Congratulations to the Staples boys lacrosse team!
The Wreckers won the FCIAC (league) championship for the 2nd time in 3 years last night. They edged New Canaan 10-9, in a nail-biter.
Seven straight 2nd-half goals gave the blue-and-whites the lead. They hung on when the Rams scored the last 5 — and their final shot hit the post.
Junior Nate Maurillo was the game’s Most Valuable Player.
Coach Will Koshansky’s squad, with a 15-4 mark — is the 5th seed in the state tournament. Play begins Wednesday (June 3, 6 p.m.), with a home match against #12 Hamden.
The last school to win both the league and state title in the same year was Darien in 2017.
Click here for a full story from The Ruden Report.
Staples High School: FCIAC champs! (Photo courtesy of Gregory Vasil for The Ruden Report)
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Speaking of sports: As the Planning & Zoning Commission plans to debate lights on 2 athletic fields (Monday, June 1, 6 p.m., Zoom), Staples High School student Loewe Epstein hopes to rally support.
He started a Change.org petition, which is nearing 200 signatures. It is focused on Wakeman Field, which is used by a variety of school teams.
Epstein cites scheduling difficulties and community involvement as key reasons to add lights.
Wakeman turf field.
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Congratulations to Faith Sweeney!
The Coleytown Middle School gifted program teacher, and Westport Public Schools No Place for Hate coordinator, will receive the Connecticut Education Association’s Mahatma Gandhi-Martin Luther King Jr. Peace Award.
The honor recognizes an individual who has developed or implemented a program in a school or community that advances peace education, promotes cooperation, supports the peaceful resolution of conflict, and expands opportunities for students and educators.
The Westport district’s No Place for Hate initiative “helps create school communities where all students feel valued, respected, and supported. The initiative focuses on identity, bias, bullying prevention, and proactive responses that strengthen school climate across the district.”
Superintendent of schools Thomas Scarice says that Sweeney “has helped lead work that strengthens belonging, empathy and respect across our schools. This recognition speaks to her dedication to students and to the kind of school community we are always striving to build. Her work reflects the very best of Westport Public Schools and our commitment to building inclusive, caring learning communities.”
The award will be presented June 18 in Hartford.
Faith Sweeney
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A vehicle crashed into a parked car, then an apartment building yesterday afternoon at Canal Park.
The driver was treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
No one was inside the building. Fire crews shored up and stabilized the structure.
A vehicle strikes Canal Park …
… and a firefighter stabilizes the building. (Photos courtesy of Westport Fire Department)
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The Historic District Commission meets June 9 (7 p.m., Zoom).
The agenda includes discussion of demolition permits for:
- 36 Hiawatha Lane
- 12 Gault Park Drive
- 1 Reimer Road
- 15 West Parish Road.
15 West Parish Road.
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A new business is moving into Compo Shopping Center, next to Gold’s:
(Photo/Sal Liccione)
But that’s all we know. There’s no phone or email, QR code … nothing.
A quick web search brought up a “Flora Aesthetics & Wellness” in Ventura, California. An email to them bounced right back, with an error message.
Flora: We’d love to give some love to Westport’s newest aesthetics and spa place. But who are you? Contact us: 06880blog@gmail.com.
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June is Pride Month.
Westport Pride kicks it off on Monday — June 1 — with a 4 p.m. flag-raising ceremony at Jesup Green. First Selectman Kevin Christie and State Senator Ceci Maher will attend. The public is invited.
Westport Pride — the non-profit that advocates for LGBTQ+ inclusion and respect — says the Pride flag :more than a seasonal decoration. It carries history, identity, grief, celebration and visible support.
“Pride Month, observed each June, honors the legacy of LGBTQ+ activism and the ongoing pursuit of dignity and equal rights for all. This flag-raising is a public expression of Westport’s values — a visible signal to LGBTQ+ residents, families, and visitors that they are welcome and celebrated in this community.”
Westport Pride is also organizing the town-wide Pride celebration on Sunday, June 14 (12 noon, Jesup Green).
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A night of classic rock, pop and dance hits tonight (Friday, 7 p.m.) will help raise funds for Homes for the Brave, the Bridgeport-based housing, vocational skills and life coaching support non-profit serving area veterans.
The show’s site is appropriate: VFW Post 399.
The Gold Dust band will play. Admission is free, but donations are encouraged — and important.
Can’t make it, but want to help? Click here to donate!
Gold Dust
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Want to join a yacht club?
Cedar Point hosts an open house on Sunday, June 14 (4 to 6 p.m.). Everyone is invited to learn about membership, sailing and social opportunities.
The Bridge at Saugatuck will serve appetizers and cocktails.
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Four 10-minute plays — each revealing a different aspect of reproductive health care — will be staged at the Westport Country Playhouse Lucille Lortel White Barn on July 12.
“R Rated: Reproductive Rights and Resistance On Stage” — directed by Keria Naughton — is a collaboration between The A Chronicles and Reproductive Equity Now.
The performances will be followed by an open conversation exploring reproductive rights, bodily autonomy, and the realities facing today’s patients and providers. Click here for tickets, and more information.
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Jennifer Kobetitsch sends a very cute photo, for today’s “Westport … Naturally” feature.
“Baby season!” she writes. “This one was in our yard on North Avenue. Mama came back for her/him.”
(Photo/Jennifer Kobetitsch)
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And finally … on this date in 1953, Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay become the first people to reach the summit of Mount Everest.
(Ain’t no way we’re not going to be here for you, 24/7/365. Ain’t no way you shouldn’t support us, either. Please click here — and thank you!)
Regarding lighting the town’s athletic fields, here is a letter I wrote to the Planning and Zoning Commission. As far as number of letters go, clearly I am in the minority.
To: Westport PZC
I am opposed the the athletic fields lighting initiative at all the listed fields because I believe our homes are sacred grounds and the town should protect residential neighborhoods as
peaceful sanctuaries for homeowners.
I would like to see far more thought go into the effort to light all of the athletic fields in town.
Having read through the many many letters submitted by team sports participants, I get that the sports community wants lights. They also want more and better fields. They have been “activated,” and cheered on to make some noise! They are making their voice heard, as is their right, through the immensely powerful mechanism that is organized sports.
Unfortunately, homeowners in neighborhoods do not have the benefit of a similar institutional organization to round up mass mailings. They must rely on their elected officials — you — to represent them. I hope each adjoining or adjacent homeowner has been individually noticed at each field in question.
Certainly, their numbers are not as plentiful as the many enthusiastic sports teams, but I would argue their rights, and investments in their homes, are at stake. As such, they command the appropriate priority in this type of decision.
I do not see lighted fields as the urgent priority it is being given. I am concerned for neighborhoods in which these intrusive lights will be installed, and the intensification of
activity during evening hours.
I am concerned about a move away from Dark Skies eforts to protect wildlife, its habitats, and migration patterns.
I am concerned about light pollution in general.
I am concerned about the town expense associated with installing and maintaining lighted fields, especially given the extraordinary tax increase about to be enforced.
We are fortunate to live in Westport. Our children already have a fantastic community environment, excellent schools, and phenomenal resources.
When will it be enough?
https://www.westportct.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/125301