Current News

Vermont Business Magazine PC Construction recently announced the promotion of Mike Yesalonia to Vice President of Operations and Advisor to the CEO. This new role aligns with the company’s long-term strategic objectives and optimizes executive resources to effectively leverage growth opportunities. Leadership training, individual growth and development, and succession planning are some of the highest priorities of PC Construction and are a hallmark of one of the employee-owned company’s core values: People First.

Vermont Business Magazine Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) today released the following statement: Jesse Jackson, a friend and ally of mine for almost 40 years, has passed away. Reverend Jackson was one of the great and transformative political leaders in modern American history. He has broken down more barriers than most people could dream of doing.  Jackson was a courageous civil rights leader who put his life on the line in the fight against segregation and racism — in the north as well as the south. His extraordinary campaigns for president opened the door for Black candidates across the country — from Barack Obama to senators and governors.

The Vermont State Police on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026, arrested a man on a charge of second-degree murder arising from the Feb. 8 shooting of 45-year-old Howard Doyle in Hancock. The suspect, Tanner Leary, 23, of Hancock, turned himself in Tuesday morning at the VSP barracks in New Haven, where he was taken into custody and processed. He was ordered to be brought to the Criminal Division of Vermont Superior Court in Middlebury for an arraignment at the court’s earliest possible convenience Tuesday afternoon. The state police was able to identify the victim of the February 9 shooting as Howard Doyle, 45, of Rochester. The medical examiner determined the cause of death was multiple gunshot wounds, and the manner of death was a homicide. 

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health reported last week that the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations have edged back to about 5 cases statewide. Other indicators through wastewater analysis show COVID-19, Norovirus and especially RSV in Vermont and nationally are active. There was one measles case reported in Vermont last week and the rate nationally is low. Testing also discovered the measles virus in Washington County’s wastewater last week. COVID virus, RSV and Norovirus were also high at testing sites.

Vermont Business Magazine Today, Emma Mulvaney-Stanak, Mayor of Burlington, signed Executive Order 2026-1, establishing clear citywide protocols for preparedness, transparency, and constitutional policing should there be escalations in federal immigration enforcement activity. The Executive Order, titled “Affirming Our Commitment to Preparedness, Due Process, and Community Trust: City of Burlington Response to Federal Immigration Enforcement Activity,” outlines proactive measures the City will take to ensure community safety while maintaining compliance with state and federal laws.

Vermont Business Magazine The BeneFit Shop, a longstanding non-profit organization and thrift store in Barre, has given $10,000 to support the Health Care Scholarship Program at University of Vermont Health – Central Vermont Medical Center. The gift will fund four, $2,500 scholarships for local high school students and adult learners pursuing careers in health care. High school seniors and adult learners who live within the hospital’s primary service area and have been accepted to an accredited school to study for a health care profession are eligible to apply through the scholarship program. The program will award a total of six scholarships this year.

by Devon Green, Sr. Vice President of Policy & Strategy, VAHHS The Senate Health and Welfare Committee heard supportive testimony from VAHHS on S.142, which provides a pathway to licensure for physicians and medical graduates who have practiced medicine for the last three out of five years. VAHHS highlighted that hospitals are seeing a specialist shortage in addition to a primary care shortage and that this bill could help.  

Vermont Business Magazine Rutland Regional Medical Center is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2025 Rutland Regional Medical Center and Community Physician and Advanced Practice Provider of the Year Awards. The purpose of these annual awards is to recognize physicians and advanced practice providers whose contributions to our community, patients, and staff represent the highest standards in health care. The awards were created in memory of Dr. Emelie Munson Perkins, a multi-talented individual who served the Rutland community as a physician, employee, and volunteer.

Vermont Business Magazine Tuktu Care Inc., a community-powered care platform connecting families with local, vetted caregivers, has announced it has secured $200,000 in funding to support its expansion into Vermont. The investment comes from Green Mountain Accelerator Fund (GMAF), managed by the Center on Rural Innovation (CORI) in Vermont, which contributed $100,000, matched by an equal investment from Sendari Family Office. GMAF is part of the Green Mountain Launchpad, a Vermont-focused startup catalyst supporting pre-seed and early-stage founders with capital access, technical assistance, and ecosystem connectivity. The funding will accelerate Tuktu's Vermont beta launch and support its mission to transform how communities care for one another through technology-enabled, personalized support services. The $200,000 in funding is part of a larger effort to raise $600,000 to scale Tuktu across New England.

Vermont Business Magazine Dartmouth Cancer Center achieved a significant advancement in lung cancer care by performing its first combined robotic lung procedure under a single anesthesia. This milestone involved specialists from thoracic surgery and interventional pulmonology collaborating to enhance patient outcomes. During the procedure, physicians used robotic bronchoscopy—a minimally invasive technique offering precise airway navigation—to locate a 7-millimeter lung nodule. The team successfully biopsied and marked the nodule with dye, facilitating its removal without removing additional lung tissue. Subsequently, surgeons employed robotic-assisted surgery to excise the targeted lung area.

Vermont Business Magazine Patients and community members are invited to a bone health and osteoporosis event hosted by University of Vermont Health – Central Vermont Medical Center, where experts in bone health, nutrition, fitness and more will share information on maintaining bone health and treating osteopenia and osteoporosis. The interdisciplinary panel discussion will include practitioners from Green Mountain Community Fitness and the hospital, strength demonstrations and an audience question-and-answer session. It will take place from 5 – 7pm Thursday, Feb. 19, in the lower lobby of Central Vermont Medical Center, 130 Fisher Road, Berlin. Primary care providers and registered dieticians will also be available during the Q&A.

Vermont Business Magazine Kevin F. Kwaku, MD, PhD, director of clinical electrophysiology Dartmouth Health’s Heart and Vascular Center, will be the next president of the Association of Black Cardiologists (ABC). Serving from 2026 to 2028, Kwaku is the first ABC president from a northern New England institution in the organization’s 50-plus-year history.