RICHMOND —Columnist Jeff Schapiro says Gov. Bob McDonnell is busy finding jobs in his administration for Republican operatives and conservative activists.

Gov. Bob McDonnell is claiming an 80 percent success rate in his first legislative session. With the budget crisis resolved he’ll now turn to other substantial challenges facing his administration.

You know you’re not having a good week when Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” lampoons Virginia’s anti-discrimination policy that excludes sexual orientation.

Virginia is taking away more than $620 million that would have been paid toward state employee and teacher pensions, but the state is leaving an IOU.

RICHMOND — The General Assembly on Sunday overwhelmingly passed a new two-year budget that makes unprecedented cuts to state services and programs but includes no tax increase.

Despite substantial agreement on major issues, legislative negotiations toward a new bare-bones state budget hit a snag late Saturday over a variety of lesser issues.

RICHMOND—The firestorm over anti-discrimination protections for gay state employees is blotting out the pro-jobs message of Virginia’s new governor, Bob McDonnell.

Sheriffs rallied in Richmond this morning to save jail and courtroom security jobs.

ROANOKE - Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli (R) has been in office just about two months now and we haven’t heard much out of him.

A key Senate committee has passed bills allowing the death penalty for those who kill fire marshals and auxiliary police officers.

Virginia’s governor needs to change the law that he and the attorney general say keeps the state from banning discrimination against gays and lesbians, a gay-rights group says.

Jim Nolan and Jeff Schapiro discuss the push for a state budget, and Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s opinion that state colleges can’t prohibit discrimination against gays

Thousands of state and local government employees face layoffs because of the severe budget cuts. Just how many jobs will be lost should become clearer by Saturday when the General Assembly is scheduled to adopt a budget for the 2010-2012 biennium.

House and Senate budget negotiators will confer again as they try to strike a deal on rival spending plans.

Virginia leaders, awaiting feedback on the state’s application for funding through the Race to the Top federal grant program, believe proposed education reforms could improve the state’s future chances.

A Senate committee this morning advanced all three of Gov. Bob McDonnell’s education-reform initiatives on charter schools, virtual schools and college partnership lab schools.

Gov. Bob McDonnell said today that he could call two special sessions sometime this year to address transportation funding and government reforms.

A number of House of Delegates bills that would make it easier to purchase, carry and use guns have been routed to a newly created Senate subcommittee loaded with legislators opposed to expanding gun rights.

The grungy office space, used supplies and limited freshening of the official gubernatorial quarters paid off.

Legislation that would allow Virginia to raise speed limits on some highways from 65 mph to 70 mph heads to Gov. Bob McDonnell’s desk.

Virginia’s House and Senate budget-writers are laying out competing hard-times spending plans that slash health care for the poor and increase class sizes but don’t raise taxes.

Surrounded by squirming children with endless questions about what he does, what he likes, his favorite room, his favorite art, Gov. Bob McDonnell yesterday tried to simultaneously teach an online government class how a bill becomes law.

Virginia’s retirement system may pave the way for state and local governments to escape some of the pain in balancing their budgets—for now.

Del. Danny Marshall, R-Danville, is among the General Assembly’s 13 millionaires, according to Statements of Economic Interests that the legislators filed during the opening week of the session.

Virginia has reopened four rest stops on Interstate 81 that were closed last year because of budget concerns.

Gov. Bob McDonnell holds a news conference to discuss the state budget and updated revenue projections.

Gov. Bob McDonnell’s recommendation for closing the state’s budget shortfall includes five furlough days for state workers over each of the next two years.

The Virginia Senate today approved a bill to increase the maximum speed limit on certain highways from 65 miles per hour to 70 miles per hour.

Legislation requiring online retailers to collect Virginia’s 4.5 percent sales tax—the so-called “Amazon Bill”—easily cleared the Virginia Senate this morning and is headed to the House of Delegates, where opponents hope it falls prey to that chamber’s hostility to taxes.

Today is the crossover deadline for the House and the Senate to complete work on their own bills.