One more reminder that summer is over: Yesterday (November 1), the barriers were removed at Church Lane and Elm Street.
The outdoor restaurant tables are gone.
The road is once again open to traffic.
Church Lane (Photo/Sal Liccione)
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One more reminder Halloween is over: Your rotting pumpkins.
No problem! Next Thursday (November 9, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.), the Westport Farmers’ Markets hosts its 5th annual Great Pumpkin Toss.
Just bring your pumpkin to the Imperial Avenue parking lot. Action Waste Solutions will collect them.
It’s one way to turn a tiny portion of the 1.3 billion pounds of pumpkins wasted in the US each year into usable compost.
All pumpkins and gourds in their natural state are accepted. Squishy and rotted ones are fine. Unfortunately, decorated or painted pumpkins cannot be composted.
Participants can “toss” their pumpkin in the bin, or just drop and go.
Last year, Westporters diverted one ton of pumpkin waste from landfill. Farmers’ Market director Lori Cochran-Dougall hopes to beat that record next week.
There’s no trick to that — just an environmental treat.
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Westport’s 5 polling locations for Tuesday’s elections are the same as last year:
- Districts 1 & 2: Saugatuck Elementary School
- Districts 3 & 8: Coleytown Middle School
- District 4 & 5: Greens Farms Elementary School
- Districts 6 & 7: Long Lots Elementary School
- District 9: Westport Library
Polls are open Tuesday (November 7) from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Need an absentee ballot? Click here.
Unsure of your voting district? Check the map below, or click here.
Questions? Contact the registrars of voters: 203-341-1115.
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Westport Police made 6 custodial arrests between October 25 and November 1.
A man was charge with 2 counts of burglary, 2 counts of larceny, and illegal taking of a payment card, after stealing a purse from an unlocked vehicle. An off-duty officer saw a man later trying door handles in a Post Road East parking lot; his license plate matched that of a car seen by a Good Samaritan following the theft.
A man was charged with interfering with an officer, after a domestic violence call at a house under construction. When asked for identification, he provided fake names and addresses.
A man was charged with driving under the influence and operating a motor vehicle without a valid driver’s license, following a report from Compo Beach of an intoxicated person stumbling in the parking and yelling with another person. He was stopped while driving away from the beach.
A man was charged with violation of a protective order. After a previous arrest for domestic violence, he tried several times to contact the victim via phone and messaging.
A man was charged on Halloween with criminal trespass and criminal attempt at burglary, after a homeowner reported witnessing by remote surveillance camera a suspicious person trying to enter their home. When stopped by officers he said he was “trick or treating with his family,” but was alone.
A man was charged with threatening, unlawful restraint, reckless endangerment and breach of peace, after a juvenile reported that a man had pointed a gun at the heads of several juveniles, accusing them of breaking bottles and trespassing. The teens had been playing “break or bounce” with bottles in the raod. The man demanded the teens text him photos of their licenses, and ordered them to sit down before they ran off.
Westport Police also issued these citations:
- Traveling unreasonably fast: 18 citations
- Distracted driving: 2
- Traveling at unreasonable speed: 2
- Operating a motor vehicle while using a cellphone: 2
- Failure to obey stop sign: 1
- Failure to obey traffic control signals: 2
- Permitting a minor to possess alcohol: 1
- Passing in a no-passing zone: 1
- Following too closely: 1
- Operating an unregistered motor vehicle: 1
- Operating a motor vehicle without a license: 1
- Failure to renew registration: 1
- Failure to drive in the proper lane: 1
Permitting a minor to possess alcohol is a serious offense.
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Westport is grateful for Club 203.
And Club 203 — which offers social activities and friendship for adults with disabilities — is grateful for community support.
Their November meeting is a “Thankful & Grateful” event. It’s November 15, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at Earthplace.
On the menu: “Thankful bites, a gratitude art corner by MoCA, and an exclusive tour of Earthplace’s incredible animal exhibition.”
In the holiday spirit, guests are asked to bring a thankful gift to be donated to clients of Westport’s Human Services Department. Any toiletries and/or household cleaning items that cannot be bought with SNAP are welcome.
For details and registration, click here. Questions? Email club203ct@gmail.com.
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It’s November, so it’s time to think about holiday gifts.
Give sustainably this year!
you can get a head start at Staples High School’s Zero Waste Committee 2nd annual EcoFest (Saturday, November 11, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Staples cafeteria).
Organizers promise “sustainable gifts and ideas for every occasion,” plus exhibitors, food, thrifting, kids’ crafts, educational presentations and more.
PS: It’s free — no admission charge!
I have no idea if these gifts are sustainable. But the wrapping is!
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Westport-based Bridgewater Associates is often called “the world’s largest hedge fund.”
But how does it make so much money?
Rob Copeland wondered. The New York Times journalist interviewed hundreds of people in and around the company. He pored over emails, recordings, court records, company documents, and published interviews and articles. (He did not speak with founder Ray Dalio and other Bridgewater executives, who provided feedback through lawyers and representatives.)
The result is a new book. “The Fund: Ray Dalio, Bridgewater Associates, and the Unraveling of a Wall Street Legend” will be published next Tuesday.
Yesterday, the Times ran a long excerpt (click here).
Copeland’s conclusion: It is not a Bernie Madoff-like Ponzi scheme.
But I’m still not sure how they do it. (Hat tip: Allan Siegert)
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Schools are closed Tuesday, for Election Day.
Looking for a fun, different activity?
“The Book of Mormon” professionals offer a “Broadway workshop” at the Westport Country Playhouse (November 7, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.). Included is musical theater instruction, dance performances, and Q-and-A. Fifth graders through college students are welcome.
Cast members include Joshua Keen, dance captain/swing, and Andrew Stevens Purdy, ensemble and understudy for Elder Cunningham.
After the workshop, they head back to New York for a performance that night.
To register, email curleylaura@hotmail.com or text 917-734-8462.
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A reader enjoyed last week’s Friday Flashback, about the Platt Burial Ground on Post Road West at the Norwalk line. He writes:
“I own a house that sits nearby, near Kings Highway South.
“I’m pretty sure both it and Post Road West existed in the early 19th century, albeit with less traffic.
“So I wonder if the Platt Burial Ground has always been as small as it is today. Could it have, in the past, extended all the way to Kings Highway South?
“My house’s back yard lawn has this pesky rectangular bare spot, about 6′ x 3′, over the septic tank. Or is it something else?
“So far, no portals into Hades have ever opened up in the closet.
“Nevertheless, every Halloween we keep an eye out to make sure the poltergeists are resting in peace, and that nothing like an arm or leg decides to poke out.”
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Dr. Jerome Brodlie died peacefully at his Weston home last week. He was 85.
He worked as a child psychologist in private practice and at Greenwich Hospital, where he chaired the psychology department. As a regular guest on “CBS This Morning” he reached millions of American parents. He also built mental health services in areas affected by natural disasters, in the US and overseas.
The Bronx native attended the University of Illinois on a baseball scholarship. After graduation in 1960 he passed up a chance to play professionally, and got his doctorate in psychology at Columbia University.
He did post-doctoral work at the Alfred Adler Institute, while he taught at Brooklyn College. He married Lisa Evans, a pediatric oncology nurse.
In 1968 they moved to Weston. In addition to his private practice in Greenwich, he taught at Yale School of Medicine and Southern Connecticut State University, while also serving as a consulting psychologist for Convent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich Academy, and the Eagle Hill School.
In 2001 he was part of a statewide commission that advised on new laws and processes for child custody in divorce cases.
In 2005, Dr. Brodlie went to New Orleans to train nurses, doctors, and teachers who were helping children recover from the trauma caused by Hurricane Katrina. He also advised the school systems, students and teachers affected by Hurricane Ivan, which had struck the Cayman Islands, where the family vacationed frequently. The State Department later recruited him to go to Burma to work with young people experiencing PTSD; there he met and counseled victims of torture, caregivers for people with terminal illness, former political prisoners, and others. He returned there often.
His family says he enjoyed “playing sports, traveling, cooking, painting and telling jokes, although his paintings were usually more successful. He played pickleball and basketball, but he was most proud to have played 78 consecutive baseball seasons.”
He is survived by his wife Lisa; children Matt, of Los Angeles, Sara Gray of Middletown, Rhode Island, and Dr. Rachel Brodlie Corse (Griffin) of Cambridge, Vermont; grandchildren Maximus, Lola, Stella and Benjamin, and sister Barbara Scheinert.
Donations in his memory may be made to Leveling the Playing Field.
Dr. Jerome Brodlie
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Leaves are everywhere. (Hey, it’s November — what do you expect?)
But among the squintillions that make our town so gorgeous this time of year, Jerry Kuyper spotted an extra-special one.
He was intrigued by the “creature” he saw in it.
Enjoy this unique “Westport … Naturally” image:
(Photo/Jerry Kuyper)
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And finally … in honor of the “Book of Mormon” Election Day workshop at the Westport Country Playhouse (story above):
(Meanwhile, I believe that contributing to “06880” — your hyper-local blog — is a good thing. Please click here. Elder Cunningham and I thank you.)
I just drove thru the beach. Apparently some of the little cherubs were playing “break or bounce” all over the roadway near the cannons. Cute.