Current News

Vermont Business Magazine This weekly report is a list of planned construction activities that will affect traffic on state highways and interstates throughout Vermont for the week of June 15, 2026. Please remember to drive safely in all work zones. Lives depend on it.  

by Alison Despathy This past legislative session, Vermonters for a Clean Environment (VCE) participated in the development of a responsible data center bill, H.727. Despite these efforts, Governor Scott's veto of the bill was justified due to the Senate's massive fumble. Most are well aware that data centers are wreaking havoc throughout the country: guzzling power, contaminating water and land, destroying aquifers, causing droughts, increasing electric rates, disrupting neighbors and communities with infrasound and radiofrequency radiation pollution.

Kevin Chu, et al Not someday. Not in some distant future. Now. We are aging, shrinking, and pricing out our own children, workers, and entrepreneurs. Schools face consolidation, taxes are climbing, and employers struggle to fill jobs. We’re too dependent on federal funding to support spending. A severe housing shortage is driving up prices, slowing economic growth, and leaves young people feeling forced out. And still, we act as if staying the course is a viable option. It is not. It only gets worse from here if nothing changes.

by Gregory Banse, Vermont Frames The year 1976 was filled with historic events, the most noteworthy being the 200 th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. It was also the year Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak launched their first product, the Apple I, bringing computer technology to everyday consumers. NASA’s Viking 1 became the first spacecraft to successfully land on Mars, transmitting the first color photographs of the Martian surface, and the supersonic Concorde jetliner began its first commercial passenger flights, revolutionizing transatlantic travel. 1976 was also the year Vermont Frames was founded in a shed at Clifford Lumber in Hinesburg, to bring a very old technology of timber framing into the modern age. Timber framing is the ancient art and science of building wooden structures from large beams using all-wooden mortise and tenon joinery.

Vermont Business Magazine PC Construction has earned a third major industry honor for its work on the Shawn Walsh Hockey Center and Harold Alfond Arena Renovation and Expansion at the University of Maine, this time from the Construction Management Association of America (CMAA) New England Chapter, which presented the project with its prestigious 2026 Mark H. Hasso Project of the Year Award. The honor caps a remarkable run of recognition for a project that fundamentally redefined collegiate hockey in the Northeast.

Vermont Business Magazine U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont) and U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas) this week celebrated the Senate’s passage of their bipartisan Carla Walker Act, legislation which would allow existing federal grant funds to support forensic genetic genealogy (FGG) DNA analysis and help solve previously unsolvable cold cases.  Recently, Vermont State Police used forensic genetic genealogy to identify the remains of Brian Canfield, who disappeared while fishing in Hartland, VT, in 2001. A DNA sample from the man’s brother was matched to a skull found in 2006. 

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine Vermont initial weekly unemployment claims increased slightly last week to near their lowest level since the end of last summer. For the week ending June 6, 2026, the Vermont Department of Labor reported that there were 286 new claims, up 38 from the previous week and down 64 from last year at this time. Nationally, stocks rebounded strongly Thursday and Friday after a steep drop, as chip stocks cratered. However, the SpaceX IPO raised the markets and the war in Iran ebbed with news, again, that the conflict would soon be over.

Vermont Business Magazine Green Mountain Power (GMP) has announced that writers from South Burlington and Westford are the winners of this year’s Vermont Writers’ Prize, an annual contest that celebrates Vermont, its people, history, and culture. Now in its 37th year, the Prize encourages writers to explore the Vermont experience through the written word. Winners in each category are published in the summer issue of Vermont Magazine and each also receives $1,250. This year, the short story “The Apprentice” by Emily Rinkema of Westford won the top award for prose, and the poem “Sugarhouse Steel” by Laura Kujawa of South Burlington won in the poetry category.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott, Senator Bernie Sanders, Senator Peter Welch, and Congresswoman Becca Balint, together with the Northern Border Regional Commission (NBRC), today announced that seven Vermont communities will receive a combined $7.6 million from NBRC’s Catalyst Program. When evaluating potential projects, the Catalyst Program considers project readiness, economic impacts, impacts on Vermont’s skilled workforce, project location, regional input and priorities, and the project’s transformational nature. The NBRC Catalyst Program also offers a fall round of funding. Awarded projects in the 2026 Catalyst Spring awards include replacement of a skilled nursing facility, stormwater and infrastructure improvements, as well as acquisition of a vacant property in downtown Newport.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Center for Emerging Technologies (VCET) announced that Jon McNeill, ex-President of Tesla, former COO of Lyft, CEO and co-founder of DVx Ventures, and author of the new book The Algorithm, will headline the next AI After Hours meetup series on Monday, June 22 from 5:30 to 7 PM at OnLogic in South Burlington, Vermont. McNeill is one of the most accomplished operators in the technology industry. As President of Tesla, he oversaw a 10x increase in revenue (from $2 billion to $20 billion) in just 30 months. As COO of Lyft, he more than doubled revenues and helped lead the company through its IPO. Today, McNeill serves as CEO and co-founder of DVx Ventures, a venture studio that has launched 12 companies attacking large markets.

Vermont Business Magazine The USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) reported today that 2026 Vermont maple syrup production totaled 3.091 million gallons, once again leading the nation in this category producing more than 50% of the nation’s maple. This follows 2 years of similar output in 2024 (3.108) and 2025 (3.009 million). The value of maple syrup production totaled $101,704 million in 2025, up $6 million from 2024. The average retail price per gallon in 2025 was $51.40 per gallon.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Women’s Fund at the Vermont Community Foundation, has awarded $411,650 to 46 nonprofit organizations across Vermont this year. The grants support programs that advance economic security, opportunity, and health and well-being for women+, girls, and gender-diverse individuals statewide. For the second consecutive year, the Vermont Women’s Fund saw record demand, receiving $1.3 million in funding requests during the 2026 grant cycle. The requests reflect growing pressures facing Vermont communities as nonprofit organizations work to address widening funding gaps. During the same period, the fund also received record philanthropic support, with individuals and community partners in Vermont and beyond contributing to meet the growing need.