Gov. Timothy M. Kaine was out of the state for at least part of seven days in August, according to a travel log released last night by his office. “The dates represent a combination of state work, work in his role as chairman of the Democratic National Committee and personal time,“ said Kaine spokesman Gordon Hickey, who would not give further details on how much of Kaine’s travel was national political business or personal.

Battling anti-Obama headwinds in the dash for governor, R. Creigh Deeds is trying to hang another unpopular president on Bob McDonnell in a brace of fresh television and radio ads. Deeds, a Democrat, is pairing Republican McDonnell with George W. Bush, whose policies McDonnell—in remarks as recently as last month—credited with leading “an economic revival in America.“

The Kaine administration’s quick fix for guiding the troubled Virginia information technology agency - allowing the secretary of technology to simultaneously serve as interim computer czar - is illegal, the attorney general ruled yesterday. William C. Mims, the state’s top lawyer, said the dual roles for Leonard M. “Len” Pomata violate a law that separates the jobs of technology secretary and chief information officer in order to shield the CIO from politics.

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, juggling his day job as Virginia’s chief executive and part-time gig as Democratic national chairman, spent four of the past 10 days out of state. Kaine’s press secretary, Gordon Hickey, disclosed in an e-mail last night that between July 22 and yesterday, the governor had woven into his schedule trips to the Midwest and West Coast.

The Republican candidate for attorney general has called for a special session of the General Assembly to deal with a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that he says will force prosecutors to suspend drug and drunken-driving prosecutions. State Sen. Ken Cuccinelli of Fairfax County said the high court’s Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts ruling last month could damage the criminal-justice system. The court ruled that the government must make scientists who prepare lab reports in drunken-driving and drug cases available for cross-examination by defense lawyers.

The acting head of Virginia’s embattled computer agency is praising employees for “doing heavy lifting” and urging them to ignore critics. Leonard M. “Len” Pomata yesterday met with about 100 employees of the Virginia Information Technologies Agency at its Chesterfield County headquarters. Other workers listened by phone conference call, as did a reporter for the Richmond Times-Dispatch, who was supplied the numerical pass code. Some employees submitted questions to Pomata by e-mail.

In what may be a first, Virginia will determine if old power plants and factories are belching so much pollution they are endangering people and the environment. If a plant is found to cause a pollution hazard, it will be required to reduce emissions. The plants and factories are called “grandfathered facilities” because they were built before the creation of the federal Clean Air Act in 1970.

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine and all four candidates for governor yesterday faulted Liberty University’s decision to revoke its recognition of the campus Democratic Party club on moral grounds.

Taxes are climbing in recession-wracked Northern Virginia, bulwark of the Democratic ascendancy. A smooth-talking Democratic governor whose part-time assignment as Barack Obama’s partisan hitman is yanked back to his day job by the swine-flu scare. The Democratic primary is becoming a sandbox quarrel. Voters tune out or—to get their fix of sweaty, noisy post-adolescent males—turn the dial to the basketball playoffs.

Virginia’s budget continues to bleed cash, giving up another $821 million, but the loss will be offset by more than $1 billion from President Barack Obama’s stimulus package.

Looking for state help against continued hemorrhaging in their industry, car dealers are turning to one of their own in the General Assembly: the part-owner of a Dodge franchise who just happens to be a powerful senator. Senate Republican Floor Leader Thomas K. Norment Jr. of James City County is sponsoring legislation—opposed by carmakers, including Fairfax County-based Volkswagen—that could force manufacturers to pay dealers millions of dollars for discontinued vehicles and unused parts and tools.

Education is in line for nearly $966 million. Another $230 million is available for public school construction. There’s $745 million for highways. Child care could receive about $39 million. Toss in $124 million to insulate cold, drafty houses and $21 million for clean drinking water. And this extra-special goodie for our governor: $617 million of your money to spend as he pleases.

A lawmaker who doubles as Virginia GOP leader is harvesting money for fellow Republicans but says he’s still in compliance with a prohibition on fundraising during the General Assembly session. Del. Jeffrey M. Frederick, R-Prince William, appealed for funds for the Republican Party of Virginia in a Jan. 9 letter that arrived at some households in the Richmond area this week.