Current News

by Natalie Bankmann, Community News Service Brenda Gagne, chief of Abenaki Nation at Missisquoi, a state-recognized tribe, can still remember when her relatives fished and harvested along the bank of Missisquoi Bay, sinking their bodies into the lake as the morning sun warmed their backs. Now, she says, the lake is so dirty her grandchildren rarely feel the cool relief of an afternoon swim. “I don’t think we as Vermonters are taking care of the most important thing. Without Nebi, which is water to us, there is no life.” 

Vermont Business Magazine Burlington Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak on Wednesday rescinded the January 8, 2025, Executive Order requiring Mayor’s Office review of Burlington Police Department press releases. As outlined in the Executive Order, the decision to rescind follows the Police Commission’s approval of updates to BPD Directive 30 related to Public Information, which occurred at its July 22, 2025, meeting. DD 30 was last updated in 2010.   

by Jon Humphrey, Professional Logging Contractors of the Northeast A new grant-funded cost-share program created by the Vermont General Assembly in 2024 to help logging contractors that work in Vermont implement proactive water quality protection and climate adaptation practices on their harvest sites is now accepting applications. The Supporting Loggers to Comply with Acceptable Management Practices Program (SLoCAMP) is funded by the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks & Recreation and administered by the Professional Logging Contractors of the Northeast (PLC). The program supports contractors in preparing harvest sites responsibly – with long-term forest health in mind. It began accepting applications on July 21.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has released a new river corridor plan for the Upper West River. Prepared by Fitzgerald Environmental, the plan focuses on the West River and tributaries upstream of the Townshend dam. It provides an in-depth analysis of the river channel’s stability and assesses the natural and human impacts causing changes to the river system. “The river corridor plan gives DEC and local communities the information they need to understand what is happening in the watershed,” said DEC Commissioner Jason Batchelder. “It also outlines how to improve our river and lake systems, making them healthier and more flood-resilient.” The plan offers 60 recommendations for on-the-ground projects to help

Vermont Business Magazine U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today grilled Dr. Alex Adams, President Trump’s pick to serve as Assistant Secretary for Family Support at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), about the Trump Administration’s plans to eliminate funding for the Low-Income Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). LIHEAP helps more than 26,000 Vermonters and 6.2 million Americans afford heat and air conditioning.   

Efficiency Vermont How can energy efficiency offers better meet your needs? What kind of support do you want from programs meant to help reduce your energy bills? Efficiency Vermont wants your help answering these questions as we plan for our next three years of energy efficiency programs.

Vermont Business Magazine Registration is now open for the 2025 Vermont Compost Operator Certification Training, hosted by The 131° School of Composting in collaboration with the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources (ANR). This in-person workshop will be held in Williston on September 18th and provides participants with a Compost Operator Certificate that meets ANR requirements for operators of small, medium, and large composting facilities. Designed for current and aspiring compost site operators, the training covers the management of facilities handling food scraps and animal mortalities. 

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott and the Agency of Commerce and Community Development (ACCD) today announced the opening of the application process for $67,845,000 in Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funding in response to the July 2023 floods. These funds will benefit communities most impacted in regions designated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in consultation with state officials. Designated Most Impacted and Distressed (MID) areas include Lamoille, Washington, Caledonia, Orleans, Rutland, Windham, and Windsor counties.

Vermont State Police On 04-16-2023 Vermont State Police began investigating the death of 39-year-old Justin Cutler.  He was found deceased in his residence with suspected drugs and drug paraphernalia near his body.  His body was transported to the Office of Chief Medical Examiner and an autopsy determined that his cause and manner of death was an accidental fentanyl overdose.  

Vermont Business Magazine The following is a joint statement of the National Education Association, the Vermont-NEA, and the Winooski Education Association on the detention of Winooski Superintendent Wilmer Chavarria: As educators, we are appalled at the unjust interrogation and detention of Winooski Superintendent Wilmer Chavarria – a U.S. citizen – as he and his husband attempted to return to the United States from a recent trip abroad. The assault on immigrants and migrants at the hands of border and immigration officials is appalling and represents the worst impulses of the current federal administration. Superintendent Chavarria – who was born in a Honduran refugee camp, grew up in Nicaragua and eventually earned a bachelor’s and two master’s degrees – has been a citizen since 2018.

Vermont Business Magazine Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), announced that Thursday at 10 a.m., the HELP Committee will hold a bipartisan hearing on the need to expand employee ownership in Vermont and throughout the country. Testifying at the hearing will be Brock Barton, the Chief Financial Officer of King Arthur Baking Company, a world-famous employee-owned business headquartered in Norwich, Vermont, whom Sanders invited to testify.

Vermont Business Magazine U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont) today met with Dylan Collins, a Vermonter and video journalist for the Agence France-Presse (AFP) news agency, who was attacked and wounded by Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) while reporting in Southern Lebanon. Representatives for Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) and Representative Becca Balint (D-Vermont-At Large) also attended the meeting.