Reprinted from the Valley News on 12/11/2013 , by David Corriveau: 

Every time the bitter knife of a breeze snuffed a candle on the front lawn of The Upper Valley Haven last night, a staff member, a supporter, or a guest of the homeless shelter turned to his or her neighbor and re-lit the flame.

Vermont’s “difficult to develop” areas under the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit provisions have been revised to include all counties with the exception of Addison, Orleans, Caledonia and Essex for 2014.

There’s still time to help the annual VHFA mitten drive reach its goal.   This year, mittens and gloves carefully stuffed with holiday candy by VHFA staff will be donated to Burlington's Women Helping Battered Women office. 

Significant erosion in renter incomes over the past decade has pushed the number of households paying excessive shares of income for housing to record levels, a report this week by Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies confirmed.