Current News

The Vermont State Police is seeking a suspect in connection with the shooting late Friday afternoon of a St. Johnsbury Police Department officer. The suspect is identified as Scott Mason, 38, a resident of a second-floor apartment at 261 Portland St. in St. Johnsbury. Members of the public should consider Mason to be potentially armed and dangerous. If someone sees Mason, they should not approach him and instead immediately call 911. Mason is described as 5 feet 11 inches tall, weighing around 220 pounds, with brown hair and hazel eyes. A photograph of Mason is attached to this release.

Vermont Business Magazine U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont) called on Congressional leadership to come to the table in good faith and extend premium health care tax credit immediately before millions of Affordable Care Act (ACA) enrollees see higher premiums, and up to 5 million lose coverage entirely. The tax credits were last extended in the Inflation Reduction Act and build on pandemic-era subsidies, which expand the coverage offered through the Affordable Care Act’s Health Insurance Marketplace—extending discounted care through 2025. If not extended, Vermont ACA enrollees stand to lose at least $65 million total, representing premium increases of between 40% and more than 100% in 2026. U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) today released the following reaction: 

Saint Michael’s College fortifies our mission of making a deeply engaging, student-centered education more affordable through a new financial aid initiative: the St. Mike’s Community Commitment. To better help new and continuing students and families understand the aid they will receive, the St. Mike’s Community Commitment gives families whose income falls at or below $100,000 a total aid package that covers full tuition after federal grants. 

VermontBiz Magazine Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) and Ranking Member Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-La.) today released the following statement on the unanimous vote in the Senate last night to pass the Older Americans Act (OAA) – critical legislation that will renew funding and strengthen services for older Americans. The bill’s reauthorization effort was also led by Senators Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), and Ed Markey (D-Mass.).

VermontBiz Magazine Norwich University has announced a significant update to its renowned degree program in the Leahy School of Cybersecurity and Advanced Computing. The University has rebranded its Computer Security and Information Assurance (CSIA) degree to Cybersecurity and Advanced Technology (CSAT) to better reflect the evolving landscape of modern technology and to align with current industry standards. This name change marks a pivotal moment in Norwich University's long-standing commitment to excellence in cybersecurity education. 

Vermont Business Magazine The United States Attorney’s Office announced that Robert McLane, 36, of Websterville, Vermont was sentenced yesterday in United States District Court in Burlington to 18 months of imprisonment following his guilty plea to a charge of mail fraud. Chief U.S. District Judge Christina Reiss ordered that McLane serve three years of supervised release following completion of his prison term and also pay restitution in the amount of $566,000. The court ordered McLane to surrender to the United States Bureau of Prisons on April 4, 2025 to begin serving his sentence. 

Vermont Business Magazine Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), today applauds AstraZeneca for its commitment to cap the cost of any future “green” inhalers at $35. In January 2024, Sanders led the HELP Committee in launching an investigation into the four major manufacturers of inhalers and their efforts to keep prices far higher in America than countries abroad. 

Vermont Business Magazine U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont) this week led colleagues Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), and Senators Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) in introducing the Sanctions and Accountability for Non-Compliance and Transparent Investigative Oversight for National Security (SANCTIONS) in the West Bank Act, bicameral legislation to codify the Biden Administration’s Executive Order allowing for sanctions against extremists in the West Bank who promote or engage in violence, displacement of civilians, or the destruction of property. U.S. Representative Summer Lee (D-PA-12) led companion legislation in the House.

VermontBiz Magazine The latest report from the independent Vermont Public Utilites Commission (PUC) is further evidence that Act 18, commonly referred to as the Clean Heat Standard, needs to be repealed, House Republicans said today. The latest draft report by the PUC states “It is not feasible for all Low- and Moderate-Income households to participate in the program’s early years – and those not able to participate would face higher heating costs.” and House Republicans agreed. 

VermontBiz Magazine During this busy winter holiday season, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the Vermont Agency of Transportation’s State Highway Safety Office, and Vermont law enforcement agencies are teaming up to remind drivers to Drive Sober this holiday season. State and local law enforcement will be participating in a high-visibility impaired driving awareness campaign from December 13, 2024, through January 1, 2025. In support of the law enforcement community’s dedication to protecting the lives of residents in their communities, drivers will see an increase of officers working together during the holiday season to take impaired drivers off the roads.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine Weekly unemployment claims remained relatively high last week as they have since the end of summer.  For the week ending December 7, 2024, new claims were 613, which is up 14 claims from the week before and 180 more from last year. Claims were 181 at the end of September. Meanwhile, unemployment claims and hiring have rebounded strongly across the US, as the Federal Reserve Bank cut interest rates by a robust 0.5% (50 basis points) in September and 25 basis points in early November. Economists said the positive numbers suggest that the economy will indeed negotiate a "soft landing" and avoid a recession. Recent national and international events, however, could alter that outcome. 

VermontBiz Magazine Looking toward the future, a group of 11 Vermont business owners completed the SBA’s T.H.R.I.V.E. program and celebrated their six-month journey with a graduation at SBA Vermont’s district office in Williston. T.H.R.I.V.E. Emerging Leaders Reimagined provides entrepreneurship education and training for executives of small, poised-for-growth companies. During the six-month program, participants acquire MBA-equivalent knowledge, amplify their leadership skills, and build relationships with a community of business peers, advisors, and experts.