Mayor Dwight C. Jones announced today that the National League of Cities (NLC) has chosen Richmond as one of only four municipalities to join with the NLC in planning and hosting local "community conversations" on the topic of improving outcomes for young children by third grade. Richmond was chosen for the Educational Alignment for Young Children Initiative (the Initiative) after interviews with Dr. Carolyn Graham, deputy chief administrative officer for Human Services, and other city and school officials. The city's outcome based budgeting approach, wherein family and individual economic stability is a focus for the Jones Administration, is part of what has set Richmond apart for this opportunity. Mayor Jones has called for the development of strategies that will lead to increased quality early learning opportunities for children 0-5 years. Recognizing that learning begins long before children enter school, these early learning strategies are designed to help prepar...

WHO: Mayor Dwight C. Jones Bob Sledd, Senior Economic Advisor to the Governor Dr. Mark Gelbert, Senior VP, Global R&D, Pfizer Consumer Healthcare Peter Chapman, Deputy CAO for Economic & Community Development WHAT: Pfizer Research & Development Facility Announcement WHEN: Tuesday, June 29, 2010 2 p.m. WHERE: Main Street Station 1500 East Main Street BACKGROUND: Mayor Dwight C. Jones will be joined by Bob Sledd, senior economic advisor to Governor Bob McDonnell; and Dr. Mark Gelbert, senor vice president for Global R&D for Pfizer Consumer Healthcare for a formal announcement regarding the Sherwood Avenue R&D operations in the city of Richmond. # # #

Mayor Dwight C. Jones and Richmond Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Yvonne Brandon, along with a collaborative of community organizations, announced today the intent to submit a Promise Neighborhood planning grant application to the U.S. Department of Education for the city’s East End. President Barack Obama will launch an initiative to create 20 Promise Neighborhoods in areas that have high levels of poverty and crime, and low levels of student academic achievement, in cities across the nation. Based on the highly acclaimed Harlem Children’s Zone in New York City, the Promise Neighborhood Initiative will provide a full network of services to entire needy neighborhoods from birth to college. "Our initiative is called, 'Richmond’s Promise Neighborhood,' and our collaborative approach will ensure the strongest possible outcome for our efforts," said Mayor Jones. "Our short term goal is to position Richmond’s East End to compete successfully for education dollars...

WHAT: Mayor’s Youth Academy: Youth Urban Conservation Corp Kick-Off Event WHEN: Thursday, June 24, 2010 1 – 3 p.m. WHERE: Robinson Theater Community Arts Center 2903 Q Street BACKGROUND: On June 24, 2010, Mayor Dwight C. Jones will kick off the Mayor’s Youth Academy: Youth Urban Conservation Corps as a part of his “Ending Food Deserts….Growing Green Richmond” program. The Youth Urban Conservation Corp is a Mayor’s Youth Academy program designed to involve more than 100 Richmond youth in an intensive horticulture and business development experience. Each youth ambassador will have an opportunity to participate in the operational components of a farmers’ market and produce industry. Higher learning institutions, J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College, University of Richmond, Virginia Commonwealth University, Virginia State University, and Virginia Union University, will rotate every two weeks in teaching partic...

As a nation, we need to come together to put our country on a sustainable path by setting national priorities and making decisions about how we are going to pay for them. Unless we take necessary steps to plan for the future, our national deficit and mounting debt will grow out of control. Planning ahead so that our nation can support its highest priorities will help to ensure that our country is able to create new jobs and maintain confidence in our financial markets. We need to make real choices now to ensure that our nation continues to invest in national priorities. On June 26, 2010, thousands of Americans across the country will participate in an unprecedented National Town Meeting on our budget and economy. The National Town Meeting will include thousands of people in different locations all across the country connected live via satellite video, webcast and interactive technologies. AmericaSpeaks takes place in Richmond on Saturday, June 26, 2010 from 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the...