Beginning with Westport’s connection with our sister city of Lyman, our town has followed Ukraine’s war against its Russian invaders closely.
On September 11 (7 a.m., Green’s Farms Congregational Church), the Westport Sunrise Rotary hosts a rare public presentation by 3 senior Ukrainian leaders, responsible for governing communities on the front lines of the full-scale fighting.
Marshall Mayer — the Westport native who co-founded Ukraine Aid International, the non-profit that delivers direct aid, and facilitated both the Westport-Lyman sister city relationship, and the sister state partnership between Connecticut and Donetsk — will join the officials. UAI brought this delegation — which includes the Donetsk oblast governor – to the US.
“Most Americans experience this war through headlines,” Mayer says.
“This is a rare opportunity to meet the people making the important decisions, to hear firsthand what is happening on the ground. and better understand what is at stake for Ukraine and the world.”
Today we report that he’ll be honored at the Norwalk Art Space’s 5th anniversary bash.
Through his support of the café in the dynamic East Avenue space, the Westport-based restaurateur and chef has helped its mission of providing free art and music education to under-served students, and exhibition opportunities for under-represented artists.
The Art Space Café is a favorite of gallery visitors, artists and students. It offers an “all-day breakfast” and lunch menu with daily specials, house-made pastries and a full coffee bar. it also highlights local culinary artisans and their products.
In addition, Taibe is launching a food program for Norwalk Art Space students call “Fueling Creativity.” In collaboration with the Westport Farmers’ Market, the café will provide after-school meals once a week for Norwalk Art Space students, many of whom face food insecurities.
Arts Bash 2026 will include music, cocktails, and gourmet bites, exhibits and a live auction. For more information and tickets, click here.
Bill Taibe and his Norwalk Art Space Café staff.
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Talk about a long prep time!
Last December, “06880” announced the arrival of SoHo Pizza. The sign boasted, “Made in New York City.”
A day earlier, we noted that Frank Pepe’s Pizza — the historic New Haven restaurant — was headed to Post Road West.
Pepe’s opened June 1. They’ve been here nearly 4 months, and are thriving.
SoHo?
Crickets.
A reader writes: “It’s taking a really long time for this crew to make a slice. In the meantime, the boarded-up building is an eyesore.
“Not to mention they tore down the iconic Texaco sign.”
Not to mention, they’ve had months to fix the misspelling on their sign, and never did:
But, hey! Maybe we shouldn’t wait. They may not be opening at all.
I mean, they’re not “coming” here. Just “comming.”
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Think the assessment on your motor vehicle is too high?
The Board of Assessment Appeals meets on September 8 (6 to 7 p.m., Town Hall lobby).
They’ll hear appeals for the 2025 Grand List. You must bring the vehicle you’re appealing. (Not all the way inside, obviously).
We have no idea what Briggs Cunningham’s C-3 Cabriolet — which he designed himself, seen here at his former Beachside Avenue home — was assessed at in the 1950s. Nor what the assessment is today. We’re guessing a lot: Only 36 were ever built.
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Lizzy & the Triggermen brought their “vintage music for modern times” to the Levitt Pavilion last night. A large crowd enjoyed what NPR calls “one part Eartha Kitt, one part Ella Fitzgerald, one part Amy Winehouse.”
Tonight (7:30 p.m.; free), Billy & the Showmen take the stage. Their R&B, funk, soul and Motown repertoire includes James Brown, Percy Sledge, the Ohio Players, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Marvin Gaye, Wilson Pickett, Tower of Power, Buddy Miles, Kool & the Gang, Otis Redding, the Temptations and Sam & Dave.
Eloise Semmelmeyer Peterson died peacefully at her Westport home on May 19. She was 95.
She graduated early from Washington University in St. Louis in 1953, with a BS in marketing. Eloise married John Semmelmeyer III in 1956. They settled in Westport in 1965, and raised 3 children here.
Following John’s death in 1974, Eloise eventually found love again with Robert “Pete” Peterson. They lived in Denver and Palm Springs, California. She donated her time to charitable causes. After Pete’s death she returned to Westport in 2007.
She enjoyed music, theater and opera, and in her younger years enjoyed tennis and skiing. She went ziplining in Alaska at age 80.
In the 1970s Eloise began recycling, and was strongly inspired by the feminist movement. She became a vegetarian in her 80s because of her concerns about factory farming. Throughout her life, she remained engaged in social and political issues. In her later years she described herself as “an armchair activist,” working for liberal and progressive causes.
She said that her “happiest decade” was her 80s, which she attributed to her newfound sense of gratitude.
In her last years Eloise shared a loving relationship with William Hart. She is survived by her children, Kristen, Erik and Jana; son-in-law Tom Ward; daughter-in-law Elizabeth Chambliss, and grandchildren Chris Ward, Micheline Ward, Emma Becker Ward (Rachel), Max Ward, Lucy Semmelmeyer, Jane Semmelmeyer, Johana Semmelmeyer and Ryan Cyprian.
Eloise was a member of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Westport for more than 60 years. Following a private burial, a celebration of her life will be held there on October 3 (12 p.m.).
In lieu of flowers or donations, Eloise asked people to take themselves out to dinner, and have a wonderful time.
Eloise Semmelmeyer Peterson
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Lee Feldman calls today’s “Westport … Naturally” featured photo “Rose in the Rain.”
Fortunately, there’s no rain in the weekend forecast.
Today will be sunny, with a high 0f 78. Tomorrow: partly cloudy, high of 82.
And finally … on this date in 1885, the first heavyweight boxing title fight under Marquis of Queensberry rules was held.
(From Westport to Norwalk, Ukraine — and everywhere else — “06880” is “where Westport meets the world.” If you enjoy this hyper-local blog, please click here to support our work. Thank you!)
It’s appropriate for this online art gallery — #333 — to welcome 3 new artists.
They join some familiar faces. All are welcome!
Remember: This is your feature. 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.
“Counterpart” (Nancy Breakstone — photograph (Available for purchase; click here)
“Teagan and Nova” — acrylic on canvas (Missy Greenberg)
Untitled (Duane Cohen — Available for purchase; click here)
“The Sunrise and Summit” (Patricia McMahon — Available for purchase; click here)
“Heartfelt Feelings” — impasto vinyl paint acrylic (Dorothy Robertshaw — Available for purchase; click here)
Untitled (June Rose Whittaker — Available for purchase; click here)
“EEBosch Abstract in Blues and Yellows” — watercolor (Eric Bosch)
Natural seashells with oil paint, watercolor and other paint mediums (Leslie Yellin)
Untitled (John Maloney)
“Sailing on the Horizon” (Anne Leskow)
Photographer Mike Hibbard says, “Buddha’s hat or crown of heads symbolizes the ability to see, understand, and help beings in all directions.”
“Compo Beach by Drone” — watercolor and pencil (Steve Stein)
“I’ll Be a Monkey’s Uncle” (Martin Ripchick)
“A Narrow Escape” (Lawrence Weisman)
(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!)
You’ve probably seen him. He’s the mini Goldendoodle who rides (with goggles, in a doggie backpack) on Rocco Palmieri’s red Vespa. His favorite spot is Compo Beach.
Frank and Rocco.
Hundreds of people have taken photos of the pair. Many say that seeing them together is the highlight of the day.
Rocco — yes, he’s part of the longtime Westport family of Palmieri Nursery fame — attributes Frank’s popularity to his fluffy looks, sweet personality, and “human soul. He’s like a little teddy bear.”
Rocco’s children — a freshman son at Staples, and daughters at Bedford Middle and Greens Farms Elementary — started an Instagram account for Frank. (Click here to see; follow @frank_fhe_doodle.)
Screenshot of Frank’s Instagram page.
His 200 followers enjoy seeing him riding all over town, modeling cute outfits, wagging his tail, sticking his tongue out, romping in the snow — and of course, at the beach.
The next time you see Frank (and Rocco), say hi. Take a photo.
And of course, you’ll smile the rest of the day.
(“06880” tackles some of Westport’s heaviest topics — and some of the lightest. If you enjoy our wide range of stories and features, please click here to support our work. Thank you!)
Another Little League season has ended. Boys and girls have put away their baseball and softball gloves. No one thinks twice about who is playing.
Fifty years ago — in America’s bicentennial year — things were quite different.
The other day, longtime Westporter and avid sports volunteer Jeff Mitchell unearthed a fascinating story from the Westport News. It involved Little League baseball — then celebrating its 25th year in town — and its relatively new softball program.
Written by the News‘ (very) young sports editor, Dan Woog, it described a forgotten chapter in local sports history.
Westport won the Senior League softball state championship, qualifying for the New England tournament in Vermont.
But the threat of legal action — and violence — took center stage.
Westport included boys on the roster. It was legal. The Westporters preferred softball to baseball.
But no team had done it before.
Clockwise from top left: Steve Kane, Dale Call, Richard Frey.
The 2 teams Westport beat — Seymour and Durham — protested that Westport had used illegal players.
The national Little League asked Westport to not compete. They decided that Seymour and Durham would play each other, to determine Connecticut’s representative.
Westport officials pointed out that the national office, in denying the protests of the defeated teams that Westport had used illegal (male) players, specifically stated that Westport won the state title.
Still, Westport’s board of directors feared that the safety of their players could not be guaranteed in Vermont. They withdrew from further competition.
Woog wrote in the Westport News:
Franny DeLuca, manager of the beleaguered co-ed softball team (dubbed a “unisex” squad by the New York Times), received a telegram from C.J. Hale, the national president of Little League Baseball, Inc.
Hale acknowledged that “the Westport Senior League softball team is recognized as 1976 state champions.” But “because of the importance of having a Connecticut entry in the New England tournament, the runner-up will be the Connecticut entry.” This acknowledgement that Westport was, and would remain, the official Constitution State champ mollified the Westporters.
Westport Little League chairman Don Levy sent a telegram to his counterpart in Seymour, extending “our sincerest best wishes for success in future tournament play” in Vermont, following Seymour’s win over Durham.
But controversy continued. The paper reported:
The entire matter is not yet settled. Several letters have come to the Westport News, and many phone calls have been made. All of them contained an outpouring of emotion rare in a case as seemingly minor as this.
One woman, the parent of a Senior all-star, wrote “I am the mother of a son, which I am beginning to believe is a dirty word.” She had heard adults in Durham say, “what do you expect from Westport parents? They’re all alcoholics, so how can they possibly know the sex of their children?”
She continued, “I was one of the parents who voted against going to Vermont. I did not feel we were quitters. I am proud of my son and of all the kids on the team who took that garbage (verbal abuse), but I could not go and neither could my husband. I was afraid.
For the record, the state champion Westport squad included Patty DeLuca, Karen Sidell, Jane Waltrip, Patty Constantikes, David Karlin, Mark Landis, Todd Fauske, Richard Frey, Doug Bernstein, Steve Kane, Dale Call and Jason France.
Manager Franny DeLuca was assisted by coaches Peter Coddington and Garry Vannart.
(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!)
What does Bill Taibe — founder of Le Farm, The Whelk, Kawa Ni and Don Memo — do for an encore?
And what’s next for Basso, the highly acclaimed restaurant that closed last year?
hi’Amba!
The new restaurant and market — featuring eastern Mediterranean food — moves in to the Jesup Road space previously occupied earlier by Matsu Sushi some time this fall.
The announcement came via Instagram, from The Connecticut Edit. It was first reported earlier today, by CT Insider.
The post said, “Think: a working bakery on the ground floor, a grab-and-go market brimming with house-made dips, pantry goods, and a full dining room upstairs with a menu made for sharing.
“The food focuses on flavors of the Eastern Mediterranean: shakshuka, hummus, man’oushe, and a seasonal, locally-driven menu that shifts with what’s fresh.”
Taibe calls hi’Amba “the kind of place you want in your neighborhood and can rely on every day.”
The restaurateur has sold his interests in The Whelk, Don Memo (now Massi Co) and Le Farm (now The Cottage).
He currently operates Kawa Ni in Westport and Denver, and the Norwalk Art Space Café.
Bill Taibe
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Sunday’s CT United motorcycle ride will impact travel on Riverside Avenue, Wilton Road — and cross streets — from Exit 17 to the Wilton line.
The event — paying tribute to the victims and first responders of 9/11 — is the largest motorcycle ride in the state.
It begins around 11:30 a.m. at Sherwood Island State Park. Hundreds of riders head south on I-95; take Exit 17, and then proceed to Wilton, and on through 7 towns before ending in Bridgeport.
The route is closed and continuous. With the assistance of a police escort, motorcyclists drive through traffic lights and do not stop at stop signs.
Drivers should expect extended traffic delays along the route — potentially 45 minutes or longer. Alternate routes are recommended.
The start of the CT United ride, at Sherwood Island State Park. (Photo/Penny Pearlman)
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Speaking of cool vehicles: Mauro Motors BMW of Bridgeport and the Westport Police Department are hosting “Cars & Coffee” on Sunday, September 13, 8 to 10 a.m., Westport train station).
The event features a car show with entrants from around the region, automotive vendor displays, a DJ, live K-9 demonstration with the Westport Police Department, and coffee from Steam of Westport. All proceeds benefit the Westport Police K-9 Unit.
Everyone is invited — to display your car, or just enjoy all the others.
Westport’ sK-9 unit.
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After months of bad news, the situation in Lyman may be improving.
“Ukraine Matters” reports that Ukrainian forces in Westport’s sister city have isolated and cut off Russian invaders. The situation for Russia is “dire.”
Click here or below to see the report. Lyman is first mentioned at the 3:45 mark.
To donate to Lyman through Ukraine Aid International, click here. Click the “I want to support” box; then select “Support for the City of Lyman.” Scroll down on that page for other donation options (mail, wire transfer and Venmo.)
For years, Lorenza Arnal has shared her love of Mexico through food: creating her own brand of salsa macha, selling homemade guacamole at the Westport Farmers’ Market and more.
Now there’s another way to experience her home country, even more deeperly and personally: on trips that celebrates Mexico’s history, culture and traditions.
Lorenza leads culinary, cultural and Jewish history tours, and a trip to Oaxaca to experience the Day of the Dead.
The next Oaxaca journey is October 25 to November 1.In Mexico’s “culinary capital,” streets are filled with colorful altars dedicated to the deceased, food, parades, dancing and flowers. Lorenza’s group dines in the best restaurants in town.
MoCA\CT says: “We are terribly sad at the passing of Yayoi Kusama, an artist whose limitless vision transformed the way we see ourselves, one another, and the world around us.
“In 2019 Kusama’s work helped inaugurate MoCA\CT (then MoCA Westport), welcoming our community into her unforgettable universe of light, reflection, repetition, and wonder. For 7 remarkable weeks, visitors experienced ‘Infinity Mirror Room: Where the Lights in My Heart Go and Narcissus Garden’ together. It was an unprecedented presentation on the East Coast.
“Her work invited us to step beyond ourselves: into lights that seemed to extend forever, reflections that connected each visitor to the people around them, and a world where wonder felt infinite.
“Today, we pay tribute to an extraordinary artist whose imagination and brilliance continue to inspire us all.” (Hat tip: Chris Grimm)
Westport resident and Staples High School graduate Jaclyn Sharp is the founder and CEO of IMPOSTER 4 Animals.
IMPOSTER is “the exclusive global partner for T-Rex Leather for a variety of products, including small leather goods and equestrian sporting goods.”
The first T-Rex Leather handbag in the world recently made its US debut at the Hampton Classic Horse Show, in Bridgehampton.
The UK company that made the T-Rex Leather is IMPOSTER’s partner. The CEO brought the handbag, which had been under glass in an Amsterdam museum. It’s valued around $200,000. This was the first time any T-Rex Leather samples have been seen in North America.
On September 11, 2001 Westport — and the nation — changed forever.
The 9/11 terrorists did more than kill nearly 3,000 people (including several with local ties.) They changed our culture, politics, and sense of ourselves.
On a strikingly clear day, we saw smoke from the Twin Towers. Sherwood Island State Park was readied as a staging area that, tragically, was never needed.
The iconic 9/11 photo was taken by Staples High School graduate Spencer Platt. He lived near the Twin Towers on that awful morning.
Westporters — first responders, and others who just wanted to help in any way possible — spent time in the rubble, and nearby.
Sherwood Island is now the site of Connecticut’s 9/11 memorial. Scholarships honor the memories of friends and neighbors we lost.
Sherwood Island State Park 9/11 Memorial (Photo/David Squires)
Next month, our town will remember both the lives lost, and the extraordinary acts of kindness and unity that followed, in a special way. Officials have planned 4 days of service, to neighbors and the community.
Residents, families, businesses, schools, non-profits and community organizations are invited to gather, serve and honor together.
The 4-day observance — September 8 through 11 — will recognize the courage and sacrifices of first responders, military members and public servants, while strengthening our community through service, compassion and generosity.
Among the activities:
A ceremony on September 8, with a call to serve throughout the week
Volunteering with a participating Westport non-profit
Donating food, supplies or funds to a non-profit
Performing independent acts of kindness or community service
Thanking first responders, veterans, healthcare professionals, teachers, and others who serve our town
Recognition of a first responder, veteran, healthcare worker, teacher, volunteer or community member
A message of gratitude
A photograph and the story behind it
A reflection on what September 11 means to you today.
Submissions may include a name, or be posted anonymously.
View from the Sherwood Island 9/11 Memorial. (Photo/John Kantor)
After the 4 Days of Service and Remembrance, the town will publish highlights of volunteer participation, acts of service, charitable giving, and stories of remembrance.
For now, put September 8 to 11 on your calendar.
That time of year is always busy. School, and many programs, start up again. Organizations swing back in action. Everyone kicks into fall mode.
But 9/11 is special.
Whether you were here that day or not — or were alive or not yet born — it’s time to pause.
Reflect.
And then — as Americans did, a quarter century ago — take action, in whatever way you can.
We often think of “Sudden Wealth Syndrome” as something that happens to lottery winners, pro athletes or people who suddenly come into millions.
But it happens to regular people too — you or (I wish) I. A first paycheck, big bonus, inheritance — even a raise — can mean money arrives before we’re prepared for it.
Tom Henske can help.
The longtime local resident — a financial literacy expert who developed a very popular “Total Cents” podcast at the Westport Library, and now is a University of Virginia senior lecturer teaching personal finance (and working closely with UVa athletes) — has just finished a TEDx Talk.
Titled “Why Suddenly Having Money (Often) Goes Wrong,” it covers what Henske calls the 4 P’s: Pause, Purpose, People and Plan.
He must be on to something. The 15-minute talk was selected as a TED Editor’s Choice. Like sudden wealth, that’s an unexpected bonus.
Click here or below for Tom Henske’s very compelling TEDx Talk.
Westport Police Department warn that fraudulent arrest warrants — like the one below — are being sent to residents.
Scammers use official-looking documents, names, case numbers and other information to make their claims appear legitimate. They want to pressure people into sending money, or providing personal information.
Anyone receiving a suspicious document, phone call, email or text claiming to be from law enforcement should not send money, or provide personal or financial information.
If you are ever unsure whether a communication from law enforcement is legitimate, contact the WPD at 203-341-6000.
Speaking of cops: The Westport Police and Fire Departments will (hopefully) crush the Darien Police.
On the softball field, that is.
A charity game at Compo Beach this Sunday (August 30, 4 p.m.) will raise funds for LivFree. The non-profit supports children fighting cancer, and their families.
Tomorrow (Friday, August 28, 7 p.m.), Westport Country Playhouse rocks with “Cruel Summer: The Playhouse Playlist.”
The high-energy, back-to-school concert celebrates the music of Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, Olivia Dean, Sabrina Carpenter and other great artists.
One of the vocalists is Elyse Bell (currently starring in the Netflix film “Don’t Say Good Luck”). Click here or below to see her at Tuesday’s rehearsal. ).
Hermes Botti worked at Arnie Kaye’s International Deli in 1991. He writes:
“Since it was an era before cellphones and digital cameras, I don’t have a single photograph from my time there.
“If anyone has photos of the deli — whether it’s the interior, the staff, or even background shots from old family visits — could you please share them? Finding these would mean a lot to me. Thank you so much!”
Email hermesfbotti@gmail.com. And please CC 06880blog@gmail.com. We’d love to see them too.
We don’t have any photos of Arnie Kaye’s International Deli. But here he is, in 1994.
Westport Police made 1 custodial arrest between August 19 and 25.
A 47-year-old Westport man was charged with violation of probation. He was released on a $15,000 bond.
Westport Police also issued these citations:
Texting while driving: 8 citations
Traveling unreasonably fast: 5
Operating a motor vehicle under suspension: 4
Operating an unregistered motor vehicle: 3
Distracted driving: 3
School zone violation: 1
Construction zone violation 1
Disorderly conduct: 1
Violation of readable plates regulation: 1
Failure to obey state traffic commission regulations: 1
Failure to obey traffic control signals: 1
Failure to renew registration: 1
License plates must be readable!
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Steven Palmer — Westport’s Planning & Zoning director in the 2010s — passed away peacefully on Monday, surrounded by his family after a valiant battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 59.
After college, the Fairfield native began a 20-plus-year career in municipal planning and zoning. He served as director in Westport, Bethel and New Canaan, earning a reputation for thoughtfulness and reasonableness.
In 2020 he left the public sector to join the family business, Judge Tool & Gage in Stratford. He helped his father Joe bring the 70-year-old company into the digital age. He recently hired his son Michael, to ensure the business remains in the family for future generations.
Steve loved golfing, beautifying his home and yard, traveling, hosting Sunday family dinners, and body surfing.and open up. Even the family dogs seemed to love Steve the most.
He is survived by his wife Theresa; children, Michael and Kelly, and their mother Karla; parents Joe and Gwen; brothers, Chris (Marjory) and Joe (Colleen); nieces, nephews and great-nephew; Theresa’s children Christian (Jessica), Allison (Michael), Matthew (fiancée Victoria), Helen and Fisher (Greg), and Theresa’s grandchildren Blakely, Pasquale, Walker and Giada.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Monday (August 31, 10 a.m., 10 a.m., St. Pius X Church, Fairfield). Friends and family may visit at the Spear-Miller Funeral Home in Fairfield on Sunda (August 30, 2 to 5 p.m.). In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Smilow Cancer Hospital.
The stars were aligned — well, the moon, a bird and sailboat were, anyway — for today’s “Westport … Naturally” featured photo.
Jim Corgel captured the image, near the Compo Beach cannons.
Tonight, a lunar eclipse will cause the moon to be almost entirely obscured behind the Earth’s shadow. It will begin shortly after 9:20 p.m., and peak at 12:12 a.m.
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