Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine stopped by the Virginia Employment Commission Workforce One Stop Center in Hopewell yesterday. He was just about the only one not looking for a job. That’s a good thing, because more than a dozen people were waiting in line when the center opened. In recent weeks, more than 200 people a day have been coming through the doors of the nondescript, strip-mall office off Oaklawn Boulevard, seeking unemployment benefits, leads on a new job or free access to computers, copiers and fax machines to work on their résumés. Nearly 2,000 people call the center each week.

What part of “no” don’t you understand? For the umpteenth time, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine yesterday reiterated his intent to stay in office through his term that ends in January 2010 and that he would not accept a post in President-elect Barack Obama’s Cabinet. The latest rumor prompting the question came from an Associated Press story out of Washington that put Kaine on a short list of candidates to become secretary of education.

Virginia’s Indian tribes gave Gov. Timothy M. Kaine two freshly killed deer yesterday—and the tribes got reassurances that the state’s top elected officials will push for them to be recognized by the federal government in 2009.

With three Democrats lining up to run for Virginia governor next fall, none of the candidates should expect a holiday endorsement from the current occupant of the Executive Mansion. “I’m going to be neutral in this race,“ Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, a fellow Democrat, said yesterday, referring to Del. Brian J. Moran of Alexandria, state Sen. R. Creigh Deeds of Bath County and former Democratic National Committee chairman Terry McAuliffe of McLean.