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One of Westport’s most popular restaurants will soon be even more so.
Kawa Ni — Bill Taibe’s Japanese spot in Bridge Square — is expanding into the former juice bar next door.
The 6-person bar will now double in size. The front area will open into what Taibe calls a “more useful, more playful” space.
Kawa Ni opened a decade or so ago. This expansion has run into the usual 2022 issue, including supply chain delays and the soaring cost of cedar.
But it’s proceeding well. The restaurant will be open for takeout this Thursday through Saturday. In-person dining begins April 21.
Taibe promises “a few surprises” on the new menu. Today he’s taking his chef and sous-chef into New York, for inspiration.
There’s always something cooking at Kawa Ni.
Bill Taibe, at what will soon be the new Kawa Ni bar. (Photo/Dan Woog)
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“06880” readers have appreciated and admired — and been horrified by and appalled at — Lynsey Addario’s photographs from Ukraine.
The 1991 Staples High School graduate/Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times photojournalist/MacArthur fellow has worked in the world’s toughest trouble spots for over 2 decades.
How does she do it? And balance motherhood, and being a wife?
Yesterday, she answered those questions. Click here for an intriguing, wide-ranging interview with Yahoo. (Hat tip: Leah Nash)
Lynsey Addario (center) with her mother Camille and then-toddler son Lukas. He is now 10 years old.
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And speaking of New York Times Pulitzer Prize-winning photographers who also graduated from Staples: Tyler Hicks has photographed many harrowing scenes from Ukraine. “06880” has reposted some of them.
But how does the 1988 SHS grad actually get those shots?
With intuition. Hard work. And plenty of balance.
Tyler’s sister Darcy — who still lives here in town — posted these 2 images on Facebook.
One shows the parking lot of an apartment building in Kramatorsk, littered with debris from Russian bombs:
(Photo/Tyler Hicks for the New York Times)
The other shows the lengths Tyler went to to take it. Yes, that’s him in the tree:
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Connecticut law caps contributions to gubernatorial campaigns at $3,500.
However, there is no limit on donations to super PACS — so long as they do not coordinate activities with candidates they support.
CT Truth PAC supports Republican Bob Stefanowski. It opposes Governor Ned Lamont. So far, they’ve spent $300,000 on TV and online ads. Lamont defeated Stefanowski in the 2018 governor’s race.
Two $500,000 contributions to CT Truth PAC have helped. One came from Thomas McInerney of Westport. He’s the CEO of Bluff Point Associates, a private equity firm on Riverside Avenue.
Click here for the full CTMirror story.
Thomas McInerney is not a fan of Governor Lamont (above, on Main Street). Or at least, he backs Bob Stefanowski in the upcoming race.
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Figgs fans get an extra helping on Saturday.
The high-energy band’s MOCA performance (April 16, 7 p.m.) includes a tribute to punk. It’s part of the museum/gallery’s current “Punk is Coming” exhibition.
Food and drink from Shaken & Stirred includes sliders, and a custom “fig” drink. Click here for tickets.
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In 1987, Westport resident and small plane pilot Bob Jacobs got sandwiched in between much bigger jets — and shut down Westchester Airport as a result.
A series of circumstances (of course) led to the mishap. Now he tells the story on a Flying magazine podcast, called “I Learned About Flying From That.” Click here to listen (it helps to know all the pilot jargon).
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Michael Hannan of Westport died March 29, from complications of COVID. He was 56.
A lifetime resident of Westport, he graduated from Staples High School and the University of Massachusetts, with a degree in urban forestry.
Michael was a Connecticut licensed arborist for 30 years, and the mainstay of family-owned New England Nurseries. His passion for trees and plant science was exceeded only by his dedication to his friends and customers.
Michael was an avid fisherman. he traveled far and wide — including Central and South America, Ireland and Alaska to fish, catch and release. He was a perennial sight on Long Island Sound. He was tenacious in all endeavors that he found interesting, and had unwavering conviction in those areas.
Michael is survived by his parents, Peter and Dolores Hannan; sister Kelly (John) Anzalone; niece Haley Humiston; nephews Ryan and Connor Humiston, and John JJ Anzalone; an uncle; 2 aunts, and cousins. He was also survived by his constant companion Blue.
A memorial service will be held this summer, somewhere by the water. Memorial contributions may be made to a charity of your choice, or an animal rescue organization.
Michael Hannan
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The other day, “06880” previewed tomorrow’s Aspetuck Land Trust Zoom program on invasive species like knotweed.
Soon after, alert reader Werner Liepolt was at Sherwood Island. He was impressed by the grooming effort to rid the state park of knotweed — and wondered why we haven’t done the same, at some of our town’s open space.
Knotweed grooming, at Sherwood Island State Park. (Photo/Werner Liepolt)
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And finally … on this day in 1945, Franklin D. Roosevelt died in Warm Springs, Georgia of a cerebral hemorrhage. He was 63 years old.
Woody Guthrie wrote “Dear Mrs. Roosevelt,” about the president’s life and astonishing accomplishments. The refrain says it all: “The world was lucky to see him born.”
Bob Dylan and The Band performed a definitive version, at a Woody Guthrie tribute concert in Carnegie Hall.
