Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Agency of Transportation (AOT) invites you to attend a public meeting about an upcoming bridge replacement project in Jericho on Browns Trace over Mill Brook. The Agency will deliver a public presentation at the Town of Jericho Select Board meeting to provide information on the short- and long-term construction schedule and traffic impacts. WHEN: Thursday, May 15, 2025, at 6:30 p.m. WHERE: Jericho Town Hall, 67 VT Route 15, Jericho.

Vermont Manufacturing Extension Center This 10-hour session is intended to provide general awareness education on recognizing and preventing hazards in a general industry setting. Participants will be introduced to OSHA policies, procedures, and standards as well as general industry safety and health principles and work practices covered in 29CFR 1910-OSHA Standards for General Industry. It is also beneficial for employees in need of refresher training. Both days of the training must be attended. Katie Frederick, CSP, CHST, OHST and President and CEO of Applied Solutions Consulting, will instruct this safety training.

Vermont Business Magazine GoNetspeed, the northeast’s largest independent fiber builder, has announced that Benson, Castleton, Hubbardton, and Sudbury now have access to 100% fiber-optic internet with construction officially complete. GoNetspeed’s privately funded, combined $3.5 million investment in its expanded Vermont network delivers more than 2,160 homes and businesses access to high-speed, reliable service. “Otter Creek Communications Union District was thrilled to collaborate with GoNetspeed’s build-out of high-speed broadband to rural towns in the Rutland region. Now post-construction, our ongoing meetings with GoNetspeed’s dedicated, professional staff continues to support optimal broadband experiences for Benson, Castleton, Hubbardton, and Sudbury residents,” said Laura Black, Governing Board Chair of the Otter Creek Communications Union District.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, today released a new report uncovering the far-reaching scope of Trump’s attacks on science and their impact on public health. The report finds that Trump officials effectively cut $2.7 billion in National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding in the first three months of 2025 – including a 31 percent cut to cancer research through March, compared to the same timeframe last year.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Public Service is pleased to announce a $22.34 million subaward with Vermont Housing Finance Agency (VHFA) as part of the federal Solar for All Program (SFA). This funding represents over a third of Vermont's $62.45 million federal grant from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and will support affordable housing solar initiatives across the state. SFA was created under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. It will offer $7 billion nationally to help lower the cost of electricity through solar power, which has historically been out of reach for low-income households. The initiative was championed by Vermont's Congressional delegation, particularly by Senator Bernie Sanders who introduced the Solar for All Program. 

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today issued Executive Order 04-25, directing the Agency of Natural Resources to pause enforcement of a multi-state plan requiring vehicle manufacturers to meet certain electric vehicle (EV) sales targets for passenger cars and medium- and heavy-trucks. “I continue to believe we should be incentivizing Vermonters to transition to cleaner energy options like electric vehicles. However, we have to be realistic about a pace that’s achievable. It’s clear we don’t have anywhere near enough charging infrastructure and insufficient technological advances in heavy-duty vehicles to meet current goals,” said Governor Scott. “We have much more work to do, in order make it more convenient, faster, and more affordable to buy, maintain and charge EV’s. When we do, it’s more likely everyday Vermonters will make the switch.” 

Vermont Business Magazine Attorney General Charity Clark, with a coalition of 19 attorneys general, today filed two separate lawsuits against the Trump administration for attempting to illegally coerce their states into sweeping immigration enforcement by threatening to withhold billions of dollars in federal funding nationwide for emergency services and infrastructure. Attorney General Clark and the coalition filed one lawsuit against the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. A second lawsuit was filed against the Department of Transportation (DOT) and DOT Secretary Sean Duffy. Each federal agency has imposed unconstitutional, sweeping conditions that would require the states and state agencies to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement efforts or lose out on billions of federal dollars used to protect public safety and transportation infrastructure.

Vermont Business Magazine When Sydney Hewit left her Jane Austen literature class at University of Vermont in January and headed for the Emergency Department at University of Vermont Medical Center with double vision and a splitting headache, she was ready for a few different things. Hewit was ready to learn that she had an ear infection – or that perhaps something was wrong with her glasses. Maybe she needed a new prescription, Hewit thought. She texted her friends and family just how definitely-not-serious her visit to the hospital was going to be. Several hours and many tests later, a member of the ED medical staff walked into Hewit’s hospital room and asked if she was comfortable with her friend being in the room while he shared news about what her care team had discovered.

Vermont Business Magazine The Green Mountain Care Board on Monday received the 2026 individual and small group health insurance premium rate filings from BlueCross and BlueShield of Vermont and MVP Health Plan. Blue Cross Vermont requested an increase of 23.3% and MVP requested a 6.2% increase in the Individual Market, while in the Small Group Market, Blue Cross requested a 13.7% increase and MVP a 7.5% increase. The Individual Market rates will be impacted by a potential loss of federal tax credits. The filings mark the beginning of a multi-month public review process led by GMCB, during which GMCB hears from its actuaries, the carriers, the Health Care Advocate, the Department of Financial Regulation, and the public. Final decisions are expected to be issued in August.

Vermont Business Magazine The Windham Foundation, a nonprofit based in Grafton, VT that works to enhance Vermont's economic, cultural, and civic life, is pleased to announce the recipients of their most recent round of grants. Thirty-one Vermont-based nonprofits received a total of $98,500 in financial support. The Spring Grants cycle was open to projects focused on (1) agriculture, food, land, and the natural world, and (2) arts, culture, and education. Funded projects included youth education programs, land conservation, food security and musical experiences. 

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health reported last week that the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations remain low and fell slightly again under 5 cases statewide after a spike during the winter. Wastewater testing indicates that virus levels, which had increased at the Montpelier facility recently, also fell after they had spiked in January. The Vermont pandemic death total stands at 1,290 as of May 3, 2025, with no reported death from the previous week (the most recent data available from the CDC). The VDH is no longer reporting COVID fatalities and cases in Vermont.  Vermont has the second lowest state fatality rate in the US (147.2 per 100K; Hawaii 112.9/100K). Mississippi (464.7/100K) and Oklahoma (460.7/100K) have the highest rates. The US average is 307.6/100K (CDC data). 

by Sara White, UVM The University of Vermont has integrated Virtual Reality (VR) simulation into its nursing curriculum, an initiative aimed to improve clinical skills and patient care for future nurses and nurse practitioners. This spring, the Department of Nursing introduced VR simulation to address the need to educate more student nurses as the program expands and to meet the growing expectation for demonstrated skills competency in the nursing profession. Before beginning hands-on patient care, nursing students traditionally practice new skills in simulated scenarios at UVM’s Clinical Simulation Laboratory (CSL), a state-of-the-art, 9,000+ sq. ft. facility.