‘Texas Tornado’ goes and goes
A4
Richmond Free Press
VOL. 23 NO. 46
© 2014 Paradigm Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.
RICHMOND, VIRGINIA
President Obama has set yet another precedent with his choice to succeed U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder. Loretta Lynch, a 55-yearold Greensboro, N.C., native and Harvard educated lawyer, would be the nation’s first African-American female attorney general if confirmed by the U.S. Senate. As the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York since 2010, Ms. Lynch has worked on numerous high-profile cases involving Ms. Lynch police brutality, bank fraud and money laundering. Sources close to the Obama administration said they expected Ms. Lynch would generate little controversy, making for a smooth Senate confirmation process. The Senate twice previously has confirmed her nomination to federal prosecutor jobs, most recently in 2010. But senior Senate Democrats and White House aides said Ms. Lynch’s confirmation likely would be delayed until the new session of Congress starts in January. Her nomination then will rest in the hands of Republicans, who will control the upper chamber as a result of the Nov. 4 elections. Known for her low-key personality, Ms. Lynch has stirred little controversy during two tenures as U.S. attorney. She served in the position under President Bill Clinton from 1999 to 2001, before leaving for private practice. President Obama appointed her to the post once again in 2010. A Republican-majority Senate confirmed her 1999 appointment, while a Democraticmajority Senate confirmed her in 2010. Mr. Holder is the only attorney general to serve under President Obama, holding the job since 2009. He is the first African-American to hold the Please turn to A4
NOVEMBER 13-15, 2014
New boss at VSU
Lynch confirmation delayed until 2015? Free Press staff, wire reports
www.richmondfreepress.com
Dr. Hammond
Hampton provost to take reins By Jeremy M. Lazarus
Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press
Coach Michele Drayton enjoys being back with her players and assistant coach Wade Ellegood in the Albert H. Hill Middle School gymnasium Tuesday.
Heartwarming return for Albert Hill coach By Joey Matthews
Coach Michele Drayton walked into the Albert H. Hill Middle School gym for the first time since suffering a stroke last month. The players on her girls’ basketball team excitedly ran over, showering her with hugs. Surrounding her, they applauded and yelled, “Let’s win this one for Coach Drayton!” Putting their hands together in a team huddle, they yelled, “Do it for Coach Drayton! One! Two! Three!” It was a heartwarming homecoming for the longtime Albert Hill hoops coach, who returned to the team Nov. 4. She suffered a stroke Oct. 2 at her North Side home.
“I felt loved and appreciated,” Coach Drayton told the Free Press Wednesday. “It was a special feeling for me to be back and get such a welcome. “It was like coming home,” she added. Parents of the players, along with her Albert Hill colleagues, walked over and welcomed her back with more hugs and well wishes. Although still weak from the stroke, Coach Drayton sat on the gymnasium bench and watched as her assistant, Wade Ellegood, coached Albert Hill to a win over Elkhardt in the Richmond Public Schools middle school playoff opener. “I felt like taking over, but he did a good job,” a happy Coach Drayton said afterward of her anxiety of having to watch,
instead of coach. Albert Hill lost its next game to the team from Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School last Thursday in the playoff semifinals. But the Albert Hill players and Coach Drayton have much to be proud of. The team completed an 11-1 season, which included a 10-0 regular season. Under Coach Drayton, Albert Hill has recorded four consecutive unbeaten regular seasons and won the middle school league championship in 2011, finishing 13-0. Coach Drayton, 46, said she knew something was seriously amiss just prior to suffering the stroke. She had been experiencing a series of headaches and felt
By Jeremy M. Lazarus
Young foodie Adilrah Johnson, 8, enjoys fresh-cut fries held by her mother, Shoshana. Mother and daughter tasted their way through Sunday’s GRAZE on Grace, a foodie’s delight. The first-time event featured nearly 30 restaurants and specialty food providers celebrating local and seasonal cuisine — from oysters on the half shell to banana tacos. Location: East Grace Street, between North 4th and North 7th streets.
Montague D. Phipps had big dreams three years ago when he bought a derelict duplex from the City of Petersburg for the rock-bottom price of $5,000. But when his dreams fell apart, he still came out ahead. He recently sold the still-ramshackle building for $50,000 — a far different outcome than he and the Petersburg government envisioned when Mr. Phipps was approved to buy the property in 2011. His case is attracting attention in part because he was able to flip the property for a profit and because of his ties to Petersburg City Councilman W. Howard Myers, who defeated a challenger Nov. 4 to win a second term as the Ward 5 representative.
James Haskins/Richmond Free Press
This is a view of the decaying property Montoya D. Phipps bought from the City of Petersburg for $5,000 and recently sold for $50,000. Location: 530-32 Fleet St., just across the Appomattox River from Virginia State University.
Mr. Phipps, an adjunct design instructor at Virginia State University, also makes his home and operates his interior design
business out of an apartment he leases from Mr. Myers. The apartment is in a five-unit building that Mr. Myers owns and
Pamela V. Hammond is on track to become the first woman to lead Virginia State University in the school’s 132-year history, the Free Press has learned. School sources said Dr. Hammond, the current provost or chief academic officer at Hampton University, has emerged as the board of visitors’ choice to become interim president to replace Dr. Keith T. Miller, who submitted his resignation Oct. 31. The sources said Dr. Hammond is scheduled to meet with the board this Thursday, Nov. 13 — the date the board set for choosing an interim leader for the university in Ettrick. If all goes well, the board is expected to vote approval and introduce her as the choice for interim chief executive during the session, the sources said. The sources said Dr. Hammond is expected to serve while the board conducts a national search for the school’s 14th president. She would be regarded as a potential candidate, sources said, depending on her work as interim. Her start date could not be learned, but it could be soon after Jan. 1. Dr. Miller is to officially leave the post Dec. 31. A former nurse educator, Dr. Hammond will take over a public university grappling with major budget troubles as a result of an enrollment drop of more than 1,000 students. The problems led to cuts in student services and could force faculty and staff layoffs. She will arrive as VSU experiments with a new schedule Please turn to A4
Quarterback sacked by DUI charge By Fred Jeter
where he, too, resides. There is no evidence that Mr. Myers pushed the sale of the property in the 500 block of Fleet Street to Mr. Phipps. Petersburg council records also support Mr. Myers’ assertion that “I had no involvement” in the vote approving the sale. Mr. Myers is listed as abstaining from the otherwise unanimous vote of support for the recommendation from City Manager William Johnson III to sell the Fleet Street property to Mr. Phipps without any strings attached. But even if there was no connection to Mr. Myers, this sale exemplifies the shortcomings of the program whose goal is to rev up development and job creation in a city that
Virginia State University is heading into its biggest game of the season minus a key component — quarterback Tarian Ayres. Mr. Ayres, a 20-year-old sophomore from Dillwyn, has been suspended from playing in the CIAA championship game Saturday against Winston-Salem State University, school officials announced. The school-mandated suspension stems from Mr. Ayres’ arrest Sunday, Nov. 9, on charges of driving under the influence of alcohol, underage possession of alcohol and speeding. He was arrested 2:05 a.m. Sunday about 25 miles southeast of Ettrick in Waverly, where he was stopped on U.S. 460. Mr. Ayres was clocked driving 52 mph in a 35 mph zone, and was spotted crossing the highway’s double solid line near Main Street. Waverly Police Officer C.M. Washington said he determined Mr. Ayres was intoxicated after administering sobriety checks, including a breathalyzer test. There were two passengers in Mr. Ayres’ car at the time of the arrest. He is scheduled to appear Nov. 18 in Sussex County General District Court.
Please turn to A4
Please turn to A4
Please turn to A3
Petersburg man lost dream, but made $45,000 profit Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press
ee Fr
Fr ee
B8
Dr. McCreary mourned