As Earth Day (April 22) nears, Sustainable Westport asks: “Can you imagine what our planet could look like if we got it right?”
They answer their own question: “Less congestion and cleaner air, with communities that are more interconnected because towns are walkable and bikeable. Shorelines and waterways that are free from discarded plastic and waste. Native trees and plants supporting pollinators and clean water supporting vibrant ecosystems for generations to come.
“It’s a hopeful vision, and one that feels entirely possible when communities come together starting first with small, meaningful changes.
“At the heart of this vision is a simple, powerful truth: We are all guardians of this planet. This stewardship isn’t reserved for scientists or policymakers; it is a responsibility carried by every one of us. Each person in our community holds a vital piece of the puzzle, and the picture of a sustainable Westport is only possible when all of us are present and engaged.
During Earth Month, Sustainable Westport is re-emphasizing their commitment to reducing single-use plastic. They ask residents to watch an important video (click here) — and then participate and lead, by sharing the message, encouraging neighbors, and turning individual efforts into a community movement.
Also upcoming: a screening of “Plastic People: The Hidden Crisis of Microplastics.”
The documentary explores the alarming spread of microplastics throughout our planet — and our bodies.
The event — following a sold-out showing at SXSW — is Thursday (April 9, 6:30 p.m., Greens Farms Academy). A panel discussion follows the screening.
The Board of Finance’s next “office hours” — open times at which residents can chat with a member about questions or concerns — are Thursday, April 16.
There are 2 sessions — 10 to 11 a.m., and 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. — at the Westport Library’s Room 213.
The events have proved popular, with a broad range of Westporters asking an equally broad range of questions.
Speaking to 175 Y’s Men of Westport and Weston at Saugatuck Congregational Church on Thursday, Dr. Kenneth Pollack said that the war with Iran has become a grinding war of attrition with no easy exit for the United States.
A former CIA analyst and National Security Council official, Pollack is now vice president for policy at the Middle East Institute. He warned that forced regime change in Tehran is a dangerous gamble, and said Washington has “run out of good options,” leaving only bad choices as it struggles to end the conflict, reopen vital oil shipping lanes, and find a strategy President Trump can use to ease domestic economic pain while pressuring Iran’s hard‑line leadership to back down.
Looking ahead, Pollack said much of the world’s economic fate now hinges on whether the U.S. is willing to do the politically difficult work needed to pry open the Strait of Hormuz and blunt Iran’s regional influence. That could mean inserting limited ground forces to secure shipping lanes and potentially striking at Iranian allies such as Hezbollah, steps he called militarily feasible but politically fraught.
Until then, he warned, shortages of oil, liquefied natural gas and critical materials like fertilizers and helium will deepen, increasing the risk of a global recession and leaving Iran’s hard‑liners in position to keep exploiting their “chokehold” on the world economy.
Y’s Men member Peter Pollack (left) introduces his son, Dr. Kenneth M. Pollack. (Photo/Ted Horowitz)
Karen Schlansky — an abstract painter working in acrylic, oil, pastel and mixed media — is this month’s guest exhibitor. The local artist is displaying paintings from her recent “Books” series.
A reception is set for April 23 (6 p.m.). All work is available for purchase.
Karen Schlansky, with her work.
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Speaking of art: As the nation’s 250th birthday nears, the Weston Commission for the Arts seeks submissions that explore America’s past, present and future.
The “Weston Celebrates America 250” exhibit (July 3 to 31) will complement July 4th activities like a patriotic tailgating contest, bell ringing ceremony, old- fashioned family sports/field day and picnic, and fireworks.
Also planned during the month-long exhibit: art classes for children and adults, and a meet the artists reception July. Click here for details.
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This Thursday (April 9, 7 p.m.), MoCA\CT celebrates National Poetry Month bt transforming its galleries into a performance space.
Norwalk-based spoken word artist Sahmra Sawyer (Supreme Divinity) will perform original poetry inspired by “Art, Jazz + the Blues” — the museum’s current exhibit — while live jazz plays in the background.
As the performance unfolds, Bridgeport artist Lauren Clayton will create a large-scale painting — translating spoken word and sound into a visual work in real time.
29 Markle CT will provide an “elevated take on soul food.”
A wayward son moves home to care for his mother, and discovers chaos he never knew he needed.
That’s the premise behind “Sorry for Laughing.” The new solo play by Evan Zes, about caring for his mother during COVID, is part of the Westport Country Playhouse’s New Works Initiative. celebrating new works and new playwrights.
Westport’s first “pickleball ambassador,” Tom Lowrie, sent this along, with Easter and Passover greetings from himself and his successor, current ambassador Brandon Osterhout.
We don’t know who’s who in the photo, but it doesn’t matter. Enjoy the weekend!
Happy Easter! Welcome to the start of the baseball season! It’s spring!
Those are some of the themes in today’s online art gallery.
Along with, as always, other works that are harder to categorize, but sure to delight, provoke and inspire all who wander through.
As always, we invite you to be part of next week’s exhibition. No matter your age; the style or subject you choose — and whether you’re a first-timer or old-timer — we welcome 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.
“Longshore Marina” (Patricia McMahon; Available for purchase; click here)
“Old Mill Plein Air” (Werner Liepolt)
“Stacked for the Season” (Nancy Breakstone; Available for purchase; click here)
“Sea Shell From Compo” (John Maloney)
“Auntie’s Patch of Heaven” — acrylic on canvas, 20 x 24 (Gert; Available for purchase; click here)
“Watercolor is a Swim in the Unknown: Jean Burman” (Duane Cohen; Available for purchase; click here)
Untitled (Tom Doran — Available for purchase; click here)
“A Hot Wheels Pizza” — wall art (Eric Bosch)
“The Kindness Project” (Owen Wang, age 13 — One River Art student)
In Your Easter bonnet – Gown, and Sparkling Necklace – You’ll Be the Grandest Lady in the Easter Parade! (Mike Hibbard)
“The Saddest Day in Baseball History — Remembering Lou Gehrig, the Iron Horse” — watercolor (Steve Stein)
“My Friend Kelso” (Lawrence Weisman)
“Presidential Portrait” (Mark Yurkiw; Available for purchase; click here)
(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!)
As the Planning & Zoning Commission discusses a text amendment that would modify the definition of “special needs individuals,” to serve a wider range of people (click here and here) — while also addressing off-site affordable housing — Westport’s Commission on People with Disabilities offers their insights:
One question currently under review by the Planning & Zoning Commission deserves clear attention: how we define and support residents with disabilities.
Text Amendment #864, now before the P&Z, offers an important opportunity to expand the definition of “developmental disability” for special needs housing.
The current state definition framework — limited to individuals with an IQ below 70 and onset before age 18 — excludes many residents who face real barriers to appropriate housing.
136 Riverside Avenue now houses adults with disabilities. It is off-site affordable housing, part of the Richmondville Mill project.
The Commission on People with Disabilities strongly supports aligning the definition of “Special Needs Individuals” with federal law (42 U.S.C. §15002) rather than the more restrictive Connecticut standard.
The broader federal definition better reflects the range of disabilities that affect activities of daily living, and would help close existing gaps in access to special needs housing.
We support allowing off-site affordable housing within the Inclusionary Housing Overlay District — with clear standards.
We urge the Planning & Zoning Commission to allow off-site special needs housing only when it is clearly demonstrated to be superior to an on-site option — such as through better access to transportation, closer proximity to services, or design features like shared community spaces that more effectively support residents’ needs.
All proposals will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis to ensure they promote inclusion, community integration, and compliance with applicable regulations.
Off-site, deed-restricted special needs housing can also deliver an increased number of smaller, efficiency-style units, creating opportunities for shared spaces and supportive services, and generating more moratorium points than comparable on-site options.
3 George Street (above), off Maple Avenue South, could be used as a group home. The developer of an apartment project on Post Road East says that an expanded definition of “special needs individuals” would help expand access to a group home like this.
While on-site housing offers the benefits of integration, thoughtfully planned off-site housing can better meet the needs of individuals with disabilities by enabling more coordinated access to services, supports, and amenities.
Westport has an opportunity to take a thoughtful, balanced approach — expanding housing while maintaining strong zoning principles. The goal is not to work around the rules, but to make them work better for everyone.
(“06880″‘s Opinion pages are open to all. Send submissions to 06880blog@gmail.com. To support this blog, please click here.)
We’ve flashed back a few times before to Arnie’s Place.
The video game arcade horrified some adults, who thought it signaled The End of Westport.
But it was a formative, home-away-from home haven for hundreds of youngsters growing up in the 1980s.
At the center of it all was Arnie Kaye, a larger-than-life (both physically and metaphorically) man who tormented town officials, made sure his arcade (and adjacent ice cream parlor) were safe and clean for all kids, and had a knack for headlines. (Click here for one of several “06880” stories about Arnie’s Place.)
On Monday, someone posted a YouTube video about Arnie’s.
In just 2 1/2 minutes it covers all the key points, about Arnie and his controversies. There are vintage photos and videos of the interior, and of Arnie himself.
But it’s also very odd. Sure, Arnie once chained himself to Town Hall — yet the images shown have nothing to do with our building and cops.
Some of the video scenes of Arnie — while resembling him — don’t quite convey how big he really was.
It’s narrated too by one of those annoying AI voices.
Still, if you’ve got a spare moment, it’s worth clicking here or below. You’ll see a weird look, into a weird time in Westport history.
(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!)
It’s official: Carolyn Doan — Westport’s unofficial osprey spotter — says that the Fresh Market osprey is back.
The actual first raptor of the spring was spotted earlier, by Gray’s Creek. An earlier report of the osprey at the tall perch next to Terrain turned out to be a hawk.
Their mates will no doubt join them soon. We’ll see them building nests, fishing for food, and — hopefully — tending their young.
Carolyn Doan usually has a high-powered lens. This was taken with her iPhone. (Photo/Carolyn Doan)
“Your State, Your Business” — the program that brings high-ranking officials to the Westport Library to share their work with business owners and residents — continued Thursday.
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong — the third speaker, in the Westport Weston Chamber of Commerce series — opened with “Law School 101,” which set the stage for the civil legal and constitutional law discussions that followed.
Key topics included the role of the AG here, and differences with other states; high profile issues like personal data and privacy, and cases Tong has filed on behalf of the state and its citizens.
Attorney General William Tong, at the Westport Library.
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Congratulations to Ignacy Nieweglowski, Sahil Vora, Rohan Sareen, Ezra Schwartz and Kevin Cano!
On Sunday, the Staples High School students captured first place in the Lockheed Martin CyberQuest Competition.
And they snagged gold for the second year in a row.
In the annual capture-the-flag competition, students take on a wide range of challenges designed by professional cybersecurity engineers. They include multi-step intrusion scenarios, steganography, reverse engineering, operating system exploitation, packet analysis, web vulnerabilities and social engineering.
The event was held at Lockheed Martin’s Sikorsky headquarters in Stratford. Facing teams from across the region, the Stapleites worked collaboratively through 3 hours of intense problem-solving.
Following last year’s win, the students grew Staples’ cybersecurity program, and formed a larger team.
In addition to this year’s first-place finish, the B and C teams also placed in the top 5. The B team included Anit Arvind, Tucker Eklund, Srihan Popuri, Maadhav Subramaniam and Jonah Frey, while the C team was Joey Carpenter, Cora Barrett and Nora Ismael-Bakkali.
Up next: the national semifinals. Go Wreckers!
From left: Ignacy Nieweglowski, Sahil Vora, Rohan Sareen, Ezra Schwartz, Kevin Cano.
Speaking of Staples: Congratulations to the 24 band, orchestra and choir programs who participated in the recent Connecticut Music Educators Association All-State Festival at the Hartford Convention Center.
The 3 days included rehearsals led by guest conductors, culminating in a final performance.
Staples All-State Festival musicians included
Band: Justin Jendrock, Gargi Karve, Dylan Taylor, Christian Green (horn in orchestra)
Choir: Veronica Albee, Josie Caricato, James Donoghue, Beckwith Fipp, Catherine Herbert, Abigail Kim, Josephine Lewertoff, Jasmita Mani Lorenzato, Lyla McEntee, Sophia Macris, Christian Michaels, Denver Razza, Helen Root, Ari Sklar, Samantha Skopp
Orchestra: Kirthana Gowthaman, Isabel Jo, Isabella Mariani, Ayush Rudra, Chloe Wong
Staples’ All-State Festival musicians (missing James Donoghue and Josephine Lewertoff).
“06880” is Westport’s full-service blog, and the Roundup is where you can find nearly every service: upcoming events, achievements, obituaries.
The other day, we helped a Westport firm find a summer intern.
The New England Consulting Group received inquiries from several outstanding applicants. They extended an offer to a Staples graduate.
Now they’ve got another opening. This is for a part-time, experienced administrative assistant. For details, contact Applicants can contact Susan Owen, CFO: seo@necg.net (put “part-time admin at NECG” in the subject line), or call 203-297-9389.
Rosa Balestrino has lived in Westport since 2016. The mother of 2 children, ages 13 and 5, she is in-house counsel to an educational technology company.
The family worships at Assumption Church, and are huge fans of the Westport Weston Family YMCA, Legacy Martial Arts, Compo Beach, the Levitt Pavilion and Westport Library. Rosa writes:
In 2018, our journey with Westport Public Schools began with a simple recommendation to postpone kindergarten. What followed was a years-long trek through evaluations, diagnoses, inability for my child to learn virtually, and the heavy isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic.
For years I struggled to square the child I saw at home — who could focus for hours on intricate Lego sets — with the child who was reportedly “failing to attend” in class.
At home, getting him to write a single sentence was a battleground of exhaustion and heartbreak. I could not understand why.
Rosa Balestrino
During the pandemic, I worked alongside my child and had a front-row seat to his ongoing struggle, frustration, and inability to do the work that was being requested by the school district. It was so painful for both my child and for me.
My child’s struggles went on for years. My gut instinct told me that something was wrong, even though the school continued to reassure me and encouraged “independence” for middle school.
My child could not even start an assignment alone, let alone finish one. Tears, frustration, my child thinking he was stupid. It was heartbreaking for a parent.
Since the school had not figured out why my child struggled year after year, I had no choice but to have a private evaluation done at my own expense.
The neuropsychologist made clear that if my child had the “capacity to become independent, he would have already done so.”
My son was failing, and was being failed by the school system who tried to assure me that my child was doing “fine.” They stated his grades, which were As and Bs, were proof of success, and that his low standardized test scores were merely “data points” or “click-through” errors.
At that point my son’s handwriting remained the scrawl of a 1st grader. External tutors warned us his comprehension was years behind grade level.
The turning point for my child came when we stepped outside the traditional system. Through an intensive summer program at The Southport School and eventually transitioning to Winston Preparatory School, the “magic” happened.
For the first time, my son felt capable. Within 2 months of starting 7th grade at Winston Prep, he volunteered that he loved school. He couldn’t quite explain the “magic” of how they taught him — only that for the first time, he was actually learning and he no longer felt stupid. His whole demeanor changed.I started to get my child back.
The cost of this “magic” was high. It required an educational attorney, expensive private assessments, and the difficult decision to leave the neighborhood school.
Today my child is thriving, advocating, and looking toward a future in engineering. My child has found his community through neurodiverse mentors who taught him that his brain isn’t broken—it’s a superpower.
To the families currently in the “exhaustion phase”: Trust your instinct.
(“06880” Opinion pages are open to all. Email submissions to 06880blog@gmail.com. To support this hyperlocal blog, please click here.)
I would like to nominate Jon Janik — the head pro at the Longshore golf course — for this week’s Unsung Hero Award.
Tee time reservations opened this morning at 6:30. The team migrated to a new booking system yesterday afternoon.
It’s been a challenging transition. But Jon’s patience and persistence have been truly appreciated.
He emailed back and forth with me for several hours yesterday. He did not stop until he was able to get both my husband’s and son’s accounts functioning properly. He worked well past regular hours — until almost 9 p.m., in fact.
Jon Janik
Thank you, Jon, for going above and beyond to help ensure opening weekend runs smoothly, and is filled with happy memories.
PS: Thank you to “068800” too, for highlighting Unsung Heroes. The writeups are a great reminder of how fortunate we are to live in a community that recognizes the selfless efforts of others.
Thanks, Lindsay. In the grand scheme of things, a golf pro who goes the extra mile is a little thing. But, as you note, the little things add up to a big part of what makes Westport special. So thank you too, Jon Janik, for all that you and your staff at the Longshore golf course do, for so many.
(“06880” is proud to honor Unsung Heroes — and tell many other tales of town too. Please click here to support your hyper-local blog.)
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