The Vermont Downtown Board has designated Winooski's downtown as a "Vermont Neighborhood."

The designation, made possible by last year's housing legislation, makes Winooski eligible for help in the creation of affordable housing.

A number of Vermont media carried a story by the Associated Press this weekend regarding Vermont's tight rental market.

The story was picked up by the Rutland Herald/Times Argus, WPTZ-TV, WCAX-TV and Vermont Public Radio.

Read the story at the Herald site.

Our friends at the U.S. Department of Agriculture/Rural Development (USDA/RD) have made changes to their Section 502 Guaranteed Loan Program so more Vermonters may be eligible.

USDA/RD has increased its income limits for the program, which help determine who might be eligible for a home loan. At the same time, they've moved to a two-tiered system — for families of one to four people and five to eight people — to simplify the process.

A few more stories have appeared in local media regarding our release Tuesday of the latest edition of "Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Housing and Wages in Vermont."

Windham County has least affordable housing
Brattleboro Reformer