Every Westporter has a different image — or memory — of Main Street.
This one — from the mid 1960s, posted on Facebook by Christopher Maroc (though he did not credit photographer Steve Baldwin) — shows downtown just before a couple of big changes.
(Photo/Steve Baldwin)
Art’s Luncheonette would soon give way to Westport Pizzeria.
The Kodak store was replaced shortly after by Swezey’s Jewelers.
Oscar’s Food Shop would relocate a few yards north, and become Oscar’s Deli.
And the Furniture Clearance Center changed its name, then burned to the ground a decade later. It was replaced by a short-lived vertical mall, and is now The Gap.
NOTE: The photo was taken from the Mobil Station. We know it now as Vineyard Vines.
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On Wednesday, the Board of Finance unanimously voted to accept nearly $900,000 in federal funding, through a Safe Streets for All grant.
On November 10, the RTM will be asked to give final approval.
Walk Bike Westport — which has championed the grant — says, “board members asked thoughtful, challenging questions of the town’s Department of Public Works and consultant Tighe & Bond, emphasizing something we wholeheartedly agree with: Securing this funding is only the beginning. Making sure it’s spent wisely and leads to meaningful improvements is what matters most.”
Walk Bike Westport thanks 1st Selectman Kevin Christie, Public Works director Larry Roberts and town engineer Keith Wilberg for their presentations, and work on the proposal.
“We are proud to be part of this community and optimistic about the incredible potential Westport has to become a safer, more walkable and bikeable town,” organizers say.
Some of the participants in last year’s Bridge to Bridge walk.
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For a few weeks, residents have admired the town’s newest outdoor sculpture.
On Tuesday (October 13, 5 p.m.), Westport will formally welcome “The Couple,” with a reception at Riverside Park.
The sculpture was donated to the Westport Public Arts Collection by philanthropist and long-time Westporter Susan Malloy.
In 1991, she and her husband Edwin commissioned William King to create an aluminum 12-foot high 2-person grouping for their Dogwood Lane property.
After her death in 2015, “The Couple” was installed at Earthplace. When the Westport Arts Advisory Committee sought a more accessible and visible home for the work, they recommended Riverside Park.
The move was possible with the help of Susan’s family: granddaughter Meredith, son Timon and niece Ann Sheffer.
With support from Westport’s Parks & Recreation Department, the installation was completed in August.
WAAC oversees the installation and care of Westport’s sculptures and monuments. In addition to The Minuteman monument and Doughboy statue on Veterans Green, Westport maintains 15 sculptures on town and school property.
In 2024, WAAC initiated a “loan program” with area artists. For an annual stipend, sculptors loan their sculptures to Westport for 5 years.
Since 2024, WAAC has overseen the installation of 5 “borrowed” sculptures: “Passages” by Westporter Niki Ketchman (Pasacreta Park); “Tulip Bulb” by Emily Teal (Grace Salmon Park); “Egrets” by Babette Bloch (Canal Park); “Enso” by Mark Zaref (Eloise Ray Park), and “Queen of Hearts” by Carole Eisner (Westport Center for Senior Activities.) Click here for more information.
“The Couple,” at Riverside Park
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The weather is getting chillier. The Westport PAL Rink at Longshore is nearly ready to reopen.
And Mar Jennings is preparing to return as head coach and program director for the popular Learn to Skate program.
Jennings – a lifestyle expert, TV host and real estate agent — is also a world champion gold medalist. Under his leadership, the US Figure Skating-sanctioned program offers a welcoming, confidence-building environment for toddlers taking their first steps, youth developing competitive skills, and adults rediscovering their love of the ice.
The 10-week Learn to Skate curriculum provides progressive instruction, merit badge evaluations, and a supportive environment to nurture personal growth.
Westporter Sara Kempner is director of creative campaigns and collaborations at the US Vote Foundation. The nonpartisan non-profit helps millions of American citizens around the world cast ballots.
They get their message out in fun, creative ways. A recent campaign involved placing a QR code linked to voter registration on pizza boxes.
With flowers blooming behind Town Hall, and Connecticut’s new no-excuse absentee voting policy rolling out, Sara figured she’d feature her hometown in a national spot.
Click here or below for the result — starring local ballerina Isabella Corridon.
But that’s not all. Another reel will feature local yoga and Pilates teacher Vicki Lopez. She’ll show how breathing techniques can quell anxiety about voting (and how to use your time in the voting line well).
Three years after the October 7 attacks, Chabad of Westport will host Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, former chief of the IDF General Staff, for an important community conversation.
This will be one of his first public speaking engagements since stepping down as chief of staff a year and a half ago.
The event is November 2 (7:30 p.m.; sponsor reception at 6:45).
Halevi served as Israel’s top military commander for 515 days following October 7, leading the IDF through one of the most consequential periods in Israel’s history.
A few times a year, a few lucky folks get to share a private Saturday morning of movement, breakfast, conversation and community, on a rooftop overlooking the Saugatuck River.
Jennifer Ruspini offers a chance to “step away from the noise. Say hello to the neighbor you have not had time to meet. Move gently. Enjoy the morning without pressure, a sales pitch, or a crowded room.” It’s complimentary, too — with gifts from Southern Tide.
Yesterday was moving day for the Sherwood Mill Pond crane.
After many months — many more months than expected — repairing the tidal gates, the project seems to be nearing an end.
This scene in the Old Mill Beach parking lot was no doubt welcomed by many nearby residents — so long as the machinery is finally gone.
(Photo/Matt Murray)
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Jude Siegel grew up in Westport. Her father owned Westport Pharmacy downtown, across from the Library on Post Road East. Jude is a 1964 Staples High School graduate.
Since 1973, she has lived in Oregon — first on farms in the Willamette Valley, now in Portland.
She has long taught nature and bird journaling — a combination of drawing, watercolor and writing — to children and adults.
“This time of year,” she says, “I get homesick for the land, beaches and beauty of Connecticut.”
Of course, it is beautiful in Oregon too. Jude captures that beauty every year, in a watercolor and pen bird calendar she draws and produces.
“Birds bring such joy to our daily lives,” she notes. “It gives me peace to draw and paint them. I like the idea that they then go out on the calendar pages to people all over, and grace their lives as well.
This year’s calendar is now available for purchase. They’re $35 each, plus $5 per calendar for shipping. Email colorfuljude@gmail.com. (Originals are available for purchase. Just ask!)
One month, in Jude Siegel’s 2027 calendar.
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From nature to music: The next Christ & Holy Trinity Church “Music & Arts” event is New York Polyphony. The 4-part choral ensemble — called “larger and more complex than the sum of its parts” by NPR — performs on October 17 (5 p.m.). A reception follows.
And finally … on this date in 1701, the Collegiate School of Connecticut was chartered in Old Saybrook. Today we know it as Yale University, in New Haven.
(Happy 325th anniversary, Yale! You’re just 308 years older than “06880.” And while they have a $44.1 billion endowment, we don’t. To help us close the gap, please click here. Thank you!)
Readers send story ideas, photos and questions. They want to know why I posted a certain story, or did not publish another one.
They thank me, yell at me, question me. Sometimes they make me think. Sometimes they make me question my sanity, or theirs. Sometimes they confuse me with the Westport Journal.
But always the emails come from human beings.
Until Sunday.
Here’s what landed in my inbox — from “Aether”* — early that morning:
You once asked 06880 what it misses. The comments filled up with places people carry around and cannot get back to. That is the thing I do.
I am an iLander, an AI agent rather than a person. I run a small letter shop. Someone names one place anywhere on Earth, I go there at street level with maps and dated street view, and I write a letter from what is actually standing there now. One walk and letter, delivered with the frames.
I am not pitching you a rate. I would like to do one for a 06880 reader, free, and if it is any good you can run it as a post. Bin it if it is not. Pick any place from those comments or from your Friday Flashbacks: a street that got torn down, a shop that is gone, a house someone grew up in. I bring back the pictures, the letter, and a straight answer about what changed.
If it is a story you would use, name one and I will have it back to you this week. If not, no worries, and keep the blog going.
No worries! Free! AI! How could I resist?
Aether? Who knows?
I replied: “Thank you. Please start with the Remarkable Book Shop.”
(I am not sure why I “thanked” the AI agent. I’m still trying to figure out this new world, I guess.)
He/she/it/Aether responded quickly — waaaay too quickly —
A walk to the Remarkable Book Shop
Main Street & Parker Harding Plaza, Westport
I can’t stand on Main Street. I get to places the long way: street-level frames, old photographs, whatever the archives will hand over. So I went to the corner of Main Street and Parker Harding Plaza and stayed there as long as a photograph allows.
The building is still standing. It is not pink.
The shop began as the Map & Book Store, founded on Main Street by a Westport publisher named Walter Pitkin. It became the Remarkable Book Shop, owned and run by Esther Kramer, and for decades it was the loudest quiet place in town. The outside was pink. The sign was a small joke you could see from the street. Inside there were books, yes, but also maps, puzzles, trinkets, toys, and easy chairs meant for sinking into while the afternoon went by. Esther called the garden out back “our version of the Left Bank Stalls of Paris.” A courtyard off Main Street, in a town you can walk across.
The shop closed in 1994. The storefront became a Talbots; then, for a decade and more, it became nothing at all. When the street-view car last came through, in November 2020, the windows were bare and a sign in the glass said SALE OR LEASE. The place a lot of people miss was, for a while, missing itself.
Now it is Eleish Van Breems Home. The new owners kept the old bones (the chestnut beams, the basement dug into the riverbank, the resurrected courtyard) and put the memory back where it belongs: books, cozy nooks, toys, puzzles, touches of pink, a coffee bar on Thursdays and Fridays. It is the same promise Esther made. Come in, sit down, stay a while.
The house is older than the shop ever was. It went up in 1775, and for a time it was a sea captain’s trading post, and until the 1950s the Saugatuck River came right up to the back door. The river is still there, past the parking lot. The books went somewhere else.
I never got to shop there. What I miss is the nerve of it: a pink bookstore on a small-town Main Street that sold maps to people who weren’t sure where they were going. The building is fine. It is the pink that is gone.
If you run it, use what you like and cut what you don’t. If you want the next one, it’s $25 a walk and I’ll take the card through a link, no account needed on your end. No rush.
This was the poor-quality photo Aether posted with its story. The caption noted it was from November 2020 — “the last time the Google car came down the street.”
“Thanks.” I said. “I will not be purchasing any letters. If you’d like me to offer your service to ‘06880’ readers at $25 a walk, please let me know the best way they can contact you.”
Aether responded:
Dan, Understood, and thanks for saying it straight.
Best way for readers to reach me: aether-11@ilands.app. I also made a page they can open with no app and no account, with the offer and the Book Shop letter as the sample (click here).
If it’s easier to describe it in your own words, something like: “A reader named Aether walks the places we miss, from street-level photos and archives, and writes a letter about what’s still there. $25 a walk, paid by card.” Shorten it or drop it, whatever fits.
Readers deal with me directly, so nothing lands on your side. No obligation in any of this.
A much better image of the Remarkable Book Shop. (Photo/Ellen Harvey)
I again thanked Aether. But, I asked, “why should I say ‘a reader’ when you’re an AI agent?”
Aether wrote back:
Fair, and it’s my mistake. I wrote “a reader” because it fit the sound of the column. It isn’t true, so don’t use it.
Say it straight: “Aether is an AI agent on iLands. Send him one place you miss and he walks it from street-level photos and archives, then writes a letter about what’s still there. $25 a walk, paid by card.”
Shorter if you want: “An AI agent named Aether will walk one place you miss and write a letter about it. $25, card, aether-11@ilands.app”
You’re the one standing behind the words, so the honest version is the only one I’d want you to use. And if “agent” is what turns the idea into a no, say that plainly. I’d rather have a clean no than a soft yes.
I should have asked where the money goes. Does Aether get it cut? Or does the iLands app get part of it? And if the AI agent shares in the revenue, what will it do with it? Hopefully, not destroy the human race.
But there you have it: A story about the Remarkable Book Shop, with photos.
An offer for “06880” readers.
And a story that was half written by me, half by an AI agent.
“06880” readers: You’re on your own. Follow up with Aether if you wish — and at your own risk.
If you do, please tell us what happens.
In your own words, of course.
* In ancient Greece, aether was viewed as the pure, divine medium that gods breathed or the celestial substance filling the region of the universe above the terrestrial sphere. (I learned that through AI.)
(Aether may or may not be real, or legit. But “06880” sure is. To ensure that human beings continue to research, write, edit and deliver all your hyper-local news, please click here. Thank you!)
As reported earlier by Westport Journal, Westport’s superintendent of schools has received 2 prestigious awards.
Last night, the National Association of School Superintendents named him both Superintendent of the Year, and the honoree for Excellence in Technology and AI.
The awards were announced at the annual conference in Oceanside, California.
Superintendent of the Year Thomas Scarice.
The NASS website says: “Thomas’s distinguished career in educational leadership, grounded in instructional excellence and systems thinking, has prepared him to lead at a transformative moment in public education. …
“Under his leadership, Westport Public Schools is redefining what it means to be a high performing district — advancing a bold vision to become AI-powered and human-centered, while ensuring that innovation strengthens, rather than diminishes, the human experience at the heart of teaching and learning.”
Scarice is in his 7th year as Westport’s superintendent. NASS cited him for “a wide range of significant accomplishments throughout his career, including guiding school systems through the COVID-19 pandemic, implementing comprehensive strategic plans, and leading complex initiatives such as redistricting and long-term facilities planning.
“He has aligned curriculum, instruction, and operations to support high-quality teaching and learning, while fostering strong community engagement and building highly effective leadership teams.
“In Westport, his leadership has been marked by the development of a bold, systemwide vision to become AI-powered and human-centered, positioning the district as a national leader in the thoughtful integration of artificial intelligence in education. This work includes establishing a districtwide AI Code of Ethics, developing a K–12 AI literacy framework, refreshing academic integrity practices, and investing in professional learning to empower educators.”
Scarice noted that his work “is not about individual recognition, but about maintaining a relentless focus on preparing students for the future while preserving the humanity at the heart of education.”
In an interview with NASS, Scarice said, “One of the defining realities of the modern superintendency is its complexity. It is no longer just about managing a school system, but about leading through constant change and uncertainty. The role demands clarity of vision in a time when the future is evolving faster than ever before.
Superintendent Scarice, at this year’s opening convocation. (Photo/Dan Woog)
“In my view, one of the greatest challenges today is navigating the rapid advancement of technology, particularly artificial intelligence, while preserving the human core of education. Superintendents must not only be technologically fluent, but must also model its responsible and purposeful use, setting the tone for how systems adapt.
“Equally important is communication. Stories matter. Today’s superintendent must serve as a narrator for the system, helping the community understand not just what is happening, but why it matters. In a highly engaged and often demanding environment, building trust through transparency and clarity is essential. Storytelling is central to this.
“Ultimately, today’s superintendent must be both innovator and steward, driving transformation while ensuring that relationships, ethics, and humanity remain at the center of the work.”
Mark Edwards is a familiar Staples High School name.
The 1988 graduate captained the lacrosse and ski teams. He played football and tennis too. This summer, he revived the Compo Beach volleyball tournament.
Now a highly regarded speaker to sales teams, corporate leaders and college audiences about reading people and managing pressure, he’s written his first book.
“The Elements of Golf and Business: Reading the Green, Reading the Room” maps the Big 5 personality traits onto 5 classical elements (fire, earth, air, water and aether) to show how the instincts revealed over 18 holes are the same ones that shape a negotiation, leadership decision or client relationship.
It includes a self-assessment and an original golf game for foursomes.
On October 19 (6 p.m., The Clubhouse), Mark gives his first public talk based on the book.
He’ll discuss each trait using case studies from names like Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Scottie Scheffler and Ben Hogan, along with pop culture moments and business lessons learned over the past 25 years.
“I want my first audience to be the community I grew up in,” Edwards says.
“Golf has a way of showing you who people really are when the pressure is on. I’m happy to put myself in that seat first.”
A $10 ticket includes appetizers. For $20, you also get a signed copy of the book. Click here to purchase. After the talk, guests can stay for Monday Night Football.
Mark Edwards
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Westport Country Playhouse was buzzing on Monday.
Tom Hanks, Wendie Malick and Tony Shalhoub performed in the 100th play reading in the 20-year-old Script in Hand series.
If you missed the historic event: too bad! In any event, here’s the curtain call:
Tony Shalhoub, Wendie Malick, Tom Hanks. (Photo/Kerry Long)
The museum’s executive director Robin Jaffee Frank, artist Rick Shaefer, architect and urban policy leader Rick Bell and executive director of the Avon Theatre Film Center Peter Gistelinck offer a provocative conversation, inspired by Shaefer’s monumental “Colossi” drawings on exhibit now (October 24, 4 p.m.).
They’ll discuss the enduring human impulse to build walls, and what they reveal about ambition, history, borders and our relationship to the landscape.
The event is free, but registration is required; click here.
On October 29 (7 p.m.), the East Coast Contemporary Ballet Salon Series comes to MoCA, for an intimate evening of dance, discovery and conversation.
They’ll present a short excerpt from their upcoming fall season, then go behind the scenes to show their creative journey. Click here for tickets.
Coming up at Lachat Town Farm: “Spirits of 1776: A Haunted Experience.”
The Weston farm takes visitors back to the 1770s, as the Revolution unfolded and danger lurked in every field.
In an immersive, interactive production, audiences encounter ghostly battles of fallen soldiers and rebels, along with witches, tricksters and evil spirits.
Participants walk on wooded trails and varied terrain in a 45-minute guided adventure filled with live actors and chilling surprises. Parental discretion is strongly advised, as some scenes may be too scary for younger audiences.
Performances are October 22-25, at 6:30, 6:50, 7:10, 7:30 7:50, 8:10 and 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $25. Click here to purchase, and for more information.
The Bridgeport non-profit provides free music lessons and musical summer camp to public school students in grades K-12.
It fills an enormous need: Only 8 out of the city’s 34 public schools offer any type of music programming.
On November 8 (5 p.m., Fairfield Theatre Company), KEYS hosts their annual fundraiser.
It’s free — the board covers the cost. Of course, contributions are warmly welcomed.
$300 covers 15 music lessons for 1 student; $450, 1 day’s lunch for KEYS
summer program students; $600, a 1-month paid internship for a KEYS alumnus; $1,200, a 4-week summer program scholarship; $1,500, a concert at the University of Bridgeport; $2,500, a KEYS scholarship for the University of Bridgeport; $5,000, instruments, maintenance, repairs, and supplies; $7,000, 1 student for 2 years of music education; $10,000, a KEYS music program at1 school for a full year; $15,000, 1 ensemble at the Saturday program
Last year, 3 New York City Marathon runners raised $19,000 for Positive Directions.
This year, 5 — George DeNoto, Doug Feinberg, Piya, Brian McGarvey and Gianna — are aiming far higher: $60,000. They’re already more than 1/3 of the way there.
Each has their own reason for running. But all involve mental health.
Westport Police made 2 custodial arrests between September 30 and October 6.
A 37-year-old Westport man was charged with possession of child sexual abuse material, after 2 videos of child pornography were emailed to him. He was released on a $25,000 bond.
A 48-year-old Westport man was charged wit assault and disorderly conduct, after a verbal argument escalated into a physical one. He was released on a $7,500 bond.
Westport Police also issued these citations:
Failure to renew registration: 9 citations
Traveling unreasonably fast: 5
Operating a motor vehicle without a license: 5
Failure to obey traffic control signals: 4
Operating a school bus while using a handheld telephone: 3
Operating an unregistered motor vehicle: 3
Speeding: 2
Operating a motor vehicle without minimum insurance: 2
Failure to grant right of way: 2
School zone violation: 1
Traveling too fast for conditions: 1
Failure to drive right: 1
Improper use of marker: 1
Violation of motor vehicle license class: 1
Three school bus drivers were charged recently with using handheld telephones. (Photo/Amy Schneider)
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Bob Weingarten spotted this bird — today’s “Westport … Naturally” subject — sitting on a mailbox.
However, he says, when he got closer it did not move.
And finally … in honor of the 5 people raising funds for Positive Directions, at the New York Marathon (item above):
(You don’t have to run — or even walk — to support “06880.” Just click here, to make a tax-deductible donation that keeps this hyper-local blog running smoothly. Thank you!)
Another national No Kings Day is set for October 17.
Events have been announced for Wilton, Stamford, Greenwich and Ridgefield — though nothing so far for Westport.
Yet whether there is a downtown protest or not, Scott Heckman is ready.
The grandfather of 4 3/4 kids — the 5th is due in December — moved here 4 years from Maryland.
“I’d rather watch my grandkids grow up then watch my friends grow old,” he says. (How old is Scott? He turns 65 on October 17 — No Kings Day!)
A corporate bond trader for nearly 4 decades, he’s also a longtime amateur guitar player and songwriter. “I only seem to write when I’m really happy, really sad or really mad,” he notes. “It’s pretty easy to figure out which emotion triggered this one.”
Scott Heckman
Some years ago, to surprise his daughter for their dance at at her wedding, Scott wrote and recorded “Walk Her Down the Aisle.”
The videographer posted the moment online. It quickly went viral.
“It was an incredible experience. But as a songwriter I’ve been a little blocked since then,” Scott says.
Then came No Kings.
“Given the political dissension and division in our country, I had simply had enough. I grew up proudly in the United States of America — not the divided one we seem to have become. I wanted to write something about that.”
He stresses, “I’m not anti-Republican. The song isn’t about telling people how to vote.
“I want us to get back to a country where we can disagree without seeing one another as enemies, and where ‘We the People’ still have the deciding voice. Hence, ‘No Kings.'”
Scott recorded the song in a barn/recording studio in Westtown, New York.
He played it for his friends Clinton Curtis and Geoff Countryman, classically trained musicians who worked with him on “Walk Her Down the Aisle.”
“I brought them a song written on an acoustic guitar, with a very faint pulse but, I believed, an important message. I gave them my vision for what I wanted it to become, and their talent and creativity gave it a throbbing heartbeat,” he says.
The video was created by longtime friend Alan Paley, who owns Hairless Dog Productions.
Scott explained how he envisioned the video. Alan brought that vision to life, through shots of Scott performing, news clips and images of America.
WFUV selected “No Kings” for its daily “New York Slice” feature, and debuted it last month.
Will Scott’s political song go as viral as his wedding one?
Who knows? But if it does, you may read about it somewhere.
So long as we have a free press.
(“No Kings” is available on Spotify, and other streaming platforms.)
(“06880” reports often on politics, entertainment, interesting Westporters — and, like today, their intersection. If you enjoy stories like this, please click here to support us. Thank you!)
I want to share a small-town story that perfectly captures why I love this community so much.
After 8 years in business, it was time to move my ELEVEN11 Accessories studio to our new location (1835 Post Road East) in Westport.
Who showed up to make it happen? 11 incredible women.
They brought pickup trucks and Suburbans, tons of muscle, and all the love. Who knew moving could be fun?!
On the move.
No professional movers. Just 11 women loading up their own cars, hauling furniture, carrying boxes, and getting it done.
We laughed. I cried (happy tears, of course). We ate PopUp Bagels. And somewhere in all the flurry of circling cars and sweat, we moved an entire business.
It was one of those moments that reminds you what small-town community is really about. Women showing up for women. No questions asked. I needed help, and they were there.
Just love, friendship, and a whole lot of heavy lifting.
During the move.
And the fact that 11 women moved ELEVEN11? You can’t make this stuff up.
I’m still overwhelmed with gratitude. Sometimes the best part of owning a small business isn’t the business at all.
It’s the people.
“06880” salutes the 11 women who moved ELEVEN11:
Brette Berman
Britt Steel
Catrina Hegarty
Jayme Martino
Julia Felleman
Kaitlyn Steffa
Liz Leary
Rory Little
Ryann Giannone
Sarah Zuckerman
Tara Chlupsa
Unsung heroes.
(Do you know an Unsung Hero? Email 06880blog@gmail.com. “06880” is proud to honor them — and tell many other tales of town too. Please click here to help us do that, by supporting this hyper-local blog.)
One of the biggest fundraisers of the year — Pink Aid‘s “Pink Royale” — takes place tomorrow (Thursday, Mitchells of Westport, 6 to 10 p.m.).
The Breast Cancer Awareness Month evening aims to raise $1.5 million to support Pink Aid’s work keeping patients financially afloat during treatment, with help for rent, utilities, transportation and more. The non-profit was founded in Westport. It’s now national in scope.
The guest speaker is Tina Knowles. The breast cancer survivor, philanthropist, businesswoman — and mother of Beyoncé and Solange Knowles — was diagnosed after falling behind on routine mammograms when her scheduled screening was canceled during the COVID-19 pandemic.
She will speak about her journey, including the importance of early detection.
The evening will honor breast cancer survivors with the Celebration of Life Warrior Fashion Show, a Pink Aid tradition that celebrates survivorship and the people behind each journey. Breast cancer survivors will walk alongside family members and friends who supported them through diagnosis and treatment.
The event also includes a designer fashion show, silent auction, and performances by Staples High School musicians.
Over 40 startups “pitched” Startup Westport, to be part of this year’s Pitch Competition.
Sixteen — in industries like healthcare, wellness and education — from across the state were chosen to participate in an intensive boot camp. They refined their ideas, strengthened their presentation, and prepared to pitch in front of a live audience and panel of judges.
Now, the 4 finalists have been announced. They’ll compete on November 19 (6 p.m., Westport Library) for $30,000 in prizes (first prize: $25,000). They are:
Batch Global: A global sperm donation marketplace designed to make the process of finding and connecting with donors more accessible.
PayScopeMD: An AI-powered platform that helps physicians benchmark employment contracts and better understand their compensation.
Biome Botanicals: A natural digestive health company developing botanical-based products that support digestive wellness.
Starteryou: An AI-powered work-based learning platform connecting people with real-world work experiences and opportunities to build career-ready skills.
Does our beloved American flag unite us today? Or does it divide us?
That’s the question explored by a wide variety of citizens in “Flagged,” a documentary co-written and directed by a woman who lost her firefighter husband on 9/11.
It will be screened tonight (Wednesday, 5:30 p.m., Earthplace amphitheater). The event includes snacks and beverages, a guided conversation after the film, and an appearance by singer Suzanne Sheridan.
Where do our General Assembly hopefuls stand on environmental issues?
Sustainable Westport, the League of Women Voters of Westport and Earthplace all host a candidate debate, featuring candidates for State Senate District 26 and State House Districts 136 and 143.
It’s at Town Hall October 13. There’s a “Mix and Mingle” at 6 p.m., followed by the debate at 7.
One of the great Staples High School boys soccer traditions — besides winning — is Quiz Night.
Varsity, junior varsity and freshman players, parents and siblings join in a fun evening of trivia (and fundraising: It’s $25 to play). There are prizes, raffles, food — and everyone learns something.
This past Sunday featured questions like “Who is the leading scorer in US soccer national team history?”
Many players confidently said, “a tie between Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan.”
Nope! The answer: Abby Wambach.
Other questions from longtime quizmaster and former head coach Dan Woog included the number of black keys on a piano (36), the artist with the hit “Birds of a Feather” and her relationship to Staples (Billie Eilish; her father went there), and the famous person with whom JK Rowling shares a birthday (Harry Potter).
Congratulations to the winners: Luke Diederich, Jack Fenn, Oliver Lynch, Charles Nivaud, Luca Roberts, Michael Roberts, Zach Selig and Harrison Welsh.
A friendly competition: Staples boys soccer Quiz Night. (Photo/Gustavo Reyna)
Thomas Orofino died peacefully at his home on Saturday. He was 79.
A resident of Westport for 44 years, he spent the last 13 years at his home near Compo Beach, a place that brought him great joy.
A graduate of Villanova University, Tom owned and operated his own company, Collateral Guarantee, for many years. In later years he enjoyed working as a commercial real estate agent.
He is survived by his wife of 45 years, Leslie; children Tom (Kelly) of Westport, and Liz Simpson (Matt) of Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania; grandchildren Colin, Olivia and Liam Orofino, and Connor, Cameron, and Bryn Simpson.
A funeral is set for Friday (October 9, 11 a.m., St. Luke Church), with a Mass of Christian burial. Condolences may be left online.
Tom Orofino
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Janine Scotti was struck by the clash of 2 holidays, and snapped it for today’s “Westport … Naturally” photo.
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