Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), today published two op-eds in the Boston Globe and Fox News outlining common-sense health care policies to make care more affordable and accessible for every American. This comes after congressional Republicans voted to throw 15 million people off the health care they have and double insurance premiums, on average, for 20 million Americans. To make up for these devastating cuts, Trump and Republicans have suggested sending one-time checks to Americans as they pay out of pocket for their medical needs — checks that would be woefully insufficient to cover the real cost of care in this country.

The Vermont Department of Labor has released an easy-to-use tool to help find local Registered Apprenticeship programs! This searchable, sortable table is ideal for filtering the programs by town, county, occupation, or even employer, and will be updated quarterly. There are over 600 programs on the list across nearly 550 employers! We've made it easier than ever to find a Registered Apprenticeship program near you. 

Vermont Business Magazine The Attorney General’s Office announced Thursday that Jude Stone, 20, of Bakersfield, Vermont, was arraigned on one felony count and two misdemeanor counts of possession of Child Sexual Abuse Materials, and two felony counts of promoting a recording of child sexual conduct. The charges brought against Stone are the result of an investigation conducted by members of the Vermont Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (VT-ICAC). Stone pleaded not guilty at the arraignment today in Vermont Superior Court, Franklin Criminal Division. The Court ordered Stone released on conditions including that he not have contact with minors age 16 or younger, that he not access the internet, and that he not possess electronic devices capable of internet access. 

Public Assets Institute The Act 73 Redistricting Task Force wrapped up their work today, and they’ve given the state a chance to rethink the course of education reform it has been pursuing for the last decade. Vermont communities, as well as elected leaders, should seize this opportunity to get us out of the ditch we’ve been in and refocus on what should be our priority: ensuring our kids have what they need to thrive. One of the group’s most important recommendations is to stop further forced consolidation of school districts, which fits with one of the Task Force’s guiding principles: Do no harm.  It’s not that the committee opposes mergers. It recommends voluntary consolidation for some districts in certain circumstances, which was the state’s policy before passage of Act 46 a decade ago.

Vermont Business Magazine U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont), a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, today celebrated the Senate’s unanimous passage of his bipartisan, bicameral Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act, legislation to support America’s students and dairy farmers. The bipartisan bill, co-led with Senator Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), would allow schools participating in the National School Lunch Program to offer students whole milk, in addition to reduced-fat, low-fat, fat-free, lactose-free milk, and non-dairy alternatives. It will now move to the House of Representatives. 

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine Average gasoline prices in Vermont are $3.13/gallon, 3 cents/g from last week, up 1 cent/g from last month and up 3 cents/g from this time last year. This is the first time since 2022 that gas prices have been higher year-over-year, according to AAA. GasBuddy expects prices to fall by Thanksgiving. The national average price of gasoline has risen 2 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.10/g today. The national average is up 7 cents/g from a month ago and stands 4 cents/g higher than a year ago

Vermont Business Magazine Attorney General Charity Clark today issued a formal Attorney General Opinion related to Governor Phil Scott’s Executive Order 06-25, titled “Promoting Housing Construction and Rehabilitation.” The opinion was requested by Senate President Pro Tem Phil Baruth and House Speaker Jill Krowinski on October 1, 2025, to address whether the executive order exceeds the governor’s authority by changing existing law. There are, however, two sections of the executive order – one concerning the regulation of wetlands and one related to building energy standards – which are unlawful if they are intended to immediately change law without first following the agency rulemaking process under Vermont’s Administrative Procedures Act. In her letter today to the legislative leaders, she concludes that: "Reliance on the Order as a source of new law carries legal risk and may delay desired residential and commercial development outcomes."

Vermont Business Magazine State Auditor Doug Hoffer released an audit today of the Vermont Department of Health’s Food and Lodging program. The audit, the first of four the Auditor’s Office will be releasing in the coming months relating to how state government responds to Vermonters’ complaints, assessed whether Food and Lodging investigates complaints within their own required timeframes and whether inspectors confirm that the violations they find have been corrected. In addition, the audit evaluated whether VDH uses performance measurement to improve their important public health duties. Between 2022 - 2024, Food and Lodging received 1,081 complaints. Complaint types include allegations of bed bugs, inadequate cooking, contaminated food equipment, and unsanitary conditions.

Vermont State Police BCI were notified and began an investigation into a reported death of an adult male who was found unresponsive at Killington Ski Resort in the K-1 area.  Killington PD was notified and assisted with the investigation. It was determined that Michael Dore was skiing with friends when he collapsed. Killington Ski Patrol arrived and attempted CPR. Michael Dore was pronounced deceased during ambulance transport. BCI along with a medicolegal death investigator from the Office of Chief Medical Examiner determined that Dore's death appears to be from a medical event and not a ski accident. Nothing suspicious was observed or reported by first responders or witnesses.  No autopsy was ordered. No further information is available currently.  

Vermont Business Magazine Dispatch Energy LLC, a full-service provider of distributed energy solutions, has announced the acquisition of Green Lantern Solar based in Waterbury, Vermont, an integrated provider, developer, owner and operator of solar photovoltaic assets. Dispatch will acquire over 64 solar and battery storage projects from GLS, totaling 208.9 MWdc, at various stages of development and operations. This transaction brings Dispatch’s total portfolio to 489.5 MW, as the company works to aggregate distributed generation resources nationally. Financial terms were not released.

Vermont Business Magazine M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) was the largest 7(a) Small Business Administration (SBA) lender in its footprint by units in Fiscal Year 2025 and, for the 17th consecutive year, ranked among the nation’s top 10 Small Business Administration (SBA) 7(a) lenders. M&T continues to lead 7(a) SBA lending throughout its footprint in the Eastern U.S., outpacing its peers in loan volume and achieving top rankings in the Baltimore, Buffalo, Connecticut, Delaware, Philadelphia, Syracuse and Washington, D.C. SBA districts. M&T also placed among the top five lenders across its New England SBA districts. In Vermont, M&T was the #2 lender with 38 loans for $2.8 million.

Vermont Business Magazine U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, called on the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to investigate Secretary Kristi Noem’s recent awards of multiple no bid contracts as part of a $220 million ad campaign to firms with which she and her senior advisors have personal ties. Senator Welch asked Inspector General Joseph Cuffari to investigate and provide answers on Secretary Noem’s use of a “national emergency” to issue these taxpayer-funded contracts.