Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The Agency of Natural Resources Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) announced today that Brent and Carol Lindstrom, owners of a property in Tunbridge, were fined $11,250 for violations of the Vermont Salvage Yard Rule, Solid Waste Management Rules, and Hazardous Waste Management Regulations. DEC’s Waste Management and Prevention Division oversees the Salvage Yard Rule, Solid Waste Management Rules, and Vermont Hazardous Waste Management Regulations, which serve to protect human health and the environment by overseeing the use, treatment, and handling of hazardous and solid wastes. Salvage yards serve valuable functions by recycling and repurposing old vehicle parts but also generate hazardous materials that have the potential to contaminate soils, groundwater, and drinking water. 

Vermont Business Magazine While many cannabis startups chase West Coast venture capital, CannaPlanners has taken a decidedly Vermont approach by staying local, bootstrapping its growth, and leaning into the state's strong community of entrepreneurs. Today, the Burlington-based creative agency is helping over 250 cannabis brands stand out in one of the country’s most complex and competitive industries. Founded by Will Read, a Burlington local and former touring musician, CannaPlanners got its start in 2016 by designing logos and websites for dispensaries in Vermont’s early medical cannabis market. Since then, the company has grown into a national leader in cannabis branding with a full-service team of 27 employees. 

Vermont Business Magazine Average gasoline prices in Vermont are $3.08 per gallon, down 3.3 cents per gallon from last week's $3.11/g. The lowest price in the state yesterday was $2.47/g while the highest was $3.37/g, a difference of 90.0 cents per gallon. The national average price of gasoline has risen 2.0 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.11/g today.

Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets The Farm Agronomic Practices (FAP) program from the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food, & Markets financially supports over 200 Vermont farmers every year to install conservation practices, such as cover cropping and manure injection. The FAP Program is relatively flexible, easy to access, and provides flat per-acre payments to support the cost of conservation practices. Cover crops that are drilled or incorporated are paid at $45/acre, while manure injection and cover crops that are broadcasted or interseeded are each paid at $30/acre. Payments are capped at $10,000 per calendar year per farm.

Vermont Business Magazine Burlington just got its wings back. On Friday, July 11, Wings Over Burlington officially reopened at 150 Dorset Street under new ownership, marking a fresh chapter built on quality, consistency, and community connection. The grand reopening featured a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 2 p.m., welcoming local VIPs, community leaders, including South Burlington City Councilor & Chair Tim Barrit and South Burlington Representative Emilie Krasnow, and fans eager to taste the difference. As part of its commitment to giving back, Wings Over Burlington dropped off FREE meals to members of the South Burlington Police Department and the Burlington Fire Department, who were celebrating retiring officers alongside their families.

Vermont Business Magazine Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) today released the following statement: In the midst of everything else going on, it’s easy to ignore the extraordinary planetary crisis we face from climate change. But we just can’t allow ourselves to do that. The past 10 years have been the warmest 10 years on record. 2024 was the warmest year in recorded history. January 2025 was the hottest January on record. Western Europe just had its hottest June on record. The recent heat wave in the United States put nearly 190 million Americans under heat advisories and broke heat records in more than 280 locations. Over the past 60 years, the frequency of heat waves in the United States has tripled. 

by C.B. Hall, Vermont Business Magazine An eight-mile upgrade to the Winooski Branch railroad in Chittenden County, connecting downtown Burlington’s Union Station to Essex Junction via Winooski and Colchester, is expected to boost Vermont’s passenger rail and freight services. The New England Central Railroad, a Genesee & Wyoming subsidiary, received a federal grant last October to fund these improvements. Currently, the line is limited to 10 mph freight traffic and is not permitted for passenger service. The upgrade will enable New England Central Railroad trains to operate at speeds up to 25 mph on the line. NECR utilizes this route for delivering wood chips to Burlington’s McNeil Generating Station and for interchanging cars with the Vermont Rail System.

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 July 14, 2025. Please remember to drive safely in all work zones. Lives depend on it.    

Vermont Business Magazine CCTV Center for Media & Democracy will host a 24-hour telethon to highlight local programming and raise money for the CCTV Archives. The telethon will be held from Friday, July 25 at 6 p.m. until Saturday, July 26 at 6 p.m. and will broadcast live on YouTube.com/TownMeetingTV, Comcast Channel 1087, and Burlington Telecom Channel 217. The telethon will feature an online auction, local musical performances, creative acts, community-based talk shows, and other unique programming. Saturday’s programs will be held in collaboration with the annual Old North End Ramble event. 

Vermont Business Magazine COTS has successfully met the Hoehl Family Foundation’s $200,000 challenge grant to support their campaign for a new Waystation adult shelter thanks to an incredible outpouring of support from the community. In a powerful show of commitment to the mission of ending homelessness, donors rallied to meet the match, bringing the campaign one major step closer to the finish line. The new Waystation adult shelter marks a turning point in COTS’s mission to provide a more dignified, trauma-informed space for adults facing homelessness in Chittenden County.

Make-A-Wish Vermont & Northeast New York is partnering with the Lake Monsters and Reynolds & Son to provide a completely free baseball experience for 100 families impacted by critical childhood illness this Sunday at Centennial Field. The community event brings Wish Families together for connection and celebration, while raising funds through the 50/50 raffle to help the organization grant nearly 120 wishes this year throughout the region. 

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Council on Rural Development (VCRD) has welcomed nine participants to the 2025 Climate Catalysts Leadership Program. Participants from across the state will focus their time on the implementation of a local climate or energy project such as emergency planning and preparedness, promoting transportation equity, mapping climate/sustainability tools used by the ski industry, celebrating climate activists through storytelling and art, and more. The Climate Catalysts Leadership Program supports participants as they take their transformative, community-scale climate economy related projects to the next level by developing their concepts into reality while building peer connections, strengthening leadership skills, and receiving project development support.