The VLW Blog

Gov. Tim Kaine appointed retiring Del. Ken Melvin, D-Portsmouth, today to the Portsmouth Circuit Court effective May 1.
The appointment had been expected after the 12-term legislator announced his retirement earlier this year.
Melvin, 56, is a sole practitioners specializing in criminal and personal injury law.
A member of the Courts of Justice, Finance and Commerce and Labor [...]

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Gov. Tim Kaine is proposing amendments to legislation that would make sure that the state gets $125 million in unemployment money from the federal stimulus package.
The state already has received $62.5 million as part of the unemployment modernization program regulated by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, but state law needs to be changed to [...]

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Del. Franklin P. Hall, D-Richmond, announced his retirement today after 34 years in the General Assembly, and Gov. Timothy M. Kaine promptly appointed him to the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission.
Hall, 70, served as House minority leader from 2002-2008, and is the senior member of the Rules, Joint House and Senate Rules and Counties, cities [...]

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Gov. Tim Kaine has vetoed a handful of bills from this year’s General Assembly session aimed at increasing the scope of Virginia’s death penalty.  In particular, the governor has refused to sign legislation that would modify Virginia’s “triggerman” rule to make accessories and principals in the second degree eligible for the death penalty in certain [...]

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Gov. Timothy M. Kaine has named Mark E. Rubin as counselor to the governor effective today.
Rubin has served as senior advisor and deputy counselor to the governor since Kaine took office in 2005. He replaces Larry Roberts, who is resigning to take a position as senior advisor to the chairman of the Democratic National Committee.
In [...]

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Gov. Kaine and legislative leaders are announcing what they call a “landmark agreement” to pass a statewide smoking ban in Virginia’s bars and restaurants.  The only exceptions, they say, are for private clubs and for restaurants with independently-ventilated smoking rooms.
The measure apparently is a done deal.  Kaine says that he “worked with legislative leaders [...]

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Gov. Timothy M. Kaine cancelled a governor’s mansion reception when he discovered it was being advertised as a fundraiser for a political group.
According to the Washington Post, a political action committee formed to help Democratic women seek elected office asked for donations from $25 to $1,000. The solicitation, posted on a liberal fundraising Web site, invited people [...]

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Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine has been named to chair the Democratic National Committee, a job he will hold on a part time basis until he completes his term as governor in 2010.  The position puts Kaine in the national spotlight but also may expose him to home state GOP criticism, reports The Washington Post.
The [...]

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The judicial system appears to have escaped unscathed from the latest round of budget cuts announced today by Gov. Tim Kaine.
Kaine did not mention the court system in his remarks to the legislative money committees, and a quick check of the budget adjustments released at the time of the speech did not disclose any significant [...]

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In this Monday’s edition of Virginia Lawyers Weekly, our Alan Cooper reported that Gov. Tim Kaine was preparing to name several judges to the circuit bench in Norfolk.
Today’s the day: The governor, according to a release from his office, has appointed three men – a General District Judge, a J&DR judge and a commonwealth’s attorney [...]

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