Pat Bradley

The ongoing investigation into the overtime charged by a former Vermont State Police trooper has found that he wrote 973 traffic tickets over 12 years that were never given to a motorist or filed with the court.

That conclusion is among the latest findings in an investigation into alleged time-sheet padding by Sgt. Jim Deeghan, a former state police patrol commander in Chittenden County.

The details were in an affidavit filed by Detective Lt. Robert Cushing, who is investigating Deeghan's overtime practices.

The Vermont man who lost the state's Republican primary to run for the U.S. Senate is asking a court to strike President Barack Obama's name from the state's November election ballot.

The lawsuit by H. Brooke Paige, of the town of Washington, claims Obama is "not a natural born citizen" because both of his parents were not born in the United States.

Obama was born in Hawaii and he is a United States citizen.

A Toronto-based airline is expanding its seasonal service to Vermont during the ski season this winter.

Porter Airlines will offer four round trip flights weekly between Toronto and Burlington starting on Dec. 15, up from two weekly flights last season.

Governor Peter Shumlin and state officials announced the renewed partnership on Tuesday at the Burlington International Airport.

The flights will be offered on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

A Vermont judge has ruled that Martha Abbott is the winner of the Progressive Party primary election for governor.

Abbott has withdrawn and won't run in the general election. But under Vermont law, that doesn't throw the race to the second-place finisher, write-in candidate Annette Smith.

Washington Superior Court Judge Robert Bent's ruling says Smith and her team pointed out a small number of vote-counting irregularities. But the judge ruled those would not be enough to change the outcome.

The final tally stands at Abbott 381, Smith 340.

The seasons, and the foliage, is changing.  Tourism officials are optimistic that the fall color will help make up for losses last year.

Last autumn, Vermont and northern New York were recovering from Tropical Storm Irene. Publicity kept some leaf-peepers away, and many businesses are hoping for a rebound this year.  Vermont Department of Tourism And Marketing Commissioner Megan Smith says fall foliage is a crucial season for the state’s economy.

Vermont officials are celebrating the completion of a $1.2 million expansion at the Plainfield Health Center.

On Monday, the health center unveiled its new facilities, which will house more mental health services — including psychiatrists — space for yoga classes and to store a mobile dental program.

The 5,000-square-foot building was paid for by $988,000 federal stimulus funding and about $200,000 raised locally.

Vermonters may soon know more about two new political action committees that are trying to influence election outcomes here.

The Republican-oriented group Vermonters First had pumped $70,000 into independent ads supporting auditor candidate Vince Illuzzi and treasurer candidate Wendy Wilton as of last week.

Meanwhile, the liberal PAC Vermont Priorities has been raising money and also is hoping to have an impact this election season.

The once-lauded roundabout that was built in downtown Winooski as part of one of Vermont's most ambitious downtown redevelopment projects now has the distinction of being the most crash-prone intersections in the state.

Traffic planners and local officials say that among the roundabout's challenges are that it is unusually large, has several side streets entering it and has pedestrian stop lights.

The Caledonia County Sheriff's Department and St. Johnsbury Police Department are going to teach young Vermont drivers about the dangers of distracted driving.

The departments have been awarded an educational grant through Vermont Governor's Highway Safety Program and The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Over the next year, the two departments will develop and carry out a distracted driver program in Caledonia County high schools.

A Vermont judge says a recount has confirmed the original results of Progressive Party gubernatorial primary.

Washington County Superior Court Judge Robert Bent said in court Monday that the recount found that Party Chairwoman Martha Abbott received 381 votes while her write-in challenger Annette Smith received 340.

It took all of Thursday and half of Friday for Vermont county clerks to tabulate ballots of the fewer than 1,000 Vermonters who voted in the Progressive primary on Aug. 28.