Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott, Senator Sanders, Senator Welch, Congresswoman Balint, and the Agency of Commerce and Community Development (ACCD) yesterday announced the first round of Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) grant awards in response to the July 2023 floods. These funds will benefit communities most impacted by the floods in regions designated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in consultation with state officials. The designated Most Impacted and Distressed (MID) areas include Lamoille, Washington, Caledonia, Orleans, Rutland, Windham, and Windsor counties.

Vermont Business Magazine Today, U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont) joined Vermonter and Agence France-Presse (AFP) video journalist Dylan Collins, U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), U.S. Representative Becca Balint (D-Vermont-At Large), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), and Amnesty International USA to demand justice for journalists killed and injured in the Middle East. Collins met separately with Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont). For the first time publicly, Senator Welch revealed that Prime Minister Netanyahu’s government has closed a review into the Israeli military’s October 13, 2023, targeted double-tap strike on a clearly identifiable group of journalists in southern Lebanon, which wounded his constituent, U.S. citizen and AFP video journalist, Dylan Collins. Reuters video journalist Issam Abdallah was killed in the first strike, and AFP photojournalist Christina Assi was gravely wounded, resulting in the amputation of her right leg.

Vermont Business Magazine The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released updated federal guidance on December 9 and 10, 2025, clarifying that specific non-citizen categories, including some Lawful Permanent Residents (LPRs) and Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) holders in the U.S. for fewer than five years are eligible for 3SquaresVT. "Based on our initial review, we estimate that approximately 90 individuals who are lawful permanent residents or special immigrant visa holders potentially meet criteria to regain eligibility under the updated federal guidance."

Vermont Business Magazine What do the communities of Ripton, Barre Town, Tunbridge, Newport Town, Berkshire, West Dover, Springfield, Barre, and West Rutland all have in common? Each town has removed a derelict dam this summer, restoring a river to its natural state. In fact, 9 dams were removed this past summer, which is the most planned dam removals ever completed in Vermont in a single year. These projects contribute to the local economy by engaging excavation contractors in almost $4 million worth of work, as well as enhancing outdoor recreation opportunities by making Vermont’s waters cleaner, safer, and more accessible.        

Vermont Business Magazine Through December 24, 2025, the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department is accepting public comment on a proposal to increase the tuition for its Green Mountain Conservation Camp (GMCC) from $250 to $300. In addition to the proposed GMCC tuition increase, the department is also proposing to increase day use fees for the buildings at its Buck Lake and Kehoe Education Centers. Day use rentals of Buck Lake and Kehoe would increase to $300 per day for partnering organizations and $600 per day for private entities.  Additional minor facility rental fee changes are also proposed. 

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing has announced the results of the latest study by Tourism Economics, which finds that the 16 million people who visited Vermont in 2024 spent a record $4.2 billion on goods and services.  Both visitation and spending numbers statewide showed a modest increase from 2023.  According to the report, visitor spending represents 9% of Vermont’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which is significantly higher than the 2023 national state average of 3%. It also found the visitor economy directly supports 31,780 jobs (10% of Vermont’s workforce), compared to the national average of 4.6%.   

Vermont Business Magazine Rutland Regional Medical Center announced today that it will advance its proposed pediatric care delivery redesign through the Agency of Human Services’ (AHS) newly established statewide health care transformation process. As part of this transition, RRMC will withdraw its prior filing before the Green Mountain Care Board (GMCB) to close the pediatric unit, submitted under the Board’s Interim Policy before AHS’ statewide framework was in place. RRMC stated that this new approach provides the comprehensive, coordinated review structure necessary for long-term, sustainable improvements to pediatric and women’s health services. “As we shift into the statewide transformation process, the needs that led us to consider a pediatric redesign, decreased demand, workforce constraints, and sustainability concerns, remain and we will move ahead with this work thoughtfully and responsibly."

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine Average gasoline prices in Vermont are $3.10/g, down 1 cent per gallon from last week, unchanged from last month and down 1 cent/g from last year, according to AAA. The lowest price in the state this week was $2.82/g while the highest was $3.29/g, a difference of 47.0 cents per gallon. Prices are lowest in Bennington ($2.93/g) and Rutland ($3.00/g) counties and highest in Essex ($3.21/g), Chittenden ($3.18/g), Washington ($3.18/g) and Grand Isle ($3.20/g). The national average price of gasoline has fallen 5 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $2.94/g today

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine Today, the Vermont Department of Labor reported the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for September 2025 was 2.5%. This reflects no change from August’s revised estimate. However, the Labor and Employment indicators both fell. Vermont has the second lowest rate in the nation, tied with Hawaii and five-tenths below South Dakota. California is highest at 5.6%. See data tables below. The civilian labor force participation rate was 64.4 percent in September, a decrease of two-tenths of one percentage point from the prior month’s revised estimate. The comparable United States rate in September was 4.4 percent, an increase of one-tenth of one percentage point from the revised August estimate.

Vermont Business Magazine The Associated General Contractors of Vermont (AGC/VT), Vermont’s preeminent trade organization representing the construction industry, recognized 13 exceptional projects and companies during its Annual Meeting on December 3, 2025, in Burlington. The event marked the largest annual gathering of construction professionals from across Vermont, with approximately 300 in attendance. There, AGC/VT presented its prestigious Best Builders Awards honoring outstanding craftsmanship, innovation and commitment to quality in Vermont’s construction industry. Award-winning projects ranged from rebuilt, disaster-stricken infrastructure, to major housing projects, to innovative highway and bridge construction and more. 

Vermont Business Magazine Mac Mountain in Woodstock has announced the official launch of LightCraft, its dedicated operational division responsible for overall management of partners operations that includes planning, building, operating, sales support and financing broadband networks for partners across the country. The new division is a critical component of Mac Mountain’s “one-of-a-kind” broadband partnership model introduced in October, an approach designed to increase subscribers and provide long-term shared cashflow to network providers offering fiber broadband connectivity, such as ISPs, CUDs and municipalities.

Vermont Business Magazine U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont), a leader in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) reform efforts, today called on Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem to release the FEMA Review Council’s full, unaltered report ahead of the Council’s final meeting. According to reports, Secretary Noem edited the report and recommendations down, eliminating roughly 140 pages of the Council’s work.