Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility (VBSR) announced today that Roxanne Vought will depart her post as the organization’s seventh executive director on May 30, 2025. After a total of 10 years with VBSR in various roles, she is leaving to support an aging parent. VBSR’s Board of Directors has begun a comprehensive search for their next executive director during the organization’s 35th year. Vought’s tenure as executive director began in parallel with the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020. She evolved the organizational culture, transitioned VBSR into the remote work era, and forged numerous future-ready strategic partnerships within the business and economic development community. 

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Financial Regulation (DFR), a member of the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA), has joined a $17 million settlement with Edward D. Jones & Co., L.P. (Edward Jones) resulting from an investigation into the broker-dealer’s supervision of customers paying front-load commissions for Class A mutual fund shares in light of later moving brokerage assets into fee-based investment advisory accounts. As part of the settlement, Edward Jones will pay each of the 50 states, Washington, D.C., the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico an administrative fine of approximately $320,000. DFR assessed Edward Jones an administrative fine of $272,641.52. Edward Jones also agreed to contribute $48,113.20 to the Vermont Financial Services Education and Victim Restitution Special Fund. 

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine Weekly unemployment claims remained relatively high last week but fell after a New Year's spike. For the week ending January 4, 2025, new claims were 561, which is down 337 claims from the week before and is 95 more from last year. The holiday season brings wild swings in claims as temporary workers are hired and then laid off. Claims were 181 at the end of September. Weekly claims across the nation also were down, while overall hiring last month was brisk. For the month of December the US jobs report beat expectations, while the US unemployment rate fell one-tenth to 4.1% for December. 

Vermont Business Magazine The Agency of Natural Resources Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation (FPR) announced today that Hicks Logging, LLC, a business that performs logging activities in Vermont, was fined $6,000 for failing to file advanced notice of its intent and to obtain a permit to conduct a heavy cut on property located in Concord, Vermont. A heavy cut is defined as a harvest leaving a residual stand of healthy trees below the recommended density as defined by the USDA Forest Service silvicultural guides for similar stands. The goal of the Heavy Cut Law is to limit extensive harvesting on large areas of 40 acres or more and to ensure that any such harvesting is guided by an approved forest management plan. Prior to conducting a heavy cut, a Notice of Intent to Cut must be filed and authorization secured from FPR. Any permit issued must include an approved silvicultural plan for the harvest.

Vermont Business Magazine On Friday, January 10, 2025, the US Department of the Treasury officially published final guidance regarding the 45V Clean Hydrogen Production Tax Credit. Clean Energy Group applauds the Treasury for not bowing to industry pressure to relax the core principles of its initial draft guidance, ensuring that 45V will primarily incentivize green hydrogen, which (as long as stringent guardrails are in place) is the only form of hydrogen production that will not lead to a dangerous increase in greenhouse gas emissions. However, some concessions in the final guidance, in combination with other federal funding and tax credits for fossil fuel powered hydrogen, leaves experts concerned.

Vermont State Police Following new information from the Keene, New Hampshire, Police Department about the whereabouts of a wanted individual in Vermont, the Vermont Drug Task Force arrested William S. Bostwick, 42, of Keene, NH, on January 9, 2025, in Putney, Vermont. Bostwick had two active warrants for his arrest issued by the Vermont Superior Court, Windham Criminal Division. These warrants were for failing to appear in court on original charges that included grand larceny, providing false information to a police officer (x2), DUI#1 drugs or both, violation of probation x3, DUI #3 drugs or both, possession of 2.5 grams or more of cocaine, resisting arrest #2, transportation of drugs into a detention center, and possession of a depressant, stimulant, or narcotic <100x dose. 

Vermont Manufacturing Extension Center 2025 marks VMEC’s 30th anniversary supporting Vermont Manufacturers. With over 200 years of collective experience behind those 30 years, we'll be celebrating all year long and you will benefit from our important milestone. We're starting the new year off with a thank you to YOU; effective immediately, we're reducing the fee of our Lean-based "standard" public training opportunities to 30% of their cost! Or put another way, a 70% discount! This benefit is just the beginning of what's to come this year. We're working on other exciting announcements on how we can celebrate together - Stay tuned!

Vermont Business Magazine The Cooperative Development Institute (CDI), a nonprofit from Northampton, MA, using cooperative models to solve problems in New England communities, has received $50,000 in seed money to identify a site to build a new manufactured home park in Vermont. This development project has the potential to bring a swath of affordable housing to a state that is currently going through one of the nation’s worst housing shortages. The ideal property would be near or connected to municipal water and sewer systems, be located in an area where there is support for development of new housing, and be large enough to make the cost of development feasible. Properties near employers with workforce needs may be beneficial as creating new housing will enable more workers to move to the state.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today delivered his 2025 inaugural address to a joint session of the General Assembly, marking the beginning of his fifth term and ninth legislative session as governor. He returned to many of the same themes as from his early years as governor: Affordability, too few kids for too much cost at too many schools, housing, an aging population, and the need to focus more on rural areas of the state. He used several anecdotes to make that last point of people facing too little opportunity with living expenses that are too high. Punctuated by nine standing ovations, the two loudest were for when he was describing public education, with property taxes that are too high and academic outcomes that are not high enough, so that the lawmakers and the administration must “be brave, together” to solve this problem.

VermontBiz These incentives, which come in the form of one-time bill credits for VEC members, are designed make the purchase of electricity-powered equipment more affordable. The program also benefits the entire co-op membership over time because the incentives pay for themselves through additional electric sales for the co-op overall.

More than 6,000 VEC members have taken advantage of incentives since the co-op began offering them in 2017.

VEC has exceeded its goals for the Energy Transformation Program and helped eliminate the consumption of over 22 million gallons of fossil fuel. That’s the equivalent of taking over 39,000 cars off the road for a year. 

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont) today welcomed the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) announcement of an increase in funding for Contingency Management (CM) services, one of the only evidence-based treatments available to treat stimulant use disorder. The new policy will increase funding for CM services from $75 to $750, per patient, per year. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, overdose is the leading cause of death for Americans ages 18-45. In Vermont, the rate of opioid-related deaths increased by over 18% from 2019-2023. 

VermontBiz Funding is now available from the Vermont Women’s Fund at the Vermont Community Foundation for programs that seek to address systemic barriers to economic well-being, and those that recognize the disproportionate impact of these barriers on women and girls by race, gender identity, sexuality, class, age, and ability.