Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Tawnya Kristen, a veteran nonprofit leader with a long history of community involvement and collaboration in Central Vermont, has joined the Board of Trustees at University of Vermont Health – Central Vermont Medical Center in Berlin. Kristen, who joined the Board in January, is executive director of Green Mountain United Way, where she leads regional initiatives focused on improving community well-being, strengthening partnerships and expanding Vermonters’ access to essential resources.

Vermont Business Magazine Hunger Free Vermont, the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont, Vermont Foodbank, legislators, and other advocates gathered at the Vermont Statehouse on Feb. 5 for 3SquaresVT Awareness Day. Throughout the day, organizations, community groups, neighbors, legislators, and more celebrated the critical program, shared stories from program participants about the impact of 3SquaresVT, and spoke with legislators so they continue to protect and strengthen the 3SquaresVT program. Known nationally as SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), 3SquaresVT gives money every month to Vermonters to buy groceries. It’s a private and dignified program since participants can use 3SquaresVT just like a debit card and buy groceries that are right for them.

Vermont Business Magazine National Life Group announced a collaboration with Boston Children’s Hospital Neighborhood Partnership program to provide access to free online social-emotional learning and behavioral health resources to educators nationwide. The Training and Access Project (TAP) has developed a series of brief videos that offer an introduction to key topics to guide school communities in exploring how they can build sustainable systems of support for social-emotional learning and behavioral health with students, families, and school staff. For the past 10 years, TAP has created and delivered professional development for school communities to support the strengthening and sharing of knowledge, practices, resources, and connections in order to build capacity to address social-emotional learning and behavioral health in schools.

Vermont Business Magazine Cabot Hosiery Mills, powerhouse American manufacturer of performance outdoor and lifestyle socks, has promoted Angelica Taylor to president of Cabot Hosiery Mills. Hired in 2021 as the Vice President of Finance moving into the role of Chief Operations Officer in 2022, Taylor has shown her prowess and ability to hit targets and aim big for the Cabot Hosiery Mills family of brands including Darn Tough Vermont, Wide Open, and Cabot & Sons. The promotion of Taylor to president comes as the first non-family member to hold the title.

Vermont Business Magazine The Attorney General’s Office announced that Jospeh Weintraub, 70, of Enosburg, Vermont, was sentenced today in Vermont Superior Court, Franklin Criminal Division, after pleading guilty to one felony charge of Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Material. The Court, Judge Elizabeth Novotny presiding, sentenced the defendant to 18 months to five years in prison, all suspended, with 10 years of probation without the possibility of an early discharge from probation. Conditions of Weintraub’s probation include that he must complete individual sex offender treatment, must not have contact with children under the age of 16, and shall have restricted access to electronic devices.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund (VSJF) announces that the Vermont Prosperity Project has changed its name to the Wellbeing Economy Alliance of Vermont (WEAV) and has hired Drusilla “Dru” Roessle as program manager for the initiative. The changes reflect a renewed focus on redefining prosperity by centering social and ecological wellbeing. WEAV is a collaborative initiative supported by a network of partner organizations, including VSJF, the University of Vermont’s Gund Institute for Environment, Abundant Sun LLC, Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility, the Wellbeing Economy Alliance and the Vermont Council on Rural Development.

Vermont Business Magazine Today, Treasurer Pieciak issued the following statement in response to the Scott Administration seeking federal approval to restrict Vermonters from using 3SquaresVT to purchase undefined “junk food” items. About 67,000 Vermonters rely on 3SquaresVT, Vermont’s version of the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The state’s request follows a recent initiative from the Trump administration encouraging states to limit use of SNAP benefits to “healthy” foods. The order did not offer guidance on which foods would no longer qualify, creating confusion and leaving states like Vermont to establish and enforce their own eligibility standards. Evidence that such a ban would lead to improved health outcomes is widely disputed. 

Vermont Business Magazine Average gasoline prices in Vermont are $2.97 per gallon, down 1.9 cents per gallon from last week's $2.99/g. The lowest price in the state yesterday was $2.63/g while the highest was $3.12/g, a difference of 49.0 cents per gallon. The national average price of gasoline has risen 1.2 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $2.84/g today. The national average is up 5.4 cents per gallon from a month ago and stands 24.9 cents per gallon lower than a year ago.

by Devon Green, VAHHS Legislative Update In addition to the joint meeting with the health care committees and hospitals that Mike highlighted in his column, here’s what else happened at the legislature last week: Private Equity: The House Health Care Committee reviewed a new draft of H.583. The stated purpose of the bill is to regulate the bad actions of private equity in health care, but both drafts prohibit many other health care financial transactions.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont State University (VTSU), in partnership with Nolato Vermont, recognized the graduation of three seniors from the Nolato Manufacturing Technology Leadership Program. Benjamin McCoy, Jackson Pierson, and Amanda Merrill successfully completed the four‑year, 22‑credit program and presented their senior engineering projects, earning certificates recognizing their program completion. The Manufacturing Technology Leadership Program is an employer‑sponsored partnership between VTSU and Nolato Vermont. The academic initiative is grounded in mechanical engineering and designed to provide career advancement opportunities for current employees of the company.

by Maggie Lenz and Gwynn Zakov The Great Squeeze By now we're all aware of the financial constraints the governor and legislature are facing as they finalize the FY26 budget adjustment act and dive deeper into the FY27 state budget. What's happening at the national, state, and local levels all has an impact on the state budget. For legislators, decisions made to address fiscal issues often depend on what district they're from, what political party they belong to, and even where their personal experience and knowledge base leads them. The governor has been clear in his administration's approach, which is fiscal constraint at all costs, and all agency and department heads know their marching orders. And don't forget, he also promised to veto a budget and not allow legislators to go home this year until he gets a new consolidated district map that's tied to forward momentum towards robust education reform.

Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets Interested applicants are invited to submit pre-applications to Northern Border Regional Commission (NBRC) programs for Spring 2026 funding consideration. Pre-applications may be submitted for the following programs: The CATALYST PROGRAM stimulates economic growth and inspires partnerships that improve rural economic vitality across the four-state NBRC region. The FOREST ECONOMY PROGRAM supports the forest-based economy and assists in the industry’s evolution to include new technologies and viable business models across the four-state NBRC region. The TIMBER FOR TRANSIT PROGRAM advances the use of domestic forest products in transportation infrastructure projects across the four-state NBRC region to showcase the capabilities of wood in these applications.