The City of Richmond is proud to announce that RVA On Ice will be returning to Downtown Richmond this winter season. Virginia Farm Bureau Insurance announces their sponsorship of  Farm Bureau Winter Park at RVA On Ice  for the 2012-2013 season. Farm Bureau Winter Park at RVA On Ice is scheduled to open Friday, November 23, 2012 and run through Thursday, January 31, 2013. This is the third season of the downtown ice rink, which was a vision of Mayor Dwight C. Jones to have in downtown Richmond. The 8,400 square foot ice skating rink is adjacent to Richmond CenterStage at  6th Street on the Broad Street side. Skaters can enjoy hot chocolate, S'mores, classic holiday music and movies, a fire pit and Snack Shack. Free arts and crafts sessions will be offered by the City of Richmond's Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities Office of Cultural Arts Programs on Saturdays and other special events and appearance will occur throughout the season. Hours of Opera...

Mayor Dwight C. Jones today announced that IBM has selected the city of Richmond to receive an IBM Smarter Cities Challenge grant https://smartercitieschallenge.org/ . The Mayor will receive the grant during a special recognition dinner this evening in Palisades, NY, following a day long summit of leaders from cities involved in the Smarter Cities Challenge program. The grant provides the City with access in 2013 to some of IBM's top experts to analyze and recommend ways Richmond can become an even better place in which to live and work. Launched in 2011, the IBM Smarter Cities Challenge is a three-year, 100-city, $50 million competitive grant program. “It is an honor to receive the IBM Smarter Cities Challenge grant as this resource of human capital will prove invaluable in moving Richmond forward as we continue our work of enhancing our economic and workforce development efforts,” said Mayor Jones. “Richmond is a city of great opportunity as we have a wealth of amenitie...

~Paving Projects Totaling $1,426,000 Million Begin This Month~ The City of Richmond Department of Public Works announced the continuation of city paving projects to take place throughout the month of November and into December. Paving work totaling $1,426,000 million, which begins on Monday, November 12, supports the City Administration’s commitment to improving the city’s infrastructure. Mayor Dwight C. Jones announced an aggressive infrastructure improvement effort in 2010 to repave 25 percent of neighborhood streets over a five year period. The following projects should be completed by mid-December. The project areas are: North Richmond 11/12/12–11/21/12  Brook Road between Brookland Park Boulevard and Lombardy Ave The Fan Streets 11/19/12 – 12/21/12 Grove Avenue between Park Avenue to the Boulevard Floyd Avenue between Cherry Street to the Boulevard Hanover Avenue between Park Avenue to the Boulevard There will be intermittent lane closures and/or street clo...

Mayor Jones welcomes dignitaries and college presidents as panelists   The City of Richmond is hosting the “Framing the Issues and Looking to the Future” Health Care Symposium on November 8-9, 2012, in the city’s downtown. The symposium will focus on the health care delivery system in the city of Richmond, with a goal of engaging the broader community in dialogue about ways to attract and retain health care practitioners to live and work in the city. “This symposium is an outgrowth of the work of the Mayor’s Blue Ribbon Commission on Health Policy,” said Mayor Jones. “That Commission highlighted the need for us to identify ways to add to our health care infrastructure in the city of Richmond. With this symposium, we are going to explore ways to encourage physicians to locate practices in the city of Richmond and we are going to consider what incentives we may be able to offer to spur interest in targeted areas of our city.” "There is a long-standing shortage of min...

~ Bon Secours investment to spur multi-site development and jobs ~ Mayor Dwight C. Jones today announced the city’s plan to develop the Leigh Street (Science Museum) site as the new home of Washington Redskins Summer Training Camp beginning in 2013.  In making the announcement, the Mayor also disclosed that Bon Secours Richmond Health System (BSRHS) and the City have formulated a comprehensive strategy to stimulate new economic development and jobs throughout the city. “We are announcing an agreement today that has overall merits for the entire city,” said Mayor Dwight C. Jones. “Our efforts have leveraged the world-class opportunity of bringing the Washington Redskins Summer Training Camp to Richmond into an estimated $40 million investment in our city with greatly expanded benefits.” Components of the Bon Secours Richmond Health System letter of intent include: ·         BSRHS participation will enable the construction of the Redskins prac...

~“Yorktown” passenger vessel bringing tourists to the City~ The Cruise Ship “Yorktown”, which travels along the East Coast, is preparing to anchor at the River City’s Intermediate Terminal on Wharf Street on October 26 and November 1. The Yorktown is a U.S. Flag vessel and the trip marks the first time the ship’s passengers will disembark in Richmond. They will spend each day visiting historical sites in the City before boarding the ship for the next port of call.  New York based Travel Dynamics International cruise line offers the weeklong cruises. The ship starts its voyage in Alexandria with its last call in Philadelphia. The Yorktown is 256 feet long, 45 feet wide, with a draft of 9 feet. It can carry 140 passengers and has a crew of 40.  To prepare the Intermediate Terminal for the vessel’s arrival, the Department of Public Works and the Department of Economic and Community Development provided $13,000 for improvements, which included the addition of two moo...

Mayor Dwight C. Jones was joined by Virginia Clean Cities today for the opening of Richmond Omni Hotel's first public charging station. The City of Richmond has been an important partner in the Richmond Electric Vehicle Initiative --- a planning grant for electric vehicles through the Clean Cities Community Readiness and Planning for Plug-In Electric Vehicles and Charging Infrastructure grant.  “This effort fits into Richmond’s triple bottom line goals of the City’s RVAgreen plans of sustainability and will help lower greenhouse gas emissions in the city.” comments Mayor Dwight C. Jones. "The RVAgreen Plan supports electric vehicles and charging stations because they provide options that are more economically competitive and environmentally resilient than traditional vehicles." Ford Motor Company chose Richmond as one of the first 25 "EV Ready" cities in the country and a launch market for its all-electric Ford Focus.  "Electric vehicles and in...