New England News

Six hundred cyclists are heading to New Hampshire to compete in the annual Mount Washington Auto Road Bicycle Hillclimb.

Saturday's race is a grueling 7.6 mile climb up the highest mountain in the northeastern United States. The men's record stands at 49 minutes, 24 seconds. The women's is 58 minutes, 14 seconds.

The race is so popular with hardcore cyclists that registration was filled within four days of opening in February. Riders pay a $350 entry fee and raise donations for the Tin Mountain Conservation Center in Albany, N.H.

Vermont general fund state revenues for July came in at a more than 6 percent better clip this year than in July of 2011, but fell slightly short of the forecast.

The general fund took in more than $92 million for the month, which lagged behind the forecast issued by two economists working for the state by a bit less than 1 percent.

The owners of a western Massachusetts bean sprout farm are in trouble again for allegedly allowing their workers to live in substandard homes.

Twenty-two workers and their families were forced to find new homes last week after state and local health officials condemned and closed farm camps in Whately and Deerfield.

The state Public Health Department has sued Sidney Chang, Rose C. Chang and Tso-Cheng Chang of the Chang Family Trust for failing to meet sanitary and housing code.

A lawyer for a group that promotes the rights of gays and lesbians says a pastor's conviction in Vermont reinforces the rights of same-sex parents.

Kenneth Miller, a Virginia pastor, was convicted Tuesday for helping a woman flee the country with her daughter in 2009 so she wouldn't have to share custody with her ex-partner, who lives in Vermont.

Gregory Nevins of Lambda Legal says an acquittal could have been a "green light" for people fighting same-sex custody battles to move to states that would support their positions.