Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, January 30, 1995 TAG: 9501300039
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DAVID M. POOLE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Long
Budget amendments offered by Trumbo would strip several dozen new employees that Allen wants to add to his Cabinet secretaries' staffs and return staffing levels to those under Democratic Gov. Gerald Baliles in the mid-1980s.
Trumbo said the new positions, which total $2 million, send the wrong message as Allen embarks on a plan to eliminate 16,000 state jobs in the next five years.
Plus, Trumbo has been around long enough to remember the days when Allen was a state delegate from Albemarle County.
Trumbo remembers back in 1990 and 1991, when Allen used to gripe about then-Gov. Douglas Wilder beefing up his staff and consolidating power in the governor's office.
``I'm just listening to what my governor was saying several years ago,'' Trumbo says. ``What's good for the goose is good for the gander.''
Pushing for Salem pensions
Mayor James Taliaferro and Salem City Council members spent one day at the General Assembly last week, but they accomplished two purposes.
They told lawmakers how a plan to phase out local gross receipt taxes for businesses would hurt the city. Then they checked on the progress of a bill that would help their personal retirement plans.
At the city's request, Del. Morgan Griffith, R-Salem, has introduced two bills that would make Salem's part-time mayor and members of council eligible for state retirement benefits.
Griffith said it was unfair that council members could not draw a state pension when other part-time workers get one if they make more than $10,000 a year.
Griffith said an argument could be made that the long tenure of several council members - Taliaferro has put in more than 20 years - makes them deserving of a chance for a modest pension.
But a House appropriations subcommittee disagreed. With members of Salem City Council looking on, the panel voted Wednesday evening to kill both measures.
Bell steals the ball
State Sen. Brandon Bell gave new meaning to ``pressure defense'' Tuesday night during the annual legislator-lobbyist basketball game at the Virginia Commonwealth University gym.
Midway through the second half, the Roanoke County Republican dropped off his man and defended against a lobbyist trying to inbound the ball.
The lobbyist happened to be in a wheelchair. The lobbyist is an accomplished wheelchair basketball player, but Bell, of course, had an unfair advantage.
Bell stole the inbounds pass, sending a collective shudder through his teammates and prompting Roanoke County's Democratic Del. Richard Cranwell - who was watching from the stands - to quip, ``I told you they [Republicans] are cold-hearted.''
Later, Bell took some ribbing from his teammates for a move that he admitted ``didn't look good.''
An ovation for Stump
Plenty of Democrats have risen in the House of Delegates to denounce Allen's proposed tax and spending cuts.
But Del. Jackie Stump of Buchanan County is the first to do so and draw applause from Democrats and Republicans alike.
Stump gets attention whenever he rises on the House floor, if not only for his size. He is a bear of a man whose height is matched only by his girth. He has a gray-flecked beard and carries a United Mine Workers card in his wallet.
Plus, Stump rarely gives speeches. So his colleagues stopped their conversations Tuesday when Stump rose from his chair in the back row of the chamber.
Stump got emotional right off the bat. He was interrupted by his 10-month-old daughter, Margo Ahbragail, who was in the House gallery and recognized her Daddy's voice.
``Daddy; Daddy,'' the child called.
When Stump continued, he talked about how Allen was cutting taxes on the backs of coalfield schoolchildren, who already have enough disadvantages compared with children in wealthy areas of Virginia. Buchanan County, he noted, would lose $68 per student compared with the budget approved last year.
It was impossible to decipher the final words of his speech. The gentleman from Buchanan County was crying.
His colleagues - Democrats and Republicans alike - rose and applauded as Stump slumped into his chair and buried his face in his hands.
Armstrong's train plan off track
Del. Ward Armstrong, D-Martinsville, is a lifelong train buff whose General Assembly office is decorated with framed pictures of two steam engines - Norfolk Southern's 611 and 1218.
So Armstrong was concerned that NS had decided to terminate its Roanoke-based steam engine excursions last year and retire the two steam engines for good.
In December, Armstrong sent a letter to CEO David Goode of Norfolk Southern asking if the General Assembly could enact financial incentives to help keep the steam excursions going, if only on a limited basis.
Goode replied this month that the rail carrier would not reconsider.
``This is not an easy decision to make,'' said Goode, a native of Vinton, ``but as you may have heard, the decision is final.''
Let your legislators know
Want to make sure your legislators know what you're thinking? The General Assembly has a toll-free line where constituents can leave messages for any legislator.
It's (800) 889-0229 and is in operation weekdays from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Keywords:
GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1995
by CNB