All results / Stories / Delegate Kenneth R. “Ken” Plum
Building a New Virginia Economy
Candidate Terry McAuliffe campaigned on a platform of “building a new Virginia economy.” His theme clearly resonated with voters who elected him and with those who were concerned with Virginia’s sluggish recovery from the Great Recession. Following his campaign closely, I was impressed with his grasp of the issues and his commitment to resolving them. With his usual exuberance, the Candidate and now Governor made clear that he broadly defines the elements of a new economy.
Commentary: Rocket Science
With the number of rockets my high school friend, Joe Hammock and I built and launched, I am fortunate to have all my fingers and no serious injuries. Our rockets were not the hobbyist models you can buy today that use water or air pressure to launch; our rockets used black powder or a fuel we mixed ourselves.
Column: Conservation as a Way of Life
For those whose parents lived through the Great Depression, you can skip the next few sentences since you know what I am about to say. For my younger readers, let me explain that life during the Great Depression (1935 to the mid-1940s) was so difficult that it made an indelible mark on the way that people thought and lived.
Column: Back to School
Although it has been many years since I was a teacher in the classroom, I still get a nervous stomach around Labor Day each year in anticipation of the beginning of a new school year. Teaching is the hardest work I have ever done in my life including being a legislator.
Under the Influence
Commentary
People who could benefit from an expansion of Medicaid that closes the coverage gap by insuring more of the working poor are found throughout the Commonwealth. The highest percentages of such persons tend to be in the southside and southwest regions of the state. Impose a map of regions represented by Republicans and Democrats over a map reflecting the highest percentages of the working poor and the two maps are close to identical. Yet, Republicans who represent areas of great need oppose the expansion of Medicaid, and Democrats who have large numbers of persons but a smaller percentage of those who would benefit from the expansion support it. The historic interest of the two parties explains in part this contradiction, but there are other explanations as well.
Southwestern Virginia
Commentary
For many years Jane and I have used our spring break to visit locations throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia. This year was no exception as we went to the southwestern region of the state. Although we drove about 225 miles to Roanoke from Reston, we were not yet in what the locals call Southwest Virginia. In fact, only by driving another 134 miles down I81 to Abingdon did we get to what many consider the doorstep to Southwest Virginia. It would have been possible to drive another 111 miles west with a short swing into Tennessee to get to the western-most point in Virginia at Cumberland Gap. That point is further west than Detroit. Regardless of how far you travel, the natural beauty of the mountains and streams in this part of the state are unequaled, and the local people are wonderful to meet.
Column: A Moral Imperative
Recently the New York Times editorial board wrote about the “health care showdown in Virginia.” Their comments were not favorable. “In Virginia, there are 400,000 low-income people who can’t afford health care coverage but don’t qualify for federal subsidies,” they wrote. “If they lived across the state line in Maryland, West Virginia or Kentucky, which have expanded their Medicaid programs, they could get the coverage they need.” The reason they cannot; “a group of recalcitrant Republicans in the House of Delegates” have blocked Medicaid expansion at every opportunity. Highly regarded retired editorial writer for the Virginia Pilot, Margaret Edds, wrote about the current impasse in Virginia two weeks ago.
Defeating Obamacare
Commentary
In a speech on the floor of the House of Delegates recently I spoke of experiences I had in my first years as a member when others in the House smoked during the daily floor sessions. One member was notorious for lighting up a long cigar. A cloud of smoke hung over the House chamber. I explained that I was reminded of that cloud of smoke when in recent weeks I have listened to a series of speeches by members of the majority party explaining why they do not support expansion of Medicaid. You can listen to my speech at http://youtube/Vl6Bky8zjWE.
Column: Vacation Time
Jane and I just returned last week from a wonderfully relaxing, ten-day vacation in Italy. It was our first visit to that country.
Commentary: Time to Stand Up
The General Assembly has adjourned its annual session. In future columns I will write about bills that survived the Governor’s veto pen and those that did not.
Commentary: A Day a Year Health Care
In a few days I will be driving about six hours from my home in Reston to Wise County in Southwest Virginia to volunteer at the Remote Area Medical Health Clinic at the county fairgrounds.
Opinion: Commentary: The House at the Half
The House of Delegates is probably half-way through its virtual Special Session.
Opinion: Commentary: Virginia Voters Can Contribute to the State’s Progressive Future
The year 2020 has been filled with major ups and downs, but nowhere has the good news been clearer than in the Virginia legislature.
Opinion: Commentary: Keeping Tabs on State Government
The Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) conducts program evaluation, policy analysis, and oversight of state agencies on behalf of the Virginia General Assembly as authorized by the Code of Virginia.
Opinion: Commentary: An Amazing Year
With more than two months remaining in 2020, I can already say that it has been an amazing year in Virginia’s history.
Opinion: Commentary: Electrification of Virginia Transportation
In 1998 I chaired a task force of business and community leaders to collectively document what Northern Virginia needed to do to be an “EV Ready Community.”
Opinion: Commentary: Waste Not, Want Not
As a child of frugal parents who grew up during the Great Depression, I was always taught as long as I did not waste food or material things that I would never be without.