For my current contribution to the Bacon’s Rebellion e-zine, I interviewed Patrick Gottschalk, Tim Kaine’s secretary for commerce and trade. Kaine campaigned for governor promising continuity with the Warner administration, and that’s clearly what we’re getting. But there are some new wrinkles.

First, the Kaine administration is tackling a problem that confounded both the Gilmore and Warner administrations: streamlining Virginia’s redundant and tangled workforce training programs. Kaine has appointed Daniel LeBlanc as a senior advisor with cabinet-level status in charge of workforce development. (After all the hoo-ha regarding LeBlanc’s rejection by conservatives in the House of Delegates as Secretary of Commonwealth, did the MSM ever report this? If so, the story was buried.)

Second, following up on legislation enacted this year, the Kaine administration will be conducting a 10-year comprehensive energy plan to address off-shore drilling for natural gas, as well as alternate and renewable energy sources such as solar energy, biofuels and tidally generated power. Read the full story here.