All results / Stories / Kenneth R. “Ken” Plum, State Delegate (D-36)
Commentary: Education as the Priority
All the important bills the General Assembly considered in the first half of its annual session pale in comparison to the most significant action it will take this week in adopting a $100 billion budget for the biennium.
Commentary: The Passing of an Era
Last week I made a journey to Norfolk, Va., to say a final goodbye to a former colleague in the House of Delegates, Thomas W. Moss, Jr., who passed away.
Column: A Budget Divide
Work on a budget for the FY 2013-2014 biennium occupied most of the General Assembly’s time this past week. Two budgets – one to complete FY 2012 and another for the FY 2013-2014 biennium – were proposed by the Governor and were introduced on his behalf in both houses of the legislature.
Column: Overreach
If a single word or phrase can describe a General Assembly session, the 2012 meeting of the state legislature would be known for “overreach.”
Column: No Place Like Home
A couple of weeks ago dozens of volunteers fanned out across Fairfax County and Falls Church City to interview those who are living under bridges and in the woods because they are homeless. As difficult as the task was to find the homeless, 462 individuals were surveyed.
Commentary: Racial Diversity in the Virginia Justice System
A group of attorneys, the Virginia Coalition for Racial Diversity in the Justice System, earlier this year brought to the attention of the community and the General Assembly that “there is a glaring, longstanding, and inexcusable lack of racial diversity amongst sitting judges, prosecutors, and public defenders in Virginia's criminal justice system.”
Column: We the People
In Virginia as in states throughout the South and the Midwest, there is a continuing stream of legislation that attempts to place the power of the states over that of the federal government.
Column: Preventing Gun Violence
The total number of people killed by guns, suicide and accidental deaths between Newtown and December 2013 is 12,042.
Column: What Price Business?
Last month Governor Terry McAuliffe announced that Virginia will participate in the Business Incentives Initiative, a joint project of The Pew Charitable Trusts (PEW) and the Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness (CREC) and six other states (Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Oklahoma and Tennessee) to “reform economic development incentive reporting policies and practices.” While millions of dollars are spent on tax incentives and grants to lure business to Virginia each year, there is no evidence that the programs are actually working as intended. There is a national debate across the country about the necessity and value of tax incentives to encourage economic development.
Commentary: 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 (FCPS).
Commentary: 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.
Leave It to the Feds
Despite Virginia’s historic antipathy toward the federal government, the Commonwealth has nonetheless historically ceded decisions to federal authorities on major issues on which the state had been unwilling to move forward. Another issue is about to fall into this category: same-sex marriage.