Current News

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine Average gasoline prices in Vermont are $3.72 per gallon, up 22 cents per gallon from last week. Prices are up 72 cents/g from a month ago and 60 cents/g from this time last year, according to AAA. The war in Iran has created chaos and uncertainty, resulted in drone strikes on shipping and pushed Brent crude to a more than three-year high, before falling to about $105 a barrel today, Gasoline prices are at their highest point since 2022. The lowest price in the state this week was $3.25/g while the highest was $5.19/g, a difference of $1.94/g. Prices are lowest in Bennington ($3.66/g) and Windham ($3.63/g) counties and highest in Lamoille ($3.76/g), Grand Isle ($3.79/g) and Franklin ($3.80/g), according to AAA.

by Senator Anne Watson and Senator Kesha Ram Hinsdale We were glad to reach unanimous agreement in the Senate Natural Resources & Energy Committee on S.325. This bill keeps the work of Act 181 moving forward, but recognizes something we knew from the start — this is a big change to how we create opportunities to build homes, grow businesses, and use our land in Vermont, and it’s going to take time to get it right. As the initial draft maps have come out, we’ve heard loud and clear from Vermonters — especially in our rural communities — who are worried about what this could mean for their land, their livelihoods, and their towns. Those concerns are real, and we take them seriously.

Vermont Business Magazine The following is a statement from Sharron Harrington, Executive Director of the Vermont Association for the Education of Young Children (VTAEYC) and Emilie Tenenbaum, Executive Director of Let’s Grow Kids Action Network (LGKAN) on the Vermont Senate’s passage of S.206, the Early Childhood Educator Profession Bill: The Senate’s passage of S.206 brings Vermont one important step closer to the stable, qualified, respected early childhood educator workforce we need to meet families’ child care needs. This bill strengthens this critical workforce, and is Vermont’s next step in building a quality, affordable, and accessible child care system. The bill advanced with bipartisan support by a vote of 21-7.

VNRC & VCV Now that we’ve passed the “crossover” deadline in the VT Legislature - when bills need to have passed out of policy committees - we wanted to provide a snapshot of what’s still moving, and what got left behind. There are a LOT of environmental bills in play this year, so buckle up. The good news is that despite the challenging times, we’re seeing forward progress on clean energy, new regulations on data centers, ongoing work to reduce toxic chemicals, pro-democracy initiatives, and thoughtful work to ensure our land use laws continue to support housing while also protecting our environment. 

Vermont Business Magazine During the spring fish spawning season, the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) wants to remind Vermonters that permitted lake encroachment construction projects and non-chemical aquatic plant control projects on public lakes and ponds are typically not allowed from March 15 to July 1. Examples of projects that are typically not allowed during this period include adding rock or other material to the water for shoreline stabilization (such as riprap or seawalls), boathouse reconstruction, dredging, bottom barriers, diver assisted suction harvesting, or other projects that disturb the lakebed.

by Denise Smith, VCRD Ask anyone how many towns there are in Vermont and you’ll hear a range: 251, 252, maybe 256 depending on whether you count unincorporated towns and gores. What doesn’t change is this crucial fact: nearly all of them rely on the labor of love of volunteers. Neighbors serve on selectboards, planning commissions, development review boards, nonprofit boards, and fire departments and emergency services. At the same time, municipal revenues have remained constrained with competing priorities from increasing healthcare and infrastructure costs, natural disasters, and the impacts of declining grand lists. There is little room in municipal budgets, if any, to hire additional staff to manage the increasingly complex world of grants, compliance requirements, infrastructure financing, housing development, and economic revitalization.

Vermont Business Magazine The restoration of wild turkeys in Vermont is one of the Fish and Wildlife Department’s most notable wildlife restoration efforts.  It began on February 28, 1969, when wild turkeys were live-trapped by the department’s former turkey biologist William Drake in southwestern New York and stocked in Pawlet, Vermont. Loss of habitat through extensive forest clearing and unregulated subsistence harvest of wild turkeys led to their demise by the late 1800’s.  For decades, Vermonters did not see wild turkeys or hear the gobble of a tom on early spring mornings.

Vermont Business Magazine NutriHarvest, a USDA Rural Development BioPreferred Program Champion, is highlighting field results demonstrating strong crop performance while helping reduce excess nutrients left in the soil late in the growing season, supporting water protection goals, with fertilizers produced through resource recovery technology. Excess nitrogen and phosphorus losses from farmland can fuel harmful algal blooms and low oxygen waters, and state and federal agencies have set nutrient reduction targets in sensitive watersheds nationwide, such as Lake Champlain, the Chesapeake Bay, the Great Lakes, and Clear Lake. NOAA reports the Northern Gulf hypoxic zone averages about 4,755 square miles over five years.

Vermont Business Magazine The Working Lands Enterprise Board (WLEB) announces 34 awards totaling $1,047,320 to Vermont businesses and organizations in 2026. A key element to the Working Lands impact is the programs' ability to flexibly respond to businesses most pressing needs. In fiscal year 2026, demand for grants far exceeded the available $1 million in funds. Across these three grants, 169 applications were received totaling $6,098,779 in requests. This significant demand meant that many worthy projects were not funded.

Vermont Business Magazine Montpelier Performing Arts Hub (The Hub) today announced a transformative $50,000 investment from Union Mutual Insurance Company that unlocks an additional $50,000 from the Ellison Foundation of Seattle, Washington—bringing the organization within $100,000 of owning 35 College Street, the historic Gary Library, outright. This milestone marks a critical turning point in The Hub’s campaign to secure and renovate the former library into a state-of-the-art performing arts center serving Central Vermont in Vermont’s Capitol City. Union Mutual’s leadership gift not only accelerates the organization’s path to ownership but also signals strong local business confidence in a project poised to become a major economic and cultural driver for downtown Montpelier.

Vermont Business Magazine The 31st Annual Penguin Plunge, presented by Community Bank, was held on Saturday, March 14th at the Burlington Waterfront. Over 1,100 people fundraised and plunged into the frigid waters of Lake Champlain to show their support for Special Olympics athletes in Vermont. The Penguin Plunge is the largest fundraising event for Special Olympics Vermont, and this year, over $585,000 was raised to support sports training and competition opportunities across local and school programs, free health screenings, and leadership opportunities for children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine The Attorney General’s Office today announced that Richard Memoli, 69, of Vergennes, Vermont, was arraigned on two counts of felony human trafficking, three counts of felony aggravated sexual assault, one count of felony first degree aggravated domestic assault, one count of felony cocaine possession, three counts of misdemeanor voyeurism, two counts of misdemeanor prostitution, and one count of misdemeanor simple assault. The charges brought against Memoli are the result of a criminal investigation conducted by the Vergennes Police Department.