The following letter was sent to Henrico, Chesterfield and Hanover leaders: Perhaps the most important thing we do as leaders of our respective jurisdictions is to ensure the public’s safety. We are all aware of last week’s tragedy in Richmond’s East End. In light of this situation involving a high-speed police pursuit which crossed jurisdictional lines, I am writing to invite you to a meeting to address concerns that have arisen. Since the beginning of my Administration, I have extended the hand of regional cooperation and collaboration. Because crime has no boundaries, keeping our communities safe requires that we address it as one region, while being mindful of the unique circumstances that we each must manage in our separate localities. With respect to high speed police pursuits, the City of Richmond has a concentration of narrow streets, lots of pedestrians, compact residential areas, and areas where the line of sight is limited, and as such, the potential for accidents during suc...

Madam President, Madam Vice President, Members of the Council, Citizens of Richmond, I address you today regarding the Fiscal Year 2011 budget for the City of Richmond. As I begin, I'm reminded that it was just one year ago on March 26, that I presented my plan to close what was then a $25 million budget gap. I stated at that time that our theme for the next two years would be "Making Efficient Decisions in Challenging Economic Times." I want to thank you for the opportunity to work in collaboration with you over this past year in meeting extraordinary financial challenges. It is worth noting that we went through that initial budget cycle without interrupting core services or initiating layoffs. Going forward, it is clear that communication, cooperation, and collaboration are still the strong principles that we must operate under. Our present day challenges call for a coordinated effort to how our government operates. As you all know, a recession has a domino effec...

Mayor Dwight C. Jones announced today the city of Richmond's intent to apply for the Google Fiber for Communities Project on March 26 and urges all of the Richmond community and region to support the city's efforts. "The city that wins this project will be recognized globally and the impact it will have is the technological equivalent of being awarded the Olympics," said Mayor Jones. "It will be an enormous economic development engine and further expand the creative and technological industries in our city, in addition to helping bridge the digital divide. This would be a major stride in making Richmond a Tier One city." The Google Fiber for Communities Project is an experiment to build an ultra-high speed broadband network that will deliver internet speeds more than 100 times faster than what most Americans have access to today. The planned network will offer speeds over one gigabit per second in the fiber-to-the-home connections. Google plans to offer serv...

The city's Hull Street Library, located at 1400 Hull Street, will be closed on Thursday, March 18, 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 Hull Street Library renovation will be in phase two, which is scheduled to start in the winter of 2010. ###

The City administration announced today that Alicia Zatcoff has been named the first Sustainability Manager for the city of Richmond. In this role, Zatcoff will help the city develop and implement sustainable green and eco-friendly policies and practices that support Mayor Dwight C. Jones’ objectives for the residents of Richmond to enjoy an improved quality of life, healthy environment and enhanced economic development and job creation opportunities. "As we have already initiated several initiatives to become a greener city by reducing our carbon footprint, this is the right time to appoint a Sustainability Manager," Mayor Jones said. “Alicia Zatcoff’s experience and commitment for an eco-friendly government will be of great benefit to the city of Richmond.” The city’s sustainability manager will report to Deputy Chief Administrative Officer for Operations Chris Beschler. Zatcoff will work cooperatively with all city agencies to find ways to reduce resource use such as ...

The Department of Public Works Division of Urban Forestry has been awarded a $5,000 grant from the Virginia Department of Forestry to plant new trees on West Cary Street through the city's newly established Virginia Municipal Tree Restoration Program project (MTRP). On March 15, city Arborists will begin placing removal notifications on 11 trees in the 12-hundred block, 13-hundred block and 21-hundred block of West Cary Street. The trees were selected primarily because they have been aggressively pruned to prevent them from interfering with power lines. Under the MTRP project they will be cut down, the stumps ground and new trees will replace them. "We want to plant the right tree in the right place," said DPW Director Dexter White. "We want to enhance the appearance of West Cary Street, but at the same time make certain the trees we put in will not come in contact with the power lines." The city will plant redbuds, Yoshino cherry and serviceberry trees at the 1...

WHO: U.S. Deputy Secretary of Commerce Dennis Hightower Mayor Dwight C. Jones City Council President Kathy Graziano 7 th District City Councilwoman Cynthia Newbille Richmond Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Yvonne Brandon WHAT: Rally and special assembly to kickoff the city of Richmond’s 2010 Census campaign. WHEN: Monday, March 8, 201010:30 – 11:30 a.m. WHERE: Franklin Military Academy701 North 37 th Street BACKGROUND: The city of Richmond’s response rate in the 2000 U.S. Census was 60 percent. Since funding for public education and community service programs are affected by Census data, city and school officials will emphasize why a high response and return rate is critical in “Building a Better Richmond.” # # #