Current News

by Representative Ashley Bartley, R-Fairfax In Vermont, the winds of change are unmistakable. With them comes an urgent need to reassess how we approach growth, housing, and taxation. Feedback from my recent legislative survey sends a clear message: Vermonters are calling for thoughtful reforms to keep our state affordable, functional, and equitable for all residents.

Vermont Business Magazine January is the start of ice fishing season in Vermont, and a forecast of cold weather over the coming week should offer increasing opportunities to safely enjoy this fun and accessible winter activity. Heading into the weekend ice conditions are variable across Vermont due to recent warm weather.  Anglers should use good judgement, know how to read the ice and test it often, and check with a local outdoor store or other anglers about area conditions when deciding where to fish.  Anglers should always bring a spud bar to test the ice and a set of wearable ice picks for self-rescue, and let someone know where they are going and when they plan to be back. 

Vermont Business Magazine U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont) today welcomed the announcement that Vermont will be allocated $67.84 million in flexible funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The funding is allocated through HUD’s Community Development Block Grant–Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) program and authorized by the Disaster Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2025, which Senator Welch supported in late December. This funding will help Vermont’s flood-impacted communities and has been a priority championed by the Senator since the July 2023 floods.  

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Agency of Education released a summary report from the Listen and Learn Tour outlining key takeaways. Between August and December, the Agency of Education traveled around the state to engage with education leaders, educators, parents, students, and community members. In total, the Agency heard from over 1,100 Vermonters throughout the process. The report highlights several key themes. Participants expressed the need to balance local control and statewide support, particularly around curriculum and standards, to ease the burden on school districts and promote high-quality academic outcomes. 

Vermont Business Magazine The Justice Department today announced a settlement agreement with the Elmore-Morristown Unified Union School District (EMUU) in Vermont to resolve its investigation into allegations that the district failed to adequately respond to student-on-student racial harassment. The investigation, conducted jointly by the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont, concluded that the district did not appropriately respond to serious and widespread harassment of Black and biracial students by their peers, primarily at Peoples Academy Middle Level. Harassed students endured frequent slurs and racist imagery, and a hostile environment where the use of the N-word and displays of confederate flags and Nazi symbols and salutes were commonplace. 

Vermont Business Magazine Middle and high school educators in Vermont can increase their financial literacy and personal finance teaching skills by attending a free, online, asynchronous graduate level course that will be available for 20 participants from March 3 through April 25. Funding for the course is again being provided by Northfield Savings Bank Foundation. “Teachers who complete the training will have the confidence, skills and curriculum tools to be successful personal finance educators,” says John Pelletier, director of the Center for Financial Literacy, which is offering the course through its Financial Literacy Academy.

Vermont Business Magazine Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak and Burlington Electric Department (BED), joined by community partners Old Spokes Home and Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund, today announced new and expanded Net Zero Energy electrification incentives that will provide significant financial assistance to Burlingtonians. The mayor and BED General Manager Darren Springer highlighted enhanced rebates for electric vehicles (EVs), EV chargers, heat pumps, electric bicycles, and electric lawnmowers, including additional incentives for low-income customers.

Vermont Business Magazine Evernorth Rural Ventures (ERV) has announced the closing of $15 million in its New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) allocation for the substantial expansion and improvement of the Weidmann Electrical Technology, Inc. manufacturing and technology plant in St. Johnsbury, Vermont. Weidmann is a global company, and its St. Johnsbury facility is the only plant of its kind in North America. This expansion project is critical to serve the rapidly growing United States market and to continue building and developing their longstanding relationship with the St. Johnsbury workforce and community. Weidmann’s new Power Transformer Center of Excellence will help retain over 300 jobs with advancement opportunities and, at the same time, create 67 new high-quality jobs in a remote region of Vermont that has struggled with longstanding issues of poverty, low wages and lack of quality employment opportunities.

Vermont Business Magazine AARP Vermont invites local eligible non-profit organizations and governments across the country to apply for the 2025 AARP Community Challenge grant program, now through March 5, 2025, at 5:00 p.m. Eastern. AARP Community Challenge grants fund quick-action projects that help communities become more livable by improving public places, transportation, housing, digital connections, and more. Now in its ninth year, the program is part of AARP’s nationwide Livable Communities initiative, which supports the efforts of cities, towns, neighborhoods, and rural areas to become great places to live for all residents, especially those age 50 and older.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Scott today issued the following statement regarding the start of the 2025 legislative session: “Today, the legislature will open the 2025 session. It’s something I’ve experienced many times since first elected to the Senate from Washington County in 2000. While it’s an exciting day for legislators, it’s more important than ever that Vermonters pay attention to what’s going on in the State House this session."

Vermont Business Magazine TD Charitable Foundation, the giving arm of TD Bank, has announced $7.2 million in available grants of $200,000 each through its 19th annual Housing for Everyone grant program. The 2025 program focuses on nonprofit organizations that provide post-purchase resources and solutions to low- and moderate-income individuals and families facing challenges in maintaining homeownership. The Housing for Everyone grant program supports TD’s longstanding commitment to community enrichment, as well as the bank’s efforts to help people live with greater financial confidence through the TD Ready Commitment, TD's corporate citizenship platform. Since its inception in 2005, Housing for Everyone has provided more than $56 million to help more than 585 affordable housing initiatives in the U.S. communities TD serves from Maine to Florida and in the Detroit metro.

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NBT Bank and the Vermont Chamber of Commerce have partnered to launch a new webinar series designed to provide businesses across the state with the valuable, data-driven economic insights they need to thrive in a dynamic marketplace. The Economic Insights webinar series will feature in-depth analysis and expert guidance from Kenneth J. Entenmann, CFA®, Chief Investment Officer & Economist at NBT Bank.