Current News

Vermont Business Magazine New research has revealed the states with the highest and lowest vacancy rates for rental properties, with Oregon coming out on top at 11.9%. The study by Eden Emerald Mortgages identified the states with the highest and lowest vacancy rates across America using data for the first quarter of 2025 from the US Census. Vermont ranked fourth lowest with a rental vacancy rate at 3.4% and a homeowner vacancy rate of 0.6%. Rhode Island had the lowest rental rate at 2.1% and Minnesota had the lowest homeowner rate at 0.1%. Florida had the highest homeowner rate at 2.2%.

Vermont Business Magazine On Tuesday, June 17, Casella Chairman and CEO John Casella, President Ned Coletta, and Founder and Vice Chairman Doug Casella rang the Opening Bell at the Nasdaq MarketSite in Times Square in recognition of Casella's 50th Anniversary. The day also marked Global Garbageman Day and the official start to National Waste and Recycling Workers Week and was specifically chosen to recognize the hard work and dedication of the more than 5,000 Casella employees throughout our company.

Vermont Business Magazine Today, the ACLU of Vermont issued legal guidance detailing how public and private institutions should respond to unlawful federal directives or threats to withhold funding. In making this guidance available as a letter open to the public, the ACLU seeks to empower organizations of all sizes to resist voluntary compliance with federal abuses of power that undermine state and federal law. It is essential that Vermont institutions pause and scrutinize any directive or request from the federal government before reflexively complying with what may ultimately prove to be an unlawful attempt to gain leverage.

by Mike Donoghue, Vermont News First, Vermont Business Magazine A cryptocurrency trader from Rutland County is facing a federal charge of bilking the Internal Revenue Service out of more than $1 million in income taxes, penalties and interest, according to a new federal indictment filed in Burlington. John Caleb Wright, who is in his 40s, is due for arraignment on July 22 in U.S. District Court in Burlington before Federal Magistrate Judge Kevin J. Doyle, Vermont News First has learned. The indictment maintains between February and May 2021, the defendant, who also is known as Caleb Wright, willfully attempted to evade and defeat the IRS in Vermont and elsewhere for money that was properly owed to the government, court records show.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health reported last week that the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations are close to zero statewide, after a spike during the winter. Wastewater testing indicates that virus levels also fell to very low levels after they had spiked in January, with the exception of the Montpelier site, which still shows a moderate level in test results. There are also new charts on the full range of pathogens in three Vermont test sites (see below). RSV is high at the Montpelier test site. The Vermont pandemic death total stands at 1,296 as of June 7, 2025, with 2 reported death from the previous week (the most recent data available from the CDC). WHO also reported that global COVID-19 deaths keep declining.

Vermont Business Magazine U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont) joined Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) in introducing the Maximizing Opioid Recovery Emergency (MORE) Savings Act, legislation to make it easier for individuals struggling with an opioid-use disorder (OUD) to access evidence-based treatment. The Senators’ legislation would eliminate costs for opioid treatment and recovery support services for people with private insurance plans and for people enrolled under a new Medicare pilot program, while increasing federal funding for Medicaid treatment programs.  

Vermont Business Magazine University of Vermont Children’s Hospital is being recognized for the outstanding pediatric care it provides to patients, as well as the exceptional experiences and communication reported by family members and loved ones while at the hospital. Money magazine, which evaluated thousands of hospitals nationwide, has ranked UVM Children’s Hospital 16th on its 2025 list of Best Hospitals for Pediatric Care. The hospital received an ‘A’ grade overall and an ‘A’ grade for price transparency, which the magazine rates as part of its mission to empower people with education and information that helps them take control of their personal health care finances.

Vermont Business Magazine The charitable giving arm of National Life Group, the National Life Group Foundation, has awarded over $1.56 million in grants to 132 nonprofit organizations. This marks the largest single-year contribution in the Foundation’s history, following a board-approved increase in its giving budget to $2.8 million. Since its founding in 2006, the Foundation has focused on supporting community organizations in central and northern Vermont and the Dallas–Fort Worth area, where National Life Group maintains corporate offices. The 2025 funding prioritizes efforts to end childhood hunger and support youth mental health—two pillars of the Foundation’s mission.

by Mike Donoghue, Vermont News First, Vermont Business Magazine A federal judge in Burlington has ruled he wants to have a competency determination for an out-of-state man who is charged with torching a historic Vermont building that included the office of U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders in Burlington last year. Shant M. Soghomonian, 35, formerly of Northridge, CA, is charged with maliciously setting an April 5, 2024, fire to the former Masonic Temple at 1 Church Street that housed several offices, including the law firm of Paul Frank & Collins. Soghomonian has not cooperated with authorities in other efforts to get a competency evaluation

Vermont Business Magazine Late Monday night, the Vermont House joined the Senate and voted to adopt the Committee of Conference report on H.454, advancing a major legislative package to begin transforming Vermont’s education system and deliver long-term property tax relief to Vermonters. While both bodies ultimately passed the measure by comfortable margins (less so on the Senate side with some party switching 17-12 with one absent), the debate was contentious, with some Democrats and Progressives objecting, particularly over the funding for independent schools.

Vermont Business Magazine Local emergency response and law enforcement agencies will participate in an emergency preparedness drill at University of Vermont Health Network – Porter Medical Center’s Primary Care – Vergennes office next week. The drill will run from Noon to 1 p.m. on Wednesday, June 18, at the practice’s 10 North Street offices in Vergennes, as well as in the facility’s parking lot and drive-up area. The office will be closed during this time. The drill will not impact vehicle or pedestrian traffic in the area, hospital officials said. Emergency preparedness leaders at Porter Medical Center said the primary goal of the exercise, which will simulate a realistic emergency scenario, is to test the hospital’s emergency response plans, communication protocols and interagency coordination in response to potential emergency situations. 

Vermont Business Magazine Congress is considering massive cuts to Medicaid that could devastate healthcare providers. Hospitals in Vermont would see a $1.5 billion reduction in spending over the next decade under the budget reconciliation proposal passed by the House of Representatives that the Senate is now considering, according to a new analysis from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Urban Institute.  At the same time, Vermont hospitals will be hit with a $200 million increase in uncompensated care—or care that they are required to provide to people without insurance but that they are not paid for. When you combine the projected spending cuts with the increase in uncompensated care, Vermont hospitals could see a $1.7 billion financial hit from this bill over the next decade.  Overall, the budget reconciliation bill would reduce healthcare spending in the United States by $797 billion over the next decade, with more than one-third (36%) of the cuts occurring in California, Florida, Texas, and New York, the new analysis shows.