Richmond Free Press October 26-28, 2023 edition

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Meet this week’s Personality B1

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New way of worship B3

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VOL. 32 NO. 43

RICHMOND, VIRGINIA

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OCTOBER 26-28, 2023

Finally, a show of support Mike Johnson, a staunch conservative from Louisiana, is elected House speaker The Associated Press

Republicans eagerly elected Rep. Mike Johnson as House speaker on Wednesday, elevating a deeply conservative but lesser-known leader to the seat of U.S. power and ending for now the political chaos in their majority. Rep. Johnson, 51, of Louisiana, swept through on the first ballot with support from all Republicans anxious to put the past weeks of tumult behind them and get on with the business of governing. He was quickly sworn into office. “We are ready to get to work again,” he said after taking the gavel. To the American people watching he said, “Our mission here is to serve you well and to restore the people’s faith in this House.” A lower-ranked member of the House GOP leadership team, Rep. Johnson emerged as the fourth Republican nominee in what had become an almost absurd cycle of political infighting since Kevin McCarthy’s ouster as GOP factions jockeyed for power. While not the party’s top choice for the gavel, the deeply religious Please turn to A4

Kitchen talk

The Associated Press

Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., speaks Tuesday after he was chosen as the nominee for House speaker at a Republican caucus meeting at the Capitol in Washington.

Alfred C. Liggins III, CEO of development partner Urban One, discussed the Richmond Grand Resort and Casino project with about 75 Richmonders at Southern Kitchen Restaurant in Jackson Ward on Monday evening. The proposed $562 million gambling and entertainment complex is a joint venture between Urban One, a diversified media company, and Churchill Downs, the Louisville-based operator of the Kentucky Derby that also runs gambling establishments throughout the country. Two years ago, Richmond voters narrowly rejected a referendum that would have opened the door for a proposed casino. Two years later, the project is back on the Nov. 7 ballot. Mr. Liggins and representatives of Colonial Downs have met with several organizations, including churches and news

Bonnie Newman Davis/Richmond Free Press

media representatives to shed light on the revised casino project that promises jobs with an average annual salary of $55,000 and pledges of charitable donations along with $30 million in annual tax revenue for Richmond. The proposed project would be located in a former tobacco company site just off Interstate 95 in south Richmond, the same site that was identified in the first proposal. If the referendum passes, gambling options include slots, an on-site sportsbook and gaming tables. The venue also would include a 250-room hotel, a 55-acre outdoor park, several sit-down dining options and a 3,000-seat concert venue, officials said at Monday’s event. While the venue is expected to attract Richmonders, its developers wager that most of its patrons will come from surrounding cities and states.

JLARC report shows the cost of child care adds up in Virginia By Jeremy M. Lazarus

Most Virginia families, particularly singleparent households, currently spend far more than 7% of household income on childcare, or well above the percentage the federal government defines as affordable, according to a new state report. Families are spending between $100 and $440 a week for child care, the report from the

Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) found, or between $6,000 and $22,000 a year. On average, JLARC noted, that level of expense represents about 11% of income for twoparent households and at least 25% of income for working single-parent households. And that is if child care is available. JLARC determined that available child care can only accommodate 88% of pre-school chil-

Black women and breast cancer diagnosis — just different While we have made great strides in improving cancer outcomes among many populations over the last several decades, one group remains consistently, inequitably left behind: Black women in America. Black women have a 40% higher death rate from breast cancer than white women.

That disparity is even greater among Black women under age 50, where the death rate more than doubles. I have spent my career working to address inequalities Dr. Vanessa B. Sheppard within breast cancer outcomes in partnership with Black women, their families, providers and other community advocates. I currently lead a clinical trial to test the effectiveness of an intervention, Sisters Informing

Sisters (SIS), which pairs newly diagnosed Black breast cancer patients with Black breast cancer survivor-coaches, to work together through treatment decisions and help improve provider-patient communication. This study was birthed years ago after the loss of a dear friend who could have benefited from tools to inform her treatment decisions. Around a table of

dren, meaning demand exceeds supply. Already, about 140,000 children do not have access to day care, JLARC stated, with prospects that could increase if government assistance fades. “Without child care, parents are often forced to reduce their work hours, take lower-level or lower-paying jobs or drop out of the workforce altogether,” said Stefanie Papps, a JLARC staffer who led the study. “Although this can be a significant barrier to self-sufficiency for lower-income families, lack of affordable child care can be a significant barrier to employment for any family,” she noted in presenting the report Oct. 16. According to JLARC, despite the expense, most working parents have been able to make care arrangements. Of the nearly 1.2 million Virginia children 12 years of age or younger who need such services,

JLARC estimated that 990,000 have access to informal or formal care, including school and after-school recreation programs. Licensed child cares either public, nonprofit, private or faith-based operations care for about 470,000 children, with relatives, friends and unlicensed operators caring for the rest. But the shortages are acute, JLARC noted, particularly for children younger than 2 years of age. Currently, about 24,000 infants and toddlers are on wait lists for child care, according to the Virginia Commission on Early Childhood Care and Education, as are 18,000 school-age children. The big problem is money. Virginia, like other states, has benefited from federal subsidies that grew out of the COVID-19 pandemic. Please turn to A4

Please turn to A4

Trailblazing actor Richard Roundtree dies The Associated Press

Richard Roundtree, the trailblazing actor who starred as the ultrasmooth private detective in several “Shaft” films beginning in the early 1970s, has died. He was 81. Mr. Roundtree’s longtime manager, Patrick McMinn, said the actor was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and died at his home in Los Angeles on Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023. He was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1993 and underwent a double mastectomy. Please turn to A4

Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press

Hay now! Zuri Grant, 4, tackles a giant haystack while visiting Gallmeyer Farms on Millers Lane in Henrico County with her mother, Briana Brockington, on Oct. 21.


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