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There’s a new sheriff downtown.
Randy Herbertson replaces Dewey Loselle as chair of the Downtown Plan Implementation Committee. Loselle — former chief operations for the chair — resigned recently, after many years in the post.
Herbertson is president of the Westport Downtown Merchants Association. He owns The Visual Brand, a design agency on Church Lane.
The DPIC is responsible for carrying out the Downtown Master Plan. Under Loselle, the group implemented streetscape improvements on Elm Street, new sidewalks and lights on Main Street, Veterans Green sidewalks and more.
1st Selectman Jim Marpe — who appointed Herbertson to the post — thanked Loselle for his long service.
Randy Herbertson
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Speaking of planning:
Neighbors watched warily all winter, as activity began on 12 acres of land bordered by Clapboard Hill Road, Morningside Drive South and Turkey Hill Road South.
Stakes with pink strips appeared in the ground, and a new gravel path was built from Clapboard Hill.
Is one of the town’s last large tracts of private property being developed?
Plans are underway for several new homes. There are wetlands issues, and the Conservation Commission required those borders to be withdrawn. The permitting process with other town boards is still in the early stages too.
Meanwhile, another home nearby is being built on a separate property.
(Photo/Nicholas Eisenberger)
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I usually avoid posting links to listicle stories: “50 Best Suburbs For Seniors!” “Top 500 Schools in America!”
They’re clickbait. Their methodology is dubious at best, and manipulable for their own demographics. Besides, if Staples High School is #1 in one poll, then #2 in the next, taxpayers get all their knickers in a twist.
But Coastal Living’s “Best Beach Towns: Dreamy Places to Live” issue is worth noting — if only for the writeup. It’s the way the world (or at least that portion of it that reads Coastal Living) sees us:
“You can’t imagine the volume of COVID refugees,” says Shari Lebowitz, citing the cheering sight of new families with baby strollers and slow-waling toddlers along the tidy sidewalks of this leafy enclave on Long Island Sound.”
The magazine says that Lebowitz — owner of Bespoke Designs — moved here for “a cultured little town that supported entrepreneurs. Westport, driven by small waterways with open space for wildlife, also has a charming stretch of tawny beach that serves as the town’s outdoor living room all summer long. (Dogs and their happy owners take over in the off season.)”
MoCA Westport is a “small contemporary art museum that punches well above its weight with arts education, performances, and world-class exhibitions.”
Lebowitz gets the last word: “I can make coffee and drive down to drink it on the beach every morning before work. What more could I want?” (Hat tips: Lisa Gold, Tom Feeley)
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What better way to mark the 1-year anniversary of the COVID lockdown than with a horror show?
This Sunday (March 14, 6 p.m.), a worldwide audience can fire up the computer and listen to “Dracula.” Staples Players presents the 4th in their winter radio shows via livestream, at www.wsptfm.org.
Following 6 previous radio shows this pandemic year, “Dracula” promises to be another smash. It’s a great drama. Cast and crew have been hard at work perfecting timing, sound effects, and (of course) their Transylvanian accents.
Jamie Mann, David Corro and Violet Cooper have key roles. David Roth and Kerry Roth co-produce the show; Don Rickenback is music director, and Geno Heiter oversees the audio.
NOTE: If you missed the original broadcasts of 2 previous Players radio shows — “Little Women” and “Sorry, Wrong Number” — they’ll be on the WWPT-FM livestream the following Sunday, March 21 (6 p.m. and 7:10 p.m., respectively).
The cast and crew of “Dracula.” (Photo/Kerry Long)
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On the Staples sports scene:
Last night — for perhaps the first time in Wrecker swim team history — 3 siblings swam on the same relay team.
Justin (senior), Jason (sophomore) and Jared (freshman) Lessing joined Daniel Rosenkranz. The foursome placed 2nd in the 200 freestyle relay at the Senior Day meet against Danbury. Staples’ other relay team won that race; both helped the Wreckers to take the entire meet.
Coach Todd Gordon fulfilled the Lessings’ longtime dream of swimming on a high school relay squad together. He’s a former swimmer and pitcher at Harvard University. Justin plays both sports at Staples too. This was his first meet of the year, after suffering tendinitis in his pitching arm.
From left: Jason Lessing, Jared Lessing, Daniel Rosenkranz and Justin Lessing. Daniel and Justin are co-captains.
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More Staples news: Congratulations to Students of the Month Moses Beary, Marley Brown, Gianna Amatuzzi, Camryn Zukowski, Sophie Hekmat, Quinn McMahon and Maggie Montoya.
The awardees — nominated by teachers — are students who help make Staples High School a welcoming place for peers and teachers. Principal Stafford Thomas calls them “the ‘glue’ of community: the type of kind, cheerful, hard-working, trustworthy students who keep the high school together.”
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Westport’s yard waste site resumes regular hours of operation, starting this Monday (March 15): weekdays 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Saturdays 7 a.m. to noon.
The location is 180 Bayberry Lane (by the Westport Weston Health District).
Yard waste at 180 Bayberry Lane.
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Temperatures are ticking up into the 60s. Daylight Savings starts Sunday morning.
Meanwhile, the Imperial Avenue parking lot snow bank shows no signs of melting.
(Photo/Tammy Barry)
We will mark its progress by various dates: Easter. May Day. Memorial Day. The 4th of July …
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State Senator Will Haskell is the new chair of the General Assembly’s Transportation Committee. He previously chaired the Higher Education and Employment Advancement Committee.
“For the last 2 years, I’ve kept a Metro-North timetable from 1970 on my desk in the Senate,” the 2014 Staples High School graduate says.
“Over the last 5 decades those trains have gotten slower, not faster. It’s time to reverse that trend by investing in green infrastructure, creating good-paying jobs and helping our constituents get where they need to go.”
State Senator Will Haskell, with a Metro-North train.
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And finally … Lawrence Welk was born today in 1903. He died in 1992, at 89. A one, an’ a two …
When we lived at 114 South Morningside Drive, the view of Kowalsky’s farm was awesome. I can only imagine how that view will look staring down at six roofs instead of 12 acres of grass and hay. I’m sure the value of 114 South Morningside Drive will take a serious hit!
Residents who want Westport to stay a beautiful costal living ranked town needs to contact their local Reps and express outrage at the proposals being made to end local control of Zoning. Hartford is trying to take zoning control/ “home rule” away from the towns and municipalities as we speak. One proposal (1024) would approve all land within 1/2 mile of a train station for all kinds of development (say goodbye to Greens Farms) and another disallows towns from using “local character” or property values as a reason to turn down a development. If you love your costal town Check out Tony Hwang’s site and sign petitions. Several bills are being rammed through while everyone is distracted by Covid.
Claudia, hopefully you and others readers saw this piece. I posted it a couple of hours after this Roundup: https://06880danwoog.com/2021/03/11/opinions-cons-pros-of-state-multi-housing-bill/
For the record, the proposal actually states “within a one-half-mile radius of any municipality’s primary transit station.” (Transit station is defined as a “rail station, bus rapid transit station, ferry terminal or bus terminal.”)