Tuesday, April 30, 2013
U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine's (D-VA) Troop Talent Act of 2013 would help transition between military and civilian employment.
U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine’s (D-Va) bill to help veterans find employment and other resources more easily once entering civilian life was introduced Monday to the U.S. House of Representatives. The Troop Talent Act of 2013 is designed to help veterans effectively translate their military skills and credentials into civilian employment, Kaine said. As of March 2013, the unemployment rate for post-9/11 veterans was 9.2 percent. That’s down slightly from 9.4 percent in February 2013 but still higher than the national average of 7.1 percent. U.S. Rep. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) called that number "unacceptable" as she introduced the Troop Talent Act to the House of Represetatives on Monday. “The unemployment rate for Veterans who have served in the …
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Fisher, a former Vienna Town Council member and the 35th District representative who held Keam's seat from 1990-97, died in August.
Del. Mark Keam (D-Vienna) gave a nod to one of his Virginia 35th District predecessors Tuesday with a resolution celebrating his life. Keam presented House Joint Resolution 735 during this year's session in memory of the four-term Republican Del. Dick Fisher, who died in August. On Tuesday, Keam presented the resolution to his widow, Christine (Tina) Fisher, and other family members on the House floor. The former executive for the Washington Gas Light Company was 64 at the time of his death. Fisher served the Virginia House of Delegates from 1990-1997, in the same seat Keam now holds, a district which includes Vienna, Tysons Corner, Dunn Loring and parts of Oakton and Fairfax. Before that, Fisher served three terms during the late 1980s on…
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Virginia telework tax credit would provide $250 to employees who work remotely for at least 20 hours a week.
A bill by Vienna-area Del. Barbara Comstock (R-34th) to provide a tax credit for some teleworkers could soon become a reality after it passed the Virginia House this week and moves on to the Senate. HB 1336, which was co-sponsored by Comstock and Del. David Ramadan (R-87th), would give residents who telework a minimum of 20 hours per week 45 weeks per year a $250 income tax credit. The bill passed the house Monday on a 59-38 vote. Vienna Del. Mark Keam was among those who supported the proposal. According to the bill, residents could apply for the credit through the Department of Taxation, which would issue the credits on a first-come, first-serve basis to employees who meet the requirements. The department would be limited to no more than…
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Vienna's Del. Mark Keam votes against measure that would give all schools letter grades.
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Tuesday, February 5
By Samantha Morgan, Capital News Service Gov. Bob McDonnell praised the Virginia House of Delegates after legislators bassed a bill Monday he said would provide a simpler way to understand a school’s performance and the state’s accreditation system. Delegates voted 54-40 to approve House Bill 1999, which would require the Virginia Board of Education to grade each school on an A-F scale. The bill, sponsored by Del. Thomas “Tag” Greason (R-Landsdowne), is part of McDonnell’s K-12 legislative agenda. Under the bill, the board would develop a grading system for all schools by Aug. 1. The letter grade would be given in addition to the state’s more detailed standards of accreditation for individual school performance. Keep up to date on all …
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Del. Mark Keam votes for the amended package, which would eliminate Virginia's gas tax and hike sales taxes to raise $3 billion over five years.
Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell’s controversial transportation bill passed the House of Delegates Finance Committee on Wednesday, moving past its first hurdle in the state's 2013 General Assembly session. In a 14-8 vote, the committee passed McDonnell’s package, which calls for eliminating the state’s 17.5 cents per gallon gas tax and raising the state sales tax from 5 percent to 5.8 percent. The plan would also keep the 17.5 tax on diesel fuel and increase vehicle registration fees. It would also raise the amount of the state’s sales tax that goes to transportation from 5 to 75 cents over a five-year period. McDonnell said the bill would raise approximately $3 billion in that time, including $1.8 billion for new construction. The committee — …
Monday, January 14, 2013
At town hall in Vienna on Saturday, residents push for early voting, more online options.
Though it's January, the long wait times at Fairfax County polls in November's election are still a fresh memory in many voters' minds. When Sen. Chap Petersen asked the more than 100 residents at a town hall meeting Saturday in Vienna who among them stood for hours in hopes of casting a ballot, hands flew into the air — and calls to improve the process came with them. One way Petersen is hoping to prevent such long wait times, which plagued polling stations across the state in the 2012 General Election, is SB739, which would require there be at least one voting device for each 500 registered voters in a precinct, instead of the current 750 voter standard. Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chair Sharon Bulova has already called for a …
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Ahead of 2013 General Assembly, legislators from Vienna-Oakton area take issue with some parts of Gov. Bob McDonnell's plans during town hall with residents Saturday.
When Del. Mark Keam (D-35th) first ran for office four years ago, he said the two issues almost exclusively on voters' minds were transportation and education. Four years later, as he hosted a town hall Saturday in Vienna with fellow legislator Sen. Chap Petersen (D-34th), the issues haven’t changed, he said. And while Keam was optimistic he and Petersen would see some progress through bills they’ve introduced this year, both Keam and Petersen said they anticipate “a fight” with certain parts of Gov. Bob McDonnell’s transportation and education plans, which the governor unveiled last week as the General Assembly began its 45-day session. Transportation Petersen has introduced his own plan in response to McDonell’s transportation overhaul, …
Monday, January 7, 2013
Constituents invited to ask questions, talk issues at Saturday meeting in Vienna.
Del. Mark Keam (D-35th) and Sen. Chap Petersen (D-34th) are teaming up to host their annual town hall Saturday, just days after the start of the Virginia General Assembly's 2013 Session in Richmond. The meeting is scheduled from 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday at the American Legion Dyer-Gunnell Post 180's Auxiliary, 330 N. Center Street, Vienna. Keam and Petersen will give an overview of the bills they have filed, or plan to file, this session, as well as the House and Senate's agenda for the year. Constituents can also talk about issues or give ideas and suggestions to the legislators. Petersen has pre-filed several bills (see Petersen's bills for the 2013 session), including one that would help restore voting rights to residents convicted of …
Tax district would fund $253 million in transportation improvements.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors will vote Tuesday whether to raise taxes on Tysons Corner residents and developers as a way to fund extensive transportation improvements in the area. Supervisors have endorsed plans for a special service tax district that would require landowners and developers to help pay for billions of dollars of transportation projects meant to help Tysons thrive as the county’s new urban downtown area. With a hike of 7 to 9 cents per $100 of assessed value, the proposed service district is expected to generate approximately $250 million over the next 40 years. But the Board chose to defer a vote on the matter last month after a public hearing in which many angry residents objected to paying more taxes. Tysons …
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Legislators discussed priorities for Virginia's 2013 General Assembly in Wednesday town hall in McLean.
On Wednesday evening, when Virginia Sen. Janet Howell (D-32nd District) announced her plans to introduce legislation that would fix a loophole allowing Virginia residents to purchase firearms from some dealers at gun shows without undergoing background checks, more than 200 McLean residents showed their support with a round of applause. Similar legislation has been introduced during past legislative sessions, but has not passed, Howell said. "I’m hopeful that this year we’ve had tragedies of such magnitude that reason will prevail," she said. But reforming the Commonwealth's gun control laws is only one of many legislative priorities lawmakers representing McLean voiced Wednesday during a town hall meeting at the McLean Community Center. …
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4:41 am on Saturday, May 11, 2013
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