The City of Richmond has launched a mobile website (http://m.richmondgov.com) to provide residents a quick and easy way to get to information and online services on smartphones . This mobile website is a condensed version of the City of Richmond website ( www.richmondgov.com ) and is designed to display information on small screen smart phones such as iPhone, Android and Blackberry Bold. Based on a review conducted on City’s website traffic, the most popular information and online services have been identified and this popular content has become part of the mobile website. The mobile website offers real time information on traffic conditions in the Richmond metro area; access to latest City news and events, information regarding refuse collection, utility payment, personal property taxes, business licenses, bids and proposals and the MPACT program. Updates from the Mayor’s Office and City Council have also been included. Additionally, Richmond visitors can use the site to obtain i...

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...

~Cites city poverty and economic vulnerability concerns~ Mayor Dwight C. Jones issued the following statement today: After listening to President Obama last night, I am compelled to speak out about the need for Congress to move forward responsibly on issues of great economic impact – addressing the debt crisis and the Federal budget. “It might be interesting to sit back and watch the partisan wars in Washington, if the stakes were not so high. And, the stakes are high – for the world economy, for the stability of the U.S. markets, and for our state and local governments. Virginia is a state with a AAA bond rating – something that the City of Richmond has been working hard to attain. Just recently, Moody’s warned that it may have to review Virginia’s rating in light of the instability in the U.S. economy. In fact, the U.S. government’s AAA bond rating could be downgraded. All of this troubles me greatly, and it has the same effect on my colleagues at both the state and local level...

Mayor Dwight C. Jones Breastfeeding Commission Stephanie Ferguson PhD | Co-Chair, Mayor’s Breastfeeding Commission Associate Professor, School of Nursing, Virginia Commonwealth University Doris Moseley, MSM | Co-Chair, Mayor’s Breastfeeding Commission Director, Department of Social Services Health Care Amy Turner | Community Ed and Outreach Director, Bon Secours Virginia Stephanie Ferguson PhD | Co-Chair, Mayor’s Breastfeeding Commission Associate Professor, School of Nursing, Virginia Commonwealth University Valerie Coleman RN | Lactation Specialist Virginia Commonwealth University Health Systems Susie Dunton, RN | Lactation Specialist, Chippenham Hospital Alice Freeman CNC | Healthy Heart Plus II, Inc. Basmah Karriem | This is Your Birth , Birth Doula Leslie Lytle | OmMamma – Yoga for Childbearing Years Joyce Branch | Birth Doula, The Rejuvenation Space Vernessa Holmes | WIC Breastfeeding Coordinator and Nutritionist Richmond City Health District Ang...

The City’s Chief Administrative Officer Byron Marshall today announced that Anedra Bourne has been selected as the Business Management Officer – Tourism Coordinator for the City’s Department of Economic and Community Development. Bourne will begin her new position on July 18, 2011. “Along with the recent hire of new Economic Development Director Lee Downey, Anedra’s talents as tourism coordinator will bolster the Mayor’s strategy for a Richmond centric approach to marketing by creating energy for tourism in our city,” said Marshall. “She will work with a diverse group that includes civic, public, and private stakeholders to lead the implementation of recommendations that will emerge from the Mayor’s Tourism Commission. Most recently, Bourne served as the director of marketing and public relations for the American Civil War Center at Historic Tredegar, where she was instrumental in the museum's grand opening in 2006 as well as the center's recent designation as the "G...