Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Attorney General Charity Clark today joined a coalition of attorneys general in filing a lawsuit to block President Trump’s illegal tariffs. The case challenges four of President Trump’s executive orders that claim the power to increase tariffs worldwide without congressional action. The lawsuit challenges President Trump’s executive orders calling for higher tariffs on most products worldwide. These tariffs impose a 145 percent tariff on most products from China, a 25 percent tariff on most products from Canada and Mexico, and 10 percent tariffs on most products from the rest of the world. It also challenges President Trump’s plan to raise tariffs on imports from 46 other trading partners on July 9.

Vermont Natural Resources Council Today at noon, join the second-to-last webinar in VECAN’s winter series to get an update on what’s happening with the implementation of Vermont’s historic Climate Superfund Act and the important work underway to develop a Resilience Implementation Strategy, a joint initiative of the Governor and the Vermont Treasurer, led through a partnership between the Treasurer’s Office and the Climate Action Office. 

Vermont Business Magazine The Working Lands Enterprise Board (WLEB) announces 18 businesses have been awarded a total of $679,095 to maintain and grow the agricultural and forestry sectors in Vermont. The Working Lands Enterprise Initiative (WLEI) was created by the Vermont Legislature in 2012 to stimulate economic development in the agricultural and forestry sectors. WLEI is a collaborative effort between the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food, and Markets, the Vermont Department of Forest, Parks and Recreation, and the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development. 

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Housing Finance Agency Board of Commissioners approved awards on Monday, April 21, 2025, of federal low-income housing tax credits to build approximately 128 new affordable homes. Four out of seven proposed development projects were selected to receive $3.4 million in federal housing tax credits which will generate $31.5 million in equity for housing development costs. The funding comes at a critical time for Vermont as the state works to expand affordable housing options, particularly for low-income families, older adults, and households who have experienced homelessness.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Community Broadband Board (VCBB) has completed taking in applications for Vermont’s Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (VT-BEAD) Program. BEAD is a federal program that provides $42.45 billion to expand high-speed internet access by funding planning, infrastructure deployment, and adoption programs in all states and territories. Vermont’s allocation of those funds is almost $229 million. That money will be used to serve all the unserved and underserved locations in the state. 96 percent of these eligible locations received at least one application, and 95 percent of eligible locations received an application that will provide fiber optic service.

Vermont Business Magazine Cannatrol, the innovators behind the cannabis industry’s only all-in-one solution for consistent drying, curing and storage, today announced the hiring of Michael Lucchino as executive vice president of sales and Kameron Simpson as product manager, as well as the opening of Denver offices for the North Springfield, Vermont-based company. The company's new Colorado hub in the Denver Tech Center will serve as a strategic base for the company's western operations and upcoming distribution hub for its postharvest systems, sales of which have demonstrated strong, steady growth since inception in 2021.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont artist Noa Younse of Richmond has been selected as the artist to develop a public art design for the Windsor Superior Courthouse in White River Junction. Younse's preliminary concept includes tiles that can be added or removed to fit the space. The design aims to build movement and connection between the upper and lower floors of the courthouse's interior lobby. Younse's innovative concept was chosen from among five finalists who made public presentations of their concepts in March. Following a period of public input, a committee comprised of selected building employees, community members, and visual arts experts selected Younse to develop his design concept. The finalists were narrowed from an initial pool of 32 applicants.

Vermont Business Magazine Concepts NREC and ADS CFD have formed a partnership which will allow the combination of the Agile Engineering Design System® for Turbomachinery and the ADS GPU Accelerated CFD software suite to enable turbomachinery designers to perform Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) calculations 15-120X faster than traditional solvers at a fraction of the hardware cost. The Agile Engineering Design System® (AEDS) is an integrated suite of software modules for Computer-Aided Engineering (CAE) and Computer-Aided Manufacturing (CAM) specialized for turbomachinery. The ADS GPU Accelerated CFD software suite consists of ADS Code WAND, an automated mesh generator for multistage turbomachinery, and ADS Code LEO, a CFD solver that has full steady and unsteady turbomachinery capabilities and has been optimized for GPU acceleration. ADS Code LEO is well validated with experimental data and in use at many of the world’s leading turbomachinery OEMs.

Vermont Business Magazine On Wednesday, April 23, Judge Crawford will hear oral arguments in Burlington, Vermont regarding Mohsen Mahdawi’s habeas petition and motion for release on bail at 9:00 AM. Mr. Mahdawi is a lawful permanent resident of the United States who has lived in Vermont for 10 years and is set to graduate from Columbia University in May. ICE detained him during his long-awaited naturalization hearing on April 14. Mr. Mahdawi was targeted by the Trump administration in direct retaliation for his advocacy of Palestinian rights. 

Vermont Business Magazine First Children’s Finance VT (FCF) has announced the final recipients of the Vermont Planning Grant Project, a statewide initiative aimed at expanding future access to affordable, high-quality early childhood education. The grants provided support for a wide range of planning activities, from feasibility studies and financial analysis to architectural and engineering designs. Among the awardees is The Learning Tree, the onsite child care center at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC), which will use the planning grant to develop plans for a possible renovation and expansion project at its Bennington location.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health reported last week that the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations remains low, at about 5 after a spike in January. Wastewater testing indicates that virus levels edged up in recent weeks but have fallen steeply after a surge also in January. The Vermont pandemic death total stands at 1,288 as of April 17, 2025, with 2 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. There were 2 outbreaks last week (2 the week before), with 2 in Long-Term Care Facilities and none in schools. 

Vermont Business Magazine As Vermont honors Earth Day and 55 years of celebrating our natural environment, the Vermont Outdoor Business Alliance (VOBA) is releasing their recent Federal Impacts on Vermont Outdoor Businesses Report - a compilation of the current and anticipated effects from sweeping changes at the federal level on Vermont’s outdoor businesses. Vermont’s $2.1 billion outdoor economy is a highly diversified sector that includes manufacturers, retailers, resorts, trail networks, trail builders, lodges, photographers, and guide services. It includes companies and destinations that attract visitors to recreate and stay in our Green Mountains, and benefits the health and resilience of our State.