Current News

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine Average gasoline prices in Vermont are $3.10 per gallon, up 1 cent per gallon from last week, also up 1 cent/g from a month ago and down 27 cents/g from a year ago. The lowest price in the state this week was $2.77/g while the highest was $3.25/g, a difference of 48.0 cents per gallon. Prices were lowest in Bennington ($3.00/g) and Rutland ($3.02/g) counties and highest in Lamoille ($3.22/g), Franklin ($3.24/g) and Grand Isle ($3.23/g), according to AAA. Meanwhile, GasBuddy has released its annual Labor Day gas price forecast, predicting that average gas prices on the last summer holiday weekend of 2025 will be $3.15 per gallon, 14 cents lower than in 2024, and the lowest price at the pump since Labor Day 2020. The national average price of gasoline has risen 8 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.21/g today.

Vermont Business Magazine U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont) released the following reaction to President Trump’s illegal attempt to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook: “President Trump’s unlawful attempt to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook is an attack on the independence of our central bank. The Federal Reserve Board is purposely insulated from political pressures; the president’s interference is a blatant and illegal power grab, and the judiciary must push back. Eroding the independence of our central bank strikes at the heart of what makes our economy work. This move will further increase costs for working families, make it harder to buy a house or start a small business, and endanger the retirement savings of millions of Americans."

Vermont Business Magazine Waitsfield and Champlain Valley Telecom (WCVT), a fourth-generation, family-owned Vermont company, acquired Tilson’s Boundless Broadband Vermont fiber network, which serves customers in parts of Danville, Lunenburg, and Saint Johnsbury. Founded in 1904, WCVT has been connecting Vermonters for over 120 years. Customers in the newly acquired areas can expect a seamless transition, continued investment in infrastructure, responsive local customer service, and a long-term focus on connectivity and reliability. 

Vermont State Police On August 27th, 2025, at approximately 0420 hours VSP St. Albans barracks was notified of a single vehicle rollover crash on Cambridge Rd. near the intersection of Rushford Rd. in the Town of Fletcher. Upon arrival it was determined the vehicle left the roadway,  rolled, and the operator was deceased. The male operator was identified as 39-year-old Eric Martin, from Enosburg Vt. Assisting agencies included the Cambridge Fire Department, Fairfax Fire Department, and Cambridge Rescue.  The vehicle was removed by Stones Towing Service. 

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Law and Graduate School (VLGS), a leader in graduate education, is proud to announce a new partnership with City Year Inc., a national organization that works with schools and communities to advance academic outcomes for all students and develop the next generation of leaders through service. Through this collaboration, City Year AmeriCorps members, alumni and staff will have the opportunity to pursue advanced degrees at VLGS with access to waived application fees, tuition discounts and tailored professional development opportunities.

Vermont Business Magazine Last week, the Community College of Vermont (CCV) honored its founding president, Peter Smith, by dedicating a room in his name. A celebration was held on Friday at the Montpelier academic center, where a large meeting space has been renamed the Peter Smith Gathering Place. CCV was created in 1970 by a special commission charged by then-Governor Deane Davis to deliver postsecondary education to Vermonters in their local communities. Smith was hired as the first president of CCV, which was seen as a bold experiment in higher education.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark today led a bipartisan coalition of 47 state attorneys general in calling on major search engines and payment platforms to take stronger action against the growing spread of computer-generated deepfake non-consensual intimate imagery, sometimes known as “deepfake pornography.” In a letter to search engines, the coalition outlines the failures of these companies to limit the creation of deepfakes and calls for stronger safeguards – such as warnings and redirecting users away from harmful content – to better protect the public. In a separate letter to payment platforms, the coalition urges these companies to take stronger action to protect the public by identifying and removing payment authorization for deepfake non-consensual intimate imagery content. 

Vermont Business Magazine The Princeton Review has released the 2026 edition of its annual college guide, and Bennington College’s strengths shine through in its rankings, with Bennington’s theater program ranked #3 in the nation this year. “Bennington College was the first college to put the visual and performing arts at the center of a liberal arts curriculum,” said Laura R. Walker, President. “We are proud to see how this tradition of excellence continues to be manifested by our students and alumni today. Top three recognition of our theater program by The Princeton Review speaks volumes about the dedication of and collaboration between our faculty and students and the high quality of their work both in the classroom and onstage.”

Vermont Business Magazine The University of Vermont (UVM), the Robert Larner, M.D. College of Medicine, and University of Vermont Health Network have jointly launched a secure, collaborative data enclave designed to remove barriers to large scale, data-driven clinical and population health research while safeguarding patient privacy and integrity. This initiative marks a pivotal step in bridging academic research and sensitive, real-world data in Vermont, laying the foundation for evidence-based policymaking and research-informed healthcare delivery. The data enclave provides a protected environment for researchers to access and analyze clinical data. These enclaves are especially critical in health research, where data sets often include protected health information, insurance claims data, electronic health records, and other personally identifiable information.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health reported last week that the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations fell slightly after there were at a near record-low number of cases statewide in the late spring. Overall COVID trends are declining in Vermont, while being slightly elevated across the US. The Vermont COVID-19 pandemic death total stands at 1,301 as of August 16, 2025, with 0 reported deaths from the previous week (the most recent data available from the CDC). There has not been a COVID-related death in Vermont since mid-July. WHO also reported that global COVID-19 deaths keep declining. The VDH is no longer reporting COVID fatalities and cases in Vermont. Wastewater testing generally indicates that COVID-19 virus levels in Vermont also have fallen to very low levels after they had spiked in January. 

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Community Broadband Board (VCBB) is sponsoring a new session of its Broadband Technician Apprenticeship/Pre-Apprenticeship Training in partnership with North Country Career Center. It will be comprehensive training for an entry level broadband network technician. The three-week course will be offered in Montpelier starting September 17 and is available to participants at no cost. This is the fourth session of the training and is scheduled as Vermont is ready to make the final push on the state’s broadband buildout. An additional $229 million in federal funding from the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program is on the way to the state, construction is scaling up, and more workers are needed.

by Sam Donnelly, Executive Director of Building Burlington’s Future The City Council’s bipartisan, 9-2, vote today (Monday night) on the City Hall Park resolution (to increase enforcement) is a recognition that we need to do more to ensure our downtown spaces work for everyone. Recent incidents have raised concerns about safety and accessibility in City Hall Park. Families who once used the park as a place for play and connection are now choosing to stay away, which is a loss for our community. At the same time, people struggling with addiction and mental health challenges aren’t getting the support they need. Both realities point to the same conclusion: we have more work to do, and the city needs more resources to do that work.