Current News

SBA Vermont District Meet the new staff members, learn about SBA’s latest initiatives, products, and services, and connect with the dedicated district office team. The open house will take place at the SBA Vermont District Office in Williston.  

Vermont Business Magazine Among the longest‑serving hospice volunteers in the nation, Charlotte Kenney, Jan Watt and Lil Venner have each devoted more than 45 years to UVM Health – Home Health & Hospice because, they say, helping patients and their families make the most of the time they have left of this earth is a privilege, rooted in grace and connection. The notion that hospice work is defined by sorrow, is rejected by all three dedicated volunteers. "What I'm doing is enabling this person to live fully until the very last second," says Kenney. "So, to me, that is not sad."

Vermont Business Magazine Todd Daloz, a veteran public servant with years of experience in public health, safety and state leadership has joined the Board of Trustees for University of Vermont Health – Central Vermont Medical Center. Daloz, who joined the board earlier this month, brings deep experience in Vermont’s legal, health and human services systems, as well as strong ties to communities across Central Vermont. He has served as a board member for Montpelier Alive, the Vermont Humanities Council, and the Vermont Board of Bar Examiners.

by Maggie Lenz and Gwynn Zakov When the Vermont Land Use Review Board was created under Act 181 last year, it didn’t exactly arrive quietly. The law, one of the most sweeping overhauls of Act 250 in decades, was billed as a “grand bargain” between housing advocates and environmentalists. The pitch was simple. If Vermont eases Act 250 review in designated growth areas to encourage desperately needed housing, we can strengthen protections for sensitive natural resources elsewhere. In practice, it has been anything but simple. Over the last few weeks, multiple legislative committees have had direct, extended conversations with the LURB. The board was stood up midway through last session, so lawmakers are only now getting a fuller picture of how the reforms are playing out on the ground. And the timing is significant. Many legislators this year are taking a hard look back at Act 181, searching for technical fixes and bigger adjustments to make Act 250 more responsive, both to applicants and to meet the needs of Vermonters.

Vermont Business Magazine Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) today introduced the Make Billionaires Pay Their Fair Share Act, legislation that would establish a 5% annual wealth tax on the 938 billionaires in America — who are now collectively worth $8.2 trillion. In its first year, the bill would provide a $3,000 direct payment to every man, woman and child in a household making $150,000 or less — $12,000 for a family of four — and use the estimated $4.4 trillion in revenue raised over the next decade to address the most pressing crises facing working families.

Vermont Business Magazine Average gasoline prices in Vermont are $2.98/g, up 1.3 cents per gallon from last week's $2.97/g. The lowest price in the state yesterday was $2.64/g while the highest was $3.19/g, a difference of 55.0 cents per gallon. The national average price of gasoline has risen 5.6 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $2.94/g today. The national average is up 7.8 cents per gallon from a month ago and stands 10.1 cents per gallon lower than a year ago.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) once again is warning the public of more scam text messages that falsely claim that the recipient has an unpaid traffic ticket and is at risk of driver’s license suspension and other penalties. The DMV did not send these messages and does not send any text or email messages demanding immediate payment. 

Vermont Business Magazine Attorney General Charity Clark kicked off National Consumer Protection Week by announcing the top ten consumer complaints reported in 2025 to her office’s Consumer Assistance Program (CAP). In 2025, CAP responded to 7,607 consumer inquiries and provided mediation services for 1,126 consumer complaints, resolving 587 of these complaints. Vehicle-related disputes, home improvement projects, and retail transactions again topped the list for the fourth year in a row, collectively representing 58 percent of the top complaints filed in 2025.

Vermont Business Magazine Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont (Blue Cross VT) today announced an operating gain of $53 million and an operating margin of 2.7% for the year ending December 31, 2025. In 2025, Blue Cross VT total revenue was $2.0 billion, and the company paid out $1.8 billion in member healthcare expenses. The 2025 financial performance was largely driven by:  Improved alignment between premiums and medical expenses; Reduced operating expenses: the Blue Cross VT team reduced its operating budget by approximately $7 million in 2025 compared to 2024, reflecting internal cost discipline, staffing controls, and administrative efficiencies, while maintaining the high-quality service its members know and expect; Negotiated resolutions. Blue Cross VT also decided in 2025 to pull out of the Medicare Advantage market for 2026.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Works for Women (VWW) is celebrating National Women in Construction Week by preparing for the 2026 slate of their Trailblazers program. Trailblazers is a free training that prepares women and gender-expansive individuals ages 18+ for careers in construction and the trades. Through seven weeks of hands-on learning participants build skills, gain confidence, and explore career fields that are traditionally male dominated. Trailblazers is a registered pre-apprenticeship with the Vermont Department of Labor and concludes with a paid on-the-job internship with a local employer. In addition to offering Trailblazers in South Burlington and Hartford, the program is expanding to Manchester and St. Johnsbury this year. 

by Scott Dolan, VT Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets State and local jurisdictions throughout the country are celebrating National Weights and Measures Week, which occurs during the first seven days of March each year.  National Weights and Measures Week commemorates the signing of the first United States weights and measures law by President John Adams on March 2, 1799. This year the Vermont Weights & Measures program would like to highlight the concept of Unit Pricing.     How do you know if you are getting the most for every dollar spent? The short answer is unit pricing. The unit price is the cost of a commodity per unit of measure (weight, volume, length, areas, or count). For instance, cereal is sold by weight and is usually unit priced by the pound or ounce, whereas milk is sold by volume and is typically unit priced by the quart or fluid ounce.  

Vermont Business Magazine U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont), a member of the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, joined Senate Rules Committee Ranking Member Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and Senate Rules Committee Democrats for a public forum highlighting how President Trump’s threats to “take over the voting” in several states endanger the voting rights of millions of Americans and jeopardize the integrity of U.S. elections. The forum also highlighted how states, localities, and civil society are pushing back against the administration’s continued attacks on states’ election administration authority and offered a blueprint for states as they prepare for the 2026 midterm elections.