Students at VCU and other institutions of higher education in Virginia often end up buying textbooks they never use, according to a survey by Virginia21, an advocacy group for college students and other young adults.

Nearly 75 percent of Virginia Commonwealth University students are unsure of their student loan debt payments upon graduation, according to a survey by Virginia21, an advocacy group for college students.

Virginia’s multibillion-dollar transportation funding package will put a heavier burden on lower-income households than on more affluent families, according to a Richmond-based think tank.

A tourist train soon could be chugging its way through historic and scenic Tazewell County and across the state line to Bramwell, W.Va.

A divided Virginia Senate on Saturday passed Gov. Bob McDonnell’s signature issue of the 2013 legislative session – a bill to overhaul the state’s system for funding transportation.

School bus drivers and schoolchildren from across Virginia gathered at the state Capitol on Thursday for the second annual “Love the Bus” rally.

Negotiators from both the House and Senate came to an agreement Wednesday on a transportation plan that, if passed, would be the first transportation funding overhaul in Virginia since 1986.

If Congress fails to meet its March 1 deadline on reducing the budget deficit, federal spending cuts will automatically take effect. That means Virginia could lose more than 207,000 jobs.

Gov. Bob McDonnell on Wednesday approved a bill to extend the 30-cents-per-100-pound excise tax on peanuts until July 1, 2016.

Gov. Bob McDonnell on Monday praised the findings of a new study that says clinical trials of new drugs and other medical treatments in Virginia have boosted the state’s economy and created 76,000 jobs over the past 13 years.

A Senate committee on Thursday killed the “Boneta bill,” which championed farmers’ rights and would have expanded the definition of agricultural operations.

The Senate is poised to pass a bill to revoke the liquor licenses of bars and restaurants that file false tax returns or other financial information with government regulators.

The Virginia House of Delegates released its proposed amendments to the 2012-2014 state budget Sunday, seeking to pump more money into the commonwealth’s “rainy day” fund, education and Medicaid.

There’s bittersweet news for the Chesapeake Bay blue crab. The general crab and young blue crab populations are very healthy, the head of the Virginia Marine Resources Commission said. But the population of adult female blue crabs – which the crabbing industry relies upon for the next generation of stock – is low.

Northern Virginia would get a bigger share of the state’s highway maintenance funds under legislation being sponsored by Delegate Jim LeMunyon, R-Oak Hill. House Bill 1884 would allocate the funds “on the basis of vehicle miles traveled in each highway construction district compared to vehicle miles traveled in the Commonwealth as a whole.”

Students receiving degrees from Virginia’s public colleges and universities may struggle to find employment, after a House subcommittee killed legislation that would have given small businesses a $2,500 tax credit for hiring such graduates.

Gov. Bob McDonnell has good reason to break open a bottle of Virginia wine and celebrate: Wine produced by the state’s vineyards posted record sales last year.

A bill introduced by Sen. Thomas Norment, R-Williamsburg, would designate the Virginia Shakespeare Festival in Williamsburg as the official Shakespeare Festival of Virginia, in hopes of increasing tourism to the area.

Gov. Bob McDonnell’s goals for his last year in office drew mixed reactions among legislators representing the Williamsburg area.

Under a new law, state officials will publish online the employment rates and average salaries for graduates from each institution of higher education in Virginia. Prospective students and their parents will be able to see the statistics for each program and type of degree at each school.

Even for an immigrant community, the Richmond Mixtecs face many significant cultural obstacles. In the mostly Hispanic Sacred Heart congregation, Mixtecs are still a minority of sorts, considering many are fluent in neither English nor Spanish. Like many immigrant communities, religion plays a major role in the lives and culture of the Mixtecs.

Is the indigenous Mexican culture of La Mixteca marketable? A group of Mixtec women in the city’s Manchester district, seeking to assert themselves and make money for their families, is banking on it.

Think tuition is high at VCU? The cost of putting a child in the university’s day care center can be even higher. The VCU Child Development Center charges $820 a month for children 3 and under, and $700 a month for older children. In contrast, tuition and mandatory fees for in-state undergraduate students total $9,517 this year – which works out to about $793 a month.

Despite a long recession, Virginia ranks among the top five states with the best economic climates, according to a national lobbying organization. Virginia placed third in the 2012 “Rich States, Poor States” report – a survey conducted annually by the American Legislative Exchange Council.

Gov. Bob McDonnell ventured to Quebec, Canada, this week to promote Virginia’s wine, tourism and film industries. The governor and first lady Maureen McDonnell held a reception for journalists and Canadian business leaders Thursday night in Montreal to showcase wines and foods produced in Virginia, including pork, oysters and cookies.

Beekeepers across Virginia soon will be able to get government money for creating new beehives – a move legislators hope will resurrect the state’s dying bee population. During this year’s regular session, the General Assembly passed legislation to establish a $175,000 fund and award beekeepers as much as $200 for every new beehive, up to $2,400. Gov. Bob McDonnell recently signed the two bills, SB 354 and HB 300, into law.

Virginia teachers and firefighters are urging Gov. Bob McDonnell to veto legislation overhauling the retirement plan for the state’s public employees. They said the General Assembly acted hastily on the last day of its regular session when it approved bills to reduce the benefits that employees would receive under the Virginia Retirement System.

Gov. Bob McDonnell’s goal to install America’s first offshore wind energy turbine got a jolt of momentum this week from the Virginia Marine Resources Commission. The commission voted unanimously Tuesday to approve construction of a 479-foot-tall, five-megawatt wind turbine generator in the lower Chesapeake Bay, three miles off the Eastern Shore town of Cape Charles.

House Speaker William Howell on Sunday hailed the General Assembly’s just-concluded regular session as a success, citing the passage of legislation to create jobs, improve public education and reform public employees’ pension plan.

Bid farewell to tax-free buys from the world’s most popular online store. Amazon.com, the Seattle-based e-tailer of books and other products, next year will begin collecting and paying Virginia state sales tax under an agreement announced by Gov. Bob McDonnell.

Why are bar and restaurant owners frowning when it comes to advertising “happy hour” specials? Because in the age of Twitter and Facebook, Virginia law prohibits advertising drink specials using social media. Drinking establishments can legally sell alcohol at lower prices until 9 p.m. The problem is, they aren’t allowed to advertise that fact in the media – not even on the Internet or with social media.

Efforts to expand job opportunities for veterans are receiving overwhelming support in the General Assembly this session, but veterans’ requests for tax exemptions and easier access to retail discounts have gained little traction. Virginia’s moves to expand education and employment opportunities for veterans come on the heels of high veteran unemployment figures. The national unemployment rate for veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan topped 12 percent late last year.

Here’s something to toast: A bill approved by the Virginia House of Delegates and sent to the state Senate may cut the steep cost of starting up a brewery for craft beer.

The Eastern Shore of Virginia soon could get money to rev up its tourism promotion efforts whenever motorists buy or renew a specialty license plate depicting that scenic region off Virginia’s mainland. The Senate has passed a bill to channel proceeds from the specialty plates’ sales into a fund to promote tourism on the Eastern Shore.

Two bills moving through the General Assembly would authorize volunteer fire departments to charge homeowners’ insurance policies after responding to fire-related emergencies. One measure is House Bill 1202, sponsored by Delegate Joseph Johnson, D-Abingdon. It unanimously passed the House on Wednesday. Sen. Phillip Puckett, D-Tazewell, is sponsoring an identical proposal – Senate Bill 140. It unanimously passed the Senate on Friday.

If some state lawmakers have their way, Virginians seeking social service benefits may have to submit to mandatory drug tests before receiving public assistance. It would allow local social services departments to conduct drug tests if they have “probable cause” before allowing an applicant to receive Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.

The General Assembly is well on its way into the 2012 session. Hopewell-area Delegates Kirk Cox, R-Colonial Heights, and Rosalyn Dance, D-Petersburg, discussed some of their legislative goals. Cox, the majority leader in the House of Delegates, said his major focus is simple: passing a state budget for the next two years. But he has other goals, such as ensuring adequate funding for programs such as the Virginia Retirement System.

Student loan default rates are especially high among people who attend for-profit colleges and universities. Federal officials have criticized some proprietary schools, saying they are more interested in collecting tuition dollars than in teaching students marketable skills.

An unusually active tornado season has wreaked havoc in Virginia and nationwide. On April 16, for example, tornadoes killed three people in Gloucester. Some simple precautions – mainly having a plan – can help keep you safe.

The state auditor of public accounts has found that the Virginia Employment Commission has been inadequately equipped to handle the increase in unemployment claims since the recession began.

Delegate Donald Merricks, R-Danville, triggered an investigation in overpayments of unemployment compensation benefits by the Virginia Employment Commission. He did it after the VEC demanded that some workers pay back thousands of dollars they received.

Homeowners, public officials and community groups are fighting blight in Church Hill North — one of Richmond’s historic gems but a neighborhood known for high crime rates and vacant buildings. A new law will give the city another tool to fix decrepit homes that stick out like crooked teeth.

Greg Bristow was working as a heating and air conditioning technician in 2008. But when the economy gave way, so did the job market. Since then, he’s been renovating a 121 year old home in Church Hill.

In a time of economic hardship, high-priced haircuts, manicures and spa treatments may be thought of as a luxury. But in Richmond, the cosmetology is business is doing as well as ever. Some salons have even been able to grow.

Driving can be unpredictable and even nerve-racking. And there could be an added surprise involving your automobile when it’s off the roadways: a property tax on cars. Permanent Richmond residents must pay such a personal property tax. But what many college students from out of town may not know is that they are expected to pay it as well.

For Clint Eastwood fans in Virginia, it was a thrill to hear that his latest film, “J. Edgar,” is set in parts of Fauquier and Fairfax counties. But for those communities, there’s a tangible benefit to playing such a supporting role: They’ll enjoy a financial boost from tourism and other economic spinoffs.

The state Senate has ensured that Virginians will still ask that age-old question: “Can you tell me how to get to Sesame Street?” The Senate on Wednesday night overturned Gov. Bob McDonnell’s proposal to eliminate state funding for public broadcasting over the next two years.

Ali Velshi has a love-hate relationship with Twitter. Though CNN’s chief business correspondent believes he does a good job on his show, he says you wouldn’t know that from the way people talking about him on Twitter. “People call me everything — fat, ugly, stupid, liberal, conservative, everything. You name it, and I’m fascinated by it,” he said.

Under a new state law, Virginians will be permitted to bring their own wine into a restaurant – if the dining establishment allows. Senate Bill 1292, which takes effect July 1, will allow any ABC-licensed restaurant to permit customers to bring a bottle of wine into the establishment and drink it on the premises.

Gov. Bob McDonnell has announced the revival of the Virginia is for Lovers television crusade, which has been dormant for almost five years. The slogan, which originated 42 years ago, has been one of the nation’s most successful tourism campaigns.