Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The Attorney General’s Office on Monday announced that Maxx Rheaume, 27, of Salisbury, Vermont, was arraigned on one felony count of Sexual Assault- No Consent and one misdemeanor count of Distribution of Cannabis to a person under the age of 21. The charges against Rheaume are the result of an investigation conducted by the Vermont State Police, New Haven Barracks. Rheaume pleaded not guilty at the arraignment in Vermont Superior Court, Addison Criminal Division.

Vermont Business Magazine Attorney General Charity Clark joined a coalition of 21 states and local governments in filing a lawsuit challenging the Trump Administration’s repeal of the 2024 Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) Rule and reversion to outdated standards that harm the environment and public health. The MATS Rule implements nationwide standards that limit emissions of toxic air pollutants from coal- and oil-fired power plants, including mercury, arsenic, lead and other toxic metals, in addition to acid gases, such as hydrogen chloride and formaldehyde. In 2024, following significant developments in the technologies used to control pollution, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) updated the standards for emissions of these hazardous air pollutants from power plants.

Vermont Business Magazine The former Director of the U.S. Census Bureau – a career-long statistician and data scientist – will speak at Saint Michael’s College as part of an annual endowed lecture series. The Honorable Robert L. Santos, the first Latino and person of color to serve as the Senate-confirmed director of the Census, will explore how considering culture and values in data have made him a better statistician and leader. Santos’ talk is part of the Sutherland Lecture Series, which brings leading thinkers and scholars to campus to speak about issues in the liberal arts and sciences.

by Sam Lincoln I’ve had the honor of being a Vermonter who made a career working the land in agricultural and timber harvesting enterprises and my family has owned land in Vermont for generations. I also served as Deputy Commissioner of Forests, Parks, and Recreation under Governor Scott, where I worked on efforts to reform Act 250 to both protect forests and make the law work for rural Vermont. Vermont’s forest economy businesses must compete, innovate, and grow, just to stay viable. But too often, our regulatory system makes that harder instead of easier. It should not take three years to get a permit to make bark mulch on land a town has already zoned for industrial use.

by Rep. Laura Sibilia Vermont has a responsibility to address climate change and protect our communities and the natural systems that support us. We have seen firsthand the damage a changing climate is doing across our state, from flooding that damages homes and roads to increasing wildfire risk and the growing threat to species we depend on. In that context, Act 181 of 2024 is a large and complex update to our land use laws that changes how decisions about land are made and adds new protections for land and water that support us. Advocates have rightly emphasized the importance of protecting biodiversity as part of this work.

Vermont Business Magazine Attorneys presented arguments today in federal court in the first legal challenge in the nation to a climate superfund law, which requires certain large fossil fuel companies to pay their "fair share" for the necessary changes communities must make to prepare for and bolster themselves against more severe weather and climate impacts. Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) and Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont (NOFA-VT) defended Vermont’s groundbreaking climate superfund law during the hearing at the U.S. District Court in Rutland. The law is being challenged by the United States, the American Petroleum Institute, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and a coalition of 24 Republican-led states’ attorneys general.

Vermont Business Magazine U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont), Ranking Member of the Senate Agriculture Subcommittee on Rural Development, Energy, and Credit, today joined U.S. Senators Jim Justice (R-W.Va.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), and Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Members of the Senate Agriculture Committee, in introducing the Fostering the Availability in Rural Markets of (FARM) Home Loans Act of 2026, bipartisan, bicameral legislation to spur rural economic growth by helping more homebuyers qualify for rural housing assistance. The Senators’ legislation would modernize housing assistance eligibility requirements and help nearly 30 million homebuyers—including almost 100,000 Vermonters—access rural housing assistance for the first time. 

Vermont Business Magazine On March 28, hundreds of University of Vermont students, faculty, and community members danced the night away to raise funds and awareness for Golisano Children’s Hospital at University of Vermont Health. RALLYTHON, UVM’s Children’s Miracle Network Dance Marathon, raised $101,383.85 by midnight during their 12-hour Dance Marathon. On Tuesday, April 21, RALLYTHON’s student leadership team will present a check to Lewis First, MD, chief of Pediatrics at Golisano Children’s Hospital. Now in its eleventh year, RALLYTHON has raised a total of $1,138,505.53 for Golisano Children’s Hospital at UVM Health. The event is part of a movement of more than 300 colleges and universities across the country that come together to raise money for their local Children’s Miracle Network Hospital.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health reported last week that the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations have fallen to a very low level, similar to the negligible level seen last summer. There were no measles cases after one reported in Vermont in February in Washington County and the rate nationally is low. While there was no measles virus detected recently, COVID-19, RSV and Norovirus remained elevated at all the Vermont wastewater testing sites. Outbreaks increased slightly from mid-summer and have recently subsided, especially in residential care facilities. School outbreaks in recent months have been rare. Overall, there have not been any outbreaks since the March 2, 2026, report.

Vermont Business Magazine The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced its state and territory Small Business Persons of the Year for National Small Business Week (NSBW), which will take place from May 3 – 9, 2026. SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler will recognize the state, territory, and specialty award winners at a national awards ceremony in Washington, D.C. on May 3rd. The SBA will recognize Diane Abruzzini and Colin Riggs of Rigorous Technology Inc for their impact and economic contributions in Vermont. Rigorous is an industrial robotics company based in Williston. Since founding Rigorous in 2020 as a homebased business, Diane and Colin have grown their operations to include a team of 12, currently occupying 10,000 square feet across multiple buildings.

Vermont Business Magazine VTel Wireless (VTel) today announced it has chosen Ericsson as its 5G Core and Radio Access Network (RAN) provider, supporting the rollout of a 5G Standalone (SA) network, marking a transformative milestone for rural wireless connectivity in the United States. With this deployment of 5G Core and RAN from Ericsson, VTel is positioned to become the nation’s first rural carrier to support fully native 5G Standalone VoNR (Voice over New Radio) roaming with nationwide communications service providers (CSPs). The new deployment will mean subscribers of other national CSPs will be able to maintain 5G SA quality connectivity in the rural areas served by VTel. Unlike today’s roaming agreements, which rely on 4G LTE VoLTE underlays for voice, the new core network will enable end-to-end 5G roaming with VoNR. This removes legacy dependencies and delivers a modern, fully native 5G experience for nationwide users.

Vermont Business Magazine Connection to Recovery, a growing virtual mental health provider, is introducing new services in the Northeast Kingdom, offering compassionate, personalized support and meaningful connection for individuals, families, and couples across Vermont. With a mission rooted in connection, accessibility, and meaningful support, Connection to Recovery offers secure telehealth services designed to meet clients where they are, literally and emotionally. The organization provides individual therapy, family and couples counseling, and specialized Connection Groups across a wide range of mental health needs and life experiences, with offerings that will continue to evolve over time.