Current News

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.

Vermont Business Magazine Beacon Bank, formerly Berkshire Bank, is presenting the 2026 Women in Leadership Luncheon in partnership with the Southwestern Vermont Chamber of Commerce in Manchester on May 13 at noon. The signature event is expected to welcome more than 200 attendees from across southwestern Vermont, featuring a co-keynote presentation by Emily Bush of the Vermont Women’s Fund and Rhoni Basden of Vermont Works for Women. It will also include three awards recognizing local women for their leadership and impact: Young Woman in Leadership, Woman of the Year, and Lifetime Achievement.

Vermont Business Magazine Sparrow Plein Air Festival returns to Middlebury June 12–14, transforming the town into a vibrant open-air studio where artists and visitors can experience the creative process in real time. In partnership with Better Middlebury Partnership, painters will work across downtown streets, riverbanks, gardens, and historic sites, capturing Vermont’s landscape en plein air—directly from life. The festival is free and open to the public, inviting visitors to explore the town, watch artists at work, and engage with demonstrations and programming throughout the weekend.

Vermont Business Magazine On Thursday April 30, over 120 Brandon community members gathered at Otter Valley Union Middle & High School for a free dinner with live music and forums to share their experience of living or working in Brandon and what they’d like to see for the community’s future. Community members participated in six forums on topics including housing and jobs, education, community resources, infrastructure and public safety, recreation, and more. Earlier in the day, around 35 students at Otter Valley shared suggestions for a wide variety of actions the community could take that would make Brandon a better place for them today and in the future.