Current News

Northeastern Vermont Development Association Please join us for the next quarterly NEK Energy Network Meeting - all energy committees, community organizations and energy partners are welcome! Share best practices, lessons learned and success stories. Hear about the latest energy incentives, rebates and multi-solving ideas out there to benefit your community. Restoration Ecologist Karina Dailey will be joining the Vermont Center for Ecostudies for their May "Suds & Science" event in White River Junction! Karina will be sharing fundamental concepts of watershed science and the impact of man-made dams along Vermont's rivers. She will share stories from four recent dam removal projects, engaging the community from the ground up, and the restoration outcomes that result from a free-flowing river.

by Mike Donoghue, Vermont News First, Vermont Business Magazine Former Woodstock Police Chief Joseph Swanson has filed a $5 million civil lawsuit against Municipal Manager Eric Duffy and five village trustees over his recent demotion and removal as head of the police department. Seton McIlroy, the board chair, Jeffrey Kahn, the vice chair and fellow trustees Brenda Blakeman, Lisa Lawlor and Frank Horneck are named, like Duffy, as individual defendants in the case filed this week in Vermont Superior Court in Woodstock. The Village and Town of Woodstock, along with Burgess Loss Prevention Associates of Lebanon, N.H., also are named as defendants in the wide-ranging 31-page lawsuit.

Vermont Business Magazine The national Citizens Business Conditions Index (CBCI) held steady at 50.9 in the first quarter of 2025. The reading is generally consistent with the 4Q24 level of 51.0, suggesting that business conditions remained positive to start the year despite growing macroeconomic uncertainty throughout the period. The Vermont index was 52.5 for the quarter, outpacing the national index. The readings above 50 indicate that business conditions were positive in the first quarter, supported by solid corporate revenue trends as Citizens’ clients continued to perform well during the period.

Vermont Business Magazine Embodying Champlain College's dedication to career-focused education and positive global impact, Ambassador Suzan Johnson Cook and Lieutenant General Michael Dubie will be honored for their exemplary leadership and service as they address graduating students during the College’s commencement ceremonies on Saturday, May 10. Ambassador Suzan Johnson Cook will address Champlain College on-campus undergraduates, and Lieutenant General Michael Dubie will offer remarks to Champlain College Online undergraduate and graduate students. Both speakers will receive honorary doctorate degrees from the College.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Law and Graduate School will close the academic year with 170 students participating in its 49th commencement ceremony May 17, where juris doctor, master of laws and master's degrees will be conferred. The Honorable Patricia Whalen will serve as commencement speaker. A Vermont Law and Graduate School alum from the class of 1979, Whalen specializes in human rights, war crimes, gender violence in conflict, genocide, crimes against humanity and family law. A judge for more than 20 years, Whalen's service included five years in the War Crimes Chamber of Bosnia and Herzegovina on both the First Instance and Appellate courts. 

Vermont Business Magazine The U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services, in coordination with the Vermont Department of Health, will conduct a special spring rabies vaccine bait drop beginning May 5 to help combat rising rabies rates in wildlife. The early distribution will deliver approximately 350,000 units of oral rabies vaccine bait in areas of Addison, Caledonia, Chittenden, Essex, Franklin, Grand Isle, Lamoille, Orange, Orleans and Washington Counties. Officials say that the increased frequency of bait drops will help slow the spread of the rabies virus among wildlife, but that it takes time for enough animals to become immune.

 Vermont Business Magazine Take advantage of a unique opportunity to network and sit down with a variety of SCORE Vermont mentors to help you with your small business idea or to ask specific questions for your small business. Take advantage of this unique opportunity to network and sit down with a variety of SCORE Vermont Mentors to help you with your small business idea or to ask specific questions for your small business. May 10 in St Albans.

Vermont Business Magazine An iconic element of Vermont’s public lands is set to undergo much-needed restoration this summer. Starting May 1, the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation (FPR) will launch the first phase of a project aimed at enhancing safety and performing restoration and maintenance on several state-owned fire towers. Originally constructed in the early 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps for forest fire monitoring, these towers now primarily serve a recreational purpose. FPR will use $450,000 of funding from the U.S. Economic Development Administration to complete maintenance and safety improvements at the Bear Hill and Burke Mountain fire towers. 

Vermont Business Magazine Vermonters looking for electric heating and cooling solutions have more choices thanks to VGS’s (Vermont Gas) trio of heat pump solutions, including ductless mini-split heat pumps, centrally ducted heat pumps, and heat pump water heaters. Heat pumps have experienced growing rates of adoption across the U.S. and northeast thanks to their efficiency and ability to perform in cold weather climates. VGS technicians have installed more than 450 heat pump systems since the company first offered electric heat pump water heaters in 2022. At the time, the company was the first gas-only utility in the U.S. to provide heat pump water heaters. In 2023, VGS began installing centrally ducted heat pumps. Ductless mini-split heat pumps followed in 2024.

Vermont Business Magazine In the wake of devastating honeybee losses nationwide and increasing threats to native pollinators, the One Hive Foundation, a Vermont-based private foundation, has announced over $1.7 million in grants to support urgent pollinator conservation work across the state. This landmark investment, awarded to 10 organizations for projects spanning one to three years, represents a major step forward for pollinator recovery in Vermont and beyond. The funded initiatives focus on key areas identified by the Vermont Pollinator Working Group, including pesticide reduction, habitat restoration, and expanding pollinator education statewide.

by Alison Despathy Open Letter to the VT House and Senate Energy Committees: On Thursday, March 27, the House Transportation Committee invited testimony on the Advanced Clean Car and Truck Regulations that were adopted by Vermont and several states choosing to follow California's Clean Air Act Waiver. It was made abundantly clear how devastating these mandates have been to the vehicle industry in New York and Massachusetts, who also adopted these rules and are currently a year ahead in implementation. We must prevent this widespread, small business economic destruction in Vermont. I implore you to watch this testimony to understand the urgent need to move House Bill 65 or Senate Bill 101 through this session and revoke the California Air Act Waiver. It is both disturbing and unclear why you have not received this testimony in your own committees. 

Vermont Business Magazine The Attorney General’s Office today announced that Gretchen E. Lewis, 58, of Williamstown, Vermont, was sentenced in Vermont Superior Court, Orleans Criminal Division, after pleading guilty to one misdemeanor count of Unauthorized Practice of Psychotherapy and one misdemeanor count of defrauding Vermont Medicaid by False Pretenses. The Court, Judge Rory Thibault presiding, sentenced the defendant to a two-year term of probation, payment of $22,750 in restitution to Vermont Medicaid, 100 hours of community service, and a prohibition on any further work as a Medicaid service provider.