Richmond, VA - The City of Richmond is proud to announce the appointment of Angie Rodgers as Director of Economic Development.

Rodgers joins Richmond from Prince George's County, Maryland, where she served for the past five years as the Deputy Chief Administrative Officer for Economic Development, overseeing 10 county agencies including neighborhood revitalization, business attraction and retention, small business support, lending and incentives, tourism, and workforce development.

"Angie brings decades of experience in community-building and economic development," said CAO Odie Donald II. "There is no question that Richmond is ripe with economic opportunity. In Angie, we will have a trusted leader who can harness that opportunity in a way that uplifts our community, continues to raise our City's profile, and injects economic vibrancy into our communities."

Prior to Prince George's County, Ms. Rodgers was the Chief of Staff for the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development for Washington D.C. responsible for the budget, policy, and operations of an 85-person agency overseeing real estate development, business development, and revenue bond activities.

"Richmond has something for everyone," said Rodgers. "From its beautiful scenery to a wonderful food and beverage scene and a host of historical and cultural landmarks, there is so much to love about the River City. It is an honor to join the Economic Development team; I look forward to doing my part to create a thriving, equitable business landscape that benefits all Richmonders and am grateful for the opportunity to do so."

"Odie and I are thrilled to have Angie on board," said Mayor Avula. "She brings the expertise and clear vision we need to attract, build, and retain business here in Richmond. I'd like to also extend my deepest gratitude to Matt Welch, who has done an incredible job as Interim Director of Economic Development for the past year."

Rodgers will officially take her position on August 4.

In response to the ongoing opioid crisis and the growing need for comprehensive substance use prevention and recovery services, the City of Richmond is proud to announce the creation of the Office of Opioid and Substance Use Response (OOSUR). 

This newly established office will serve as the central hub for coordinating the City’s efforts to reduce the impact of substance use disorders across the community. Housed within the Human Services Portfolio under the Deputy Chief Administrative Officer, OOSUR will work in close collaboration with local health providers, public safety agencies, community-based organizations, and people with lived experience to develop a strategic, data-informed, and compassionate approach to addressing substance use. 

“The opioid crisis continues to devastate families across Richmond,” said Mayor Danny Avula. “The launch of this office marks a pivotal step forward in ensuring that our response is not only comprehensive, but rooted in equity, harm reduction, and long-term healing for our residents.” 

Key functions of the office include: 

• Coordinating prevention, treatment, and recovery initiatives across city agencies and community partners 

• Expanding public education and awareness campaigns 

• Supporting harm reduction strategies, including access to naloxone and overdose prevention resources 

• Strengthening data collection and analysis to inform citywide response 

The office will be led by Anna Jones as the Opioid Response Strategist. Jones is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with extensive experience in substance use response and community engagement. Most recently, she served as the Opioid Outreach Coordinator for Chesterfield County where she led comprehensive, county-wide initiatives to implement and evaluate public health strategies aimed at combating the opioid crisis. Additional staff members include a Policy Advisor for Opioid Response Coordination and an Opioid Abatement Authority Project Coordinator. 

“We are committed to meeting this crisis head-on with compassion and urgency,” said Jones. “OOSUR will help ensure that Richmond residents affected by substance use have access to the support, treatment, and dignity they deserve.” 

The launch of the Office of Opioid and Substance Use Response aligns with the City’s broader commitment to advancing public health, racial equity, and community resilience. 

For more information and resources, visit https://www.rva.gov/human-services/opioid-response.  

With high intensity rain events forecasted for the region, the City of Richmond is actively preparing for potential flooding and urges residents and businesses to take precautionary steps to help minimize impacts.

While weather events are beyond our control, the City’s agencies are taking proactive steps to mitigate potential effects. The Department of Public Utilities (DPU) has deployed crews to inspect and clear storm drains in known trouble spots. Staff remain on-call and are prepared to respond quickly to blocked inlets or drainage issues. Additional signage for flood-prone streets has been staged and is ready for deployment if needed. Residents and businesses are encouraged to play a vital role in flood prevention by keeping storm drains clear of trash, leaves, sediment, cigarette butts, and lawn debris. Blocked inlets can significantly reduce drainage capacity, leading to localized flooding, driving hazards, and property damage even during minor rain events.

The Department of Public Works (DPW) is also actively engaged, coordinating signage deployment in areas with known flood risk. While the Magnolia Street flood gate is currently inoperable, signage will be placed to alert drivers. Bainbridge Street flood gates remain operational. Emergency Services Operations (ESO) teams, along with Urban Forestry, Traffic, and Maintenance crews, are on call through the night to respond as needed.

The Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities (PRCF) will also be monitoring levels in the James River. James River Park System staff have protocols in place ensure the safety of all park users and have been activated with the recent rains. PRCF asks that residents adhere to the posted signage at river entry points.

City departments and partners are receiving regular weather updates and continuing coordinated response efforts to safeguard public infrastructure and community wellbeing. Flooding is a common occurrence during severe rainstorms, and several contributing factors can increase the risk. A full list of those factors is available on the City’s Stormwater Management page www.rva.gov/public-utilities/stormwater-management under the “Floodplain Management” tab. Long-term, the City’s RVAgreen 2050 plan has identified “Reducing risks and impacts to the community and natural environment from extreme precipitation and flooding” as one of its key objectives. The full plan is available at www.rvagreen2050.com/rvagreen-2050-plan.

Residents are encouraged to stay informed by visiting www.rva.gov or following us on Facebook and Instagram @RVAGov. The City of Richmond thanks the community for its cooperation and continued vigilance during this weather event.

In June, administrators of the Richmond Police Department's license plate reader program learned an analyst with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives had been granted access to the RPD system and had made queries for immigration enforcement in violation of RPD's operational standards. The ATF analyst's access was immediately terminated and, moving forward, no federal agencies will have access to RPD's license plate reader program.

"ATF is a valued partner in our efforts to combat violent crime in Richmond. But their analyst should not have been granted access to our system - and absolutely should not have used it for immigration enforcement purposes," said RPD Chief Rick Edwards. "I've been clear with the public, with city leadership, and within this department: the Richmond Police Department does not enforce federal immigration law, and we do not investigate a person's immigration status. If ATF had formally requested access for that purpose, I would have denied it."

Facts and details:

• The ATF analyst requested access to the RPD license plate reader program on February 7, 2025, to "assist our agents and TFOs [Task Force Officers] with investigations in and around Richmond."
• At that time of their request, the ATF was not actively involved with immigration enforcement.
• The RPD administrator of the program granted access to the ATF analyst.
• The RPD administrator of the program has since separated from the department.
• In March 2025, the mission of the ATF changed to include immigration enforcement.
• In early March, four detainees from an ICE detention facility in Farmville, Virginia escaped. In the effort to assist the investigation, the ATF analyst made numerous inquiries to RPD's license plate reader program in an effort to apprehend the escapees.
• Overall, the ATF analyst queried 49 unique license plates receiving over 400 results to those inquiries. Over a quarter of the results received related to the incident in Farmville.
• The cases involved in the ATF analyst's queries were a mixture of a) cases that the ATF traditionally investigates with RPD and other partners, e.g. firearms offenses and/or violent crime, regardless of a subject's immigration status (35 of the 49 unique license plates) and b) cases that Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) pursues regarding immigration enforcement (14 of the 49 unique license plates). According to the ATF, all of those cases in the second group involved individuals that had committed a crime or had a criminal background.
• The analyst did not include the name of the state for a license plate query which produced a result from a different state for the same license plate numbers and letters. According to the ATF, all queries made using the system were for investigations in the state of Virginia. Pursuant to the new Virginia law taking effect on July 1, 2025, other states no longer have connections to Virginia license plate information.
• On June 11, the new RPD administrator received an alert from Flock Safety, the vendor of the license plate readers, that two searches from the ATF analyst inadvertently accessed Illinois vehicle data with "ICE" in the query field which is a violation of Illinois law.
• Within five minutes of the new RPD administrator recognizing the ATF analyst had access to the RPD system and was using it in violation to RPD guidelines, the administrator terminated the ATF analyst's access to the system.
• An immediate audit was conducted to ensure no other federal partner or other user outside of RPD personnel had access to the license plate reader program. No other user was found to have access.
• The new administrator began an internal investigation on how and when access was granted to the ATF analyst by the previous, departed manager.
• Last Wednesday, RPD received a media request to discuss "a set of Flock license plate searches the Richmond PD ran from around March 31- April 9, 2025. These searches show 'ICE' in the Flock Safety audit log Reason field." Upon receiving this request, a more comprehensive investigation was conducted by RPD leadership.
• ATF officials were invited to Richmond Police Headquarters to discuss the matter. Yesterday, the ATF officials and the ATF analyst met with Chief Edwards and senior command staff. ATF agreed to provide more data on the searches they conducted.
• ATF states that no apprehensions occurred solely off the information obtained by the ATF analyst using the RPD license plate reader technology.

"We value our partnership with the Richmond Police Department and regret that this situation occurred," said ATF Special Agent in Charge Anthony Spotswood. "Our ATF analyst accessed RPD's system in support of ATF's overall mission and although all the queries involved criminal activity, they were not in compliance with RPD's guidelines. While our investigative analysts support both criminal and immigration-related efforts, the majority of these searches were directly tied to local investigations involving gun trafficking, violent offenders, and fraudulent firearms purchases. In one instance, a potential residency violation may have prompted the use of 'ICE' in a search field - but all queries were related to criminal activity, not civil immigration enforcement."

"It is frustrating this occurred. However, I appreciate ATF's willingness to acknowledge what happened and clarify the nature of the searches," said Chief Edwards. "We remain committed to working with our federal partners on the investigation and prosecution of violent crime. But moving forward, no federal agencies will have access to our license plate reader program. This tool is vital to solving serious crimes in our city, and we will ensure it is used lawfully, responsibly, and in alignment with Richmond's values."

Richmond, VA - Today, Mayor Danny Avula announced that Brandon Hinton's assignment has concluded, and he will be returning to Henrico County on Monday, July 7th, at the request of the County. Mr. Hinton, who is Henrico County's Deputy Manager of Administration, has served on loan to the City as Acting Deputy Chief Administrative Officer (DCAO) for Finance and Administration since May 29, 2025.

"I am so thankful for Brandon and for the time he spent in City Hall with me and my team. It takes a special person to come into a completely unfamiliar work setting and dig in for the greater good. I appreciate his dedication and willingness to roll up his sleeves to move the work forward," said Mayor Danny Avula.

Operations in the Finance and Administration portfolio will continue uninterrupted with Rene Almaraz, Director of Procurement, serving as interim DCAO for Finance and Administration.

Since taking office, Mayor Avula has been focused on building a strong, skilled, and trustworthy leadership team. In January, he appointed Scott Morris as Director of Utilities, followed by Amy Popovich as Deputy Chief Administrative Officer for Human Services. More recently, he announced the hiring of a new Chief Administrative Officer, Mr. Odie Donald II, who begins on July 9. These key leadership appointments reflect Mayor Avula's commitment to cultivating a thriving City Hall that gets things done.

Additional leadership announcements are expected this month-including a permanent DCAO for Finance and Administration.