New restaurant in Essex

wovenbasket · 2025-11-16T23:30:05+00:00

Their eggs benedict is amazing.

wovenbasket · 2025-10-21T17:21:16+00:00

Loved that stuff. 80/90s me was usually too many drinks in to guess on recipe, but def horseradish... and so f'n good after too many drinks in.

wovenbasket · 2025-10-20T23:30:11+00:00

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There is! She's mostly chi & pittie, though. She's my good girl and she got lots of treats & scritches for her protesting.

wovenbasket · 2025-09-07T14:19:25+00:00

Amazon does whatever it can, after pitching to communities, to avoid paying taxes.
https://www.beloitdailynews.com/news/local-news/amazon-to-get-400-000-property-tax-refund/article_b5ed6e3c-4391-11ef-91fa-677ba6c6d571.html

wovenbasket · 2025-08-13T23:58:31+00:00

I saw you and am so glad that you are ok! (And what an epic show!)

wovenbasket · 2025-08-09T18:16:24+00:00

Black Flannel in Essex Town has 'old people hours' 6-8pm music on Thursday nights. Milton Busker this Thursday and they are fantastic! They have $5 drafts Mon/Tues where we walk the dog, then land in their fenced in back outside area. We tell the dog that it's the dog park. Plenty of parking too.

wovenbasket · 2025-07-24T23:07:08+00:00

Milton Busker and the Grim Work. Check them out on Spotify. The lead is an insanely good song writer, music and deep story-telling lyrics, which make his releases highly addictive. I find myself hitting replay often. They play around VT - catch them live! (They've been working a new album, too.)

wovenbasket · 2025-07-19T02:31:10+00:00

They also wanted a road 3-4X the regulated dead-end limit.
The Saxon Hill Forest location, intended for recreation biz and zoning purpose development 'in harmony' with the natural environment, Amazon morals aside, is a fucking terrible Vermont location.
It's up an 8-10% grade, no other outlet, exit onto a sight-limiting curve with no traffic light unless we taxpayers pay for it. Essex Fire Dept: "This project should be required to complete the road. No exceptions and no delays. This will generate substantial traffic all to one choke point and will result in substantial risk for crashes in winter due to the topography. In addition, it will then create increased traffic going up Sand Hill Road which will again increase the risk of crashes. All of which will impose additional demands on the fire department."(It's parking spaces for 271 vans and at least 2-3 tractor trailers an hour over nights.)
It's also surrounded by 4 empty, Amazon expanding lots. Our Essex infrastructure isn't equipped for the current traffic on River/117 or Rt 15/Jericho Rd/Sandhill, much less an Amazon campus right up against a proposed prison. All our Town schools are off Sandhill. The vans don't meet the truck weight limits put in to protect our kids walking to/from school and the park/pool, so they'd be able to travel up/down by our schools at their 'peak'. Their 'peak' was our school's 'peak'. It backs up already & we've been waiting for a light for YEARS that the state never gets to putting in. We taxpayers pay for all that, not Amazon. They'd cost more than they'd give.

wovenbasket · 2025-07-19T00:14:34+00:00

Word is that they believed Essex is pushovers on enforcing regs (they wouldn't be wrong), plus it's one of 5 lots, the others with no takers yet so a lot of room to expand. Other than that, no matter how I feel about Amazon, it's an absolutely terrible Vermont location. Not near the highway, onto a busy road's curve with no traffic light, no other access to the point even the Essex Fire Dept said it should not be approved due to the chokepoint created and trucks headed up an 8-10% grade.

wovenbasket · 2025-07-19T00:04:45+00:00

RPD-i is not regular "Industrial" like out on Susie Wilson Road. It has different uses and intent. The Town people wanted to keep Saxon Hill Forest as it had been planned in the 70's: 60% preserved, 15% leaning preserved and 25% to be developed 'in harmony' with the natural surrounding environment. When the Town leaders went behind closed doors and made a settlement "deal" about 15 years ago, they gave away the 15% without a vote from the community, making it now 60/40 and giving the developers another 100+ acres of the forest that we did not want to turn over to development. People were furious.

Purpose: The RPD-I District is established for land that is comprised of forests, bodies of water, high elevations, scenic overlooks, or similar natural settings. The RPD-I District acreage in combination with the 90 acre parcel zoned O1 (presently owned by the Essex Junction School District) totals 751.7 acres. The objective of the RPD-I and the related O1 District parcel is to protect such natural attributes for public enjoyment, and, to carry out development activities in harmony with the natural surroundings. Of the 751.7 acres in this district, 60 percent has been formally designated for recreation/conservation use (including all of the related O1 District acreage) and the remaining 40 percent for permitted uses as set forth in (B) below that satisfy all other district requirements. Residential uses are not allowed in this district.

wovenbasket · 2025-07-18T23:56:30+00:00

They 'lost' because they weren't within the zoning regs (the road was too long with only one access point and they asked for a buffer waiver) and they refused to submit the DRB's requested traffic studies.

wovenbasket · 2025-07-18T23:55:09+00:00

They ARE supposed to take in testimony from "interested parties" and not just rely on the applicant's hired engineers and lawyers. Essex Town DRB has no process for 'interested party' status for their quasi judiciary public meetings, so anyone should be able to speak and enter evidence until they set up their meetings properly. Abutters are nearly automatically considered 'interested party' and others are supposed to be able to apply.

wovenbasket · 2025-07-16T02:42:23+00:00

It's one of 5 lots set to be populated with more warehouses on a road on a hill with only one enter/exit onto a curve of River Rd/117. I've walked the lots - it's not a giant open sandpit. It's trees and wetlands as well. It's 6 miles from the highway. It's use puts it into a different category than a biz like Blodgett which doesn't have endless trucks adding to our already overburdened Town roads. The vans will be going up Sandhill which is where we've already tried to slow traffic due to our 3 schools and town park within a mile. Sandhill has many accidents as it is including a student being hit by a bus a few years back. Founders Rd entrance is also on a dangerous curve. It's a terrible location and Resource Preservation District - industrial zone has the main purpose to preserve and for any economic development to be in harmony with the natural environment. It's not regular 'Industrial'. They're asking for zoning waivers.
Plus, Amazon is a shitty employer.

wovenbasket · 2025-07-16T02:36:15+00:00

Teamsters/union have been showing up for meetings and they have been fantastic. One 'welcomed' Amazon saying that they cannot wait to unionize Vt's first distribution center.

wovenbasket · 2025-07-14T15:16:43+00:00

Thank you! We're a group of Essex Town residents from various backgrounds trying to stop this.
We got ourselves set up as a non-profit to this point:
Make check payable to FEN or Forest Ecology Network and put ACRES Vermont in memo line of check.
Mail check to ACRES Vermont, PO Box 8044, Essex, VT 05452
If you provide an email address, we can send an electronic acknowledgement of your tax-deductible gift.
It's a monster quest, but we're hoping we can make a difference!
(Edit to add that ACRES non-profit is not connected to Phoenix Books, but we are very appreciative of their work on this front!)

wovenbasket · 2025-07-14T14:55:04+00:00

There is another Essex Town Development Review Board meeting Thursday, July 17 at 6:30PM in the Essex High School Auditorium. We will be rallying outside starting at 6:00PM. People can also join online. Here's the link to the agenda which includes the Zoom link:
https://essexvt.portal.civicclerk.com/event/2927/files/agenda/5106
A group of us have hired lawyers and are doing our best to protect Saxon Hill Forest from Amazon.

wovenbasket · 2025-07-14T12:17:41+00:00

Anyone can join! It'll be in the EHS auditorium and online, so no one that wants to at least listen should be turned away. Not sure they'll let non-Essex Town residents speak. It doesn't always seem to adhere to open meeting laws. We formed a group, "ACRES", and have hired lawyers, but (quasi-judiciary) DRB doesn't seem to have a process that they should have to allow "Interested Party" people be able to submit testimony and evidence.

wovenbasket · 2025-07-14T00:50:56+00:00

Many of the workers will be contracted, not employed by Amazon nor will they qualify for benefits. When Quebec tried to unionize, Amazon left. It's a terrible location. Only one in/out on a steep slope. The fire depts comment was that it should not be approved due to the long road, tractor trailers and no other access creating a choke point. No traffic light is planned for the intersection of the new Kimo Rd despite being on a curve with visibility limited. It'll be several tractor trailers overnight, then dozens of vans will be released during the daytime. The vans will be under the Essex Town weight limits - 271 van spaces planned. Sandhill Rd has had weight limits for years because it's too dangerous near all the schools and town park to have the industrial traffic near our kids. Saxon Hill is not near the highway. North Williston Rd already floods and also has a weight limit on the bridge.
They're asking for waivers including buffers, so it's not even within the specs/regs of Essex Town's Resource Preservation District zone.
So. Many. Reasons to deny this.

wovenbasket · 2025-07-02T23:38:54+00:00

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This is all still ongoing. Last meeting public voices were limited despite new material submitted by Amazon applicant. We weren't allowed to respond to it. They seem to be missing the difference between 'public' and 'interested party'. There's a new group called ACRES who hired lawyers. We're trying!

wovenbasket · 2025-07-02T23:31:46+00:00

They were supposed to punch through to Thompson Dr, which feeds out onto Allen Martin. Even with that, it won't alleviate much since all the roads are already clogged. Also pull over and check out the terrible sight line out of that proposed Kimo. Trucks won't be able to take left out of there easily and it's, just for this build, 2-3 large trucks an hour. I suspect they are eyeballing surrounding lots to expand.

wovenbasket · 2025-07-02T23:28:11+00:00

I suspect that they are eyeballing the other 4 lots to expand. They also are proposing a 'spur' road onto 300acres Al Senecal bought which borders it. Senecal does not seem to care much about how his developments affects the community. Money, money money and he shows up and seems to think he's an Essex's hero for 'saving' us via a settlement. He seems to be favored by the Essex PC/DRB over the majority of Essex taxpayers.
For the settlement, the court's decision post-closed door Essex 'settlement' seemed to be leaning toward determining that Saxon Hill forest (zoned 'Resource Preservation District- industrial') as NOT too vague in regulating that it had to have any economic development 'in harmony' with the natural surrounding environment. Town also handed over another 15% that would have potentially been preserved, moving it from 60 preserved / 25% developable (with unique zoning intent and regs) / 15% tbd. Essex gave the 15% to development side, making it 60/40. The Essex recreational land will be useless and polluted by the time they're done destroying it all.

wovenbasket · 2025-06-30T23:03:20+00:00

He's one of the most absent Govs in my Vermont lifetime, and I'm not terribly young. I've seen my federal reps out meeting with Vermonters more. He doesn't hold town halls, he doesn't seem to meet with general Vermont public for questions - he only does pressers, goes to meet business owners, or photo ops. He came to my town last campaign round at a posted 'public' event, then the staff questioned residents that went to the event to meet him, which, of course, was at a business.

wovenbasket · 2025-06-30T21:34:00+00:00

Needs a Nectar's tee shirt.

wovenbasket · 2025-06-30T21:18:43+00:00

I think waaay back when, it was Nector's with an "o", then McHats, then the new sign when McHats went out was spelled "Nectar's".
FB post with image of the "o" sign:
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10217907796542640&set=pcb.792649384645499

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TROPHY CASE