NEWS RELEASE
MAKING $ENSE NEW ENGLAND
PROGRAM #102
Aired December 17 at 8 p.m.

MAKING $ENSE NEW ENGLAND is a monthly series combining expert advice with stories of how people across northern New England have found resourceful ways to weather the economic downturn. The series is a collaboration of Maine Public Broadcasting Network, New Hampshire Public Television, and Vermont Public Television. www.makingsensene.org

Financing a college education is daunting in the best of times – but what about in these tight times? Learn how colleges in Vermont are working together to help students and their families cope, on MAKING $ENSE NEW ENGLAND, on New Hampshire Public Television, Maine Public Broadcasting Network and Vermont Public Television.

Also on the program, a Maine couple invest in a wind turbine company to support “green” enterprise, only to discover they are unlikely to ever receive a return on their investment or even get their investment back. MAKING $ENSE NEW ENGLAND looks at how to avoid investment scams.

And, former mill workers in Berlin, NH, learn new skills to prepare for new careers outside of manufacturing, and host Jennifer Rooks finds about "Common Security Clubs” from the Institute for Policy Studies.

Financing College
For many high school seniors and their families, the question of how to pay for college looms large this time of year. Adding to the challenge of historically high tuitions is the current economic downturn and challenging personal finances. Even parents who meticulously saved are finding their best-laid plans falling short. MAKING $ENSE NEW ENGLAND examines how community colleges and 4-year state colleges in Vermont are working together to help students and their families pay for a post-secondary education.

Avoiding Investment Scams
Maine business owners Carolyn and Ray Thompson invested a lot of money in a wind turbine company because they liked the “green” aspect of the company. As it turns out, they likely threw their money into the wind and will never get any of it back. One of the executives of the company is being investigated for fraud. The Thompsons are "typical" fraud victims, in that they are successful small businesspeople who got caught up in an affinity scam. Making $ense New England tells how they were scammed and what to look out for.

New Careers for Mill Town Workers
Paul Robitaille spent 28 years working in the paper mills of Berlin. When the mill closed in 2001, Paul wondered where he and many of his co-workers would turn to for work. Retraining was the answer. Paul returned to school with help from NH’s Employment Security office and the federal Trade Act program. Making $ense New England shares the story of how laid-off mill workers in Berlin, NH, are finding new careers, through retraining and continuing education.

Common Security Clubs
Host Jennifer Rooks talks with Chuck Collins, who works with the Institute for Policy Studies, and advocates the idea of "Common Security Clubs." In these clubs, groups of church members, neighbors, and friends band together and help each other during tough economic times. The discussion touches on whether or not most people have a realistic sense of the scope of the economic issues at hand.

MAKING $ENSE NEW ENGLAND, a 10-part series, will air monthly through August 2010, with stories about grassroots responses and solutions to the economic crisis of northern New England. The series is a collaboration of New Hampshire Public Television, Maine Public Broadcasting Network, and Vermont Public Television. www.makingsensene.org

Funding for Making $ense New England provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting; Financial Industry Regulatory Authority; Foundation for Financial Planning; FINRA Investor Education Foundation; and Goodwill Industries of Northern New England.