City offices located in City Hall, 730 East Broad Street and Main Street Station will be closed to the public on Tuesday, January 19 and Wednesday, January 20. Though these buildings will be closed to the public, city services, including online services, will continue to be available for residents.     The City of Richmond will also be closed on Monday, January 18 in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.   ##

In observance of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, city government offices, including City Hall, will be closed on Monday, January 18, 2021.   This closing includes all branches of the Richmond Public Library and Recreation & Community Facilities offices and community centers.   Refuse collection will be delayed by one day as the city’s Solid Waste Management Division will be closed Monday, January 18, 2021. The East Richmond Road Convenience Center and Hopkins Road Transfer Stations are also closed on Monday, January 18, 2021. Each facility will resume normal operations on Tuesday, January 19, 2021.   Richmond Animal Care and Control will remain open by appointment only until further notice.   For more information on city services and schedules, please visit   www.RichmondGov.com .   ##

The city is proposing changes to its zoning ordinance that will provide more clear and consistent pathways to establishing emergency, transitional and permanent supportive housing uses in Richmond.  These changes are recommended by the Richmond 300 Master Plan, the Strategic Plan to End Homelessness, the Regional Affordable Housing Framework and the proposed Equitable Affordable Housing Plan.   The City Planning Commission will discuss the ordinance at their public meeting on Monday, February 1 at 1:30 p.m.   The city invites residents to join staff for an hourlong discussion on the proposed amendments. There are four public information sessions, which will all be held virtually through Microsoft Teams.   Tuesday, January 19 at 12 p.m. Join on your computer or mobile app: Click here to join the meeting Or call in (audio only): +1 804-316-9457,,644492469#   United States, Richmond Phone Conference ID: 644 492 469#   Friday, January 22 at 12 p.m. Join on your computer or mobile app: Clic

The City of Richmond has selected its first poet laureate, Douglas Powell, known in the community by his stage name, Roscoe Burnems. Burnems is a poet, published author, spoken-word artist, comedian and teacher.     Burnems has donated his time to the St. Joseph’s Villa Alternative Education Program, University of Richmond’s Partners in the Arts and ART 180, in addition to regularly leading poetry workshops at multiple middle and high schools in the City of Richmond.  He is a National Poetry Slam Champion, a former TEDx speaker and the founder of the Writer’s Den Art Collective.   “It is the diversity of the city and the adversities that we are able to overcome as a community that cultivate our resilience as people,” said Burnems. “This is the soil for change and progression to sprout and expand into a tree that blooms the fruit of our tenacity. We decide if that fruit is sweetened with peace or embittered with division.”   Evidence of an interest in and capacity for community engageme

Mayor Stoney, Richmond City Council, the City Attorney’s office and the Finance Department have proposed a tax amnesty program on penalties and interest applied to certain Admission, Lodging and Meals (ALM) and Real Estate taxes.   The Richmond City Council heard a presentation on the proposed ordinance to establish the program at their January 11 informal meeting. Passage of the ordinance on January 25, 2021 would allow many Richmonders to catch up on their taxes after a challenging year.   The program is designed to offer support to any taxpayers who have accumulated penalties and interest on delinquent taxes.   “We’ve designed this program to help residents and business owners who are still feeling the effects of COVID-19’s economic ramifications,” said Mayor Stoney of the proposed ordinance. “I’m grateful to City Council for their partnership and hopeful we can get this across the finish line and put this compassion into practice.”   Councilmember Trammel, Council Vice President El

The City of Richmond will be facilitating the distribution of 200 outdoor heat lamps to small businesses thanks to Evergreen Enterprises’ generous donation. Throughout the pandemic, business owners have had to be flexible and innovative with their business plans in order to remain open and operate within the COVID-19 guidelines. Many businesses have relied on the ability to conduct business outdoors to ensure that they are observing proper social distancing regulations. This winter has introduced the challenge of operating outdoors while the temperatures are low and uncomfortable for patrons.   Evergreen Enterprises, a leading flag, home, and garden manufacturer and distributor located in the city, has witnessed the toll that the pandemic has taken on small businesses, and wanted to be a part of the solution. “The pandemic has slowed the vibrant, diverse growth our community has enjoyed in recent years, and we’re happy to partner with the city to support small businesses during this ch

T he City of Richmond’s Office of Minority Business Development and Capital One are now accepting applications for the second cohort of business owners for the Diverse Supplier Mentoring Program. Led by Capital One, the program provides business owners with the tools, resources and counsel needed to succeed in today’s marketplace. A part of Capital One’s Impact Initiative, the program aims to accelerate the success of small business owners to create more jobs, strengthen the local economy and move our society toward a more equitable future. The program will pair associates with business owners to develop sustainable models that accelerate year over year growth, profitability and key operating metrics. The program will also consist of seven formal classes: Intro to Legal, Design Thinking, Social Media, Accounting & Cash Flow, Cybersecurity, Change Management and Access to Capital. All classes will take place virtually. “This program will help build long-term stability and provide th

Haga clic aquí para ver la ceremonia Después de cuatro años de logros significativos y mejoras en la educación, los vecindarios, infraestructura y equidad, Levar M. Stoney prestó juramento hoy para darle inicio a su segundo mandato como alcalde de la Ciudad de Richmond.   Al reflexionar acerca de un año de ajustes raciales en medio de una pandemia global, el alcalde Stoney se comprometió a liderar involucrando a la comunidad en el duro camino de la reconciliación y la eliminación de barreras, con el fin de poner a la ciudad en el camino de la justicia social y económica.   Dijo el alcalde esta tarde: “los habitantes de Richmond quieren, es más, se merecen algo más que lo que hay en este momento”, durante las declaraciones posteriores a su toma de posesión en la escuela primaria Henry Marsh, una de las tres nuevas escuelas construidas dentro de las comunidades de minorías durante su primer mandato.    “Tenemos mucho trabajo por delante si deseamos construir una ciudad que refleje signif

  Mayor Stoney announced today the City of Richmond has invested $250,000 in its most recent show of support for the small business community, offering 500 PPE supply kits for pickup at the Greater Richmond Convention Center.  Any business within the Richmond city limits is eligible to sign up to pick up a kit on Monday, January 11 or Thursday, January 14. From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on both days, city staff will be outside the 5th Street entrance to the Convention Center to distribute supply kits to business owners.  “Richmond’s small businesses have prioritized staff and customer health and safety throughout the pandemic,” said Mayor Stoney. “I hope the ongoing support from my administration, whether in the form of PPE kits or recovery grants, shows them just how important they are to this city.” The kits will include three bottles of spray disinfectant, a gallon jug of disinfectant, a disinfectant wipe dispenser, 1,800 disinfectant wipes, a gallon jug of hand wash, two gallon jugs of hand

  Click here to view the ceremony Following four years of significant accomplishments and improvements in education, neighborhoods, infrastructure and equity, Levar M. Stoney today was sworn in for a second term as mayor of the City of Richmond.   Reflecting on a year of racial reckoning in the midst of a global health pandemic, Mayor Stoney pledged to lead by engaging the community in the hard work of reconciliation and breaking down barriers to put the city on a path toward social and economic justice.   “Richmonders want, moreover they deserve, more than the status quo,” the mayor said this afternoon, in remarks following his swearing in at Henry Marsh Elementary School – one of three new schools built in communities of color during his first term in office.   “We have a lot of work ahead of us if we want to build a city that meaningfully reflects the lessons learned not only in 2020, but also throughout centuries of our unique, tumultuous history,” he continued. “We must fill the p