Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Experts from technology, medicine, and student wellness will examine the emerging role of artificial intelligence in mental healthcare on Thursday, March 20, at Hula Lakeside in Burlington. The event, "AI + Mental Health," will feature a live demonstration of an AI-powered chatbot therapist, spotlighting both the promise and potential risks of these technologies. As AI evolves from mechanical computation to systems capable of eliciting profound human emotional responses, the panel will explore the complex implications for mental health treatment.

Vermont Business Magazine The Attorney General’s Office announced that Adam Terry, 31, of Monkton, Vermont, was arraigned today on one count of felony Aggravated Sexual Assault, one count of misdemeanor Lewd-Lascivious Conduct with Child, two counts of felony aggravated sexual assault, one misdemeanor count of Lewd-Lascivious Conduct with Child, and one count of felony sexual assault. The charges brought against Terry were the result of an investigation conducted by the Vergennes Police Department. Terry pleaded not guilty at the arraignment Monday in Vermont Superior Court, Addison Criminal Division. The Court, Judge Robert W. Katims presiding, ordered Terry to be released on conditions that restrict his contact with children and the victims of the assaults, pending a hearing on the State’s motion to hold the Defendant without bail.

Vermont Business Magazine At 9 am, on March 20th, 2025, The National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls' FreeHer VT campaign, Human Impact Partners, MadFreedom Advocates, public health workers, and other allies are gathering in the Montpelier statehouse Cedar Creek room to announce the delivery of a sign-on letter opposing the construction of a new women's prison in Vermont. The signatories include 27 organizations and more than 275 advocates and public health workers, representing a wide range of healthcare professionals and organizers, stating that investing in community-based programs and services is a more effective and humane approach to addressing public safety concerns and the root causes that lead to incarceration. 

Vermont Business Magazine The Department of Public Safety has selected Lisa Milot to lead the newly created Division of Animal Welfare. She begins work in May, at which time the new division will begin creating a comprehensive plan to coordinate animal welfare services throughout Vermont. Director Milot has exceptional qualifications to lead the division, serving as a faculty member at the University of Georgia School of Law since 2007 with a focus on animal welfare policy. Director Milot also has experience at the federal level as a policy consultant and an extensive background in the Georgia state animal welfare movement. 

Vermont Business Magazine Cabot Creamery/Agri-Mark took home 19 awards at the United States Championship Cheese Contest last week. The awards included four first-place awards for its cheddars, two for its shredded and sliced cheeses and two for foodservice products. The company also earned a first-place win for two of its whey powders and 10 additional second and third-place finishes. A team of expert judges from across the nation evaluated entries on flavor, body and texture, salt, color, finish, packaging, and other appropriate attributes. Awards were given to the highest scoring entries in each class from across the country.  Some of the cooperative’s award-winning products, including medium cheddar and crème fraiche, are exclusive to foodservice, while its whey powders (WPC80 Instant and dairy product solids) are high-quality ingredients used in various food applications.

Vermont Business Magazine At the Community Restorative Justice Center in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, non-violent offenders are referred to Reparative Panels as an alternative to a punitive approach to justice. Vermont State University (VTSU) students completing their Restorative Justice program internships participate in these panels, which offer the responsible party the opportunity to communicate and learn in an environment with their peers. The goals are to help the individuals learn from their mistakes, keep them out of the corrections system, and thus reduce the likelihood they will re-offend.

Vermont Business Magazine Average gasoline prices in Vermont are $3.11 per gallon, down 2.2 cents per gallon from last week's $3.13/g. The lowest price in the state yesterday was $2.85/g while the highest was $3.28/g, a difference of 43.0 cents per gallon. The national average price of gasoline has fallen 0.6 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.03/g today. The national average is down 8.9 cents per gallon from a month ago and stands 36.7 cents per gallon lower than a year ago.

by Vermont Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas This week is Civic Learning Week! This annual celebration of the importance of civics is an opportunity to sustain and strengthen democracy in the United States. “Civics” means understanding the five freedoms promised to us by the First Amendment: freedom of religion, of speech, of a free press; the right to peaceably protest when we don’t agree with something our government has done, and the right to petition our government for change. Think of it this way: if we don’t know where to start when we want to fix something that is broken in our communities – if we aren’t aware of our rights and responsibilities as democratic citizens – then we become easy to divide, and the problems persist.

Vermont Business Magazine Ryan Christiansen, president of Caledonia Spirits, makers of Barr Hill products, posted Saturday on LinkedIn that an entire order headed to Quebec was canceled because of the trade war between the United States and Canada initiated by the tariffs imposed by the White House. "We’ve waited four months to ship an order to Quebec. The order was placed in October of 2024, with a requested ship date in February 2025. On Feb 1, the President made the first tariff announcement. The following Monday the order was palletized and ready to ship on our loading dock, and we received the message that this order had been cancelled."

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Community Broadband Board (VCBB) is sponsoring a new Broadband Technician Pre-Apprenticeship Training in partnership with North Country Career Center. It will be comprehensive training for an entry level broadband network technician. The first three-week course will be offered in Montpelier starting March 26 and is available to participants at no cost. The training starts as Vermont is well on its way to making fiber broadband available to every Vermonter. Once an additional $229 million in federal funding from the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program hits the state, construction will scale up and more workers will be needed.

Vermont Business Magazine Linda Rossi, State Director of the Vermont Small Business Development Center (VtSBDC), has appointed Catherine Stack as the statewide organization’s Business Advisor for Windham county.  Like her counterparts throughout Vermont, Stack provides one-to-one, confidential, no-fee advising to small business owners at any stage of their business as they Start. Grow. Thrive. Transition. 

Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets New England dairy producers and industry allies are invited to attend Drawing the Line in the New England Milkshed: Regional Zoning for Dairy Industry Preparedness Workshop on March 27th. While bird flu (H5N1) outbreaks are affecting dairy herds in the Midwest and western states, a team of researchers at UVM is focused on the impacts of foreign animal disease outbreaks on regional dairy production in the "New England milkshed.” The milkshed is defined by all sources of milk processed or manufactured into dairy products within New England.