So far, much of Westport seems to have escaped the worst of the predicted nor’easter.
Of course, there is still more than a day to go. The forecast calls for 2 or more inches of rain through tomorrow evening, with strong winds. They’ll be at their peak tomorrow morning.
As predicted, there are high tide and flooding issues. Those will persist too.
Here are a few scenes from around town.
Compo Beach (Photo/Eric Bosch)
Sherwood Mill Pond, near garages (Photo/Matt Murray)
Canal Road and Marsh Road on Saugatuck Shores — well before high tide. (Photo/Sheri Gordon)
Ruth Steinkraus Cohen Bridge, Post Road East (Photo/Jonathan Alloy)
Cribari Bridge. Photographer Robbie Guimond predicts, “At midnight tonight, conditions will get dangerously close to the green electric motors. This will trigger serious and very costly repairs, along with span test openings and traffic closures — critical issues that often go unnoticed.”
Compo Road South, near Bluewater Hill (Photo/John McKinney)
Eleish Van Breems celebrates books, design and “The Rooms with a View Class of 2026” on Monday (6 p.m.). The public is invited.
The authors of 4 new design books will be on hand, to sign books: Cathy Kincaid (“Memorable Rooms”), Douglas Wright (“From Hand to Home”), Isabel Molster (“Beyond Color”) and Patrick Sutton (“Tailored Interiors”).
Got design books to donate? Bring them in!
A portion of the evening’s book sales will be donated to Rooms with a View.
And finally … in honor of the happy (and lucky) couple married last night (item above):
(Stay dry! Stay safe! And if you get a chance, take a minute to click here to support “06880.” It will help us continue our coverage of this storm — and everything else we do, 24/7/365. Thank you!)
Stay dry! Wander through this week’s online art gallery.
To our artists: No matter your age; the style or subject you choose — and whether you’re a first-timer or old-timer — we want your submissions. Watercolors, oils, charcoal, pen-and-ink, acrylics, mixed media, digital, lithographs, collages, macramé, jewelry, sculpture, decoupage, needlepoint — we want whatever you’ve got.
Just email a JPG to 06880blog@gmail.com. And please include the medium you’re working in.
Egret (Amy Schneider)
“New Day Dawning” (Patricia McMahon — Available for purchase; click here)
Untitled (John Maloney)
Untitled (Duane Cohen — Available for purchase; click here)
Untitled — mixed media collage (June Rose Whittaker — Available for sale; click here)
“The Nonconformist” — horseshoe crab art (Eric Bosch — Available for purchase; click here)
“Sent into the Woods” (Dorothy Robertshaw — Available for purchase; click here)
“Beak Envy” (Mike Hibbard)
Untitled (Martin Ripchick)
“A Branch and Leaves For Our Sukkah Roof” — graphite and watercolor (Steve Stein)
“Say So Long to Summer” (Laurie Sorensen)
Entrance is free to our online art gallery –as it has been for 6 years. But please consider an anniversary donation! Just click here — and thank you!)
When Stella DiGeronimo’s grandfather was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, the Westport teenager spent a lot of time with him at his Southport facility.
She wanted to know more, about him and the other residents. That sent her down a rabbit hole of information.
Stella realized the importance of talking to senior citizens. The more she did, the more she understoo how much “nuance and depth” they had.
And the more she recognized the need to write down those stories.
Stella already had a lot on her plate. A senior 3-sport athlete — field hockey, and captain of both the ski and softball teams, as well as president of the Democratic Women of Staples — she nonetheless encouraged her friends Sammy Stevenson and Alex Price to join the new venture.
They found the Legacy Project. The national non-profit, which began at Tufts University, connects younger and older adults for multigenerational friendship and storytelling. Together they combat social isolation and loneliness, and document life stories.
There are about 70 chapters nationwide. Nearly all are at colleges; a few are in high schools.
The girls reached out to the Westport Center for Senior Activities. Nine Staples students — Stella, Alex, Sammy, Addison Dennett, Hayley Epstein, Mehmet Madigan, Emerson Menoni, Piper Salik and Ella White — were paired with older men and women.
Then the fun — the conversations — began.
Some students used scripts. Some asked about “themes” love, hardship, etc.) They met often, in a variety of settings.
Stella — paired with Penny Pearlman — just started asking questions about the older woman’s life. Things flowed freely from there.
When Penny’s husband died, she felt as if she’d lost her identity. So, she told Stella, she picked up flamenco dancing.
The idea came on a whim. She spent a month in Spain with a group of much younger women. And Penny does not speak Spanish.
“That was so inspiring!” Stella says.
From left: Stella DiGeronimo (center) with Penny Pearlman and Maggie DiGeronimo.
Each interview was recorded. Stella transcribed them all into a large Google doc. Every teen turned their interview into a story.
Another woman described her many years abroad, as the wife of a NATO diplomat. She had no official title, but she organized refugee operations at dozens of sites across Europe.
Other interviewees told other stories about their long, remarkable — and often untold — lives.
The result is a book: “The Art of Flying Anyway.” The Legacy Project takes care of all publication details, as it does for several books a year.
The title comes from something one of the interviewees said: a bumblebee should not be able to fly, but it does.
The cover — complete with bees — was created by the teens and seniors together.
“This is really important,” Stella says. “Social media shows current information. But so much history is being lost or forgotten.”
It’s important to her personally, too.
“I got such a better grasp on life,” Stella says about the project.
“We’re taught that things are always linear, from point A to B.
“I realize now things don’t always go the way they’re planned. It’s more about how you react to things, that really makes up a life.”
(Stella thanks several key players who helped along the way, including the communities at The Residence, Maplewood at Southport, and the Westport Senior Center, including director Wendy Petty; The Legacy Project and co-founder and CEO, Arielle Galinsky, and Rozanne Gates, founder of The Legacy Project USA, an independent organization.)
(“06880” frequent reports on stories about Westport teenagers, older residents — and everyone in between. If you enjoy stories like this, please click here to support our work. Thank you!)
Flooding — along with heavy rain and high winds — are forecast for the weekend. But high tide brought flooding at noon today to the Canal Road area of Saugatuck Shores. Stay safe! (Photo/Sheri Gordon)
Meanwhile, this was tonight’s sunset at Sherwood Mill Pond. We all know the saying about “red sky at night, sailor’s delight.” But what about a yellow sky, like Burying Hill Beach … (Photo/Wendy Levy)
A nor’easter is moving into the area today, and will continue through Sunday. Town officials urge residents to prepare for strong winds, prolonged rain and coastal flooding.
North to northeast wind gusts of 40 to 50 miles an hour — locally up to 55 mph — could bring down tree limbs, trees and power lines. Power outages are expected, particularly along the coast.
Trees are still fully leafed out, and soil saturated by recent rainfall may make them more vulnerable to falling during the prolonged wind event.
Officials say, “Treat every downed wire as live and dangerous. Stay away, keep others away, and call 911 to report it.”
The most likely forecast calls for 2 to 3 1/2 inches of rain, with the heaviest expected near the coast. Flooding is possible in areas with poor drainage and along rivers and streams.
Coastal flooding is a concern across multiple high tide cycles, with Sunday morning currently expected to bring the greatest impacts. Low-lying shoreline roads and properties may flood.
“Please use today to prepare, particularly if you live near the shoreline or in an area that has flooded before,” says Fire Chief and Emergency Management Director Nick Marsan.
“Move vehicles to higher ground, secure loose items and make sure you can receive emergency alerts. If a road is flooded or barricaded, turn around.”
“We know many residents and businesses are still recovering from the September 13 flooding,” says 1st Selectman Kevin Christie. “Town departments are monitoring this storm closely, and we will share information as conditions change. Please check on neighbors who may need help preparing.”
Westport’s first responders and Public Works crews are preparing for the storm, and will respond as conditions develop.
Secure outdoor items, charge essential devices and clear leaves from nearby drains where it is safe to do so. Never drive through floodwater.
To receive Westport emergency updates, sign up for Nixle by texting 06880 to 888777 or registering at nixle.com.
“06880” culture correspondent Robin Moyer Chung writes:
For nearly 70 years — at a variety of locations — Westport Community Theater has been a Westport fixture.
They kick off their 69th season with “Vintage Hitchcock: A Live Radio Play.”
The script is adapted by Fairfield playwright Joe Landry, known for his “live radio shows.” (“They’re beloved by actors,” WCT president Sam Mink says, “because they don’t have to remember as much.”).
I was delighted by WCT’s last 2 productions, in the basement level of Town Hall — far better than I’d expected from community theater.
This show doesn’t hit that bar. The reason why is a tribute to WCT’s commitment, resilience and love of theater.
A quick review, then a bit about what went on behind the scenes.
The show transforms 3 early Alfred Hitchcock thrillers — “The Lodger,” “Sabotage” and “The 39 Steps” — into a 1940s-style radio broadcast, performed before a live audience.
It promises to be spooky, thrilling and witty. Let’s throw in “harrowing” for those of us in 2026 who are horrified at how blindly people trusted strangers back then.
In “The Lodger,” a father is okay with having a super-creepy stranger take his daughter to a music hall. In “The 39 Steps” a guy brings a woman to his apartment who just fired gunshots in a music hall to fend off her enemy assassins – and not for sex.
But it’s all in good fun.
Linda Gilmore and Sam Mink.
And this show tries to be fun. When the script charms, the cast charms. When it simply scatters bits to be gleaned and polished — especially in the radio “sponsorship” spots — the cast doesn’t pull them together. Sound effects and pacing lack their typical crispness.
The show, however, goes on.
Which is where it gets commendable.
Rehearsals were happily underway for the season’s kickoff production, “What the Constitution Means to Me,” a 2-character play. A few weeks before opening, one of the actors bowed out unexpectedly.
Not wanting to disappoint fans and ticket holders, the theater scrambled for another show. They chose “Vintage Hitchcock,” in part because they had success with another popular Landry show, “It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play.”
This meant frantically securing rights, and scurrying for a new cast and production staff to pull it off, (Remember, they’re volunteers).
Tom Rushen and John Bachelder. (Photos/Alexander Kulcsar)
Says WCT, “It’s been an intense, short rehearsal period,” and adds that Landry himself attended a rehearsal.
John Steinbeck wrote, “The theater is the only institution in the world which has been dying for 4,000 years and has never succumbed. It requires tough and devoted people to keep it alive.”
Recent discussion about flooding at 55-57 Greens Farms Road — and the potential for more, if plans for a 250-unit apartment complex there move forward — got Eric Buchroeder thinking.
Though very young, he remembers construction of I-95 — then called the Connecticut Turnpike — in the mid-1950s. It was part of President Eisenhower’s plan for a nationwide highway network to provide security against foreign invasion. (As a young cavalry officer in World War I, he’d had difficulty moving large numbers of troops around the country.)
In 1953, Eric says, the plan was to construct an elevated highway, in a right of way between Greens Farms Road and the New York, New Haven & Hartford railroad tracks.
Though later built level with the tracks, it needed much more roadbed material than was available commercailly.
Someone had the idea to pump liquified sand and silt from the bottom of Long Island Sound at Compo Beach. Steel pipes ran the material from the beach, up Hillspoint Road to Greens Farms Road, where it was used as landfill to elevate the road embankment.
Greens Farms Road was rebuilt too, replacing curves with the current stretch between Hillspoint Road and Compo Road South/Bridge Street.
Readers: Do you remember construction of that stretch of I-95, and the construction of the “new” Greens Farms Road? Click “Comments” below.
We have no photos of the construction of I-95 along Greens Farms Road. So this view — looking east from Saugatuck — will have to do.
(Friday Flashback is one of “06880”‘s many regular features. If you enjoy this — or anything else on our website — please consider a tax-deductible contribution. Just click here. Thank you!)I–9
As we prepare for another weekend of wild weather — rain, wind, and who knows what else — here are some helpful links.
Connecticut Department of Emergency Services & Public Protection: click here.
State Senator Tony Hwang — who provided this information — hosted a recent Extreme Weather & Coastal Resiliency Informational Forum. It highlighted
the importance of resiliency and preparation against growing risks of flooding, severe winds, coastal erosion and extreme weather. Click here to see.
From that forum, you can link to FEMA’s Severe Wind Protection Plan (click here; page 19) and Financial Preparedness and Homeowners’ Insurance Claims (page 15).
The Connecticut Insurance Department has also launched a resource to assist with preparedness. Click here to see.
Will this weekend bring a repeat of 2 weekends ago? Be prepared!
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Meanwhile: Still cleaning up from the September 13 flood (while preparing for this weekend’s weather)?
Help may be near.
And it’s free.
The state Division of Emergency Management & Homeland Security and CT Volunteer Organizations Assisting in Disasters has engaged the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief organization to offer free help.
Assistance includes assessment, removal of damaged items and materials, cleanup and mold mitigation.
To request assistance, call 203-628-6978. Leave a message after the beep with your name, phone number, address, and a brief description of your needs.
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One cancellation already for tomorrow: The Fun Fest at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Westport.
Two important projects — one (hopefully relatively) short-term, the other longer — are on the agenda when the Board of Finance meets October 7 (7:30 p.m., Town Hall auditorium; livestream at www.westportct.gov).
The board will be asked to approve an appropriation of $172,5000, for the design cost and permitting of the Jesup Road bridge replacement.
The short, often unnoticed span was weakened during the September 13 flood. The road is closed, shutting off an important route from Imperial Avenue to the police station, Library and Levitt Pavilion.
The project has been estimated to take 12 to 18 months. Residents and town officials hope for an expedited process.
The second request is for $176,000, for the initial assessment and “new vs. renovation comparison study” for the future Coleytown Elementary School project.
This would be an initial step in a long-awaited process for the 1950s-era building.
The BOF will also consider a request for $1,119,000, for consultant services in support of the Safe Streets and Roads for All, Supplemental Planning and Demonstration Grant.
The state Department of Transportation will mill and resurface Route 57 (Weston Road) from Easton Road (Route 136) to just south of the Weston town line, beginning Sunday.
The work is expected to be completed by October 9, weather permitting.
Although this section of Route 57 was resurfaced in June, the top layer of asphalt is to be replaced due to an issue with the paving material.
The tentative start date for the milling portion of the project is scheduled to begin Sunday night, and continue for approximately 3 nights.
The tentative start date for the paving portion is the night of Wednesday, September 30, 2026, and continue for approximately 3 nights.
The Westport Prize for Literature goes to … “Good People.” The debut novel by Patmeena Sabit was selected by an independent jury from a field of finalists that also included “Transcription” by Ben Lerner and “The Children” by Melissa Albert.
Now in its 4th year, the $10,000 annual prize honors original works of literary fiction published in the US that are both relevant and timeless. The prize is administered by Westport resident volunteers.
Sabit will receive the prize at the Library on November 12 (7 p.m.), followed by a conversation with Meghan O’Rourke, editor of The Yale Review. Copies of Good People will be available for purchase at the event, and Sabit will sign books afterward. For more information about the event, click here.
How often do you get a chance to hear a Grammy-nominated singer in Westport … for free?
(Besides the Levitt Pavilion, of course.)
Next Friday (October 2, 7 p.m., Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Westport), baritone Sidney Outlaw and pianist Piotr Kozlowsk presenting the Connecticut premiere of “26 Ways of Looking at a Black Man,” with music by B.E. Boykin and poetry by Raymond Patterson.
The UU says, “This is an opportunity not simply to hear a world-class performer, but to gather around a deeply meaningful work that centers Black artistry, identity and lived experience.
And finally … on this date in 2001 — 20 years after his death — the voice of Bob Marley ushered satellite radio onto the air. It promised listeners greater variety — for a price — with the launch of XM Satellite Radio. It was the first worldwide broadcast of a satellite radio station
(We’re getting ready for another weekend. As always, “06880” will be here with whatever news you need. And as always, we’re grateful for any readers who click here to support our work. Thank you!)
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