Current News

Vermont Business Magazine At his weekly press conference Wednesday, Governor Phil Scott and Housing and Community Development Commissioner Alex Farrell emphasized the importance of passing legislation this session to address Vermont’s housing crisis. Much of the discussion from the housing portion of the press conference involved regulatory reform, and in particular extending some Act 250 exemptions, and on implementing a new, localized TIF law for local infrastructure projects. "We can’t afford to nibble around the edges, especially when we need 41,000 more homes in 5 years - just to catch up. In the late 80s we were building about 4,800 homes a year. Now it's about 2,300."

Vermont Business Magazine The Attorney General’s Office announced that Ricky Sanville, Jr., 23, of Hartland, Vermont, was arraigned yesterday on six felony counts of Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Materials. The charges brought against Mr. Sanville are the result of a criminal investigation, including the execution of search warrants conducted by the Vermont Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (VT-ICAC), which included personnel from the Attorney General’s Office and the Hartford Police Department. The investigation was initiated when a CyberTipline report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) was referred to VT-ICAC by the Grafton County Sheriff’s Department in New Hampshire. The report from the messaging platform Kik concerned child sexual abuse materials.

Vermont Business Magazine The Attorney General’s Office today announced that David Donaldson, 53, formerly of Winooski, Vermont, was sentenced in Vermont Superior Court, Chittenden Criminal Division, after pleading guilty to two felony counts of Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Material – Second or Subsequent Offense. Mr. Donaldson was subject to an enhanced sentence as a habitual offender, having previously pled guilty to felony possession of child pornography (now known as child sexual abuse materials). After a contested hearing, the Court, Judge John Pacht presiding, sentenced Mr. Donaldson to five years to 15 years in prison with credit for time served. 

Vermont Business Magazine Yesterday, Governor Phil Scott signed S.44: An act relating to authorization to enter into certain immigration agreements. The act removes an existing loophole that would have allowed law enforcement agencies to enter into collaborative agreements with federal immigration authorities without the governor’s approval in a declared state or federal emergency. “We are pleased to see Governor Scott sign S.44, taking another important step forward in building the state's firewall against federal overreach. This closes a loophole which could have allowed rogue law enforcement agencies to begin working with federal immigration authorities without the consent and advice of the governor and attorney general."

Vermont Business Magazine National gasoline analyst GasBuddy has released its 2025 Summer Travel Survey results and forecast for summer travel, revealing that American road trip culture remains resilient despite ongoing economic uncertainty. GasBuddy forecasts that the national average price of gasoline will be $3.08 per gallon on Memorial Day, making it the cheapest Memorial Day at the pump since 2021, but lowest inflation adjusted since 2003*. Prices are forecast to average $3.02 per gallon over the summer from Memorial Day through Labor Day, with a sub-$3 per gallon national average possible on some days, especially toward the latter half of the summer.

Vermont Business Magazine As folks head to their lakefront properties for the summer, the Vermont Lakes and Ponds Program is offering guidance to help property owners protect and restore their lakeside properties. The Shoreland Best Management Practices guidance highlights different ways owners can improve their properties to benefit lake water quality and the health of lakeshore habitat. Owners can use this guidance to plant native trees and shrubs, install rain gardens to absorb runoff, improve driveways and pathways, create no-mow zones, and more. The Shoreland Protection Act regulates new activities in protected shoreland areas that are within 250 feet of the shoreline of lakes and ponds that are 10 acres or bigger.

Vermont Business Magazine Today, the Vermont House of Representatives voted to pass S.126, an act relating to health care payment and delivery system reform, on a tri-partisan vote of 99-38. The legislation is a landmark health care reform bill aimed at reducing health care costs, improving patient access, and ensuring long-term sustainability for Vermont’s health care system.  S.126 tackles long-standing concerns with Vermont’s fragmented and increasingly expensive health care system by moving toward a system that rewards quality, access, and sustainability. The bill authorizes the Green Mountain Care Board to implement reference-based pricing to rein in commercial health care costs and requires a strategic redesign of how care is delivered across Vermont.

Public Assets Institute Vermonters may be feeling the effects of a tightening job market. Job openings in the state have fallen to their lowest level since November 2020, dropping by 4,000 positions between February and March. These openings include both full-time and part-time jobs for which employers are actively recruiting. Some of the decrease is due to employers filling positions, and some is likely due to postings getting pulled down. Meanwhile, the number of unemployed Vermonters increased over the same period, leaving fewer job openings per unemployed person. The last time Vermont had such a low number of openings per person seeking work was March 2021. 

by Mike Donoghue, Vermont News First, Vermont Business Magazine Burlington Public Works Director Chapin Spencer was busy recently pushing for more than a $16,100 a year pay raise for the wife of Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak as the city’s CEO was contemplating laying off about two dozen municipal employees due to a projected $8 million budget shortfall. Spencer, in a memo to the Burlington Board of Finance and City Council on April 14, argued to give Megan Moir, the director of water resources, an annual pay increase from $124,681 to $140,843. Spencer, who was appointed by Mulvaney-Stanak of the Progressive Party, also asked that the raise for the mayor’s wife be made retroactive to Dec. 9, 2024 because of the delay in getting the pay increase pushed through. Both the Board of Finance and the full City Council approved the pay hike in separate meetings.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today signed the $9.1 billion 2025 budget "Big Bill" into law. His signature was expected. I appreciate that this budget makes important affordability investments – most notably the $77 million general fund transfer to the education fund to help stabilize property taxes this year, and $13.5 million in much needed, targeted tax relief for young families, lower income, working Vermonters and seniors on fixed incomes. However, affordability must also be about getting state government and public education on a sustainable fiscal path; fixing systemic policy issues that make homebuilding, homeownership and rent far too expensive; and keeping and attracting the workers and employers we need for a strong economy. In all, he signed four bills today: H.398, An act relating to the Vermont Economic Development Authority; H.493, An act relating to making appropriations for the support of the government; S.44, An act relating to authorization to enter into certain immigration agreements; S.56, An act relating to creating an Office of New Americans.

Vermont Business Magazine U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont), Ranking Member of the Senate Agriculture Subcommittee on Rural Development, Energy, and Credit, this week joined Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) in leading 20 of their colleagues urging the Trump Administration to immediately reverse course on its plan to illegally and unilaterally terminate the ENERGY STAR program. In their letter, the Senators highlight the cost-saving benefits of the program, which is projected to save the average American household $450 on utility bills each year simply by choosing ENERGY STAR certified products. Since 1992, ENERGY STAR has reduced energy costs for American families and businesses by $500 billion, including $42 billion worth of savings in 2020 alone. For every federal dollar spent on ENERGY STAR, Americans have enjoyed $350 in savings. 

Vermont State Police On May 13th 2025, members of the Vermont State Police received the report of a lewd and lascivious conduct with a child incident in the town of Berkshire. Investigation revealed that over the course of the years 2024 and 2025 James Rivera-Martinez committed three (3) counts of Lewd and Lascivious Conduct with a Child. On May 21st 2025, Rivera-Martinez was taken into custody without incident and transported to the St. Albans State Police Barracks for processing. At the conclusion of processing, he appeared before the Franklin County Superior Court in order to face the forementioned charges. Following the arraignment, he was transported to Northwest Correctional Center and lodged for lack of $15,000.00 bail.