Names Dr. Thad Williamson to city post as director of Office of Community Wealth Building   Mayor Dwight C. Jones today announced that Dr. Thad Williamson will serve as the central point of contact for the new Mayor’s Office of Community Wealth Building. The new office is a recommendation that grew out of the work of the Mayor’s Anti-Poverty Commission, now known as the Maggie L. Walker Initiative for Expanding Opportunity and Fighting Poverty. Mayor Jones established the Anti-Poverty Commission in 2011 to begin to lay the framework for de-concentrating poverty and transforming Richmond’s public housing. The Commission identified policy priorities, including: -          Workforce development -          Targeted economic development -          Development of a regional transportation network -          Targeted investments in education to improve school system outcomes, and -          Achieving the redevelopment of our public housing communities to provide better neighborhoods “I’m so

Mayor Dwight C. Jones and the City’s Department of Parks, Recreation, and Community Facilities introduced WebTrac today at the City’s Bellemeade Community Center. WebTrac is an online registration system that allows patrons to register for classes, programs, and reserve facilities from the comfort of their own homes. “I am extremely pleased to introduce this new online tool to our residents as it encourages greater participation in the numerous offerings that are provided by our City’s Department of Parks, Recreation, and Community Facilities. WebTrac also improves our internal efficiencies and puts the participant in control of the registration process,” said Mayor Jones. “This is a great accomplishment for the department,” says Dr. Norman C. Merrifield, director of Richmond’s Department of Parks, Recreation, and Community Facilities. “Having another method to register for programs or reserve a facility than stopping in a community center has provided the opportunity for more resident