The Virginia Parole Board last year granted parole in less than 4 percent of the cases it considered. Even old men – prisoners in their 70s and 80s who have served decades behind bars – were routinely denied parole.

About 12 years ago, Michael Maupin lost his right to vote in Virginia because of a felony drug conviction. But Maupin has hope for the future because he just received a letter from Gov. Bob McDonnell restoring his civil rights.

A report and data obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show that African American and Hispanic students are vastly underrepresented among students identified as gifted by the state’s public schools.

An ominous “MLK Day plot.” A proposed overhaul of the Electoral College system. Voter ID legislation. Those are issues that fueled partisanship at the Virginia Capitol this year and turned the bad blood between Republicans and Democrats into one of the most talked-about topics of the General Assembly’s session.

No General Assembly session is without its ups and downs, quarrels and disputes. However, the 2013 session may have taken the trophy for the most sparring between Democrats and Republicans – especially when it came to transportation.

The World Road Cycling Championships, one of the most prestigious international competitions for bicyclists, is coming to Richmond in two years, giving a healthy boost to the city’s image and tourist industry.

After Dallas Public Schools initiated a successful program getting about 93,000 students to read about 1 million books, Gov. Bob McDonnell announced a partnership with Richmond Public Schools to encourage second-graders to read.

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.

The spotlight continues to stay on Gov. Bob McDonnell and Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli over their dealings with Star Scientific Inc., which has been accused of trying to curry favor with state officials.

The Virginia Board of Health voted Friday to require abortion clinics to meet hospital building-code standards – rules that abortion rights activists said would force many of the state’s 20 clinics to close.

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli announced Friday that he will be appointing outside counsel to the Star Scientific case.

The General Assembly on Wednesday narrowly approved an amendment by Gov. Bob McDonnell that will prohibit certain health insurance companies in Virginia from providing coverage for women seeking an abortion.

The Senate on Wednesday upheld Gov. Bob McDonnell’s veto of legislation to boost efforts to establish a tourist train between Tazewell County and Bramwell, W.Va.

Starting July 1, parents in Virginia will have “a fundamental right to make decisions concerning the upbringing, education, and care” of their children.

All’s well that ends well, Shakespeare’s own words, as the Virginia Shakespeare Festival at the College of William and Mary will become the official Shakespeare Festival of Virginia starting July 1.

Gov. Bob McDonnell on Monday proposed amending legislation to put a moratorium on the use of drone technology in Virginia until 2015. McDonnell’s suggested amendments to House Bill 2012 and Senate Bill 1331 would allow for drone research at college and universities and would let law enforcement officials use drones for certain tasks, such as search and rescue.

Gov. Bob McDonnell has approved at least six bills and proposed revisions to at least three others aimed at improving school security and creating a safe campus environment.

Gov. Bob McDonnell faced an unusual opponent Tuesday as he debated the role of government with Virginia’s first governor, Patrick Henry, at the historic St. John’s Church for the first “Governors’ Conversation.”

The oldest occupied governor’s residence in the United States opened an archaeological exhibit to mark its 200th anniversary.

Virginia schools must provide extra help to students in kindergarten and first and second grades who do poorly on diagnostic reading tests, under legislation that Gov. Bob McDonnell signed into law in recent weeks.

Virginia is creating a new agency to support development of nuclear power – a move that has upset environmentalists and open-government advocates, because the entity won’t have to comply with the state’s Freedom of Information Act and other laws.

There will be no tolling on the southern end of Interstate 95 without the General Assembly’s say-so, thanks to approval of the transportation funding bill during the recently concluded legislative session.

For Gov. Bob McDonnell, the proposition for the Virginia Shakespeare Festival at the College of William and Mary is simple: To be or not to be the commonwealth’s official Shakespeare festival.

Critics of the transportation funding compromise reached by legislative negotiators say the plan would place a huge burden on Virginia taxpayers.

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.

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

General Assembly Democrats hosted an unlikely “celebration” of the release of Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s “The Last Line of Defense” with a book reading.

Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli issues a blistering attack on federal policies in his book “The Last Line of Defense: The New Fight for American Liberty.” As the book was released this week, it was promoted as “a must-read for every patriot.”

State legislators and lobbyists exchanged their suits and ties for T-shirts and shorts and headed from the halls of power to the basketball court to raise money for cancer research.

A conference committee of 10 legislators has less than a week and a half to hammer out a compromise between the House and Senate versions of a bill to increase transportation funding in Virginia.

State legislators and lobbyists battled it out on the basketball court Tuesday night to benefit Virginia Commonwealth University’s Massey Cancer Center.

A House subcommittee has rejected the Senate’s proposed constitutional amendment that would allow Virginia governors to serve two consecutive terms starting in 2017.

The Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday approved an amended version of Gov. Bob McDonnell’s transportation funding bill, opting to raise the gasoline tax instead of replacing the gas tax with a higher sales tax.

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.

State legislators and lobbyists will battle it out on the basketball court Tuesday night to benefit Virginia Commonwealth University’s Massey Cancer Center.

Three days after Senate Democrats derailed his transportation funding plan, Gov. Bob McDonnell urged two key Democratic senators to support the House version of his proposal.

Gov. Bob McDonnell expressed his disgust after his transportation funding package was derailed by Senate Democrats late Tuesday.

Gov. Bob McDonnell is delighted but school superintendents are miffed that the House passed legislation Monday to give each public school a letter grade – A through F – based on its performance.

The Texas Transportation Institute’s “Urban Mobility Report,” released Tuesday, rates the traffic congestion in the Washington, D.C, metro area as the worst in the country.

A bill making it easier to fire bad teachers, part of Gov. Bob McDonnell’s K-12 education reform agenda, won unanimous approval Monday from the state Senate.

Gov. Bob McDonnell praised the House after delegates on Monday passed legislation that would provide a simpler way to understand a school’s performance and the state’s accreditation system.

Gov. Bob McDonnell is urging state legislators to approve recommendations from his School and Campus Safety Task Force that would increase sentences for illegally buying guns, require mandatory lockdown drills at schools and establish more comprehensive suicide prevention programs.

Starting in 2017, Virginia voters could have the opportunity to re-elect the governor to a second consecutive term if the House joins the Senate in seeking to amend the state’s Constitution.

Gov. Bob McDonnell has reason to celebrate after the House Finance Committee on Wednesday approved a key part of the transportation plan that he hopes will define his term.

Gov. Bob McDonnell’s transportation budget would provide millions of dollars for road and rail projects along Interstate 64 from Newport News to Richmond to ease traffic congestion.

Brunswick County’s best stew master and crew warmed state officials, including Gov. Bob McDonnell and other visitors, at Capitol Square on Wednesday for the 13th annual Brunswick Stew Day at the General Assembly.

Delegate Bobby Orrock, R-Caroline, has announced his support for Gov. Bob McDonnell’s transportation plan.

Less than $150,000 separates Virginia’s two candidates for governor, according to campaign finance reports filed by Republican candidate Ken Cuccinelli and his Democratic challenger, Terry McAuliffe.

Members of the General Assembly’s Conservative Caucus today detailed its concerns about Gov. Bob McDonnell’s transportation overhaul plan, which would eliminate Virginia’s gasoline tax and raise its state sales tax.

Legislators representing the city of Franklin have mixed feelings over Gov. Bob McDonnell’s plan to boost funding for transportation in Virginia by replacing the long-standing gas tax with an increase in the state’s sales tax designated for transportation.