The James River Park System is the city of Richmond's largest, most unique and best known park. This park system is made up of parks along both sides of the James River as it passes through the city, making Richmond the only urban city in the country with Class IV white water rapids in the middle of downtown. The James River Park System normally receives more than 500,000 visitors a year. As temperatures rise, the City reminds residents and visitors to the park of the many dangers along and within the river as well as those associated with any body of water. Click here or continuing reading below for tips on a safe visit to the park or around any body of water: Ensure that everyone in the family learns to swim well and only swim in designated areas supervised by lifeguards. Always swim with a buddy; do not allow anyone to swim alone. Never leave a young child unattended in or near water without adult supervision; teach children to always ask permission to go near or in wat...

The City of Richmond received KaBOOM’s designation as a 2016 Playful City USA.  This designation, the first of its kind for the city, is the result of a partnership between the City’s Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities (PCRF), the Capital Region Collaborative, and Active RVA - a program of Sports Backers. KaBOOM’s national recognition program honors cities and towns across the country for making their cities more playful. “This recognition is a great accomplishment as we continue to grow and highlight the abundant recreational opportunities available in Richmond.  Playability adds to the quality of life for all members of our community, and especially families,” said Mayor Dwight C. Jones. Celebrating its tenth anniversary, Playful City USA is a national recognition program that honors cities and towns across the country for taking bold steps to ensure that children in their communities, particularly kids from low income families, obtain the balanced and...

Mayor Dwight C. Jones announced today that Reginald E. Gordon will be the next Director of the Office of Community Wealth Building. Gordon follows the tenure of Dr. Thad Williamson, who was named the first director of the new office two years ago. “We’ve been well-served by Thad Williamson in the post and appreciate the sabbatical he took to work with us during this time,” said Mayor Jones. “Given the great work and good stewardship that Thad has offered, our challenge had been in identifying a viable successor. I’m confident that we’ve identified the right fit for this next phase of our community wealth building efforts in the personality of Reggie Gordon.” Beginning June 13, Gordon will serve as the central point of contact for the Office of Community Wealth Building (OCW). OCW initially 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. Jones successfully worked to make the office...

~ City of Richmond to join innovative, national program to improve health in low-income neighborhoods ~ The City of Richmond has been selected by Reinvestment Fund and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to take part in the new Invest Health initiative, aimed at helping community leaders work together to help low-income communities thrive. The City of Richmond was selected from more than 180 teams from 170 communities with populations between 50,000 and 400,000 that applied to participate in the initiative.  “We are excited about this opportunity to build new partnerships and forge alliances to help improve communities" said Mayor Dwight C. Jones. "This is a unique opportunity to initiate real change with a collaborative approach.” Mid-size American cities face some of the nation’s deepest challenges with entrenched poverty, poor health and a lack of investment, according to Invest Health. But they also offer fertile ground for strategies -- such as access to safe a...

Mayor Dwight Jones, Councilperson Cynthia Newbille, and the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority announced that a development team has made a rezoning application to develop a mixed-use residential and neighborhood retail development at the northern corners of the Nine Mile Road and North 25th Street intersection in Richmond’s North Church Hill neighborhood, anchored by new grocery operator Jim’s Local Market. The partners said a grocery store at this location has been conceptually discussed for many years since the area became known as a food desert, and recent efforts began in earnest in 2011 during the East End Initiative planning process attended by the Mayor, Dr. Newbille, Bon Secours Heath System, RRHA, and members of the community. “I am thrilled that this proposal is finally advancing,” said Mayor Jones. “The East End food desert has needed healthy groceries and good jobs for a long time, and I hope that success here can be replicated in other neighborhoods across the ...

~ Team to narrow down viable revenue options for future needs ~ The Multi-Year School Capital Investment Funding Plan Executive Committee received a draft report today concerning potential revenue sources that could support new capital investment in the city of Richmond. The menu of options was developed by the Revenues & Financing Working Group of the Project Evaluation Team. The report outlines revenue options and includes an analysis of the viability of those options. Seventeen potential revenue sources were represented in the draft report. The report also offers a history of annual funding for Richmond Public Schools and an outline of future Capital Improvement Project (CIP) needs for the city. Mayor Dwight C. Jones indicated that the menu of options and the report analysis will be presented and discussed with Richmond City Council as well as Richmond Public Schools, community stakeholders and the public over the next several weeks. The Project Evaluation Team wil...

Mayor Dwight C. Jones issued the following statement today following passage of the FY2017 Richmond Government Budget: “I again want to thank Richmond City Council for the hard work undertaken through a very difficult budget deliberations process.  A great deal of work was done and hard decisions made to identify the additional $9.5 million in capital and operating funds for Richmond Public Schools.  These additional funds build on the more than $145 million in operating funds submitted as part of my budget. With this increased funding, that brings the total operating funding for Richmond Public Schools to $151.5 million; again the largest single share of the city’s entire budget. I’m also pleased that additional funding was provided in other much needed areas like public works, police, fire, and finance. "The fact that budget discussions are always difficult discussions is not new.  Budget deliberations have even intensified as the country entered into a major rec...