In this quicker update type episode, I share a bit about the contract that Rethink Local just started over the last couple weeks in Randolph Vermont, where my company was brought in to provide planning and zoning services, as well explore some opportunities for shared services in the future. I'll be serving as Randolph's Zoning Administrator under the title of Director of Planning, Zoning, and Regional Partnerships.

In this episode, I wanted to share why local land use and zoning is so critical. Not just about "housing" as we typically think about it, which is already a major priority in our region, but how it is a bedrock to some themes around community and belonging that our country is struggling so much with in 2025, and which housing is one of the early-chain contributors to. We also cover some thoughts and opportunities for people to plug in at the local level to be involved in helping ensure local policies and practices support creating diverse, resilient communities.

For more information about the work between Rethink Local and Randolph, visit rethinklocal.us or randolphvt.org.

Additional resources:

• "I voted, now what?" about specific ways you can get more involved locally: https://rethinklocal.castos.com/episodes/ep-5-i-voted-now-what
• Rethink Local: https://rethinklocal.us/
• Randolph, VT website: https://randolphvt.org/
• Brick and Mortar Substack: https://brickandmortar.substack.com/
• My Substack: https://alextorpey.substack.com

In this episode of Upper Valley Vibes, we're going to talk about community nursing - the program mostly centered in small rural communities in the northeast US, get to know some of the folks who helped drive the adoption of these programs in the Upper Valley and hear from several nurses in different towns about what it's like and why this healthcare service is so valuable.

Part of what I'd like to do on this podcast is spotlight some of the ways in which really large challenges, such as healthcare, are actually being worked on or addressed by creative solutions driven by people right here in our local communities.

It was challenging to try and edit the conversations because there was so many interesting topics. So, this episode is just an overview of a few of the most interesting key points about these programs. In future episodes, I will release the full 30-minute or so conversations with each of the community nurses that we hear from in this episode.

The conversations touched on a range of topics from their backgrounds, how they don't work with insurance the benefits that brings, how community nursing is different than other medicine and healthcare and how they work together, why relationships matter in medicine, why community matters, the value of preventative care, and the overall vibe of this piece of our healthcare system, one of the only ones, that isn't centered around a large corporation making as much money as possible, but rather, with the number one goal as supporting and improving the lives and health of people.

In this episode we'll hear from :

• Kristin Barnum from Community Nurse Connection,
• Jodi Hoyt the town nurse in Tunbridge VT,
• Katie Williams the community nurse in Hartford VT, and
• Doris Yates, the community nurse in Hanover NH.

Resources:

• Community Nurse Connection FAQs about starting a program in your town and more information: https://www.communitynurseconnection.org/
• Hanover, NH Community Nursing info: https://www.hanovernh.org/777/Hanover-Community-Nurse
• Hartford, VT Community Nursing info:

Last month, millions of people turned out to vote in the 2024 elections. I voted stickers made their way across social media, ads and signs littered our internet and streets for weeks and months leading up to it, and billions was spent on the whole thing.

But, the truth is that voting for president is only a drop in the bucket compared to the number of opportunities that our system of government makes available for us all to be involved in. In fact, our systems are designed specifically to have more of us more involved regularly. At the same time many people are looking for ways to get involved, many local communities are struggling to find people to help out. Let's fix that!

In this episode, we talk a bit about how much attention has shifted to the presidency from the nation's original founding, and cover five areas that if you have energy, ideas, to get more involved you can start doing tomorrow. Some of you will already be familiar with at least some of these, but hopefully there are some ideas in here that can provide you or anyone you know some inspiration or guidance on ways they can get more involved beyond just voting.

We talk about five nonpartisan, accessible, and impactful ways that anyone get more involved:

1. Why voting for other levels of governments, especially at the local, is so important
2. The need, simply, for better people to run for office, whether you yourself think you're up to the task or perhaps you may know someone who could be a great leader
3. Serving on a statutory or advisory board at a local level and helping guide policies, make recommendations, or make decisions in a wide range of areas
4. Helping out on a shorter term basis, such as volunteer days, volunteering during elections, helping on a river cleanup, or other things local businesses and groups routinely need help with on
5. Helping connect people around you to better and more information about their local governance, such as through journalism, town meeting voter guides, being a good Civic Citizen, and more.

Are there other ways you have found helpful in getting involved? Send anything I missed or any questions over to me at alex@rethinklocal.us.

Episode links:

• American Nations:
  • https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11140803-american-nations
• Decision in Philadelphia
  • https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/619794.Decision_in_Philadelphia
• A quick summary and further reading on the presidential election
  • https://csac.history.wisc.edu/do...