State News

The Vermont Farm & Forest Viability Program, a program of the Vermont Housing & Conservation Board (VHCB), announces its 2026 grant awards to working lands entrepreneurs, totaling $943,745.00 to support businesses improvements and improve water quality.

This year, 21 farm businesses were awarded $814,623.00 to invest in on-farm capital improvements that enhance water quality. Additionally, 33 farm and forest businesses were awarded $255,793.00 to complete projects that support business development and viability.

At its March 26, 2026 meeting, the Vermont Housing & Conservation Board (VHCB) committed $4,544,575 in state, federal, and philanthropic funding to strengthen both — approving investments to conserve 2,420 acres of Vermont’s most ecologically significant lands and support 27 new affordable homes across the state.

These investments address Vermont’s most urgent needs: expanding affordable homeownership in high-demand areas, innovative financing strategies to preserve housing for extremely low-income households in the face of federal rental assistance reductions, protecting critical wetland systems and water quality corridors linked to Lake Champlain, expanding town forest holdings, and conserving high-priority interior forest blocks connecting major conservation areas across the state.

All are invited to a community dialogue with featured guest Brattleboro (Windham District 9) State Rep. Ian Goodnow on Wednesday October 15, 2025 – 6:30 pm in the Community Room at Brooks Memorial Library
While there is no formal agenda for this meeting, one might say it is divided in three parts:

• What happened in the last legislative session?
• What can we expect in the session starting January 2026?
• What legislative issues are front of mind for you?

Burlington, Vt – Executive Director Molly Gray of Vermont Afghan Alliance released the following statement tonight in response to President Trump’s Executive Order banning Afghan nationals from traveling to the United States:

“Citing ‘foreign policy, national security and counterterrorism objectives’ and concerns for a lack of ‘appropriate screening and vetting measures’ by the Taliban, starting ‘12:01am eastern daylight time on June 9, 2025’ entry into the United States by nationals of Afghanistan is ‘fully suspended’ according to the order.

Exceptions to the travel ban include ‘lawful permanent residents’ (green card holders) , ‘Afghan special immigrant visas’ and ‘immediate family immigrant visas’.

The order suggests, although does not confirm, special immigrant visas will be processed for the wives and children of Afghan special immigrant visa holders here in the United States. The U.S. told thousands of soldiers who supported U.S. military and intelligence efforts to leave their wives and kids behind on the promise reunification would happen within a year. This August marks four years of separation.

Senators Bernie Sanders and Peter Welch and representative Becca Balint issued a statement on the arrest of a green card holder going for a naturalization interview. Mohsen Mahdawi was in Colchester when detained by ICE agents.

“BURLINGTON, Vt., April 14 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.), and Rep. Becca Balint (Vt.-AL) today released the following statement on the illegal detention of Mohsen Mahdawi by the Trump Administration:

On Friday, Feb 18, 350Vermont calls for a statewide rally on the State House lawn in Montpelier. Over the past year, our members worked hard  to ensure that the Climate Action Plan would be the catalyst that propelled us towards the change we need to see in our state.  Unfortunately, the Climate Action Plan didn’t go nearly far enough, or include enough input from frontline communities, and now it is up to the legislature to act. 

“This year, the Vermont legislature has the tremendous opportunity to make substantial progress on addressing the climate crisis,” says 350VT Organizer Jaiel Pulskamp. “We’re calling on them to enact real and just solutions that will improve regular people’s lives while slashing emissions – not more greenwashing and false solutions that put more money into the pockets of the utilities and their shareholders.”