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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

In brief: Governor returns $120,000 in loans

From Wire Reports

Richmond, Va. – Gov. Bob McDonnell said Tuesday he has repaid a major political donor more than $120,000 in loans to the governor’s wife and a business McDonnell owns with his sister.

McDonnell’s relationship and thousands of dollars in gifts he and his family received from the donor, Jonnie Williams, are at the center of state and federal investigations. No charges have been filed and the Republican governor has said he did nothing illegal.

With less than six months remaining on his term, the governor issued an extraordinary apology for his ties to Williams, the chief executive of troubled nutritional supplements maker Star Scientific Inc.

“I am deeply sorry for the embarrassment certain members of my family and I brought upon my beloved Virginia and her citizens,” the governor said in a statement.

Cyclist pleads guilty to manslaughter

San Francisco – A bicyclist who struck and killed an elderly pedestrian in a busy intersection here has pleaded guilty to felony vehicular manslaughter but will avoid a prison sentence, District Attorney George Gascon said Tuesday.

Chris Bucchere, a 37-year-old software engineer, was heading south on Castro Street on March 29, 2012, at the end of his twice-weekly ride to the Marin Headlands. But when he reached Market Street, the intersection was filled with pedestrians and he allegedly was moving too fast to stop.

He struck Sutchi Hui, 71, who was walking with his wife. Hui was rushed to a hospital, where he died of blunt-force trauma injuries four days later.

The plea agreement was reached Thursday, Gascon said, but his office did not make it public at that time out of respect for Hui’s family, which wanted to avoid the media interest generated by the elderly man’s death.

“I believe justice has been served,” Gascon told reporters. “Mr. Bucchere has been held accountable to a level that’s historic in the state. His conduct was egregious. He will be providing 1,000 hours of community service. We hope many of those hours are spent talking about traffic safety.”