THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 1, 1995 TAG: 9501010094
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: NEWPORT NEWS LENGTH: Short : 47 lines
Computer-literate Virginians who want to calculate how Gov. George Allen's proposed tax plan would affect them will be able to access a spreadsheet through an online service.
Beginning Jan. 1, anyone with a computer and a modem can manipulate numbers using a spreadsheet offered by Virginia Forum, a state computer information service available through America Online.
The service, which went online in September, already offers a message board featuring user-created topics from the pros and cons of a Disney theme park in Northern Virginia to the ``myth or reality'' of the governor's tax plan to debate over the state's ``archaic sodomy law.''
The forum's online manager, R.G. Olsen, monitors the message boards and refers questions from users to the appropriate state agency, said Cliff Schroeder Jr., communications director for the state secretary of administration.
Many of the messages on the board are aimed at the governor, although Allen is not yet linked up to an electronic mail account that would enable him to respond via computer, Schroeder said.
Once a connection is established, the governor's office plans to treat the electronic messages like a letter or a phone call from a constituent, he said.
Schroeder said the state is not paying for the online service. Users pay America Online for the service and the time they are signed on, he said.
Other items included in the Virginia Forum include:
The state budget proposal.
Recent lottery results as well as a list of Cash 5 and Lotto numbers for all of 1994.
Upcoming art and museum events throughout the state.
Job listings and personnel issues, including information how to access the Virginia Employment Commission's Automated Labor Information on the Commonwealth's Economy, or ALICE, line.
A list of who's who in state government, including names, titles, addresses and phone numbers. by CNB