Current News

Vermont Business Magazine New research from BlazerWorks reveals that Vermont is the #1 best state in the nation for special education — leading the country in inclusion, support staffing, and student success. The State of Special Education Index analysed national education and health data across all 50 states to understand how well each supports students with disabilities. Vermont stands out at the top of the rankings, ahead of North Carolina and Maine. In Vermont, nearly 80% of children with special health care needs participate in extracurricular activities — one of the highest involvement rates in the country. The state also ranks in the top 10 nationally for peer relationships, early intervention, academic achievement, and investment in student support services.

The Vermont State Police has continued investigating a cruelty-to-a-child complaint that was made on Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025. According to the findings of the investigation, Carmine Colajezzi, 39, of Randolph physically harmed and caused injury to his child, who is younger than age 5, on Sunday in addition to the prior incident on Nov. 16. Both incidents occurred while Colajezzi was shopping at Central Supply in the town of Randolph. 

Vermont Business Magazine Impactful research by scientists at the University of Vermont has identified new blood tests that can predict a person’s risk for cognitive impairment that can lead to dementia—long before people notice any memory issues. These blood tests use an emerging technology able to detect leakage of tiny amounts of proteins, called biomarkers, from damaged brain cells. The findings, published in Neurology, the journal of the American Academy of Neurology, show that brain changes happen decades before the onset of symptoms.

Vermont Business Magazine With the recent closure of the Copley Birthing Center, Copley Hospital has worked carefully to ensure that valuable equipment and supplies continue to benefit maternal and newborn care in the community. To support the next chapter in local maternity care, Copley donated equipment, furniture, and other supplies to the Green Mountain Birth Center (GMBC), which is preparing to open its doors to serve families in the region. Copley announced it would close the birthing center last June and did so on November 1.

Vermont Business Magazine VITL, Vermont’s nonprofit health information exchange, has announced the appointment of Randy Farmer as its new President and Chief Executive Officer. Farmer brings more than a decade of executive leadership experience and a deep understanding of health data services. He most recently served as the Chief Operating Officer at the Delaware Health Information Network (DHIN), one of the country’s leading health information exchanges. His accomplishments include expanding health data exchange utilization; developing services to best support providers and patients; and driving data sharing innovations that support patient care, care coordination, public health, and health system performance. Farmer will begin at VITL on December 15, 2025.

Vermont Business Magazine Central Vermont Home Health and Hospice (CVHHH) has announced that Tom MacLeay of Montpelier is the Honorary Chair of its year-end appeal. Tom is Chair of the National Life Group Foundation and a former President, CEO, and Chair of the Board of National Life Group. Tom shared his story with CVHHH’s extended community in a letter that mailed mid-November. Tom’s connection to CVHHH was forged several decades ago through his wife, Charlotte, to whom he was married for 49 years. Nursing was Charlotte’s calling, according to Tom, and wherever the pair lived, Charlotte found work helping others. She was passionate about public health, and home health and education were her favorite parts of nursing. 

Vermont Business Magazine An innovative collaboration between the Lyndon Institute and Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital (NVRH) in St Johnsbury is offering Licensed Nursing Associate (LNA) instruction to high school students during the 2025-2026 academic year. Students currently enrolled in the program take daily classes and gain hands-on health care experience to prepare for Vermont licensure testing. The use of scenarios with simulated patients, modeled after medical students' training, allows students to practice their skills in realistic situations.  

Vermont Business Magazine The holiday season is a time for celebrating old traditions and making new ones. This year, add giving blood to your holiday activities! Your gift can bring hope and healing to patients in need. The 2025 Gift of Life Marathon Blood Drive will offer four days of giving – with hundreds of donation appointments available. This year, the drive aims to collect 421 pints of blood. “My family knows firsthand how precious blood donation truly is. No one ever expects their loved one to need a transfusion. But when it happens, those bags of blood and platelets become lifelines,” said Shanti Gallo-McKenna, the Gift of Life Marathon 2025 blood drive ambassador.

Vermont Business Magazine The First Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Vermont announced that on November 24, 2025, Chief United States District Judge Christina Reiss sentenced Serhat Gumrukcu, 43, of Los Angeles, California, to life imprisonment for his role in the January 6, 2018, murder of Gregory Davis in Barnet, Vermont. Gumrukcu was convicted by a jury on April 18, 2025, of murder-for-hire and conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire. Gumrukcu was also convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Gumrukcu’s co-conspirators were sentenced in September 2025. 

Vermont Business Magazine Secretary of Administration Sarah Clark today released Vermont’s revenue results for October 2025. All three funds were below monthly consensus revenue expectations, although General Fund receipts remain ahead of target on a cumulative basis. The State’s General Fund, Transportation Fund, and Education Fund receipts were a combined $287.0 million, representing collections -$4.9 million, or 1.68%, below the $291.9 million monthly target in the consensus forecast adopted by the Emergency Board at its July 2025 meeting. Total General Fund revenues for October were $190.0 million, -$2.3 million or 1.2% below the $192.3 million monthly cash flow target, driven primarily by underperformance in Personal Income Tax, Meals & Rooms Tax, and Corporate Income Tax revenues. 

Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) I wanted to mention to you an issue of enormous consequence that I believe is not getting the attention that it deserves. Artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics are going to have a profound and transformative impact on our country and the entire world. The question is not whether these technologies will advance. They will. The question is: Who will control this technology? Who will benefit from it? And who will be left behind? That’s why last Tuesday, at Georgetown University, I sat down with the “Godfather of AI,” Nobel laureate Dr. Geoffrey Hinton, to discuss the extraordinary opportunities and dangers that AI and robotics pose for humanity, the world economy and the working families of Vermont and our country. I’m grateful to Dr. Hinton for joining me, and I hope you’ll take a few moments to watch our conversation.

Vermont Business Magazine Sixteen Vermont news organizations have been honored with the Local Civic Journalism Awards, a new program designed to steer state and philanthropic dollars to news outlets that inform Vermonters and foster civic engagement. The recipients represent a broad cross-section of local and regional news organizations — including newspapers that have served their communities for well over a century and digital-only enterprises that have sprung up in recent years to fill a void. They include nonprofit and for-profit entities and are mostly locally controlled. Many of the recipients are based in regions of the state that are otherwise underserved, including the Northeast Kingdom, southern Vermont and the Upper Valley. Each Local Civic Journalism Award-winner will receive $5,000 or $10,000 to further their existing mission.