Vermont seeking comment about Hud Programs: Each year the State of Vermont - Agency of Commerce and Community Development, Agency of Human Services and Vermont Housing and Conservation Board receives funding for HUD programs through the Consolidated Plan or Annual Plan update process which identifies priorities based on needs from the housing needs assessment, market analysis, citizen and stakeholder input.  At the end of the program year the state is required to report on the performance outcomes outlined from those plans in their Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER).  They have completed the FY22 Program Year DRAFT CAPER which includes the outcomes for the following programs: Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) HOME Investment Partnership Program (HOME) Housing Trust Fund (HTF) Emergency Solutions Grant Program (ESG); and Community Development Block Grant CARES Act (CDBG-CV) Emergency Solutions Grant Program CARES Act (ESG-CV).   As a representative for a unit of general local government, please share the attached notice with your local residents including minorities,The state is seeking comments by September 27, 2023.

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Boston radio station covers VY closure impact on Vernon

By Bob Spencer

Boston’s WBUR, an NPR station, broadcast a 4-part series about the impending closure of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station, with segment 2 covering how Vernon has addressed the closure of Vermont Yankee during the past 5 years. Reporter Bruce Gellerman spent several days over a period of weeks visiting Vernon, and interviewing Vernon residents and town officials.

At the end of May, the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Plymouth, MA will permanently shut down. Pilgrim went into service just one day after Vermont Yankee. Both reactors were the same make and model: a GE Mark I reactor. Since 2002, they have been operated by the same company: Entergy.

The first segment of WBUR’s “Earthwhile” feature discussed the impact on Cape Cod Bay from discharge of the Pilgrim power plant’s cooling water; the 2nd segment was about Vernon; a 3rd segment was about the impact on the Town of Plymouth; and the 4th discussed monitoring of radioactivity in the vicinity of the Pilgrim plant. The link to the Vernon portion can be found at: https://www.wbur.org/earthwhile/2019/04/23/vermont-yankee-vernon-lessons.

Gellerman’s Vernon story has interviews with Michelle Pong, Town Administrator; Josh Unruh, Chair of the Vernon Selectboard; Jeff Dunklee, 6th generation dairy farmer and Selectboard member; Peggy Farabaugh, owner of Vermont Woods Studios; Steve Skibniowski, long-time employee at the plant, and former town official; and Bob Spencer, Planning Commission.

All 4 segments can be accessed at the WBUR website, and the podcast listened to, along with a slightly different written version.