For 40 years, Homes with Hope has provided emergency shelter, supportive housing, a community kitchen and food pantry to area residents.
It’s a national model for what a suburban organization can do, to help solve a national crisis.
Now the non-profit has taken another step. Homes with Hope is creating an Affordable Housing Advisory Council. They’ll advocate for, and participate in, developing affordable supportive housing initiatives, as part of the HwH mission to prevent and end homelessness.
The council will continue collaborating with local partners and town officials to increase efforts to add affordable housing here.
Lauren Soloff, a board member for 12 yeas, will chair the Council. It will consist of prominent Westporters including former 1st Selectman Jim Marpe, former New Neighborhoods CEO Ross Burkhardt, Michelle Lapine McCabe and David McCarthy.
Homes with Hope board members on the Affordable Housing Advisory Council include Brian Baxendale, Jen Ferrante, Will Haskell, Becky Martin, Kate Weber and Ralph Yearwood,
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This Sunday marks the last supper for Pane e Bene.
The Post Road East Italian restaurant opened 12 years ago. The property has been sold, and will be developed as The Clubhouse, a “simulator lounge” activity space with interactive experiences in golf, football, soccer, hockey, dodgeball and more; private rooms for birthday parties, corporate events, karaoke and big-screen game viewings, plus a bar with craft cocktails and a pub-bites menu.
Pane e Bene will reopen when a new location is found.
Pane e Bene restaurant.
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September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Many Westporters — and Circle of Care, the non-profit that provides assistance to families who have a child with cancer — are taking note.
Gold ribbons — representing the color of childhood cancer awareness — can be seen all around town.
Families decorated Kings Highway Elementary School with the ribbons (and inspiring messages. Last Friday, staff and students wore gold, and donated dollar bills to build awareness.
Circle of Care provides practical, emotional, and financial support to children in treatment and their families. Since its founding in 2003 it has assisted over 3,200 families, providing over $5 million in services.
For more information, click here.
Honoring Childhood Cancer Awareness Month (from left): 2nd Selectwoman Andrea Moore, Circle of Care co-executive directors Liz Vega and Liz Salguero, 1st Selectwoman Jen Tooker.
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When Stauffer Chemical Company moved its international headquarters to the former Nyala Farm property at I-95 Exit 18 in 1970, it was a defining moment: Westport’s first big office property.
There was plenty of opposition. Thanks in large part to activism by the Greens Farms Association, safeguards were put in place to maintain much of the land as open space. Today — even though it’s home to Bridgewater Associates, the world’s largest hedge fund — it’s hardly noticeable.
But area residents have noticed a new addition recently: tents, and a large “slip and slide.”
Bridgewater’s slip and slide …
That’s not in keeping with the special permit negotiated by the Association, that the open space be maintained as “rolling meadowlands.”
Association officials are keeping an eye on the tents and slide — which may be temporary — as well as other, more permanent modifications to the meadow.
The special permit negotiated over 50 years ago is still in force.
… and tents. (Screenshots from video by Art Schoeller)
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The East Coast Greenway — which runs from the Canadian border to Key West, and passes through Westport (primarily on Greens Farms Road) — got a shoutout this week in the New York Times.
In “These Human-Made Natural Wonders Hide in Plain Sight,” Peter Coy
examines the power of transformational and expansive trail networks. Click here for the full piece. Click here for a map. (Hat tip: Peter Gold)
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This is crazy, but it seems true. WestportMoms posted on social media:
“Everyone’s age today is 2023.
“The whole world is the same age. It only happens one every 1,000 years. Add your age and your year of birth. For every person, it adds up to 2023.
“It’s so strange that even experts can’t explain it.”
Wow!
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Flowers (artificial) and a pumpkin (real) create a nice “Westport … (Semi-)Naturally” tableau at Burying Hill Beach.
(Photo/Johanna Keyser Rossi)
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And finally … in honor of the “2023” age/birthday phenomenon noted by WestportMoms (story above):
(“06880” is your hyper-local blog. Please click here to support your local news and all-kinds-of-information source. Thank you!)
I don’t get it, and I’m sure I stupid and the 06880 world will help me. If I’m 2 and I was born in 2021, my age plus the year I was born equals 2023. Fine. Next year, I’ll be 3 and 2021 plus 3 will be 2024. Doesn’t it work every year?
Doesn’t this work every year????
Wait — this doesn’t always work. My son is 35 and born in 1987 and that makes 2022.
I only make 2022. 1937+85=2022
It doesn’t work if you haven’t had a birthday yet this year…..
Yeah, and next year everyone’s age plus birth year adds up to 2024! Duh? How could it be otherwise?
It definitely works every year. Funny that we never noticed that before
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Also, Nancy, it depends on when your birthday is. It seems you need to use your age at the end of the year. So Nancy, if you’ll be 86 before 12/31 this year, it will add up right.
I was so excited about this and woke both my sons up with it… thought they would love the fact as they r both math heads… my youngest’s response: “no sh**t Mom, that’s how u calculate people’s age!” My oldest’s: “hahaha not true, for example if u r born in December it doesn’t work…” now i feel dumb 🤣
Well like a few others I am breaking the formula. Or maybe I have to wait until my birthday which is 12/25/1954. Right now my age plus year of birth adds up to 2022. That seems to solve the one year off problem maybe?
ah, well you can’t believe everything you read on the internet … this is only true on dec. 31 … and it works every year …
Of course. That’s how math works. I thought it was funny that it was posted as an “amazing fact.” I guess the humorous part didn’t come through via cyberspace!
O Dan. Scammed by fake news by those wacky Westport Moms…the birthday thing is quite interesting but ONLY WORKS ON 12/31 of the particular year you are in. By that time everyone has had that year’s birthday. So yes, there is only ONE day a year when this fact is accurate, but it’s not today, not tomorrow, but will be correct 12/31. However, you’ve rejuvinated a few of my brain cells thinking abou this, so thank you anyway 🙂
Playing with math and associated math puzzles is fun however let’s hope the Greens Farms Association tread lightly and understands the real math in dealing with Bridgewater. When math lovers take the dollars and other positve contributions to Westport for having their quiet presence and economic benefit to our local economy and jobs, Bridgewater definitlely earns a likewise consideration from Westport and its townspeople and associations.
Bridgewater is a wonderful business neighbor, lets not shoot ourselves in the foot Greens Farms. Speak softly and try your best to achieve a workable outcome for all. JMHO
Hi Ray, Perfectly stated and I assure you we wish to honor Bridgewater and all the prior owners of the Nyala Farms office complex for being good stewards of the largest privately owned open space in Westport, beloved by many. That said we need a better “line of sight” and communications by Bridgewater to ensure they communicate their plans and activities. The special permit stipulates that the “site left as rolling meadowland”. The “slip and slide” is being dismantled and we want to ensure the meadowland will be fully restored. That said there have been additional encroachments on the open space that need to be addressed. The GFA is brokering a meeting to open up a dialog between Bridgewater and the abutting neighbors who per the special permit must approve any modifications to it.
Getting back to Pane e Bene — I do hope this wonderful bistro will find a new home soon. In a town of great restaurants, it stands at the top!