After one rain bomb and one nor’easter this month, beach resiliency is an important topic.
This Thursday (October 1, 6:30 p.m., Town Hall auditorium), the Parks & Recreation Department hosts their 2nd forum on RACE Coastal Engineering’s Comprehensive Beach Resiliency Planning Studies.
The studies — involving Compo, Old Mill, Burying Hill and Canal Beaches — cover existing site conditions, potential beach profiles, and anticipated regulatory requirements.
This forum follows one on July 13. Residents can learn more, and ask questions about beach resiliency.
How resilient are our beaches? We’re about to find out. (Photo/Andrew Colabella)
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Congratulations to Tom Scarice!
Westport’s superintendent of schools is a finalist for not one, but two awards from the National Association of School Superintendents: Superintendent of the Year, and the Technology and AI Award.
The Superintendent of the Year honor recognizes extraordinary leadership and contributions to public education. Board of Education chair Lee Goldstein says his nomination “reflects his leadership of Westport Public Schools, and his focus on creating robust opportunities and stellar outcomes for our students.”
The Technology and AI Award honors his “thoughtful work to help our schools use artificial intelligence intentionally and responsibly, while keeping students and educators at the center of teaching and learning.
Recipients will be announced October 7.
Superintendent of schools Thomas Scarice. (Photo/Dan Woog)
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Breast Cancer Awareness Month begins Thursday.
Pink Aid is wasting no time kicking it off.
At 11:45 a.m., they’ll host of a free outdoor Pilates class with Sarah Sadie Newett. All levels are welcome. Mats and props are provided.
At noon, the Pink Aid flag will be raised (with snacks from The Granola Bar).
The heart of Westport is an appropriate spot. Pink Aid started right here in town, 16 years ago.
It’s grown into a national organization providing compassionate support and rapid emergency financial assistance to patients in treatment, supporting them and their families during a critical time.
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A reminder: The first event in “06880”‘s newest venture — community celebrations of local businesses — comes up soon. Everyone is invited.
On October 10 (5 to 7 p.m), “06880” and Kiin Sauna host “Community, Connection and Contrast.” KiiN is at 1555 Post Road East, next to Sherpa, Longevity, Zion and CT Sports Recovery — all wellness businesses too.
You’ll see friends and neighbors. Enjoy complimentary beverages. Meet KiiN founder Ginger Richardson, who will tell you all about the benefits of a sauna and cold plunge.
Ginger Richardson
If you feel adventurous, you can try a sauna and cold plunge yourself. (Sauna and plunge space is limited; click here to sign up.)
Ginger and her crew are great hosts. It’s a fun way to learn about a new spot in town.
Dave Briggs and I will host more events soon, all over town. We look forward to this new series. If your business would like to collaborate with us, email us: 06880blog@gmail.com.
Kiin Sauna
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Security continues to be a major concern for the local Jewish community.
On October 6 (7:30 p.m., TCS Westport). the Jewish Federation of Greater Fairfield hosts “The State of Security in the Jewish Community.”
Featured speaker Michael Masters is national director and CEO of Secure Community Network, the official safety and security organization for the Jewish community in North America.
An expert on homeland and national security, terrorism, law enforcement, antisemitism and targeted violence, he has testified before Congress and appeared regularly in national media.
Masters will discuss lessons learned since October 7, the current threat landscape, and the work being done locally to help keep the Jewish community safe.
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Westport elections are always fair — and transparent.
For example: When the registrars of voters begin flash media stick and tabulator testing on October 7 (10 a.m., Town Hall room 212D), the public is invited to observe. Residents can watch until testing is complete.
Questions about anything voting related? Contact the registrars: Deborah Greenberg (Democrat), dgreenberg@westportct.gov (203-341-1116); Maria Louise Signore (Republican) msignore@westportct.gov (203-341-1117).
Voting tabuloator
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There are new show times for Jazz at the Post.
The popular Thursday series now kicks off 30 minutes earlier: 7 and 8:15 p.m.. The venue is still VFW Post 399. Dinner service begins half an hour sooner too: 6:30 p.m.
Westport’s own Melissa Newman headlines this week. She’s joined by 3 regulars: guitarist Tony Lombardozzi, bassist Phil Bowler and drummer Bobby Leonard.
Melissa Newman
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Girls are on the run!
Girls on the Run is an after-school program. It’s part of a national positive youth development project for grades 3 to 7.
Twice a week, girls learn about and practice skills and positive mindsets, including positive self-talk, friendship, and the importance of individuality.
Each session includes running. Girls build endurance, culminating in that celebratory 5K.
This fall, the program “runs” at Kings Highway Elementary School. It runs for 8 weeks, beginning October 7. Wednesdays, it’s 3:45 to 5 p.m.; on Fridays it’s 7:45 to 9 a.m. The team is led for the 3rd yearby Todd Suchotliff,
One of the Girls on the Run highlights is a 5K at the end of the season. Girls recognize their growth, celebrate their accomplishments and experience the power of working toward a goal together.
Click here to register, and for more information.
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Westport resident Kathleen Weiss died peacefully on Thursday, with her family at her side. She was 84.
The New Jersey native graduated from nursing school at Saint Francis Medical Center. She moved to Westport in 1975 and worked as a nurse at Norwalk Hospital, the Westport public school system, and for several home healthcare companies.
She returned to school to earn her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Sacred Heart University. She later taught home healthcare at Western Connecticut State University, retiring recently.
Kathleen was a devout parishioner at Saint Luke Church for 51 years. She taught catechism, was a lector, assisted with charitable efforts, and attended Mass without fail until she was physically unable.
Kathleen married Timothy Weiss in 1965. They enjoyed dancing at the Fairfield County Cotillion Club, Gaelic American Club, and wherever else the spirit moved. They traveled widely, and especially enjoyed their time in Ireland and Italy.
Kathleen is survived by her husband; sons Timothy Jr. (Laura Barron-Weiss), David (Tracy Karlbergs) and Matthew Weiss; grandchildren Adele, Watson and Kathryn; step-grandchildren Thomas Barron and Gabrielle Barron; sister Ann and brother-in-law Thomas Weiss; brother Joseph and sister-in-law Virginia Smith, and brother Leo and sister-in-law Kathleen Smith. She was predeceased by her sisters Mary Woodrum and Susan Ingersoll, and several nieces and nephews.
A funeral mass is set for Friday (October 2, 11 a.m., St. Luke Church). Burial will be private.
Donations may be made to the Regional Hospice of Danbury. Kathleen’s family is grateful to the staff and volunteers for their wonderful care during her final days.
Kathleen Weiss
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What do bobcats do when they think no one is watching?
Play around — just like any other cats.
This pair — our featured photo for today’s “Westport … Naturally” series — frolicked off Long Lots Road.
(Photo/Rebecca Acselrod)
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And finally … Happy National Coffee Day!
(Pour yourself a hot coffee. Enjoy the morning. Read “06880.” Learn all about Westport. Then remember that we rely on readers’ support — so please click here, then go about your day. Thank you!)
Security for the local Jewish community is a legitimate issue. So is security for Palestinians. It’s hard to take these briefings at face value when the same institutions treat Gaza’s civilian death and displacement as off-limits, and treat any mention of it as an attack on Jews in Westport. Concern for one population’s safety shouldn’t require silence about the other’s.
What does someone’s view on what is happening in the Middle East have to do with legitimate security concerns of a group of Americans here at home Ryan? For someone who constantly rails against anyone deemed not “America First” enough for his liking, it’s quite interesting to hear you putting the security of those in foreign lands on par with Americans.
By your standard, a security briefing in Dearborn, Michigan focusing on the security of Arab Americans and Islamophobia would be “hard to take at face value” since many of those leading the briefing may feel Israel does not have the right to exist as a majority Jewish state and/or that October 7 was legitimate resistance to Israeli occupation. I reject this – regardless of their views, they are Americans and deserve the same safety and security you and I enjoy.
Read the comment again. I did not say Westport Jews should skip the briefing. I said it is hard to take at face value when the same institutions treat Gaza’s civilian dead as a forbidden topic and treat mentioning them as an attack on Jews in Westport. That was the sentence. You walked around it.
This is not a generic “Americans have a right to be safe” seminar. It is “lessons learned since October 7,” the threat landscape after that attack, and a national Jewish security outfit whose pitch is that the war over there is why the doors need extra locks here. You do not get to organize the night around that war and then act confused that someone brought up the war. That is not me importing the Middle East. That is you noticing it only when it is inconvenient.
Your Dearborn hypothetical is cute and it still does not work. It would only match if the Dearborn panel wrapped a local safety talk in a foreign war, then treated criticism of the side they prefer as an assault on Arab Americans in Michigan. “Arab Americans deserve not to get jumped” is true. “American Jews deserve not to get jumped” is true. Neither one comes with a gag order. If you need that explained slower, say so.
America First is not “only American bodies are allowed in the paragraph.” It is not a rule that Fairfield County institutions can fund, defend, and frame a war, then demand the rest of us call the civilian death “off topic.” Saying Palestinians also have a security problem is not ranking Gaza against Coleytown Road in the police budget. It is refusing the little loyalty test where one population’s fear is local and serious, and the other’s is a character issue.
They are Americans. They deserve the same physical safety you and I do. That was never the fight. The fight is your insistence that “don’t talk about Gaza” is part of that safety. It isn’t. And skipping my actual sentence to lecture me about America First does not make it one.
Great comments, Ryan.
SOME claims of antisemitism seem designed to discourage people from speaking out against the atrocities in Gaza.* They go hand-in-hand with the suggestion that all criticism of Israel is antisemitism when, obviously, it is not. Even within the Jewish community, there is not one monolithic view as to what Jewish Americans believe, even if the ADL would make great efforts to make one think otherwise.
I’m curious what the bona fide security concerns in Westport are – given our large Jewish community. In an 06880 comment a while back. didn’t one of the local political party chairs say that, as a Jew, she was afraid in Westport? I’d be curious as to precisely what she was afraid of.
*inserting the obligatory, “the action on 10/7 were horrific and indefensible,” so nobody asks why I don’t mention that. But that doesn’t give a nation free rein to commit atrocities on civilians in response.
Do some actual research into the specific event Ryan. This is being hosted by the Jewish Federation of Greater Fairfield County. There is absolutely no evidence that they “treat Gaza’s civilian dead as a forbidden topic and treat mentioning them as an attack on Jews in Westport.” There is hard data showing that Post-October 7 has seen a dramatic spike in both Anti-Jewish and Anti-Muslim hate crimes in the tri-state area (as well as nationwide and globally), and there are legitimate safety concerns on both sides. That the JFGFC is choosing to focus on one side of this and not the other does not somehow make it sinister or “hard to take at face value,” nor does it necessitate a knee-jerk reaction of requiring some obligatory mention of Palestinian suffering (as Chris alludes to in his comment, coming from the other side of course).
You referencing a “national Jewish security outfit” that “organizes the night around that war” and talking about “loyalty tests” is literally littered with long-standing tropes and treats the American Jewish community as a monolith (which, again, I agree with Chris that it is not). At best this is laziness, and I’ll assume positive intent and go with that.
“The war over there is why the doors need extra locks here” – unfortunately, this is true. Nefarious actors are holding American Jews accountable for the actions of a foreign country that they may or may not support (and even if they did support, it obviously does not justify their actions). It almost sounds like you’re saying the “national Jewish security outfit” is responsible for the dramatic increase rise in anti-Jewish hate crimes in the US, and not the perpetrators of these crimes themselves? If so, just come out and say it.
Chris, agreed on the point that some antisemitism claims are there to end the sentence. October 7 was indefensible. That does not license what has been done to civilians in Gaza, and it does not make every local Jew responsible for it.
Matt, stop rerunning the points I already granted. Westport Jews deserve not to get attacked. A Federation can hold a meeting about its own security. Anti-Jewish hate crimes rose after October 7. Anti-Muslim hate crimes rose too. SCN did not create the people who assault Jews in America. American Jews are not a monolith and are not the IDF. I have said all of that. That is the safe zone you keep standing in. None of it answers the comment you replied to.
The event is not a generic “Americans should be safe” seminar. Host: Jewish Federation of Greater Fairfield County. Speaker: Secure Community Network, which calls itself the official safety and security organization of the North American Jewish community. Topic: lessons learned since October 7 and the current threat landscape. You told me to research the event. I did. That is the event. Gaza is not a random foreign insert. It is the war the title is built on.
You asked what someone’s view of the Middle East has to do with security here. Your own later sentence answers it: “the war over there is why the doors need extra locks here.” You cannot call that link “unfortunately true” and then call it a hijack when someone talks about the civilian half of the same war.
You asked for evidence that Gaza’s dead are treated as forbidden. The evidence is this thread. I mentioned civilian death and displacement. You answered with tropes, monolith, laziness, America First, Dearborn, and “obligatory mention.” That is not a rebuttal of the deaths. That is a procedure for not discussing them. If JFGFC has hosted a straight session on Palestinian civilian casualties as casualties — not as a talking point against Hamas only — link it. Until then, “there is absolutely no evidence” is just you declaring the subject closed.
Dearborn only works if that meeting wraps local safety in a foreign war and then treats criticism of the armed side they prefer as an attack on Arab Americans in Michigan. Arab Americans deserve safety. Jews in Westport deserve safety. Neither one is a gag rule. You keep pretending I denied the second so you don’t have to deal with the gag.
“National Jewish security outfit” is SCN’s own description of its role. That is not an Elders of Zion sentence. If your ear hears a trope in a proper noun, that is your ear.
You will catalog hate-crime stats. You will not describe the record in Gaza: industrial destruction of civilian areas, mass displacement, famine conditions, and a death toll in which children are not incidental. If you think “genocide” is the wrong legal word, produce the word you will use. Atrocity. Mass killing of civilians. Collective punishment. Something. “I don’t have to say your word” plus silence is not rigor. It is how people avoid the pile of bodies without defending it either.
You are not owed a Westport comment section where the only moral fact allowed is Jewish fear. That fear is real. It does not purchase a veto on the rest of the war you already admitted is the reason the locks changed.
You don’t get a clean October 7 night and a dirty Gaza.
Thanks to all for their comments. As noted in the Comments box, there is a 3-comment limit per story, to prevent continued back-and-forth after initial thoughts are offered. Ryan, you’ve hit your limit. Thanks for weighing in.
Bibi knew as they all did.
I wouldn’t go that far (at least in terms of what I think you are suggesting). Though Bibi has certainly used 10/7 as an excuse to commit genocide.
I think it IS fair to ask why it is that strength first radicals who claim to always have the concern of protecting their native population in top of mind, who always seem to be the ones with their pants down, when terrorists plan an attack. Where was Bibi’s keen intelligence operation on 10/6? If it wasn’t a blind eye, it was incompetence.