Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The Southwestern Vermont Chamber of Commerce is proud to announce its inaugural Chamber Symposium: Civic Discourse and Journalism, a timely and dynamic panel event taking place on Tuesday, June 24, 2025, from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM at Stratton Mountain Resort. This two-hour symposium will bring together esteemed journalists, editors, educators, and media professionals to engage in a thoughtful discussion on the current state of journalism, the media’s impact on politics and public opinion, and the future of civic discourse in our communities.

Vermont Business Magazine This past weekend, Vermont State University (VTSU) proudly celebrated the graduation of its Class of 2025—an inspiring cohort of nearly 1,400 students from 231 Vermont communities and beyond. These graduates exemplify the heart of VTSU: resilient, purpose-driven, and committed to making a meaningful impact. Notably, more than 40% of this year’s graduates are the first in their families to attend college—a powerful reflection of VTSU’s mission to expand access and opportunity. That commitment is also evident in the 224 graduates who completed their degrees entirely online, balancing education with work, family, and other responsibilities.

by Devon Green, VP of Government Relations, VAHHS While H.266 maintains its 340B protections, it has also evolved into a mechanism to address the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont (BCBSVT) financial crisis. BCBSVT presented on Vermont’s high drug prices and pointed to Vermont’s prohibition on white bagging (when a patient's medication is dispensed by a specialty pharmacy and then shipped to the healthcare provider's office or facility for administration) as the culprit. After hearing VAHHS testimony about the quality and safety issues around white bagging, the House Health Care Committee landed on a proposal to keep the white bagging prohibition in place, but to cap outpatient infusion therapies at 120 percent average sales price. BCBSVT estimates that this will net them about $46M. 

Vermont Business Magazine This fall, the Vermont Permanency Initiative (VPI), a residential treatment program for youth who have experienced complex trauma, will open a dedicated on-site equine facility—making it one of the only integrated programs of its kind in New England. This new addition transforms VPI’s equine work from an off-site activity into a fully embedded part of daily programming for youth ages 11–21. With a focus on both equine-assisted psychotherapy (EAP) and equine-assisted learning (EAL), the initiative reflects VPI’s commitment to experiential, trauma-responsive care.

Vermont Business Magazine Every year, hundreds of adults and children from Vermont and northern New York enroll or participate in clinical trials at University of Vermont Cancer Center, providing them with local access to groundbreaking treatments while advancing cancer care and delivery for patients in the region and nationwide. To celebrate National Cancer Research Month and Clinical Trials Awareness Day on May 20, UVM Cancer Center is honoring the investigators, staff, and patients whose participation makes this work possible.

Vermont Business Magazine The Theresa Foundation has announced that James A. Caffry, distinguished attorney and partner at Caffry & Keating PLLC in Waterbury, has been named the 2025 recipient of the Theresa Award. This annual award recognizes a National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) member who has demonstrated unwavering dedication to advocating for individuals with disabilities. Caffry has spent almost two decades making a profound difference in the lives of individuals with disabilities. As a leader in special needs law, Jim has worked tirelessly to advance the rights, opportunities, and resources available to this community. Jim’s contributions extend beyond his practice at Caffry & Keating; he has demonstrated a deep commitment to leadership and service with his involvement in the Vermont Bar Association as well as the Special Needs Alliance (SNA).

Vermont Business Magazine Sunday night, Rep. Becca Balint (D-Vermont-AL) released the following statement after the passage of the Republican budget out of the House Budget Committee late this evening: “In an economy already rigged against working people, Republicans are moving forward with sweeping cuts to the programs that millions of families afloat. Americans just want to be able to pay their rent, afford groceries and health care, get their kids a good education and build a better life. But this budget makes that so much further out of reach. Republicans have had hundreds of opportunities to stand up for Medicaid, food assistance and our public schools. But tonight, they are again deciding to turn their backs on working people to give tax cuts to their billionaire donors and help corporations rake in even more money. 

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott signed into law the property tax rate "yield bill," H.491. The average increase in property taxes this year is 1.1%. Last year's increase was 13.8%. While costs have come down this year, the Legislature used $77.2 million in surplus funds from the General Fund as a one-time fix for FY2026, which begins this July 1. Before the session began, the projected average property tax increase was 5.9%.

Vermont State Police On the above date and time, Troopers responded to a report of a tractor trailer stuck in "the notch" on Rt 108S in the town of Cambridge. Investigation revealed the operator, Musa Boima, 36, of Maryland, was traveling from Waterbury to Enosburg when he chose to disregard several signs stating tractor trailers were prohibited, and decided to drive around chicanes that were installed at the entrance to the notch road. Boima claimed he saw a sign telling him he could drive through. 

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Agency of Transportation’s State Highway Safety Office joins law enforcement agencies across the state and nation in urging drivers to Buckle Up today and every day. Law enforcement officers and first responders from Vermont and New York, with support from the Vermont and New York State Highway Safety Offices, held a press conference today at the Fairhaven Welcome Center to raise awareness about the Buckle Up seat belt safety campaign. This year marks Vermont and New York’s 24th year participating in the national seat belt enforcement campaign. This campaign (also known throughout the country as the Click It or Ticket campaign) began in North Carolina in 1993.

Vermont Business Magazine Philo Ridge Farm, a nonprofit working demonstration farm dedicated to promoting organic regenerative agriculture, announces, after a nationwide search, Bryan Flower as Executive Director and Marc St. Jacques as Director of Food & Beverage and Executive Chef. These leadership hires mark a significant milestone in the farm's evolution as a nonprofit organization. St. Jacques started March 24, with Flower set to join June 9. 

by Maggie Lenz and Nick Charyk H.454, the legislature’s education transformation bill, is expected to hit the Senate floor this week. Since passing out of the House, it has cleared three Senate committees and continues to consume a significant share of this session’s bandwidth. But confidence in the bill itself remains in short supply. At nearly every turn, lawmakers have raised serious questions about the policy. They have voted to advance it anyway. The premise behind the bill is straightforward enough. Vermont is shifting toward a foundation formula, a school funding model used in most other states, where a fixed amount is allocated per student and then adjusted based on need. Students who are learning English, living in poverty, or require additional supports are assigned more weight, which translates to more funding. The idea is to deliver equity by building need directly into the funding structure. But as one senator put it during the May 2 vote in the Senate Education Committee, “We might have not done what we intended here.” That line has hung over the process ever since.