Barve leads state's push to lure high-tech firms. (Kumar Barve, state delegate heads Science and Technology subcommittee)

Kumar Barve barely has time for lunch these days.

On a recent afternoon, Barve rushed into his corner office in the state House of Delegates Office Building after a short meeting he squeezed into his schedule. He apologetically asked his secretary to get him a sandwich, then collapsed into a chair behind his cluttered desk.

People wandered into Barve's office seeking a few minutes of his time. Some waited, and others promised to catch him later in the day.

The frenetic schedule is the rule rather than the exception for Barve during this year's General Assembly.

A Democrat in his second consecutive term as a delegate, Barve is chairman of the …