The City is initiating a new multi-pronged program called Project Clean Move. It is designed to keep neighborhoods clean and help students, landlords and property owners during student relocations. Project Clean Move encourages students to get an early start in planning their move and seeks to educate and bring awareness about laws related to illegal dumping and trash accumulation as well as recycling efforts. The program begins on January 1, 2012. The Department of Public Works is working with The Salvation Army, Central Virginia Foodbank, Central Virginia Waste Management Authority, Virginia Commonwealth University and the Fan District Association on Project Clean Move to provide information on available resources, such as recycling locations and places to donate clothing and non-perishable food. The Department of Public Works will continue to put roll-off dumpsters in neighborhoods near Virginia Commonwealth University in six week intervals, beginning in late April and again in...

Mayor Dwight C. Jones and 9 th District City Councilman Doug Conner today announced recommendations to improve the City’s emergency preparedness and response strategies. The Office of Emergency Management, under the leadership of Emergency Management Coordinator Anthony McLean, has been working with Councilman Conner since Hurricane Irene in August to identify areas where the City can enhance the overall emergency response efforts for residents during an emergency. Today’s report reflects the results of that review. “It is the responsibility of government to ensure the safety, health and well-being of the residents it serves in any given situation, commented Mayor Jones. “While City workers did a good job in responding to Hurricane Irene, in any disaster there is always room for improvement. I want to thank Councilman Doug Conner for working so closely with us to undertake this review of our emergency response efforts and to help ensure that we capitalize on all lessons learned.” ...

Mayor Dwight C. Jones kicked off the demolition of Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School today in preparation for the construction of a new, state of the art, Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School (MLK). Mayor Jones, joined by Superintendent of Schools Dr. Yvonne Brandon, MLK Principal Valerie Harris along with City Council members and School Board Members from the 6th and 7th districts, watched as an excavating machine took a chunk out of one of the buildings that will come down. “Today is a clear indication of the progress that we’ve made toward building new schools,” said Mayor Dwight C. Jones. “With the start of our construction today, we are on our way to opening this new school in January of 2014.” The Jones Administration has broken ground on two new elementary schools since taking office and today’s action was the first taken on a new middle school. A new high school is also planned. MLK was originally constructed in 1964. Mayor Jones listed out the amenities the new s...

Mayor Dwight C. Jones issued the following statement regarding the State Board of Corrections unanimous vote approving the City’s amendments to the 2009 Community Based Corrections Plan and Planning Study. The Board of Corrections also approved reimbursement funding of 25% from the Commonwealth of Virginia for all eligible costs relating to the construction of the new Justice Center in the city of Richmond. "I thank the Board of Corrections for this unanimous vote today. I have fought hard to reach this point where we can move forward with the construction of our new Justice Center. I want to thank Sheriff C.T. Woody and those members of Richmond City Council that have stood with us. We are especially pleased that our dedicated law enforcement officers, social workers, clergy, attorneys, prisoners and their families will now have more humane conditions in the very near future. “We’ve made the necessary adjustments to our plans and it is now clear that our plans meet all comp...

Mayor Dwight C. Jones has issued the following statement in response to the letter sent by the City's Department of Finance to the Richmond Tea Party, and was subsequently released by the Richmond Tea Party to the public: "In response to the recent allegations regarding a letter sent to the Richmond Tea Party, the City of Richmond did not target the Richmond Tea Party by sending them a routine letter about overdue tax filings. "In March 2011, a list of more than 700 potentially non-compliant accounts was generated in the City’s Finance Department, by an automated financial system. Since the list was generated, it has been manually reviewed for accuracy. As part of this continuing process, more than 300 letters have been sent to those entities determined to be out of compliance for tax filing or payments. This letter means that either returns have not been filed or taxes are owed. Due to confidentiality laws, the City is prohibited from releasing any details about an indiv...

Mayor Dwight C. Jones today announced the expansion of Health Diagnostics Laboratory, Inc. (HDL) in the Virginia BioTechnology Research Park. This major expansion will occur in two Phases with the redevelopment of Biotech 5 and 3. Phase 1 will begin in early 2012 with a capital investment of $38.5 million in building redevelopment and machinery and equipment and the creation of an additional 353 net new jobs. Phase 2 will occur after the completion of Phase 1 and will include an additional capital investment of $30 million and the creation of 300 additional net new jobs. “This $68.5 million capital investment and 653 net new jobs will bring HDL’s employment to over 950 employees and makes HDL a major employer in the city of Richmond,” said Mayor Jones. “This is a great example of the importance of cultivating our existing business base, and we are proud that HDL has chosen the city of Richmond to expand and grow their business.” HDL, a CAP accredited leader in health management, offers...

~Pavement markings to improve bicycling conditions on roads~ Bicycling in the city is about to become easier and safer for Richmond cyclists. On Saturday the city began installing the first of approximately 80 lane miles of bike sharrows that will be placed along specific corridors in the city. The pilot corridors where the sharrows are being installed include Meadow Street from Broad Street to Cary Street and Harrison Street from Broad Street to Idlewood, representing about three lanes miles of bike sharrows thus far. Sharrows are shared lane markings that are utilized to improve bicycling conditions on roads where designated bike lanes are either infeasible or inappropriate due to traffic conditions. Sharrows are a simple, yet visible way of improving conditions for bicyclists while also reinforcing safe and appropriate bicycling habits which in turn make bicyclists more predictable in mixed traffic conditions. The pilot sharrows are located at regular intervals in both directio...