Restoring rivers + community grocery + zebrafish + nuclear pact + quantum bids + thriving arts
New England Good News #9
Welcome to the Good News in New England Newsletter, part of Granite Goodness. We share optimistic stories of progress, innovation, and problem-solving from across New England.
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NOTE FROM ANDY
Hello everyone! Welcome to the 216 new people who have joined the Granite Goodness community since our last newsletter and to Marisa Rafal, Anna Wells, and Talia Wujtewicz for joining our Optimists Club!
Don’t miss our latest podcast episode featuring Sam Evans Brown from Clean Energy NH : )
If you’re around come join us May 4 for a free casual live podcast + drinks at Treeline Outfitters in Portsmouth, featuring panelists from Clean Energy NH, Resilient Buildings Group, and the Community Power Coalition of NH.
Now enjoy some good news!
GRANITE GREENERY: Sustainability & Nature
Revolution Wind, New England’s first major offshore wind project, has begun delivering electricity to the regional grid. The 65-turbine project off the Connecticut coast will generate enough power for 350,000 homes, projected to save ratepayers $500 million a year on energy costs. - Rhode Island Current
All six New England governors issued a bipartisan commitment to explore advanced nuclear energy, the first time the region has united behind the technology, as ISO New England projects regional electricity demand will grow more than 40% over the next two decades. - Mass.gov
New Hampshire is removing a century-old dam in Goffstown, unlocking nearly 70 miles of the Piscataquog River for the first time in decades and restoring the natural flow of water, sediment, and wildlife. - Vermont Public / NHPR
GRANITE GRIT: Building & Infrastructure
Massachusetts is betting that the best way to prepare for climate change is to let towns figure it out themselves, putting $3 million behind the idea through Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness grants going to more than 30 communities for wetland restoration, infrastructure upgrades, and tree planting. - Massachusetts Municipal Association
Maine has secured federal approval to bring high-speed internet to more than 22,000 homes and businesses, one of the largest broadband expansions in state history, closing the digital divide in rural communities across the state. - Sunrise County Economic Council
Vermont’s legislature unanimously approved an expansion of its “10% in VT” housing fund, which has already financed more than 1,700 homes across the state using low-interest loans to offset borrowing costs that would otherwise kill housing projects. - Vermont Business Magazine
GRANITE GROWTH: Economics & Opportunity
Three years in, Nashua’s downtown performing arts center is exceeding expectations, with restaurants reporting significant revenue increases, parking revenue climbing, and $3.6 million in regional economic impact generated. - Nashua Ink Link
Maine just deployed $25 million across 23 companies and research institutions, from seafood processors in Downeast Maine to life sciences labs on the Midcoast, drawing 113 proposals requesting $127 million and projected to create or preserve nearly 4,000 jobs. - Maine.gov
Vermont’s economic development authority just invested $13.8 million into a cross-section of small businesses: a community-owned grocery in St. Johnsbury, a grain center in Ferrisburgh, a fitness center in flood-damaged Montpelier, and a donut shop in Rutland. - Vermont Business Magazine
GRANITE GADGETS: Science & Technology
Maine researchers have engineered a zebrafish (dubbed the “atrofish”) that can reproduce decades of age-related muscle decline in just days, dramatically accelerating the search for treatments for sarcopenia, the muscle loss condition affecting millions of older adults. - MDI Biological Laboratory
UConn and Yale are bidding for $160 million to make Connecticut the country’s quantum computing capital, backed by $61 million the state has already committed through a public-private partnership called QuantumCT. - UConn Today
MIT and two Boston biotechs won federal awards to develop a sensor that monitors your health through your tears in real time, and drugs that repair damaged lymphatic vessels rather than just managing symptoms. Massachusetts has now secured more than $330 million in ARPA-H funding since the agency launched. - Mass.gov
GRANITE GOODS: Institutions & Community
Rhode Island has cut chronic absenteeism by 12 percentage points since 2022, adding 3.7 million hours of learning back to students, and now leads all of New England in post-pandemic academic recovery. - RI Public Expenditure Council
Boston Public Schools won a national award for installing 4,000+ air quality sensors across more than 100 schools, making it one of only five districts in the country recognized for indoor air quality leadership. - Boston Public Schools
New Hampshire’s Farm Future Fund is back for its seventh year, offering $100,000 to help farms conserve land and strengthen their business viability, having already protected 2,402 acres and supported 22 farms statewide. - Morning Ag Clips
Partner Spotlight!
BIG THANK YOU to our Community Partners Green Wave Electric Vehicles and Resilient Buildings Group (RBG) for your support of Granite Goodness.
Come join us May 4 at Treeline Outfitters for a free live podcast featuring some of our friends from RBG + the Community Power Coalition of NH + Clean Energy NH.
That’s it for this edition of the Good News in New England Newsletter!1 If you’d like to support Granite Goodness, consider joining our Optimists Club.
Learn more about the people behind these stories on our podcast and social media.
Hungry for good news beyond the borders of New England? Check out our very own Optimists Club newsletter or our friends at Fix The News and The Progress Network.
Please reach out to granitegoodness@gmail.com with sponsor or partner inquiries.
Thanks for reading!
-Andy
All postcard images are sourced from the Tichnor Brothers Collection at the Boston Public Library, licensed under CCO 1.0.