October 8th Newsletter
My wife is the best at keeping our family calendar of reminders for things that we both need to do. On that calendar for this week, she had entered “Get Flu Shots.” I was able to roll up my sleeve for that shot yesterday and check it off the to-do list. I also have seen media coverage emphasizing the particular importance of getting a shot this year because we did not build up the same immunity levels in 2020 due to the COVID lockdowns.
Fortunately, there are many convenient options available for getting your shot. You can get a flu shot at your doctor’s office, a pharmacy such as CVS, Walgreens, Publix, Kroger, or an urgent care clinic. See more information on how to schedule a flu shot and the benefits of immunization for your health and our community online at the Richmond and Henrico Health District website.
If you have any questions or need assistance with a state agency, please contact my office at delrwillett@house.virginia.gov or phone at 804-698-1073, and a member of my staff will be happy to assist you. I also will continue to keep you informed with relevant, accurate information via Twitter, Facebook, and my website. Please stay well and stay in touch.
Sincerely,
Rodney
New Information
Deadline to Vote Early In-Person and By-Mail Approaching!
There are only two weeks left to request a mail-in absentee ballot. The deadline to submit an absentee ballot application is Friday, October 22nd by 5:00 pm. You can apply for a mail-in ballot online at the Virginia Department of Elections website.
Once you receive your ballot, please take time to fill out the ballot entirely, and make sure you have a witness present to sign and verify your ballot. You can return your ballot through the mail, drop it off at one of Henrico County’s ballot drop boxes, or you may hand-deliver your ballot to your local registrar’s office by 7:00 pm on Election Day. Ballots returned by mail must be postmarked on or before Election Day and received by your registrar by noon on the third day after the election.
Absentee in-person or early voting has been open since September 17th and will continue through October 30th — a little over 3 weeks left! If you are a voter in Henrico County you can vote early in-person at the Western Henrico Government Center (4305 E. Parham Rd) or the Eastern Henrico Government Center (3820 Nine Mile Rd), Monday — Friday from 8:00 am - 4:30 pm. Early voting will also be available on Saturday, October 23, and Saturday, October 30 from 9:00 am - 5:00 pm.
See more information on how to vote and sample ballots for Henrico County online here. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact my office at DelRWillett@house.virginia.gov.
DMV Walk-Up Service Now Open — Appointment Only on Alternating Days
Walk-up service at the Department of Motor Vehicles resumed this Tuesday after temporary suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Walk-in service is now available every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday at all 75 customer service centers.
This summer, the General Assembly required the DMV to develop a plan to resume walk-in services that had been moved to appointment only, online, and mail service. Based on research and customer feedback during the pandemic, the agency developed a hybrid service model with walk-in service available three days a week and continued appointment-only service three days a week. The agency stated that 77% of customers said in a survey that they would like to see appointments continue.
The pandemic spurred significant innovation at the DMV, as the agency worked to quickly expand and improve online services and appointment opportunities to ensure Virginians have greater flexibility. The DMV is now able to complete more customer transactions and is conducting over 10% more transactions per week cumulatively through all service channels than before the pandemic.
You can see more information on DMV online services, appointment options, customer service center locations, and hours of operation online at dmv.virginia.gov.
Virginia Launches Expanded Train Service from Downtown Richmond to Washington, D.C., on to New York and Boston
Governor Northam recently announced the launch of expanded rail service from Richmond to the Northeast corridor. The Amtrak Northeast Regional Route 51 will now offer early morning service from Main Street Station, getting travelers from Downtown Richmond to Washington D.C. when the workday begins or to New York for a lunchtime meeting. The new train is the first expansion of service under Governor Northam's Transforming Rail in Virginia program to significantly expand rail infrastructure throughout the Commonwealth. Transforming Rail in Virginia is a $3.7 billion program to expand and improve passenger, commuter, and freight rail in Virginia. It will connect the Northeast and Southeast corridors in America’s national rail network.
The new train will offer quick and reliable service from Richmond to D.C., connecting our two cities and reducing congestion on I-95. The newly expanded service has stops at a variety of destinations in the Northeast corridor. Travelers can choose from three daily departure times, two in the morning and one in the evening.
Tickets are now available for purchase. Amtrak worked with a medical director and partnered with the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health to ensure proper health and safety protocols were implemented.
Absentee Ballot Error in Henrico County
The Henrico County Voter Registration and Elections Office is working to contact voters in eight precincts in western Henrico who may have been sent inadvertently an absentee mail-in ballot for the incorrect Virginia House of Delegates district. The mistake was the result of a clerical error and only impacted voters in the 56th House District. The error potentially could affect 1,409 voters in the 56th district who were inadvertently mailed a ballot for the 68th district after requesting absentee mail-in ballots.
Henrico General Registrar Mark Coakley said that the Voter Registration and Elections Office is working to contact voters who have been impacted and correct this mistake as soon as possible. Affected voters will be notified by mail next week and will be sent a sample ballot with the correct Virginia House District. If the sample does not match the ballot previously received, voters should not complete the ballot but rather should contact the Voter Registration and Elections Office at (804) 501-4347 about obtaining a correct ballot, Coakley said.
Voters who were affected by this error and already completed and returned their ballot should contact the Henrico Voter Registration and Elections office at registerandvote@henrico.us and (804) 501-4347. You can view sample ballots for all Henrico precincts online here.
Governor Announces $7.7 Million in GO Virginia Grants — Two Projects in Henrico County Funded
Last week Governor Northam and Secretary of Commerce and Trade Brian Ball announced an allocation of more than $7.7 million in Growth and Opportunity for Virginia (GO Virginia) grants to advance community economic recovery efforts. GO Virginia is a bipartisan, business-led economic development initiative that supports programs to create more high-paying jobs through incentivized collaboration between business, education, and government to diversify and strengthen the economy in every region of the Commonwealth. This funding allocation will support 14 projects focused on economic diversification, workforce development, talent pipelines, economic resiliency, and business-ready sites — including two projects in Henrico County.
The first Henrico-based project will accelerate the growth of the emerging Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Cluster for Region 4 (Counties of Chesterfield, Dinwiddie, Greensville, Hanover, Henrico, Prince George, and Powhatan and the cities of Petersburg and Richmond). Activation Capital is a partner in this effort to accelerate growth making our region a leader in advanced pharmaceutical manufacturing and research and development through a six-pronged approach: create a collaborative organization, build the supply chain in the region, solve critical regional infrastructure and lab space issues, implement a communications campaign, assure workforce needs are identified and met, and cultivate strategic relationships.
The second project funded in Henrico is the Lighthouse Labs Alumni Program. Lighthouse Labs will strengthen the post-acceleration resources offered to startup companies in high-growth sectors. By offering support for an additional nine months after the three-month acceleration program, Lighthouse Labs will help alumni scale organically and attract outside capital to grow. You can see more information on both of these projects, and other growth and opportunity initiatives online at govirginia.org
Governor Northam Leads Chesapeake Executive Council in Signing Climate Directive
The Chesapeake Executive Council, an organization consisting of the governors of the six watershed states, the mayor of the District of Columbia, the chair of the Chesapeake Bay Commission, and the administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, met last week to sign a directive that commits the Chesapeake Bay Program to address the increasing threats of climate change. The directive utilizes world-class scientific, modeling, monitoring, and planning capabilities to jumpstart the final phase of Bay restoration.
The Northam administration spent more than a year developing a strong, science-based clean water blueprint that will reduce nutrient pollution and account for the impacts of climate change. This directive recognizes the need to increase the resiliency of the watershed, including the need to significantly reduce water pollution. It also acknowledges the need to restore natural landscapes, habitats, public infrastructure, and communities so that they can withstand adverse impacts from changing environmental and climate conditions. See more information on this announcement online here.
Henrico Police Offer Domestic Violence and Crime Prevention Seminars
In recognition of October as both National Domestic Violence Awareness Month and Crime Prevention Month, Henrico Police Community Services will host a crime prevention seminar series featuring a variety of crime prevention and awareness topics. Henrico Police Chief Eric English has noted a rise in gun violence and domestic violence across the county, and it is crucial that our law enforcement works with our community to reduce crime and violence that hurt Henrico families.
The Henrico Police Community Service Department hosted the first of its crime prevention seminar series this Thursday on domestic violence prevention. Seating for all seminars is limited and registration is required. See online here for details and to register, and see below for a list of upcoming seminars.
Fraud & Scam Prevention
October 14, 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Deep Run Recreation Center
Learn how to identify a fraud/scam and how to avoid becoming a victim.
Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) and Personal Safety
October 21, 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Henrico Theater
Learn how proper design and use of a built environment can lead to reduction of crime as well as proactive tips to enhance personal safety.
Civilian Response to Active Shooter
October 28, 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Henrico Training Center
Learn actions citizens can take when faced with an active /critical incident and risk factors to help prevent a threat from occurring.
House Page Program Applications Are Open!
After a hiatus in 2021, the House Page Program is planning a return during the 2022 legislative session. This program is a great opportunity for students to learn more about the legislative process and develop important life skills. The House of Delegates will have 30 pages serving during session. Pages must be 13 or 14 years old as of January 12, 2022, and are paid for their work in addition to receiving per diem expense payments. The deadline to apply is November 1, 2021, at 5:00 p.m. and must include a letter of endorsement from the applicant’s House of Delegates member; authorization from the applicant’s school principal, teachers, and counselor; and an essay by the applicant on why they want to serve as a page.
The link to apply can be found here, and if you are the parent of a page applicant, please email me for an interview.
Events this Weekend
25th Annual Glen Allen Day — Saturday, October 9th!
The Glen Allen Ruritan Club, in cooperation with Henrico Recreation & Parks, will host the 25th Annual Glen Allen Day on Saturday, October 9, 2021, at Crump Park and Meadow Farm with the theme “25 Years of Bringing Glen Allen Together.”
In support of Glen Allen High School, the day begins at 8:00 a.m. in the park with the GA5K which has 250 runners and walkers. At 9:30 a.m. the parade kicks off and will be enjoyed by hundreds of spectators along Mountain Road and into the park, beginning at John Cussons Drive and Mountain Road. From 10:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. festivities will take place in the park and will include approximately 125 vendors and several food stands. Throughout the day, families can enjoy bands and entertainment on the stage and a huge area for children with activities such as a hay maze, pumpkin decorating, inflatables, a large “sandbox” of corn, and a petting zoo.
I’ll be joining Delegate Schuyler VanValkenburg and the Henrico County Democrats for the parade at 9:30 a.m. — I hope to see you there!
Fish Fry Meet and Greet with Statewide Democratic Candidates
Please join me this Sunday, October 10th, for a Fish Fry and Meet and Greet with our Statewide Democratic Candidates — Terry McAuliffe, Hala Ayala, and Mark Herring. This is a great opportunity to meet our candidates on the ballot this November and say hello to other elected leaders in Henrico County!
The event is hosted by Delegate Delores McQuinn, and we will be joined by Senator Jennifer McClellan, Senator Ghazala Hashmi, Del. Lamont Bagby, Del. Dawn Adams, Del. Betsy Carr, Del. Schuyler VanValkenburg, Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney, Richmond City Councilwoman Stephanie Lynch, Henrico Commonwealth's Attorney Shannon Taylor, Henrico Sheriff Alisa Gregory and Henrico School Board Member Alicia Atkins, and Democratic Candidate for District 56th Virginia House of Delegates Blakely Lockhart.
The event will take place at 8801 Strath Rd Richmond, VA 23231 from 2:00 - 4:00 pm on Sunday, October 10th. You can register online here — I hope to see you there!
