Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Green Building Network’s (VGBN) thirteenth annual Vermont’s Greenest Building Awards Competition is now open for submissions. This statewide competition recognizes exemplary residential and commercial buildings that excel in green building strategies – including water, health, transportation, and affordability – and meet the highest standard of demonstrated energy performance. Submissions are due on Friday, March 21, 2025 at 5:00pm EST. Winners of the awards will be announced and showcased at VGBN’s annual Vermont Green Building Celebration, which will take place on Thursday, April 17, 2025 at Main Street Landing in Burlington, Vermont. 

Vermont Business Magazine The Finney Crossing neighborhood in Williston is set to become an even more dynamic destination with the addition of three new locally owned businesses opening in a newly constructed three-tenant building on the property. Wild Meadows Books & Café, JANE Boutique, and SPAGHET Red Sauce Joint will each bring unique offerings to the growing, pedestrian-friendly community, enhancing its appeal as a hub for shopping, dining, and gathering.

by Eli Lesser-Goldsmith Nearly every personal and professional conversation I’m part of comes full circle to the fact the people can not find places to life in Vermont.  Co-workers, friends who have moved away from Vermont and now want to return, other companies looking to recruit and add jobs, students who are graduating and want to stay in Vermont, and more.  The common theme is “we can’t find a home or an apartment in Vermont to live in”.  This puts Vermont at a crossroads. The housing crisis that has gripped our state for decades is not only a threat to families and individuals struggling to find homes, but also to the vitality of our entire economy, and the very fabric of our communities. It’s time to take bold action.

Vermont Business Magazine Nominations are now open for the 2025 Vermont Agricultural Hall of Fame! Nominations can be made electronically through www.VTAgHallOfFame.org.  Nominations will be accepted in three categories: Emerging Leaders, Ag Innovators, and The Lifetime Achievement Award. Nominations will be accepted through Friday, March 24th, 2025 at 5 PM. With over 100 Vermonter’s recognized in the last 23 years, the Vermont Agricultural Hall of Fame is ready to accept your thoughtful, quality nominations for 2025! All are welcome to submit a nomination at a chance to honor Vermont farmers, producers and people dedicated to supporting Vermont’s working landscapes. Prior nominations do not carry over; please resubmit your nomination for consideration again. 

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Low Income Trust for Electricity (VLITE) has released its 2023 - 2024 Impact Report, detailing over $2 million in grant investments aimed at supporting Vermont’s energy needs, fostering community resilience, and expanding access to clean, affordable energy solutions. Since its inception, VLITE has provided $11.7 million in energy-related grants, with a strong focus on assisting Vermonters with low- and moderate-income. This year’s report highlights a wide range of initiatives, including flood recovery efforts, home weatherization programs, clean transportation solutions, and solar energy investments in affordable housing projects.

by Camila Van Order González, Community News Service When work began on building the Waterbury Dam, Vermonters were just a few years removed from the deadliest natural disaster in state history, the Great Flood of 1927. Nearly 100 years later, officials say the dam needs repairs if it’s to withstand more of the catastrophic floods that have recently hit the area. Starting in 2027, a century after the Great Flood, builders will replace the floodgates with thicker, sturdier ones and swap out the bridge above the spillway for a new structure. The project will mean substantially lowering the reservoir water level, affecting all activity on the popular waterbody and use of the two state parks surrounding it for about two years. 

Vermont Business Magazine Local food shelves across northern Vermont got some solid support recently from the last round of grants awarded by the Vermont Electric Co-op’s Community Fund. Champlain Islands Food Shelf in Grand Isle, the People’s Farmstand in Burlington, and the town of Starksboro Food Shelf all were awarded funds to help purchase food supplies, and the Heart Full Kitchen food shelf in Montgomery was awarded money to help pay for installation of heat pumps in their new location. Food security is one of the focus areas of the fund, along with community support/development, emergency/disaster relief, and economic security. 

Vermont Business Magazine The Federal Nuclear Waste Policy (FNWP) Committee of the Vermont Nuclear Decommissioning Citizens Advisory Panel (VT NDCAP) will meet on Monday, February 24, 2025 from 12:00 Noon to 1:30 PM.  As permitted by ACT 133 of the 2024 Vermont Legislature, this meeting will be conducted solely as a webcast and teleconference.  At this meeting, representatives from Vermont’s Congressional Delegation and potentially other Congressional staffers will discuss bills regarding the storage of spent nuclear fuel and other nuclear waste-related bills that may be proposed during the current Congressional session.  Potential changes in federal nuclear waste policies under the new administration will also be discussed.

Vermont Business Magazine The Working Lands Enterprise Board (WLEB) is pleased to announce nine awards totaling $444,760 to maintain and grow the agricultural and forestry sectors in Vermont. These awards are part of WLEB’s key strategies to increase working lands businesses knowledge, skills, and profitability by investing in an array of business support services. To reach that goal, WLEB provides grants to service providers who work directly with working lands businesses to support them as they grow, pivot, and adapt to an ever-changing marketplace. WLEB also grants to producer association groups that represent and promote Vermont products and provide key services to working lands businesses across many different sectors.   

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Corrections (DOC) today announced the death of Shawn Gibney, an incarcerated individual receiving palliative care at the University of Vermont Medical Center (UVMMC) in Burlington, Vermont. Shawn Gibney, 63, of Colchester, Vermont, had been consecutively incarcerated at Southern State Correctional Facility since April 2020. On February 8, Mr. Gibney was hospitalized at Springfield Hospital. He was subsequently transferred to UVMMC on February 10 and transitioned to hospice care on February 13. He was declared deceased on February 19 at UVMMC. 

Vermont Business Magazine High school students who are pondering their next steps for college, training, or career—and their parents and family members who are wondering how best to support them—are invited to attend VSAC’s free 2025 College and Career Pathways events, taking place over the next seven weeks at various locations around the state. The events include four school-day field trip programs during March and April for students in grades 9 through 11 held at various college locations across the state, and a public event on Saturday, March 8, for students and their families. The weekday events are coordinated with students’ high schools and will take place at Landmark College in Putney, Saint Michael’s College in Colchester, VTSU-Lyndon in Lyndonville, and VTSU-Castleton in Castleton. Over 2,000 students from 53 high schools across Vermont are already registered to attend.

Vermont Business Magazine Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), today delivered an opening statement at the committee’s hearing on the nomination of Lori Chavez-DeRemer to serve as Secretary of Labor. Sanders’ remarks, as prepared for delivery, are below and can be watched here. Let me begin by thanking the Biden administration for being the most pro-worker administration in modern history of this country. The mission of the Department of Labor is to "foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the wage-earners, job-seekers and retirees of the United States, improve working conditions, advance opportunities for profitable employment and assure work-related benefits and rights." That is the mission of the Department of Labor, and it's a mission that is more important now, in my view, that it has ever been.