Current News

by Maggie Lenz and Gwynn Zakov Last week, we told you about the tie vote in the Senate Education Committee that temporarily stalled H.955, the major education transformation bill moving through the Legislature this session. Senate Education is the only Senate committee with an even number of members and an even partisan split. The committee took a straw poll to test support for H.955, and the result was 3–3, split along party lines, with all Republican members voting against the bill. That left the bill without a favorable vote from the committee that had spent weeks working through the House version. The House-passed version of H.955 creates Cooperative Education Service Agencies, or CESAs, as a new statewide education service structure. It also requires districts to participate in study groups to consider whether forming larger unified districts is advisable. The bill does not automatically merge districts. It requires a study process and leaves local voters involved before any recommended merger could move forward.

Vermont Business Magazine Average gasoline prices in Vermont are $4.54 per gallon, up 2.7 cents per gallon from last week's $4.52/g. The lowest price in the state yesterday was $4.25/g while the highest was $4.69/g, a difference of 44.0 cents per gallon. The national average price of gasoline has fallen 1 cent per gallon in the last week, averaging $4.47/g today. 

Vermont Business Magazine The sun shone down on nearly 3,700 members of the University of Vermont’s Class of 2026 and thousands of their family and friends as UVM celebrated its 225th Commencement Ceremony on the historic University Green in Burlington on Saturday, May 16. Students from UVM’s eight colleges and schools processed into the Green through overflow cheering crowds of well-wishers under a bluebird spring sky for the event that recognized the outcome of years of study and accomplishment, at which academic degrees were formally conferred, turning them all in an instant from students to alumni.

Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets For the past three and a half years, Vermont Cattlemen has partnered with a group of dairy farms raising beef x dairy crossbred terminal beef animals to evaluate the economic potential of building a Northeast‑based beef supply chain. You’re invited to an upcoming educational series where Vermont Cattlemen will share what they’ve learned and help farmers identify—or refine—their role in the beef supply chain during this unprecedented moment. All events are free, and lunch will be provided at the in‑person sessions.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine Windham County is hustling. When the Entergy Vermont Yankee nuclear plant in Vernon closed at the end of 2014, much was lost. The plant employed about 600 highly paid workers. While the plant is located on the Vermont side of the Connecticut River, the workers resided about evenly in Vermont, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. A facility that large impacts the tax base, housing, infrastructure, retail, and more, on top of the labor. The most positive result of the plant’s closing was that it created a sense of urgency on the part of local public and private development and on the part of the state. It also resulted in the establishment of the Windham County Economic Development Program. WCEDP provides funding and financial services to stimulate job creation, business expansion, and economic infrastructure in the county. 

Vermont Business Magazine This weekly report is a list of planned construction activities that will affect traffic on state highways and interstates throughout Vermont for the week of May 18, 2026. Please remember to drive safely in all work zones. Lives depend on it.  

by Senator Bernie Sanders I was very proud to watch Ben Ogden win two Olympic medals at the 2026 Winter Olympics in February. Ben is only the second American man to win an Olympic medal in cross-country skiing. The first was fellow Vermonter Bill Koch. Bill grew up skiing to school every day in Guilford, Vermont. From a young age, he loved winter and experiencing the outdoors on skis. He was only 20 when he competed at the 1976 Innsbruck Olympics and won silver in the 30-kilometer event. The Soviets dominated the sport, but Bill believed he had a chance to medal. He remembers skiing faster in that race than he ever had before. Six years later, Bill won the overall World Cup title.

by Anson B. Tebbetts, Secretary, VAAFM Vermont’s sugar makers, fruit and vegetable growers, loggers, and dairy farmers made their way to the State House this winter to speak out about Act 181 and its impact on rural Vermont. Their grassroots effort reminded legislators that policies crafted in Montpelier reach deep into the hills, valleys, farms, and forests that define our state. Act 181 expanded state authority over land use regulation. But after strong public pushback from working Vermonters across the state, portions of the law were stripped back — something that rarely happens once legislation is already enacted.

by Lyndonville Redemption, et al Vermont’s bottle bill has been part of our state’s environmental and recycling system for more than 50 years. 88% of Vermonters report that they support Vermont’s bottle bill system, and they understand the value of keeping beverage containers out of our roadsides, parks, and streams, and they know the bottle bill works. But the system only works because redemption centers do the hard work of collecting, sorting, and processing the containers that make the bottle bill possible. Today, those centers are still operating under a handling fee that has not been increased in 19 years, even as labor, equipment, rent, fuel, utilities, and every other business cost have climbed dramatically.

Vermont Business Magazine Ann Clark Ltd., the family-owned company widely recognized as North America's leading manufacturer of cookie cutters, today announced a continued expansion of its baking portfolio with the launch of five new products: Five gourmet baking mixes in beloved American flavors, Chocolate Whoopie Pie, Butterscotch Blondie, Cranberry White Chocolate Blondie, Chocolate Chunk Brownie, and Lemon Bar. Like every Ann Clark cookie cutter rolling off the line in Rutland, Vermont, the new mixes and frosting are proudly made in the USA, continuing the brand's nearly four-decade commitment to American craftsmanship.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine Vermont initial weekly unemployment claims fell slightly last week after a steep drop the week before. For the week ending May 9, 2026, the Vermont Department of Labor reported that there were 341 new claims, down 14 from the previous week and down 56 from last year at this time. The end of the winter tourism season typically brings a flurry of layoffs; claims had spiked in April. Nationally, stocks fell on Friday after a few good weeks, as, led by inflation, economic conditions suffered with falling tech shares and rising treasury rates. Recent wild swings in the stock market have depended on news from the Middle East, but structural issues weighed down the markets by the end of the week.

Vermont Business Magazine A presentation on new initiatives for student success was one of the highlights of the University of Vermont Board of Trustees’ annual spring meeting on May 15 at the Dudley H. Davis Center, along with crucial discussions of UVM’s enrollment and budget picture for fiscal year 2027, as the university prepared for a celebratory Commencement Weekend recognizing more than 2,600 new graduates. The administration offered ways to manage a 3.25% reduction in the general fund budget to account for the projected revenue decrease related to enrollment decline. The Board approved the FY27 general fund operating expense budget for the university of $457,328,289, and trustees offered their support for a deliberate reduction in expenses and encouragement that the university prioritize strategies to expand mission-aligned revenue streams and attract new students.