Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Community Broadband Board (VCBB) is proud to announce that the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has approved Vermont’s Initial Proposal for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program, which describes Vermont's plans to use $229 million allocated to the state. This funding is key to finishing the work of ensuring every Vermonter has access to high speed and reliable broadband. The Initial Proposal outlines the process Vermont will use to select the Internet Service Providers who will receive BEAD money to build out unserved and underserved addresses and details the requirements these providers must meet to be eligible for funding. With this approval, Vermont can move from the planning phase to the action phase. It enables the state to request access to funding and begin implementation of the BEAD program.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Housing Finance Agency (VHFA) is developing the 2026-2027 Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP), which guides the Agency in deploying Vermont’s largest pool of federal affordable housing resources. VHFA is seeking public input on recommendations that the Agency will consider for this update. To facilitate input, VHFA has begun hosting in-person QAP public meetings around the state starting in July and continuing in August, as well as a virtual public comment meeting.

Vermont Business Magazine In response to multiple recent flooding events, Vermont Public and the Vermont Community Foundation are joining forces to raise money for the VT Flood Response & Recovery Fund beginning today and running through August 16. Donations to the fund will help communities where torrents of water destroyed homes, cratered roads, and filled farm fields and businesses with mud and debris. The two-week campaign will include on-air promotions on Vermont Public urging people to give to the VT Flood Response & Recovery Fund at the Vermont Community Foundation, which was created after catastrophic flooding in July of 2023. The fund is now being reinvigorated to respond to the fresh disasters that took place in July 2024, triggering a new wave of damage and heartbreak.

Vermont Agency of Transportation On Wednesday at approximately 8:23 a.m., a commercial dump truck owned by SD Ireland and operated by Savion Thibou, 19, of Burlington, VT, struck a tire that was reported to have been left from a tractor trailer unit in the right-hand lane of I-89 South near MM 65.2 in Waterbury. The dump truck lost control, rolled over, lost its load of stone, and entrapped the driver in the truck. After a lengthy extrication, the driver was transported to UVM Medical Center in Burlington with significant injuries. DMV inspectors and other emergency crews remain on the scene to investigate and recover the wreckage of the crash. 

Vermont Business Magazine Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CWST), a regional solid waste, recycling and resource management services company, today reported its financial results for the three and six-month periods ended June 30, 2024. Revenues were $377.2 million for the quarter, up $87.5 million, or up 30.2%, from the same period in 2023. Solid waste pricing for the quarter was up 5.7% from the same period in 2023, driven by 6.2% collection price growth and 4.8% disposal price growth. Net income was $7.0 million for the quarter, up $1.5 million, or up 27.6%, from the same period in 2023.

Agency of Commerce and Community Development We are requesting that victims of both of the July flooding events complete the Department of Economic Development's Flood Damage Survey for Businesses. Survey data will be used to help us advocate for future relief and recovery programs for businesses and nonprofit organizations. The removal of debris is essential to minimize future damage, particularly with more rain in the forecast. This includes wood, construction materials, rocks, and sediment.

Vermont Business Magazine U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.), a member of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Media, and Broadband, released the following statement on the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) announcement of the next steps in Vermont’s Internet for All program. Vermont will receive nearly $230 million to deploy high-speed, affordable internet across Vermont through the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program, which is funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law: “High-speed internet isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity. But right now, there are more than 33,000 homes, small businesses and farms in Vermont that don’t have access to a high-speed connection and are being left behind in the digital transformation."

Vermont Business Magazine Yesterday, the Commerce Committee advanced Senator Peter Welch’s (D-Vt.) amendment to fund the Affordable Connectivity Program with $7 billion, as requested in his bicameral, bipartisan Affordable Connectivity Program Extension Act. Since its implementation in the Biden-Harris Administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, more than 23 million households utilized the program’s monthly discount of up to $30 for internet service, and up to $75 monthly for households on Tribal lands. Nearly 26,000 Vermont households—including working families, veterans, and seniors—were enrolled in the ACP when the program was active.

Vermont Business Magazine On August 1, the Berlin community marked the groundbreaking of Fox Run Apartments with a celebration. Co-owners and co-developers, Downstreet and Evernorth partnered to develop Fox Run Apartments which will provide essential housing for 30 low- and moderate-income households in Berlin. Fox Run Apartments is the creation of 30 affordable apartments ideally situated in the heart of the Berlin Commons New Town Center. Located within walking distance to area employers, schools, and services, the new building will provide residents with green space, community gardens, an onsite office for resident services and property management, and a community room. Fox Run Apartments is designed as a single three-story building with a mix of 10 project-based housing subsidies, affordable, and market rate apartments. 

Vermont Business Magazine The Attorney General’s Office announced that Veronica Lewis, 40, was arraigned today on one felony count of Attempted Murder in the Second Degree, and two felony counts of Aggravated Assault. The charges brought against Ms. Lewis are the result of an investigation conducted by the Vermont State Police and the Department of Corrections into an incident that occurred on May 29, 2024, at the Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility. Ms. Lewis pleaded not guilty at her arraignment today in Vermont Superior Court, Chittenden Unit Criminal Division. The Court, Judge Navah Spero presiding, ordered Ms. Lewis held without bail, along with conditions of release that prohibit her contact with the reported victim.

Vermont Business Magazine The Senate Judiciary Committee today advanced the nomination of Mary Kay Lanthier, of Orwell, Vermont, to be the next District Court judge for the District of Vermont. President Biden nominated Lanthier at the joint recommendation of Senators Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) and Peter Welch (D-Vermont), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Her nomination was advanced by the committee with a bipartisan vote of 13 to 7 and goes next to the full Senate for a final confirmation vote.   

by University of Vermont President Suresh Garimella Dear UVM community: The 2023-24 academic year was especially extraordinary. As I reflect on the past five years as president of this great institution, I note with pride that we are gaining velocity in the many ways that we achieve our strategic imperatives: ensuring student success, investing in distinctive research excellence, and engaging with the state of Vermont and beyond. Thanks to the talents, passion, and energies of the people of UVM, the foundation that we have carefully built over these five years is showing its impact and its resilience, even when we are faced with uncertain times. One uncertainty that cast a shadow around the world—including on our campus—is the escalation of hostilities in the Middle East beginning last fall and continuing even now. On campus, passionate concerns were expressed through peaceful demonstrations and vigils.