Mayor Dwight C. Jones announced Mark Olinger as the City’s new director of Planning and Development Review today. He will begin City service on Monday, September 12, 2011. Olinger will replace Viktoria Badger, transportation policy manager for the Department of Economic & Community Development, who has served as interim director of the department since March of this year. Mayor Jones stated, "Mark's experiences and background align well with our focus of fostering unique, healthy and inclusive neighborhoods through strategies that encourage mixed-income housing, mixed-use development, and also facilitate creative efforts to make Richmond's communities more pedestrian-friendly. I am pleased that he has joined our team, and believe he will be an invaluable asset for this Administration and the broader city." Olinger’s urban planning experience includes urban design, affordable housing, neighborhood and commercial district repositioning and revitalization with ...

The Mayor's Youth Academy held its 2011 Culmination Event Friday, August 12, 2011 at Dogwood Dell where more than 400 youth ages 14 to 19 participated. This is the second year of the Mayor's Youth Academy, which is a citywide program that draws upon the expertise and resources of leaders in government, business, faith-based, and non-profit sectors to develop Richmond's future workforce. The Mayor's Youth Academy consists of four components; Summer Works Initiative, Life Stages, Youth Gardeners, and Counselors in Training. The City of Richmond wants to continue to invest in our youth to teach them to be positive citizens in the community and to strive for excellence. View the video from the 2011 Mayor's Youth Academy Culmination Event to see all of the hard work and dedication of our future leaders.

~Action is key recommendation of Mayor's Commission~ The City of Richmond has named Jakob C. Helmboldt as its first Bicycle, Pedestrian and Trails Coordinator, effective Monday, August 15, 2011. The new position was a key recommendation that grew out of the Mayor's Pedestrian, Bicycling and Trails Planning Commission report. Mayor Jones established the Commission in May of 2010 to give advice on ways to incorporate bicycling and walking as viable methods of transportation in the city. Helmboldt most recently served as Program Manager for Vanasse Hangen Brustlin of Richmond, Virginia, where he was responsible for managing bicycle and pedestrian projects ranging from development of safety materials for federal agencies, to design of facilities. He also served as the technical expert on a project for the Federal Highway Administration regarding non-motorized transportation safety. Helmboldt previously served as statewide Bicycle and Pedestrian Program Coordinator for the Virgin...