Current News

by Devon Green, Sr. Vice President of Policy & Strategy, VAHHS On one of the warm days last week, I held open the door at my gym for the person behind me. Lo and behold, a toddler in nothing but a bathing suit and muck boots marched in. The dad and I chuckled about springtime in Vermont, but I realized that the same “muck boot and bathing suit” vibe holds true for this point in the session as legislators and advocates try to tack on last minute proposals or language from stalled bills to the bills that are moving, creating some interesting combinations.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Works for Women (VWW) is celebrating National Apprenticeship Week April 27 to May 1, specifically Women in Apprenticeship Day on Thursday, April 30. VWW will be joined by the Vermont Department of Labor and Alliance Mechanical to celebrate National Women in Apprenticeship Day and highlight the contributions and success of women in these training program. 

Vermont Business Magazine The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and Vermont State District Office has named Vermont Healthcare Consulting LLC and Founder, Principal Consultant Jennifer Mayhew, MPH, PMP as the 2026 Vermont Woman-Owned Business of the Year. This prestigious award recognizes Mayhew’s visionary leadership and unwavering commitment to the Vermont healthcare community. Founded in 2020, Mayhew’s growing consulting firm, now supported by 25+ advisors, provides operational strategy, compliance support, financial performance improvement, technology integration, and workforce development services to healthcare, nonprofit, human services, and other mission-driven organizations. 

Vermont Business Magazine While 7.5 million students receive special education services nationwide, most general educators feel unprepared to support these learners, according to the National Center for Learning Disabilities. Experts in neurodivergence say that gap only widens as students move into higher education. Today, one in five students in the United States has a learning difference, including a learning disability (like dyslexia), ADHD, autism, or executive function challenges. For 25 years, groundbreaking research conducted with and for neurodivergent students through LCIRT has worked to equip educators with practical, research-based strategies that help teachers better support these learners through a strengths-based approach. The result is improved student engagement, confidence, and academic success. 

by Christina Nelson, et al We are family child care owners throughout the state of Vermont, and we support the current version of S.206, or the Early Childhood Educator Profession Bill. This legislation  creates individual licensure and professional recognition for early childhood educators working in Vermont’s family home and center-based programs, and includes provisions to support today’s family child care workforce and ensure our programs stay open. As family child care owners, we care for hundreds of Vermont’s youngest children, and we keep families in our rural communities working. In places like ours, when child care is available, parents can work. When it’s not, local businesses feel it immediately. 

Vermont State Police On Monday, April 20, 2026, the Vermont State Police Drug Task Force assisted members of the Brattleboro Police Department who, as part of a separate investigation, had executed a search warrant at 6 Reynolds Dr. in Brattleboro. Two individuals located in the residence were the focus of a drug investigation conducted by VDTF detectives into the distribution of cocaine from 6 Reynolds Dr. Courtney Stone was arrested on charges of sale of cocaine, two counts of conspiracy, and knowingly permitting the sale of regulated drugs in a dwelling. Stone was ordered held on $25,000 bail. 

Vermont Business Magazine The Attorney General’s Office has announced that Brodie Carstairs, 32, of Burlington, Vermont, was arraigned on 14 felony counts of online promotion of child sexual abuse materials, two counts of attempted use of a child in a sexual performance, three counts of felony possession of child sexual abuse materials, and one count of inciting to felony. The charges brought against Carstairs are the result of a criminal investigation, including the execution of search warrants conducted by the Vermont Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (VT-ICAC), which included personnel from the Attorney General’s Office, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Burlington Police Department.

Vermont Business Magazine The General Fund, Transportation Fund and Education Fund all exceeded their respective monthly consensus cash flow target in the state’s March 2026 revenue results. The Personal Income, Gas, Meals & Rooms and Sales taxes all had a strong month. The state’s three major funds were a combined $282.79 million, exceeding the $263.11 million monthly consensus target by $19.68 million, or 7.5%. Total General Fund revenues for March totaled $193.45 million, $14.53 million, or 8.1%, above the $178.93 million monthly consensus cash flow target. All major components except the Corporate Income Tax exceeded their targets.

Vermont Business Magazine U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont), a member of the Senate Finance Committee, today urged Vermont small businesses to apply for a refund from the U.S. government for President Trump’s reckless and illegal global tariffs.  The new refund program became available to businesses after a February ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court struck down President Trump’s global tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). Senator Welch pushed President Trump to issue refunds after the ruling.

Vermont Business Magazine The Lake Champlain Chamber successfully hosted its sold out 115th Annual Gala on Thursday, April 16 at ECHO, bringing together over 300 business leaders and community members to celebrate the outstanding achievements of local businesses, organizations, and individuals. The evening was a resounding success, highlighting the vital contributions that drive Northwest Vermont's thriving economy forward. 

Vermont State Police's investigation into the crash has determined that Trooper Breen and another trooper were on duty and responding to a call for service in Jamaica when Trooper Breen lost control of his cruiser while negotiating a right-hand curve on Route 100. Breen’s cruiser traveled left of center and collided head-on with Christina Fisher’s Honda CRV. The troopers provided medical assistance to the four injured individuals in the SUV until emergency medical personnel arrived on scene. 

Vermont Business Magazine Attorney General Charity Clark and a coalition of 22 states secured a federal court order blocking an unlawful attempt by the Trump Administration to threaten healthcare providers that provide care for youth with gender dysphoria. A federal district court issued a written opinion and judgment, granting the plaintiff states’ summary judgment motion. On December 18, 2025, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a declaration asserting that certain forms of gender-affirming care are “unsafe and ineffective.” In the declaration, Secretary Kennedy attempted to give HHS the power to exclude healthcare providers from Medicare and Medicaid programs simply for providing care for transgender adolescents.