Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Neagley & Chase Construction, one of northern New England’s most respected and diverse commercial construction firms, has announced that Rob Higgins has been named President after 25 years with the company. Known for his collaborative approach and practical problem-solving, Rob has long served as a trusted Project Executive and leader in the company’s operational and financial systems. His strong relationships with subcontractors and trade partners have contributed significantly to the firm’s reputation for excellence. Rob started as a Field Engineer for Neagley & Chase in 2001.

Public Assets Institute Facts still matter, and the proof of that is becoming more and more evident as we continue to lose access to valuable federal government data. Today is the day we would normally be getting information about the number of jobs employers added or cut last month. We would have learned if the number of Vermonters who are out of work rose or fell. And we should have gotten data on the ratio of job openings to the number of people looking for work, which could shed light on Vermonters’ employment prospects heading into the fall. Today, however, we can’t tell you whether Vermont’s unemployment rate went up or down last month or jobs increased or decreased because the BLS stopped publishing new data when the federal government shut down October 1.

Vermont State Police On October 21, 2025, at approximately 0058 hours, Troopers from the Vermont State Police – Rutland Barracks responded to the intersection of Country Club Road and Forest Dale Road in the Town of Brandon for a report of a single-vehicle crash into a utility pole. It was reported that the operator, David Fletcher, was unresponsive, and members of Green Mountain Power were performing CPR upon Troopers’ arrival. He was transported from the scene by Brandon Rescue and was later pronounced deceased by medical staff at Rutland Regional Medical Center.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont State Chartered Bank, formerly known as Bank of Burlington, officially steps forward as The Business Bank, marking three years since opening its doors and continuing its mission to deliver straightforward, local banking built for businesses. In a statement the bank said its new name “reflects the success of this model” and their “clear focus to serve business customers, while continuing to grow across Vermont and expanding into New Hampshire and Massachusetts.” The Business Bank remains headquartered in South Burlington, Vermont, with expansion underway in Portsmouth, NH, and East Longmeadow, MA.

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. 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 are higher in Vermont than they are nationally. There were 5 outbreaks last week (5 the week before), with 5 in Long-Term Care Facilities and 0 in schools. Like hospitalizations, outbreaks increased slightly since mid-summer.

Vermont Business Magazine Finance Committee member Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont) today introduced the No Big Blockbuster Bailouts Act (NOBBBA), a bill to reverse Republicans’ policies in the so-called ‘One Big Beautiful Bill Act’ that block Medicare from negotiating the price of blockbuster drugs. The NOBBBA will ensure seniors, people with disabilities on Medicare, and families can access the lower-priced prescriptions they need. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) found this week that the Republican tax and spending bill’s exemption and delay of Medicare drug price negotiation on certain drugs provided a staggering $8.8 billion bailout to Big Pharma—nearly double the original estimate. This exclusion included several blockbuster cancer and rare disease drugs, including Keytruda (Merck), Opdivo (Bristol-Myers Squibb), and Darzalex (Johnson & Johnson). 

Vermont Business Magazine Burlington School District today announced a major milestone in the pursuit of equity. In 2024–25, Students of the Global Majority made up 42% of BSD’s student population yet represented only 33% of suspensions. This means that last year, for the first time, BSD eliminated racial disparities in suspensions. In addition to reducing racial disparities, BSD also reduced the total number of suspensions across the district from 248 to 207. Still, Flanagan was quick to note that there is more work to be done.

by Julie Curtin, Champlain Housing Trust, and Brian Stark, Stark Law For most Vermonters, a home is more than just a place to live–it’s the biggest investment they’ll make. For roughly 35 to 40 percent of Americans, owning a home is the number one way to build wealth. For some, a home continues a legacy that began generations ago. For others, it’s the first step in creating one. Either way, homeownership is a powerful achievement–and protecting that achievement is just as important as reaching it. There’s no better time than now to begin your estate planning, and CHT has the course to put you on that path. 

Vermont Business Magazine When Kathy Johnson of Williston learned earlier this year that she would need heart surgery to unblock her left coronary artery, she wasn’t surprised – or even all that worried. Johnson, a 65-year-old mother of two and now three-time grandmother, has dealt with a lifetime’s worth of serious medical issues, diagnoses and treatments with a take-on-all-comers attitude, starting at age 13, when she was diagnosed with Stage 4 Hodgkins Lymphoma.

Vermont Business Magazine October is National Dental Hygiene Month. Vermont State University (VTSU), home to the state’s only accredited dental hygiene program, is recognizing the public health impact of its hundreds of program graduates, as well as its faculty and staff. Since 2004, the university has graduated 324 students into the workforce, the vast majority of whom are Vermonters with the remaining primarily coming to the program from border communities in neighboring states of New York and New Hampshire. For the past twenty years, VTSU dental hygiene students have successfully passed both the National Board Dental Hygiene Examination (NBDHE) and the American Dental Examiners (ADEX) hygiene examinations. Additionally, the Dental Hygiene program has a noteworthy 100% job placement rate for graduates. 

Vermont Business Magazine Vermonters came together on October 11th at the Burlington Surf Club for the Second Annual Vermont PANS/PANDAS 5K Run/Walk, an event shining a spotlight on pediatric autoimmune brain disorders that can abruptly alter a child's life overnight. Hosted by the Vermont PANDAS/PANS Network, the race brought together families, clinicians, and advocates to raise awareness of Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections (PANDAS) and Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome (PANS). These conditions, triggered by infections such as strep or COVID-19, cause the immune system to attack the brain—leading to the sudden onset of obsessive behaviors, anxiety, tics, and other debilitating symptoms.

Vermont Business Magazine A growing multi-disciplinary team of clinicians, surgeons, specialists, pharmacists, nurses and a psychologist is expanding local access to treatment and condition management services for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients in Vermont and northern New York. Led by IBD specialist and gastroenterologist Shruti Khurana, MD, the IBD Clinic at University of Vermont Health – UVM Medical Center offers leading-edge surgical services, treatment and condition management strategies for patients with conditions including ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease and pouch-related conditions such as pouchitis, a gastrointestinal condition that causes symptoms like diarrhea, bloody bowel movements, abdominal cramping, urgency and fatigue.