Current News

by Maggie Lenz and Gwynn Zakov On Friday, the Senate Education Committee took a straw poll to test support for H.955, the major education transformation bill that has been moving through the Legislature this session. The House-passed bill would create Cooperative Education Service Agencies, or CESAs, as a new statewide education service structure, and would assign school districts into mandatory study groups to examine whether forming larger unified districts is advisable. The bill does not automatically merge districts, but it does require communities to go through a formal study process and consider whether consolidation would improve governance, operations, educational opportunity, and long-term financial sustainability. The Senate committee appeared to be moving more or less within the general framework the House had laid out.

Vermont Business Magazine Average gasoline prices in Vermont are $4.52 per gallon, up 9.9 cents per gallon from last week's $4.42/g. The lowest price in the state yesterday was $4.25/g while the highest was $4.70/g, a difference of 45.0 cents per gallon. The national average price of gasoline has risen 5.1 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $4.48/g today. 

Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is maximizing disaster assistance support for producers by issuing a second Supplemental Disaster Relief Program (SDRP) payment to eligible producers who have approved program applications for losses due to natural disasters in calendar years 2023 and 2024. USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) has already provided $6.7 billion in SDRP payments to eligible producers. Additionally, USDA is extending the program deadline to give producers and FSA more time to address any program application changes that could impact payments. The original April 30 deadline has been extended to August 12 for SDRP Stage 1 and Stage 2.

Vermont Business Magazine As warmer weather returns to Vermont, state officials and partners are reminding residents and visitors to take extra precautions when swimming and paddling this spring. Despite mild air temperatures, waters remain dangerously cold and fast-moving, increasing the risk of injury or drowning.

Vermont Business Magazine Internationally recognized advocate for girls’ education, Shabana Basij-Rasikh, illustrated to the Saint Michael’s College Class of 2026 just how precious access to education can be in some parts of the world during her remarks at the College’s 119th Commencement. Basij-Rasikh, who co-founded the School of Leadership, Afghanistan (SOLA), had fought for her own education while growing up under Taliban rule. She attended secret schools run by women in her hometown of Kabul until the age of 12 because, up until then, the Taliban rulers prohibited girls’ education. The Taliban eventually fell when Basij-Rasikh was a pre-teen, but more recently, in 2021, they returned to power.

by Mike Donoghue A longtime boxing coach from the Elizabeth, N.J. area has been sentenced in Vermont to 18 months in federal prison for helping bring nine illegal immigrants from Ireland across the border in 2024 – just five months after he was captured for an earlier human smuggling case in Northern New York. The U.S. Border Patrol found Tyshan Murray, 45, with four adults and five children stuffed in his Nissan Murano in Richford during a traffic stop about 1 a.m. Sept. 8, 2024.  Two young children were located in the rear cargo compartment sitting on luggage without seatbelts or safety seats, the Border Patrol reported.

Vermont Business Magazine UVM researchers have uncovered a powerful new insight about how language works—one that overturns a cornerstone assumption in psychology, linguistics, and artificial intelligence that has stood for more than 70 years. Their study, published May 6 in Science Advances, introduces “ousiometrics,” the quantitative study of essential meaning, and reveals that language is fundamentally organized not around emotion alone, but around a deeper structure shaped by power, danger, and order. At the heart of the discovery is a striking and far-reaching finding: human language is systematically biased toward safety.

The Vermont State Police is investigating a suspicious death in the Windsor County town of Norwich. The investigation began at about 10 a.m. Saturday, May 9, 2026, when police received a report of a deceased woman at a property at 48 Douglas Hill Rd. First responders located a woman dead inside the residence. Initial investigation indicates the woman’s death occurred under potentially suspicious circumstances. Everyone associated with this matter is accounted for, and there is no identified danger to the public.

Vermont Business Magazine On May 1, 2026, the AO Glass studio in Burlington began offering their Immersive Glass Experience for locals and visitors to the city's South End Arts District. The Immersive Glass Experience is one of several initiatives designed to attract more visitors to the Burlington area by offering new, exciting and educational activities. AO Glass collaborates with Hello Burlington and CEDO and plays an active role in the creative economy of Burlington. AO Glass was inspired by the global phenomenon of Netflix’s Blown Away in creating this new experience.

Vermont Business Magazine This weekly report is a list of planned construction activities that will affect traffic on state highways and interstates throughout Vermont for the week of May 11, 2026. Please remember to drive safely in all work zones. Lives depend on it.  

by Rep Gina Galfetti (R-Barre Town) Has anyone else wondered why the Global Warming Solutions Act never solved anything? Indeed, from day one the Act was doomed to fail. Climate change is indeed very real; however, initiatives proposed in the GWSA were never going to have any measurable effect on the problem of carbon emissions, and when it was combined with the Clean Heat Standard and the EV mandate, the Majority appears to have had an agenda that missed the mark. The fact of the matter is the quickest way to reduce carbon emissions and save low- and middle-income folks money would be to invest in weatherization programs. Vermont has some of the oldest housing stock in the nation, and weatherizing homes is the fastest way to reduce emissions significantly while at the same time reducing both fossil fuel reliance and lowering electric bills.

Vermont Business Magazine RunVermont, the Vermont-based nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting running as a lifelong activity by producing exceptional events and programs that engage our community and celebrate the athletic spirit, announces the 37th running of the M&T Bank Vermont City Marathon & Relay, with Relays presented by Darn Tough Vermont, on Sunday, May 24, 2026, continuing its long-standing tradition as a cornerstone of Memorial Day Weekend in Burlington. The race will begin at 7:15 a.m. at Waterfront Park, drawing around 5,000 registrants, 20,000 spectators, and 800 volunteers.