Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Representative-Elect Becca Balint, (D-VT) has announced key hires in her congressional office. Last month Balint announced that Megan Garcia would be Chief of Staff, and David Scherr would be State Director. Balint will continue to build out her Washington staff in the coming weeks.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Historical Society will receive $210,000 as part of the FY23 omnibus spending bill that passed the Senate on December 22nd, 2022. This funding is part of a total of $42 million secured by Sen. Sanders through the Congressionally Directed Spending process for 51 Vermont projects that will benefit communities across the state. The congressionally directed funds will go toward implementing an open storage and research gallery at the Vermont History Center in Barre, Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine Beginning on January 1, 2023, Vermont’s minimum wage will become $13.18 per hour. This is an increase of $0.63 from the current minimum wage of $12.55. This annual adjustment also impacts the minimum wage for tipped employees. The Basic Tipped Wage Rate for service, or “tipped employees,” equals 50% of the full minimum wage. On January 1, 2023, the tipped minimum wage will increase from $6.28 to $6.59 per hour.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott and the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) announced December 29, 2022, $3.9 million in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding awards through the Vermont Community Development Program (VCDP). The funding will support 12 projects throughout Vermont, including accessibility modifications to community facilities, renovations to create new mixed-income housing, and affordable home repair financing for low- and moderate-income homeowners. This updates the announcement from November.

Vermont Business Magazine Average gasoline prices in Vermont have fallen 4 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.34 per gallon today, according to GasBuddy. Prices are down 42 cents/g for the month and are now the same as they were one year ago. The lowest price was $2.99 in Brattleboro. The highest was $3.99 in Island Pond. Nationally, prices are up 9 cents/g are failing to fall below the $3 mark before the end of the year, as severe weather and supply problems kept prices higher. They are at $3.17/g, up 11 cents/g from last week, but down 22 cents from last month and 9 cents lower than last year.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont has topped the list of Top Moving Destinations of 2022 according to the 2022 National Movers Study released today by United Van Lines, the nation’s largest household goods mover. In 2022, more residents moved into Vermont than out of the state, with 77% of moves being inbound. It wasn't close. Vermont was 10 points higher than second place Oregon. Those who moved into Vermont tended to be older and wealthier.

by Lieutenant Governor Molly Gray On the morning of January 5, 2023, I’ll gavel-in the Vermont Senate one last time. As my final days draw near, I’m grateful for the opportunity to have served the people of Vermont; what an extraordinary and unprecedented two years it has been. I was sworn-in as Vermont’s 82nd Lt. Governor on January 7, 2021, a day after the January 6th insurrection with the State House surrounded by security. I assumed my new role as Senate President in a largely empty State House at the height of the pandemic. I gaveled-in the Senate each day to Senators joining via Zoom from makeshift home offices. It was not until March of the following year, that I presided over an in-person Senate.

The Vermont State Police is investigating the death of prison inmate Henry Butson, 74, who had been incarcerated at Southern State Correctional Facility in Springfield. Butson, originally from St. Johnsbury, was brought by ambulance from the facility to Springfield Hospital at about 6 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 1, 2023, after experiencing difficulty breathing and other medical problems. Butson received emergency care at the hospital but was pronounced dead shortly after 9 a.m. Butson has been in custody since June 8, 2003, and was serving a sentence of 25 years to life in prison following his conviction for two counts of second-degree murder. He had been in the infirmary at Southern State since Dec. 2, 2022.

Bennington College Upcoming Public Events, January 2023: Writers Reading: Craig Morgan Teicher and Mark Wunderlich January 5; Writers Reading: Douglas Bauer and Deirdre McNamer January 6; Writers Reading: Alice Mattison and Clifford Thompson January 7; Writers Reading: Parul Sehgal and Eula Biss January 8; Writers Reading: Franny Choi and Toya Wolfe January 9; Writers Reading: David Gates and Jill McCorkle January 11; Plastics' Impact on Human Health: A Free Beyond Plastics Webinar January 12; Writers Reading: Rena Mosteirin, Leena Soman Navani, and John Beebe West January 12; Writers Reading: Jai Chakrabarti and Carmen Giménez January 13.

Vermont Business Magazine Starting January 1, 2023, there are new requirements for registering and reporting surface water withdrawals or removals to the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) in accordance with a new state law, Act 135 of 2022. Surface waters include rivers, streams, brooks, creeks, lakes, ponds, and reservoirs. The purpose of Act 135 is to collect baseline information about surface water usage in Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine This holiday season, the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is taking some time to reflect on the gifts that wetlands provide statewide. Marking where land and water meet, wetlands may be saturated or flooded by water year-round or for a few weeks of the year. Spanning over 300,000 acres, Vermont’s wetlands range from marshes and bogs to forested swamps.

Vermont Business Magazine Average gasoline prices in Vermont are unchanged in the last week, though down 47 cents per gallon in one month and are only 3 cents higher than one year ago.. The national average price of gasoline has fallen 4.9 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.06/g Tuesday. The national average is down 46 cents per gallon from a month ago and stands 22 cents per gallon lower than a year ago. GasBuddy is expecting prices nationally to head back to the $4/g range early in 2023.