Current News

by Emily Bradbury On a cold, bright day in January, Jesse returned home to Riverflow Community after visiting his mother for the holidays. “He just came running toward me and kissed my cheek and exclaimed, ‘Riverfloooow!’,” said Hannah Schwartz, executive director of the organization. “He went around to each person and said their name and hugged them. It was such a moment of joy for everyone. I was like, ‘Okay, we are doing this’.” Jesse, who has Down Syndrome Regression Disorder and will require lifelong supervision, is one of the four founding “Friends” at Riverflow, an intentional community for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Opened in October 2024 in Monkton, Vermont, Riverflow is one of a very few housing options for adults with developmental disabilities in Vermont, which has relied almost exclusively on a shared-living model since the closing of the institution at Brandon Training School in 1993.

Vermont Business Magazine The Rutland Regional Planning Commission (RRPC) has announced that the Agency of Natural Resources, Department of Environmental Conservation, Water Quality Division has awarded the RRPC a contract to administer water quality improvement programs in partnership with the 11 Regional Planning Commissions (RPCs) across the State of Vermont. Funded through the 604(b) Water Quality Management Planning Grant Program of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), this initiative aims to promote water quality planning and improvements statewide. 

Vermont Business Magazine Girls on the Run is a physical activity-based, positive youth development program that inspires students in 3rd through 8th grade to be joyful, healthy, and confident. The ten-week program incorporates movement into its curriculum to empower participants to develop critical life skills, build confidence, cultivate positive connections with peers, manage their emotions, and stand up for themselves and others. Volunteer coaches utilize a curriculum to engage teams of girls in fun, interactive lessons. Over 500 volunteer coaches will facilitate lessons for the spring season that begins the week of March 17 statewide. Teams meet twice a week for 90 minutes and the program culminates with all teams participating in one of two noncompetitive, celebratory 5K events in Essex and Manchester, VT. 

by Martin Hahn and Emma Paradis As Vermont grapples with growing community safety challenges, our state's nonprofit sector finds itself at the intersection of crisis and response. From Brattleboro to St. Johnsbury, from Rutland to Johnson, from Burlington to Barre, and from Thetford to Wilmington, nonprofit organizations are not just witnessing the impacts of these challenges – they're experiencing them firsthand while simultaneously working to address them. Last fall, Common Good Vermont convened a listening tour with nonprofit leaders across the state to learn more about their work and their communities. Last week, we hosted a statewide virtual call with nonprofit leaders to discuss how nonprofits are experiencing and responding to community safety challenges. What emerged from these conversations was a complex picture of organizations stretching beyond their missions to meet urgent needs, while themselves facing unprecedented operational challenges. 

Vermont Business Magazine Four Vermont contemporary art organizations are teaming up for the fourth year in a row to award The Vermont Prize. The prize is a collaborative initiative of the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center (BMAC), Burlington City Arts (BCA), the Hall Art Foundation, and The Current, intended to celebrate and support outstanding visual art being made in Vermont today. The Vermont Prize is awarded to one artist annually. The winner receives $5,000, and their work is showcased and archived at vermontprize.org. The competition is open to individuals as well as collaborating artists currently living and working in Vermont. Artists working in any visual medium are welcome to apply. There is no application fee. 

Vermont Business Magazine Ahead of voting against his nomination on the Senate Floor Friday evening, U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont) delivered remarks outlining his opposition to President Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Defense, Pete Hegseth. Hegseth was subsequently confirmed in a 50-50 vote with three Republicans voting against. Vice President Vance then broke the tie. 

Vermont Business Magazine The National Science Foundation (NSF) announced today that a joint initiative of Landmark College, Bennington College, the Community College of Vermont, and the Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation has been awarded $8 million in federal grant funding through the NSF Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR). This grant funding will be used to establish the Science and Technology Research Initiative for the southern Vermont Economy (STRIVE), a novel partnership of educational institutions, business leaders, advocacy groups, economic development corporations, and local governments committed to leveraging STEM research to grow the economy in Vermont’s four southernmost counties. 

Vermont Business Magazine The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont stated that Teresa Youngblut, 21, and who is believed to be from Washington state, has been charged by criminal complaint with one count of using a deadly weapon while assaulting a United States Border Patrol agent, and one count of using and discharging a firearm during and in relation to that assault. Her initial court appearance has not yet been scheduled. 

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine An affidavit filed by FBI Special Agent Leah Bogdanowicz on Wednesday, January 22, 2025, in US District Court in Burlington was unsealed today. It describes the events that led to the shooting of a US Border Patrol agent. It also charges Teresa Youngblut, 21, with using a deadline weapon in a case that ultimately led to the deaths of Agent David Maland and the passenger in her vehicle, Felix Baukholt. The shooting occurred Monday on I-91 southbound in Coventry. Baukholt is a German citizen and the court document indicates that law enforcement may have believed he had been traveling with an expired visa. The FBI subsequently said his visa was current. At this point, Youngblut has not been charged with shooting Maland. A Washington state driver’s license in her name was found at the scene.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine State Auditor Doug Hoffer released an audit report today on Medicaid fraud investigations conducted by the Vermont Department of Health Access. The auditor found that there were programmatic and bureaucratic issues that resulted in fraud cases not being fully addressed, funds that were not recovered, the complexity of the pandemic-era payments in 2021 were not sorted out and there was not sufficient oversight of the $300 million annual payments to OneCare. The state spent more than $2 billion in fiscal year 2024 on Vermont Medicaid and Medicaid-related activities, providing vital healthcare support to almost 197,000 individual Vermonters. Because of its size, scope, and complexity, Medicaid is vulnerable to fraud, waste, and abuse.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont legislators are calling for support on a bill that seeks to exempt Social Security benefits from state income tax, a move aimed at easing financial burdens for retirees while aligning Vermont with most other states. This proposed legislation, H.74, has over 60 co-sponsors from across all parties and from all corners of our state. Currently, Vermont is one of only nine states that still tax Social Security benefits. With neighboring states and others across the country phasing out these taxes, this bill proposes a gradual approach to eliminating Vermont's tax on Social Security income over an eight-year period. Social Security payments inject more than $2.6 billion into the state’s economy every year, with $2 billion paid annually to those receiving retirement benefits and their eligible family members. Lost revenue is projected to be $5.4 million in the first year and eventually rising to $56 million after eight years, in current dollars. This legislation aims to ensure Vermont remains competitive in retaining and attracting retirees.

by Secretary Lindsay Kurrle at the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development This is a pivotal moment in the history of Vermont that will determine our future. It’s imperative we all realize that housing is the foundation of how we will meet this moment to create the momentum that will reverse our demographic decline.  Housing will bring more working age people here and help fill our schools with kids. More housing will improve public safety outcomes. Housing will give those most vulnerable Vermonters a chance to access and achieve stable rental or homeownership options. Turning the tide on housing will grow municipal grand lists, increase the tax base, and ease the property tax obligation we all share by spreading it out over more properties. As Governor Scott repeatedly says, we need more taxpayers, not more taxes.