Current News

Vermont State Police On July 5, 2025, at approximately 1319 hours, the Vermont State Police Berlin Barracks responded to a report of a single vehicle crash involving a pedestrian. The crash occurred on Mansfield Road in Fayston. Investigation revealed the involved vehicle was traveling Mansfield Road towards VT Route 17. The vehicle then left the travel portion of the roadway and struck a pedestrian. The pedestrian was pronounced dead at the scene. The identity of the pedestrian is being withheld pending notification of the next of kin. The operator of the vehicle was identified as Noah Kirson (19) of Winter Park, Florida. He sustained no injuries in the crash. Kirson was taken into custody and transported to the Berlin Barracks for processing. Kirson was charged with Gross Negligent Operation with Death Resulting and lodged at the Northeast Regional Correctional Facility for lack of $10,000 bail. 

by Mike Donoghue, Vermont News First, Vermont Business Magazine One day after celebrating the nation’s 249th birthday of freedom, vandals desecrated a Veterans Memorial honoring all those that served in the military for the town of Shelburne to guarantee that lasting freedom. The politically driven hate messages were discovered as people began to arrive at the Shelburne Parade Ground on Saturday morning to open for the weekly Farmer’s Market with food, arts, crafts and music. The Veterans Memorial includes a large raised five-point star made from specially carved granite. Four of the five points each honor a pair from the various conflicts for the United States: World War I, World War II, Korea, Cold War, Vietnam, Persian Gulf, Iraq and Afghanistan.

by Emily Bradbury Right around the time the federal government began requiring food manufacturers to label major allergens such as soy, wheat and tree nuts, Thom Grace, founder and CEO of Bia Diagnostics, had an idea. Having worked in food testing for 15 years, he recognized that demand for validated testing was about to skyrocket and saw an opportunity to do things differently. That was 2006. At the time, there was only one lab in the United States that specialized in food allergen testing, but results took a week or longer to turnaround. Thom felt certain he could do it in 24 hours and was confident that the market would be looking for faster turnaround times as the new regulations took effect. He pitched his daughter, Hannah, who had a background in chemistry and biology, on the idea of starting a business and, in January 2007, Bia Diagnostics was born.

Vermont Business Magazine Abdi Sharif, a 2025 graduate of Burlington High School, received the Ernest A. Pomerleau Outstanding Young Vermonter Scholarship at the Greater Burlington Industrial Corporation (GBIC) annual meeting on June 25, 2025. Widely recognized for his accomplishments on the basketball court, Sharif was selected for the scholarship for his “quiet leadership and mentorship of young people” both on and off the court.

Vermont Agency of Transportation 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 7, 2025. Please remember to drive safely in all work zones. Lives depend on it. 

Vermont Business Magazine It was a great moment for Vermont community media on June 25th, as the Vermont Access Network (VAN) received the Alliance for Community Media's (ACM) 2025 Dirk Koning-George Stoney Award for Humanistic Communication at ACM's Annual Conference in Boston. The award is normally given to an individual, but VAN - made up of the state's 24 community media centers - received the award for its collaborative success. 

Vermont Business Magazine Mamava, the leading expert in lactation space design, is expanding its product and resource ecosystem with new innovative offerings designed to meet the growing need for lactation infrastructure and support in both workplaces and public environments. These latest additions reinforce Mamava's commitment to supporting breastfeeding parents by enabling employers and organizations to provide scalable access to lactation support. This investment enhances employee well-being and guest experience, improves legal compliance, streamlines operations and helps retain women in the workforce.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today issued the following statement: “The Declaration of Independence bears fifty-six signatures from individuals who came as New Yorkers and Pennsylvanians, South Carolinians and Virginians, but returned home as Americans.

Vermont Business Magazine ISO New England system operators used well-established procedures to balance supply and demand on the regional power system during a capacity deficiency on Tuesday, June 24, 2025. Consumer demand for grid electricity unofficially peaked that evening at 26,024 megawatts (MW), the highest level seen in the region since 2013. That was roughly in line with the ISO’s pre-season forecast for above-average summer weather. It was still well below the region’s all-time peak of 28,130 MW, set in August 2006. The peak hour was between 6 and 7 p.m., when the average temperature in New England was 95.6° Fahrenheit (F) and the dew point, a measure of humidity, was 68.0°F. The heat and humidity drove air conditioner use, creating increased demand for electricity.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine Vermont weekly unemployment claims for the week ending June 28, 2025, fell after they more than doubled the previous week. New claims were 531, down 117 claims from the week before but up 116 from last year at this time. Claims, which tend to be lowest in the summer, were 181 at the end of September 2024. Meanwhile, the positive US jobs report from Wednesday sent the stock market soaring at the same time that Congress passed the controversial reconciliation bill.

ermont Business Magazine MENTOR Vermont, in partnership with Up for Learning, proudly hosted its First Annual Youth Day, a new statewide initiative created for youth, by youth. Designed and led by a planning committee of six youth ages 12 to 17 from across Vermont, the event was held to bring together young people and mentors from mentoring programs throughout the state for a full day of connection, creativity, and leadership development.

Vermont Business Magazine National early childhood education (ECE) leaders Michelle Kang, Chief Executive Officer of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), and Marica Cox Mitchell, Chief Program Officer of the Bainum Family Foundation, joined Vermont early childhood education leaders on June 25 at the Capitol Plaza in Montpelier to celebrate the leaders and advocates helping transform Vermont's child care system into one that works for children, families, and early childhood educators. Michelle Kang and Marica Cox Mitchell joined the Vermont Association for the Education of Young Children (VTAEYC) Executive Director, Sharron Harrington, to underscore Vermont’s growing national attention for advancing early childhood education. While headlines across the country highlight the ongoing crisis in child care access, affordability, and workforce retention, Vermont is seen as a state offering real solutions.