Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Today, a coalition of service industry professionals, lawmakers, and gun safety advocates gathered at the Vermont State House to urge the Legislature to approve Burlington’s charter change (S.131), which would ban guns in bars and was overwhelmingly supported by 86.6% of Burlington voters in 2025. Advocates are also calling for the passage of H.45, which would establish a statewide prohibition on firearms in bars. Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Baruth underscored the need for action, pointing to both common-sense gun safety principles and real-life tragedies that have occurred in Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine Over 100 manufacturing industry leaders gathered at the State House on April 2 to engage with legislators and raise awareness of the collective contributions of this industry to the Vermont economy. Vermont Manufacturing Day, convened by the Vermont Chamber of Commerce, Associated Industries of Vermont, Regional Development Corporations of Vermont, and Vermont Manufacturing Extension Center, brought businesses together to increase awareness, build relationships, and tell the story of the industry. The Vermont Manufacturing economy has a $3 billion annual economic impact (over 8% of the state’s GDP), supports 30,000 jobs, and represents 10.5% of Vermont’s workforce. Businesses, legislative leaders, and Administration officials collaborated for a day of advocacy to elevate the collective contributions of the manufacturing sector to Vermont. 

VermontBiz and the Vermont Chamber of Commerce revealed the ranking of the top 65 Best Places to Work in Vermont 2025 at a ceremony on April 2 at the Hotel Champlain in Burlington, VT. There were over 535 people in attendance. “With Vermont’s tight labor market, businesses are finding it difficult to fill open positions. These businesses can say to perspective employees that their company has been chosen as a best place to work in Vermont. This will give them a leg up on recruitment,” said John Boutin, publisher, Vermontbiz. The number 1 company in each category are: Small (15-99 employees) – Northeastern Reproductive Medicine; Medium (100-249 employees) – New England Air Systems; Large (250+ employees) – Stantec Consulting Services.

Vermont Business Magazine CCTV Center for Media & Democracy is experiencing direct impacts from recent federal funding cuts, including reductions to programs that support the CCTV Archives and the Vermont Language Justice Project (VLJP). These cuts have a significant impact on CCTV’s ability to meet community needs. The Vermont Language Justice Project (VLJP) built on and supported by a CDC Health Equity grant, allows people with language access needs the ability to make informed decisions about their physical and mental health, their safety, as well as navigating everyday life in the USA, by creating public service videos in 21 of the languages spoken in Vermont.  Federal actions and cuts that have targeted health care and health equity and in turn refugees, im/migrants, and asylees, is having a chilling effect on the people served by the project, potentially limiting the project’s capacity to serve these diverse language communities in Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine Cabot Creamery, a proud farmer-owned cooperative known for its award-winning cheddar and commitment to community, is excited to team up with Fenway Park as a sponsor and concession vendor this season. The two organizations share an award-winning legacy of bringing families together, making memories and celebrating time-honored traditions for over a century. The Boston Red Sox and Cabot are iconic representations of New England. Marrying America's favorite pastime with the best cheddar in the US is a grand slam opportunity that Cabot had to be a part of. 

Vermont Business Magazine For five years, the Vermont Council on Rural Development (VCRD) has hosted a dedicated group of new and emerging leaders from across the state who are focused on transformative, community-scale climate economy projects. From tool lending libraries to starting an energy committee, Climate Catalysts have made significant contributions to their communities. VCRD is now accepting applications for the sixth Climate Catalyst Leadership Program. The six-month program engages participants with in-person and virtual gatherings and one-on-one support. In order to make sure there are no barriers to participation, the program is free and stipends are offered. Since the program’s inception in 2020, nearly 75 Vermonters have participated in this program sparking innovative projects in their hometowns and beyond.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine Average gasoline prices in Vermont are $3.14 per gallon, up 3 cents per gallon from last week, unchanged from last month and down 24 cents/g from last year. The lowest price in the state this week was $2.81/g while the highest was $3.27/g. Prices are lowest in Rutland ($3.01/g) and Windham ($3.03/g) counties and highest in Essex ($3.25/g), Franklin ($3.26/g) and Grand Isle ($3.29/g) counties. Vermont gas prices are expected to keep rising as the switch to the summer formulations will cause prices to rise in the Northeast as they already have nationally.

Northeastern Vermont Development Association Join VECAN for a noon webinar April 9 to hear from Ann Janda, Senior Project Manager of Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission, on RBES in more detail and what is being done at the state and local levels. This session is presented on behalf of all regional planning commissions via the Vermont Association of Planning and Development Agencies (VAPDA) as part of a project led by Energy Futures Group.

Vermont Business Magazine New tariffs imposed by the Trump administration, plus tariffs implemented since January, will cost Vermont households an estimated $1 billion annually, according to an estimate provided by the State Treasurer’s Office. The White House yesterday announced a sweeping range of tariffs and “reciprocal” tariffs that the administration claims will “free” the U.S. from foreign goods, imposing a minimum 10% tax on all imports, and substantially higher tariffs on major U.S. trading partners, including an additional 34% tariff on Chinese goods. Economists have raised concern that the tariffs—taxes on foreign goods imported into the U.S.—will ultimately increase prices, which will be passed down to American businesses and consumers. 

Vermont Business Magazine The Attorney General’s Office announced that Julie Maskell, 66, and Stephen Maskell, 65, both of Eden, Vermont, were separately arraigned, each on one count of felony Medicaid Fraud in Vermont Superior Court, Lamoille Criminal Division. The charges brought against the Maskells, as co-defendants, are the result of an investigation conducted by the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud and Residential Abuse Unit (MFRAU). The investigation revealed that Stephen Maskell provided care to a Medicaid recipient who he was not authorized to care for. It’s alleged by the State that this scheme enabled his wife, Julie Maskell, to submit false timesheets to Vermont Medicaid, claiming payment for thousands of dollars as though Ms. Maskell was the one providing care while she was actually being paid by Medicaid to provide care to another individual.

Vermont Business Magazine U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont) joined U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), and John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) in leading a bipartisan group of 60 senators to reintroduce the Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies (CONNECT) for Health Act. The CONNECT for Health Act will expand coverage of telehealth services through Medicare, make COVID-19 telehealth flexibilities permanent, improve health outcomes, and make it easier for patients to connect with their doctors. Current flexibilities are set to expire on September 30 unless Congress extends them.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont House of Representatives on Wednesday passed H.91, An act relating to the Vermont Homeless Emergency Assistance and Responsive Transition to Housing Program, legislation that reforms the emergency housing program away from a hotel/motel focused program to a prevention and supportive service-based model. The strong bi-partisan vote reflects months of hard work, deep collaboration amongst state and community partners, and thoughtful input from Vermonters. The bill calls for a $10 million appropriation. Speaker of the House Jill Krowinski and Representative Theresa Wood, Chair of the Committee on Human Services, highlighted the importance of the bill: “The passage of H.91 is a huge step forward in moving our emergency housing program to a more cost effective, prevention-based program that some of our most vulnerable Vermonters desperately need."