A quick "thank you" to a few more sponsors of the 2010 Vermont Statewide Housing Conference, coming Nov. 18.

The Vermont Agency of Human Services has come on-board as a platinum sponsor of the event. Platinum is the highest level of sponsorship for the conference.

Vermont Affordable Housing Coalition has joined as a gold sponsor, the second highest level of support.

According to researchers at the Brookings Institution, the poverty rate among all Americans is likely to remain above 14 percent through 2020, due to the relationship between unemployment and poverty.

The situation will be even worse among children, with the poverty rate remaining above 21 percent through 2020.

The worst year is likely to be 2014, with at least 16 percent of all Americans and 26 percent of all children living in poverty.

The researchers used three sets of national unemployment rate projections — from the Congressional Budget Office, the Office of Management and Budget, and the Economist Intelligence Unit, a consulting arm of the Economist magazine — to identify a range of potential outcomes.

Sen. Bernie Sanders yesterday joined a number of housing officials at the groundbreaking of Cedar's Edge, an apartment complex on Susie Wilson Road in Essex. The 30-unit building, being developed by Champlain Housing Trust and Housing Vermont, will include 25 units designated for income-eligible tenants. VHFA provided construction financing and allocated Tax Credits to the project. The event was covered by some local media:

On Sept. 26, gubernatorial candidates Brian Dubie (R) and Peter Shumlin (D) spoke to a joint meeting of the Vermont Affordable Housing Coalition (VAHC) and the Vermont Coalition to End Homelessness.

VAHC has made available audio from those appearances, as well as transcripts.