Art purchase sets record
NAACP leader out
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Richmond Free Press © 2017 Paradigm Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.
VOL. 26 NO. 21
RICHMOND, VIRGINIA
www.richmondfreepress.com
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c e l e b rat ing o u r 2 5 t h A nniv e r s ar y
May 25-27, 2017
Hometown welcome Basketball star Frank Mason III returns to Petersburg, fan honors By Fred Jeter
Frank Mason III left Petersburg High School in 2012 with stars in his eyes but with no guarantees of success. What has followed since for the young basketball player is anything but typical. The 23-year-old son of Sharon Harrison and Frank Mason Jr. returned home last weekend, having dramatically reached the stars — even dancing among them. The University of Kansas point guard finished his senior
Related story, A10 and final season sweeping virtually every national individual basketball honor possible. He leaves the Jayhawks — and looks forward to a possible NBA career — as the Big 12 Conference Player of the Year, James A. Naismith College Player of the Year, Associated Press Player of the Year, CBS Sports National Player of the Year, Sporting News Player of the Year, National Association of Basketball Coaches Player of the Year and winner of the Oscar Robertson Trophy, John R. Wooden Award and Bob Cousy Award. Please turn to A4
Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press
Frank Mason III enters Petersburg’s Union Station to the ovation of about 100 fans, friends and family members last Friday during the Frank Mason III Day celebration.
Trump’s budget plan raises hackles, skepticism with deep cuts to social programs
City quietly pumps $833,569 more into Monroe Park renovation By Jeremy M. Lazarus
Free Press staff, wire report
WASHINGTON Angry Democrats and skeptical Republicans are fighting back against attempts by administrative officials to defend President Trump’s proposed $4.1 trillion budget that slashes safety net programs for the poor, targeting food stamps, Medicaid and student loan forgiveness, while relying on rosy projections about the nation’s economic growth to balance the budget within 10 years. The cuts are part of a budget blueprint for the upcoming fiscal year that amount to a dramatic restructuring of the government, with protection for retirement programs for the elderly, billions of dollars more for the military and the rest of the government bearing the bulk of the reductions. The plan, released Tuesday, would cut $610 billion from Medicaid, the federal-state health care for the poor and disabled; slash federal assistance for the food stamp and feeding programs by $191 billion, or nearly 30 percent; reduce mental health services and substance abuse treatment grants to states by nearly $300 million; and make deep gashes in education funding, including cutting $2.3 billion for teacher training and class-size reduction, $1.2 billion from after-school programs and $190 million for literacy programs. Additionally, it would cut student loan programs by $143 bilPlease turn to A4
Regina H. Boone/Richmond Free Press
Behind construction fencing, part of Monroe Park appears untouched. But heavy equipment is digging up ground elsewhere on the 7.3-acre site. The city’s oldest park has been closed to the public since November to make way for $6.6 million in improvements. Work began in April and could take 18 months to complete.
The renovation of Monroe Park is a prime example of why Richmond City Council is becoming more aggressive in overseeing city spending. After telling City Council in December that the projected $6 million Monroe Park project — half to be paid by private donations — had adequate funding, the city’s chief administrative officer, Selena Cuffee-Glenn, quietly shifted $833,569 to the project in recent months from reportedly unused capital funds. The shift was made without notice to City Council and was disclosed as the result of queries from Councilman Parker C. Agelasto, 5th District, and the council’s budget staff. Mr. Agelasto also was surprised to learn that nearly half of the money shifted, $394,000, was listed as coming from two paving projects in his district that already had been completed and paid for — one involving Please turn to A4
Mother-son youth outreach expands with plans for summer camp By Jeremy M. Lazarus
Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press
Pick me! Ahmad Anderson, left, and his Carver Elementary School classmate Zay’Mya Harris wave their hands with the answer during an activity at the Children’s Book Festival last Friday at Abner Clay Park in Jackson Ward. The first-graders were among students from four area school systems to participate. Please see more photos, B2.
William Duron Carter has a passion for assisting young people. He wants to go beyond his current efforts of helping an estimated 1,700 students from Central Virginia and Hampton Roads go to college on sports scholarships. The 37-year-old Richmond native is embarking on a new venture. He is opening a summer camp for youths ages 6 to 14 through the ASSIST Foundation. The foundation was started by Mr. Carter and his mother, Chana R. Carter, and is operated on a shoestring budget. A big man who talks softly, Mr. Carter
said the camp is aimed at promoting positive values while engaging youngsters in creative activities ranging from sports to cooking, gardening and computer technology. “We want this camp to be a fun place where campers can boost their self-esteem and creativity, to develop courage and humility and learn other values, such as goal-setting,” said Ms. Carter, a retired postal clerk and partner in the venture. Camp ASSIST will run for nine weeks — from June 24 to Aug. 25 — at a cost of $150 per student per week, she said. Mr. Carter said that Youth Excel & Advancement, a community mental health
services provider, has made the camp possible. He said Youth Excel has donated the use of several buildings for the camp, including the former Boys & Girls Club building at 910 S. Harrison St. in Richmond, and a complex at 500 Baptist Lane in Chester. “We have all the space we need and more to operate successfully,” Mr. Carter said. There are a lot of details to get a camp open, and the Carters are working hard to generate support, secure equipment and recruit the campers to make the program Please turn to A4