cleaning, social distancing and face covering or face a Class 1 misdemeanor through enforcement by the Virginia Department of Health.

The restrictions come during a week in which Virginia has reached new peaks for COVID-19 cases, including more than 2,000 cases reported on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, contributing to an 8.3 percent positivity rate statewide.

The Virginia Department of Health reported on Wednesday a total of 208,833 positive cases of COVID-19 statewide, along with 13,707 hospitalizations and 3,860 deaths.

The number of new coronavirus cases has exceeded 1,000 daily for the last week, officials said.

According to Virginia data, African-Americans comprised 23.3 percent of cases and 26.7 percent of deaths for which ethnic and racial data is available, while Latinos made up 25.7 percent of the cases and 9.1 percent of deaths.

Locally, as of Wednesday, 6,104 cases and 80 deaths were reported in Richmond; 7,456 cases and 241 deaths were reported in Henrico; and 8,295 cases and 123 deaths were reported in Chesterfield.

Meanwhile, the United States has passed the 11 million mark for COVID-19 cases, with the latest million reported in less than a week, and 249,000 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

Richmond Free Press

November 19-21, 2020

This year, the flu vaccine is more important than ever.

Please get your flu shot as soon as possible. Reducing the spread of respiratory illness, like flu, is more important than ever because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

COVID-19

Why get a flu shot?

With flu season fast approaching, we strongly encourage you to get a flu shot to reduce your likelihood of getting sick.

Here are other ways to protect yourself from the flu: • Avoid close contact with people who are sick • Stay home when you’re sick • Cover your mouth and nose when you cough or sneeze • Wash your hands frequently with soap and water • Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth • Disinfect frequently touched surfaces at home, school, and when someone is ill Please continue to practice social distancing and other COVID-19 preventative measures.

6 feet

While a Covid-19 vaccine is still in development, we can work together to help slow the spread.

• Always wear a mask • Practice social distancing • Avoid large, indoor gatherings • Get a flu vaccine

What are shingles and pneumonia?

Shingles Shingles is a viral infection that causes painful rashes and blisters.

One in three people get it within their lifetimes — and your chances of contracting it increase as you age. If you’ve had chickenpox in the past, you’re more likely to develop shingles.

The following are symptoms: • Painful rash that develops in a single stripe on one side of the face or body.

• Fever • Headache • Chill • Upset Stomach

What is community immunity?

Even healthy adults may still have the ability to pass on the virus before symptoms appear, so make it a routine to get vaccinated. When enough people in a community get vaccinated, germs and viruses can’t travel as easily from person to person. The more people in a community who are vaccinated, the less likely a disease, virus or infection is able to strike that community. Go to VCU Health or a pharmacy in your area to get your family vaccinated today.

Pneumonia Pneumonia is a contagious and potentially life-threatening disease that inflames your lungs’ air sacs, which may cause them to fill with fluid, making it difficult to breathe.

While everyone is susceptible, infants, children and people over the age of 65 are most at risk.

The following are symptoms: • Cough • Fever • Chills • Rapid or difficulty breathing • Chest Pain To lower your risks of pneumonia and shingles, get vaccinated.

We care about the health and safety of our communities. To learn more, visit vcuhealth.org. © 2020 VCU Health. All rights reserved. Sources: VCU Health; American Lung Association; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

A5

Richmond Free Press

A6 November 19-21, 2020

News

African-American astronaut pilots SpaceX capsule to International Space Station Free Press wire, staff report

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. SpaceX’s newly launched capsule with four astronauts arrived Monday at the International Space Station, piloted by Navy Cmdr. Victor Glover, 44.

Cmdr. Glover, the lone space rookie among the diverse crew that includes a woman and an astronaut from Japan, will be the first AfricanAmerican astronaut to move into the Space Station for a long stay.

The Dragon capsule pulled up and docked late Monday night, following a 27-hour, completely automated flight from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.

The linkup occurred 262 miles above Idaho.

“Oh, what a good voice to hear,” Space Station astronaut Kate Rubins called out when the Dragon’s commander, Col. Mike Hopkins, first made radio contact.

“We can’t wait to have you on board,” she added after the two spacecraft were latched together.

This is the second astronaut mission for SpaceX. But it’s the first time Elon Musk’s company delivered a crew for a full half-year station stay.

The two-pilot test flight earlier this year lasted two months.

The three Americans and one Japanese astronaut will remain at the orbiting lab until their replacements arrive on another Dragon in April.

And so it will go, with SpaceX — and eventually Boeing — transporting astronauts to and from the station for NASA.

This regular taxi service got underway with Sunday night’s launch.

Col. Hopkins and his crew — Cmdr. Glover, Shannon Walker and Japan’s Soichi Noguchi — join two Russians and one American who flew to the space station last month from Kazakhstan.

Cmdr. Glover was presented his gold astronaut pin Monday.

The four named their capsule Resilience to provide hope and inspiration during an especially difficult year for the whole world. They broadcast a tour of their capsule Monday, showing off the touchscreen controls, storage areas and their zero gravity indicator: A small, plush Baby Yoda.

Ms. Walker said it was a little tighter for them than for the two astronauts on the test flight.

“We sort of dance around each other to stay out of each other’s way,” she said.

Cmdr. Glover, who is from the Los Angeles area, wrestled and played football at California Polytechnic State University. When picked as a NASA astronaut in 2013, he was working as a legislative fellow for the late Sen. John McCain.

He and wife, Dionna, have four daughters.

Ms. Walker, 55, a Houston-born-and-raised physicist, also has lived before on the space station.

Her husband, retired astronaut Andrew Thomas, helped build the outpost. She worked as a flight controller at NASA’s Johnson Space Center and then behind the scenes in the space station program, before becoming an astronaut in 2004. Her graduate studies at Rice University focused on the atmosphere of Venus.

Chris O’Meara/Associated Press

A SpaceX Falcon9 rocket, with the Crew Dragon capsule attached, lifts off from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., last Sunday, with Cmdr. Victor Glover as pilot.

Right, in this frame grab from NASA TV, the SpaceX Dragon crew, from front left to right, Shannon Walker, Victor Glover, Mike Hopkins and Soichi Noguchi stand with the International Space Station crew, Kate Rubins, back row from left, Expedition 64 commander Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov during a welcome ceremony, early Tuesday. The Dragon arrived and docked at the ISS late Monday.

John Raoux/Associated Press

NASA astronaut Victor Glover reacts last Sunday to family members as he leaves the Operations and Checkout Building at the Kennedy Space Center with fellow crew members for a six-month mission to the International Space Station.

Crew commander Hopkins, 51, is an Air Force colonel and former space station resident who grew up on a hog and cattle farm in Missouri. He played football for the University of Illinois and, before becoming an astronaut in 2009, worked at the Pentagon. He was working as a special assistant to the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff when he got the call from NASA. He and wife, Julie, have two college-age sons.

The Japanese Space Agency’s Noguchi, 55, another former station resident, is only the third person to launch on three types of spacecraft. (He follows the late Wally Schirra and John Young.) He’s already flown on a U.S. space shuttle — the first mission after the 2003 Columbia accident — and a Russian Soyuz. A three-time graduate of the University of Tokyo, the engineer and longtime Scout became an astronaut in 1996. His two grown daughters live in Tokyo; his youngest joined him and his wife, Miwa, in Houston.

For Sunday’s launch, NASA kept guests to a minimum because of the coronavirus, and even Mr. Musk had to stay away after tweeting that he “most likely” had an infection. He was replaced in his official launch duties by SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell, who assured reporters that Mr. Musk was still very much involved with Sunday night’s action, although remotely.

As they prepared for the space station linkup, the Dragon crew beamed down live window views of New Zealand and a brilliant blue, cloud-streaked Pacific 250 miles below.

“Looks amazing,” Mission Control radioed from SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, Calif.

“It looks amazing from up here, too,” Col. NASA TV/via Associated Press Hopkins replied.

Hate crimes reach highest level in more than a decade Free Press wire report

WASHINGTON Hate crimes in the United States rose to the highest level in more than a decade as federal officials also recorded the highest number of hate-motivated killings since the FBI began collecting that data in the early 1990s, according to an FBI report released Monday.

There were 51 hate crime murders in 2019, which includes 22 people who were killed in a shooting that targeted Mexicans at a Walmart in the border city of El Paso, Texas, the report said. The suspect in that August 2019 shooting, which left two dozen other people injured, was charged with both state and federal crimes in what authorities said was an attempt to scare Latinos into leaving the United States.

There were 7,314 hate crimes last year, up from 7,120 the year before—and approaching the 7,783 of 2008. The FBI’s annual report defines hate crimes as those motivated by bias based on a person’s race, religion or sexual orientation, among other categories.

Some of the 2019 increases may be the result Mr. Greenblatt of better reporting by police departments, but law enforcement officials and advocacy groups don’t doubt that hate crimes are on the rise. The federal Justice Department has for years been specifically prioritizing hate crime prosecutions.

The data also show there was a nearly 7 percent increase in religion-based hate crimes, with 953 reports of crimes targeting Jews and Jewish institutions last year, up from 835 the year before. The FBI said the number of hate crimes against African-Americans dropped slightly to 1,930, from 1,943.

Anti-Hispanic hate crimes, however, rose to 527 in 2019, from 485 in 2018. And the total number of hate crimes based on a person’s sexual orientation stayed relatively stable, with one fewer crime reported last year, compared with the year before, though there were 20 more hate crimes against gay men reported.

As the data was made public on Monday, advocacy groups, including the Anti-Defamation League, called on Congress and law enforcement agencies across the country to improve data collection and reporting of hate crimes.

Critics have long warned that the data may

Mrs. Johnson

Mr. Langston

Mr. Hill

Suggestions welcome until Nov. 27 for replacement of Lee statue in U.S. Capitol

By George Copeland Jr.

be incomplete, in part, because it is based on voluntary reporting by police agencies.

Last year, only 2,172 law enforcement agencies out of about 15,000 participating agencies across the country reported hate crime data to the FBI, the bureau said. And while the number of agencies reporting hate crimes increased, the number of agencies participating in the program actually dropped from the year before. A large number of police agencies appeared not to submit any hate crime data, which has been a consistent struggle for Justice Department officials.

“The total severity of the impact and damage caused by hate crimes cannot be fully measured without complete participation in the FBI’s data collection process,” Jonathan Greenblatt, the Anti-Defamation League’s president, said in a statement.

An Associated Press investigation in 2016 found that more than 2,700 city police and county sheriff’s departments across the country had not submitted a single hate crime report for the FBI’s annual crime tally during the previous six years.

Mr. Greenblatt also said America must “remove the barriers that too often prevent people in marginalized communities—the individuals most likely to suffer hate crimes—from reporting hate-based incidents,” a sentiment shared by other advocates.

“The FBI’s report is another reminder that we have much work to do to address hate in America,” said Margaret Huang, president of the Southern Poverty Law Center.

NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson; John Mercer Langston, a law professor and Virginia’s first AfricanAmerican representative in Congress; and Ona Judge, a woman enslaved by George and Martha Washington who escaped to freedom in 1796 are among the latest nominations to replace the statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee in the U.S. Capitol.

Their names were submitted to the Commission for Historical Statues in the U.S. Capitol, which held an online hearing Tuesday to receive public comment.

The meeting was the commission’s first since the suggestion process opened to the public in mid-October.

“I want to commend people who would take the time to present to the commission on something that’s going to be a legacy for Virginia,” said commission member Margaret Vanderhye. “How blessed are we in Virginia to have so many people of distinguished background, accomplishments and a wealth of opportunities to choose from among some very, very excellent candidates.”

These latest suggestions included nominations from public and private school students, from kindergarten to college,

that were coordinated in part by the state Department of Education.

“We are excited to each submit our own name for the statue, an explanation for our choice and an artistic rendering,” wrote the seventh-grade class of Orchard House School of Richmond, which is located just around the corner from the state-owned Lee statue on Monument Avenue.

Submissions from the class ranged from pioneering banker and businesswoman Maggie L. Walker and former Gov. L. Douglas Wilder to Black Panther co-founder Huey P. Newton and Virginia’s official state bird, the cardinal. “We look forward to finding out what the new statue will be!” the class wrote.

A frequently recurring name among the submissions so far has been civil rights attorney Oliver W. Hill Sr., with former Richmond Mayor and state Sen. Henry L. Marsh III among those calling for Mr. Hill to replace Gen. Lee in representing Virginia in the National Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol.

“Oliver W. Hill Sr. changed America,” Mr. Marsh, who practiced law with Mr. Hill for decades, said during Tuesday’s virtual meeting.

The emails and meetings also show the continued controversy over replacing the Confederate

statue and toward some of the suggestions offered.

One comment and several letters called for the statue of Gen. Lee to remain in the U.S. Capitol and criticized the commission.

Other comments criticized the nomination of Gen. George C. Marshall, another frequently suggested figure, a decorated Army office who served in both World War I and II. His economic recovery plan for Europe after World War II became known as the Marshall Plan. He also was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1953. Critics said he should be disqualified from nomination because of his support for the military’s policy of racial segregation and because under his leadership as president of the American Red Cross, the organization maintained racial segregation in the blood supply.

The commission will receive written public comments and suggestions through Friday, Nov. 27. Go to www.dhr. virginia.gov/uscapitolcommission/.

The Virginia Department of Historic Resources then is to narrow the nominations to five candidates to present to the commission before the end of the year. The commission is to make a recommendation for a replacement to the General Assembly in early 2021.

Richmond Free Press

November 19-21, 2020 A7

Lung cancer is treatable and potentially curable if found early.

Lung cancer usually starts in the main airways of the lungs, but it can also begin in other areas of the respiratory system. So, pay attention to a persistent cough, changes in your breathing, or pains in your chest.

Because the earlier you detect it, the better your chances are for surviving it.

Lung cancer symptoms

Screenings

Here’s what to look out for: • Chronic cough (lasts eight weeks or longer) • Shortness of breath • Coughing up blood or rust-colored spit • Wheezing • Chest pain

8 weeks or longer

The following people should receive a screening: • Ages 55 to 77 years old and in fairly good health • Currently smoke or have quit within the past 15 years • Have at least a 30 pack-year smoking history • Receive smoking cessation counseling if they are current smokers

Benefits of screening

Below are the benefits: • One of the keys to more successful treatment of lung cancer is early detection • The purpose of lung cancer screening is to detect lung cancer at a much earlier stage, before symptoms develop.

• The screening test is performed with a low-dose CT scan

Here’s why you should consider it:

Quitting smoking

• Quitting smoking can reduce your risk of lung cancer and can benefit your health in many other ways • Quitting tobacco can be difficult, but the most successful approach is a combination of tobacco cessation counseling and medication • VCU Massey Cancer Center’s iCAN Quit tobacco cessation program can connect you to the information and tools you need to become tobacco free Contact icanquit@vcuhealth.org to get help

To schedule a lung cancer screening, call 804-827-LUNG (5864). ©2020 VCU Health. All rights reserved. Sources: VCU Health; American Cancer Society; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; John Hopkins Medicine; National Cancer Institute.

Combination of tobacco cessation counseling and medication

A8 November 19-21, 2020

Richmond Free Press

Photo Feature

Raging river

Sandra Sellars/ Richmond Free Press

These photos offer a view of the James River as it roared through Richmond last weekend after two days of heavy rain, swelling it to its highest levels in two decades.

In Downtown, the river crested near 18 feet on Nov. 13 and 14, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, which monitors the river’s daily flow.

On Thursday, Nov. 12, as the river began to rise quickly, the city Department of Public Utilities closed two gates in the floodwall — at Dock Street and at Brander Street — for the first time since 1999 to protect Shockoe Bottom.

Near Rocketts Landing to the east of Downtown, the surging river flooded an unprotected section of the Virginia Capital Trail.

The river’s surge was fueled by the 4 to 8 inches of rain that slammed upstream sections of river to the west on Nov. 11 and 12, according to the National Weather Service. That amount of rainfall was well above the nearly 2 inches of rain recorded on Richmond gauges. One inch of rain equals about 10 inches of snow.

As of Tuesday, the flood gates were open again as the James River had receded and was running below 3 feet at the Downtown city locks, the USGS reported.

Sandra Sellars/ Richmond Free Press

Regina H. Boone/Richmond Free Press

Regina H. Boone/Richmond Free Press

Richmond Free Press

November 19-21, 2020 A9

Actions Speak Louder

Charlene Whitfield Senior Vice President of Power Delivery at Dominion Energy Virginia

Charlene Whitfield is Senior Vice President of Power Delivery at Dominion Energy Virginia.

Managing roughly 3,800 employees, she is responsible for all facets of the company’s regulated electric transmission, distribution, and customer solutions business that provides electricity to more than 2.7 million customers in Virginia and northeastern North Carolina. >OP[ÄLSK QVPULK +VTPUPVU ,ULYN` PU HZ an Electric Distribution Service Representative and, since then, has held numerous management positions across the company, including her previous positions as Vice President of

Customer Service and Vice President of Distribution Operations for Dominion Energy Virginia.

Whitfield is a member of the boards of directors of the Dominion Energy Credit Union and the Greater Richmond Partnership, and a past member of the board of trustees for the Children’s Museum of Richmond.

She is also a proud graduate of Virginia Union University (VUU). She later earned the VUU Distinguished Alumna Award and currently serves as Dominion Energy’s executive sponsor for the university.

“Over the last several years, I’ve seen the company make significant strides toward a more diverse and inclusive culture. To continue the progress we’ve made, we must focus on building a diverse workforce. For that reason, I’m proud to serve as the executive sponsor for my alma mater, Virginia Union University, where I have an opportunity to give back, make a difference in the lives of students, and help build our workforce for the future.” – Charlene Whitfield

To learn more about how we’re working toward diversity and inclusion, go to dominionenergy.com/our-promise/employee-experience/diversity-and-inclusion.

Richmond Free Press

Sunset over the James River

Editorial Page

A10

November 19-21, 2020

Lighting a fire Journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones lit a fire Tuesday when she spoke to an online group of 120-plus local people about school re-segregation and equity in education.

Her virtual talk was sponsored by Leadership Metro Richmond and the Robins Foundation as part of the series, “Equity: From Concept to Action.”

Ms. Jones is the Pulitzer Prize-winning leader of the seminal The 1619 Project, published last year by the New York Times in conjunction with the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first enslaved Africans in Virginia and English North America. The project covered the many aspects and issues of contemporary life that can be traced to slavery and its aftermath.

In her talk Tuesday, Ms. Jones hit on many of the manifestations of inequity experienced in public school systems around the nation, including in Richmond, such as rezoning and talented and gifted programs. Both, she said, are used largely by school systems under pressure from white parents in order to segregate students along racial and socioeconomic lines the parents feel more comfortable with their children being around.

Similarly, talented and gifted programs are used to create schools within schools to benefit white students.

She said her research of school systems across the country reveals that the greater the Black student population, the greater the number of white students are put into talented and gifted classes.

“In largely black school districts,” she said, “more than 30 to 70 percent of white kids are deemed talented and gifted. How can that be?”

The message that sends to Black students in the school is clear, she said, and detrimental. No wonder Black children say that someone who is a good student is “acting white,” she said.

She encouraged people to try to determine what underlying, and often unspoken, fears are keeping public schools from being a true collective and viewing all students as equal and deserving of a quality education.

“If you believe in public schools, then you can’t screen out the public … and the kids you believe are troublesome,” Ms. Jones said.

She asked rhetorically what parents in a public school system are willing to take from others in order to make sure their children have more. “Whose kid should be sacrificed so that someone else should have a quality education?” she said.

A clear-eyed examination of our public school systems in Richmond and the Metro Area should help us determine the needed adjustments in policies and practices to provide a quality education for all students, particularly with the impact of COVID-19.

The question for the leaders who participated: What are you going to do now with the information and knowledge you have? How will you work to make sure public education in Richmond, Henrico and Chesterfield is more equitable?

Help the people We call on the U.S. Senate to act now to pass a second COVID-19 relief package to help the millions of people in this country facing dire economic straits because of the pandemic.

A $3 trillion stimulus package known as the HEROES Act was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives in May and would piggyback on the $2.2 trillion CARES Act aid package that provided one-time $1,200 cash payments to most adults and bolstered state unemployment payments to the jobless with an additional $600 per week stipend.

The CARES Act money also assisted businesses with loans and grants to help them weather the initial crisis of the pandemic and funneled billions to state and local governments. Locally, that money has helped area school systems, provided mortgage and rental assistance to families to prevent eviction and supplied testing and personal protective equipment to frontline workers and people in the community.

The dollars have helped families and our communities tremendously, but the pandemic isn’t over. In fact, the number of people infected and hospitalized continues to rise, along with the death rate.

Food lines continue to grow in communities across the nation. People still are in desperate need of help.

Roughly 30 million people remain unemployed, or are working less than they would like, according to the latest statistics.

But under the terms of the CARES Act, Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation and full funding for Extended Benefits will end on Dec. 26. (In Virginia, the last payable week for Extended Benefits will be the week ending Nov. 21, according to a notice from the Virginia Employment Commission.) More than 12 million people will be cut off from this “last economic lifeline,” according to a report this week by the nonprofit Century Foundation. That includes nearly 200,000 Virginians, according to the report.

The HEROES Act would provide additional $1,200 stimulus checks to individuals, extend unemployment benefits, expand food assistance and utility payment assistance to people, provide more targeted assistance to small and minority-owned businesses and funnel additional money to state and local governments for COVID-19 relief.

We cannot wait for a caped crusader or other hero to fly in and save the day. It’s up to the U.S. Senate to take action ­— and to act now before families are hurt

Regina H. Boone/Richmond Free Press

Equity and diversity in marijuana legalization This week, Gov. Ralph S. Northam threw his support behind the legalization of marijuana.

The governor tried to tie the legalization effort to past racial disparities in marijuana criminal enforcement. He said that “marijuana laws have been based originally on discrimination” and that he supported “social justice licenses.”

Let us be clear: The effort to legalize marijuana in this state has nothing to do with addressing past racial inequities in the enforcement of marijuana laws. Virginia has never demonstrated any real desire to address racial inequities, whether they be in criminal justice, education or economics. If that were the case, the governor’s conversation would have focused on the expungement of marijuanarelated arrests and convictions, not tax revenues.

This effort toward legalization is about one thing and one thing only—money. Gov. Northam and the General As-

sembly know that marijuana legalization will generate millions of dollars in taxes and fees for the Commonwealth.

When money is involved in Virginia, you can bet that equity and diversity will be left out of the equation. Take the legalization of gaming for instance.

Phillip E. Thompson To date, the state has no real policy or program to ensure minority participation in casino ownership, even though many of these facilities will be located in communities of color.

With medical cannabis licenses, the state granted five medical cannabis monopolies.

This process included no equity or diversity considerations. In both circumstances, no minority owned entity or company with a significant minority ownership interest has been granted a license. Remember, Virginia is a state that cannot even tell its citizens how many contracts it awards to minority businesses.

The minority citizens of Virginia, long the victims of the biased and the overzealous enforcement of the punitive

side of the marijuana equation, must demand that our citizens and communities benefit from the commercialization of marijuana and cannabis products in Virginia.

Numerous jurisdictions in other states have social equity and diversity programs that don’t just talk about ensuring that people of color participate in the legal cannabis and marijuana business, but ensure that these communities are “targeted” for participation in all levels of production, processing and distribution of cannabis and marijuana products. Many of these programs also seek to repatriate cannabis and marijuana revenues back into communities of color. These types of programs and efforts must be part of the discussion in Virginia.

As with the gaming and the medical cannabis legalization process, the lobbyists and monied interests already are lining up and talking to the administration and members of the General Assembly. Most assuredly, equity and diversity are not part of those conversations.

If we, the citizens, sit back and allow the “Virginia way” to move forward regarding mari-

The first 100 days The 77.5 million votes for President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris are the most ever cast for a presidential ticket, breaking the previous record set in 2008 for President Obama.

In this election, as in 2008, Black voter turnout made the difference. They were not voting for a symbolic victory.

The nation is in crisis. They want action. And so does the National Urban League.

This week, we sent a letter to President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris outlining what needs to be done.

As they prepare to enter the White House, more than 10 million Americans have been infected with the coronavirus. A record 65,000 are currently hospitalized and nearly a quartermillion have died. Our fellow citizens are standing in food lines, missing mortgage and rent payments and trying to keep the lights on. This pandemic has upended their lives. For them, relief now is imperative.

That’s why our first demand is an immediate stimulus response package of no less than $3 trillion. We support a stimulus that aligns with the provisions of the Heroes Act passed by the U.S. House of Representatives early in the summer.

Additionally, we’re calling for a $2 trillion economic recovery and infrastructure package to build an inclusive economy that eliminates structural inequality and opportunity gaps. This economic recovery plan must

not only rebuild the nation’s roads, bridges and railways, it also must address water systems, parks, community facilities, affordable housing and broadband. Such an initiative would create millions of jobs as well as business opportunities for all Americans.

Central to this is a specific

Marc H. Morial emphasis on providing job opportunities for Black and brown workers who have been particularly left out and battered by the COVID-19 recession. It also must include a commitment to invest in affordable housing, given the looming housing crisis that could derail a fragile economic recovery.

The last four years have seen a dramatic rollback of civil rights protections, a surge in racially motivated hate crimes, a deterioration of trust between police and the communities they serve and the stark exposure of entrenched health and economic disparities.

We have offered the Biden administration a set of fundamental principles on racial justice and equity to guide the first 100 days and beyond. These are: • Fundamentally transform the criminal justice system.

• Protect and defend voting rights.

• Achieve economic parity for African-Americans.

• Advance equity in educational opportunities.

• Promote a healthier nation by prioritizing testing, treatments and cures for COVID-19 in communities of color.

The 100-day plan must include a new Voting Rights

Advancement Act, comprehensive criminal justice reform and a vaccine distribution plan that emphasizes outreach to the hardest-hit communities.

The current plan for vaccine distribution relies almost entirely on chain pharmacies, a plan that failed dismally when it came to the distribution of testing supplies in the spring. A national plan to bring the virus under control must not only direct supplies to the poor and urban communities that have been hardest hit, but also address the long-standing health and economic disparities that allowed infections and death to skyrocket among Black Americans.

A fair and effective vaccine plan must maximize the use of community-based sites such as schools, community centers, churches and local Urban League-affiliate headquarters.

Finally, the administration will need a cabinet, senior advisors and a federal workforce that reflects American diversity, excellence and competence.

The current cabinet is the least diverse in 50 years, and there is no doubt that limitation has contributed to its failures on many levels.

Both President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris have a long history of collaboration with the National Urban League, and we stand ready to partner with the new administration in the fight for racial justice, voting rights, fair housing, health care, education and employment, which have always guided our work.

The writer is president and chief executive officer of the National Urban League.

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.

juana legalization, profit and greed will overwhelm diversity and equity.

We cannot wait until the next legislative session to begin.

Communities of color must start talking to their representatives and making their voices heard now. There is an opportunity here, but only action, and not wishful thinking, will bring results.

Please take an active role in this process. Join other individuals and groups in ensuring that equity and social justice are interwoven with the laws legalizing marijuana in Virginia.

The writer, an attorney in Northern Virginia, is former president of the Loudoun County Branch NAACP. He is the president of Cannabis Equity Consultants LLC, which is working with companies across the country to legalize marijuana and ensure diversity and equity in the marijuana business.

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Richmond Free Press

November 19-21, 2020 A11

Letters to the Editor

Helping the homeless

President-elect Biden needs Senate for climate change legislation

The year 2020 has been a trying time for most of us, with The November election has created a pathway — after can move this mountain. COVID-19 running rampant, among other things. a four-year detour — for President-elect Joe Biden to sign The pandemic and the accompanying economic crash have We must never forget about the homeless and the less national legislation to address climate change. But the elec- been terribly damaging to our finances and our health. Climate fortunate. The weather is about to get cold and most of them tion may not have created a pathway for the legislation to change, which helped drive the virus into the human race, is an do not have the necessities that we take for granted. They are reach his desk. even greater threat to the futures of our families. This is espehuman beings who also deserve to live a fulfilling life and Climate change is the most important issue not just of 2021, cially true in communities of color that historically have been not be forgotten. but for the entire lifetime of our grandchildren. New climate hurt disproportionately by environmental damage.

Elected officials need to remember them when the budget is laws are needed both for making deep cuts to carbon emissions The election is over, but it is even more important to engage drawn up. Lip service is all well and good, but action speaks and to fulfill the needs of environmental justice to communities all of our members of Congress and our senators on climate louder than words. of color while those cuts are occurring. solutions. Ask them for a price on carbon, to be refunded in a I know we can’t help everyone, but during this crisis we can Air and water pollution are short-term threats to life and dividend, to end the destructive power of dirty fossil fuels. Ask do more than we are doing. Many of us do not realize we are health, and climate change is a long-term threat to global hu- them for jobs and training in renewable energy. one or two checks away from also falling into this category. We, man survival.

Speak up! All of our voices are vital. too, would be asking for assistance.

But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell still holds Thanks to the various ministries, churches and nonprofit the gavel in the U.S. Senate and has very little interest in CHRIS WIEGARD organizations that distribute food and necessities on a regular climate solutions. Public opinion, transcending partisanship, Chester basis. This helps out a whole lot. Many volunteers are taking is the missing ingredient in the climate battle. Nothing else The writer is a volunteer with Citizens Climate Lobby.

food boxes to those who are in need or are incapacitated.

There is so much that we can do if everyone would lend a helping hand.

I will never forget the time when I was walking, I kept seeing a man walking down the train tracks. He appeared

Re “CARITAS women’s shelter to open in December,� Free to be homeless. I stopped )XQGLQJ WKH 5LJKW 7UDQVSRUWDWLRQ 3URMHFWV him one day and asked what Press Nov. 12-14 edition: You are invited to share comments on transportation projects that have been recommended for funding in the FY2021-2026 The homelessness rate in America has skyrocketed over the could I do to make life a little Six-Year Improvement Program (SYIP). Additionally, pursuant to §33.2-202, comments will be accepted for new projects valued in excess of $25 million. The Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) will consider your comments as it develops the better for him. He simply years. Homeless people have always been looked down upon.

FY2021-2026 Six-Year Improvement Program. The program allocates public funds to highway, road, bridge, rail, bicycle, replied if I could bring him Being a homeless woman in Richmond, let alone anywhere, pedestrian, and public transportation projects. All federally eligible projects in the SYIP will be included in the Statewide a turkey sandwich with the isn’t very ideal.

Transportation Improvement Program to document how Virginia will obligate its federal funds. Meeting materials were made While being homeless isn’t a walk in the park, homeless trimmings, he would be so available on Nov. 13, 2020 and continue to be at KWWS ZZZ FWE YLUJLQLD JRY SODQQLQJ IDOOPHHWLQJV GHIDXOW DVS. women face a lot more disadvantages. Too many homeless

grateful.

The public is able to provide feedback on the FY2021-2026 Six-Year Improvement Program Update at the virtual fall meeting on This encounter occurred women resort to petty crimes, and even something as serious as Nov. 24, 2020, which is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. and will be conducted using electronic communications in accordance with prostitution, in order to stay afloat. Because they’re homeless, around Thanksgiving.

Item 4-0.01.g. of Chapter 1289 (2020 Acts of Assembly), as the COVID-19 emergency makes it impracticable or unsafe to Needless to say, I kept they also resort to excessive drug use to cope with their issues. assemble in a single location. thinking about him. So I left Sometimes, they’re homeless because of their addiction.Â

When it comes to homeless women, many factors come The purpose of the meeting is to discuss or transact the business statutorily required or necessary to continue operation of the my house with the sandwich in CTB and the discharge of its lawful purposes, duties and responsibilities. All board members will be participating remotely. The hand, but I never saw him into play. Are they homeless because they’re women? Are public may view the meeting via live stream by clicking the "View stream" button at the following link: again. I often wondered what they members of the LGBTQIA+ community? Is it because KWWS ZZZ FWE YLUJLQLD JRY SXEOLFBPHHWLQJV OLYHBVWUHDP GHIDXOW DVS they come from a povertyand homeless-ridden area?

Are they became of him.

There will be opportunity for public comment. When announced, public comment can be made by calling followed These people need our as- women of color? Do they have children? Each of these quesby 3,1 . Callers will be placed on hold until others in queue ahead of them have had the opportunity to speak. In the sistance and should never be tions is an important way of understanding homeless women event there is an interruption in the meeting broadcast, call 804-729-6495. and their struggles. forgotten.

There’s nothing more infuriating than a homeless person Thanks to all who already The public is invited to share feedback on transportation projects that have been recommended for funding through participation in this virtual public meeting or by submitting comments through the online form, by email, or by posted mail by Dec. 3, 2020. are helping and to those who being told to “just get a job.� Being homeless obviously has its

will help in the future to im- obstacles, especially when getting a job.

For information on roads and highways projects: Six-YearProgram@VDOT.Virginia.gov, or Infrastructure Investment Director, Thankfully, with the development of the new CARITAS buildprove the quality of life for Virginia Department of Transportation, 1401 East Broad Street, Richmond, VA 23219 or online form found at ing and their workforce readiness and training program, many the unfortunate, which they so KWWS ZZZ FWE YLUJLQLD JRY SODQQLQJ IDOOPHHWLQJV GHIDXOW DVS homeless women in Richmond will receive the opportunity to richly deserve.

For information on rail and public transportation projects: DRPTPR@drpt.virginia.gov, Public Information Office, Virginia have a second chance at living a normal life. Department of Rail and Public Transportation, 600 East Main Street, Suite 2102, Richmond, VA 23219.

With the reconstruction of this old tobacco factory, there ERNEST PARKER JR.

hopefully will be a decline of homeless women in Richmond Richmond The Commonwealth is committed to ensuring that no person is excluded from participation in, or denied the benefits of, its services on the basis of race, color, or national origin, as protected by Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. If you need further within the next six months or so.

CARITAS shelter, program will give homeless women a new start

YOU CAN STILL FILE

Chapter 7 Bankruptcy

Get rid of debts that you can’t pay.

SAVANNAH SHEPARD Richmond

Public Meetings

information on these policies or special assistance for persons with disabilities or limited English proficiency, please contact the Virginia Department of Transportation’s Title VI Compliance Officer at 804-786-2730 or the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation’s Title VI Compliance Officer at 804-786-4440 (TTY users call 711).

“Get A Fresh Start�

Keep paying on your house and car as long as you owe what they are worth.

Also Chapter 13 “Debt Adjustment�

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

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NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC BY VIRGINIA ELECTRIC AND POWER COMPANY D/B/A DOMINION ENERGY VIRGINIA IN THE MATTER OF AMENDING REGULATIONS GOVERNING NET ENERGY METERING CASE NO. PUR-2020-00195 The Regulations Governing Net Energy Metering, 20 VAC 5-315-10 et seq. (“Net Energy Metering Rules�), adopted by the State Corporation Commission (“Commission�) pursuant to § 56-594 of the Virginia Electric Utility Regulation Act, Chapter 23 (§ 56-576 et seq.) of Title 56 of the Code of Virginia (“Code�), establish the requirements for participation by an eligible customer-generator in net energy metering in the Commonwealth. The Net Energy Metering Rules include conditions for interconnection and metering, billing, and contract requirements between net metering customers, electric distribution companies, and energy service providers.

Chapter 1188 of the 2020 Acts of Assembly amended § 56-594 of the Code to (1) increase the caps on participation in net metering by residential and nonresidential customers; (2) establish revised limits on capacity on net metering facilities based on the customer’s expected annual energy consumption; (3) require the Commission to conduct a net metering proceeding under parameters set by the Code when certain criteria have been met; and (4) permit localities meeting criteria established in the Code to install solar or wind-powered facilities under parameters set forth in the VWDWXWH 7KH FXUUHQW 1HW (QHUJ\ 0HWHULQJ 5XOHV WKXV PXVW EH UHYLVHG WR UHĂ€HFW WKH FKDQJHV VHW IRUWK LQ &KDSWHU On October 21, 2020, the Commission issued an Order Establishing Proceeding seeking to amend the Net Energy 0HWHULQJ 5XOHV WR SURYLGH IRU QHW PHWHULQJ E\ HOLJLEOH FXVWRPHU JHQHUDWRUV DV GHÂżQHG LQ WKH &RGH 7KH SURSRVHG UXOHV (“Proposed Rulesâ€?) are appended to the Order Establishing Proceeding.

7$.( 127,&( 7+$7 RQ RU EHIRUH 'HFHPEHU DQ\ LQWHUHVWHG SHUVRQ PD\ FRPPHQW RQ SURSRVH PRGL¿FDWLRQV or supplements to, or request a hearing on the Proposed Rules following the instructions on the Commission’s website: scc.virginia.gov/casecomments/Submit-Public-Comments. All comments shall refer to Case No. PUR-2020-00195. ,QGLYLGXDOV VKRXOG EH VSHFL¿F LQ WKHLU FRPPHQWV SURSRVDOV RU VXSSOHPHQWV WR WKH 3URSRVHG 5XOHV DQG DGGUHVV RQO\ those issues pertaining to the amendment of § 56-594 of the Code pursuant to Chapter 1188 of the 2020 Acts of Assembly. Issues outside the scope of implementing this amendment will not be open for consideration. Any request IRU KHDULQJ VKDOO VWDWH ZLWK VSHFL¿FLW\ ZK\ WKH LVVXHV UDLVHG LQ WKH UHTXHVW IRU KHDULQJ FDQQRW EH DGHTXDWHO\ DGGUHVVHG LQ ZULWWHQ FRPPHQWV ,I D VXྜFLHQW UHTXHVW IRU KHDULQJ LV QRW UHFHLYHG WKH &RPPLVVLRQ PD\ FRQVLGHU WKH PDWWHU DQG HQWHU DQ 2UGHU EDVHG XSRQ WKH FRPPHQWV GRFXPHQWV RU RWKHU SOHDGLQJV ¿OHG LQ WKLV SURFHHGLQJ The Commission further takes judicial notice of the ongoing public health emergency related to the spread of the coronavirus, or COVID-19, and the declarations of emergency issued at both the state and federal levels. In accordance therewith, all pleadings, briefs, or other documents required to be served in this matter shall be submitted electronically to the extent authorized by 5 VAC 5-20-150, Copies and format, of the Commission’s Rules of Practice and Procedure ³5XOHV RI 3UDFWLFH´ &RQ¿GHQWLDO DQG ([WUDRUGLQDULO\ 6HQVLWLYH LQIRUPDWLRQ VKDOO QRW EH VXEPLWWHG HOHFWURQLFDOO\ and should comply with 5 VAC 5-20-170, &RQ¿GHQWLDO LQIRUPDWLRQ, of the Rules of Practice. For the duration of the &29,' HPHUJHQF\ DQ\ SHUVRQ VHHNLQJ WR KDQG GHOLYHU DQG SK\VLFDOO\ ¿OH RU VXEPLW DQ\ SOHDGLQJ RU RWKHU GRFXPHQW VKDOO FRQWDFW WKH &OHUNœV 2ྜFH 'RFXPHQW &RQWURO &HQWHU DW WR DUUDQJH WKH GHOLYHU\ Pursuant to 5 VAC 5-20-140, )LOLQJ DQG VHUYLFH, of the Commission’s Rules of Practice, the Commission has directed WKDW VHUYLFH RQ SDUWLHV DQG WKH &RPPLVVLRQœV 6WD྾ LQ WKLV PDWWHU VKDOO EH DFFRPSOLVKHG E\ HOHFWURQLF PHDQV 3OHDVH UHIHU WR WKH &RPPLVVLRQœV 2UGHU (VWDEOLVKLQJ 3URFHHGLQJ IRU IXUWKHU LQVWUXFWLRQV FRQFHUQLQJ &RQ¿GHQWLDO RU ([WUDRUGLQDULO\ Sensitive Information.

An electronic copy of the Order Establishing Proceeding and Proposed Rules may be obtained by submitting a written request to counsel for the Company, David J. DePippo, Esquire, Dominion Energy Services, Inc., 120 Tredegar Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219, or david.j.depippo@dominionenergy.com. $Q\ GRFXPHQWV ¿OHG LQ SDSHU IRUP ZLWK WKH 2ྜFH RI WKH &OHUN RI WKH &RPPLVVLRQ LQ WKLV GRFNHW PD\ XVH ERWK VLGHV RI WKH SDSHU ,Q DOO RWKHU UHVSHFWV H[FHSW DV PRGL¿HG E\ WKH &RPPLVVLRQœV 2UGHU (VWDEOLVKLQJ 3URFHHGLQJ DOO ¿OLQJV VKDOO comply fully with the requirements of 5 VAC 5-20-150, Copies and format, of the Commission’s Rules of Practice.

The Commission’s Rules of Practice, the Order Establishing Proceeding and Proposed Rules, and the Order Modifying Notice Requirements may be viewed at: scc.virginia.gov/pages/Case-Information.

VIRGINIA ELECTRIC AND POWER COMPANY D/B/A DOMINION ENERGY VIRGINIA

A12 November 19-21, 2020

Richmond Free Press

Legal Notices NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC OF AN APPLICATION BY VIRGINIA ELECTRIC AND POWER COMPANY FOR APPROVAL AND CERTIFICATION OF ELECTRIC TRANSMISSION FACILITIES: PARTIAL LINE #2010 230 KV SINGLE CIRCUIT TRANSMISSION LINE UNDERGROUND PILOT PROJECT (TYSONS-FUTURE SPRING HILL SUBSTATION) CASE NO. PUR-2020-00198 On September 29, 2020, Virginia Electric and Power Company d/b/a Dominion Energy Virginia (“Dominion” or “Company”) filed with the State Corporation Commission (“Commission”) an application for approval and certification of electric transmission facilities (“Application”) in Fairfax County, Virginia. Dominion filed its Application pursuant to § 56-585.1:5 and § 56-46.1 of the Code of Virginia (“Code”) and the Utility Facilities Act, Code § 56-265.1 et seq. Through its Application, the Company proposes: (1) to remove an approximate 0.56 mile segment of its existing overhead 230 kilovolt (“kV”) RestonTysons Line #2010 from the Tysons Substation to just south of the site for the future Spring Hill Substation and to relocate and replace the line underground; (2) to complete work at the Tysons Substation to allow this segment of Line #2010 to be relocated underground; and (3) to construct a transition pole just south of the future Spring Hill Substation to transition Line #2010 from an underground line to an overhead line (collectively, “Project”).

Dominion states that the Project is necessary to support economic development priorities of the Commonwealth, including the economic development priorities and the Comprehensive Plan of Fairfax County, Virginia.

The Company requests that the Project be approved by the Commission as a project that qualifies as a line to be placed underground, in part, because the Project meets all of the statutory requirements set forth in Code § 56-585.1:5 D for the Underground Pilot Program. Dominion represents that pursuant to Code § 56-585.1:5 D, Fairfax County has adopted a resolution in support of the Project and requested that the Company relocate and convert a portion of Transmission Line #2010 between the Tysons Substation and the future Spring Hill Substation from overhead to underground to facilitate the construction of a large planned mixed-use development, named “The View,” that supports the economic development priorities and Comprehensive Plan of Fairfax County.

The Company states that the desired in-service date for this project is December 31, 2025. The Company represents that the estimated conceptual cost of the Project (in 2020 dollars) is approximately $30.4 million, which includes approximately $22.6 million for underground transmission line-related work, approximately $0.70 million for overhead transmission line-related work, and approximately $7.10 million for substationrelated work.

The Proposed Route consists of approximately 0.58 mile of variable width right-of-way along existing Line #2010 between Tysons Substation and just south of the future Spring Hill Substation site. It largely will be on existing Company owned right-of-way and deviates for approximately 0.10 mile to accommodate the future site of The View development. The Line will exit the existing Tysons Substation across Tyco Road via VDOT permit and continue southwest for approximately 0.20 mile on existing 42-foot right-of-way. Temporary construction easements will be needed along this segment

as will a VDOT permit. At this point, the Line will depart from the existing right-of-way and turn south within a private service road for approximately 0.05 mile on a newly acquired 30-foot easement until it reaches Spring Hill Road (Route 684). Temporary construction easement will be required along this segment. At Spring Hill Road, the Line will turn west within Spring Hill Road for approximately 0.05 mile via a VDOT permit until it reaches Leesburg Pike (Route 7). These two 0.05 mile sections of the Line are being relocated outside of the existing right-of-way to accommodate The View, a future development. At Leesburg Pike, the Line turns southwest crossing under the elevated Metro Train Line and crossing Leesburg Pike via a VDOT permit for approximately 0.05 mile and then continues on existing 42-foot right-of-way for approximately 0.14 mile where it turns southeast and goes around the east side of the future Spring Hill Substation site within existing easement and the future Substation parcel. Temporary construction easements will be required along this segment. Just south of the future Spring Hill Substation parcel, the Line continues on existing 42-foot right-ofway to terminate at a Transition Pole.

For purposes of this Project, the Company intends to build a Transition Pole just south of the location where the Company plans to construct the future Spring Hill Substation. The Transition Pole will be approximately 140 feet tall, subject to final engineering. The Company also intends to replace the existing Structure #2010/12 located south of the future Spring Hill Substation and the Transition Pole. The existing approximately 61-foot Structure #2010/12 will be replaced with an approximately 90-foot structure, subject to final engineering.

All distances, heights, and directions are approximate.

A sketch map of the proposal accompanies this notice.

A more detailed map may be viewed on the Commission’s website: scc.virginia.gov/pages/Transmission-Line-Projects.

The Commission may consider a route not significantly different from the routes described in this notice without additional notice to the public.

A more complete description of the Project may be found in the Company’s Application.

The Commission entered an Order for Notice and Hearing in this proceeding that, among other things, scheduled public hearings on Dominion’s Application. On March 31, 2021, at 10 a.m., the Commission will hold a telephonic hearing, with no witness present in the Commission’s courtroom, for the purpose of receiving the testimony of public witnesses. On March 29, 2021, any person desiring to offer testimony as a public witness shall provide to the Commission (a) your name, and (b) the telephone number that you wish the Commission to call during the hearing to receive your testimony. This information may be provided to the Commission in three ways: (i) by filling out a form on the Commission’s website at scc.virginia.gov/pages/Webcasting; (ii) by completing and emailing the PDF version of this form to SCCInfo@scc.virginia.gov; or (iii) by calling

(804) 371-9141. This public witness hearing will be webcast at scc.virginia.gov/pages/Webcasting.

On April 1, 2021, at 10 a.m., either in the Commission’s second floor courtroom located in the Tyler Building, 1300 East Main Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219, or by electronic means, the Commission will convene a hearing to receive testimony and evidence related to the Application from the Company, any respondents, and the Commission’s Staff. Further details on this hearing will be provided by subsequent Commission Order or Hearing Examiner’s Ruling.

Electronic copies of the Application and other supporting materials, including a video depiction of the route, may be inspected at: http://www.dominionenergy.com/ springhill. An electronic copy of the Company’s Application also may be obtained by submitting a written request to counsel for the Company, David J. DePippo, Esquire, Dominion Energy Services, Inc., 120 Tredegar Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219, or david.j.depippo@dominionenergy.com.

Any person or entity may participate as a respondent in this proceeding by filing, on or before December 29, 2020, a notice of participation. Notices of participation shall include the email addresses of the party or its counsel. The respondent simultaneously shall serve a copy of the notice of participation on counsel to the Company. Pursuant to 5 VAC 5-20-80 B, Participation as a respondent, of the Commission’s Rules of Practice and Procedure (“Rules of Practice”), any notice of participation shall set forth: (i) a precise statement of the interest of the respondent; (ii) a statement of the specific action sought to the extent then known; and (iii) the factual and legal basis for the action. Any organization, corporation, or government body participating as a respondent must be represented by counsel as required by 5 VAC 5-20-30, Counsel, of the Rules of Practice.

All filings shall refer to Case No. PUR-2020-00198. For additional information about participation as a respondent, any person or entity should obtain a copy of the Commission’s Order for Notice and Hearing.

On or before March 26, 2021, any interested person may file comments on the Application by following the instructions found on the Commission’s website: scc.virginia.gov/casecomments/Submit-Public-Comments.

All such comments shall refer to Case No. PUR-2020-00198.

Any documents filed in paper form with the Office of the Clerk of the Commission in this docket may use both sides of the paper. In all other respects, except as modified by the Commission’s Order for Notice and Hearing, all filings shall comply fully with the requirements of 5 VAC 5-20-150, Copies and format, of the Commission’s Rules of Practice.

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

VIRGINIA ELECTRIC AND POWER COMPANY Existing Substation Future Substation (Spring Hill) Proposed Transition Pole Proposed #2010/12 Pole Replacement Partial Proposed Underground Pilot Program

EXISTING TYSONS SUBSTATION

Existing Overhead Line Partial Existing Overhead Line To Be Removed

PROPOSED 230 kV OVERHEAD TO UNDERGROUND CONVERSION

Partial Line #2010 230kV Single Circuit Transmission Line Underground Pilot Program (Tysons - Future Spring Hill Substation) Notice Map

PROPOSED 230 kV OVERHEAD TO UNDERGROUND CONVERSION

RELOCATED PORTION OF PROPOSED 230 kV OVERHEAD TO UNDERGROUND CONVERSION

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Fairfax County

0' 0

300' (Main Map) 7000' (Vicinity Map)

PROPOSED #2010/12 POLE REPLACEMENT

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DATE: 9/02/2020

Richmond Free Press

November 19-21, 2020 A13

Letters to the Editor

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Stories by Fred Jeter

Kyle Lewis

Devin Williams

Black players win MLB Rookie of the Year awards

Regina H. Boone/ Richmond Free Press

John Marshall High School basketball standout Roosevelt Wheeler, who at 6-foot-10 is one of the most recruited high school players in the nation, announces his decision to attend the University of Louisville on Monday in the North Side school’s gym. Joining him for the announcement celebration are, from left, his sister, Courtney Ingram of Atlanta; his mom, Deborah Davis of Richmond; his father, Roosevelt Wheeler Sr. of Atlanta; and his brother, C.J. Smith of Atlanta.

JM’s Roosevelt Wheeler chooses Louisville

The suspense peaked as senior Roosevelt Wheeler stood in front of the gallery of people Monday as he removed his blue John Marshall High School jacket.

Under his outer wrap was a red and black T-shirt with a long “L” on the front.

That meant the Justices’ 6-foot-10, All-State basketball center had chosen the University of Louisville, where he will play basketball next year. He made it official by putting his signature on a National Letter of Intent.

“It was a very difficult decision, but I’m taking my talents to Louisville,” he told the media afterward inside the John Marshall gym.

He quickly added, “The other schools recruiting me were amazing.”

Wheeler stressed that Virginia Commonwealth University was the clear second choice.

“If it hadn’t been Louisville, it would have been VCU. It was very close, very close,” he said.

Other schools Wheeler had considered as he whittled down his decision were North Carolina State University, Louisiana State University and Hampton University.

A native of Atlanta, Wheeler moved to Richmond as a ninth-grader and was a top backup behind Isaiah Todd on John Marshall’s 2017 State 3A title.

Last winter as a junior, Wheeler dominated inside the lane while helping the Justices to the state 2A crown under head Coach Ty White. He

is ranked as the nation’s 60th best high school prospect by 247Sports.com.

Louisville has a storied national reputation playing in the Atlantic Coast Conference under Coach Chris Mack.

Wheeler was on an official Louisville recruiting visit last Feb. 8 when he saw the Cardinals defeat defending NCAA champion University of Virginia 80-73 before 19,250 frantic fans at the KFC Yum! Center. It was an impressionable evening and, no doubt, weighed into Wheeler’s final decision.

The Cardinals have won three NCAA titles — 1980, 1996 and 2013 — and have been to 10 Final Fours and 16 Sweet 16s.

Louisville was 24-7 overall last season and 15-5 in the ACC, tied for second. The Cardinals would have advanced to the NCAA Tournament last March if not for the COVID19 pandemic.

It is unlikely Wheeler will be able to play his senior year. First of all, he suffered an Achilles tendon injury and is now in a walking boot. He remains positive he will be 100 percent healed by the time he enrolls at Louisville next summer.

Also, as of now, Richmond Public Schools has canceled basketball and other winter sports because of the pandemic.

Wheeler’s John Marshall teammates, coaches, teachers and school administrators were in attendance for the signing, along with numerous

African-Americans have made a clean sweep of Major League Baseball’s Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year awards.

Seattle Mariners center fielder Kyle Lewis is the American League winner while Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Devin Williams is the National League winner.

It marked the first time since 1984 that Black players won both AL and NL rookie honors.

In 1984, Dwight Gooden won the NL award with the New York Mets while Seattle first baseman Alvin Davis was the AL winner.

The annual awards are named after the iconic Robinson, who was MLB’s very first Rookie of the Year in 1947, as well as the first Black player in the modern era. He broke the color barrier in MLB playing with the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Lewis, 25, hit .262 with 11 homers, 28 runs batted in and five stolen bases in the

shortened 60-game schedule this season.

From Snellville, Ga., the 6-foot-4 Lewis was a first round draft pick in 2016 coming out of Mercer University in Macon, Ga. Williams, a second round draft pick in 2013 out of Hazelwood West High School in Missouri, posted a 4-1 record with a 0.33 earned run average in 22 games in relief for the Brewers.

The 6-foot-2 right-hander struck out 53 batters in 27 innings and is the first relief pitcher to garner Rookie of the Year honors since the Atlanta Braves’ Criag Kimbrel in 2011.

After Robinson’s rookie victory in 1947, the next player of color to win the award was the Minnesota Twins’ Tony Oliva, a Black Cuban, in 1964.

The next African-American to win the award was the Chicago White Sox’s Tommie Agee in 1966.

The award is voted on by the Baseball Writers Association of America.

Hampton U. enters basketball season with ‘no expectations’ from experts

Hampton University’s bas- terfield’s Millwood School, at to finish ninth, with no HU ketball Pirates must feel like 22 points per game. Together, players making the preseason someone ripped off their trea- they accounted for 1,057 of All-Big South. sure chest.

2,025 shots taken.

“This is unusual for us,” Coach Ed “Buck” Joyner is Hampton went 15-19 overall Coach Joyner said. “Normally facing one of the nation’s more last season, but shifted into the our teams have been in the top challenging rebuilding jobs af- next gear at the Big South Tourna- half of predictions, even the top ter losing 74 percent of last half of the top half. season’s point producers on “But we like having no the team. expectations,” the coach HU Sports publicist James continued. “We’ll try and Heath reports that the Pirates come from the back and lost the seventh highest surprise people.” percentage of points (73.9) It’s not like the pantry in NCAA Division I behind is completely empty.

Rider, Radford, Auburn, The lone returning startArkansas, Georiga Southern er is Davion Warren, who Coach Joyner Davion Warren and Seattle. averaged 10 points and six Much of that resulted from ment and advanced to the finals rebounds a year ago. the loss of two players— before losing at Winthrop.

Likely to help are two transJermaine Marrow, who gradu“This is a transition season. fers from nearby Old Dominion ated, and Ben Stanley, who We’ve got a new team, a dif- University, 6-foot-5 Marquis transferred to Xavier University ferent group,” Coach Joyner Godwin and 7-foot Dajour of Cincinnati. said at the virtual Big South Dickens.

Marrow averaged 24.8 Media Day. A touted newcomer is 6-foot points per game a year ago, In preseason prognostica- shooting guard Elijah Seward followed by Stanley, from Ches- tions, the Pirates were picked from John Marshall High School, the State 2A state champions.

The Big South is going with a unique scheduling concept as a result of the pandemic. All John Marshall High School kids may never get the college ship in 2015, beating John Marshall in conference games will be on won the Virginia 2A title a year looks. Take Jordan Parham for the finals. back-to-back nights. ago and would have been a example. Jordan had a great The success of teams from city schools Hampton will open Dec. heavy favorite to repeat this senior year for us and got an goes way back. Maggie L. Walker and 21-22 with a pair of games at go-round. If all had gone as offer from Lynchburg College. Armstrong high schools were perennial Charleston Southern University planned, this season would He would have never received powerhouses in the old Virginia Inter- in South Carolina. The first Big have been the Justices’ third that opportunity without his scholastic Association that Black schools South home games are Dec. state crown in four years. senior year.” belonged to during segregation. Soon 30-31 against Gardner-Webb Hurtful as this may seem on Coach Brown frowns at the after integration in 1971, Walker won the University in North Carolina.

Coach White the North Side, John Marshall idea Richmond is closed for State AAA title. Thomas Jefferson High The Pirates’ non-conference Coach Ty White is not complaining — at basketball business, but other jurisdic- followed in 1975. Then Walker came out slate has not been announced. least not in public. tions are not. The Virginia High School on top again in 1976.

“We’ll look at the non-con“I support the superintendent. I trust League has approved winter sports, with When the city schools were consoli- ference games like preseason,” his decision,” Coach White told the Free modifications, for this season starting in dated into complexes, Marshall-Walker said Coach Joyner. “The good Press. “We’re trying to use it as a life January.

High School was state champ in 1982-83, thing about basketball is that lesson.”

“My first thought was that if others are followed by Jefferson-Huguenot-Wythe you could be 0-29 going to the John Marshall won its final 19 games playing, why can’t we?” Coach Brown in 1984. tournament. But if you get hot, — mostly by lopsided margins — en route told the Free Press.

More recently, the city schools have you could be 4-29 and headed to a 24-2 campaign a year ago.

“But I’ve been told not to talk like that. been even more dominant since the VHSL to the NCAAs.” Perhaps Coach White has gotten used I’m on the low end; my opinion doesn’t went to a six-tier system, enabling schools Hampton has a history of to disappointment. His powerful Team matter. So I’ll be as vanilla as possible to compete against others with comparable advancing to postseason play.

Loaded AAU travel program’s entire — caution on the side of safety.” enrollments.

Since 2001, the Pirates have spring and summer season was eliminated Coaches must cringe at the notion Before 2014, Richmond teams com- made the NCAAs six times, by the coronavirus. that their star players, seeing their short peted in Group AAA, the highest clas- the NIT once, the CBI twice Across the river at Huguenot High window of glory slipping away, might sification, even though they were often and the CIT once.

School, Falcons Coach Ksaan Brown transfer to private schools or public half the size of their rivals.

The Pirates boast one of said he is worried how the season shut- schools in nearby counties that will be Unless minds change, there will be no the NCAA Tournament’s most down may affect his athlete’s upward playing ball this winter. jubilant hoisting of trophies this season. historic upsets. In 2001, 15th mobility.

John Marshall High won State titles Basketball has long served as the heart- seeded Hampton University “It’s tough,” said Coach Brown. in 2014, 2018 and 2020, while George beat of the city during the winter months. stunned No. 2 Iowa State “Without their senior years, some talented Wythe High School won the champion- For now at least, the pulse is weak.

University 58-57.

RPS winter sports cancellation has left some athletes out in the cold John Marshall High School was counting on a spectacular basketball season in 2020-2021.

Instead, there will be no season.

All winter sports, most notably basketball, have been canceled following a decision by Richmond Public Schools Superintendent Jason Kamras.

The safety-first ruling was in response to troubling statistics regarding the spread of COVID-19.

That means the basketball season will be deflated at Richmond’s comprehensive high schools ­— John Marshall, Thomas Jefferson, George Wythe, Armstrong and Huguenot.

It should be eerily quiet around the campuses, with no basketballs bouncing on the hardcourt or jump shots swishing through nets. There will be no sound of rim-rattling dunks or crowds roaring their approval.

Boys basketball is far and away the city’s most popular sport, with a long, glowing list of state champions. It’s like a city full of hoops fans and players will wake up Christmas morning and find nothing but a lump of coal in their stockings.

Call this the “Empty Stocking Season.”

A14  November 19-21, 2020

Richmond Free Press

November 19-21, 2020 B1

Richmond Free Press

Section

Happenings

B

Personality: Vicki L. Neilson Spotlight on founder and executive director of The Giving Heart How do you throw a Thanksgiving feast for 3,000 people in the midst of a pandemic?

Do it as a carry-out event, says Vicki L. Neilson, founder and leader of The Giving Heart that is a week away from staging the 16th edition of its Community Thanksgiving Feast in Downtown. The event ranks as the largest free holiday meal event in the Richmond region.

“I thought about canceling.

I went back and forth on it. But then we talked about it, and we decided it was still needed and we saw how it could be done,” says the 62-year-old Washington, D.C., native known for her warm smile and caring attitude.

Ms. Neilson and her team are improvising, adapting and overcoming the challenges that COVID-19 has presented to continue the tradition of providing Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings to all comers, and, for those in need, donations of coats, clothing, toiletries and other items.

The Greater Richmond Convention Center’s Exhibition Hall at 5th and Marshall streets will still be the home base for the event that is scheduled to run from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Thursday, Nov. 26.

But forget the sit-down meal that has been the signature draw of the event, she says. That had to be jettisoned.

“Everything will be takeout” to comply with state and federal guidelines, she says.

Those who come to pick up one or more dinners will have to wear a mask, she says, and remain socially distanced. “We want everyone to be safe,” including the volunteers, she says.

As Ms. Neilson envisions, guests will walk through the convention center at 6-foot intervals and pick up meals, and have a choice of some donated items, as well.

If the convention center ends up not allowing entry, she says, volunteers will hand out meals at the door, but the show will go on, she says.

For those who register online at TheGivingHeart.org, there also will be curbside service for the first time.

Whatever comes, “we’re going to make it happen,” she says.

The sea change has had one impact — fewer volunteers are needed to prepare and serve, Ms. Neilson says. “We usually have about 800 people involved,” she notes, but this year only 70 to 80 will be taking part.

Ms. Neilson launched The Giving Heart in 2003 to serve as a bridge to help various nonprofits meet common needs.

While the group also delivers Valentine’s gift bags to seniors, Thanksgiving came into focus when a group of restaurant chefs who previously provided a free holiday meal in Richmond decided to end their operation.

Ms. Neilson, who is unpaid like everyone else involved, saw this as an opportunity for her new organization and took on the challenge. After a year of planning, The Giving Heart offered its first Thanksgiving feast in 2005 and has never looked back.

She says the feast is an “opportunity to recognize and serve all in our community who, for various reasons, are unable to be with family. We bring people together from all walks of life so no one has to feel left out.

“We put a special emphasis on seniors, working families, homeless individuals, military members, but all are welcome,” she says.

She says she is always inspired by the volunteers who participate.

She cites a well-known quote of the late Muhammad Ali to explain why she started The Giving Heart: “Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on Earth.”

Meet a woman with a giving heart and this week’s Personality, Vicki L. Neilson: No. 1 volunteer position: Founder and executive director, The Giving Heart.

Date and place of birth: Jan. 24 in Washington, D.C. Current residence: Rockville.

Education: Spotsylvania Senior High School and Virginia Commonwealth University.

Family: Husband, Jim; and sons, Matthew and Kevin.

The Giving Heart is: A wonderful nonprofit organization that exists solely because of volunteers and donors.

When and why The Giving Heart was founded: We were founded in 2003 as a way to help bridge various nonprofits together to share in common needs. We evolved later in 2005 into our two existing programs — The Community Thanksgiving Feast and Secret Senior Valentine Bags.

Mission of organization: The Giving Heart is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that is dedicated to providing food, fellowship and essential items to those in the Greater Richmond Metropolitan Area.

When and where first Thanksgiving served: Our first meal was in November 2005. This is our 16th year! Originally we served on the smaller, banquet side of the Greater Richmond Convention Center and later moved to our current location in the Exhibition Hall to further accommodate our guests.

What inspired this annual feast for Richmonders: We wanted to take the opportunity to recognize all in our community who, for various reasons, were unable to be with others that day. We’ve found so many examples of how a 20-minute conversation can be so uplifting

Want to participate?

What: The Giving Heart’s 16th Annual Community Thanksgiving Feast When: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 26 Where: Greater Richmond Convention Center, 5th and Marshall streets Details: Food and essential items available for carryout this year because of COVID-19; curbside pickup at 11:30 a.m., 12:15 p.m. and 1 p.m. with advance reservations at www.thegivingheart.org Parking: Free parking at 3rd and Marshall streets deck, or ride with GRTC or the CareVan. Volunteers: Those interested in helping with food, money and essential item donations, or to help in person, go to www.thegivingheart.org or call (804) 749-4726 between 9 a.m. and 10 p.m. daily.

to many of our guests — and even to volunteers.

How many volunteers help make this day successful: Depending on the year — this one is certainly different! — we average about 800 volunteers including food prep days, Wednesday setup needs and actual Thanksgiving Day needs.

Planning begins: Usually in July, with reaching out to donors and creating our core committee members. Volunteers are solicited in October or when positions get canceled and need to be refilled until Thanksgiving.

Who is invited to Thanksgiving Feast: Everyone! Special emphasis is placed on inviting our seniors, working families, our homeless friends, members of the military and those who would otherwise be alone on Thanksgiving.

Our Thanksgiving Feast usually is: Festive! Many volunteers sign up to be table hosts and decorate their individual tables. Inviting! We love to spend time talking with our guests. Inclusive! All are welcome to the table. Free!

What is on this year’s menu: A traditional Thanksgiving meal will be served with turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, green beans, cranberry sauce, dessert and beverages.

How many turkeys are served: This year, we will have about 250 turkeys and 240 hams.

Sweet potato or pumpkin pie: LOL! I am always told that I order the wrong quantity, so apparently sweet potato pie is the more popular choice. But we’ll still have pumpkin pie and cakes, danish and cookies from donors such as Williams Bakery and Ukrops Homestyle Foods.

Who cooks: We have approximately eight to 10 volunteers for two shifts daily from Monday through Wednesday of Thanksgiving week. We’ll also have about 10 people to help with final food prep on Thanksgiving

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morning, plus 64 people plating the food.

When and where prepping begins: Friday, Nov. 20, starts our load-in of the turkey and hams. Hopefully, they finish thawing by Monday.

The actual preparations start 9 a.m. Monday of Thanksgiving week.

How many plates typically are served: Usually, we prepare enough for about 2,400, but this year we’ll increase according to the donations received.

How COVID19 is affecting this year’s event: Sadly, we have to eliminate the sit-down aspect of our event. But we’re happy that we can change the dynamics and offer to-go meals ­— people will enter the Convention Center to take food and other items — and curbside pickup. Meals can be ordered online now.

Lessons learned during pandemic: 1. There is so much need for food and we’re so thankful for those who have donated food and monetary gifts to allow us to try and meet some of that increased need. 2.

That volunteers are willing to come out of their comfort zone with the pandemic to give of themselves for others. 3. That despite the last-minute decision to move forward, we have had so many people who have encouraged what is happening for our community.

The Giving Heart partners with: In addition to all of the various food and monetary donors, we work with the IVNA to administer flu shots and temperature checks. Additionally, the Richmond Ambulance Authority will be present for any medical needs. In “normal” times, we also would have a resource area for others to offer brochures, cut hair, provide AND THE entertainment and even create UNDERGROUND RAILROAD crafts to take home.

How I start the day: Excitedly!

I love checking emails and talking with those who call. I think many are pleasantly surprised that it’s a real person talking or that emails are responded to quickly.

Three words that best describe me: Passionate, caring and determined.

Best late-night snack: I would normally say chocolate, but my body says not now. So it’s either caramel hard candies or, because I’m usually awake until 4 a.m., a KIND protein bar.

How I unwind: Before COVID19, heading off to Las Vegas to play Video Keno. Now it’s more like Candy Crush online.

Something I love to do that most people would never imagine: Using a cane prevents it now, but I would say I love to ballroom dance. I used to teach, along with Mary Murphy (So You Think You Can Dance).

Lesson learned in life — do everything while you can.

Quote I am most inspired by: Two come to mind: “Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on Earth.” — Muhammad Ali; and “We’re all homeless ... just working our way toward home.” — Denver Moore At the top of my “to-do” list: Retire to Las Vegas. (But my husband has something to say about that one!)

The best thing my parents ever taught me: The importance of family — and if they aren’t there, invite your neighbors.

Person who influenced me the most: All of the wonderful volunteers who come back every year and, more importantly, the Youth Ambassadors who sometimes volunteer because they have to and return on their own years later.

What I’m reading now: “The Woman in Our House” by Andrew Hart. After Thanksgiving, the book that became a fantastic movie, “Same Kind of Different as Me” by Denver Moore, Lynn Vincent and Ron Hall.

Next goal: To become more proficient at making our website look really professional.

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Richmond Free Press

B2 November 19-21, 2020

Happenings Daphne Maxwell Reid joins cast for ‘The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’ reunion

By Ronald E. Carrington

Actress Daphne Maxwell Reid recently joined the cast of “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” for a reunion show airing this week, 30 years after the popular TV sitcom premiered in 1990.

The Petersburg resident and nationally known creative force played Aunt Viv in the show that was centered around the life of a young AfricanAmerican teenager, Will Smith, from the streets of West Philadelphia who was sent to live with his aunt and her family, the Banks family, at a mansion in Bel-Air, Calif., in the 1990s.

Mrs. Reid stepped into the role at the start of the fourth season, replacing actress Janet Hubert, who left the show.

As Mrs. Reid arrived on the set in September to record the reunion show, she was amazed that Mr. Smith’s production company, Westbrook Media, found all of the props from the original set — artwork, the living room couch and kitchen furnishings.

“It was great to see everybody all at the same time,” Ms. Reid said of her sitcom family. “We’ve seen each other in bits and pieces over the years — at weddings, childbirths and funerals. However, seeing everyone in the same place on the set was incredible.”

The unscripted 30th anniversary reunion special airs Thursday, Nov. 19, on HBO Max and features candid conversations with Mr. Smith, Mrs. Reid and co-stars Alfonso Ribeiro (Carlton Banks), Tatyana Ali (Ashley Banks), Karyn Parsons (Hilary Banks), Joseph Marcell (Geoffrey), and DJ Jazzy Jeff (Jazz), who had a recurring role.

During the reunion, the cast members offered

thoughts about their experiences and memories of each other, as well as the show’s production.

Surprisingly, Mrs. Reid said she didn’t want to audition for the show when it first started. But after Ms. Hubert, the original Aunt Viv left, “I was ready to go.”

The entire cast was not present for the reunion.

James Avery, who played Uncle Phil, died on Dec. 31, 2013, in Glendale, Calif., after openheart surgery. He was 68.

Mrs. Reid, who is married to actor and film director Tim Reid, said she fell in love with Mr. Avery at her audition. “He was such a warm and embracing, talented and funny, interesting and intelligent human being,” she said in a Free Press interview.

The two became good friends.

“He, like Jazz, collected jazz, black memorabilia and posters. He loved to read and was anxious to share and was always curious,” she said. “Our families traveled together to London and Richmond, England, and drove all over the countryside,” she recounted. “We had a blast!”

Mrs. Reid said “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” holds relevance today.

“The program explores modern-day race, socio economic and family issues, while being laced with comedy, and left a legacy for three generations of viewers,” Mrs. Reid said.

The story lines of an inner-city cousin from Philly—a fish out of water character—and his Black upper-income relatives taking him in as they work through common family interactions “translate over generations.”

“In the end, the show’s outcome would bring the family together,” she said. “ ‘The Fresh Prince’s content was universal and applied to

Courtesy of De Waal & Associates

“The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” 30th anniversary reunion show, airing Nov. 19, on HBO Max, features cast members, from left, Will Smith; Daphne Maxwell Reid (Aunt Viv); Karyn Parsons (Hilary Banks); Alfonso Ribeiro (Carlton Banks); Joseph Marcell (Geoffrey); Tatyana Ali (Ashley Banks); and DJ Jazzy Jeff (Jazz).

any family.”

When Mrs. Reid joined the cast in the fourth season, Mr. Smith had gotten his acting chops down and began to plan for his next step in the entertainment business, she said.

“Will Smith was a lot of fun,” she said.

“During the last three years, he was very much into the business side of things and didn’t hang around with the cast a lot.

“Westbrook Media, a conglomerate of all of Mr. Smith’s businesses, is an outgrowth of his developed entertainment business acumen,” Mrs. Reid continued. “He has some of the most talented people working for him. The crew, as they produced the reunion, was a pleasure because

they were so highly professional.”

In an emotional and heartfelt segment, the reunion special also shows Mr. Smith’s private reunion with Ms. Hubert. The two had not seen each other since Ms. Hubert’s controversial departure.

In another holiday program, Mrs. Reid also will star in the film “The Business of Christmas,” which centers on an effort to save the Franklin family’s store and home. Ms. Reid plays Mary Ann Franklin. While doing so, the family rediscovers the core values of love, family and the holiday spirit.

“The Business of Christmas” airs Dec. 1 on BET+.

Affirmative action hits Brazil’s runways Free Press wire report

Regina H. Boone/Richmond Free Press

Thanking those on the front lines Bonita Grant and Edna Rodwell, members of the Richmond Metropolitan Chapter of The Charmettes, arrange a table of more than 135 gift bags for GRTC drivers Tuesday at the transit company’s headquarters on Belt Boulevard in South Side. The women’s organization, under the leadership of chapter President Pamela Smith, wanted to show its appreciation for the hard work and service of bus operators who have been on the front lines during the COVID-19 pandemic. They provided bags filled with essential items such as masks, hand sanitizer and bottled water for drivers to pick up as they arrived for work or left after their shifts. A sign on the table read: “Thank you for your strength during these difficult times and all you do to serve others.”

SAO PAULO Bold styles are usually the talk of the town for Sao Paulo Fashion Week. This year, couture connoisseurs in Brazil’s most cosmopolitan city have focused on the models—more specifically, the color of their skin.

For the first time, designers in Latin America’s largest fashion show, which wrapped up on Nov. 8, were obliged to ensure 50 percent of their models are either Black, Afro-descendant or Indigenous.

The Brazilian fashion world was jolted into doing some soulsearching this year when—after the killing of George Floyd by police in the United States sparked protests and discussion over racial injustice—three Black models shared personal stories of experiencing racism in the industry during a raw, hourslong talk with Sao Paulo Fashion Week founder Paulo Borges.

Broadcast live via social media, that conversation was

Comedian Sinbad recovering from stroke Free Press wire report

NEW YORK The family of Sinbad says the comedian-actor is recovering from a recent stroke.

The Adkins family said in a statement to The Associated Press on Monday that “it is out of sincere love that we share Sinbad, our beloved husband and father, is recovering from a recent stroke.

“Sinbad is a light source of love and joy for many generations. While he is beginning his road to recovery,

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we are faithful and optimistic that he will bring laughter into our hearts soon,” the statement continued.

The 64-year-old Sinbad, born David Adkins, is known for his stand-up work and appearances in the sitcoms “A Different World” and “The Sinbad Show.”

The entertainer also has appeared in several movies.

“Our family thanks you in advance for your love and support and asks for continued prayers for his healing.

We also ask that you please respect our privacy during this time,” the family statement read.

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the first of many culminating in SPFW’s adoption of the new rule, Mr. Borges said in an interview with The Associated Press.

“Everyone understands there needs to be a bigger effort. We need to leave the space of white privilege to be able to make this change in the world,” he said. “The Eurocentric aesthetic of beauty cannot apply to the country of Brazil.”

Fashion-forward affirmative action is the latest effort to boost representation through edict in Brazil, where a previous, left-leaning government enacted race-based quotas in federal universities. Others have followed more recently, with one retail giant, Magazine Luiza, creating a Black-only trainee program in September and a Supreme Court ruling that required political parties to distribute campaign funds this month using new racial guidelines.

More than half of Brazilians identify as either Black or biracial, but you wouldn’t know it from the country’s magazines and ads, where images of light-skinned people remain dominant.

A century after Brazil became the Western Hemisphere’s last country to abolish slavery, in 1888, the phenomenon was exemplified by the popular TV show “Xou da Xuxa,” or “Xuxa’s Show,” hosted by the blonde, blue-eyed entertainer of the same name and backed by a bevy of young women with mostly matching features.

Launched in the 1980s on the monolithic Globo network, it moved a generation of Black girls to straighten their hair, according to Marcelo Dias, national coordinator for entrepreneurism at Brazil’s Unified Black Movement.

“Do you know how that destroyed Black girls’ selfesteem, watching that? Not even one Black girl to see and identify with,” Mr. Dias said.

“The result was that our Black girls didn’t want to use their natural hair; they wanted to use the hot comb.”

Sao Paulo Fashion Week was born in 1995. In 2009, facing an investigation over discrimination, organizers signed an agreement with public prosecutors requiring 10 percent of models to be Black, Afro-descendant or Indigenous. Still, there were calls for stronger action. SPFW began recommending designers’ models be at least 20 percent Black, Afro-descendant, Asian or Indigenous.

Angela Brito, a Rio de Janeiro-based designer who moved to Brazil from Cape Verde more than two decades ago, showed The Associated Press her 2020 collection which she dubbed “Identity,” blending traditional woven cloth from her home country with other styles.

Even before SPFW’s race requirement, she employed all-Black casts and has sought to highlight the issue.

“The first question people always asked me has been, ‘Why is your whole cast Black?’” Ms. Brito said. “And I always asked, ‘Why is it that there were only whites before, and you never noticed?’ ” Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the usual cloistered runway shows this year were jettisoned in favor of videos that were projected onto the sides of buildings and monuments, displayed on a truck circulating throughout the city and broadcast on social media.

One of the most popular videos has been an eightminute clip by the Korshi 01 brand. It opened with a Black woman swiveling in a chair and then staring defiantly through square-shaped glasses, before cutting to a second Black model being made-up by a woman with flowing curls. The piece suggests that models who before were waiting in the wings are now taking center stage.

Richmond Free Press

November 19-21, 2020

B3

Obituary/Faith Directory

Larry J. Bland, whose leadership of The Volunteer Choir spanned more than 45 years, dies at 67

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

Larry Jerome Bland left his mark on gospel music in Richmond and beyond during an artistic career that spanned more than a half century.

A talented keyboard artist and singer, Mr. Bland became best known for his more than 45 years of leadership of The Volunteer Choir that transformed the group into one the area’s first show choirs and changed the perception of choral music locally.

The Richmondborn director “was the maestro who tied the community together through music,” according to Sheilah Belle, a radio personality who produces the online Belle Report of news in the gospel world.

Influenced by his work in dinner theater and as a college student by the moves of the Virginia State University marching band, Mr. Bland scrapped the tradition of having choir members Mr. Bland standing like soldiers on risers as they sang.

Instead, he sought to create a mass group — often as many as 125 people — that performed with verve and dash in a precision, choreographed style. He also abandoned choir robes in favor of tuxedos for men and gowns and pearls for women and surrounded them with musical ensembles that included drums, keyboards and brass to enliven performances — now commonplace but unusual in church music in the 1970s when he began ushering in change.

While gospel was the choir’s mainstay, Mr. Bland also incorporated anthems, hymns, spirituals and even Latin chants and opera into the choir’s repertoire with attention to every detail.

The result: Performances that drew big crowds that got caught up in toe-tapping, hand-clapping enjoyment and worship.

Mr. Bland’s gospel passion and musical expertise are being remembered by friends and fans everywhere after he lost his battle with cancer on Friday, Nov. 13, 2020. He was 67.

His funeral will be private because of the pandemic, but the service celebrating his life can be viewed online at 11 am. Friday, Nov. 20, on the Joseph Jenkins Jr. Funeral Home’s website at jenkinsjr.com or the funeral home’s Facebook page.

A friendly man with an engaging personality and easy smile who was unfailingly polite, Mr. Bland was serious about the music and every aspect of the choir, from arranging the music to directing the choreography and handling the bookings.

“Meticulous is the best word to describe him,” said longtime Volunteer Choir member Calcine Harris.

“He was very organized in all that he did and was extremely professional. He imposed structure and taught us discipline and respect for performance,” stated Ms. Harris, who was a primary caretaker for Mr. Bland before his death.

“Larry was about the same age as all of us, but we looked at him like an uncle or big brother,” said Marsha Dailey Vandervall, another Volunteer Choir veteran. “He kept us straight and instilled a sense of pride in the quality of the performance. His precision, attention to detail and focus on diction and being articulate were trademarks of his leadership.”

Mr. Bland, who grew up in Richmond’s near West End, showed early signs of interest in music and began taking piano lessons at age 8 from his godmother, Bettie Keel. Ms. Keel was the the director of the choir at Mount Hermon Baptist Church

Thirty-first Street Baptist Church C

bin om

in g

ance with Reverence Relev

Rev. Dr. Joshua Mitchell, Senior Pastor ❖

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

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

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

Moore Street Missionary Baptist Church

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

Dr. Alonza L. Lawrence, Pastor

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

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

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.

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"APTIST #HURCH Sunday School – 9:45 AM Sunday Services – 11:00 AM Via Conference Call (515) 606-5187 Pin 572890# Also Visit Us On Facebook Sunday Service – 11:00 AM 2604 Idlewood Avenue Richmond, Va. 23220 (804) 353-6135 www.riverviewbaptistch.org Rev. Dr. Stephen L. Hewlett, Pastor Rev. Dr. Ralph Reavis, Sr. Pastor Emeritus

Photos by Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press

Larry Bland and members of The Volunteer Choir perform one of their last concerts together at the 2018 Richmond Folk Festival.

in Moseley where his family attended before moving to Second took part in welcoming Queen Elizabeth II to Virginia in 2007, toured major East Coast cities and had a chance to perform for Baptist Church in Richmond’s Randolph community.

Six years later, he got his first chance to direct a choir. On James Cleveland in Los Angeles.

The success led Mr. Bland to be tapped for several years to the recommendation of Ms. Keel, Abner Baptist Church in Glen Allen tapped the 14-year-old to lead the Youth Choir. He would direct June Jubilee, at the time the city’s largest free outdoor go on to direct other choirs, including at First Union and First music festival, and earned the choir recognition as what Mr. Bland called “a legitimate arts organization.”

Shiloh Baptist churches in Mechanicsville.

However, The Volunteer Choir’s musical success did not Before graduating from Maggie L. Walker High School, he also organized a six-member gospel group and briefly led a provide him a living or bring in funding to cover operating costs. While the choir issued several recordings, none earned youth gospel choir at Second Baptist.

In 1971, as Mr. Bland moved on to study music at Virginia Kirk Franklin-style success.

After graduating from VSU, Mr. Bland worked in dinner theater State University, the pastor of Second Baptist, Dr. Odie D. Brown, handed him the baton to The Volunteer Choir, so named because in the Richmond area and at the Richmond Urban League.

After 1984, he worked full time as an executive assistant for it began with congregational volunteers who stepped up in 1968 a Washington law firm, and for five years he worked for the when the church’s music ministry was in turmoil.

Mr. Bland was eager for change. The following year, he Discovery Channel as the channel sought to launch in England joined with another future big name in Richmond gospel, Cora and elsewhere overseas.

He returned to Richmond in 2007 and worked for the Richmond Harvey Armstrong, to form a student gospel group that is now Free Press in an administrative role for two years. He closed the Virginia State University Gospel Chorale.

“Incorporating my formal music studies and exposure to the out his working career as an employee in the adult division of Marching 110 Band,” he once wrote, led him to envision a new the Richmond Department of Justice Services.

He gave up directing The Volunteer Choir for two years while kind of choir that “would combine staging, precision drill and working in Washington, but by 1986, he was commuting back excellence in musical interpretation.”

Despite a debilitating arm injury in a car accident that delayed to Richmond after resuming his role as choir director.

By the early 1990s, the choir that was born at Second Baptist his VSU graduation until 1977, he began to incorporate his ideas th was no longer able to perform there and had to look for other into The Volunteer Choir.

RFP 50 Anniversary Letter “This new presentation,” he wrote, drew attention and also venues. Before closing down in December 2018 in a grand led singers from Abner, First Shiloh and First Union to swell finale performance, the choir mostly sang at St. Peter Baptist Here is a mockup of the ad with 9 point type exactly as itChurch is to appear the newspaper. in Glen in Allen. the ranks.

Mr. Bland was always proud of his musical work. He saw The popularity of the group and its unique brand of perforhimself spending his life mance led to guest appearances theinches Richmond Symphonywidth The physical dimensions arewith 3.56 (newspaper for as two columns) by spreading 5 inches.goodwill.

The A lifelong bachelor, he was preceded in death by his parents, and participation in the Richmond Opera Company’s premier graphic belongs in the upper left corner of the ad space, centered on the title line.

The signature of Scott Joplin’s opera “Treemonisha,” as well as the musical Andrew James Bland Sr. and Sara Bland Parker; a brother, Anis in a right-justified text box to facilitate formatting. (Any editing thisJr.; page drew James of Bland and may sister,cause Marioneither Bland Davis.

“Purlie.”

Mr Bland is survived by his aunt, Barbara Jean Bracey, graphic to move outappearances of place.)in the Richmond Christmas Along with regular Parade and in the city’s summer Festival of the Arts at Dogwood three nephews, three godsons and his beloved Volunteer Choir Dell, the choir also sang at inaugurations of Virginia governors, family.

50th Anniversary of the Founding of the Local Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of Richmond, VA The Richmond Baha’i Community celebrates the 50th anniversary of the founding of its local administrative body.

Margaret Danner, an African-American, was among the first elected members.

Long before the Baha’i community in Richmond grew to where it could formalize its administration, it had already been working for race unity, beginning in 1911, when the AfricanAmerican Baha’i Susie Stewart started the Richmond community.

Guided by the spiritual principle of the oneness of humankind, Richmond Baha’i Community members work for race unity through participation in the Interfaith Council of Greater Richmond, the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities, and Coming to the Table. Associations with former organizations include Community Learning Week and the Urban League of Richmond. We sponsored Calling All Colors for several years.

A statement by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of the United States, “The Vision of Race Unity: America’s Most Challenging Issue,” is available at our website.

The Bahá'í Faith is an independent world religion with adherents in almost every country. Worldwide, the Bahá'í community numbers more than five million believers, including people of all walks of life and almost all nationalities, representing more than 2,100 ethnic groups and tribes. The Baha’i Faith is a member of the World Council of Churches.

The Local Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of Richmond, VA www.richmondvabahais.info Stewart and Danner were both poets. In 1970, Danner was Poet in Residence at Virginia Union University. Samples of their poems can be seen at our website.

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

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

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

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Richmond Free Press

B4 November 19-21, 2020

Faith News/Directory

‘You can’t just jump to hope’ Emily McFarlan Miller Religion News Service

The weekend before Election Day, Bishop Michael Curry, presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, led an interfaith prayer service livestreamed from Washington National Cathedral in the nation’s capital.

The service, “Holding on to Hope: A National Service for Healing and Wholeness,� began with a time of confession and reckoning, followed by a time of grief and lament.

It was All Saints’ Day, and there were prayers for the 200,000-plus Americans who have died from COVID-19.

Their deaths are among a number of things Bishop Curry believes Americans need to grieve.

That’s the first step to hope and healing, he said. “You can’t just jump to hope,� the presiding bishop said afterward. “There’s a process you have to go through. There are no shortcuts to it.�

Bishop Curry spoke to Religion News Service in the days between Election Day and the projection of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden winning. Bishop Curry shared his thoughts about what divides the United States, what people of faith can do to help bridge those divisions and why he believes healing is ultimately possible.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Earlier this month, you led a national service for healing and wholeness. Why did that feel important in the days going into this election?

I think part of that is because the country — and the world, but, in particular, the country — has been through a lot. This is clearly a divisive election.

That’s self-evident.

But that’s reflecting other things. That’s reflecting the impact of COVID-19. We still don’t know the full social, spiritual and personal impact that’s having, but we know it’s having it.

Then you add on top of that, not COVID-19, but the pandemic of 1619, which goes back into the painful reality of our racial past of white supremacy, of domination.

So you add that racial reckoning on top of a viral pandemic and all its implications, and then on top of it, America has some deep divisions, and they’re not just racial. There are divisions of class, divisions of those who do feel left out, and they play out deeply. They played out the last time, in 2016 even, in the election.

What will it take to heal those divisions?

I didn’t tell the story at the cathedral, but this was in the 2016 campaign at a Trump rally in North Carolina — in Fayetteville. There were protesters present. That was sort of normal, if you remember, in that last campaign. And at one of them, this one particular guy, who happened to be an older white guy, punched a younger Black guy who was one of the protesters. He was arrested and charged with assault. He apologized in court for what he did and accepted responsibility for it. And then this is the quote I can remember: He said, “We’re in a political mess, you and me, and we’ve got to do something to heal our country.�

In a subsequent story about those two, the Black guy said to the white guy, “Let’s go out and eat lunch.�

That’s what we must do in America. We must go out and eat lunch together. That’s a metaphor for the hard work of what it is going to take to heal the divisions. When people eat together, over time, they actually get to know each other. And sometimes, a whole lot of stuff you assume about the other, you

discover isn’t true. At its best, you discover there’s a story behind why that person thinks or feels the way they do. You may not agree with it, but you can kind of understand it.

Then, you see, we have the capacity to figure out how to do the structural healing. You’ve got to pass laws. You’ve got to change the policy. But the truth is changed laws and changed policies don’t change hearts.

And until you change hearts, you don’t change everything.

You’ve got to take a holistic approach.

Can you talk about this idea of Christian unity?

Does that identity supersede political beliefs or some of the other divides we might see in the wider society?

I think that is the case. I do remember some instances — I’m going back some years now — when we were close to comprehensive immigration reform.

I remember going to see one particular congressperson and making the case for that. He was a devout Christian, represented himself as a conservative and a conservative Christian, but he was open, and I jokingly said, “You know, this is one subject on which I, as the Episcopal bishop, and the Roman Catholic bishop here, we happen to agree. And I’ve been with some Pentecostal officials and they agree.� And he said, “Oh, yeah, the Southern Baptists were here this morning, and they were making the same point.�

There is some common ground on some questions of moral, human decency and compassion. We actually share common ground because it’s so embedded into the faith, and we share it with other traditions.

You build there. You start from the common ground. You don’t start from the differences.

We start from the common ground of common values.

What are some practical things people of faith can do to be part of that work?

Braver Angels has specific programs — With Malice Toward None is one — for churches and civic groups to be involved in, actually bringing together people across political differences. The Episcopal Church has a program, Make Me an Instrument of Peace, which is a five-week curriculum on civil discourse. Again, it’s not about talking nicely. It’s actually some of the dynamics of how do you foster humane, decent and respectful discourse and interchange across differences?

Nothing happens accidentally. We have to learn how to do this. There are other organizations and groups that do this. There’s plenty. We don’t have to invent the materials.

We just have to implement them, bring people together for dinner.

For example, what would happen if religious communities of all stripes paired up and said: We’re going to be in a relationship for two years, and we’re going to start out by doing With Malice Toward None. We’re going to do civil discourse.

And then we’re going to have a planning group that thinks through how do we nurture this relationship over time. That is very practical.

Failure to know the other is a setup for conflict.

You sound optimistic. Do you think this kind of healing is possible — that it is possible for us to bridge these divides and move forward together as a country after a really polarized season?

Oh, yes. Now, I’m not naively optimistic. I know human progress and growth is possible and can happen. But it only happens as a result of hard work, of struggle over the long haul, and that hard work and struggle includes setback.

Zion Baptist Church

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

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

I mean, I’m an AfricanAmerican man. I’m a product of the Black community. I’m a product of — go far enough back, you’re into Jim Crow; far enough back, you’re in slavery; far enough back, you’re in the Middle Passage crossing from West Africa over here. I’m a product of that tradition that has learned there is progress and there are steps forward and then there’s a pushback. There always is, but you keep moving forward. You don’t go back.

I have seen progress happen in my lifetime. I have seen the pushback. But I’ve seen we’re always moving forward. There’s a spiritual of the old slaves. I think they were talking about this when they said, “Keep a-inchin’ along like the inchworm.� That’s how progress happens. It doesn’t happen in quantum. It happens inch by inch, pushback, inch by inch, pushback, inch by inch, pushback, inch by inch, pushback, and before you know it, you’ve moved farther down the road than you ever thought you would.

I believe it is possible for us to be instruments of healing in this culture. And I refuse to give up. As long as there’s a God ­— and God doesn’t quit — I’m not quitting.

University of Richmond

Marking sacred ground A temporary sign at the University of Richmond now marks the Westham Burial Ground for enslaved people who worked on a plantation that became the campus. The signs tell what is known about the people, the burial site and its desecration and details the university’s plans to memorialize it. Shelby Driskill, a UR graduate researcher, is credited with the initial study that brought the site to public attention. Noted historian Dr. Lauranett Lee and Ms. Driskill are leading UR’s commemorative initiative and have produced a comprehensive report to assist in that effort.

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

“Due to the Corona Virus Pandemic, Services Are Cancelled, until further notice; but, please join us, by visiting BRBCOnline.org or YouTube (Broad Rock Baptist Church).�

7M\XL &ETXMWX 'LYVGL 8LIQI JSV 1SFMPM^MRK *SV 1MRMWXV] 6IJVIWLMRK 8LI 3PH ERH )QIVKMRK 8LI 2I[ We Embrace Diversity — Love For All!

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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

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Pastor Kevin Cook

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

Worship Opportunities Join us for online streaming this Sunday at 10 AM. Visit our WEBSITE, look under “/NLINE 3ERVICES,� and access the “0ASTOR S -ESSAGE.�

Bible Study Opportunities Thursdays: Virtual Bible Study session via Zoom, every Thursday at 7 PM. Email request to spbcoffice@stpeterbaptist.net; A new Meeting ID and password will be emailed weekly.

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Rev. Dr. Yvonne Jones Bibbs, Pastor

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

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

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

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

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

HebrewEvening 12:14Bible (KJV) Wednesday Study 7:00 p.m. (Bible Study) www.ndec.net SATURDAY 8:30 a.m. Intercessory Prayer

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

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

Visit www.ndec.net.

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

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

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Richmond Free Press

November 19-21, 2020 B5

Legal Notices 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, December 7, 2020 at 1:30 p.m. and the Council of the City of Richmond has scheduled a public hearing on Monday, December 14, 2020 at 6:00 p.m. to consider the following ordinances: Ordinance No. 2020-238 To adopt a new Code of the City of Richmond, Virginia; to repeal the Code of the City of Richmond, Virginia, 2015; to prescribe the effect of such repeal; and to provide for the manner of amending the new City Code.

Ordinance No. 2020-240 To declare that a public necessity exists and to authorize the Chief Administrative Officer or the designee thereof, for and on behalf of the City of Richmond, to acquire, at a tax delinquent judicial sale, the property located at 1305 North 5th Street and to authorize the Chief Administrative Officer or the designee thereof to accept title to such property for the purpose of preserving the property as a historic burial ground.

Ordinance No. 2020-241 To authorize the Chief Administrative Officer, for and on behalf of the City of Richmond, to execute certain Deeds of Easement between the City of Richmond and the Commonwealth of Virginia, Department of General Services, for the purpose of granting to the Commonwealth of Virginia, Department of General Services certain perpetual, irrevocable easements on, over, under, and across certain rights-of-way located along North 9th Street, East Franklin Street, East Grace Street, and East Broad Street for the construction or installation of certain improvements and safety and security enhancements as part of the Capitol Complex Infrastructure and Security construction projects.

Ordinance No. 2020-242 To amend Ord. No. 99324-304, adopted Oct. 11, 1999, which authorized the special use of the property known as 1601 Park Avenue for the purpose of a restaurant use, to authorize outdoor dining facilities and an increased interior seating capacity, upon certain terms and conditions.

The current zoning for this property is R-6 (Single Family Attached Residential). The City of Richmond’s current 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 semipublic uses.

Ordinance No. 2020-243 To authorize the special use of the property known as 410 Hunt Avenue, for the purpose of three single-family detached dwellings, upon certain terms and conditions.

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. The density of the parcel if developed as proposed would be a ratio of approximately 12 units per acre.

Ordinance No. 2020-244 To authorize the special use of the property known as 1110 1/2 North 30th Street for the purpose of a two‑family detached dwelling upon certain terms and conditions.

The property is located in the R-6 Single-Family Attached Residential District. The City of Richmond’s Master Plan designates the subject property for Single-Family (Medium Density) uses.

Primary uses are singlefamily and two-family dwellings, both detached and attached, at densities of 8 to 20 units per acre. The density of the proposed development is approximately 26 units per acre.

Ordinance No. 2020-245 To authorize the special use of the property known as 1401 North 32nd Street for the purpose of a twofamily detached dwelling upon certain terms and conditions. The property is Continued on next column

Continued from previous column

located in the R-5 SingleFamily Residential District.

The City of Richmond’s Master Plan designates the subject 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. The density of the proposed development is 27 units per acre.

Ordinance No. 2020-246 To authorize the special use of the property known as 2611 West Cary Street for the purpose of wall signage, upon certain terms and conditions.

The property is located in the B-6 Mixed-Use District. The City Master Plan calls for a future land use recommendation for this property Community Commercial. Primary uses include office, retail, personal service and other commercial and service uses, intended to provide the shopping and service needs of residents of a number of nearby neighborhoods or a section of the City.

Ordinance No. 2020-247 To authorize the special use of the property known as 3206 Blithewood Drive for the purpose of a dwelling unit within an accessory building to an existing single-family dwelling, upon certain terms and conditions.

The property is situated in a R-2 Single-Family Residential District. The City of Richmond’s Master Plan designates a future land use category for the subject property as Single Family (Low Density).

Primary uses for this category include “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.” The density of the parcel if authorized as proposed would be approximately 4 units per acre.

Ordinance No. 2020-248 To authorize the special use of the property known as 3310 East Broad Street for the purpose of a singlefamily dwelling with an accessory dwelling unit.

The property is located in the R-8 Urban Residential District. The City of Richmond’s Master Plan designates the subject property for Single-Family (Medium Density) uses.

Primary uses in this category are “singlefamily and two-family dwellings, both detached and attached at densities between 8 and 20 units per acre”. The density of the proposed development is approximately 18 units per acre.

Ordinance No. 2020-249 To rezone the properties known as 900 North 1st Street, 914 North 1st Street, 916 North 1st Street, 920 North 1st Street, 20 East Baker Street, 24 East Baker Street, and 11 East Charity Street from the B-2 Community Business District to theB-6 MixedUse Business District, and 2 East Baker Street, 4 ½ East Baker Street, 6 East Baker Street, 8 East Baker Street, 10 East Baker Street, 1 East Charity Street, 3 East Charity Street, 907 St. James Street, 909 St. James Street, 911 St. James Street, 913 St. James Street, 915 St. James Street, and 917 St. James Street from the R-53 Multifamily Residential District to the B-6 Mixed-Use Business District. The City’s Master Plan designates a future land use category for this property as Neighborhood Commercial. Primary uses include office, personal service and retail uses, intended to provide the daily convenience shopping and service needs of adjacent neighborhood residents.

Ordinance No. 2020-250 To rezone the properties known as 7000 Jahnke Road, 6927 Old Jahnke Road, 6937 Old Jahnke Road, and 7005 Old Jahnke Road from the R-1 Single-Family Residential District to the RO-2 Residential-Office District and 6907 Old Jahnke Road and 6814 Jahnke Road from the R-2 SingleFamily Residential District to the RO-2 ResidentialOffice District. The City of Richmond’s current Master Plan designates a future land use category for the subject properties as Transitional Office.

Primary uses are low to medium intensity professional, business, and administrative offices, and medical and dental clinics that are compatible with adjacent residential uses and serve as separation between residential areas and nearby commercial or higher intensity land uses or features.

The meetings will be Continued on next column

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held through electronic communication means pursuant to and in compliance with Ordinance No. 2020-093, adopted April 9, 2020, as amended by Ordinance No. 2020-183, adopted August 20, 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 December 14, 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 December 14, 2020 Richmond City Council Formal meeting agenda.

Citizens are encouraged to provide their comments in writing to CityClerksOffice@ r i c h m o n d g o v. c o m i n 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, December 14, 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 HANOVER VERA VENABLE, Plaintiff v.

JAMES BADGER, Defendant.

Case No.: CL20004696-00 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 4th day of January, 2021 at 9:00 AM, and protect his interests.

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

CHRISTOPHER ALEXANDER, Defendant.

Case No.: CL19003296-00 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

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

It is ORDERED that the defendant, who has been served with the Complaint by posted service appear here on or before the 4th day of January, 2021 at 9:00 AM, and protect his interests.

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I ask for this: Dorothy M. Eure, Plaintiff’s Counsel VSB# 27724 The Law Office of Dorothy M. Eure, P.C. 8460 Mount Eagle Road Ashland, VA 23005 (804) 798-9667 VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE COUNTY OF HANOVER SHANTAL SMITH, Plaintiff v.

LARRY SMITH, JR., Defendant.

Case No.: CL20003536-00 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 4th day of January, 2021 at 9:00 AM, and protect his interests.

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

ANDRES BORDA, Defendant.

Case No.: CL20004697-00 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 4th day of January, 2021 at 9:00 AM, and protect his interests.

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

BETTY CLAYTON, Defendant.

Case No.: CL20003191-00 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

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

It is ORDERED that the defendant, who has been served with the Complaint by posted service appear here on or before the 18th day of December, 2020 at 9:00 AM, and protect her interests.

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

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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 18th day of December, 2020 at 9:00 AM, and protect her interests.

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

DAVID BANKS, Defendant.

Case No.: CL20004495-00 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 18th day of December, 2020 at 9:00 AM, and protect his interests.

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

TRAVIS ANTONIO BLOUNT, Defendant.

Case No.: CL20-7533 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

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

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

And the last known address of the Defendant is as follows: L/K/A 1228 Lady Ashley Dr. Chesapeake, VA 23320.

It is ORDERED that Travis Antonio Blount appear at the above-named court and protect his/her interests on or before the 21st day of December, 2020 at 9 a.m.

An Extract Teste: HEIDI S. BARSHINGER, Clerk VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE COUNTY OF HANOVER JOYCE VILLEGAS, Plaintiff v.

HENRY VILLEGAS, Defendant.

Case No.: CL20004376-00 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 15th day of December, 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

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Custody

VIRGINIA: IN THE JUVENILE AND DOMESTIC RELATIONS DISTRICT COURT OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND Commonwealth of Virginia, in re JAMIE ANTONIO COLLINS RDSS v.

UNKNOWN FATHER Case No. JJ085414-13-00 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is to: Terminate the residual parental rights (“TPR”) of the Unknown Father of Jamie Antonio Collins, child DOB 09/01/2011, child.

“TPR” means all rights and responsibilities remaining with parent after transfer of legal custody or guardianship of the person, including but not limited to rights of: visitation; adoption consent; determination of religious affiliation; and responsibility for support.

It is ORDERED that the defendant Unknown Father to appear at the above-named Court and protect his/her interest on or before 02/01/2021, at 2:00 PM, Courtroom #4.

Virginia: In the Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court for the County of Chesterfield In re: Romero tejeda, eduin jacobo, dominga tejeda maradiaga v. jacobo israel romero matute Case No.: JJ100103-01-00, ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is to: Determine custody of Eduin Jacobo Romero Tejeda (DOB: 1/3/03), whose mother is Dominga Tejeda Maradiaga, and whose father is Jacobo Israel Romero Matute, pursuant to Virginia Code section 16.1-241A3. This suit also seeks to permit findings that will allow the minor, Eduin Jacobo Romero Tejeda, to apply for a federal benefit, namely, special immigrant juvenile status. Father ’s whereabouts are unknown.

It is ordered that the defendant Jacobo Israel Romero Matute appear at the above-named Court and protect his or her interests on or before 12/28/2020 at 12:00 PM. VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND CA20-28 COLLECTED ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is to:

1. Terminate the parental rights of the birth mother, Jacqueline Cecilia Beatty, whose whereabouts are unknown, and to terminate parental rights of the unknown birth father of a Child Known As Olivia Lucille-Joelyn Beatty, who was born on June 3, 2014 to Jacqueline Cecilia Beatty in the City of Richmond, Virginia; and

2. To grant leave to Joseph Emanuel Beatty III to adopt Olivia Lucille-Joelyn Beatty, date of birth June 3, 2014l and

It is ORDERED that Jacqueline Cecilia Beatty and the unknown birth father of the Child Known As Olivia Lucille-Joelyn Beatty appear at the above-named Court and protct their interests on or before Dec. 16, 2020 at 9:00 a.m.

An Extract, Teste: Edward F. Jewett, Clerk

PROPERTY

VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE COUNTY OF HANOVER MICHAEL HICKS, Plaintiff v.

DONNA HICKS, Defendant.

Case No.: CL20003868-00 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE COUNTY OF HANOVER ILONA MARSHALL-ULETT, Plaintiff v.

DONALD ULETT Defendant.

Case No.: CL20004283-00 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is to obtain a divorce from the bond of matrimony, from the defendant on the ground 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 10th day of December, 2020 at 9:00 a.m. and protect his interest.

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

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

DAVID THORNE, et al, Defendants.

Case No.: CL20-1629 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is to subject the property briefly described as 318 Preston Street, Richmond, Virginia, Tax Map Number N0000088/014, to sale in order to collect delinquent real estate taxes assessed thereon in the name of the owner of record, David Thorne.

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

IT IS ORDERED that DAVID THORNE, and Parties Unknown, come forward to appear on or before JANUARY 13, 2021 and do what is necessary to protect their interests in this matter.

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

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VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE COUNTY OF HANOVER DAVID HILL, Plaintiff v.

MARIE HILL, Defendant.

Case No.: CL20003914-00 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

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

It is ORDERED that the defendant, who has been served with the Complaint by posted service appear here on or before the 18th day of December, 2020 at 9:00 AM, and protect her interests.

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

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804-646-7949 VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND JOHN MARSHALL COURTS BUILDING CITY OF RICHMOND, Plaintiff, v.

IRENE J. LUNDY, et al, Defendants.

Case No.: CL20-2972 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is to subject the property briefly described as 507 Lincoln Avenue, Richmond, Virginia, Tax Map Number N0180455/004, to sale in order to collect delinquent real estate taxes assessed thereon in the name of the owners of record, Irene J. Lundy, Zelma Woodruff and William A. Phillips.

An Affidavit having been filed that said owners, IRENE J. LUNDY and ZELMA WOODRUFF, who has/have been served by posting and by mailing a copy of the complaint to their last known address, have not been personally located and have not filed a response to this action; that WILLIAM A. PHILLIPS, who is not a resident of the Commonwealth of Virginia, has not been located and has not filed a response to this action; and that any heirs, devisees, assignees, successors in interest, successors in title and/or any creditors with a current or future interest in said property, have not been identified and/or served despite diligent efforts to do so and are defendants to this suit by the general description of “Parties Unknown.”

IT IS ORDERED that IRENE J. LUNDY, ZELMA W O O D R U F F, W I L L I A M A. PHILLIPS, and Parties Unknown, come forward to appear on or before JANUARY 13, 2021 and do what is necessary to protect their interests in this matter.

An Extract, Teste: Edward F. Jewett, Clerk Gregory A. Lukanuski, Esq. City of Richmond, Office of the City Attorney 900 E. Broad Street Richmond, VA 23219 804-646-7949 VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND JOHN MARSHALL COURTS BUILDING CITY OF RICHMOND, Plaintiff, v.

CHRISTOPHER LEE WALTON, et al, Defendants.

Case No.: CL20-2092 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is to subject the property briefly described as 901 Belt Boulevard, Richmond, Virginia, Tax Map Number C006-0160/006, to sale in order to collect delinquent real estate taxes assessed thereon in the name of the owner of record, Christopher Lee Walton.

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

IT IS ORDERED that CHRISTOPHER LEE WA LTO N , a n d P a r t i e s Unknown, come forward to appear on or before JANUARY 13, 2021 and do what is necessary to protect their interests in this matter.

An Extract, Teste: Edward F. Jewett, Clerk Gregory A. Lukanuski, Esq. City of Richmond, Office of the City Attorney 900 E. Broad Street Richmond, VA 23219 804-646-7949 VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND JOHN MARSHALL COURTS BUILDING CITY OF RICHMOND, Plaintiff, v.

CHARLES PURCELL JEFFERSON, JR, et al, Defendants.

Case No.: CL20-3076 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is to subject the property briefly described as 915 East 15th Street, Richmond, Virginia, Tax Map Number S0000393/007, to sale in order to collect delinquent real estate taxes assessed thereon in the name of the owner of record, Charles Purcell Jefferson, Jr.

An Affidavit having been filed that said owner, CHARLES PURCELL JEFFERSON, JR, or his heirs, devisees, assignees or successors in interest, have not been located and have not filed a response to this action, and that any heirs, devisees, assignees, successors in interest, successors in title and/or any creditors with a current or future interest in said property, have not been identified and/or served despite diligent efforts to do so and are defendants to this suit by the general description of “Parties Unknown.”

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or successors in interest, and Parties Unknown, come forward to appear on or before JANUARY 13, 2021 and do what is necessary to protect their interests in this matter.

An Extract, Teste: Edward F. Jewett, Clerk Gregory A. Lukanuski, Esq. City of Richmond, Office of the City Attorney 900 E. Broad Street Richmond, VA 23219 804-646-7949 VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND JOHN MARSHALL COURTS BUILDING CITY OF RICHMOND, Plaintiff, v.

HARRY L. JOHNSON, et al, Defendants.

Case No.: CL20-4115 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is to subject the property briefly described as 1311 Garber Street, Richmond, Virginia, Tax Map Number E0100075/024, to sale in order to collect delinquent real estate taxes assessed thereon in the name of the owner of record, Harry L. Johnson.

An Affidavit having been filed that said owner, HARRY L. JOHNSON, upon information and belief deceased, or his heirs, devisees, assignees or successors in interest, have not been located and have not filed a response to this action, and that any heirs, devisees, assignees, successors in interest, successors in title and/or any creditors with a current or future interest in said property, have not been identified and/or served despite diligent efforts to do so and are defendants to this suit by the general description of “Parties Unknown.”

IT IS ORDERED that HARRY L. JOHNSON, upon information and belief deceased, or his heirs, devisees, assignees or successors in interest, and Parties Unknown, come forward to appear on or before JANUARY 13, 2021 and do what is necessary to protect their interests in this matter.

An Extract, Teste: Edward F. Jewett, Clerk Gregory A. Lukanuski, Esq. City of Richmond, Office of the City Attorney 900 E. Broad Street Richmond, VA 23219 804-646-7949 VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND JOHN MARSHALL COURTS BUILDING CITY OF RICHMOND, Plaintiff, v.

THOMAS JASPER JOHNSON, et al, Defendants.

Case No.: CL20-1934 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is to subject the property briefly described as 1601 Lamb Avenue, Richmond, Virginia, Tax Map Number N000-0290/014, to sale in order to collect delinquent real estate taxes assessed thereon in the name of the owner of record, Thomas Jasper Johnson.

An Affidavit having been filed that said owner, THOMAS JASPER JOHNSON, who is not a resident of the Commonwealth of Virginia, has not filed a response to this action, and that any heirs, devisees, assignees, successors in interest, successors in title and/or any creditors with a current or future interest in said property, have not been identified and/ or served despite diligent efforts to do so and are defendants to this suit by the general description of “Parties Unknown.”

IT IS ORDERED that THOMAS JASPER JOHNSON, and Parties Unknown, come forward to appear on or before JANUARY 13, 2021 and do what is necessary to protect their interests in this matter.

An Extract, Teste: Edward F. Jewett, Clerk Gregory A. Lukanuski, Esq. City of Richmond, Office of the City Attorney 900 E. Broad Street Richmond, VA 23219 804-646-7949 VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND JOHN MARSHALL COURTS BUILDING CITY OF RICHMOND, Plaintiff, v.

BG PROPERTY SOLUTIONS, LLC, et al, Defendants.

Case No.: CL20-4116 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is to subject the property briefly described as 2821 Burfoot Street, Richmond, Virginia, Tax Map Number S000-1123/028, to sale in order to collect delinquent real estate taxes assessed thereon in the name of the owner of record, BG Property Solutions, LLC.

An Affidavit having been filed that said owner, BG PROPERTY SOLUTIONS, LLC, an entity listed as inactive in the records of the Virginia State Corporation Commission, has not been located and has not filed a response to this action, and that any heirs, devisees, assignees, successors in interest, successors in title and/or any creditors with a current or future interest in said property, have not been identified and/or served despite diligent efforts to do so and are defendants to this Continued on next column

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B6 November 19-21, 2020

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suit by the general description of “Parties Unknown.�

IT IS ORDERED that BG PROPERTY SOLUTIONS, LLC, an entity listed as inactive in the records of the Virginia State Corporation Commission, and Parties Unknown, come forward to appear on or before JANUARY 13, 2021 and do what is necessary to protect their interests in this matter.

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

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

IT IS ORDERED that DOROTHY M. PENICK nka DOROTHY P. VAUGHAN, and Parties Unknown, come forward to appear on or before JANUARY 13, 2021 and do what is necessary to protect their interests in this matter.

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

WILBERT H. PATRON, JR, et al, Defendants.

Case No.: CL20-2946 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is to subject the property briefly described as 2310 Yorktown Avenue, Richmond, Virginia, Tax Map Number S0080453/006, to sale in order to collect delinquent real estate taxes assessed thereon in the name of the owner of record, Wilbert H. Patron, Jr.

An Affidavit having been filed that said owner, WILBERT H. PATRON, JR, who has been served by posting and by mailing a copy of the complaint to his last known address, has not been personally located and has not filed a response to this action; that BRENDA MAE PATRON, who may be a creditor with an interest in said property, who has been served by posting and by mailing a copy of the complaint to her last known address, has not been personally located and has not filed a response to this action; and that any heirs, devisees, assignees, successors in interest, successors in title and/or any creditors with a current or future interest in said property, have not been identified and/or served despite diligent efforts to do so and are defendants to this suit by the general description of “Parties Unknown.�

IT IS ORDERED that WILBERT H. PATRON, JR, BRENDA MAE PATRON, and Parties Unknown, come forward to appear on or before JANUARY 13, 2021 and do what is necessary to protect their interests in this matter.

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

heirs, devisees, assignees, successors in interest, successors in title and/or any creditors with a current or future interest in said property, have not been identified and/ or served despite diligent efforts to do so and are defendants to this suit by the general description of “Parties Unknown.�

IT IS ORDERED that CAROLYN S. HAYES, and Parties Unknown, come forward to appear on or before JANUARY 13, 2021 and do what is necessary to protect their interests in this matter.

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

JONES, who has been served by posting and by mailing a copy of the complaint to her last known address, has not been personally located and has not filed a response to this action; that NUMAX MORTGAGE CORPORATION, an entity whose status is listed as “forfeited� in the records of the Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation, Beneficiary of a Deed of Trust filed in the records of the Richmond Circuit Court at Instrument Number 9920091 on July 19, 1999, has not been located and has not filed a response to this action; that ARTHUR LEWIS, JR, TRUSTEE, for beneficiary Cardinal Enterprises, Inc, an entity not listed in the records of the Virginia State Corporation Commission, on a Deed of Trust filed in the records of the Richmond Circuit Court at Instrument Number 04-21253 on June 28, 2004, or his heirs, devisees, assignees or successor/s in title, have not been and have not filed a response to this action; and that any heirs, devisees, assignees, successors in interest, successors in title and/or any creditors with a current or future interest in said property, have not been identified and/or served despite diligent efforts to do so and are defendants to this suit by the general description of “Parties Unknown.�

IT IS ORDERED that SHARON JONES, NUMAX MORTGAGE CORPORATION, an entity whose status is listed as “forfeited� in the records of the Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation, Beneficiary of a Deed of Trust filed in the records of the Richmond Circuit Court at Instrument Number 99-20091 on July 19, 1999, ARTHUR LEWIS, JR, TRUSTEE, for beneficiary Cardinal Enterprises, Inc, an entity not listed in the records of the Virginia State Corporation Commission, on a Deed of Trust filed in the records of the Richmond Circuit Court at Instrument Number 04-21253 on June 28, 2004, or his heirs, devisees, assignees or successor/s in title, and Parties Unknown, come forward to appear on or before JANUARY 13, 2021 and do what is necessary to protect their interests in this matter.

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

known address, has not been personally located and has not filed a response to this action; and that any heirs, devisees, assignees, successors in interest, successors in title and/or any creditors with a current or future interest in said property, have not been identified and/or served despite diligent efforts to do so and are defendants to this suit by the general description of “Parties Unknown.�

IT IS ORDERED that ELMER REID VAN CLEAVE, upon information and belief deceased, or his heirs, devisees, assignees or successors in interest, RUTH E. VAN CLEAVE, and Parties Unknown, come forward to appear on or before JANUARY 13, 2021 and do what is necessary to protect their interests in this matter.

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

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

BRENDA M. DUNLAP, et al, Defendants.

Case No.: CL20-2083 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is to subject the property briefly described as 3311 Barton Avenue, Tax Map Number N000-1357/017 Richmond, Virginia, to sale in order to collect delinquent real estate taxes assessed thereon in the name of the owners of record, Brenda M. Dunlap, Martha Phipps, Betty G. Brown, Elijah Freemen, Phyllis Harris, Kiana Murphy, April Russell, Christopher Freeman, James Freeman, Gregory Freeman, Elijah J. Murphy, III, Corey Murphy and Helena Murphy Hudson.

An Affidavit having been filed that said owners, B R E N D A M . D U N L A P, MARTHA PHIPPS, BETTY G. BROWN, ELIJAH FREEMEN, PHYLLIS HARRIS, KIANA MURPHY, APRIL RUSSELL, CHRISTOPHER FREEMAN, JAMES FREEMAN, G R E G O RY F R E E M A N , ELIJAH J. MURPHY, III, COREY MURPHY, and HELENA MURPHY HUDSON, are to be proceed against

by Order of Publication pursuant to Section 8.01316(A)(3) of the Code of Virginia; that DISCOVER FINANCIAL SERVICES, INC, an entity listed as inactive in the records of the Virginia State Corporation Commission, STANDARD DISTRIBUTORS, INC, an entity listed as inactive in the records of the Virginia State Corporation C o m m i s s i o n , G R E AT SENECA FINANCIAL, CORP, an entity not listed in the records of the Virginia State Corporation Commission, and MIDLAND FUNDING NCC2, CORP, an entity not listed in the records of the Virginia State Corporation Commission, which may be creditors with an interest in said property, have not been located and have not filed a response to this action; and that any heirs, devisees, assignees, successors in interest, successors in title and/or any creditors with a current or future interest in said property, have not been identified and/or served despite diligent efforts to do so and are defendants to this suit by the general description of “Parties Unknown.�

IT IS ORDERED that B R E N D A M . D U N L A P, MARTHA PHIPPS, BETTY G. BROWN, ELIJAH FREEMEN, PHYLLIS HARRIS, KIANA MURPHY, APRIL RUSSELL, CHRISTOPHER FREEMAN, JAMES FREEMAN, G R E G O RY F R E E M A N , ELIJAH J. MURPHY, III, COREY MURPHY, HELENA MURPHY HUDSON, DISCOVER FINANCIAL SERVICES, INC, an entity listed as inactive in the records of the Virginia State Corporation Commission, STANDARD DISTRIBUTORS, INC, an entity listed as inactive in the records of the Virginia State Corporation C o m m i s s i o n , G R E AT SENECA FINANCIAL, CORP, an entity not listed in the records of the Virginia State Corporation Commission, MIDLAND FUNDING NCC2, CORP, an entity not listed in the records of the Virginia State Corporation Commission, and Parties Unknown, come forward to appear on or before JANUARY 13, 2021 and do what is necessary to protect their interests in this matter.

An Extract, Teste: Edward F. Jewett, Clerk Gregory A. Lukanuski, Esq. City of Richmond, Office of the City Attorney 900 E. Broad Street Richmond, VA 23219 804-646-7949 VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND JOHN MARSHALL COURTS BUILDING CITY OF RICHMOND, Plaintiff, v.

DOROTHY M. PENICK, et al, Defendants.

Case No.: CL20-2176 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is to subject the property briefly described as 705 Rothesay Road, Richmond, Virginia, Tax Map Number W0001584/018 to sale in order to collect delinquent real estate taxes assessed thereon in the name of the owner of record, Dorothy M. Penick.

An Affidavit having been filed that said owner, DOROTHY M. PENICK nka DOROTHY P. VAUGHAN, who has been served by Continued on next column

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

NAOMI A. HALL, et al, Defendants.

Case No.: CL20-2278 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is to subject the property briefly described as 1910 Rose Avenue, Richmond, Virginia, Tax Map Number N0000370/003, to sale in order to collect delinquent real estate taxes assessed thereon in the name of the owners of record, Naomi A. Hall, Tacitus A. Hall and Forrest A. Hall.

An Affidavit having been filed that said owner, NAOMI A. HALL, upon information and belief deceased, or her/his heirs, devisees, assignees or successors in interest, have not been located and have not filed a response to this action; that TACITUS A. HALL, who may have an ownership interest in said property, has not been located and has not filed a response to this action; that FORREST A. HALL, who may have an ownership interest in said property, has not filed a response to this action; and that any heirs, devisees, assignees, successors in interest, successors in title and/or any creditors with a current or future interest in said property, have not been identified and/or served despite diligent efforts to do so and are defendants to this suit by the general description of “Parties Unknown.�

IT IS ORDERED that NAOMI A. HALL, upon information and belief deceased, or her/his heirs, devisees, assignees or successors in interest, TA C I T U S A . H A L L , FORREST A. HALL, and Parties Unknown, come forward to appear on or before JANUARY 13, 2021 and do what is necessary to protect their interests in this matter.

An Extract, Teste: Edward F. Jewett, Clerk Gregory A. Lukanuski, Esq. City of Richmond, Office of the City Attorney 900 E. Broad Street Richmond, VA 23219 804-646-7949 VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND JOHN MARSHALL COURTS BUILDING CITY OF RICHMOND, Plaintiff, v.

GEORGE S. A. FRIDAY, et al, Defendants.

Case No.: CL20-2106 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is to subject the property briefly described as 2101 Ingram Avenue, Richmond, Virginia, Tax Map Number S0000763/011 to sale in order to collect delinquent real estate taxes assessed thereon in the name of the owners of record, George S. A. Friday and Latarsha Y. Williams.

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

IT IS ORDERED that GEORGE S. A. FRIDAY, LATARSHA Y. WILLIAMS, and Parties Unknown, come forward to appear on or before JANUARY 13, 2021 and do what is necessary to protect their interests in this matter.

An Extract, Teste: Edward F. Jewett, Clerk Gregory A. Lukanuski, Esq. City of Richmond, Office of the City Attorney 900 E. Broad Street Richmond, VA 23219 804-646-7949 VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND JOHN MARSHALL COURTS BUILDING CITY OF RICHMOND, Plaintiff, v.

Continued on next column

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

ERNEST PARKER, et al, Defendants.

Case No.: CL20-2282 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is to subject the property briefly described as 2602 Seminary Avenue, Richmond, Virginia, Tax Map Number N0000753/009, to sale in order to collect delinquent real estate taxes assessed thereon in the name of the owner of record, Ernest Parker and Mary K. Parker.

An Affidavit having been filed that said owners, ERNEST PARKER, upon information and belief deceased, or his heirs, devisees, assignees or successors in interest, and MARY K. PARKER, upon information and belief deceased or her heirs, devisees, assignees or successors in interest, have not been located and have not filed a response to this action; that DARRYL A. PARKER, upon information and belief deceased, or his heirs, devisees, assignees or successors in interest, who may have an ownership interest in said property, have not been located and have not filed a response to this action; and that any heirs, devisees, assignees, successors in interest, successors in title and/or any creditors with a current or future interest in said property, have not been identified and/or served despite diligent efforts to do so and are defendants to this suit by the general description of “Parties Unknown.�

IT IS ORDERED that ERNEST PARKER, upon information and belief deceased, or his heirs, devisees, assignees or successors in interest, MARY K. PARKER, upon information and belief deceased or her heirs, devisees, assignees or successors in interest, DARRYL A. PARKER, upon information and belief deceased, or his heirs, devisees, assignees or successors in interest, and Parties Unknown, come forward to appear on or before JANUARY 13, 2021 and do what is necessary to protect their interests in this matter.

An Extract, Teste: Edward F. Jewett, Clerk Gregory A. Lukanuski, Esq. City of Richmond, Office of the City Attorney 900 E. Broad Street Richmond, VA 23219 804-646-7949 VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND JOHN MARSHALL COURTS BUILDING CITY OF RICHMOND, Plaintiff, v.

CAROLYN S. HAYES, et al, Defendants.

Case No.: CL20-2098 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is to subject the property briefly described as 2706 Fendall Avenue, Richmond, Virginia, Tax Map Number N000-0697/007, to sale in order to collect delinquent real estate taxes assessed thereon in the name of the owner of record, Carolyn S. Hayes.

An Affidavit having been filed that said owner, CAROLYN S. HAYES, who is not a resident of the Commonwealth of Virginia, has not filed a response to this action, and that any Continued on next column

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

BERNARD D. OGBURN, et al, Defendants.

Case No.: CL20-2968 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is to subject the property briefly described as 2721 Woodrow Avenue, Richmond, Virginia, Tax Map Number N0000707/024, to sale in order to collect delinquent real estate taxes assessed thereon in the name of the owner of record, Bernard D. Ogburn.

An Affidavit having been filed that said owner, BERNARD D. OGBURN, upon information and belief deceased, or her/his heirs, devisees, assignees or successors in interest, have not been located and have not filed a response to this action; that JULIUS OGBURN, who may have an ownership interest in said property, who has been served by posting and by mailing a copy of the complaint to his last known address, has not been personally located and has not filed a response to this action; and that any heirs, devisees, assignees, successors in interest, successors in title and/or any creditors with a current or future interest in said property, have not been identified and/or served despite diligent efforts to do so and are defendants to this suit by the general description of “Parties Unknown.�

IT IS ORDERED that BERNARD D. OGBURN, upon information and belief deceased, or her/his heirs, devisees, assignees or successors in interest, JULIUS OGBURN, and Parties Unknown, come forward to appear on or before JANUARY 13, 2021 and do what is necessary to protect their interests in this matter.

An Extract, Teste: Edward F. Jewett, Clerk Gregory A. Lukanuski, Esq. City of Richmond, Office of the City Attorney 900 E. Broad Street Richmond, VA 23219 804-646-7949 VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND JOHN MARSHALL COURTS BUILDING CITY OF RICHMOND, Plaintiff, v.

SHARON JONES, et al, Defendants.

Case No.: CL20-2373 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is to subject the property briefly described as 3405 Mike Road, Richmond, Virginia, Tax Map Number S008-0820/025, to sale in order to collect delinquent real estate taxes assessed thereon in the name of the owner of record, Sharon Jones.

An Affidavit having been filed that said owner, SHARON Continued on next column

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

ELMER REID VAN CLEAVE, et al, Defendants.

Case No.: CL20-3336 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is to subject the property briefly described as 3613 Greenbay Road, Richmond, Virginia, Tax Map Number C009-0637/026, to sale in order to collect delinquent real estate taxes assessed thereon in the name of the owners of record, Elmer Reid Van Cleave and Ruth E. Van Cleave.

An Affidavit having been filed that said owner, ELMER REID VAN CLEAVE, upon information and belief deceased, or his heirs, devisees, assignees or successors in interest, have not been located and have not filed a response to this action; that said owner, RUTH E. VAN CLEAVE, who has been served by posting and by mailing a copy of the complaint to her last Continued on next column

ABC License PRS VENTURES VA INC Trading as: Market Place 102 1 S Crater Rd Petersburg, Virginia 23803 The above establishment is applying to the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage C ontrol (ABC) AUTHORITY for a Wine & Beer Off Premises license to sell or manufacture alcoholic beverages.

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

BID COUNTY OF HENRICO, VIRGINIA CONSTRUCTION BID Â ITB #20-2060-10EAR Rocky Branch Truck Sewer & Abelia Road Sewer Replacement Due:Â December 9, 2020 at 2:00 p.m.

For additional information visit: https://henrico.us/ finance/divisions/purchasing/ solicitations/ Ishmaelism By Proclamation

Whereas on May 11th, 2017, MR. C FOWLER EL was appointed as Executor by law of William III and estates in the City of Richmond, in the State of Virginia by Craig Fowler II (Executor-Trustee) and Michael Ruffin Jr. (3rd Party Beneficiary).

WHEREAS, The Moorish Americans are the descendants of the ancient Moabites, Hamites, and Canaanites who were permitted by the Old Pharaohs of Egypt to traverse from East Africa and later formed themselves kingdoms extending from the northwestern and southwestern shores of Africa, the Atlantic Islands, and onto the present-day continental Americas; and WHEREAS, The indigenous Moorish Peoples of the Americas are now united in order to again link themselves with the family of nations; and WHEREAS, The Moorish Americans, being aboriginal to the territories of the North, Central, and South Americas, have formed a sovereign theocratic government guided by the command principles of love, truth, peace, freedom, and justice through virtue of the universal right to selfdetermination as well as with the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples guaranteed in the Charter.

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Richmond Free Press call 644-0496

NOTICE FOR PUBLIC COMMENT The Central Virginia Transportation Authority announces opportunity for public comment regarding its Fiscal Year 2021 Administrative and Operating budget which is posted online at www.CVTAva.org.  Members of the public may submit comment regarding the proposed budget to CVTA@PlanRVA.org through Monday November 23, 2020; these comments will be included in materials distributed to members in advance of the meeting. The Authority will hold a public hearing on Friday December 4, 2020 during its regular meeting at 8:30 am at the VDOT Richmond District Office www.virginiadot. o r g / a b o u t / r i c h m o n d _ q u i c k . a s p Comments may be submitted for the Public Hearing as follows: Individuals wishing to provide comments live during the meeting must do so in person (more information can be obtained on attending in-person meetings by sending an email to CVTA@PlanRVA.org); a virtual option will not be available. Anyone wishing to submit comments for the public hearing but cannot attend in person may do so in accordance with the Public Participation Guidelines posted at www.CVTAva.org/.

The City of Richmond announces the following project(s) available for services relating to: RFP No. 210004936 Natural Gas Leakage Survey

Pre-Proposal Conference Call Meeting: Wednesday, December 2, 2020 at 10:00 A.M. For all information pertaining to this RFP conference call, please logon to the Richmond website (www.RichmondGov.com).

Due Date: Thursday, December 17, 2020/ Time: 3:00 P.M.

NOTE: Offerors choosing to submit proposals through hand-delivery should allow extra time for delivery of proposals. Due to COVID-19, hand-delivered proposals will be accepted only during the hours of 9:00 A.M to 5:00 P.M. Monday through Friday at the 9th Street entrance to City Hall at 900 East Broad Street, Richmond, Virginia 23221. Offerors choosing to hand-deliver proposals must call Lesley R. Brown at 804-718-1319 when arriving at City Hall, and Lesley R. Brown will meet the offeror at the 9th Street entrance of City Hall to collect the submittal. Proposals will not be accepted after the Due Date and Time listed above.

Information or copies of the above solicitations are available by contacting Procurement Services, at the City of Richmond website (www.RichmondGov.com), or faxed (804) 6465989. The City of Richmond encourages all contractors to participate in the procurement process.

Employment First Union Baptist Church, Derwent Road CHURCH SECRETARY (PT) Requirements: Spiritually Mature, Cordial, Attentive, EfďŹ cient in Microsoft Applications Email Resumes to fubc.secretary@gmail.com No calls or in person applications received.

Deadline 11/21/2020

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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.

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OUTREACH SPECIALIST Íž&ƾůůͲĆ&#x;ĹľÄ&#x17E;Íż Richmond, Virginia

The Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP) is seeking an Outreach Specialist for the ĆľĆ?Ĺ?ĹśÄ&#x17E;Ć?Ć? /ĹśÇ&#x20AC;Ä&#x17E;Ć?Ć&#x161;ĹľÄ&#x17E;ĹśĆ&#x161;Í&#x203A;Ć? Ä&#x201A;ĹŻĹŻ Ä&#x17E;ĹśĆ&#x161;Ä&#x17E;Ć&#x152;Í&#x2DC; dĹ&#x161;Ĺ?Ć? Ć&#x2030;Ĺ˝Ć?Ĺ?Ć&#x;ŽŜ provides support for VEDPâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s strategic lead Ĺ?Ä&#x17E;ĹśÄ&#x17E;Ć&#x152;Ä&#x201A;Ć&#x;ŽŜ Ĺ?ĹśĹ?Ć&#x;Ä&#x201A;Ć&#x;Ç&#x20AC;Ä&#x17E;Ć? Ä&#x161;ĆľĆ&#x152;Ĺ?ĹśĹ? ŽŜͲĹ?Ĺ˝Ĺ?ĹśĹ? Ä?Ä&#x201A;ĹŻĹŻĹ?ĹśĹ? campaigns, providing accurate data updates and ĹľÄ&#x201A;ĹśÄ&#x201A;Ĺ?Ĺ?ĹśĹ? Ä?ŽŜĆ&#x161;Ä&#x201A;Ä?Ć&#x161; Ä¨Ĺ˝ĹŻĹŻĹ˝Ç Í˛ĆľĆ&#x2030; Ć?Ä?Ĺ&#x161;Ä&#x17E;Ä&#x161;ƾůÄ&#x17E;Ć?Í&#x2DC; All candidates must submit a resume through ŽƾĆ&#x152; Ç Ä&#x17E;Ä?Ć?Ĺ?Ć&#x161;Ä&#x17E; Ĺ&#x161;ĆŠĆ&#x2030;Ć?Í&#x2014;ÍŹÍŹÇ Ç Ç Í&#x2DC;Ç&#x20AC;Ä&#x17E;Ä&#x161;Ć&#x2030;Í&#x2DC;Ĺ˝Ć&#x152;Ĺ?ÍŹÄ&#x201A;Ä?ŽƾĆ&#x161;ͲÇ&#x20AC;Ä&#x17E;Ä&#x161;Ć&#x2030;Í&#x2DC; Ć&#x2030;Ć&#x2030;ĹŻĹ?Ä?Ä&#x201A;Ć&#x;ŽŜ Ä&#x161;Ä&#x17E;Ä&#x201A;Ä&#x161;ĹŻĹ?ĹśÄ&#x17E;Í&#x2014; KĆ&#x2030;Ä&#x17E;Ĺś hĹśĆ&#x;ĹŻ &Ĺ?ĹŻĹŻÄ&#x17E;Ä&#x161;Í&#x2DC; Freelance Writers: Richmond Free Press has immediate opportunities for freelance writers. Newspaper experience is a requirement. To be considered, please send 5 samples of your writing, along with a cover letter to news@richmond freepress.com or mail to: Richmond Free Press, P. O. Box 27709, Richmond, VA 23261.

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