For a moment of silence and please remain standing for the pledge of allegiance to our flag. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Thank you, Marin. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Mr. Clerk, please call the roll. Mrs. Doyle, here, Mrs. Johnson, here, Mr. McGee, here, Mr. Page, Mr. Smegle here, Mr. Thomas, here, Dr. Alexander, there's a motion to excuse Councilman Clanton from tonight's meeting. Mrs. Doyle. Hi, Mrs. Johnson. Hi, Mr. McGee. Hi Mr. Pay. Mr. Smegle. Hi, Mr. Thomas. Dr. Alexander. Mr. Clerk, please read. Uh, the motion is to, um, to dispense with the reading of the minutes of our previous meeting. Mrs. Doyle here. Hi, Mrs. Johnson, Mr. McGee. Hi, Mr. Page, Mr. Smegel, Mr. Thomas, Dr. Alexander. Hi, please read the resolution certifying the closed meeting. I have a resolution certifying a closed meeting of the Council of the City of Norfolk in accordance with the provisions of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act. Adopt the resolution. Mrs. Doyle. Hi. Mrs. Johnson, Mr. McGee, Mr. Page, Mr. Smeagle, Mr. Thomas, Doctor Alexander. Hi, good evening and welcome to, uh, the Norfolk City Council chamber and to the council meeting. Uh, tonight we have one ceremonial item followed by public comments on regular and consent agenda items and public hearings. Then the consent agenda which will be voted on in a block following the consent agenda. We'll take up negligent items and new business. To address the council, you should register with the clerk prior to 3 p.m. when your name is called, please come to the podium, state your name, your home address, and please limit your comments to 3 minutes. Uh, before we begin, Mr. Clerk, will you please read uh the speaker rules. City council rules permit each speaker 3 minutes in total to speak on any and or all consent and agenda docket items at each monthly meeting. If in advance of tonight's meeting you registered with the clerk to comment on a public hearing matter, you will also have 3 minutes to speak as well. As you approach the council, you'll see a timer on the lectern. At the beginning of your 3 minutes, you'll see a green light which will activate. 2.5 minutes into your remarks, you'll notice a yellow light indicating you have 30 seconds to finish your comments. At the end of the 3 minutes, you'll see a red light and hear a beep. We ask that you conclude your comments at that time. While speakers have an opportunity to address council on docket matters, all comments should be made in a manner that respects the seriousness of the forum and should not be made in a profane, disrupted, sarcastic, or demeaning fashion. All remarks should be directed to the city council as a body rather than to any particular member of city council staff or the audience. Comments on an agenda item should be germane to that item. A speaker who fails to comply with the basic rules of decorum will be deemed out of order and not allowed to conclude his or her comments. As a reminder, no sign, placard, poster, or light material which may be carried by hand shall be permitted in the city council chamber or adjoining areas. Thank you, uh, Mr. Clerk. I would like to welcome the Virginia Hornets elite girls basketball coaches to the podium and players, will you please stand. We have a congratulations. We have a proclamation that, uh, I will read and then we'll, uh, take some pictures. The council will stand and, uh, and any comments that you would like to make, we welcome them. Uh, City of Norford Proclamation reads, whereas the Virginia Hornets elite had a remarkable 2025 season with the Virginia Elite Hornets. Next pro 17U girls basketball team winning the National Travel Basketball Association's 2025 championship, defeating the North Carolina Lady All Stars in an impressive 48 to 33 win in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, whereas, despite losing the first two games of the tournament. The team made a dramatic turnaround going on to win every remaining game in the 17U brackets, displaying an inspiring level of skill, strategy, persistence, teamwork, and passion for basketball to establish themselves among the nation's most promising. Athletes, whereas under the leadership of Coach Julius Owens and assistant coaches Nolan Vale and Keisha Jenkins, these young ladies learn valuable lessons of teamwork, sportsmanship, friendly competition and leadership, and whereas. In earning their first national championship, the Virginia Elite Hornets' next pro 17 you girls basketball team represented the city of Norfolk well, earning the respect of their opponents and bringing recognition to themselves and to Norfolk with this momentous achievement. And therefore, be it proclaimed that I, Kenneth Cooper Alexander, mayor of the city of Norfolk, do hereby extend warm congratulations to the coaches and players of the Virginia Elite Hornets next. 17 new girls basketball team for their 2025 victory given in my hand this eighth day of July 2025, congratulations. And so if you make any comments, um, you don't have to, but if you want to, please do, and then we're gonna, I'm gonna come down, the account's gonna stand. We're gonna invite all the ladies up, uh, for a picture. Just talk. Just, just talk. Yes. I want to say thank you for um the, the young ladies represent the city really well and to, to make this whole event come together, uh, we had a great supporting cast, the parents down near Myrtle Beach cause when you lost the first two games, we was kinda figuring it out, but the young ladies got it together and we figured it out and we came home with the, with the national championship. Yeah. Awesome job. Well, thank you. So, uh, ladies, I'm gonna invite you up here. We would normally have you down front, but you're so tall. Uh, just come on up here. And the and Tracy, if you would bring me the uh proclamation. And one thing about the trophy, once, you know, once, once you bring the trophy up and once we get the trophy, you may not get it back. Thank you. So filters still in the ladies. I'm good. How are you? All right, all right, all right. Come on. Just tall coach come on down here. All right, come on down. All right, all right, so come on, just hold this right there. You can hold that. I want the trophy. All right, OK, now if you can see the camera, can you see the camera? See, all right, make sure everyone can see a camera, see a camera. OK. Noel, see the, uh, we're gonna, Noel, can you see, you won't see Noel, OK, you can't see Noelle, she can't see you. The camera can't see you. Say Hornets and others, please come and take your others, um, if you wanna take a picture, please come on get to the center, take your picture. My baby Right OK, congratulations. I'm glad you. Are you gonna keep this. Yeah. Congratulations. Congratulations. Excuse me, OK. OK, OK. Thank you, Martin. You're welcome. Oh boy. um, coach, if, if, if you want to stay for, uh, for the session you can, but if you want to be dismissed, this is your opportunity to, to, to be dismissed, um, if you would like, if you wish to leave, OK, stay at ease while you dismiss. Yeah. Thank you, thank you. They were like, oh yeah, we just wanna catch your business. How old are 17. It's it's good stuff, man, with a lovely age. It's great. Mhm It's, uh, PH1. Public hearing one scheduled this day pursuant to state law to hear comments authorizing the sale of 421 and 601 West 26th Street, East side of Davison Street and 3531 Norway Place. To the adjoining property owners and approving the purchase and sale agreements. I have an ordinance authorizing the sale of city owned parcels to adjoining property owners and approving the purchase and sale agreements dispensed with the charter requirement for ordinance twice, adopt with the effective date, Mrs. Doyle. Mrs. Johnson, Mr. McGee, Mr. Page, Mr. Smeagle. Mr. Thomas, Doctor Alexander, Mr. Clerk, the, uh, consent agenda will be considered in a block unless otherwise noted. OK. Approve the consent agenda and dismissed with the charter requirement for reading the ordances twice and adopt with the affected date. Mrs. Doyle, Mrs. Johnson. Hi, Mr. McGee. Hi Mr. Page, Mr. Smegle, Mr. Thomas, Dr. Alexander. R1. R one is aorn us to a mini reordained chapter 33.1 of the Norfolk City Code 1979, so as to add one new section number 33.1-60 so as to conform. With the state code changes dispensed with the charter requirement for reading the ordinance twice and not with the effective date, Mrs. Doyle, Mrs. Johnson, Mister McGee, Mister Page, Mr. Snegel, Mr. Thomas, Doctor Alexander, Mr. Clerk, R2 R2 is an ordinance authorizing the city manager to enter into an agreement with the Commonwealth of Virginia and the Buckingham Branch Railroad Company regarding the upgrade and future. Of certain railroad gate crossing equipment located at Pritchard Street and Almeida Avenue and author authorizing the expenditure of a sum of up to $39,500 from funds heretofore appropriated to pay for the city's share of future maintenance expenses dispensed with the charter requirement reading the ordinance twice and adopt with the effective date. Mrs. Doyle, Mrs. McGee. Mr. Thomas, Dr. Alexander, R3 is a resolution appointing and reappointing 31 members to 4 commissions and 10 boards for certain terms. Adopt the resolution, Mrs. Doyle, Mrs. Johnson, I, Mr. McGee, Mr. Page, Mr. Spiegel, Mr. Thomas, Dr. Alexander. Mr. Clark, do you have another? That's all I have, sir. All right. New business. The first speaker is Beverly Zimmerman Wright and followed by Jack Holland. Can you follow, you follow Mrs. Wright. You follow this right, you follow her, sir, when she's finished. when you start it'll start when you start it'll start. OK, um, good evening, everyone. Good evening. Um, so I'm back again. Um, I'm still here serving in the city of Norfolk trying to help as many people as I can, um, but I'm coming to you now about the same thing I came about last year, which is homelessness. Um, and I brought two of my friends with me. I brought Jack and I brought Dustin so they can speak on their own behalf, um. I still wanna know what things are available to be able to tell someone. When I got Dustin's text message on Sunday, I just simply cried, and then I tried to figure out how I could help him and then I asked him, would you come speak at city council to tell them your story? And he said that he would. And I listened in the informal session, um, Ms. Johnson was talking about um how the residents that live in the public housing. And the people that voted for you, all these are your people that you are responsible for those people. And I guess my question is, who's responsible for people like Jack? Is it me? Like, what am I supposed to do? What I'm simply asking for is. The list of resources that work. I really don't want to give him a list that he's gone through 10 times, and he's just going around and around about and not really giving supplying him with any help. I would really like to help him. The other reason why I'm here talking about homelessness is because our city is doing something. Well, we got Airbnbs everywhere and you know what? I live in Ocean View and those Airbnbs was all around me. The people living in in apartments, throwing them out, making Airbnbs. I never thought, you know what, I never thought it would be me. Well, guess what? Well, when my landlord came to me. And said to me, hey, you know, I think I can make like $5000 a month on this house. It's 2800 square foot house, big old house. I could make like $5000. Do you wanna pay me $5000? Well, no, I don't have $5000. I mean, I'm a, I'm a public person that's serving people, so you know what? I had to move and then I was faced with the. fact that the real estate market has absolutely gone crazy. So for the house that I was living in, I would need to pay $5000. So then I was tasked with downsizing and trying to figure out where I'm going. Well, guess what? We are still displaced. So I'm one of those people that I'm serving. And so if I didn't have family and friends, where would I go? But I got family and friends and so I was able to get the help and I wanna see people like Jack get the help that he needs and Dustin. So my time is up. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Wright. Um, Jack Holland, followed by Dustin Carter. Mr. Holland, correct on this opportunity. Yes sir. A year and a half ago I came here from, it's cold in here, isn't it? I came here from Roanoke cause mean so high there. I lost my place. I'm on SSI uh uh schizophrenic. I don't get enough money, $967 for the past year and a half. I went to social services. I went to uh section 8. There's nothing available anywhere. I called hundreds of numbers. I've been sleeping on the street for the past year and a half. All the homeless shelters are full. So, uh I don't know what to do. Uh, I'm going blind. I have diplopia. I see a double image of everything. I've fallen down several times. I was just in the hospital in Norfolk Center recently. They gave me MRIs to see if I had fractured my skull. So, uh, there's nothing available for me in Norfolk. Roanoke, uh, nothing. I checked out Richmond, Northern Virginia. Washington DC, there's nothing available. I have a solution for the homeless problem if you would like to hear it. The homeless people needs to have the the homeless people in these shelters. Uh, need to be appointed a friend paid by the government. His or her job is to work with that homeless person individually and get them a place to stay and and a technical school to learn a trade. That would solve the problem. Right now they're just being warehoused. Nothing and then after a certain time they kicked on the street again. So, um, At my age, I'm 68. I hear voices. I've been diagnosed with since I was a kid with uh uh schizophrenia. And uh Um, in a rut I got physical problems, I'm going blind, um, sleeping outside is taking its toll on my body. So I don't know what to do. I've contacted all the realtors. I called hundreds. I went to all the real, I went to Judy Boone. I went to Kelly. Uh, I asked him, would you give me a break on the rent? He said, no, sir, we can't do that, we'll lose money. They're multi-millionaires, multi-billionaires. Nothing. Uh I'm frustrated Isn't there anything that you can do about some homeless people like me with SSI to find a roof over our heads? To implement something. Anything at all. I would appreciate it. Or you leave Mr. A I like to point out, James Rogers, could you raise your hand just in the back of the room? If you, if, um, you'll see James, um, James is a deputy city manager that oversees a number of departments that are tasked with coordinating services for people in your, um, situation. And so, Just before you go, I want James to make sure that he talks briefly with you to see kind of what um staff you've already talked to and see where we go from there. So, that'd be my immediate suggestion. Following up on um Beverly's question too, cause I know we've talked on, on a few occasions. I would like for James to point to where we have a one-stop list of all of the resources so that as people are either trying to help others or get help for themselves that they, that, uh, James can point to what's the easiest location to find that information. That's what I would suggest to see Mr. uh Dustin Carter, please, if you'd like to. Thank you. You're welcome, Mr. How is everybody? Uh, my name is Dustin Carter. I currently live at 4912 Killam Avenue in a recovery house with several other people. I moved here 3 months ago from about an hour south of Roanoke, um, super small town, but I came here because I have been a 25 year opiate addict. Um, I started using heroin at age 13, um, to escape some, some traumas, and now at age 39, I'm having to start my life completely open. So I moved to Norfolk. And when people say I didn't know anybody, like I literally like got off the bus and didn't even know like where my house was. And so I feel like if there are services available to people who either are homeless and displaced or are about to be, um, it shouldn't have to be a secret. To find them. Like, um, someone like me who still don't know my way around, uh, shouldn't have to come to a city council meeting to find out where to get a list of services. Um. I feel like it should be more common knowledge as to where, um, the gentleman, you know, that's kind of in control of that, there's a one-stop place. That people can go to. Um, Work on help with resumes, job interview skills, um. This food service card that was a new thing that I learned about when I got here that uh what? Um, but you know, these sort of things that. Someone who either. Is living on the streets or I'm in a situation now where I've been here 3 months. I'm still struggling to find a job. My landlord was polite enough to understand that my rent is now officially late as of Friday, but she is a businesswoman. And, you know, I could understand that if I can't find a job in another month or another 2, you know, she, it's She has to make money and so I could very quickly become one a job. of these people who's on the streets. And at that point, Where do I go? Um, And so I understand this isn't, you know, an easy problem to fix. But as someone who, I love it here and I wanna stay. But A lot of times people need help in getting that foot up, you know, getting started. And that has proven to be difficult thus far. So But yeah. I don't need the full 3 minutes. So thank you guys. I appreciate it. Have a good night. Strickland, Kim Strickland, followed by uh James Derino. Hello, I'm sorry, my health isn't that good. Um, in December of last year. I live at Portra Midrise, which everybody knows is run by the NRHA. Um, in December, we had the pleasure of meeting the executive director. Myself and other people in the other two buildings told them about the atrocities that's happening with our washers and dryers. Right now in my 3 floor building, there's not a washer that works. OK, um, it's not for lack of contacting the company. If you need proof, I got text messages from way back at the beginning of the year from them. The company is so rude when you make a request for service, they send you to an automated thing, but the good thing about it is I get a text message. We have been through this. I have lived there over 14 years. They have not changed the washers and dryers. As soon as they fix them, someone uses it, and it's broke down the same day. Laundry is a necessity. Why has it been allowed to go on for so long? I'm angry. I have been so sick and in order for me to do my laundry now, I would have to go to one of the two other buildings. Some days I can't get from my bedroom to my bathroom. How am I supposed to get down to another building to do laundry when I'm feeling good enough? And laundry is something. Y'all might take for granted, but I know I need it. And in the last 4 months, I have done 4 loads of laundry. That's all I not because of my illness because of the availability of the washers and dryers in our building. Why has this contracting company not been held to account? This is wrong. And then some of the washers and the dryers don't work on high, so we have to pay for two loads. I have a car if I was better off. I could take it to the laundromat, but that's taking my food money for the month. I only make a little over $11,000 a month, and I appreciate the benefit of living where I live with the reduction of rent, but everything's going up. I'm diabetic. I gotta have surgery. I got 3 parts in my body that are artificial. I've been through enough. Can you please help us? Just before I left, my neighbor upstairs, she's blind. She called me and said, Oh Kim, does your washer work on your floor? Well, I used it two days ago, yeah, it was working. She called me back up. It's not working, and she lives on the first floor and the 2nd floors, or the other floors don't work. Thank you, James, um, you want to Ms. Strickland, I will, I will call you tomorrow. Yeah, thank you. I will call you tomorrow. Yes, please do. Yes, please. Yes, thank you. You're welcome, James. James Derino? Shakira Lawrence. Good evening, Mayor Alexander, members of city council, and community partners. My name is Shakar Lawrence, and I reside at 1055 West 38th Street. I'm speaking tonight as both an educator and a concerned resident. I want to express strong concern about the proposed relocation of PB Young Elementary's pre-K through 2nd grade students to Refner Academy. As an educator, I know this move is not developmentally appropriate. 4 to 7 year olds belong in nurturing early learning environments, not facilities designed for middle schoolers. No amount of separation can change that. PB Young is in the heart of Saint Paul's, a community already facing disruption. These families deserve better. I urge the council to request a transparent city-wide review of school facility capacity, publicly assess WH Taylor Elementary as a possible alternative site, and prioritize high quality early childhood education in all redevelopment plans. This is about justice and dignity for our youngest and most vulnerable students. I also want to raise a public safety concern in Lindenwood. On July 2nd, I was struck in a hit and run at Bar Street in Lindenwood Avenue, a location where a witness reported two other similar incidents and the enforcement is minimal. I asked the city to conduct a safety audit of the intersection and increase enforcement to deter reckless driving. Every neighborhood deserves safe streets and equitable treatment. Thank you for your time and leadership. Ashley Cannon Dolores Hankins. Good evening council members. Good evening. My name is De Lois Hankins. I reside at 1221 Childwood Avenue. I'm here On behalf of. Myself and most citizens. I'd like to request for the mayor and the city manager to schedule. For the Secretary Kennedy and Governor Yonkin. To visit the city hall. So we, the people can individually inform them of the educational system. The medical, surgical, individually geared for family generations. I like to address labor. Occupation for all citizens to have an equal standard of living. There should be a governor's office in every city to expedite emergencies. I like to stress. Women's rights to select childbirth supplies to improve our children's cognitive advancements. As parents, we're asking for our governor to implement law enforcement. That supersedes. The your child is over 18 years old, comment when soldiers are in need. Thank you. Tierra, Tiara Lassiter, followed by Jay Boone. Good evening counsel. We need more emergency housing services. So, emergency housing services provide immediate and temporary shelter to homeless individuals. More emergency homeless shelters are needed in the city of Norfolk, more transitional housing. We need rapid rehousing programs. We need family shelters. We need emergency housing vouchers. We need emergency solution grants which support a range of services including homelessness prevention. Even though I am aware, Norfolk provides rental assistance through the Norfolk Invention Prediction Center. According to the planning council.org. We believe homelessness should be rare, brief, and non-recurring. But do we really? If they facilitate annual federal and state funding of $12 million for 30 separate homeless programs through 70 separate agencies. However, we only have 2 homeless shelters in the city of Norfolk. Shameful. According to the point in time. Of 2024. They identified 709 people experiencing street homelessness within our great city. The housing crisis hotline has received 3 times the costs within this great city. However, I'd rather be loud for a change than to be silent and homeless. So, the system is broken. This is a fact. Homeless population is increasing. This is a fact. NRHA is in the process of turning down low income public housing. That's a fact, which will continue to displace people and cause them to be homeless. People of all ages, people of all races cannot afford to live in this city. There is no cap on rent. They are extorting the poor, and this is what we know to be a fat. Minimum wage is 1241. That's a fact. We need 2263 to live in this current society. That is a fact. So who's gonna help us get it? We look towards you because you are our leaders. We're taking your direction. And we're not getting it. Needs are going unmet. This is a fact. This is not the first time I've came and say, hey, we need housing, hey, we need housing creation. But the question is when will the change come? We need a change. We need our leaders to care about our welfare, prioritize us over profits. We are dying in the streets. They are becoming dehydrated. We are discriminating against the homeless because we think we're better than them. So we're looking down on them. We're not helping them, we're not having sympathy, we're not giving water, we're not giving clothes, we're not giving food. We ride past, we turn our head and we act like we don't see them. The that is enough. We're all human first. Thank you. Followed by. Carma Miller. Good evening. um, thank you for all of y'all's powerful words tonight. Um, I am a proud Berkeley resident. Um, my, my concern tonight is to speak about emergency preparedness, um, outside of Norfolk being one of the biggest installations of military, um, in the world, um, I, I myself am a proud daughter of two veterans. Uh, all 5 of my aunts have. Served either active duty reserves or um government contracting so I'm familiar with the military life and the importance of it, but it also does make us a target um especially with things happening around the world. It also have we also have issues with flooding. um, Berkeley itself has a uh extreme issue with flooding on a good rainstorm we are flooded out. um, we have no drainage, nothing has been done over the years to actually provide proper drainage for our streets. Um, we have a high concentration of seniors as well as families with children. And I myself as a community uh organization activist community member I live, work, breathe in Berkeley and my concern is when I asked residents in that community what is your plan uh if something hits the fan, something happens they don't know they don't know where they're supposed to go they don't know what's supposed to happen if a siren went off right now. No one would actually know what to do and I think that's a high concern. I think every person in uh not only my community that is gonna be inundated with extra water as you build this wall around downtown Norfolk to protect yourselves from flooding that water is gonna go somewhere and more than likely it's gonna hit my community and that's a very scary thought to think about that we have to realize the impact of what's gonna happen and we have to figure out an action plan in the moment. Um, a lot of the seniors that I see are wheelchair bound. They can't just pick up and go. Um, I'm sure you know when COVID or anything else happens, nothing else runs so you can say, oh well, you have a, you have pantry here, you have these resources and if they don't open their doors, those people can't go there. Um, on a given day like many have said about houses and other populations, those places are not open to serve those people. So how would they be open to serve anybody else in the community when they need it? Um, I myself would love to know where we can find that information as far as um the emergency plan that Norfolk has set aside, has figured out of what we're supposed to do, and if something happens, whether it is flooding or any type of immediate action that would happen with our military bases or anything else, um, so that we can get it out and what is the plan for that? Um, a lot of our seniors don't use the Internet or otherwise so you you would have to rely on community organizations and people in the community to get that information out to them. And I would love to have that information to get it out sooner than later. Um, so if you could tell me where I can find that information, where I can access it, so I can disperse that, so everyone can get on board and have a plan of action for themselves and their families, that would be great. Thank you. So now. More time you wanna continue. No, I'm just asking, do you know where I can find that information? Do you have a plan for Norfolk's emergency preparedness around, where can I find that Mr. manager can direct you to the site or give uh the person who is responsible. We do have a a director. Doug Doug Beaver oversees emergency management as well as a number of related departments. Doug, stand in the back. He can certainly point to you or he can get hard copies if, um, you're not able to get that online. OK, thank you. Welcome. Imma, you can take that microphone and pull it to the side. Um, Tracy, if you, yeah, pull that microphone down to the side, there you are, OK. Hi, my name is Carmen Jade Miller. I'm a paralegal and I'm here to speak on behalf of David Whitfield and Father Father's rights and, um, to speak on about the. The courts in Norfolk and, well, yes. So, um, and well, The first incident happened and uh. In November, this this past November, I uh went well, um, because I'm a paralegal, I was able to um. Witness uh an incident that happened in November in a Norfolk JD JDR case with Mr. David Whitfield, um. It was a show cause. There were several several show causes that were that were being supposed to be heard, and we saw that um not all of them were on the docket and we were early, so we went to the clerk's office to see what was happening with that and we got all of them, um. Figure it out and so when we came back to the court, um, Judge Page, uh. was going to dismiss the case because we were a few minutes late and um so she dismissed the case and then she started to reopen the case and here um uh. She starts she uh. OK, so she Started to um do a. OK, she did a um. So you did a um. I'm sorry, I'm a little nervous, but she basically. Did a It was, I'm sorry, it was, it was OK, it was a custody modification and because she dismissed this case, she was never supposed to revisit it at all and that violated his rights, um, because it was dead after she dismissed the case and by revisiting it, she. She violated the whole thing. The case was dead after she dismissed the case. It was supposed to, everything is supposed to be dead. And um so she did that and That was a violation and um so that was that and then we um. Then there was another incident that just happened recently and there was 4 times when Mr. Whitfield came and. Filed, um, tried to, um, issue summons. And went to the federal courthouse and um tried to tried to see when he could receive his summons and He was trying to, um, he, he called and he went, he went to. He tried to, he went 4 times to see when he was, was going to Sorry, I'm nervous. see when he was. When he could get his summons on 4 different occasions, they would, they would not let him know. And then they called him and said, you can come and pick a summons up. When he returned to see his summons, they told him that. I'm sorry, Mr. Whitfield, David Whitfield. Thank you. How's the council doing? I'm here to talk about fathers' rights in the city of Norfolk and how they most definitely have been violated. I had to file civil suit, um, in federal courthouse, uh, to the city of Norfolk, the city of, of the public schools and the juvenile domestic court for multiple reasons. I. I've been married for 12 years and I've always had custody of my children. I've been stopped at multiple times from getting my children while I'm trying to get them for medical emergencies. My, my ex-wife fell into neglect and I tried to go to the schools to obtain my children to take them to welfare. I was stopped by the police multiple times and then I was. by multiple principals. And then as I do more digging, I find out that my children have missed multiple days in school. My daughter missed 24 days. My son and Gramby missed over 18 days. And then what I found in Grammy is they padded his attendance record to show that he was there, but he was 5 miles away and he only walked to school twice. And I asked him, we actually had to check to make sure. I went to the school system after 20. Absences, the child is supposed to fail. They're supposed to have truancy supposed to have taken place. It hasn't. I didn't went to the court system because I complained so much about the police stopping me and the school system. Uh, Judge Page made a temporary modification to my custody order without a hearing at all because if I'm FTA, how could you modify a custody agreement if I'm not there or both parties are not there? Secondly, I have a divorce in Portsmouth going on, so she lacked the jurisdiction to change my custody agreement at all. So, this modification stayed in place for over 200 days. I have a custody hearing that lasted for 365 days in Norfolk JDR. Unbelievable. They did this because the only way to make a parent not able to pick up his child from the school system is to have it in a court order by a judge. And since I had paid $6000 for my custody agreement and I know exactly what it says. The city had to go outside their way to take a father's rights away from him. So that he would stop going to the schools and trying to get needed uh health care for his children. This has made me have to file civil suit against the city. And I'm here for parents' rights. The fact that no, I think that no father should have to go what I had to go through. Once he found out that his children had not been to the uh to the doctors and went to the schools and to have to hear this from from the the people at the schools is ridiculous. This is ridiculous. So why would you hold on. Do you understand that you asked me for three things and I I've given you everything that you just asked you, sir. Mr. Anderson, please, um, suspend the, the audio. Mr. Cuffy uh this is. It's. So, wait, wait a second, Mr. Can you, can you please turn it off, sir. Yes, sir. Thank you. I see. Um, Good evening council members. My name is Anderson Cuffy. Uh, I wanted to take a few minutes. I wanted to, uh, stop, take a few minutes to talk about some of the crimes that are being committed in the area. Uh, you may or may not be aware of them already, but I wanna take a few minutes to shine a light on because it's a serious problem and based on my experiences on an organizational level, and I know that if it's happening to me, it's very likely it's happening to a lot more people, not just where it started for me, which is the state of California, but right here in the Hampton Rose area as well because it's all connected. And it's something that it's something that if it's if it isn't addressed and stopped and the ones committing these crimes aren't held accountable, it's gonna only continue to effect cause serious harm or ruin the lives of many more people, if not worse. Um, for me it stems from an attempt that was made on my life back in, uh, October of 2020, and this crime is being committed with mine and I'm sure others personal information, the problem of battered and abused women and the victimization of men as well and what that could lead to and being assaulted and personally violated through technology. Um, law enforcement's already aware of the attempt and the other crimes that I'm gonna be talking about. One of the last times I spoke with the FBI in Los Angeles regarding the issue, I was told in certain details they can't say as it's an ongoing investigation, uh, and if they need any additional information from me, they would have contacted me, and I've been reaching out to the, uh, FBI's North field office as well right here off Cliff in Chesapeake, so they're aware of the problem, but as of yet arrests haven't been made. So until the arrests are made, I'm gonna continue to, uh, make people aware. But like I said, for me it stems from an attempt. That was made on my life back in October of 2020 by Tori Robinson and others. Tore's a senior pastor of the Potter South Church in Los Angeles. I was living in Los Angeles, California at the time when I fled the state of California during the attempt, and while fleeing the state, I spent a short time in a couple other states before I actually get into Virginia. Uh, part of the proof I have regarding the attempt itself and their intent is in my phone. My phone was hacked before I fled the state of California, and Tory Roberts and others were uploading videos, threats, and other hacked messaging, uh, to my phone as I was being tracked and pursued out of the state. Um, and it wasn't just a, a video that was uploaded here or there either, but it was an influx of videos, threats, and other hack messaging that I continued to get. They were commenting on me and my actions even after I fled the state of California. Uh, there were videos uploaded to my MacBook and my iPhone 6S. I still have my phone in my possession, and one of the things that was said on stage, on camera inside the Potter's House Church in Los Angeles by Roosevelt Stewart. Um, he's another pastor at the Potter's House Church in Los Angeles, and it was said not long before I actually state was that you're gonna need a different name, a different face, and that you'll bring down the whole organization. Uh, and after I get into Virginia unharmed, I continued to receive threats and other hacked messaging from my phone, um, one of which was a threat that I received just a few days after arriving to Virginia. It was a threat that received at the, uh, through the Dropbox of my news notification where at the end of it it read, and forget all this talk of conspiracy. In fact, they could get you killed, and from that time I've been aware that there are people who are aware of me and my actions on a day to day basis and on a level that I can't prove that I've been causing problems, inconveniences, and committing crimes against me and others who as of yet not been held accountable. Um, from that time I've had my emails hacked and was locked out, um, I, I, um, emails hacked and were locked out. I've had pictures, contacts, and other information that's been taken off of my phone. Uh, uh, I have the rest of what I wanted to say printed up for you guys and as far as being assaulted and personally violated through technology, this is one way to prove it. Thank you, sir. Mr. bull, you have another? No, sir, that's all.