Virginia News Headlines: Thursday Morning

Here are a few Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Thursday, December 29. Also, break out the popcorn, as Jon Huntsman rips into Ron Paul in a new ad in New Hampshire. *A deeper shade of purple *Wealthy businessman drops out of Va. senate race *Coal, labor boosted their spending on Va. elections *McDonnell does not support shifting transportation costs to localities *Coast Guard to study the future of Atlantic traffic and wind farms *Effort made to get more GOP hopefuls on Virginia primary ballot *Virginia: If it's wrong to exclude Gingrich and Perry, can they get on ballot? *In Virginia, Kaine, Allen in dead heat for Senate *Exit interview, Part I: Senate candidate Tim Donner withdraws from race *Tax will increase commuter costs, could jam area roads *Too dense to get on Virginia ballot, but you want to be prez? *Mackowiak: The Political Winners of 2011 *In Washington area, African American students suspended and expelled two to five times as often as whites *Suspect in slashings flees to Peru