Better Places Program News Today

Imagination is about to take form in Depot Park.

Soon getting to the waterfront will be much easier for people of all abilities.

"It really means more opportunity, more access to resources, more excitement."

St. J Final Fridays have brought hundreds to downtown St. Johnsbury each month this summer to enjoy free art, food, culture, and fun. On Friday, Aug. 26, partners Discover St.

Discover St. Johnsbury, the town of St. Johnsbury, and Catamount Film & Arts are partnering to bring an all-new take on their #Getdowntown performance series to St. Johnsbury again this

Hobsons Bay has now launched its Better Places Program in Brooklyn and Altona North. After recent success in Laverton, Spotswood […]

Business The unemployment bill formerly known as S.10 – Business owners had their most challenging year in memory. Many hoped that the legislature, knowing this, would have sought to offset their challenges. Unfortunately leveling unemployment tax rates was considered by some to be too much help. One of the most contentious negotiations of the session centered on the formula that determines the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund balance. Recent years unemployment rates are entered into the cal...

Dont miss the big stories. Like us on Facebook.   The 2021 legislative session will go down in the history books. This pandemic has revealed the gaps and inequities in our system and has demanded bold action and creative thinking to position our state to recover stronger than we came into this crisis. Centering equity and supporting Vermont’s creative economy will be critical to our economic recovery and community revitalization as we emerge from this pandemic. This session I was proud ...

[co-author: Jessica Griswold] Senate passes budget On Friday, the Senate gave final approval to the $7.17 billion FY 2022 budget, H.439. Senate Appropriations Chair Jane Kitchel, D-Caledonia, called it “as complicated a budget as I’ve ever had to put together in my time in the Senate” due to the flood of federal aid to Vermont for coronavirus relief and an unexpected $211 million revenue surplus. The bill spends $478.5 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds, while incorporating...

Dont miss the big stories. Like us on Facebook.   In the last two weeks, we have taken many steps to improve the lives of Vermonters. I’ll take a few moments to focus on several of them. H.159, among other things, creates the Better Places Program and makes a strong commitment to our Vermont State Colleges (VSC). We allocate $20.5 million to the State College system to be focused on workforce development in the fields of childcare, nursing, accounting, and mental health counseling, as w...