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36th District
Reston, Virginia
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Delegate Ken Plum and Senator Janet Howell
at a public hearing with constituents.
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______________________
Pre-Session Public Meeting ______________________
General Assembly Session 2013
with
Senator Janet Howell
Talk with your elected representatives
about issues before the General Assembly.
Pre-registration not required.
Written testimony appreciated but not required.
Students welcome.
Thursday, January 3, 2013 - 7:30 to 9:00 p.m.
Reston Community Center at Hunters Woods
2310 Colts Neck Road, Reston
(Hunters Woods Shopping Center)
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Delegate Ken Plum's
Virginia e-News
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Commentary
Shots Heard Around the World
Delegate Kenneth R. "Ken" Plum
Newtown, Connecticut, joined a list topped by Blacksburg, Virginia, of the scenes of the most tragic mass murders in our history. This list contributes to the United States having 80 percent of all firearm deaths among the 23 populous, high-income countries in the world. Over a million people have been killed with guns in the United States since 1968 when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert Kennedy were assassinated. In one year, 31,593 people died from gun violence and 66,769 people survived gun injuries. These statistics are from the Brady Campaign that has even more shocking numbers with documentation at its website, www.bradycampaign.org. According to data compiled by the United Nations and reported in daily newspapers, the United States has by far the highest per capita rate of fire-arm related murders of all developed countries. The United States has four times as many gun-related homicides per capita as do Turkey and Switzerland which are tied for third. Americans are 20 times more likely to be killed by a gun than is someone from another developed country.
Guns and cars have long been among the leading causes of non-medical deaths in the United States. According to a report by Bloomberg, firearm fatalities will probably exceed traffic fatalities for the first time in 2015. The number of traffic deaths dropped 22 percent from 2005 to 2010 as a result of safer vehicles, seat-belt usage required and enforced, and tougher laws on the driving of motor vehicles. Comparing the laws related to cars and guns, Garen Wintemute, director of the Violence Prevention Research Program at the University of California at Davis, found with gun laws, "we've made policy decisions that have had the widest array of firearms available to the widest array people under the widest array of conditions." At the same time car deaths have been declining, the number of gun deaths has been increasing since 2000. About 85 Americans are shot dead daily-53 of them suicides, and at least one person shot is 14 years old or younger.
As we are often reminded, guns do not kill people but clearly people who kill others are most likely to do so with a gun. There are five times as many deaths from gun assaults as from knife assaults. The shots heard from these guns clearly cry out for an adequate public policy response. The Congress should reinstate the ban on assault weapons that previously was in place. Congress should fund the gun buy-back program proposed by Congressman Gerald Connolly and others, and local governments need to be incentive to start such programs. In Virginia, we need to reverse the trend of weakening the laws we already have on gun control. I voted against repeal of the one handgun per month law last session and other bills that weakened our laws. I will support a bill to close the gun show loophole and require background checks for all gun purchases. I will also support full funding of the mental health services proposed after the Virginia Tech shootings. I will not support guns in our schools. As Virginians for Responsible Gun Laws concluded, "The solution to protecting our children is not to place them in the middle of shootouts between 'good guys' and 'bad guys.' The goal of this policy discussion should be to prevent the first shot from ever being fired."
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Virginia Report on
Comcast Channel 28
Tune in to Ken's weekly television program, Virginia Report, on Reston Comcast Channel 28 for public service programming. Ken interviews state and local leaders who are making news by making a difference. Watch these upcoming programs:
TONIGHT - Wednesday, January 2 at 10:30 p.m., Kathy May, Erin O'Donovon, "Virginia Consumer Voices for Healthcare"
Tuesday, January 8 at 7:30 p.m., and Wednesday, January 9 at 10:30 p.m. - Senator Janet Howell, "General Assembly 2013"
"Virginia Report" is also available online at www.rctv28.com/virginiareport.html for viewing on your computer or iPad.
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Bulletin Board
Winter-time Hot Lines: For real-time traffic updates and road conditions: Visit www.511virginia.org, download the 511smartphone app, or follow @511northernva on Twitter. To report unplowed roads or hazardous conditions: Email novainfo@vdot.virginia.gov or call 1.800.FOR.ROAD (800.367.7623). To see the status of plowing in your
neighborhood go to novasnowplowing.virginia.gov. To report electric power outages, call 1.866.DOM.HELP (1.866.366.4357), or download a reporting app on your mobile device at www.dom.com.
Start the new year off right by participating in the county's Christmas tree and electronics recycling programs. All county residents may recycle their Christmas trees - less than eight feet tall - at the curb with their regular trash and recycling collection service during the first two weeks in January. This is a free service for all county residents regardless of whether homeowners have their trash and recycling collected by Fairfax County or a private service provider. For trees larger than eight feet tall, contact your collection service provider for details on how to dispose of it. Residents are reminded to remove lights, decorations, tree toppers, tree stands and remove trees from plastic bags as the trees will be ground into mulch and made available to county residents at no charge. After the first two weeks in January, collection companies may charge an additional fee for Christmas tree removal. For additional collection details, contact your refuse and recycling collection company.
2013 Seedling Sale: The Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District is holding its annual seedling sale for 2013. All the seedling species are native to the area and provide beauty to your landscape! The small tree and shrub package is $15.95 and contains 10 seedlings-2 White Flowering Dogwood, 2 American Witchhazel, 2 Northern Bayberry, 2 Arrowwood Viburnum, and 2 Smooth Sumac. The tree package is $10.95 and contains 6 seedlings-2 Bald
Cypress, 2 River Birch, and 2 Willow Oak. For information, go to 2013 Seedling Sale or contact Nick Kokales at 703-324-1420 or nicholas.kokales@fairfaxcounty.gov.
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Calendar of Events
Let your elected officials know about the state government issues that are most important to you at a Public Meeting hosted by Delegate Ken Plum and Senator Janet Howell on Thursday, January 3, 2013, 7:30 to 9:00 p.m. at the Reston Community Center at Hunters Woods, 2310 Colts Neck Road, Reston. Bring your comments for Ken and Janet. This will be their annual pre-session meeting prior to the General Assembly going into session on January 9, 2013.
The House Appropriation and Senate Finance Committees will hold hearings on the 2013 budget actions, as follows:
Manassas: Friday, January 4, 2013, 10:00 a.m. at the Hylton Performing Arts Center, George Mason University, Prince William Campus. Middletown: Friday, January 4, 2013, 12:00 noon at Lord Fairfax Community College, Corron Community Development Center.
Winter Bird Count:
Saturday, Jan. 5, 2013; 7:00 a.m.-noon. Free. Walker Nature Center, 11450 Glade Drive. Participants younger than 16 must be accompanied by an adult. Sign up by January 2. Please call 703-476-9689 or e-mail naturecenter@reston.org. Meet bird experts, learn tips on identification and have fun on this annual half-day bird count throughout Reston's natural areas. Enjoy a free lunch, tally results and swap stories back at Nature House following the count.
General Assembly members representing districts in Fairfax County will hold a Fairfax County Delegation Pre-General Assembly Public Hearing on Saturday, January 5, 2012, at 9:00 a.m. in the Board Auditorium of the Fairfax County Government Center, 12000 Government Center Parkway, Fairfax. Individuals wishing to speak should call the Office of the Clerk to the Board of Supervisors at 703.324.3151 by noon on Friday, January 4. Point of contact for other questions is Katie Boyle at 703.324.2649. The Clerk's staff asks that those signed up to speak provide an email address and their House or Senate District.
Electronics Recycling: The county's Electric Sunday e-cycling program will continue in 2013. The first event will take place on Sunday, Jan. 13, 2013, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., at the I-66 Transfer Station (4618 West Ox Road, Fairfax). Residents may bring old televisions, computers, printers, speakers and other electronics, along with unbroken fluorescent lights, to be recycled at no charge. For more information about these events and other recycling opportunities in Fairfax County, visit www.fairfaxcounty.gov/recycling.
Winter Concert: The Reston Community Orchestra presents a musical program honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Saturday, January 19, 4:00 p.m. at Reston Community Center at Hunter's Woods, 2310 Colts Neck Road, Reston.
2013 Reston Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday Celebration: Reston Community Center will hold the 28th Annual Reston Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday Celebration on January 19 and 20, 2013. The focus of this year's Celebration will be on community service. Sunday, January 20, 2013, 1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.
RCC Hunters Woods, Keynote Address by Julian Bond and Community Lunch following. Please note that there is a limited number of seats for this address and luncheon.
FREE, but registration is required using Reg. #704717-3A. Please register in person at RCC Hunters Woods or RCC Lake Anne, or by fax at 703-476-2488.
January 20. 2:00-3:00 p.m. Creatures of the Chesapeake Bay. Join a marine biologist from Under the Sea (a specialized entertainment company) to meet and touch live creatures native to the bay, such as a horseshoe crab, flounder, and an American eel. Learn about bay ecology and how the way we treat water at home affects the water quality and wildlife found in the bay. Reservations are required by January 17. Walker Nature Center, 11450 Glade Dr., Reston. $7/Reston Association members, $10/non-members. Call 703-476-9689 or email naturecenter@reston.org.
Are you a woman who is currently experiencing or has previously experienced domestic abuse? The Office for Women & Domestic and Sexual Violence Services offers a free, confidential support group for adult women who are currently experiencing or have previously experienced domestic abuse (physical, emotional, or verbal). The group meets for eight weeks and promotes understanding and healing from abuse trauma and builds a sense of community with other survivors.
When: Wednesdays starting Jan. 30, 6:30 p.m.-8:00 p.m.
Where: Annandale Area. For more information or to join call Heather McMillen at: 703-704-6729
Men's Survivors' Group: A support group for men who were sexually abused as children meets the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month from 7:30 - 9:00 p.m. at the Pohick Regional Library (private conference room) 6450 Sydenstricker Road, Burke, VA 22015. For more info, call: Chris Davies at 703-704-6727.
2013 Signature Conference The American Civil War at Home, Saturday, April 20, 2013, at the College of William and Mary. This Signature Conference--the fifth in an annual series--brings together noted Civil War historians to consider how the Civil War changed Virginia and the nation 150 years ago in the year of the war's turning point, 1863. For more information on the Virginia Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War Commission, visit www.VirginiaCivilWar.org.
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Delegate Kenneth R. "Ken" PlumDelegate Ken Plum's Virginia E-News
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Delegate Ken Plum's Virginia e-News is authorized by Kenneth R. Plum
and paid for by Friends of Delegate Ken Plum. |
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