Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Today, Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak announced that the City will open an extreme cold weather shelter in partnership with the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity (CVOEO) at the Miller Center at 130 Gosse Court in response to the dangerously cold weather forecasted this week. After reviewing weather modeling in consultation with the City’s Emergency Management Director, officials have determined the forecasted temperature on Thursday, December 25th meets the City’s criteria for operation of an extreme cold weather shelter. Hours of operation will be Thursday, December 25th at 5pm to Friday, December 26th at 8am. The National Weather Service is currently forecasting evening temperatures diving well-below zero with windchill on Thursday evening, into the early morning hours on Friday.  

Vermont Business Magazine Historic Hotels of America, the official program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation for recognizing and celebrating the finest historic hotels from across the United States of America, has announced The 2025 Top 25 Historic Hotels of America Most Magnificent Gingerbread Displays list. The fresh-baked holiday displays described below were unveiled in historic hotels in November and early December 2025 and will be available for the public to see and enjoy through the end of the month or the first week of January 2026. Among the awardees is Woodstock Inn & Resort. This year, the pastry team held a design contest among the inn’s staff to choose a winning idea for the gingerbread display, and selected a woodland cottage theme, submitted by Marketing Brand Manager Mollie Faccio.

Vermont Business Magazine Social Tinkering has released their new report: Social Connection, Isolation, and Loneliness in Rutland County: A Landscape Analysis. Three years in the making, and authored by Founder Jeanette Langston and Research Specialist, Ella Kenney, the report provides a comprehensive analysis of disconnection, isolation, and loneliness, examines the populations most impacted in Rutland County, and provides an overview of the barriers that prevent meaningful connection. It concludes with an assessment of regional strengths and gaps and offers recommendations to support community well-being and help residents thrive through connection.

Vermont State Police On December 8, 2025, at approximately 1944 hours, Troopers with Vermont State Police, Westminster Barracks, were notified of a theft in the town of Rockingham, Windham County, VT. Investigation revealed that Adam Fischer (45) of Westminster, VT, had stolen property valued at $32,000 from Green Mountain Craft Cannabis. Fischer was arrested on 12/21/2025 and subsequently transported to the Westminster Barracks for processing. Fischer was later released with a citation to appear in Vermont Superior Court, Windham Criminal Division on 01/20/2026, at 0830 hours to answer to the charge of grand larceny. 

by Burlington Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak First, let me get right into the problem. Burlington is facing another structural budget gap, which we estimate will be roughly $10-12 million for FY27. I want to emphasize that this is not an anomaly. A structural budget gap means that, year after year, the City’s expenses cost more than the money we bring in, even when there are no emergencies or surprises. The gap can’t fix itself, and closing it requires long-term solutions, not temporary fixes. Burlington’s recurring budget gaps point to a long-building problem in the City’s general fund operating budget. The challenge is three-fold: Significant growth in the city workforce and services prior to my administration; increased reliance on temporary funding sources to support ongoing costs; slow growth in the City’s grand list (average of 1% in recent years) combined with limited taxable land.

Vermont State Police On November 18th, 2025, Vermont state police began investigating Bryce King (24) of Barton for the crime of Embezzlement after coworkers had noticed missing funds. King was an employee at Circle K gas station located at 252 Main St in the Town of Barton, Vermont. Investigation revealed King had stolen approximately $5,000 from the store in a three-month time period.

Vermont Business Magazine Alexa Valyou has faced more health care in her eight years than most people do in a lifetime. Born with DiGeorge syndrome — a condition caused by the absence of her twenty-second chromosome — she underwent her first heart procedure less than 24 hours after being born and her first open heart surgery when she was less than a month old. Since then, she’s had four more, along with 17 other heart procedures, two major surgeries on her pulmonary arteries, near fatal brain bleeds, emergency brain surgery and two strokes. For many children, a single traumatic medical experience – especially those involving needles – can leave lasting emotional and psychological scars.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Veterinary Medical Association (VVMA) is proud to announce the launch of a comprehensive online Certified Veterinary Assistant (CVA) training program, designed to support the professional growth of current and aspiring veterinary assistants across the state. This program is available to individuals already working in veterinary practices as well as those seeking to enter the field. Anyone 16 years of age or older is eligible to enroll. The CVA program was developed in partnership with the Texas Veterinary Medical Association and Patterson Veterinary Academy, and has been successfully implemented in hundreds of veterinary hospitals nationwide. Since its inception, the program has led to the certification of more than a thousand veterinary assistants, strengthening veterinary teams and improving patient care across the country.

Vermont Business Magazine The American Red Cross urges donors to make an appointment to give blood or platelets now to keep the blood supply as strong as possible in the final days of the year and into 2026. Types O, A negative and B negative blood donors are especially needed now. Record-setting travel is happening across the country. With more people headed away from home, blood and platelet donations can dip at a crucial time when patients count on care. Bad weather or shifting travel schedules could force donors to cancel or reschedule donation appointments and tighten the blood supply. Make time to give before you go — it’s a simple way to make a lifesaving impact.

Vermont Business Magazine The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont announced that on December 18, 2025, a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Brian Wood, 23, of Hartford, Vermont, with Production of Child Sexual Abuse Materials (CSAM, also known as child pornography) and Possession of CSAM. Wood entered a plea of not guilty to the charges during an arraignment on December 19, 2025 before United States Magistrate Judge Kevin J. Doyle. Judge Doyle ordered that Wood be detained pending a detention hearing currently scheduled for December 24, 2025. Wood’s unlawful interactions with minors remains the focus of a continued law enforcement investigation. Anyone with information should contact the Hartford, Vermont, Police Department. 

Vermont Business Magazine Attorney General Charity Clark today joined a coalition of attorneys general in suing the Trump Administration to stop the complete defunding of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), which has returned more than $21 billion improperly taken from over 205 million Americans throughout its 14-year existence. The CFPB’s current acting director, Russel Vought, is attempting to completely defund the agency by refusing to request any funding from the Federal Reserve, which will virtually guarantee the agency runs out of money in January 2026. As Attorney General Clark and the coalition argue in their lawsuit, defunding the CFPB will have devastating impacts on consumers and severely disrupt states’ consumer protection abilities, which rely on consumer complaints and data from the agency.

Vermont Business Magazine The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont stated that on December 18, 2025, Douglas Reynolds, 37, of, Dalton, New Hampshire, was sentenced by Chief United States District Judge Christina Reiss to a term of 120 months’ imprisonment to be followed by a 3-year term of supervised release. Reynolds previously pleaded guilty to discharging a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, specifically assaulting federal law enforcement using a deadly weapon. According to court records, members of the United States Marshals Service attempted to serve an outstanding state arrest warrant on Reynolds near Dalton, New Hampshire. Reynolds spotted law enforcement and fled in his black Jetta sedan. Reynolds led law enforcement north on Interstate 93 to Saint Johnsbury, Vermont, before turning south on Interstate 91. The chase reached speeds of over 100 miles per hour.