Possible thunderstorms have moved tomorrow’s Pops Concert from outdoors to inside.
The Staples High School Music Department says: “We continue to prioritize the safety of all students, staff and audience members. Doors will open at 6 p.m. for pre-concert acts. The concert will begin at 7. We look forward to sharing an ‘Evening at the Movies’ with you.”
The decision had to be made early, because setting up a concert of the Pops’ scope and scale takes time (and different equipment, dependng on the venue).
The music department and AV tech crew will work until midning tonight setting up the auditorium, to be ready for Friday morning’s run-through with sstudents.
The Staples auditorium’s sound and lighting replacement is long overdue. Without a working system, the school relies on rented equipment.
Despite the challenges, the hundreds of talented students and their remarkable teachers put on an excellent concert — no matter where the music comes from.
Meanwhile, the Staples Music Parents Association has arranged for Romanacci to help feed the hungry audience.
Pre-orders will be taken through 9 a.m. tomorrow (Friday); click here, then choose an option from the dropdown menu. Food will be delivered at the show.
Romanacci is donating a portion of proceeds to the Staples music program. Mangia!
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The Community Gardens have garnered the most publicity from environmentalists, during debates over the new Long Lots Elementary School.
But another casualty is 25 to 30 trees. They’ll be removed, “06880” reader Margaret Freeman says, when the parking lot is reconfigured. She sent this collage:
(Photos/Margaret Freeman)
She says they were planted when the school was built in the mid-1950s, as a junior high.
And “they’re in swales, to collect water.” Each tree absorbs about 750 gallons a year, she says, citing the Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection.
“With the water issues well documented to the north and south of the site and the removal of the Community Gardens, this is cause for concern,” Margaret adds.
“This doesn’t have to happen. The lot could be ‘reconfigured’ to save the trees. It’s not too late.”
NOTE: Last night, both the Conservation Commission and Flood & Erosion Control Board gave their okays for the new school plans.
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Tonight’s Board of Education meeting (Thursday, 7 p.m., Staples High School cafeteria) begins with recognition of the PTA co-presidents, Student BOE representatives Souleye Kebe and Calum Madigan, and 19 Westport Public Schools retirees: Valerie Babich, Judy Bachman, Anthony Buono, Peter Caligiure, Shauna Flaherty, James Forgey, Jane Garard, Frances Geraci, Suzanne Levasseur, Susan McCarthy, Karen McCormick, Joyce McNiff, Stephen Rexford, Mary Scaife, Anne Sheffer, Carolyn Siclari, Debra Spath, Maureen Vergato and Humphrey Wong.
After a reception, and public comments on non-agenda items, there are 3 seemingly quick agenda items: the 2025-26 school lunch program, approval of ’25-26 tuition rates, and authorization for the superintendent of schools to sign contracts.
Among this year’s retirees: assistant superintendent Anthony Buono.
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Longshore Sailing School takes its maritime responsibilities seriously.
Beyond providing instruction for all ages — and rentals — they help keep the shoreline clean.
As they’ve done for many years, on June 14 they’ll lead a coastal cleanup kayaking event.
From 9:30 to 11 a.m., people can take a kayak for free to clean up the shoreline and Saugatuck River. There is plenty of debris. Longshore Sailing will supply buckets.
Here is the sign-up link. Click through to reserve a single or double kayak on the 14th at 9:30; then enter the code “cleanup” before adding to cart to delete the cost.
Among the debris from last year’s Longshore Sailing School clean-up: golf balls, from the nearby driving range.
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It’s a busy June at the Westport Book Shop.
- Meet local self-help author (“Unapologetic Success” and business coach Shawniel Chamanlal (June 7, 3 p.m.)
- Artist of the month: Erin Nazzaro (reception June 18, 6 p.m.); exhibit up all month.
- 2 raffles. There’s a prize for kids (4 lessons at the Stewie the Duck Swim School, plus a gift basket), and for adults (a sealed copy of “The New Yorker in Westport,” by Eve Potts and Andrew Bentley. Tickets are available at the store.
- Short Story Book Club (June 19, 6 p.m.): Special Juneteenth stories: “King of the Bingo Game” by Ralph Ellison, “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker, “The Last Days of Rodney” by Tracey Rose Peyton. Registration is required: call 203-349-5141, or email RSVP@westportbooksaleventures.org.
Erin Nazzaro
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The Cottage has always featured locally sourced food.
Its 10th-anniversary tasting menu highlights “under-appreciated seafood.” Among the menu’s highlights is a freshly caught eel, sourced locally in collaboration with Hunter Peterson of the Saugatuck Oyster Company.
Peterson’s year-round guided shell fishing tours on Long Island Sound teach participants to identify and safely harvest offerings like eastern oysters, quahogs, surf clams and slipper limpets, while addressing invasive threats such as Asian shore crabs.
Each experience concludes on the beach, where he shucks oysters and transforms slipper limpets into a delicacy with a blowtorch and herb butter.
“Working with overlooked seafood allows us to tell a deeper story about the ocean’s natural rhythms,” says Cottage chef Brian Lewis. “By embracing what’s abundant and underutilized, we create dishes that surprise, delight, and honor the ecosystem that sustains us.”
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Eight members of the Artists Collective of Westport are heading north.
They’re painters, photographers and sculptors. They approach their themes in different ways.
But the women — Janine Brown, Louise Cadoux, Leonor Dao, Susan Fehlinger, Rebecca Fuchs, Fruma Markowitz, Barbara Ryan and Lisa Silberman — have found common threads.
The show — at A Mano Gallery in Torrington — is a testament to their work (and made possible by a Don Long Grant). After an opening reception on June 13 (6 p.m.), the exhibit runs through June 27.
Art by Leonor Dao.
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Westport Police made 5 custodial arrests between May 28 and June 4.
A 26-year-old Fairfield woman and a 28-year-old Bridgeport man were charged with larceny, robbery, and conspiracy to commit those crimes after a robbery at Westport Hardware. After the woman allegedly stole 2 power tools, she told an employee in the parking lot that she had a knife and the man in the car had a gun. She was charged with threatening, too. Both were held on $75,000 bonds.
A 52-year-old Philadelphia woman was charged with larceny, payment card fraud, payment card theft, identify theft, and conspiracy, following an investigation into a 2018 incident in which a wallet was stolen from a patron at Panera Bread. The suspect was transported to Westport from a prison in Allentown, Pennsylvania, after law enforcement information sharing.
A 39-year-old Westport man was charged with possession of a controlled substance and criminal trespass, after being in Terrain in violation of a trespass warning. During the arrest, he admitted to possessing Xanax and Oxycodone.
A 46-year-old West Haven man was charged with larceny, after an investigation into the theft of meat and seafood from Stop & Shop.
Westport Police also issued these citations:
- Driving while texting: 13 citations
- Failure to comply with state traffic commission regulations: 11
- Traveling unreasonably fast: 9
- Failure to obey stop sign: 7
- Operating a motor vehicle under suspension: 2
- Operating a motor vehicle without a license: 2
- Operating an unregistered motor vehicle: 2
- Operating a motor vehicle without minimum insurance: 2
- Failure to grant right of way: 1
- Failure to renew registration: 1
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Staples High School Class of 1992 graduate Scott Cussimano died April 28. He was 51, and lived in Seattle.
Scott earned a BA in philosophy from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He pursued an MBA at the University of Washington, blending philosophical insight with business acumen. His business career included positions at Microsoft and Oracle. He recently established his own company, focusing on global quality-of-life initiatives.
Scott loved surfing in California and Mexico, playing frisbee with his dog, and traveling to foreign cities.
He is survived by his father, Patrick, sister Gail Cussimano, brother Erik (Margo Friedman), Cussimano and sister-in-law Margo Friedman, and cousins. He was predeceased by his mother, Sissel Dreyer Cussimano.
Scott’s ashes will be scattered along the coastal waters of Santa Barbara, a place he loved.
A celebration of life takes place tomorrow (Friday, June 5, 11 a.m.; Lesko Funeral Home, 1209 Post Road, Fairfield). Friends can greet the family at 10:30 a.m. cClick here to send online condolences. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Sierra Club.
Scott Cussimano
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Another “Westport … Naturally” feature, another coyote.
This one was spotted enjoying Susan Garment’s Pequot Trail garden.
Stay safe out there!
(Photo/Susan Garment)
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And finally … thinking about the first item above:
(It’s hard to keep up with everything happening in town. We hope “06880” helps. And to help us keep solvent, please consider a tax-deductible contribution. Just click here — and thank you!)
Who needs trees? When you can have bigger better ball fields?
Wash, Rinse, Repeat…same ‘ol Toni.
Up your game Toni, get some new stuff….should be easy for a former ‘comms’ exec.
Keep in mind that the primary reason Long Lots is going through this is the need for a new school. Yesterday’s meeting of the FECB and Conservation Commission had a lengthy and detailed presentation of how the new drainage system will reduce the runoff from this site over and beyond what is required by the town. Runoff is expected to be reduced for events up to 100-year rainfall amounts when compared to existing condition as well as undeveloped condition (meaning natural site of plants and trees). In the new school plans, I also see trees that will be placed after the new school is built. Long Lots parents love the maple trees we have at this school. I hope that the construction can save some of them. But a new Long Lots school is crucial and urgently needed.