Meet president of Baptist ministers’ group B1
Richmond Free Press © 2019 Paradigm Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.
VOL. 28 NO. 39
RICHMOND, VIRGINIA
www.richmondfreepress.com
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Billy Porter wins B2
SEPTEMBER 26-28, 2019
Family matters
Inspector general’s report details how 5 relatives of former CAO Selena Cuffee-Glenn were hired, but finds no evidence she was involved directly in their hiring By Jeremy M. Lazarus
Lenora Reid is officially in charge of Richmond city government — for now. City Council voted 9-0 on Monday to confirm Mayor Levar M. Stoney’s request that Ms. Reid, the city’s chief financial officer, serve as interim chief administrative officer in the wake of her predecessor being fired because of nepotism. Mayor Stoney fired CAO Selena Cuffee-Glenn on Sept. 18 following the release of an internal inspector general’s report that found five of Ms. Cuffee-Glenn’s relatives, including her
Ms. CuffeeGlenn
daughter, were on the payroll of departments reporting to her, a potential violation of city policy. The mayor secured the unanimous vote backing Ms. Reid as a replacement despite earlier grousing from City Council about Ms. Reid’s direct role in approving the hiring of Ms. Cuffee-Glenn’s daughter for a provisional job in the Department of Public Utilities at a 25 percent higher wage than most others in the same administrative support position make across city government. Please turn to A4
Ms. Reid
VUU brings academic ‘signing day’ to Huguenot By Ronald E. Carrington
Tuesday was a red-letter day for nine Huguenot High School ninth-graders. The stage in a school assembly hall was set with red and white balloons and logos for Richmond Public Schools and Virginia Union University. In a matter of moments, the nine students — five girls and four boys — would learn they were being awarded a full, four-year scholarship to VUU. The surprise announcement was made by RPS Superintendent Jason Kamras along with Maurice Campbell, VUU’s senior vice president of corporate and external affairs, and Mike Newsome, president of the VUU National Alumni Association. The students, who were brought to the stage for the announcement, showed visible shock and excitement. “My parents are going to be proud because I put in the hard work last summer writing three essays required to apply for the award,” 14-year-old scholarship winner Mekhi Reavis Please turn to A4
Ronald E. Carrington/Richmond Free Press
Ninth-graders at Huguenot High School are honored with four-year scholarships to Virginia Union University on Tuesday during a surprise ceremony with officials at the South Side school. Award winners and the officials are, from left, Maurice Campbell, VUU’s senior vice president of corporate and external affairs; Richmond Public Schools Superintendent Jason Kamras; April Leveron; Ashley Duron; Asia Dudley; Huguenot Principal Robert J. Gilstrap; Demarc Oliver; Ingrid Reyes Rodas; Jordan Braxton; Mekhi Reavis; Shayla Saravia; and Mike Newsome, president of the VUU National Alumni Association. Award winner Justin Pair is not pictured.
Justice Center brings technology to inmates By Jeremy M. Lazarus
Regina H. Boone/Richmond Free Press
Making a new friend Kaya Wagner of Varina gives Pickles, the French bulldog, a friendly back scratch last Saturday at the Richmond Dog Festival in Chimborazo Park. The event, hosted by Enrichmond, was to generate donations to go to Friends of Chimborazo Park to help clean and maintain the dog park in Church Hill.
Lewis family relocates to new home By Jeremy M. Lazarus
Celieto L. and Janice F. Lewis have finally found a place to call home. The sisters, who have been living out of their vehicle since a mid-August kitchen fire left them homeless, signed a lease on Saturday and are preparing to move into a threebedroom rental home on Red Oak Lane in South Side. “We still have to wait until after Oct. 3 so we can move in,” Celieto Lewis said Monday. “But at least we are moving closer to ending this ordeal.” Ms. Lewis is 63. Her sister, Janice, is 65. They also care for two grown grandchildren and a great-granddaughter. She said that her sister’s grandson has friends who are ready to help move the furniture, appliances, clothing and other items from their former home on Flynn Road to their new home. The Free Press spotlighted the plight of the Lewis family Please turn to A4
Computer tablets are making it easier for families and inmates at the Richmond Justice Center to stay connected. Inmates now can have video calls with spouses, children and others on their visitation list. They also can take educational courses online, arrange medical appointments, file grievances and handle other internal communication with jail staff using a tablet available in their cellblock or pod — eliminating paper messages that could get lost. “This has been great,” said inmate Oro D. Louis, 40, who has two years to serve at the jail. Currently, he is taking a course in microeconomics and looks forward to studying other online courses offered through the nonprofit Khan Academy, whose mission is to provide “a free education for anyone, anywhere.” Sheriff Antionette V. Irving, who previously added an online inmate search function for the public to use, introduced
Photos by Daryl D. Tyler/Richmond Sheriff’s Office
Cpl. J. Barnes pulls one of the tablets from a charging station, also called a “pizza oven.” Another tablet, right, sits in a docking station in a pod or cellblock at the Richmond Justice Center. Every inmate is assigned a user name and PIN to use the tablets.
the tablets in July as the latest technology innovation at the jail. Since then, every inmate processed at the jail has been provided a unique user Please turn to A4
City Council empanels Coliseum commission — with VUU president
impartial commission. Dr. Lucas signed his name to an opinion piece The final seven members of a City Council commispublished in December in Richmond’s daily newspaper sion to review the $1.5 billion Coliseum replacement praising the massive development plan that calls for proposal have been seated — starting a 90-day clock private development of apartments, offices and retail for them to review the plan. shops near City Hall to accompany construction of a A divided governing body voted 5-4 Monday new, larger $225 million Coliseum for which taxpayers night to include Virginia Union University President would foot the bill. Hakim J. Lucas on the commission, handing a victory Before the vote, Dr. Lucas sent a letter to City Dr. Lucas to Mayor Levar M. Stoney and other supporters of Council members, assuring them he could put aside the project. his bias and fairly review the project with the other members Dr. Lucas is a publicly declared advocate of the Downtown Please turn to A4 project, despite City Council’s initial desire to empanel an By Jeremy M. Lazarus