The city of Richmond's Belmont Library, located at 3100 Ellwood Avenue, will be closed on Monday, February 22, 2010, to prepare for substantial renovations. This one-day closure will allow for an inventory of library books and materials to be conducted. Mayor Dwight C. Jones first announced the library renovations in March 2009 during his biennial budget proposal to City Council. More than $9 million, over the term of the project, has been set aside to complete renovations to all city libraries. Renovation funding is being provided through the "Building a Better Richmond" fund of the city's Capital Improvement Plan. The Belmont Library renovation will be in phase two, which is scheduled to start in the winter of 2010. ###

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation today released the first ever nation-wide County Health Rankings . These rankings show how cities and counties within Virginia compare on many factors that influence health and provide a snapshot of residents' health in each locality. Mayor Dwight C. Jones issued the following statement in response to the issued report: "I appreciate the work of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in raising awareness about the multiple influences on health. It is good news that Richmond ranks well compared to other Virginia localities in terms of covering the uninsured and providing access to primary care physicians. However, our successes at ensuring access to health care services are being countered by the social and economic factors that add daily stress to the mental and physical health of residents. "Richmond ranks 128 out of 132 localities in terms of life expectancy and 107 in terms of feeling mentally and physically healthy. These telling ranking...