If see you a trolley winding through Carytown, the Museum District or the West End of Richmond today, wave to William K. Grogan . The independent candidate for the 68th District seat in the House of Delegates will conduct a “Whistle Stop Tour” today, starting at 1 p.m. at First Baptist Church at Monument Avenue and Boulevard. People are invited to board there around 12:45 p.m., or to hop on at a stop along the way.

Elliott Gov. Timothy M. Kaine has delayed from Oct. 5 to Nov. 17 the execution of a former Army intelligence officer from Maryland in the 2001 murders of a Dale City couple. Kaine said he needs more time to study the man’s clemency petition. Larry Bill Elliott, 59, was convicted of capital murder in the slaying of Dana Thrall, 25, and of first-degree murder in the killing of Robert Finch, 30. Both were shot in their town house in January 2001.

Del. Phillip A. Hamilton, R-Newport News, yesterday disputed an internal audit at Old Dominion University showing that he may not have earned the $40,000 a year that the school paid him for a job he helped create. The embattled Hamilton said in a news release that he has the documentation to prove “I performed every task requested of me, providing substantive and substantial value for my compensation.“

If see you a trolley winding through Carytown, the Museum District or the West End of Richmond tomorrow, William K. Grogan will probably be aboard.

Virginia election officials are gearing up for the start of absentee voting.

The second debate between Democrat R. Creigh Deeds and Republican Bob McDonnell featured the most pointed and prickly exchanges between the candidates to date. The debate came as a new poll showed the race about even.

Columnist Jeff Schapiro says Northrop Grumman’s political donations are ramping up after heads rolled at the Virginia Information Technologies Agency.

The Republican incumbent in a hotly contested House of Delegates race in Henrico County is rejecting charges by his challenger that he opposes emergency contraceptives for rape victims. “That my opponent continues to make false claims about my record is disappointing,“ said Del. John M. O’Bannon III, R-Henrico. He is seeking a sixth term in the 73rd District, which includes portions of Henrico and Richmond.

About 200 temporary and wage workers are being let go to save $2.3 million. The Virginia State Police will absorb the brunt of the part-time cuts with a reduction of 104 non-sworn employees.

Democrat Creigh Deeds and Republican Bob McDonnell are looking to this morning’s debate as a chance to to sharpen distinctions in a race shaped, so far, by national crosscurrents.

Democratic attorney general nominee Stephen C. Shannon, a delegate from Fairfax County, cited the employment controversy involving a state lawmaker yesterday while pitching his plan to strengthen government accountability. He also dinged his opponent for not calling on the lawmaker to resign. But Republican nominee Ken Cuccinelli, a state senator from Fairfax County, shot back, saying: “This is a pure political stunt on his part.“

Jody M. Wagner, the Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor, is accusing her Republican opponent, Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, of being AWOL on state business. Wagner says that of five state commissions the lieutenant governor is mandated by statute to serve on, Bolling attended only four meetings during his four years as lieutenant governor.

Job cuts included in the budget reductions that Gov. Timothy M. Kaine proposed last week don’t stop with the layoffs of 593 full-time workers. About 200 temporary and hourly wage employees who work for the state also will lose their jobs, according to budget documents and administration officials. They are office workers, data clerks, landscapers, bus drivers, janitors and teaching assistants who supplement the state’s full-time work force.

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine is admonishing the state government’s top techies to stick to the rules for making changes in Virginia’s giant contract with Northrop Grumman for computer services. Wayne Turnage, Kaine’s chief of staff, issued the warning in an e-mail this week to the state’s new computer chief, George F. Coulter, and other senior officials of the information-technology bureaucracy.

Virginia’s congressional delegation was silent yesterday on the health-care overhaul plan of the Senate Finance Committee as it awaited a closer look at the proposal. A spokesman for Rep. Eric I. Cantor, R-7th, the No. 2 Republican in the House, noted that the Senate Finance Committee has not voted on the bill. The House of Representatives is not likely to vote until after the Senate votes, Cantor spokesman John Murray said. He also noted that the House has voted on bills in two committees.

Virginia’s gubernatorial candidates are looking to tomorrow’s debate in Northern Virginia as another opportunity to sharpen distinctions in a race shaped, so far, by national crosscurrents.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch has arranged live video chats with both gubernatorial candidates.

Democrat Creigh Deeds is looking to tomorrow’s gubernatorial debate in Northern Virginia as another opportunity to sharpen distinctions between himself and Republican Bob McDonnell. According to Deeds strategist Mo Elleithee, the candidate—still lagging in the published polls—expects to spend a “significant amount of time talking about Bob McDonnell.“

Charlie Diradour had a rocky start in his quest to unseat the No. 2 Republican in the House of Representatives, Eric I. Cantor, R-7th. In the course of his first day on the campaign, the Richmond business owner acknowledged that he doesn’t live in the district—which is not required—and amended details of his criticism about Cantor’s conduct during President Barack Obama’s health-care speech to a joint session of Congress.

Democratic gubernatorial nominee R. Creigh Deeds outraised Republican nominee Bob McDonnell in July and August, but McDonnell entered the final two months of the campaign with a clear financial advantage, campaign reports show. McDonnell had $5.8 million in the bank Aug. 31, while Deeds had about $4.4 million, the campaigns reported yesterday.

Another poll shows Bob McDonnell ahead of R. Creigh Deeds for governor—this one, however, by 5 percentage points—with Deeds getting a boost among fellow Democrats from the fallout over McDonnell’s controversial law-school thesis. The Republican apparently leads Deeds, 42 percent to 37 percent, and 20 percent are undecided, according to Clarus Research Group, a nonpartisan polling firm in Washington led by Ronald A. Faucheux, former publisher and editor of Campaigns & Elections magazine.

Both candidates for Virginia governor pledged yesterday that they would not reduce the state’s current level of contribution to the retirement benefits of state employees. Last week, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine said the state would defer its quarterly employer contribution to workers’ pensions in the Virginia Retirement System for the last quarter of fiscal 2010. The move is part of a wide-ranging effort to close an anticipated $1.35 billion revenue shortfall in the state budget.

Cantor campaign says it was “outrageous lie” for Charlie Diradour to allege the Republican whip sent Twitter messages during President Obama’s speech to Congress on health care.

A Richmond businessman this morning launched his bid to unseat House Republican Whip Eric I. Cantor with a stinging attack on Cantor’s conduct.

The National Rifle Association yesterday reversed its stance of four years ago and endorsed Republican Bob McDonnell over Democrat R. Creigh Deeds in the race for governor.

As Virginia again braces for budget cuts, Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling is trying to make the past of Jody Wagner, his Democratic opponent in the November election, come back to haunt her.

Bradley Rees, a candidate for the Republican nomination to run for Congress from the 5th District in 2010, was convicted Wednesday of illegally possessing concealed weapons.

Virginia’s new computer chief is cleaning house, dumping top managers and reorganizing his troubled agency.

Democrat R. Creigh Deeds isn’t quite running for Virginia governor. It’s more a trot. Republican Bob McDonnell prefers a stroll.

State legislatures around the country are becoming older and more diverse, a recent study by the National Conference of State Legislatures has found.