Delegate Ken Plum's Virginia E-News – June 28, 2006
COMMENTARY Past the Sorrow
Kenneth R. “Ken” Plum Recently I received a promotional CD from The Barter Theatre in Abingdon, Virginia (a must stop when you are in Southwestern Virginia). The CD was the original cast recording “Man of Constant Sorrow” by the legendary Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys. As the title implies, it is filled with sorrow with such songs as “The Fields Have Turned Brown,” “Precious Memories,” “Drifting Too Far from the Shore,” and “Let Me Rest.” In fact, it is so sorrowful that I seldom play it because it can be a real downer. I am a positive person; I see opportunities in challenges, hope rather than gloom. My concern is that my columns over the past several months may have made me seem like a man of constant sorrow. The prolonged fight over the budget has been frustrating. It also saddens me that in a state that has taken such great pride in handling its financial affairs over the years would for the third time in four years fail to adopt a budget on time. My fear is that we may have a tendency to repeat this bad habit in the future. With both houses of the General Assembly firmly in control by the Republican Party, it would seem that agreement could be easily reached but the sharp divisions within the Republican Party in the House of Delegates and with the Senate have caused the budget stalemates. Agreement on the biennial budget was reached only after the transportation funding issue was set aside to be dealt with another day, presumably in the Fall. The Senate Republicans had held up passage of the biennial budget as leverage to try to get their House counterparts to agree to a transportation financing package. When it appeared that House Republicans would be willing to shut down state government rather than provide a reliable source of transportation funding, the Senate relented and agreed to a budget compromise without new transportation funding. It is difficult to see how a special session on transportation can be successful without any leverage. I have written to Governor Timothy Kaine and recommended that he follow the model of Governor Gerald Baliles who prior to a special session of the legislature dealing with transportation in 1986 had appointed a blue ribbon panel of community, business, and political leaders to consider the issue. The panel developed a consensus on a price tag for transportation and recommended a financing plan to the legislature. That successful effort has fueled highway construction and maintenance since that time. Background work in the VTrans 2025 report has already been done and could be used by a new panel to proceed. Maybe the songs of Ralph Stanley have a message in them for state legislators. If they do not complete the work they are supposed to do, they may get constant sorrow from voters next year.
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Plum on the Move
Delegate Ken Plum’s photograph has been showing up in many places recently. Last week on the front page of The Free Lance-Star, the newspaper of the Fredericksburg area, Delegate Plum is shown at his desk in the House Chamber studying the Conference Committee Report. In the June/July issue of Hadassah magazine, the national magazine of Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America, Plum is shown in his General Assembly office with representatives of the Potomac Hadassah Chapter on Jewish Advocacy Day at the State Capitol. ***
Delegate Ken Plum’s Weekly “Virginia Report”
on Reston Comcast Channel 28
Tonight - Wednesday, June 28 at 10:30 p.m. – Patricia Nicoson, President, Dulles Corridor Rail Association – “The Latest News About Metrorail” Tuesday, July 4 at 7:30 p.m. and Wednesday, July 5 at 10:30 p.m. - Sandra O’Connell and Dr. Harry Butowsky – “A Discussion About the Book, An American Family in World War II” by Reston author Ralph Minker *** ANNOUNCEMENTS Delegate Plum’s State of the Commonwealth - 2006 report is available on his website, www.kenplum.com. The Virginia Conservation Network and the Virginia League of Conservation Voters Education Fund will hold regional Legislative Contact Team training sessions around the state with an exciting program, “Building Skills and Networks to Achieve Environmental Goals: How You Can Steer the Direction of Virginia’s Energy Future.” The skill building session in our region will be held on Thursday, June 29, 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., at the Arlington Central Library, 1015 North Quincy Street, Arlington. For more information and to RSVP, email mkaestner@valcv.org or call 804.225.1902. Join Habitat for Humanity in its rebuilding work in Biloxi, Mississippi. Ken and Jane Plum will be working there July 10-15. For more information, email jguerra@habitatnova.org or call Jennifer Guerra at 703.521.9890, extension 105. The American Cancer Society has a pledge campaign underway for the early detection of colon cancer. If colon cancer is found early, there is a 90 percent survival rate. Persons over age 50 are encouraged to make and keep an appointment for screening. Those under 50 are to encourage others to be screened. Take the pledge at www.ColonScreen.org. Want to keep up with the affordable housing issue in Fairfax County? Visit www.e-ffordable.org. Attend “Second Sunday Programs” at the Fairfax Museum and Visitor Center, 10209 Main Street, Fairfax. All programs begin at 2:00 p.m. and are followed by informal discussion and refreshments in the Visitor Center. The program on July 9 will be “New Discoveries: Conservation/Restoration Tours of the Blenheim House” at the Blenheim Estate, 3610 Old Lee Highway, 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. The August 13 program will be about Civil War Soldier ID Tags, presented by Joseph Stahl, Civil War historian and collector. Support Reston Interfaith, play golf, and bid on great auction items! The 12 Annual Rucker Golf Tournament, Silent and Live Auctions, and Raffle Drawing will take place on Monday, July 10, at Hidden Creek Country Club in Reston. The Rucker Tournament is a community-wide event with a rich heritage of attracting the support of hundreds of corporate and community leaders. Proceeds from the tournament’s auctions and raffle benefit the programs of Reston Interfaith, which provide support to men, women, and children in need of shelter, affordable housing, childcare, and other essential community services. Contact Meredith Young, Community Events Manager, at Meredith.Young@restoninterfaith.org for questions about participation in the Rucker Tournament. Equality Virginia’s Annual Statewide Meeting and Activists’ Conference will be held on Saturday, July 22, 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at Virginia Commonwealth University, Student Commons Building, in Richmond. Hear a report on Equality Virginia’s progress in 2006 and plans for 2007. Find out more
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about The Commonwealth Coalition Campaign. To register go to www.equalityvirginia.org/conference2006. Visit www.schoonervirginia.org for a look at Virginia’s tall ship. The Schooner Virginia has a summer-long docking schedule along Virginia’s coast, complete with special events and tours of the ship. Learn about this amazing vessel and its mission to advance the economic interest of the Commonwealth and educate its young citizens. The website provides information about The Virginia Society, how to join, how to participate in members-only sails aboard the Schooner, and many other membership benefits for adults and children. Attend the 4 Annual Multicultural Business Conference, “Access to Business Success – Training, Resources & Networking for Business Growth,” on Thursday, August 3, 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at The Westin, 801 North Glebe Road, Arlington. Register for this event and more at www.arlingtonvirginiausa.com/atbs or call 703.538.7418. Guidelines and rules for Virginia’s first sales tax holiday have been published by the Virginia Department of Taxation to provide information for both consumers and retailers. During the sales tax holiday, August 4 through 6 this year, retailers will not charge the 5 percent retail sales tax on purchases of school supplies costing $20 or less per item, or clothing, including footwear, priced at $100 or less per article. Included as part of the guidelines are an all-inclusive list of school supplies eligible for the sales tax exemption and a representative list of clothing eligible for the exemption. All retailers who sell the exempt items must participate in the “holiday.” The guidelines and FAQs are posted on the Department’s website at www.tax.virginia.gov/salestaxholiday. Ride in the 24 Annual Reston Century Bicycle Tour on Sunday, August 27, rain or shine, starting and finishing at the Reston Town Center Pavilion. Riders can select from three routes of approximately 34, 65, and 102 miles. Registration is available online at www.restonbikeclub.org. Save the Date – Saturday, September 16, 8:30 to noon – for the Rain Garden Workshop for homeowners, Meadowlark Gardens Regional Park, Vienna. Attendees will receive useful information and observe the construction of a small (home-sized) rain garden. ***************** Authorized and paid for by Kenneth R. Plum. Unsubscribe to this newsletter by emailing kenplum@aol.com and indicating “unsubscribe” in the subject line.
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