• Tomorrow, Saturday, August 22, from 10:00 - 11:00 AM or until supplies last, there will be a food pickup in the Champlain School Parking lot at 800 Pine Street in Burlington. Anyone in need is welcome and encouraged to come. You'll receive a gallon of milk, non-perishables (pasta, beans, tuna), a dozen eggs, local produce, bread, bagels, treats, and a few other goodies. This event is made possible by a number of community partners including farms, foodbanks, and grocery stores.
   
• Food distribution by VT Foodbank is ongoing. Next week's dates/towns are as follows: 
   
  • 8/24: South Burlington, Burlington North End
  • 8/25: Rutland, Shoreham
  • 8/26: Brattleboro, Bennington
  • 8/27: Newport, Richford
  • 8/28: Barre, Morrisville
    
    To see an extensive list of dates, times and locations, call 2-1-1 or visit: humanresources.vermont.gov/food-help or call 2-1-1. Make sure you pre-register before going to the food distribution site. 

• What do Black Vermonters experience?
  
  "It can be something as simple as you meet somebody for the first time and they instantly ask, ‘Where are you from?’ And you know that they mean, which city are you from? The assumption is that you’re definitely not from Vermont because you’re black,” Thomas said.
  
  Read some more first-person experiences (VTCNG, August 2019).
   
• Vermont has some of the worst prison racial disparities in the country. 
  
  In 2017, the rate at which Black adults entered correctional facilities in Vermont was more than seven times higher than the rate for white adults. This imbalance starts from initial law enforcement contact and continues through subsequent stages, such as pretrial detention, conviction, sentencing, and post-release opportunity. (text from Vermont ACLU)
  
  Listen to a 34-minute VPR podcast from 2018 exploring this issue. 

• There will be a hard cap on the amount of assistance provided, but multiple metered accounts can apply for each separate metered address, including small business.
• There’s no disconnect notice required or income eligibility requirements, but there has to be a link with a COVID-19 hardship.
• The application will be simplified, online, and the utilities will verify information. Funding only applies for arrearages after March 1^st 2020.

The Temporary Broadband Subsidy Program provides eligible Vermont households with a credit to assist with Internet service subscriptions. Residential account holders who have suffered an economic hardship due to COVID-19 and require high-speed Internet services for a qualifying need may receive a temporary credit of up to $20 per month toward an Internet service subscription. 

Applicants must attest to needing an Internet subscription for remote work, distance learning, or telehealth services. 

The Flynn is now presenting Hurly Burly, a unique concert series. From mid-August through September, Hurly Burly features pop-up shows from local artists—in a safe environment that allows for social distancing. Each performance takes place on a makeshift stage on the back of a flatbed truck at a community space in the Burlington area. But here’s the kicker: there’s a bit of mystery in the mix because the time and location of each performance won’t be announced until the day of the show. 

• The location and time of the Hurly Burly events will not be announced until the day of the show. The details for each concert will be posted on the Flynn’s social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) and communicated to all Flynn email subscribers the day of the show.
• All shows will take place in public spaces, and social distancing and other safety measures will be enforced throughout the spectator area. Chalk circles will be drawn six feet apart from each other and signs will be placed all over to reinforce the measures that are expected.