Tag: Ken Plum
Ken Plum: Vote no on right to work ballot question
On the ballot on Election Day is constitutional amendment question one that would put the state right to work law into the constitution.
Ken Plum: Cyber security
October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month as designated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Ken Plum: Virginia extremes
Native Virginian and long-time advocate August Wallmeyer is providing a real service to the people of the Commonwealth.
Chesapeake Bay: Barometer of the environment
John Smith’s visit around the Chesapeake Bay highlighted the wealth of forests, wildlife and sea life the new land offered.
Ken Plum: A danger to our way of governing
My parents knew of my interest in politics and government from the time I started school.
Ken Plum: States’ rights
A trip to the Shenandoah National Park and the Skyline Drive which Jane and I took with two of our grandchildren brought back memories.
Ken Plum: No time to lose
The Nation at Risk report led to numerous reforms, from high stakes standardized testing, charter schools, standards of learning, common core and others.
Ken Plum: Constituencies in a Commonwealth
The process of redistricting becomes complicated and very political as incumbent legislators attempt to draw lines around those persons most supportive of them.
Ken Plum: Slow, but steady, course of human rights
Ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment was already being hotly debated in the Virginia General Assembly when I became a member of the House of Delegates in 1978.
Ken Plum: Clinging to the past
The nation is moving forward with a major political party nominating a woman as candidate for the presidency of the United States.
Ken Plum: Don’t tread on me
I have been seeing a different sign, “Don’t Tread on Me,” not on homes but on vehicle license plates.
Ken Plum: Day a year health care
Organizing the healthcare days in Wise County is the Health Wagon, a mobile health clinic, that provides services throughout the year for a four-county region.
Ken Plum: Unlocking Northern Virginia
The multi-model approach establishes a significant precedent that must be followed to successfully unlock Northern Virginia.
Ken Plum: The right to bear arms
Commonly referred to as the “right to bear arms” amendment, the Second Amendment could as easily be called “the state militia” amendment.
Ken Plum: Being among the happiest
Technologists have applied their big data and computer-crunching to determine where in the world and where in the United States are the happiest places to live.
Ken Plum: Selective accounting
The budget proposed this year by the Governor and adopted by the General Assembly will become effective July 1, 2016.
Ken Plum: Lifelong learning
In 1956 the Fairfax County School Board appropriated fifty dollars per month to be paid to a school administrator to start an adult education program.
Ken Plum: Legal meaning of sex discrimination
Recently Attorney General Mark Herring issued an official opinion at my request and the requests of others as to the meaning of sex discrimination under Virginia law.
Ken Plum: Energy sustainability, resiliency
Those who were concerned that the 2016 Energy, Sustainability and Resiliency conference would be business as usual were in for a surprise.
Ken Plum: Keeping tabs on the Commonwealth
Last week I attended my first meeting as a member of the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC).
Ken Plum: Racial diversity in the Virginia justice system
The General Assembly continues to fail to appoint racially diverse judicial candidates.
Ken Plum: Restoring voting rights
The restoration of civil rights after completing a sentence is automatic in most states and routine in those that have an application process.
Ken Plum: Reconvened Session 2016
The General Assembly met in a reconvened, day-long session to consider vetoes and amendments made by Governor Terry McAuliffe.
Ken Plum: Two civil rights heroes
Last week gave me an opportunity to see another of my civil rights heroes, former governor Linwood Holton.
Ken Plum: It’s all in a name
Almost a year ago the Washington Business Journal carried a headline, “George Mason University sells Patriot Center naming rights.”
Ken Plum: The citizens’ right to know
A concern in Virginia over who was financing campaigns led the state’s largest newspapers in 1997 to create the Virginia Public Access Project
Ken Plum: Words of wisdom
Folks back home where I grew up in Page County, Virginia were not known to have a lot to say about events.
Ken Plum: Redesigning our schools
My first experience in Fairfax County came as a result of being placed as an intern teacher by the University of Virginia in Fairfax County Public Schools.
Ken Plum: Balancing the budget
One of the responsibilities of the Governor of Virginia dictated by the State Constitution is to propose a budget for a biennium. W
Ken Plum: Bills, bills, bills, bills
If past history provides any indication, the 2016 session of the General Assembly will have considered nearly 3,000 bills and resolutions before its 60-day session adjourns in early March.
Ken Plum: Education as the priority
My constituents have made clear to me that their top priority for the budget is education funding; the Governor had the same priority in preparing his budget.
Ken Plum: Classrooms to courtrooms
A report of the Center for Public Integrity (CPI) released last year included some eye-opening findings for Virginia.
Ken Plum: Debatable gun safety deal
Opponents of legislation to prevent gun violence have said for years that current laws on the books should be enforced before new laws were passed.
Ken Plum: Progress on transportation
In the early years of the 20th century travelers were advised not to come to Virginia because of the poor condition of the roads.
Ken Plum: General Assembly session underway
After the usual business of organizing for a new legislative session, the General Assembly got underway without major incident.
Ken Plum: Clearing an obstacle to gun violence prevention in Virginia
Virginia has the distinction of having had the biggest mass murder in history, Virginia Tech in 2007, and the first televised shooting, Smith Mountain Lake in 2015.
Ken Plum: Legislative Report 2016
Del, Ken Plum dedicates his 2016 Legislative Report to the late Senator Clive DuVal, who represented parts of Fairfax County in the Virginia Senate.
Ken Plum: Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus
Virginians, especially those around the capital city, have long believed in Santa Claus.
Ken Plum: Passing of Thomas Moss is end of an era
Last week I made a journey to Norfolk, Virginia, to say a final goodbye to a former colleague in the House of Delegates, Thomas W. Moss, Jr.
Ken Plum: Helping the working poor
There is another solution for Virginia that can make a great deal of difference: let working people keep more of the money they earn.
Ken Plum: 2016 Virginia General Assembly session preview
The General Assembly will convene for its regular session on January 13. Major work in the even-numbered years is passage of a biennial budget.
Ken Plum: Medicaid in perspective
A recent newspaper headline proclaimed that “Audit finds waste, inefficiencies in Virginia’s Medicaid program.” As often is the case, the real story is beyond the headline.
Ken Plum: Chicken and the egg
A chicken or egg kind of debate has been going on in Virginia recently as a result of a report from the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC).
Ken Plum: Elections matter
I know it is a safe assumption that readers of this column are regular voters. There is no need for me to carry on about the importance of voting, how elections matter, etc. You get it, but it is a bit shocking and disappointing to realize the small percentage of people who do.
Ken Plum: Not up to the living wage challenge
ProgressVA sponsored the “Live the Wage Challenge” asking elected officials, community leaders, advocates, and everyday citizens to walk in the shoes of a minimum wage worker by living on a minimum wage budget for one week.
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