Richmond Free Press February 6-8, 2020 Edition

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‘Bunchie’ takes it to the house

Protecting children B1

Richmond Free Press © 2020 Paradigm Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.

VOL. 29 NO. 6

RICHMOND, VIRGINIA

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February 6-8, 2020

More bad news As consultant points out flaws, City Council majority gives Mayor Stoney a choice to withdraw the $1.5B Coliseum and Downtown development plan or have it stricken

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

The bad news just keeps coming for the doomed $1.5 billion proposal to replace the Richmond Coliseum and develop an area of Downtown around it. First, despite a series of snafus, the House of Delegates on Monday halted a last-ditch plan to steer state sales tax revenue to help pay for the development, a move Mayor Levar M. Stoney and other advocates considered essential to persuading the required s e v e n Mayor Stoney R i c h m o n d C i t y Council members to back the deal. Then later on Monday, Mr. Johnson a fed-up, five-member majority of City Council used a committee meeting to issue a choice to the mayor: Withdraw the ordinances for the proposal or prepare to see them stricken from the council’s agenda at its meeting on Monday, Feb. 10. By a vote of 5-4 at the Organizational Development Com-

mittee, the council majority voted to recommend striking the papers from the council docket and also passed a resolution 5-3 to urge the mayor to pull the ordinances to avoid the rebuff. Councilman Michael J. Jones, 9th District, abstained from the

second vote. The vote to strike the ordinances is expected to come during the portion of the Feb. 10 meeting in which the council formally establishes its agenda, usually without a public hearing.

The five members leading the charge to kill the plan developed by the Navy Hill District Corp. led by Dominion Energy top executive Thomas F. Farrell II are council Vice President Chris A. Hilbert, 3rd District; Kim B. Gray, 2nd

District; Kristen N. Larson, 4th District; Stephanie A. Lynch, 5th District; and Reva M. Trammell, 8th District. Council members who want to keep the ordinances alive at Please turn to A4

Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi rips up President Trump’s State of the Union address after his speech in the House chamber on Tuesday, the eve of the U.S. Senate vote on whether to remove him from office.

Senate fails to remove Trump from office Free Press wire report

Regina H. Boone/Richmond Free Press

Play day Spring-like weather this week led many people outside to enjoy the days before rain and chilly winter temperatures return. Shaya Scott, 5, perches on a bench at Swan Lake in Richmond’s Byrd Park where she was enjoying the weather, the ducks and Canada geese Tuesday with her parents, Shalaya and Larry McEachin Jr., and her sisters.

Meeting on homeless issue turns tense By George Copeland Jr.

A discussion meant to address and ease concerns for Richmond’s homeless residents quickly turned tense Wednesday afternoon. Instead of a discussion of city strategies, the hourlong meeting at the Annie E. Giles Community Resource Center saw homeless residents, advocates, supporters and others criticize how the city has handled homelessness. Yelling and loud comments from advocates and the homeless marked the meeting and, at one point, a participant grabbed a microphone from the meeting’s leader, City Councilwoman Ellen F. Robertson, though the microphone was quickly returned to her. Still, the uproar appeared symptomatic of a lack of faith that the city is committed to finding solutions. The location for this session appeared ideal. A former soup kitchen, the center sits on Oliver Hill Way, just a few feet away from the Camp Cathy tent city where about 100 people unable to afford housing in the city have pitched tents and are now living. The Giles Center also serves as the city’s emergency overflow shelter to keep people from freezing when temperatures are forecast to hit or drop below 40 degrees. But despite the location, the meeting did little to assure concerned participants, who interjected and often loudly voiced their views despite attempts from Ms. Robertson to keep the discusssion civil and “respectable.” “This has got to be a balanced conversation,” Ms. Roberston said. “We believe housing is a right, not a privilege,” Mayor Levar M. Stoney stated in a release issued after the meeting. “We are working with nonprofit, faith-based, homelessness and social service providers to support this community and to work with each resident individually to address their unique challenges and circumstances.” He promised that service providers will have a presence at the Annie Giles Center to connect people at Camp Cathy with services and more stable housing. Many who attended the meeting, though, were suspicious, given the city’s most recent response to Camp Cathy. That suspicion is based on a city letter dated Dec. 30 and sent to Rhonda L. Sneed, the co-founder of the homeless service group Blessing Warriors RVA who started the encampment with the

late Cathy Davis. The letter from Reginald E. “Reggie” Gordon, Richmond’s deputy chief administrative officer for human services, told Ms. Sneed that the tent city needed to “be removed immediately,” citing unverified crime and health issues. Mr. Gordon said Wednesday the city currently does not have any plans to close the camp or evict Camp Cathy residents. However, he did not respond to questions about whether he planned to rescind the letter or whether the city would take any action in the months to come to remove the rows of tents. The volatile meeting followed the release of a Point-In-Time count survey from Homeward, a regional homeless coordinating agency, that showed a 10 percent increase in the number of single adults who are homeless in Richmond. The reported increase from 497 adults to 549 was the first such increase

since 2011. Pointing to the Richmond Justice Center across the street, Ms. Sneed questioned before the meeting the city’s priorities in aiding homeless residents, as she and volunteers prepared for an influx of more homeless people. “Those people in the jail, they got a bed, they get meals and they built it because they said they needed air conditioning,” Ms. Sneed said. “What about here?” “They don’t even care about these people,” she said, “and tonight we’re probably going to get 10 more people.” As it turned out, some of those who work at the jail expressed their own concerns at the meeting. Alisha Banks, a case manager at the Justice Center, Please turn to A4

RPS launches program to help dropouts get diploma or GED By Ronald E. Carrington

in and hold their hands throughout the process.” RPS has suffered for several years with one of the Battling one of the highest dropout rates in Virginia, highest dropout rates in the state. According to the Richmond Public Schools is launching a Secondary latest 2019 state Department of Education statistics, Success Center to help students who have dropped 24.4 per of city students, or nearly 1 in 4, drop out out return to earn their high school diploma before completing high school. or a GED. Officials said the center was fashioned afThe new program, located at Hickory ter conversations with students who dropped Hill Community Center at 3000 E. Belt out because the traditional school day and Blvd., will employ a blend of small group setting doesn’t work. When they tried to and computer-based instruction to assist go back to school, the same environment any city resident age 17 to 21 who has didn’t work, Ms. Harrison said. dropped out of high school. The effort is “just the beginning of the Applications will be taken on a rolling creative solutions we can find when we Ms. Harrison basis for the sessions, the first of which starts listen to our young people, partner with 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 10, at the center. The the community and join hands to ensure success for second round of classes begins April 15. all our students,” said Dr. Tracy Epp, RPS’ chief Officials said the program is tailored to meet the academic officer. unique needs of each individual and make participation About 30 people attended Monday’s announceas convenient as possible through flexible academic ment, including about six former students interested programming and scheduling. in returning for a diploma, two parents and people “We want to make their course of study very per- from a range of support organizations such as worksonal,” said Tyra Harrison, RPS’ manager of student support and intervention. “We want to bring students Please turn to A4

President Trump won acquittal Wednesday in the U.S. Senate, bringing to a close only the third presidential impeachment trial in American history. The votes split the country, tested civic norms and fed the tumultuous 2020 race for the White House. A majority of senators expressed unease with President Trump’s pressure campaign on Ukraine that resulted in the two articles of impeachment. But the final tallies — 52-48 acquitting him of abuse of power and 53-47 to acquit him of obstruction of Congress’ investigation — fell far short. Two-thirds of the 100-member Senate, or 67 votes, were needed to convict and remove President Trump from office. The outcome Wednesday followed months of remarkable Please turn to A4 r to Reg iste

VOTE

cratic in De mo ry Prima

Want to vote in the Democratic presidential p r i m a r y o n Tu e s d a y, March 3? Then you must be registered to vote, or update any changes to your registration, by Monday, Feb. 10, according to the Virginia Department of Elections. In-person absentee voting for the primary election has begun, with voters able to cast ballots at their local voter registrar’s office by Saturday, Feb. 29. To vote absentee by mail, however, the request for an absentee ballot must be submitted by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 25, with the ballot returned by Election Day, March 3. For more information, contact the Virginia Department of Elections at vote.virginia.gov or (800) 552-9745, or your local voter registrar’s office. Richmond (804) 646-5950 Henrico County (804)) 501-4347 Chesterfield County (804) 748-1471 Hanover County (804) 365-6080 Petersburg (804) 733-8071


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