Ken Plum: Measure of being poor
I have always maintained that the poor in Northern Virginia are worse off than others living in less affluent parts of the state because the cost of living is higher in this region. The difference can be seen most clearly in the cost of housing; and there have been many notable efforts on the part of local governments to increase the stock of workforce, affordable housing. The traffic coming into Northern Virginia from the west and south is made up largely of people who cannot afford housing in the area.
Ken Plum: Picking candidates in the June 11 primary
In case you have forgotten, Tuesday, June 11 is Democratic Party statewide primary election day. It is a day when Democrats go to the polls to select their candidates for lieutenant governor, attorney general, and if you live next door in Herndon a Democratic candidate for the House of Delegates. The very faithful Democrats will be going to the polls in a vote that is likely to have turnout in the single digits.
Madison Allen: In support of gun rights
I am responding to Ken Plum’s article, Congress in the Clutches of the NRA. I disagree with gun control on many levels. I think everyone deserves a right to bear arms. It’s a constitutional right and a safety mechanism.
Ken Plum: Forging a future path
Over the next couple of decades Virginia will have many more job openings for educated professionals and skilled technicians than there are persons in the pipeline to fill them, according to Northern Virginia Community College President Robert Templin speaking at “Blueprint Virginia,” an annual economic summit in Northern Virginia last week.
Ken Plum: Children and outside learning
Research highlights the benefits of outdoor and environmental education for children–ranging from increased academic achievement, improved social skills and interest in school, and boosted health, according to environmental education leaders who have organized NoVA Outside: An Alliance of Environmental Educators (www.novaoutside.org). I attended their School Environmental Action Showcase last week at George Mason University, and I was impressed by the students and their projects. The Showcase is like a science fair but with the emphasis on environmental science.
Ken Plum: Congress in clutches of the NRA
Before I criticize the lack of action on the part of the U.S. Senate on modest gun measures last week, I will freely admit that the Virginia General Assembly is clearly in the clutches of the National Rifle Association (NRA).
Ken Plum: Within constitutional limits
Our newly minted senator from Virginia Tim Kaine made the best response I have heard to those who argue that the Second Amendment is an absolute right to own guns. As Senator Kaine wrote in an opinion column in the Virginian Pilot last week, “A Virginian, James Madison, drafted the Bill of Rights, and we in the Commonwealth believe strongly in the Second Amendment.
Ken Plum: Paving the way
The Reconvened Session of the General Assembly that met last week concluded work for this year on the most significant funding program for transportation infrastructure approved by the legislature since the historic special session in 1986.The bill that had previously passed the legislature in the 2013 Regular Session was sent to the Governor for his approval and signature. He proposed a series of amendments that were voted on last Wednesday and approved by the House and the Senate.The Governor will now sign the bill into law.
Ken Plum: A different approach
A former Virginia legislator who was removed as a member of the Appropriations Committee by the Speaker of the House because of disagreements they had over budget issues was quoted as saying, “he can take away where I sit, but he cannot take away where I stand.”
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