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Richmond Free Press

VOL. 29 NO. 51

RICHMOND, VIRGINIA

www.richmondfreepress.com

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Meet the Personality of the Week B1

DECEMber 10-12, 2020

Cozy with Chromebook Richmond School Board votes for students to continue virtual classes through the end of the academic year By Ronald E. Carrington

Richmond students won’t be going back into school buildings for in-person classes next semester. The Richmond School Board voted 8-1 Monday night to continue the school system’s virtual learning through the end of the 2020-21 school year because of the health and safety threat from the area’s unchecked rise in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.

Superintendent Jason Kamras, who said his decision supporting continued virtual learning for Richmond Public Schools was one of the hardest of his career, cited the alarming health data showing the rise in COVID-19 infections in Richmond. He also said results of an RPS survey showed that 80 percent of teachers and staff and more than half of nearly 6,000 families who responded preferred continuing virtual classes when the second semester begins Feb. 8.

Gov. Northam signs ‘Breonna’s Law’ banning no-knock warrants

School Board member Jonathan Young, 4th District, was the lone dissenting vote. Mr. Young proposed allowing some special needs students to return to classrooms for in-person instruction. But his proposal died from a lack of backing from any other board members to be brought to a vote. Mr. Kamras and several board members said there would be a problem getting students to school under Mr. Young’s proposed hybrid inperson and virtual instruction. Since the pandemic began in March and the school buildings have been closed, RPS’ bus fleet has been used to deliver food to RPS families every morning. Please turn to A4

Photo courtesy of the Evans Family

Richmond Public Schools students in an educational pod in North Side work on their class assignments in September with the help of a pod leader.

By Denise Lavoie The Associated Press

Photo courtesy the Governor’s Office

Bianca Austin, aunt of 26-year-old Breonna Taylor who was killed by Louisville, Ky., police inside her apartment in March, watches as Gov. Ralph S. Northam signs a bill Monday banning no-knock warrants in Virginia. With her is the Taylor family’s lawyer, Benjamin Crump. She also was accompanied at the bill signing by another one of Ms. Taylor’s aunts, Tahasha Holloway.

Two of Breonna Taylor’s aunts watched in Richmond on Monday as Gov. Ralph S. Northam ceremonially signed a statewide ban against police use of no-knock search warrants, a law named after Ms. Taylor, a Kentucky woman who was fatally shot when Louisville police broke down her door in the middle of the night. “Breonna’s Law” is the first Please turn to A4

Photos courtesy of Richmond Metropolitan Habitat for Humanity

Spring Cambric, left, and her children, from the top, Brandon, Kaila and Quentin enjoy the porch of their new home through Habitat for Humanity in the Chestnut Hills neighborhood in North Side. Regina H. Boone/Richmond Free Press

Former Gov. Terry McAuliffe, center, vows to raise teacher pay as he launches his campaign Wednesday outside Miles Jones Elementary School in South Side. Joining him are, from left, Richmond educator Dr. Milondra B. Coleman, Virginia House Majority Leader Charniele L. Herring of Alexandria, state Senate President Pro Tempore L. Louise Lucas of Portsmouth and Mayor Levar M. Stoney.

Former Gov. Terry McAuliffe makes it official: He wants another 4 years By Jeremy M. Lazarus

Former Gov. Terry McAuliffe has been saying for months he wants his old job back. On Wednesday, Mr. McAuliffe made his bid official. He formally jumped into the crowded field of Democratic rivals as he launched his bid to win the party’s nomination to run for a second, four-year term and take on energized Republicans who are expected to choose a candidate who can strongly vie for the state’s top office. Accompanied by several Black elected officials, including his protégé, Richmond Mayor Levar M. Stoney, Mr. McAuliffe stood in front of Miles Jones Elementary School in South Side to begin pitching voters to reinstate him as the state’s chief executive. A generally popular figure while in office, Mr. McAuliffe vowed to “think big and be bold” and emphasized his plan to raise teacher pay and recruit more people to be educators. If elected, he said his top goals would be to increase Virginia teacher pay above the national average and to provide free college tuition for students who make a five-year commitment to educating schoolchildren in the state. Mr. McAuliffe said he also would continue efforts from his first term to attract new businesses, ensure affordable health care, build a clean energy economy and address the need for affordable housing. Known for his campaign energy and fundraising prowess, the former governor already is considered the front-runner in a contest that is expected to be among the most expensive ever for Virginia. Still, he faces an uphill climb to win the

party’s nomination in next June’s Democratic primary election. His opponents include two Black women, state Sen. Jennifer L. McClellan of Richmond and former Delegate Jennifer Carroll Foy of Prince William County, who resigned her office this week to run full time; and Lt. Gov. Justin E. Fairfax, who also is African-American.

Women power

Military veteran becomes first-time homeowner through Habitat initiative By Lyndon German

Spring Cambric broke down in tears as she stood surrounded by family and friends last Saturday on the front porch of her new North Side home. Ms. Cambric, a Navy veteran who currently works at the entrance processing station at Fort Lee in Petersburg, spent more than 200 hours working with other volunteers to rehab the house through Habitat for Humanity’s Women Build initiative. More than 100 local women volunteered on the project. Now, after years of traveling and relocating with the military, Ms. Cambric and her four children have their first permanent home — a two-story, three-bedroom home in the Chestnut Hills neighborhood. Please turn to A4

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Free COVID-19 testing Free community testing for COVID-19 continues. The Richmond and Henrico County health districts are offering testing at the following locations:

Regina H. Boone/Richmond Free Press

Family fall cleanup Cousins Armari Fells, 14, left, and Jeremiah Jefferson, 16, pitched in to help their grandfather, Tyrone Prentiss, spruce up the yard of his sister and her husband, Patrick and Delores Llewellyn, on Brook Road in North Side. They took advantage of the sunshine last Saturday to rake and bag the leaves for pickup. Armari, who lives in Atlanta where his schooling is now virtual, has been visiting relatives in Richmond since Thanksgiving.

• Thursday, Dec. 10, 2 to 4 p.m., Southwood Management Property Office, 400 Southwood Parkway, South Side. Rain date: Friday, Dec. 11 at Eastern Henrico Health Department. • Friday, Dec. 11, 1 to 3 p.m., Eastern Henrico Health Department, 1400 N. Laburnum Ave., Eastern Henrico. Drive-thru testing. • Monday, Dec. 14, 2 to 4 p.m., Diversity Richmond, 1407 Sherwood Ave., North Side • Tuesday, Dec. 15, 10 a.m. to noon, Eastern Henrico Health Department, 1400 N. Laburnum Ave., Eastern Henrico. Drive-thru testing.

• Thursday, Dec. 17, 2 to 4 p.m., Second Baptist Church of South Richmond, 3300 Broad Rock Blvd., South Side. Drive-thru testing. • Friday, Dec. 18, 10 a.m. to noon, Regency Square parking deck, 1420 N. Parham Road, Western Henrico. Drive-thru testing.

Related story on A7 Appointments are encouraged by calling the Richmond and Henrico COVID-19 Hotline at (804) 205-3501 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

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