The James River Park System received high praise from the professionals during the recent XTERRA Games and James River Adventure Games weekend.

J.R. Pope, Director of Parks, Recreation, and Community Facilities received a note from Greg Rollins, who is the current president of RA-MOR, the off road bike club that provides so much volunteer assistance to the Games and in maintaining the trails in the JRPS.

These are some of the quotes from the pros that raced at XTERRA East Championship in Richmond, VA on Sunday June 15th.

"This is my favorite bike course by far; the trails are in amazing condition and so much fun to ride. Richmond is lucky to have so many great volunteers that take care of this place." - Melanie McQuaid

"This is my favorite race, and I love this run. I really enjoy Richmond because there are spectators in the middle of the forest and they yell your name and cheer for you and it really energizes you." -Conrad Stoltz.

"I'm really impressed with Richmond, they've got a great park system here.  This course reminds me of some of the world cups I've done in Europe where they have small forests around cities and use every inch of available space for trails." -Shonny Vanlandingham

"This course is insane, certainly worthy of flying half way around the world to race here." -Dan Hugo

"This bike course is renowned for having some of the most technical trails in XTERRA."  -XTERRA website

You can read the article about the Richmond XTERRA Race here.

Don't miss a great opportunity to board the Schooner Virginia at Richmond's Intermediate Terminal June 20 and 21.

The entire Virginia crew will welcome you aboard this masterpiece of living history. During the open house, guests can tour the deck and meet and talk with the crew, even browse the ship’s store. Let your imagination take you to bygone era as you witness the majesty of this beautiful tall ship.

She will be docked at the Intermediate Terminal on Water Street. Her visit is a great opportunity to envision even more tall ship festivals and other water events that would be possible in Richmond with the creation of a City marina.

It was only two weeks ago Norfolk held their 32nd Annual HarborFest that drew over 150,000 people to the water in three days. Those numbers were down from the usual crowd of over 250,000 because of the extreme heat!

Richmond could use such a marina to draw more ships and events like the Schooner Virginia and the Godspeed from Jamestown.

The open houses will take place rain or shine and are free and open to the public. Click here for more information.

Schooner Virginia sails the world as the Commonwealth's tall ship and goodwill ambassador. She is a re-creation of her namesake vessel, the last pure sailing vessel built for the Virginia Pilot Association on the Chesapeake Bay between 1917 to 1926.

As a sailing ambassador for the Commonwealth of Virginia the ship makes passages from port to port attending maritime festivals and other events.

Open Houses
Friday, June 20 from 12 p.m. – 5 p.m.
Saturday, June 21 from 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.

"It has been brought to my attention that there have been allegations about Chief Monroe’s degree from VCU.  I have never responded to anonymous critics and would not be doing so now, other than to stand up for a good man.

“I know that Chief Monroe has done absolutely nothing but what was required of him by the officials at VCU and no official has said otherwise.  He was personally recognized by the VCU President at his graduation last year who said that his was an example that others should follow in seeking to further their education.

“It is saddening to see one who has given so much to his community be attacked with smear and innuendo and possible illegal actions.

“This ridiculous nonsense should never have gone to this extent and those who have hidden behind anonymity should be held accountable.  Stand up or Shut up!

“I say, ‘Hail to Our Chief,’ and I know the citizens of Richmond will be expecting the quickest and just resolution of this matter by VCU with appropriate commendation to our Chief.”

Enjoy the holiday weekend and nice weather to take in the newly restored and reopened First Tee of Richmond, the City’s only municipal golf course. It had been closed since the devastation caused by Tropical Storm Ernesto in 2006.

Open daily from 10am-10pm, the course is a perfect excuse for some outdoor recreation or after work stress relief. The course is a six-hole par three course and also features 25 grass and 18 covered and heated practice tees, a putting green, a chipping green, a practice bunker, a clubhouse and a learning center.

In all, the City spent approximately $140,000 to completely restore First Tee, with the majority of the funds to be reimbursed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (75%) and the Virginia Department of Emergency Management (21%).

The complex had been used as a staging area for the construction of a replacement sewer line that ran through the Battery Park area. When the utility work was completed, the First Tee property needed to be regraded, portions of the driving range resodded, the parking lot repaved, and the club house cleaned and repainted.

First Tee is conveniently located just minutes from Downtown at 400 West School Street, north of Broad Street off of Chamberlayne Avenue.  For information, call 646-4074.
 

My Fellow Richmonders:

It was with much deliberation and consideration that I recently decided not to run again for re-election for Mayor of Richmond.

It is a position I have held and served with much pride. Only a few of my many years have been spent outside Richmond and I have always tried to make it a better place to live for those of here now as well as those of us in the future. 

It has not been an easy road. Many of the systemic problems that were cemented in the culture and dysfunction of City Hall when I arrived we have tackled head on. Many of these problems have been identified and are being addressed or already changing.
 
But it is difficult to undo 40 years of complacency. It is impossible to do so without stirring up public sentiment and stepping on toes. But I did not work to change this form of government or serve as Mayor to endorse the same behavior and work ethic that got us here.
 
I have worked diligently to change the nature of government so it can be more responsive to the needs of the City as a whole and not piecemeal district by district. And in the process, I have taken much of the heat for making those hard decisions.
 
But I believe those decisions have already begun to bear fruit. This City is improving in many areas in a way unimaginable five years ago. You hear it on the streets, you can see it in the economic activity, and you can feel the “vibe” that the ways of the past will not be the path to the future. Richmond is a more diverse City and that diversity is part of our recent success.
 
The new form of government has helped to bring the change and we will continue to address our problems and build on our successes. However, we must remain vigilant to ensure we do not regress into “district” politics where the interests of the few always outweigh the needs of the many. 
 
The end of such a narrow focus has made possible our success to date - but not without criticism from those who were always opposed to the change. There are many more success stories to come. Richmond can and will achieve even more as we further distance ourselves from the past - from our past form of government, our past record of favoring special interests, and our past of not having an engaged or informed citizenry. 
 
Our future is in front of us. Richmond has shed its cocoon and is now engaged and focused on bettering all aspects of our City and society. It is not a short or specifically defined journey. It is one fraught with decisions and uncertainty and it will not always be popular.
 
However, I am proud to say that Richmond is now on course to a future we have until now only dreamed about. The City we love to call home and dream of being great is within our reach, and I am proud to have served you and will continue to do so. I look forward to our continued journey.

The latest Ask the Mayor feature is now posted at Richmond.com as part of my office's outreach to communicate directly with the citizens of Richmond.

This week there are questions about parking meters, Old City Hall, and this web site.

Don't forget that you can send us questions anytime at this web site's Ask the Mayor feature.

All answers will be posted on Richmond.com. more...

The City is proud to have J.R. Pope as its Director of Parks and Recreation in bringing new life and recognition for our City Parks.

The paper has a very good short feature video on J.R. and Parks & Rec you can view here.

"We're giving people a reason to come out and enjoy the parks," he said. Pope added that it is good to have community groups involved, like the neighborhood group at Carter-Jones (Fonticello) Park that has been instrumental in improving the facilities and helping maintain and watch over the park.

The video is more in depth than the text of the article, so be sure to check it out.

J.R. talks about the improvements to the Byrd Park Tennis Courts, Bryan Park Azalea Gardens, James River park, as well as other improvements coming to our green spaces through our City of the Future funding.

Learn more about the Parks & Rec Department on their home page.

It was my great honor to declare Sunday, May 11 as "B.B. King Day" in the City of Richmond in honor of the King of Blues appearing at the Landmark Theater last night.

The performance was preceded with the presentation of the proclamation by Chief Administrative Officer Sheila Hill-Christian on stage with Mr. King.

You can read the Proclamation here.

Click here for a review of the show.

On Monday May 12, City Council will either vote on or once again delay the legislation that is the cornerstone to protect the riverfront for public access.

I urge all of those Richmonders who wish to complete the Richmond section of the Virginia Capital Trail and protecting the river for generations to come for all to enjoy, to read this news story and contact your Council representative and urge them to take action on this paper.

I was happy to appear on Face the Nation Sunday morning at 10:30 am to discuss the 2008 Presidential race.

You can see Part 1 of the the video here.

Part 2 of the segment can be seen here.  

Click here to see my previous appearance on Face the Nation on Sunday, Feb. 17, 2008.

Last Friday, April 25, I met with some young leaders from the Government of Australia. Several members of Parliament and other aides and Parliamentary officials visited Richmond for two days after stopping in Washington, D.C. and before heading on to Colorado.

I had a nice visit with them as we discussed, among other things, our City government structure as well our history as a City and as a nation. We also noted some of the differences between our systems and how both can learn a little from the other.

They immensely enjoyed a trip to City Hall’s Observation Deck as we toured the entire panorama of the City, pointing out some landmarks and soaking up the view.

I enjoyed their visit and am confident they left with a good impression of our great city!

On Thursday, April 24 I and many of my staff proudly volunteered with the Southside Community Development and Housing Corporation as they built new houses in the Blackwell community.

To learn more you can visit Affordable Housing Richmond.