Vermont has been in tough straights for decades (like much of the rust belt); beautiful place to visit, but it seems to be a tough place to make a go of it.
Has the Champlain shoreline recovered from Irene yet? I know they had a lot of damage.
It was more the center and eastern part of the state that took the brunt of Irene (we barely even got any rain in the Burlington area) but they have largely recovered. I wish I could say the political culture here recovered as well.
Vermont has been in tough straights for decades
The state is so hostile to business that I doubt any out of state companies would ever build a plant here now. I work for IBM and the state has dumped on them for years. IBM built their newest fab in NY because they could break ground there in 9 months. Vermont officials hinted that it would take about a decade for the permits. IBM has been pushing for a bypass road in the area for 30 years.
< / rant>