Current News

by Vermont Commerce Secretary Lindsay Kurrle Too often in Vermont, popular and necessary housing construction is derailed, delayed, or diminished by a small number of folks abusing the appeals process who have no direct skin in the game and are reluctant to welcome new neighbors. While appeals are valuable in certain cases, they also drive-up costs, affecting every homebuyer, renter, and builder in Vermont. When the project involves public money, appeals also drive-up costs for taxpayers. The Alice Holway Drive Project in Putney is an example of all those things.

by Rep. Laura Sibilia, Rep. Lisa Hango, Senator Joe Major Vermont is one of the few states that still taxes military retirement and survivor benefits. This outdated policy puts our state out of step with the vast majority of the country and fails to recognize the sacrifices made by our military members and their families. It's time to change that. Military service is unlike any other career. Service members, and their families, make sacrifices that most civilians will never fully understand. They leave behind their homes, face dangerous deployments, and live with the physical and emotional tolls of their service. 

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.”