Va senator gets ride home to sick wife

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Sen. Harry Blevins got a state-funded helicopter ride from Richmond to his ailing wife's side at a Chesapeake hospital after rushing back to the Capitol where his vote helped ensure passage of the state budget.

Virginia State Police spokeswoman Corinne Geller says an agency helicopter took Blevins from the VCU Medical Center's rooftop helipad in Richmond to the helipad of the Chesapeake hospital where his wife had been rushed earlier in the day.

She says the 1.8-hour round trip flight cost $1,530.

Blevins had left Richmond driving home on Wednesday when fellow Senate Republicans summoned him back for a surprise budget vote after one Democrat dropped his opposition, allowing the stalled bill to pass.

A spokesman for Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell says the governor's office authorized the flight.