Richmond, Virginia - The Port of Richmond, Virginia and Federal Marine Terminals, Inc.(FMT) have decided not to renew their terminal operations agreement effective September 30, 2009. FMT has been the Port’s Terminal Operator since 1996 and operates terminals in eight different ports from Florida to Canada. The Port of Richmond’s business mix has recently changed driving the need to change its’ operating paradigm. A seamless transition is expected to the new Terminal Operator. The Port of Richmond is interviewing terminal operating companies and will select a new Terminal Operator by July 2009. The Port has provided stevedoring and terminal services since 1940 to the domestic and international shipping industry. Contact: David McNeal, (804) 646-2020

Honors the James Farrior Foundation’s Community Contributions Richmond, VA - Mayor Dwight C. Jones presented James Farrior of the James Farrior Foundation (JFF) the "Key to the City" on Friday, June 12, 2009, during a presentation ceremony at the Arthur Ashe Center before more than a thousand City youth and other attendees. JFF is based in Ettrick, Virginia and raises thousands of dollars to help underprivileged young people in the Richmond area. “Whenever an individual who has been blessed with resources, talent, and ability takes the time to give back; takes the time to think of others; takes the time to encourage others; we want to take the time to thank that person,” said Mayor Jones. “Here at the James Farrior Foundation we live by the phrase, ‘Tackling Everyday Life,’ as it is our motto, mission, scope and principle goal,” said JFF founder James Farrior. “We uphold this characterization, as a statement of the organizations implied ability in its efforts of helping oth...

Honoring James Farrior of the James Farrior Foundation Who: Mayor Dwight C. Jones James Farrior, Founder of the James Farrior Foundation Matt Farrior, Executive Director of the James Farrior Foundation What: "Key to the City" Presentation (private event) When: 4:30 p.m. on Friday, June 12, 2009 Where: Arthur Ashe Center 2907 North Boulevard Richmond, VA 23230 Background: Mayor Dwight C. Jones will present James Farrior of the James Farrior Foundation the "Key to the City," an award reserved for esteemed visitors, residents, or others the City wishes to honor. Recipients typically have achieved a high national and/or international profile and are honored for work related to a commitment to human rights and uplifting communities. NFL linebacker James Farrior was a star football player at Matoaca High School and the University of Virginia. He has been a signifi...

Historical Easement Signing Scheduled For Friday Who: Governor Timothy M. Kaine Mayor Dwight C. Jones City Council President Kathy Graziano WHAT: Official signing ceremony of the James River Park Conservation Easement WHEN: 10 a.m. - Friday, May 29, 2009 WHERE: Brown’s Island Vehicular Access Bridge Richmond, VA BACKGROUND: Governor Tim Kaine, Mayor Dwight Jones, and City Council President Kathy Graziano will conduct the official signing ceremony of the James River Park Conservation Easement making Richmond the first city in Virginia to place a major urban park system under a conservation easement. A bus tour of the James River Park Easement will be available, immediately following the signing. Contact: Tammy Hawley, (804) 646-3110

Mayor Dwight Jones issued the following statement on the passage of the City’s biennial budget by Richmond City Council: "City Council has done a good job with the changes that have been put forth in the biennial budget. Though this is a scaled back budget, this is a fair budget. We all sought to understand the varying perspectives and priorities and we have: - protected necessary programs, - made wise decisions for future savings, - worked to have the least impact on citizens with regard to any service reductions or revenue impacts, - protected those residents who are most vulnerable, - maintained and improved the City's fiscal health "In this tough economic environment, I am pleased that we moved through this process with little contention. This is a climate where there had to be give and take by all involved. At this time, I can say that it is unlikely that I will make any changes to the work that has been done. What we have now i...

Richmond, VA – Real estate tax bills were mailed on Friday, May 15, 2009, to all property owners and mortgage holders. The bills mailed to property owners were a duplicate communication and didn’t clearly indicate that escrow agents were also being billed directly. The City apologizes for any inconvenience this has caused. Property Owners who have escrow agents paying their real estate taxes should know that those escrow agents have been billed by the City. This duplicate bill was intended to help property owners who may have recently paid off or refinanced their mortgages, as they may need this information to meet their responsibilities or forward to a new escrow agent. Should you have a question regarding your real estate tax bill, please contact the City at 3-1-1 or finance@richmondgov.com . Contact: Michael Wallace (804) 646-2772

Press Conference Scheduled for Monday WHO: Mayor Dwight C. Jones WHAT: Release of Executive Summary on the Proposed Shockoe Center Development WHEN: 2 p.m. - Monday, May 18, 2009 WHERE: City Hall Second Floor Large Conference Room 900 East Broad Street Richmond, VA 23219 BACKGROUND: Mayor Dwight Jones hired consultants in March of this year to review Highwoods Properties' proposed development of a mixed-use project in Shockoe Bottom. Among other things, the report cites the proposal as a potentially very attractive economic development opportunity for the City. With the preliminary results of the study, Mayor Jones said he is "more confident in his knowledge of the implications of the proposed project. We now have information that we can share with stakeholders as well as our regional partners as we work to chart our course from here. All of the implications have to be considered and I'm prepared to ...