Delegate Betsy B. Carr

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Dear Friend,

School is back in session and autumn is around the corner. I hope you had a enjoyable Labor Day Weekend. There are several upcoming state meetings, local happenings, and even the beginning of early voting all in the near future. Below is an update on these events and developments, and if you’re interested in hosting one of my yard signs for my re-election campaign, a sign-up link is near the end.

Clockwise from top left: Vic McKenzie (Director) and Ben Barber of Virginia Health Catalyst; Presenting Koinonia Community Church with a Memorial Resolution for the late Pastor Keith Edmonds; Touring Grafton Day School; Kirk Jones.

Emergency Committee Report

The Emergency Committee on the Impacts of Federal Workforce and Funding Reductions has been meeting throughout the summer. They will present their findings September 11, 10am, in a joint meeting with the House Appropriations Committee, as well as with the chairs of each standing committee. The reports will provide the House of Delegates with a proper context of where the Commonwealth stands with its funding obligations and highlight the challenges that must be faced during the upcoming legislative session. You can watch the meeting live at this link.

The Emergency Committee has been meeting in locations across the state over the summer to study impacts on everything from healthcare and education to climate resiliency and taxation, as well as including region specific focuses. You can find links to previous meeting agendas and resources here.

Joint Subcommittee for Health and Human Resources Oversight

The Joint Subcommittee for HHR Oversight will met today, Wednesday, September 10, at 1pm. The subcommittee consists of members of the HHR subcommittees of each the House and Senate’s money committees. This meeting allows state lawmakers, including myself, to ensure the current administration is efficiently using taxpayer dollars, but also inquire about how they are preparing and responding to the dramatic changes in the Federal government, for instance, the gutting of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Projects. You can watch a recording og the meeting here and find the agenda here.

Joint Appropriations Committee Meeting

The House and Senate Appropriations Committees met jointly, August 14, to receive remarks from the Governor, as well as reports on the fiscal standing of the Commonwealth. Members of the committee had many questions for the Secretary of Finance, as there is much consternation about how federal funding and structure changes will impact Virginia. You can watch a recording of the meeting here and find the agenda and reports here.

Early Voting

September 19, marks the beginning of early voting for the November General election. In Richmond, early voting is available at The General Registrar’s Office (2134 West Laburnum Avenue) and satellite locations at City Hall and Hickory Hill Community Center beginning October 20. You can check your registration status online through the Citizen’s Portal.

Code Refresh

The City is moving along with their comprehensive zoning ordinance refresh, the first in 50 years. For background, City zoning code is the set of rules that determines what can be built on a given piece of property. It largely contributes to the character and feel of a neighborhood, it can also promote or inhibit commercial and economic development, new housing construction and dense housing construction, as well as whether a neighborhood will be purely residential, commercial, or a mix.  

I have heard from many constituents who would like to be engaged with this topic as it moves forward. For more background and a timeline of events, visit this website from the City (which also includes a link to Richmond 300, the master plan). Additionally, the City’s Zoning Advisory Council will meet today, Wednesday, September 10, 4pm at City Hall to receive public comment and discuss development standards. The City is also collecting public comment on draft maps through September 28, which you can contribute to here. The City is also providing “office hours,” informal, drop-in virtual sessions where planners can answer technical questions. The next one will be September 15, 6pm (register here) and a Spanish and English session will be held September 17, 6pm (register here).

Additionally, individual City Council members are facilitating input from their constituents and organizing town halls with City leadership and planners. You can find your City Hall representative by checking this website or by contacting me. You can find City Hall contact information here. Finally, many neighborhood civic associations have been coordinating their engagement with City leadership and hosting town halls. You can find your neighborhood civic association here.

Virginia Chamber Women’s Leadership Luncheon

Clockwise from top left: Denise Walters; Delegate Charniele Herring and Laura Runkle; Rep. Jennifer McClellan; Stacy Pendleton and Janet Lawson (Director, Department of Human Resources Management).

House Page Program

The House Page Program is accepting applications, now through October 17 at 5pm. Pages are 13 and 14 year olds from across the Commonwealth who work 8:30-5:00 at The General Assembly during the legislative session (early January-mid March). Pages get firsthand experience with the legislative process and assist with all aspects of the operations of the legislature. You can learn more about the program and how to apply here.

Clockwise from top left: Investiture of Judge Jennifer Rosen; Post-Investiture Celebration; Richmond School Board and State Delegation meeting; Alzheimer’s Commission Meeting with Dr. Annie Rhodes (Virginia Memory Project); Delegate Mark Sickles, Delegate Briana Sewell and Mike Tweedy; Bea González.

Dementia and Alzheimer’s Care and Resources

The Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders Commission hosted a summit to bring state policymakers together and up-to-speed on this important topic. While Virginia has invested in this issue through VCU’s Virginia Memory Project, part of the Center on Aging, as well as through the work of agencies like the Department of Aging and Rehabilitative Services (DARS); there is still much work to be done. As the median age of our population continues to increase, the prevalence of these relatively not well-understood diseases will increase. While Alzheimer’s is the most common disease that can cause dementia, dementia can be caused by a variety of diseases including Parkinson’s, Vascular Dementia, Frontotemporal Dementia, Lewy Body Dementia, and other less common causes. Additionally, an inability to properly screen and diagnose Alzheimer’s and related disorders leads to worse outcomes for patients and a greater strain on health care resources.

Many resources were shared, including the Dementia Road Map which provides a guide for people impacted by Dementia in Virginia. Additionally, various other efforts are being supported, such as “Forget Me Knot Cafes,” in the Richmond area, in partnership with VCU. Cafes are hosted Tuesdays (5th Baptist Church), Wednesdays (The SPAN Center), and Thursdays (The VCU Health Hub on 25th) and allow persons with Dementia and their caregivers to participate in mindfulness, education and support sessions, and autobiography workshops, while also benefitting from a sense of community. Interested persons need to register by emailing vcuguide@vcuhealth.org. More resources for caretakers and patients including memory screening locations, financial and healthcare planning resources, as well as various guides, can be found at this link from DARS.

Welcoming Odie Donald (center) as Richmond’s new Chief Administrative Officer

Clockwise from top left: Rob Shinn and Lisa Simms; Ben Campbell and Charles Macfarlane; Cynthia Newbille and Sherrie Armstrong; Kelly Till and Chief Rick Edwards.

Virginia Mobile ID

The Department of Motor Vehicles is offering “Mobile ID,” an app for mobile devices to serve as a photo ID. Currently, this app is accepted at participating airports, with TSA, Virginia ABC, casinos, with Virginia State Police and local law enforcement, and eventually, with participating businesses. Mobile ID has robust data security, it does not track your location, and data is not collected for what your ID is being used. You can learn more about this program here.

Top row: Touring the Virginia National Guard’s Waller Depot, the future site of the National Guard Museum.

Bottom row: Touring the U.S.S. Harry Truman with the General Assembly Military & Veterans Caucus

The Wildlife Center

The Wildlife Center is a nonprofit that receives around 4,000 sick, injured and orphaned animals from all across Virginia. The Center provides veterinary medicine and rehabilitation to these animals, which include everything from squirrels and opossums to bald eagles and black bears. The Center has partnered with Maymont several times in the past to house animals that were deemed unfit to survive on their own. For example, the bobcat at Maymont was found as a kitten and believed to be a stray house cat. The bobcat imprinted on humans before it had been identified it as a bobcat. The Center brought it to Maymont in 2008. More recently, three wild birds of prey were released in the Richmond Area this summer; a red tailed hawk and two bald eagles, all of which had been rehabilitated at The Center.

The Wildlife Center provides numerous resources, from wildlife webcams, information on critter identification and care, to public and professional education and training programs. You can learn more at their website, and if interested, explore volunteer opportunities there as well.

Clockwise from top left: The Woman’s Club members Marcia Thalhimer, Jane Hamilton, Ann Belk, Sally Schwitters and Heidi Crapol discussing future auditorium renovations; Releasing a Red-Tailed Hawk that had been rehabilitated by the Wildlife Center; Medical Society of Virginia Doc & Hops event with Erich Grant (Chair, RMC PA School) and Katarina Redekop; Genevieve Sigaran, Libby Hume, and Situl Bhandari (First Year Randolph-Macon Physician Assistant Students); American Council on Education conference with Heidi Tsue, Katherine Martinez, Bob Pryor; and Kirk Cox, Hernan Bucheli, Dave Clayton, and Theresa Anderson.

American Council on Education

Recently, I joined the American Council on Education (ACE) for a policy summit titled “Building Pathways in Virginia.” The event focused on veteran students and student parents, who are two groups that face specific challenges in pursuing their education.    

The summit included presentations from the Strada Education Network on Virginia’s State Opportunity Index, a student panel on the unique pathways to education between different student backgrounds, and a panel on the role of institutions and employers in supporting a strong workforce. You can read more about the summit here and more about the work of ACE, here.

Junior Achievement

Junior Achievement (JA) provides programming and resources to help young Virginians reach their full potential, whether by financial literacy, entrepreneurship, career readiness, or higher education. I recently toured their finance park at the Libbie Mill Library, a sprawling interactive center where come students from across Central Virginia, after completing JA curriculum at their own school, to apply personal finance and economics to their own lives and goals. JA also provides programming for a wide array of age groups and relies heavily on volunteers to help teach the next generation the tools they’ll need to be financially competent and independent. To learn more about their work or to find volunteer opportunities, visit their website.

Clockwise from top left: Jennifer Boyle at the Junior Achievement Finance Park; Chuck Zingler (Commissioner, Department of Veterans Services); Scott Sandridge (Interim Director) and Sabine Rogers of Virginia SeaGrant; President Katherine Rowe of William & Mary.

Rep. Jennifer McClellan’s Youth Advisory Council

U.S. House of Representatives Member Jennifer McClellan, is accepting applications from 9th-12th graders interested in serving on her Youth Advisory Council. The Council meets once a month, October 2025-April 2026, and offers an oppurtunity for young Virginians to connect with state and congressional staff, explore the legislative process and deepen their knowledge of governance. Applications are due September 19. Application and more information can be found here.

James River Week

James River Week is September 13-20, and there will be community events, volunteer opportunities, celebrations, and other programs. James River EcoFest kicks the week off at the James River Association’s James A. Buzzard Education Center. EcoFest will include tree giveaways, rain barrel raffles, paddle tours and more. You can learn more here. Additionally, the Rivers and Roads Fishing Tournament will be in Hopewell, September 12-13 (more information here), and there are multiple volunteer and clean-up opportunities throughout the week in the region (more information here).

Fox Elementary Reopens

After three years since the fire that caused it to close, Fox Elementary has been renovated and reopened. You can find pictures of the newly reopened Fox here.

Fox Elementary Reopening

Clockwise from top left: Paul Benson & Kim Vullo; Wesley Hedgepeth; Emily & Jaime Bosket; Boz Boschen and Reeves Boschen; Nan Stewart, Gayle Hefty, and Lauren Stewart; Sharon Gilbert; Annie & Ben Campbell and Bill Hefty; Latonya Waller.

Clockwise from top left: Third Street AME Bethel’s Historical Highway Marker unveiling; Rita Willis and Rev. Reuben Boyd; and Gary Flowers; Institute for Contemporary Arts with Sarah Beasley; Dr. Pam K. Royall and Sandy Williams; Jessica Bell Brown (Director, ICA) and Egbert Vongmalaithong; ICA Full House guests; Claire Gastanaga at Frida Exhibition.

Would you like one of my yard signs?

I am on the ballot this November and have begun getting my yard signs out across my district. If you would like a yard sign, you can indicate so by responding to this email with your name, address, and a phone number to contact you, or by clicking the link below. We will place the yard signs and pick them back up after the election for continued use!

Community Events

The Visual Arts Center is hosting a Chili Throwdown, featuring over 20 Richmond Restaurants and ceramic bowls made by resident artists, October 3, 6pm. Tickets and information here.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch has published a guide of festivals happening this fall, including Oktoberfest, the Iron Blossom music festival, and of course Richmond’s Folk Festival and the 2nd Street Festival.

The Valentine Museum has several upcoming events including a book signing of “Blackinese” by Patricia Bradby Moore (September 11), a walking tour of Shockoe Bottom (September 12) and a historical tour of the Weisinger-Carroll House in Manchester (September 21). More events and information available here.

The Richmond Symphony will play at Hardywood, September 25, 6:30pm. More information here.

The Black History Museum and Cultural Center will host a film screening of “Cash Crop,” September 20, 2pm. More information here.

The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts hosts Family Day, September 13, 11am-3pm with a focus on Mexican art and culture. More information available here.

The Virginia Museum of History & Culture will host “Virginia Distilled,” a showcase of Virginia distillers, September 13, 6pm. Tickets and information here.

The Branch Museum opens “Confluence,” by Kenny Nguyen, today, September 10. More information here.

The Library of Virginia will host the Virginia Literary Awards, September 20, 6pm. Tickets and information here.

Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden’s “Groovin’ in the Garden,” concert series continues with Rumors ATL: A Fleetwood Mac Tribute (September 25, tickets available here). Additionally, other events at the garden include a fall plant sale, various exhibits, and storytime. Calendar of events available here.

The Nottoway Tribe will have their Pow Wow, September 20-21 at the Surry County Rec Center. More information here.

Clockwise from top left: Community event with Mark Rubin and Debbie Oswalt; David Wilkinson; Dave Odenhal; David Hallock and Suzette Denslow; Theresa Johnson and Susan & Sam Davis; Jennifer & David Goldberg

Thank You

It is an honor to serve in the House of Delegates. Please never hesitate to contact me at delegate.carr@betsycarr.org or at 804-698-1078 if I can be helpful to you.

Sincerely,

Betsy