All results / Stories / Kenneth R. “Ken” Plum, State Delegate (D-36)
Opinion: Commentary: Ending Election Fraud
My earliest experience in government and politics came when I was a senior in high school.
Opinion: Commentary: Awash in Cash?
With the news reports of the cash coming to state and local governments from the federal government to provide relief from the effects of the COVID pandemic and the announcement that Virginia will have a sizable cash balance at the end of this fiscal year, one could conclude that government is awash in cash!
Opinion: Commentary: Virginia’s Largest Industry
Virginia’s largest private industry is agriculture with an economic impact of $70 billion annually and 334,000 jobs.
Opinion: Commentary: Rewriting the Constitution of Virginia
The celebration of the fourth of July this week reminds us that not only did the colonies in America break free from the Mother Country in 1776, but they embarked on a course of independence that included written constitutions.
Opinion: Commentary: Schools As a Political Football
When I graduated in January 1965 from the newly named Old Dominion College (now University) that had previously been the Norfolk Extension of William and Mary, I found the job market bleak for persons with history and political science majors.
Opinion: Commentary: Gun Violence Epidemic
Three people were shot to death in Herndon last week—a mother and her two children, in an incident the police termed “horrific.”
Opinion: Commentary: Don’t Texas Virginia
This column is being written before the results of Tuesday’s Democratic primary elections are known.
Opinion: Commentary: Principle Above Partisanship
Virginia lost two of its finest citizens last week: former United States Senator John Warner who died at age 94 and former member of the Virginia House of Delegates Dick Hobson who died at 89 years old.
Opinion: Commentary: Keep History from Repeating Itself
So traumatizing were the colonists’ experiences with King George as a strong executive that the Declaration of Independence is filled with grievances against him, and the writers of the first state constitution in Virginia limited the governor’s term to one year with a maximum of three terms.
Opinion: Commentary: Relief Is on the Way!
Relief seems to be on the way for some of the drastic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic with the discovery and manufacturing of several vaccines and the incredible rate at which the vaccines are being administered.
Opinion: Commentary: Unemployment in a Time of Crisis
The number of unemployed Virginians increased from 145,294 in March 2020 to 482,111 in April 2020 causing unemployment insurance claims to increase ten-fold within a month!
Opinion: Commentary: Facial Recognition as a Legislative Issue
One of the side-effects of the global pandemic and the resulting quarantine has been the difficulty of recognizing others after months of not seeing each other in person.
Opinion: Commentary: Return to Responsible Leadership
The highlight of last week along with Earth Day was the announcement by President Joe Biden that the United States is returning to the Paris Climate Agreement.
Opinion: Commentary: Epidemic Surge in Gun Violence
While public attention has been focused on the COVID-19 pandemic many missed the epidemic surge in gun violence that has been occurring in this country.
Opinion: Commentary: Understanding the Law About Weed
During its Reconvened Session last week the General Assembly approved an amendment proposed by Governor Ralph Northam that decriminalizes the possession by adults of a small amount of marijuana effective July 1, 2021.
Opinion: Commentary: A Civic Duty
As we probably learned and as we teach our children, voting is the most important of civic duties.
Opinion: Commentary: Ending State Executions
Virginia made history last week: The Governor of Virginia Ralph Northam signed the bill that made Virginia the first state in the south and the 23rd state in the nation to end the death penalty!
Opinion: Commentary: Law and Order and Justice
There is no more important function of government than ensuring public safety.
Opinion: Commentary: And They Are Off!
Inevitably someone is going to refer to the nominating contests for candidates for the Virginia statewide offices and the House of Delegates as horse races—not because of the characteristics of any of the candidates but because of the crowded field of persons who are offering themselves for public office.
Opinion: Commentary: A Progressive State if We Can Keep It
To paraphrase Benjamin Franklin who when asked at the conclusion of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia what kind of government had been formed replied, “a republic if we can keep it!”
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