Free press december 7 9, 2017 issue

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Christmas parade, holiday events at Grand Illumination and train station B2, B3

Richmond Free Press © 2017 Paradigm Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.

VOL. 26 NO. 49

RICHMOND, VIRGINIA

www.richmondfreepress.com

December 7-9, 2017

‘Voices from the Garden’

Recognizing Va. women

School Board approves $224.7M for school buildings

Hundreds attend groundbreaking ceremony for new monument in Capitol Square By Ronald E. Carrington

Virginia First Lady Dorothy McAuliffe was joined by Lynda Bird Johnson Robb and Susan Allen, two former first ladies, for Monday’s groundbreaking ceremony for “Voices from the Garden,” Virginia Women’s Monument. On the sunny and brisk day, state officials, special guests, donors and hundreds of visitors from across the commonwealth attended the ceremony at Capitol Square. The monument will honor the presence and contributions, genius and creativity of women in Virginia for more than 400 years. The monument will depict 12 women in bronze statues, including four African-Americans. The women include some who are widely celebrated and others who are lesser known. It also will include a glass Wall of Honor to be etched with the names of hundreds of other noteworthy women. The monument, which was approved seven years ago, will be located near the 9th Street entrance on the west side of the Capitol. It is expected to cost $3.7 million and is being spearheaded by the Virginia Women’s Monument Commission in collaboration with the Virginia Capitol Foundation and the 2019 Commemoration. Dedication is expected in October 2019 during the celebration of the 400th anniversary of important milestones in

Clement Britt

Gov. Terry McAuliffe, center, and his wife, First Lady Dorothy McAuliffe, to his right, are flanked by former Virginia first ladies Lynda Bird Johnson Robb (in purple) and Susan Allen (in pink) as they break ground Monday for the monument in Capitol Square that will honor women’s roles in Virginia’s history for more than 400 years. Below, ceremonial shovels wrapped with pink bows are lined up for the groundbreaking ceremony for “Voices from the Garden,” the new $3.7 million Virginia Women’s Monument in Capitol Square.

Virginia’s history. Voices from the Garden is seen as giving more attention to the role that women played in establishing the Virginia colony. The Women’s Monument is the first of its kind on the grounds of a state Capitol recognizing the contributions of women across four centuries. “We are here today to celebrate women who played an important part in Virginia’s history,” Gov. Terry McAuliffe said during the ceremony.

“Women who made such a difference — from the first settlers back in the early 1600s and the hardships they faced to the pioneers — a banker, educators and in other areas of commerce.” In his remarks, Gov. McAuliffe alluded to today’s pivotal moment in addressing cases of sexual harassment against women. “At a very difficult time Please turn to A4

Creighton Court redevelopment project seeks $4.9M city bailout By Jeremy M. Lazarus

The project to transform the poverty-stricken Creighton Court public housing area in the East End into a mixed-income development has run into a glitch — the master developer can’t raise all the money needed to construct the first 105 apartments. Next week, Richmond City Council is poised to ride to the rescue of The Community Builders of Boston, a nonprofit, and the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority, which is overseeing the work on the project dubbed Church Hill North. At its meeting Monday, Dec. 11, City Council is expected to approve a $4.9 million bailout the city administration is requesting to keep the first phases of the redevelopment program on track. There’s a problem, according to 5th District

Councilman Parker C. Agelasto. The bailout will flout a new council policy requiring the city administration to show a return on the city’s investment — a real problem for a project the administration acknowledges is unlikely to generate enough new tax revenue to repay the new subsidy or money the city poured earlier into the project that was started by former Mayor Dwight C. Jones. The policy Mr. Agelasto cited sought to end the practice of investing taxpayer dollars into projects that did not generate sufficient income for the city to justify the financial support. Richmond already has moved far down the road in planning for this project, probably too far for most of the council members to consider pulling back. According to Lee Downey, the city’s chief Please turn to A4

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Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press

A sign offers the vision of the planned Church Hill North development that now needs a $4.9 million bailout from City Council. Heavy machinery prepares the land in the 1600 block of North 31st Street for the proposed construction of new apartments and homes on the site of the old Armstrong High School.

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

The Richmond School Board once again is challenging the mayor and City Council to find money to start replacing or renovating the decrepit public school buildings a majority of students attend. For at least the fifth time since 2002, the board has approved a wish list to start the process, with replacement of George Wythe High School, Elkhardt-Thompson Middle School and Greene and George Mason elementary schools topping a proposed 20-year construction program that is projected to cost $800 million — or about $3,500 per city resident. That does not include interest on the borrowing, which would add at least $300 million to the total cost. Rejecting delay and further public input, a divided board voted 5-3 to send its latest appeal for money to modernize its buildings to the elected officials who control the use of tax dollars, Mayor Levar M. Stoney and Richmond City Council. The vote came on the motion of board member Dr. Patrick Sapini to endorse the first phase of the board’s overall plan. It also calls for an initial $224.7 million spread over 2019 to 2023 to enable the first four schools, including George Mason Elementary, Please turn to A4

Saint Paul’s College property sold By Jeremy M. Lazarus

The former Saint Paul’s College might one day welcome students again to its campus in Brunswick County — but possibly under a different name. Xinhua Education Investment Corp., a Chinese-backed group, purchased the remaining property of the historically black college on Nov. 27, according to county court records. The group secured about 130 acres and about 30 campus buildings in Lawrenceville, the county seat, the records show. Representatives of Xinhua could not be reached for comment. However, Millard D. “Pete” Stith Jr., a former president of the college that closed in 2013, said he was told that Please turn to A4

Former Trump official pleads guilty in special prosecutor’s probe Reuters

Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press

Holiday team spirit Youngsters in the Henrico Police Athletic League show their holiday spirit with choreographed moves as they make their way along Broad Street in the Dominion Energy Christmas Parade last Saturday in Downtown. Please see more photo on B3.

Under a plea bargain deal, Mr. Flynn admitted in WASHINGTON a federal court that he lied when asked by FBI invesFormer national security adviser Michael Flynn tigators about his conversations last December with pleaded guilty last Friday to lying to the FBI about Russia’s then-ambassador, Sergei Kislyak, just weeks his contacts with Russia, and he agreed to before President Trump took office. cooperate with prosecutors delving into the Prosecutors said the two men discussed actions of President Trump’s inner circle U.S. sanctions against Russia and that Mr. before he took office. Flynn also asked Mr. Kislyak to help delay a The dramatic turn of events also raised U.N. vote seen as damaging to Israel. On both new questions about whether President occasions, he appeared to be undermining the Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, had a policies of outgoing President Obama. role in those Russia contacts. They also said a “very senior member” of Mr. Flynn was the first member of President President Trump’s transition team told Mr. Flynn Mr. Flynn Trump’s administration to plead guilty to a to contact Russia and other foreign governments crime uncovered by special counsel Robert Mueller’s to try to influence them ahead of the U.N. vote. wide-ranging investigation into Russian attempts to Sources told Reuters that the “very senior” official influence the 2016 presidential election and potential Please turn to A4 collusion by Trump aides.


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