Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Today, Treasurer Pieciak and local leaders announced a $300,000 commitment from M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) to support a Baby Bonds pilot program in the Northeast Kingdom. It’s the initiative’s first major funding commitment, marking an important milestone in efforts to address intergenerational poverty, rural economic development, and retention of young people in Vermont. Under a Baby Bonds program, qualifying children would receive a seed investment account at birth. As the child grows, so does the investment. By age 18, the beneficiary can access their baby bond for wealth-building avenues like higher education, homeownership, starting a business, or retirement savings.  

Vermont Business Magazine Progress is rising fast at Base Camp at Bear Mountain at Killington Resort, with foundations now in place for the first five townhomes. This marks a major milestone in the build schedule. A new drone video from Dec. 5, released in conjunction with this update, showcases visible site activity, mountain views, and the unbeatable proximity to Bear Mountain’s trails, lifts, and alpine landscape — bringing the vision of Base Camp at Bear Mountain vividly to life.

Vermont Business Magazine Attorney General Charity Clark today joined a coalition of 17 states in filing a lawsuit against the Trump Administration for unlawfully suspending two bipartisan grant programs for electric vehicle charging infrastructure that would reduce pollution, expand access to clean vehicles, and create thousands of green jobs. Without any explanation or notice, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has quietly refused to approve any new funding under two electric vehicle charging infrastructure programs created in the Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act (IIJA): the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Program (CFI) and the Electric Vehicle Charger Reliability and Accessibility Accelerator (Accelerator) Program (together, the EV Charging Infrastructure Programs). In the lawsuit, the coalition alleges that these unexplained and secretive actions violate the constitutional separation of powers, as the funding was approved by bipartisan majorities in Congress. 

Public Assets Institute Our newly updated town2town education spending report is live. The report includes 15 years of spending, tax rate, and pupil count data for every Vermont town. Vermonters can use the interactive map and charts to view tax rates and per-pupil spending by town from fiscal 2012 to fiscal 2026 in relation to the statewide averages. Major changes and minor tweaks to Vermont education funding system in recent years make it harder for Vermonters to understand the connection between school budgets and tax bills and to see how spending and tax rates have changed over time. The updated town2town report offers readers a tool to view and assess their local education spending and tax data in a statewide context.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health reported last week that the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations have increased slightly. Other indicators like wastewater virus show an increase in COVID-19 and Norovirus in Vermont. Nationally, COVID outbreaks decreased. There were 3 outbreaks last week (3 the week before), with 3 in Long-Term Care Facilities and 0 in schools. Like hospitalizations, outbreaks increased slightly from mid-summer and have since fallen.

by Mike Donoghue A two-year old driving while intoxicated court case against besieged Addison County State's Attorney Eva P. Vekos appeared to come to a close Tuesday when she pleaded no contest to the misdemeanor charge. Vekos, who was responding to a homicide scene in Bridport to assist Vermont State Police, had her sentence deferred for six months by State Judge John Pacht. If Vekos abides by the terms of probation for six months, the criminal conviction can be wiped off her record, Pacht explained in court. Vekos had indicated in October that she was willing to plead no contest, and Pacht said at the time he was inclined to defer the sentence for 3 months.  Upon further review, Pacht said Tuesday he wanted to make it 6 months.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont State University (VTSU) recently honored employees whose careers span decades and multiple legacy institutions, recognizing their lasting impact on Vermont’s higher education and their unwavering commitment to students and communities statewide. On December 8, all five VTSU campuses hosted Employee Celebration Luncheons, where faculty and staff were recognized for reaching service milestones in five-year increments, celebrating anywhere from 5 to 35 years. The event featured handcrafted gifts created by students and staff at the Randolph campus Manufacturing Center, showcasing the innovation and skill that define VTSU. 

Vermont Business Magazine Fluency, the Burlington-based Digital Advertising Operating System (OS) for scaling paid media operations across all major channels, announced the close of its $40M Series A, funded by Integrity Growth Partners (IGP). Founded in 2017, Fluency centralizes all major aspects of digital advertising execution and management into a single solution. This enables agencies and brands to automate and leverage AI on paid media across walled gardens and the open web at a scale not achievable through endless hiring, outsourcing or tools. Fluency currently powers nearly $3B in annual media spend and 250,000+ monthly campaigns. The platform is used by leading agencies and brands, including Fortune 500 organizations. These companies run campaigns for over 50,000 local businesses by automating the most time-consuming campaign execution processes.

Vermont Business Magazine The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont stated that on December 15, 2025, Joshua Hartness, 45, of Colebrook, New Hampshire, was sentenced by Chief United States District Judge Christina Reiss to a term of 25 months’ imprisonment to be followed by a 10-year term of supervised release. Hartness previously pleaded guilty to possessing child sexual abuse materials (CSAM, also known as child pornography). Hartness has been detained since March 28, 2025, when his conditions of release were revoked after he attempted to take possession of a firearm. The forensic review and subsequent investigation confirmed that Hartness possessed the CSAM on his phone while in the District of Vermont, and that Hartness did so while working as a U.S. Border Patrol Agent. 

Vermont Business Magazine New research from the University of Vermont reveals exposure to smoke from Canadian wildfires in the summer of 2023 led to worsening asthma symptoms in children in Vermont and upstate New York. The study, published Thursday in the journal Environmental Health, is the first to examine the relationship between wildfire smoke and asthma in the Northeast—which in recent years has seen a marked increase in poor air quality days due to wildfires. Wildfire smoke contains tiny particles known as PM2.5, along with other toxic pollutants that can damage the lungs and worsen respiratory conditions such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Nationwide, 6.5% of children and 8% of adults have asthma. Vermont’s rates are higher with 7% of children and 11% of adults diagnosed with the disease.

Vermont Business Magazine Rutland Regional Medical Center’s James T. Bowse Health Trust (BHT) committee has announced new funding for three transformative projects that will strengthen the health and vitality of the Rutland region. The Boys & Girls Club of Rutland County, Rutland County Head Start, and Vermont Adult Learning have each been awarded three-year grants to launch impactful initiatives that will benefit children, families, and adults across our community. These projects directly address top priority needs identified in the 2024 Community Health Needs Assessment, with a strong emphasis on advancing health equity in Access to Care, Community Connection, and Community Safety. 

Vermont Business Magazine As the holiday season approaches, Vermont Lottery joins lotteries and community organizations across the country in promoting responsible play through the annual “Gift Responsibly” holiday campaign. The campaign is organized by the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) and supported by the North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries (NASPL). The campaign serves as a reminder that lottery tickets are intended for adults aged 18 or older and should never be given to minors. Research supports that early exposure to or participation in gambling during childhood is highly correlated with the development of a gambling problem later in life. While lottery tickets can be a fun and entertaining gift for adults, the Vermont Lottery and NCPG encourage players to consider age-appropriate, non-gambling gifts for children and teens.