Vermont
Made in Vermont: Annika Rundberg Jewelry
WINOOSKI, Vt. (WCAX) – Winooski’s Annika Rundberg has been making jewellery for greater than a decade, first in highschool, earlier than persevering with her research into faculty and past.
“I noticed it as like miniature sculpture and I felt assured I’d by no means get uninterested in the media and it’s true,” she stated.
However this former aspect hustle has changed into extra of a full-time gig currently as increasingly individuals find out about Annika Rundberg Jewellery.
Although she’s labored for different inventive firms earlier than, Rundberg’s true ardour lies in doing metalsmithing herself, with the corporate of her pup, Felix.
“I simply wished to do one thing that I knew I’d love for a very long time,” she stated.
In her studio, Rundberg makes creations of all types. Although she does have an Etsy web page, she says most of her work comes from customized orders.
“Most of my work is one-on-one fee, engagement, bridal or simply someone searching for a really particular factor,” she defined.
Although she’s joyful to make no matter her shoppers envision, she says a few of her favourite initiatives embrace working with heirloom stones or different supplies that include a particular historical past.
“That has plenty of which means and household recollections tied to it, so it feels very particular to have the ability to pull out a stone and make a brand new setting for it that, that particular person looks like they are going to put on extra,” Rundberg stated.
She says her works are principally with gold and silver, and he or she describes them as a hybrid of natural and clear, minimalist model. Hailing from New Mexico, her works are usually impressed by nature.
“Now my work is extra stone-oriented and I normally begin with the stone and the design develops based mostly on the traits of the stone,” Rundberg stated.
With no two works precisely the identical, she prides herself on her one-of-a-kind and small-batch creations. Work you possibly can solely discover made in Vermont.
Copyright 2022 WCAX. All rights reserved.
Vermont
Vermont H.S. scores for Saturday, May 11: See how your favorite team fared
The 2024 Vermont high school spring season has begun. See below for scores, schedules and game details (statistical leaders, game notes) from baseball, softball, lacrosse, track and field, tennis and Ultimate.
To report scores: Coaches or team representatives are asked to report results ASAP after games by emailing sports@burlingtonfreepress.com. Please submit with a name/contact number.
►Contact Alex Abrami at aabrami@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @aabrami5
PREVIOUS COVERAGE
Watch list: The top returning Vermont high school boys lacrosse players for the 2024 season
Watch list: The top returning Vermont high school girls lacrosse players for the 2024 season
Watch list: The top returning Vermont high school softball players for the 2024 season
Watch list: The top returning Vermont high school baseball players for the 2024 season
Watch list: The top returning Vermont high school Ultimate athletes for the 2024 season
Watch list: The top returning Vermont high school tennis players for the 2024 season
SATURDAY’S H.S. GAMES
Girls lacrosse
Games at 11 a.m. unless noted
Champlain Valley 19, BFA-St. Albans 7
BFA: Adi Hughes 3G. Rae Alexander 2G. Kali Cushing 1G. Amber Poquette 1G. Amelia Pinkham 9 saves.
CV: Bibi Frechette 3G, 1A. Marlie Cartwright 2G, 3A. Stella Dooley 3G. Claire Marcoe 3G. Lulu Sarandos 2G. Emerson Rice 2G. Kate Boehmcke 2G. Rose Bunting 1G. Georgia Marcoe 1G. Sophie Madden 1A. Clare Stackpole-McGrath 4 saves, Morgan Keach 4 saves.
U-32 19, Lamoille 5
Milton at Mount Abraham/Vergennes
Lyndon at Rice, 2:30 p.m.
Harwood at Colchester, 4:30 p.m.
Boys lacrosse
Games at 11 a.m. unless noted
Stowe at Randolph, 10 a.m.
Spaulding at Burlington
Hartford at St. Johnsbury
Mount Abraham/Vergennes at Milton
Colchester at Harwood
Lyndon at BFA-Fairfax
Softball
Games at 11 a.m. unless noted
BFA-St. Albans at St. Johnsbury
Woodsville at Lyndon
North Country at Missisquoi
Craftsbury at BFA-Fairfax
Lake Region at Harwood
South Burlington at Essex
U-32 at Randolph
Vergennes at Enosburg
Milton at Mount Abraham
Colchester at Mount Mansfield
Rice at Middlebury
Baseball
Games at 11 a.m. unless noted
Lyndon at Thetford, 10 a.m.
Oxbow at BFA-Fairfax
Montpelier at North Country
Richford at Peoples/Stowe
South Burlington at Essex
Harwood at Lake Region
St. Johnsbury at BFA-St. Albans
Vergennes at Enosburg
Milton at Mount Abraham
Mount Mansfield at Colchester
Milton at Mount Abraham
Randolph at U-32
Missisquoi at Middlebury
Hazen at Spaulding
Girls tennis
Essex at Rice, 10 a.m.
Boys tennis
Essex at South Burlington, 10 a.m.
Burlington at Rice, 12:30 p.m.
Girls Ultimate
Burlington at South Burlington, 11 a.m.
Milton at Mount Mansfield, 4 p.m.
Track and field
Burlington Invitational
(Subject to change)
Vermont
Lawmakers pass property tax bill, whittling hike down to nearly 14%
Just after the stroke of midnight on Saturday morning, state lawmakers passed the property tax bill necessary to pay for schools. The vote was 93 to 44 in the House and 18 to 8 in the Senate. Negotiations over the legislation, which will see taxes climb by 13.8% on average, stretched into the final hours of the legislative session.
Gov. Phil Scott is expected to veto the tax bill, and the evening’s vote totals suggest it is unclear whether lawmakers will be able to override him when they return for a special veto session in June.
“I’ve been clear. Vermonters simply cannot afford a historic double-digit property tax increase,” Scott said at his press conference Wednesday.
The rising cost of Vermont’s prek-12 system has dominated debate at the Statehouse this year. A spike in spending, coupled with the retreat of federal Covid-era aid, created a perfect storm, and nearly one in three school budgets failed on Town Meeting Day.
Property taxes were initially predicted in December to rise an average of 18.5% this year, but three factors — new revenues, surplus funds, and lower school budgets — reduced that figure to 13.8%.
Following a string of budget failures at the ballot box, school boards trimmed their spending plans by nearly $24 million. With this tax bill, lawmakers are also removing the sales tax exemption on software accessed remotely — like Turbotax — and enacting a 3% surcharge on short-term rentals, which will together raise a combined $26 million in ongoing revenue for the Education Fund.
The state’s revenues also continue to surpass expectations, which allowed lawmakers to use an additional $25 million in one-time surplus funds from the general fund, and another $44 million in the Education Fund to further take the pressure off property taxes.
All told, that means lawmakers are using just under $70 million in one-time money to help soften the blow to property taxpayers this year. That sum concerns even the tax bill’s supporters, because it risks creating a fiscal cliff next year.
“I’m really, really concerned and it is very difficult for me to vote for these one time funds buying down rates,” Rep. Laura Sibilia, an independent, said in floor speech. “We know that these types of buy-downs exacerbate the ongoing problem. This is part of what has gotten us here — is the administration and legislature continuing to do this year after year.”
Taxes were at one point earlier predicted to climb above 20%. But a legislative intervention mid-way through the session, which axed a tax break that many believed to be partly driving spending, helped head off that worst-case scenario.
The tax bill also includes one-time credit for Vermonters who pay their property taxes based on income to help offset this year’s increase.
The legislation puts back into place a tax penalty for school districts whose budgets climb over a certain threshold, but Scott and his Republican counterparts in the Legislature have heavily criticized the bill for not doing more to limit spending.
“I cannot support a bill that has zero structural change in it. Zero. We are doing nothing for the next year. I cannot support this bill with a double digit property tax increase,” said Republican House Minority Leader Pattie McCoy. “Yes, it is an average. But that average means that some people may be paying 5% — but other people are going to be paying upwards of 25 to 30% increases.”
Lawmakers are using the tax bill to set the stage for much larger reforms in the coming years. It creates a Commission on the Future of Public Education, which will be required to release an interim report on cost containment ideas this December, ahead of the upcoming legislative session. A final set of recommendations for a comprehensive overhaul of the state’s education system is due the following year.
“We know the field is ready like never before to have the tough conversations, to sacrifice the sacred cows and to do what it takes to have an educational system that brings people to Vermont — not drive them away due to the cost,” said Democratic Rep. Peter Conlon, who chairs the House Education Committee. “But the actions we decide are necessary must be done with stakeholders, not to them. And that is really the goal of the commission.”
The governor had proposed that lawmakers more aggressively buy down property taxes by using even more one-time money — and then ask school districts to repay some of it over several years. Lawmakers quickly set Scott’s idea aside, however, after Vermont’s treasurer testified that it would imperil the state’s credit rating.
Have questions, comments or tips? Send us a message.
Vermont
Northern lights seens across the region
BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – Areas across Northern Vermont saw views of the aurora borealis lights on Friday night.
We have already gotten tons of viewer photos of the northern lights. Be sure to upload your own here on our website!
Copyright 2024 WCAX. All rights reserved.
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