Virginia treats marijuana possession more harshly than many other states, handing down years-long prison sentences to people arrested with small amounts of the substance. Neighboring states have decriminalized marijuana or approved it for medicinal uses, but Virginia legislators this year hardly gave serious consideration to such ideas.

The General Assembly last week upheld all six of Gov. Bob McDonnell’s vetoed bills, including one that would have increased fines on Virginia residents with out-of-state license plates.

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.

At the start of the 2012 legislative session, momentum was building for the General Assembly to repeal Virginia’s so-called “Kings Dominion law,” which prohibits public schools from opening before Labor Day without special permission. Legislators had filed 13 bills to rescind the law and let local school boards decide when classes would start. Even Gov. Bob McDonnell weighed in, saying the current restrictions should be lifted.

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.

Virginia police and pharmacists are backing a bill aimed at curbing the production of methamphetamine by electronically monitoring the sales of nonprescription drugs, like pseudoephedrine, used to manufacture the illegal stimulant.

Virginia students will learn the benefits and dangers of the Internet and other technology, and may be drawn to math and science careers, thanks to an online program being offered free to the state’s schools.

Leaders of the African-American religious communities have joined forces with the Occupy Wall Street movement in order to bring new focus and organization to the national movement protesting economic inequality.