Monthly Archives: April 2009

Pedals For Progress

Posted on April 24, 2009 | Comments Off on Pedals For Progress

With spectacular weather predicted for this weekend, Westporters all over town look forward to — spring cleaning.

Like most garages, yours probably has a few dusty bicycles.  Your kids outgrew them; you bought one in a fit of exercise-induced lunacy; you forget where another even came from.  You don’t want to throw them away, but you don’t know who could use them.

Will Hardy and Lizzie Leonard can.

The  Staples students are organizing their 2nd annual Pedals for Progress used bike drive.  Last year they collected 137 bikes, for use overseas in places so remote and poor that walking may be the only means of transportation.  Bikes open amazing new worlds of education, employment and healthcare.

A week from Sunday — May 3, from noon to 3 p.m. — Will and Lizzie will collect used bikes at the Senior Center.  They can be adults’ and kids’; old, dirty, broken-down, with flat tires — the only condition is they have all their parts.  (They also request a $10 donation to Pedals 4 Progress, to help with shipping costs.)  Tax-deductible receipts will be provided.

A clean garage; a new life for your bike — spring cleaning suddenly doesn’t sound so bad.

(For more information, email pedals4progress@gmail.com, or call 227-8150).

Pedals4Progress used bicycle collection

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Posted in Teenagers, Transportation

All That Jazz

Posted on April 24, 2009 | 1 comment

Sam Wilkes knows he’s strange.

The Staples senior doesn’t like iTunes.  “I want something tangible to hold,” he says. “And I like reading inlays.  You learn a lot about music that way.”

So Sam buys CDs.  Last summer he discovered Sally’s Place, the 2nd-floor store at the funky end of Main Street.  He can’t believe such an amazing place exists in his hometown.

Sam Wilkes loves Sally's Place

Sam Wilkes loves Sally's Place

“I’ve been to CD shops in New York City, and in Boston near Berklee School of Music,” the bass player says.  “They’re run by pretentious musicians who won’t even talk to you. Sally is the polar opposite.”

Sally is Sally White, and though Sam has known her only a year, he nailed it.

“She talks to me for hours about jazz,” Sam says.  “She knows everything and everyone.  She’s good friends with the owners of the Blue Note and the Half Note, and all the jazz legends — and she talks about them with me!

“When I buy something, she wants to know why I like it,” Sam continues.  “She always finds new things for me to listen to.  If I tell her about someone, she wants to listen too.  And if she doesn’t like it, she tells me why.

“Sally runs her shop by herself, but she has time for everybody.  She’s an inspiration to me.”

Sally's Place, Westport CTSam knows that the CD business — particularly a mom-shop in a suburban town — is in grave danger.  That’s why he was excited just before Christmas, when it was packed.

“I hope she’s doing okay now,” Sam says.  “A lot of people in Westport don’t even know about Sally’s Place.  But it’s a landmark.”

Recently, Sam was accepted at USC’s prestigious Thornton School of Music. The first thing he did was tell Sally.

She got him a CD.

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Posted in Economy, Local business, People, Teenagers

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Surveying The Scene

Posted on April 23, 2009 | Comments Off on Surveying The Scene

A small crowd discussed some big ideas about drugs and alcohol — Westport-style — at Town Hall last night.

Positive Directions and a panel of Staples students presented the results of several recent surveys.

Some results were unsurprising. Alcohol and marijuana use by teenagers is prevalent.  There is a strong correlation between drinking and drugs.  Parents underestimate what their own kids are doing.

Some of the results did surprise.  Twenty of the parents surveyed had hosted a party with alcohol for teens — and nearly all said they were aware of the underage alcohol law.  Among students and parents, cigarettes are perceived to be more harmful than either marijuana or alcohol.

But, as often happens, the best information came from the students themselves.

Four members of Staples’ Teen Awareness Group presented their own surveys.  And while 60% of seniors (and 10% of juniors) admitted to drinking and driving, 80 percent said their parents have done the same thing.  When asked whether they’ve ever been in a car with a drunk driver, student after student asked the TAG members:  “Do my parents count?”

You bet they do.  In more ways than they realize, parents count.

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Posted in Staples HS, Teenagers

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Happy Birthday, Will!

Posted on April 23, 2009 | 2 comments

William Shakespeare was an amazing dude.

Born 443 years ago today, he wrote brilliantly about so many subjects:  love, power, Westport…

Westport?  Of course!

  • Taking your dog to Winslow Park: “Out, damned Spot!  Out, I say!”
  • Investing with Bernie Madoff: “All that glisters is not gold.”
  • That !@#$%^&* new McMansion right next door: “What light through yonder window breaks?”
  • P&Z and ZBA meetings: “The first thing we do, we kill all the lawyers.”Shakespeare
  • The Board of Finance, explaining why this year’s budget must toe the line: “Nothing can come of nothing.”
  • Our healthcare crisis: “The patient must minister to himself.”
  • Our countless banks, which no one ever uses: “Neither a borrower nor a lender be.”
  • What you’ll find at Balducci’s, now that it’s been sold: “Eye of newt, and toe of frog/Wool of bat, and tongue of dog/Adder’s fork, and blind-worm’s sting/Lizard’s leg, and howlet’s wing.”

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Posted in Totally random

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Omni Fitness Is Out

Posted on April 22, 2009 | Comments Off on Omni Fitness Is Out

The web site of Omni Fitness blares:  “Store Closing Liquidation!  Everything Must Go! Hurry in for the best selection!  Save 50-90% on all remaining treadmills, ellipticals, exercise bikes, home gyms, free weights and more!”

But even the most in-shape Westporter could not hurry down to the Compo Shopping Center store fast enough.  It’s already closed.

Fitness Holdings International — a California-based firm that owns 111 stores including Omni Fitness, Busy Body Home Fitness and LA Gym Equipment — has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

A realist might say that home gym equipment is a true luxury that should be an early casualty of an economic crunch.

A cynic might say that most home treadmills, ellipticals and exercise bikes seldom wear out from over-use.

But a Westporter who is tired of seeing a new “For Rent” sign every day might say:  “It hurts to see any business go bust.  Who’s next?  And what can anyone do?”

Omni Fitness, Westport CT

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Posted in Economy

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Sign Of The Times

Posted on April 22, 2009 | 2 comments

Winslow Park, Westport Connecticut

“No Trespassing” signs are not unusual in not-in-my-backyard Westport.

What makes this one noteworthy is that it’s posted in the back of the Westport Country Playhouse parking lot — one of the best ways to get to Winslow Park.

Winslow Park, as in “town park.”  We own it.

Can someone please explain how we can trespass on our own property?

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Posted in Places, Totally random

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Green Wash

Posted on April 22, 2009 | 3 comments

Westport Wash & WaxExactly 1 year ago, Westport Wash & Wax won a WeGreenWestport award.  The car wash was honored for using biodegradable chemicals, recycling 70% of its water, installing solar panels, even taking glass and plastic bottles from cars to the transfer station.

But last April times were flush.  Did the toilet-swirling economy cause the car wash to reconsider its environmental commitment?

Absolutely not, says co-owner Craig Tiefenthaler.  He and his brother Scott — who founded the business nearly 10 years ago — have not wavered at all.

“It does cost money,” Craig notes. “We pay for state-of-the-art equipment and the best chemicals.  The photovoltaic panels on the roof are not free.  Aquarion doesn’t give their water away.

“But it’s the right thing to do.”

Business is off this year, Craig admits. “No one is escaping what’s happening.  But we’re a viable business.  I’m not bragging, but we’re holding our own.”

In fact, the economy is less worrisome than the weather.  “A rainy weekend — that’s a real killer,” Craig says.

He adds proudly: “We haven’t laid off a single worker.  It’s important to keep good men.”  The average turnover in nearby car washes is 5 months.  He’s had the same employees for years.

One area where energy must be expended:  Every car gets freshly washed towels.  “You can’t wash nice cars with dirt,” Craig says.  As if on cue, a shiny BMW rolls by.

What’s ahead for Westport’s green car wash?

“We’ll keep upgrading, keep adding state-of-the-art, environmentally sound stuff,” Craig promises.

He suddenly remembers something else.  “We just redid our bathroom.  It’s probably the nicest public restroom in town.”

Scott Tiefenthaler will speak at tomorrow’s “Green (Brown) Bag Luncheon,” featuring First Selectman Gordon Joseloff.  The event will be held at noon in Town Hall (Rooms 307/309).

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Posted in Economy, Environment, Local business

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Tyler Hicks Shares Pulitzer Prize

Posted on April 21, 2009 | Comments Off on Tyler Hicks Shares Pulitzer Prize

Tyler Hicks — the Staples High School graduate who has spent a decade shooting searing photos from the world’s most troubled spots — is part of the New York Times‘ 2009 Pulitzer Prize-winning team.

The paper won 5 of journalism’s top honors this year, including International Reporting.  Tyler’s photo — on page A16 of today’s paper — shows American soldiers preparing for a possible Taliban attack, at their Afghan base near the Pakistani border.

Westporters have grown used to seeing Tyler’s photo credit in the Times.  Remarkably, he is 1 of 3 of the world’s leading photojournalists who graduated from Staples in the 1980s.  Lyndsey Addario and Spencer Platt are the other 2.

We often worry that Westport youth grow up in a bubble.  Pulitzer Prize-winning Tyler, Lyndsey and Spencer know  a much larger world lies beyond our borders.  Every day, their work opens eyes around that world.

Tyler Hicks' photo for the New York Times

Tyler Hicks' photo for the New York Times

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Posted in People, Staples HS

Keeping America Beautiful

Posted on April 21, 2009 | Comments Off on Keeping America Beautiful

The wind roared yesterday afternoon at Compo.  The waves had whitecaps; sand blew sideways across the beach.  It was a weird way to welcome Tommy Longo to Westport.

It was his 1st time in Connecticut, but Tommy — Mayor Longo, that is; he’s the 3-term leader of Waveland, Mississippi — is no stranger to high winds and frothy waters.  Nearly 3 years ago his town was obliterated by Hurricane Katrina.

The mayor’s trip is a thank-you of sorts.  His host — Gail Cunningham Coen, whose Soundview Drive home offers a breathtaking view of the beach, whether fine weather or foul — is senior vice president of Keep America Beautiful.  Last year she masterminded her organization’s “Great American Cleanup” in Waveland.

Tomorrow Gail emcees a noontime event in Times Square.  Top New York City and federal government officials will be there; so will the cast of “Wicked,” Miss America — and Mayor Longo.  All will appear on enormous Jumbotrons at the crossroads of the world.  The mayor won’t be in Kansas — I mean, Mississippi — anymore.

Gail Cunningham Coen and Mayor Tommy Longo

Gail Cunningham Coen and Mayor Tommy Longo

He loves his town, but he’s happy to spread the word about Keep America Beautiful’s spectacular public-private partnership.  “We lost 95 percent of our homes, thousands of trees, flowers — even our insects,” he said Monday.  “Keep America Beautiful made it feel like home again.”

“After Katrina there were no birds, no sounds at all,” Gail noted.  “It was so eerie.  It was so wonderful to be able to help rebuild.”

“We’re flourishing now,” the mayor said.  “When the first oak trees sprouted, it was the start of a new beginning.  Then the volunteers came in.  Now when people drive down the road, they don’t see emptiness.  They see a beautiful, thriving community.”

Gail (who grew up on Soundview) enjoyed showing the beach to Tommy (whose boyhood Waveland home is a few steps from the  Gulf of Mexico).

“We’re so many miles away, but our towns are connected by living next to the water,” she said.

“Westport’s not Waveland, but I feel at home here,” the mayor added.  “It’s beautiful.  It reminds me of Waveland, pre-Katrina.”

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Posted in Beach, People

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Losing A Little Zest

Posted on April 21, 2009 | 2 comments

Zest has served its final meal.

Zest restaurant Westport CT“Economic forces beyond our control” doomed the popular restaurant — tucked beneath Patagonia on Church Lane — just before its 3rd anniversary, said co-owners chef Pietro and Janine Scotti.  The news came in an e-mail to loyal customers — of whom there were many.

The Scottis’ message was like their restaurant:  upbeat and community-minded.  The couple thanked patrons profusely for their “heartfelt support,” then looked creatively ahead.

The Scottis also own DaPietro’s, just over the bridge at 36  Riverside Avenue. Acknowledging that their other property has a reputation as a “special-occasion restaurant,” the owners are tweaking its menu and reminding diners of a few amenities.

Lunches will feature more casual, fresh-market offerings, at “surprisingly reasonable prices.”  The “by-reservation-only Grand Tea” — similar to fine hotels in New York and England — will continue to be served from 2:30-4:30 p.m.

DaPietro’s is still hosting seasonal wine dinners, themed dinners and cooking classes. They also cater, “receiving rave reviews for producing gourmet affairs on tight budgets.”

Chef Pietro Scotti

Chef Pietro Scotti

The Scottis concluded by saying they look forward to continuing their “amazing relationship with the community.”  What a classy note, on one of the most disheartening days of their professional lives.

Zest is not the first good Westport restaurant lost to the economic downturn.  Let’s do all we can to return the Scottis’ warm feelings for their customers, and help their beloved DaPietro’s thrive.

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Posted in Economy, Local business, Restaurants

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