| A new study finds that new housing in the Upper Connecticut River Valley region slowed in 2022 and 2023 after a significant uptick in 2021: 2021: 710 new homes 2022: 264 new homes 2023: 469 new homes Today’s Journal-Opinion reports that data from the study comes from 32 towns, including Haverhill (NH), Bradford, Fairlee, Newbury, and Thetford. The vast majority of new homes are being developed in the 12 most populous towns, which includes Haverhill, of that dataset. Lebanon NH, Hartford VT (AKA White River Junction), and Claremont NH have added the most homes since 2010. The Vital Communities report says: “[The] Upper Valley needs greater housing diversity, both in type and location. Efforts must continue to add small-scale, affordable projects to all communities in our region to address the ‘missing middle’ housing, such as manufactured housing parks, smaller starter homes in cottage cluster developments, conversions from single-family to multifamily housing, and in-fill development that adds accessory dwelling units or splits up double lots.” |
Longtime admin economic development chief takes news job – Joan Goldstein will leave her role leading the Department of Economic Development at the end of April. Goldstein will serve as the next Chief Executive Officer of the Vermont Economic Development Authority (VEDA).
Goldstein has served as the Commissioner of the Department of Economic Development since April 2015. She was initially appointed by former Governor Shumlin and reappointed in 2017 by Governor Scott. During that time, she has taken an innovative approach to redeveloping programs. Goldstein and her team also created and implemented investment programs for COVID-19, flood relief and recovery managed by the Department.
Scott to meet with Trump next week – Governor Phil Scott will attend the National Governors Association Winter meeting in Washington, D.C. this week.
In addition to meetings with other governors and diplomats, on Saturday Governor Scott, who serves as co-chair of the NGA Public Health and Disaster Response Task Force,
will lead a discussion with Hawaii Governor Josh Green on border security with the National Guard Bureau and Department of Homeland Security.
While in D.C., Governor Scott will also participate in a meeting of the New England governors. He will also join fellow governors for a meeting with President Trump and other officials at the White House on Friday.
Bank president retires – After 11 years of service, Tom Leavitt will be retiring as the 14th president of Northfield Savings Bank this autumn.
Leavitt, a Burlington native, was a standout athlete at Burlington High School in the 1970s. The bank’s Board of Trustees has established a CEO Search Committee and retained a firm to assist in the search for Leavitt’s successor. The transition, they say, is a natural and deliberate move, guided by the bank’s Management Succession Planning Program.
The University of Vermont’s Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program has won the 2023-2024 General Douglas MacArthur Award for Leadership.
This is the third time UVM ROTC has won the MacArthur Award in the last 10 years.
“This is a great honor for this program and our cadets,” said Lt. Col. Travis McCracken, Professor of Military Science, University of Vermont ROTC. “They are exceptional young adults that will undoubtedly go on to achieve great success in the U.S. Army,” said McCracken.
The award is given to the best ROTC program in the Northeast region of the U.S. Army Cadet Command (USACC). USACC is comprised of 9 separate regions consisting of 275 host programs across the country. The Northeast consists of 42 host universities which include all Ivy League schools and other elite universities.