Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Burlington Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak today announced her participation in the ninth class of the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative, joining 47 mayors total from 17 countries to participate in the professional management training program. Established by Bloomberg Philanthropies, Harvard Kennedy School, and Harvard Business School as a first-of-its-kind program to help close the gap in executive development for the public sector, the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative equips mayors and senior municipal officials with the tools and expertise to solve pressing local challenges, strengthen their city halls, and improve outcomes for residents. Since its launch in 2017, the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative has provided training to 359 mayors and over 635 senior municipal officials across 41 countries.   

Vermont Business Magazine Today, Treasurer Pieciak’s Task Force on the Federal Transition released a final report with recommended actions to strengthen Vermont’s economy and the state’s fiscal stability in response to federal policy changes and reduced federal funding. The report recommends a mix of government and non-government actions that include creating a State Disaster Recovery Reserve, establishing a public-private Economic Early Warning Task Force, and convening nonprofit leaders to coordinate resources and strengthen services. The unifying theme across all recommendations is a need for preparation across State government, including proactive organizing with community, business, and nonprofit leaders, to mitigate the long-term impact of any changes coming out of Washington affecting Vermont’s economy and the cost of living. 

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Adaptive Ski and Sports and the Bart Adaptive Sports Center announced today their intent to join forces through a planned merger. The proposed combination reflects a shared commitment to empowering independence for individuals with disabilities through year-round access to sports and outdoor recreation. Bart Adaptive currently offers programs at Bromley Mountain, Stratton Mountain Resort, and in the Manchester region. Vermont Adaptive provides winter programs at Pico Mountain/Killington Resort, Sugarbush Resort, Bolton Valley Resort, Saskadena Six Ski Area, and multiple locations throughout the state in the summer and fall.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine Average gasoline prices in Vermont are $3.10 per gallon, unchanged from last week, up 2 cents/g from last month and down 37 cents/g from last year, according to AAA. The lowest price in the state this week was $2.47/g while the highest was $3.37/g, a difference of 90.0 cents per gallon. Bennington ($2.97/g) and Addison ($3.05/g) counties had the lowest average prices, while Lamoille ($3.19/g), Franklin ($3.19/g) and Grand Isle ($3.20/g) had the highest. The southern counties for many months have had the lowest prices. The national average price of gasoline has fallen 1 cent per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.16/g today.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott, members of the administration, legislators, community partners, and others celebrated the passage of S.127, An act relating to housing and housing development (Act 69), in Fair Haven on Wednesday. The bill was signed into law on June 12, 2025. It includes the Community and Housing Infrastructure Program. CHIP will launch in 2026 with the potential for over $2 billion in housing infrastructure investment by 2035. 

Vermont Business Magazine Union Bankshares, Inc (NASDAQ - UNB), based in Morrisville, Vermont, on Wednesday announced results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2025, and declared a regular quarterly cash dividend. Consolidated net income for the three months ended June 30, 2025, was $2.4 million, or $0.53 per share, compared to $2.0 million, or $0.45 per share, for the same period in 2024, and $4.9 million, or $1.08 per share, for the six months ended June 30, 2025, compared to $4.4 million, or $0.98 per share, for the same period in 2024. UNB is the parent of Union Bank. The Board of Directors declared a cash dividend of $0.36 per share for the quarter payable August 7, 2025, to shareholders of record as of July 26, 2025.

Vermont Business Magazine The movement to rethink America’s lawns has reached a powerful milestone. Throughout the month of May, the 2nd Annual Reduce Your Lawn Day inspired 11,550 pledges to replace turf grass with ecologically beneficial alternatives, resulting in over 36 million square feet of lawn pledged for transformation into wildflower gardens, native plant habitats, flowering lawns, and more. That’s 830 acres of newly created better lawn alternatives, or the equivalent of 98.5% of NYC’s Central Park filled with flowers. Reduce Your Lawn Day, launched in 2024 by American Meadows, High Country Gardens, and author Kathy Jentz (Groundcover Revolution), is a national day of action held each May 20 to rethink the role of turf grass in American yards and public spaces.

Vermont Business Magazine Affordability, diversity, and synergy are the principles that guide Vermont Electric Co-op when buying wholesale electricity, VEC Power Planning Analyst Dan Potter said during a recent webinar focusing on VEC’s power supply purchasing strategies. As VEC considers its purchases of power to supply the utility’s 33,000 members, Potter says the co-op also relies on input from the VEC Board of Directors, an annual member survey, as well as state requirements.

Vermont Business Magazine The winners of Vermont’s 2025 moose hunting permits were determined on July 15, at a lottery drawing at the Fish and Wildlife office in Montpelier. The drawing is done by a random sort of applications that were submitted by the June 18 deadline.  As part of the regular lottery drawing, a “special priority drawing” was held for five permits to go to applicants who are Vermont resident veterans. The unsuccessful applicants from the veteran drawing were included in the larger regular drawing that followed.  All applicants for both drawings who did not receive a permit were awarded a bonus point to improve their chances in future moose permit lotteries.

Vermont Business Magazine If you or someone you know would like to go hunting this fall but have never taken a hunter education course, this is the time to act.  Vermont’s volunteer hunter education instructors are now holding a limited number of courses throughout the state. A person must pass the basic hunter education course before they can purchase their first hunting license. 

Vermont Business Magazine U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont) today called for the resignation of Department of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, citing Secretary Noem’s mishandling of FEMA and record of undermining FEMA’s work, as well as her handling of President Trump’s cruel and illegal mass deportation campaign: “The Department of Homeland Security has a simple but extremely important mission: keep Americans safe. Under that mission, the department is tasked with two critical jobs—border security and disaster response. Our current Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, has failed both. In her short tenure, Secretary Noem has overstepped, under-performed, and endangered the lives of countless Americans,” said Senator Welch. “I believe it is time for Secretary Noem to resign or for her to be fired.” 

Vermont Business Magazine Today, the City of Burlington announced cooling centers in response to the heat advisory issued by the National Weather Service. The forecast projects heat index values in the mid-to-upper 90s between noon and 8:00 PM on Wednesday, July 16, causing increased health risks during outdoor activities and for anyone without access to air conditioning.