Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department has announced the   2025-2026 migratory game bird hunting season dates and bag limits. A printable copy of the Migratory Bird Syllabus can be downloaded from the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department’s website  under “Hunt” – “Waterfowl.”  A printed version also will be available from license agents and post offices in August. A statewide Vermont open hunting season for resident Canada geese will occur September 1-25.  The daily bag limit is five Canada geese in the Connecticut River Zone and eight in the rest of the state during this September season.  The purpose of the September season is to help control Vermont’s resident Canada goose population prior to the arrival of Canada geese migrating south from Canada. 

Vermont Business Magazine AARP has announced seven organizations throughout Vermont will receive 2025 Community Challenge grants. The grants are part of AARP’s $4.2 million commitment to fund 383 quick-action projects aimed at making communities more livable for people of all ages, with a focus on the needs of older adults. The funds will support efforts to improve public places, transportation, housing, digital connections, and other key areas. Now in its ninth year, the Challenge has awarded $426,533 through 40 grants in Vermont since 2017 to nonprofit organizations and local government entities across the state. Grant projects will be funded in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Vermont State Police On 06/18/2025 at approximately 0743 hours, the Vermont State Police responded to a single ATV crash on North Hollow Rd, Granville, VT. Upon arrival on scene, the operator, Johnathan Belisle (35) of Hancock, VT was pronounced deceased. The initial investigation determined that Belisle was driving the ATV northbound on North Hollow Rd when his vehicle went off the left side of the roadway and struck a tree head on. 

Vermont Business Magazine With this year’s boating season underway, the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is reminding all boaters that it is critical to properly inspect and clean (or decontaminate) boats and other watercraft. This helps protect the state’s waterways from the spread of aquatic invasive species like zebra mussels or Eurasian watermilfoil plants. Aquatic invasive species are organisms that live in lakes and ponds and can have negative impacts when introduced to natural lake habitats. Boaters must follow the aquatic nuisance control transport prohibition law. That means they must decontaminate boats and other watercraft before moving between waterbodies. Volunteers at public boat launches, also known as public access greeters, can help boaters inspect their boats at no cost to help stop the spread of aquatic invasive species.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Agency of Transportation (AOT) today announced the awards for the SFY26 Municipal Roads Grants-in-Aid Program, which provides funding for municipalities to implement best management practices in accordance with the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Municipal Roads General Permit. This year, 233 municipalities are participating. A total of $5,273,500 in awards will be granted in this cycle. 

Vermont Business Magazine A New Hampshire couple pleaded guilty in federal court last week to robbery charges stemming from a crime spree in August of 2024. On June 10, 2025, Christopher Boisvert entered a plea of guilty to the charge of armed bank robbery during a plea hearing before Chief United States District Judge Christina Reiss. On June 12, 2025, Meghan Cox entered a plea of guilty to the charge of conspiring with her accomplice to interfere with commerce by robbery during a plea hearing before Chief United States District Judge Christina Reiss. At sentencing, if the District Court accepts the plea agreements Boisvert and Cox each face up to 20 years’ imprisonment.

Vermont Business Magazine The Attorney General’s Office today announced that Johan Green, 54, of Williamstown, Vermont, was sentenced in Vermont Superior Court, Chittenden Criminal Division, after pleading guilty to two counts of misdemeanor Medicaid Fraud. The convictions are the result of an investigation conducted by the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud and Residential Abuse Unit (MFRAU) which found that Mr. Green billed Vermont Medicaid for services he had not provided as a Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor. The Court, Judge David R. Fenster presiding, sentenced the defendant to complete two years of supervised probation and to pay $24,000 in restitution to Vermont Medicaid.

Vermont Business Magazine Advanced Conversion, based in Barre, has announced the successful startup of its newly established High Temperature Film production line featuring GORE High Temperature Film, proven for applications up to 200°C. This milestone follows a strategic partnership agreement signed with W. L. Gore & Associates in June 2024. Since then, the two companies have collaborated closely to transfer specialized production know-how, replicate critical processes, qualify capacitors from the new line, and provide seamless support to key customers throughout the transition. High Temperature Film capacitors are now in active production, with capacity steadily ramping up.

Vermont Business Magazine The Attorney General’s Office announced today that Laura L. Paige, 42, of Randolph, Vermont, was arraigned on two counts of felony Medicaid Fraud. The charges brought against Paige are the result of an investigation conducted by the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud and Residential Abuse Unit (MFRAU), which found Paige, a former employee of Upper Valley Services, had falsely billed Medicaid for travel reimbursements and training hours, defrauding Vermont Medicaid of over $18,000 in public health care funds.

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.