Today’s weather has forced a change for tonight’s Representative Town Meeting, which will consider an $6.8 million request for design of the new Long Lots Elementary School.
Instead of meeting at Town Hall, the RTM session will be held via Zoom. Click here for the link.
Public comments are limited to 3 minutes. Emails to all members may be sent to RTMmailinglist@westportct.gov.
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Postponed by the weather: tonight’s “Addressing Incidents of Antisemitism and Bias in our Schools” event, sponsored by Westport Public Schools at Temple Israel.
The new date is March 13 (7:30 p.m). All attendees — in-person and livestream — should register (or re-register) here.
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Tomorrow’s Board of Selectwomen meeting (Wednesday, February 14, 9 a.m., Town Hall auditorium and livestream) contains this agenda item:
eliminating the requirement of a hand pass to register for participation in Parks & Recreation Department programs.
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Charlie Tirreno’s plea to Westport’s Planning & Zoning Commission — opposing development of a house on Riverside Avenue, which would disrupt the nests of eagles along the Saugatuck River — drew several supporting comments on “06880.”
It also elicited a photo of an eagle nesting by th eriver, from Louis Mall. The Representative Town Meeting member — whose district includes that neighborhood — sent this photo, taken by his wife Joan yesterday:
(Photo/Joan Mall)
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A dozen or so Westporters worked up an appetite for Sunday’s Super Bowl with a trash pick-up. They began at Grace Salmon Park on Imperial Avenue, and worked their way north.
RTM member Andrew Colabella, who organized the event, reports:
A total success for today’s pick. The high tide dampened our goal to obtain all trash; however we made do with what we could grab.
As it gets warmer, I would implore all residents to take advantage of the Saugatuck river to kayak and canoe, and to bring a picker with them. Dog walkers as well.
Instead of wrapping up your dog’s waste and flinging it into the woods, find a trash receptacle, or bring a trash bag and pick. I know many residents who do this during the week.
I was very happy to see so many residents turn out. In fact, a lot of people who were just walking inquired about the trash clean-ups.
Everyone gets into the act.
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For 72 years, STAR Lighting the Way has provided services for people of all ages impacted by intellectual and developmental disabilities.
On April 4, their annual spring fundraising — always a sellout — will have its own “star”: soccer legend Brandi Chastain.
The US women’s national team World Cup and Olympic champion, and Hall of Famer — whose celebration in a sports bra after her winning penalty kick again China was an instant iconic photo, and who now helps underserved girls learn leadership and motivational skills through the power of sports will speak at the Country Club of New Canaan on April 4.
Chastain joins a list of previous speaking stars that includes Mia Farrow, Barbara Bush, Jenna Bush Hager and Norah O’Donnell.
The gourmet luncheon includes a Champagne shopping boutique, goody bag, a signed copy of Chastain’s Book “It’s Not About the Bra,” and a Q-and-A session. Westport photographer Miggs Burroughs will snap photos of guests with Chastain.
Tickets are $250. To purchase tickets or become a sponsor, click here or email psaverine@starct.org.
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Bob Levy writes: “All for one and one for all.”
“As a kid I loved The 3 Musketeers, and their fierce loyalty to one another. Who knew that all these years later I would find them again at the Westport Weston Family YMCA,
“As a member, I already though I had discovered a gem in our community. But volunteering for Parkinson Body and Mind truly confirmed it.
“The Greenwich-based organization runs numerous Yprograms demonstrating the health benefits of boxing for people with Parkinson’s. Our boxing program, through the superb leadership of Brenda Waldron, consistently shows improvements in balance, strength and memory for the participants.
“In addition, what I have witnessed is extraordinary, magical and enviable. The group, who met as strangers, morphed into a loving family whose support for each other extends way beyond the walls of the Y. They are truly ‘all for one and one for all!'”
Yesterday, Bob handed “Knock Parkinson’s Out” t-shirts to everyone in the group. He added a sentence from The Book of Psalms: “There is strength in our souls.”
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This week’s Jazz at the Post show features vocalist Pete McGuinness.
A New York jazz treasure since the 1980s, the trombonist on Maria Schneider’s Grammy-winning “Concert in the Garden” is known for his improvisational prowess, and creative arrangements for his own Pete McGuiness Jazz Orchestra. His recordings have been nominated for 3 Grammys.
McGuinness will be joined on February 15 (7:30 and 8:45 p.m.; dinner serve at 7; VFW Joseph J. Clinton Post 399; $20 music cover, $15 for students and veterans) by pianist Ted Kooshian, bassist Mark Wade, drummer Scott Neumann and saxophonist Greg “The Jazz Rabbi” Wall.
Reservations are strongly suggested: JazzatthePost@gmail.com.
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Today’s weather is a bit different than yesterday’s.
Here was the “Westport … Naturally” scene 24 hours ago: a lone clammer enjoying Long Island Sound:
(Photo/M. Fortuna)
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And finally … Henry Fambrough, the last surviving original member of the recent Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees the Spinners, died last week in Virginia. He was 85.
Though the R&B group had several hits in the 1970s, they were formed in 1954, and — with different members — still tour today. Click here for a full obituary.
(Stuck inside in this winter weather? You can pass some time — and show your support for “06880” — by making a tax-deductible donation. Just click here. Thank you. PS: Stay warm and dry!)
I watched with great interest the Planning and Zoning hearing on a proposal for the Riverside Ave. property. While Mrs. Mall’s photo does indeed capture a magnificent Bald Eagle, I have yet to see a photo of an eagle’s nest as referenced. I have seen many through the years; these nests are typically huge and easy to spot.
I do hope the developer retains trees that serve as a waystop for migration, and that the 200+ year old house is preserved.
I appreciate the group that got together for a “group cleanup”. My husband and I enjoy taking our pups to Winslow Park. It is a great place. As you mentioned, there are quite a few of used poop bags thrown about the property. I carried my dog’s used bag through the whole park until I came to the garbage cans at the entrance. I am wondering if a few more can be placed around the park. I believe this might help the problem of people tossing them into the woods. Worth a try perhaps? Thanks so much.
This is a serious question. Is all manure the same? What I mean is, all you ever hear is that cow manure is good (mixed with yard trimmings, wood chips etc for mulch) and dog manure is bad. What would happen if we just let the dogs do their thing? Wouldn’t it fertilize the soil and improve the health of the grass?
This sounds like a question that would be a softball for my fellow old Westporter, Jack Backiel. (Sent from the doghouse)
Assuming this is a serious question – the answer is unequivocally it is not.
Cows (and Deer and Sheep and Horses) are herbivores. That’s why we don’t freak out when a horse poops on the beach.
Dogs are technically omnivores but because they eat meat their remnants spread all sorts of disease like ecoli.
Another example here of what you can learn from Dan’s College of Musical Knowledge.
We saw, before Covid, the Spinners’ lead singer from their peak years, G. C. Cameron, and he was billed as their original lead singer for that concert in 2018. He started with the Soinners in the 1960s. I had no idea they went all the way back to the mid-1950s. Holy cow!
G. C. still had an amazing voice with an incredible range as demonstrated on “It’s A Shame.”
The Spinners “It’s A Shame” was the last rock record played on WMCA in September, 1970 before they converted to a talk format. Long before its rock days, WMCA was owned by Westporter Donald J. Flamm, who later owned WPAT and then WMMM/WDJF in Westport, the later originally being WMMM-FM and taking on his initials in their call letters. He also founded the forerunner of the Voice of America.