He’s leaving competition in the dust A8
Expanding homemade flair B3
Richmond Free Press
VOL. 26 NO. 35
First Lady McAuliffe
First Lady kicks off initiative to attract grocers to Va.’s food deserts
© 2017 Paradigm Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.
RICHMOND, VIRGINIA
www.richmondfreepress.com
AUGUST 31-September 2, 2017
State auditor: City may be on brink of financial distress By Jeremy M. Lazarus
By Jeremy M. Lazarus
A new initiative could help bring new grocery stores to low-income areas of cities and counties that major chains no longer serve and that have been defined as food deserts. Dubbed the Virginia Grocery Investment Fund, the initiative would use public and private funds to provide loans to enable new stores offering fresh fruits, vegetables, milk and meat to open in underserved areas. That could include parts of Richmond’s East End, where grocery stores are in short supply. A Newport News grocery, Jim’s Local Market, which was to open a store in a $25 million retail-residential development planned for property at 25th Street, Fairmount Avenue and Nine Mile Road in Church Hill, recently pulled out. While the developer is searching for another grocery to take the spot and city officials expect that search to be successful, the departure of Jim’s is being cited as an example of the difficulty poverty-stricken areas face in attracting fullservice groceries. On Tuesday, First Lady Dorothy McAuliffe, state legislators and anti-hunger advocates unveiled the grocery initiative in launching the campaign to win General Assembly support for the fund. Mrs. McAuliffe said the fund is needed in a state where an estimated 900,000 people, including 300,000 children, must walk or drive long distances to find a full-service grocery. Under the plan, the state is to put up $5 million and then seek partnerships with banks and other private entities to build the fund to $20 million to provide needed low-cost capital Please turn to A4
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Elizabeth Conley/ Houston Chronicle/Associated Press
Terranysha Ferguson holds her son, Christian Phillips, as she sits Sunday with the rest of her family at the Houston Convention Center.
Hurricane Harvey devastates Texas; blasts into Louisiana Free Press staff, wire report
More than 10,000 people — an overflow of evacuees — have sought refuge in the Houston Convention Center in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, which struck the Texas Gulf Coast last Friday, leaving the nation’s fourth largest city and its surrounding communities in a flood of devastation. On Wednesday, the Category 4 hurricane that was downgraded to a tropical storm, had lingered for days over a swath of Southern Texas, where it breached levees and meandered back into the Gulf of Mexico. It then headed to Louisiana, where it made landfall about 4 a.m. just west of Cameron, La., with maximum sustained winds near 45 mph. Officials said 38 people have been confirmed dead, more than 31,000 people are in shelters run by the Red Cross across Texas, with thousands more expected to seek shelter before it’s all over. Numerous localities have been devastated, with homes
and businesses destroyed or flooded, and rescues resembling those of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans in 2005 being made by helicopter and boat. Stories of heroism and harrowing struggles have dominated news reports as elderly, the infirm and families with children desperately seek safety. A family of six — four children and their grandparents — perished when the van they were in
Photo coverage on B8 sank under floodwaters as they tried to flee. A Houston police officer also died when his car was engulfed in water while he was on his way to work. More than 14,000 members of the National Guard have been mobilized to assist with evacuations in rainfall that has reached a record 49 inches. Weather forecasts call for even more heavy rains for the remainder of the week. Please turn to A4
Richmond is usually portrayed as being in good financial health despite having one in four residents living in poverty. Coupled with a building boom, the city reports a balanced budget, $114 million in savings that it does not need to tap to pay its bills and budget surpluses in each of the past two fiscal years. Richmond also has an AA rating from the three major credit review agencies, all of which report that Richmond has a modestly growing tax base, manageable debt and a longterm stable outlook, despite the challenge of elevated poverty. So why is the state auditor of public accounts including Richmond among a handful of Virginia communities that she lists as potential financial basket cases? F o r Mayor Levar M. Stoney and his administration, R i c h m o n d ’s Ms. Mavredes inclusion is an embarrassment. So far, he and the city’s financial officials are keeping mum about the state report that offers a different view of the city’s financial health. State Auditor Martha S. Mavredes has not publicly named Richmond or the three other localities she lists as failing the financial stress test that she and a state work group devised. However, the Free Press obtained a copy of a portion of the state report, which has been widely distributed within government circles, including the Virginia Municipal League and the Virginia Association of Counties, trade groups for the state’s localities. The results, which look closely at internal financial data, show Richmond and Bristol do not meet the minimum standard for financial health. A portion of the report Please turn to A4
Independent review slated of Charlottesville events Free Press staff, wire reports
CHARLOTTESVILLE More than 200 clergy, activists and citizens began a 10-day march this week from Emancipation Park in Charlottesville to Washington in a public show of resistance to the white supremacists who brought violence and death to the city earlier this month. The march began Monday and is expected to end at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, Sept. 6. “We’re marching to defeat white supremacists and to build a society where every one of us can be safe and thrive,” said Cristina Jiménez of United We Dream, one of the organizers. Ms. Jiménez and others said the marchers are going Washington to demand that U.S. leaders, including President Trump, stop providing aid and comfort to white supremacists and stand up for diversity and democratic values. The trek is just one sign of the fallout from the Aug. 12 white supremacist rally that left three dead and scores injured. Another sign is the action of Gov. Terry McAuliffe in response to the violence in Charlot-
tesville. He established a task force to focus on preparedness for civil unrest and future rallies of groups with a propensity for violence. Brian Moran, state secretary of public safety and homeland security, is to chair the group that will review current planning and recommend changes. Gov. McAuliffe also created the Commonwealth Commission on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion to look into the root causes of the racism and bigotry promoted by white supremacists and to recommend ways to improve diversity and inclusion in Virginia. City officials announced Aug. 25 that a former U.S. attorney would conduct an independent review of the city’s response to the Aug. 12 event and two prior white nationalist rallies. That process is expected to take months. The march began a day after Charlottesville residents vented their feelings about the violence at an emotional community meeting with city leaders. The Charlottesville City Council hosted the event with support from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Community Relations Service.
Hundreds of people turned out to speak about the impact of the Aug. 12 white nationalist rally held to defend a statue of Confederate Robert E. Lee. Many people also expressed dissatisfaction with the way officials handled the rally and the violence that unfolded. For more than three hours, residents told officials that the white supremacist
event and violence left them fearful, depressed and worried for their children. Typical was Louisa Candelario, whose voice rose as she addressed the residents and city leaders. She said she was just feet from 32-yearPlease turn to A4
Monument Avenue Commission Sept. 13 meeting postponed By Saraya Wintersmith
The Monument Avenue Commission’s much-anticipated Sept. 13 public hearing on the Confederate statues in Richmond has been postponed until sometime in October. Richmond Mayor Levar M. Stoney announced the decision late last week, citing safety and a need to rework the format of the commission’s meetings.
“This decision is made in the interests of public safety, and to allow for a restructuring of the commission’s engagement with the public,” the mayor said in a statement. “We will provide additional information on the next steps of the Monument Avenue Commission in the coming weeks.” Mayor Stoney’s press secretary, Jim Nolan, Please turn to A4