After a long period of dormancy in Mecklenburg County Circuit Court, the long-running tax dispute between politically  connected company Star Scientific and the state has been set for trial in December. Read about it here.

Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Roanoke County, is reintroducing a bill to reform how federal agencies regulate business and the environment.

The bill would require agencies follow the lowest cost rulemaking alternative available and give advance notice of proposed major rulemaking efforts to increase public input. It also seeks to boost  judicial review of new regulations..

“America’s job creators are being buried under an avalanche of federal regulations … this this has a devastating impact on our national economy,” Goodlatte said. “If we are to grow our economy and get more Americans back to work, Washington must get out of the way. “

Richmond commonwealth’s attorney Mike Herring is looking into gifts to Gov. Bob McDonnell in an investigation requested by Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli. The story is here.

Cuccinelli sent a letter last November to Richmond Commonwealth’s Attorney Michael Herring appointing him to review McDonnell’s statements of economic interest, on which state officials are required to disclose gifts and investments.

Cuccinelli himself neglected to disclose gifts from Star Scientific CEO Jonnie Williams, whose company is disputing a $1.7 million tax bill from the state, as well as his investments in the company, including one made after Star sued the state.

Lewis Medlin says he is seeking the Democratic normination to challenge Terry Austin for the 19th district House of Delegates seat. The story is here.

Remembering gifts, if you’re a politician, seems to tougher than for the rest of us, even if we struggle to recall if it was Aunt Anita or Uncle Reuben who gets the thank you note for that warm sweater.

Del. Kathy Byron, R-Campbell County, is among the latest politicians to recollect a gift that needed to be declared in their annual conflict of interests form – in her case, a $7,800 trip to Taiwan, courtesy of that nation’s government.

Earlier this year, of course, Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli had to revise his declaration to take account of two stays at Star Scientific CEO Jonnie Williams’ Smith Mountain Lake mansion, one of them several months after Star sued the state, seeking to overturn a $1.7 million tax bill, as well as a flight to New York on Williams. And Gov. Bob McDonnell has argued a $15,000 check from Williams for catering at McDonnell’s daughter’s wedding wasn’t really a gift to him.

Virginia law requires disclosure of gifts and investments (including those in Star Scientific stock that Cuccinelli also initially forget to report) so that citizens can weigh whether there’s a risk that officials might have conflicts of interests. Other states set limits on who can give how much to a public official (or to their campaign funds, for that matter).

Anyway, Blue Ridge Caucus got curious about exactly what big gifts (we used a $500 threshold) our legislators got. Here’s the rundown:

Del. Kathy Byron, R-Campbell, $7,800 for that trip to Taiwan, plus $1,120 from the American Legislative Exchange Council, a conservative advocacy group, to attend a technology meeting and $996 from Dominion Resources for lodging at last year’s GOP convention.

Sen. Bill Carrico, R-Grayson County, $4,000 from Taiwan for a trip there, $1,600 from Sea World for a tour and tickets, $1,400 from the National Governors Association to tour charter schools in New Orleans, $674 from Alpha Natural Resources for a photo and meal.

Sen Creigh Deeds, D-Bath County, $1,680 from the University of Virginia for a reception at a football game.

Del. Greg Habeeb, R-Salem, $1,972 from the Virginia Automobile Dealers Association to attend its annual meeting in Florida, $736 from the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association to attend its annual meeting at The Greenbrier and $500 worth of Lane Stadium tickets from Virginia Tech.

Del. Chris Head, R-Botetourt County, $602 from the Virginia Coal Association for a trip to learn about coal, railroads and power.

Sen. Bill Stanley, R-Franklin County, $939 from Dominion Resources (owner of the state’s biggest power company) to attend a sporting event.

Del. Joseph Yost, R-Blacksburg, $554 from the Virginia Coal Association for a trip to learn about coal, railroads and power.

Be interesting to see some of those thank you notes, wouldn’t it?

Well, it took a while, but we finally have word: There is no written or electronic correspondence between Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli and the gift-giving CEO of Star Scientific, Jonnie Williams, to be found in Cuccinelli’s office.

Nor are there any notes or memoranda to be found from any conversation he had with Williams. It was just yesterday that he acknowledged Williams had talked to him about Star’s long-running, $1.7 million tax dispute with the state. That happened before Star filed a lawsuit, Cuccinelli said he never took any action and that he never discussed the lawsuit itself. Here‘s that story.

Also, there is no record to be found of any correspondence between Cuccinelli and Gov. Bob McDonnell about Star’s tax woes.

It took a couple of FOIA requests, and a response that an initial, broader request for records would likely cost more than $14,000 with most of any such records likely to be protected by attorney-client privilege. Our latest request took an hour (we helped by sharing Williams’ corporate email address) and took $35 worth of a legal assistant’s time. The Office waived the charge. It did say our request for records that might be held in Cuccinelli’s office about the Star stock he purchased, including after Star sued the state, or with his family about their two stays at Williams’ Smith Mountain Lake home were personal, not public.

Williams gave gifts worth $35,000 to Cuccinelli and McDonnell after their election, while Star made $79,000 of donations to McDonnell’s political action committee after the election.

There’s been no action in Star’s lawsuit seeking to overturn its $1.7 million-and-growing tax bill in nearly two years. The bill dates back 11 years, by the way. The only thing the state has told the court is that Star’s view that the assessment is in error is a matter of a legal opinion to which no response is necessary.

Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli says he did, in fact, talk with Star Scientific CEO Jonnie Williams about the company’s tax dispute with the state. The story is here.

Earlier coverage is here.

Anti-uranium groups press gubernatorial candidates to say where they stand on the issue. The story is here.

Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli tells his staff to stop saying he’s not subject to Virginia’s Freedom of Information Act. The story is here. What the staff had been saying is here.

Only a handful of Roanokers took up city council’s invitation to share views on a proposed 28.5 percent pay increase for council members and a 15 percent hike for the mayor. The story is here.