Mayor Dwight Jones and Port of Virginia CEO John Reinhart today announced that the Port of Virginia has requested to renew its lease on the Port of Richmond for a second five year term. In addition, the Port of Virginia intends to bid on a long-term lease proposal that will allow it to make greater capital investment in the Port of Richmond terminal. The Mayor will introduce the related papers on Monday, July 27 for consideration by City Council on September 8.   The announcement comes one day after Governor McAuliffe announced the Port of Virginia is forecasted to post its first yearly operating profit since 2008 and has set a new record for cargo volume. “The City’s partnership with the Port of Virginia has turned the Port of Richmond around, and it holds promise for unlocking the value of one of the greatest economic drivers for the Richmond region,” said Mayor Dwight C. Jones. “We are excited by the possibility of a long-term partnership with The Port of Virginia, and the...

CSX, Capital Trees, and the City of Richmond have signed agreements to begin the creation of the Low Line, a 5.5 acre environmental and beautification project along Dock Street adjacent to the Virginia Capital Trail, on the historic James River and Kanawha Canal. CSX, which owns the rail trestle that runs along the planned beautification area into downtown Richmond, is donating $100,000 to support the project. “Rarely does an opportunity to do something so transformative present itself,” said Jeanette McKittrick, chairman of Capital Trees’ board of trustees. “The Low Line is the uncommon event where the necessary elements of timing, circumstance, will, and ability come together to recast a place of great historic, environmental, cultural and economic interest. It is Capital Trees’ vision to help Richmond live up to its stunningly beautiful natural gifts, to work harder to protect the James River, and to work harder, think harder, about landscapes and streetscapes. We’re very gratef...

Mayor Dwight C. Jones today issued the following statement concerning a freestanding children’s hospital, minor league baseball, and regional cooperation: “The conversation around a freestanding children’s hospital has driven a renewed commitment to regional cooperation among the City of Richmond, Henrico County, and Chesterfield County. “Advocates for the hospital asked each locality for potential locations, and we each presented options. They have indicated the Boulevard is their preferred site. “In recent days, I have met with Henrico County Manager John Vithoulkas and Chesterfield County Administrator Jay Stegmaier to advance this important regional priority. This includes agreeing to a process to identify alternative locations in the region to ensure that the Richmond Flying Squirrels have a permanent home. “Today, we met with representatives of the Squirrels and the President of the Eastern League. We agreed that the Squirrels should meet with all localities in the Richmond are...

The social media campaign, RVA Breastfeeds, has been launched to raise community support for breastfeeding mothers during World Breastfeeding Week, August 1 – 7. The campaign is sponsored by the Richmond Health Action Alliance, a coalition funded by the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth and administered by the Richmond Healthy Start Initiative, a division of Richmond Department of Social Services. The Richmond Health Action Alliance seeks to reduce childhood obesity through policy, infrastructure, and environmental changes that promote a breastfeeding-friendly and physically active community. During the campaign, life-sized cutouts of breastfeeding women and families that reflect the cultural diversity of Richmond will be strategically placed throughout the area. Other campaign components include community leaders serving as “Breastfeeding Champions,” the dissemination of breastfeeding facts, and peer-to-peer support in the form of tips for expecting and breastfeeding mothers. Loc...

Mayor Dwight Jones and Thomas Wilds, President of the Church Hill Association joined in opening 23rd Street between Grace and Franklin streets and marking the completion of the 23rd Street cobblestone restoration project today. The following are Mayor Jones prepared remarks. Good afternoon and thank you all for joining us here today. I would like to acknowledge Cynthia Newbille, the Richmond City Councilperson for the East End 7th District. Unfortunately, she is not able to join us today, but I want to point out that she has been a strong advocate for this restoration project. (Her liaison Sam Patterson will be at the event) Knowing her excitement for this area I am certain she would say - This is a great day in the City of Richmond and especially the East End as we mark the completion of the 23rd Street cobble restoration and officially re-open this street! I would like to thank our Department of Public Works, our contractors and sub-contractors for a job well done. And I would li...

Mayor Dwight C. Jones announced a new measure to advance transparency by launching the City's new Open Data Portal, accessible at data.richmondgov.com . The Open Data Portal features tools which allow users to combine data sets to build their own views of information. The portal includes several data sets such as the City’s payment register, real estate assessments, community survey data, neighborhood statistics, motor vehicle accident information and much more. The data sets are organized into the City's focus areas of Unique, Healthy and Inclusive Neighborhoods and Communities; Economic Growth; Community Safety and Well-Being; Transportation; Education and Workforce Development; Sustainability and the Natural Environment; Well Managed Government. “We are making this data available to advance transparency in government,” said Mayor Jones. “This online research tool will provide residents with information to help them understand how public money is being spent.” The Payme...

The City of Richmond announced today that it has been awarded a grant of $300,000 from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation of Battle Creek, Michigan. The grant was awarded to support the city’s continued work toward a stronger system of early childhood development and education in the City of Richmond. This award is a direct result of the work of the Early Childhood Task Force, convened last August by the Mayor’s Office of Community Wealth Building in collaboration with Richmond Public Schools and with the participation of numerous early childhood providers and community organizations. The grant aims to support Richmond’s efforts to institutionalize stronger coordination across multiple early childhood services and to develop new models for connecting families to needed support services. “I am very pleased that the W.K. Kellogg Foundation has recognized the important work on poverty reduction being done in Richmond and elected to provide significant financial support to our efforts in early...