March 23 25, 2017 issue

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Rock ‘n’ roll pioneer Chuck Berry remembered B3

New coach for VCU A8

Richmond Free Press

VOL. 26 NO. 12

© 2017 Paradigm Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.

RICHMOND, VIRGINIA

www.richmondfreepress.com

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c e l e brat ing our 2 5 t h A nniv e r s ar y

MARCH 23-25, 2017

$8.3M RPS mystery Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press

Smelling the flowers Aliyah Martin, 7, stops to smell a fire lily inside the Conservatory at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden last Saturday during the Date with Dad event sponsored by the nonprofit Girls for a Change. Please see more photos, B2.

By Holly Rodriguez

Calls mount for independent investigation of Russia’s ties to Trump administration Free Press wire reports

WASHINGTON President Trump is finding its easy to play golf, but harder to get his way as the nation’s chief executive. The health care plan he has embraced to replace Obamacare is in trouble with members of his own party. And he’s getting blowback even from GOP allies over his slash-andburn budget plan that proposes to dismantle everything from environmental protection to federal aid to college students and programs that aid the elderly. But his toughest problem has been trying

Meeting next month between School Board, City Council and Mayor’s Office to see what happens next An $8.3 million surplus in the Richmond Public Schools’ budget that was disclosed during a recent Richmond City Council meeting is nothing out of the ordinary, according to Richmond School Board Chair Dawn Page.

But the perception that the funds were hidden by top schools officials has spawned a meeting next month between the School Board, City Council and the Mayor’s Office. “I have been in discussions with Kristen Larsen on City Council and Thad Williamson from the Mayor’s Office to set

to find some way to deflect and undermine investigations into the ties between his campaign and his administration and Russia that are not going away and raise serious questions about his administration’s role with a hostile foreign government. His efforts to portray the probes as a partisan witch hunt have not gone over well in Congress. Still, he keeps trying to distract attention. Most notably, the president has issued bizarre tweets since March 4 claiming that his predecessor, President Obama, wiretapped his Please turn to A4

up a meeting with all our stakeholders,” said Jonathan Young, who represents the School Board’s 4th District. “My intent is to have a conversation about what happens next.” Mr. Young said he anticipates the meeting will be held in early April, with hopes that it will foster better transparency by schools officials. During a March 13 City Council meeting, RPS Superintendent Dana T. Bedden responded to a question from a council member and referred to the existence of $8.3 million in “unassigned funds” in the RPS budget — a line item unknown to the School Board members who all are new. The disclosure surprised and angered parents, teachers and public school advocates who have been battling for several years to get more money for the public schools. Many expressed their outrage Monday night during a public comment period at Please turn to A4

City tax bills expected to be higher for 2017-18 Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press

VUU Lady Panthers victorious! Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via Associated Press Images

FBI Director James Comey testifies Monday that his agency is investigating ties between Russia and members of the Trump administration. He also told the House Intelligence Committee that there is “no evidence” to support President Trump’s wiretapping claim against former President Obama.

Mr. Morrissey with the Virginia State Bar, the regulatory body for lawyers. The roots of this fight go back four years as Mr. Wilder sought to save the museum property, which the City of Fredericksburg was seeking to foreclose on and sell to collect unpaid real estate taxes. It is clear that Mr. Wilder talked to Mr. Morrissey and Mr. Goldman about representing the museum as he sought to forestall the foreclosure. While the sale ended up being delayed, the museum’s property ultimately came under new ownership.

Richmond residents should expect the city to send them bigger tax bills on vehicles and property this year — despite Mayor Levar M. Stoney’s claim that his proposed budget does not include a tax increase. A closer look at the budget plan shows that the mayor did not propose a hike in the tax rates the city charges on real estate or on cars, trucks and other personal property. However, he did not mention his plan would require vehicle and property owners to pay more money into the city’s coffers, in part because of a rise in the taxable value of real estate. And given the pleas that Richmond City Council is hearing from various city agencies seeking more money than the mayor proposed, there is little prospect for any rollback on the increase in the city’s tax charges. When it comes to real estate, the value of property rose an average of 3.3 percent from

Please turn to A4

Please turn to A4

If spirit can be shown in lights, then the Virginia Union University Lady Panthers can see the well wishes of Richmonders are with them in their NCAA Division II Final Four game Wednesday night against California Baptist University. The Lady Panthers won 86-81, advancing to the final on Friday, March 24. VUU senior Ashley Smith scored 28 points. Dominion Energy lighted up its office building at 7th and Cary streets Downtown on Tuesday night with a bright and highly visible message of support for the Lady Panthers. This view of the lights is from 7th and Canal streets.

Wilder in legal brawl with his former lawyers Goldman, Morrissey By Jeremy M. Lazarus

Richmond residents now have a front row seat on a heavyweight legal fight between former Gov. L. Douglas Wilder and former Delegate Joe Morrissey. The two are going head to head over the question of whether Mr. Wilder owes $130,290 in legal fees to Mr. Morrissey and his law partner, Paul Goldman, for their work in representing the virtually defunct U.S. National Slavery Museum that Mr. Wilder spent more than 10 years trying to develop in Fredericksburg.

Mr. Wilder

Mr. Goldman

Mr. Morrissey

The battle is spelled out in legal documents filed in Richmond Circuit Court and in a slow-moving complaint Mr. Wilder filed in September 2014 against

By Jeremy M. Lazarus


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