Current News

Vermont Business Magazine This week Cathedral Square celebrated the official grand opening of Reid Commons, bringing 33 new energy-efficient, affordable apartments for adults 55 and older to St. Albans. Federal, state, and local officials gathered with community members to celebrate the momentous occasion, over a decade in the works. Located at 17 Lower Newton Street, Reid Commons offers one- and two-bedroom apartments with a range of rents to serve a mixed-income community. All apartments are designed with ADA accessibility in mind. Reid Commons offers SASH (Support and Services at Home), which includes an onsite care coordinator, part-time wellness nurse, and social emotional wellness clinician at no cost to residents.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today attended the Vermont League of Cities and Towns’ annual flagship event to help towns and cities navigate challenges and opportunities ahead, including civic engagement. Governor Scott highlighted the role each of us plays in tamping down the divisive rhetoric we’re seeing more often by listening to the perspectives of others and treating others with civility and respect. 

Vermont Business Magazine Burlington Electric Department (BED) is warning customers of a phone scam today. In a sudden surge of calls, the scammers claim to be from Burlington Electric Department, threaten customers that their power will be shut off in the next 30 minutes if they do not pay their bill, demand payment, and provide an 800 number that customers should call to make payments. If customers call the 800 number, they will hear the actual BED phone tree message providing options, including customer service and bill pay options. Selecting the customer service/bill pay option will lead the caller to a person claiming to be from BED. This person is not from BED.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) today will hold another livestream conversation with Sens. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Peter Welch (D-Vt.) to update the American people on the state of the government shutdown and discuss the devastating impact that the Republican health care cuts will have on everyday Americans. Last week’s livestream with these senators has been viewed nearly 1.2 million times across Sanders' social media platforms. 

Vermont Business Magazine The New England Rural Health Association (NERHA) has received a Notice of Award from the Health Resources and Services Administration’s Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (HRSA FORHP) for the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program (RCORP), Northern Border Rural Workforce Grant. The award totals $1.6 million over four years and will support training, placement, and sustainability efforts to strengthen the behavioral health workforce across rural Vermont and New Hampshire. NERHA will lead the development of the Vermont/New Hampshire Rural Behavioral Health Workforce Training Network (VT/NH RBHWTN), a consortium designed to expand access to care for individuals with substance use disorders (SUD). 

Vermont State Police As search efforts continued Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025, for 62-year-old Rodney Davis of Wallingford, the Vermont State Police Search and Rescue Team located human remains in the woods at about 12:30 p.m. in the vicinity of Davis’ home on Nash Drive. Positive identification was unable to be made. The body was recovered and will be transported to the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Burlington for an autopsy to confirm identity and determine the cause and manner of death.

Public Assets Institute Federal shutdown explainer: What’s at stake in a government shutdown and funding fight? Thousands of Vermonters risk layoffs and furlough and the impacts of the shutdown extend to the potential loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in appropriations for housing, agriculture, transportation, and more.  PLUS: Join us for an interactive briefing and Q&A on these two pressing issues on Wednesday, October 29th at noon or 7pm. Register for your preferred time to access the appropriate zoom link. We’ll record the conversation and send it out to those who register for either time slot.

Vermont Business Magazine From housing affordability to infrastructure resilience, the choices Vermont makes today will define its communities for decades. On Oct. 30, the state's development and business community will convene for the 11th Annual Vermont Development Conference (VDC), hosted by White + Burke Real Estate Advisors at Hotel Champlain. The conference will bring together more than 300 leaders in real estate, planning, finance, energy, construction, engineering, law, government and policy for a day of debate, dialogue and fresh ideas on Vermont’s most pressing challenges from the housing crisis to infrastructure investment.

Vermont State Police On Tuesday morning, the Vermont State Police were notified of a deceased man on the Missisquoi Valley Rail Trail near the intersection of White Road in the town of Enosburg. Troopers responded to the scene and located the deceased man along with an electric scooter down an embankment off the north side of the trail. The identity of the man is unknown at this time. 

Vermont State Police During continued search efforts Tuesday afternoon, Oct. 7, 2025, for missing 74-year-old boater David Maynard of Wilmington, a kayaker on Somerset Reservoir notified Vermont State Police auxiliary troopers of a body in the water. Crews responded to the area, recovered the body, and were able to make initial identification as Mr. Maynard. The body will be brought to the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Burlington for an autopsy to confirm identity and determine the cause and manner of death. This incident does not appear to be suspicious. In addition to the first-response organizations listed below, participating agencies throughout the weeklong search included underwater recovery teams and aerial units from the Massachusetts and New York state police.

Vermont Business Magazine The Attorney General’s Office announced that Caleb Devarney, 32, of St. Albans, Vermont, was sentenced yesterday in Vermont Superior Court, Franklin Criminal Division, after pleading guilty to three felony and two misdemeanor counts of Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Material. The Court, Judge Elizabeth Novotny presiding, sentenced the defendant to three to five years in prison, all suspended under a 10-year term of probation. Conditions of Devarney’s probation include mandatory completion of sex offender programming, no contact with children under 18, and restricted access to the internet. If Devarney violates the terms of his probation, he faces up to five years in prison. Devarney is also required to register as a sex offender until 10 years have passed since the completion of his sentence.

Vermont Business Magazine At a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing today, U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, grilled Attorney General (AG) Pam Bondi for her evasive answers and lack of transparency in response to questions about bribery allegations concerning Trump Border Czar Tom Homan.