May 21 23, 2015 issue

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The thrill is gone

Richmonder donates $500,000 to HBCU

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Richmond Free Press © 2015 Paradigm Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.

VOL. 24 NO. 21

RICHMOND, VIRGINIA

www.richmondfreepress.com

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MAY 21-23, 2015

Attention deficit?

Busy school superintendent wants to teach college course By Joey Matthews

Can Superintendent Dana T. Bedden fully focus on his full-time job — to transform Richmond Public Schools — if he’s teaching part time at Virginia State University? Two members of the Richmond School Board

voiced that concern at Monday night’s meeting of the board at Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School in the East End. Tichi Pinkney Eppes, 9th District, and Mamie L. Taylor, 5th District, questioned whether the rigors of teaching even a single college class would deflect Dr. Bedden’s attention from the

critical needs and issues facing don’t know how much the Richmond’s city schools and its position would pay. 24,000 students. Dr. Bedden was named Over their objections, the Richmond’s superintendent in board voted 6-2 to allow Dr. January 2014, with a starting Bedden to take a job in the salary of $225,000 annually. fall as an adjunct professor He is one of the highest paid at VSU. public officials in the city. Dr. James Harris, chair of Under the terms of the agreethe Department of Educational ment, Dr. Bedden would be Leadership at VSU, formally limited to teaching one course invited Dr. Bedden in a May 4 per semester and the course letter to teach a course in School would have to be “after busiLaw that would meet once a ness hours.” week beginning in the fall. The agreement also states “He’s an expert in school Dr. Bedden may teach at VSU law. We’re going after the best “so long as such activities do people we can get,” Dr. Harris not interfere with, infringe upon Dr. Bedden told the Free Press at Monday’s or otherwise compromise his meeting. ability to perform his (RPS) duties.” “But he would still have to apply for the Ms. Pinkney Eppes expressed “trepidation” position,” he added. Both Dr. Harris and Dr. Bedden said they Please turn to A4

Closing the digital divide

$1M upgrade adds computers to Main Library in Downtown By Jeremy M. Lazarus

Every day, dozens of people flood into the Main Library in Downtown to use public computers. They come to check emails, seek employment, do research and handle other activities in the online world, including paying bills and applying for visas. Thanks to a $1 million upgrade, the Main Library offers more high-tech resources than ever before to help close the digital divide in the city. As a result of the work, the second floor has largely been given over to computers, said Adam Zimmerli, digital literacy librarian who oversees the operations. That work also has enabled the library to increase the number of available computers for public use from 48 to 95, with additional computers available in special sections for children and teens. “This is a great resource for the community,” Mr. Zimmerli said, adding he and the rest of the

staff hope to see increasing numbers of people “using these computers and the other services we offer.” He said the most popular are the 50 desktop computers that fill a big part of the second floor. People can use the computers for an hour at a time — and can stay on longer if all the seats aren’t taken. There also are tables for people with laptops and tablets who just need a wireless connection and 18 public charging stations to power up devices. Forty other computers are available in three classrooms and special labs on the second floor, including the city’s law library, Mr. Zimmerli said, with six other computers set aside specifically for job seekers. The library also teams up with groups such as the AARP Foundation, which uses classroom space to provide computer literacy classes for seniors. Partners also include Career Prospectors, Coderdojo, Communities in Schools, the city’s Please turn to A4

Fun in the sun

Evan Agostini/Invision/Associated Press

Millionaire entertainers Jay Z and Beyoncé enjoy glitz and glamour on the red carpet at The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala May 4, while in other matters, they prefer to stay out of the limelight.

Jay Z, Beyoncé bailed out Baltimore protesters Free Press staff, wire reports

Power couple Jay Z and Beyoncé have privately donated tens of thousands of dollars to help bail out of jail demonstrators arrested while protesting police brutality in Baltimore and Ferguson, Mo., according to the hip-hop mogul’s ghost writer. Activist Dream Hampton, who worked

with Jay Z on his 2010 autobiography “Decoded,” also said the couple wrote a “huge check” to the “Black Lives Matter” movement. The organizer and filmmaker made those revelations in a series of messages on Twitter last Sunday that subsequently

Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press

Children play Wednesday in water spraying at SplashMor, an interactive exhibit at the Children’s Museum of Richmond on West Broad Street. The young visitors from the Piedmont Family YMCA in Charlottesville had an early start on the Memorial Day holiday, which is considered the unofficial start of summer. The holiday, to be celebrated Monday, May 25, honors America’s war dead. With sunny skies forecast, the holiday also will feature cookouts, swim parties and other fun outdoor activities.

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CARE van drivers frustrated by poor City Council approves 2016 budget, cuts funds for 379 vacant positions scheduling, changing contracts left when authorized positions are not filled By Jeremy M. Lazarus

Frustrated riders who rely on GRTC’s CARE van service often blame the drivers for the spotty service that can make them miss or arrive late for doctors’ appointments, therapy, dialysis or other crucial appointments. But it turns out that the drivers of the CARE vans are just as frustrated. They note that the schedules and routes they are assigned by GRTC often make it impossible for them to provide timely doorto-door service to the elderly

and disabled passengers who have scheduled rides. “I love this job. I love the people,” said Minuet WestBurkett who has been picking up and delivering people as a CARE van driver for 30 years. But Ms. West-Burkett said she frequently is assigned multiple pickups around the same time, even though each pickup might be 10 to 15 minutes apart, based on traffic. “There is no way I can make it,” she said. In her time behind the wheel, she said GRTC has hired at

least eight private companies to operate the service. The one constant, she said: Scheduling problems that leave drivers unable to provide timely, reliable service. She’s not alone. Two other veteran drivers, John Rush and Grace Carter, who joined Ms. West-Burkett in a joint interview, agreed scheduling is the biggest problem. Greater Richmond Transit Corp.’s own data indicates that one of every five trips does not meet the scheduled pickup Please turn to A4

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

Call it the big shrink at City Hall. Mayor Dwight C. Jones and Richmond City Council have combined to eliminate funding for at least 379 vacant jobs, essentially positions funded by taxes paid into city coffers. The wipeout of the money for the vacant jobs — amounting to nearly 10 percent of the city’s 3,853 authorized general fund positions — has provided $19.4 million to pay for other priorities. That’s based on an average cost per full-time position of $51,187 in wages and benefits, such as health insurance and retirement. The use of vacancy savings — money

— is included in the amended city budget package for fiscal year 2016 that the council approved last Friday and that will go into effect July 1. In all, the council approved $1.5 billion in spending for city operations, utilities and other aspects of the government, ranging from grants or special funds to city cemeteries and capital spending on streets, public buildings, parks and other public property. The general fund portion of the budget — the part that largely relies on local tax revenue and covers city operations, the city’s contribution to public schools, public safety, Please turn to A4


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