Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Leaders from the newly formed Vermont Journalism Coalition (VJC) and the Vermont Community Foundation (VCF), as well as Senator Andrew Perchlik, and Vermont Secretary Copeland Hanzas held a press conference today, sharing a new report on the state of Vermont’s news media landscape and celebrating the local and regional media outlets who received this year’s inaugural Local Civic Journalism Awards. VJC’s new leader Kristen Fountain and VCF’s President and CEO Dan Smith outlined key findings from the newly released Vermont News & Information Ecosystem Report. Commissioned by VCF’s Press Forward initiative, the report assesses the current state of local news in Vermont, identifying opportunities to strengthen news access, newsroom sustainability, and local media coordination statewide.

Vermont Business Magazine Stowe Land Trust announced three significant conservation projects this week that together protect over 350 acres in Stowe and Morristown. Two of the three projects, structured in partnership with Downstreet Housing & Community Development, will convert or construct up to 16 single-family homes as year-round housing for full-time residents. Taken together, the three projects—Muddy Moose in Morristown, North Hill Forest in the Shutesville Hill Wildlife Corridor, and Stagecoach Meadows along Stagecoach Road—represent approximately $7.5 million in real estate value, with only $250,000 remaining to fundraise.

Vermont Business Magazine The Nature Conservancy (TNC) in Vermont is proud to announce the new grant recipients of its Vermont Biodiversity Protection Fund (VBPF), supporting land protection projects in priority regions across the state. In this round of the VBPF, TNC Vermont awarded $500,000 to seven conservation organizations, leveraging $2,792,423 in funding from other sources. The projects will protect 1,460 acres of land in areas that maintain regional forest connectivity, support biodiversity, and improve Vermont’s climate resilience. These grants build upon the first round of the VBPF, bringing the total awarded to $1 million.

by Peter Walke, Managing Director, Efficiency Vermont The cheapest energy is the energy we don’t use. This simple fact has guided Efficiency Vermont for over two decades. It remains critical for Vermont’s energy future. As Efficiency Vermont plans for the years ahead, we’re listening to feedback from Vermonters. Our latest three-year proposal to the Vermont Public Utility Commission is informed by surveys of nearly 900 residents and hundreds of businesses. That proposal sharpens our focus on affordability—and removes $3.75 million from our proposed budget. Half of the Vermonters surveyed told us they believe the state is unaffordable. At the same time, more than 70% said energy efficiency programs make Vermont more affordable. Nearly nine out of 10 agreed that an independent organization like Efficiency Vermont is essential to reducing energy costs.

Vermont Economic Development Authority In an effort to continuously improve and better serve our borrowers, VEDA has launched its 2026 VEDA Borrower Survey. If you’ve received the link to take it, we hope you participate. It should take no more than 10 minutes to complete. The survey closes on March 3. A 2026 VEDA Partner Survey is in the works. We plan to distribute it in the coming weeks.

Vermont Business Magazine At PCC, strong relationships are the foundation of everything we do. We prioritize our staff, our valued clients, and the well-being of the patients they serve. Your community is our community. For this reason, we are delighted and honored to share that PCC has once again earned the prestigious Best in KLAS recognition from KLAS Research in their annual Software & Services Report, specifically in the Ambulatory Pediatric Solutions category. This achievement marks our eighth year in a row as the #1 ranked ambulatory pediatric EHR solution nationwide – a milestone made possible only by the continuous support of the practices we partner with. On behalf of the entire PCC team: thank you.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Congressional Delegation, U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont), and U.S. Representative Becca Balint (D-Vermont-At-Large), today released the following statement: “We are horrified to learn of the detention of Vermont pastor and nursing assistant Steven Tendo by ICE outside of his workplace today — just days ahead of a regular check-in with immigration authorities. Pastor Tendo fled persecution and torture in Uganda and has lived peacefully in Vermont for many years as a valued member of our community. People like Pastor Tendo are exactly who our asylum system is meant to protect. We join together with many Vermonters in calling on the Trump administration to ensure Pastor Tendo is allowed to return to Vermont and that he is immediately afforded full due process, including the right to contact his attorney while his appeal is considered.” 

Vermont Business Magazine The Northeast Dairy Business Innovation Center (NE-DBIC) has been awarded $3.45 million in funding from the USDA. As one of four Dairy Business Innovation Initiatives (DBI) in the country, the NE-DBIC serves dairy farmers and processors across 11 states, including: Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont.  This is the seventh round of funding since the DBI was established under the 2018 Farm Bill. Funds directly support dairy farmers and processors with modernization, innovation, and increasing efficiency and sustainability across the dairy sector.

Vermont Business Magazine Today, on World Cancer Day, Vermonters can help cancer patients by donating platelets with the American Red Cross of Northern New England. This need is especially urgent as severe winter storms in other parts of the country temporarily closed donation centers in recent weeks, leaving more than 3,000 platelet donations uncollected nationwide. Platelets are tiny cell fragments in your blood that help form clots and stop bleeding. Nearly 50% of donated platelets go to cancer patients. With a shelf life of only five days, hospitals rely on a steady supply of platelet donations to ensure this lifesaving resource is available when patients need it.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Gas Systems, Inc (VGS) announced today that President and CEO Neale Lunderville will step down at the end of 2026 after more than six years at the helm. The VGS Board of Directors will conduct a search for his successor. Lunderville said the decision comes at a time of strength for the company. Lunderville joined VGS in 2020 after helping the company develop its first Climate Plan. Since then, VGS has expanded its energy efficiency programs, launched in-home electrification services including heat pumps, and increased renewable natural gas (RNG) in its portfolio to nation-leading levels. VGS partnered to bring online two RNG digesters at Vermont farms in Salisbury and Berkshire, producing enough energy to heat thousands of homes.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Law and Graduate School will once again host a Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) site, with appointments available through Tax Day on April 15. Volunteers will prepare and electronically file federal and state tax returns, free of charge, for qualifying low-to-moderate income and elderly taxpayers whose family income in 2025 was $69,000 or less. Appointments will take place on the VLGS campus in South Royalton on Tuesdays and Thursdays starting at 4 p.m., and on Saturdays starting at 9 a.m.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Manufacturing Extension Center (VMEC) has announced the results of its January 12, 2026, annual election of VMEC Advisory Board members. Re-elected for additional two-year terms to the board are Cristin O’Donnell, Plant Director, King Arthur Baking Company (Norwich); Dave Blittersdorf, President/ CEO/ Founder, AllEarth Renewables, Inc. (Williston); Janette Bombardier, P.E., Chief Technology Officer and Chief Operating Officer, Chroma Technology (Bellows Falls) and Mike Rainville, President/ Owner, Maple Landmark, Inc. (Middlebury). Also, Mike Rainville was re-elected as Chairperson of the VMEC Advisory Board for an additional one-year term.