Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today announced his appointment of Republican Zachary Harvey, of Castleton, to fill the vacant Rutland-3 seat in the Vermont House of Representatives. Harvey replaces Chris Brown, who resigned last month citing his wife's cancer diagnosis. Harvey’s appointment is effective Wednesday, January 8, 2025. He was selected from a list of candidates forwarded by the Castleton Republican party. As is typical, the governor appoints someone from the same party. Harvey has over a decade-long career in financial services, he held various roles at the New York Stock Exchange and its parent, Intercontinental Exchange, a Fortune 500 technology and data services company. He began his career at Nasdaq, a global technology and exchange operator.

Vermont Business Magazine Windham & Windsor Housing Trust’s highly anticipated Central & Main housing development in Windsor has reached a significant milestone in its construction -- the building is now “dried in.” With the completion of exterior walls, windows and roofing, the structure is weather-tight, allowing crews to focus on insulation and interior finishes during the winter months. The building remains on schedule, with a late spring/early summer opening anticipated. Located at 133 Main Street, the Central & Main development transforms a vacant downtown lot into vibrant, efficient, mixed income housing, featuring 25 residential apartments affordable to a range of moderate and low Windsor incomes.

Vermont Business Magazine The City of Rutland Board of Aldermen has approved the Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District Plan and its submission to the Vermont Economic Progress Council (VEPC). This action comes after the October 21, 2024 approval of the TIF District Letter of Intent. With both the TIF District Plan and the Letter of Intent approved, the City is now positioned to submit its application to VEPC. If approved, the TIF District will produce the incremental revenue needed to pay for critical public infrastructure improvements, including transportation, water, wastewater, stormwater, brownfields remediation, and streetscape upgrades. 

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas announced the upcoming release of Vermont’s first ever Civic Health Index, a report measuring how civically engaged Vermonters are across the state and in relation to the rest of the country. The report is due to be published on January 15. The report was created in partnership with the National Conference on Citizenship (NCoC), UVM’s Center for Rural Studies, SerVermont, Up For Learning, and Vermont Humanities. The NCoC defines civic health as “the way that communities are organized to define and address public problems,” and the report breaks this concept into six domains: Volunteerism and Donating, Political Engagement, Community and Social Context, Cultural Access and Engagement, Media Trust and Access, and Government Trust and Access.

Vermont Business Magazine The University of Vermont has hired Dr. Kellie Campbell as Chief Information Officer. A broadly experienced academic IT professional, creative problem-solver and engaged listener, Campbell will assume leadership of the university’s Enterprise Technology Services (ETS) division beginning February 6. Campbell comes to UVM from the Vermont State Colleges System (VSCS), for which she served as Chief Information Officer and Vice President of Information Technology. Reporting to the Chancellor and working in close partnership with the VSCS Council of Presidents, Campbell provided leadership, management, and strategy for the Information Technology (IT) shared services division. 

Vermont Business Magazine The Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission (CCRPC), the region’s transportation and land use planning and policy organization, is seeking public input on planning ideas and projects for its annual work program beginning on July 1, 2025, and ending on June 30, 2026. The public is invited to help develop new transportation, energy, water quality, and land use planning projects that improve safety and enhance mobility for all users of the transportation system, address climate change, and support our municipalities in Chittenden County.

Green Mountain Care Board Board Members and presenters will participate remotely through Microsoft Teams. Members of the public can attend board meetings by using the links or call-in phone numbers listed below. Members of the public who cannot access the meeting remotely can view the meeting in a public space.

Vermont Business Magazine Central Vermont Council on Aging (CVCOA) has announced that their long-running memory café based at the Vermont History Center in Barre will now be traveling to additional communities in our service area. On January 15th, Memorable Times Café will hold its "Winter Social" at the Montpelier Senior Activity Center (MSAC) from 1:30 to 3 p.m. The group migrated under the auspices of CVCOA to the Vermont History Center in 2018, in partnership with the ABLE Library housed in that building. In 2020, CVCOA added “Memorable Times Online” as a virtual alternative to in-person meetings. Both in-person and online programs are offered free of charge.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Mental Health (DMH), in partnership with the Vermont Department of Health’s Division of Substance Use Programs (DSU) has chosen four more community mental health agencies as demonstration sites for the Certified Community-Based Integrated Health Centers (CCBHCs) model. The CCBHC model provides mental health, substance use, and physical health services in one place. It serves individuals of all ages, locations, and abilities to pay. The model ensures better access to care regardless of an individual’s circumstances. 

Vermont Business Magazine Central Vermont Home Health and Hospice (CVHHH) received a $3,500 grant from M&T Charitable Foundation, the philanthropic branch of M&T Bank. The funds will support CVHHH’s Family-Child Health (FCH) program which provides a range of medical and non-medical supports and services to promote the health and wellness of families and children from pregnancy through birth and beyond. CVHHH’s FCH program currently provides care to approximately 115 families in central Vermont through a range of services, including lactation support, nutrition education, skilled nursing care, and pediatric palliative care. 

Vermont Business Magazine State Auditor Doug Hoffer released a follow up report today of the audit his office completed in 2023 of Burlington’s Waterfront TIF district. That audit found that administrative complexity, staff turnover, and poor recordkeeping had contributed to the City making millions of dollars in mistakes, resulting in the need to send nearly $200,000 to Vermont’s Education Fund. TIF districts allow municipalities to designate an area for public infrastructure improvements, incur debt to pay for the work, and use a portion of the area’s property tax revenue growth, which would normally pay for education, to pay back the debt. During the last decade, the City has issued nearly $16 million of bonds for public improvements in the Waterfront TIF such as the Moran Frame, Waterfront Access North, Bike Path, and Waterfront Park projects.

Vermont Business Magazine United States Attorney Nikolas Kerest announced today that he will resign effective January 20, 2025. The US Attorney typically transitions with a new presidential administration. Following his nomination by President Biden and confirmation by the Senate, Kerest has served as the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont since December 10, 2021, leading the United States Attorney’s Office’s 51 employees, in the enforcement of federal criminal and civil laws in the state. Prior to becoming United States Attorney, Kerest served as an Assistant United States Attorney in both the criminal and civil divisions for eleven years, including 4.5 years as the Chief of the office’s civil division.