TLN-11-6-19

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INSIDE

EGACY

• Katherine Johnson turns 101 • AF and indefinite enlistment • A day in the life of a teacher • ‘Central Park 5’ on injustices

Yesterday. Today. Tomorrow.

WEDNESDAYS • Nov. 6, 2019

Richmond & Hampton Roads

LEGACYNEWSPAPER.COM • FREE

New leaders, old problems at city permit center

RBS - With new leadership in place and steps being taken to enhance both its online and on-site customer portals, City of Richmond officials say they’re making steady progress toward improving the city’s longbeleaguered permits and inspections office. At the same time, however, several customers and industry observers who have called on or regularly work with the office maintain that it still has a long way to go. Some contend that operations have gotten worse rather than better. While they acknowledge that they have a lot of work left to be done, Sharon Ebert and Jason Carangelo, who were brought on this year to oversee the office as the city’s new supervising administrator and building commissioner, respectively, said they’re implementing strategies that are moving it in the right direction. “We’re taking some steps to try to get to where we know we want to go to,” Ebert said in an interview with BizSense earlier this month – citing such things as staffing adjustments and recent additions to the city’s EnerGov system for submitting and reviewing permits and plans online. “There’s a series of things that we’re going to be systematically rolling out over the next several weeks and months to try to turn this around,” Ebert said. “I’m not going to say it’s going to happen by the end of the year, because I don’t want to make promises I can’t keep. But we are keenly aware of what we need

to do to turn the ship in the right direction.” Their game plan appears to be finding initial favor with some builders and developers, a group of whom met with Ebert and Carangelo this week to discuss their concerns and suggested remedies. The renovated permit center at City Hall. The entrance was moved to Room 108 from Room 110, visible at the end of the hall. While customers as recently as this month have reported hours-long waits and other frustrations, some to City Council members and others Ebert gave the group an optimistic view of the road ahead, said Danna Markland, CEO of the Home Building Association of Richmond. “They were extremely encouraged by Sharon’s commitment to implementing new strategies, which is a breath of fresh air,” said Markland, who helped coordinated the meeting that was held Wednesday. “I think the level of attention that she is paying to these issues is different than what we’ve seen,” Markland said. “But, of course, only time will tell.” Markland stressed that the meeting, which also was attended by Mayor Levar Stoney and involved a regional group of builders and developers looking to invest in the city, was needed because of problems that continue to persist, despite steps that have been taken so far. “They’re no better,” she said. “If anything, they are worse. But what

Sharon Ebert, Richmond’s new deputy chief administrative officer for economic and community development, discusses permit center challenges with Jason Carangelo, the city’s new building commissioner. PHOTOS: Jonathan Spiers Sharon outlined as her priorities and her approach to this is a sign that there could be some productive strategies in place that actually will address these. A large part of that will be empowering and enabling their people to do so.” ‘Trying to get through the backlog’ Ebert, who started with the city in March as deputy chief administrative officer for economic and community development, said steps taken so far include the recent launch of the first of seven permitting applications planned for Energov, which the city has been

rolling out slowly since it awarded a $1.63 million contract for the system in 2012. Carangelo and Ebert were brought in earlier this year. ‘We are keenly aware of what we need to do to turn the ship in the right direction,’ Ebert said. Ebert said this latest update allows for online processing of permit applications related to residential construction, such as for residential electrical, mechanical, plumbing, plan of development and zoning certifications. Read the conclusion online


The LEGACY

2 • Nov. 6, 2019

News

Community connections inspire local student UR/FIRST PERSON - From professors to internship supervisors to community members, it is often the leaders we encounter and the conversations we share that shape our lives. As a sophomore Bonner Scholar, TJ Tann, ’21, attended a dinner with Kirsten Lodal, CEO and co-founder of LIFT, who was in Richmond for the Bonner Center for Civic Engagement’s 2018 Engage for Change! awards gathering. By the end of the dinner, Tann knew that he wanted to apply for an

internship with the organization, and nine months later, he headed to D.C. to work as a LIFT coach. “Working with the leaders who ran LIFT-DC was a highlight of my entire summer,” Tann said. “I [will] thank them always for the work they do and the impact they had on me.” LIFT operates in Chicago, D.C., Los Angeles, and New York to partner with high-quality community and early childcare organizations and engage and support parents. “I worked with about 15 families helping them set, plan, and

achieve educational, career, and personal goals,” Tann said. “I also collaborated with the LIFT-DC and national teams on a number of projects, including developing a program for families with entrepreneurial aspirations and the foundation of a possible policy arm of LIFT.” Tann enjoys opportunities to connect deeply with individuals while finding ways to advocate on their behalf. “If people need that voice to speak out for various communities, I have

no problem being that,” Tann said. “Everybody can always be of help to someone, and that should be our shared goal.” During his sophomore year, he also served as a development intern with The Commonwealth Institute, assisting in organizing their Policy Summit, and was co-president of the Multicultural Student Solidarity Network (MSSN) on campus. Tann is currently studying abroad at Queen Mary University of

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www.LEGACYnewspaper.com

Nov. 6, 2019 • 3

‘Hidden Figure’ Katherine Johnson turns 101 STACY M. BROWN Katherine Johnson, one of the African American women whose stories received global attention in the best-selling book and blockbuster movie, “Hidden Figures,” has turned 101. The renowned mathematician was instrumental in Alan Shepherd’s 1961 journey to space. She also played a pivotal role in John Glenn becoming the first American to successfully orbit Earth one year after Shepherd’s flight. Johnson will also receive a Congressional Gold Medal thanks to a bipartisan bill passed by Congress earlier this month. All four of the heroines depicted in “Hidden Figures” will receive recognition. In addition to Johnson, Dr. Christine Darden, Dorothy Vaughn and Mary Jackson will also receive medals. Vaughn’s and Jackson’s medals will be presented posthumously. The book, “Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race,” by Margot Lee Shetterly, helped tell the women’s story. “Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, and Dr. Christine Darden made monumental contributions to science and our nation,” said Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) said in a statement. Harris and five other members of Congress introduced legislation to secure Congressional Gold Medals for Johnson and her colleagues. “The groundbreaking accomplishments of these four women and all of the women who contributed to the success of NASA helped us win the space race but remained in the dark far too long,” Harris stated.

“I am proud our bill to honor these remarkable women has passed Congress. These pioneers remain a beacon for Black women across the country, both young and old.” The honor isn’t the only one for Johnson. Corporate Office Properties Trust (COPT) agreed this month to rename its 7000 Columbia Gateway Drive building in Columbia, Maryland, the Katherine G. Johnson Building. A plaque will be placed at DreamPort’s 7000 Columbia Gateway Drive entrance commemorating the naming of the building in honor of Mrs. Johnson and her legendary accomplishments as a NASA mathematician and her essential role in the space program, according to a news release. At 101 years of age, Mrs. Johnson is the recipient of numerous honors, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, multiple NASA Langley Research Center Special Achievement awards, and many others. In addition to the recognition by COPT, Johnson has other buildings, schools, and libraries named after her. In an earlier interview, Johnson told NNPA Newswire that she missed working. “I’d go back now,” she said. After leaving her teaching job in 1953, Johnson began working for NASA and was able to calculate the trajectory for numerous space missions, including for the space flight of Alan Shephard, the first American in space and the path for the famed 1968 Apollo 11 flight to the Moon. “I’d do them over if I had to. I’d do anything for anyone,” Johnson stated. At an early age, Johnson developed enviable math skills so much so that even NASA officials wrote a story

Katherine Johnson about her titled, “The girl who loved to count.” “I counted everything. I counted the steps to the road, the steps up to the church, the number of dishes and silverware I washed anything that could be counted, I did,” Johnson said. “I entered college; I was 15. I was going to be a math teacher because that was it. You could be a math teacher or a nurse, but I was told I would make a good research mathematician and they had me take all of the courses in the catalog,” she stated.

When Glenn went to the Moon, Johnson said her “Hidden Figures” crew acted as the computer for the mission. Calculating everything involved in the flight became like a geometry problem, Johnson recalled. “I felt most proud of the success of the Apollo mission. We had to determine so much. Where you were, where the Moon would be and how fast the astronauts were going,” Johnson stated. “We were really concerned, but the astronaut had to do it just as we laid it out. I was looking at the television and hoping that we’re right.”

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The LEGACY

4 • Nov. 6, 2019

Bonuses, service commitments and more: How the Air Force’s new indefinite enlistment will work

Air Force Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force Kaleth Wright speaks to personnel attending an Air Force Element Senior Enlisted Leader Conference at the Pentagon in April 2018. PHOTO: James McCann/DoD) The Air Force’s new indefinite enlistment system — officially called the Noncommissioned Officer Career Status Program — will be a game changer for thousands of active-duty enlisted airmen. But how exactly will it work when airmen hit 12 years of service and no longer have to sign on the dotted line every four years or so? The process will be similar to that for officers, the Air Force said in a Wednesday announcement. Airmen with 12 years of service — who want to remain in uniform — will sign one last re-enlistment contract on or after Nov. 18, when the program takes effect, and then fall under the new NCO program. This will be the last contract of their careers. They will no longer see a date of separation in their records until they are within 12 months of their high year of tenure date. Upon promotion, their date of separation will automatically be updated to their new rank’s high year of tenure date. In a follow-up email, Air Force spokeswoman Capt. Carrie Volpe

said that airmen will not incur an active-duty service commitment to re-enlist under the NCO program. But like officers, NCOs will continue to incur service commitments when they receive selective retention bonuses, are promoted, attend service schools, undergo a permanent change-of-station move, and other events, Volpe said. Selective retention bonuses won’t be affected that much by the new program, the Air Force said in the release. But there will be some administrative changes to how they are processed. In the past, those bonuses were tied to re-enlistment, Volpe said. But because airmen will no longer reenlist for specific periods of service after 12 years, bonuses will be offered in a different manner. The Air Force will offer SRBs to eligible NCOs based on their Air Force specialty code and their applicable zone, or a grouping of years of service. Airmen with between 10 and 14 years of total active federal military service fall in Zone C, and airmen with 18 to 20

years are in Zone E. On a monthly basis, the Air Force Personnel Center will notify airmen under the NCO Career Status Program when they are eligible by directly sending them a message myPers. If they’re interested, they will complete their application electronically. Airmen will agree to an active-duty service commitment of at least three years, but no more than six years, in exchange for the bonus. The separation process for enlisted airmen under this program will also work similarly to that of officers, the Air Force said in the release. They can apply for separation before their high year of tenure date, with an effective date of no later than 180 days from the date of request. High year of tenure dates for NCOs and senior NCOs are currently 20

years for staff sergeants, 22 years for technical sergeants, 24 years for master sergeants, 26 years for senior master sergeants and 30 years for chief master sergeants. One of the biggest benefits of this program could be how it simplifies managing NCOs’ careers. According to the personnel center’s web site, more than 10,000 re-enlistment contracts in fiscal 2018 would have been eliminated if this program had been in effect at the time. “What we are saying to our airmen is, we hear you,” Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force Kaleth Wright said in the release. “We recognize your commitment to a profession in the Air Force, and we’re going to manage your service commitment in a way that provides you with reduced paperwork and increased efficiency.”

(from page 2) the LAJC internship. London taking courses in politics and international relations, but the people he worked with this summer are never far from his mind. “The people that I had the opportunity to work with impacted me just as much as I hoped I impacted them,” Tann said. “I will always remember the families I worked with and never forget that the fight for economic justice and equality is ongoing.” When he returns to Richmond this spring, he will continue his Bonner Scholars Program placement at the Legal Aid Justice Center (LAJC) in their new offices located in the UR Downtown building at 7th and Broad. He credits his reading of Michelle Alexander’s The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness with his pursuit of

“I had always thought about the possibility of law school, and reading that book led me to think about how I could take real action of my own,” Tann said. “I started thinking about the option of helping underrepresented communities through pro bono, advocacy, or policy work.” During his first semester with the organization, he worked as a client intake coordinator and aided two LAJC attorneys with research on immigration customs enforcement and evictions. “The work that LAJC does providing legal representation for those who may not otherwise afford it perfectly aligns with my interest in combating inequalities,” Tann said. “Whatever I do going forward, I will always be looking for ways to make a positive impact on people in whatever capacity I may be operating in.”


www.LEGACYnewspaper.com

Nov. 6, 2019• 5

Hunter finds remains of missing JCC woman The skeletal remains of a woman missing since March was found in James City County Tuesday, the Virginia State Police said. The State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigations said Friday night the remains were identified as that of 38-year-old Juliann Crystal Hobbs. Authorities said investigators got a call from a local hunter on Tuesday who had come across skeletal remains in the woods. The remains were found in the 4000 block of Mount Laurel Road, about a quarter of a mile from the main state highway in James City County. The remains were sent to the Medical Examiner’s office in Norfolk. Authorities said the investigation is ongoing. James City County Police made a public request for assistance in finding Hobbs following a tip in

Juliann Crystal Hobbs August. Authorities in both Virginia Beach and James City County were searching for Hobbs, who was last

seen around 1:30 p.m. March 11 when she was dropped off by an acquaintance at the end of Sycamore Landing Road. In August, James City County Police spokeswoman Stephanie Williams said Hobbs suffers from a cognitive condition. She said Hobbs was not dropped off at a residence on Sycamore Landing Road, just at the end of the street. The road runs along the York River above York River State Park and is surrounded by woods, creeks and marsh, according to a satellite view on Google Maps. Authorities did not provide information about the relationship of the “acquaintance” to Hobbs. Williams said the family then notified James City County Police that Hobbs was last seen March 11 on Sycamore Landing Road. In August James City County Police confirmed Hobbs was dropped

off in the county. The “acquaintance” who dropped Hobbs off called her family in late July to tell them he dropped her off. The family then sent the tip to county police, who worked to confirm various details of the case with Virginia Beach Police. She had just moved to Virginia Beach from Florida in February. Virginia Beach Police originally received a missing persons report for Hobbs in April. At that time, Williams said Hobbs’ medical conditions were not disclosed, meaning her case didn’t meet the criteria to be entered into the National Crime Information Center and Virginia Criminal Information Network systems. Those circumstances include the missing person having a disability, being endangered, being taken involuntarily, or going missing after a catastrophe.

their deductibles, copays and other out-of-pocket costs for health care services. “Even if you’re happy with your current plan, it’s still important to review all of your options for 2020 to make sure nothing has changed,” said Jill Hanken, director of ENROLL! Virginia and Health Attorney at Virginia Poverty Law Center (VPLC). “Because plans and prices change year over year, it’s vital that consumers take the time to compare their plan options.”

This is a great time for consumers to examine the deals found on the marketplace to save money and better meet their health care needs. Consumers who went on HealthCare.gov, compared their plan options and selected the plan that best fit their health and financial needs ended up paying 38 percent less per month on average in 2019 than the consumers whose plans were automatically renewed. Consumers have until Dec. 15 to enroll. The health insurance landscape can be confusing, but free, local inperson help is available. You can find someone to help you navigate the enrollment process by visiting enrollva.org. Enrollment assisters throughout the Commonwealth are available to help consumers during open enrollment season. They can provide education and enrollment assistance for all types of consumer needs and questions.

Most Virginians will see lower premiums and more choices on the Health Insurance Marketplace Open enrollment for health insurance available on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplaces began on Nov. 1, and most Virginians will see more choices and lower premiums on the Health Insurance Marketplace at Healthcare.gov. The number of insurers participating in the marketplace in Virginia is up this year, as is the number of health insurance plans people can choose from, increasing from an average of 13.6 plans in 2019 to 19.6 plans on average available for 2020. In the Richmond area, consumers will be able to choose from 28 different health plans in 2020 – compared to only

nine plan options in 2019. According to the Virginia Bureau of Insurance, the weighted average premium will be reduced by 18 percent. Medicaid expansion is cited as one of the key reasons for this reduction in premiums. In Virginia, 75 percent of current marketplace consumers will have plans available for 2020 that cost less than $50 per month after tax credits. More than eight of ten marketplace enrollees in Virginia received premium tax credits to help them pay for their 2019 coverage. In addition, nearly half of all marketplace enrollees in Virginia also qualified for cost-sharing reductions this year, which lowered


The LEGACY

6 • Nov. 6, 2019

Op/Ed & Letters Messaging as manslaughter THOMAS L. KNAPP In July of 2014, 18-year-old Conrad Roy killed himself in Fairhaven, Massachusetts by pumping carbon monoxide into the cab of his truck. In a bench trial, a judge convicted Roy's 17-year-old girlfriend, Michelle Carter, of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced her to 2 1/2 years in prison. In May of 2019, 22-year-old Alexander Urtula killed himself in Boston, Massachusetts by jumping from the top of a parking garage. His 21-year-old girlfriend, Inyoung You, has likewise been charged with involuntary manslaughter. In both cases, the charges hinge on the content of text messages in which the women encouraged, even “ordered”, the men to commit suicide. You is a South Korean national who has since returned home. The treaty governing extradition between the U.S. and South Korea requires that the charge involved “be recognized as a crime in both jurisdictions,” so unless text messaging is illegal in South Korea, You may avoid playing her part in yet another re-enactment of the Salem witch trials of 1692 and 1693. Text messaging isn’t manslaughter, any more than it’s rape, robbery, or driving 60 miles per hour in a 50 mile per hour zone. Nor is possession of a doll or a mole or birthmark “witchcraft” as The LEGACY NEWSPAPER Vol. 5 No. 45 Mailing Address P.O. Box 12474 Richmond, VA 23241 Office Address 105 1/2 E. Clay St. Richmond, VA 23219 Call: 804-644-1550 Online www.legacynewspaper.com

fantasized in 17th century Puritan New England. Hanging 19 men and women for witchcraft, and crushing another man to death for refusing to plead to charges of witchcraft, didn't bring an end to imagined “molestations from the invisible world.” It merely sated an outbreak of mass hysteria. Imprisoning Michelle Carter or Inyoung You for sending text messages may sate the desire of a few families for retribution. It may advance the political careers of a few grandstanding prosecutors. It won’t bring back Conrad Roy or Alexander Urtula, nor will it erase the irrefutable truth: These two adults knowingly and intentionally took their own lives. Are Michelle Carter and Inyoung You “bad people?” Maybe they are. Are they (or at least were they) controlling and psychologically abusive? It seems likely, and their relationships with Roy and Urtula were obviously mentally and emotionally unhealthy on both sides. Not everyone who’s broken can be fixed before something awful occurs. Sometimes horrible things happen, and we’re left looking for answers as to why, and for ways to prevent the next such tragedy. Imprisoning people for text messaging is not one of the right answers. It merely compounds tragedy with error, with evil, and with comforting lies, at the expense of additional victims. The LEGACY welcomes all signed letters and all respectful opinions. Letter writers and columnists opinions are their own and endorsements of their views by The LEGACY should be inferred. The LEGACY assumes no responsibility for unsolicited material. Annual Subscription Rates Virginia - $50 U.S. states - $75 Outside U.S.- $100 The Virginia Legacy © 2016

A day in the life... of a teacher Voicemail: My kid told me that YOU... Email: We need you to sub on your prep. Teacher coaches: Students are experiencing an all time level of trauma. Form relationships with all students and make connections every day. SRSS: Make sure to incorporate ELA and math into your lesson plan daily, so we can boost our scores for data. IEP: Implement these modifications and accommodations for these students every hour. Document it. 504: You are legally bound to adhering to these accommodations for these students. Document it. Pinterest: Every teacher in the universe has a cooler and craftier idea and classroom than you. Facebook: Omg. Did you hear about what happened in *insert teacher here* class?! Don't they even watch them? It's their job! How did (s)he miss that?! Yeah, and I heard... Class roster: 30+ kids every hour, 6 times per day. Student Services: You have 4 homeless students. You need to provide the following daily. Student Medical alert: These students will die if you don't monitor these medical issues closely. Professional Development: We're trying something new this year even though we're not ready to roll it out and there's no funding for it. Be sure to document that you are doing it correctly. Media: Your classroom is going to get shot up any minute. Surprise observation: Be sure goals are set, reports are finished, lesson plans are perfect, and that you hit the learning target and success criteria multiple times. We need documentation and evidence that you're doing this. Standardized tests: You suck as a teacher. Also, your rating is based on this, but also, make sure students don't feel defined by their performance on

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www.LEGACYnewspaper.com

Nov. 6, 2019• 7

P.T. Hoffsteader, Esq.

(from page 6) these. PBIS: Teach students the expectations in the hallway, cafeteria, classroom, and outside. Take students in the bathroom and reteach how to wipe, flush, and wash hands. Be sure to only reward positive behavior. Check in and check out with these specific students daily. MTSS: We have 3 tiers of support. What about your gifted students, pull out students, intervention students? Why aren't you providing enough differentiation? You need to provide documentation. Door: Keep me locked, so that students are safe. Yes you will be interrupted to open me 10x per hour. Papers/Grading: Say good bye to your evenings and weekends. Lesson plans: Are they aligned with school, state, U.S., and world wide standards? Be sure to document that. The Powers That Be: What can we do to help? Teachers: Please take something off our plate before adding something new. The Powers that Be: Sorry, no can do. Btw, you also need to... Tech Dept: We are working on correcting today's issue as quickly as we can. English Language Learner: *crying, speaking a foreign language, feeling alone and scared* The Powers that Be: Sorry, there's just not enough funding for those students. Department Heads: I've been told we need to align all of our curriculum, assessments, and daily lesson plans. Be sure to document that. Staff Memo: Be sure to attend the following meetings this week: staff, grade level, core subject, tech, school climate, school improvement. Counselors: We saw 500 of the 900 students on our caseload, this month. Social Worker: Yes, I filed that CPS report and the other one. Now we wait on the state to act. Student: My step dad got arrested last night for beating up my mom. Tornado Drill: Surprise! Make sure all students are safe. Now go back to teaching. Fire Drill: Surprise! Make sure all students are safe. Now go back to teaching. Internal Threat Drill: Surprise! Barricade your door and make sure all students are silent for 45 minutes. Go back to teaching. External Threat drill: Surprise! Make sure student are silent and out of the funnel of potential bullet spray. Now go back to teaching.

Tutoring: Provided before school, after school, and during lunch. Technology: Must be implemented into all lessons but also make sure to monitor all 30+ students at all times and make sure they're not doing anything inappropriate. Data: You suck as a teacher. Administrators: *literally being pulled in 20 directions at once, everyday, while fielding discipline, making multiple teacher observations, fielding staff, breaking up fights, keeping us safe, performing investigations, cooperating with police, meeting with students and parents, and attending all after school and extracurricular activities* Employability grade: Be sure to document when students are tardy, not following directions, unprepared, and not collaborating well. Document this for all 175 students. Academic Grade: Document all accommodations, modifications, retakes, and rationale for grades for each of your 175 students. No we will not provide district time for you to enter these into your grade book. Special Ed State Dept: You must mainstream all students regardless of behavior, cognitive function, and/or potential violent episodes. Sorry, there's just not enough funding for additonal support in your classroom. State: Make sure you are highly qualified, but you must pay for all of your professional development, student loans, grad classess, conferences, hotel stay, food, travel, and substitute teachers out of pocket. And you need to update your certification. You'll need to pay for that too. Bladder: You haven't peed in 7 hours, you're going to get another infection. Heart: *racing* Stomach: *in knots and anxiety coursing* Brain: You're not enough. You'll never be enough. Chest/Lungs: I can’t breathe. Eyes: *leaking tears* Me: *smiles* (Tells self) Stop. Just suck it up. You’re fine. You have 30+ students eyes on you right now. Do NOT let them down. Society: F*ck respect for authority, including your teachers. Must be nice to get your summers off. Parent of a student: You make a difference. Student: I know I'm special and have value, because of you. My own kids: Mom, why are your crying? Me: *sets alarm for tomorrow to do it all over again*


8 •Nov. 6, 2019

The LEGACY

Faith & Religion New rule would allow foster care, adoption agencies to exclude on religious grounds RNS — The Trump administration is proposing a new rule that would allow adoption, foster care agencies, and other social service providers receiving taxpayer funding from the Department of Health and Human Services to refuse to serve people based on religion, sexual orientation and gender identity. The rule essentially guts a 2016 provision enacted in the final days of the Obama administration that prohibited such agencies from receiving government funding if they discriminate against clients based on religion, sexual orientation and gender identity. Lifting the provision sets up a culture clash pitting those who champion exemptions for faithbased charities against civil liberties groups who claim religious groups receiving government funding should not exclude anyone. Federal statutes will continue to prohibit discrimination based on nationality and race. Those are enshrined in law, and the executive branch cannot rescind them without Congressional approval. Opposition to the new rule was swift. “On any given day there are more than 440,000 in the foster care system in the United States,” said Christina Wilson Remlin, lead counsel for Children’s Rights, a nonprofit New York-based advocacy and legal firm. “Given the context of the foster care crisis in placement options, we simply cannot abide any proposal that would enable taxpayer-funded discrimination against same-sex couples, Jewish

couples, Catholic couples, Muslim couples and any other family system whose religious beliefs do not match those of the child-placing agencies.” Others, such as the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, applauded the new rule. The Obama provision, they claimed, forced them to shutter foster care and adoption agencies rather than place children with same-sex couples. Catholic teachings prohibit same-sex unions. But beyond allowing foster care and adoption agencies to refuse to serve same-sex couples, the new rule may also pit religious groups against one another. The proposed rule was set in motion last year when South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster asked the Department of Health and Human Services to grant faithbased foster care agencies in South Carolina an exemption to the religious discrimination rule in federally funded foster care programs. At the time, Miracle Hill Ministries, a Greenville South Carolina charity, accepted only Protestant, churchgoing people to its federally funded foster care program and required participants to sign a statement of faith. That meant it declined serving Jewish or even Catholic families wanting to foster a child. Miracle Hill, which received about $600,000 in public funding in 2018, asked for the exemption, so it could continue receiving government support HHS granted it in January. The following month, a Catholic mother of three who was denied an

opportunity to volunteer at one of Miracle Hill’s children’s homes sued the federal and state governments, accusing them of religious discrimination. In June and before the case was heard in court, Miracle Hill relented and allowed Catholics to serve as volunteers and foster parents so long as they agree to a doctrinal statement of belief. It still won’t allow Jews or Muslims or same-sex couples to foster children. Robin Fretwell Wilson, a professor of law at the University of Illinois at Champaign who advised Utah

lawmakers in drafting a bill that bans discrimination against LGBT people while also protecting religious institutions, criticized the new rule for potentially harming vulnerable children. “We are putting children squarely in the middle of the culture war,” she said. “It’s hard to understand how children are being served by this move.” The proposed rule is expected to be published in the Federal Register early next week. It will be followed by a 30-day public comment period.


www.LEGACYnewspaper.com

Nov. 6, 2019• 9

‘We have to spread the truth’: The Central Park Five’s Kevin Richardson works to correct injustices

Kevin Richardson spent over five years in prison for a crime he did not commit. He told several hundred students at Virginia Commonwealth University that he draws inspiration from them while he is working to make the world a better place. “I really see myself through you guys, because I wanted to go to college,” Richardson said. “I was robbed from that.” Richardson was 14 years old in 1989 when he and four other youths were arrested and charged with the brutal rape of a jogger in Central Park in New York. They were locked in a police precinct for hours and falsely confessed to the crime. Years later, another man confessed to the crime, but not before the youths, who became known as the Central Park Five, underwent an unprecedented experience, as the case was a media spectacle. “It’s surreal, because when I tell people what literally happened to me, what I’ve been through, when I was 14 years old, I’m 45 now, that I’ve been fighting for practically my whole life,” Richardson said. A crime wave happened in April of 1989 in Central Park. Richardson lived across the street from the park and was out playing basketball. It was getting late, and he was worried about missing curfew. As he was walking home, a police van pulled up and he ran. He went back into the park and was eventually arrested. At the time, he was charged with rioting and unlawful assembly. Richardson said he should not have run, but he was scared. “Even if you didn’t do anything wrong in New York, you can still be guilty of the color of your skin,” Richardson said. “I ran because everybody else did.” The interrogation, Richardson said, began as good cop-bad cop. At the time, Richardson did not know any of the other Central Park five.

Richardson, left, said he is worried about the rise in racial tensions across the country. “I’m scared for our people. I’m scared for my daughters. I’m scared for the world, because what happened to us, you think that would be so horrific that there would be change since then. But it’s still going on. There has to be some kind of common ground to make it stop.” PHOTO: Kevin Morley Over time, the police started to frame questions in a way that made him admit that he knew the other youths. He said he was naive. He did not realize that when he admitted to knowing them, he was also making himself a suspect to the crime. Richardson was not represented by an attorney and his mother was not given access to him, despite coming to the police station. He was alone and did not see any way out other than admitting to something. “They took us down to the precinct, and they were basically terrorizing us,” Richardson said. “How were they able to do that? There was basically no evidence. I had to take

it all in and do that. The parents weren’t around. It doesn’t seem possible.” Two years later, Richardson was convicted of 13 counts and sentenced to five to 10 years in prison. His family suffered greatly through the ordeal. His mother received threats before the trial and had a heart attack when the verdict was read. Richardson said he cannot understand how people could say such negative things about him when they did not know him. He was innocent, but he said a mob mentality formed in the media and the community. “The story is that we were all in

some type of gang, some type of cult,” Richardson said. “They called us urban terrorists. We didn’t know each other.” In 2002, Matias Reyes, a convicted rapist, confessed to the crime and DNA evidence was able to confirm his confession. Richardson was already out of prison, but the confession cleared his name. The city of New York eventually awarded the five men $41 million for the false convictions. Thirty years after the incident, Richardson has a platform to speak about injustice and the need

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(from page 9) to improve the criminal justice system. A Netflix miniseries, “When They See Us,” was produced about the case, and Oprah did a special where she interviewed the five. The film, Richardson said, was “painful, but it’s necessary.” He attended a private screening before the release and said he felt every emotion. He called it a therapy session for him and the others, whom he now calls his “brothers.” Richardson said he is traveling around the country telling his story. The mostly African American crowd at VCU seemed to resonate with his story. He received numerous applauses and a standing ovation at the end. He said he is excited that the film has given him and the others a platform. “They tried to silence us, but they woke up a beast,” Richardson said. “They woke up a sleeping giant. We have to spread the truth. They are not physically scared of us as people. They are scared of our brains. They are scared of us as kings and queens.” Richardson works with the Innocence Project, a nonprofit legal organization that helps exonerate people wrongly convicted of a crime. He has two daughters and is worried about the future. He sees racial tensions increasing in the country and the upsurge in violence. “I’m scared,” Richardson said. “I’m scared for our people. I’m scared for my daughters. I’m scared for the world, because what happened to us, you think that would be so horrific that there would be change since then. But it’s still going on. There has to be some kind of common ground to make it stop.” He was asked how people in the audience could work to make sure something similar to the Central Park case does not happen again. “You need to be involved in your community,” Richardson said. “You have to start from there. You have to start from the youth. They are like a seed. You have to groom them until they are better and wonderful.”

Gwen Ifill immortalized with postal stamp The 43rd stamp in the United States Postal Service’s Black Heritage series honors Gwen Ifill, one of America’s most esteemed journalists. The stamp features a photo of Ifill taken in 2008 by photographer Robert Severi and designed by Derry Noyes, according to the Postal Service. Among the first African Americans to hold prominent positions in both broadcast and print journalism, Ifill was a trailblazer in the profession. Ifill was born on Sept. 29, 1955, in New York. Her father, O. Urcille Ifill, Sr., served as an African Methodist Episcopal minister who hailed from Panama. Her mother, Eleanor Husbands, was from Barbados. According to Ifill’s 2012

biography and interview with The HistoryMakers, her father’s ministry required the family to live in several cities in different church parsonages throughout New England. Those stops also included Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and New York, where the family resided in federally subsidized housing. Ifill’s interest in journalism was rooted in her parents’ insistence that their children gather nightly in front of the television to watch the national news, according to The HistoryMakers. In 1973, Ifill graduated from Classical High School in Springfield, Massachusetts. Four years later, she received her B.A. degree in communications from Simmons College in Boston. “During her senior year, she interned at the Boston Herald

American newspaper,” the biography reads. She later worked at the Baltimore Evening Sun, the Washington Post, and the New York Times before moving over to NBC News. In 1999, Ifill became the first African American woman to host a prominent political talk show on national television when she became moderator and managing editor of PBS’s Washington Week and senior political correspondent for The PBS NewsHour. Ifill died at the age of 61 on Nov. 14, 2016. “She was the most American of success stories,” Sherrilynn Ifill, a law professor, director of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, and Gwen Ifill’s cousin told NBC News. “Her life and her work made this country better.”


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Nov. 6, 2019 • 11

Twelfth cargo resupply mission heads to space station after successful launch from Virginia’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport The Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority (Virginia Space), Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems, and NASA Wallops Flight Facility celebrate the successful launch for Northrop Grumman’s 12th cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS). The mission, designated NG-12, launched last week from Virginia Space’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) Pad 0A located at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Virginia. The Commonwealth of Virginia built MARS Pad 0A to accommodate the Antares 230+ rocket configuration and Cygnus spacecraft. NASA and its partners have supported humans continuously living off-planet since the Expedition 1 crew arrived at the ISS exactly 19 years ago on Nov. 2, 2000. The microgravity laboratory has hosted 239 people from 19 countries, more than 2,600 experiments from 3,900 researchers in more than 107 countries, and a variety of international and commercial spacecraft. The space station also is facilitating the growth of a commercial market in low-Earth orbit for research, technology development, and crew and cargo transportation. “With today’s launch, we celebrate the beginning of the 20th year of continuous human presence living aboard the International Space Station and the strong partnerships that have shaped a promising future for space flight in Virginia,” said Governor Northam. “The investments we are making in the MARS facility will continue to position our Commonwealth as a leader in the growing aerospace industry, support critical life sciences research, and ensure that we remain a world-class center for space exploration and commerce for

Crowds gathered to watch The sun inches its way up the horizon in the hours before Northrop Grumman’s NG-12 Antares rocket launch at Virgina's NASA Wallops. PHOTO: Kelly Powers years to come.” available at MARS to commercial about two months attached to the Launch pad modifications have and government customers,” space station. The spacecraft is made it possible to accommodate said Secretary of Transportation scheduled to remain at the space the loading of time-sensitive Shannon Valentine. “As we look station until January 13, 2020, when experiments into the Cygnus to the future, collaboration will be it will depart the station, deploy spacecraft as late as 24 hours before key to unlocking the potential of commercial customers’ CubeSats, liftoff, eliminating the previous four- this gateway to space, expanding and deorbit. day pre-loading requirement. This the range of missions available The Antares rocket will boost is the first official mission to utilize to MARS, and bolstering the an unmanned Cygnus spacecraft the new late load capability, which Commonwealth’s long-term economic carrying an 8,200-pound payload has made the MARS facility eligible competitiveness.” to the ISS that includes scientific for missions that include life science This will be the first mission investigations, supplies, and investigations in the payload. under Northrop Grumman’s vehicle hardware for the orbital “The collaboration of Virginia Commercial Resupply Services-2 laboratory and its crew. Scientific Space, NASA Wallops, and contract with NASA, for which the investigations launching on Cygnus Northrop Grumman to develop late company will fly a minimum of six are part of commercial and academic load capability further advances missions to the ISS through 2024. the technology and capacity The Cygnus spacecraft will spend

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(from page 11) payloads across a variety of disciplines, including: 3D-printed carbon fiber materials to be tested in the extreme environment of space, which could inform technology for medically implantable devices used on Earth for therapeutic drug delivery; a Zero-G Oven, designed to provide the psychological and physiological benefits of freshbaked food for crew members on long-duration space missions; rodent research on microgravity as a disruptor of the 12-hour circadian clock, which will advance research into liver disease and could provide insights into genetic regulation and signaling pathways; the Made in Space Recycler to test systems needed to reprocess plastic into 3D printing filament in the microgravity environment of the ISS, which has implications for space conservation and deep space missions; the AstroRad Vest to protect astronauts from exposure to space radiation; and several items to support the crew of the ISS, including a replacement treadmill, waste management system hardware, an airlock hatch protection device, an oxygen tank, and cryochiller to support cold stowage capability. “The Commonwealth’s support for aerospace is evident in the continued investment in infrastructure here at Wallops,” said Dale Nash, CEO and Executive Director of Virginia Space. “Virginia Space is developing additional launch capabilities, and recently finished construction on a state-of-the-art dedicated Payload Processing Facility, to meet the diverse needs of a modernday expanding Spaceport. These new assets continue to attract commercial and government partners, enabling NASA Wallops and the Spaceport to support the nation’s human space flight, scientific research, and national security missions with assured access to Space.” The Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority is a political subdivision of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Virginia Space owns and operates the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS), the MARS Payload Processing Facility, and the MARS Unmanned Systems Test Range. Collocated on the NASA Wallops Flight Facility on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, the mission of Virginia Space and MARS is to provide low-cost, safe, reliable, “schedule-friendly” access to space and secure facilities for testing of unmanned vehicles for integration into the National Air Space. Virginia continues to play a key role in national security and assured access to space, as one of only four states in the United States hosting a spaceport licensed by the FAA to launch spacecraft into orbit or on interplanetary trajectories.


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Nov. 6, 2019• 13

Activists: Tariffs are killing local steel manufacturers Before Donald Trump’s Vice President, Mike Pence, came to Virginia Beach to campaign with Republicans last weekend, before Virginia’s legislative elections, he made a stop in Louisa to promote trade policies at Patriot Industries, one of the few steel manufacturers in Virginia. The only problem, according to local activists, is that the TrumpPence administration is killing the steel and aluminum industry by imposing tariffs on foreign steel and aluminum manufacturers who share those skyrocketing prices to smaller businesses. “In fact, all of the leading U.S.based steel manufacturers are trading below their pre-tariff price levels. When discussing the process of buying cans,” said Chris Smith, co-founder of Virginia Beer Company. “Our prices have gone up significantly. We eat the cost ourselves, which isn’t easy. I hope it comes down soon.” Virginia brewer, the Amber Ox Public House has also seen an increase in can prices and a

community. “Everyone should have the opportunity to live and work in a thriving community. By standing on the stage with Mike Pence to promote trade policies that hurt our communities, Louisa County Republicans have proven that they side with big corporations and the wealthy few at the expense of small business owners. American owned companies, General Motors and Ford said

Trump’s tariffs have cost them $1 billion each. Raw steel prices surged after Trump put 25 percent tariffs on imported steel on some countries resulting in increased domestic steel prices that are higher than foreign ones, boosting profits for U.S. steel mills but putting U.S. manufacturers that use steel, at a disadvantage to foreign competitors. Steel-producer stock prices have plummeted 22 percent.

VP Mike Pence significant drop in can availability. Virginians made it clear in 2016 that we don’t support the TrumpPence agenda, said Anna Scholl, executive director of Progress Virginia. “We rejected Trump-style politics again in 2017 and 2018. The TrumpPence agenda ignores small, familyowned businesses and Virginia Beach voters do not want politicians who put the corporate special interests ahead of the families and entrepreneurs who make up our

Healthier connected communities building a culture of good health Good health is not achieved alone, it takes a community working together to transform health. There’s power in communities that can catalyze new opportunities for everyone to achieve their full health potential. November’s conversation at Richmond’s Black History Museum and Cultural Center will start with a viewing of “BlackLivesBlackLungs”, a 15-minute video about how the tobacco industry has impacted the black community. The video will be followed by engaging conversation with Virginia Department of Health representatives and others. The free event takes place Nov. 9 from 2 - 4 p.m.


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Warner wants to end short-term med insurance plans MAX THORNBERRY Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., spoke on the Senate floor last week about a Warren County woman named Linda who survived cancer but found herself in dire straits when she lost her health coverage in 2008. Men and women like Linda who have preexisting conditions are often locked out of affordable health care, Warner said. The senator is aiming at shortterm, high deductible plans that he referred to as “junk plans” that people with preexisting conditions will qualify for but often find don’t deliver as promised. These plans, Warner said, are advertised as low-cost but when patients end up in doctors' offices and emergency rooms, they find out their preexisting conditions are not covered. This reporter attempted to reach out to the Department of Health and Social Services in Shenandoah County to learn more about local short-term health care plans but did not receive a response by press time.

U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner “Make no mistake,” Warner said, “these plans are a threat to the stability of the insurance market and to every American with a preexisting condition.” The Trump administration has repeatedly tried to repeal the Affordable Care Act, Warner said, and in the process is “actively working to destabilize the insurance market.” Through regulatory action, the Trump administration has expanded the use of short-term plans, forcing a less-than-traditional legislative move on Warner’s part.

To counteract the move, Warner said he is proposing a resolution that senators will vote on next week that will address the future of shortterm “junk” plans. In a phone call with reporters on Thursday, Warner said that both Republicans and Democrats have expressed support for one piece of the otherwise divisive ACA. “One portion virtually everyone supported, including my Republican colleagues, was the idea that people with preexisting conditions should not be discriminated against in their health care coverage,” Warner said. Warner said three million Virginians have preexisting conditions that keep them out of many health care plans and force them into short-term ones. Warner’s resolution, a Congressional Review Act that senators must vote on, will put protections for people with preexisting conditions back in place in an up or down vote, he said. The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives has already started working on legislation that

will put these protections in place, Warner said. That legislation, in the past, has received bipartisan support, he said. Whether his resolution has a chance of passing or if it is a “line the sand moment” for Senate Republicans, Warner said he is hopeful it will pass. Whether the protections for people with preexisting conditions survive the up or down vote in the Republican-controlled Senate, Warner said there is more work to do on health care. Regardless of the outcome of his resolution, which he considers as primary, he said he wants to revisit other aspects of the ACA, a bill that he said he has never said was perfect. “There are areas that need to be improved,” Warner said. “But clearly, protecting the 3 million Virginians and countless other Americans who have preexisting conditions from being discriminated against in their health care coverage, we need to make sure that part of the law is protected.”

$2.17m to help improve treatment and screening for unhealthy alcohol use in Va. Researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University have received a $2.17 million grant from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to help primary care practices improve screening and counseling for unhealthy alcohol use. The grant will support 125 primary care practices throughout the state, reaching an estimated 1.25 million Virginians. Alex Krist, M.D., a professor of family medicine in the School of Medicine and vice chair of the U.S. Preventive Services Task

Force, will lead the research funded by the grant. “Screening and counseling for unhealthy alcohol use is one of the most poorly delivered counseling services in primary care,” Krist said. “This intervention is designed to target the key problems that prevent primary care from effectively addressing unhealthy alcohol use.” Unhealthy alcohol use is the third leading cause of preventable death in the United States, according to the National Institute on Alcohol

Abuse and Alcoholism. In the past decade, the prevalence of alcohol use disorder has increased from 8.5 percent to 12.7 percent of the population, with the greatest increases in women, African Americans and older adults. “We congratulate Dr. Krist and his team for this exciting work and grant award. This research will address an important health issue in our society with an evidencebased approach to improve patient screening in family medicine

broadly,” said Peter Buckley, M.D., dean of the VCU School of Medicine and executive vice president for medical affairs at VCU Health System. Researchers will work to establish an effective screening program that includes staff and clinician training on conducting screening interviews and documenting treatment. The three-year study will determine if there is an increase in screening for

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(from page 13) unhealthy alcohol use at three and six months for patients who are in intervention practices, compared to those who are in control practices. By the end of the study, all practices (intervention and control) will receive the intervention. “As an adaptive intervention, we anticipate that the approaches and resources practices need will evolve over the course of the study. Accordingly, the research team will identify factors that predict success and share new patient-centered outcome findings,” Krist said. The research team includes leadership from the Virginia Center for Health Innovation and the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, as well as faculty members from VCU School of Medicine and the Department of Psychology in the VCU College of Humanities and Sciences.

Henrico leaf collection efforts Henrico County will begin providing annual leaf-collection services Sunday, Nov. 10, with both free and paid options available for county residents. Free collection of bagged leaves is scheduled from Nov. 10 through Feb. 8. Crews will work week to week in five zones; each zone will receive two pickups over the course of the program. Collection is provided automatically for residents living in the designated zones. Residents living outside those areas can order free pickup by calling (804) 727-8770. Residents are encouraged to place their bags at the curb or road’s edge on the Sunday of the assigned pickup week; crews will begin collection at 7 a.m. Monday. Bags should be free of trash and debris and must be accessible from the street as crews are not authorized to enter private property.

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Calendar 11.7, 6:30 p.m.

Southeastern Virginia Health System (SEVHS) will be hosting our 7th Annual Food Fete Fundraiser at the Virginia Living Museum. You’re invited “for an exciting evening of great entertainment, tasty cuisine and desserts from Hampton Roads area restaurants, Chefs, and Caterers”. This event attracts over 250 attendees from all over the Southeastern Virginia area each year and SEVHS would love to see you there. If you would like to become a sponsor or f you have any questions or concerns, contact Martha Boykins, 757-223-7009 or Shelby Williams 757-223-7019.

11.9, 8 a.m.

The city of Newport News is partnering with the Virginia Department of Health to offer a free rabies vaccination clinic. Citizens can bring their dogs or cats to the Peninsula Regional Animal Shelter at 5843 Jefferson Ave. to receive the vaccination. No appointment is necessary, and the clinic is open to everyone. Vaccines will be available while supplies last. All dogs and cats must be on a leash or in an animal carrier and must be 12 weeks or older to receive the vaccine. Owners should bring proof of the pet’s current rabies vaccination if requesting a three year booster; otherwise pets will receive the one year vaccination. Materials on how to prepare pets for disasters and other emergencies will be on hand, and Newport News residents can also purchase their 2020 animal licenses while at the clinic.

COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES & EVENTS

Girls For A Change will bring together award-winning author, black girls and community leaders to end school “pushout” Girls For A Change (GFAC) invites the community and elected leaders to its annual Black Girl Rally. This year’s theme, “End Pushout: A Regional Action Plan for Black Girls in Virginia Schools,” will feature an advanced film screening of “Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools;” an interactive conversation with the executive producer and award-winning author, Dr. Monique W. Morris; and a facilitated community planning session where participants will come up with big ideas to end “pushout” – the unfair response to trauma and disciplinary treatment of Black girls and other girls of color in schools. “End Pushout” will be held at Virginia Union University’s Living and Learning Center on Tues., Nov. 12 from 5:30-9 p.m. The event is free to the community. Table sponsorships for community partners and professional development rates for educators and administrators are available. “Black and brown girls continue to disproportionately experience harsh and exclusionary school discipline for incidents and behaviors that do not pose a critical threat to the safety of the learning environment. Many of these behaviors are fueled by experiences with trauma, much of which is under-reported for girls of color,” explains Dr. Monique W. Morris, executive producer and co-writer for the PUSHOUT documentary. “For girls, education is a critical protective factor against involvement with the criminal legal system. This documentary explores how black girls are impacted by the policies, practices, conditions and prevailing consciousness that renders them vulnerable to criminalization,” said Morris. The planning portion of the event will be facilitated by Ebony Walden, an urban planner and facilitator with more than a decade of experience working to transform communities. “Our girls have solutions to the problems they are experiencing in schools; those solutions need to be heard. I believe that bringing together policymakers, organizers, educators, parents and girls will lead to sustainable solutions and the beginnings of policies to address the inequities that exist for Black girls within our education system,” says Angela Patton, Girls For A Change CEO. The “End Pushout” event was inspired by a GFAC Girl Action Team, where girls work to change the harsh and unfair dress codes in their schools. Girls associated with this project have met with a host of leaders and policy makers including Pamela Northam, First Lady of Virginia, Justin Fairfax, Lt. Governor and the Virginia Board of Education. They were also featured in a Style Weekly cover story. “Being a part of GFAC’s Girl Action Team has truly changed the course of my life. Through this amazing program, I discovered that I had a talent for public speaking and I actually liked doing it. Through this amazing program, I discovered my love for social action and justice. I am immeasurably grateful for the opportunities that I have been gifted with: the chance to speak in front of the Governor, in front of the Virginia School Board, and in front of people interested in change. It helped me find my passion and purpose,” says Joi Coleman, a Girl Action Team participant who worked on the project.

11.11, 11 a.m.

John Tyler Community College invites the community to join the college’s faculty, staff and students as they honor those who have served in the armed forces. The college’s annual Veterans Day Ceremony will be held in the Nicholas Center, room N102 at Tyler’s Chester Campus, at 13101 Jefferson Davis Highway. The keynote address will be by Martina M. Murray, director of education programs for the Virginia Department of Veterans Services. Murray oversees two veteranrelated education programs: the State Approving Agency and the Virginia Military Survivors and Dependents Education Program. In 2018, she was awarded the Lifetime Leadership Award from the National Association of State Approving Agencies. During the ceremony, the college will recognize its faculty, staff and student veterans, as well as all veterans in attendance. Attendees will also be invited to take part in a memorial tree planting.

11.13, 4:30 a.m.

Robert Trent Vinson, Ph.D., the Frances L. and Edwin L. Cummings associate professor of Africana Studies and History at William & Mary, will deliver a lecture at Virginia Commonwealth University titled “Beyond Jamestown: Why 1619 Matters in African and Atlantic World Contexts.” Vinson will speak in the SGA Board Room of University Student Commons, 907 Floyd Ave. The event will be free and open to the public. The talk coincides with the 400th anniversary of the first documented arrival of Africans to the colony of Virginia, marking the beginning of slavery in the United States.


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House votes to approve Trump impeachment map WASHINGTON (PW) —The full U.S. House voted to approve last week 232 to 196, an impeachment roadmap, making the inquiry an official one and detailing the next steps, including open public hearings. The vote maker almost inevitable the day the full House will make Trump the fourth president in U.S. history impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors. The roadmap calls for the Select Committee on Intelligence to hold open hearings and gather evidence on the charge the Democrats are concentrating on: Trump’s quid pro quo with the new president of Ukraine: You dig up dirt on former Vice President Joe Biden, a leading House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. Democratic presidential contender, and we’ll release $391 million in generous offer to the president. The security aid already approved by Senate is actually the place where Congress. the Constitution requires the fair That panel and others probing trial. The Constitution only assigns Trump will then turn over their the House the role of prosecutor evidence and conclusions to the in these proceedings. Allowing House Judiciary Committee, which the President and his supporters will use the data to construct articles to challenge and cross-examine of impeachment against the current witnesses is not something that Oval Office occupant. It too will hold the House is required to do. It can open hearings on the charge and the be expected nevertheless that the Trump case. president and his supporters will That charge, of selling U.S. continue to call the process “unfair.” influence for personal gain, is being But, unlike other hearings corroborated by a parade of noninvolving Trump’s misdeeds, the partisan witnesses, many of them Intelligence and Judiciary panels’ from the military and the State questioning of witnesses and Department, who are familiar with analysis of the evidence will be left Trump’s dealings with the Ukraine, largely to attorneys and professional or who listened and took notes on staffers. Trump’s key July 25 telephone Women protesting President conversation with Ukrainian Donald Trump’s visit to Pittsburgh President Volodymyr Zelensky. stand at the intersection of And through all of this, Trump’s Commonwealth and Liberty in White House will be able to send Pittsburgh on Oct. 23. Several lawyers, defend him before all people blocking the exit ramp from investigating committees, seek to the Fort Pitt Bridge were arrested. call witnesses and otherwise make Steve Mellon/Pittsburgh PostTrump’s case. It should be noted Gazette via AP that this is actually a more than That roadmap decision does limit,

Women protesting President Donald Trump’s visit to Pittsburgh in October.

however, the time pro-Trumpite GOP Trumpsters will have to pontificate, or lie, to defend the president. The House vote and the hearings will concentrate on the Ukraine mess, leaving aside – for now – Trump’s other misdeeds and violations of the U.S. Constitution. Prominent among the omissions so far: the ten or more instances of Trump’s obstruction of justice during and after Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of his complicity and participation in foreign manipulation of the 2016 presidential election in his own favor. Trump repeatedly tried and schemed to derail the probe and, at least once, to cover up the fact he did so. Those omissions are rampant abuses of power. Mueller, a former FBI director, told lawmakers that if Trump was not president, he’d be indicted for obstruction of justice. Also prominent by omission so far: whether Trump violated the U.S. Constitution’s “emoluments

clause,” which bans federal officials, including the president, from using public office for personal gain. The key case there revolves around boosts in business from lobbyists, foreign governments and other special interests at the Trump Organization’s D.C. hotel just blocks from the White House. Trump owns and controls the business, including the hotel, though he’s technically put it in the hands of his kids. After an uproar, Trump had to drop another looming emoluments violation: Hosting next year’s Group of Seven summit of the leaders of the world’s top industrial nations at his country club near Miami Airport. Typical of Trump, he did so after calling the emoluments clause “fake.” Trump’s other abuses of power, on everything from emasculating worker rights for federal employees to letting environmental lawbreakers and other corporate capitalist criminals run amok, are not expected to come up.


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Classifieds

LEGAL, EMPLOYMENT, ANNOUNCEMENTS, FOR SALE, SERVICES

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

SEALED BID SALE SALE OF REAL ESTATE LOCATED AT 3008 IDLEWOOD AVENUE RICHMOND, VA 23221 PARCEL 119, PMI #10395 Sealed bids are being accepted by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) in the office of the Property Management Assistant Program Manager located at 7511 Burbage Drive, Suffolk, VA 23435, until, but no later than, January 14, 2020 at 11:00 a.m. for the following property. For that certain parcel of land (Parcel 119), located in Richmond, Virginia, on the north side of and fronting on Idlewood Avenue. The surplus property is unimproved vacant land, relatively rectangular in shape with level topography and road access to Idlewood Avenue. Subject property contains 2,867.287 square feet or 0.0658 acre. Zoning for subject property has been determined to be R-5, Single Family Residential with a special use permit. Property is located in Flood Plain Zone X, Map # 5101290036D. Bids must be submitted in the manner prescribed in the “Instruction to Bidders” available from VDOT, accompanied by a certified check, cashier’s check or money order in the amount of 10% of the bid as a deposit. The successful bidder’s deposit will be applied toward the purchase price. All others will be returned. Closing shall occur within 30 days after approval of sale. The value placed on this parcel is $40,140.00. Employees of VDOT, their immediate families or any person employed with the valuation and/or acquisition of this property are ineligible to bid. The right is reserved to reject any and all bids. The property is being sold “as is” with conveyance by deed without warranty. For further information and proposals, contact VDOT at the above address or call Jacqulyn M. Lane at (757) 956-3254 or send an email to Jacqulyn.Lane@VDOT. Virginia.gov to request a bid package. All bids must be submitted on the Bid Proposal Form by the stated deadline for consideration. Resource Information Help for the Disadvantaged and Disenfranchised (RIHD) www.rihd.org ● (804) 426-4426 P.O. Box 55 Highland Springs, Virginia 23075


Nov. 6, 2019• 19

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PUBLIC AUCTION of Unclaimed Vehicles

250+/- IMPOUNDED AUTOS, LIGHT TRUCKS & MOTORCYCLES SOUTHSIDE PLAZA DRIVE-IN

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE ATTN. REALTORS: Advertise your listings regionally or statewide. Affordable Print and Digital Solutions that get results! Call Landon Clark at Virginia Press Services 804-521-7576, landonc@vpa.net SERVICES DIVORCE-Uncontested, $395+$86 court cost. WILLS $195.00. No court appearance. Estimated completion time twenty-one days. Hilton Oliver, Attorney (Facebook). 757-490-0126. Se Habla Espanol. BBB Member. https://hiltonoliverattorneyva.com.

Monday, November 11, 2019 Gates open at 9:00 AM Auction begins at 10:00 AM Auction will include the vehicles listed below plus many others: 1995 1982 2003 2008 2000 UNK 1985 2009 2009 2008 2001 1983 2005 2003 2001 2005 2004 2004 2005 1997 2000 1999 1993 1989 2000 2002

HONDA ACCORD 1HGCD5633SA106750 HONDA CB450SC JH2PC0546CM003832 SUBARU LEGACY 4S3BE635337215744 HYUNDAI AZERA KMHFC46F98A267045 CHEVROLET TAHOE 1GNEK13T2YJ140401 BOAT TRAILER TR60793PA FORD F150 1FTCF15H6FPA43404 DODGE JOURNEY 3D4GH57VX9T582472 NISSAN ALTIMA 1N4AL21E69N431319 SUBARU TRIBECA 4S4WX92D084403082 SUBARU OUTBACK 4S3BH665117629962 LINCOLN CONTINENTAL 1LNLM9742PY702407 HONDA CIVIC 1HGES267X5L006735 HYUNDAI SONATA KMHWF25S43A765575 SUZUKI GRAND VITARA JS3TX92VX14101421 NISSAN ALTIMA 1N4AL11D25C339891 DODGE CARAVAN 1D4GP25B84B573743 CHEVROLET IMPALA 2G1WH52K749359364 MERCEDES-BENZ S430 WDBNG70J85A437554 SUBARU LEGACY OUTBACK S3BG6858V7620522 DODGE CARAVAN 1B4GP44G9YB504844 MERCURY MYSTIQUE 1MEFM66L9XK600869 MERCURY COUGAR 1MEPM6241PH634093 FORD F SUPER DUTY 2FDLF47GXKCB26573 PLYMOUTH NEON 1P3ES46C8YD590820 VOLVO V70 YV1SJ58D621222334

SEIBERT’S is now accepting vehicles on consignment! Reasonable Seller’s Fees.

Advertise here 804-644-1550 ads@legacynewspaper.com

642 W. Southside Plaza Dr. Richmond (804) 233-5757

WWW.SEIBERTSTOWING.COM VA AL # 2908-000766

For all forms or additional information, see our web page at https://www.hampton.gov/bids-contracts or call (757)727-2200. Minority-Owned, Woman-Owned and Veteran Businesses are Ad Size: 1 column(s) X 7.5 inches) encouraged to participate.

2 Issues (10/30 & 11/6) - $82.50 per ad ($165 Rate: $11 per column inch

Includes Internet placement

Please review the proof, make any needed changes and re If your response is not received by deadline, your ad m

Ok X_________________________________

Ok with changes X _____________________

REMINDER: Deadline is Thursdays @ 5


Out-of-market games only. Select int’l games excluded.

2019 NFL SUNDAY TICKET

INCLUDED AT NO EXTRA COST WHEN YOU SWITCH TO DIRECTV. With CHOICE Package or above. Subscription renews automatically each season at then prevailing rate (currently $293.94/season) unless you call to cancel within two weeks after the start of the season.

CHOICE

All Included Package

MO.

Stream NFL SUNDAY TICKET live from anywhere with the NFL SUNDAY TICKET APP included Watch live games wherever you go. Stream every out-of-market game live, every Sunday (select int’l games excluded), from virtually anywhere. Only available in HD.

Never miss a touchdown from inside the 20 with RED ZONE CHANNEL® The RED ZONE CHANNEL brings you the final yards of every scoring drive around the league on one LIVE channel. Included with NFL SUNDAY TICKET MAX.

8-Game Mix Channel Only DIRECTV lets you watch up to 8 live NFL games on one screen, complete with scores and game clock—in amazing HD. And when you want to expand one game onto the full screen, simply highlight and click. Only available in HD.

For 12 mos. plus taxes w/24-mo. agmt & qualifying AT&T wireless svc (min. $50/mo. after discounts for new customers). Autopay & Paperless bill req’d. Prices higher in 2nd year. Regional Sports Fee up to $8.49/mo. is extra & applies.*

Includes: ■ Over

185 Channels ■ FREE Genie® HD DVR Upgrade

*$19.95 ACTIVATION, EARLY TERMINATION FEE OF $20/MO. FOR EACH MONTH REMAINING ON AGMT., EQUIPMENT NON-RETURN & ADD’L FEES APPLY. Price incl. CHOICE All Included Pkg., monthly service and equip. fees for 1 HD DVR & is after $5/mo. autopay & paperless bill and $10/mo. bundle discounts for up to 12 mos each. Pay $74.99/mo. + taxes until discounts start w/in 3 bills. New approved residential customers only (equipment lease req’d). Credit card req’d (except MA & PA). Restr’s apply.

Don’t settle for cable. Call now!

Iv Support Holdings LLC

844-929-0435 www.satellitedealnow.com/legacy

CHOICE 1-YR ALL INCLUDED PACKAGE W/ ELIG. WIRELESS: Ends 10/19/19. Available only in the U.S. (excludes Puerto Rico and U.S.V.I.). 1st & 2nd year Pricing: $59.99 for first 12 mos. only. After 12 mos. or loss of eligibility, then prevailing rate applies (currently $110/mo for CHOICE All Included), unless cancelled or changed prior to end of the promo period. Pricing subject to change. $5/mo. autopay/paperless bill discount: Must enroll in autopay & paperless bill within 30 days of TV activation to receive bill credit starting in 1-3 bill cycles. First time credit will include all credits earned since meeting offer requirements. Must maintain autopay/paperless bill and valid email address to continue credits. No credits in 2nd year for autopay/paperless bill. Eligible Wireless for $10/mo. bundle discount: Consumers only. Sold separately. Reqs new or existing AT&T postpaid svc on elig. plan (excl. Lifeline) on a smartphone, phone or AT&T Wireless Internet device (excl. voice-only AT&T Wireless Internet). Eligible svc must be activated w/in 30 days of TV activation and svc addresses must match to receive bill credit starting in 1-3 bill cycles. First time credit will include all credits earned since meeting offer requirements. Must maintain both qualifying svcs to continue credits. No credits in 2nd year for bundled services. Includes: CHOICE All Included TV Pkg, monthly service & equipment fees for one Genie HD DVR, and standard pro installation. Exclusions: Price excludes Regional Sports Fee of up to $8.49/mo. (which is extra & applies to CHOICE and/or MÁS ULTRA and higher Pkgs.), applicable use tax expense surcharge on retail value of installation, custom installation, equipment upgrades/add-ons (min. $99 one-time & $7/mo. monthly fees for each extra receiver/DIRECTV Ready TV/Device), and certain other add’l fees & charges. Different offers may apply for eligible multi-dwelling unit and telco customers. DIRECTV SVC TERMS: Subject to Equipment Lease & Customer Agreements. Must maintain a min. base TV pkg of $29.99/mo. Some offers may not be available through all channels and in select areas. Call for details. GENERAL WIRELESS: Subj. to Wireless Customer Agmt (att.com/wca). Credit approval req’d. Deposit/Down Payment: may apply. Charges/restrictions: Taxes, Reg.Cost. Recovery Charge (Up to $1.50), other fees and charges, usage, speed, coverage & other restr’s apply per line. See att.com/mobilityfees for details on fees & charges. International and domestic off-net data may be at 2G speeds. AT&T service is subject to AT&T network management policies, see att.com/broadbandinfo for details.


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