Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Division for Historic Preservation (DHP) and the Vermont Advisory Council on Historic Preservation awarded grants totaling $357,207 to 22 municipalities and non-profit organizations in nine counties to facilitate the restoration and rehabilitation of Vermont landmarks and important historic buildings and structures. These grants will help to leverage more than $1 million in restoration and rehabilitation efforts. Vermont Historic Preservation Grants are one-to-one matching grants for up to $20,000 to be used to rehabilitate civic and community resources that are vital to Vermont’s historic downtowns, villages, and rural communities. 

Vermont Business Magazine Treasurer Mike Pieciak’s Task Force on the Federal Transition held a webinar with local and national immigration experts to help Vermont employers understand their rights and obligations during a workplace visit from Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE). The discussion, which involved over 700 participants representing businesses and organizations across Vermont, was hosted in partnership with the Vermont Chamber of Commerce and Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility (VBSR).

Vermont Business Magazine Today, the House gave initial approval to H.141, the FY25 Budget Adjustment Act (BAA). Every year the legislature must pass a BAA, midway through the fiscal year, that rebalances accounts and ensures that our state always maintains a balanced budget. Following the House vote, Speaker of the House Jill Krowinski and Representative Robin Scheu, Chair of the Committee on Appropriations, spoke on the important investments in the bill: “This budget adjustment continues the critical investments to build affordable housing, support our veterans access services and health care, ensure older Vermonters have the resources they need, keep Vermont families facing homelessness housed through the winter, and support communities that were impacted by the devastating floods over the last two years. We must address the problems of today while advancing policies that support the future of all Vermonters and builds a robust economy that works for everyone.” 

Vermont Business Magazine VermontBiz and the Vermont Chamber of Commerce are pleased to announce the top 65 Best Places to Work in Vermont 2025. The awards program was created in 2006 and is presented in partnership with the Society for Human Resource Management, Vermont State Council, (VTSHRM), the Vermont Department of Commerce and Community Development and Workforce Research Group. The Best Places to Work in Vermont list is broken down into three categories, Small Businesses (15-99 employees), Medium Businesses (100-249 employees) and Large Businesses (250+ employees). Of the 65 companies being recognized, we are excited to welcome fifteen new businesses to the list in 2025 who were not on the 2024 list. We now have six businesses that have appeared on the Best Places to Work in Vermont list for ten years or more.

Vermont Business Magazine Let’s Build Homes (LBH), a non-partisan, pro-housing alliance, today announced its Board of Directors. Representing diverse sectors, regions, and backgrounds, the Board will drive LBH’s mission to advocate for strategic housing policy reforms in Vermont. "One of my greatest challenges as CEO of Bolton Valley is securing housing for our employees," said Lindsay DesLauriers, CEO and President of Bolton Valley. "Vermont’s housing crisis affects every industry—from tourism to healthcare. I’m proud to join LBH in working toward real solutions." The Board includes leaders from business, housing, education, energy, and community organizations.

Vermont Business Magazine The town of Tunbridge has received a $255,411.20 grant from the Vermont Municipal Energy Resilience Program for energy efficiency improvements. Of the total, $43,373 will be used for a 10.7 kW solar array to power the town offices and town hall. The project will be located next to an existing solar project at the local town garage. The Institute for Energy and the Environment (IEE) at Vermont Law and Graduate School provided legal and policy assistance for the grant and will help oversee energy efficiency improvements and the development and construction of the solar array. “This project will offset the energy bills at the town’s two most energy-intensive buildings and provide valuable emission-free power and resiliency to the Green Mountain Power grid,” said Shared Gentry, a student clinician in the IEE’s Energy Clinic.

Vermont Business Magazine Average gasoline prices in Vermont are $3.14 per gallon, up 1 cent per gallon from last week, up 6 cents from last month and down 8 cents/g from last year. The lowest price in the state this week was $2.75/g while the highest was $3.89/g, a difference of $1.14/g. Prices were lowest in Rutland (3.02/g) and Windsor (3.06/g) counties and highest in the northern counties of Lamoille (3.22/g), Franklin (3.22/g) and Orleans (3.21/g). The national average price of gasoline has risen 2 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.13/g today.

Vermont Business Magazine The Town of Newfane has announced a new housing grant program to support the creation of long-term, rental housing in the town. Owners of eligible apartment or housing units can receive $2,000-$5,000 per year, for up to three years. This program offers a cash incentive to Newfane property owners who create new housing units, whether by building new accessory dwelling units or houses, renovating or subdividing existing homes, or by returning properties to use as long-term rentals from private use or short-term rentals. The amount of the annual award is based on the size of the unit created. The program is funded with $150,000 from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).

Vermont Business Magazine Groundbreaking for the first phase of an exciting new mixed-income development on Seminary Street in Middlebury, VT, took place on Monday, February 3. The new housing project will provide rental and owner-occupied housing at all income levels. Senator Welch nominated Stonecrop Meadows for Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) as part of the Fiscal Year 2025 CDS process, which is currently in-progress. The Stonecrop Meadows project is being built on 35 acres of Middlebury College-owned land off Seminary Street Extension. Phase 1, called the “Core Village” will be 80 units. At full buildout, this project will create 254 new homes. 

Vermont Business Magazine A record of just over 3,000 elementary and middle school students learned to find and identify signs of species like the bobcat, raccoon, snowshoe hare and white-tailed deer this winter. This success marks the fifth year of the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department’s “Scat and Tracks” program.  Scat and Tracks is a hybrid outdoor education curriculum that got its start in 2021 during the peak of COVID-19 school closures.  Today, the program reaches K-9 classes as well as home school groups in all 14 Vermont counties. Scat and Tracks grew to this year’s record enrollment of over 3,000 students—including 271 home schoolers—and 218 participating educators from just 390 students and 63 participating educators in its first year.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, alongside Sens. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health, and Human Services, and Education, and Reps. Bobby Scott (D-Va.), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Education and Workforce, and Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee, sent a letter warning against the Trump administration’s reported plans to unilaterally dismantle the Department of Education. 

Vermont Business Magazine Since 2012, the Working Lands Enterprise Initiative has supported Vermont agriculture and forestry businesses with vital investments that have helped grow their businesses and economic impact.  With $18.8 million invested in 555 farm, food and forestry projects, and an additional $30.9 million leveraged in matching funds, the Working Lands program has played an important role in the growth of Vermont’s rural economy. To celebrate these investments and their positive impacts, the WLEI Board has released the latest Impact Report detailing the significant outcomes from the entire 12 years of the program. The report contains specific details of the funding in fiscal year 2024, including special funds allocated to the program from the American Rescue Plan Act and a one-time pool of funds approved by the Vermont legislature specifically for small farm diversification and transition projects.