Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont’s Clean Water Board is seeking public input on the State Fiscal Year 2026 Clean Water Budget by November 17, 2024. Vermonters can weigh in on how they would like to prioritize approximately $44.5 million in funding for projects to protect and improve the quality of water in our rivers, lakes, ponds, and wetlands. The public can provide feedback on whether the funding levels are sufficient, share their thoughts on the priorities, and offer any recommendations. The Board will review public comment before making its final Clean Water Budget recommendation in December 2024. The State Fiscal Year 2026 begins July 1, 2025, and ends June 30, 2026.

Vermont Business Magazine Due to the discovery of several cases of raccoon rabies in northern Vermont in 2024, including one case nine kilometres from the Québec border, the Ministère de l'Environnement, de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques, de la Faune et des Parcs will be conducting a third vaccine bait distribution operation in the Estrie and Montérégie regions this year, from October 28 to November 1, 2024. This vaccination operation is being carried out to limit the risk of raccoon rabies being reintroduced into Québec. It will immunize raccoons, skunks and foxes against raccoon rabies, which will help to protect human health. Teams from the Ministère will cover an area of 380 km², hand-spreading some 27,000 vaccine baits in seven municipalities in the Estrie region and five in the Montérégie region (these are towns just north of Franklin County and the Missisquoi areas of Vermont). 

Vermont Business Magazine Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced $3.6 billion in new funding under the Biden-Harris Administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to upgrade water infrastructure and keep communities safe. Combined with $2.6 billion announced earlier this month, this $6.2 billion in investments for Fiscal Year 2025 will help communities across the country upgrade water infrastructure that is essential to safely managing wastewater, protecting local freshwater resources, and delivering safe drinking water to homes, schools, and businesses. Wednesday’s announcement includes allotments for Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Clean Water General Supplemental funds for Vermont ($12,216,000), Emerging Contaminant funds ($1,054,000), and $7,640,000 under the Drinking Water Emerging Contaminant Fund.

by Representative Pattie McCoy, House Minority Leader How much will the Clean Heat Standard cost?  That is the question that those of us who are concerned about this legislation’s unknown impact on Vermonters’ pocketbooks have been asking for over a year. But in many ways, it is the wrong question. The right question is: how many Vermonters’ financial livelihoods are we willing to sacrifice to implement the Clean Heat Standard? This is the correct question for one key reason: the more we learn about the effects of this legislation, the harder it is to deny that it is much worse than proponents said it would be—especially for the most vulnerable Vermonters. Put simply, the Clean Heat Standard was a bill that requires fossil-fuel importing businesses to pay a penalty to offset the carbon emissions of home heating fuel. The law was allegedly designed to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels. Money collected from these penalties would, in theory, be used to help Vermonters transition to “clean” heat methods. 

Vermont Business Magazine University of Vermont environmental scholar Walter Poleman will attend the 16th United Nations Conference of the Parties (COP16) to the Convention on Biological Diversity, which starts today in Cali, Colombia. Poleman, a senior lecturer in UVM’s Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, will attend as a member of the Vermont Biodiversity Alliance (VBA), one of a few U.S. groups granted observer status at COP16. Poleman will attend with colleagues John Kress, Scientist and Curator Emeritus with the Smithsonian Institution; Curt Lindberg, Chair of the Waitsfield Conservation Commission; and Mandy Van Dellen, VBA Program Manager. COP16, which runs October 21 to November 1, 2024, will convene over 15,000 people from national delegations, public institutions, and private organizations to address the global biodiversity crisis and review progress toward targets set in COP 15’s Global Biodiversity Framework in Montreal, Canada in 2022.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont’s regulated land and water trapping seasons open on October 26, 2024, according to the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department. Traps can be set on land for species such as fisher, coyote and raccoon through December 2024, and in the water or under ice for species such as beaver, muskrat and otter through March 2025.  These species have healthy populations in Vermont that can sustain regulated trapping for fur and food each year. In December 2023, the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Board adopted amended regulations that require trappers to use traps that reduce harm to captured animals and to follow safety measures to minimize conflicts with pets and other outdoors users.

Public Assets Institute Education spending saw its biggest jump in years in fiscal 2025, and school taxpayers are noticing the change in their bills. The increase this year was due to a lot of factors outside both schools’ and taxpayers’ control—inflation, healthcare costs, and the loss of pandemic-era federal support chief among them. All of that led to an increase in total homestead taxes of 12.9 percent, although the rate varied from town to town. But taxpayers can see their tax bills suddenly balloon even when spending increases are modest. The reason: thresholds built into the system. A majority of Vermont resident homeowners pay all or some of their school taxes based on their household income, which better reflects their ability to pay. But the Legislature has imposed limits on these income-based taxes, which means some homeowners—and the number has been increasing—pay a combination of the income-based and property-based school taxes. 

Vermont Business Magazine As part of the ongoing work to manage crucial supplies of IV fluid during a national shortage, UVM Health Network has determined the need to reschedule certain elective procedures that use large amounts of IV and sterile irrigation fluid beginning this Friday. Patient safety will come first in the assessment of each case, and patients will be contacted if their procedure is impacted.

Vermont Business Magazine On Saturday, October 19th, locals shopped till they dropped and raised more than $26,000 to fight hunger in our area. During the 14th annual Charity Sale, Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel and customers collectively raised $26,705 for the Vermont Foodbank and JCEO Plattsburgh Foodshelf. For the month of October, Lenny’s customers were encouraged to make a $10 donation to the Vermont Foodbank or JCEO Plattsburgh Foodshelf in exchange for a custom canvas tote bag and exclusive access to the storewide sale. 100% of the donations collected went directly to the non-profit organizations.

Vermont Business Magazine Dedalus, the Vermont-based bottle shop and wine bar with locations in Burlington’s South End and Stowe, has announced its closure today due to ongoing workforce and business growth challenges. After years of serving the community with carefully curated wines and memorable experiences, this decision comes with a heavy heart. Staff were informed today and offered severance to ease the transition back into the job market.  

Vermont Business Magazine National Life Group is proud to announce its inclusion in Forbes’ prestigious list of America’s Best Insurance Companies for 2025. This recognition, awarded in partnership with Statista Inc.—a leading provider of statistics and industry rankings—highlights the company’s commitment to excellence in the insurance sector. The America’s Best Insurance Companies 2025 ranking is based on an independent survey of over 18,000 U.S. consumers. Participants evaluated their insurance providers over the past three years across six key dimensions: Advice, Customer Service, Price/Performance, Transparency, Digital Services, and Claims/Benefit Service. Additionally, respondents rated their overall satisfaction, loyalty, and likelihood to recommend their insurance providers. These insights were transformed into score values and aggregated to generate final scores across five insurance categories: Auto, Homeowners, Renters, Permanent Life, and Term Life.

Vermont Business Magazine Saint Michael’s College will hold an Inauguration ceremony for its 18th President Richard Plumb, Ph.D., on Oct. 26, 2024. Plumb, who has served as the College’s president since January, plans to outline his plans to lead Saint Michael’s College into the future during his Inauguration address. The ceremony will take place in the McCarthy Arts Center Recital Hall beginning at 3 p.m. Delegates from across the College and the state of Vermont will be in attendance and will offer remarks during the ceremony. During his address, Plumb plans to outline what drew him to the College and how he hopes to build on the solid foundation he has found at Saint Michael's.