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Northam Admistration Identifies Field Hospital Spots

Richmond, Va. (Newsradiowrva.com) - Governor Ralph Northam says Virginia and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have identified three spots for field hospitals to help deal with the likely coronavirus patient surge. The sites are the Dulles Expo Center, the Richmond Convention Center and the Hampton Roads Convention Center. They are now working to find sites west of Richmond as well.The Richmond site could accomodate over 400 acute beds, or over 700 non-acute beds. It would take six weeks to set up.Northam expects the peak of the surge of patients to hit in May.

April 03, 2020

Northam Moving Towards Hiring Freeze

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Governor Ralph Northam is instituting a hiring freeze of state employees and is telling agency heads to look for ways to cut budgets in response to the coronavirus. Northam chief of staff Clark Mercer told agency heads in a Thursday memo obtained by The Associated Press that a recession is coming and the state revenues will be far below “even our most pessimistic forecast” from last year.On top of that, Mercer said, the state is having to spend heavily on buying medical supplies, helping vulnerable populations navigate the pandemic, and other virus-related costs.

April 03, 2020

41 Coronavirus Deaths In Virginia

Richmond, VA _ The Virginia Department of Health reported 1,706 confirmed cases of coronavirus Friday, with 246 hospitalizations and 41 deaths. The total number of people tested climbed to 17,589.The tally included 87 cases in Henrico, 73 cases in Chesterfield, 52 in Richmond, and 8 in Hanover County. Five more residents have died at Canterbury Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center in Henrico, bringing the total number of deaths at that facility alone to 16. Of the 164 residents living in the nursing care center 108, or roughly two-thirds of the residents have tested positive for CoVid-19, as well as 25 workers there.Administrator Jeremiah Davis says the spike in positive cases ame as no surprise following a decision on Monday to test everyone in the center.

April 02, 2020

Richmond Offers Help To Small Businesses

Richmond, VA — The Richmond Economic Development Authority Friday created the Richmond Small Business Disaster Loan Program (COVID-19), which will offer interest-free emergency loans of up to $20,000 to small businesses within city limits. The program is intended to provide relief to small businesses who have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Monies will go toward paying employee wages, empowering local, small businesses to continue operating and keep employees on their payroll. “Small businesses have made Richmond the thriving culture capital we love,” said Mayor Stoney. “They’ve been understanding, patient and selfless in adapting to the recent social distancing guidance, no matter the economic consequences for them. This loan program is one way we can help provide some relief and support in this tough time.” The maximum loan amount for the program is six months of current employee wages or $20,000, whichever is less. Loan payments will be disbursed over six months. Repayment of the loans will be deferred for six months, followed by 48 months of no-interest payments. Small businesses interested in applying should fill out the application and provide the required documentation via email. The application will be available starting Monday, April 6. Funding is limited. Applications will be considered in the order they are submitted.

April 02, 2020

President Approves Virginia Disaster Declaration

Richmond, VA _ President Donald Trump Thursday approved Virginia’s request for a disaster declaration to help in the fight against COVID-19. The declaration orders federal assistance to supplement commonwealth, tribal, and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic beginning on January 20, 2020, and continuing.Federal funding is available to Commonwealth, tribal and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations for emergency protective measures, including direct federal assistance, for all areas in the Commonwealth of Virginia impacted by COVID-19.   Pete Gaynor, Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Department of Homeland Security, named MaryAnn Tierney as the Federal Coordinating Officer for Federal recovery operations in the affected areas.    

April 02, 2020

Son: Jazz Great Ellis Marsalis Jr. Dead, 85; Covid Involved

By JANET McCONNAUGHEY and REBECCA SANTANA NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Ellis Marsalis Jr., the jazz pianist, teacher and patriarch of a New Orleans musical clan, died late Wednesday from pneumonia brought on by the new coronavirus, leaving six sons and a deep legacy. He was 85.“My dad was a giant of a musician and teacher, but an even greater father. He poured everything he had into making us the best of what we could be,” Branford said.Four of the jazz patriarch's six sons are musicians: Wynton, a Pulitzer- and Grammy-winning trumpeter, is America's most prominent jazz spokesman as artistic director of jazz at New York's Lincoln Center. Branford, a saxophonist, has won three Grammies, led The Tonight Show band and toured with Sting. Delfeayo, a trombonist, is a prominent recording producer and performer. And Jason, a percussionist, has made a name for himself with his own band and as an accompanist. Ellis III, who decided music wasn't his gig, is a photographer-poet in Baltimore. Their brother Mboya has autism. Marsalis' wife, Dolores, died in 2017.“Pneumonia was the actual thing that caused his demise. But it was pneumonia brought on by COVID-19,” Ellis Marsalis III said in an Associated Press phone interview.He said he drove Sunday from Baltimore to be with his father, who was hospitalized Saturday in Louisiana, which has been hit hard by the outbreak. Others in the family spent time with him, too.“He went out the way he lived: embracing reality,” Wynton tweeted, alongside pictures of his father.Branford's statement included a text he said he got from Harvard Law Professor David Wilkins: “We can all marvel at the sheer audacity of a man who believed he could teach his black boys to be excellent in a world that denied that very possibility, and then watch them go on to redefine what excellence means for all time.”In a statement, Mayor LaToya Cantrell said of the man who continued to perform regularly until December: “Ellis Marsalis was a legend. He was the prototype of what we mean when we talk about New Orleans jazz. He was a teacher, a father, and an icon — and words aren’t sufficient to describe the art, the joy and the wonder he showed the world."Because Marsalis opted to stay in New Orleans for most of his career, his reputation was limited until his sons became famous — Wynton has won nine Grammies and been nominated 33 times — and brought him the spotlight, along with new recording contracts and headliner performances on television and tour."He was like the coach of jazz. He put on the sweatshirt, blew the whistle and made these guys work," said Nick Spitzer, host of public radio’s American Routes and a Tulane University anthropology professor.The Marsalis "family band" seldom played together when the boys were younger but went on tour in 2003 in a spinoff of a family celebration, which became a PBS special when the elder Marsalis retired from teaching at the University of New Orleans.Harry Connick Jr., one of his students at the New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts, was a guest. He's one of many now-famous jazz musicians who passed through Marsalis' classrooms. Others include trumpeters Nicholas Payton and Terence Blanchard, saxophonists Donald Harrison and Victor Goines, and bassist Reginald Veal.Marsalis was born in New Orleans, son of the operator of a hotel where he met touring black musicians who couldn't stay at the segregated downtown hotels where they performed. He played saxophone in high school; he also played piano by the time he went to Dillard University.Although New Orleans was steeped in traditional jazz, and rock 'n' roll was the new sound in the 1950s, Marsalis preferred bebop and modern jazz.Spitzer described Marsalis as a “modernist in a town of traditionalists.”"His great love was jazz a la bebop — he was a lover of Thelonious Monk and the idea that bebop was a music of freedom. But when he had to feed his family, he played R&B and soul and rock ‘n’ roll on Bourbon Street," Spitzer said.The musician's college quartet included drummer Ed Blackwell, clarinetist Alvin Batiste and saxophonist Harold Battiste.Ornette Coleman was in town at the time. In 1956, when Coleman headed to California, Marsalis and the others went along, but after a few months Marsalis returned home. He told the New Orleans Times-Picayune years later, when he and Coleman were old men, that he never figured out what a pianist could do behind the free form of Coleman's jazz.Back in New Orleans, Marsalis joined the Marine Corps and was assigned to accompany soloists on the service's weekly TV programs on CBS in New York. There, he said, he learned to handle all kinds of music styles.Returning home, he worked at the Playboy Club and ventured into running his own club, which went bust. In 1967 trumpeter Al Hirt hired him. When not on Bourbon Street, Hirt's band appeared on national TV — headline shows on The Tonight Show and The Ed Sullivan Show, among others.Marsalis got into education about the same time, teaching improvisation at Xavier University in New Orleans. In the mid-1970s, he joined the faculty at the New Orleans magnet high school and influenced a new generation of jazz musicians.When asked how he could teach something as free-wheeling as jazz improvisation, Marsalis once said, "We don't teach jazz, we teach students."In 1986 he moved to Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. In 1989, the University of New Orleans lured him back to set up a jazz studies program.Marsalis retired from UNO in 2001 but continued performing, particularly at Snug Harbor, a small club that anchored the city's contemporary jazz scene — frequently backing young promising musicians.His melodic style, with running improvisations in the right hand, has been described variously as romantic, contemporary, or simply "Louisiana jazz." He was always on acoustic piano, never electric, and even in interpreting old standards there’s a clear link to the driving bebop chords and rhythms of his early years.He founded a record company, ELM, but his recording was limited until his sons became famous. After that he joined them and others on mainstream labels and headlined his own releases, many full of his own compositions.He often played at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. And for more than three decades he played two 75-minute sets every Friday night at Snug Harbor until he decided it was exhausting. Even then, he still performed on occasion as a special guest.Ellis III said his father taught him the meaning of integrity before he even knew the word.He and Delfeayo, neither of them yet 10, had gone to hear their father play at a club. Only one man — sleeping and drunk — was in the audience for the second set. The boys asked why they couldn't leave."He looked at us and said, ‘I can't leave. I have a gig.' While he's playing, he said, 'A gig is a deal. I'm paid to play this set. I'm going to play this set. It doesn't matter that nobody's here.' ”

April 02, 2020

Governor Says Surge Still Sometime Off

Richmond, Va. (Newsradiowrva.com) - Governor Ralph Northam says according to modeling, the expected coronavirus surge of cases may not come until late April or late May. The Governor making the statement during his every two day briefing on the pandemic, during which, he explained why his State of Emergency and Stay at Home order extend into June.Northam says the crisis will last months, not weeks. He also says he is examining legislation which could have an economic or budget impact, including a raise in the minimum wage. Activists are pushing for him to sign the raise, pointing out many who would benefit, including grocery store workers and home health aides, are currently working through the pandemic. The Governor has an April 11th deadline to sign legislation.Northam also says they are working with the Army Corps of Engineers to identify field hospital sites. They are working on sites in Fairfax, Hampton and Richmond, and have begun to look in western Virginia as well.There are currently nearly 1,500 cases of coronavirus and 34 deaths, according to the State Health Department.

April 01, 2020

Vice President Pence Visits Louisa County

Gordonsville, Va. (Newsradiowrva.com) - In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, Vice President Mike Pence took a trip to Louisa County to see a Walmart distribution center. Pence is also head of President Donald Trump's coronavirus task force.Pence examined the supply chain set-up and spoke to workers. He thanked them for working while the pandemic is going on.Pence also praised Virginia's response. All of Virginia's leaders are elected Democrats, unlike Pence, a Republican.

April 01, 2020

Sheetz Offering Free Meal Program

Richmond, Va. (Newsradiowrva.com) - Sheetz, one of the major convenience store chains in virginia, is offering a free meal program for children in need during the coronavirus pandemic. The "Meal Bagz" will be available starting April 2nd. They include a turkey sandwich, chips, and a drink. Families can access them by talking to the employee at the register.The company says the meals will be available daily while supplies last. You can get one per child. It will be evaluated after two weeks.You can get them at these sites:2415 Lee Highway, Bristol, VA600 East Nelson St, Lexington, VA2630 Lakeside Dr, Lynchburg, VA4089 S Amherst Hwy, Madison Heights, VA3927 Wards Rd, Lynchburg, VA14449 Forest Rd, Forest, VA12341 Washington Hwy, Ashland, VA2711 Conduit Rd, Colonial Heights, VA20 S Providence Rd, Richmond, VA9401 Amberdale Dr, Richmond, VA231 E Hundred Rd, Chester, VA4201 Anderson Highway, Powhatan, VA1900 Colonial Crossings Dr, Prince George, VA2703 Peters Creek Rd NW, Roanoke, VA1212 Williamson Rd NE, Roanoke, VA2000 N Franklin St, Christiansburg, VA1435 Apperson Dr, Salem, VA1340 W Main St, Salem, VA20281 Virgil H Goode Hwy, Rocky Mount, VA1007 Philpott Rd, South Boston, VA1340 N 4th St, Wytheville, VA

April 01, 2020

Bon Secours Announces Furloughs

Richmond, Va. (Newsradiowrva.com) - Local healthcare provider Bon Secours has annonced furloughs, despite increased demand for healthcare from Coronavirus. In a letter to associates, the system says it is losing $100 million a month. The pandemic is also decrease demand for other services.Bon Secours released this statement: "As a ministry and throughout our history, we’ve always answered the call to serve in a time of great need, when resources are scarce and entire communities are relying upon us. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused an unprecedented demand for health care services. Simultaneously, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused an unprecedented decline in services and other work within our ministry. In response to this unprecedented situation, and following deep reflection and prayer, our ministry is acting quickly to redeploy or temporarily furlough associates who are unable to work due to temporary closure, cancellation and low census in primary care, outpatient and surgical services. This will also affect many support services associates who are not directly working on COVID-19 activities. We are also suspending hiring for any positions not directly impacting our COVID-19 and care responses. These decisions will help our ministry preserve life and provide vital health care services to the increasing number of patients that require care; be good stewards of our resources and provide adequate support to our care givers as they care for our communities; and be thoughtful about caring for those associates whose roles are vitally important to our ministry but are not directly supporting patient care during this time of crisis. The temporary furlough is expected to last 30 to 90 days. Affected associates will be paid for working through April 3, and then available PTO hours will be paid until depleted. Associates are eligible for unemployment benefits. The Bon Secours Mercy Health Foundation has generously provided $60 million to the Bon Secours Mercy Health Associate Emergency Fund, which will help associates facing serious financial challenges. It is critically important to note that the decisions made are in no way a reflection of our associates’ contributions or the great care provided to our people and communities. The efforts of our entire team, combined with the tough decisions we are making today, will enable us to continue to focus on the COVID-19 response, which we expect to escalate in the coming weeks, and ensure ongoing compassionate care for years to come. Our frontline caregivers are serving with compassion, professionalism and courage as we care for our patients, and we support their tireless efforts."

March 31, 2020