Current News

Vermont Business Magazine On July 10, the Rural School Community Alliance (RSCA) released a statement saying it is cautiously hopeful with the news of appointments of members to the Redistricting Task Force established under H.454 (now designated Act 73). The Alliance has expressed concerns about the necessity of authentically representing the state’s rural communities throughout the process of the legislation’s development. According to the RSCA Steering Committee, “Among the appointees to the new task force are experienced and highly qualified educators as well as legislators with direct leadership experience serving Vermont’s rural communities. While not all appointees have these qualifications, we believe inclusion of these appointees indicates acknowledgement of the need to represent and serve all of Vermont’s children, communities, and taxpayers throughout the state.”

Vermont Business Magazine Over $830,000 in grant money administered by the Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation (FPR) will be put to work in coming months to support the development and restoration of trail projects across Vermont. Four municipalities and 17 nonprofit organizations have been selected to receive Recreational Trails Program (RTP) and other state funds. RTP is funded by the Federal Highway Administration. This year’s trail projects range from developing a paddler campsite on the Connecticut River Paddlers’ Trail to funding a two-day workshop focused on design and management of off-highway vehicle trails. Other projects include installing accessible trailhead amenities along the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail and repairing a suspension bridge in Starksboro which was damaged in the July 2024 flooding. 

Vermont State Police An autopsy was completed Thursday, July 10, 2025, at the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Burlington. The Vermont State Police is able to identify the victim as Erica Bovey, 41, who lived in the Pittsford home where the incident occurred. The medical examiner determined the cause of Bovey’s death was “gunshot wound of head and neck,” and the manner of death is listed as pending.

Vermont Business Magazine A new report, ‘Voting From Prison: Lessons From Maine and Vermont’ released today by The Sentencing Project, finds that incarcerated citizens in Maine and Vermont still face significant barriers to casting a ballot. The report reveals a troubling disconnect: having the legal right to vote while incarcerated does not guarantee the ability to exercise that right. With an estimated one million eligible voters currently completing a felony-level sentence in prisons or jails across the United States, the findings underscore the urgent need to remove systemic barriers to voting in correctional facilities. 

Vermont State Police Search crews located the three missing children safe and uninjured just before 6 a.m. Friday, July 11, 2025. They were found in wooded terrain about half a mile from their camp. Crews escorted the children off the mountain, and they are being reunited with their families. Additional teams that participated in the search effort overnight included New England K9 Search and Rescue, North Country Search Dogs, the Upper Valley Wilderness Response Team, and the Vermont Air National Guard. 

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Federal Credit Union and Credit Union of Vermont are excited to announce their intent to merge, a strategic decision currently pending regulatory approval and a vote by the Credit Union of Vermont membership later this year. This merger represents a significant advancement for both institutions, bringing them together through common origins and a mutual commitment to the communities they serve. As part of this merger, Vermont Federal Credit Union will emerge as the continuing credit union, leading the combined entity into a new era of growth and service excellence.  

Vermont Business Magazine Attorney General Charity Clark today announced that a nationwide coalition of attorneys general have secured a settlement of approximately $720 million with eight drug makers that manufactured opioid pills and worsened the opioid crisis. Vermont is expected to receive a total of approximately $1.832 million from this settlement. Based on the overwhelming participation by attorneys general across the country, all eight defendants have agreed to proceed with a sign-on period for local governments. 

Vermont Business Magazine A judge has ordered the release of José Ignacio “Nacho” De La Cruz and Heidi Perez. Both appeared in a Massachusetts immigration court today, where Immigration Judge Natalie Smith granted bond. On June 14th, Nacho and stepdaughter Heidi were delivering food to farmworkers in Richford, Vermont, when they were pulled over by officials from the U.S. Border Patrol. Agents smashed their car window and violently detained the two community leaders, according to the organization Migrant Justice. The detainment sparked frequent protests over the past several weeks, as hundreds rallied denouncing Border Patrol’s actions and nearly 8,000 signed a petition calling for their release. 

Vermont Business Magazine Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vermont) and Rep. Becca Balint (D-Vermont) today sent a letter to Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer urging her to release more than $300 million in congressionally appropriated funding for the Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) currently held up by the Trump administration.

Vermont Business Magazine The Summer Gala, Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC) Foundation’s signature fundraising event and the region’s premier philanthropic occasion, netted nearly $1 million during a special celebration on the hospital’s campus on June 21. The event, which raised more than $940,000, hosted over 350 people and marked a ceremonial groundbreaking for the building of a new regional cancer center on the campus of Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC), a member of Dartmouth Health. The new facility will be the Hoyt-Hunter Center for Oncology Care at the Dartmouth Cancer Center Bennington.

Vermont Business Magazine On June 23, the Vermont Climate Council adopted the updated Vermont Climate Action Plan. As required by the 2020 Global Warming Solutions Act, the plan identifies actions to reduce greenhouse gas emission and help Vermont prepare for the impacts of climate change, such as increased rain and heat. The initial Climate Action Plan was adopted in 2021 and must be updated every four years. The updated plan contains more than fifty priority recommendations, emphasizing actions that: Make Vermont more resilient to flooding and other climate-related hazards; Reduce climate pollution from transportation and buildings by moving from fossil fuels to electricity and strengthening the electric grid; Support climate-informed land use and conservation; Grow the climate workforce and identify funding to accelerate implementation.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott yesterday held a press conference at the Lyndonville Redemption Center to reflect on the anniversary of the 2023 and 2024 severe flooding events which impacted over 150 cities, towns and villages. "Good afternoon, thanks for being here. And thanks to Shane and Emily for hosting us. Two years ago, areas across Vermont were devastated by catastrophic flooding we hadn’t seen in nearly 100 years, and it wasn’t confined to a single day. There were multiple storm systems that continued to pound Vermont for almost two weeks. Then, one year later, to the day, more intense rain hit Vermont, devastating many of the same areas, as well as new regions, like the Kingdom."