According to a recent column that appeared in The Washington Post, federal budget cuts for fiscal year 2012 include $88 million of funding to the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) that would have provided housing counseling.

"It is unreasonable, in the midst of a housing crisis that has financially devastated hundreds of thousands of households, that we are taking away access to free or low-cost counseling that helps these families," Michelle Singletary writes.

In 2010, the Champlain Housing Trust helped 187 Vermont households avoid foreclosure and provided counseling to 309 others that were preparing to buy a home, 90 of whom did.

A Vermont household renting outside of the Burlington metropolitan area needs to earn at least $16.91 to afford a modest two-bedroom apartment, according to the latest "Out of Reach" report released by the National Low-Income Housing Coalition.

Compared to the combined non-metropolitan areas of other states, this ranks Vermont 8th highest in the U.S. Vermont’s combined non-metropolitan area consists of all counties in the state except Chittenden, Franklin and Grand Isle.

The "Out of Reach" report is a side-by-side comparison of wages and rents in every county, metropolitan area, combined non-metropolitan area, and state in the country.

Lori Gilding was the second winner in VHFA’s “Five-Week Wellness Challenge.”

Lori was selected at random from all staff members who participated in Week #2 of the challenge to receive a gift certificate from Ski Rack.

The challenge is a progressive fitness program that encourages staff members to make small improvements to their health each week. For this week — Week #3 — staff are encouraged to get up and get moving, drink more water, and ... eat healthier snacks.

Champlain Housing Trust (CHT) and HowardCenter will rehabilitate a property on Burlington's St. Paul Street to provide housing for 16 residents living at Lakeview, a property on North Avenue recently sold by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Vermont to Burlington College.

Permits from the City of Burlington have been approved and work began last week.

HowardCenter will provide the same services at the new location as it did at Lakeview.