Virginia went back to the bond market yesterday, buoyed by the success last week of state and local government bond sales for public projects.

RICHMOND — Reading the writing on the wall, Virginia’s Board of Education said Thursday that it would not ask the cash-strapped General Assembly for more money for the Standards of Quality, a guide for what constitutes a basic education.

FREDERICKSBURG — The hole is even deeper than expected.

Del. Brian J. Moran is poised to collect endorsements for governor from the highest echelons of the state Democratic Party, while presumed rival Terry McAuliffe is being backed by one of Virginia’s biggest political check-writers.

The only real fight for a spot on the 2009 Republican ticket — the contest for the attorney general’s nomination — is now a three-way affair.

McAuliffe told The Associated Press he set up a campaign committee and will tour Virginia for the next 60 days before making his candidacy certain.

Friday morning update; Perriello holds on to 648 vote lead.

Democrat Mark Warner defeated fellow former governor Jim Gilmore in Tuesday’s contest to represent Virginia in the Senate, giving Democrats control of both Virginia Senate seats for the first time since 1970.

AP calls Virginia for Obama

Both The Associated Press and Fox News Channel are calling Obama the winner in Virginia. Obama becomes first Democrat to win the state in a presidential election since LBJ in 1964.

Rep. Virgil Goode was endorsed today by former Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger.

Virginia, a swing state that hasn’t backed a Democrat for president since Lyndon Johnson, is favoring Barack Obama slightly over John McCain, according to an Associated Press-GfK poll

LOCAL UPDATE: Proposed budget cuts call for a 10 percent reduction in the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research’s budget along with closing the Chatham Diversion Center - costing 20 jobs. The Virginia Museum of Natural History in Martinsville has been asked to cut its current budget by 10 percent.

McCain, Obama discuss economy

Biden, Palin debate tax plans, economic prescriptions; Iraq also topic

As the nation pauses to mark the seventh anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the spotlight from a presidential campaign and a new memorial at the Pentagon are joining the familiar rituals of remembrance on this solemn day.

Unwed daughter’s pregnancy, legal affairs at home spotlighted

Senate candidate and former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner is scheduled to deliver the Tuesday night keynote address at this year’s Democratic National Convention — the same role that launched Barack Obama to national prominence four years ago.

McCain’s tax breaks would favor the rich, and Obama’s would favor the poor

Candidates seem unfazed, still tout tax cuts, federal programs

Media General’s series on the 2008 presidential campaign continues with a look at the candidates’ positions on energy-related issues, including gas prices and global warming.

Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates yesterday said Lt. Gen. Ann E. Dunwoody has been nominated for the grade of general and assignment as the commander of the Army’s Materiel Command.

Corn, soybean damage affects meat industries

The House narrowly defeated yesterday a Democratic attempt to give unemployed Americans an extra three months of jobless benefits after the White House threatened to veto the bill. Democratic leaders said they will bring the bill back for a second vote today.

Sen. Edward Kennedy is expected to be released from the hospital a week after undergoing surgery in North Carolina for brain cancer.

Obama plans a town hall event Thursday in Bristol, on the edge of the Southwest Virginia coalfields. He then is to host a rally at the Nissan Pavilion, which holds 25,000 people, in suburban Prince William County, 35 miles from Washington.  See live streaming video beginning at approximately 11:45 a.m..

A flurry of campaigning during the next few days is spotlighting the state’s position on the electoral map.

Latest farm bill gave them more time to press bias cases

Barack Obama effectively clinched the Democratic presidential nomination Tuesday, based on an Associated Press tally of convention delegates.

Population growth, drought and climate change can stress future water supplies, according to people attending a water-use forum in Richmond.

Meanwhile, state party’s finance chairman resigns after change in leadership