Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Housing Finance Agency (VHFA) announced today the promotion of Deborah Flannery to Deputy Executive Director, a new leadership role created to support the agency’s rapid growth in housing investments and mission impact statewide. Flannery joined VHFA in January 2025 as Managing Director of Community Development, where she has overseen development finance and asset management. In her expanded role, she will also oversee homebuyer mortgage programs in a unified program operations structure designed to help VHFA finance more homes for low‑ and middle‑income Vermonters while maintaining strong stewardship of public and private capital. This structure is a core component of VHFA’s broader effort to increase housing production, preservation, and long‑term affordability in Vermont.

Vermont State Police An autopsy was completed Thursday, March 19, 2026, at the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Burlington. The Vermont State Police is able to identify the victim as Alton Wheeler, 79, of Brownington. The medical examiner determined the cause of Mr. Wheeler’s death was a stab wound to the neck, and the manner of death was a homicide. The suspect, 43-year-old Ariana Rodger of Newport, pleaded not guilty at her arraignment Thursday and was ordered held without bail pending future court appearances.

Vermont Business Magazine Following the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA)’s approval of Vermont’s Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) plan on February 9, Maple Broadband has announced that this confirmation of its provisional BEAD award will fully fund broadband throughout the 20-town Addison County Communications Union District. When Maple Broadband received its first construction grant from the Vermont Community Broadband Board (VCBB) in 2022, there were close to 6,000 on-grid addresses within the district that did not have access to internet speeds of 25/3 Mbps or greater. Maple Broadband also announced in February the launch of its Affordable Drop Program (ADP) and Local Equitable Access Fund (LEAF), two new programs that lower the cost of getting connected to high-speed fiber internet for residents across its service area.

Vermont Business Magazine Open Approach, a premier managed IT and security provider, proudly announces it has achieved Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) 2.0 Level 2. This milestone completes a powerful “Gold Standard” security stack alongside the firm’s Cyber Verify Level 3 and SOC 2 Type 2 certifications, placing Open Approach among the top tier of Managed Service Providers (MSPs) worldwide. By reaching CMMC 2.0 Level 2, Open Approach is formally aligned with the U.S. Department of Defense’s (DoD) advanced cybersecurity standards designed to safeguard Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI). This certification confirms that Open Approach has implemented, documented, and operationalized the stringent controls required to support organizations working with sensitive defense-related data.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Division for Historic Preservation (VDHP) has announced that significant historic preservation and restoration projects are underway at five state-owned historic sites. These critical infrastructure improvements are designed to stabilize and protect Vermont’s cultural landmarks, ensuring these special places are preserved and accessible for future generations. The 2026 project slate represents a continued investment in the stewardship of Vermont’s diverse heritage. Following recent years of record-breaking attendance at state sites, these updates focus on long-term structural integrity, historical authenticity, and accessibility. New exhibits are planned at many of the sites once these restoration projects are completed.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont House unanimously approved H.775, a major housing bill that would free up an additional $30 million for local investment in housing and economic development through Treasurer Pieciak’s 10% in VT program. The 10% in VT program authorizes the Treasurer’s Office to invest 10% of the State’s average daily cash balance into projects that grow Vermont’s economy and the State’s taxbase. H.775 would expand the program’s lending capacity by 2.5%. Treasurer Pieciak has invested over $130 million into new housing development through the 10% in VT program—supporting over 1,700 homes including affordable, market-rate, workforce, and senior housing.

The Vermont State Police arrested a suspect late Wednesday, March 18, 2026, in connection with the killing of a man in Brownington. Ariana Rodger, 43, of Newport was taken into custody on charges of second-degree murder, first-degree aggravated domestic assault, and violation of conditions of release. The court ordered Rodger jailed without bail pending arraignment, which is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. Thursday, March 19, in the Criminal Division of Vermont Superior Court in Newport. The investigation into this incident remains active and ongoing. VSP will release the name of the victim following autopsy, which is expected to take place Thursday at the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Burlington.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) today filed three Joint Resolutions of Disapproval (JRDs) that would block the sale of nearly $658.8 million in offensive U.S. weaponry to Israel amid President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s illegal, premeditated and unconstitutional war with Iran. Joining Sanders as cosponsors of these resolutions are Sens. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Peter Welch (D-Vermont). Earlier this month, the Trump administration notified lawmakers of its intention to declare an “emergency” and bypass Congress to sell more than 20,000 bombs to the Israeli government. These bombs are directly implicated in tens of thousands of civilian deaths in Iran, Lebanon and Gaza.

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.