NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — The mayor of Newport News is set to head to the White House on June 1, to attend the 'Building Better Virginia Forum'.
Mayor Phillip D. Jones will be joining many local elected officials and leaders across the commonwealth to discuss funding for the city.
In the past, Newport News has received over $144 million in federal funding to improve child care, mental health, and infrastructure.
Jones tells News 3 that he plans to share how the city has been using its federal dollars with hopes to gain more funding to improve the lives of Newport News residents.
Jones says he wants community members to continue to stay involved and use their voices to change Newport News for the better.
"I think the big thing is going to be access to federal funding. That's going to improve quality of life across our strategic goals. Quality of life could be education, especially universal pre-k, which could be ensuring that we have mixed income for future development. It could also be ensuring that we have the funds necessary to do a public-private partnership with riverside and other community-based organizations," said Jones.
If granted federal support, the mayor plans to focus on things like work development and gun intervention.
