January 27, 2016
 
 
Delegate Ken Plum's 
Virginia E-News

Delegate Plum advocating for increasing the minimum wage before a Commerce and Labor subcommittee. The subcommittee defeated the bill along party lines (6-4).

Commentary  
 
Progress on Transportation
  
Delegate Kenneth R. "Ken" Plum 
 
In the early years of the 20th century travelers were advised not to come to Virginia because of the poor condition of the roads. Deep ruts, mud holes, and lack of maintenance made travel precarious in the Old Dominion. In 1925 State Senator Harry F. Byrd who as a young man had worked part-time on a private toll road--the Valley Pike in the Shenandoah Valley--ran for governor on the campaign slogan "Get Virginia out of the mud." Byrd's campaign was successful, and in his single term as governor he established the Virginia Department of Highways. His centralized highway system led to the present-day highway system that is one of the largest in the country with 57,867 miles of highways and 20,991 bridges. Byrd also implemented a "pay as you go" financing system that keeps the pace of highway construction and improvement at the rate of current revenue without borrowing. Old timers in the state remember traveling on roads that went from two to four lanes and back to two every few miles as money was available in the highway construction fund to complete the widening.
 
Governor Gerald Baliles who served from 1986 to 1990 was able to get a significant highway funding program approved in 1986 that along with federal funding was able to make improvements to the highway system and to introduce funding for mass transit. That was the last time politicians in Richmond could agree on a financing plan for transportation until 2013 when new monies were approved along with a new approach for identifying projects.
 
Secretary of Transportation Aubrey Layne last week briefed the House Transportation Committee on which I serve and outlined the three R's in transportation planning that have come about because of legislation passed the last couple of years. As a result of bipartisan efforts, Virginia's transportation program has been renewed with new resources for all modes of transportation. The program has been reformed by requiring use of an outcome-based prioritization process with increased accountability and transparency. The transportation program has been refocused by replacing the decades-old allocation formula with a new formula that aligns funding with need. Gone is the approval of funding transportation by locality to a shift to regional consideration and statewide needs. Rather than the piecemeal approach to project funding there now will be full funding of projects. And the new system of funding that has been put in place is designed to shift prioritization from politics to factors of congestion mitigation, safety, accessibility, economic development, environmental concerns and land usage.
 
Governor Byrd's Department of Highways whose name was changed to the Department of Transportation years ago has begun functioning with a multi-modal approach that includes bus and rail as well as bicycles and pedestrians. While Northern Virginia continues to face significant challenges as one of the most congested parts of the country, additional funding that is now available along with the outcome-based prioritization process will accrue to the benefit of our region. Results will not be immediate, but I believe we are moving in the right direction. 
      

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 (Verizon Channel 1981). Ken interviews state and local leaders who are making news by making a difference.

TONIGHT- January 27 at 10:30 p.m., Delegate Plum talks with Rachel Wood of Scrawl Books
    
Tuesday, February 2 at 7:30 p.m. and Wednesday, February 3 at 10:30 p.m., Delegate Plum talks with Senator Janet Howell about issues coming before the General Assembly

Virginia Report is also available for viewing online at https://vimeo.com/album/1650266 
   

Bulletin Board  

Reston Community Center is now accepting dresses, shoes, jewelry, handbags, shawls and other accessories for students as part of the annual Diva Central Prom Dress Drive. Donations are tax deductible and may be dropped off at either Reston Community Center facility through Saturday, March 26. Since 2003, Diva Central's mission has been to promote confidence and self-esteem by providing free prom dresses to area high school girls. This year's prom dress giveaway event is planned for Saturday, April 23, from 12:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at RCC Lake Anne, 1609-A Washington Plaza in Reston. All local high school students are invited to attend and "shop" for dresses, shoes and other accessories for free. Registration is not required. Details are at Diva Central. 

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Exploring Immigration in Virginia 

Virginia Foundation for the Humanities (VFH) announces a series of public events examining the influences and legacies of immigration in Virginia. In 1970, only one in every 100 people living in Virginia had been born outside the United States. In 2012, the figure was one in nine. As we come to understand this evolution, we have the opportunity to reconsider what kind of place Virginia is and what kind of place it can be, in terms of public education, electoral politics, local economies, and the basic social fabric of our communities. Through the generous support of a National Endowment for the Humanities grant, VFH will host a series of public events in 2016 that explore this topic at sites across the Commonwealth. Learn more at Exploring Immigration in Virginia.

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Registration is Now Open for the 
National Reduce Tobacco Use 2016 Conference 


The national Reduce Tobacco Use Conference will showcase the latest in tobacco-use prevention, reduction, and cessation with youth and young adults. For more information or to register visit reducetobaccouse.org.

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Registration Open for 27th Annual Environment Virginia Symposium, April 5-7, 2016

 

Nominate a Virginian for the Erchul Environmental Leadership Award--Nomination period ends February 15

 

Exhibitor registration here. Participants register here. Visit Environment Virginia for more information.



Calendar of Events     

Saturday, January 30, 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., Reston Camp Expo, at RCC Hunters Woods, 2310 Colts Neck Road, Reston. Provides an opportunity for local families to learn about local organizations that provide summer camp opportunities to Reston youth. For more information about the Reston Camp Expo or about Reston Community Center Summer Camps, contact: Eileen Boone, RCC Director of Leisure and Learning, at 703-390-6162 or eileen.boone@fairfaxcounty.gov. 

Sunday, January 31, Three sessions (11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., 2:00 to 4:00 p.m., and 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.), Vale Church STOP HUNGER NOW Packaging Event. For details and to sign up for a session, visit www.valechurch.org or contact program coordinator Mike Martin at memartin213@gmail.com or 703-371-7665. Kids ages 8 and up and accompanied by a parent are welcome to participate. 

Monday, February 1, 7:00 to 9:00 p.m., Reston Network Analysis Community Meeting. The Fairfax County Department of Transportation (FCDOT) and Hunter Mill District Supervisor Catherine M. Hudgins will be hosting a community meeting on the Reston Network Analysis study at Lake Anne Elementary School Cafeteria, 11510 North Shore Drive, Reston. Residents will be able to learn more about the study, which seeks to evaluate the conceptual grids of streets and road elements in the areas surrounding the Reston Metrorail Stations (Reston Transit Station Areas (TSAs)). Staff will be on hand to answer questions during the meeting. To learn more or to contact the project team, visit Reston Network Analysis.
  
Saturday, February 6, Virginia Polar Dip 2016: Freezin' for a Reason. Registration at noon, Dip at 2:00 p.m., at Reston Community Center, Lake Anne Village Center, Reston. The goal is to send many more children with life-threatening illnesses and their families to Camp Sunshine, a one-of-a-kind retreat in Casco, Maine. Click here for details. 
 

36th District 

Reston, Virginia
 
Click here for snow removal status.

In This Issue
Commentary..."Progress on Transportation"
"Virginia Report"
Bulletin Board
Check Your Calendar

Delegate Kenneth R. "Ken" Plum
Delegate Ken Plum's Virginia E-News


Delegate Ken Plum's Virginia E-News is authorized by Kenneth R. Plum
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