Roundup: Vaccine, Venues, Jeera Thai, More

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Based on erroneous information, I reported yesterday that the  St. Vincent’s COVID testing site on Long Lots Road would close March 1.

Nope! They’ll remain open: Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, 8 a.m. to noon. And no appointment is needed — just drive in.

Meanwhile, Bridgeport Hospital and Yale New Haven Health will open a new drive-thru COVID testing station at 140 Mill Plain Road in Fairfield on March 1.

The 2-lane site near the train station can accommodate 450 appointments a day, 7 days a week. Scheduling will be available online.

Yale New Haven Health operates several other COVID testing sites throughout the state. For information, call 833-275-9644.

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With declining positivity rates, Connecticut will loosen COVID-19 restrictions on some events next month.

Starting March 19, private, social and recreational events at commercial venues can increase indoor capacity to 50%, capped at 100 people. That’s up from 25 people under current rules.

Outdoor event capacities can rise to 200 people (up from 50).

Interstate athletic competitions will be allowed starting March 1. Youth sports events may have spectators up to 25 percent of venue capacity, with a 200-person cap.

We’re not quite back to this kind of wedding reception. But we’re getting there.

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Happy 5th anniversary to Jeera Thai!

Quietly, lovingly and deliciously, the small Post Road restaurant across from Design With Reach serves some of the most flavorful, authentic cuisine in town.

Or anywhere else this side of Thailand.

Through blizzards, hurricanes — and the pandemic — owner Pook and her staff are there. They serve their many loyal customers (and anyone else who wanders by, or orders online) with love. And without dumbing down their menu for the American palate.

Pook uses “correct” herbs. She pays a bit more to import brands from Thailand. It’s certainly worth it.

Jeera Thai is a Westport gem. Here’s to the next 5 years — and many more after that.

Pook (foreground) and her staff, at work.

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Former Westporter Arthur Powers Jr. died Monday. The 60-year-old struck a tree while skiing at Stowe Mountain in Vermont.

He moved to Easton in 2019, after many years on Spicer Road. The Easton Courier wrote:

Known for having a comedic actor’s sense of humor and drama, Art was an inventor and manufacturer of state-of-the-art outdoor speakers who designed music systems for 40 years. He also played drums in numerous bands in a career as a musician.

Art’s many hobbies included music, motorcycles, and mountain biking. He was an automotive enthusiast who raced cars and motorcycles. He loved being in the mountains, in the woods, and on the beach, and was an accomplished biker and skier.

In addition to his life partner of 20 years, Dr. Patricia Hart, he is survived by his daughter Kelly Poweers Bluien; parents Arthur Sr. and Evelyn; siblings Kenny, David and Corrine Powers Barton, many cousins, nieces and nephews, and a menagerie of dogs, cats and goats.

A celebration of Art’s life will be held in late summer.

Art Powers

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And finally …on this day in 1877, Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake” premiered at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow.

One response to “Roundup: Vaccine, Venues, Jeera Thai, More

  1. So Dan, I assume that your food at Jeera Thai is always free since you mention them all the time……lol.