“06880” has reported several times on early voting — used for the first time in Connecticut this fall for a presidential election. (Click here, then scroll down for details.)
Here’s info on absentee ballots:
Connecticut law allows you to receive an absentee ballot if you cannot appear at your assigned polling place on Election Day because of active service in the military, absence from the town in which you are eligible to vote, sickness, religious tenets that forbid secular activity on the day of the election, duties as an election official at a polling place other than your own during all of the hours of voting, or physical disability. To receive your absentee ballot, please complete, sign, and submit an application online.
Please provide your name, date of birth, and town as it appears in the voter record in order to look up and verify your voter information.
Click here to complete an absentee ballot request.
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The second Westport Safety Action Plan public meeting is tomorrow (Thursday, October 17, 7 p.m., Town Hall auditorium).
Officials will present results of the recent public survey, and offer safety analysis and information on project selection.
Click here to learn more about the Westport Safety Action Plan.
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Westport has begun the process to replace the maintenance building in Longshore.
That’s the shed that, ever since the town bought the 188-acre property in 1960, has occupied prime real estate, between the Inn and tennis court/pool parking lots.
The new site may be where the brush dump is now located.
Click here for more information.
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This is the final week for Play With Your Food.
There was a performance yesterday of the staged reading, script-in-hand series (plus delicious lunch) that has entertained and delighted audiences at local venues for 20 years.
There have been 350 performances, with 200 professional actors and 135 playwrights.
Additional shows are today (Wednesday) at the Pequot Library in Southport, and tomorrow (Thursday) at Greenwich Arts Council.
“All good things must come to an end,” Carole Schweid, artistic director for the series’ organizer, JIB Productions, told “06880” in July.
She has had health issues, and executive producer Diana Muller is retiring.
Many local actors turned out to say farewell yesterday. The cast included several long-time favorites, including Weston’s James Naughton.
First Selectwoman Jen Tooker awarded Schweid honorary recognition for the 2-decade run of one-act plays.
“They have been theatrical jewels for Westport theater fans,” says Marcia Falk.
She’s volunteered with the crew for 7 years. “I loved being part of such an exceptional Westport tradition,” Marcia says.
Brava, Carole and Diana. Thank you for 20 years of inspiring, thought-provoking, and much-needed entertainment!
Of course, audiences at the final Westport “Play With Your Food” performance celebrated with cake. (Photo/Marcia Falk)
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Michael Chait is a Westport photographer, known for his fresh looks at familiar local images.
Now those photos will be on sale, at a pre-holiday discount of 30%.
The event is Sunday, November 10 (2 to 5 p.m.) at his studio — which, fittingly, is in one of Westport’s most historic buildings.
It’s on the second floor of 11 Riverside Avenue. The building — long owned by the Gault family — is where, in the 1800s, merchant ships tied up.
National Hall (Photo/Michael Chait)
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It’s been a big year for Dustin Lowman.
The 2011 Staples High School and 2015 Middlebury College graduate performed at his first music festival (Black Bear Americana Fest); began hosting a Bob Dylan series at Cafe Wha?; opened for prominent artists like Marcellus Hall, Will Dailey and Ira Wolf, and got his first radio airplay.
Now he’s released his first new music in 6 years.
“Invulnerable” — his album of original songs — is available now. It straddles 2 stylistic worlds: the discursive balladeering of archetypal folk, and the more impressionistic lyricism of post-Dylan folk.
Dustin — who performed at last summer’s Soundview Stroll at Compo Beach — is booking concerts for the coming months.
We look forward to his “bringing it all back home.” In the meantime, you can listen to “Invulnerable” below. (Be sure to click the three-stripe icon in the upper right.)
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Staples High School’s October Students of the Month are seniors Brianna Caporale and Henry Lobsenz, juniors Sarah Kalb and Grady McHugh, sophomores Jace Darby and Maya Stafford, and freshmen Derin Leon and Moni Mazaheri.
Those students “help make Staples a welcoming place for their peers and teachers alike,” says principal Stafford Thomas.
“They are the ‘glue’ of the Staples community: the type of kind, cheerful, hard-working, trustworthy students that keep the high school together.”
Nominations come from teachers, who select “all-around good citizens.”
October Students of the Month (from left): Grady McHugh, Henry Lobsenz, Derin Leon, Jace Darby, Sarah Kalb, Maya Stafford, Brianna Caporale. Missing: Moni Mazaheri.
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More Staples news: Kate Bulkeley, Olivia Cohn and Olivia Saw will represent the schools next months, at the 11th Normandy International Youth Leadership Summit in Le Havre, France.
Delegates are high performing students interested in world affairs. At the event, the Westporters and other teens from 18 countries around the globe will develop action plans to address an issue affecting their community and the world — then implement them.
From left: Kate Bulkeley, Olivia Saw, Olivia Cohn.
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More Staples news: The cheer team hosts an Election Day clinic for grades 1-8 (November 5, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.).
It’s fun — and a fundraiser for the squad.
The fee of $75 before November 1, $85 after includes lunch and a t-shirt. Click here to register.
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Many drivers treat the stop sign at Bayberry Lane and Easton Road as a suggestion, not a command.
Perhaps this recent addition will make them put on the brakes, and pay attention:
(Photo/Sandy Rothenberg)
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Several readers sent photos of the Tsuchinshan-ATLAS comet that streaked over the area yesterday.
Unfortunately, it’s hard to photograph a comet. They’re far away, and they fly by fast.
Here’s one that shows a bit of the show, from Gabriela Hayes in Weston:
(Photo/Gabriela Hayes)
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Affordable housing — one of Westport’s hottest topics — was the subject of yesterday’s Westport Rotary Club luncheon talk.
David Newberg — chair of the Westport Housing Authority since 2004 — discussed the past, present and future of local affordable housing.
The WSA owns, manages and develops affordable housing in town. Their 221 units house 450 people, most of whom are from Westport. The WHA has spent $65 million dollars over the years restoring and developing these units.
Newberg said that the major obstacle to building more units to meet demand is the scarcity of buildable land. The major reason that land is so hard to come by, he noted, is that people generally do not want affordable housing in their neighborhoods. It can take years to get land allocated for this purpose.
David Newberg, at the Westport Rotary Club. (Photo/Ellin Curley)
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Nature is always on view at Sherwood Island State Park.
This week, Deb Krayson captured an Alfred Hitchcock-themed image for our daily “Westport … Naturally” feature:
(Photo/Deb Krayson)
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And finally … in honor of the Sherwood Island photo above:
(It is always the season to support “06880.” Please click here for a tax-deductible donation. Thank you!)
Dan, did you mean THIS song?
Once you get your ballot, vote “Yes” to “The Question” at the very top of the ballot so that CT may join the 33 other states that allow no-excuse voting-by-mail.
I have known Carole Schweid since she was a little girl growing up in Maplewood NJ. We then called her “cookie”. Carole was adorable and became much more than adorable as she pursued and succeeded in the world of theater, Broadway and so much more. “Play With Your Food” was both an incredibly delightful experience for all those who attended, but also a statement about Carole Schweid, her skills, her energy, her appeal, her imagination and her love of all things theatrical. In her modest way, Carole is a “force of nature”.
Congrats to all 3 International Representatives. Impressive! Total non-sequitor: If you spell your last name that way (Bulkeley), then you are a direct descendant of Rev. Peter Bulkeley, founder of Concord, Massachusetts in 1635-1636. Two of his sons moved to Fairfield as founders in 1644. Family has always stayed in the county since.