=======================================================
Molly Alger writes:
“About 5 hours after the snow had stopped falling yesterday, it was very treacherous being a pedestrian on Post Road.
“I stopped in a couple of businesses and asked why their sidewalks had not been cleared. No excuses were forthcoming other than, ‘Someone is supposed to do it.’ This is extremely disappointing — not to mention hazardous.”
Molly sent along a series of photos of un-shoveled sidewalks. Here is one:
(Photo/Molly Alger)
A reminder: According to WestportCT.gov, “Per town ordinance, businesses are responsible for keeping all sidewalks along their property clear of snow and ice.”
======================================================
It’s been many months in the making. But Ellen Naftalin’s “Art of the Album” exhibit is open, at the Westport Library’s Jesup Gallery. Put a mask on, and go!
On display is album cover art from remarkable women artists from the 1920s through ’60s. From the Depression and World War II to the civil rights and women’s movements, they broke the glass ceiling and the color barrier.
Naftalin and her husband Mark — a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, with the Paul Butterfield Blues Band — dug through their personal, vast collection of LPs. Now they share them with the rest of us.
Every album cover — plus and the sign with Sister Rosetta Tharpe (“The Godmother of Rock and Roll”) has a QR code. Visitors can admire the art — and listen to each artist.
Naftalin’s exhibit is the second in a series. Another is planned for spring.
Part of Ellen Naftalin’s “Art of the Album” exhibit.
======================================================
Speaking of the Library: “Cart-side service” is now available weekdays (10 a.m. to 6 p.m.) and Saturdays (10 a.m. to 5 p.m.) at the Westport Library. Books, DVDs, CDs, audiobooks, and children’s toys and kits are available for pickup.
Anyone with a Westport or CT Library card registered with the Westport Library can use the service. However, requests can take up to 4 days to be fulfilled
Click here or call 203-291-4807 to request items (up to 10 per library card). You will receive an email or phone call when the items are ready. Call the number above when you plan to come; items will be placed on the cart in the library (just inside the main upper entrance) for pickup.
This replaces the previous “curbside” service. Click here for more information.
=======================================================
There’s never a dull moment with Carl Addison Swanson. The Staples High School graduate has written 51 (!) novels, including the highly acclaimed Hush McCormick series, Tug Christian thrillers, Scooter mysteries, Ian Fletcher legal series, Justin Carmichael nostalgic memoirs, and more. Five works have been optioned to the film industry.
Carl’s latest is “Never a Dull Moment: Spring of 1966.”
Amazon’s teaser says: “One’s last two 2 semesters of high school can be rough, but even worse when there is never a dull moment.”
Click here to order.
=======================================================
Westport’s feathered creatures know how to fend for themselves in foul weather. Of course, a bit of help from humans never hurts. Wendy Crowther snapped today’s “Westport … Naturally” photo right after yesterday’s snow.
(Photo/Wendy Crowther)
=======================================================
And finally … Inez Foxx’s “Mockingbird” is one of the album covers in Ellen Naftalin’s Westport Library exhibit (above). Here’s the song behind the artwork:
Get a grip Molly, Covid cases are skyrocketing…people are short staffed and many are home sick or isolating. You’re acting like it’s business as usual these days. Grab a shovel!
Give me/us a break! Ms. Alger needs to read the entire ordinance. Stores, businesses etc. need to complete the task within 24 hrs. “I stopped into a couple of businesses and asked why their sidewalks had not been cleared”. That takes some moxie.
Just went out to an appointment and saw plenty of cars with snow on the roof. This is illegal- the snow you are too lazy to clean off the roof of your car can fly off and hit & blind a driver in back of you. Grrrr.
I agree with Molly. I was walking to work this morning and was forced to walk in the Post Road in several places. Before you make fun of pedestrians from the safety of your car, try walking it on an icy day.
If anyone was in the store where the sidewalk had not been cleared, they are the ones who need to “grab a shovel.”
Wendy Crowther’s photo is fabulous. What kind of bird is it?
A few years ago, a friend was walking in the roadway because of uncleared sidewalks. I recollect it was on Riverside. She was struck by a vehicle, injured, and, incredibly to me, in the accident report she was found to be at fault. I’m not sure what I am trying to say here, but it’s definitely a slippery slope involving care, caution and shared responsibilities.
In Molly’s photo the snow on the sidewalk doesn’t look like fallen snow – it’s plowed snow. Where I live plows go by frequently and fast, pushing the snow up onto sidewalks. It’s a problem.
Our DPW, under Director Peter Ratkiewich, does a good job. The important walking pathways leading along L.I. Sound around Old Mill and Compo Beach are usually addressed within one day.. The machines the Town has do a pretty good job, though often some icy spots are allowed to remain.