In 2011, floods in the spring, and Tropical Storm Irene later that year destroyed more than 150 mobile homes and damaged hundreds of others. A meeting in Burlington Friday took stock of long term efforts to minimize future storm damage at mobile home parks.

Gov. Peter Shumlin says he's not going to host a traditional inaugural ball after he's sworn in to his second term in office. Instead he's going to host an open house that will also serve as a fundraiser for ongoing efforts to help victims of last year's Tropical Storm Irene.

Mobile homes were hit particularly hard by the flooding last spring and during Tropical Storm Irene. There are now efforts underway to come up with a better financing model for mobile home owners and to design and build a mobile home that is energy-efficient and still affordable.