Rubicon Inc., a substance abuse and mental health treatment center that has served the Richmond community for more than 40 years, is trying to regain its financial footing after nearly having to close its doors last fall.

Lottery winners aren’t the only ones with any luck: The Virginia Lottery saw record ticket sales in the past year, as the economy continued its recovery and several big-name retailers began selling tickets.

Sales of Virginia Lottery tickets have risen steadily — and last year, they jumped by 9 percent.

Since 1999, the Virginia Lottery has generated more than $5 billion for public education.

Here is a map of the 25 outlets that sold the most Virginia Lottery tickets in fiscal year 2012.

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.

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.

The Virginia General Assembly approved amendments to the state’s two-year budget Saturday that included education initiatives and Medicaid reforms.

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.

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.

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.

State budget language adopted by the House Appropriations Committee would delay the expansion of Medicaid and other benefits of the new federal health-care law in Virginia, a statewide group said Wednesday.

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.

The House and Senate are headed in different directions when it comes to repealing Virginia’s “King’s Dominion law,” which generally prevents public schools from opening before Labor Day.

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush is helping promote Gov. Bob McDonnell’s plan to rate Virginia’s schools on an A-through-F grading scale. Bush joined McDonnell in a conference call on Friday to praise the Virginia chief executive’s K-12 education reform agenda.

The Senate today passed a bill to prohibit smoking in a vehicle when a child under 15 is present.

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.

Nearly 100 college students gathered at the state Capitol on Wednesday to advocate for affordable, quality education.

VCU students urged state legislators Wednesday to invest in higher education during Rams Day on the Hill, an annual lobbying event at Capitol Square.

The grassroots-supported “Boneta Bill,” meant to protect farmers’ rights, won overwhelming approval from a House committee on Wednesday and moves on to its first reading in the full House of Delegates on Thursday.

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.”

Supporters of the so-called Boneta Bill, aimed at protecting the rights of farmers, came to Capitol Square wearing pitchfork buttons with stickers that said, “Stay out of grandma’s kitchen.” They lined the wall of a conference room where the House Agriculture Subcommittee met Monday to decide whether to recommend approval of the measure. Virginians in support of the bill and lobbyists against it came from all over the state to share their perspective. After an hour of debate, the subcommittee voted 6-1 in support of the legislation.

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.

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

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.

On the fourth try, the Senate joined the House on Wednesday in approving an $85 billion state budget for the next two years. One Democrat, Sen. Charles Colgan of Manassas, joined all 20 Senate Republicans in voting for the budget bill, HB 1301. The House had approved the measure, 77-19, on Tuesday.

For the third time, the Virginia Senate has refused to compromise on a new state budget, preventing the General Assembly from approving a spending plan for the next two years. The House voted 77-19 on Tuesday in favor of an amended budget bill, HB 1301. But Senate Democrats rejected the measure because it lacks funding for the second phase of the Dulles Rail extension to Loudoun County.

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.

As the state budget inches closer to passage by the General Assembly, the Virginia Department of Transportation is hoping to raise money by selling the naming rights for roads, bridges and highway stretches.

A legislative conference committee soon will begin deliberations to reconcile the House and Senate versions of the state budget, which would take effect July 1. “We are cautiously optimistic that a solid, fiscally prudent budget will emerge from conference and be voted into law within the next few weeks,” House Speaker William J. Howell, R-Stafford, said Tuesday.

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.

The House of Delegates has restored funding for Alicia’s Law, a two-year-old effort targeting sexual abuse of children, after Democrats said Gov. Bob McDonnell’s proposed state budget shortchanged the program. McDonnell planned to transfer $1.3 million from the Internet Crimes Against Children task force, a police unit created by Alicia’s Law, to the state’s general fund. But in a unanimous vote Thursday, the House approved restoration of the ICAC funding.

The House and Senate seem headed in different directions on whether to give businesses relief from the machinery and tools tax levied by local governments. The Senate has passed a bill to give businesses grants to offset the tax on newly purchased equipment for the first two years. Under the latest version of Senate Bill 549, businesses would pay the tax to their city, county or town but then get reimbursed by a state grant. The bill passed last week, 28-12.

In yet another bill that divided Republicans and Democrats, the Virginia Senate on Friday passed legislation to provide tax credits for individuals and businesses that fund scholarships for low- and middle-income students to attend parochial and private schools.

Virginia’s machinery and tools tax, which some businesses see as a burden but local governments view as a critical revenue source, would be slashed under legislation before the General Assembly.

The House this week approved a bill that would freeze localities’ Business, Professional and Occupational Licenses tax rates at their 2011 levels. The measure also would prevent localities that don’t currently levy the tax from imposing it.

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.

For the average person, the sky is no longer the limit, but you just might have to be dead first.
Delegate Terry Kilgore, R-Gate City, is proposing legislation to provide tax breaks to Virginia residents who send their cremated remains into outer space.

Legislators from communities in Prince William County and along the Potomac and Rappahannock rivers will play key roles in determining how the General Assembly crafts a state budget and addresses transportation and other issues during its 2012 session.

Virginia’s state government spends more than $6 million a year on the more than 11,000 cellphones it provides to public employees. But a chunk of that money may be wasted: During a recent six-month period, the state spent almost $1 million on 4,500 unused cellphones – phones that recorded zero minutes.

Virginia officials want a bigger cut when barbers, hair stylists and other beauty professionals get their state licenses. Barbers, cosmetologists and nail technicians now pay $55 for a cosmetology license, which is valid for two years. The state wants to raise that to $140.

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.

Here are the stories we distributed over the past week. Headlines include: “Bicycle Safety Bill to Come ‘Round Again” … “Embrace Multitasking, Journalist Tells Students” … “Nat Turner Trail Hits Roadblock” … “HOV Ramps Relieve Traffic Congestion.”

It looks like the Brunswick Correctional Center will remain empty for a while longer. A budget amendment proposed by Gov. Bob McDonnell to repurpose the prison has stalled in the General Assembly.

During his State of the Commonwealth Address tonight, Gov. Bob McDonnell said job creation is his top priority for the General Assembly’s 2011 session. “Ensuring that good-paying and rewarding jobs are available for our citizens in every community in this commonwealth is the foremost priority of our administration,” McDonnell told legislators.

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell and other Republican leaders want the General Assembly to cut government spending and foster economic development during the legislative session that begins Wednesday.

Delegate Kirk Cox, R-Colonial Heights, dug through the pile of papers on his desk until he found the packet he was looking for. He wanted to review his research one more time before leaving for his party’s caucus meeting. “I’m afraid I’m going to make the wrong motion,” Cox said. “If I move to adjourn the session, then the governor can’t come and make his [State of the Commonwealth] speech. I have to move to recess.”

Delegate Lacey Putney is in no rush. It’s not that he isn’t busy; it’s not that he doesn’t have people waiting for him. Putney is in no rush because as the longest consecutively serving state legislator in America, he can choose to wait.

It’s not often in politics that everybody comes out a winner. But once in a while, it happens. Such was the case in the fight over a freeze on Virginia’s Local Composite Index, which determines how much local taxpayers should contribute toward public education and how much should come from the state.