Solutions to Westport’s traffic woes may move more slowly than the vehicles that race around town.
But they’re coming.
That was one of the messages delivered at last night’s Traffic Pedestrian Safety public meeting.
Three dozen residents — many of them RTM representatives and other town officials — heard members of the Traffic & Pedestrian Task Force, and an outside consulting firm, describe steps they’ve already taken, and will take, to address the thorny issue.
The task force, created by 1st Selectwoman Jen Tooker, was represented by Public Works director Pete Ratkiewich, Police Corporal Al D’Amura and Deputy Chief Ryan Paulsson, Deputy Fire Chief Nick Marsan, town operations director Tom Kiely, and town engineer Keith Wilberg.
Four members of the Tighe & Bond engineering firm presented too.
Traffic & Pedestrian Safety Task Force members (from left) Pete Ratkiewich, Al D’Amurra, Ryan Paulsson, Nick Marsan and Keith Wilberg, last night at Town Hall.
Increased traffic enforcement — particularly around schools — has led to 3,580 traffic stops since October: a 39% increase. More than 170 of those stops have been made on Easton Road, near Coleytown Middle and Elementary Schools.
That’s a direct result of the 4 police officers assigned to Westport’s 8 schools (Staples/Bedford, Coleytown Middle and Elementary, Kings Highway/Saugatuck and Long Lots/Greens Farms), Paulsson said.
In addition, several sidewalks have been built, crosswalks have been designated, and no-parking zones created.
A map showed that traffic enforcement takes place all over Westport. “It’s not just on the Post Road,” Deputy Chief Ryan Paulsson noted. (Photos/Dan Woog)
A $562,500 grant — 75% of it federal, 25% local — will help Tighe & Bond devise a safety action plan by next February.
It may include traffic enforcement cameras, at selected locations. State legislation passed recently now allows municipalities to install the devices. But there are many stipulations, such as demonstrated need. Westport is moving forward to qualify, Paulsson said.
Data collection on accidents and “hot spots” continues, the consultants explained. There have been 2,944 motor vehicle accidents over the past 5 years, with 5 fatalities and 37 serious injuries.
Among the most troublesome areas: the Post Road, and Riverside and Saugatuck Avenues.
Twenty-eight involved pedestrians, while 6 involved bicyclists.
The “interactive survey map” has been helpful. Over 1,350 people have logged on, to register complaints and comments, and offer solutions.
Many involve the Post Road, Riverside Avenue, Main Street, Compo Road North and Cross Highway. Low responses have come from the northwest (Redcoat Road) and southeast (Greens Farms) sections of town.
The survey is open until May 10. Click here to see and respond.
In the public portion of the meeting, several RTM members spoke about their districts’ concerns.
Congestion, dangerous drivers and poor visibility were mentioned frequently.
Bicyclists were not forgotten. RTM member Peter Gold asked for debris to be cleared from roadsides, potholes filled and vegetation removed, so that cyclists would not have to veer into roadways.
Bike Westport co-founder Markus Marty urged the creation of more bike lanes, noting studies that show narrower lanes lead to safer streets.
(Click here for Westport’s Traffic & Pedestrian Safety page.)
(Everyone talks about traffic. “06880” brings you news about it — along with everything else going on in Westport. But we can’t do it without you. Please click here to support our work. Thank you!)
As the busy summer season nears, Westport’s Parks & Recreation Department is searching for a new director.
Jennifer has resigned, effective May 8. She will assume a new position, as director of the Darien Parks & Recreation Department.
Deputy director Rick Giunta will take over on an interim basis, until a permanent director is named.
Jennifer Fava
Fava began her Westport career on September 1, 2015. The University of Massachusetts graduate’s previous position had been in North Hempstead, Long Island.
She told “06880” then that her background there — including managing golf courses, marinas and beaches — would be very helpful here.
This afternoon, Fava told “06880” that, among other accomplishments in Westport, she is particularly proud of the South Beach restroom project, the redevelopment of Riverside Park, and re-turfing of athletic fields.
Parks & Rec is in the initial stages of a 10-year capital improvement project for Longshore Club park. “I hope people keep moving it forward,” she said.
Fava added, “It’s been a good ride. Darien is an exciting opportunity.”
She thanked “all the people I’ve worked with in Westport: elected officials, town committees, the Parks & Rec Commission and volunteers.”
Fava’s tenure involved several controversies, including awarding the Compo Beach concession contract to Hook’d; the possible relocation of the Westport Community Gardens, and concerns about maintenance of the town’s grass fields.
Much of the debate about the William F. Cribari Bridge is binary: Replace the 139-year-old span, or renovate it.
Mary Gai has another idea. The longtime resident writes:
After reading a letter written to the state Department of Transportation by a Westporter, extolling the virtues of the temporary bridge that was constructed while the last repairs were made to the Cribari bridge about 30 years ago, a thought popped into my head.
The temporary bridge (left), built next to the Cribari Bridge. It came close to the Mansion Clam House (later Parker Mansion). The view is looking north, to Bridge Street. Bridge Square is on the right.
The bridge over the Saugatuck River is beloved, no doubt — but not all of us love the traffic congestion caused by its size and state of disrepair.
The letter proposed keeping the bridge, but leaving it in the open position to let boats through, while building another bridge like the wonderful temporary bridge that was so great for traffic and boats.
Keeping it open does not make a lot of sense to me. But what is keeping us from dedicating the Cribari bridge to pedestrian and bike traffic only? We can elevate it, with stairs on both ends and ramps for those who need them.
Then we can build a bridge like the temporary bridge we all loved 30-plus
years ago, for the cars and trucks.
Saugatuck is all grown up now, with many more residents than there were just a decade ago. Could this make everyone happy?
If this was previously presented as an idea and shot down, let’s revisit it. Our technology has to be better now. And we will be able keep the beautiful lights at holiday time … or all year long.
This rendering of a temporary replacement — while the current bridge would be worked on — was presented by the Cribari Bridge Project Advisory Committee in 2018. Could it be a permanent solution?
(“06880” often publishes Opinion pieces by residents. It’s one more feature of our hyper-local blog. To support our work, please click here. Thank you!)
On April 3, Westport’s Parks & Recreation Commission adopted a regulation restricting access to non-school personnel and guests, on schools and adjacent property, between 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m.
The Board of Selectwomen approved the regulation on April 10.
The Westport Community Gardens, near Long Lots Elementary School, is among the sites impacted by the new rule.
Toni Simonetti — a 23-year town resident, and longtime Gardens member — has petitioned the Westport Representative Town Meeting to reject the regulation, or modify it to restore prior hours of operation for the Community Gardens. (Gardeners were previously restricted from 8-9 a.m. and 3-4 p.m. only, when school was in session.)
The RTM has not published the agenda for its May meeting yet. Simonetti’s petition has 24 signatures.
Simonetti hopes members will examine these points:
— The Westport Community Gardens are “non-school grounds, but rather public town land adjacent to a school but a great distance from the school building and outdoor play area.”
— The garden is fenced and locked. No other part of the property, encompassing the entire perimeter, has a security barrier. Bauer Place is “within a few feet of the school’s’ playground.”
— Only Garden members can unlock the gate. The combination is changed each season.
The Westport Community Gardens gate. (Photo/Peter J. Swift)
— “Members and registered guests, restricted to town residents and employees, are screened by the garden’s Steering Committee; names and addresses are submitted to the town of Westport for sex offender status. Those approved must carry a hand pass while in the garden when school is in session. The town
knows exactly who the gardeners are and where they live. This is a significant security measure that far exceeds any other public space in Westport — including the unrestrained and unrestricted access that Compo provides anyone from anywhere to approach the hundreds of children (and staff) at Camp Compo.”
— There have been no “untoward incidents” in the Gardens’ 20 years at the Hyde Lane location.
— Gardeners can actually serve as “a valuable early notification adjunct for school resource officers and local law enforcement.”
— “Resources are better spent securing the grounds at more exposed school sites such as Greens Farms, Saugatuck and Kings Highway Elementary Schools.”
(“06880” is your source for hyper-local journalism. We rely on reader contributions. Please click here to support our work. Thank you!)
For years, a few Westporters suggested building a parking deck at the Baldwin lot.
For just as long, the idea was never considered seriously.
Between aesthetics and cost, plans for the land off Elm Street between the back of Brooks Corner and Christ & Holy Trinity Church have not gone anywhere.
Another reason: When people heard heard “deck,” they thought: “parking garage.”
A deck, however, is just that: one level, on top of the existing lot.
It is not a “parking garage,” with confusing entrances, exits and ramps.
Part of the Baldwin parking lot. It extends on the right side too.
Though the concept was included in Westport’s 2015 master plan, the Baldwin lot was eventually simply renovated. The project was completed in 2022, for $1.4 million.
Now though — as town officials, the Downtown Plan Implementation Committee, merchants, restaurateurs, property owners, shoppers and residents wrangle over the reconstruction of Parker Harding Plaza, the reconfiguration of the Jesup Green area, and the future of the Imperial Avenue lot (along with environmental concerns, the role of commerce in Westport, and the political process undergirding all of the above) — more stakeholders are saying: You know, a parking deck at Baldwin isn’t such a bad idea after all.
Joe Vallone is one of those people.
Joe Vallone
A longtime Westporter, architect, real estate developer, and champion of urban renewal and historic preservation, he prepared a design at the request of Representative Town Meeting member Jennifer Johnson. It accommodates about 100 vehicles.
Elm Street sits about 21 feet above sea level, Vallone says. The proposed deck is 3 feet higher.
However, he says, “with a travel distance of over 100′ of length, the grade difference will be barely perceptible, meaning a relatively flat walkway from Elm Street to the deck.”
The lower deck ranges from an elevation of 10 to 11 feet. Vallone doubts any parking spaces there would be lost.
He envision an 8-foot wide walkway, and an 8-foot wide green space for large potted trees and planting areas. They would be well lit, and visible from Elm Street.
He also envisions a transparent pipe railing system, with built-in planting boxes.
Vallone was careful not to encroach on homes with backyards nearest to the existing lot.
Joe Vallone’s plan for the Baldwin parking lot.
Other developers might try to cram in 25 to 30 more spaces, Vallone says. However, that would feel “heavy-handed, cumbersome and surely raise the ire of neighbors.”
He believes his design solution is a “fairly simple build.” The only disruption to the existing lot might be the placement of new steel columns, which will need to be “carefully located in harmony with existing parking spaces.”
A storm water drainage connection from the new deck, and removal of several existing pole light fixtures, would also need to be addressed. These too are “not complicated issues.”
Vallone says the rule of thumb for elevated parking decks is about $25,000 to $30,000 per space. That works out to roughly $2.5 to $3.5 million for the entire structure. He doubts it would reach $4 million.
There is no need for much site excavation or an elevator. Opponents of a deck raised those issues earlier this year, when they cited a cost of $80 million to $100 million for a deck.
Meanwhile, Lawrence Weisman’s petition to place the downtown parking issue on the Representative Town Meeting agenda has gained nearly 200 signatures.
It notes: “A parking deck on the Baldwin lot will provide additional parking in an easily accessible location at affordable cost without the need to encroach upon the town green.”
After more than a decade of idle talk about a parking deck — something few Westporters took seriously — the idea no longer seems fanciful.
Now let’s see who drives it forward.
And who wants to apply the brakes.
(“o6880” drives local conversations. To help us do that, we need your support. Please click here to contribute. Thank you!)
Upgrades to a pair of well-known Westport properties are on the agenda for next Tuesday’s Architectural Review Board Meeting (April 23, 7:30 p.m., Zoom).
Members will review a proposed façade modification and use of existing ancillary building for a floral studio and storage at 561 Post Road East.
That’s the small, gray 1900-era building — one of the last examples of a single-family house on the Post Road — owned by Terrain, at the corner of Crescent Road.
In 2011 — as part of its application process to open in town — Terrain agreed to preserve the house. They also promised not to use it for storage. That way, it would not count toward the number of parking spots needed.
In 2013, Terrain tried to gain 8 spaces by knocking down the house. The Planning & Zoning Commission denied their request.
For years, the house has been used for storage. Recently, Terrain replaced the roof.
The plan they’ll present to the ARB shows 642 square feet, where florists will build large custom planters for customers. The remaining 1,147 square feet would be used for storage.
The Terrain auxiliary building today (top), and the proposed renovation (bottom).
Renovations to the Inn at Longshore — long awaited, and much needed — are also on the ARB docket.
Interior work includes a new HVAC system, replacement of windows and doors, more guest rooms (and renovation of current rooms), updated ballroom and drawing rooms, updated lobby, completely remodeled kitchen, plumbing and electrical upgrades, and ADA compliance updates.
Architect Ken Nadler has proposed a new entrance with a porte cochère.
Other exterior renovations include a series of patios extending across the length of the building with access to the lawn and shoreline, new landscaping, upgraded exterior lighting and signage, and replacement of siding and roofing.
Site improvements also include a new drive entrance, enhanced parking, and a robust landscaping plan.
The current Inn at Longshore … (Photo/Amy Rizzuto Photography)
… and the proposed new look.
Enhanced patio behind La Plage restaurant.
A new terrace off the ballroom.
A third agenda item involves a much less visible property.
Greens Farms Academy plans an addition to an existing athletic facility, to include a fitness center, locker rooms and offices. The existing maintenance facility behind it would be demolished, with those offices relocated in the new building.
Artist’s rendering of Greens Farms Academy’s new athletic addition (right). The existing building is on the left.
(“06880” offers news from every part of town. But we can’t do it without reader support. Please click here to help. Thank you!)
Today’s “Westport … What’s Happening” podcast is very timely.
1st Selectwoman Jen Tooker offers details about the downtown parking plan, including process, options and current status. Click below to listen to the Y’s Men of Westport and Weston presentation:
Her maiden name is Carusone. Her father was a Westport police officer. Her grandfather James Dorta worked for the town.
She tells “06880” that she fell on hard times. Both she and her husband are on disability. She has severe arthritis, while he has cataracts and needs surgery.
“We’re out of food and money, and have no transportation,” she says.
On Spotfund she wrote: “We have less than $100, and we’re exhausted. We have been surviving on one meal a day, making sure our dog has food and water. We’ve literally got no food in the room for ourselves.
“Applying for help takes time. We’re reaching out to churches and whatever benefits we can get. All we are trying to do is stay afloat and get into affordable senior housing ASAP, and get stable.
“We’re reaching out hoping and praying for help in this difficult situation. All donations will be used to keep us with a roof over our heads and fed, clothes washed, and non food items like toiletries. We need a vehicle obviously, but for now the basic necessities.”
A Tesla Cybertruck — first announced in 2012, introduced as a concept vehicle in 2019, scheduled for production in 2021, and finally delivered in late November 2023 with a 4-year wait list — has finally been spotted here.
Alert “06880” readers noticed one at both Classic Cars in Southport, and Old Mill Beach.
We received only one photo, however, so we’re not sure if there are two Cybertrucks in the area, or just one.
Mia and McKenzie Didio accomplished a lot at Staples High School.
The twins members of the Class of 2022 captained the basketball and lacrosse teams, and won FCIAC and state championships in soccer.
Both now play lacrosse at the University of Delaware.
And they’re poised to accomplish even more.
The Didio women will represent the Puerto Rico lacrosse team this summer, at the U20 World Games in Hong Kong.
Their maternal grandmother is Puerto Rican. Though they have not been submerged in that culture, they look forward to learning more through their participation.
They know their selection means a lot to their mother and grandmother.
“Being able to represent them in a new capacity is so exciting,” McKenzie says. “It’s something bigger than ourselves.”
Mia tore her ACL after she was selected. Her coaches asked her to take on a manager’s role. She happily agreed.
The Didios have started a GoFundMe to raise money to help fund the Puerto Rico lacrosse program. Click here to help. Click here to read more, from the University of Delaware.
Exactly 4 years ago this month, the yarn bomber first struck.
In those first desperate weeks of the pandemic, someone began draping trees with multi-colored, soothing blankets of yarn.
Compo Beach was first. Then came fire headquarters, Bedford Square, the Senior Center … all over town.
Eventually, the disease eased. Westporters went back to their “normal” lives. The yarn faded, and curled. Residents removed the “bombs,” as anonymously as they’d been placed.
But now, it seems, the yard bomber has returned.
Molly Alger sends this photo, from the Senior Center:
(Photo/Molly Alger)
It’s fresh, clean, and in the signature style of the original yarn bomber.
It looks great. And we’re happy to have the decoration — so long as it has nothing to do with COVID.
Post-Easter news: Wakeman Town Farm has 12 chicks in need of sponsors.
Sponsorship includes naming rights for 1 year, and a certificate. Funds support the sustainability center’s operations. Click here for more information.
Wakeman Farm chickens. (Photo/Lauri Weiser)
=================================================
David Hazeltine — the most recorded contemporary jazz pianist of our time (35 CDs as a leader, hundreds more as a sideman) — returns to Jazz at the Post this Thursday (April 18, shows at 7:30 and 8;45 p.m., dinner service at 7; VFW Joseph J. Clinton Post 399; $20 music cover, $15 for veterans and students).
He brings his long-time musical partner, trombonist Steve Davis.
Also in the house: bassist Boots Maleson, drummer Steve Johns and saxophonist Greg “The Jazz Rabbi” Wall. Reservations are highly recommended: JazzatthePost@gmail.com.
Today, “Westport … Naturally” takes a break from spring flowers. We turn the feature over to a snowy egret, perched delicately yet decisively at Ned Dimes Marina.
And finally … if you’re thinking of sponsoring a chick (story above), let’s goose things along:
(Ain’t nobody here at “06880” Central but us bloggers. If you enjoy our work, please support us with a tax-deductible donation. Just click here to help. Thank you!)
A small group gathered yesterday, in support of Jesup Green.
The land between Jesup Road and the Westport Library is included in a plan to renovate downtown parking. Trees at the top of the green would be removed, to replace spaces slated to be lost across the Post Road at Parker Harding Plaza.
Green space would be added later, closer to the Saugatuck River at what is known as the Taylor lot.
Among the attendees were District 9 Representative Town Meeting members Sal Liccione and Jennifer Johnson. Their district includes Jesup Green.
The RTM may consider an appropriation for the Jesup repaving plan on May 8.
Members of Westport’s Tree Board also joined the group. So did Marliyn Harding, whose father Evan Harding designed Parker Harding.
Attendees were asked to sign a petition to review downtown parking plans for an option that does not jeopardize Jesup Green, proposed by attorney Lawrence Weisman.
Two meetings about downtown parking are scheduled for this week: tonight (Monday, 6 p.m., Zoom, RTM Planning & Zoning Committee) and Wednesday (April 17, 6 p.m., Town Hall Room 309, RTM Environment Committee).
Both meetings generated a bit of controversy when they were announced. This week is spring break for the Westport Public Schools, and a number of residents are not in town.
Also yesterday, just few yards from Jesup Green, the Westport Library hosted a celebration of Westport artist Ann Chernow.
The event — inspired by film noir scenes of the 1930s through ’50s — included the premiere of a documentary depicting her life and legacy.
Afterward, her son (and Staples High School graduate) Dan Chenok led a panel discussion. It included actors Keir Dullea and Mia Dillon, film critic Susan Granger, and the film’s co-creator Andrea Wozny.
Dan Chenok (far right) with (from left) Keir Dullea, Mia Dillon, Susan Granger and Andrea Wozny.
The audience also heard from the artist’s cousin-in-law Ron Chernow, author of best-selling biographies like “Grant” and “Alexander Hamilton.”
Augusta National golf course — where the Masters tournament concluded yesterday — is known for its magnificent magnolias.
Well, ours are not too shabby themselves. Barry Kresch captured water droplets on these, after a recent rain, for today’s “Westport … Naturally” feature.
And finally … on this date in 1865, Abraham Lincoln died. He was shot the previous evening at Ford’s Theater, by famed actor John Wilkes Booth. Less than a week earlier, General Robert E. Lee surrendered his army to Ulysses S. Grant, effectively ending the Civil War.
Surprisingly, this was one of President Lincoln’s favorite songs. He had it played at political rallies, and after news of General Lee’s surrender. ”
(“06880” is where Westport meets the world — and Abraham Lincoln meets Jesup Green. Please click here to support our work. Thank you!)
Following Monday’s Planning & Zoning Commission vote approving plans to redesign the Parker Harding and Jesup Green parking lots, longtime Westport resident and civic volunteer Lawrence Weisman has launched a petition.
Its goal is to for Representative Town Meeting moderator Jeff Wieser to place on the agenda “the matter of how best to supplement and improve downtown parking.”
Westport is a vibrant town which owes great deal to its downtown and its merchants for whom adequate, convenient parking is a priority. The scheme which is making its way through the approvals process, involving an unnecessary complete restriping of the Parker Harding lot without loading spaces and with parallel (as opposed to angled) parking is inadequate and poorly conceived.
A parking deck on the Baldwin lot will provide additional parking in an easily accessible location at affordable cost without the need to encroach upon the town green. If you want to keep Westport vibrant, sign our petition so we can make the case to the RTM.
The petition to the RTM includes the idea of a parking deck on the Baldwin lot, off Elm Street.
Another Change.org petition — also opposing changes to Jesup Green and aimed at the RTM, though it does not seek an agenda item — was started by Tracy Porosoff. It says:
Save Jesup Green and mature, beautiful trees from being turned into parking spots!
As Dr. Seuss said, we must speak for the trees, for the trees have no tongues.
Please ask the RTM to reject the funding to convert 1/3 of Jesup Green, an inviting green, open space in the heart of downtown, into parking spots that the downtown merchants do not even want.
Turning this area into paved parking spots will only exacerbate existing flooding problems near the Saugatuck River.
This proposal is not a solution to Westport’s parking issues- it is a sad attempt to destroy our precious trees and open, green spaces. The Westport Library conducts story times in this area. Children play in this area. Birds build nests and rest in the leafy branches. People walk their dogs and sit outside and relax in the shade of these magnificent trees. Jesup Green has been a community meeting space for protest groups, Westport Youth Commission events and the annual Westport Library book sale.
Tell our RTM representatives to preserve Jesup Green and vote against cutting down trees to fund a Jesup parking lot.
Use your voice to keep Jesup Green green, open and beautiful for our town! Vote against funding the destruction of Jesup Green to create inconvenient, unwanted and environmentally unsustainable parking.
We must speak for the trees, which some people are chopping as fast as you please!
Jesup Green, looking south toward the Westport Library.
In the 6 years since the Parkland High School shooting, Fred Guttenberg has become one of America’s most prominent anti-gun violence advocates.
On May 21 (noon), he’s the guest speaker at CT Against Gun Violence’s spring benefit luncheon. He’ll discuss his — and his fellow activists’ — efforts to turn pain into purpose, as well his book “Find the Helpers: What 9/11 and Parkland Taught Me about Recovery, Purpose and Hope.”
Since its founding in 1993, CAGV has lobbied effectively for some of the strongest gun laws in the country.
They were behind Connecticut’s 1993 assault weapons ban, the 3rd in the nation. Since Sandy Hook, they’ve worked closely with the state legislature to enact universal background checks, an expanded assault weapons ban, and limits on large capacity magazines.
The Westport Sunrise Rotary Club is proud of its interesting guest speakers.
Next Friday (April 19, Green’s Farms Church), US Senator Richard Blumenthal takes the mic.
The public is invited. Coffee, bagels and muffins are served at 7 a.m.; the meeting begins at 7:45.
Senator Richard Blumenthal
================================================
Speaking of politics: Congratulations to the Staples High School Class of 2024!
On Wednesday, the Westport League of Women Voters registered 112 seniors who will turn 18 by Election Day (November 5). Another 15-2 took home forms to complete there.
Last year, 57 seniors registered. So the Class of ’24 set a Staples LWV single-day voter registration record — by a landslide.
Och and oy! Alan Cumming and Ari Shapiro are a powerful 1-2 punch.
The Scottish actor (“Cabaret,” “The Good Wife”) and American journalist and singer (NPR’s “All Things Considered,” Pink Martini) join forces for an evening of entertainment at the Westport Country Playhouse.
The November 22 event is called “Och & Oy.” The title pays homage to Cumming’s Scottish and Shapiro’s Jewish roots.
The show combines the best bits of public radio and a musical, with “deep, thought-provoking conversations and also entertaining, perhaps slightly bawdy, musical numbers.” It’s a mix of songs, Q&A and personal storytelling.
Click here for tickets (on sale at 1 p.m. today), and more information.
=================================================
The Westport Weston Family YMCA is all about health for all — especially youth.
So it’s a no-brainer for them to invite everyone to Healthy Kids Day (April 27, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.).
Part of a national Y program, Healthy Kids Day highlights the importance of nutritious eating, physical activity, mental resilience, and developing lifelong healthy habits.
The event includes mini-classes, food trucks with healthy options, a bounce house, water safety demonstrations, and community vendors and partners.
The “swirling, ethereal” voices of Lyyra Ensemble’s women’s choral comes to Christ & Holy Trinity Episcopal Church on Sunday, April 21 (5 p.m.).
The repertoire includes jazz, folk and classical pieces. Afterward, attendees can meet the singers at a special reception.
Tickets are available at the door, or by clicking here.
Lyyra
================================================
There are garage sales.
And then there is MoCA and Designport’s “Upscale Garage Sale.” It’s set for May 4 (noon to 4 p.m.), at MoCA Westport.
Interior designers, stagers and local shops will join together to “spring clean” excess inventory at discounted prices — for example, furniture pieces like end tables, dining chairs and ottomans), tableware, vases, lamps, pillows, accessories, throws, frames, small rugs, coffee table books and more.
Upscale Garage Sale sellers include Apadana Fine Rugs, Kerri Rosenthal, House of Prim, The Post, The Rath Project, House of Huck, Maison Sheik, Smart Playrooms and Innate Studios.
A “Drop In Kids’ Art Studio” will entertain youngsters. There’s also music by LeRoy Decker.
There is a suggested $10 donation. Click here for more information.
=================================================
Molly Doe Wensberg.is Sorelle Gallery’s new featured artist. Her abstract landscapes of New England scenery — from rolling hills to coastal sunsets — are on view through May 4.
The show opens tomorrow (Saturday). Click here for more information about her work.
Westport resident and tennis aficionado Christian Le Brun died Saturday at home. He was 56, and had been diagnosed 22 months earlier with glioblastoma brain cancer.
Born in Buenos Aires, he grew up in Scarsdale, New York. He played tennis for Scarsdale High School and Lehigh University, and met his wife Oona on the tennis courts of Roosevelt Island.
A voracious competitor, Chris had a rich social life built around tennis. He spent many hours while ill watching the Tennis Channel, with a sprinkling of news. He also played canasta with his sister and parents.
His family says, “Chris was a stylish and elegant man, tall and slim, always impeccably groomed. On the work front he was unusual: a lawyer who loved being a lawyer.”
After working in New York for Chadbourne & Parke, Chris joined Orbcomm as general counsel in 2005. He played a key strategic role through an IPO, multiple satellite launches, 12 acquisitions and a go-private transaction.
His family says, “Chris loved family dinners with his wife and 1 boys, taking long walks with Oona and their chocolate lab Latte, and playing as much tennis as his busy schedule would allow.”
In addition to his wife and sons Nicolas and Jacque, Chris is survived by his parents Yves and Ana, brothers Lee and Paul, and sister Ceci.
A memorial service is set for on April 22 (2 p.m., Greens Farms Congregational Church). Click here to leave online condolences.
To honor Chris’s love for tennis, his family encourage donations to OTA, which supports underprivileged children in Cameroon through tennis and education.
And finally … happy birthday to Herbie Hancock! The jazz great is 84 years old today.
(And finally … every day, “06880” brings news of upcoming shows, talks, gallery openings and every other event imaginable. Please click here to support our wide-ranging blog. Thanks for your help!)
On Monday — after more than 6 hours of debate — the Planning & Zoning Commission voted narrowly to approve plans to renovate Parker Harding Plaza, and add the spots lost there to Jesup Green.
Last night’s Representative Town Meeting debate was quicker, less contentious, and led to a different outcome.
By a 33-1 margin (with 2 abstentions), the town’s legislative body postponed discussion of a request for $630,000 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to redesign Jesup Green and the Imperial Avenue parking lot.
They needed more time, they said, to study the plans, and hear from their constituents.
The debate will continue at the next RTM meeting, on May 8.
================================================
The Downtown Plan Implementation Committee holds a public meeting tomorrow (Thursday, April 11, 8:30 a.m., Town Hall Room 201).
The agenda includes Parker Harding Plaza, Jesup Green and the Imperial Avenue parking lot; Avery Street pole removal, and sustainability.
There is also an agenda item called “parking maps.” Click here for the DPIC website’s comprehensive downtown parking maps, and a list of all lots (including the number of all-day, timed, and electric vehicle spaces in each).
A full house filled Branson Hall yesterday, to celebrate Homes with Hope’s 40th anniversary.
Former directors Pete Powell and Jeff Wieser joined current CEO Helen McAlinden; past and present founders and board members, and 95-year-old Dolores Bacharach, wife of co-founder Jim Bacharach (plus their 5 children, from as far as California). They honored 4 decades of housing the homeless, feeding the hungry, and offering hope to neighbors whose lives are not as fortunate as others’.
Dolores Bacharach (front) and her 5 children (from left) Jeanne, Kathy, Jim, Charlie and Ann. Jim Sr. was a founder of what is now Homes with Hope.
Former Westporter Livio Sanchez debuted a documentary film about Homes with Hope’s first 40 years. Using interviews and archival material (including long-ago video), it traced the non-profit’s groundbreaking history, from a controversial concept (with plenty of NIMBY and it’s-not-our-problem opposition), through its move from a drafty firehouse (now OKO restaurant) to an old maintenance shed on Jesup Road (now the Gillespie Center and Hoskins Place), and the current array of multi-pronged programs.
Branson Hall, at Christ & Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, was an apt site for the heartfelt event. Homes with Hope began as an Interfaith Clergy of Westport project.
Today, the organization’s offices are in a CHT building.
Further showings of the video will be announced soon. To learn more about Homes with Hope — including how to donate and volunteer — click here.
Homes with Hope founding member Rev. Pete Powell. (Photos/John Videler for Videler Photography)
The University of Connecticut’s 2nd straight NCAA Division I men’s basketball championship Monday night was a great triumph for the team. Coach Danny Hurley deserves a ton of credit, for assembling and leading the Huskies.
Before him, Jim Calhoun earned fame for turning UConn into a national powerhouse. On the women’s side, Geno Auriemma has done the same, with even more success.
Back in the day though, there were other University of Connecticut men’s basketball coaches.
And one has a Westport connection.
In the middle of the 1962-63 season, 60-year-old Hugh Greer died of a heart attack. His place was taken by assistant basketball coach George Wigton.
Wigton led the Huskies to an 11-4 record, the Yankee Conference championship, and the 2nd round of the NCAA tournament.
He remained at the Maine school for 30 years. When he retired in 1996, as the revered coach of men’s basketball, men’s soccer, men’s and women’s tennis, and men’s and women’s squash — and assistant director of athletics — Bates named a scholar-athlete award in his honor. In 2009 he was inducted into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame.
There is no record of whether, in his induction speech, he thanked Westport for giving him a home after being bounced from Storrs — and then launching him off to Lewiston.
George Wigton coaching at Bates, soon after leaving Staples.
If you missed VeroFest ’24 — or if you were there, and want to relive the 5 days of performances, panels, workshops and more — click here.
The link brings you to the Westport Library’s VersoFest page. It’s filled with dozens of photos and a wrap-up of highlights, from Chuck D, the Spin Doctors, Doors drummer John Densmore, and much, much more.
The final event of VersoFest ’24: a rap panel.
=================================================
To celebrate Arbor Day — and the vital role trees play in our environment — Earthplace will again host a “Toast to the Trees.”
It’s Saturday, April 27 (4 to 6 p.m.; tasting sessions at 4:30, 5 and 5:30).
It’s a great blend of nature, beer and family fun, Attendees can stroll along Earthplace trails, sip craft brews and enjoy family-friendly activities. (Kids get non-alcoholic sparkling beverages.)
There’s also a pop-up beer garden, food trucks, lawn games, and a campfire for s’mores. For tickets and more information, click here.
Brooke Saporta, a Staples High School junior, is founder of Share the Hour.
The goal is to “expand no-cost, barrier-free literacy growth opportunities to struggling underprivileged kids at the age when the biggest impact can be made.”
Brooke worked with Dr. Alexandra Estrella, superintendent of Norwalk Public Schools, to bring the program to Kendall Elementary School.
Twenty students, and 15 middle and high school volunteers, meet twice a month (“sharing the hour”) after school. Students focus on a different career path each time.
Brooke received a grant from First Presbyterian Church of Stamford, which she’ll use to expand Share The Hour to more students.
Chris Fuller’s 1-man show, “Cheese Fries and Chili Dips,” has just been optioned for a feature film by James Guyer, executive producer of “Sasquatch Sunset.” The movie will handle mental illness in a “light comic but sensitive way.”
Chris — who grew up in Weston — lives with bipolar manic disorder.
He’s also doing a special performance May 18 at New York’s Triad Theater for Mental Health Awareness Month. Two Yale doctors will join a post-show discussion panel. For more information, click here.
Ernesto Heidelberg, a longtime leader with the Westport-Weston Community Emergency Response Team, died February 9. He was 85.
He was born in Argentina, where his parents emigrated from Germany to escape the Nazis. He was an excellent student, possessed a sharp intellect and near photographic memory, and was fluent in several languages, including Spanish, German and English.
Ernie earned a dual Ph.D. in mechanical and electrical engineering.
At 24, he emigrated to the US, and worked at IBM. After a year he returned to Argentina, married Zulma, and moved with her to Lexington, Kentucky. In 1974 they moved to Boulder, Colorado, then to Westport in 1981.
Ernie was at IBM for 29 years, working globally to innovate consumer product safety and environmental processes. He taught a global product safety training program in association with Duke University and Leeuwen University in Belgium. He also volunteered on the boards of several engineering organizations.
After 9/11, Ernie became president of Westport’s CERT, and led it for 13 years. He encouraged Zulma to get involved. Together they organized and trained volunteers for emergency preparedness, helped open and manage shelters during Hurricane Sandy, and worked closely with the EMS, Police, and Fire Departments.
Ernie is survived by his wife of 59 years, Zulma Heidelberg, and their daughters Denise of Milford, and Monica of Westport and San Francisco.
Contributions in Ernie’s memory may be made to CERT. Checks can be made out to “Town of Westport”; on the memo line write, “In honor of Ernesto Heidelberg.” Mail to: Mike Vincelli, CERT president, 3 Winslow Rd., Weston, CT 06883.
Ernie Heidelberg
===========================================
Westport has begun bursting with color — and life.
Jim Hood shares this backyard scene, from the Compo Beach neighborhood, for today’s “Westport … Naturally” feature.
And finally … if Earthplace’s upcoming “Toast to the Trees” (story above) had a theme song, it would be:
(Where else but “06880” would you learn about George Wigton? But you expect that sort of stuff every day from us. Please click here to support your VERY hyper-local blog. Thank you!)
Click here to help support “06880” via credit card or PayPal. Any amount is welcome, appreciated — and tax-deductible! Reader contributions keep this blog going. (Alternate methods: Please send a check to “06880”: PO Box 744, Westport, CT 06881. Or use Venmo: @blog06880. Or Zelle: dwoog@optonline.net. Thanks!)
GET THE “06880” APP
The “06880” app (search for it on the Apple or Android store) is the easiest way to get “06880.” Choose notifications: whenever a new post is published, or once or twice a day. Click here for details.
Toni Simonetti — a 23-year town resident, and longtime Gardens member — has petitioned the Westport Representative Town Meeting to reject the regulation, or modify it to restore prior hours of operation for the Community Gardens. (Gardeners were previously restricted from 8-9 a.m. and 3-4 p.m. only, when school was in session.)
