Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Agency of Transportation (AOT) is awarding approximately $6 million in grants to municipalities for bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure improvement projects. The combination of construction projects and planning grants will benefit cities and towns statewide with improved transportation connectivity and safety, tangible economic benefits, and additional transportation options for commuters, visitors, and recreational users. Vermont continues to prioritize making communities and streets more accessible for all modes of transportation. In downtowns and village centers especially, municipalities are responding to the need for better active transportation facilities.  

Vermont Business Magazine Norwich University announces that its undergraduate certificate in Geospatial Intelligence (GEOINT) has been awarded full accreditation by the United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation (USGIF). The program has been accredited for a five-year term, effective through August 26, 2030. The USGIF review committee commended Norwich on the quality of its program and leadership, noting: “The review committee was highly impressed with the quality of the program and its leadership. We would like to congratulate you and your team again for your accomplishment and welcome you to join USGIF’s Collegiate Accredited Schools.” 

Vermont Business Magazine Collins Aerospace’s Vergennes facility has officially been recognized as a Star site in Vermont’s Green Mountain Voluntary Protection Program (GMVPP), the highest level of achievement in the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP).  This honor places Collins Aerospace among a select group of workplaces nationwide that demonstrate an exemplary commitment to employee safety and health.   

Vermont Business Magazine After more than 17 years as President & Executive Director of the Burlington Business Association (BBA), Kelly Devine has announced her departure, effective at the end of the year. Devine has led the organization through significant initiatives to enhance downtown Burlington’s vibrancy, safety, and economic health. Chair of the Board Chelsea Condos said, “Kelly has been the backbone of the BBA for nearly two decades. Her commitment, energy, and vision have transformed downtown Burlington in ways that benefit every resident, business owner, and visitor. While we will deeply miss her leadership, we are grateful for all she has accomplished and are committed to building on the strong foundation she has laid as we look toward the future.”

Vermont Business Magazine An effort years in the making culminated today in a ceremonial ribbon cutting ceremony in Shelburne, marking the transformation of a former motel which provided temporary housing for homeless Vermonters into a new neighborhood with affordable apartments and condominiums. Over a hundred people gathered to mark the occasion. The new Bay Ridge neighborhood, developed by Champlain Housing Trust and Evernorth, includes 68 affordable apartments and 26 new affordable condominiums. All will become homes that will be affordable to generations of Shelburne residents – a hallmark of Vermont’s policy to safeguard taxpayer investment in affordable housing.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine Average gasoline prices in Vermont are $3.17 per gallon, down 3 cents per gallon from last week, up 7 cents/g from last month and down 6 cents/g from last year. The lowest price in the state this week was $2.89/g while the highest was $3.35/g, a difference of 46.0 cents per gallon. Prices were lowest in Bennington ($3.03/g) and Addison ($3.07/g) counties and highest in Lamoille ($3.24/g), Franklin ($3.27/g) and Grand Isle ($3.27/g). The national average price of gasoline has fallen 5 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.15/g today. The national average is down 1 cent/g from a month ago and stands 6 cents per gallon lower than a year ago.

Vermont Business Magazine Today, Burlington Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak held a press conference to announce the appointment of Kelli Perkins, Ed.D, to serve as the next Director of the Office of Racial Equity, Inclusion & Belonging (REIB). Dr. Kelli Perkins has 20 years of professional experience at the intersection of educational administration, DEI, and human resources, most recently serving as the Human Resources and Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) Director for Vital Communities, an Upper Valley nonprofit. She earned her Doctor of Education from Northeastern University, as well as a Master of Science in Adult Education from North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University.    

Vermont Business Magazine Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) today strongly condemned Nexstar Media Group’s decision to block the broadcast of Jimmy Kimmel Live! on stations it owns, including WVNY in Vermont, following political pressure from former President Donald Trump and FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr. In a letter sent this week to Nexstar CEO Perry Sook, Sanders called the move “absolutely unacceptable” and a “dangerous act of censorship that has no place in a democratic society.” “Let’s be clear,” Sanders wrote. “Being able to publicly criticize or make fun of the President of the United States—whether that person is a Republican, Democrat or Independent—is what makes America a great country and sets us apart from tin pot dictatorships and authoritarian regimes.”

Vermont Business Magazine Great Works Internet (GWI) today announced a legal victory in its ongoing dispute with the East Central Vermont Telecommunications District (ECFiber). On September 23, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the District of Vermont denied ECFiber’s Emergency Motion to Enforce and Modify the Court’s Order of August 11, 2025. ECFiber sought to remove GWI from network operations and immediately hand control over to Vermont ISP Operating Company (VISPO), a newly formed, untested organization with no track record and no public budget. The Court rejected this attempt, affirming that GWI remains the contracted operator of the ECFiber system through December 31, 2025, and that its staffing and operational decisions remain under GWI’s sole authority. 

Vermont Business Magazine State Senator Anne Watson, the balcony solar nonprofit Bright Saver, the Vermont Public Interest Research Group (VPIRG), and Vermont Natural Resources Council (VNRC), have launched a campaign to pass legislation enabling plug-in solar in Vermont. The effort would make Vermont one of the first states in the nation to follow Utah, which earlier this year passed plug-in solar legislation with unanimous bipartisan support. Pennsylvania also announced their plan to introduce plug-in solar legislation last month.

Vermont Business Magazine At its annual celebration last Wednesday, the Vermont Land Trust recognized Camp DREAM and Boneyard Farm for their exceptional contributions to unite land and lives. The Land and Lives Award, given annually to an individual or organization, recognizes qualities of leadership, resourcefulness, and inclusiveness that have made an enduring difference in the well-being of Vermont’s land and people. VLT awarded Mike Foote, Founder and Empowerment Director at The DREAM Program (DREAM), for his years of work to support outdoor recreation opportunities for rural and low-income youth in Vermont and further afield.  

by Mike Donoghue, Vermont News First, Vermont Business Magazine A Newbury man, who claimed he got food poisoning and sustained kidney damage from a contaminated pre-packaged ham and Swiss cheese sandwich purchased at a Shaw’s supermarket has lost his product liability lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Burlington. A federal jury in Burlington rejected the claim by Michael Emerson against the Shaw’s Supermarket in Woodsville, N.H. and Fresh Ideation Food Group LLC, doing business as Fresh Creative Cuisine, which prepared the sandwich at its Baltimore, Maryland facility in January 2023. The 8-member civil jury said on its verdict form last week that Emerson failed to show, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the sandwich was contaminated with listeria at the time of sale, the sandwich was "unreasonably dangerous" at the time of sale or that the listeria contamination caused harm to plaintiff.