Lots of little things make up Virginia’s still-big, hard-times budget. And hidden in plain view in the two-year, $80 billion-plus spend-a-thon are...

Nine days off-message is enough to drive a governor to drink. At this rate, it will be a long time before Bob McDonnell—ensnared since March 5 in...

Because of a cranky economy and cantankerous electorate, Bob McDonnell probably can’t expect much of a honeymoon. But barely 50 days into his term,...

Susan Clarke Schaar, longtime clerk of the Virginia Senate, puts up with a lot, but not bad manners. A recent target of her ire: Northrop Grumman, the...

Tap. Tap. Tap. You usually hear Dick Saslaw before you see him. The metronymic click on the General Assembly Building’s tile floors from the heel...

The General Assembly is a great, big favor factory. All that’s missing is a drive-through window, with obsequious lawmakers telling the corpocracy,...

Over nine pages, 13 columns and nearly 600 lines appear agency names, dates, numbers and decimal points. Alone, they are bits of minutiae. Together, they...

In the 1960s, Virginia’s big banks were born. Schmoozed by courtly industry visionary Harvie Wilkinson and a future U.S. Supreme Court justice, Lewis...

In his maiden speech to the General Assembly, Gov. Bob McDonnell brought fellow Republicans to their feet, vowing—for the umpteenth time—to...

Now that he’s governor…Jeff Schapiro says Gov. Bob McDonnell moved fast to open interstate rest stops, but hasn’t said much about how...

Barely 72 hours before Gov. Bob McDonnell was sworn in, fellow Republicans in the House of Delegates clipped his wings. Sort of. In a little-noticed ruling...

Running for Richmond City Council in 1994, Tim Kaine spent part of Easter Sunday padding around the Fan District, harvesting signatures for his petition...

The holiday season isn’t complete without a hangover. This one is a result of a spending spree on Virginia’s credit card. The bill, run up...

Team McDonnell. Political columnist Jeff Schapiro looks at the new governor’s leadership pick and what they say about his priorities.

Jeff E. Schapiro’s column on Virginia government and politics will resume next Sunday.

Running for governor, Bob McDonnell recycled crowd-pleasing rhetoric from two predecessors: Democrat Mark Warner (“If you hire me”) and fellow...

Political columnist Jeff Schapiro says the lame-duck governor wants to make a statement that essential services have a price, but how will anti-tax Republicans...

Looking for a window into Bob McDonnell’s governorship? Look over the Gang of 286: a vast band of business types, political activists, big donors,...

Some have seen the future. Its name is Marvin. State Capitol habitués—lawmakers in both parties, lobbyists angling for competitive advantage...

Hear what political columnist Jeff Schapiro has to say about Kaine’s farewell budget that will be left to incoming Governor Bob McDonnell.

Jeff E. Schapiro is away from the office. His column on Virginia government and politics will resume Dec. 6.

In late summer, with polls pointing to victory, Bob McDonnell may have realized his No. 2 in the attorney general’s office, Bill Mims, was out of...

Political columnist Jeff Schapiro says that with a fortified majority in the House of Delegates, Republicans can turn redistricting into a turkey shoot...

For a guy who has many reasons to smile—the presidency of utility giant Dominion, a fat paycheck, such plush perquisites as the rectorship of U.Va.,...

Regardless of the outcome of Tuesday’s gubernatorial election—OK, so a lot of people have a pretty good idea who’s going to win—one...

Chris Jankowski has a hobby that helps his day job. The long-limbed, bespectacled lobbyist, in effect, runs campaigns for Republicans, supplying them with...

Forget about the governor’s election and down-ticket races. The battle for the House? Practically a nonevent. The real action may be in the Virginia...

What if Virginia goes Republican? Political columnist Jeff Schapiro speculates on the fallout from a possible GOP sweep of statewide offices.

As if the state’s snakebit computer contractor, Northrop Grumman, hasn’t enough to answer for. Add to complaints about rotten service, rising...

In the 1970s, a common sight across the state was a bumper sticker that read, “Welcome to Virginia: Owned and Operated by Vepco.“ Thirty years...