Current News

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine In response to the disruption of federal funds, the Vermont Emergency Board (E-Board) approved a plan today to fully fund a continuation of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program/3SquaresVT (SNAP) benefits and Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) benefits in Vermont. The 3SquaresVT program will cost the state about $6.3 million for over 63,000 Vermonters. The governor said he does not expect the state to get reimbursed from the federal government. The state must re-program the system to allow for recipients to receive the food benefits via the existing EBT debit cards because it is a federal program. The EBT cards should be loaded by November 7. The E-Board also approved a state appropriation to the Vermont Foodbank of $250,000. The Vermont Foodbank will then distribute the money to local foodbanks to serve those in need. Since the state's announcement, a federal judge on Friday ordered the Trump Administration to continue SNAP benefits.

Vermont Business Magazine Representative Monique Priestley (D-Bradford), currently serving her second term in the Vermont House of Representatives, announced today that she will seek election to the Vermont State Senate in 2026. Priestly is seeking the seat now held by Larry Hart (R-Topsham). Hart was one of six Republicans who unseated a Democrat in the 2024 Senate election, when he decisively beat long-serving Mark MacDonald (D-Williamstown).

Vermont Business Magazine Northeastern Reproductive Medicine (NRM), a leading fertility clinic in Vermont with patients worldwide, is proud to announce a partnership with Olympic alpine skier Paula Moltzan. The collaboration will promote awareness of fertility services that can empower individuals to pursue their careers without compromising their dreams of starting a family.  A recent survey found that 70% of female athletes have postponed having children to focus on their careers, 95% believe that parenthood can negatively affect their earning potential, and 90% feel it can impact their ability to succeed at the highest levels of their sport. The “biological clock” can be paused by freezing eggs, a process called cryopreservation. Females receive hormonal stimulation to grow a large batch of egg follicles to maturation. A doctor performs a minimally invasive, ultrasound-guided surgical procedure to “retrieve” the eggs which are then vitrified (an ultra-rapid deep freeze), ready to be thawed and used later.   

Vermont Business Magazine Fidium has expanded its multi-gig speed network in Chittenden County, delivering all-fiber internet to more than 1,900 homes and businesses in Essex Town, Essex Junction, Jericho, Shelburne, Westford, and Williston. The buildout, completed in partnership with the Chittenden County Communications Union District (CCCUD), connects previously unserved and underserved locations to future-ready broadband. With this latest expansion, Fidium is now available to more than 17,000 locations across Chittenden County.

Vermont Business Magazine Secretary of Administration Sarah Clark today released Vermont’s revenue results for September 2025. The General Fund exceeded its monthly consensus cash flow target, as adopted by the Emergency Board at its July 2025 meeting, while the Transportation Fund and Education Fund missed their targets. The state’s General Fund, Transportation Fund, and Education Fund receipts were a combined $341.8 million, $7.4 million, or 2.2%, higher than the $334.4 million monthly target in the consensus forecast adopted by the Emergency Board at its July 2025 meeting. Total General Fund revenues for September were $250.2 million, $9.0 million or 3.7% above the $241.2 million monthly cash flow target, driven primarily by Personal Income Tax receipts that were $9.81 million, or 7.2%, above target. 

Vermont Business Magazine Attorney General Charity Clark today joined a coalition of 22 other attorneys general and three governors in filing a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and its Secretary Brooke Rollins for unlawfully suspending the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which helps more than 40 million Americans buy food, due to the ongoing federal government shutdown. The coalition argues that suspending SNAP benefits in this manner is both contrary to law and arbitrary and capricious under the Administrative Procedure Act and it will be filing a temporary restraining order later today asking the court to immediately restore SNAP benefits. 

Vermont Business Magazine University of Vermont Children’s Hospital has received a transformative $25 million gift from philanthropist and civic leader B. Thomas (Tom) Golisano that will help improve care for patients and families across the region. The gift will be used to expand critical services for children with complex medical needs, bring specialty care closer to home to reduce families’ travel time and stress, and support the organization’s commitment to delivering safe, high-quality care. Receiving this gift also includes an invitation to join 9 other hospitals nationally in forming the Golisano Children’s Alliance whose mission is to ensure that children and families have access to the highest quality care close to home.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health reported last week that the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations fell again slightly after a recent increase in cases that began in August. Other indicators like wastewater virus and outbreaks also declined. Neither the VDH nor the CDC are any longer reporting COVID fatalities or total cases in Vermont or in the US. WastewaterSCAN testing of treatment plants indicates that in Vermont both COVID-19 and Norovirus levels recently have been higher in Vermont than they are nationally.

Vermont Business Magazine U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont) on Monday cosponsored Senator Josh Hawley’s (R-MO) Keep SNAP Funded Act, which would ensure nutrition assistance will continue despite the ongoing government shutdown. More than 63,000 Vermonters rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), called 3SquaresVT. Senator Welch is a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee.  

The Annie E. Casey Foundation Child pover­ty in the U.S. has surged, near­ly tripling from 5% in 2021 to 13% in 2024. This dra­mat­ic increase fol­lows the expi­ra­tion of pan­dem­ic-era eco­nom­ic poli­cies and ris­ing prices that have strained fam­i­ly bud­gets nation­wide. How­ev­er, a new report from the Annie E. Casey Foun­da­tion, ​“Mea­sur­ing Access to Oppor­tu­ni­ty in the Unit­ed States: A 10-Year Update,” under­scores the pro­found impact of pub­lic poli­cies and pro­grams, demon­strat­ing their capac­i­ty to cut child pover­ty in half. Meanwhile, Vermont ranks in the second tier of state with a supplemental child poverty rate of 9%. The US average is 13%. Fourteen states ranked better than Vermont, with Maine having the lowest rate at 5% and Louisiana having the highest rate at 19% (along with Washington, DC).

Vermont Business Magazine 911 call-takers have begun connecting Vermonters directly to trained mental health counselors. The new statewide 911-to-988 protocol makes it possible for 911 call-takers to transfer appropriate calls to the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, the national three-digit number for mental health and suicide crises. The Vermont Department of Mental Health, the Vermont Department of Public Safety, the Vermont Enhanced 911 Board and stakeholders from the first responder community developed the 911 to 988 transfer protocol collaboratively. Now, 911 call-takers can quickly connect people experiencing a mental health crisis to 988. The call-taker stays on the line until a 988 counselor joins.

Vermont Business Magazine Charlene Burroughs can’t remember the last time she didn’t feel short of breath – that is, until recently. Several days after leaving University of Vermont Medical Center – where she became one of the first people in the region to undergo a new heart valve replacement procedure – Burroughs was back home in Crown Point, New York. Burroughs’ change of health is due to her recent transcatheter tricuspid valve replacement (TTVR) procedure, performed by interventional cardiologists Tanush Gupta, MD and Rony Lahoud, MD, and advanced imaging cardiologists Kramer Wahlberg, MD, and Trace Barret, MD at UVM Medical Center. The team used thin, flexible tubes known as catheters to steer an artificial tricuspid valve into position in Burroughs’ heart, replacing the faulty original.