L
EGACY Yesterday. Today. Tomorrow.
WEDNESDAYS • March 31, 2021
INSIDE About Virginia’s data protection law - 2 Call to speed up unemployment claims - 4 A ‘false’ global warming & its effects - 5
Richmond & Hampton Roads
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New scholarship honors the legacy of a local trailblazer SUSIE BURTCH
Oraphine Watkins Crump, who died last year at age 96, was a woman whose achievements and aspirations were extraordinary for her time. She served as a branch manager of the oldest Black-owned bank in the country, Consolidated Bank and Trust, and was the first Black woman on the New Kent County School Board Now five graduates of Virginia Commonwealth University are honoring her legacy through a scholarship for first-generation students enrolled in the School of Business. The Oraphine Watkins Crump Scholarship will allow the recipients to work fewer hours in off-campus jobs, allowing them to commit more time to studies and extracurricular activities. “Our scholarship seemed more important aligned with Oraphine because she was all about education. She was a trailblazer. It’s the perfect name,” said DeMond Chapman, a VCU alum who works for DuPont. Chapman said his parents instilled the value of education in him, and his employer echoed that theme, supporting his M.B.A. degree. “It changed my career trajectory,” he said. “I want to give another person the opportunity to do some of the things I’ve been able to do. Education is a critical way to make life better.” Chapman and other M.B.A. alums Rodney Taylor, Linda Hines, Akia Jackson and Joel Phillips teamed up to create the $5,000 scholarship.
Oraphine Watkins Crump “We all wanted the same thing separately, but at the same time,” Taylor said. “Then Angela Bartee [assistant director of development at the School of Business] pointed out we’d be more effective working together. “I have been incredibly blessed,” Taylor said, “so I wanted to do my small part to help keep people focused on education.” That’s exactly what the scholarship donors hope to do — provide goals and a support system that will increase the graduation rate of firstgeneration students. “It’s especially challenging for those who have no direct mentors in the family to serve as role models,” Hines said. “I wanted to pursue my education, but then I wanted to help others.” The $5,000 will be awarded to a student in their sophomore year and will continue until they receive their diploma. For now, the founders have committed $25,000 over a five-year period, but they hope funding will
eventually grow to support more students every year. “We’re looking for a scholarship applicant who has educational aptitude but also wants to help others,” Hines said. Like Crump, the ideal student will have plans to pay it forward. “[Crump] really understood the value of education and business acumen at an early age. To advance her position at the bank, she attended night school while she was raising her three children alongside her husband,” Taylor said in an interview with WTVR-TV. “She devoted herself to educational equality and even organized the community response for including more African Americans on the [New Kent] School Board. She did
that in partnership with the NAACP and the Civic League. As a result of all of these efforts, Mrs. Crump was appointed to the seat herself. She took it with great pride and served for many, many years.” Crump’s only granddaughter, Kia Jordan, is also a graduate of VCU’s School of Business. She said her grandmother “would truly be honored that her story can be shared.” “There’s not a day that goes by I do not hear some of her lessons come out,” Jordan said. “‘Know that nothing is too small of a feat. You can do anything you put your mind to. As long as you have goals and you lean into your support system, you’ll be OK.’ That’s exactly what she did.” - VCU News
Assembly passes legislation to support mental health issues MORGAN TOLAN CNS - The Virginia General Assembly passed legislation to support mental health care during the 2021 session. Del. Robert Bell, R-Charlottesville, has been an advocate for mental health care in Virginia for many years and proposed three bills that target this issue. Bell proposed HB 1960, which achieved bipartisan support from co-patrons Del. Dan Helmer, D-Fairfax Station, and Del. Mark Levine, D-Alexandria. HB 1960 would allow the owner of a vehicle to designate through the license plate that a regular driver of the vehicle other than the owner has a disability that can impair communication. This allows the
parents and guardians of people with disabilities that could impair communication to register this indication with the DMV. “My son is special needs,” Bell said in a phone interview. “One of the concerns that has come up repeatedly is the difficulty that special needs individuals can have when engaged in a traffic stop.” Bell’s 18-year-old son attends a special needs school in Virginia. Bell has discussed the problem of traffic stops with other parents at his son's school. HB 1960 specifically accounts for people with disabilities that could impair communication, such as autism or hearing loss. The goal of
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2 • March 31, 2021
How Va.’s data protection law will affect consumers, businesses HYUNG JUN LEE CNS — Information technology experts say a new Virginia consumer data protection law could be more robust, but it will force businesses to rethink how they handle consumer data. “This is the first time in Virginia that consumers will have the right to understand what data a company collects about them, and how they use that data and who they share it with,” said Andrew Miller, the co-founder of Workshop Digital, a Richmond-based digital marketing agency. Senate Bill 1392 and House Bill 2307 are known as the Consumer Data Protection Act, or CDPA. The governor signed both bills into law this month. The CDPA allows Virginia residents to retrieve a copy of their personal online data and delete the data. Consumers can opt out of allowing businesses to sell their data. Personal data is information that can be linked to a consumer’s profile, according to Joseph Jerome, director of state advocacy at San Francisco-based Common Sense Media. The nonprofit rates movies, TV shows and other media for age appropriateness and learning potential. “It’s important to have a broad understanding of personal data,” said Jerome, a lawyer whose expertise includes cybersecurity and data privacy. What data will be affected The law defines personal data as information that is linked or reasonably linkable to a person. “Consumers tend to think of personal information as something like their Social Security number or an email address, but new privacy regulations are really trying to get at the sorts of data that go into customer profiles,” Jerome said. A company can attach traits to
a user, such as the individual’s perceived race, education level and political affiliation, according to Jerome. “The issue isn’t so much what one single company collects, but rather how companies share data among themselves and use that information to infer even more about us,” he said. Some companies track consumers’ location “If a person is at location A at time Y and location B at time Z, if those two locations are coordinates for your home and office, it’s pretty easy to infer who that person is,” Jerome said. The CDPA impacts companies which handle the data of at least 100,000 consumers annually, or which control or process the data of at least 25,000 consumers and make over half of their gross revenue from selling data. CDPA exceptions There are exceptions. Companies won’t have to participate if they are protected by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act which restricts the release of medical information or the GrammLeach-Bliley Act to protect health and financial data. The GLBA requires financial institutions to safeguard sensitive banking
information. “So in certain scenarios, Google is a business associate under HIPAA,” Jerome said. “Apple offers financial products on its iPhone, you know, has the Apple credit card.” The Virginia measure is different from the 2018 California Consumer Privacy Act. The California law also regulates how companies buy, sell, license and share data but with stricter parameters in place. California voters recently voted to amend and strengthen the privacy act, with the changes going into effect in 2023. Unlike the Virginia law, California consumers can pursue legal action for a breach of certain information. In Virginia, the attorney general’s office would handle the enforcement of the CDPA, from consumer complaints to the enforcement of fines. The California law impacted businesses in Virginia, such as Richmond-based IT consulting firm CapTech. The company helps clients bring IT systems into compliance with the California law, said CapTech Principal Peter Carr. “It affected our business in that it gave us more opportunities to sell into our clients and to help them with their problems around privacy,” Carr said. Businesses predict impact CapTech is preparing for
Virginia’s new data protection law to go into effect. “I briefed my partners on the law, we made some projections as to how much business we could generate from this law and how many clients this could apply to,” Carr said. Other experts in the data field speculate that the CDPA could force businesses to rethink the value of consumer data. Miller, the cofounder of Workshop Digital, said companies can highlight how they protect consumer data to stand out from competitors. “When you’re telling your customers that we actually care about your data, we keep it secure, here’s how you can access it and what you can ask for us to remove, then I think it shows that the business is aligned with the customer,” Miller said. He also said the CDPA could move the focus from collection of data to the protection of consumer data. “If it passes as it’s written now, it’ll mostly affect larger businesses or companies that aggregate and collect a lot of data about Virginia consumers or citizens,” Miller said. “It’ll force companies to rethink how they capture data, what they use it for, how much data they actually need and start to pivot towards having a privacy-driven message to their consumers.” Consumers will have the ability to exert some control over how their data is used by businesses and across the internet, according to Randy Franklin, the vice-president and general manager at Terazo, a Richmond-based software and platform development company. “This bill is important for consumers because consumers are increasingly aware of the fact that they are tracked in their online activities,” Franklin said. “They want to understand that the information that these providers and businesses are collecting on
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4 • March 31, 2021
Op/Ed & Letters
Speed distribution of UI benefits SEN. MARK R. WARNER Dear Governor [Ralph] Northam, I am writing this letter today to urge you to use every lever at your disposal to speed up the process by which unemployment insurance claimants can receive their benefits. As of this writing, President Biden has signed the American Rescue Plan into law. The new law extends the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) program for the longterm unemployed, the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program for self-employed and gig workers, and the newly created Mixed Earner Unemployment The LEGACY NEWSPAPER Vol. 7 No. 13 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
Compensation (MEUC) benefit that I championed for workers with mixed sources of income. The new expiration date for these programs is September 6th, 2021. Congress created these pandemic unemployment programs to disburse benefits to workers who would normally not be eligible for unemployment assistance for a variety of reasons. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, there were 171,364 continuing PUA claims and 29,425 PEUC claims in Virginia as of the week of February 27th. These workers include employees with insufficient earnings or work history to qualify for the regular state unemployment 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 Other states - $75 Outside U.S.- $100 The Virginia Legacy © 2020
program, the long-term unemployed who have exhausted state benefits, domestic workers, freelance workers, contractors, and workers with mixed sources of income. Without these new programs and with limited opportunities for employment in this pandemic economy, these workers have no alternative safety net. It is my understanding that, following earlier passage of congressional legislation to extend these programs in December, constituents in Virginia faced many delays and communication problems with the Virginia Employment Commission (VEC). With the knowledge that these benefit systems were originally set to expire on Dec. 26th, I worked with a bipartisan and bicameral group of lawmakers in the U.S. Congress to pass a relief package shortly before Christmas because it was understood that loss of benefits at this time of the year would be particularly cruel. Now, several months later, I hope you can agree that for constituents still experiencing delays the lack of pandemic unemployment insurance is unconscionable. I am hearing about this issue from constituents all across the Commonwealth. A constituent
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in Warrenton let us know that she applied to the PUA program weeks ago. She tried calling the VEC’s customer service line every day, all day for weeks. She then received a letter instructing her to provide more information and a phone number to call. When she called, VEC had no record of her application. The situation for this constituent is severe, she is now homeless. Another constituent in Centreville indicated he has not received benefits since December 26th. This constituent has a family with two children and cannot pay rent for February, insurance bills, or phone bills. From Newport News to Henrico to Alexandria, constituents are contacting my office from every corner of the Commonwealth with desperate requests for relief. Some of them have waited 3 months, others have waited 11 months, and many are struggling to feed their children and keep a roof over their heads. Now that President Biden has signed the American Rescue Plan into law and provided months of additional relief, it is imperative that the VEC work diligently to speed up the process of disbursing benefits to constituents and proactively communicate with claimants.
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P.T. Hoffsteader, Esq.
March 31, 2021 • 5
A ‘false’ global warming According to proponents of Climate Change, also called Global Warming, in nine years this World will face a tremendous crisis because of the world getting hotter. However, well known and reputable scientist, John Casey, has presented facts which indicates this Earth is actually getting cooler. His research has “now been corroborated by 17 independent scientific individuals and organizations.” The facts put forward proves that “global warming” is “a $22 billion scam.” That is the amount “our government spends financing global warming initiatives” each year. Now the fear that Man has caused the Earth to warmup should be considered nothing but fiction. Since 1998, the temperature has been declining, not rising. By His Word God created this Earth and it will be His Word that will make it disappear. That will happen after Jesus has ruled this Earth a thousand years. But the danger to America, and the World, is the present mindset that Global Warming does exist, and that we have to eliminate the use of fossil fuels. Doing so would create a catastrophic event which would cause millions of American lives, and billions of lives world-wide. Little do they know, that, “it was discovered that a mere 1% of scientists, believe” that “human activity is causing change.” America, and this World, owes a lot to the invention of the internal combustion engine, and to the fuels, which makes the 25 million highway transportation vehicles in the United States function. Plus millions of farm tractors and other equipment which use fuel to function.
Any interference in the present system would cause an un-imaginable interruption, which would undoubtably cause precious human lives, because we are totally dependent on them. The crazy folks who think of themselves
as being progressives, are in fact just the opposite. Their ideas will destroy our country, just the way they are doing right now. Their ungodliness will eventually bring destruction upon America and the world. Manuel Ybarra, Jr.
6 • March 31, 2021
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March 31, 2021• 7
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(from page 1) others regarding the availability of supported the bill is to get the special needs information to officers as soon as possible, Bell said. Virginia law already allows people to have a special needs designation on their driver’s license. However, Bell said that by the time a police officer gets a hold of the driver’s license, the communication issue would have already happened. “By the time the officers have asked for the driver's license and registration, it can be too late to help,” Bell said. “It's the very communication about the driver's license that is troubling.” The issue with communication difficulties is the disability itself makes it harder to share that you have a disability, Bell said. “The hope would be that when an officer pulls someone over, they will know that information once they make the stop,” Bell said. “So that when they approach the window, they will be prepared with that, so they can make the interaction less challenging and hopefully more productive.” Bell also proposed HB 1961, which would authorize the parent of any person under the age of 18 or the legal guardian of any person to apply for a special identification card on behalf of such person. Current law only allows parents or guardians to apply for non-driving ID cards for those under the age of 15. HB 1961 coincides with HB 1960. It is a different bill, but the same issue, Bell said. Bell also proposed HB 2230, which would develop and implement a program to educate individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, their families and
(from page 2) them is used in a manner that aligns with how they would like to see that information be used.” Concerns over data protection act Jerome said Common Sense Media has concerns about the bill and said several things are still unclear. People do not read privacy policies and can be overwhelmed by choices such as requesting or deleting personal information, he added. “We’re not entirely sure how it’ll be enforced, there are a number of provisions in the law that are, for a lack of a better word, squishy,” Jerome said. “That said, you know, it certainly creates a baseline set of protections that don’t exist for Virginians.” Furthermore, to be effective, Miller said the bill requires that Virginia consumers are informed about their rights to access their
decision-making agreements. The program includes specific training opportunities, development of modelsupported decision-making agreements and development of information about and protocols for preventing, identifying and addressing abuse and exploitation of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities who enter into the supported decision-making agreements. HB 2230 would direct the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services to create this program and collect data regarding the use of supported decisionmaking agreements in the Commonwealth. Teri Morgan, Executive Director of the Virginia Board for People with Disabilities, spoke in support of the bill during a committee meeting earlier in the session. “We believe that information, education and training about supported decision- making is critical to implementation and furthering the self-determination of individuals with disabilities,” Morgan said. “Collecting and reporting data on the use of supported decisionmaking will provide important information, including the efficacy of education and training, health outcomes for individuals using supported decision-making and reductions in number of guardianship petitions.” HB 1960, HB 1961 and HB 2230 all passed unanimously in the Senate and the House and are awaiting Gov. Ralph Northam’s signature to become law. The governor has a March 31 deadline to either sign or kill the bill. data. “The way it’s written now is it puts the emphasis on the consumer to request their data or request their data be deleted,” Miller said. “It doesn’t obligate a company to do that proactively without the consumer requesting it.” Miller and Jerome hope the CDPA will encourage discussion in Congress and help create a broader national data protection law. “It’s the first step towards figuring out what a national data protection or data privacy law could look like, which would benefit consumers everywhere rather than just having a patchwork of state-specific laws and regulations,” Miller said. The Consumer Data Protection Act will take effect January 2023. The chairman of the Joint Commission on Technology and Science will establish a work group to review the bill and report any issues related to its implementation by Nov. 1.
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT THE CITY OF RICHMOND BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS Will hold an electronic Public Hearing due to the state of emergency that exists as a result of the spread of COVID-19 pursuant to and in compliance with Ordinance 2020232 on April 7, 2021, to consider the following under Chapter 30 of the Zoning Code: BEGINNING AT 1:00 P.M. BZA 16-2021: An application of Eric Burfeind for a building permit to construct an addition (298 sq. ft.) on the rear of an existing single-family detached dwelling at 118 GRANITE AVENUE. BZA 17-2021: An application of Eleven Eleven 25th LLC for a lot split and building permits to construct two new single-family detached dwellings at 1810 NORTH 29th STREET. BZA 18-2021: An application of Urban Development Associates, LLC for a building permit to construct a new two-family detached dwelling at 218 WEST 12th STREET. BZA 19-2021: An application of L. Kent Pond for a building permit to demolish an existing building and construct a new single-family attached dwelling at 3000 Q STREET. BZA 20-2021: An application of City of Richmond Department of Public Works for a building permit to construct a new fire station (FS 12) at 2223 WEST CARY STREET. The case plans and agenda will be made available on the City’s legislative website not later than March 17, 2021: https://richmondva.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx The public may listen to the Microsoft Teams electronic meeting and offer comment by calling 804-316-9457 and when prompted entering code 956 320 039#. For video access by computer, smart phone or tablet visit https://richmondva.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx. Select the Board of Zoning Appeals drop-down and 2021 drop-down, click meeting details for April 7, 2021 meeting and then click video access. In the event you have difficulty accessing a public hearing you may contact Mr. William Davidson at 804-396-5350 or by email at William.Davidson@richmondgov.com for assistance. In accordance with Ordinance No. 2020-232, please be advised that an inability to access one of the enumerated public hearing through video means shall not be considered a prerequisite for participating in the subject public hearing. In order to ensure your participation it will be necessary for you to call in at 1 PM and stay on the line until such time as your case is called. Please be advised that the Board of Zoning Appeals Rules of Procedure provides that in the case of an application for a variance or a special exception, the applicant, proponents or persons aggrieved under §15.2-2314 of the Code of Virginia, in that order shall be permitted a total of six (6) minutes each to present their case. For this reason the Board respectfully requests that you be as brief as possible in your comments when your case is called by the Chairman to allow other individuals the opportunity to participate. For the purposes of the record it is also requested that before addressing the Board you identify yourself and spell your name. The public may offer comments in advance of the scheduled electronic meeting by directing them to the email address listed below and the subject comments will be made available to the Board Members prior to the electronic meeting. Roy W. Benbow, Secretary Phone: (804) 240-2124 Fax: (804) 646-5789 E-mail: Roy.Benbow@richmondgov.com
Actions
Speak
Louder Words have value, especially when they are used to make a promise. But the most important thing about a promise is the action you take afterward. At Dominion Energy, we believe in taking action – to deliver on our commitment to help people, communities, and the environment.
COVID-19 Response and Support In response to the pandemic’s economic impact, Dominion Energy has stepped up to meet the needs of our customers. We suspended all service disconnections for non-payment to provide uninterrupted, reliable service 24/7. We have given more than $1 million to support coronavirus relief efforts by the American Red Cross and other nonprofits, to help our communities in need.
Social Justice and Higher Education At Dominion Energy, we believe higher education is critical to addressing centuries of institutional racism. That is why we have committed $35 million to our initiative supporting historically Black colleges and universities, and to minority student scholarships. In addition, we have allocated another $5 million to promote social justice and community building.
Solar and Wind Energy To build a cleaner energy future, we have added more than 3.6 million solar panels throughout Virginia, helping to make us America’s third largest in solar. In addition, we are developing the largest offshore wind project in the U.S., which will produce enough energy to power up to 660,000 homes by 2026.
EnergyShare® For years, our EnergyShare® program has helped our neighbors across Virginia, assisting individuals and their families with bill payment and energy saving upgrades. As of today, the program has helped more than 858,000 people. In 2020, we expanded the EnergyShare® program to assist those impacted by the coronavirus with an additional $500,000 to help provide energy bill relief for small businesses, nonprofits, and houses of worship throughout Virginia.
Lower Rates And to help residential customers, we have kept our rates more than 10%* below the national average.
Turning promises into reality is what defines us. That is why we are proud to invest in what we believe in, and what we know is
*Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, as of 1/26/2021