Current News

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine Average gasoline prices in Vermont are $3.09 per gallon, unchanged from last week. They're down 1 cent/g from last month and down 55 cents/g from a year ago, according to AAA. The lowest price in the state this week was $2.83/g while the highest was $3.29/g, a difference of 46.0 cents per gallon. For the counties, Bennington ($2.98) and Windham ($2.99) had the lowest prices, while the highest were in Essex ($3.24), Franklin ($3.18) and Grand Isle ($3.20). The national average price of gasoline is averaging $3.18/g today, up 1 cent/g from last week, down 2 cents/g from last month and down 48 cents/g from a year ago.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department and Vermont Fish and Wildlife Board will hold two more public hearings on May 6 and 8 to get input on the Fish and Wildlife Department’s 2025 Antlerless Harvest Recommendation as well as proposed changes to white-tailed deer, moose and turkey hunting regulations and the rules for transporting wild game meat from out of state. The hearings are scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m. on May 6 and 8.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today announced the appointments of Jay Sweeny of St. Albans Bay and Joe Benning of Lyndonville to fill assistance judge vacancies in Franklin and Caledonia counties, respectively. 

Northeastern Vermont Development Association Please join us for the next quarterly NEK Energy Network Meeting - all energy committees, community organizations and energy partners are welcome! Share best practices, lessons learned and success stories. Hear about the latest energy incentives, rebates and multi-solving ideas out there to benefit your community. Restoration Ecologist Karina Dailey will be joining the Vermont Center for Ecostudies for their May "Suds & Science" event in White River Junction! Karina will be sharing fundamental concepts of watershed science and the impact of man-made dams along Vermont's rivers. She will share stories from four recent dam removal projects, engaging the community from the ground up, and the restoration outcomes that result from a free-flowing river.

by Mike Donoghue, Vermont News First, Vermont Business Magazine Former Woodstock Police Chief Joseph Swanson has filed a $5 million civil lawsuit against Municipal Manager Eric Duffy and five village trustees over his recent demotion and removal as head of the police department. Seton McIlroy, the board chair, Jeffrey Kahn, the vice chair and fellow trustees Brenda Blakeman, Lisa Lawlor and Frank Horneck are named, like Duffy, as individual defendants in the case filed this week in Vermont Superior Court in Woodstock. The Village and Town of Woodstock, along with Burgess Loss Prevention Associates of Lebanon, N.H., also are named as defendants in the wide-ranging 31-page lawsuit.

Vermont Business Magazine The national Citizens Business Conditions Index (CBCI) held steady at 50.9 in the first quarter of 2025. The reading is generally consistent with the 4Q24 level of 51.0, suggesting that business conditions remained positive to start the year despite growing macroeconomic uncertainty throughout the period. The Vermont index was 52.5 for the quarter, outpacing the national index. The readings above 50 indicate that business conditions were positive in the first quarter, supported by solid corporate revenue trends as Citizens’ clients continued to perform well during the period.

Vermont Business Magazine Embodying Champlain College's dedication to career-focused education and positive global impact, Ambassador Suzan Johnson Cook and Lieutenant General Michael Dubie will be honored for their exemplary leadership and service as they address graduating students during the College’s commencement ceremonies on Saturday, May 10. Ambassador Suzan Johnson Cook will address Champlain College on-campus undergraduates, and Lieutenant General Michael Dubie will offer remarks to Champlain College Online undergraduate and graduate students. Both speakers will receive honorary doctorate degrees from the College.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Law and Graduate School will close the academic year with 170 students participating in its 49th commencement ceremony May 17, where juris doctor, master of laws and master's degrees will be conferred. The Honorable Patricia Whalen will serve as commencement speaker. A Vermont Law and Graduate School alum from the class of 1979, Whalen specializes in human rights, war crimes, gender violence in conflict, genocide, crimes against humanity and family law. A judge for more than 20 years, Whalen's service included five years in the War Crimes Chamber of Bosnia and Herzegovina on both the First Instance and Appellate courts. 

Vermont Business Magazine The U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services, in coordination with the Vermont Department of Health, will conduct a special spring rabies vaccine bait drop beginning May 5 to help combat rising rabies rates in wildlife. The early distribution will deliver approximately 350,000 units of oral rabies vaccine bait in areas of Addison, Caledonia, Chittenden, Essex, Franklin, Grand Isle, Lamoille, Orange, Orleans and Washington Counties. Officials say that the increased frequency of bait drops will help slow the spread of the rabies virus among wildlife, but that it takes time for enough animals to become immune.

 Vermont Business Magazine Take advantage of a unique opportunity to network and sit down with a variety of SCORE Vermont mentors to help you with your small business idea or to ask specific questions for your small business. Take advantage of this unique opportunity to network and sit down with a variety of SCORE Vermont Mentors to help you with your small business idea or to ask specific questions for your small business. May 10 in St Albans.

Vermont Business Magazine An iconic element of Vermont’s public lands is set to undergo much-needed restoration this summer. Starting May 1, the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation (FPR) will launch the first phase of a project aimed at enhancing safety and performing restoration and maintenance on several state-owned fire towers. Originally constructed in the early 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps for forest fire monitoring, these towers now primarily serve a recreational purpose. FPR will use $450,000 of funding from the U.S. Economic Development Administration to complete maintenance and safety improvements at the Bear Hill and Burke Mountain fire towers. 

Vermont Business Magazine Vermonters looking for electric heating and cooling solutions have more choices thanks to VGS’s (Vermont Gas) trio of heat pump solutions, including ductless mini-split heat pumps, centrally ducted heat pumps, and heat pump water heaters. Heat pumps have experienced growing rates of adoption across the U.S. and northeast thanks to their efficiency and ability to perform in cold weather climates. VGS technicians have installed more than 450 heat pump systems since the company first offered electric heat pump water heaters in 2022. At the time, the company was the first gas-only utility in the U.S. to provide heat pump water heaters. In 2023, VGS began installing centrally ducted heat pumps. Ductless mini-split heat pumps followed in 2024.