Current News

by Senator Scott Beck, Caledonia District, Senate Minority Leader A considerable amount of attention and work this legislative session has been devoted to Vermont’s Pk-12 public education system and how it is funded. This is important work. 30% of Vermont state spending is devoted to our most precious resource, 83,000 children. Vermonters understand how meaningful these conversations are. Education is critical to our communities and a pillar of democracy. Schools serve as important community hubs, are essential for economic and workforce development, attract families, and foster individual and societal success. Taxpayers are important too, and their voices in November were heard loud and clear. In short, Vermonters want change. Here are a few of my thoughts on how change could be structured so that all Vermont children receive an excellent education that taxpayers can afford.

Vermont Business Magazine As the Trump administration and Elon Musk attack public education in America by closing offices and laying off 1,300 workers at the Department of Education, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), alongside 37 Senate colleagues, today sent a letter to Secretary of Education Linda McMahon expressing outrage at the administration’s reckless and illegal firing of half of the workforce at the U.S. Department of Education, which will devastate America’s public education system and impact students across the country.

Vermont Business Magazine Today a gathering of community members, funders, residents, state legislators, and others celebrated the official grand opening for the historic Ward 5 School Apartments. Co-owners and co-developers, Evernorth and Downstreet Housing and Community Development partnered to redevelop the historic Ward 5 School into 9 new permanently affordable homes that are part of the larger Granite City Apartments project, which also includes 18 newly renovated apartments in two buildings on Bromur Street. For the $8 million project, Downstreet and Evernorth renovated the 18 existing apartments in two buildings on Bromur Street to address energy efficiency and life safety enhancements and created 9 new affordable apartments by redeveloping the long-vacant Ward 5 School on Humbert Street. The historic building was acquired from the Barre Housing Authority (BHA). Downstreet and Evernorth worked with BHA to secure nine rental assistance vouchers for the new apartments.  

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine Today, the Vermont Department of Labor announced that the seasonally adjusted statewide unemployment rate for January was 2.6 percent. This reflects an increase of one-tenth of one percentage point from the prior month’s revised estimate. The civilian labor force participation rate was 65.5 percent in January, no change from the prior month’s revised estimate. While the Labor Force, Employment and Unemployment all increased slightly, none of the changes were statistically significant. Vermont continues to have the second lowest rate in the nation, tied with North Dakota. South Dakota is lowest at 1.9 percent; Nevada is highest at 5.8 percent. The comparable United States rate in January was 4.0 percent, a decrease of one-tenth of one percentage point from the revised December estimate.  

by Mike Donoghue, Vermont News First, Vermont Business Magazine The Los Angeles man that authorities say was behind an elaborate cross-country murder for hire scheme that ended in a deadly shooting in Vermont seven years ago, will go on trial today (Monday) in U.S. District Court in Burlington. Serhat D. Gumrukcu, 42, has pleaded not guilty to three felony charges, including causing the execution-style death of Gregory Davis, 49, of Danville in January 2018 in the Northeast Kingdom. Authorities have identified Gumrukcu as the man that ordered the hit on Davis after he threatened to blow the whistle on the defendant for a multimillion-dollar fraud involving international investments in an oil deal.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Corrections (DOC) today announced the death of Michael Hartigan, a detained individual receiving palliative care at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC) in Hanover, New Hampshire. Michael Hartigan, 67, of Randolph, Vermont, was detained and ordered held without bail in May 2020. On February 6, Mr. Hartigan was hospitalized at Springfield Hospital in Springfield, Vermont. He was subsequently transferred to DHMC on February 9. He was receiving palliative care prior to being pronounced deceased on March 16 at DHMC. 

Vermont Business Magazine The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index fell by 2.1 points in February to 100.7. This is the fourth consecutive month above the 51-year average of 98 and is 4.4 points below its most recent peak of 105.1 in December. The Uncertainty Index rose four points to 104 – the second highest recorded reading. “Uncertainty is high and rising on Main Street, while inflation and a lack of qualified workers remain the biggest problems facing small business owners,” said NFIB Vermont State Director John Reynolds. "NFIB's survey shows that the proportion of small business owners expecting better business conditions in the next six months dropped, and the percent viewing the current period as a good time to expand fell. Small business is the backbone of Vermont’s economy, but they need state lawmakers to support them and avoid new mandates, fees, and taxes for the remainder of the legislative session."

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Mutual Insurance Group Giving Fund (VMI) has committed $10,000  to support Central Vermont Habitat for Humanity (CVHFH) to assist with building a single family home in Barre. Beyond their financial support, VMI employees will also volunteer on-site, reinforcing their commitment to community involvement. VMI’s dedication to volunteerism aligns with a growing trend in the for-profit sector, where companies not only encourage employees to give back but also provide paid volunteer days. CVHFH homes are sold to low-income families with a 0% interest or equivalent mortgage. Homeowners must demonstrate the ability to repay the mortgage and contribute sweat equity by helping build their own home.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine The current president of Boise State University has been named the de facto next president of the University of Vermont. Dr Marlene Tromp was named Monday morning as the lone finalist for the position of president. In recent years a single finalist is named as the presumptive new president until a final vote of the Board of trustees. Tromp will succeed Suresh Garimella, who stepped down last fall to take over the presidency of the University of Arizona. UVM Provost Patricia A. Prelock was named interim president by the Board of Trustees beginning October 1, 2024. Tromp is a professor of English and a widely published scholar of Victorian literature and culture.

The Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets (VAAFM) is no longer in line to receive anticipated federal funding, which would have helped Vermont farms feed their local communities in 2025. On Friday, March 7, 2025, VAAFM received termination notices for two cooperative agreements from our USDA-Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) program contacts for the Local Food Purchase Assistance (LFPA25) and Local Food for Schools and Child Care (LFSCC) programs. The termination notices read, in part: "AMS has determined this agreement no longer effectuates agency priorities and that termination of the award is appropriate.” 

by Devon Green, VP of Government Relations, VAHHS Crossover week is usually intense, but the heat was ratcheted up to volcanic levels last week with the announcement of Blue Cross Blue Shield’s financial struggles from the Green Mountain Care Board and the Department of Financial Regulation. While we are seeing these trends nationally both with health insurers and hospitals, it appears that the combination of Vermont’s aging demographics, rurality, and housing costs have put us at the tip of the spear. What I love about this state is the ability to get everyone in a room to hash things out. VAHHS welcomes the opportunity to do that here.

Vermont Business Magazine Average gasoline prices in Vermont are $3.10 per gallon, down 1.3 cents per gallon from last week's $3.11/g. The lowest price in the state yesterday was $2.85/g while the highest was $3.29/g, a difference of 44.0 cents per gallon. The national average price of gasoline has fallen 1.3 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.02/g today. The national average is down 10.6 cents per gallon from a month ago and stands 42.4 cents per gallon lower than a year ago.