Current News

by Jessica Savage Having facilitated or participated in community events in many of Vermont’s smallest towns over the years, I have come to expect a few things: people who know where to find needful things, people who are surprised and delighted to hear how far you have come to be there and people who want to carry things for you. In Reading, I found people who were ready to do all that and more: from making the food, to setting up the chairs, to signing people in: they had thought of everything it takes to host their neighbors in a fun and inviting atmosphere. 

Vermont Business Magazine Attorney General Charity Clark today filed an amicus brief along with 19 other state attorneys general in support of Job Corps, a national program that offers career training and housing to young Americans from low-income backgrounds. Job Corps has nearly 100 residential campuses across the country, including Northlands Job Corps Center in Vergennes, Vermont.  The unlawful termination will impact tens of thousands of young Americans who are currently enrolled and housed at campuses in all fifty states, including Vermont. Thousands of these program participants from across the country were unhoused or in foster care when they enrolled and have no alternative housing if they lose their residence through the program. 

Vermont Business Magazine Senators Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) and Peter Welch (D-Vermont) on Thursday released the following statements after federal agents assaulted Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) at a press conference in Los Angeles Thursday afternoon: Bernie Sanders: "The assault in California by federal agents against my colleague Sen. Alex Padilla was outrageous, and those responsible must be held accountable. Tragically, what happened to Sen. Padilla today is becoming normal behavior for a Trump administration which is moving us toward authoritarianism."

Vermont Business Magazine Attorney General Charity Clark and Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas today issued statements in response to a federal court granting the states’ motion for preliminary injunction, blocking unlawful provisions in President Trump’s unprecedented Elections Executive Order as the lawsuit proceeds. Today’s victory is the result of a lawsuit filed in April by Attorney General Clark and a coalition of 19 other attorneys general. Through their lawsuit and subsequent motion for preliminary injunction, the coalition argued that the Elections Executive Order is an unconstitutional, antidemocratic, and un-American attempt to impose sweeping voting restrictions across the country.

VermontBiz U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.), a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, this week joined Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Ranking Member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, for a forum entitled “The Role of Foreign Assistance in Supporting American Farmers and Protecting American Agriculture.” At the forum, Senator Welch examined how the Trump Administration’s continued attack on the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), other governmental agencies, and federally-supported foreign assistance organizations have exacerbated global hunger. 

VermontBiz UVM’s Center for Community News hosted its annual Vermont Journalism Conference on Friday in partnership with the Vermont Community Foundation, at which both organizations announced their support for the creation of a Vermont Journalism Coalition. 

The nonprofit association is the first to represent all entities producing journalism in the state – regardless of size, medium or business model. With the support of a part-time staff member, it plans to advocate for the rights of journalists, provide business and legal support to members, and raise awareness of the industry’s critical mission. More than 20 Vermont news organizations have signed on so far. 

VermontBiz On Tuesday, June 10, elected officials, community members, and local business leaders gathered to celebrate the groundbreaking of the new Woodlands Campus child care center in Randolph. The new center, when complete, will offer 88 spaces for local children and will be run by the Orange County Parent Child Center, in tandem with their Meadowlands Campus in Tunbridge. The event was hosted by project organizers and funders, including the Green Mountain Economic Development Corporation, Orange County Parent Child Center, Let’s Grow Kids, and First Children’s Finance – VT. 

Vermont Business Magazine Junapr, a Vermont-based strategic communications and event agency, has been named the newest U.S. partner of the Worldcom Public Relations Group (Worldcom)—the world’s leading partnership of independent PR firms. Worldcom’s announcement includes Junapr among four new global agencies joining the network this year, alongside firms from Buenos Aires, Mumbai and Tennessee.

Vermont Business Magazine PC Construction has received an award from the New England chapter of the Construction Management Association of America (CMAA) for its major renovation work on the University of Vermont’s athletic complex. Team members accepted the award at CMAA’s annual awards luncheon in Boston on June 4. The $58 million project, which began in June 2019, was completed in three phases over four years. The project was originally envisioned as a new 96,000-square-foot, 3,000-seat arena, but at the onset of COVID-19, construction was halted and reenvisioned, resulting in significant scope redirection to focus primarily on the University’s health and wellness facilities.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott signed 10 bills into law today, including S.127, An act relating to housing and housing development. S.127 includes establishing a tax increment (TIF) retention program for housing infrastructure projects. He also signed two more health care-related bills: S.63, An act relating to modifying the regulatory duties of the Green Mountain Care Board and S.126, An act relating to health care payment and delivery system reform. He also signed S.69, An act relating to an age-appropriate design code, which is intended to protect the personal information of minors.

Vermont Business Magazine The USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) reported today that 2025 Vermont maple syrup production totaled 3.06 million gallons, once again leading the nation in this category. This follows two years of similar output in 2023 (2.608 million gallons) and 2024 (3.108 million gallons). The record was 3.264 million gallons in 2022, and $108 million. The value of Vermont maple syrup production totaled $95 million in 2024, up $16 million from 2023, a 20 percent increase. The average retail price per gallon in 2024 was up $1.10 per gallon to $58.30. 

Vermont Business Magazine Average gasoline prices in Vermont are $3.06 per gallon, down 1 cent per gallon from last week, unchanged from last month and down 43 cents/g from this time last year. The lowest price in the state this week was $2.73/g while the highest was $3.19/g, a difference of 46.0 cents per gallon. The counties with the lowest average prices in Vermont are in Rutland ($2.98/g) and Bennington ($2.99/g). Prices climb as you go farther north. The highest averages are in Franklin ($3.16/g), Grand Isle ($3.16/g) and Lamoille ($3.15/g) counties, according to AAA. The national average price of gasoline has fallen 2 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.12/g today. The national average is down 1 cent per gallon from a month ago and stands 33 cents per gallon lower than a year ago.