School board weighs renaming Armstrong High School
George Copeland Jr.
By
A spirited debate over school names and legacies prompted the Richmond School Board to hit pause Monday night, choosing instead to let the community weigh in on whether Armstrong High School should become Armstrong-Kennedy High School. Board members made the choice after a nearly 30-minute
discussion on the idea, and passionate arguments by Richmond Public School alumni and staff about the change, during their Monday meeting.
“We have some that are for, some that are against,” Board Chair Shavonda Fernandez said. “I think the only way to really, truly go about this the appropriate way is to engage the community, to get a clear path forward.”
Proposals sought for transformation of Intermediate Terminal Building
Sitting along the James River waterfront, the Intermediate Terminal Building stands as both a relic of Richmond’s industrial past and a blank canvas for its future. Now, city officials are looking for proposals to bring new life to the historic structure at 3101 E. Main St.
The renaming was proposed by alumni of John F. Kennedy High School, which was merged in 1979 with Armstrong to create the Armstrong-Kennedy High School complex. The school featured a combined student body, a new mascot and new school colors until they separated in 1986.
New citizens
Edwin Gutierrez, a native of El Salvador, receives his U.S. citizenship during a naturalization ceremony at the Virginia Museum of History & Culture on Friday, July 4. The ceremony was led by the Hon. Roger L. Gregory, chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit. See more photos on A4.
City advances upgrades to water system and emergency plans
By George Copeland Jr.
Following a series of high-profile water system failures earlier this year, Richmond officials say they are making steady progress on state-mandated improvements to the city’s water treatment operations and emergency response plans.
The Richmond Department of Public Utilities (DPU) has completed about 82% of 230 actions recommended by the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) so far, according to DPU Director Scott Morris during a committee meeting Monday.
“We’re readily progressing on that,” Morris said.
The recommendations are part of a broader set of requirements outlined in a consent order from the Virginia Department of Health, issued after the January outage that left the region without running water for days. They stem from multiple investigations, including a 2022 inspection by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Morris said the city is also making progress on other parts of the consent order, with 52 updated standard operating procedures completed and submitted. Additional requirements—including quarterly progress reports on sanitary surveys, a schedule for
The City of Richmond’s Economic Development Authority (EDA) has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the reuse, redevelopment or rehabilitation of the building, which sits adjacent to the Rocketts Landing neighborhood, the Riverfront Pulse bus rapid transit line, and the Virginia Capital Trail.
in Richmond constructed on concrete-reinforced piers to avoid flooding. More recently, the structure has been used to store voting machines between elections.
According to the city’s RFP, the Intermediate Terminal Building was completed on May 23, 1938, and was originally used as warehouse storage for raw sugar imports from Cuba, sand, gravel, newsprint, gas and oil. It was one of the first commercial buildings
The building is approximately 32,000 square feet and stands two stories high. The road beneath the structure once supported automobile and trolley traffic.
“This is a rare opportunity
Richmond police cut ATF access over immigration data use
By Michael Phillips
Police Chief
Richmond
Rick Edwards said in a press release Tuesday afternoon that data from the department’s license plate reader program was used to assist with immigration enforcement, in violation of the department’s policy.
According to the press release, as soon as the police department was tipped off to the activity, the access was immediately terminated.
“ATF is a valued partner in our efforts to combat violent crime in Richmond. But their analyst should not have been granted access to our system — and absolutely
should not have used it for immigration enforcement purposes,” Edwards wrote.
“I’ve been clear with the public, with city leadership, and within this department: the Richmond Police Department does not enforce federal immigration law, and we do not investigate a person’s immigration status. If ATF had formally requested access for that purpose, I would have denied it.”
The cameras in question are made by Flock Safety, and their legality has previously been upheld in federal court.
A report from WHRO revealed that Chesterfield County has also used its database to assist with immigration enforcement.
According to Richmond Police, access to the system was requested by an agent from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in February, before the bureau was involved with immigration enforcement. In March, the agent used the system to help locate four detainees who escaped from an ICE detention facility in Farmville.
“On June 11, the new RPD administrator received an alert from Flock Safety, the vendor of the license plate readers, that two searches from the ATF analyst
Free Press staff report
Graham Moomaw/The Richmonder Flock Safety cameras record license plate data from passing vehicles. Flock officials alerted Richmond police to the unauthorized activity.
Julianne Tripp Hillian/Richmond Free Press Armstrong High School is shown Wednesday, July 9, amid a renewed debate over a possible name change.
Julianne Tripp Hillian/Richmond Free Press
The Intermediate Terminal Building, located along the James River near the Rocketts Landing neighborhood, is seen Monday, July 7. Richmond’s Economic Development Authority has issued a proposals request for its reuse, redevelopment or rehabilitation.
Photos by Julianne Tripp Hillian/Richmond Free Press
Cityscape
Two new Bow Tie Extreme large-format auditoriums opened Thursday, June 26, after a $5 million renovation that added 50-foot-wide screens, immersive Dolby Atmos sound and luxury electric reclining seats. The overhaul also brought larger screens to every auditorium, introduced a Playland Arcade, duckpin bowling and upgraded the concession stand with a new bar and lounge area.
Richmond’s procurement director steps into interim deputy CAO role
By George Copeland Jr.
Rene Almaraz, Richmond’s director of procurement, has been named interim deputy chief administrative officer for finance and administration.
City officials announced the appointment in a release that also confirmed Brandon Hinton, Henrico County’s deputy manager of administration, will return to his previous role on Monday. Hinton had served as Richmond’s DCAO since May 29 at the request of Henrico County.
“It takes a special person to come into a completely unfamiliar work setting and dig in for the greater good,” Mayor Danny Avula said in a statement on Hinton’s exit and Almaraz’s selection. “I appreciate his dedication and willingness to roll up his sleeves to move the work forward.”
Almaraz has worked in the Department of Procurement Services since 2022 and has more than three decades of experience in the Department of Defense and the private sector. The department was recognized last year with the Achievement of Excellence in Procurement Award from the National Procurement Institute. He has played a central role in recent discussions and changes to the city’s purchasing card system, which has undergone reforms following reports of problems and allegations of abuse, fraud and waste by city employees.
Almaraz is also the latest temporary hire in Richmond city government. His appointment follows the hiring of Odie Donald II as the city’s permanent chief administrative officer, succeeding interim CAOs Sabrina Joy-Hogg and Sharon Ebert. Donald began his new role Wednesday.
Additional leadership announcements, including a permanent deputy CAO, are expected later this month.
Charles brings listening tour to Richmond theater
Free Press staff report
Independent gubernatorial candidate Donna Charles will host a community listening session Saturday in Richmond as she seeks to become Virginia’s first elected female governor.
The event, titled “Community Voices: A Listening Session,” will take place at The Legacy Theater beginning at 10 a.m. The session is part of Charles’ effort to hear directly from Virginians about the issues they care most about, according to a press release.
A former Air Force officer and federal civil servant, Charles is one of several women vying to become the first female governor in Virginia history. She has positioned herself as an alternative to partisan politics, drawing on more than 20 years of experience in national security and foreign policy.
Her career has included roles at the Department of Defense, the State Department, Capitol Hill and the National Security Council. A native of Queens, N.Y., and the daughter of immigrants, Charles earned a biology degree from Penn State and later completed officer training at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama. She served for nearly a decade in active duty and reserve roles, including deployments to Iraq.
After leaving military service, Charles settled in Virginia and continued her work in public service, focusing on counterterrorism and sanctions policy. She also earned a master’s degree in international affairs from Tufts University.
The Legacy Theater is located at 1717 Bellevue Ave.
Voices sought to shape memorial at lost burial site in Shockoe Hill
Free Press staff report
City officials and local partners are inviting the public to weigh in on plans for a permanent memorial at the Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground, where an estimated 22,000 free and enslaved African Americans were laid to rest.
A community event will be held Saturday, July 12, from 1 to 3 p.m. at Abner Clay Park, 200 W. Clay St. The gathering will unveil preliminary design concepts and offer residents a chance to share input on how best to honor those buried at the site.
“This is a vital step The Shockoe Project
Free Press staff report
Former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke will hold a public town hall meeting at 3 p.m. Saturday, July 19, at the Cultural Arts Center at Glen Allen.
The free event is part of O’Rourke’s national tour to foster community conversation about local and federal issues. Attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions and hear from the former Texas congressman and presidential candidate.
O’Rourke has recently held more than a dozen town halls in Texas and visited several states—including Alabama, Oklahoma, California, and North Carolina—to meet with voters and organize on college campuses.
This will not be O’Rourke’s first visit to Virginia. During his 2020 presidential campaign, he held public events in cities including Richmond, Roanoke, Norfolk, Hampton, Charlottesville and Alexandria.
The town hall is hosted by Powered by People, the voter mobilization group O’Rourke launched in 2019. The organization has focused on grassroots engagement,
and the City of Richmond are taking toward honoring and reclaiming this sacred ground,” said Leo Mantey, manager of The Shockoe Project. “Community voices are essential in shaping a memorial that truly reflects the dignity and legacy of those buried here.”
The memorial planning effort is a collaboration between the city, The Shockoe Project, and design teams from Baskervill and Waterstreet Studio.
Established in 1816 to replace the original burial ground in Shockoe Valley, the Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground became one of the largest of its kind in the country. The cemetery, was located near
the city’s former poorhouse. Over time, the site was neglected and faded from public memory.
The upcoming event is part of a community-centered design process aimed at restoring awareness of the site’s significance and ensuring that its legacy is properly commemorated, according to a press release.
Attendees will hear remarks from a descendant of those buried at the site, view early design concepts and have the opportunity to offer feedback to help guide the memorial’s final form. Information about the site’s history and the next steps in the process will also be shared.
voter registration and civic education through events across the country. The July 19 event will
Morenike Miles appointed to VSU Board of Visitors
Youngkin
be held in the
Cardinal Ballroom at the Cultural Arts Center, 2880 Mountain Road. RSVPs can be submitted at poweredxpeople.org.
Slices of life and scenes in Richmond
Courtesy City of Richmond
AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, File
Beto O’Rourke, a former Texas Democratic gubernatorial candidate, addresses supporters at a campaign stop in Dallas in 2022.
Julianne Tripp Hillian/Richmond Free Press
Donna Charles
Morenike Miles
Rene Almaraz
Family of Alabama teen shot by police seeks access to video of shooting
By Kim Chandler
The Associated Press
Lawyers representing the family of a Black teenager shot and killed by police in an Alabama suburb said the state’s refusal to release bodycamera video during an investigation is fueling mistrust over the shooting.
“All this family wants is transparency plus accountability. And that’s how we get back to trust. We’re not asking for anything else that you wouldn’t want if it was your child,” Ben Crump, a civil rights attorney, said during a Tuesday press conference with family members.
Family members of Jabari Peoples and lawyers representing the family held a press conference Tuesday as they continue to seek access to the body-camera footage of the fatal shooting.
Peoples, 18, was shot June 23 by a police officer in the parking lot of a soccer field in Homewood, an affluent suburb near the central city of Birmingham.
The Homewood Police Department said the officer fired his weapon after Peoples grabbed at a gun from a car door during a scuffle as the officer was trying to arrest him for marijuana possession. The family is disputing the police version of events and said Peoples did not have a gun when he was approached, according to an eyewitness. Leroy Maxwell Jr., an attorney representing the family, said Peoples was shot in the back.
The Homewood Police Department said the
details surrounding the incident are “clearly captured” on the officer’s body camera. The department has not released the identity of the officer.
The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, which is reviewing the use of force, has possession of the video but has declined to release it during the investigation. A 2023 state law that governs release of police recordings says an agency may choose to not disclose the recording if it would impact an active law enforcement investigation
“ALEA’s investigation into the officerinvolved shooting that occurred in Homewood remains ongoing,” Amanda Wasden, a spokesperson for the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, wrote in a Tuesday email.
Activists have staged regular protests in Homewood since the shooting.
Crump said Tuesday that police could “shut us up” by releasing the video.
“Just release the video. Show us the officer did nothing wrong, Show us that it was justified. It’s a matter of trust, because too often we see our children get killed and they try to justify unnecessary, unjustifiable killings,” Crump said.
People’s parents held portraits of their son. He had dreams of finishing multiple degrees and wanted to be a police detective and a pilot in the future, they said.
“He had a lot of dreams, and he was willing to work for his dreams,” Vivian Sterling, his mother said.
Hundreds of people attended a vigil for
attorney Ben
Homewood, Ala., Tuesday, July 8,
Peoples last week at the soccer complex where he was shot. The family released doves and white balloons and brought in a large photo of Peoples with angel wings. Candles spelled out
“Jabari” at the spot where he was killed.
The shooting unfolded about 9:30 p.m. when a police officer approached a car at the Homewood Soccer Complex where Peoples and a female friend were parked.
Peoples was a 2024 graduate of Aliceville High School in the city of the same name, about 100 miles west of Homewood.
“Give this family what they so deserve, and that’s to know exactly what was happening in their son’s and their brother’s last moments,” Maxwell said.
The Homewood Police Department posted a statement on social media that the officer smelled marijuana and noticed a handgun in the pocket of the driver’s side door. The officer attempted to put Peoples in handcuffs to arrest him for marijuana possession and a struggle ensued, according to the statement. Police have not released the name of the officer.
Digital project aims to preserve and expand the legacy of Bayard Rustin
By Jaylen Green
The Associated Press
Social justice advocates are creating a queer history archive that celebrates Bayard Rustin, a major organizer in the Civil Rights Movement and key architect of the March on Washington.
The Bayard Rustin Center for Social Justice will launch a digital archive this fall featuring articles, photos, videos, telegrams, speeches, and more tied to Rustin’s work. Sourced from museums, archives, and personal accounts, it’s designed as a central space where others can add their own stories, creating a living historical record.
“There’s this hole in our history,” said Robt Martin Seda-Schreiber, the center’s founder and chief activist. “And there are great resources about Bayard, but they’re all spread out, and none of it has been collected and put together in the way that he deserves, and more importantly, the way the world deserves to see him.”
Rare footage of Rustin speaking at a 1964 New York rally for voting rights marchers who were beaten in Selma, Alabama, was recently uncovered and digitized by Associated Press archivists. Other AP footage shows him addressing a crowd during a 1967 New York City teachers strike.
“We are here to tell President Johnson that the Black people, the trade union movement, white people of goodwill and the church people — Negroes first — put him where he is,” Rustin states at the 1964 rally.
“We will stay in these damn streets until every Negro in the country can vote!”
Rustin as a mentor
The legacy of Rustin — who died in 1987 aged 75 — reaches far beyond the estimated 250,000 people he rallied to attend the March on Washington in 1963, when the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I Have A Dream” speech. Rustin also played a pivotal role behind the scenes, mentoring King and orchestrating the Montgomery bus boycott.
And his influence still guides activism today, reminding younger generations of the power the community holds in
Civil Rights leader
1970 in New York.
driving lasting change through nonviolence, said David J. Johns, a queer Black leader based in Washington, D.C.
“Being an architect of not just that moment but of the movement, has enabled so many of us to continue to do things that are a direct result of his teaching and sacrifice,” said Johns. He is the CEO and executive director of the National Black Justice Collective, which attributes its advocacy successes in the Black queer space to Rustin’s legacy. Rustin was born into activism, according to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Research & Education Institute. His grandparents, Julia Davis and Janifer Rustin, instilled in him and his 11 siblings the value of nonviolence. His grandmother was a member of the NAACP, so Rustin was surrounded and influenced by leaders including the activist and scholar W.E.B. Du Bois and James Weldon Johnson, who wrote “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”
Rustin was expelled from Wilberforce University in 1936 after he organized a strike against racial injustice. He later studied at Cheyney University of Pennsylvania, the nation’s first historically Black college, then moved to New York during the Harlem Renaissance to engage more deeply with political and social activism. He attended the City College of New York and joined the Young Communist League for its stance against segregation. Posthumously pardoned Rustin was arrested 23 times, including a 1953 conviction in Pasadena, California, for
vagrancy and lewd conduct — charges commonly used then to criminalize LGBTQ+ people. He served 50 days in jail and lost a tooth after being beaten by police. California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a posthumous pardon in 2020, acknowledging Rustin had been subjected to discrimination.
Rustin and figures such as Marsha P. Johnson, a prominent transgender activist during the gay rights movement, continue to inspire the LGBTQ+ community because they “were super intentional and unapologetic in the ways in which they showed up,” Johns said.
“I often think about Bayard and the March on Washington, which he built in record time and in the face of a whole lot of opposition,” Johns said.
Walter Naegle, Rustin’s partner and a consultant on projects related to his life and work, said it’s important for the queer community to have access to the history of social movements.
“There wasn’t very much of an LGBTQ+ movement until the early 50s,” said Naegle. “The African American struggle was a blueprint for what they needed to do and how they needed to organize. And so to have access to all of the Civil Rights history, and especially to Bayard’s work — because he was really the preeminent organizer — I think it’s very important for the current movements to have the ability to go back and look at that material.”
Rustin’s sexuality and his former association with the Young Communist League forced him to step away as a
Civil Rights leader for several years.
Rustin steps away from leadership
In 1960, New York congressman Adam Clayton Powell Jr. threatened to spread false rumors that Rustin and King were intimately involved, weaponizing widespread homophobia to undermine their cause, according to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute.
But Rustin resumed his work
in 1963 as chief organizer of the March on Washington, which became a defining moment in the Civil Rights Movement and paved the way for the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
In 2023, Netflix released the biopic, “ Rustin. ” Filmmaker and co-writer Julian Breece, who is Black and queer grew up in the ’90s when, he said, being gay still correlated with the spread of AIDS, leading
to shame and isolation. But he learned about Rustin’s impact on the Civil Rights Movement and found a peer to admire.
“Seeing a picture of Rustin with King, who is the opposite of all those things, it let me know there was a degree to which I was being lied to and that there was more for me potentially, if Bayard Rustin could have that kind of impact,” Breece said. “I wanted Black gay men to have a hero they could look up to,” he said.
AP Photo/File
Bayard Rustin as seen on Dec. 14,
AP Photo/Kim Chandler
Vivian Sterling, center, and William Peoples stand with a photo of their son, Jabari Peoples, as
Crump, far left, speaks to reporters during a press conference in
2025.
Faith in service
Members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community gathered Thursday, July 3, for a day of service as part of Jalsa Cares, a leadin to the group’s 75th annual Jalsa Salana convention held July 4-6 in Richmond. See B3 for more on the convention.
School board weighs renaming Armstrong High
Continued from A1
The schools merged again in 2004 after years of declining enrollment and deteriorating building conditions at Armstrong. School board members voted to keep the Armstrong name, its original colors, and the Wildcat mascot. Elements honoring John F. Kennedy High School remain inside and outside the building today.
The John F. Kennedy High School Alumni & Friends Scholarship Committee, which has helped lead the effort, has proposed restoring the combined school’s name, colors and mascot. This isn’t the first time the group has made the request this year, and a similar proposal was suggested by alumni in 2019.
“To compare Kennedy’s history to Armstrong’s history would be like comparing David to Goliath,” Dennis Mallory, chairman of the committee, said during the meeting. “However, we are not trying to slay the giant. We are just trying to coexist with it.”
The renaming could cost between $75,000 and $100,000,
City advances upgrades to water system and emergency plans
Continued from A1
emergency backup system tests, and other documentation—are on track to meet the order’s 120-day deadline.
Morris said the Department of Public Utilities has also made internal improvements, including adjusting the plant’s electrical rate to preserve cost savings without relying on the “winter mode” operations that contributed to the January outage.
Convenience fee charges for all customers have also been removed as of June 30, the charge threshold has been raised from $500 to $1,000, and improvements are being made to billing and plant meters, he said.
The January outage also prompted a review of Richmond’s incident response, outlined in a second presentation by Hagerty Consulting. The assessment included 74 targeted recommendations focused on planning, public communication and economic recovery.
Some of Hagerty’s recommendations have already been implemented, including a new emergency notification system and the development of a citywide recovery framework.
Council members expressed appreciation for the progress made, especially amid ongoing discussions with regional water partners and lingering frustrations over recent water system failures.
“I’m really glad to have much more confidence in the strength of our system,” 1st District Council member Andrew Breton said. “I think our partners across the region are also really glad to see that as well.”
In other business, council members delayed discussion of several agenda items. These included an ordinance that would require more top city officials to live in Richmond and Civilian Review Board, a panel that would oversee complaints and investigations related to the Richmond Police Department.
according to RPS Superintendent Jason Kamras.
Advocates say renaming the school would encourage broader support from alumni of all three schools, including increased donations to the scholarship fund. The Scholarship Committee has also offered to help cover the cost of the transition.
The importance of history was central to both sides during public comments, as advocates and opponents each emphasized preserving their schools and protecting their legacies.
“We’ve done enough erasure of the history of the Black community in the city of Richmond,” Robin Dickerson, an Armstrong teacher, said. “The community would like for Armstrong to exist in the community as Armstrong High School, no name change.”
RPS officials said community engagement plans are still in the early stages but cited the renaming of George Wythe High School to Richmond High School for the Arts as an example of their previous approach.
The school board is expected to revisit the renaming proposal in the fall to allow time for input from students.
Richmond police cut ATF access over immigration data use
inadvertently accessed Illinois vehicle data with ‘ICE’ in the query field which is a violation of Illinois law,” the release said.
ATF officials said no apprehensions occurred “solely off the information obtained” through the RPD system.
“We value our partnership with the Richmond Police Department and regret that this situation occurred,” wrote ATF Special Agent in Charge Anthony Spotswood. “Our ATF analyst accessed RPD’s system in support of ATF’s overall mission and although all the queries
involved criminal activity, they were not in compliance with RPD’s guidelines. While our investigative analysts support both criminal and immigration-related efforts, the majority of these searches were directly tied to local investigations involving gun trafficking, violent offenders, and fraudulent firearms purchases. In one instance, a potential residency violation may have prompted the use of ‘ICE’ in a search field — but all queries were related to criminal activity, not civil immigration enforcement.”
This story originally appeared on The Richmonder.org
Proposals sought for transformation of Intermediate Terminal Building
to shape the future of Richmond’s riverfront,” said Interim CAO Sharon Ebert.
“With direct access to the James River, a vast and thriving trail network, access to multi-modal transportation, and close proximity to City economic and cultural hubs in Shockoe Bottom and Downtown, the ITB offers a unique blend of a number
of our City’s most exciting attractions.”
Proposals will be evaluated based on several factors, including total fiscal impact, community benefits, developer or business experience, and the proposed use for the site.
“This site is more than just a development opportunity,” said Acting EDA Director Matt Welch. “It is a chance to create something that connects people to
their environment, to enhance our outdoor recreational assets, and to fuel Richmond’s economic momentum. So we are looking for proposals that are fit for that purpose, and which keep the community and the natural landscape front of mind.”
The deadline to submit proposals is Aug. 28. Additional details about the property, submission guidelines, and evaluation criteria can be found at go.rva.gov.
Continued from A1
Continued from A1
Victoria A. Ifatusin/The Richmonder
Supporters of Armstrong High School listen during a discussion about whether to change the school’s name.
Julianne Tripp Hillian/Richmond Free Press
Kaleem Wali, left, and Amjad Mahmood Khan, right, began the day at East End Cemetery, clearing overgrown weeds and invasive plants to reveal long-neglected gravesites.
Danish Hussain, 16; Taha Aman, 17; and Talha Amanm, 17, joined the group in picking up trash along Wharf Street near the river.
American Red Cross Community Volunteer Leader Christy Carneal presents Umer Sindhu and the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association Richmond Chapter with a Community Partner Award.
Ahsan Khan, left, and Umer Sindhu, right, along with other members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and Friends of East End Cemetery, wash a newly uncovered gravestone.
Photos by Julianne Tripp
Hillian/Richmond Free Press
Photos by Julianne Tripp Hillian/ Richmond Free Press
Burhan Hussaini, originally from Afghanistan, leads the Pledge of Allegiance during a naturalization ceremony Friday, July 4, at the Virginia Museum of History & Culture, where he and dozens of others received their U.S. citizenship.
Collins Botchway of Ghana shakes hands with the Hon. Roger L. Gregory, chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit, as he crosses the stage and officially becomes a U.S. citizen.
Tomisin Naomi Liadi, a member of the Army National Guard, waves a U.S. flag during the naturalization ceremony.
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs gets standing ovation from inmates after court victory, lawyer says
By Michael R. Sisak and Larry Neumeister The Associated Press
Sean “Diddy” Combs got a standing ovation from fellow inmates when the music mogul returned to jail after winning acquittals on potential life-in-prison charges, providing what his lawyer says might have been the best thing he could do for incarcerated Black men in America.
“They all said: ‘We never get to see anyone who beats the government,’” attorney Marc Agnifilo told The Associated Press in a weekend interview days after a jury acquitted Combs of sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy charges.
Combs, 55, remains jailed at a federal lockup in Brooklyn after his conviction Wednesday on prostitution-related charges, which could put him in prison for several more years. Any sentence will include credit for time already served. So far that’s almost 10 months.
After federal agents raided Combs’ homes in Los Angeles and the Miami area in March 2024, Agnifilo said he told the “I’ll Be Missing You” singer to expect to be arrested on sex trafficking charges.
“I said: ‘Maybe it’s your fate in life to be the guy who wins,’” he recalled during a telephone interview briefly interrupted by a jailhouse call from Combs. “They need to see that someone can win. I think he took that to heart.”
Blunt trial strategy works
The verdict in Manhattan federal court came after a veteran team of eight defense lawyers led by Agnifilo executed a trial strategy that resonated with jurors. Combs passed lawyers notes during effective cross-examinations of nearly three dozen witnesses over two months, including Combs’ ex-employees.
The lawyers told jurors Combs was a jealous domestic abuser with a drug problem who participated in the swinger lifestyle through threesomes involving Combs, his girlfriends and another man.
“You may think to yourself, wow, he is a really bad boyfriend,” Combs’ lawyer Teny Geragos told jurors in her May opening statement. But that, she said, “is simply not sex trafficking.”
Agnifilo said the blunt talk was a “no brainer.”
“The violence was so clear and up front and we knew the government was going to try to confuse the jury into thinking it was part of a sex trafficking effort. So we had to tell the jury what it was so they wouldn’t think it was something it wasn’t,” he said.
Combs and his lawyers seemed deflated Tuesday when jurors said they were deadlocked on the racketeering count but had reached a verdict on sex trafficking and lesser prostitution-related charges.
A judge ordered them back to deliberate Wednesday.
“No one knows what to think,” Agnifilo said. Then he slept on it. Morning surprise awakes lawyer
“I wake up at three in the morning and I text Teny and say: ”We have to get a bail application together,” he recalled. “It’s going to be a good verdict for us but I think he went down on the prostitution counts so let’s try to get him out.”
He said he “kind of whipped everybody into feeling better” after concluding jurors would have convicted him of racketeering if they had convicted him of sex trafficking because trafficking was an alleged component of racketeering.
Agnifilo met with Combs before court and Combs entered the courtroom rejuvenated. Smiling, the onetime Catholic schoolboy prayed with family. In less than an hour, the jury matched Agnifilo’s prediction.
The seemingly chastened Combs mouthed “thank you” to jurors and smiled as family and supporters applauded. After he was escorted from the room, spectators cheered the defense team, a few chanting: “Dream Team! Dream Team!” Several lawyers, including Geragos, cried.
“This was a major victory for the defense and a major loss for the prosecution,” said Mitchell Epner, a lawyer who worked with Agnifilo as a federal prosecutor in New Jersey over two decades ago. He credited “a dream team of defense lawyers” against prosecutors who almost always win.
Agnifilo showcased what would become his trial strategy — belittling the charges and mocking the investigation that led to them — last September in arguing unsuccessfully for bail. The case against Combs was what happens when the “federal government comes into our bedrooms,” he said.
Lawyers gently questioned most witnesses
During an eight-week trial, Combs’ lawyers picked apart the prosecution case with mostly gentle but firm cross-examinations.
Gun thefts from cars surge nationwide, now account for 40% of cases
By Amanda Hernandez
A growing number of firearms are being stolen from parked cars nationwide, especially in urban areas including Virginia Beach, Virginia, according to a new report that highlights a frequently overlooked source of illegally circulating guns.
The nonpartisan think tank Council on Criminal Justice released an analysis examining five years of gun theft data reported to law enforcement in 16 cities — both urban and rural — with populations over 250,000. The analysis found that while the overall rate of reported gun thefts remained steady between 2018 and 2022, gun thefts from motor vehicles rose sharply.
The number of guns reported stolen from vehicles increased by 31% over the five-year period, while gun thefts during burglaries of homes and businesses fell by 40%. In large urban areas, the overall gun theft rate jumped by 42% between 2018 and 2022, while rural areas saw a 22% decline
The findings are based on data from more than 2,000 law enforcement agencies across the country that consistently submitted detailed crime reports to the FBI’s National Incident-Based Reporting System between 2018 and 2022. Together, those agencies represent about 25% of the U.S. population and 12% of all law enforcement agencies nationwide.
As gun violence continues to grip communities across the country, a growing body of research suggests that firearm theft — particularly from vehicles — is a key, but often overlooked, source of weapons used in crimes. While research remains limited, some studies show stolen guns are disproportionately recovered at crime scenes, and gun violence tends to rise in areas where thefts have occurred.
Yet national data on gun theft remains sparse and there is no nationwide system for tracking stolen guns. Even basic details — such as how many guns are taken in each reported incident — are often missing from official police reports.
With crime and firearm
policy high on the Trump administration’s agenda, experts say more research is urgently needed to understand how stolen guns fuel broader cycles of violence.
“We really don’t have a full national picture of stolen guns,” said Susan Parker, one of the report’s authors and a research assistant professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Northwestern University. “It’s really difficult to think about prevention when you don’t know much.”
The report’s findings suggest that parked cars have become a major weak point in firearm security — one that could be addressed through policy, public education and better data collection.
Some states, including Colorado and Delaware, have recently passed laws requiring firearms stored in vehicles to be locked in secure containers. In recent years, several other states have considered similar measures, including legislation mandating safe storage and stricter reporting requirements for lost or stolen guns.
Combs never testified and his lawyers called no witnesses.
Sarah Krissoff, a federal prosecutor in Manhattan from 2008 to 2021, said Combs’ defense team “had a narrative from the beginning and they did all of it without putting on any witnesses. That’s masterful.”
Ironically, Agnifilo expanded the use of racketeering laws as a federal prosecutor on an organized crime task force in New Jersey two decades ago, using them often to indict street gangs in violence-torn cities.
“I knew the weak points in the statute,” he said. “The statute is very mechanical. If you know how the car works, you know where the fail points are.”
He said prosecutors had “dozens of fail points.”
“They didn’t have a conspiracy, they just didn’t,” he said. “They basically had Combs’ personal life and tried to build racketeering around personal assistants.”
Some personal assistants, even after viewing videos of Combs beating his longtime girlfriend, Casandra “Cassie” Ventura, had glowing things to say about Combs on cross examination.
Once freed, Combs likely to reenter domestic abusers program
For Combs, Agnifilo sees a long road ahead once he is freed and resumes work on personal demons, likely reentering a program for domestic batterers that he had just started before his arrest.
“He’s doing OK,” said Agnifilo, who speaks with him four or five times daily.
He said Combs genuinely desires improvement and “realizes he has flaws like everyone else that he never worked on.”
“He burns hot in all matters. I think what he has come to see is that he has these flaws and there’s no amount of fame and no amount of fortune” that can erase them,” he said. “You can’t cover them up.”
Currently, just 16 states and the District of Columbia require gun owners to report lost or stolen firearms to law enforcement, according to the Giffords Law Center, a nonpartisan gun safety group.
“Where you store your gun really matters. We see that so many of the guns that are stolen are increasingly from vehicles,” Parker said. “That kind of shift in how we’re carrying guns should also maybe be accompanied by shifts in how we’re thinking about keeping them safe and out of the risk of being misused.”
Among the 16 cities included in the report, Memphis, Tennessee, had the highest rate of gun thefts in 2022 — 546 reported incidents per 100,000 residents. That’s nearly double the rate in Detroit, which ranked second at 297 per 100,000, and more than 10 times higher than in Seattle, which had the lowest rate at 44 per 100,000. While residences remained the most common place guns were stolen from overall, the share of gun thefts occurring in parking lots, garages and on roads rose significantly. By 2022, 40% of all reported gun thefts involved a vehicle, up from 31% in 2018. Vehicle break-ins resulting in stolen firearms nearly doubled in urban areas — from 37 per 100,000 people in 2018 to 65 per 100,000 people in 2022. As parked vehicles have become a more frequent target for thieves, the locations of those thefts have shifted. In 2018, about half of all reported gun thefts from vehicles occurred at residences. By 2022, that share had dropped to roughly 40%, while thefts from vehicles in parking lots and garages rose by 76%. The report also found significant increases in gun thefts from vehicles on roads, highways and alleys — up 59% over the five-year period. In the most rural areas, where gun ownership is often more common, the share of vehicle break-ins that resulted in gun theft rose from 18% to 24%. In urban areas, that figure increased from 6% to 10.5%.
This story originally appeared at VirgniaMercury.com
File Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP
Music mogul and entrepreneur Sean “Diddy” Combs arrives at the Billboard Music Awards, May 15, 2022, in Las Vegas.
AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura
Defense attorneys for Sean “Diddy” Combs, including from left, Brian Steel, Alexandra Shapiro, Marc Agnifilo and Teny Garagos, Anna Estevao, Nicole Westmoreland, Jason Driscoll and Xavier Donaldson, far right, line up for a group photo
outside Manhattan federal court after Sean “Diddy” Combs was denied bail after being convicted of prostitution-related offenses but acquitted of sex trafficking and racketeering charges, Wednesday, July 2 in New York.
Richmond Free Press
Our city, our rules
The Richmond Police Department did the right thing in pulling the plug on federal access to its license plate reader system after learning it had been misused to track down people over immigration issues.
In a statement this week, RPD said an analyst with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) tapped into the system to run searches tied to immigration violations—something the department made clear was never part of the agreement.
“Their analyst should not have been granted access to our system — and absolutely should not have used it for immigration enforcement purposes,” RPD Chief Rick Edwards stated in the release.
License plate readers track the movements of vehicles in the city, collecting data on tens of thousands of drivers every day. That’s why RPD’s policy is strict about who accesses that information.
The release includes a detailed explanation about how the analyst gained access to the system and their stated intentions for doing so. It also notes that the administrator who granted that access is no longer with the department. Good.
It’s also good to know that our police chief is not letting his department become a back door for immigration enforcement. Although the federal agency’s access was brief, it should have never happened at all. Chief Edwards made it clear that no federal agency will have access to RPD’s system going forward.
That’s what accountability looks like.
Now if only we could get the same from federal agencies like ICE — which seems to be running the most aggressive diversity initiative in government. The inclusion rate is off the charts. At this point, European immigrants must be wondering when it’s their turn.
But back to Richmond. The recent revelation is what we’ve come to expect from Edwards, who might be the only police chief who could be found guilty of oversharing. In 2023, he made a promise to release video of fatal shootings by police officers within two weeks and has kept his word, with some exceptions. He’s also been upfront about his own role in a fatal shooting in 2002, in past discussions with community members. In January, he revealed that he had been stopped by one of his own officers for speeding and admitted he was at fault.
We’re fairly certain Edwards may not be telling us everything we want to know, but he seems to take the idea of transparency more seriously than his former boss. That doesn’t mean we won’t keep asking questions. We think he’d want it that way.
School spirit
I didn’t attend school in Richmond Public Schools, but even from a distance I was aware of the strong school spirit that some Richmonders have for their high schools. It’s similar to a sorority or fraternity, in some ways, except that the schools were less picky about who they let in.
Over time, high schools merge, get renamed or repurposed. That’s the way it goes. But that doesn’t sit well with some of the people who attended John F. Kennedy High School, who are asking the school board to add the name of their alma mater to the current school moniker, Armstrong High School.
Renaming a school isn’t cheap. It might seem like an empty exercise to some, with little or no reward. But ask alumni from Hanover County schools that shed the names of defeated Confederate generals — they’ll tell you otherwise.
With all the challenges that Richmond Public Schools faces, there are some who might say that the school board and concerned members of the community have more important matters to consider. They have a strong argument. Still, this is Richmond. And we’re talking about high school—old high school, at that. Names carry weight. And when people feel theirs has been erased, they deserve to be heard.
Divesting
from education is divesting from our future
The big ugly boondoggle, which our president calls the “Big Beautiful Bill,” is a transfer of resources from the poor to the wealthy, preserving 2017 tax cuts, cutting Medicaid and SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or food stamps), imposing new work requirements for benefits, and increasing defense spending by at least 13%. Kasey Kosgarian, director of the National Priorities Project of the Institute for Policy Studies, posed our choices as “weapons and war or food and health care.” We have apparently chosen weapons and war, and the rest of us exist in peril. Treatises can be written about the odious bill and the many aspects that leave millions without health care and food assistance, existing with a safety net that has been maliciously shredded. We shouldn’t be surprised, since this is what was promised in Project 2025. We will pay in the long run as our future, our students, encounter great obstacles trying to prepare themselves to be economically competitive.
I am especially concerned about cuts to higher education and Pell Grants as part of the Big Ugly. Grants for higher education attendance were part of the Higher Education Act, passed in 1965 as part of President Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society program. The Pell Grant, named after Sen. Claiborne Pell, D-R.I., was authorized in 1972 as a Basic Educational Opportunity Grant and designed to provide grants to low-income families, as opposed to (or in addition to) loans that formerly funded higher education.
In 1972, Pell Grants covered about 75% of college costs, between $8,000 and $9,000 in today’s dollars. The value of the Pell has steadily eroded. In 2013, the maximum Pell was $5,645, again in today’s dollars. President Joe Biden increased the Pell to a maximum of $7,395 for academic year 2024. In contrast, tuition and fees at Howard University that year were $35,810. The total cost of attendance was $58,052. Some families can pay some of the cost, but most low-income students cobble together Pell, loans, outside scholarships and parental contributions. The Pell covered
only a fifth of Howard University’s tuition and just an eighth of the total cost of attendance.
The Big Ugly will make college access even more challenging. It would cut the Pell to $5,710, a 23% reduction. It would provide the maximum Pell only for students who enroll for a full load of 15 credit hours a semester. Often, first-year students are advised to take a lighter load — four classes instead of five — especially if they need time to adjust to college. I’d rather a student take a lighter load and achieve solidly than struggle with five classes.
About 40% of undergraduate students rely on Pell Grants to get through college. The lowest among them will likely drop out. This imperils our future. How are we to compete internationally if millions of our students can’t afford higher education?
The legislation that cuts Pell Grants, part of the Big Ugly, also limits or eliminates benefits to part-time and community college students. A student enrolled less than half time (7.5 credits) would receive no Pell money at all. Yet millions of students who work full time or part time and attend school part time will lose benefits. These include working moms and dads, differently abled students and others who can’t
‘Welfare queen’ legends haunt Trump’s budget plan
As the Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives neared passage of President Donald Trump’s beloved — and enormous — “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” my mind raced back as it often does in such debates to memories of the late Linda Taylor, a Chicago woman better known as “the welfare queen.”
That’s not what she called herself. The nickname was coined either by the late George Bliss, a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter for the Chicago Tribune, in 1974 or later by Jet magazine.
Taylor ultimately was charged and convicted in 1977 of illegally obtaining 23 welfare checks, among other charges, and using two aliases. She died of a heart attack in 2002 in Ingalls Memorial Hospital, outside Chicago.
Taylor the woman may be gone, but the “welfare queen” lives on in American political legend. She was first made famous by Ronald Reagan in his 1976 presidential campaign. In speech after speech, he recounted her exploits in the characteristic Gipper story-telling style. Crowds ate it up.
“She has 80 names, 30 addresses, 12 Social Security cards and is collecting veterans’benefits on four non-existing deceased husbands,” Reagan said during a 1976 campaign speech in Asheville, North Carolina, quoted by the New York Times.
Reagan didn’t name her. He didn’t say her race. But given the emergent dog-whistle rhetoric of the New Right, he didn’t have to.
“There’s a woman in Chicago,” he told a New Hampshire audience. Wink, wink.
”And she’s collecting Social Security on her cards. She’s got Medicaid, getting food stamps, and she is collecting welfare and Social Security cards under each of several names. Her tax-free cash income alone was estimated at more than $150,000.”
Reagan’s aim was to justify real-life changes to policies, including the shrinking of the social safety net, as recounted by Slate reporter Josh Levin in his awardwinning biography ”The Queen: The Forgotten Life Behind an American Myth,” which won the 2019 National Book Critics Circle Award for biography.
And he succeeded — the imperative to dismantle the so-
cial safety net became bipartisan Beltway orthodoxy for decades after Reagan took power in 1981.
Today, amid the ferocious debate over Trump’s “Big Beautiful,” I can hear echoes of the old “welfare queen” legend, particularly when lawmakers hack and slash away at programs and agencies Americans depend on. We depend on them to deal with our real problems, and the “fixes” appear designed to create new problems.
Rep. George Latimer, a New York Democrat, called Trump’s spending bill “Robin Hood in reverse” before voting against the House version. “This House Republican budget takes away money from people who desperately need it,” he said, “and gives it to people who already have plenty of it.”
This was confirmed by experts at the Budget Lab at Yale, a research center, in its analysis of the Senate bill.
“Americans who comprise the bottom fifth of all earners would see their annual after-tax
incomes fall on average by 2.3 percent within the next decade,” the Budget Lab concluded, while those at the top would see about a 2.3 percent boost, which factors in wages earned and government benefits received.
Yet Republicans have continued to defend the package as a win for all Americans. In theory, maybe. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called it a “deal for working people” and claimed it would protect Medicaid.
Yet the fact remains that Republicans are only slightly offsetting significant tax cuts for the rich by decimating programs that help the poor, including food stamps and Medicaid. The suffering and financial burdens on these Americans will take a large toll on their lives. And for what?
To cover only a fraction of the enormous cost of the bill, which will add more than $3 trillion to the federal debt by 2034.
The cuts have been described as one of the largest retrenchments in the federal safety net in a generation. That sounds about right to me.
But it also sounds wrong, deeply wrong. In a time when the suffering and seemingly hopeless prospects of America’s poor are known to all who have eyes to see, the only fig leaf available to hide the obscenity of this bill is the old partisan charge of waste, fraud and abuse. Even after DOGE — especially after DOGE — that trope lacks any credibility.
For now, another old saying comes to mind: Elections have consequences.
As the full impact of the bill that looks increasingly like a big, beautiful disaster hits home, it may be left up to the voters to have the final word.
I don’t expect them — or us — to be filled with glee.
The writer is a columnist with the Chicago Tribune.
manage a full-time load. At a time when employment needs demand flexibility, legislation is insisting on punitive rigidity.
The Department of Education has been so crippled by this president’s “slash and burn” approach to education that there is little input from the department around the harmful effects of these Pell changes. Who in Congress will speak up for our nation’s students? Our young people are our future, yet we treat them like debris. In divesting from college access and attendance, we are divesting from our futures. Our international rivals are investing in education while we are divesting. In the long run, this will give them the competitive advantage that will leave us falling even further behind. Who gains? Oligarchs, predatory capitalists and a president who hawks Bibles and Alligator Alcatraz instead of our robust American future.
The writer is an economist, author and president emerita of Bennett College for Women.
Julianne Tripp Hillian/Richmond Free Press
Ben Jealous
Clarence Page
Sunflower in Church Hill near Chimborazo Park
Fighting the prevalence of gun suicides requires more attention, action
They’re an ever-growing crisis, often underreported and overlooked because they involve a topic – killing oneself – the news media have been reluctant to cover.
said. But they still remain at near-record levels.
gun ownership.
ined in detail.
Trump’s promises of cuts lost in a sea of costly waste
Firearm suicides constituted an astounding 58% of all gun slayings in the United States in 2023, the most recent year for the available data, according to a new report from the Center for Gun Violence Solutions and Center for Suicide Prevention. Both centers are based at Johns Hopkins University. In fact, suicides have accounted for the majority of all firearm deaths every year since 1995. That’s nearly three decades.
You wouldn’t know those facts from the outsized attention gun-related homicides receive. This includes coverage of mass shootings in which suspects mow down complete strangers or – as happened in Virginia – co-workers and fellow university students.
Guns were the weapon used in 46,728 deaths nationwide in 2023. Of that total, gun suicides reached a new annual high of 27,300. The CDC also noted more than half of all methods of suicides that year involved a gun. Gun suicide rates among Black and Latino people ages 10-19 surged from 2014 to 2023. The commonwealth’s gun suicide rate per 100,000 people was 8.38, 29th among the states. In 2022, of 1,316 gun deaths in Virginia, 723 were suicides and 556 were homicides.
Meanwhile, gun homicides in 2023 accounted for 17,927 deaths nationwide, falling almost 9% from 2022, the report
The COVID-19 pandemic saw a huge spike in gun sales in Virginia and nationwide, putting more guns within easy reach of more Americans. It’s a recipe for danger in too many households.
“There hasn’t been an increase in suicide attempts. They just have become more fatal because there are more guns in houses,” Dr. Paul Nestadt told me. He’s the medical director of the Center for Suicide Prevention at Johns Hopkins
Roger Chesley
School of Public Health and a co-author of the new study.
Guns are also the most common method for “completed” suicides, he said. Even though firearms are used only in 5-6% of suicide attempts, they result in more than half of all suicides, according to a 2019 study cited in the Johns Hopkins report.
Such lethality means that when someone thinks of ending his life, and then fires a gun, he probably won’t get a second chance.
Yet, “it’s a myth that if someone survives a suicide attempt, they’ll inevitably try again or simply find another method,” Nestadt said in online comments with the report. “ … The majority of people — about 94% of people who survive a suicide attempt — will continue to survive.”
Officials at Johns Hopkins and the nonprofit organization Brady: United Against Gun Violence suggest several ways to intervene to prevent gun suicides. They include voluntary out-of-home gun storage for those with a higher risk of harming themselves, and assessment and counseling by health care providers regarding
Brady President Kris Brown told me her group began the “End Family Fire” campaign in 2018 to emphasize safe storage of firearms, including using a biometric safe or storing guns remotely when family members are thinking about ways to kill themselves. Those actions help prevent people from getting guns who are having a mental health crisis or suffering from depression. Firearm accessibility, Brown said, has played a role in increased teen suicides.
The United States, at just 4% of the world’s population, has 35% of the firearm suicides globally, she noted. “It’s horrific,” Brown said. “The thing to understand is that this is entirely preventable.”
Nestadt said Virginia is one of nearly two dozen states that have extreme risk protection orders, also known as “red flag” laws. The measures allow law-enforcement authorities to temporarily seize guns from people deemed dangerous.
He said studies show these laws save lives. A Duke University professor, for example, estimated in 2024 that one suicide death “could be prevented for every 17 or 23 issued” extreme risk protection orders. The research was published in the Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law. Journalists also have a role to play.
For too many years, we shied away from covering suicides for fear of increasing relatives’ pain, seeming too intrusive or inspiring potential copycats. We employed euphemisms and couched phrases instead of saying plainly how folks died. That made the subject of suicides – no matter the method – taboo. It meant the causes of such self-harm weren’t exam-
One unforgivable example was the way my then-employer, The Virginian-Pilot, initially reported on the death in 2004 of reporter Dennis O’Brien.
He and I had been colleagues at both the (Newport News) Daily Press and The Pilot. O’Brien, 35, had made a name for himself during his dispatches from the Iraq War while embedded for months with a Marine unit.
The paper didn’t initially report the cause of death, leading to many justifiable questions from readers. As I recall, we violated our own newsroom guidelines because his body was found hanging in a public place – near some railroad tracks. That should’ve forced us to be candid.
It wasn’t until a few years later that The Pilot reported O’Brien had suffered from depression for much of his life.
Nestadt, the Johns Hopkins doctor, recalled talking to a family where the son had killed himself. Another family in that community had lost a child to cancer around the same time. Neighbors responded differently to the two families because of those circumstances.
“It should really be focused on,” he said. “One downside to not reporting on (suicides) is that families often feel so alone.”
My colleagues and I have a responsibility to do better. We should, along with all people concerned about firearm suicides, fight to end this underreported scourge.
It would help save lives.
If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the United States is available by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org
This story originally appeared at VirginiaMercury.com.
In these hectic weeks of the Trump administration, America has witnessed division, hatred, complete disregard for the Constitution and the law. There have been sudden cuts and disruptions to important departments such as the Department of Education, USAID, DEI programs and other departments. Employees have been fired, furloughed without notice and given ultimatums. Americans were assured Donald Trump and his administration would trim the fat and reduce department spending. The spending being displayed by Trump and his supporters is not being reflected in campaign promises.
Each trip to Mar-a-Lago has cost taxpayers $3.4 million, so far totaling $13.6 million. Just imagine how many starving people could have been fed, medications delivered that could save lives, housing for the homeless or homes that could have been restored in North Carolina or California!
What is being done by Trump, his team and supporters certainly illustrates blatant waste and abuse. When will the people see the benefits he promised, or is it all about him?
PATRICIA A. BROWN
Chesterfield
E of the Code of Virginia (“Code”) and the Commission’s order in Case No. PUR2024-00047 (“Net Metering Order”), for approval of its proposed revisions to its net energy metering (“net metering” or “NEM”)
E. This included, in part, a proposed rate structure related to net metering to govern compensation related to all eligible customer-generators, eligible agricultural customer-generators, and small agricultural generators, except low-income utility customers, that interconnect after the effective date established in the Commission’s final order in the net metering proceeding. The Company asserts that its Petition and supporting direct testimony address each of the required net metering considerations laid out in the statute and in the Commission’s Net Metering Order. Pursuant to Code § 56-594 E, the Commission must issue a final order regarding the Petition no later than 12 months after this proceeding commences. In its Petition, Dominion asserts that its NEM 2.0 proposal contains two key changes from the Company’s existing NEM program (“Legacy NEM Program”): (1) a transition from annual to real-time netting, and (2) an Export Credit Rate to compensate customers for excess electricity exported to the grid. In addition, the Company proposes minor changes to its Net Metering Terms and Conditions, including an application fee and an administrative charge of $1.00 per month.
According to the Petition, real-time netting methodology records the inflow and outflow from a customer’s meter every interval, which is every half-hour. Dominion asserts that realtime netting would allow a customer to receive compensation for energy when it is produced and to pay for energy when it is consumed. Under the Company’s proposal, the customer would receive the Export Credit Rate for the net production exported to the grid and would pay the applicable tariff rate for net power that is consumed from the grid in the billing period. Dominion asserts that its proposal to transition from annual netting to real-time netting would reflect the reality of how customers use the grid, would treat participants and non-participants of the net metering program fairly and equally, and would not result in unreasonable cost-shifting to nonparticipants.
Dominion further proposes that exported power be compensated at an Export Credit Rate, which would reflect an avoided cost the Company could otherwise pay under a power purchase agreement (“PPA”) for a comparable product. According to the Petition, this Export Credit Rate would be set at an amount equal to the weighted-average of first year prices for purchases from Distributed Solar PPAs executed in response to the Company’s most recent Rider CE Request for Proposals, which was $95.53 per megawatt hour in the most recent Rider CE. Dominion asserts that this represents the appropriate avoided cost as it is representative of the price the Company could otherwise pay for a comparable product. Dominion proposes to collect the energy cost of these credits through the fuel factor. According to the Petition, the Export Credit Rate includes the value of the energy as well as renewable energy credit value. Dominion asserts that the proposed payment to NEM 2.0 customers also reflects the value of an avoided renewable energy purchase. The Company requests that the Commission allow the Company to reduce its annual renewable portfolio standard (“RPS”) compliance obligation by the total amount of kilowatt hours exported by NEM 2.0 customers to recognize the energy those customers would contribute to the grid. The Company asserts that this approach would benefit all other customers by reducing the net RPS compliance costs as well as by ensuring that the Company and its customers would receive the RPS benefit for the export power. Pursuant to the Petition, the Export Credit Rate that is related to RPS value would flow through account 557 and be recovered through Rider RPS.
modify the current six percent cap.
TAKE NOTICE that the Commission may design rates in a manner differing from that shown in the Petition and supporting documents, and thus may adopt rates that differ from those appearing in the Company’s Petition and supporting documents.
The Commission entered an Order for Notice and Hearing that, among other things, scheduled a public hearing on Dominion’s Petition. On January 20, 2026, at 10 a.m., the Commission will hold the telephonic portion of the hearing for the purpose of receiving the testimony of public witnesses. On or before January 13, 2026, any person desiring to offer testimony as a public witness shall provide to the Commission: (a) your name, and (b) the telephone number that you wish the Commission to call during the hearing to receive your testimony. This information may be provided to the Commission: (i) by filling out a form on the Commission’s website at scc.virginia.gov/case-information/webcasting; or (ii) by calling (804) 371-9141. This public witness hearing will be webcast at scc.virginia.gov/case-information/ webcasting
On January 20, 2026, at 10 a.m. or at the conclusion of the public witness portion of the hearing, whichever is later, in the Commission’s second floor courtroom located in the Tyler Building, 1300 East Main Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219, the Commission will convene a hearing to receive testimony and evidence related to the Petition from the Company, any respondents, and the Commission’s Staff.
To promote administrative efficiency and timely service of filings upon participants, the Commission has directed the electronic filing of testimony and pleadings, unless they contain confidential information, and has required electronic service on parties to this proceeding.
Electronic copies of the Petition may be obtained by submitting a written request to counsel for the Company: Jontille D. Ray, Esquire, McGuireWoods LLP, Gateway Plaza, 800 Canal Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219, or jray@mcguirewoods.com Interested persons also may download unofficial copies of the Petition and other documents filed in this case from the Commission’s website: scc.virginia.gov/pages/case-information
On or before January 13, 2026, any interested person may submit comments on the Petition by following the instructions found on the Commission’s website: scc.virginia.gov/caseinformation/submit-public-comments Those unable, as a practical matter, to submit comments electronically may file such comments with the Clerk of the State Corporation Commission, c/o Document Control Center, P.O. Box 2118, Richmond, Virginia 23218-2118. All comments shall refer to Case No. PUR-2025-00079.
On or before September 30, 2025, any person or entity wishing to participate as a respondent in this proceeding may do so by filing a notice of participation at scc.virginia.gov/ clk/efiling Those unable, as a practical matter, to file a notice of participation electronically may file such notice by U.S. mail to the Clerk of the Commission at the address listed above. Such notice of participation shall include the email addresses of such parties or their counsel. The respondent shall serve a copy of the notice of participation electronically on counsel to the Company, Commission Staff, and all other respondents. Pursuant to 5 VAC 5-20-80 B, Participation as a respondent, of the Commission’s Rules of Practice and Procedure, 5 VAC 5-20-10, et seq., (“Rules of Practice”), any notice of participation shall set forth: (i) a precise statement of the interest of the respondent; (ii) a statement of the specific action sought to the extent then known; and (iii) the factual and legal basis for the action. Any organization, corporation, or government body participating as a respondent must be represented by counsel as required by 5 VAC 5-20-30, Counsel, of the Rules of Practice. All filings shall refer to Case No. PUR-2025-00079.
On or before October 30, 2025, each respondent may file with the Clerk of the Commission at scc.virginia.gov/clk/efiling any testimony and exhibits by which the respondent expects to establish its case. Any respondent unable, as a practical matter, to file testimony and exhibits electronically may file such by U.S. mail to the Clerk of the Commission at the address listed above. Each witness’s testimony shall include a summary not to exceed one page. All testimony and exhibits shall be served electronically on the Company, Commission Staff, and all other respondents. In all filings, respondents shall comply with the Commission’s Rules of Practice, as modified herein, including, but not limited to: 5 VAC 5-20-140, Filing and service and 5 VAC 5-20-240, Prepared testimony and exhibits All filings shall refer to Case No. PUR2025-00079.
Any documents filed in paper form with the Office of the Clerk of the Commission in this docket may use both sides of the paper. In all other respects, except as modified by the Commission’s Order for Notice and Hearing, all filings shall comply fully with the requirements of 5 VAC 5-20-150, Copies and format, of the Commission’s Rules of Practice.
The Company’s Petition, the Commission’s Rules of Practice, the Commission’s Order for Notice and Hearing, and other documents filed in this case may be viewed on the Commission’s
Left, in this July 5, 1975, file photo, Arthur Ashe holds the men’s singles trophy after defeating fellow American Jimmy Connors in the final of the men’s singles championship at the All England Lawn Tennis Championship in Wimbledon, London. Right, Serena Williams reacts as she holds up the trophy after winning the women’s singles final against Garbine Muguruza of Spain, at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships in Wimbledon, London, July 11, 2015.
Wimbledon 2025: Anniversaries for Serena Williams, Arthur Ashe and COVID
By Howard Fendrich The Associated Press
A look at some of the anniversaries this year at Wimbledon:
50 years ago (1975): Arthur Ashe and Billie Jean King win Wimbledon
Arthur Ashe became the first — and still only — Black man to win the Wimbledon singles title, defeating defending champion Jimmy Connors 6–1, 6–1, 5–7, 6–4. That same year, Billie Jean King claimed her sixth and final Wimbledon singles title with a 6–0, 6–1 win over Evonne Goolagong. It was the 19th of her 20 Wimbledon titles across all events.
45 years ago (1980): Bjorn Borg collects fifth straight title Bjorn Borg earned his fifth consecutive Wimbledon crown in 1980, edging John McEnroe
1–6, 7–5, 6–3, 6–7 (16), 8–6 in a final widely regarded as one of the greatest matches in tennis history.
40 years ago (1985): Anne White’s bodysuit makes headlines
Anne White drew attention in 1985 when she wore a full white bodysuit for her firstround match against Pam Shriver. After play was suspended due to darkness, she was asked to wear more traditional attire for the resumed match, which she lost.
35 years ago (1990): Martina Navratilova wins record ninth title
Martina Navratilova defeated Zina Garrison 6–4, 6–1 in the final to capture her record ninth Wimbledon singles title. It was her 18th and final Grand Slam championship, tying Chris Evert for the Open era record at the time.
25 years ago (2000): Pete Sampras claims
seventh Wimbledon title
Pete Sampras beat Patrick Rafter 6–7 (10), 7–6 (5), 6–4, 6–2 to win his seventh Wimbledon title and 13th major overall, setting a then-record for men’s Grand Slam championships. He added a 14th with his 2002 U.S. Open victory.
15 years ago (2010): Isner and Mahut battle in record match
John Isner and Nicolas Mahut played the longest match in tennis history at Wimbledon in 2010, stretching over three days and 11 hours, 5 minutes. Isner eventually won 70–68 in the fifth set, prompting rule changes at Grand Slam events to prevent marathon final sets.
10 years ago (2015): Serena Williams completes a ‘Serena Slam’ Serena Williams won Wimbledon in 2015 with a 6–4, 6–4 victory over Garbiñe Muguruza,
completing her second “Serena Slam” — four consecutive Grand Slam titles. At 33, she became the oldest woman to win a major singles title in the Open era.
5 years ago (2020): Wimbledon is canceled amid the COVID-19 pandemic Wimbledon was canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, marking the first time since World War II the tournament wasn’t held. Roger Federer responded with a one-word message on social media: “Devastated.”
Wimbledon moves into its final stretch this week at the All England Club, with the women’s semifinals set for Thursday and the men’s semifinals on Friday. The women’s final will be played Saturday, followed by the men’s championship match on Sunday, closing out the third Grand Slam tournament of the year.
New York Knicks hire Mike Brown, a two-time NBA Coach of the Year
By Brian Mahoney The Associated Press
The New York Knicks liked Mike Brown’s experience with championship teams, after he worked for four of them.
That sounds good to a franchise that’s been stuck on two titles for more than 50 years but believes its time to win another is now.
The Knicks hired Brown on Monday, turning to the two-time NBA Coach of the Year after firing Tom Thibodeau.
The Knicks offered the job to Brown last week and announced Monday that he would be taking over the team that reached the Eastern Conference finals last season for the first time in 25 years. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
They decided to fire Thibodeau despite that playoff success and
eventually picked Brown, who wasn’t out of work long after getting fired by the Sacramento Kings during last season.
“Mike has coached on the biggest stages in our sport and brings championship pedigree to our organization,” Knicks President Leon Rose said in a statement. “His experience leading the bench during the NBA Finals, winning four titles as an assistant coach, and his ability to grow and develop players will all help us as we aim to bring a championship to New York for our fans.”
Brown led the Kings to a 48-34 record and the postseason in 202223 — their first appearance since 2006 — and was voted the Coach of the Year. He also won the award in Cleveland, where he led the Cavaliers to the 2007 NBA Finals.
He was on San Antonio’s bench when the Spurs won the 2003 NBA
title and was with the Golden State Warriors for their 2017, ’18 and ’22 championships, including going 12-0 as the acting head coach during the 2017 postseason when Steve Kerr was sidelined with a back injury. Brown is 454-304 in 11 seasons, winning at least 45 games in seven of them. He will take over a Knicks team with championship potential. The Knicks won at least 50 games in each of the last two seasons and knocked off 2024 champion Boston before falling to Indiana in six games in the East finals.
With the Pacers playing without star point guard Tyrese Haliburton next season after he tore his right Achilles tendon in Game 7 of the NBA Finals and the Celtics in transition with Jayson Tatum hurt and Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue
Holiday traded, the Knicks will be one of the East favorites.
Their starting lineup is set with All-NBA selections Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns, and they strengthened the bench Monday by signing former Utah guard Jordan Clarkson, one of the league’s highest-scoring reserves, and Guerschon Yabusele, who played last season with Philadelphia. Thibodeau’s reluctance to use some of his bench players may have been a reason the Knicks decided to fire him after he led them to the postseason in four of his five seasons. They reached at least the second round in the last three seasons after not winning a single playoff series since 2013. But they haven’t won a championship since 1973. Their first title was in 1970, about two months after the 55-year-old Brown was born.
Squirrels sweep Baysox with 12-2 rout, set season high in runs
Free Press staff report
The Richmond Flying Squirrels capped a dominant weekend with a 12-2 blowout win over the Bowie Baysox on Sunday afternoon at Prince George’s Stadium, completing a three-game sweep and setting a new season high for runs scored.
The Squirrels (27-52-1, 6-6 second half) racked up 14 hits, tying their season best, and earned their second series win of the year. The team’s three-game win streak matches its longest of the season.
After being held hitless through two innings, Richmond broke
through against Baysox starter Nestor German (3-3) with a three-run third inning. Onil Perez doubled to start the rally and came home on a Diego Velasquez single. Carter Howell added an RBI single and later scored on Victor Bericoto’s two-out double for a 3-0 lead.
The Squirrels tacked on four more runs in the fifth, highlighted by Aeverson Arteaga’s two-run homer and Turner Hill’s two-run shot later in the inning. They pushed the margin to 11-0 in the sixth behind another four-run frame, which included an RBI double from Arteaga and two runs scoring on wild pitches.
Vick era at Norfolk State to kick off in primetime, bolstered by new recruits
Free Press staff report
The Michael Vick era at Norfolk State will begin on a national stage with a primetime matchup and a bolstered roster.
The Spartans’ season opener against Towson is scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 28, at William “Dick” Price Stadium, the university announced Thursday. The game will be televised nationally on one of the ESPN family of networks, with the specific channel to be announced later.
It will mark the first night game at Price Stadium since Sept. 18, 2021, and the first midweek home game for Norfolk State in more than a decade.
As the team prepares to open its 2025 campaign, Norfolk State also announced
the addition of three transfers to its roster: wide receiver JJ Evans (North Alabama), defensive tackle Cameron Darmody (Wagner), and defensive lineman Rashawn Washington (South Carolina State). Evans, once a four-star recruit out of Alabama, ranked among the top 10 players in the state and originally signed with Auburn. He transferred to North Alabama, where he caught 17 passes
for 139 yards and three touchdowns last season.
Darmody played the last two years at Wagner, appearing in 13 games over two seasons after transferring from Feather River College. Washington, a Hampton Roads native, brings MEAC championship experience from South Carolina State, where he helped lead the Bulldogs to a conference title and Celebration Bowl appearance.
The opener will mark the fourth alltime meeting between Norfolk State and Towson, and the third in as many seasons. The Spartans won a rain-soaked road game 21-14 in 2023, while Towson edged them 28-23 in Norfolk last season.
Tickets for the Aug. 28 season opener go on sale July 14.
CIAA extends Baltimore basketball tournament partnership
Free Press staff report
The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Board of Directors approved Baltimore as the host city for the men’s and women’s basketball tournament through 2029 during its annual spring meeting last month at Virginia State University.
The board, made up of presidents and
chancellors from the CIAA’s 13 member institutions, also extended the conference’s exclusive apparel agreement with Under Armour through 2029. Baltimore has been a longtime partner for the tournament, providing strong fan engagement and community support. CIAA Commissioner Jacqie McWilliams Parker said the city is “more than a host city; it’s a
partner in progress.” She added that the partnership “enhances the identityandperformanceofCIAAstudent-athletes.
In addition, the board unanimously approved an updated mission and strategic vision statement, reaffirming the CIAA’s commitment as a “historic and forward-looking leader in intercollegiate athletics,” according to its website.
Jack Choate (2-5) earned the win with five innings of one-run ball, allowing four hits. Helcris Olivarez took over in the sixth and gave up two runs on groundouts after hitting a batter and issuing two walks. Velasquez added a sacrifice fly in the eighth to make it 12-2. Michael Stryffeler pitched two scoreless innings with three strikeouts, and Ian Villers closed the game with a scoreless ninth.
Vaun Brown led the offense with a 3-for3 day, scoring twice and stealing a base. Arteaga finished 2-for-3 with a home run, double and three RBIs. The Flying Squirrels continue a six-game road series in Akron this week against the RubberDucks. Richmond returns home Friday, July 18, to face the Harrisburg Senators, the Double-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals.
Camels, ostriches and zebras set to race at Colonial Downs
Free Press staff report
Colonial Downs is adding a wild twist to its summer racing season with exotic animal races set for Friday, July 11.
As part of the racetrack’s First Friday festivities, camels, ostriches and zebras will take to the track between thoroughbred races, offering fans a chance to see something outside the usual field of competitors. Post time for the day’s first race is 4 p.m.
The event marks the first of four Premium Racing Days during Colonial Downs’ 41-day summer meet, which runs from July 9 through Sept. 13, with live racing every Wednesday through Saturday and a special card on Labor Day, Sept. 1.
Camels will be ridden by invited guests from across Central Virginia, while the ostriches and zebras will be guided by Colonial Downs jockeys. There will be no parimutuel wagering on the exotic races. There will, however, be an opportunity to meet and pet the animals before the races.
“We’ve decided to broaden our horizons and spread our wings a bit with these special competitors,” said Frank Hopf, senior director of racing at Colonial Downs. “Frankly, I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I know you won’t want to miss it.” General admission is $5, with free entry for children ages 5 and under.
Michael Vick
Carter Howell
AP Photo/File AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin,File
AP Photo/Spenser Heaps, File
Former Sacramento Kings head coach Mike Brown is pictured in the first half of an NBA preseason basketball game against the Utah Jazz, Oct. 15, 2024, in Salt Lake City.
Will Melton carries with him the memory of the housing insecurity his family faced growing up in Lansing, Mich.
That experience, along with the loss of his father at age 12, shaped his resilience. As his mother worked multiple jobs to make ends meet, he took on the responsibility of helping care for his siblings. Despite the hardships, Melton channeled those struggles into a relentless drive, using his work as a springboard to build a different future.
“Growing up the way I did was embarrassing. I didn’t have fancy clothes. I didn’t get picked in gym class. I hated that,” Melton said. “I’m committed to never having that experience again.”
That drive has propelled him into entrepreneurship and personal success. Will Melton is the CEO of Xponent21, a Richmond-based digital marketing agency he founded. Always looking for solutions, he also launched Richmond Hires, a job board, and Richmond Water, which packages artisanal water in aluminum cans. Beyond business, he hosts a local radio show and podcast. His community involvement includes serving as chair of Housing Families First, based in Henrico, and holding board positions with AI Ready RVA, Leadership Metro Richmond and ChamberRVA.
“I’m a good idea person. I have a very active mind and imagination,” he said. “I come up with ideas that excite me, and my team helps make it happen.”
Melton joined the board of Housing Families First because he felt a responsibility to make a change. Housing Families First boasts a 90% rate of moving families in its program into permanent housing in 2024.
The housing insecurity that his family faced is at crisis levels today. Nationally, there’s a 7.1 million deficit of affordable and available rental homes for
Personality: Will Melton
Spotlight on the board chair of Housing Families First
extremely low-income renters, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC). As of January 2025, 660 people were experiencing homelessness in the Richmond area, according to Homeward RVA, the organization that coordinates homeless services in the area.
Melton’s family moved to Williamsburg in 2000, and he landed at Virginia Commonwealth University after high school. He and his wife, Courtney, have made Richmond their home. After meeting their goal of visiting all 50 states, they’re looking forward to international travel.
Melton reflects on his path, his leadership role at Housing Families First (HFF) and his commitment to creating a Richmond where every family has a place to call home.
What is Housing Families First?
We are a nonprofit organization that provides families facing homelessness with a path to a permanent home. It was founded in 2001 as Hilliard House by Karl Bren and Ellie Mekeski as a 30-bed shelter for homeless women and children in Eastern Henrico County.
What kind of programming and assistance does HFF provide?
We offer and contribute to several programs that address different stages of housing need: Hilliard House shelter, the Homeless Connection Line and Key Hunters housing coaching. Community housing programs include Building Neighbors and Bringing Families Home, which provide strategies and financial assistance to help families move into permanent housing. The Forging Foundations program supports young adults (ages
18–24) by offering interim housing and assistance to help them transition into stable living situations.
Who is eligible for HFF’s services?
Eligibility varies by program, but in general, HFF serves families with children who are experiencing homelessness or who are at imminent risk of losing their housing. Families must be referred through the region’s Homeless Connection Line, which ensures that those most in need are prioritized. Some programs also serve young adults who are parenting or single and facing homelessness.
How did you get involved with Housing Families First?
I became involved after meeting Beth Vann-Turnbull, the executive director, in the Leadership Metro Richmond Quest Class of 2020. I noticed that the organization was already well-funded and moving in a positive direction. I was interested in leveraging my skills
to contribute to the next phase of growth. I haven’t looked back since.
When were you elected board chair?
I was elected board chair a year ago and have one year left in my term. I accepted because HFF is an innovator in homelessness, and I believe in our responsibility to make meaningful change.
Why is Housing Families First meaningful to you?
When I was a child, we were never homeless, but we faced housing insecurity and the risk of eviction. Community members stepped in to help us, and I understand what these families are going through. I want to use my time and resources to ensure that fewer families in our region face that hardship.
What is your top priority as board chair?
My top priority as board chair is to lead an effective and ambitious board to help realize our vision of a Richmond where all families have a safe place to call home.
What’s your biggest challenge?
Our biggest challenge is the lack of affordable housing and resources relative to the overwhelming need in our community. Families need to know there’s a support system and that they can call the Homeless Connection Line to find help. HFF contributes to that system and receives referrals through it. We don’t have enough resources to move enough people through the system or provide the needed support to ensure they find stable housing.
What are some challenges with affordable housing in
Richmond?
The cost of housing is constantly increasing, making it harder for families to secure stable homes.
We cover deposits and move-in costs, but as rents rise, it costs more to help each family. The only real solution is to increase the number of affordable housing units — our region is over 40,000 units short.
What about challenges to achieving racial equity in housing in Richmond?
We acknowledge long-standing racial inequities that affect housing, access to resources and neighborhood conditions.
Our role is to serve all families at the crisis level, regardless of race, gender, or orientation.
We receive referrals through a regional triage system and do not turn anyone away who qualifies for housing, provided resources are available.
What’s a scenario that epitomizes the way HFF makes a difference for a local family?
A grandmother caring for her grandchildren faced homelessness and found refuge at Housing Families First. Through our programs and case management, she secured a stable home and was able to create a safe, steady environment for her family.
How can someone access your services?
They can contact the Homeless Connection Line at 804-9720813 or visit hclrva.org.
How can someone get involved with helping HFF?
Visit our website to learn about volunteer opportunities, make a donation, or join a board or committee. We host corporate groups, fundraising events and industry roundtables throughout the year.
Are there any Housing Families First events planned?
We’re celebrating our 25th anniversary this year with a series of
birthday events and community celebrations. The details are available on our website.
How do you start your day? I try to start most days at the gym, clearing my head and feeling empowered to take on the challenges ahead.
What are three words that best describe you?
Pioneering, intentional and empathetic.
What are the top three on your musical playlist?
Rüfüs Du Sol, Nipsey Hussle and Chappell Roan.
What is something you love to do that most people would never imagine?
While I haven’t done it often, I really enjoy fly-fishing. It’s mesmerizing and requires being fully present. Being in nature provides a ton of health benefits, too.
Most inspirational quote?
“Just Do It,” the Nike slogan. What book influenced you the most and how?
“The Four Agreements,” by Don Miguel Ruiz. It taught me I don’t need to respond to others’ desires or insecurities, freeing me from being beholden to expectations and giving me true independence. What are you currently reading?
“The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home,” by Susan Wise Bauer and Jessie Wise. I’m interested in this because I believe our education system is built to serve society, not individuals. I want to learn methods that might shape the future and hope to influence education in America through my contributions.
What’s your next goal? Through AI Ready RVA, I aim to make Richmond the most AI-literate city in the world. By empowering people with knowledge and access to technology, we can help them build financial stability and thrive, reducing the risk of homelessness.
Henrico gets a head start with back-to-school bash
Free Press staff report
The 47th annual Hanover Tomato Festival returns Friday and Saturday, July 11 and 12, at Pole Green Park in Mechanicsville.
This free, family-friendly event celebrates Hanover’s signature juicy tomatoes with live entertainment on two stages, nearly 100 vendors, and a variety of children’s activities, all centered around the beloved tomato. Festival hours are 5 to 9 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. Friday night’s main stage will feature The Deloreans, an energetic ’80s tribute band, performing at 5:45 and 7:30 p.m. Cold drinks will be available at the beer tent, with proceeds benefiting the Hanover CREW (Crisis Relief for Emergency Workers) Foundation. On the children’s stage, storytime with Pamunkey Regional Library begins at 5:30 p.m., followed by Jonathan the Juggler at 6 p.m., Tampa Taiko Japanese Drums at 7 p.m. and a Silent Disco Party at 8 p.m.
Saturday’s main stage will host live country music with DanJo (Danny Kensy and Barefoot Joe) at 10 and 11:30 a.m., with tomatothemed contests starting at 11 a.m. On the children’s stage, storytime with Pamunkey Regional Library begins at 9:30 a.m., Tampa Taiko Japanese Drums perform at 10 a.m., followed by Mr. B’s Magic Show at 11 a.m. and Music4Everyone at noon.
Both days will offer games, face painting, inflatable soccer, photo booths and chances to win prizes. Tomato lovers can sample unique dishes such as tomato and basil cupcakes, creamy feta and tomato chicken, BLT hot dogs and chicken salad stuffed tomatoes. Traditional festival fare will include lobster rolls, funnel cakes, kettle corn, lemonade and ice cream.
Local agricultural vendors will offer fresh produce, honey, teas, desserts and even treats for pets. Artisans will showcase handcrafted goods ranging from jewelry and candles to dog toys and leatherwork. The festival is pet-friendly, with leashes required, and cooling stations will be available. Admission and parking are free.
Free Press staff report
Henrico County Public Schools will hold its annual Back-to-School Kickoff on Thursday, July 31, at the Henrico Sports & Events Center, marking the second consecutive year the event will take place at the spacious venue. The free, divisionwide event aims to energize students and families ahead of the first day of school on Aug. 18.
The celebration features basketball, futsal and kickball tournaments, with teams encouraged to register by July 23. Students from third through 12th grade can participate in the popular 3-on-3 Hoop It Up basketball tournament, while futsal and kickball are being offered for the first time. Players may compete in multiple sports, but
registration will not be available on the day of the event. Space is limited and will be allocated based on grade level.
In addition to the sports competitions, attendees can enjoy “Kids’ Zone” games, live performances, a DJ, free backpacks and school supplies while supplies last, a vaccination clinic, and opportunities to meet school leaders and staff from across the division. The event also provides resources to help students and families prepare for the upcoming school year.
In addition to the sports competitions, attendees can enjoy “Kids’ Zone” games, live performances, a DJ, free backpacks and school supplies while supplies last, a vaccination clinic and opportunities to meet school leaders and staff. The event
The Richmond Fire Department, Engine Company No. 9 and Associates Inc., and Brothers & Sisters Combined Professional Firefighters Inc. commemorated the 75th anniversary of Virginia’s first professional Black firefighters on
also includes resources to help students and families prepare for the upcoming school year.
More details regarding tournament schedules, transportation and vaccinations will be announced later this month.
The Back-to-School Kickoff is organized by HCPS’ Division of Family and Community Engagement. Donations of backpacks and school supplies are being accepted for distribution at the event. For questions or to donate, contact ace@henrico.k12.va.us
Additional information about back-to-school resources is available on henricoschools.us.
The Back-to-School Kickoff will run from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Henrico Sports & Events Center, 1 All Star Boulevard, Glen Allen.
A tribute to Black legacy in performance and public service
Julianne
Richmonders paid tribute to two historic legacies with commemorative events held days apart. The Richmond Fire Department and community partners marked the 75th anniversary of Virginia’s first Black professional firefighters, while the Astoria Beneficial Club Inc. hosted its 52nd annual service honoring the enduring legacy of Bill “Bojangles” Robinson.
A guest reads the program during the ceremony. The firefighters’ hiring on July 1, 1950, marked a significant step forward in the struggle for civil rights.
Astoria
Club Inc. honored the legacy of Bill
Robinson on Saturday, June 28, with its 52nd anniversary commemorative service at the park on Adams and Leigh streets. The bronze statue of Robinson, unveiled in 1973, stands at an intersection where he funded the installation of a traffic light to protect children crossing the street. Janice Pankey,
Festival returns to Chimborazo Park to uplift East End youth
Free Press staff report
The seventh annual RVA East End Festival is set for Saturday, Sept. 27, from noon to 7 p.m. at Chimborazo Park, 3215 E. Broad St., organizers announced Monday.
The free, family-friendly music and arts event will once again raise funds to support music and cultural arts programs at Richmond Public Schools in the East End.
Festivalgoers can expect live performances by local professional artists, student musicians and a concert finale at 6 p.m. by
a Richmond Symphony string orchestra under the Big Tent. The event will also include food vendors, art exhibits and a kids’ play area.
“This event is a communitywide outpouring of love for our children because it creates opportunities for them to succeed,” said Rev. Marilyn Heckstall, chair of the 2025 RVA East End Festival.
The announcement came during a press conference featuring Mayor Danny Avula and RPS Superintendent Jason Kamras.
Since its debut in 2016, the
festival has raised more than $550,000 for East End RPS schools, including Armstrong High School, Franklin Military Academy, Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School and several elementary schools. Proceeds have gone toward music equipment, instruments, dance facilities and visual arts supplies.
Most recently, festival funds are being used to purchase 50 new posture chairs and transport carts for the Armstrong High School Chorus.
“The festival’s financial goal for 2025 is $300,000 to
help our wonderful East End students unlock their creative potential and possibly discover pathways for a career in the arts,” said Cheryl L. Burke, 7th District representative on the Richmond School Board.
City Council President Cynthia I. Newbille, who represents the 7th District, called the event “a celebration of support from the community and the generous investment of many sponsors.”
“Our students deserve the best resources for music and the arts, and proceeds from the RVA East End Festival are
dedicated for that purpose,” Newbille said.
Lacey Huszcza, president and CEO of the Richmond Symphony, emphasized the festival’s impact on students.
“We know that participation in the arts has a direct effect on young people and their ability to solve problems, to communicate and to combat feelings of anxiety, loneliness and isolation,” Huszcza said. “The Richmond Symphony is committed to supporting music education throughout the region, and we are delighted to collaborate once again with the RVA East End Festival.” More information is available at facebook.com/rvaeastendfest
Photos by
Tripp Hillian/Richmond Free Press
The
Beneficial
“Bojangles”
president of The Charmettes Inc., speaks at the 52nd anniversary commemorative service.
Charles W. Ellis, retired firefighter, gives a presentation on the history of Black firefighters in Virginia during the event.
July 1 at Main Street Station.
Photo courtesy of Hanover County
Faith
‘Lift Every Voice and Sing,’ unofficial Black national anthem, celebrates 125 years
By Adelle M. Banks Religion News Service
“Lift Every Voice and Sing” is a hymn many African Americans of older generations just know. They sang it in church, learned it in school and stood for what is dubbed the unofficial Black national anthem just like they might for “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
“Lift every voice and sing/’Til earth and heaven ring/Ring with the harmonies of Liberty,” it begins. “Let our rejoicing rise/High as the list’ning skies/Let it resound loud as the rolling sea.”
Courtney-Savali Andrews, an assistant professor at Oberlin College’s Conservatory of Music in Northeast Ohio, was born in the mid-1970s in Seattle, where the song — which turns 125 years old this year — was a staple at her Baptist church and in the wider Black community.
“It was impressed upon me, particularly from the ministers of music and the pastor, that not only did I have to sing the song with a full-heartedness, I also had to memorize all of the words,” she recalled in mid-June at the Museum of the Bible in Washington. “And so, it was one of those items that you did not want to be caught, specifically by your peers, looking into the hymnal.”
Andrews, who studiesAfrican American and African diasporic music, was one of a dozen speakers at a daylong symposium on “Lift Every Voice and Sing” on June 12 at the museum.
The song was first publicly sung by a group of 500 Black schoolchildren in 1900 in Jacksonville, Fla., to commemorate the birthday of President Abraham Lincoln. Its words were written by educator and civil rights activist James Weldon Johnson for the occasion, and his brother, J. Rosamond John-
son, set them to music.
“They both saw artistic and cultural excellence as a major key to Black advancement in America,” said Theodore Thorpe III, a Virginia church musician and high school choral director, and the symposium’s keynote speaker.
“The hymn continued to resonate and reverberate, even beyond the expectations of the Johnson brothers.”
In its early years, it was pasted on the back of hymnals, Bibles and schoolbooks and sung regularly at NAACP and other organizational gatherings. Words from its second stanza were recited in the benediction of President Barack Obama’s first inauguration in 2009, and in the sermon at the inaugural prayer service the next day: “God of our weary years/God of our silent tears,/ Thou who has brought us thus far on the way.”
sung in an array of arrangements by choirs, played on the Hammond B-3 organ and featured in a spoken-word performance.
In February, Grammy Award-winning vocalist Ledisi performed the anthem with 125 high schoolers during the Super Bowl pregame ceremony to mark the 125th anniversary.
During his remarks, Thorpe listed a range of artists who have recorded versions — some known for gospel music and some not — including Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Alicia Keys and Mary Mary.
“‘Lift Every Voice and Sing’ remains one of the most powerful symbols of the civil rights movement,” he said. “It is featured in over 40 different Christian hymnals and sung in churches all across America, not just during Black History Month or Juneteenth.”
Over the course of the day and evening, about 200 audience members heard the song performed by a wind ensemble,
“It resonates not only in different genres, but it resonates in even different generations,” said Bobby Duke, the museum’s chief curatorial officer. “We have seen people that are very much senior citizens, when they heard the Duke Ellington (School of the Arts) choir start singing, they stood. We see college students and then even students that are still in secondary school singing this.”
Duke collaborated with Bishop David D. Daniels III, a scholar of historical African and Black Pentecostal contributions to Christianity, who envisioned the symposium before his Oct. 10, 2024, death. The event, which was dedicated in memory of Daniels, received funding from the Phos Foundation, which is co-directed by Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin and his wife, Suzanne.
The symposium featured discussions of the three-stanza text — often all three are sung in churches and performances — and the music that accompanies it. Religious leaders and scholars, including the Rev. Joy
Moore, president of Northern Seminary outside Chicago, discussed its words of hope and of lament.
“The text of this song doesn’t just say, as African Americans, we are in pain,” Moore said. “But it says, from this experience of pain, we hold this hope passed down to us, and we pass it on so that we are faithful to who we are and to the God who has created us and called us and not given up on us.”
One audience member, the Rev. E. Daryl Duff, a retired Navy musician, described an instance where the song was not accepted by a white member of a chorus he directed at Fort Belvoir in Virginia.
“She was a solid choir member until February, when I would program this song, ‘Lift Every Voice and Sing,’ and she saw it as a divisive song,” said Duff, who is Black. “How do we as a people, Black, white, Jewish, Chinese, Japanese, make this song ubiquitous, which I believe that’s what God wants?”
Chelle Stearns, a white professor at Seattle School of Theology & Psychology and a symposium panelist, responded: “Two words come to mind: curiosity and friendship. And I think we need a lot more of that.”
Journalist Kevin Sack, author of a new book about Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C., where nine church members were murdered by a white supremacist in 2015, wrote about being moved by two particular lines of the song. Back in 2019, he stood next to a church member in her 70s, whose eyes filled with tears as congregants sang: “We have come over a way that with tears has been watered/We have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered.”
“It just blew me away at how directly relevant it was to what had happened, literally
Thousands gather in Richmond for Ahmadiyya Muslim convention
Free Press staff report
Nearly 10,000 Muslim Americans gathered at the Greater Richmond Convention Center over the Fourth of July weekend for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community’s 75th annual convention.
Founded in the late 19th century in India, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is a global Islamic movement known for its emphasis on nonviolence, interfaith dialogue and public service. The community has been active in the United States for more than a century.
The Jalsa Salana convention drew attendees from across the United States for the event themed “The Giving Hand,” which focused on humanitarian service and civic engagement.
Lawmakers, faith leaders and scholars joined attendees in praising the community’s commitment to American ideals and humanitarian values.
U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Maryland, was honored with the 2025 Ahmadiyya Muslim Humanitarian Award for his advocacy for human rights and the rule of law.
“I want to thank you for your shared commitment to ending the humanitarian disaster and war in Gaza and for freeing all the hostages,” Van Hollen said. “We must work to build peace, dignity and self-determination for all people.”
Throughout the weekend, speakers emphasized the community’s motto, “Love for All, Hatred for None,” as an expression of faith that aligns closely with American democratic ideals.
“I had the honor of joining Jalsa last year. It left a lasting impression on me,” said state Sen. Ghazala Hashmi, D-Richmond. Del. Joshua Cole, D-Manassas, spoke to the religious and civic resonance of the event: “As the Qur’an reminds us, nations and tribes were created so we may know one another, and the most honorable are the most righteous. You belong here. This is your country.”
The convention ended Sunday with final remarks from community leaders and prayers led by national representatives, wrapping up a weekend of dialogue centered on faith, service and unity.
James Weldon Johnson. one floor below where we’re standing,” Sack told Religion News Service the day after the symposium.
Sack, who is Jewish and has spent many Sundays at Mother Emanuel, said he considers the song the nation’s best anthem.
“I give the Johnsons credit because obviously I don’t know that it was their intent, but I do think that it is a piece of music that communicates powerfully to white listeners as well as to Black listeners,” Sack said.
Symposium organizers and participants noted their desire for the anthem to continue to bridge ages as well as races.
“It’s transferable to not only many genres, but it’s transferable to the generations,” said Stephen Michael Newby, a music professor at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, pointing to the popular concert version of the anthem arranged by musician Roland Carter and performed across Europe and America, including by the Duke Ellington high schoolers at the symposium.
said
liked the “powerful meaning” of the song. “To me, when it says, ‘Lift every voice and sing ’til earth and heaven ring,’” he said, “you want people to sing with you and come together.”
Courtesy of the Library of Congress
The first page of sheet music for “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” with lyrics by
Prince Francis, 13, a member of the Washington Performing Arts Children of the Gospel Choir, which sang a gospel-style version, agreed. After the event, he
he
James Weldon Johnson
Jones Pastor
Development,
Ordinance No. 2025-159 To authorize the Chief Administrative Officer, for and on behalf of the City of Richmond, to accept funds in the amount of $39,158,844.00 from the United States Department of Transportation, Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration, and to amend the Fiscal Year 2025-2026 Gas Utility Budget, which appropriated the estimated receipts of the gas utility, by increasing estimated receipts and the amount appropriated for expenditures of the gas utility by $39,158,844.00, for the purpose of providing funding for the repair, replacement, and rehabilitation of natural gas pipelines and related equipment.
(COMMITTEE: Finance and Economic Development, Wednesday, July 16, 2025, 2:00 p.m.)
Ordinance No. 2025-160
To authorize the Chief Administrative Officer, for and on behalf of the City of Richmond, to execute a Performance Agreement between the City of Richmond, VPM Media Corporation, and the Economic Development Authority of the City of Richmond for the purpose of providing performance grants to VPM Media Corporation to establish, equip, and operate a new headquarters located at 13 East Broad Street in the city of Richmond.
(COMMITTEE: Finance and Economic Development, Wednesday, July 16, 2025, 2:00 p.m.)
Interested citizens who wish to speak will be given an opportunity to do so by following the instructions referenced in the July 28, 2025 Richmond City Council Formal meeting agenda. Copies of the full text of all ordinances are available by
without interruption for a period exceeding twelve months. It is ORDERED that the defendant, whose whereabouts are unknown, appear here on or before the 11th day of August, 2025 at 9:00 AM and protect her interests. A Copy, Teste: FRANK D. HARGROVE, JR., Clerk I ask for this: Law Office of Dorothy M. Eure, P.C. Dorothy M. Eure, Plaintiff’s Attorney VSB# 27724 8460 Mount Eagle Road Ashland, VA 23005 (804 798-9667
CUSTODY VIRGINIA: Henrico Circuit Court 4309 E Parham Road, Richmond, VA 23228 Commonwealth of Virginia, in re ADOPTION OF CHILD to be known as PEIGHTON ELIZABETH JOHNSON Case No. CA25000025-00 ORDER OF PUBLICATION The object of this suit is to: Adoption of PEIGHTON ELIZABETH JOHNSON It is ORDERED that Sean Wilton appear at the abovenamed court and protect his/her interest on or before 8/15/2025
VIRGINIA: IN THE JUVENILE AND DOMESTIC RELATIONS DISTRICT COURT OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND Commonwealth of Virginia, in re MILANI GOIN, a Juvenile RDSS, Plaintiff v. UNKNOWN FATHER, Defendant File No. JJ102482-09-00 ORDER OF PUBLICATION The object of this suit is to: Terminate the residual parental rights (“TPR”) of the Unknown Father (Father) of Milani Goin, child DOB 03/03/2023 . “TPR” means all rights and responsibilities remaining with parent after transfer of legal custody or guardianship of the person, including but not limited to rights of: visitation; adoption consent; determination of religious affiliation; and responsibility for support. It is ORDERED that the
defendant Unknown Father (Father) to appear at the above-named Court and protect his/her interest on or before 12/10/2025, at 9:00 A.M., COURTROOM #5. PROPERTY
VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE CITY OF RICHMOND In re: Surplus Funds Derived from the Foreclosure Sale of Property Located at 1116 North 22nd Street, Richmond, Virginia 23223
PETER M. PEARL, BRYSON J. HUNTER, and JENNIFER A. BAKER, Trustees Petitioners, v. UNKNOWN HEIRS OF NATHANIEL JAMES -andUNKNOWN HEIRS OF DONNA J. JAMES Respondents. Case No. CL25-2515-00 CGC AMENDED ORDER OF PUBLICATION
The object of this suit is to interplead surplus funds remaining following the foreclosure sale of certain real property commonly known as 1116 North 22nd Street, Richmond, Virginia 23223. It appearing that Respondents’ identity and present whereabouts are unknown, and that diligence has been used by or on behalf of the Petitioners without effect to ascertain the identity and location of any unknown heirs, it is ORDERED that any potential heirs appear on or before July 22,
an interest in said property. On consideration whereof, it is ORDERED that all parties hereinabove named, including those designated as “parties unknown” appear or on before the August 1, 2025 at 11:00 a.m., and do what is necessary to protect their interests. EDWARD
Continued from previous column Continued on next column
