Support Office of Neighborhood Safety
at July 17th City Council Meeting

Dear Friends,

The summer has begun and while the beauty of summer unfolds, let us continue to keep our consciousness on the need for peace-building here in Richmond!

Many of you know that the City is in the process of constructing an Office of Neighborhood Safety through the City Manager's office. The importance of this Office is to support and direct street level services and coordinate community building and outreach efforts to prevent violence and build peace throughout our City.

Unfortunately, we have encountered a "slow down" from some members of the the City Council in regard to authorizing adequate staffing for intervention efforts that are essential to this Office of Neighborhood Safety (ONS). I remain insistent that we must quell the violence -- before it happens. Studies show how violence heats up as the summer heats up. Sadly, another homicide and two non-fatal shootings occurred this past Friday night.

Getting an effective ONS up and running requires your help. I am asking all supporters to come to the City Council meeting on July 17th and speak in favor of moving the ONS forward swiftly and effectively. Please come state the importance of hiring outreach coordinators to intervene in our local hotspots of violence and offer alternatives. Our neighborhoods that are most affected by the violence deserve no less!

Peace,

Mayor McLaughlin

Peace is Possible!

While we wait for the Council to come together to assemble the Office of Neighborhood Safety, violence prevention efforts in the City cannot wait. So, in the meantime, my office and the Tent Cities movement have decided to move forward with a "Weekend of Peace." That's right, the tents will go up again in Nevin Park, Shields-Reid Park, MLK Park, and Kennedy Park this upcoming weekend. I'm asking the people of Richmond to come out, especially those affected the most, on Sat., July 7th to support Tent Cities to prevent violence and build peace in Richmond.

Accomplishments and Contributions from the Mayor's Office

--Juneteenth was a big success. Together with other City officials and members of the community, the Mayor's Office participated in the parade and festivities. The day was a beautiful commemoration of the historic struggle waged by African-Americans for freedom.

-- Summer Youth Employment Program has been launched and is providing over 350 young people with summer jobs. The Mayor's Office contributed funding to expand as many of these jobs as possible into year-round part-time work for our youth.

-- the Mayor's Task Force on Environmental Health and Environmental Justice has met twice and is advancing with many ideas to address our many environmental issues here in Richmond.

-- the City Council unanimously approved an initiative of the Mayor, supported by the Police Chief, to purchase an initial installation of License Plate Readers (LPR) for 4 police vehicles. LPRs are cameras mounted on squad cars, which identify stolen vehicles by reading and recording license plates at rapid speed, thus enhancing law enforcement's ability to locate and return stolen vehicles.

-- A balanced Fiscal Year 2007/08 Operating Budget has been approved with additional budgeting for the Office of Neighborhood Safety to be addressed on July 17th.

-- Remodeling and renovations have been done on many of our Community Centers. This is a milestone for the City! While some excellent programs exist, the Mayor continues to promote utilizing these centers more fully to transform them into wondrous opportunities of learning, culture, training and recreation for our residents.

-- General Plan Update process continues with more money allocated by the City Council for community meetings. The Mayor's Office has been working closely with community and consultants to assure we move our general plan forward in the interests of a healthy and sustainable Richmond.

-- the Mayor continues to speak out for the health of the community and environment in reference to the impact of Chevron refinery, including its proposed expansion project.

-- Promotion of good, clean, green business practices and economics for our City's prosperity and development is continuing.