Disaster Recovery Enters New Phase

Mansfield Heliflight

The VAST snowmobile bridge near Waterbury flexes as debris and water rush past, August 2011.

The initial disaster of Tropical Storm Irene was met with intense cleanup, donations and federal response. Three months on, the long-term recovery for victims of Irene is still taking shape. As FEMA stes down its field work and the state's "recovery czar" prepares to wrap up his work at the end of December, we look at the shift in relief programs and where those still suffering the aftermath of Irene will get help. Our guests are Recovery Officer Neale Lunderville and Chris Graff of the Vermont Long-Term Disaster Recovery Group.



Also in the program, World AIDS Day. Every year on December 1, the lives of those affected by HIV and AIDS are honored in different ways. This year the Chandler Center for the Arts in Randolph marks the day with a reading of the play The Normal Heart, about the early days of the AIDS epidemic. We talk with the director, Dan Butler of Newbury.