John W. Forbes II, state secretary of finance under former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to federal wire fraud charges. It is by far the biggest scandal involving a state cabinet-level official in years. The case also raises questions about a state entity that is supposed to use money obtained in a massive 1998 lawsuit settlement against four major tobacco companies for the public good. ... Jump to full article >>

Virginia banned smoking in most restaurants a month ago — and not all of them mind. North Carolina follows suit. The changing face of the Old Dominion can be seen in the stuff Jimmy Cirrito sweeps up off the floor of his bar every night. It used to be cigarette butts — now it’s gum. “I got Nicorette and Bubblicious and green and yellow and purple. It looks like a circus down there,” said Cirrito, owner of Jimmy̵ ... Jump to full article >>

The smoking ban that takes effect in Virginia restaurants today resulted from “an accidental stroke of genius” on his part, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine said Monday. The General Assembly approved the ban on smoking in most restaurants after several key legislators had voted against a Kaine-proposed tax on cigarettes last winter. The tax proposal itself was just a political maneuver, Kaine told The News & Advance’s editorial board Monday. He ... Jump to full article >>

The District was first to clear the ashtrays from its taverns in 2007. Maryland pushed its smokers outside not long after, in 2008. And on Tuesday, so goes Virginia. The march of smoking bans in bars and restaurants across the region has made lighting up while dining out a practical impossibility for many people. And Virginia’s ban — which kicks in Tuesday — leaves the Washington area with a only a handful of venues where a cu ... Jump to full article >>

Although many people suggest that life was easier in the past without all those gadgets, I think that the dramatic technical progress in the past decade provided a whole new world of pleasant options for web users. For instance, now we are able to communicate with our friends from other countries; we can check our bank accounts via e-banking services; we are able to pay bills from home and, one of the most pleasant things, is that now we can buy ... Jump to full article >>