December 8 10, 2016 issue

Holiday cheer fills Downtown B3

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VOL. 25 NO. 50

RICHMOND, VIRGINIA

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Richmond Free Press

DeCEMber 8-10, 2016

Mayor Jones’ final bow Richmond’s chief executive reflects on his 8 years in office

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

Mayor Dwight C. Jones entered City Hall in 2009 amid the worst recession in 75 years. He sought to be “a unifier” who would end the turmoil between the Mayor’s Office, City Council and the School Board and would create a Richmond people were proud of.

Having faced setbacks and criticism, Mayor Jones will step down Dec. 31 from a much-altered city that, despite a continuing high level of poverty, is experiencing growth in jobs and population, attracting waves of residential and business development and winning a national reputation as great place to live, work and play.

While the incoming mayor, Levar Stoney, is promising to reverse the dysfunction he sees in city government, Mayor Jones believes he has led a productive government and is leaving an excellent record for his successor to build on.

“I think we’ve done well,” Mayor Jones said in looking at the changes his administration, along with City Council, have ushered in during his eight years as Richmond’s chief executive.

The 68-year-old Philadelphia native, who came to Richmond to attend Virginia Union University in the late 1960s, offered his views in a wide-ranging interview with the Free Press following the election of his successor.

He spent 15 years in the General Assembly before winning the mayor’s race in 2008 to replace outgoing Mayor L. Douglas Wilder. As mayor, he has earned $149,000 a year, including $24,000 in deferred retirement pay, which is the same salary Mr. Stoney will receive.

Among other things, Mayor Jones believes Richmond has become more competitive with its county neighbors and more attractive to young people during his tenure.

He points to his administration’s success in attracting businesses that will provide hundreds of jobs, such as the real estate data company CoStar Group Inc. and Stone Brewing Co. that is beefing up Richmond as the capital of craft beer brewing.

He has sought to tackle poverty in a meaningful way and is proud of the work his administration has done to include businesses owned by African-Americans and minorities in city contracts.

He also believes the city has gained important payoffs from investments in economic developments, including hosting an international cycling race last year that brought global attention to the city and building a training camp for the Washington NFL football team.

“No one wants to report that the training camp is part of a $40 million development deal,” he groused, that includes a new Bon Secours nursing school to be developed in a former Please turn to A4

Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press

Double the holiday fun Twins Layla, left, and Leyah DeBruhl, 4, compare books they received Saturday at the annual Holiday Open House at the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia. More than 160 books were donated by the Sistahs Book Club for the free event. More photos, B2.

Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press

“I think we’ve done well,” said Mayor Dwight C. Jones, who will turn over his office to a new mayor at the end of the month. He is proudest of the anti-poverty initiative he pursued in seeking to achieve his goal of “building the best city.”

Bedden seeks $303M

By Lauren Northington

Richmond Public Schools needs $303 million to operate in the next fiscal year, according to Superintendent Dana T. Bedden, who released on Monday an “estimate of needs” that amounts to an 8.1 percent increase, or $22.7 million, over the school system’s current operating budget.

“It’s a sad night for me that I won’t get to work through this budget process with all of you,” said T. David Myers, assistant superintendent for financial services, addressing the eight outgoing School Board members at the opening of his roughly 45-minute budget presentation, “Superintendent’s Estimate of Needs.”

The $22.7 million increase, according to Dr. Bedden, includes $9.6 million to make good on unfunded programs from fiscal years 2016 and 2017, $4.9 million for a 4.1 percent salary increase for teachers and $4.4 million to pay retirement, life and health insurance benefits for employees for the 2018 fiscal year that begins July 1.

Money for unfunded pro-

grams would go to support the school system’s Academic Improvement Plan and such positions as tutors for exceptional education, part-time foreign language teachers in elementary schools, part-time custodians and bus monitors and an International Baccalaureate program coordinator at Lucille Brown Middle School.

Dr. Bedden reminded the School Board of budget reductions between 2008 and 2014 that have shaved $22 million in funding, despite enrollment growing by more than 600 students during that time span.

He said RPS expects to spend $230 million, or 76 percent of its total budget, on instruction during fiscal year 2018, an

increase of almost $20 million over the current budget’s allocation for instruction.

“We’re one of the highest instruction-spending school divisions in the Commonwealth,” said Mr. Myers. That reflects the school system’s “commitment to maintaining attractive and Please turn to A4

Varner wins big Free Press wire reports

GOLD COAST, AUSTRALIA Harold Varner III won the Australian PGA Championship on Sunday, becoming the first African-American to win a professional golf tournament since Tiger Woods.

Now 26, the Ohio native who was raised in Gastonia, N.C., fired nine birdies in a closing 65 on Sunday to finish at 19 under for the four-day tournament, two clear of the runner-up, Australian Andrew Dodt.

Varner, who turned pro in 2012, nearly won the same tournament last year, but lost the playoff. He earlier had four top 10 finishes on the PGA tour during the past year.

Varner played golf at East Carolina University. He is the first American to win the Australian PGA title since Hale Irwin

in 1978 at Royal Melbourne, and the first non-Australian to claim the title since 1999.

“Winning is just … different,” he said. “Three years, I haven’t won, so this is special.”

Prosecutor vows to retry S.C. ex-officer after mistrial in death of motorist Free Press wire report

Mic Smith/Associated Press

Judy Scott, center, is comforted by her son, Rodney Scott, as family attorneys Chris Stewart, left, and Justin Bamberg, right, hold a news conference Monday after a mistrial was declared in the case involving the shooting death of Mrs. Scott’s son, Walter Scott, last year in North Charleston, S.C. A videotape of the death shows Mr. Scott, 50, was shot in the back by former Patrolman Michael Slager. A mistrial was declared after the jury deadlocked.

A South Carolina prosecutor said she would retry the former South Carolina police officer, a white man, who shot and killed a black motorist as he ran during an April 2015 traffic stop.

Judge Clifton Newman declared a mistrial Monday in the highly publicized case after jurors weighing a murder charge against former North Charleston patrolman Michael Slager, 35, said they were deadlocked.

A bystander’s cell phone recorded Mr. Slager firing eight times at the back of Walter Scott, 50, as he fled the traffic stop.

The video helped make Mr. Slager a national symbol for a wave of police killings of black men in cities including New York, Baltimore and Ferguson, Mo. The hung jury fueled fresh debate about racial bias in law enforcement and the U.S. justice system.

“Despite our best efforts, we have been unable to come to a unanimous verdict,” jurors said in a note on Monday, their fourth day of deliberations after four weeks of testimony in

a Charleston courtroom.

Prosecutor Scarlett Wilson, who left the courtroom with tears in her eyes, later said in a statement her office would retry Mr. Slager.

“Justice will be had,” Scott family lawyer Justin Bamberg told reporters afterward. “I don’t think there’s a soul in the world who thinks that what Michael Slager did is OK.” Judy Scott, mother of the Coast Guard veteran, told reporters the fight is not over.

“Today I am not sad,” she said. “I know that justice will be served,” she said, noting the likelihood of a civil lawsuit against Mr. Slager and possible federal charges. Tears welled in her eyes as she spoke and invoked Jesus’ name and shouted “Hallelujah!” several times.

Mr. Slager and his lawyers left the courthouse without commenting.

Only about a third of at least 78 police officers across the United States charged with murder or manslaughter from an on-duty shooting since 2005 have been convicted, according to data collected by Philip Stinson, an associate Please turn to A3

A2 December 8-10, 2016

Richmond Free Press

Local News

Federal judge finds no ADA violation in Sheriff’s Office hiring decision Bu Jeremy M. Lazarus

A federal judge has found that Richmond Sheriff C.T. Woody Jr. did not violate the Americans with Disabilities Act when he declined to reassign a disabled deputy to a vacant payroll position and instead hired someone else to fill the job.

Rebuffing claims from the U.S. Justice Department, Judge Robert E. Payne dismissed the government’s March lawsuit against Sheriff Woody for his treatment of former Deputy Emily Hall, who served in the Richmond Sheriff’s Department for 10 years until a heart condition prevented her from continuing her deputy duties.

In a 27-page opinion issued Nov. 28 that could impact other employers and disabled employees, Judge Payne ruled that “the ADA does not require disabled employees to be granted special preferences in hiring over non-disabled applicants.”

Judge Payne wrote that for Sheriff Woody and other employers who “maintain a non-discriminatory policy of hiring the most qualified candidate, it would not ordinarily be reasonable to require deviation from that policy to accommodate a … lesser qualified disabled candidate.”

As a deputy, Ms. Hall escorted inmates to and from court proceedings and provided security for judges. Her position required her to have direct contact with prisoners and be prepared to restrain an inmate who turned violent.

She sought reassignment to “light duty” that did not have the potential for conflict with inmates after undergoing surgery in 2012 to receive a cardiac defibrillator and a pacemaker, the government’s suit stated.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office, acting on behalf of the Justice Department’s Office of Civil Rights, brought suit on Ms. Hall’s behalf when she was denied reassignment to another post, arguing that the ADA required the sheriff to “accommodate her disability through the transfer to a vacant position for which she was a qualified.”

However, the sheriff’s legal team countered that the sheriff was required only to allow Ms. Hall to compete for a vacant position, not guarantee her placement in it, a position the judge upheld.

Sheriff Woody allowed Ms. Hall to compete for a payroll technician post, but the job “was completely different from (the deputy position) she was originally employed in,” stated Tony Pham, general counsel for the Richmond Sheriff’s Office.

She scored below three other applicants who also sought the job, Mr. Pham stated, and Sheriff Woody hired the most qualified applicant, leading to Ms. Hall’s dismissal in May 2013.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office claimed in the suit that Ms. Hall possessed the education and work experience to do the payroll job and should have had priority because of her disabling condition.

However, in its response, the Sheriff’s Office stated that Ms. Hall had less “specialized training” than the other candidates, including the one offered the post.

“I always believed I operated well within the confines of established law,” Sheriff Woody stated in response to the ruling.

“It is satisfying to see a court of law look at the facts, apply them to the law and come to an (appropriate) conclusion. I am truly sympathetic to Ms. Hall, but am satisfied to be vindicated.”

Sandra Sellers/Richmond Free Press

Cityscape Slices of life and scenes in Richmond

The first pedestrians stream across the newly opened T. Tyler Potterfield Memorial Bridge over the James River. Mayor Dwight C. Jones led the ribbon-cutting for the lighted bridge during the Grand Illumination on Friday. Richmond poured $11.3 million in state and city funds into the span open only to pedestrians and bikes. The new river crossing sits above a 1901 dam and links Brown’s Island on the North Side to an overlook on the South Side near the entry to the Manchester Bridge. Another $200,000 was spent on eight, 17-foot-tall metal rings that Denver artist Joshua Wiener created to adorn the South Side path to the 1,600-foot bridge. The bridge is named for a senior city planner who advocated for the bridge before his death in 2014. Construction began in October 2015 on the only current city structure named for a city employee.

Mayor-elect Stoney appoints 2 to key positions

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

On the campaign trail, Levar Stoney promised to be a “visionary, forwardthinking” leader who would restore confidence in Richmond City Hall.

On Monday, the mayor-elect went to the Chamber of Commerce office on Main Street to announce his choice for the person who would help him transform the city government into a hard-charging operation.

That person turns out to be the same person Mayor Dwight C. Jones has counted on for the past 17 months — Selena Cuffee-Glenn.

is the same goal that Mayor Jones sought to achieve and almost did during his eight years as mayor, even though ordinary citizens may still wonder how it impacts their lives and improves city services.

During his two terms, Mayor Jones engineered six increases in the city’s credit ratings with Wall Street, ratings improvements that have helped the city secure lower interest rates on debt and moved the city closer to becoming a triple-A city.

Two of the three major rating agencies currently rate Richmond’s debt as AA+, or just below AAA, a status that apparently eluded the city because it would have

Herring, Woody signal plans to run for re-election Richmond Commonwealth’s Attorney Michael N. Herring and city Sheriff C.T. Woody Jr. already are gearing up to run for re-election next year.

However, the city’s third constitutional officer, city Treasurer Eunice M. Wilder, 77, is keeping mum about her plans.

Largely overshadowed by the upcoming races for governor and other state offices, including the General Assembly, Mr. Herring, 51, and Sheriff Woody, 71, told the Free Press they will seek new four-year terms.

Mr. Herring has been mentioned for other offices, but has preferred to remain the city’s chief prosecutor.

As it now stands, the Democrat could again run unopposed as he has done in his first three elections.

He was first elected Mr. Herring Sheriff Woody in 2005, succeeding David M. Hicks, who left after 12 years to go into private practice as an attorney before becoming senior policy adviser to Mayor Dwight C. Jones and later a Richmond General District Court judge, the post he now holds.

Sheriff Woody, also a Democrat, said he’s not ready to retire.

He said he feels good and believes “there’s more to do in the areas of mental illness and drug addiction” in explaining his decision to seek a fourth term, which he said would be his last.

If he is re-elected, he said he would continue to push for more community services to divert people who suffer from such problems from his jail, where “they do not belong.”

Sheriff Woody is likely to again face opposition. Antionette V. Irving, a retired major with the Henrico County Sheriff’s Office, has indicated in Facebook posts that she plans to challenge Sheriff Woody again.

She was among three challengers who lost to Sheriff Woody in 2013 when he won his third term.

Sheriff Woody, who came to the office after serving nearly 35 years as an officer and homicide detective in the Richmond Police Department, is used to contested elections. He won his first term in 2005 by unseating three-term incumbent Sheriff Michelle B. Mitchell.

Ms. Wilder has held the post of city treasurer since December 1992 when she was appointed to fill a vacancy in the office that long ago was stripped of any responsibilities for billing and colleting city taxes.

She won her first term in 1993 and has been challenged twice in the five times she successfully sought re-election to the office, which assists people with filling out income tax forms, collects unpaid state income taxes and sells hunting and fishing licenses.

“Why are you asking me? I haven’t begun to think about it,” Ms. Wilder told the Free Press when reached at her City Hall office. — JEREMY M. LAZARUS

Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press

Mayor-elect Levar Stoney, center, introduces his picks for top posts during a news conference Monday. Selena Cuffee-Glenn will continue as Richmond’s chief administrative officer, while J.E. Lincoln Saunders will serve as Mr. Stoney’s chief of staff.

The 55-year-old Chesapeake native, who started her career in Richmond years ago in the planning department, will remain the chief administrative officer when Mr. Stoney takes office Jan. 1, reflecting his philosophy of combining “experience with new ideas.”

And the “big, hairy audacious goal” Mr. Stoney said he wants his No. 2 official to achieve: To have Richmond gain the coveted status of a AAA bond-rated city, which Ms. Cuffee-Glenn secured for Suffolk in her previous role there as city manager.

If that goal sounds familiar, it should. It

required putting into savings millions of dollars that never were available.

Along with Ms. Cuffee-Glenn, Mr. Stoney also named a friend and confidant as chief of staff in his office, J.E. Lincoln Saunders, a 32-year-old Lancaster County native whose father is town manager for the county seat of Kilmarnock.

Mr. Saunders currently is chief of staff for Virginia First Lady Dorothy McAuliffe and assisted her on her goal of expanding school programs that provide free breakfast and lunch for students.

He and Mr. Stoney met as campaign workers for Democratic candidates and

have remained close for a decade. Mr. Stoney brought Mr. Saunders to the attention of Mrs. McAuliffe.

So far, Mr. Stoney has remained coy about the future of current holders of other executive posts at City Hall, saying only he would have more announcements in the weeks to come.

Ms. Cuffee-Glenn is by far his most important choice. The City Charter vests her with the authority to hire and fire subordinate officials, including the deputy chief administrative officers who report to her, as well as the police chief, fire chief and department directors and deputy directors.

It remains to be seen who will stay and who will go, although one person assured to stay on is the city’s chief financial officer, Lenora Reid, who returned to Richmond to serve with Ms. Cuffee-Glenn following her appointment as Mayor Jones’ CAO. Mr. Stoney appears ready to give her free rein.

She will remain at City Hall, he explained in a follow-up statement, with the “expectation she will deliver and execute a detailed plan to reform city government to make it accountable to the people of Richmond.”

She also will be charged “with assembling and developing a team of skilled and committed professionals needed throughout the organization” to implement his goals.

In addition to the AAA bond rating, those goals, Mr. Stoney said at Monday’s press conference, include restoring morale among city employees; being responsive in customer service; engaging the community “a lot better than we have in the past” and “building a culture of transparency.”

Finally, “we are going to execute,” he said. “When we say we are going to be there to fill potholes, trim trees or take up stumps, we will do it an in a timely fashion.”

The result he wants is “professional, accountable and compassionate governance that positively impacts the lives of all Richmond residents.”

Notably, Mr. Stoney did not include a mention of public schools or job creation or other areas that are likely to be on the agenda.

School Board chairman eyes run for House of Delegates Jeff M. Bourne just won a second term on the ertarian Party, Corey M. Fauconier, who is the only Richmond School Board. But his tenure might turn other person to file paperwork to run. out to be far shorter than four years.

Mr. Bourne is chairman of the School Board and The 40-year-old deputy Virginia attorney general he is the only member from the current board who who represents the 3rd District on the board has conwon re-election in the Nov. 8 election. firmed he is eyeing a run for a seat in the House of Just one of the eight new members who will take ofDelegates that could soon be vacant. fice with Mr. Bourne in early January has School Board That vacancy would be created if, as anticipated, experience. That person is Dawn C. Page, who has regained Richmond Delegate Jennifer L. McClellan succeeds in the 8th District seat she gave up four years ago to make a her bid to win the vacant 9th District state Senate seat unsuccessful bid for the district’s City Council seat. in a special election set for Tuesday, Jan. 10.

Mr. Bourne is the first person to publicly indicate Mr. Bourne Sen. A. Donald McEachin is leaving that seat to an interest in running for the House of Delegates seat, go to Washington as the new representative for Virginia’s 4th which mostly covers the North Side and East End of Richmond Congressional District. and includes a small part of Henrico County.

Delegate McClellan’s prospects to win the seat became even “I haven’t made a decision,” he said, but he acknowledged he brighter after she secured the Democratic Party nomination last is intrigued by the prospect of serving as an education advocate week without opposition in a district that favors Democrats. The in the General Assembly.

9th Senate District includes Charles City County and parts of The names of other potential candidates are circulating, but Richmond and Hanover and Henrico counties. most are waiting until after the holidays to consider getting in Her only opponent is expected to be a member of the Lib- the race. — JEREMY M. LAZARUS

Richmond Free Press

December 8-10, 2016 A3

News

Civil rights coalition to hold pre-inaugural march in D.C. on MLK weekend Free Press staff, wire report

The Rev. Al Sharpton, head of the National Action Network, has announced that a coalition of civil rights and advocacy organizations will lead a march and rally at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington on Saturday, Jan. 14 — less than a week before the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump.

The event will be held during the weekend leading up to the annual holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and just days before the Jan. 20 presidential inauguration.

“There’s no more appropriate time for civil rights leaders, faith leaders and others to raise to this nation that we cannot have the dream and principles of Dr. King violated as we go into a new administration,” Rev. Sharpton said at a news conference Monday at the National Press Club in Washington.

“On the areas of voting rights, income inequality including racial disparities in employment and access to capital, in areas of health care, criminal justice and police reform, we will not stand by and watch a change in the presidency and the makeup of Congress” destroy gains made by President Obama, he said.

“We will act to protect the gains and to keep moving forward,” he said.

Rev. Sharpton was surrounded at the news conference by a host of faith and civil rights leaders.

He said the march will go from the Washington Monument to the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, where an agenda will be outlined on the theme: “We will not be moved.”

During a post-election phone conference in late November with journalists and civil rights leaders, Rev. Sharpton first mentioned the march, noting that the National Action Network hosted a conference call with 413 ministers planning the march.

“Some things you can’t vote out with an election. And some things will not change because a president has changed,” he said at the time.

Participating with Rev. Sharpton on the conference call with media were heads of six other organizations that represent the nation’s largest civil rights groups — Marc H. Morial of the National Urban League, Melanie Campbell of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, Wade Henderson of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, Cornell William Brooks of the national NAACP, Sherrilyn Ifill of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and Kristin Clark of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. “We are not being alarmists. We are being realists about the record of the president-elect and what he has said. If people are saying we’re not giving him a chance, we are willing to give him a chance. The problem is we are listening to what he has said,” Rev. Sharpton said.

Mr. Morial said the group will maintain its posture of readiness to deal with issues and adverse appointments as they come from President-elect Trump.

“We are unified today and prepared to move forward. And we do this today in the spirit of understanding that this close election certainly yielded a new president-elect,” Mr. Morial said, noting, however, that Mr. Trump did not win a majority of the popular vote, nor did he win a mandate to act against civil rights.

Mr. Brooks said the NAACP is ready to employ every legal strategy necessary to fight against attacks. He noted how racism, anti-Semitism, Rev. Sharpton xenophobia and misogyny became routine during the presidential campaign.

“When we look at the positions Mr. Trump took as a candidate, there is nothing to suggest that he is not fully committed to those positions as president,” Mr. Brooks said. “And his appointments indicate that he is doubling down on his campaign promises.”

Mr. Morial declined to say whether the civil rights groups, which met several times with President Obama, would seek a meeting with Mr. Trump once he takes office. Mr. Brooks listed grassroots mobilization, legislative advocacy as well as legal redress as among the strategies that could be used to fight against attempts to roll back civil rights. “And I think we can certainly expect the nation’s leading civil rights organizations to move in a concerted, coordinated and united fashion,” he said.

Ms. Ifill said much of their action will be contingent upon the actions of President-elect Trump.

“The ball is in Mr. Trump’s court and our job is to develop our strategy and to deal with what is likely to come to ensure that we are not only protecting civil rights but finding ways, even in this hostile climate, to advance civil rights,” she said.

Mr. Henderson and Ms. Clark made note of attacks that are already in full force against voting rights.

Ms. Clark said voter suppression efforts “put in place in the three years preceding the 2016 presidential election” by the Shelby County v. Holder case, “opened up the flood gates.”

The decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in that case gutted the pre-clearance provision of the federal Voting Rights Act, which required mostly Southern states to get approval from the Justice Department before making any changes in voting policies.

She noted that African-American, Latino and other voters were blocked from casting ballots at certain polls during the Nov. 8 election. She described depressed voter turnout and voter suppression in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Florida and North Carolina.

“Voter suppression had an impact on Election Day,” she said.

Mr. Henderson pointed out that states previously required to submit to pre-clearance under the Voting Rights Act “closed at least 868 polling places” since the Shelby decision in 2013.

Ms. Campbell also stressed the importance for the groups

to hold public conversations about how and why certain coalitions supported Mr. Trump, including 52 percent of white women.

“Conversations must be had about what happened and about the issues that face us moving forward,” she said. “This generation is saying something went wrong and resistance is very much a part of the strategy.”

Rev. Sharpton concluded, “In terms of his movement to the right and the flavor of white nationalism, we may have lost an election, but we have not lost our minds nor have we lost our ability to mobilize … We are going to keep street heat up.”

Hazel Trice Edney contributed to this report.

La. congressman new CBC chair Louisiana Congressman Cedric Richmond has been elected chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus for the 115th Congress, which begins Jan. 3.

“I commend Representative Richmond on becoming the new chairman,” said Rep. G.K. Butterfield of North Carolina, the outgoing chairman.

“We have much work ahead of us during the 115th Congress, and I am confident Representative Richmond will provide strong leadership on issues we champion to ensure all Americans have an equal and equitable opportunity to achieve the American Dream.”

Since the last election, the Congressional Black Caucus has grown and now has 49 members. The CBC was founded in 1971.

Rep. Richmond Rep. Richmond, 43, is a native of New Orleans and represents most of the city as part of Louisiana’s 2nd Congressional District. He is a member of Committee on the Judiciary and Homeland Security and has focused on reforming the criminal justice system.

A graduate of Morehouse College, Rep. Richmond earned a law degree from Tulane University School of Law in New Orleans. He also is a graduate of the Harvard University Executive Education Program at the John F. Kennedy School of Government.

Other new officers include Rep. André Carson of Indiana, first vice chair; Rep. Karen Bass of California, second vice chair; Rep. Brenda Lawrence of Michigan, secretary; and Rep. Gwen Moore of Wisconsin, whip.

Race central issue in Virginia-Maryland redistricting arguments before high court Associated Press

WASHINGTON U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy appears to hold the decisive vote in two cases involving challenges from African-American voters to electoral districts in Virginia and North Carolina.

The court’s liberal and conservative justices seemed otherwise divided after arguments Monday about whether race played too large a role in creation of congressional districts in North Carolina and state legislative districts in Virginia.

The issue of race and redistricting is a familiar one at the U.S. Supreme Court. States have to take race into account when drawing maps for legislative, congressional and a host of municipal political districts. At the same time, race can’t be the predominant factor, under a line of high court cases stretching back 20 years.

Justice Kennedy said he had problems with a lower court’s reasoning in upholding 12 districts in Virginia, suggesting there could be a majority for throwing out that decision. He had less to say about the two North Carolina congressional districts, which were struck down by a lower court.

The arguments demonstrated the difficulty in distinguishing racial and partisan motivations, when African-Americans overwhelmingly vote for Democrats. The justices soon could be asked to decide whether the U.S. Constitution also

prohibits electoral maps that are too partisan, in a case from Wisconsin.

Justices on both sides of the divide voiced a certain fatigue with the issue. Justice Samuel Alito suggested states are being held to an impossible standard that is “just an invitation for litigation in every one of these instances.”

Justice Stephen Breyer said he had hoped his majority opinion in a case from Alabama “would end these cases in this court, which it certainly doesn’t seem to have done.” He said lawmakers could not take a “mechanically numerical” approach to redistricting.

In Virginia, lawmakers in 2011 used the results of the 2010 census to create 12 districts in which African-Americans made up at least 55 percent of the population of eligible voters, saying that level was necessary to ensure they could elect their candidate of choice. Black voters who sued contended lawmakers packed the districts with black voters, making other districts whiter and more Republican. The effect was to dilute black voting strength, they said.

Arguing for the Virginia challengers, attorney Marc Elias said the lower court was wrong to uphold a “one size fits all” standard regardless of the different voting patterns and demographics across the 12 districts.

He drew support from Justice Elena Kagan. “It sort of defies belief you could pick a number and say that applies with respect to every majorityminority district,” Justice Kagan said.

Attorney Paul Clement, representing Virginia, said 55 percent actually is a reasonable number for all 12 districts. “So it’s not like this number comes out of thin air,” he said.

Nine of the 12 districts had greater black populations under the plan in effect before the 2010 census, and two others were at least 53 percent black.

Chief Justice John Roberts, who appeared to favor the state, questioned whether it is so easy to determine the most important reason for drawing a district a particular way when there are several considerations about its geographic size and shape, as well as the interests that unite its residents. “It’s easy to imagine situations where you cannot say that one dominates over all the others,” he said.

The North Carolina case seemed to present more of a puzzle to the court. The lower court struck down two majority-black congressional districts, finding they relied too heavily on race.

The state of North Carolina, also represented

by Mr. Clement, conceded the use of race in one district, but only to maintain a black-majority district. In the other, Mr. Clement said, race played no role at all in the creation of one district.

“This was an avowedly political draw,” he said, meaning that Republicans who controlled the redistricting process wanted to leave the district in Democratic hands, so that the surrounding districts would be safer for Republicans.

Mr. Clement also suggested that the chal-

lenges in both cases were motivated more by Democratic politics than concerns about race.

Justice Kennedy’s votes in redistricting cases can be hard to predict. He joined Justice Breyer’s opinion in the Alabama case last year. In 2013, Justice Kennedy sided with more conservative justices to effectively block a key component of the landmark federal Voting Rights Act that led to the election of African-Americans across the South. Its provisions requiring states to create and preserve districts in which minority voting groups can elect their candidate of choice remain in effect.

In North Carolina, the federal court also struck down some state House and Senate districts, and last week, those judges ordered new districts drawn and special elections held next year.

North Carolina Republicans have used the current districts to achieve veto-proof majorities in both chambers. In addition, they hold 10 of the state’s 13 congressional seats. By contrast, statewide contests suggest a narrower gap between the parties. Two Republicans won statewide elections last month, President-elect Donald Trump with just under 50 percent of the vote and Sen. Richard Burr with 51 percent.

Republican Gov. Pat McCrory on Monday conceded defeat in his closely fought bid for another term.

Decisions in Bethune-Hill v. Virginia State Board of Elections and McCrory v. Harris are expected by early summer.

Prosecutor vows to retry ex-officer in mistrial Continued from A1

professor of criminal justice at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. About half of those convicted pleaded guilty.

Mr. Slager, who testified during his trial, told the jury of 11 white people and one black man how he felt “total fear” before shooting Mr. Scott, hitting him with five bullets.

Mr. Slager had pulled Mr. Scott over for a broken brake light. He said the motorist ran and refused

Mr. Scott

orders to stop, then grabbed the patrolman’s Taser during a scuffle.

Prosecutors said Mr. Scott, who was unarmed, fled because he was behind on child support payments and feared arrest. They accused Mr. Slager of altering the crime scene by moving the Taser closer to the handcuffed body so he could claim Mr. Scott had taken it.

Jurors first indicated they were deadlocked last Friday. At the time, they said one member was holding out against a conviction, although they

Mr. Slager

did not indicate whether the rest of the panel was settled on finding Mr. Slager guilty of murder or a lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter.

After resuming deliberations Monday, they sent another note that said the majority of jurors were undecided and then requested explanation of legal terms critical to the case, such as malice and self-defense.

Judge Newman provided further guidance, but it did not result in the panel reaching a consensus. All 12 jurors would have to come to a unanimous decision on a charge for the jury to deliver a verdict.

Richmond Free Press

A4 December 8-10, 2016

Local News

Mayor Jones receives a warm welcome as he launches revitalization efforts in the Creighton Court area with new housing at an Oct. 31 ceremony at the site of the old Armstrong High School on 31st Street in the East End.

Photos by Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press

Left, Mayor Jones and Tyrone Nelson, chairman of the Henrico County Board of Supervisors, left, greet President Obama at Richmond International Airport during the president’s quick stop in Richmond on Sept. 28 enroute to a closed town hall meeting with military families at Fort Lee outside Petersburg.

Center, the mayor leads a ribbon-cutting for the new Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School in the East End on Jan. 6, 2014. With

him are School Board member Shonda Harris-Muhammed, left, City Councilwoman Ellen F. Robertson and a host of students.

Above, Greg Koch, co-founder and CEO of Stone Brewing Co., pours beer for Mayor Jones from a glass bearing a State of Virginia seal into one with the seal of the City of Richmond at a December 2015 celebration of the installation of brewing equipment in the company’s new Fulton plant.

Mayor Dwight C. Jones’ final bow Continued from A1

West End school building and a new medical office space to go up near the Bon Secours Richmond Community Hospital in the city’s East End. Still, he said the biggest challenge he faced will continue to be the challenge Mayor-elect Stoney faces — increasing growth to pump up city revenues that still fall short of meeting the city’s needs on a host of fronts.

During the past year, he heard plenty about “there being a lot of money hidden away. Whoever sits in this chair will have to find ways to generate more revenue because there is no money sitting around.”

He said that “some efficiencies can be found that might bring in more money, and we tried to find them.” But the reality, he said, is that Richmond, which is barred from annexation, is locked into 62 square miles, “and that means you have to use what you have.”

The mayor said that is why his administration has been so intent on bringing development to the 60 acres on the Boulevard where The Diamond baseball stadium now stands.

“This is the city’s premier economic development opportunity to generate more dollars to pay for schools and antipoverty initiatives,” he said.

In his view, the city at some point will need to raise taxes, and he believes his successor will come to that conclusion as well.

“The needs of the city are greater than the resources the city has,” he said. “We’ve been hitting hard at economic development, but, at some point, the city will need to raise additional streams of revenue. The money will have to come from somewhere.”

Asked if those who campaigned for mayor were naïve about the challenges, he said, “You don’t know the real deal until you sit in this chair. Candidates run on what people say is wrong. They run on complaints they are going to solve. It’s a simplistic view of a very complicated position.”

He said his successor will learn what he did — that “it takes a lot of time and energy to get things done.”

What his successor also will find is a city splashed with an array of projects in various stages of completion, ranging from the Maggie L. Walker statue going up on Broad Street in Downtown, to the transformation of the Creighton Court public housing complex into a mixed-income residential development, and the development of a slavery memorial museum on the site of Lumpkin’s Jail, a site where

enslaved people were auctioned that later became the founding site for the mayor’s alma mater, VUU. That doesn’t count all the completed projects, such as the Williamsburg-toRichmond Capital Trail, a new riverfront park and the T. Tyler Potterfield Memorial Bridge in Downtown that allows people to cycle or walk across the James River.

Mayor Jones can tick off strides the city has made on the environmental and health fronts, including hiring coordinators who focus on boosting cycling and improving the city’s efforts to reduce its carbon footprint.

On his watch, the city also has built four new schools and replaced the worn-out jail.

“People may not give me much credit for building a new jail,” he said, “but how can you have a great city when you have a jail where people die of heat exhaustion. We got rid of a God-awful place and replaced it with a modern facility.”

However, his proudest accomplishment — one that grows out of his other role as a Baptist minister — is the work he has done to “significantly elevate the discussion of the 26 percent of our residents who live poverty.”

Leading historic First Baptist Church of South Richmond for 43 years, Mayor Jones said, “I’ve been accused of only wanting shiny things,” but the anti-poverty work the city has undertaken “is not shiny. But you can’t have a healthy city when only 74 percent of people live above the poverty line.”

He said he has pushed his administration to keep the issue of poverty in mind in shaping the budget and in undertaking programs.

He said many in the city are unaware of the economic divide that makes Richmond, like many localities, “a tale of two cities.”

Begun with an advisory group, the effort has morphed with City Council support into the creation of the city’s anti-poverty initiative, the Office of Community Wealth Building that tries to tackle poverty issues by creating wraparound services.

The work of the office has included projects involving reading and job readiness, and programs to train welders and chefs in seeking to increase access to good jobs.

This kind of effort is a must for this city, said the mayor, or else “Richmond will continue to be divided, continue to have the same kind of problems that dovetail into crime and all of the social issues and ills.”

“One reason for failing schools is

Then-Delegate Jones celebrates his election as mayor with his children, Nichole and Derik, in November 2008.

failing families,” he said. “To have children do well in school, you have to have children who are ready for school.

That means day care, transportation, health care, all kinds of stuff. And it means good jobs, which is why we have put our job readiness program next to Social Services.”

While he acknowledges the Office of Community Wealth Building and its work are still in their infancy, he believes “we’ve laid a heck of a foundation” for the next mayor to build upon.

Dr. John Moeser, a retired Virginia Commonwealth University professor of urban studies and planning and a senior fellow at the University of Richmond’s Bonner Center for Civic Engagement, agrees.

“Mayor Jones’ greatest accomplishment, and it was a significant one,” Dr. Moeser said, “was the creation of the Anti-Poverty Commission, the development of implementation plans for each of the commission’s recommendations and the establishment of the Maggie L. Walker Office of Community Wealth Building, the only one of its kind in the nation.”

As the city’s top executive, Mayor Jones has struggled to keep agencies on track, including the Finance Department, which pays bills and collects taxes. He went through several chief financial officers and finance directors.

Just getting an audit completed has been a struggle in recent years.

With help from a trusted aide, David M. Hicks, now a Richmond judge, the mayor overhauled the Juvenile Detention Center and the Department of Social Services, which ran into trouble over its protection of vulnerable children.

Still he brushes off suggestions that he engaged in cronyism in the hiring of top executives who also belong to his church.

Last week, the mayor was exoner-

ated following an extensive 10-month investigation of claims that he allowed his work as mayor to illegally overlap with his church, particularly during the church’s development of a satellite sanctuary in Chesterfield County.

No evidence was found that he or any member of his administration had used city resources to benefit the church, according to a report from Richmond Commonwealth’s Attorney Michael N. Herring.

Asked about the fact that five of the 58 members of his executive management team are members of his church, he said those who were hired “were fully vetted” on their qualifications and went through the regular interview process.

“Out of 4,000 employees at City Hall and a church that has 3,000 members, there obviously is going to be some overlap,” he said. It happens in other large organizations, he said.

Perhaps his biggest setback was City Council’s repudiation of his plan to create a new baseball home for the Richmond Flying Squirrels, the San Francisco Giants Double A affiliate, in Shockoe Bottom as part of a larger development of apartments and a grocery store.

Mayor Jones said that everyone forgets there was no pro baseball in Richmond when he took office as the Richmond Braves had left.

He was able to work with the Eastern League and persuade the Flying Squirrels to move from Norwich, Conn., to Richmond. Replacing The Diamond seemed to be part of the deal.

He said that cities across the country have built stadiums in their downtowns to stimulate economic development.

And he saw it as enabling the city to gain the maximum development out of the Boulevard property.

However, “the possibility of a bigtime development in the Bottom did not

get the public support it needed, so of course we needed to go to Plan B,” he said. The good news, he said, is that Virginia Commonwealth University now wants to build a new stadium for the Squirrels and its college team in the area of the Boulevard, but off the 60 acres of city property that are to be developed.

“So we have made lemonade out of lemons,” he said.

There are many who give Mayor Jones high marks for his efforts and think the African-American community has benefited from his being in office.

“Many would claim that he did little for black people. I believe he has done more for black children than any mayor in the past 30 years,” said Arthur Burton, a community activist who founded and operates a self-help group called Kinfolks Community in Mosby Court, an East End public housing community.

Along with building new schools and replacing an inhumane jail that serves a largely black population, Mayor Jones also stabilized recreation and began to deal with the dysfunction in Social Services, Mr. Burton said.

In addition, the mayor sought to “preserve and honor the history of the black community,” Mr. Burton noted, including removing asphalt from the slave burial ground, upgrading slave trail markers and honoring the first black mayor and first majority-black City Council with street signs.

Mayor Jones created difficulties for himself, Mr. Burton said. “He didn’t trust the community with his vision for the city and didn’t feel the need to explain what he was trying to do, so he came off as arrogant, aloof and unreachable.”

If Mayor Jones has a regret, it is that he could not do more to work with Richmond Public Schools on improving education, which he regards as a key to fighting poverty.

“We have talked about school buildings, but we have not talked about education,” he said, including the decline in school accreditation, the percentage of students who are not passing the state Standards of Learning tests and the low graduation rate.

The popular cry “to give money to schools has been so overwhelming,” he said, that it has drowned out concerns for accountability on how the money is spent.

Now counting the days until he leaves office, Mayor Jones is not saying what he might do next.

He said he plans to “relax, refresh and think about what comes next.”

Dr. Bedden seeks $303M for city public schools Continued from A1

competitive student services” compared to neighboring school systems, he said.

Dr. Bedden presented his estimate of budget needs to the public significantly earlier than last year, seemingly looking to avoid the budget mayhem that occurred around the 2016-17 budget earlier this year.

In February, hundreds of RPS students, parents, teachers and supporters took to the streets to protest multimillion-dollar budget shortfalls that threatened to close several schools and deny decades-overdue maintenance projects.

The budget fiasco created a rift between city and school officials who could not come up with a workable budget, although the School Board finally approved a $280.3 million operating budget for the 2017 fiscal year. That included an additional $5.5 million from City Council. In a prescient warning, Dr. Bedden is asking City Council to appropriate an additional $18 million for city schools.

With two School Board members elected Nov. 8 to seats on

City Council, another budget meltdown can be prevented. Kimberly Gray, 2nd District, and Kristen Larson, 4th District, will be leaving the School Board to serve on City Council beginning in January.

“There is no more important work than here, than doing this” said Ms. Gray. “And I look forward to being able to support that financially through work on the City Council.

Dr. Bedden That’s my commitment.”

School Board chairman Jeff Bourne, 3rd District, will be the only returning member on the nine-member board. Attending Monday night’s meeting were several of the incoming School Board members: Liz Doerr, 1st District; Scott Barlow, 2nd District; Jonathan Young, 4th District; Felicia Cosby, 6th District; Nadine Marsh-Carter, 7th District; and Linda Owen, 9th District.

The new board will take the oath of office on Tuesday, Jan. 3, at the first School Board meeting.

“I am so optimistic about the future of our city,” said Ms.

Larson during her final meeting as a School Board member. “We have good leadership coming in, and there is an excitement and a buzz about education in our city like I’ve never seen before.”

Monday night’s “Estimate of Needs” presentation was the first of many steps before the budget for fiscal year 2018 can be approved. The School Board also must solicit community feedback. RPS created an online platform, which was released on Tuesday, for community members to submit their responses to questions about the budget. The survey, located on the RPS home page at www.rvaschools.net, will close on Jan. 9.

School Board members also praised Todd McFarlane, president and chief executive officer of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Metro Richmond, who outlined the organization’s plan to enter into a long-term lease with the city for the property adjacent to Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School in the East End. Mr. McFarlane said the organization, which currently operates inside MLK Middle School, plans to build a new 22,000-squarefoot facility for eighth- through 12th-graders with programs to prepare East End students for college and the workforce.

Richmond Free Press

December 8-10, 2016

A5

Local News

City expects big savings on utility bonds

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

Good news for Richmond utility customers who worry about rising costs for city water, sewer and gas service: The city expects to save $4.17 million a year on the cost of repaying money it borrowed for utility projects. With the savings extending for the next 24 years, the amount saved would total $100 million.

The savings on debt could benefit customers by giving the Richmond Department of Public Utilities more money to cover operating costs and thus moderate future rate hikes, said Wayne Lassiter, deputy director and comptroller of the department.

The savings were announced before Thanksgiving and resulted from the city’s sale of $502 million in utility bonds at a reduced 3.47 percent interest rate.

The bonds are backed by customer payments for water, wastewater treatment and natural gas service, rather than taxes.

The ability to borrow at reduced interest reflects the improved credit ratings the public utilities department has received in recent

years said DPU Director Robert Steidel.

Mr. Lassiter said the savings would enable the department to strengthen its balance sheet and pay off debt faster.

He said that could aid DPU to receive a low interest rate on new debt when the department returns to the market to sell new bonds in two to three years.

However, both DPU and city officials said the savings on the latest bonds would not affect other city debt, including taxpayersupported general obligation bonds that the city sells to pay for improvements to streets, sidewalks, school buildings and other capital improvement projects.

Reports have indicated that the city largely used up its debt capacity because of borrowing in recent years to finance the cost of four new schools and the new jail.

Could the city gain such savings on its general obligation bonds? James Duval, who manages the city’s debt portfolio, said the city already does.

While the interest rate was the lowest in decades for DPU’s taxable utility bonds, Mr. Duval noted that the 3.47 percent

interest rate “is actually higher than rates the city has received on all of its tax-exempt General Obligation debt during the last five years.”

He noted, though, that the city has refinanced general obligation debt when it can save money. For example, on July 15, 2015, the city refinanced $56.7 million in older bonds to gain $486,000 a year in savings, or $3.8 million over eight years.

The utility bond sale included the refinancing of $333 million in older utility debt that carried a higher interest rate of around 5 percent and the issuance of $169 million in new debt for various projects, Mr. Lassiter said.

“The savings underscore the confidence that investors have in owning a piece of Richmond’s future,” Mayor Dwight C. Jones said.

The $100 million in savings over 24 years appears to be “unprecedented for a Virginia local government,” said David Rose, senior vice president and manager of public finance at the city’s financial adviser, Davenport & Co. LLC.

Chesterfield case Pop-Tarts removed from RPS after student claims to find bugs inside dismissed against education advocate

By Lauren Northington

A parent of a Richmond Public Schools student claims that her son’s cafeteriaissued Pop-Tart was contaminated with insects and has demanded an investigation.

As a precautionary measure, all PopTarts have been removed from RPS cafeterias and an investigation is underway, officials said Wednesday.

Crystal Foster, whose son is a 10thgrader at Thomas Jefferson High School where all students are provided with free breakfast and lunch, said her son consumed a cinnamon brown sugar Pop-Tart for breakfast on Friday, Nov. 18, that was filled with unidentified live bugs that blended in with the brown sugar.

According to Ms. Foster, her son’s “picky eating habits” were to blame for the discovery.

“He doesn’t like to eat the edges,” Ms. Foster told the Free Press, referring to the outer crust of the rectangular, pre-baked toaster pastry manufactured by the Kellogg Company.

“He breaks it up and eats the center only. After eating almost all of the middle, he said he noticed things began moving,” she recounted.

Her son immediately went to the school’s

clinic, she said, and then she picked him up from school. They immediately went to see a doctor.

By 8 p.m. that evening, Ms. Foster said, she received an automated message from RPS that all Pop-Tarts had been removed from schools.

“The Pop-Tarts were removed as a safety precaution as that is standard procedure whenever there are health concerns brought forward about food items,” Kenita Bowers, a spokesperson for RPS, said Wednesday.

Ms. Foster said she contacted Thomas Kranz, RPS assistant superintendent for support services, who assured her that all cafeteria food is safe for student consumption.

Still, she said, she wants more answers.

“I guess, to them, pulling the Pop-Tarts was taking it seriously,” she told the Free Press. “But what about all of the other food” from distributors and suppliers “that the children eat? I just don’t trust them.

(RPS officials) told me that they sent the boxes to the supplier, but I don’t trust the supplier to tell us what contamination actually may exist.”

So far, no other reports of food contamination have surfaced.

Ms. Bowers sought to assure the public

that the school system takes the claim seriously. The school system serves 36,000 meals daily, she said.

“Our goal is to ensure that those meals are healthy and nutritious in accordance with state and federal regulations. We take these reports very seriously and encourage anyone that has a concern about our cafeterias to contact the school principal immediately to ensure that it is addressed appropriately with the School Nutrition department,” Ms. Bowers said in an emailed statement.

Since 2014, RPS has participated in a federal program that offers free breakfast and lunch to all 24,000 students enrolled in the public school system. Like other schools around the state, each school cafeteria in Richmond is inspected quarterly by the local health department.

According to records, Thomas Jefferson High School was last inspected by Richmond City Health District food inspectors in September 2016 and received one lowest-level violation related to inoperable lighting under an exhaust hood.

Susan Roberson, director of school nutrition services for RPS, has a staff of more than 300 food services and administrative employees, had no comment Wednesday, referring all inquiries to Ms. Bowers.

VUU track coach moves to VSU

VUU’s track team shares the Sports Backers Stadium Track and field/cross- country Coach Wilbert Johnson with Virginia Commonwealth University. is changing schools without changing conferences, or Coach Johnson guided VUU to three straight CIAA even area codes. men’s cross-country titles, earning Coach of the Year After seven successful seasons at Virginia Union honors with each title.

University, Coach Johnson has moved to Virginia Relying heavily on his recruiting contacts in Florida, State University. he also produced numerous NCAA Division II track “I feel wonderful being a new addition to VSU and field All-Americans while coaching at VUU. athletics,” said Coach Johnson.

Prior to arriving at VUU, Coach Johnson was as“The opportunity was there and I sought it. Since sistant coach at Florida A&M University.

I know some of the student-athletes personally, it has Mr. Johnson “His work ethic is unbelievable,” said VSU Athletic been a very smooth process.”

At VSU, Coach Johnson will have an on-campus synthetic Director Peggy Davis. “And his professional and leadership guidance for the student-athletes is impeccable.” track that circles Rogers Stadium.

Kandise N. Lucas no longer has to fear spending 15 days in jail for advocating for a disabled student in Chesterfield County.

During a hearing Monday in Chesterfield Circuit Court, the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office dropped a trespassing charge against Ms. Lucas stemming from last June at Ecoff Elementary School in Chester.

Prosecutors dropped the case after a county judge refused to quash Ms. Lucas’ subpoena for Chesterfield schools Superintendent James F. Lane, meaning he would have to testify. The prosecutors dismissed the case to prevent the superintendent from having to appear.

Dr. Lane “didn’t want to testify against me,” Ms. Lucas said.

Ms. Lucas said Dr. Lane was being Ms. Lucas called to testify about a statement he had twice made to her and others that, “I want you in our schools to advocate for kids; our kids need you.”

He also was to be questioned, she said, about a settlement he reached with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights under which Chesterfield Public Schools was to allow Ms. Lucas to participate in individualize education program meetings, or IEP meetings, when invited by parents.

Ms. Lucas credited her attorney, Janipher Robinson, for holding firm on the subpoena, leading to the case being dismissed.

Ms. Lucas has faced repeated arrests for serving as an advocate for parents and disabled students who need IEPs. Both Chesterfield and Henrico had banned her from school property, despite federal laws forbidding such action, and repeatedly had her arrested for attending IEP meetings, although she has been acquitted or had all the charges dismissed.

She also is facing a similar trespassing case in Richmond. She was charged with trespassing at Blackwell Elementary School on Nov. 1 while attending an IEP meeting. That case is to be heard Tuesday, Jan. 19, in Richmond General District Court.

In the Ecoff Elementary School case, she had gone to the school at the invitation of a parent whose child needed an IEP. School officials there had her arrested for trespassing.

Ms. Lucas was in Circuit Court appealing her August conviction in Chesterfield General District Court in which she was sentenced to a year in jail, with 11 months and 15 days suspended.

Ms. Lucas said that since her arrest at Ecoff Elementary, parents who select her to be their advocate have been holding IEP meetings with Chesterfield schools officials off school grounds so she has had no further problems.

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Richmond Free Press

Yellow foliage in Byrd Park

Editorial Page

A6

December 8-10, 2016

The lessons of war Wednesday, Dec. 7, marked the 75th anniversary of the attack at Pearl Harbor.

The date, as President Franklin D. Roosevelt said at the time, lives in infamy.

More than 2,300 Americans were killed in the early morning, surprise attack on the U.S. naval base in Hawaii that plunged the nation into the horrors of World War II. Over the next few years, more than 50 million men between the ages of 21 and 45 would sign up for the draft as required, with 10 million being inducted into the military by the end of the war in 1945.

While young men braved death and destruction around the world, people on the homefront faced rationing of certain foods, clothing, rubber, metal and gasoline to aid in the war effort. Air raid and blackout drills took place.

The USO was started to boost the morale of the troops, and support groups, such as the Blue Star Mothers and the Gold Star Mothers, grew as thousands of families had loved ones serving — and killed — in the war.

The attack on Pearl Harbor also led to one of this nation’s greatest shames — the internment of Japanese-Americans.

Two months after the attack, President Roosevelt signed an executive order forcing more than 100,000 Americans of Japanese ancestry to be moved from their homes and put in one of 10 camps for the duration of the war out of irrational concern about their loyalty and patriotism.

Because of their perceived threat to national security, Japanese-American citizens — from young children to the aged — were rounded up and put in camps.

While it often isn’t talked about, many families were torn apart by the nation’s twisted internment policy, including the family of the late Free Press founder and editor Raymond H. Boone, whose Japanese-born father was taken by authorities from the family’s Suffolk home, never to return.

Legislation signed by President Reagan in 1988 officially apologized for the egregious act of internment, with the U.S. government paying more than $1.6 billion in reparations to more than 82,000 Japanese-Americans

Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press

Family photo

Tsujiro Miyazaki, right, father of the late Free Press founder and editor Raymond H. Boone, was born in Nagasaki, Japan, came to Suffolk in the late 1920s and started the Horseshoe Café. In 1943, U.S. government agents took him from his home and family and shipped him to the Rohwer internment camp in Arkansas. He never returned.

The family doesn’t know if he died in the camp or was sent back to Japan.

who were rounded up and put in these camps, and their heirs. The law acknowledged that the federal actions were based on “race prejudice, war hysteria and a failure of political leadership.”

Sound familiar? In the nascent days of the Trump administration, we believe America is headed down the same unfortunate path. During many of his campaign rallies, the president-elect continually ginned up anti-Muslim sentiment in the wake of Islamic State terrorism around the globe.

And now, as he waits to take over the machinery of power in January, he has renewed his campaign promises to make Muslims in this country submit to a federal registry. Will such a registry make America any safer? Is it a first step toward rounding up innocent Americans as what happened during WWII? Is it a step toward internment, incarceration or deportation based on religious bias, national security hysteria and a lack of leadership?

At 70, President-elect Trump was born nine months after the official end of WWII, but he is old enough — although perhaps not well-read enough — to understand the lessons of the tragic events that engulfed people in several continents and ended with the United States wiping out 120,000 Japanese with the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945. We are the only nation ever to use a nuclear bomb.

In May, President Obama visited the Peace Park at Hiroshima — the first U.S. president to do so in 71 years — and laid a wreath in memory of the dead, noting that the war “grew out of the same base instinct for domination or conquest that had caused conflicts among the simplest tribes.” He called on all nations to “have the courage to escape the logic of fear” and to pursue a world of peace.

Japan’s prime minister, Shinzo Abe, who was with President Obama at that emotional ceremony, will in turn visit Pearl Harbor on Dec. 27 to remember those killed during WWII. His visit will mark the first at the naval base by a Japanese prime minister since the attack 75 years ago.

We urge the president-elect, his cabinet nominees, members of Congress, the American people and our readers to remember the lessons of the war and to act with clear thinking and resolve to ensure that the day of infamy we commemorate this week is not one we are doomed to repeat.

As we think about the past and look toward the future on this 75th anniversary of Pearl Harbor, we cannot again deliver crushing blows to Americans singled out because of their religious or ethnic backgrounds.

Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press

An appeal to Donald Trump

On Sunday, a man armed with an assault weapon marched into a popular pizza place — Comet Ping Pong — in Washington.

He said he had come to “selfinvestigate” false stories spread by hate sites that the restaurant was the center of a Hillary Clinton ring trafficking in children. He reportedly fired his rifle one or more times and was arrested.

Luckily, no one was injured.

After the utterly baseless and scurrilous stories spread over social media, the restaurant’s owner and staff had been inundated with death threats. The lunatic conspiracy was spun off of WikiLeaks’ publication of Mrs. Clinton’s campaign chairman corresponding with the owner about a possible fundraiser. The neighbors who know and love the restaurant have rallied to its support. But under the hashtag #pizzagate, the hate stories keep spreading — and the threats keep building.

Mr. Trump, this ugliness is poisonous and dangerous. But it keeps spreading. On Nov. 2, a few days before the election,

Gen. Michael T. Flynn, the man you appointed to as your national security adviser, issued a tweet tying Mrs. Clinton, your opponent, to “sex crimes with minors.” The full text reads as follows: “U decide — NYPD Blows

Jesse L. Jackson Sr. Whistle on New Hillary Emails: Money Laundering, Sex Crimes w Children etc…MUST READ.” It linked to an article on the website “True Pundit.” That article, which didn’t mention Comet Ping Pong, alleged — fantastically — that the New York Police Department had new evidence linking “Clinton herself and associates” to a series of crimes.

I’m told that Gen. Flynn now says he was duped. But how can anyone with common sense choose to spread a report that Mrs. Clinton, the Democratic nominee for president and former secretary of state, was involved in “sex crimes with minors.” This isn’t partisan animus. It isn’t the excesses of the heat of an election. It is simple lunacy.

After the shooting on Sunday, Politico reported that Gen. Flynn’s son, an adviser to his father, tweeted: “Until #Piz-

zagate proven to be false, it’ll remain a story. The left seems to forget #PodestaEmails and the many ‘coincidences’ tied to it.” He linked to the account of the special projects director of a group called Citizens4Trump.

He chose to fan the flames. (Gen. Flynn’s son, Michael G. Flynn, was fired late Tuesday from the Trump transition team.)

I realize that Gen. Flynn supported you when you were the underdog. Having run as an outsider, I understand the deep sense of loyalty and appreciation that builds for those who were with you from the start, when the odds were long, the establishment scornful and the press dismissive.

It is to be expected that you will want those you can trust around you in the White House.

But as you know, this campaign — which you have correctly described as “the nastiest” — has fanned anger, division and fear in the country. It is vital, as you have stated, that the country come together.

For this to happen, you must lead. The president is the great teacher. What you say and how you act will set the tone. So I respectfully suggest you reconsider your appointment of Gen. Flynn. It is inconceivable that the national security adviser to the president would traffic a report

Return on investment?

Having read some of the post-election statements by our top black organizations, and after watching some of their leaders on TV news shows commenting and lamenting the loss by the Democrats, I thought about the effectiveness of our champions for civil rights, economic empowerment and political empowerment. How effective have they been in terms of gains for the collective of black people, their primary constituents?

While they are mostly run by black people and receive millions of dollars from black members and supporters, the reciprocal benefits returned by these organizations are far lacking. In exchange for black dollars, black people get “No justice, no peace” marches, demonstrations, 860-mile walks, voter registration campaigns, reports on how bad a shape we are in, emails that ask us for more money, press conferences and awards programs.

The “Big Three” black organizations — the NAACP, the National Urban League and the National Action Network — despite having tens of millions of dollars collectively, and despite having the gravitas to be invited to the White House to discuss “black issues” and the “black agenda,” give black people the same old song and dance when it comes to empowerment. Their mantras, “…equality of rights for ‘all’ persons,” “To be Equal” and “No justice, no peace,” respectively, ring hollow and

NAACP was in a “financial crunch” during the interim period after Mr. Jealous helped raise some $43 million. Mr. Brooks undoubtedly is paid considerably more than $150,000 now.

With total revenues of $53 million-plus, the National Urban League compensated Mr. Morial a tidy sum of $836,000 in 2014.

James Clingman An additional five employees each received approximately strings — of corporate donors, $300,000 in total compensation these vaunted black organiza- for that same year. We don’t know tions cannot make headway for what they are earning now, but it’s a good bet their salaries are black people.

As the go-to guys for cable higher than in 2014.

The smallest of the “Big news shows, the heads of the “Big Three” — Cornell Brooks, Three,” the National Action Marc Morial and Al Sharpton Network, a 501©4 association, — either have a great deal of did so well with corporate donapersonal influence or the news tions in 2014 that Rev. Sharpton show hosts know they are “safe” was able to give himself a 70 and will not say what really percent raise from $241,545 to needs to be said about black $412,644, including a “bonus” issues. They are usually tepid in of $64,400.

Before the hating begins, their rejoinders regarding serious black issues. They are more please know that I am all for inclined to talk about “all” and black folks making money, as “people of color” and “rainbows” long as it’s legal, ethical and moral. I make no judgments in the and “minorities.”

Because everything in this cases I cited. I’m simply writing country is driven by economics, about ROI — Return on Investwe understand the penchant for ment — for black dollars. This the “Big Three” and other smaller is about where we are, based groups to go only so far in their on what we have done and how public/on-camera responses to much we have paid for it. Over the concerns of black folks. the past 25 to 50 years, I would It’s all about protecting the “old venture to say black folks have coffers,” to borrow a George W. invested billions of dollars into our black organizations, and Bush term.

Speaking of coffers, former that’s not even counting our NAACP president Ben Jealous churches. The question is: What received an annual salary of dividends have we received in $320,000. His successor, Mr. return for those investments?

You can be the judge of that.

Brooks, left a job that paid him over $240,000 a year to accept It’s your money.

The writer is founder $150,000 from the NAACP, despite the interim president, of the Greater Cincinnati Lorraine Miller, being paid more African-American Chamber of than $160,000. Supposedly, the Commerce. have not solved the myriad of problems we face. They have been in existence for 107, 106, and 25 years, respectively, having worked on important issues and having developed various programs. But being controlled by the purse strings — puppet

The Free Press welcomes letters The Richmond Free Press respects the opinions of its readers. We want to hear from you.

We invite you to write the editor. All letters will be considered for publication. Concise, typewritten letters related to public matters are preferred. Also include your telephone number(s). Letters should be addressed to: Letters to the Editor, Richmond Free Press, P.O. Box 27709, 422 East Franklin Street, Richmond, VA 23261, or faxed to: (804) 643-7519 or e-mail: letters@richmondfreepress.com.

that Mrs. Clinton was engaged in sex crimes with minors.

Gen. Flynn is not the only appointment that raises fears. U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, with a long history of venom towards people of color, is not fit to be attorney general. But at least Sen. Sessions must face Senate confirmation. Gen. Flynn is your decision alone.

When people are frightened, hatred can spiral out of control.

I’ve witnessed this time and again during the Civil Rights Movement, when citizens in both the South and the North were inflamed into assaults on nonviolent and peaceful demonstrators. Leaders can fan those flames, and they can help calm those fears.

That is why I make this simple moral appeal that you stand clearly against the hate and seek to calm the fears in what you say, how you act and who you put in your administration.

Your appointments reflect what you think is acceptable. You draw the line. I implore you to draw it wisely.

The writer is the founder and president of the national Rainbow PUSH Coalition.

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Richmond Free Press

December 8-10, 2016

Letters to the Editor

Remain vigilant during the holidays With crimes and homicides spiking this year, one must be aware of their surroundings at all times. With the holiday season in full force, more criminals are now on the prowl. We must be the eyes and ears of the community and inform police when a crime is observed.

The only way to reduce some of these crimes is to get these criminals off the street.

The police department cannot solve all of these crimes by themselves; they need people to get involved.

Some observers will witness a crime but feel their information is not important until it affects their family, and then they are ready to talk. This should not be the case. We need to let

the criminals know that we are not going to sit idly by while citizens and babies are being shot and crimes steadily are being committed.

The police department needs our help ASAP. We must work together to send a message to the criminals that we no longer will let them destroy our city with violence.

To the Free Press readers: Remain safe and vigilant, especially during the holidays. Happy New Year to one and all.

ERNEST PARKER JR. Richmond The writer is a former interim superintendent at the Richmond Juvenile Detention Center.

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THE DEADLINE TO REGISTER TO VOTE OR UPDATE YOUR REGISTRATION FOR THIS ELECTION IS Tuesday, January 3, 2017 YOU CAN NOW REGISTER TO VOTE OR UPDATE YOUR VOTER REGISTRATION ONLINE AT WWW.ELECTIONS.VIRGINIA.GOV.

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THE DEADLINE TO APPLY FOR A MAIL ABSENTEE BALLOT IS: Tuesday, January 3, 2017 YOU CAN NOW APPLY FOR AN ABSENTEE BALLOT ONLINE AT WWW.ELECTIONS.VIRGINIA.GOV.

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Applications for absentee ballots through the mail must be received by the Office of the General Registrar by 5 PM on the deadline date. The deadline to apply and vote an absentee ballot in person is 5:00 PM, Saturday, January 7, 2017, except in the case of certain emergencies or military personnel. The Office of the General Registrar will be open on that Saturday from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

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A8 December 8-10, 2016

Richmond Free Press

Sports

Stories by Fred Jeter

Mitchell crafting his own future at VUU

John Mitchell

It was a long and rocky road — cluttered with pitfalls — that led John Mitchell to Virginia Union University.

The VUU senior tells of a heartbreaking ordeal of youth survival. But here’s the good news: The “John Mitchell Story” appears headed to a smiley-face ending.

Now 25, the 6-foot-9, 230-pound native of Harlem, N.Y., is averaging 8.4 points and 9.6 rebounds while hitting 63 percent from the floor for Coach Jay Butler’s improved Panthers.

Better yet, the former high school dropout is on track for a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice with a minor in psychology.

There was a time when none of that seemed in the cards.

“I got the bitter end of the stick,” Mitchell said of his formative years. “I wish it had been different, but I learned a lot from it.”

His mother died a tragic death when he was only 16. Soon after, he dropped out of the High School of Economics and Finance in Manhattan after completing one year and never having gone out for basketball.

“My only basketball was on the streets,” he recalled with a shrug of his shoulders.

He bounced around from one foster home to another and at one time lived in a group home. Resisting temptation for what he called “short-cuts,” he earned his GED and landed a job with a program called American Building Maintenance. Mostly it involved janitorial work.

“I had one job cleaning up at the Fashion Institute of Technology, a mostly girls’ school,” he said with a laugh.

In time, his towering frame drew attention

on the Big Apple’s competitive asphalt courts.

He was invited to play in a Reebok-sponsored tournament on an outdoor court near Harlem’s Kennedy Community Center.

“I think I got about 16 points and 11 rebounds, and that’s where the ASA coach saw me,” Mitchell recalled.

ASA College has five campuses, including one in Manhattan, and offers associate degrees. With no formal hoops background, Mitchell was offered a scholarship to ASA’s junior college program.

Mitchell led the ASAAvengers in rebounding as a sophomore and word of his power game began to spread.

“I had five Division I offers, including Iona (N.Y.), plus endless Division II’s,” he said.

He chose VUU in part because of its rich tradition — three NCAA Division II titles and a jaw-dropping string of bona fide big men.

“I got to talk to Ben Wallace on my recruiting trip and he was very impressive,”

said Mitchell.

Mitchell is blossoming in his second season on Lombardy Street.

On Nov. 30 at the University of District of Columbia, he enjoyed a game even Wallace would be proud of. In a 71-69 win, Mitchell was 8-for-8 from the floor for 16 points. Plus he corralled 12 rebounds as VUU moved to 6-2.

“Not many are as athletic and strong as John on this level,” said Coach Butler. “He’s very hungry for success. And we all have dreams he will play somewhere on the next level.”

Butler added this: “And considering where he’s come from, John doesn’t take anything for granted. He’s among our hardest workers.”

For an athlete who never played high school basketball, Mitchell has risen to uncommon heights — and he’s in no mood for hanging up his sneakers.

“I want to keep playing for as long as possible,” he said with a confident smile.

Big Man U. Few Division II schools — or Division I for that Active NBA, 1989-2001 Derrick Johnson, 6-foot-10, Cleveland, matter — have produced so many quality big men as Virginia Union University. Here are a Ohio. 1994 National Player of the Year; helped few produced by the Panthers, with height and the Panthers to the 1992 NCAA title Ben Wallace, 6-foot-9, White Hall, Ala. notables, since the 1970s: Curvan Lewis, 6-foot-9, New Haven, Conn. Undrafted. Active NBA, 1996-2012; four-time Drafted by NBA Buffalo Braves, ABA San Diego NBA Defensive Player of the Year Among other All-CIAA low post Panthers with Clippers, 1977 Irv Kiffin, 6-foot-9, New York, N.Y. Drafted by height, hometown and final VUU season: Ralph Hunter, 6-foot-6, Greenville, Ga., 1975 San Antonio Spurs, 1979 Larry Holmes, 6-foot-6, Miami, Fla., 1980 Charles Oakley, 6-foot-8, Cleveland, Ohio.

Chandar Bingham, 6-foot-9, Richmond, 2000 Drafted by Cleveland Cavaliers (first round), Brad Byerson, 6-foot-8, Chester, 2008 1985; Active NBA, 1985-2004 Omar Briggs, 6-foot-8, Highland Springs, Terry Davis, 6-foot-10, South Boston, Va. Two-time CIAA Player of the Year. Undrafted. 2014

Damon ‘Redd’ Thompson resigns as John Marshall football coach B6

Granberry taking it to another level at VSU

If any element was missing from last season’s Virginia State University basketball success, it was a dominant, under-the-basket post player.

Richard Granberry has filled that vacancy with muscular authority and a two-year lease.

“I like to crash the glass; I like to bang,” said the broad-shouldered, 6-foot-8, 230-pound transfer from Neosho County Community College in Kansas.

Granberry has made a smooth — albeit bullish – transition from junior college to NCAA Division II competition. Heading into the winter exam break, Granberry was leading the defending CIAA champion Trojans in scoring (14.1 points per game) and rebounding (7.6 per game) while hitting 61 percent from the floor.

He had 15 points and 15 rebounds in VSU’s victory Monday over Lees-McRae College in Banner Elk, N.C. In his first outing at VSU’s sparkling Multi-Purpose Center, the junior majoring in sports management snagged 17 rebounds in an overtime exhibition win over Norfolk State University.

His sweet spot is always setting up in the shadows of the backboards. He reminds longtime Trojans fans of such former VSU power post players as Linwood Johnson, Julius Norman and Leonard Harris, the school’s top three all-time rebounders.

“Richard is a true post player. He likes to play with his back to the basket,” said VSU Coach Lonnie Blow Jr. “He enjoys being on the post. He knows how to play the post. And he has an uncanny knack for positioning.”

Joining Elijah Moore, an All-CIAA senior who is a comfortable on the perimeter as in the paint, Granberry gives VSU the second of two 6-foot-8 starters. Moore has averaged 10 points and 7.0 rebounds during VSU’s 6-2 start, with 17 of his 53 attempts from beyond the arc.

Granberry has a track record of pounding the boards — and winning — dating to Chester High School in Pennsylvania, just south of Philadelphia.

The high school team went 31-0 his junior season, winning Pennsylvania’s 4A State title. His teammates included Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, now with the

NBA’s Brooklyn Nets.

As a senior, Granberry helped Chester High to a 28-4 record.

“I think we only lost five games, JV and varsity combined, my whole high school career,” said Granberry.

The good fortune continued at Neosho. Advancing to the second round of the Junior College Nationals in Hutchinson, Kan., Neosho went 30-6, setting the school standard for victories.

Here’s where VSU caught a break.

First of all, Coach Blow was familiar with the Neosho coaching staff from previous recruitments. Also, Granberry was ineligible for Division I because he had not graduated from Neosho, largely because of missing time because of illness as a freshman.

To be eligible for Division II, an athlete does not need to graduate, but must accumulate at least 12 hours per semester.

“I had a great visit to Virginia State,” said Granberry. “It felt good and I hit it off with the coaching staff. After I visited VSU, I stopped answering my phone.”

Growing up in Chester, Pa., Granberry was always among the tallest boys in his class, yet he never played basketball until high school.

“It wasn’t like I was doing anything else,” he said. “It was just a situation where I never got signed up.”

Richard Granberry Provided an opportunity, he became a quick learner after joinReinforcements ing one of Pennsylvania’s premier public schools programs.

Richard Granberry isn’t the only transfer student making “Until I went out for basketball, an impact on Virginia State I was missing classes, failing University hoops. grades,” he said. “Once I began Also in the mix are 6-foot-3 playing, I started hanging out with Trey Brown, a transfer from different people, doing better in North Carolina A&T State school. It turned me around.”

University and 6-foot-7 Ken Following in his positive footWoodard from the University of steps is younger brother Da’Quan Charleston in West Virginia.

Brown averages 6.7 points Granberry, a sophomore star at per game, 3.0 rebounds and 2.8 Chichester High, a nearby rival assists. Woodard averages 3.8 of Chester. points, 2.2 rebounds and has “Da’Quan is different from blocked seven shots. me. He’s about 6-3 — likes to VSU’s next game is Tuesday, play all over the court,” said Dec. 13, when St. Augustine’s Granberry.

University comes to VSU’s “I just like to bang,” the VSU Multi-Purpose Center for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff. junior added, with a good-natured smile.

VCU to take on ODU Saturday in Norfolk

Football has come between Virginia Commonwealth University and Old Dominion University, except for one night a year.

In one of the state’s oldest basketball rivalries dating to 1948, the VCU Rams will travel by bus to Norfolk on Saturday, Dec. 10, to meet the ODU Monarchs at the Ted Constant Convocation Center.

Tipoff is 8 p.m., with the game broadcast on the American Sports Network.

VCU is 6-2 following its 64-46 loss to the University of Illinois last Saturday in Miami. The Rams’top scorer, JeQuan Lewis, suffered an ankle injury during the game, but is expected to play in Norfolk.

ODU is led in scoring and rebounding

by Brandan Stith, son of ODU assistant coach and former NBA player Bryant Stith. The team is 5-2 after a 60-58 win last Saturday at Towson University.

The schools have much in common, Coach Wade except VCU does not sponsor football and ODU plays football on the highest level — in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS).

After many decades, ODU revived football in 2009 and plays all sports in Conference USA. The Monarchs will make their first bowl appearance on Dec. 23 against Eastern Michigan in the Popeyes Bahamas Bowl in Nassau.

VCU’s headlines, like reaching the NCAA Final Four in 2011, mostly come from basketball. The Rams compete athletically in the Atlantic-10 Conference that does not feature football.

Because VCU doesn’t play football and ODU does, the schools snapped long-standing conference ties. Previously, both were in the Sun Belt Conference and the Colonial Athletic Association and met twice a year.

Now they meet just once per season, alternating cities.

To say the VCU-ODU hoops rivalry began in 1948 is counting games when VCU was the Richmond Professional Institute. RPI and the Medical College of Virginia merged in 1968, creating VCU. But the school’s mascot was called the Rams as far back as 1963, and the VCU Rams

first played in the same Franklin Street Gymnasium as the RPI Rams.

Aside from pigskin passion, VCU and ODU are similar in many ways.

Consider: Both originally were divisions of the College of William & Mary.

Each sprawling state-supported school is an urban research center. VCU has 24,051 undergraduates; ODU, 19,612.

Both had previous nicknames – the RPI Green Devils and the ODU Braves.

Each school produced an NBA champion in the 1970s. Dave Twardzik of the ODU Class of 1972 helped the Portland Trail Blazers win the 1977 NBA title. Gerald Henderson of the VCU Class of 1978 was on three NBA championship teams — the Boston Celtics in 1978, the Seattle SuperSonics in 1984 and the Detroit Pistons in 1990.

Each school has relatively new oncampus courts — VCU’s Siegel CenCoach Jones ter in 2000; ODU’s Constant Center in 2002. Before that, both teams used municipal facilities. VCU used the Richmond Coliseum, while ODU played at the Norfolk Scope.

Each was ahead of the curve racially.

Among the current state Division I schools, not counting HBCUs, ODU was the first team to sign an AfricanAmerican player, Buttons Speakes in the 1965-66 season. VCU came next when Charles McLeod joined the Rams in 1966-67. Both schools now have large African-American enrollments.

Since the formation of VCU in 1968, the Rams hold a 48-43 hard-court edge over the Monarchs, including a victory at the Siegel Center last winter. ODU won the year before at the Constant Center.

However, the Norfolk school dominated 31-8 prior to the RPI-MCV merger.

VCU and ODU now play basketball just once a year. The matchup is always before packed, enthusiastic crowds, with postseason ramifications at stake.

Football or no football, old-timers still get fired up when the Rams and Monarchs put it on the floor.

December 8-10, 2016 B1

Section

B

Richmond Free Press

Happenings

Personality: Kathey B. Stone Spotlight on founder of global nonprofit The Stone Foundation As parents around Richmond prepare for the holidays by purchasing gifts, scheduling mall visits, tapping into savings and sharing holiday cheer, Henrico County resident Kathey Bacon Stone will be in Whitehouse, Jamaica, giving the best gifts of all — time, opportunity and love.

As founder of The Stone Foundation, a nonprofit that “provides assistance and education, and promotes innovative solutions for community development” to people in some of the world’s poorest communities, Mrs. Stone will be traveling from Richmond to Whitehouse, Jamaica, this Christmas. There, the Virginia Commonwealth University graduate will host the foundation’s 4th Annual Robin B. Conyers Braxton Women’s Health Fair.

The Stone Foundation, now in its 12th year, began serving the Jamaican community in response to the realities of the tourism industry, the systems engineer says on the foundation’s website. She and her husband, Spencer, the foundation’s co-founder, were on vacation touring Jamaica’s South Coast in 2004.

“While sitting together on a precipice, with our backs to the beautiful mountains and overlooking the azure blue sea,” she says she noticed that Jamaican workers were repaving the road behind her.

“We turned around to observe this event, and noticed that most of the road workers spreading the hot asphalt were barely teenagers. We also noticed the majority of them were not wearing shoes as they traversed back and forth across the hot, newly paved road.”

Curious, she started a conversation with the workers.

They found out that, indeed, the workers were young — about the same ages as the couple’s daughters — and didn’t own any shoes. They were both shoeless and shirtless working in the 100-degree heat.

The image was so profound, she says, she could not “help but think about my daughters back home in the comfort of their grandparents’ home.”

“Eventually, we went back to our spot staring at the sea,” says Mrs. Stone. “After a long period of silence and a few tears,” the couple decided to do something to help.

Shortly after, Hurricane Ivan decimated Jamaica, the third-largest island in the Caribbean.

The Stone Foundation solicited support in the United States and received, packed, and delivered almost 2 tons of children’s clothing, blankets, shoes, dishes, baby cribs and computers to children in Jamaica.

Since then, the foundation has taken annual trips to Jamaica to “work with women and children to improve their quality of life,” said Mrs. Stone.

The work has included cultural exchange programs, building desks and a playground at a local school, installing a solar energy system to power lights and fans in a preschool and putting on several health fairs.

Five years after starting the foundation, Mrs. Stone’s best friend died at age 54 from breast cancer.

“Just before her transition, Robbie reminded me how blessed she was and how the health care at Kraft Foods, her employer, was such a benefit in her life,” says Mrs. Stone.

In an effort to provide quality health care to women without such advantages, The Stone Foundation’s Robin B. Conyers Braxton Women’s Health Initiative has sponsored women’s health fairs in Jamaica, as well as here in Church Hill and Petersburg.

She is continually inspired by the opportunity to serve.

“I am driven by the idea of helping others live a better life,” she says. “I am driven by the

opportunity to reach out and extend a helping hand.”

Meet a servant of people in communities from Richmond to Jamaica and this week’s Personality, Kathey Bacon Stone: Occupation: Systems engineer, Commonwealth of Virginia.

Community involvement: Founder, The Stone Foundation, a nonprofit organization that serves the less fortunate.

What I do: I’ve worked in various technology positions for the State of Virginia for almost 30 years and for other Fortune 500 companies prior to joining the state. Now that my girls are grown, I devote my free time to the operating needs of The Stone Foundation, managing a building project in Jamaica and recruiting others to give just a little bit of themselves for the better good of the world.

Date and place of birth: March 13 in Mecklenburg County.

Current residence: Henrico County.

Education: Bachelor of science degree in information systems and international business certification from Virginia Commonwealth University.

Family: Spencer, spouse and co-founder of The Stone Foundation, and daughters, Kali, 26, and Shannon and Sara, 23.

Why I am excited about The Stone Foundation: Even though The Stone Foundation was formed to empower youths in Jamaica, I am excited and enthusiastic about extending a hand to women and children in need. I truly believe that women are the backbone of the family, and, to remain strong, must be cared for themselves. Women must be healthy to bring healthy children into the world, to care for the old and sick and to make this world a better place to live. The Stone Foundation believes if you better the lives of mothers, you better the lives of the entire family.

Number of people served since founding: We have served thousands of children with our hurricane relief efforts, mission trips and educational support. Additionally, hundreds of women have benefited from the free health screenings and educational opportunities provided during our annual women’s health fairs.

Our support comes from: Donations and fundraisers. We love the idea of “Parties with a Purpose.” Earlier this year, The Stone Foundation received a generous donation of toys,

educational material and toiletries from the James River Valley Chapter of The Links Inc. Number of volunteers: The number of volunteers varies depending on the type and size of the event we sponsor or in which we participate.

Our biggest success: Is the identification of life-threatening tumors, diabetic conditions and hypertensive crises at our health fairs. Our second biggest success was the installation of lights and cool air in a school for deserving children.

Our biggest challenge: Raising enough funds to continue our initiatives and to sustain and maintain the work we have done continues to be our biggest challenge.

We could do more if: I had more hours in the day. I have a full-time job in which I give 110 percent. After work and other daily responsibilities, I climb into bed with my laptop and run The Stone Foundation.

Dream for organization: My immediate dream is to complete our Solar Education Project for Gordon’s Early Childhood Institute in Big Bridge, Jamaica.

This project started in 2015 when The Stone Foundation delivered and installed a solar energy system to provide lights and fans to a group of 70 preschoolers who attend school in a tin-roof structure. To complete the project, new dry cell batteries are needed for the solar system, additional lights and fans are needed, along with a computer and educational software.

My bigger dream is to educate others on the importance of helping those in need. Such education will lead to rewards experienced by those with servant’s hearts. In 2013, more than 60 participants, ages 6 to 60, from Own Touch Soccer and The Stone Foundation journeyed to Jamaica to take part in a series of cultural exchanges. Our journey included several days of soccer clinics with local Jamaican children where gently used soccer gear was delivered to the local youths. We later traveled to a local school and worked on the two-room school building, built desks and a playground, and planted flowers to beautify the grounds. The rewards for the Jamaican children were immediate and significant; however, the rewards for our group were even greater. We received the gift of a full and giving heart and a desire to help and give back to others in the future.

I’m driven by: The smiles on the faces of the children and the songs they sing.

Perfect day: When I open my email and there’s a note asking, “How can we help?”

Or when the phone rings and someone says “I’ve just made a donation.”

Perfect evening: Mingling with friends, eating good food and drinking a specialty drink at one of The Stone Foundation’s fundraising events.

If I had more time, I would: Spend more time on strategic planning efforts for the foundation and seeking sponsorship for our initiatives.

Best late-night snack: Popcorn.

My friends say that I: Am a matter-of-fact, persistent, hands-on kind of girl.

The one thing I can’t stand: A person who lies.

Person who influenced me the most: My father. He would work from sunup to sundown.

He worked two jobs; he worked in the church; he built his home, his mother’s home, and his brother’s home; he was the father figure to his nine brothers and sisters after his father passed. He taught my sister and brother and me to love and take care of each other, to be respectful and to do the right thing. He often says, “A man is as good as his word.”

He leads by example.

What I’m reading now: I’m studying for my Six Sigma certification. I don’t read for pleasure nearly as much as I would like.

The best thing my parents ever taught me: To work hard, to always do my best and to be kind.

My next goal: Organize additional youth mission trips that will open eyes, soften hearts and change lives. The Stone Foundation would love to be a partner with others to foster rewarding relationships and effective projects. www. ourstonefoundation.org

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Richmond Free Press

B2 December 8-10, 2016

Happenings

National Urban League CEO to keynote VUU Community Leaders Breakfast Marc H. Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League, will keynote Virginia Union University’s 39th Annual Community Leaders Breakfast.

The event honoring the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and recognizing outstanding community leaders will take

place 7:30 a.m. Friday, Jan. 13, in the Claude G. Perkins Living and Learning Center on the VUU campus.

Mr. Morial, a lawyer and former mayor of New Orleans, has led the National Urban League since 2003, raising $280 million over five years.

Under his leadership, the organization has created several new initiatives, including the Urban Youth Empowerment Program and Entrepreneurship Centers in 10 cities across the country. In 2013, the Urban League launched a $100 million, five-year initiative, titled “Jobs Rebuild

America: Educate, Employ, Empower,” to bring together government, business and nonprofit resources to create jobs in 50 cities.

Tickets are $50.

Information: www.vuu.edu or (804) 342-3938.

Mr. Morial

Lighted boat parade, carriage rides, holiday open houses on tap in Richmond

Photos by Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press

Open house at museum Dozens of families enjoyed refreshments, arts and crafts, activities and exhibits at the annual Holiday Open House at the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia, featuring Soul Santa.

Above, Ma’Tazia Wormley, 7, inspects the selection of free books donated

by Sistahs Book Club, while Ronnie Nelson Sidney, right, author of the highly acclaimed children’s book “Nelson Beats the Odds,” signs copies of his book.

Below, Quincey Grimes, 6, right, inspects the gingerbread man he decorated as his brother, Chase, 2, works on a Christmas tree. The two were making holiday ornaments for their father, Cedric Grimes.

The museum, located at 122 W. Leigh St. in Jackson Ward, will host another holiday open house from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 10.

Commonwealth Links donate shoes to shelter at luncheon

On a recent Saturday at a Downtown hotel, groups of women — some wearing snazzy hats and 5-inch heels — headed to a luncheon, all the while carrying another pair of shoes.

Why? To donate more than 500 pairs of shoes to women living in homeless shelters across the Richmond region, to enjoy a delectable lunch, to be challenged by luncheon speaker Rosalyn Brock, chair of the national NAACP Board of Directors, and to hear inspiring remarks from recipients of community service awards.

The stylish women — members of the Commonwealth Chapter of The Links Inc. and their guests — were headed to The Links’ 9th Biennial Green and White Luncheon on Nov. 19.

The theme: “Stepping Forward in Service: Women Helping Women.”

Receiving checks in the amount of $10,000 each were Virginia Union University and the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia.

The “New Shoes for Back

Clement Britt

From left, Yvonne Brandon, president of the Commonwealth Chapter of The Links Inc.; speaker Rosalyn M. Brock, chair of the national NAACP Board of Directors; Claudia Wall, event chair; and Virginia Union University Acting President Joseph F. Johnson take a moment at The Links chapter’s 9th Biennial Green and White Luncheon held Nov. 19 at a Downtown hotel.

to School” ministry at Third Street Bethel A.M.E. Church in Jackson Ward was recognized.

The program was initiated in 2007 when 727 new shoes were donated. The program has grown since then to include 25 churches and now is called the “Richmond Partnership of Churches’ New Shoes for Back to School.”

Since the start, about 82,000 pairs of shoes have been donated.

Hanover Safe Place, a part of the Greater Richmond

shelter network for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, also was honored. The organization was represented

by Daveida Murphy-Hasan and Patty Hall.

The shoes brought to the luncheon by The Links members and their guests were given in honor of the shoe project for distribution at area shelters.

With the help of Link Beverly Davis of Davis Construction Co., a company truck transported the donated shoes to the shelter.

Boats lighted and decorated for the holidays will cruise down the James River this weekend at the 24th Annual James River Parade of Lights.

The free event starts at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 10, with entertainment at Libby Hill Park, 28th and Franklin streets in Church Hill, where spectators can have a great vantage point to see the lighted boat parade that starts at 6 p.m.

The event is sponsored by the James River Advisory Council and includes several official viewing locations, including the dock at Intermediate Terminal, Dock and Water streets.

Information: www.jrac-va.org or (804) 7176681.

The 30th Annual Court End Christmas, an annual open house extravaganza celebrating 19th century style in Richmond, will take place from noon to 5 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 11.

The Valentine Richmond History Center and the Wickham House, the John Marshall House, the Museum and White House of the Confederacy, Monumental Church, the Egyptian Building, the Beers House, the Virginia State Capitol, Virginia’s Executive Mansion, St. Paul’s Church and St. John’s Church all are participating.

Admission to the venues is free and various activities will be featured, including carriage rides, carolers, living history presentations, music, children’s crafts, gift shops and more.

A free shuttle will circulate among all the sites.

Details: www.richmondhistorycenter.com/ CEC or (804) 649-0711 ext. 301.

The Church Hill Association is hosting its 52nd Annual Holiday House Tour from noon to 5 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 11.

About a dozen homeowners will open their decorated homes for visitors. Some of the homes date to the 1700s.

Transportation will be available between St. John’s Church, 2401 E. Broad St. in Church Hill, and Court End Christmas locations.

Advance tickets are $25; $30 the day of the house tour.

For information and tickets, visit www. churchhill.org/holiday-weekend/.

Revelers also can enjoy horse and carriage rides around Shockoe Slip during the holidays.

A 12-passenger wagon will pick up and drop off riders every half hour at the James Center, 10th and Cary streets in Downtown. The rides, provided by James River Carriages, last about 20 minutes.

They are available Friday, Dec. 9, through Sunday, Dec.11; Friday, Dec. 16, through Sunday, Dec. 18; and Friday, Dec. 23.

Times: 7 to 10 p.m. Fridays, 5 to 9 p.m.

Saturdays and 5 to 8 p.m. Sundays.

Cost: $10 per person; children 4 and under sitting your lap are free.

For reservations and information: (804) 350-7752.

Please Accept Our Very Best Wishes for a Happy and Healthy Holiday Season!

From All of Your Friends at The Richmond Ambulance Authority

Richmond Free Press

December 8-10, 2016

B3

Happenings “Angry Birds” float along the parade route, bringing smiles to the crowd. Below, floats and units in the Dominion Christmas Parade draw cheers from spectators bundled up along Broad Street on Saturday.

Ava Reaves

Ava Reaves

Majorettes with the Richmond Public Schools All-City Marching Band make their moves.

Ava Reaves

Ava Reaves

Cheery “elves” from Prestige Dance Studio in Midlothian wave to the crowd near the beginning of the parade route.

Ava Reaves

The Trojan Explosion, Virginia State University’s marching band, prepares for their next musical selection.

Lighting up the holidays Richmond kicked off the holiday season last weekend with a plethora of holiday traditions, starting with the 32nd Annual Grand Illumination last Friday in Downtown. Hundreds of people of all ages were warmed by the music and entertainment as they joined the countdown at the James Center at10th and Cary streets for the lighting of Richmond’s skyline and the center’s 46-foot Christmas tree. The tree features more than 4,700 lights, and each building illuminated in Richmond’s skyline has more than 5,000 lights. Revelers also enjoyed entertainment at Main Street

Station in Shockoe Bottom.

On Saturday, the holiday joy continued with the 33rd Annual Dominion Christmas Parade along Broad Street in Downtown.

Thousands of spectators lined the sidewalks for the event, which featured dozens of bands, floats and entertainment from across the state. The route began at the Science Museum of Virginia and ended at Broad and 7th streets, near the Richmond Coliseum.

The parade draws roughly 100,000 spectators yearly and was broadcast live on WTVR-CBS 6.

Clement Britt

Spectators break into applause as the 46-foot Christmas tree at the James Center lights up with the city skyline and the Richmond Boys Choir serenades the crowd. Below, giant wreaths and yards of garlands adorn Main Street Station in Shockoe Bottom, where people enjoyed music, food trucks and a free movie last Friday night.

Clement Britt

Josiah Nicholas, 2, reaches out to touch a lighted reindeer during Friday’s Grand Illumination at the James Center.

Ava Reaves

Richmond Free Press

B4 December 8-10, 2016

Faith News/Directory

Religious leaders celebrate denial of easement for Dakota Access pipeline Religion News Service

Native American and other religious leaders called the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ decision on Sunday to deny an easement for the $3.8 billion Dakota Access pipeline an answer to prayer.

As many as 8,000 people at one time have gathered in camps in the hills along the Cannonball River in North Dakota to join the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in a spiritual movement protesting the construction of the pipeline.

Their rallying cry has been “Mni wiconi” (Lakota, meaning “water is life”) as they have maintained the pipeline’s planned river crossing upstream from the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation posed a risk to its water supply. It also would have crossed through lands considered sacred by the Sioux.

“Throughout this effort, I have stressed the importance of acting at all times in a peaceful and prayerful manner — and that is how we will respond to this decision,” said Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Chairman Dave Archambault II in a statement about the decision announced last Sunday.

“With this decision, we look forward to being able to return home and spend the winter with our families and loved ones, many of whom have sacrificed as well. We look forward to celebrating in wopila, in thanks, in the coming days.”

Energy Transfer Partners LP and Sunoco Logistics Partners LP, the companies behind construction of the Dakota Access pipeline, responded to the news Sunday with a statement calling the decision a “purely political action.”

Here is how others responded to the Army Corps of Engineers’ decision:

National Congress of American Indians The National Congress of American Indians President Brian Cladoosby released a cautiously optimistic statement: “This isn’t over, but it is enormously good news.”

Mr. Cladoosby continued: “Our prayers have been answered. … From the beginning, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe has asked for a full environmental analysis to consider threats to the water, and also the social and cultural impacts.

Peace, and prayer, and water protectors have led to the right outcome.

“We can all pause to celebrate the Creator,” he added. “In the New Year, let us put our minds together and see how we can find a solution.”

Creation Justice Ministries and National Council of Churches Member communions of the National Council of Churches and Creation Justice Ministries both sent delegations to Standing Rock to express solidarity with the Sioux. In a joint statement, the leaders said they hoped it would be seen as a “turning point in the troubled relationship Native Americans and Christians have often shared throughout history.”

Creation Justice Executive Director Shantha Ready Alonso added, “As Christians, we have a moral responsibility to stand with indigenous peoples to protect their sovereignty, and God’s creation.”

The Shalom Center Rabbi Arthur Waskow of The Shalom Center included “a moment of celebration” for the Army Corps decision, as well as “a moment of grief for the human costs of the victory” in the center’s weekly email newsletter, The Shalom Report.

Last week, the center delivered to President Obama and the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe a

Lucas Jackson/Reuters

Native American “water protectors” celebrate last Sunday’s decision by the Army Corps of Engineers stopping the easement for the $3.8 billion Dakota Access pipeline next to the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation near Cannon Ball, N.D.

“Rabbinic Statement on Standing Rock” signed by more than 300 rabbis.

“The victory of Standing Rock was won by months of determined prayerful public nonviolent challenge by Native communities and their non-Native allies,” he wrote.

Council on American-Islamic Relations The Minnesota director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, America’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization, recently joined other Islamic leaders at Standing Rock.

CAIR’s National Executive Director Nihad Awad said: “American Muslims will continue to stand in solidarity with Native Americans by respecting their culture, heritage and lands. We urge President-elect Donald Trump to abide by this decision when he takes office.”

American Humanist Association The American Humanist Association sent

Educators worry science will be casualty of Trump administration Religion News Service

Science and education professionals are increasingly alarmed about the impact President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet picks — many of them evangelical Christians — could have on science standards in public schools.

Candidate Trump repeatedly pledged to end the existing Common Core curricula standards for math and English. Critics worry that could open the door to rethinking science standards and lead to the teaching of creationism and Intelligent Design, pseudo-scientific notions about Earth’s origins with little or no support from scientists.

Vice president-elect Mike Pence and Dr. Ben Carson, the president-elect’s pick to head the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, are both known creationists.

Writing in Scientific American, Devin Powell quotes science education advocates warning that “the legitimization of such nonscientific views at the highest levels of government could trickle down to local policies.”

He writes that battles over how evolution and climate change should be taught already are being fought in states such as Louisiana and Texas, where bills in the state legislatures would let teachers treat the subjects as controversial.

“Nearly all of this legislation has emerged in states that were won by Trump,” he wrote.

Also of concern, critics say, is the appointment of Betsy DeVos to head the U.S. Department of Education. Ms. DeVos is a champion of school vouchers, a program to send public money to religious or private schools. She and her husband, Dick DeVos, have framed their support for vouchers in terms of “advance(ing) God’s kingdom.”

As a candidate for governor of Indiana, Mr. DeVos supported the teaching of Intelligent Design.

There also is concern over presidential support for science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, curricula. Quincy Brown, program director for STEM Education Research at the American Association for the Advancement of Science cited President Obama’s 2011 initiative to train 100,000 new STEM teachers.

“These kinds of initiatives motivate the educational community,” Mr. Brown told Scientific American. “If messages like that are not coming from the top, I wonder whether there will be a shift in priorities.”

Thirty-first Street Baptist Church C

o

ance with Re ev

everence

ing Dr. Morris Henderson, Senior Pastor bin

Church School 9:30 a.m.

Morning Worship 10:30 a.m. ❖

WEDNESDAYS Bible Study 12:00 p.m. & 7:00 p.m. ❖

MONDAY-FRIDAY Nutrition Center and Clothes Closet 11:30 a.m. & 1:00 p.m.

823 North 31st Street Richmond, VA 23223 (804) 226-0150 Office www.31sbc.org

Broad Rock Baptist Church 5106 Walmsley Blvd., Richmond, VA 23224 804-276-2740 • 804-276-6535 (fax) www.BRBCONLINE.org

Early Morning Worship ~ 8 a.m.

Sunday School ~ 9:30 a.m.

Morning Worship ~ 11 a.m.

4th Sunday Unified Worship Service ~ 9:30 a.m.

Bible Study: Wednesdays, 11:30 a.m. & 7 p.m.

Sermons Available at BRBCONLINE.org

“MAKE IT HAPPEN” Pastor Kevin Cook

Zion Baptist Church

December 2016 at Union

2006 Decatur Street Richmond, VA 23224

d

Dr. Robert L. Pettis, Sr., Pastor Sunday Service 10 a.m.

Church School 8:45 a.m.

Wednesday Bible Study 7p.m.

Transportation Services (804) 859-1985 “Reclaiming the Lost by Proclaiming the Gospel” Mike Segar/Reuters

President-elect Donald Trump stands with Betsy DeVos, his nominee for U.S. secretary of education, after their meeting Nov. 19 at the main clubhouse at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J.

New Deliverance Evangelistic Church

1701 Turner Road, North Chesterfield, Virginia 23225 (804) 276-0791 office (804)276-5272 fax www.ndec.net

Remember...

At New Deliverance, You Are Home!

See you there and bring a friend.

  

1408 W. eih Sree  ichmo a. 0 804 5840

Bishop G. O. Glenn D. Min., Pastor Mother Marcietia S. Glenn First Lady

Sunday

Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: Hebrew 12:14 (KJV) www.ndec.net

8:00 a.m. Sunday School 9:00 a.m. Worship Service

Wednesday Services Noonday Bible Study 12noon-1:00 p.m.

Attendance Sanctuary - All Are Welcome!

Wednesday Evening Bible Study 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

Attendance -

Saturday 8:30 a.m. Intercessory Prayer

You can now view Sunday Morning Service “AS IT HAPPENS” online!

Also, for your convenience.

Family & Friends Day

Sunday, December 11 Sunday School - 9:30am Morning Worship – 11am Annual Birthday Celebration Following Morning Worship

Annual Christmas Program

Sunday, December 18 3pm Followed by: Elegant Reception In Honor Of Lord and Savior Jesus Christ

Dress To Impress



 Church School Worship Service

8:45 a.m.

10 a.m.

 ile Su

1 p.m.

 e ercies iisr  a.m. ul ile Su :0 p.m. ie oore Sree o 

❖

SUNDAYS

several representatives to Standing Rock early last month to “affirm the importance of human responsibility and human accountability to identify injustice and to respond accordingly to validate the inherent value of those whose humanity is marginalized.” It also partnered with Foundation Beyond Belief to raise money to help winterize the camps.

Its executive director, Roy Speckhardt, said Monday: “The decision to halt the Dakota Access pipeline construction is a victory for Natives, environmental advocates and the progressive community as a whole. Rather than promoting fossil fuel energy that pollutes our water and contributes to the environmental disaster that is climate change, our government should listen to the scientists urging us to invest in sustainable, renewable energy for the good of our planet and our own existence.”

Christmas Day

Sunday, December 25 Jesus The Savior Is Born Morning Worship – 11am

Union Baptist ChUrCh

1813 EvErEtt strEEt riChmond, va 23224 (804) 231-5884 rEv. roBErt C. davis, pastor

“Working For You In This Difficult Hour”

k

Tune in on Sunday Morning to WTVR - Channel 6 - 8:30 a.m.

THE NEW DELIVERANCE CHRISTIAN ACADEMY (NDCA)

ENROLL NOW!!!

Accepting applications for children 2 yrs. old to 3rd Grade Our NDCA curriculum also consists of a Before and After program.

Now Enrolling for our Nursery Ages 6 weeks - 2yrs. old.

For more information Please call (804) 276-4433 Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm

Joseph Jenkins, Jr. Funeral Home, Inc. 2011-2049 Grayland Avenue Richmond, Virginia 23220 (804) 358-9177

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Joseph Jenkins, Jr., Founder (Dec. 19, 1938 - Dec. 9, 2006) Joseph Jenkins, III. • Jason K. Jenkins • Maxine T. Jenkins

Richmond Free Press

December 8-10, 2016

B5

Faith News/Directory

Va. Center for Inclusive Communities holds support rally at Jackson Ward church

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

More than 400 people poured into Belle Hall at Third Street Bethel A.M.E. Church in Jackson Ward on Sunday afternoon to show support for religious tolerance.

The multiracial crowd gave hope to Richmonder Mona H. Siddiqui and other Muslims who took part in the interfaith “Standing Together RVA” event hosted by the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities.

“All of us, including myself, have more fear,” said Ms. Siddiqui, who represented the Islamic Center of Virginia on

a panel reflecting on ways the community can stand together against bigotry.

Hate crimes are on the rise again since Donald Trump won the presidential election, and he has jangled nerves with his calls for registries of Muslims who live in this country and his proposals to shut off immigration from the Middle East.

Looking out at the crowd, Ms. Siddiqui said she was buoyed to have so many allies willing to stand together against intolerance.

The panelists also included the Rev. Melanie Mullen, Downtown missioner for St. Paul’s Episcopal Church; Rabbi Scott Nagel of Congregation Beth Ahabah; and Dr. William L. Sachs, founder

and executive director of the Center for Interfaith Reconciliation at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church.

To Jonathan C. Zur, president and CEO of the Henrico County-based Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities, events like this are a way to show people in the Richmond area stand for religious freedom, diversity and inclusion.

“Our friends, neighbors and colleagues have recently faced an increase in bigoted words and actions,” he said. “We need to celebrate our nation’s diversity as a source of strength. We need to stand together against efforts to promote fear and demonstrate a commitment to understanding, peace and justice.”

Company helps churches, nonprofits start websites — for free

By Adelle M. Banks Religion News Service

Members of Trueworship Tabernacle used to walk their Corpus Christi, Texas, neighborhood handing out fliers about upcoming events.

But in March, the small, multicultural church got a new website.

Six months later, its online postings helped boost attendance at its “Youth Car Wash and Enchilada Sale,” as well as its “Hallelujah Night” on Halloween.

“It has been a really great tool as far as witnessing to the community and bringing people into the church,” said Pastor Ahmad Haywood, who leads the congregation attended most Sundays by 25 to 40 people.

In February, TicketNetwork executive Don Vaccaro started Grace Church Websites to meet a need he discovered while talking to his friend, the Rev. Boise Kimber of New Haven, Conn.

“We had purchased a website for over $1,000 and the persons that we purchased the website from, they disappeared,” said Rev. Kimber of his predominantly African-American First Calvary Baptist Church.

After a discussion with Mr. Vaccaro, Rev. Kimber’s church now has a free website. It became the role model for the company the two men launched.

More than 670 participating churches and nonprofits, many of them predominantly AfricanAmerican or Latino, have new sites. They include African Methodist Episcopal, Church of the Nazarene, United Methodist and nondenominational congregations, as well as chapters of the Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network.

“A lot of people could not afford to buy the domain and some of the churches are rural churches,” said Rev. Kimber.

“We are certainly dealing with the digital divide and trying to open the doors for more advancement for people who are in need.”

The websites have similar templates — including an “about us” page, a listing of service times and a contact page.

Some churches make regular changes to the sites, adding calendar dates for choir rehearsals and Bible study conference

calls. Each site also includes links to Grace Church Websites and TicketNetwork, which hosts an online exchange for buyers and sellers of tickets to sports and entertainment events.

But other churches haven’t used their sites as much and still have avatars displaying a gray silhouette rather than the actual photos of leaders of the church.

Websites in general are not always a one-stop way of adding people to a church’s pews.

Researcher Scott Thumma of the Hartford Institute for Religion Research said there is “still neither overly robust nor effective use by a majority of congregations” of the internet and social media.

“Smaller churches, including minority ones, are less likely to use and/or have technology,” he said. “So a company that targets smaller churches, and especially minority ones, is really doing a great service for those that need it the most.”

A 2015 Faith Communities Today survey, which is to be released early next year, indicates that about 80 percent of some 4,400 congregations have websites, a 10 percentage point increase from 2010. Thirty-one percent offer online giving, which raises annual per capita giving in those congregations by $114 per person.

Mr. Vaccaro, whose TicketNetwork offices are based in South Windsor, Conn., estimates that Grace Church Websites — which originally had a goal of 300 nonprofit websites — will have 1,000 participants by the end of March.

He said his company has a 12 percent African-American workforce and he wanted to expand outreach to the urban community.

“Now the congregations all own those websites and what they seem to do is involve

Riverview

Baptist Church 2604 Idlewood Avenue Richmond, Va. 23220 (804) 353-6135 www.riverviewbaptistch.org Rev. Dr. Stephen L. Hewlett, Pastor Rev. Dr. Ralph Reavis, Sr. Pastor Emeritus

Allison Simoes

Don Vaccaro, left, and the Rev. Boise Kimber discuss Grace Church Websites, the project they launched to provide free websites for churches and nonprofit organizations.

other folks in the church with updating them, understanding digital arts better, understanding some of the process flows of how video is delivered online,” he said.

Mr. Vaccaro, a Southern Baptist, said more than 10,000 unique visitors a day connect with the sites overall, and

Mission Statement: People of God developing Disciples for Jesus Christ through Preaching and Teaching of God’s Holy Word reaching the people of the Church and the Community.

8:30 a.m. ... Sunday School 10:00 a.m... Morning Worship

THURSDAYS

WEDNESDAYS 6:00 p.m. ..... Prayer Service 6:30 p.m. ..... Bible Study

1:30 p.m.

Bible Study

Join Us for Worship!

Third Sunday of Advent: “Joy” U Ann A nn y December 17, 2016 @ 3:00 :00 P.M.

The Rehearsal - A Christmas Presentation

A new twist on the Christmas Story as told by a few faithful choir members.

Weekly k Worship: h Sundays @ 10:30 A.M. Church School: Sundays @ 9:00 A.M. Bible Study: Wednesdays @ Noon & 7:00 P.M. 2901 Mechanicsville Turnpike, Richmond, VA 23223 (804) 648-2472 ~ www.mmbcrva.org Dr. Price London Davis, Senior Pastor

Mosby Memorial Baptist Church “A Caring Community Committed to Listening, Loving,

Noon Day Bible Study

Wednesdays

6:30 p.m.

Prayer and Praise 7:00 p.m.

Adult Bible Study

For the remainder of December, all Sunday Worship Services will be held at 10 a.m. only.

Church School will be held at 8:30 a.m.

Bible Study will be in recess after 12/8 and will reconvene on 1/5/17.

Family Christmas Celebration

2300 Cool Lane, Richmond, Virginia 23223 804-795-5784 (Armstrong High School Auditorium)

Friday, December 9, 2016 • 7pm

Sunday Morning Worship 11:00 a.m.

Sponsored by The Christian Arts Ministry Our Play Theme:

“Angels on Assignment” 2040 Mountain Road • Glen Allen, Virginia 23060 Office 804-262-0230 • Fax 804-262-4651 • www.stpeterbaptist.net

Sixth Baptist Church

Come Join Us! Reverend Dr. Lester D. Frye Pastor and Founder

Theme for 2016: Becoming a Five-Star Church of Excellence With Mission, Growth, Prayer, Purpose, Vision We Are Growing In The Kingdom SUNDAYS As We Grow The Kingdom 9AM The Family Altar with Word, Worship and Witness

(A time for meditation, healing, and deliverance)

9:45AM Church Sunday School 10:40AM Worship & Praise 11AM Divine Worship Message by Pastor Bibbs

… and Listen to our Radio Broadcast Sundays at 10:15 a.m. on WCLM 1450 AM

To empower people of God spiritually, mentally and emotionally for successful living.

Jesus went throughout Galilee teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness among the people.

- Matthew 4:23

New Church School Classes From Nursery – College Student Also Women’s & Men’s Classes Twitter sixthbaptistrva

Rev. Dr. Yvonne Jones Bibbs, Pastor

400 South Addison Street Richmond, Va. 23220

(near Byrd Park)

(804) 359-1691 or 359-3498 Facebook Fax (804) 359-3798 sixthbaptistrva www.sixthbaptistchurch.org

Antioch Baptist Church “Redeeming God’s People for Gods Purpose”

10:30 A.M.

Tuesdays

Worship Opportunities

Dr. Sylvester T. Smith, Pastor “There’s A Place for You”

Dec. 11, 2016



8775 Mount Olive Avenue Glen Allen, Virginia 23060 (804) 262-9614 Phone (804) 262-2397 Fax www.mobcva.org

Dr. Kirkland R. Walton, Pastor

1127 North 28th St., Richmond, VA 23223-6624 • Office: (804) 644-1402

11:00 AM Mid-day Meditation

2016 Theme: The Year of Restoration

Sundays

8:00 a.m.

Early Morning Worship 9:30 a.m.

Sunday School 11:00 a.m.

Morning Worship

St. Peter Baptist Church

Good Shepherd Baptist Church

6:30 PM Prayer Meeting

Rev. Darryl G. Thompson, Pastor

22 E. Leigh Street, Richmond, VA 23219 • 643-3825 thesharonbaptistchurch.com Rev. Dr. Paul A. Coles, Pastor

Sunday, December 11, 2016

communities.

“I wanted to bring churches back a little bit in prominence because they really do deserve that in our society,” he said, noting that he feels they’ve become an “underdog” even though they often are the ones needy people approach in tough times.

Mount Olive Baptist Church

Sharon Baptist Church

SUNDAY SCHOOL - 9:45 A.M. SUNDAY WORSHIP SERVICE 11:00 A.M.

Tuesday Sunday 10:30 AM Bible Study 9:30 AM Church School 6:30 PM Church-wide Bible Study 11:00 AM Worship Service 6:30 PM Men's Bible Study (Each 2nd and 4th) (Holy Communion Thursday each 2nd Sunday) Wednesday (Following 2nd Sunday)

he estimates that it cost his company about half a million dollars to create the system and provide hosting and routine maintenance. He has committed to host the websites for at least five years. He hopes that eventually the websites might serve as ways for churches to network with local business

The Rev. Lois Aroian, pastor of First Presbyterian Church in East Jordan, Mich., said a website has allowed her predominantly white congregation to move beyond using email and word of mouth to inform people about its events.

The website of the church, where about 50 people worship on Sundays, includes sermon texts as well as links to the regional groups and the Presbyterian Church (USA) denomination with which it is affiliated. Rev. Aroian is looking forward to learning how to do more, including replacing the anonymous avatar with her photo.

“I’m 70; I learn all of this stuff just by hit or miss,” she said. “And I haven’t yet figured out how to record sermons and post them to the website, but I’m sure that some 12-year-old in our congregation would be able to tell me how to do that.”

1384 New Market Road, Richmond, Virginia 23231 | 804-222-8835

A MISSION BASED CHURCH FAMILY EXCITING MINISTRIES FOR CHILDREN, YOUTH, YOUNG ADULTS & SENIOR ADULTS BIBLE REVELATION TEACHING DIVERSE MUSIC MINISTRY LOVING, CARING ENVIRONMENT

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will to men.”

Luke 2:14

Sunday December 11, 2016 5:00 P.M.

SERVICES

SUNDAY WORSHIP HOUR – 10:00 A.M. CHILDREN’S CHURCH & BUS MINISTRY AVAILABLE SUNDAY SCHOOL (FOR ALL AGES) – 9:00 A.M. TUESDAY MID-DAY BIBLE STUDY – 12 NOON WEDNESDAY MID-WEEK PRAYER & BIBLE STUDY – 7:00 P.M.

“Hallelujah unto God’s Almighty Son””

216 W. Leight Street Richmond, VA 23220 (804) 643-3366

DR. JAMES L. SAILES PASTOR

Dr. Levy M. Armood, Pastor Dr. Wallace J. Cook, Pastor Emeritus

Richmond Free Press

B6 December 8-10, 2016

Sports Plus

Thompson resigns as football coach at John Marshall High

By Fred Jeter

Damon “Redd” Thompson, admitting “the fire came out of me,” has stepped down as John Marshall High School’s football coach following three disappointing seasons.

“It stopped being fun,” said Coach Thompson, whose Justices were a combined 4-26, including 1-9 this year.

The team’s only victory this season was over 0-10 Armstrong High School.

Overmatched against much larger Division 5 and 6 schools from Henrico and Hanover counties, John Marshall was outscored 458 to 70.

On a level playing field, John Marshall held its own. Against similarly sized Division 3 foes, the Justices defeated Armstrong 23-15, lost to Booker T. Washington High School in Norfolk

22-14 and lost to Thomas Jefferson have not’s) is the offseason – JanuHigh School 21-16. ary to June,” said Coach Thompson.

“I’m cool with losing, as long as “At Benedictine we’d have 60 boys we lose at the end of a game — not waiting to work out each day” in when we’ve lost before the game the offseason, he recalled. “At John starts,” Coach Thompson said.

Marshall, sometimes we would have His three-year stint with the North 10. Another day, 10 to 12 and then, Side high school team ended with a maybe four or five. We didn’t have 48-0 loss to Henrico’s Mills Godwin enough to play in the 7-on-7 tournaHigh School. ments” in the spring, he said.

Coach Thompson is not a John Coach Thompson Coach Thompson felt the lack of Marshall High faculty member. He offseason preparation — more than has his own business as a youth counselor and the schedule — led to the poor record. athletic trainer.

“I’ve got no respect for anyone’s comments Before taking the John Marshall coaching or opinions unless they were there January to position, he served as an assistant coach at June,” he said.

Benedictine and various county schools.

Coach Thompson is revered as one of the “The difference (between the haves and area’s premier all-time players, starting with an

All-Metro receiving career at Highland Springs High School in Henrico. From there, he went on to become the greatest pass receiver in the history of Virginia State University and the CIAA. He is a member of the VSU and CIAA halls of fame.

Coach Thompson’s 262 career catches also set the NCAA Division II standard.

After college, he starred many years on the pro-arena circuit.

Although Coach Thompson looks to get back into coaching, he says his immediate future will be grooming his athletic son, Damon “Redd” Thompson Jr., a sixth-grader at Binford Middle School.

“Right now, I think I’ll just concentrate on Redd Junior, Little Man,” said Coach Thompson.

Legal Notices/Employment Opportunities City of Richmond, Virginia CITY COUNCIL PUBLIC NOTICE Notice is hereby given that the Council of the City of Richmond has scheduled a public hearing, open to all interested citizens, on Monday, December 12, 2016 at 6:00 p.m. in the Council Chamber on the Second Floor of City Hall, located at 900 East Broad Street, Richmond, Virginia, to consider the following ordinances: Ordinance No. 2016-033 As Amended To amend ch. 2, art. III, div. 7 of the City Code by adding therein a new section 2-216, concerning the obstruction of inspector general investigations, to provide that certain employees who obstruct inspector general investigations by denying the Office of the City Auditor, when not required by law to so deny, [immediate] reasonable access to information are subject to disciplinary action up to and including termination by their appointing authority.

Ordinance No. 2016-300 To authorize the Chief Administrative Officer, for and on behalf of the City of Richmond, to execute a Cooperation Agreement between the City of Richmond and the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority for the purpose of facilitating the design, planning, engineering, and construction of certain infrastructure improvements to support a mixed-income rental housing development at 1501 North 31st Street and 1611 North 31st Street in the city of Richmond.

Interested citizens who wish to speak will be given an opportunity to do so.

Copies of the full text of all ordinances are available by visiting the City Clerk’s page on the City’s Website at www.Richmondgov. com and in the Office of the City Clerk, City Hall, 900 East Broad Street, Suite 200, Richmond, VA 23219, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Jean V. Capel City Clerk

Divorce VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE COUNTY OF HANOVER WISDOM TENGEY, Plaintiff v.

KAREN WATKINS, Defendant.

Case No.: CL16003149-00 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is to obtain a divorce from the bond of matrimony from the defendant on the ground of living separate and apart without any cohabitation and without interruption for a period exceeding twelve months.

It is ORDERED that the defendant, whose whereabouts are unknown, appear here on or before the 24th day of January, 2017 at 9:00 a.m. and protect her interests.

A Copy, Teste: FRANK D. HARGROVE, JR., Clerk I ask for this: Dorothy M. Eure Counsel for Plaintiff VSB# 27724 8460 Mount Eagle Road Ashland, VA 23005 (804) 798-9667

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appear here on or before the 24th day of January, 2017 at 9:00 a.m. and protect her interests.

A Copy, Teste: FRANK D. HARGROVE, JR., Clerk I ask for this: Dorothy M. Eure Counsel for Plaintiff VSB# 27724 8460 Mount Eagle Road Ashland, VA 23005 (804) 798-9667

the defendant on the ground of living separate and apart without any cohabitation and without interruption for a period exceeding twelve months.

It is ORDERED that the defendant, whose whereabouts are unknown, appear here on or before the 4th day of January, 2017 at 9:00 a.m. and protect his interests.

A Copy, Teste: FRANK D. HARGROVE, JR., Clerk I ask for this: Dorothy M. Eure Counsel for Plaintiff VSB# 27724 8460 Mount Eagle Road Ashland, VA 23005 (804) 798-9667

AND 8 C.F.R. SECTION 204.11.

It is ORDERED that the defendant CESAR ALBERTO ALVIZURES ICAL appear at the above-named Court and protect his or her interests on or before 02/10/2017 10:00AM

IN the COunty of Chesterfield Commonwealth of Virginia, in re Ze’von amir Johnson Creashona Ta’Shaya v. rodney johnson Case No. JJ089719-01-00 OrDEr Of puBLicatiON

The object of this suit is to: Determine custody of Ze’Von Amir Johnson, (DOB: 11/18/2005),whose mother is Chayela Ta’Necia Miller, and whose Father is Rodney Johnson,pursuant to Virginia Code Section 16.1-241A3.

It is ORDERED that the defendant Rodney Johnson appear at the above-named Court and protect his or her interests on or before February 24, 2017 at 10:00 A.M.

religious affiliation; and responsibility for support.

It is ORDERED that the defendant Unknown (Father), appear at the abovenamed Court and protect his interest on or before February 2, 2017 at 9:40 AM, Court Room #3.

Matt Morris, Esq. 730 E. Broad St., 8th Floor Richmond, Virginia 23219 804-646-3493

VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE COUNTY OF HANOVER JOYCE CAPERS, Plaintiff v.

MICHAEL BRITTON, Defendant.

Case No.: CL16002886-00 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is to obtain a divorce from the bond of matrimony from the defendant on the ground of living separate and apart without any cohabitation and without interruption for a period exceeding twelve months.

It is ORDERED that the defendant, who is a nonresident, appear here on or before the 24th day of January, 2017 at 9:00 a.m. and protect his interests.

A Copy, Teste: FRANK D. HARGROVE, JR., Clerk I ask for this: Dorothy M. Eure Counsel for Plaintiff VSB# 27724 8460 Mount Eagle Road Ashland, VA 23005 (804) 798-9667 VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE COUNTY OF HANOVER CARLOS GARCIA SAMUELS, Plaintiff v.

ANA BONILLA ALVARADO, Defendant.

Case No.: CL16001548-00 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is to obtain a divorce from the bond of matrimony from the defendant on the ground of living separate and apart without any cohabitation and without interruption for a period exceeding twelve months.

It is ORDERED that the defendant, whose whereabouts are unknown, appear here on or before the 18th day of January, 2017 at 9:00 a.m. and protect her interests.

A Copy, Teste: FRANK D. HARGROVE, JR., Clerk I ask for this: Dorothy M. Eure Counsel for Plaintiff VSB# 27724 8460 Mount Eagle Road Ashland, VA 23005 (804) 798-9667 VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE COUNTY OF HENRICO TAGHRID HASAN MATTAR, Plaintiff v.

ALAH DENIEF DAKHIL, Defendant.

Case No.: CL15-185 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this lawsuit is for the Plaintiff to obtain a divorce from the bond of matrimony from the Defendant because they have lived separate and apart, without cohabitation or intention to resume cohabitation for more than one year.

It is ORDERED that the defendant, whose whereabouts are unknown, appear at the above-named court on or before the 29th day of December, 2016 at 9:00 a.m. and protect his interests.

A Copy, Teste: HEIDI S. BARSHINGER, Clerk I ask for this: Robert L. Flax, p.q.

Robert L. Flax, P.C. 8 South Sheppard Street Richmond, Va. 23221-3028 804-355-8425 804-355-9129 fax robertflax@flaxlegal.com

VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE COUNTY OF HANOVER ARBEXY ROMERO GARCIA, Plaintiff v.

MELVIN MARTINEZ ESCOBAR, Defendant.

Case No.: CL16003024-00 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is to obtain a divorce from the bond of matrimony from the defendant on the ground of living separate and apart without any cohabitation and without interruption for a period exceeding twelve months.

It is ORDERED that the defendant, whose whereabouts are unknown, appear here on or before the 6th day of January, 2017 at 9:00 a.m. and protect his interests.

A Copy, Teste: FRANK D. HARGROVE, JR., Clerk I ask for this: Dorothy M. Eure Counsel for Plaintiff VSB# 27724 8460 Mount Eagle Road Ashland, VA 23005 (804) 798-9667 VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE COUNTY OF HANOVER ALPFONZO TAYLOR, Plaintiff v.

CONNIE TAYLOR, Defendant.

Case No.: CL16003042-00 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is to obtain a divorce from the bond of matrimony from the defendant on the ground of living separate and apart without any cohabitation and without interruption for a period exceeding twelve months.

It is ORDERED that the defendant, whose whereabouts are unknown, appear here on or before the 6th day of January, 2017 at 9:00 a.m. and protect her interests.

A Copy, Teste: FRANK D. HARGROVE, JR., Clerk I ask for this: Dorothy M. Eure Counsel for Plaintiff VSB# 27724 8460 Mount Eagle Road Ashland, VA 23005 (804) 798-9667

CUSTODY

VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE COUNTY OF HANOVER LUCIO SANCHEZ CRUZ, Plaintiff v.

SILVIA TORRES ALONSO, Defendant.

Case No.: CL16003240-00 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is to obtain a divorce from the bond of matrimony from the defendant on the ground of living separate and apart without any cohabitation and without interruption for a period exceeding twelve months.

It is ORDERED that the defendant, whose whereabouts are unknown,

VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE COUNTY OF HANOVER APRIL KUNI, Plaintiff v.

JEROME KUNI, Defendant.

Case No.: CL16003105-00 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is to obtain a divorce from the bond of matrimony from

VIRGINIA: IN THE JUVENILE AND DOMESTIC RELATIONS DISTRICT COURT OF CHESTERFIELD Commonwealth of Virginia, in re ALVIZURES ICAL, ANGELON MICHEL, MICHEL D. PAMELA ICAL CUELLAR v.

CESAR ALBERTO ALVIZURES ICAL Case No. JJ090450-01-00 ORDER 0F PUBLICATION (1) The object of this suit is to: DETERMINE CUSTODY OF ANGELIN MICHEL ALVIZURES ICAL (DOB: 9/14/12), WHOSE MOTHER IS MICHEL DHEBORA PAMELA ICAL CUELLAR, AND WHOSE FATHER IS CESAR ALBERTO ALVIZURES ICAL, PURSUANT TO VIRGINIA CODE SE C TION 16.1241A3. ( 2 ) M A K E FA C T U A L F I N D I N G S T H AT W I L L PERMIT ANGELIN MICHEL A LV I Z U R E S I C A L T O PETITION THE UNITED STATES CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION SERVICES FOR SPECIAL IMMIGRANT J U V E N I L E S TAT U S PURSUANT TO 8 U.S.C. SECTION 1101(A)(27)(J)

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VIRGINIA: IN THE JUVENILE AND DOMESTIC RELATIONS DISTRICT COURT OF CHESTERFIELD Commonwealth of Virginia, in re CHAVEZ RIVAS, MARIA FERNANDA CHAVEZ RIVAS, DINORA D v.

ADALBERTO MARTINEZ, JUAQUIN Case No. JJ090450-01-00 ORDER 0F PUBLICATION (1) The object of this suit is to: DETERMINE CUSTODY OF MARIA FERNANDA CHAVEZ RIVAS (DOB: 5/24/11), WHOSE MOTHER IS DINORA DEL CARMEN CHAVEZ RIVAS,AND WHOSE FATHER IS JUAQUIN ADALBERTO MARTINEZ, PURSUANT TO VIRGINIA CODE SECTION 16.1-241A3. ( 2 ) M A K E FA C T U A L F I N D I N G S T H AT W I L L PERMIT MARIA FERNANDA C H AV E Z R I VA S T O PETITION THE UNITED STATES CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION SERVICES FOR SPECIAL IMMIGRANT J U V E N I L E S TAT U S PURSUANT TO 8 U.S.C. SECTION 1101(A)(27)(J) AND 8 C.F.R. SECTION 204.11.

It is ORDERED that the defendant JUAQUIN ADALBERTO MARTINEZ appear at the above-named Court and protect his or her interests on or before 02/10/2017 10:00AM VIRGINIA: IN THE JUVENILE AND DOMESTIC RELATIONS DISTRICT COURT OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND Commonwealth of Virginia, in re Chase Fields-Threatt, Juvenile Case No. JJ091827-05, JJ091827-06 ORDER OF PUBLICATION The object of this suit is to: Terminate the residual parental right (“RPR”) of Brian Wells (Father) and Unknown. (Father), of Chase Fields-Threatt, child, DOB 08/04/2012, “RPR” means all rights and responsibilities remaining with parent after transfer of legal custody or guardianship of the person, including but not limited to rights of: visitation: adoption consent: determination of religious affiliation: and responsibility for support It is ORDERED that the defendant Brian Wells (Father) and Unknown (Father), appear at the abovenamed Court and protect his/her interest on or before 03/27/2017, at 11:20 AM, courtroom #4 Matt Morris, Esq. 730 E. Broad St., 8th Floor Richmond, Virginia 23219 804-646-3493 virgiNia: iN thE Circuit cOurt for the County of chesterfield madeline lugo, Plaintiff v.

JOHANESEL D. RODRIGUEZ, Defendent Case No. CL15-1041 OrDEr Of puBLicatiON

The object of this suit is to: Grant Lilah Michelle Rodriguez, a minor, a name change. Madeline Lugo, the mother of the Petitioner, filed this Application for Change of Name on Lilah Michelle Rodriguez’s behalf.

WHEREFORE, an affidavit having been filed by Petitioner’s mother, Madeline Lugo, that due diligence has been used without effect to ascertain the location of Johansel Duran Rodriguez, it is ORDERED that Johansel Duran Rodriguez appear before this Court on the 10th of January, 2017 at 8:30 a.m. to protect his interests herein.

A Copy Teste: WENDY S. HUGHES, Clerk Mary Ashby Brown, Esquire Freidman Law Firm 9401 Courthouse Rd., Suite A Chesterfield, VA 23832 804-717-1969 virgiNia: iN thE JuvENiLE aND DOmEstic rELatiONs District cOurt Continued on next column

virgiNia: iN thE JuvENiLE aND DOmEstic rELatiONs District cOurt Of the City of Richmond Commonwealth of Virginia, in re Mah’ki jeffeRson, Juvenile Case No. JJ091818-08 OrDEr Of puBLicatiON

The object of this suit is to: Terminate the residual parental rights (“RPR”) of Unknown, (Father), of Mah’ki Jefferson, child, DOB 6/2/2014, “RPR” means all rights and responsibilities remaining with parent after transfer of legal custody or guardianship of the person, including but not limited to rights of: visitation; adoption consent; determination of Continued on next column

virgiNia: iN thE JuvENiLE aND DOmEstic rELatiONs District cOurt Of the City of Richmond Commonwealth of Virginia, in re COLBY LANE, Juvenile Case No. JJ078169-14 OrDEr Of puBLicatiON

The object of this suit is to: Terminate the residual parental rights (“RPR”) of Unknown, (Father), of Colby Lane, child, DOB 7/16/2002, “RPR” means all rights and responsibilities remaining with parent after transfer of legal custody or guardianship of the person, including but not limited to rights of: visitation; adoption consent; determination of religious affiliation; and responsibility for support.

It is ORDERED that the defendant Unknown (Father), appear at the abovenamed Court and protect his/ her interest on or before April 24, 2017 at 9:20 AM, Court Room #4.

Matt Morris, Esq. 730 E. Broad St., 8th Floor Richmond, Virginia 23219 804-646-3493

Notice of Funding Availability

Affordable Housing Trust Fund The City of Richmond invites interested parties to apply for Affordable Housing Trust Fund (AHTF) dollars to assist with housing production and housing supportive services targeted to low and moderate income citizens.

Funds are intended for projects and programs that are aligned with regional, state and federal plans, and follows best practices to address the housing needs of this population. Projects and services will be evaluated to determine whether they are eligible for AHTF funding and ready to proceed. Projects and services must demonstrate a need for AHTF funds in order to proceed and/or operate. AHTF funds may not be used to supplant existing commitments of permanent financing.

Application packages will be available by December 9, 2016 on the City’s website at http://www.yesrichmondva.com/neighborhood-revitalization/Federally-FundedPrograms. Applications packages will also be available at the Main City Library located at 101 E. Franklin Street.

All Project/Program funding requests must be submitted on the current application form and must be in compliance with Application Guidance (AHTF-101).

AHTF applicants must submit three (3) hard copies of the application and a digital file on a thumb drive to the Department of Economic & Community Development, 1500 E. Main Street, Suite 400 Richmond, VA 23219.

All proposals and applications must be received no later than 4:00 PM on Monday January 16, 2017.

Faxes, e-mails and late submissions will not be accepted.

An informational meeting will be held on Thursday December 15, 2016 from 1pm until 3pm at the Main Library located at 101 E. Franklin Street, Richmond, VA. Please direct all questions to the Department of Economic & Community Development at 804646-5633. Decisions regarding funding of requests are scheduled to be made by February 6, 2017. The City of Richmond does not discriminate on the basis of disability status in the admission or access to its programs. Virginia Relay Center - TDD users dial 711.

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS – RFP#153822 The Virginia Department of Transportation is requesting proposals from firms to convert an 8.4-mile segment (“Segment 1”) of I-64 in Hampton Roads from HOV lanes to HOT lanes. A Mandatory Pre-Proposal Conference will be held on this Request For Proposal on: December 9, 2016 @ 10:00 a.m. at the VDOT Hampton Roads District office at 1700 North Main St., Suffolk, VA 23434. All proposals must be received by 2:00 p.m. on January 19, 2017 at the Virginia Department of Transportation, Fredericksburg District Office located at 87 Deacon Rd, Fredericksburg, VA 22405 (mailed or hand delivered). A copy of Request for Proposals RFP#153822 may be obtained via the website, www.eva.virginia.gov, jacqueline.brunson@vdot.virginia.gov or by calling (540)899-4237, (for TDD requests, please call (804) 371-8499).

The Department assures compliance with Title VI Requirements of non-discrimination in all activities pursuant to this advertisement.

REQUEST FOR BIDS For a Ground Lease On 3301 Maplewood Avenue (City Stadium) and 800 Freeman Road In the City of Richmond The City of Richmond is seeking bids for a ground lease on certain property located at 3301 Maplewood Avenue, known as City Stadium, and 800 Freeman Road for the construction, renovation, or reconstruction of improvements on such property primarily for use as a sports complex in accordance with a certain Deed of Ground Lease, for a duration of 40 years, subject to certain responsibilities to be imposed by the Deed of Ground Lease and subject further to all retained rights of the City of Richmond.

All bids for the lease hereby offered to be granted shall be submitted in writing to the City Clerk’s office by 5:00 p.m. on Monday, December 12, 2016. Bids will be presented to the presiding officer of the Council of the City of Richmond on Monday, December 12, 2016, at 6:00 p.m. in open session and shall then be presented by the presiding officer to the Council and be dealt with and acted upon in the mode prescribed by law.

The City of Richmond expressly reserves the right to reject any and all bids. The successful bidder shall reimburse the City for all costs incurred in connection with the advertisement of this ordinance in accordance with section 15.2-2101 of the Code of Virginia and shall post the bond required by the ordinance.

A copy of the full text of the ordinance is on file in the City Clerk’s office, and the full text of the ordinance and lease to be executed is available at: https://richmondva.legistar.com/LegislationDetail. aspx?ID=2884236&GUID=167EAA7C-3768-4221-90DC0E4EB982FE22&Options=ID|Text|&Search=2016-273 Please address any questions or bids to: Jean V. Capel, City Clerk City of Richmond 900 East Broad Street, Suite 200 Richmond, Virginia 23219 (804) 646-7955

Minister of Music The Cedar Street Baptist Church of God is seeking a candidate to fill the position of fulltime Minister of Music.

For more information and a detailed position description, please visit the Cedar Street Baptist Church of God website at www.csbcog.org. All interested candidates should submit their resume for consideration no later than Friday, December 22, 2016 to the Cedar Street Baptist Church of God, 2301 Cedar Street, Richmond VA, 23223 Attention: Dr. Anthony M. Chandler, Sr.

The City of Richmond is seeking to fill the following positions: Asset Manager - GIS 29M00000384 Department of Public Works Apply by 12/18/2016 Account Specialist II 27M00000039 Department of Social Services Apply by 12/18/2016 Bilingual Interpreter 27M00000048 Department of Social Services Apply by 12/18/2016 Library Associate I - Part Time 03M00000175 Richmond Public Library Apply by 12/18/2016 Library Associate I 03M00000069 Richmond Public Library Apply by 12/18/2016 Librarian II - Collection Development Manager 03M00000110 Richmond Public Library Apply by 12/18/2016 Maintenance Technician II - Water Utility 35M00000194 Department of Public Utilities Apply by 12/18/2016 Maintenance Technician III - Water Utility 35M00000295 Department of Public Utilities Apply by 12/18/2016 Revenue Manager - Business License Unit 25M00000707 Department of Finance Apply by 12/18/2016 Social Services Care Manager 27M00000220 Department of Social Services Apply by 12/18/2016 Utilities Instrument & Control Technician I Water Utility 35M00000309 Department of Public Utilities Apply by 12/18/2016 For an exciting career with the City of Richmond, visit our website for additional information and apply today! www.richmondgov.com EOE M/F/D/V