Vermont farmers impacted by sweeping floods in 2023 and 2024 will receive more than $30 million in specialized relief funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the office of U.S. Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., confirmed Wednesday.

In a Senate committee hearing on Wednesday with Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, Welch asked for an update on the status of the more than $62 million the state had requested from the USDA.

“We signed Vermont yesterday,” Rollins said, regarding the $31.7 million that was secured through a disaster assistance block grant.

The state received confirmation of the funding Tuesday evening, according to a Welch spokesperson who deferred to the state on when the funds will be made available.

The $31.7 million will go toward flood relief, specifically for farmers who have limited access to Federal Emergency Management Agency funds. The funding will support farmers who have faced infrastructure damage, flood-related losses or market losses.

Wednesday’s announcement came after Tuesday’s word of $4 million in FEMA funds for the Vermont Studio Center, the Vermont Agency of Transportation, and the Washington Electric Cooperative to support flood recovery and restoration.

“As a member of the Agriculture Committee, I worked across the aisle to secure this dedicated funding for small states like Vermont, and am encouraged to hear directly from Secretary Rollins that millions will soon be headed our way,” Welch wrote in a Wednesday statement to VtDigger about the USDA funding.

Anson Tebbetts, Vermont’s secretary of agriculture, food and markets, told VtDigger that the grant will be administered to his agency to “sustain damages” for the severe weather losses in 2023 and 2024, including two significant floods and a hard frost.

Tebbetts added that Gov. Phil Scott helped ensure the funding, along with Welch, in his role as co-chair of the National Governors Association’s Public Health and Disaster Response Task Force.

Douglas Farnham, the state’s chief recovery officer, also welcomed news of the funding. “I think this is an excellent award that we’re very grateful for,” he told VtDigger. “I know that our agency’s been working with the federal agency for months to get this right, and we’re really happy to be moving forward with it.”

Farnham said the next step is for the state’s Office of Disaster Recovery to get authorization from the Vermont Legislative Joint Fiscal Committee to accept the USDA award.

“I think they’ll be excited about it as well, so I don’t see any challenges there, right?” he said. “We just need to make sure they’re aware of it and approve it.”

Farnham confirmed that all parts of the award are designed to help farmers, specifically to address crop losses incurred in 2023.

Back-to-back summer floods in 2023 and 2024 devastated communities across Vermont, swamping towns, destroying homes and businesses, and causing nearly $1 billion in damage to public infrastructure.

For farmers, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s primary relief tool at the time was not grants, but emergency loans that carried interest. Then-Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack’s disaster designation for all of Vermont’s 14 counties came nearly two months after the 2023 floods.

A second disaster declaration followed the 2024 floods. But the direct, interest-free aid required action by Congress, which came in the form of a disaster relief package lawmakers passed in December of that year. A state analysis has found Vermont faces more than $350 million in unmet needs from the 2023 storm alone.

Still unresolved is the second half of the $62 million that Vermont had requested from the USDA Rural Development Disaster Assistance Fund, roughly $31 million that Rollins did not confirm on Wednesday. Welch asked whether both pots were “on track for deployment quite soon,” and Rollins committed only to the block grant.

“We don’t have word on the other money ($31 million), which is more focused on wastewater facilities and municipal community facilities like municipally owned buildings,” Farnham said. “I think we’re still trying to figure out what the status of that is.”

Tebbetts added that the state is developing an application for farmers to receive the funds, as well as outreach materials for when it’s finalized.

“There’ll be some time for producers and farmers to apply, and when they apply, we’ll review the applications, and then start sending money to those eligible farmers and producers,” Tebbetts said.

This story was republished with permission from VtDigger, which offers its reporting at no cost to local news organizations through its Community News Sharing Project. To learn more, visit vtdigger.org/community-news-sharing-project.

For the next few weeks, you might notice an additional service charge at some restaurants in Massachusetts in anticipation of international visitors who may not be accustomed to U.S. expectations around tipping.

At Union Straw in Foxboro, Massachusetts, customers will see a 20% service charge during the World Cup.

“Time is going to be very, very far, few and beyond for people when they’re trying to get to the stadium, with traffic and all that stuff. So we are going to implement a 20% service charge on all checks and hope to streamline those operations and save people 10 to 15 minutes,” said Craig Carreira, director of operations for Union Straw.

Right outside of Gillette stadium, at Patriot Place, Bar Louie and Davio’s are also planning to add a service charge during the World Cup.

The World Cup is underway, and the Haitian team made its way to Boston Thursday.

“That’s primarily how we do get paid, is through our tips,” said Christine Peterson, a bartender at Davio’s.

In Massachusetts, tipped workers earn $6.75 an hour. If they don’t earn enough in tips to reach $15 an hour, employers must make up the difference.

A 2024 ballot measure that aimed to raise the minimum wage gradually for tipped workers failed, in part, because many servers argued it would lower their overall compensation. So while tipping is largely expected in the U.S., it continues to be a topic of great debate.

“I don’t really like it. I like to tip somebody for their service, but there’s no incentive for the server to do well,” said Joan, a Rhode Island resident.

New signs and new grass are up at Gillette Stadium as the home of the Patriots hosts World Cup matches.

“All these restaurants are getting all this money with all these people coming here, and plus, they’re going to add another 20%,” said Susan, who was at Patriot Place Thursday. “That’s not right, not in my book.”

“I think it’s a good thing. They’re serving us, they should be able to get paid for their service. So I don’t mind,” said Mishi, a woman visiting from Haiti.

Under Massachusetts’ Consumer Protection Act, any mandatory charges or fees must be made known to the customer wherever prices are displayed on menus and bills.

Gillette Stadium, temporarily branded as Boston Stadium, is hosting seven 2026 FIFA World Cup matches from June 13 through July 9.

East Carson Street on Pittsburgh’s South Side will be closed off to cars, people under 21 years old and anyone who has previously committed a crime in the space as part of a new plan aimed at replacing what can be a chaotic late weekend evening in the bar-filled corridor with what’s being dubbed the South Side Street Fest.

The street fest will fill East Carson Street on Friday and Saturday nights from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. between 12th and 18th streets. During that time, people entering must pass through metal detectors and IDs will be scanned to verify that individuals are at least 21 and that they aren’t on a list of people not allowed to enter. 

“Pittsburghers love the South Side,” said Peter Margittai, president of the Southside Chamber of Commerce. “And they want to come back. They’re just scared, and this is giving them a great reason to come back. It’s going to be fun, it’s going to be safe.”

The plan was revealed at a community meeting on Thursday involving Pittsburgh Public Safety, the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, the South Side Community Action Network, and the Chamber of Commerce. 

The Southside Hospitality Partnership is the official sponsor of the festival, which is scheduled to begin on June 20 and will run on Fridays and Saturday nights until Sept. 12.

Compared to the restrictions placed on Market Square, which banned children from entering that space, this plan is being done in closer conjunction with city police, a public safety spokesperson said. 

“We want to change the behavior down here,” Zone 3 Police Commander Jeff Abraham said. “In 2026, we’ve seized 62 firearms, illegal firearms down here, and we’re just trying to get those type of bad actors to stop coming to East Carson Street.” 

Road closures will start at 9 p.m. At that time, people inside the footprint will either be given wristbands or be asked to re-enter at the security entry points. Residents will be able to park their cars on side streets, but if they are on East Carson Street, they’ll have to go. 

“It’s a really exciting plan for the South Side,” said John DeMauro, a member of the South Side Hospitality Partnership and owner of South Side businesses. “This plan really provides structure and expectation for people coming to East Carson Street, but it’s also going to provide things to do.”

They’ve already had discussions, he said, about activating storefronts outside during the festival. 

“So, for instance, at my storefront, I’ll be selling food outside,” DeMauro said. “We want to implement some music on the street, we want to implement some art on the street.”

As for open-container rules, people won’t be allowed to bring their beers outside of bars onto the street. They will be allowed to purchase beers from designated tents in the street. Those beers will be priced at a “premium,” one of the speakers during the informational meeting on Thursday said. 

“You’re going to be safe when you come to East Carson Street, you’re going to be able to enjoy yourself, you’re going to be able to have fun, like many people have for the past 30 years,” DeMauro said. 

Rosemarie Berman of the Southside Community Action Network was tasked with taking the questions of those in attendance and posing them to officials. 

“People are concerned about what if I live on Carson Street. How do I get to my place? How are we going to handle people on the side streets? And I think they addressed all those concerns pretty much this evening,” Berman said. 

Asked if people thought the plan would work, she said that people are optimistic. She added that people expect bumps in the road early, but in the end, it will evolve into something “wonderful.”

“I don’t think it’s perfect, but I don’t think anyone really does. But it’s a really good plan,” said Margittai.