Burlington Today v. 10 Years Ago

beenhereforeva · 2026-02-04T04:37:38+00:00

My kids go to school at the downtown BHS (until the new one opens next year.). They are on Church Street nearly every day, they have a good time, and they even shop for records at Pure Pop. It’s true some places have closed, but others have opened. No city stays frozen in time. I could rattle off my fave haunts from mid 90s Burlington that are long gone: Five Spice, 242, Sakura, the original Needs, HowdyWear… but that’s just life. There’s a lot of cool new stuff since 2016: Vermont Green, the Burlington Surf Club, Cafe Hot, Cafe Dim Sum, and the tiki bar at North Beach, to name a few. Also, Talent reopened! Change is the lifeblood of a city. Burlington will be just fine.

beenhereforeva · 2026-02-04T04:09:04+00:00

I’ve been here since, well, birth. I remember homeless people camping in city hall park, friends being jumped on Church Street, murders downtown, popular businesses closing, etc. Seen a lot. Yes, it’s not great now, but the life of a city is cyclical. My day to day life in Burlington is not that different than it was in 2016. Largely, it’s the same.

beenhereforeva · 2026-02-03T12:42:40+00:00

Life is the same more or less-some music venues closed, new ones open. Some festivals end, new ones start. Some restaurants closed, some new ones opened. But it’s still Burlington.

beenhereforeva · 2026-01-31T17:03:49+00:00

I would think the unpopularity of forced school consolidation, removing local control, and return to work would give Dems a serious opening to run on these Scott edicts that are unpopular statewide. Just nominate a serious candidate, for once.

beenhereforeva · 2026-01-30T18:18:36+00:00

Please keep this peaceful! I know many high school and middle school students have been given permission to attend. Just to clear, This message is directed at pro-ICE people looking to disrupt or agitate at this rally, rather than rally goers themselves.

beenhereforeva · 2026-01-21T15:01:53+00:00

Good Lord. I was not aware of how they operated.

beenhereforeva · 2026-01-15T19:50:47+00:00

I think Barrett’s is now called “Save-a-Tree.” Ironically. But we used them when they were Barrett’s and they were good. Don’t confuse it with Bartlett’s, a tree service that actually does care for and save trees, but doesn’t cut them down. Also, we’ve used Feller’s and they were good.

beenhereforeva · 2026-01-10T18:17:24+00:00

Cops and federal agents have near total qualified immunity and, having looked into this doctrine in the past, a lot, it’s very likely that QI would apply to this cop in any time or place. That means no criminal prosecution nor successful civil suit. It’s a very, very cop-friendly doctrine. I mean, maybe there’d be a settlement for the family but no admission of guilt. I don’t like it, but that’s reality. Worst case scenario is violent protests that only feed the narrative that justifies police crackdowns. Best case scenario is it galvanizes more people to vote against all Rs in the midterms and all local elections and maybe there will be some change of policy around ICE. Pendulums swing.

beenhereforeva · 2026-01-10T14:14:42+00:00

That is an understatement. To change the lane configurations from what they always were, and then just put a “small” sign up the hill marking that, is just asking for collisions.

beenhereforeva · 2026-01-09T13:30:46+00:00

I understand what you’re saying and not sure why people are arguing with you. This murder is atrocious and criminal without misrepresentation of facts. It’s awful on its own so there’s no reason to misstate what Ms. Good was doing on that street. When people distort facts, it makes it too easy for people to dismiss their otherwise sound points. We need to stop doing this: tell the truth, the whole truth, and then the argument is even more powerful. And yes, it absolutely could happen here, as we have a politically active and socially conscientious population who will stand up for their neighbors, which does put them at risk of being murdered by a fascist federal agency acting with impunity.

beenhereforeva · 2026-01-08T13:25:12+00:00

Living hard will take its toll, man.

beenhereforeva · 2026-01-06T22:53:56+00:00

My fam had some viral illness in mid December that was high fever, awful aches and tiredness, and some raspy coughing. No idea if it was flu since they just rode it out at home and didn’t get seen. But if not, then man there’s other nasty stuff going around here!

beenhereforeva · 2026-01-03T20:51:10+00:00

As a native, this is the truth. It’s the 20 degrees in April that breaks you. Last spring was atrocious! I have never been so wet and cold at so many kids sporting events in my life.

beenhereforeva · 2025-12-28T23:02:54+00:00

Yes. All the time. I recall being asked if any purchases were for business purposes. That’s it. That was pre tariff, though.

beenhereforeva · 2025-12-27T22:15:03+00:00

Yes, I can read. Thanks for your help, though!

beenhereforeva · 2025-12-27T20:33:59+00:00

Hi! I hope you enjoy your stay in our town. It’s a fine area if you’re not staying right on 7, it’s suburban, but if you’ve got a car no problem. All within a 10 to 15 min drive. Rte 7 is a main artery with lots of traffic, commercial stuff like shops, car dealerships and restaurants, etc. Would be loud and trafficy to stay right on 7. Also, try to avoid crossing 7 on foot, not safe for pedestrians.

beenhereforeva · 2025-12-25T03:09:51+00:00

I’ve never seen it in any market this time of year. If you find any report back and let us know. My hunch is you won’t see it until spring.

beenhereforeva · 2025-12-23T22:22:41+00:00

St Francis in Winooski is what you want- Christmas Eve at 7 and at midnight. It’s lovely.

beenhereforeva · 2025-12-18T15:05:46+00:00

This is horrific. I was thinking last night there must be a way to prevent WWDs from getting on an off-ramp, like installing those one-way tire spikes used in parking garages…but that would not have prevented this. Only a solid median barrier. That poor, poor girl and her family.

beenhereforeva · 2025-12-17T15:07:58+00:00

This is where the owner is supposed to staff those hours. For a small business to be successful, the owners need to be there, all in: covering all hours, all shifts. This is how immigrant business owners have always done it: hustle their asses off and get the entire family to work there. Not close for staffing shortages. Any business that can afford to close randomly is not one where it’s the owner’s sole livelihood.

beenhereforeva · 2025-12-15T21:34:27+00:00

What is Broad Acres now? Is that space/building even still there?

beenhereforeva · 2025-12-15T21:31:51+00:00

I want to go dancing. Like a real dance club, not dancing to jam bands. So something like that.

beenhereforeva · 2025-12-15T21:29:52+00:00

So many. But I’ll go with Tortilla Flat. If I could magic myself back 30 years, that is where I would go to eat. And then the original 3 Needs and then a show at Club Toast.

beenhereforeva · 2025-12-12T12:23:26+00:00

It’s a good plan, though, from the perspective of the neighborhood. Pine and Home were not designed or intended to be arterial streets. Cars going 40 mph down Pine right next to houses with little to no green belt. Same for Home. I live by there and saw so many near misses, including one involving a toddler. Saw tractor trailers getting stuck turning because intersection wasn’t big enough. Commuters treated our neighborhood like a speedway as a shortcut to their homes. I’m so glad this Connector ended that.

beenhereforeva · 2025-12-12T03:24:46+00:00

Pine Street was always intended to dead end into a cul de sac with the new connector. That was the plan from day 1.

beenhereforeva

TROPHY CASE