The city has published an updated version of the City's Guide to Neighborhood Improvement . In order to keep the city's neighborhoods thriving and safe, it is important that both residents and city administration work together to maintain vibrant communities in which to live. This helpful booklet summarizes select city ordinances and additional information on penalties and fines. For questions not covered in the guide, please contact customer care at 646-7000 or 311. ###

Neighbor-to-Neighbor "100,000 Service Hour Challenge" is Mayor Dwight C. Jones' new volunteer initiative designed to promote service and volunteerism in the city of Richmond. As city residents, you can set an example by volunteering in city neighborhoods and encouraging others to join in brightening the lives of fellow Richmonders. You can help in many ways, such as serving as a resource in city schools tutoring a child in reading, or beautifying the city by helping to maintain one of its many green spaces. You might choose to serve as a friendly visitor to support the elderly or coach an athletic team to lead area youth. Click here to take the first step of the challenge by completing the simple registration form. Your volunteer efforts can help "Build a Better Richmond!" ###

Mayor Dwight C. Jones announced today an enhancement to several city parks by allowing non-powered watercraft on three city park lakes. Beginning today, visitors will be allowed to boat on Shields Lake and Swan Lake in William Byrd Park and on Forest Hill Lake in Forest Hill Park. “I believe residents will enjoy boating on these city lakes as it highlights the aesthetic beauty of our city parks as well as aids in promoting fitness in our city,” said Mayor Jones. “A city’s greatness cannot be measured without including its parks and green spaces, and this added activity highlights the numerous amenities of the already great park system we have here in the city of Richmond. I would like to thank the city’s department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities for implementing this initiative which allows residents and visitors to our city, enhanced access to the city’s parks and lakes.” The use of non-powered watercraft provides park boaters the opportunity to view the beauty of city’

The city of Richmond has been awarded the Cities of Service Leadership Grant to hire a Chief Service Officer who will develop and implement a comprehensive citywide service plan to promote volunteerism and coordinate with Mayor Dwight C. Jones’ Neighbor-to-Neighbor initiative. Richmond was one of ten cities selected to receive a $200,000 grant over two years, funded jointly by the Rockefeller Foundation and Bloomberg Philanthropies, to hire a Chief Service Officer – a senior city official who will develop and implement a citywide plan to increase volunteerism and help volunteers address their city's greatest needs. “I am very pleased that Richmond has been selected to receive the Cities of Service Leadership Grant. This award will aid our Neighbor-to-Neighbor initiative which encourages Richmond residents to embrace those values and caring natures that once framed our communities as a better place to do business, raise children and help our neighbor,” said Mayor Dwight C. Jones. “

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

The city's National Arts Program gives all artists, at all levels of skill, an opportunity to exhibit their work in a professional manner to compete for cash prizes and continuing education grants. The exhibit is judged by visual art professionals and is free to all. Over $3000 in prizes will be awarded. Types of media accepted include paintings, works on paper, photography, sculpture, fine craft, and mix media. All entries submitted must be the original work of the applicant and not previously displayed in any National Arts Program exhibit. For more information on the National Arts Program or to register, contact the Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities at 646-3676 or email brian.little@richmondgov.com. The deadline to enter is June 7, 2010.

Goal is to build healthier, more vibrant Church Hill/Nine Mile Corridor Mayor Dwight C. Jones and Peter J. Bernard, CEO of Bon Secours Virginia, announced today a public design workshop, best known as a charrette, to revitalize the East End and Nine Mile Road corridor. Key contributors to the process are the Richmond Redevelopment Housing Authority and Bon Secours Richmond Community Hospital. The charrette will take place June 2 – 7, at various Church Hill and East End locations. “The goal is the development of a vision to guide transformative social, educational, and physical changes within the East End Planning District,” said Mayor Jones. “This is an important undertaking that can lead to revitalized housing as well as increased educational and economic opportunities.” The public engagement of East End community members, small business owners, public housing residents, and other stakeholders is expected to provide information for the completion of grant applications for tw

As the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day approaches, Mayor Dwight C. Jones brought into focus the city of Richmond's plans for sustainability during a press conference earlier today. Results of the city's first greenhouse gas emissions inventory were presented in conjunction with the announcement of the city's partnership with Earth Aid. "I want the residents of Richmond to enjoy an improved quality of life, a healthy environment and enhanced economic development and job creation opportunities," said Mayor Jones. "Now that we have the results of our first greenhouse gas emissions inventory, we can move forward with establishing a Sustainability Plan for the city of Richmond." The greenhouse gas emissions inventory is an assessment of energy use from various sources, like electricity in homes or fuel in cars, and their associated greenhouse gas emissions. The city conducted both a community-wide inventory and a government operations inventory for the city of

Two Richmond public libraries are closing this week to allow for substantial renovations. North Avenue Library will close for renovations at 6 p.m. on Thursday, April 8, and Westover Hills Library will close at 5 p.m. on Saturday, April 10. Both locations are expected to re-open in November of this year. To assist residents affected by the North Avenue Library closure, a temporary site with limited services will be opened at the former Norrell Elementary School, 2100 Fendall Avenue, on Monday, April 19. Hours of operation are from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays. To assist residents affected by the Westover Hills library closure, Belmont Library, 3100 Ellwood Avenue, will expand its Monday and Wednesday hours of operations by two hours. Beginning Monday, April 12, Belmont Library will operate from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays (previously open from Noon to 8 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays); 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Tuesdays, Thu

The free Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) tax preparation service for low income working individuals and families has begun at the Southside Community Services Center, 4100 Hull Street Rd. Certified DSS volunteers are available on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from February 2, 2010 to April 14, 2010. Walk-in hours are from 2:45 p.m. to 5:45 p.m. 2009 Tax Year EITC Income Limits Earned income and adjusted gross income (AGI) must be less than: $13,330 ($18,440 married filing jointly) with no qualifying children $35,463 ($40,463 married filing jointly) with one qualifying child $40,295 ($45,295 married filing jointly) with two qualifying children $43,279 ($48,279 married filing jointly) with three or more qualifying children Tax Year 2009 maximum credit $457 with no qualifying children $3,043 with one qualifying child $5,028 with two qualifying children $5,657 with three or more qualifying children If you have questions, please contact the site coordinator, Sylvia Williams at 646-7382.

Many Richmond residents and visitors to the city depend on RichmondGov.com to provide useful information on city services and events. The site has been redesigned to provide clearer navigation and allow you to find the information you're looking for with ease. Please note that if you have specific RichmondGov web pages saved in your favorites folder, the links will appear broken and must be reattached. If you have any questions concerning city services or website navigation, please call our Customer Care Center at 646-7000.

Mayor Dwight C. Jones delivered his first State of the City address on Tuesday, January 26 at Richmond's CenterStage. Address highlights included the budget shortfalls the Jones’ Administration resolved in early 2009 as well as the strategy to overcome forecasted budgetary challenges. The Mayor also outlined future plans for economic development, schools, infrastructure, quality of life, public safety, and building Richmond’s future as a tier one city. Mayor Dwight C. Jones 2010 State of the City Address Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you Sam and Blaine for being here with us tonight and for sharing your video creation about the city of Richmond. Please also give a hand to the Huguenot Concert Band which greeted your arrivals this evening under the direction of Mr. Christopher Moseley. I am so fortunate to be mayor of a City that has such rich and significant arts and culture: painting and sculpture, film and photography, literature and th

Click here to view the Department of Public Works' leaf collection schedule.

Click here to view the city's initiative for stimulus spending.

The City of Richmond’s Office of Emergency Management is working closely with the Richmond City Health District to monitor the potential threat of swine flu in our city. As the number of cases in the nation continues to grow, it is prudent that we all take steps to ensure that we are prepared, should an outbreak occur in our city or state, and that we take preventive measures. What you can do to stay healthy: There are everyday actions people can take to stay healthy. - Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it. - Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hands cleaners are also effective. - Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs may spread that way. Try to avoid close contact with sick people. - Influenza is thought to spread mainly person-to-person

Citizens of Richmond , On November 4, 2008, you elected me to serve as Mayor of our great city. As we quickly approach the completion of our first 100 days, I will begin issuing a monthly electronic newsletter to provide you with an in depth look into your city government and our progress in making Richmond the tier one, first class city we know it can be. Click here to receive the "Building A Better Richmond" newsletter. Thank you Mayor Dwight C. Jones