Tag: Ken Plum
Ken Plum: Opioid epidemic in Virginia
In 2014 for the first time on record fatal drug overdoses became the most common cause of accidental death in the Commonwealth.
Ken Plum: Remembering our rights
During the week following the national presidential election I attended two lectures on George Mason the man.
Ken Plum: Making high school more meaningful
High schools are largely operated under an industrial model that has not changed in a 100 years even though the world has undergone major changes.
Ken Plum: Accepting the outcome
My lack of success in my two first attempts to be elected to office was disappointing, but I understood the uphill challenge.
Ken Plum: My 2016 election picks
Voters in the 36th legislative district that I represent will receive my annual voting guide in their mailboxes this week.
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.
