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VOL. 31 NO. 15
RICHMOND, VIRGINIA
www.richmondfreepress.com
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Richmond Free Press
APRIL 7-9, 2022
Finding the silver lining Three Richmond area people talk about the positive changes brought about during the two years of living under the cloud of COVID-19
By Ronald E. Carrington
The COVID-19 pandemic has presented an unprecedented challenge to people and businesses during the last two years. But some Richmond area residents have been able to find a silver lining during the crisis. The pandemic forced churches and merchants alike to think outside the box to serve their customers and congregations and attract wider audiences. First Baptist Church of South Richmond has extended its reach. While the church has the slogan, “One Church, Two Locations, Two Ministries, One Heartbeat,” it has broadened its reach well beyond its two campuses on Hull Street in the heart of Richmond’s Manchester community and on Ironbridge Road in North Chesterfield. The church is now reaching souls around the globe. Dr. Derik E. Jones, pastor of First Baptist Church, said while he and his father, Senior Pastor Dwight C. Jones, have been streaming their Sunday sermons for years, the pandemic pushed First Baptist into a virtual international space in a way that they no longer can judge the number of worshipers or the extent of the ministry by what is seen in the pews on Sunday mornings. “In the heart of the pandemic, we were attracting viewers from around the Commonwealth as well as all of the 50 states,” the younger Dr. Jones said regarding the power of the internet.
Living 2 years under
COVID
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Please turn to A4 Photos by Regina H. Boone/Richmond Free Press
Top left, Gwen Hurt, founder and chief executive officer of Shoe Crazy Wine in Shockoe Bottom, shows off some of her company’s special blends at the company warehouse in Petersburg. Top right, Dr. Derik E. Jones, pastor of First Baptist Church of South Richmond, stands outside the church’s newest campus on Ironbridge Road in Chesterfield. Above, Elvin Jefferson, owner of Adventures in RVA in Shockoe Bottom, shows the rows and rows of bikes available for rent by day trippers and serious enthusiasts.
2 more GOP senators to back Judge Jackson for Supreme Court, nearly assuring confirmation Free Press wire report
Judge Jackson
WASHINGTON Republican U.S. Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Mitt Romney of Utah say they will vote to confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s historic elevation to the U.S. Supreme Court, giving President Biden’s nominee a burst of bipartisan support and all but assuring she’ll become the first Black female justice in the
court’s 232-year history. The senators announced their decisions Monday night ahead of a procedural vote to advance the nomination and as Democrats pressed to confirm Judge Jackson by the week’s end. The vote by the full Senate is scheduled for Thursday, April 7. Please turn to A4
Re-entry training program locked out of former school building By Jeremy M. Lazarus
The shutdown has come for a Richmond-based program that linked people released from jails and prisons to training for construction jobs. “It was no joke,” said Kenneth Williams, founder and director of the nonprofit Adult Alternative Program, after he found the training center’s doors padlocked and posted with signs barring entry on April 1. AAP has occupied since 2017 the former REAL School building at 4929 Chamberlayne Ave., which served students diagnosed as emotionally disabled.
Mr. Williams said he was advised that Richmond Public Schools closed the building in preparation for its transfer to City Hall as surplus property. RPS wanted to turn the building over free of tenants. City officials now are waiting for RPS to deliver a quitclaim deed allowing a transfer of ownership on the court record. As described to the Free Press, the transfer process may take up to an additional month as City Council must approve an ordinance accepting the deed before it can be recorded and the building officially Please turn to A4
He’s back, ready to win AUGUSTA, Ga. Golf superstar Tiger Woods is back, and he says he believes he can win. A little more than a year after nearly losing his leg in a car crash, Tiger is planning to play this week in The Masters. Please turn to A4
Regina H. Boone/Richmond Free Press
Free community testing for COVID-19 continues. The Richmond and Henrico County health districts are providing walk-up testing throughout the area. Call the Richmond and Henrico COVID-19 Hotline at (804) 2053501 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday to find information on testing sites or to make an appointment if desired, or go to www.rchd.com. The Virginia Department of Health also has a list of COVID19 testing locations around the state at www.vdh.virginia. gov/coronavirus/covid-19-testing/covid-19-testing-sites.
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RAA warns service in jeopardy without greater city subsidy By Jeremy M. Lazarus
Mr. Williams
A word from the coach
Tiger Woods
Free COVID-19 testing, vaccines
It’s spring break for Henrico brothers Neal Joyner, 9, left; his brother, Nasir Joyner, 6, center; and their cousin, Isaiah Banks, 11, of Chesterfield. But the three were “working out” Tuesday at Byrd Park with their grandfather and coach, Ronnie Harris. They were having fun running to catch their grandfather’s long passes on the grassy stretch by Fountain Lake. Mr. Harris played neighborhood football growing up, while one of the boys played for the Kanawha Red Hawks, a pee-wee team in Henrico.
Richmond has long boasted of having one of the best ambulance services in the country. But the Richmond Ambulance Authority is warning City Council that the ability to maintain quality emergency response is being jeopardized by Mayor Levar M. Stoney’s decision to limit the city’s financial support. In his proposed budget for the 202223 fiscal year that begins July 1, Mayor Stoney included $4 million in subsidy for RAA, the same amount as the current year and $3.5 million less than the ambulance service sought. The spending plan is now in the hands of City Council, which is reviewing the Dr. Bennett proposal and considering amendments. In a letter to the council obtained by the Free Press, RAA Board Chair Dr. Richard Bennett notified the council that the authority is “predicting an operating deficit” by the end of the new fiscal year on June 30, 2023, if the city’s subsidy is not increased to the requested level of $7.5 million. Dr. Bennett noted that since the start of the pandemic two years ago, costs have skyrocketed while revenue from transporting patients has declined. He stated that RAA, like other ambulance companies across the country, has seen a major increase in personnel turnover and has had increased difficulty in filling vacancies for trained emergency medical technicians and paramedics, problems similar to those faced by police departments, private businesses and government agencies. The result: RAA has needed to boost pay in a bid to retain current personnel and attract new people in what Dr. Bennett described as a “fierce talent competition.” RAA, which responds with the city Fire Department to health emergencies and crime scenes where people are injured, Please turn to A4