An unknown number of women
and Hispanic farmers in Vermont
may have been improperly denied loans over a nearly 20 year period, beginning in
1981. Now the Farm Service Agency
in Vermont is trying to get the word out to help some of these
farmers get the documents they need to apply for restitution.
Low-interest state loans are being offered to businesses and farms that
suffered flood damage. The
$10 million program will be paid for through a combination of state funds
and economic development money.
The USDA is making disaster loans available for farmers in all of New Hampshire’s 10 counties because of crop losses and plant disease caused by excessive rain since June.
Officials are planning a new low interest loan program. They say it’s not a long-term fix, but the money should
help farmers facing record low milk prices.
Vermont’s unemployment rate rose almost a full point from December to January; advocates of full marriage rights for gay and lesbian couples have geared up a lobbying campaign;
VT delegation hop to double low heating assistance money;
VSAC loans for college students are going down. U.S. Border Patrol
officer fired shots in a scuffle in the woods at the Derby Line; Aabama
authorities file child pornography charges against Brooke Bennett’s former
stepfather; commentator Philip Baruth on life, art and the Pixar film WALL-E.
U.S. Border agent shoots at three suspects in
Derby Line; Congressional delegation seeks assistance to help poor families
heat their homes; Thomas Costello says he plans to run for lieutenant governor; student loan rates are going down.
Former Vermont Supreme Court Justice Louis Peck is being
remembered today for his wit and his dedication to the law; Vermont’s
prime student lending agency says it will be able to make loans for the next
school year; a former congresswoman from Connecticut
will discuss the strength of Social Security in Vermont
this weekend.