弗吉尼亚州小档案：
人口：约740万
面积：约105，738平方公里，排名第36位
州府：里奇蒙Richmond
弗吉尼亚州，为纪念英国伊丽莎白女王一世Virgin Queen of England而得名。
1607年开始殖民。1788年6月26日成为美国第10州。以山茱萸花flowering dogwood 为州花。本州别名叫做“老自治领州”Old Dominion。本州箴言是“永远打倒专制的君主”Thus Ever to Tyrants。
州府是里奇蒙Richmond，位于本州中部。市内有弗吉尼亚联邦大学Virginia Commonwealth Univetsity，创于1838年。在商港是诺福克Norfolk，位于乞沙比克湾口。
首都华盛顿由于面积狭小，国防部（俗名五角大楼）就设在波多马克河南岸之弗吉尼亚州内。中间有一座大桥（爱灵顿桥）把两岸连在一起。大厦中央是一个花园，周围五层楼。有好多大门，可以自由进出。这是全世界最大的一座办公大楼。
本州特征有三：第一，这是英国向北美大陆殖民最早之一州。1607年，最早登陆之地是詹姆斯镇。第二，本州内古迹极多。其中最重要的一个，是佛能山Mount Vernon，为华盛顿总统退休后隐居之地。第三，总统出生率最高之州。弗州是8位总统诞生这地。这8位总统是华盛顿、杰佛逊、麦迪生、门罗、哈利生、泰垒、泰勒、威尔逊，其中哈利生及最后两位在其他州内被选出，其余5位，全在弗州之内被选出。
本州轮廓为三角形。由西向东可分四区：（A）最西部是阿帕拉契山地。因为起伏不大，好像高原。（B）弗吉尼亚谷地。事实上它是阿帕拉契从谷，其中包括许多较低有平行岭谷，历史上著名的申南多亚谷Shenandoah Valley也在内。（C）中部是山麓高原。范围宽度，是本州主要农业区。（D）东部低平，是沿海平原。本州有一半以上的地面有天然森林。
Introduction简介
You will often hear our state called the Commonwealth of Virginia．This does not mean Virginia has a different form of government than any other state．“Commonwealth”is defined by Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary（大学字典）as a political unit or government（1）“founded on law and united by compact or tacit（默许的）agreement of the people for the common good，”or（2）“one in which supreme authority is vested in the people．”Using these definitions，it could be said that all 50states，as well as our national government，are commonwealths．Besides Virginia，three other states—Kentucky，Massachusetts and Pennsylvania—use the term commonwealth as part of their official names．
The first use of commonwealth in Virginia was early in its history．One reason given by Governor Sir George Yeardley for authorizing the first General Assembly meeting at Jamestown in 1619was “for the better establishing of a commonwealth here”．
From 1649to 1660，England and Virginia did not have a king．Instead，the Puritans ruled under a Lord Protector，Oliver Cromwell．The government was called the Commonwealth of England．This commonwealth ended when King Charles II reclaimed the throne（王座，君主）in 1660．
In colonial times，Virginia was officially known as the Colony and Dominion of Virginia．When the 13colonies broke ties with the British Crown during the Revolution，the old name was no longer suitable．The delegates to the convention in Williamsburg，when the first Constitution of Virginia was adopted on June 29，1776，used commonwealth as the name for the new form of government．It is very likely they had in mind the Puritans’rebellion（谋反，叛乱）against the Crown in England over 100years earlier．Pennsylvania and Massachusetts also chose to be called commonwealths after independence from Great Britain．The other 10former colonies took the name “state，”the term used in the Declaration of Independence．
Kentucky was once part of Virginia．When Kentuckians joined the Union as the 15th state in 1792，it kept the name commonwealth．
There are several other uses of the word “commonwealth”in the world today：
The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico（波多黎各）is not a state，but a territory．In this case，commonwealth refers to the free association with the United States chosen by the Puerto Rican people．
The Commonwealth of Nations is a voluntary association of Great Britain and about 50countries that were once part of the British Empire．Some of these nations，including Australia，Canada，New Zealand，the Bahamas（巴哈马群岛），Jamaica（牙买加）and other Caribbean（加勒比海）islands，still recognize the British monarch as their official head of state．
After the breakup of the Soviet Union，Russia and other former Soviet republics formed the Commonwealth of Independent States，a loose alliance set up to handle certain matters of mutual interest among these newly independent countries．
Governor州长
2006年1月14日Tim Kaine当选为弗吉尼亚州第70任州长。在竞选中，他提出了4条改善人们生活质量的原则：提高教育质量、解决交通问题、创造就业机会和辅助地方政府更好为人民服务。这些都是与民众息息相关，并且是很有实际意义的方面，所以在大选中，他获得了民众的广泛支持，成为本州州长。
Tim Kaine was inaugurated as the 70th Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia on January 14，2006．
His successful campaign emphasized four principles to improve Virginia’s quality of life：raising the bar for public education from competence（能力）to excellence；finding common－sense solutions to Virginia’s transportation challenges；creating jobs in every part of the state；and giving local governments better tools to serve their citizens．
An experienced leader whose public service career has focused on strong values and expanding opportunity for families，Governor Kaine grew up in the suburbs of Kansas City，working in his father’s iron working and welding shop．While in law school，he took a year off to work as a Christian missionary（传教士），serving as principal of a vocational and technical school in a small village in Honduras（洪都拉斯（拉丁美洲国家））．Prior to his election as Governor，Kaine was elected Lieutenant Governor in 2001，having previously served four terms on the Richmond City Council，including two terms as Mayor．
While City Councilman（议员，市议会议员）and Mayor of Richmond，Kaine improved the city’s business climate，cutting taxes and enhancing services．Over 76，000jobs were created in the metro（伦敦地下铁道，地下铁道）Richmond area during his tenure．He built the city’s first new schools in a generation，without raising taxes．Kaine was also a leader in implementing Project Exile，an award－winning crime－fighting strategy that helped cut the homicide（杀人）rate in half and won support from both the NRA and gun safety organizations．Under Kaine’s leadership，Richmond became one of the 10best cities in America to do business，according to Forbes magazine（《财富（福布斯）》杂志）．
As Lt．Governor，Tim Kaine worked with Governor Mark Warner to make unprecedented（空前的）state spending cuts，including a 30％cut to his own salary．He was also a leader in the 2004effort to reform Virginia’s budget and fully－funded public schools for the first time in a decade．Kaine also began an effort—and is continuing it as Governor—to create a new public university in Southside，the only region of Virginia that lacks a four－year college．
