Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health has confirmed a case of measles in a school-aged child in Lamoille County. The child became sick after returning with their family from traveling internationally in recent days. The risk to the public is believed to be low, as the child has been isolated from most community settings while they have been contagious. Investigation is ongoing. This is the first case of measles in Vermont in 2025, following two cases in 2024 and two cases in the decade prior, one in 2011 and one in 2018. This case is not related to the three ongoing domestic outbreaks of measles in the United States or to the current measles outbreak in Québec. 

by Vermont Auditor of Accounts Doug Hoffer The State Auditor’s Office is the watchdog of State government performance, providing independent, objective analysis from outside the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches. Each year we complete audits that make recommendations to State agencies to help them improve public services and save taxpayer money. Here are brief summaries of what we found when we performed our follow-up work on audits completed in 2023 and 2021. The titles show the name of the agency we audited, whether it is the initial or final follow-up report (i.e., performed 1 year or 3 years after the audit), and the number of recommendations implemented by the agency vs. the number of recommendations given in the audit report.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont’s Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (VT-BEAD) Program is now accepting proposals from Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to implement Vermont’s $239 million, federally funded program to deploy broadband internet service throughout the state. The VT-BEAD Full Proposal portal will close at 11:55pm on April 16, 2025. Only those ISPs that submitted a VT-BEAD Pre-proposal are eligible to submit Full Proposal. 

Vermont Business Magazine As millions of seniors and people with disabilities struggle to afford dentures, hearing aids and eyeglasses, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas), Ranking Member of the House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee, today introduced bicameral legislation to expand access to dental, hearing and vision care for the 68 million American seniors on Medicare. Around 4:30 p.m. ET, Sanders will ask for unanimous consent on the Senate floor to pass his legislation, forcing anyone who opposes expanding Medicare to include essential dental, hearing and vision coverage to rise in opposition. Sanders' remarks will be livestreamed on his social media here.

Vermont Business Magazine Treasurer Mike Pieciak and local legislators will host two town halls on Saturday, March 15 to discuss Vermont’s response to federal policy changes under the Trump administration. The first town hall will take place at 9:30 AM at Brattleboro Area Middle School, followed by the second at 2:30 PM at the South Burlington Library Auditorium. The events are hosted by Treasurer Pieciak’s Task Force on the Federal Transition and will provide an opportunity for Vermonters to share their concerns and ideas for action.

Vermont Business Magazine Today Comcast announced that across Vermont, Xfinity Internet customers woke up to 50% to 100% faster upload speeds, as well as faster download speeds, all at no additional cost. Xfinity Internet tiers, and the NOW branded prepaid products, will benefit from 50 to 100 percent faster upload speeds than before, helping customers upload large files in a flash when working from home or posting videos to social media in seconds. Download speeds will also increase for most Internet tiers.

by Ed Fox, VTRGA Vermont has an opportunity this legislative session to pass comprehensive data privacy legislation which strikes a responsible balance between protecting consumer data and ensuring businesses and nonprofits can continue to thrive. The introduction of a common-sense data privacy bill by Senator Thomas Chittenden, with bipartisan cosponsors including both the Senate Majority and Senate Minority Leaders, represents a thoughtful, regionally compatible approach—one that safeguards personal information while fostering economic stability.

Vermont Business Magazine U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont), Ranking Member of the Senate Agriculture Subcommittee on Rural Development, Energy, and Credit, joined Senators John Hoeven (R-N.D.) and Tina Smith (D-Minn.) in reintroducing the bipartisan Farm Ownership Improvement Act. This bill will help producers compete in the farm real estate market by launching a pilot program for a pre-approval or pre-qualification process for U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Direct Farm Ownership loans. 

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine Secretary of Administration Sarah Clark today released Vermont’s revenue results for January 2025. The General Fund and Education Fund exceeded their respective monthly consensus cash flow target, corresponding to the annual consensus forecasts as adopted by the Emergency Board at its July 2024 meeting, while the Transportation Fund failed to meet its target. The GF was led by vital Personal Income results, which had slumped in the last couple of months. Corporate revenues also had a strong month. The tax season can offer uneven data. Meanwhile, the consumption revenues also rebounded, with the Sales and Meals & Rooms taxes both exceeding their projections. The Transportation Fund results were down, including the Gasoline and Diesel taxes, offset by an increase in auto sales.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health reported last week that the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations are down. Hospitalizations fell to just under 5 after a spike in January. Likewise wastewater testing indicates that virus levels fell steeply also after a spike, especially in Montpelier, but also at most test sites. The Vermont pandemic death total stands at 1,278 as of March 6, 2025, an increase of 2 from the previous week (the most recent data available from the CDC). 

Vermont Business Magazine Building on three decades of collaboration, Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: CWST), a regional solid waste, recycling, and resource management services company and the University of Vermont, an R1 research institution, announced that they are partnering to launch the Casella Center for Circular Economy and Sustainability at UVM. Casella has committed $1.5 million to launch the Center, which will bring together leading scientists, engineers, and materials management experts to serve as an industry-first interdisciplinary hub for research, workshops, and lectures on sustainable waste and materials management, resource solutions, climate leadership, and community engagement. This is the first research center that Casella has launched.

Vermont Business Magazine Northeast Delta Dental Foundation announced it supported 59 tri-state organizations with $794,450 in grants in 2024. Initiatives chosen supported a variety of oral health categories including Community Health Centers of the Rutland Region as well as funding for other dental clinics, in-school programs, scholarships, research, education, recruitment and events. Vermont was able to expand its oral health initiatives with several Foundation grants, including a donation of $25,000 to Community Health Centers of the Rutland Region (see image below) to purchase a 3D X-ray machine. The organization serves 9,000 adults and children. The Foundation also granted funds to People’s Health and Wellness Clinic, which provides services to underrepresented populations.