By Jeremy M. Lazarus
Mayor Levar M. Stoney joined community partners Tuesday to announce the city is all for trying to prevent the killings that leave bodies in the street and families in mourning.
However, during his City Hall press conference, the mayor didn’t mention that just a few weeks ago his administration gained approval from
“The need has tripled,” Rhonda Sneed said. “More and more people are experiencing a crisis at this time, and so many with food insecurity. I am seeing more people seeking some form of nourishment from a trash receptacle.”
Ms. Sneed should know. As the co-founder and unpaid leader of Blessing Warriors RVA, she and volunteer members are out 12 to 14 hours a day, seven days a week, bringing food, clothing and other assistance to those sheltering in cars and vans, hotels, beneath bridges and in the woods.
It’s unknown how many people are facing the dire situation of being unsheltered in Richmond. Estimates range from 600 to 1,200 people, a fraction of the 230,000 people who live in the city and the more than 1 million people residing in the Metropolitan Richmond area.
Other local nonprofits provide more than 250 shelter beds along with food, counseling and other resources, but demand exceeds supply as rising rents and mortgage costs leave more people unable to afford a roof over their head. Churches and other organizations also serve meals but mostly require those in need to come to them while Ms. Sneed delivers.
Many who struggle have to share space with relatives or friends. The rest fend for themselves. That includes 28 families with 62 children who were then on the street, Fifth District City Councilwoman Stephanie A. Lynch reported earlier in May.
Ms. Sneed has advocated for a city funded a year-round shelter where people could receive food and additional resources. At this point, the city only supports additional shelter beds during the winter or during adverse weather conditions, such as a tropical storm.
An Air Force veteran and former postal worker, Ms. Sneed and members of her team such as Traci Byrd-Eagles know virtually every corner of the city where the homeless can be found to receive the food they have brought.
The Associated Press spent a year examining how racial health disparities have harmed generations of Black Americans. From birth to death, Black Americans fare worse in measures of health compared to their white counterparts. They have higher rates of infant and maternal mortality, higher incidence of asthma during childhood, more difficulty treating mental illness as teens, and higher rates of high blood pressure, Alzheimer’s disease and other illness as adults.
The Richmond Free Press will run these reports throughout June 2023.
Here are key takeaways from each story:
Black women have the highest maternal mortality rate in the United States — 69.9 per 100,000 live births for 2021, almost three times the rate for white women, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The 2021 rate was a significant increase from the prior year. Black babies also are more likely to die, and also far more likely to be born prematurely, setting the stage for health issues that could follow them through their lives. In 2020, there were 364,487 preterm births in the nation, about 1 in 10. Preterm birth rates were highest for Black infants,
With an overwhelming House vote, 314-117, the bill now heads to the Senate with passage expected by week’s end.
Speaker McCarthy insisted his party was working to “give America hope” as he launched into a late evening speech extolling the bill’s budget cuts, which he said were needed to curb Washington’s “runaway spending.”
Amid deep discontent from Republicans who said the spending restrictions did not go far enough, McCarthy said it is only a “first step.”
The package makes some inroads in curbing the nation’s debt as Republicans demanded, without rolling back Trump-era tax breaks as
were risking a debt default as soon as next week.
Multi-channel ad campaign highlights how “The Richmond Region Speaks for Itself”
Quick.
What comes to mind when you think about Richmond and surrounding areas?
If you reply Kings Dominion, NASCAR, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, the James River, soulful restaurants, bars, coffee and vibrant message-driven graffiti, then you’re correct. Add some sounds to all of those Richmond-area haunts and you’re really on to something because that’s what Richmond Region Tourism’s new multi-channel $2 million marketing campaign has created to inspire travel to the region.
Tagged “Speaks for Itself” the campaign targets potential travelers in East Coast and Southern U.S. markets through “an unconventional, sound-focused video approach centered around the genuine and authentic character of the region,” according to Richmond Region Tourism officials.
Cue the GPS woman’s voice “starting route to Richmond,” not-so-hushed dining conversations, serene music, river rapids, trains, birds and roaring race car engines.
A 60-second video preview was unveiled to the local hospitality community at Richmond Region
Tourism’s 2023 Tourism Awards and Annual Meeting on May 11. The campaign video takes inspiration from popular content on social media to communicate what it’s like for visitors to experience the Richmond Region.
“The Richmond Region speaks to every visitor in different ways,” said Jack Berry, president and CEO of Richmond Region Tourism, a not-for-profit that promotes the region to meeting, convention and sports event planners, tour operators and leisure travelers.
“Trying to find a pithy slogan to sum up the region simply wouldn’t do it justice, which is why we’re so excited by this campaign—it provides a platform for local voices and experiences to shine and encourages visitors to take in the many diverse sides of the region.”
The campaign also reflects an unprecedented effort of community collaboration across the Richmond region, according to the RRT. Six jurisdictions including the City of Richmond, Chesterfield County, Hanover County, Henrico County, Colonial Heights and the Town of Ashland contributed funds received from the American Rescue Plan Act via Virginia Tourism Corporation, which must be used specifically for tourism recovery efforts.
“It’s the little moments that make a visit to a destination special, and this campaign embraces and celebrates those experiences in a uniquely Richmond way,” said Richmond Region Tourism Board Chair Dan Schmitt. “They could happen at a buzzy restaurant downtown or in a peaceful park in Henrico. This campaign is remarkable in how it can be embraced and adapted across the region’s many jurisdictions.”
Richmond Region Tourism partnered with ChamberRVA and the Greater Richmond Partnership to review more than a dozen marketing agencies and selected Richmond-based agency Padilla to create and deliver the campaign.
The campaign will run June 1, 2023, through June 2024, and is expected to reach more than 80 million potential travelers through connected TV in selected markets in the East Coast and southern United States. Campaign highlights can be viewed at Richmond Region Tourism’s website, VisitRichmondVA.com, and on their social media channels including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.
Free Press staff report Richmond, state and federal law enforcement will be working closer together than ever as part of a new initiative they say will seek to stop violent crime and protect children, during a season when crimes tend to increase.
The program, Operation Safe Summer, begins Saturday, June 10, and continues until Friday, Sept. 8. The program, while a first for Richmond, has been implemented by federal and local law enforcement in the past in other parts of the country, including Florida, Georgia and Minneapolis.
The program’s five-point plan for Richmond will involve cooperative patrolling by state troopers and the Richmond Police Department throughout the city, with a focus on areas where high crime occurs.
RPD officers also will be stationed at George Wythe High School and Fairfield Elementary School’s Gill Center on Fridays and Saturdays, as part of a partnership with Mayor Levar M. Stoney’s office.
Investigations and prosecutions will be handled by both RPD and federal partners like the FBI. RPD also plans to continue its safety walks and other community events to build and maintain relationships with the public, and will be providing safes to gun owners to ensure and encourage proper storage of firearms.
“That’s my daddy,” said 5-year-old Anais Lewis of Roanoke, while staring at the mural of his father, John R. Lewis, whose image and life was memorialized on May 26 at the Sankofa Community Orchard, 301 Covington Road on Richmond’s South Side. Mr. Lewis, who died in January 2021, taught students how to grow their own food and spent time “hanging out” in the garden, often keeping youngsters out of harm’s way as they got their hands dirty together. Mr. Lewis was the co-founder and executive director of Renew Richmond, a nonprofit that operated several
urban agricultural sites and sometimes had pop-up stands where fresh produce that was grown and harvested by local Black youthS and adults was also often sold by them too. He advocated for Black communities to understand the power of gardening and self-sufficiency. Duron Chavis, the founder of the Sankofa Community Garden, said Mr. Lewis was one of the “founding fathers of Black urban agriculture in the City of Richmond.” The mural was created by lead painter Sir James L. Thornhill assisted by R. Vashti Woods, both of Richmond.
Highly visible work is underway along Nine Mile Road in the East End as crews and machines prepare the land for the new townhouses and apartments that eventually will replace the 504 public housing units in Creighton Court.
Far less visible are the restrictions that Mayor Levar M. Stoney’s administration has imposed to ensure a mixed-income community emerges from the development the city’s housing authority and its partner, Boston-based The Community Builders (TCB), are undertaking.
As the Free Press previously reported, TCB expects to set a Richmond record for the per-unit cost, projected to top $461,000 for each residence when infrastructure is included.
In exchange for receiving $21.4 million from the city to help pay for the new streets, sidewalks, underground utilities and other infrastructure, the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority signed an agreement to limit the number of low- and very low-income residents who will be allowed to live in the 626 apartments and 105 townhouses that are to be built over the next few years.
The agreement focuses primarily on the units that will replace the apartments that Creighton Court has offered.
According to the Creighton plan, TCB plans to develop 506 affordable or income-restricted apartments to replace the Creighton units, along with 120 marketrate apartments. Under the agreement’s terms, RRHA can only subsidize 126 of the new affordable apartments for individuals and families with incomes at 30% or less than the
Richmond area median income, as defined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. For 2022, HUD defined the area median income at $70,500 for an individual and nearly $101,000 for family of four. At 30 percent, individuals would make $21,150 or less per year while household of four people would have an income of $30,200 or less. HUD re-sets the limits each year.
The bottom line: Far fewer individuals and families who could easily qualify for public housing will be able to live the new community.
As part of the agreement with the city, RRHA also has agreed to limit to 60% the number of units provided to people with annual incomes of 60% or less of the area median income. HUD defined the 60%
limit in 2022 as $42,300 for an individual and $60,420 for a family of four.
The result: Of the 506 affordable apartments, only 303 could be occupied by those with incomes of 60% of the area median income. That includes the 126 for those incomes of 30% or less than the area median income.
That limit also would apply to 55 townhouses that are being built as affordable, defined as being priced for those with incomes of 80% or less than the area median income. In 2022, HUD defined 80 percent of the Richmond area median income as $56,400 for an individual and $80,550 for a family of four.
Based on the agreement, 33 could be marketed to those with incomes of 60% or less of the area median income.
Free Press staff report
Earlier this month Gov. Glenn A. Youngkin announced the rollout of a Gold Standard Digital Hub for Virginia veterans and their families to ensure easier access to information regarding earned benefits and resources tailored to their needs.
State-of-the-art technology is incorporated into the Digital Hub that will serve as a single point of access to all veteran-
centric resources available for cross-agency support, according to a governor’s office news release. In addition, access to information from veteran service organizations and nonprofits will be available in one seamless single point of access.
“Making Virginia the best place for veterans, military service members and their families to live and the number one state for veterans to retire has been a priority of mine since day one of our
administration,” Gov. Youngkin said. “We want to embrace the military experience of each Virginia veteran and guardsman and honor their service and sacrifice by providing gold standard service in the Commonwealth.”
The governor’s announcement came May 11 at the new American Legion Post 139 headquarters in Arlington.
The new American Legion facility provides affordable apartments, where eligible veterans will be given priority placement, as well as a modern 6,000-square-foot facility that houses veteran-focused programming in its private counseling spaces. The facility also includes new offices for the Virginia Department of Veterans Services and the George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School’s Veterans and Service Members Legal Clinic.
“Finding and gaining access to earned benefits and local resources can be a challenging and daunting experience, said Virginia Secretary of Veterans and Defense Affairs Craig Crenshaw. “With more than 690,000 veterans calling Virginia home and thousands transitioning from active-duty service each year in Virginia, we want all to know that Virginia offers each of them a home in which to continue to live, work and thrive.”
To access this new tool, visit www.dvs. virginia.gov and click on the red Access Services button.
City Council to divert $300,000 from youth violence prevention initiatives to buy new protective shields for police officers.
The grant came from the Virginia Office of the Attorney General (OAG), which is divvying up federal funds it received to promote anti-violence initiatives. The decision to use the money to buy police shields appears to violate conditions contained in a memorandum of understanding that the Stoney administration signed in March to receive the grant.
One condition reads: “The CITY assures that funds received will be used strictly to support data-informed violence reduction initiatives and programming by the police department. These projects should be community informed…”
While OAG modified the terms to allow for the purchase of police equipment, the memorandum the city signed also states
as a separate condition that funding must go to “programming … developed utilizing the findings of the (Richmond’s) Youth and Gang Violence Community Assessment currently being funded through the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services and will reflect either new programming or existing program enhancement.”
Instead, according to the city, the funding is going to “protect and secure police officers while on duty” in the form of shields to protect them and their cars from gunfire, even though there is no mention of such shields in the city’s assessment.
At a time when there has been a rise in gun violence in Richmond, and as City Hall will be bathed in orange lights this week in honor of National Gun Violence Awareness Week, there has been no explanation from the mayor or city officials as to why the money was diverted from programs that offer positive
outlets for youths, such as a community gardening program that a nonprofit called Kinfolk Community operates in Gilpin Court and similar locations.
Community organizer Omari Al-Qadaffi is among those who have expressed disappointment and even anger at what they see as a diversion of critical resources that could make a difference in the lives of the city’s youths.
“This feels so aggressive for the city to deny the Black community and our organizations gun violence prevention funding from (the OAG) for over a year and then decide to restrict the dollars to the police.”
In a follow-up tweet, he bemoaned the fact that “the same Richmond politicians who knelt, prayed and marched with protesters for police accountability in 2020 are now militarizing the police with ballistic car shields using a grant that was meant for gun violence prevention.”
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14.2%, between 2018 and 2020.
Multiple factors contribute to these disparities, according to the CDC and advocacy organizations, such as underlying health conditions. But more doctors and experts have pointed to structural racism that has created inequitable access to health care, implicit bias and discriminatory care. Poor health care for Black mothers in turn can create issues for their babies, putting them at risk for health problems.
Why do more Black kids have asthma?
Black children are more likely to have asthma and to be exposed to triggers, like mold and air pollution. Their asthma often is more severe and less likely to be controlled. About 4 million kids in the U.S. have asthma. The percentage of Black children with asthma is far higher than white kids; more than 12% of Black kids nationwide suffer from the disease, compared with 5% of white children.
Some of the high rates of asthma among Black children are tied to genetics, but much of the disparity lies in the same racist factors that afflict Black peoples’ health from birth to death.
Black Americans are more at risk of living in homes with asthma triggers, like cockroaches, dust mites, mold and rodents. Research also shows that air pollution can worsen asthma.
Across America, nearly 4 in 10 Black children live in areas with poor environmental and health conditions compared to 1 in 10 white children. Factories spew nitrogen oxide and particulate matter. Idling trucks and freeway traffic kick up noxious fumes and dust.
The disparities are built into a housing system shaped by the longstanding effects of slavery and Jim Crow-era laws. Many communities that have substandard housing today or are located near toxic sites are the same as those that were segregated and redlined decades ago.
How does racism affect Black teens’ mental health?
About 50% of Black youth experience moderate to severe symptoms of depression, and about 18% said they were exposed to racial trauma often in their life.
The drivers of the mental health crisis for Black children begin early and persist through a lifetime. Black children’s first encounters with racism can start before they start school, and Black teenagers report an average of five instances of racial discrimination per day. Young Black students are often perceived as less innocent and older than their age, leading to disproportionately harsher discipline in schools.
Black adolescents are far less likely than their white peers to seek and find mental health care. In part, that’s because Black families often distrust the medical system after generations of mistreatment — from lack of access to care to being subjected to racist practices and experimentation.
Research and health surveillance data point to a growing mental health crisis among Black youth. Between 1991 and 2019, Black adolescents had the highest increase among any other group in prevalence of suicide attempts — a rise of nearly 80%.
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a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday for more information on testing sites, or go online at vax.rchd.com.
The Virginia Department of Health also has a list of COVID19 testing locations around the state at www.vdh.virginia.gov/ coronavirus/covid-19-testing/covid-19-testing-sites.
Want a COVID-19 vaccine or booster shot?
The Richmond and Henrico health districts are offering free vaccines for COVID-19 and more at the following locations:
Thursday, June 1, 2 to 4 p.m. - Cary Street, 400 East Cary St., Bivalent Moderna boosters for ages 6 and older, Bivalent Pfizer boosters for ages 5 and older, Novavax primary shots for ages 12 and older, JYNNEOS shots and Moderna/Pfizer baby bivalent boosters. Walk-ups welcome but appointments encouraged.
Saturday, June 3, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. - MLK Middle School’s Health & Literacy Fair, 1000 Mosby St., vaccines for tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis (TDAP), Meningitis and HPV. Walkups welcome but appointments encouraged.
Wednesday, June 7, 2 to 4 p.m. - Henrico West Health Department, 8600 Dixon Powers Drive, Bivalent Moderna boosters for ages 6 and older, Bivalent Pfizer boosters for ages 5 and older, Novavax primary shots for ages 12 and older, JYNNEOS shots and Moderna/Pfizer baby bivalent boosters. Walk-ups welcome but appointments encouraged.
People can schedule an appointment online at vase.vdh. virginia.gov, vaccinate.virginia.gov or vax.rchd.com, or by calling (804) 205-3501 or (877) VAX-IN-VA (1-877-829-4682).
VaccineFinder.org and vaccines.gov also allow people to find nearby pharmacies and clinics that offer the COVID-19 vaccine and booster.
People who are getting a booster shot should bring their vaccine card to confirm the date and type of vaccine received.
RHHD also offers at-home vaccinations by calling (804) 205-3501 to schedule appointments.
New COVID-19 boosters, updated to better protect against the latest variants of the virus, are now available. The new Pfizer booster is approved for those ages 12 and up, while the new Moderna booster is for ages 18 and older.
State data available at the time also shows that AfricanAmericans comprised 21.6 percent of cases statewide and 21 percent of deaths for which ethnic and racial data is available, while Latinos made up 9.8 percent of cases and 3.7 percent of deaths.
As of Tuesday, Richmond reported a total of 59,981 cases, 1,320 hospitalizations and 545 deaths; Henrico County, 94,341 cases, 1,801 hospitalizations and 1,097 deaths; Chesterfield County, 101,116 cases, 1,792 hospitalizations and 873 deaths; and Hanover County, 29,382 cases, 953 hospitalizations and 348 deaths.
Compiled by George Copeland Jr.
What role has high blood pressure played in COVID-19 deaths of Black Americans?
High blood pressure has played a major role in COVID deaths, and especially in the COVID deaths of Black people. Together, they have created a deadly combination: While it is listed as a contributing factor in 15.5% of the deaths of white COVID sufferers, the figure for Black victims is 21.4% — the highest of any racial group.
About 56% of Black adults have high blood pressure, compared to 48% of white people. Three in four African Americans are likely to develop the disorder by age 55.
While only 32% of white adults with high blood pressure have their condition under control with medication, the figure for Black Americans is even lower — 25%.
Like many conditions, genetics do play a part. Experts also blame poor diets, high cholesterol, obesity and smoking — risk factors that often exist at higher rates in Black communities. Black neighborhoods are more likely to experience a lack of access to healthy foods or be inundated with fast food options.
Why do so many Black people develop Alzheimer’s disease?
Black Americans are more likely than white people to develop Alzheimer’s. About 14% of Black Americans over the age of 65 have Alzheimer’s, compared with 10% of white Americans, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Experts believe the rates could be even higher.
Health conditions like cardiovascular disease and diabetes experienced in earlier stages of life are known risk factors — both of which are more common among Black and Latino populations. Depression, high blood pressure, obesity and chronic stress are also risk factors. The CDC also acknowledges the impact of “higher rates of poverty, and greater exposure to adversity and discrimination” as risk factors.
Across the board, Black people are also unlikely to receive the health care that white people do — including medication to treat Alzheimer’s and dementia-related disorders. A preliminary study released this year by Mount Sinai researchers found that Black people are less likely to receive dementia-related medications than white people.
The Associated Press
The health inequities documented in this project have their roots in a long history of medical racism. The AP has collected a small sample of that history related to every phase of life.
BIRTH: GYNECOLOGY
James Marion Sims, a 19th century Alabama surgeon heralded as the father of modern gynecology, pioneered a treatment for vesicovaginal fistulas, a condition that affects bladder control and fertility in women. Between 1845 and 1849, Dr. Sims carried out the once-experimental surgical treatment on a dozen enslaved women without the use of anesthesia. He has been both defended as a product of his era and panned as unethical and inhumane.
Dr. Sims’ belief that Black people could endure more pain than white people is considered a form of racism and still present in the field of medicine. From medical school students of various racial and ethnic backgrounds to primary care providers of small and large practices, this bias has adversely impacted the health outcomes of Black Americans.
CHILDHOOD: BEHAVIORAL
TREATMENT
Behavioral challenges in Black children,
throughout history and typically in educational settings, have been met with inequitable, inhumane and even extreme treatment. Systemic racism in behavioral counseling and psychotherapy for school-age children has meant lifelong adverse consequences for generations of Black children – from the funneling of Black students with learning disabilities into special education tracks that lack resources and overreliance on suspension and expulsion to institutionalization and experimental brain operations.
Dr. Orlando J. Andy’s work at the University of Mississippi Medical School in the 1960s is one example. The neurosurgeon testified that he performed 30 to 40 lobotomies and other brain operations on Black children and other people with behavioral problems who had been institutionalized. Although Dr. Andy said his operations were a last resort for patients who lived with uncontrolled destructive hyperactivity, the procedure was performed on institutionalized Black boys as young as 6. Some patients lived the rest of their lives with deteriorated intellectual capacity.
TEEN YEARS: ADULTIFICATION
Black children and teens are often perceived as much older than they are. Because of this bias known as “adultification,” they get viewed as less innocent and less deserving of empathy – resulting in harsher, disparate treatment in health care and other systems. The attitudes date back to slavery, when Black
children as young as 2 were made to work and punished for developmentally appropriate child behavior, according to scholars Michael J. Dumas and Joseph Derrick Nelson. Research shows these attitudes still drive disparities in outcomes for Black children and teens. A Yale study found Black children are 1.8 times more likely to be physically restrained in a hospital emergency room than white kids, a gap that may be driven by hospital staff’s view of Black children. Georgetown researchers have found that adultification of Black girls is linked to them being treated more harshly in school.
ADULTHOOD: STUDYING BLACK BODIES
University of Cincinnati researchers led an experiment from 1960 to 1972 that exposed about 90 poor, mostly Black, terminal cancer patients to extreme levels of radiation without their consent. The Department of Defense funded it as part of Cold War radiation experiments, according to Associated Press stories.
Dr. Eugene Saenger, one of the chief researchers, said the study was meant to find experimental treatments for patients with inoperable cancer to see if he could stop the growth of tumors. But the patients and their families said they were not fully informed of the risks or asked to sign consent forms. They also weren’t told of the Defense Department’s involvement.
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Ms. Sneed is grateful for food donations that companies and individuals provide and for those such as Debi Wallace-Ferguson who prepare the food that is donated or that members of Blessing Warriors pay for. The organization does not receive any city, state or federal financial support.
The willingness of residents to participate in Ms. Sneed’s crusade to aid the homeless has enabled the faith-based Blessing Warriors to create teams of volunteers who take on a task, such as hard-boiling eggs, cooking hot meals or making soup.
But Ms. Sneed worries about the growing food demand she sees as her group marks its 11th year of service.
In years past, she said that “60 sandwiches, 60 boiled eggs and two coolers of soup” were enough.
No longer, she reports.
Ms. Sneed listed the food items that the Blessing Warriors team distributed May 26: “60 ham-and-cheese sandwiches; 60 boiled eggs; 20 quart-sized bags filled with sliced ham and 20 packages of crackers; a turkey pan filled with macaroni and cheese; two coolers full of Navy beans; 30 pork barbecue sandwiches; 60 sausage biscuits with mushroom gravy; donuts; 10 pounds of pork barbecue and large pan of chicken barbecue; apples and oranges; candy bars; water.”
Ms. Sneed said all of that provided one meal to those they delivered to and “the last two people were only able to get two biscuits and gravy.”
She said she seeks to serve at seven major locations and other smaller ones, but often finds the food runs out after three locations. In making her rounds, she said she “feels the pain of those who are suffering” and is disappointed she cannot do more.
That includes a family of 10 she came across sleeping in a vehicle to whom she provided a meal.
She said she gets phone calls, too, such as this one from a woman who told her, “I’m so hungry, I feel like I’m starving to death. I just need food for my babies.”
Another caller told her, “I was evicted yesterday, and as a 79-year-old, I can’t get a job,” while a 70-year-old woman who now lives in the woods called to ask for cream to soothe the insect bites she endures from sleeping outside.
Ms. Sneed also reported getting a call from “a young man begging for a sleeping bag for his pregnant wife so she wouldn’t have to lay on the cold ground.” She was able to comply.
“Mom looks so tired; dad looks exhausted and worried,” Ms. Sneed said. “Pray for this family and that this “City of Compassion opens a shelter soon.”
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Biden wanted. To pass it, President Biden and Speaker McCarthy counted on support from the political center, a rarity in divided Washington.
In a statement released after the vote, Presidetn Biden said: “I have been clear that the only path forward is a bipartisan compromise that can earn the support of both parties. This agreement meets that test.”
He called the vote “good news for the American people and the American economy.”
President Biden had sent top White House officials to the Capitol and called lawmakers directly to shore up backing. Speaker McCarthy worked to sell skeptical fellow Republicans, even fending off challenges to his leadership, in the rush to avert a potentially disastrous U.S. default.
Swift passage later in the week by the Senate would ensure government checks will continue to go out to Social Security recipients, veterans and others and would prevent financial upheaval at home and abroad. Next Monday is when the Treasury has said the U.S. would run short of money to pay its debts.
Overall, the 99-page bill restricts spending for the next two years, suspends the debt ceiling into January 2025 and changes some policies, including imposing new work requirements for older Americans receiving food aid and greenlighting an Appalachian natural gas line that many Democrats oppose.
It bolsters funds for defense and veterans, and guts new money for Internal Revenue Service agents.
Raising the nation’s debt limit, now $31 trillion, ensures Treasury can borrow to pay already incurred U.S. debts.
Top GOP deal negotiator Rep. Garret Graves of Louisiana said Republicans were fighting for budget cuts after the past years of extra spending, first during the COVID-19 crisis and later with Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, with its historic investment to fight climate change paid for with revenues elsewhere.
But Republican Rep. Chip Roy, a member of the Freedom Caucus helping to lead the opposition, said, “My beef is that you cut a deal that shouldn’t have been cut.”
For weeks negotiators labored late into the night to strike the deal with the White House, and for days McCarthy has worked to build support among skeptics. At one point, aides wheeled in pizza at the Capitol the night before the vote as he walked Republicans through the details, fielded questions and encouraged them not to lose sight of the bill’s budget savings.
The Richmond Fire Department’s plan to replace 2 acres of park land at the Hickory Hill Community Center with a new fire training center has run into a surprising roadblock – zoning.
The South Side community center on Bells Road and the nearby area are zoned R-4, a residential designation that would not allow the Fire training facility department’s project, according to city’s current zoning map.
That is why top city officials, including Chief Administrative Officer Lincoln Saunders and Fire Chief Melvin D. Carter, are headed to the Board of Zoning Appeals in hopes of getting that roadblock removed.
The BZA, which has authority to allow projects that would violate the zoning classification in which they would be built, is to consider the
fire training center at its next meeting 1 p.m. Wednesday, June 7.
However, should the board uphold the zoning and decline to authorize the project, the Stoney administration would face the embarrassing prospect of either appealing that decision to the Richmond Circuit Court or finding a new location.
A court appeal is considered a long-shot since a judge would need to find the board’s decision did not follow the law and was “arbitrary and capricious.”
The zoning issue first surfaced when William “Chuck” Davidson, the city zoning administrator who serves as secretary to the appeals board, issued the agenda for the upcoming meeting.
The Stoney administration has known for
Cartermonths about the zoning issue. To get this matter on the BZA agenda for the June 7 meeting, the administration had to file its appeal on or before April 14.
A review of documents indicates that neither Chief Carter nor the planning staff nor other City Hall officials, including Mr. Saunders, disclosed the zoning issue as the Fire Department’s request moved through the approval process.
Staff did not mention the zoning issue in briefing the Urban Design Committee, which recommended rejection to the City Planning Commission. The issue of zoning was missing from the public discussion before the Planning Commission also voted to reject the proposal.
Both the Planning Commission and the Urban Design Committee voted to disapprove the
The Richmond Fire Department is moving after 15 years at 201 E. Franklin St.
Fire Chief Melvin Carter and other senior staff have relocated to 730 E. Broad St., while other support functions are relocating to 1904 N. Hamilton St. in the West End.
The relocation plan has cleared a council committee and is expected to win approval from the full City Council at the next meeting on Monday, June 12.
The department has been clearing out its current rental home across 2nd Street from the Main Library that it has occupied since 2008. The department took over the space that the area Chamber of Commerce had occupied in moving from the decay-
ing Public Safety Building.
The Hamilton Street location offers more office and warehouse space, according to information attached to the ordinance.
The Hamilton Street building, which sits on 1.8 acres of land, will allow the department to consolidate operations and store fire apparatus, gear, antiquities and other items now held in nine different locations, according to the ordinance.
The plan is for the new location to house the department’s logistics functions, the Fire Marshal’s Office, Inspections, Permitting and other operations, the council has been advised.
The city is taking a 15-year-lease on the Hamilton Street building on behalf of the department, according to the ordinance. The initial cost of the lease for the first 12 months is to run about $479,000, increasing by 3% each subsequent year,
project on the grounds that it signaled a retreat from the city’s stated policy of expanding green space in South Side and particularly in Black and Brown communities like the ones around Hickory Hill that rate high for pollution and chronic diseases like asthma.
Community advocates who battled against the new training center also were unaware that Hickory Hill was not properly zoned because they never raised the issue in speaking against the project at the UDC and the Planning Commission.
The issue of zoning also never came up when City Council considered the fire training center in committee and at the May 8 meeting before overruling the Planning Commission and allowing the project to proceed.
the ordinance notes. While the cost is higher than the current lease, which expired Wednesday, the department will save $57,244 in yearly parking fees and eliminate other tenant charges, according to the information accompanying the ordinance.
Most Virginia government jobs will be open to high school graduates, beginning July 1.
With agencies struggling to fill vacancies, Gov. Glenn
A. Youngkin on Tuesday announced what he described as a landmark change in how the state competes to fill the 20,000 vacancies that its agencies advertise each year.
Following Maryland and North Carolina, Gov. Youngkin stated that he was ending college degree requirements for almost 90% of the state’s classified positions – a dramatic change that could soon be copied among local governments who also have jobs going begging.
“This key reform will expand opportunities for qualified applicants who are ready to serve Virginia,” the governor stated, as well as holding the potential to dramatically expand the pool of applicants seeking jobs that come
with reasonable pay, health care and pensions.
State Secretary of Administration Margaret “Lyn” McDermid, stated that this revamped approach will allow state recruiters and human resources personnel to focus on each applicant’s work experience, knowledge and ability rather than their degrees.
“As an employer, state government has one the most diverse occupational portfolios,” she continued. “Our employees design, build, manage and sustain public services across hundreds of lines of business. It is a smart practice to consider job applicants who have experience solving real world problems.”
State Secretary of Labor Bryan Slater called the change great news for “state government and all job seekers. We are opening a sea of opportunity at all levels of employment for industrious individuals who are willing to serve the people of this state.”
George Floyd’s murder on May 25, 2020, was supposed to be a wake-up call for America.
The video that aired on social media showed that police can be brutal to people in custody, most notably Black people, and the protests that killing sparked were supposed to make a difference.
What we do know is that the cruel Minneapolis police officer who knelt on Mr. Floyd’s neck for nine minutes, suffocating him, ultimately was convicted of second degree murder and is now behind bars.
But there are too many incidents still happening across the country, including the notorious March 6 homicide of Irvo Otieno at Central State Hospital right here Virginia.
The lesson that people having a mental health issue should not have to die while in the custody of sworn officers has yet to be fully absorbed by some who carry a badge.
Benjamin L. Crump, whose firm has been widely successful in representing families whose loved ones have died at the hands of law enforcement, brought that message to Richmond last week in a “Justice for Irvo” town hall at Virginia Union University.
He has been outspoken about the need for improvements in the treatment of people who come into law enforcement’s hands due to a mental health crisis.
Mr. Crump said the real reason Mr. Floyd died is that he suffered from claustrophobia, a fear of small spaces, and the officers who arrested him refused to understand he was ready to go willingly if they would just call a larger paddy wagon rather than trying to stuff him into the narrow confines of the police car’s rear seat.
That triggered his condition, Mr. Crump said, but the officers at the scene simply refused to listen or try to understand the problem. Instead, the senior officer decided to punish Mr. Floyd into obedience and subsequently killed him.
Supposedly, officers are being trained to recognize such mental health problems and to deal with them.
But the video evidence in Mr. Otieno’s case shows that whatever training deputies received at the Henrico County Jail, it never sank in. What type of training would make deputies pile onto a prone man for 12 minutes after bringing him to the hospital?
In his remarks at the town hall, Mr. Crump cited other egregious cases since Mr. Floyd’s death, and noted that a lot more work is needed to ensure people in crisis survive encounters with law enforcement.
“It can happen to anyone. It can happen to your loved ones,” Mr. Crump said, who listed other high-profile cases in which families have engaged him to seek justice.
He spoke of Brianna Grier, a 28-year-old Georgia mother who was fatally injured in July 2022 when she fell out of a unsecured rear door of a moving police car as officers took her away for a mental health evaluation.
He spoke of the death of mentally ill Lashawn Thompson, who succumbed in September 2022 in an Atlanta jail psychiatric ward after suffering thousands of bed bug bites while indifferent personnel did nothing to help him.
He also spoke of Gershun Freman, 33, who was beaten to death in October by his jailers in Memphis, Tenn., as he suffered a psychotic episode.
“We need to give our children a better America,” Mr. Crump said, “where (those suffering with mental illness) have an opportunity to live without having being killed by excessive force by those who are supposed to serve and protect them.”
Who could disagree?
South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott has joined the throng of Republicans seeking to unseat the former president as the frontrunner of that party. So far, Sen. Scott is polling in the single digits, but he has $22 million left from his last senatorial race that he can use for his presidential race. Other than the historically myopic Florida governor, Sen. Scott has scant competition to date, and from my vantage point he has about as much chance of becoming president as I do.
So why is he really in this race?
The siren call of the presidency beckons many who are long on ambition and short on possibility. But sometimes long shots can make a difference and a statement. Think the Rev. Jesse Louis Jackson, whose historic 1984 and 1988 campaigns opened doors for hundreds of African-American and progressive politicians, and footprints so deep that they are still impactful. Or think the late Arizona
Sen. John McCain whose populist Straight Talk Express was a feature of his failed 2008 presidential bid. There was Shirley Chisholm, whose presidential bid was a landmark for Black folks and for women, and Colorado’s Pat Schroeder
who considered a presidential run. All these folks, and most of the others, ran to make a point and make a difference.
What is Tim Scott’s point?
In his opening rally on May 22, mostly more diversely attended than usual Republican rallies, he spoke repeatedly of his faith. Punctuating his talk with frequent cries of “Amen,” faith was part of his theme. His talk was also replete with American exceptionalism, describing this nation as “the greatest nation on God’s green earth. Those who have experienced American oppression might argue the “great nation” point, but those who oppose truth-teaching claim that children are being taught to “hate” our country, when all Black Studies and Ethnic Studies want to teach is the truth.
Replete with platitudes, Sen.
Scott dropped clichés, such as “from victimhood to victory.”
“I chose personal responsibility over resentment”, he said, and engaged in mindless class warfare. President Biden, he says, wants to get “mechanics and waitresses” to pay for student loan forgiveness. In his rambling hour-long speech, Sen. Scott dusted off every Republican cliché about poor people, Black people and others. And he offered himself up as proof that there is no racism in this country. He can’t explain the police killings of Black folks, though he did all he could to block the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act (2020) from passing. His life, he says, proves that opportunity works in America. Clearly he is too myopic to acknowledge that there is not enough opportunity for everyone.
What is Sen. Tim Scott running for? Secretary of Commerce, Labor or Housing and Urban Development? He mentioned his Empowerment Zone legislation (which many say has not yielded great results)? Does he want a role in foreign relations, given his rhetoric about China? Does he want to be Donald Trump’s running mate? Or Secretary
Picture a mountain valley somewhere in the Alleghanies, Appalachians or Blue Ridge.
It’s a safe bet what you just imagined didn’t include a metal pipeline more than 3 feet wide running down a steep ridge or crossing a pristine stream.
People from West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, and several Indigenous nations have been fighting for years to keep that image from becoming a reality by opposing the incongruously named, 303mile-long Mountain Valley Pipeline across their states and ancestral lands. They’ve been so successful, in fact, that some in Congress want to take away their power to oppose a project that’s recorded hundreds of clean water violations alone.
It’s part of a bigger fight that goes by the mundane-sounding name “permitting reform” that’s playing out in Washington right now. While that description isn’t as stirring as “Star Wars” missile defense or “The Great Society,” the decision being made will determine how the nation can exert oversight on big projects from pipelines to manufacturing plants to minimize their damage to the planet. Some of them may go on federal lands, many of them will be financed by hundreds of billions that the federal government will invest in infrastructure and clean energy in the next decade.
It’s a fight so important that
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has tied defaulting on the country’s debt to resolving it.
“This is more than just about the Mountain Valley Pipeline,” Maury Johnson, a retired educator and farmer from West Virginia who’s a leader in the opposition, told a reporter. “This is about the Gulf Coast, North Alaska and every community that has been sacrificed for decades. We can’t continue to sacrifice communi-
Ben Jealous
ties and people.” If we called it “protection reform,” it might be easier to understand. What’s at stake is the process for protecting our air, water and land from what may be irreparable harm. Some want to erode environmental safeguards that have been in place for more than 50 years and reduce the time allotted to determine the impact the new projects will have during their decades-long lifespan. Some want to treat dirty fossil fuel industries in the same way we think about new clean energy businesses. The fast lane needs to be reserved for renewable energy and transmission infrastructure to distribute it.
We also could call it “participation reform.” President Biden is pushing for greater consultation with communities that will be closest to new projects and transparency about their locations. Opponents want to extend exclusions that would allow plans to bypass any meaningful public voice,
particularly for the Mountain Valley Pipeline project. They even want to limit the ability of communities to challenge projects in court.
Those who are most strident about permitting reform argue that the safeguards we have in place or seek to add come at too high an economic price. Faster approvals will lead to lower energy prices sooner, they claim. But the falling prices of renewable energy show otherwise.
The costs that are too high are not to determine environmental impacts and not to let those most affected have their say. We know that it’s the poor, people or color, and native peoples who live in those communities that pay the most for these projects.
The Biden administration has moved to acknowledge indirect and cumulative impacts on climate and environment as well as direct ones. Under former President Trump, the federal government limited the analysis to only the most blatant damage.
The argument comes down to expediency versus existence. We’ve been careening toward a warmer planet with less biodiversity since the beginnings of the Industrial Revolution. We’ve subsidized destructive industries by rendering people and places disposable by failing to consider them. That’s what we can no longer permit.
Ben Jealous is executive director of the Sierra Club, the nation’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization.
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of Education (“less CRT and more ABC”)? Or is he running for chaplain?
What is Tim Scott running for?
I think he is running against a series of simple truths. Our nation is in decline thanks to the culture wars in which he so willingly participates. Platitudes and attitudes won’t change any of this. As long as Republicans are willing to punish the poor, restrict women’s right to choose, and improve our education, we will keep spiraling downward. And the scripture-quoting man needs to understand that Bible-thumping is not public policy and faith without works is dead (James 2:26).
The writer is an economist, author and Dean of the College of Ethnic Studies at California State University at Los Angeles.
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To be a city where everyone has a fair shot to thrive, we must support our youngest residents and those who care for them.
Over 90 percent of brain development occurs before a child’s fifth birthday, with the most significant explosion of growth occurring before the age of 3. If we were to align public policies and public investments with science, then we wouldn’t wait until the first day of school to support our children with coordinated, comprehensive services.
That’s why I proposed, and City Council approved, that $2 million of the City’s American Rescue Plan dollars be invested into child care and Richmond families. Under the purview of the City’s Office of Children and Families, those dollars have supported:
•Expanding access to child care
and preschool in licensed community providers of early child care and education programs, creating over 250 new slots across the city;
•Expanding home visiting services to connect families with children under age 5 to parenting education and coordinated health and dental care;
•Purchasing diapers for the city’s diaper bank;
•Purchasing safe sleep spaces, car seats and strollers for families in need.
It’s also why I committed to laying the groundwork for universal preschool when I won re-election in 2020. Universal preschool will ensure that every single 3- and 4-year-old in Richmond has access to a high-quality, full-day, full-year preschool program that will set them up for success and support their families.
This summer, we will receive a “cost model” report from the Children’s
Funding Project, which surveyed early child care and education programs across Richmond, Henrico and Chesterfield to determine how much universal preschool will cost.
Early results indicate that projected costs will pace with national trends; we suspect that it will cost roughly $12,000 to $20,000 per child to offer every 3- and 4-year-old in Richmond a slot in a licensed, full-day, full-year preschool program. With roughly 2,000 children entering kindergarten at Richmond Public Schools every year, universal preschool could cost $40 to $80 million annually.
That’s why it is crucial that Richmond Public Schools partner with the city as we embark on this effort to combat the early learning opportunity gaps. RPS administers the federal Head Start and Early Head Start grants, as well as the state’s Virginia Preschool Initiative (VPI). While Head Start targets children in families at 100 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL), VPI funds preschool for children in families
with incomes up to 200 percent of the FPL in addition to children who meet locally established criteria. Ultimately both of these funding sources, together, should cover most of the costs for preschool for all children at risk of entering kindergarten behind.
But to achieve universal preschool in Richmond, we must maximize every penny at our disposal. We can’t burden taxpayers to pay for a preschool slot that is already funded by taxpayer dollars through another program.
Yet RPS enrolled just 592 4-yearolds in VPI this school year, despite the Virginia Department of Education initially allocating 1,027 slots to Richmond. That’s just flat out unacceptable. We’re leaving money on the table and hundreds of children behind. RPS must do better. While the Head Start grant funds 714 slots for 3- and 4-year-olds, just 526 total children were enrolled in programs last year. And while the city is researching how to universalize full-day, full-year programs, last summer the School Board voted to end the
preschool day at 1:45 p.m.; preschool operates on a traditional school year with a summer break. Given critical, urgent issues such as absenteeism, pandemic learning loss and teacher shortages, it would make sense that the RPS administration and the School Board would embrace the offered support of the City in a collaborative effort to ensure that every RPS child has the opportunity to receive a world-class education.
I believe that every single child has the God-given potential to succeed in life. It’s a matter of opportunity, and I am committed to closing opportunity gaps wherever possible. Every single child in Richmond, regardless of income, deserves access to highquality early learning experiences. Every family deserves the peace of mind and financial security that comes with knowing that their little ones are in a high-quality, full-day, full-year preschool program. It is time we collaborate on a better way forward for our kids.
On May 8, 2023, the James River Association broke ground on a new river education center on Dock Street in Richmond’s East End. The James A. Buzzard River Education Center will be located on Richmond’s riverfront, just steps from the James River, and is scheduled to open in the summer of 2024. Education programs offered at the center will explore the James River, its natural resources, as well as its historical significance.
The location of the James A. Buzzard River Education Center, at the head of the tidal James in Richmond, provides
an ideal location to not only introduce people to the river but to amplify its historical significance. It is important to remind people that the James River has served as a backdrop to much of Virginia’s history, including its most painful parts.
The displacement of Virginian Indian tribes and the transport of enslaved Africans happened along the James River’s shores and on its waters. We are committed to teaching the full history of Richmond’s riverfront, “the good, the bad, and the ugly,” as Mayor Levar Stoney put it during our groundbreaking event.
Through both our educational programming as well as our community partnerships, we hope the river education center can serve as a hub in which voices can be uplifted, especially those from communities that have historically been underrepresented, in which the stories of past and present Richmond can be shared.
Additionally, one of our primary goals is to make the
river education center an inclusive space for all Richmonders to enjoy. Our plan is to build upon our existing relationships with Richmond Public Schools and partner organizations offering after-school programs, particularly in the East End, to invite students to the river education center. We want every child who grows up in “The Best Rivertown Ever” to have a relation-
ship with the James, to be able to access the James, and to enjoy a lifetime of the benefits it provides. Public programs offered at the river education center will help connect families to the James and educate them about its full history as well. We also intend to explore opportunities to complement the planned Shockoe Heritage Campus Interpretive Center through the installation of in-
terpretive displays at the river education center that will be accessible to the public on a daily basis.
To learn more about the new river education center, visit https://www.jameschanger.org/ greater-richmond.html.
Bill STREET
The writer is president and CEO of the James River Association.
Embiid this season.
Denver is known as “The Mile High City” and its giddy basketball fans are starting to feel like they’re walking on clouds.
the team in Midnight Blue and Sunshine Yellow on the sports’ brightest stage.
There will be an HBCU influence on this year’s United States lacrosse team. In an overwhelmingly white sport, JT Giles-Harris, Hampton University’s assistant men’s lacrosse coach, will represent the U.S. at the World Championships in San Diego.
Games will be June 21, 29 and July 1 at SnapDragon Stadium. The U.S. is the
Finally, the Denver Nuggets have arrived somewhere they’ve never been before — the NBA Finals. It’s the franchise’s first trek to the Finals since joining the NBA 47 years ago.
By sweeping the Los Angeles Lakers, Denver will play Miami in the best-of-seven Finals starting June 1 at Ball Arena (elevation 5,280 feet — one mile high).
The thin mountain air is the Nuggets’ “sixth man” on the court. More accustomed to the difficult breathing, Denver was 34-7 at home during the regular season and is 8-0 on home boards in playoffs.
Now the basketball world will see
To get there, the Nuggets had to take down LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Finals.
He averaged 25 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists during the regular season. His postseason averages are 29 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists.
“Mr. Triple Trouble,” Nikola Jokic, was sensational, as usual, in the fourgame sweep.
The 28-year-old, 6-foot-11, 284pound native of Serbia had 30 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists in Game Four, notching his eighth triple double of this playoff season.
That tops the old mark of seven held by Wilt Chamberlain.
Jokic arguably ranks with the most dominant offensive centers in NBA annals and certainly in his own era. He was league MVP in 2021 and 2022, and runner-up to Philadelphia’s Joel
Next in line statistically for the Coloradans is 6-foot-4, Canadian born Jamal Murray, the Nuggets’ 2016 first round pick out of Kentucky.
Murray has averaged 27 points, six rebounds and six assists during the playoff run. Denver has been close to the Grand Finale before. They previously lost in the Western Finals in 1978, 1985, 2009 and 2020.
The franchise was born in 1967 as the Denver Rockets of the ABA. The Rockets were replaced by the Nuggets in 1974. Denver joined the NBA in 1977.
defending champ and No. 1 seed.
Coach Giles-Harris, a former Duke University All-American, was featured on the cover of the May 23 edition of U.S. Lacrosse Magazine.
While at Duke, he was a two-timeAll-ACC selection and Defensive Player of the Year as a senior. The 5-foot-10, 200-pounder set Blue Devils’ records for most caused turnovers (89) and ground ball pickups (147).
At HU, the Nyack, N.Y., native assists
Basketball standout Cahiem Brown never gave in to adversity, and the sports world has taken notice.
Brown, currently a student at Norfolk State University, is one of five students selected to receive the Wilma Rudolph Student-Athlete Achievement Award.
The 6-foot-5 guard from Brooklyn will be presented the award at the N4A Convention June 12 in Orlando, Fla.
Brown averaged 11 points, five rebounds and three assists this past season in helping to lead the Spartans to a 22-11 season. Off the court, he has traveled
And the winner is …
On May 22, the San Antonio Spurs may have won the NBA prize of this century, or perhaps any century, via the NBA Draft Lottery.
By securing the No. 1 selection in the upcoming June 22 Draft, the Spurs will likely pick 7-foot-3, 19-year-old Frenchman Victor Wembanyama, known as “Wemby.”
He is the most ballyhooed prospect at least since LeBron James, then a high school student in Akron, was tapped by Cleveland as its first choice in 2003.
As a result, this year’s Lottery was widely spoken of as the “Wemby Sweepstakes.”
Wembanyama, who turns 20 on Jan. 4, is most compared to current NBA stars Kevin Durant and Giannis Antetokounmpo offensively and Rudy Gobert on defense.
He has an other-worldly 8-foot wingspan, a fluid jump shot from a distance and quickness and footwork more associated with much smaller men.
Wembanyama played this past season for Paris-based Metropolitans ’92 of France’s top Pro A League.
He averaged a league-leading 22 points, 11 rebounds and three blocked shots while hitting 55 percent from the floor and 30 percent from beyond the arc.
a bumpy road. Brown’s mother, Lashiayia Watkins, died when he was 7 years old, leaving him to help raise his younger brothers. When Hurricane Sandy devasted Coney Island, N.Y. in 2012, his family was left with no power for three weeks.
Caheim BrownMeals were provided by the U.S. military’s Meals-Readyto-Eat packets.
During the peak of COVID-19, he came down with a rare condition called myocarditis that results in an inflammation of the heart. At the
Chazz Woodson. The Pirates were 2-12 this past season competing in the Colonial Athletic Association. Coach Giles-Harris also plays professionally for Chrome in the Lacrosse Premier League. JT’s older brother, Joe, also played at Duke – but in a different sport. Joe GilesHarris was an All-American linebacker for the Blue Devils and has played with Jacksonville and Buffalo in the NFL.
time he was a student at Georgia Highlands College. After transferring to NSU in 2021, Brown regained his strength and became a standout in Coach Robert Jones’ strong MEAC program.
Brown averaged 5.3 points and 3.1 rebounds in his first season with NSU, and improved in all areas this past season. After graduating this summer, he hopes to pursue a career in professional basketball overseas, and eventually serve as a mental-health advocate for young athletes.
Wembanyama Eastern Conference champ Miami Heat June 1 Miami at Denver 8:30 p.m. June 4 Miami at Denver 8 p.m. June 7 Denver at Miami 8:30 p.m. June 9 Denver at Miami 8:30 p.m. June 12 Miami at Denver 8:30 p.m. June 15 Denver at Miami 8:30 p.m. June 18 Miami at Denver 8 p.m. If necessary
Denver, Charlotte, the Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis, Minnesota and New Orleans are the current NBA members without a Finals ring.
The Atlantic 10 Conference women’s basketball tournament is returning to the 804 Area Code, but not to the city of Richmond.
In March 2024, the annual event will take place at the new Henrico Sports & Events Center, a 3,500-seat facility with a planned opening date this fall.
It is located in the old Virginia Center Commons area of Glen Allen in the north-central region of the county.
The same tournament has a longtime affiliation with Downtown Richmond. A10 members include VCU and the University of Richmond.
The tournament took place at the Richmond Coliseum from 2015 to 2018 and at the VCU Siegel Center in 2021.
It has been in Wilmington, Del., the past two seasons. Richmond’s Coliseum was shuttered in February 2019. There are no firm plans for a replacement.
Henrico’s Sports & Events Center will be a multi-purpose facility with 12 basketball courts and 24 volleyball courts. Also on the drawing board in Henrico is the $2.3 billion Green City Complex with a groundbreaking planned for later this year. Located near the intersection of Parham Road and I-95, Green City will feature a 17,000-seat arena.
Sweeping most postseason honors, he was named MVP, Top Scorer, Best Defender and Best Young Player.
This is the third time the Spurs have had the first overall pick. San Antonio chose David Robinson No. 1 in 1987 and Tim Duncan with the first choice in 1997.
Those two top picks helped the Spurs win a total of five NBA titles between 1999 and 2014.
The Spurs, a poor 22-60 this past season, were one of 14 nonplayoff teams entered in the May 22 Lottery. That means they had a 14 percent chance of picking the right ping pong ball in a standard lottery machine.
For comparisons, outside of James in 2003, perhaps the most heavily anticipated No. 1 picks of all time were Kareem Abdul-Jabbar by Milwaukee in 1969, Magic Johnson by the Lakers in 1979, Ralph Sampson by Houston in 1984, Pat Ewing by the Knicks in 1985, and Shaquille O’Neal by Orlando in 1992. The National Basketball Association is truly International.
Barring an earth-shaking trade between now and June 22, “Wemby” will be the seventh international overall No. 1 pick since 2013.
Anthony Bennett (Canada) went first in 2013, Andrew Wiggins (Canada) in 2014, KarlAnthony Towns (Dominican Republic) in 2015, Ben Simmons (Australia) in 2016, Deandre Ayton (The Bahamas) in 2019 and Paulo Banchero (Italy) in 2022.
Unlike Wembanyama, all played at least one season of U.S. college hoops before entering the draft.
The sensation’s height comes naturally. His father Felix, of Congolese ancestry, is 6-foot-6 and his French mother, Elodie, is 6-foot-3.
“Wemby’s” lucky agent is Black Frenchman Bouna Ndiaye, a longtime friend of the family.
Salaries are set in stone for rookie draftees.
As of 2022-‘23, the No. 1 pick (Banchero) earned $9,212,600 for his rookie season. His secondseason salary is $9,673,400.
The event was for NCAA Division II and NAIA affiliates. FMU is an NAIA playing in the Sun Conference. The Lions’
June 4Sunday
Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray For all the marbles NBA Finals vs. (ABC Television) Youth unicorn Horn Giveaway! Presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors PLUS kids ages 14 and younger get in FREE to Sunday home games when they sign up for the Kids Club! Presented by Lidl
The Robinson Theater Community Arts Center is a Church Hill institution that opened in 1937 as the first theater for African-Americans in the area. After closing in the 1980s, it reopened as an event space for children and adults in 2009.
For Brandy W. Stoney, the current president of the Robinson Center board, the building is “now like home to me,” and an East End legacy that she enjoys helping to guide and sustain.
“I believe that a good heart and passion can do great things if given the right space to do so,” Mrs. Stoney says when asked why she accepted the role of board president.
“By becoming vice chair, and now board chair, I’m able to support the already ongoing leadership from the executive team at the Robinson, but also bring in new ideas, networks, and drive to further propel us into the ever-evolving Church Hill that we see today.”
Community engagement sparked Mrs. Stoney’s interest in the Robinson, who joined the organization as its vice chair in January 2022, and became the board chair in January 2023.
Mrs. Stoney became a part of the Robinson Center for reasons both personal and societal. Her late father, Ira Washington, lived in Church Hill for decades with his family. Thus, her family maintains a deep connection to the community.
“I had a desire to do right by the neighborhood that raised me, my dad, and my dad’s family,” Mrs. Stoney says. “I believe that wellness should be accessible to all, and the Robinson drives that through its social engagement programs every day.”
Programs at the Robinson Center include instructional classes in dance, art, karate and fitness training. Film screenings and a space for meetings and
seasonal community events also are available at the center.
Mrs. Stoney also works to advance health outside the Robinson Center through her business, Beee Squad, which provides personal training and promotes community wellbeing.
With the Robinson Center, however, her efforts involve community connections, funding and other strategies to bring greater awareness to the organization and its mission in Church Hill.
The Robinson Center’s biggest challenge, in Mrs. Stoney’s view, is one faced by similar cultural and arts organizations — a changing community and changing needs. However, she believes that, regardless of how Church Hill may look in the future, the organization will always strive to be a “true resource for every individual in the community.”
“Now that I’m here, and The Robinson Center is home, I believe it will always be an integral part of my life,” Mrs. Stoney says.
“I’ll always want to see the organization grow, flourish, and thrive — in whatever way that looks over the next years — and will continue to push awareness, find resources, and help build relationships to do just that.”
Meet the board leader of a longtime Church Hill institution and this week’s Personality, Brandy
W. Stoney:Volunteer position: Board president for the Robinson Theater Community Arts Center.
Occupation: Chief movement officer, Beee Squad.
Date and place of birth: Dec. 12 in Richmond.
Where I live now: Church Hill.
Education: Bachelor’s degree
in chemistry, Randolph Macon College; MBA, University of Richmond.
Family: Husband, Levar M. Stoney. Mom and sisters still live in Richmond; brother and family are in Virginia Beach. Robinson Theater Community Arts Center is: Now like home to me. It’s an integral part of the East End network that provides fun programming for all people.
Formally, the Robinson Center is a multipurpose nonprofit organization that exists to inspire, encourage, and restore healthy community life to the residents of North Church Hill, primarily through arts, fitness and nutrition-based programs, and community events.
Location: 2903 Q St.
When was the Robinson Theater established: Built in 1936, Robinson Theater was the first “colored” theater in the region and served as the hub of community life throughout the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s.
After hosting businesses through the 1960s-1980s, the building fell into disrepair. In 2007, local residents Mitch and Debbie Bennett and Michael and Sharon Thaler purchased the building and undertook reviving the theater to its former glory. After extensive renovation, the Robinson Center opened in February 2009.
How the theater got its name: The Robinson was named after Bill “Bojangles” Robinson – an acclaimed film star who was born in Richmond.
What was the Robinson Theater known for in its heyday: The Robinson was a dazzling centerpiece in Church Hill, and a center for activity in the late 1930s.
Built as an entertainment venue for the thriving middle-class African-American neighborhood, the theater quickly became the hub for the community to view films, singers, dancers, jazz bands, comedians and amateur talent shows.
What caused the theater to close and when: For the roughly 50 years following its initial opening, the Robinson became home to various types of entertainment spaces, including a disco, restaurant, pool hall and nightclub. The Robinson eventually closed and shuttered its doors without much repair until 20 years later.
Current use of theater: Within North Church Hill, the Robinson Center is the only event venue available for rentals that can hold 300+ people. Perhaps more importantly, it is the only organization that offers the variety and type of programs they offer for both youths and adults.
The need that the Robinson Theater Community Arts
Center fulfills: Participants in the Robinson’s programs will increase social connections; improve the health, happiness and well-being of participants; and potentially increase their personal investment in the overall health of the community.
Activities offered by the Robinson Theater Community Arts Center: I personally teach a fitness class every Tuesday and Thursday morning, but we have many different types of programming available.
• Adults: arts, culture and fitness classes;
• Families: family movies, festivals and performances;
• Youths: educational, health and fitness classes;
• Schools: free programs for students of Anna Julia Cooper, Chimborazo, Bellevue and George Mason elementary schools.
Ways to get involved: Support activities by signing up as a volunteer; support community through venue rentals; support financially by making a contribution.
Robinson Theater Community Arts Center is funded by: The support of individual contributors and community members, organizations and grants.
Upcoming events: In the Sun
Again, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Friday, June 9.
How I start the day: Most mornings are started with several minutes of meditation to get my mind set and up for the day.
The three words that best describe me: Curious, driven, and fun.
If I had 10 extra minutes in the day: I’d spend it sending even more memes and funny videos to my mom.
Best late-night snack: I’m a sucker for cereal.
The music I listen to most is: Upbeat and makes you want to dance. Think 2000s and 2010s pop and hip-hop club music.
Something I love to do that most people would never imagine: I love reorganizing closets and pantries.
A quote that inspires me:
“You miss 100% of the shots you never take.”
At the top of my “to-do” list: Plan the next two weeks of client programs and class workouts.
The best thing my parents ever taught me: Work hard, hustle harder.
The person who influenced me the most: Both of my parents, but my Dad was like a superhuman that just never gave up. He worked for Richmond Public Schools for 30+ years, and was diagnosed with cancer 20 years prior to passing away. I’ll never say “he lost the battle with cancer” because he beat it every day.
Book that influenced me the most: “Becoming” by Michelle Obama. If ever there was a diary and a guidebook for life, this one is it for me.
What I’m reading now: “Metabolical” by Robert H. Lustig. I’m a huge nerd and I love reading nonfiction. After dealing with and navigating life through my own chronic illness journey, I grew more and more interested in the study of pathologies, nutrition and anatomy. Most of my work in the wellness space comes not only from teaching people about healthy movement, but also how their bodies work and the things we do that impact function.
Next goal: I’d love to host an easily accessible citywide fitness event that has workout sessions and nutrition seminars.
The 66th edition of Richmond’s Festival of the Arts at Dogwood Dell in Byrd Park will launch Saturday, June 10, with a six-hour showcase of music, dance, food and culture of immigrants who now live in the Richmond area.
Set to run from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., the celebration will feature performers of music and dance from such places as Afghanistan, Argentina, Bolivia, El Salvador, Mexico, India and Puerto Rico, according to organizer Karla P. Almendarez-Ramos, a city employee.
There also will be a play area for children, games associated with those lands and traditional food.
Community Facilities began in 1956 of presenting a variety of shows free of charge in the 2,400-seat amphitheatre.
Upcoming highlights this month will include popular Richmond songbird Desiree Roots and Friends performing 8 p.m. Friday, June 16, and the long-running Legacy Band taking over the Dell stage at 8 p.m. Saturday, June 17.
Other performances this month will include an Erykah Badu appreciation program and the Kings of Swing Band
Desiree RootsAs is traditional, the festival will host a regional Independence Day celebration on Tuesday, July 4, featuring a concert of patriotic tunes and fireworks.
Ms. Almendarez-Ramos said the festival, held to mark National Immigrant Heritage Month and International Refugee Day, is moving to the Dell after being held for 18 years at Broad Rock Park in South Side.
The event will begin a summer parade of weekend shows that will close out on Saturday, Sept. 9, with the Afro-Fest extravaganza of African music, food and culture.
The programming continues a tradition that the city Department of Parks, Recreation and
July also will feature concerts from Plunky and Oneness, a tribute show to Prince and the annual Gospel Music Fest that Sheilah “The Belle” Belle stages. The musical “Something Rotten” will be featured on the final two weekends.
August offerings will include the Ezibu Muntu dance company performing African Dance, a tribute show to James Brown, a Festival of Virginia Fiddling and the Latin Jazz Festival.
Details: (804) 646-3355. A full schedule also is available online at www.rva.gov/parksrecreation/dogwood-dell.
Free Press staff report
Richmond once again is raising the Progress Pride flag over City Hall to open Pride Month in the city.
Free Press staff report
Elegba Folklore Society’s “Juneteenth 2023, A Freedom Celebration” will take place Saturday, June 10, and Sunday, June 11. Saturday’s program, “Torch Lit Night Walk Along the Trail of Enslaved Africans,” begins at 7 p.m. at the Manchester Dock, 1308 Brander St. It is free to attend, however donations are welcome.
The night walk immerses attendees in narratives, the historical record and music. It is a sacred and poignant pilgrimage of short walks to interpretive sites from the Manchester Dock, a point of entry of Africans into America to be sold into lifelong bondage, through Shockoe Bottom, a geographical and economic center of the trade of enslaved Africans in Virginia, to the Shockoe Bottom African Burial Ground, reclaimed as a site of memory, according to Elegba Folklore Society.
Marvin TaylorThe walk starts at the Manchester Dock. There are places to sit along the way including at the African Burial Ground. Buses will return attendees to their cars at the program’s conclusion. Water will be available.
Sunday’s program features “Dancing With the Ancestors” at 4 p.m. at the African Burial Ground, 1540 E. Broad St. General admission is $5 and children under 12 may attend for free. This commemoration will be sacred and joyful. Attendees are asked to wear white, and they may bring ancestral offerings such as flowers, fruit, sweets, libations or other gifts of personal significance.
The program begins with the “Get Woke Youth Summit.” Youths of all ages are invited to participate in this cultural education exchange aimed at affirmation and personal growth.
The Marvin Taylor Experience will close the Juneteenth 2023, A Freedom Celebration. With several jazzy releases in circulation, Mr. Taylor has cultivated a passion to inspire joy, dancing fully and soulfully, through the power of music.
For additional details, contact the Elegba Folklore Society at (804) 644-3900 or story1@efsinc.org.
Concerts, lectures, exhibitions, festivals, readings and sporting events during the week of June 1 through June 8.
Here’s some of what’s happening around Richmond this week. Take a look at this list before heading out. Stay safe!
June 1
The Richmond Shakespeare Festival returns to Agecroft Hall for its 24th year with “The School of Lies.” The comedy continues through June 25. Tickets are $15$20. Richmondshakespeare.org.
Known for its authentic food and culture, The Richmond Greek Festival is back at the Saints Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Cathedral though June 4. The event starts at 11 a.m. and is free, but the food and items in the marketplace are for sale.
Greekfestival.com
June 2
Zambian singer and songwriter
Samoa The Great performs at Friday Cheers on Brown’s Island at 6 p.m. Kenneka Cook opens.
Tickets are $10-$15. Venturerichmond.com
June 3
The annual “’80’s Was the Greatest” concert returns to Brown’s Island with a lot of groups popular in the 1990s such as Jeezy, Dru Hill and Marsha Ambrosius, along with Kool Moe Dee at 3 p.m. Tickets are $15-$150.
Eventbrite.com
As part of Henrico County’s series of Juneteenth celebrations, a free block party will be held
at Fairfield Middle School from 11 a.m to 1 p.m. The event will include food trucks, music and community resource vendors.
Henrico.us
Mayor Levar M. Stoney was scheduled to preside over the ceremonial flag-raising 10 a.m. Thursday, June 1, to mark the city’s support of the LGBTQ community.
In addition, the city is joining with Richmond-based Virginia Pride to present a free concert 7 p.m. Friday June 2, at the 17th Street Market in Shockoe Bottom to celebrate Pride Month.
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month (LGBT Pride Month) is celebrated annually in June to honor the 1969 Stonewall riots, and works to achieve equal justice and equal opportunity for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) Americans. In June of 1969, patrons and supporters of the Stonewall Inn in New York City staged an uprising to resist the police harassment and persecution to which LGBT Americans were commonly subjected. This uprising marks the beginning of a movement to outlaw discriminatory laws and practices against LGBT Americans.
DIAMONDS • WATCHES JEWELRY • REPAIRS 19 EAST BROAD STREET RICHMOND, VA 23219 (804) 648-1044 WWW.WALLERJEWELRY.COM
June 4
It’s the last performance of “Hadestown,” a Broadway musical based on ancient Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, continues at the Altria Theater. Tickets are $26$93.50, with performances at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. Altriatheater.com.
June 5
When comedian Kevin Hart’s “Reality Check” tour comes to the Altria Theater, you may be asked to check something – your phone. Leave it at home or in the car when the “device free” show starts at 7 p.m. Tickets are $79$428. Altriatheater.com.
June 7
Award-winning blues singer Johnny Rawls comes to the Tin Pan at 8 p.m. Tickets are $25. Tinpanrva.com.
June 8
Newport News native and New York Times best-selling author S.A. Cosby talks about his new book, “All The Sinners Bleed,” at Sam Miller’s at 7 p.m. Registration is required for this free event. fountainbookstore.com
Hundreds enjoy the Richmond Symphony’s Big Tent concert series playing at Abner Clay Park in Historic Jackson Ward for the first time Saturday, May 27. The free event in the recently renovated park featured works of noted Black composers such as Florence Beatrice Price, Joseph Bologne and Adolphus Hailstork. Conducted by Chia-Hsuan Lin, the concert featured soloists Katerina Burton, a Maryland resident, and Isaac Wilson, left, a violinist in the symphony’s youth orchestra who received a standing ovation. The event was presented through a partnership between the symphony and the Black History Museum & Cultural Center of Virginia.
Church)
The Associated Press
Hundreds of people flocked to a small town in Missouri this week and last to see a Black nun whose body has barely decomposed since 2019. Some say it’s a sign of holiness in Catholicism, while others say the lack of decomposition may not be as rare as people think.
Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster was exhumed in April, according to a statement from the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles, in Gower, Mo.
The nuns had been preparing for the addition of a St. Joseph shrine, and that involved “the reinterment of the remains of our beloved foundress, Sister Wilhelmina,” the statement said. When they exhumed Sister Lancaster, they were told to expect only bones, since she had been buried in a simple wooden coffin
without any embalming four years ago.
Instead, they discovered an intact body and “a perfectly preserved religious habit,” the statement said. The nuns hadn’t meant to publicize the discovery, but someone posted a private email publicly and “the news began to spread like wildfire.”
The monastery said in a statement Sister Lancaster’s body will be placed in a glass shrine in their church on Monday. Visitors will still be able to see her body and take dirt from her grave, but they won’t be able to touch her.
The Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph also released a statement. “The condition of the remains of Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster has understandably generated widespread interest and raised important questions,” the diocese said. “At the same time, it is important to protect the integrity of the mortal remains of Sister
By George Copeland Jr.
Gregory A. Cummings, a role model for Chesterfield County and Petersburg youths, was memorialized Tuesday at Second Baptist Church in South Side Richmond.
He died Saturday, May 20, 2023, at age 67.
Born Oct. 19, 1955, in Holly Hill, S.C. to the late Rev. James P. Cummings and Beatrice M. Cummings, Mr. Cummings was the oldest of five children. Growing up n his family’s farm, he learned managerial and leadership skills early in life by running the household when his parents were at work.
Living up to his title, “Second in Charge,” Mr. Cummings “enjoyed directing his siblings, which he continued to do so even after they became adults,” reads his obituary.
Such leadership traits proved valuable when Mr. Cummings later attended Holly Hill High School, where he served as the yearbook editor, student council president and graduated in the top 10 of his 1973 graduating class.
Mr. Cummings earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the College of Charleston in 1978. During the course of his career, Mr. Cummings worked for several businesses and nonprofits, including Philip Morris USA,
where he served as a general manager and, at the time of his retirement, was senior vice president of manufacturing.
Outside his professional career, Mr. Cummings devoted much of his time to aiding and uplifting at-risk youths. Some of his most significant contributions were with MEGA Mentors, a Chesterfield County-based organization focused on mentoring children, where he served as vice president, president and board member.
Mr. Cummings’ work with the organization helped expand its scope, allowing it to reach more than 3,000 students and 14 schools in Chesterfield. For this work, he was honored as
Broad Rock Baptist Church
5106 Walmsley Blvd., Richmond, VA 23224 804-276-2740 • 804-276-6535 (fax) www.BRBCONLINE.org
“BACK IN SERVICE”
“MAKE IT HAPPEN”
Pastor Kevin Cook
“ e Church With A Welcome”
Sundays Morning Worship 10:00 A.M.
one the inaugural members of the Chesterfield County Public Schools Hall of Fame in 2022. He also received the Chester Family YMCA’s Youth Development MLK Jr. Service Award in 2018.
A member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Mr. Cummings also co-founded Petersburg Promise, which uses volunteers to support students in the Petersburg school system.
Among the more than 250 online posts expressing condolences for Mr. Cummings, one
message, signed “Larry and Sharon,” captures his achievements, legacy and persona: “Greg lit up when he was able to help someone else. From Philip Morris, to MEGA Mentors to the foundations and boards that he was a member—it was all about helping others! A unique and special person. He will be greatly missed.”
Mr. Cummings is survived by his mother, his wife, Marilyn, siblings Ronald, Sharon and Patricia, his children, Angel and Omar, and a grandchild.
singing the beauty and power of diversity
Saturday, June 10, 2023 • 4 PM-5:30 PM Derbyshire Baptist Church
8800 Derbyshire Road Richmond, VA 23229
Join us for our Spring 2023 concert with special guests the VCU Health Orchestra!
The concert features jazz, show tunes and spirituals. The Orchestra will join us for Haydn’s Te Deum and Mozart’s Ave verum Corpus and will perform some selections from their most recent concert. You won’t want to miss this event!
Our facilitated pre-concert conversation on issues related to racial harmony and understanding starts at 3 pm.
This event is free; donations are gratefully accepted (suggested donation $16) online (onevoicechorus.org) or at the door.
Wilhelmina to allow for a thorough investigation.”
“Incorruptibility has been verified in the past, but it is very rare. There is a well-established process to pursue the cause for sainthood, but that has not been initiated in this case yet,” the diocese added.
The Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles, also said that Lancaster has not yet reached the required minimum of five years since death for the sainthood process to begin.
Rebecca George, an anthropology instructor at Western Carolina University in North Carolina, said the body’s lack of decomposition might not be as rare as people are expecting.
Ms. George said the “mummification” of un-embalmed bodies is common at the university’s facility and the bodies could stay preserved for many years, if allowed to.
Coffins and clothing also help to preserve bodies, she said.
“Typically, when we bury people, we don’t exhume them. We don’t get to look at them a couple years out,” Ms. George said. “With 100 years, there might be nothing left. But when you’ve got just a few years out, this is not unexpected.”
There are not enough words to fully express our heartfelt thanks for the sympathy, love and support extended to our family. Mr. Reginald Carroll, Jr.; Regina Carroll; and Deacon Emeritus Evangeline C. Brooks are greatly missed. All acts of kindness will always be remembered. Thank you!
Love, The Carroll Family
Sundays Sunday School - 9:30 A.M. Morning Services - 11 A.M. 2604 Idlewood Avenue, Richmond, Va. 23220 (804) 353-6135 • www.riverviewbaptistch.org
Via Conference Call (202) 926-1127 Pin 572890# In Person Sunday Service also on FACEBOOK and YouTube
Rev. Dr. John E. Johnson, Jr., Interim Minister
Join us at 11:00 a.m. each Sunday for in-person worship service or Live-stream on YouTube (Good Shepherd Baptist Church RVA).
St. Peter Baptist Church
Dr. Kirkland R. Walton, Pastor Worship
2003 Lamb Avenue Richmond, VA 23222
Dr. Arthur M. Jones, Sr., Pastor (804) 321-7622
OPEN FOR IN PERSON WORSHIP Morning Worship - 11 am
Conference Calls are still available at: ( 503) 300-6860 PIN: 273149 Facebook@:triumphantbaptist
– 12 NOON
WEDNESDAY MID-WEEK PRAYER & BIBLE STUDY – 7:00 P M
A MISSION BASED CHURCH FAMILY EXCITING MINISTRIES FOR CHILDREN, YOUTH, YOUNG ADULTS & SENIOR ADULTS
BIBLE REVELATION TEACHING
DIVERSE MUSIC MINISTRY LOVING, CARING ENVIRONMENT
DR. JAMES L. SAILES PASTOR
through Friday.
Candice D. Reid City Clerk
(804 798-9667 virGiNiA:
iN THE circUiT cOUrT FOr THE cOUNTY OF HENricO MArTA c vArGAS PLAiNTiFF v BENJAMiN vArGAS, Jr DEFENDANT case No. cL23-1266 OrDEr OF PUBLicATiON
The object of the above-styled suit is to obtain a divorce from the bond of matrimony from the Defendant on the grounds that the parties have lived separate and apart, without any cohabitation and without any interruption, for a period of more than one year. It appearing by affidavit filed according to law that the Defendant, BENJAMIN VARGAS, JR., cannot be located within the State of Virginia and that his last known address is unknown, it is therefore ORDERED that Defendant, BENJAMIN VARGAS, JR., appear before this Court on or before the 10th day of July, 2023, and do what is necessary to protect his interests in this suit. I ask for this:
Mary P. Adams, Esq. VSB No. 24551 Hairfield Morton, PLC 2800 Buford Road, Suite 201 Richmond, Virginia 23235 (804) 320-6600 - telephone (804) 320-8040 - facsimile madams@hmalaw.com
Counsel for the Plaintiff
virGiNiA:
iN THE circUiT cOUrT FOr THE cOUNTY OF HANOvEr JUSTiN KONTOvicH, Plaintiff v. SHErrY ALvArEZ, Defendant. case No.: cL23001822-00 OrDEr OF PUBLicATiON The object of this suit is to obtain a divorce from the bond of matrimony from the defendant on the ground of living separate and apart without any cohabitation and without interruption for a period exceeding twelve months.
It is ORDERED that the defendant, who is a nonresident of the Commonwealth of Virginia, appear here on or before the 14th day of July, 2023 at 9:00 AM, and protect her interests.
A Copy, Teste: FRANK D. HARGROVE, JR., Clerk I ask for this:
Law Office of Dorothy M. Eure, P.C. Dorothy M. Eure, Plaintiff’s Attorney VSB# 27724 8460 Mount Eagle Road Ashland, VA 23005 (804 798-9667
virGiNiA: iN THE circUiT cOUrT FOr THE cOUNTY OF HANOvEr GLENN FrANciS, Plaintiff v. LATOYA FrANciS, Defendant. case No.: cL23001823-00 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.
case No.: cL23001756-00 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 5th day of July, 2023 at 9:00 AM, and protect his interests.
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 MAriE TAQUiNE-ABiOLA, Plaintiff v. OLUSEGUN ABiOLA, Defendant. case No.: cL23001625-00 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 28th day of June, 2023 at 9:00 AM, and protect his
THE cOUNTY OF HANOvEr JUAN vArGAS
Plaintiff
SANDY vENTUrA rAMirEZ, Defendant. case No.: cL23000986-00 OrDEr OF PUBLicATiON The object of this suit is to obtain a divorce from the bond of matrimony from the defendant on the ground of living separate and apart without any cohabitation and without interruption for a period exceeding twelve months.
It is ORDERED that the defendant, who is a nonresident, appear here on or before the 30th day of June, 2023 at 9:00 AM, and protect her interests. A Copy, Teste:
8460 Mount Eagle Road Ashland, VA 23005 (804 798-9667 cUSTODY virGiNiA: iN THE JUvENiLE AND DOMESTic rELATiONS DiSTricT cOUrT OF THE ciTY OF ricHMOND commonwealth of virginia, in re ANAESiA LADANETTA YOUNG rDSS v rEGiNALD FiSHEr File No. J-100215-07
OrDEr OF PUBLicATiON
The object of this suit is to: terminate the residual parental rights (“RPR”) of reginald Fisher (Father) of Anaesia LaDanetta Young, child DOB: 8/15/2021 “RPR” 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 and that:
It is ORDERED that the defendant reginald Fisher (Father) to appear at the above-named Court and protect his/her interest on or before 8/2/2023, at 9:00 A.M., cOUrTrOOM #5 (AKT)
virGiNiA: iN THE circUiT cOUrT OF THE ciTY OF ricHMOND Bellalid Solis Javier roman In the Matter of the Proposed Adoption Of Child:
Daniel Lopez Solis (DOB: 08/05/2011)
the Matter of the Proposed Adoption Of Child: Pedro Lopez Solis (DOB: 09/27/2014) Birth Certificate Registration No.: 145-14-06995 Registered in the Commonwealth of Virginia OrDEr OF PUBLicATiON
The object of the above-styled suit is for the petitioner, Javier Roman, to adopt Pedro Lopez Solis, the biological son of Bellalid Solis and Pedro Geovany Lopez. It appearing by affidavit filed according to law that the Respondent, Pedro Geovany Lopez, is not a resident of the Commonwealth of Virginia and that his last known address is
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL
The University of Virginia seeks a firm to provideLocal Lodging & Conference ServicesRFP#UVA-00080SW052523 -https://bids.sciquest.com/ apps/Router/PublicEvent? CustomerOrg=UVa or email: pur-rfp@eservices. virginia.edu
Principal Associate, Data Science – Capital One Services, LLC in Richmond, VA; Mult pos avail: Lead application & validation of stat & other math methods to collect, organize, interpret, & sum econ data to assist in decision-making & spprt the dvlpmnt of bus strat. To apply, visit https://capitalone. wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/Capital_One and search “Principal Associate, Data Science” or “R167312”.
Senior Data Analyst – Capital One, National Association in Richmond, VA; Mult pos avail: Perform quant & qualt analysis of econ data, relating constants & variables, restrictions, alternatives, conflicting objectives, & their num parameters. To apply, visit https://capitalone.wd1. myworkdayjobs.com/Capital_One and search “Senior Data Analyst” or “R166744”.
Thank you for your interest in applying for opportunities with The City of Richmond.
To see what opportunities are available, please refer to our website at www.richmondgov.com. EOE M/F/D/V
PART-TIME POSITIONS AVAILABLE St. John’s United Holy Church is seeking to fill (3) part-time positions, Finance Team Member, Pianist and Drummer. The Finance Team Member will be responsible for monitoring, recording, and managing church financial accounts and records. The Pianist and Drummer will provide musical support and accompaniment for scheduled worship services and other activities of the music ministry. Complete details for each position can be found on our website at www.sjuhcrichmond.org or contact Trustee Wilbert Jones at (804) 733-4590 or E-mail at stjohnsuhc1915@gmail.com
The City of Richmond announces the following project(s) available for services relating to: IFB No. 230012835: Tire and Tire Installation for Med Duty,
Conference Call Meeting: June 9, 2023 10:00 A.M.
rOOSEvELT JOHNSON iii Defendant. case No.: cL23001870-00 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 July, 2023 at 9:00 AM, and protect his interests. A
It is ORDERED that the defendant, whose whereabouts are unknown, appear here on or before the 14th day of July, 2023 at 9:00 AM, and protect her interests.
A Copy, Teste: FRANK D. HARGROVE, JR., Clerk I ask for this:
Law Office of Dorothy M. Eure, P.C. Dorothy M. Eure, Plaintiff’s Attorney VSB# 27724 8460 Mount Eagle Road Ashland, VA 23005 (804 798-9667 virGiNiA: iN THE circUiT cOUrT FOr THE cOUNTY OF HANOvEr BrENDA AcEvEDO, Plaintiff v. LUiS AriAS BATiSTA, Defendant. case No.: cL23001824-00 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 circUiT cOUrT FOr THE cOUNTY OF HANOvEr SHANNON WiLSON GONZALEZ, Plaintiff v. SiLvESTrE GONZALEZ rODriGUEZ, Defendant. case No.: cL23001670-00 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 30th day of June, 2023 at 9:00 AM, and protect his interests. A Copy, Teste:
JR.,
Birth Certificate Registration No.: 145-11-057661 Registered in the Commonwealth of Virginia OrDEr OF PUBLicATiON The object of the above-styled suit is for the petitioner, Javier Roman, to adopt Daniel Lopez Solis, the biological son of Bellalid Solis and Pedro Geovany Lopez.
It appearing by affidavit filed according to law that the Respondent, Pedro Geovany Lopez, is not a resident of the Commonwealth of Virginia and that his last known address is unknown, it is therefore ORDERED that Respondent, Pedro Geovany Lopez, appear before this Court on or before the 26th day of June, 2023 at 9:00 a.m. and do what is necessary to protect his interest in this suit. AN EXTRACT, TESTE: EDWARD F. JEWETT, CLERK virGiNiA: iN THE circUiT cOUrT OF THE ciTY OF ricHMOND Bellalid Solis Javier roman In the Matter of the Proposed Adoption Of Child: Geovana Lopez Solis (DOB: 01/16/2013)
For all information pertaining to this IFB conference call, please logon to the Richmond website (www.RVA.GOV).
Proposal Due Date: Thursday, June 23, 2023 /Time: 11:00 A.M. Information or copies of the above solicitations are available by contacting Procurement Services, at the City of Richmond website (www.RVA. GOV), or faxed (804) 646-5989. The City of Richmond encourages all contractors to participate in the procurement process.
798-9667 virGiNiA: iN THE circUiT cOUrT FOr THE cOUNTY OF HANOvEr ScHMiDE DEvArEL, Plaintiff v. DiMMY HErArD, Defendant. case No.: cL23001645-00 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
Birth Certificate Registration No.: 145-13-002481 Registered in the Commonwealth of Virginia OrDEr OF PUBLicATiON The object of the above-styled suit is for the petitioner, Javier Roman, to adopt Geovana Lopez Solis, the biological daughter of Bellalid Solis and Pedro Geovany Lopez. It appearing by affidavit filed according to law that the Respondent, Pedro Geovany Lopez, is not a resident of the Commonwealth of Virginia and that his last known address is unknown, it is therefore ORDERED that Respondent, Pedro Geovany Lopez, appear before this Court on or before the 26th day of June, 2023 at 9:00 a.m. and do what is necessary to protect his interest in this suit.
AN EXTRACT, TESTE: EDWARD F. JEWETT, CLERK virGiNiA: iN THE circUiT cOUrT