Category Archives: Politics

Roundup: College Protests, Mother’s Day, Robbie Mustoe …

Posted on April 27, 2024 | 2 comments

Westport college students are on both sides of the protests roiling campuses nationwide.

One made it into the Washington Post.

Reporting from the University of Texas, where Governor Greg Abbott is sending in troops, the paper quoted students who called his actions politically opportunistic.

However, the Post said: “Not every student found the response unsettling.

“Lily Caplan, 19, a sophomore journalism major from Westport, Conn., joined fellow members of Longhorn Students for Israel at a counter-protest next to the pro-Palestinian gathering Thursday, waving Israeli flags and chanting ‘Bring them home now’ — a reference to Jewish hostages in Gaza.

“‘Yesterday we saw a totally different response than other universities around the country and me, as a Jewish student, I was so grateful for that. Don’t mess with Texas,’ she said, echoing a state slogan as she stood in a circle with other counter-protesters.

“Caplan said she was reassured by support from Abbott and university president Jay Hartzell.

Click here for the full Washington Post story. (Hat tip: Douglass Davidoff)

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Husbands and kids’ alert: Mother’s Day is May 12.

Westport Marketplace has the holiday covered. Brunch spots, spas, chocolates, other gifts and more are all in a handy list. Click here to see — then act!

The mom in your life will thank you.

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Officer Joe Saponare of Westport Animal Control wants Westporters to know: “All wildlife animals — especially coyotes — will be out more now, both day and night, searching for food because of their newborn babies.”

He suggests taking dogs out on leashes. Owners of little dogs should be especially vigilant.

Compo Beach coyote. (Photo/Richard Gabor)

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Soccer fans around the US know Robbie Mustoe as a keen-eyed commentator on NBC Sports’ Premier League coverage. Soccer fans around the world know that he’s a former English professional player.

Westporters know him as our neighbor — and a golfer.

He may not have scored the winning goal at Wembley. But on Monday he did the next best thing: He got a hole-in-one.

Don’t take our word for it. Here’s what he posted on X:

(Hat tip: David Groner)

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Tonight is A Better Chance of Westport’s annual Dream Event (Saturday, 6:30 p.m., Westport Library).

If you’re going, you know it will be an inspirational evening. But those not there can still take part in a great online auction.

Broadway and Yankees tickets, golf, Arabian horse lessons and more are up for bid. Just click here, then click “Not attending” and follow the prompts.

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ABC’s Dream Event is just one of many galas this spring. All are important, for excellent causes.

But the Westport Weston Family YMCA is hosting an “Extra Special Spring Bash” on May 4 (6 to 8:30 p.m.).

The evening is tailored to students ages 12-18 with disabilities. 

The Y promises fun and excitement, with food, a photo booth, gift bags and a DJ.

Students will be partnered with a student volunteer buddies who spend the evening with them. Parents can stay in a separate room where they can mingle, and enjoy refreshments.

Click here to register, and for more information.

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Jesse Terry and Sam Robbins share the bill next Saturday (May 4, 8 p.m.), at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Westport’s Voices Café.

Terry — a full-time touring artist for well over a decade, and Wilton native — has been called “a gentle soul with a formidable songwriting talent and a clear artistic vision.”

Sam Robbins is based in Nashville. He brings a modern, upbeat edge as a storytelling troubadour.

The concert supports local social justice programs. Click here for tickets, and more information.

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That’s not Sam Robbins’ only upcoming Westport appearance.

Carolyn Miller runs Westport-based Meals for Music. The non-profit provides free meals to touring musicians.

Their first fundraiser is May 8 (7:45 p.m.) at Fairfield Theatre Company. Damn Tall Building — and Robbins — provide the entertainment. (And presumably will eat well.)

Click here for tickets, and more information.

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Speaking of entertainment: Nearly 300 musicians have signed a letter, urging US senators to help fix the broken concert ticketing system.

Three of the them — more than 1% of all of signees — have Westport connections. Nile Rodgers lives here. And Billie Eilish and Finneas’ father, Patrick O’Connell, is a 1975 Staples High School graduate.

They’re in good company. Other signers include Duran Duran, Fall Out Boy, Graham Nash, Green Day, Cyndi Lauper, Indigo Girls, Jason Mraz, Siaand Lorde. (Hat tip: Mark Mathias)

Finneas has some Westport roots.

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Johanna Keyser Rossi loves Burying Hill Beach.

The other day, she noticed that artificial flowers placed along the fence at the top of the hill had been removed.

She thought they were a tribute or memorial to someone, and was sad to see them gone.

Yesterday, to her delight, someone — the same person perhaps, or someone else — had replaced them.

Beautifully.

(Photo/Johanna Keyser Rossi)

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Sometimes the Fresh Market osprey leaves its nest to fish.

Sometimes it just wants a change of pace, from its platform in a busy parking lot.

Hilary Ellis spotted today’s “Westport … Naturally” scene on Spicer Road.

(Photo/Hilary Ellis)

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And finally … Mike Pinder, founding keyboardist of the Moody Blues, died this week in California. He was 82. Click here for a full obituary.

(Go now! But before you do, please click here to support “06880” — your hyper-local blog. Thank you!)

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Posted in Beach, Education, Environment, Longshore, Politics, YMCA

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Roundup: Sakura Trees, Senator Blumenthal, Tesla Cybertruck …

Posted on April 20, 2024 | 13 comments

A year ago, 2 beautiful Japanese cherry blossom trees outside Sakura were slated to be cut down.

The Connecticut Department of Transportation wanted them gone, for sidewalk installation and lane expansion as part of the Post Road renovation project.

Representative Town Meeting member galvanized local politicians and others in support of the beloved trees.

Public Works Department, RTM, Westport Tree Board and Earthplace officials, plus Sakura’s owner and landowner, met with representatives from DOT and Eversource. The trees were saved.

This week, they were at peak blossom.

Present and former members of the RTM headed to Sakura, to honor the occasion.

Every Westporter who drives past the restaurant thanks them for their efforts.

FUN FACT: “Sakura” means “cherry blossom” in Japanese.

Standing at Sakura (from left): RTM members Harris Falk, Claudia Shaum, Andrew Colabella, Matthew Mandell, Don O’Day. Not pictured, but important to the effort: Louis Mall, Jay Keenan, Julie Whamond, Chris Tait, Seth Braunstein and Jimmy Izzo.

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Senator Richard Blumenthal was supposed to address the Sunrise Rotary Club in person at 8 a.m. yesterday, at Green’s Farms Church.

However, the Senate schedule kept him in Washington.

No problem! Rotary member Mark Mathias used his technical know-how to set up a remote appearance.

At 8:00 sharp, Blumenthal appeared on-screen. An audience of 80 people — members of both Westport Rotary Clubs, and guests — heard his takes on a variety of issues, including the need for quick approval of military aid to Ukraine.

Senator Blumenthal addresses Sunrise Rotary. (Photo/Dave Matlow)

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The Tesla Cybertruck that has drawn plenty of attention in Westport may be off the road for a while.

Tesla has recalled all 3,878 of the vehicles it produced from November 13 to December 4. An accelerator pedal can stick, leading to accidents. The cause for the defect was soap used as a lubricant at the Austin factory. (Hat tip: Bill Dedman) 

Tesla Cybertruck, last week on Hillspoint Road. (Photo/Karen Como)

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Today’s trivia: Knights of Columbus Council 3688 sponsor their 2nd annual Trivia Night next Saturday (April 27, 6 p.m., Assumption Church).

Prizes are not trivial: $250 first place; $150 restaurant gift card 2nd place. There are wine raffles, plus a silent auction, music and refreshments.

Tams can include up to 3 people. Categories include history, science, health and the Bible.

Tickets are $40; proceeds go to charity. Click here to purchase.

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MoCA Westport’s next open mic night is this Friday (April 26, 6:30 p.m.). It features acoustic music, poetry, and slam poetry.

The public is invited to participate, or attend.

The event is free for members to watch or participate. General admission is $10; participation fee is $5. Click here for tickets.

Questions? Email isabelle@mocawestport.org.

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Last week, “06880” posted a delicious story on Mary Lou Roels.

The Westporter has developed a great business making (very) fresh jams and preserves.

Mary Lou is also an excellent artist.

She took a break yesterday from the kitchen. On a whim, she headed to Playhouse Square.

There — on the sidewalk outside the post office — she went to work:

(Photo/Dan Woog)

Whatever she does, Mary Lou always manages to make it a fruitful day.

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Speaking of artists:  Herm Freeman — the Westport Book Shop’s artist exhibitor for February, whose works have been exhibited throughout the US and Europe for over 40 years — is one of 2 local artists whose “Kaleidoscope Eyes” show at Colorblends House & Spring Garden in Bridgeport has an artists’ reception today (Saturday, April 20, 3 to 6 p.m., 893 Clinton Avenue).

The other — Cris Dam — has produced the show.

They invite interested Westporters to stop by. “There’s tons of art, and thousands of tulips. It’s great family fun!” Herm says.

“Kaleidoscope” art

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Judging by the number of emails I get, Westporters are increasingly concerned about the number — and weight — of wires strung between utility poles.

They serve a variety of purposes: electricity, telephone, cable. But apparently it’s  lot easier to string new ones than replace outdated ones. There are a lot up there.

Alert “06880” reader Bob Weingarten spotted a utility worker yesterday, on Post Road East by Stop & Shop. Bob writes: “He must be wondering, which one do I connect?!”

(Photo/Bob Weingarten)

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Today’s “Westport … Naturally” feature is a fierce one.

Anita Tucker Smith writes: “Our wooded yard on Roseville Road has a lot of daily wildlife visitors. But this one is special.

“We first spotted footprints in the 6-inch snow a few weeks ago. We then saw him 6 feet from our front door a few weeks later. We were all startled, and he zipped away.

“I finally managed a few pictures Saturday afternoon as we glanced out the living room windows, just before heading out to dinner.”

(Photo/Anita Tucker Smith)

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And finally … since today is 4/20:

(On 4/20 — and every other day of the year — “06880” is your hyper-local blog. And every day, we rely on readers like you. Please click here to support our work. Thank you!)

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Posted in Arts, Entertainment, Politics, Restaurants, Transportation

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Roundup: Parking Limits, Women’s Rights, Minute Man Race …

Posted on April 19, 2024 | 4 comments

Enforcement of downtown parking limits — suspended 4 years ago, during COVID — begins again May 1.

The good news: They’re now 3 hours, up from the previous 1 and 2 hours. (One exception: Post Road East parking remains 1 or 2 hours.)

Enforcement will take place from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., 7 days a week.

Some parking areas are designated for all-day parking.

Click here for a map of all downtown parking lots, including aerial views, and the number of timed, all-day and electric vehicles spots. The map is also shown here:

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More police news: The WPD is investigating a car vs. canine accident last Saturday (April 13), at 11:30 a.m. on Compo Road North adjacent to Winslow Park. A driver struck a dog, then left the scene.

Anyone who witnessed the accident should email jkimball@westportct.gov.

Dogs occasionally run away from Winslow Park. (Photo/Mark Mathias)

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Yesterday’s “06880” story on “Suffs” — the musical about early 20th century suffragists that opened last night on Broadway — highlighted producer Jill Furman, a Westporter.

There’s another local connection: 2008 Staples High School graduate Leo Stagg.

A former Staples Player member (and winner of the Paul Steen Award for Fine Character, Dedication, Honesty, and Excellence in Performance), he is the head carpenter for “Suffs.”

His mother Heli — who runs the Westport Library café — was at last night’s show.

The “Suffs” set.

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Speaking of women’s rights:

State Representative Anne Hughes will discuss reproductive justice issues, in Connecticut and the nation, after this Sunday’s Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Westport service.

Hughes — whose district includes Weston, Easton and Redding — has sponsored pro-choice legislation that expands the eligibility of trained practitioners, nurses, and physician assistants to provide abortions, and blocks Texas and other states from targeting Connecticut patients, doctors and advocates.

The event is sponsored by UU Westport’s Reproductive Justice ​​Committee. The public is invited to the April 21 10 a.m. service, or the discussion only, which begins around 11:30 a.m.

Questions> Email beth@uuwestport.org, or call 203.227.7205, ext. 10.

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There’s a new “Passage” at Pasacreta Park.

That’s the name of Niki Ketchman’s new sculpture. It was installed yesterday at the peaceful oasis on Riverside Avenue, across from Saugatuck Elementary School.

The work is part of a joint initiative between the Westport Arts Advisory Committee, Westport Parks & Recreation Department and the Parks & Recreation Commission, to beautify town parks. It is on loan for 5 years.

Ketchman — whose work has been exhibited at the Katonah Museum, New Britain Museum of American Art, and the Aldrich and Bruce Museums — can  visit her work often. She has lived in Westport for almost 50 years. 

A public dedication is set for May 4 (4 p.m.).

Sculptor Niki Ketchman (umbrella) watches the installation of “Passage” at Pasacreta Park. (Photo courtesy of Nancy Diamond)

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The Westport Young Woman’s League is sponsoring 2 great — and very different — events.

The 45th annual Minute Man Race  Sunday, April 28 at Compo Beach.

The main event includes a certified USA Track and Field 10K run, 5K run, and 5K walk.

Kids Fun Run activities involve a 50-yard dash, 100-yard dash, 1/2-mile run and 1-mile run, featuring a Kids Zone during and after the race.

On-site refreshments include a food truck, ice cream truck and beer truck.

Race net proceeds benefit a number of area charities. Click here to register, and for more information.

The next day — Monday, April 29 (Christ & Holy Trinity Church, 11:30 a.m.)– the WYWL hosts a lunch with chef and TV host Lidia Bastianich.

The 3-course meal features Bastianich’s recipes. All attendees get a gift from Cuisinart. There’s also a free raffle.

VIP ticket holders meet Bastianich in person, take photos and get an autographed copy of her book, “From our Family Table to Yours.”

The event highlights the Young Woman’s League grant program. Click here for tickets and more information.

The start of a Minute Man race.

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The Rock & Roll Legends exhibit — dozens of Michael Friedman’s photos from the 1960s, including the Rolling Stones, The Band, Janis Joplin and more — draws a constant stream of visitors to the pop-up gallery on Church Lane.

On May 14 (7 p.m.), it will draw a large crowd for an Alzheimer’s Association fundraiser. 100% of ticket sales go the non-profit.

The event includes stories from Friedman himself, Q-and-A, and a raffle to win a photograph and signed book.

For tickets ($100), click here; then click “Donate to the Team” once, and — on the next page — “Donate to the Team” again.

Questions? Email mindiroca@yahoo.com, or call 914-806-3090.

Michael Friedman in his pop-up gallery. His photo shows Levon Helm, legendary drummer for The Band.

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Whether you watched this month’s solar eclipse in full totality (amazing, we’re told), or here in Westport (less so), you probably have a set or two of special sunglasses sitting around somewhere.

You can hold onto them for the next eclipse, years from now.

Or you can donate them to Astronomers Without Borders. The non-profit recycles them. Click here for more information.

The nearest collection sites are in Bethel and Shelton.

That’s a lot closer than the sun.

 

Recycle those eclipse glasses! (Photo/Amy Schneider)

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Seth van Beever ties together today’s “Westport … Naturally” image, and next month’s holiday: “This dogwood tree at 22 Treadwell Avenue was planted for my mom‘s first Mother’s Day, in 1976.”

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And finally … Dickey Betts died yesterday in Florida. He was 80, and suffered from cancer and chronic destructive pulmonary disease.

The New York Times called him “a honky-tonk hell raiser who, as a guitarist for the Allman Brothers Band, traded fiery licks with Duane Allman in the band’s early-1970s heyday, and who went on to write some of the band’s most indelible songs, including its biggest hit, ‘Ramblin’ Man.'” Click here for a full obituary.

(Have a great weekend! No matter what you plan, “06880” will be here for you. We’re your 24/7/365 hyper-local blog. We rely on reader support. Please click here — and thank you.)

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Posted in Downtown, Entertainment, Local business, Police, Politics, religion, Staples HS

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“The Wish”: Addressing Abortion Rights At MoCA

Posted on April 19, 2024 | 7 comments

Abortion — one of the biggest national issues — comes to MoCA next month.

The Newtown Avenue museum and performance space will host a staged reading of “The Wish.” The montage of dramatic scenes about the loss of abortion rights is described as “inspiring … gut-wrenching … at times comical.”

Two performances are set for May 8: 2 and 7 p.m.

Westport writer Ina Chadwick is the executive producer — and the founder of The “A” Chronicles. Her non-profit “tells stories with quandaries, irony, moral indignity, heartbreak, love and passion. Mostly about abortion.” And it “creates theater that makes visible lives other than our own.”

Screenshot from The A Chronicles website. 

She describes the back story: “In 1969 I made bedside visits to women in the postpartum ward at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, to gather information for a research project on the efficacy of an IUD, conducted by the World Population Council.

“One week I was assigned to the exam rooms to chaperone doctors (all men) in the free OB GYN clinic.

“I witnessed a heartbreaking case of incest. A 12-year-old Down Syndrome girl was 3 months pregnant. Abortion was illegal.

“I was outraged that although most of the girls and women I knew could get an abortion if they needed one, this girl — unaware of what was happening, and her Irish immigrant mother who was stunned and devastated — had no choice but to have the baby.

“I followed them to the elevator and gave them a society doctor’s name. He would help.”

That encounter impelled her involvement with a lobbying group to push Roe v. Wade through Congress. She formed a Westchester County Committee For Abortion reform.

In 1973, the US Supreme Court recognized for the first time that the constitutional right to privacy encompasses a woman’s decision on whether or not to terminate her pregnancy.

“Here we are. 51 years later,” Chadwick says. “Thank you to MoCA for collaborating on a theater production with The ‘A’ Chronicles.”

As for “The Wish,” Chadwick was initially reluctant to take on the script that she calls “a last-ditch manual to save abortion in the US through theater.”

Written by 6 young women on the eve of the Texas Supreme Court’s decision to criminalize the procedure, she calls it “a radical theater piece.”

Chadwick had just launched The “A” Chronicles “with a grand vision to find and stage stories of heartbreak, moral indignity, quandaries, love, and passion, all dealing with abortion.”

“I had witnessed the scary times ‘before, and then the freedom and peace of ‘after,'” she recalls.

But “The Wish” was “unlike anything I ever saw, read or heard. Like listening to rap and hip hop lyrics, I had to adjust my experiential lens to hear and see the pathos in the mini-dramas, and get used to the language of women living in environments where they have little control over their own lives. Profanity is part of how they tell their stories.”

Chadwick realizes, “to make a difference in the arts we must push past discomfort. I had to resurrect the outrage of my own younger self.”

After 3 workshop readings of “compelling monologues, wry short play cycles, mesmerizing mythological tales and witch-weaving spells for healing herbs, and magical empowerment,” producing the show became “an imperative.”

More than half a century after that life-changing experience in a New York hospital moved her to work on the national stage, Ina Chadwick continues to tell important stories about important topics.

Next month, she’ll do it right here in Westport.

For more information and tickets, click here.

(“06880” is where Westport meets the world — in politics, arts and so much more. We rely on reader support to continue our work. Please click here to contribute. Thank you!)

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Posted in Arts, Politics

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Roundup: Jim Naughton, Donald Trump, Birdhouse Reunion …

Posted on April 17, 2024 | 18 comments

His wife’s death from pancreatic cancer in 2013 galvanized Tony Award-winning actor Jim Naughton into action.

He’s spent the past decade advocating for a statewide Aid In Dying law.

On Tuesday he brought his passion — and powerful persuasive powers — to the Westport Rotary Club. The longtime Weston resident discussed the importance of the bill, its history and future.

He noted that although 75% of Connecticut residents support this “death with dignity” legislation, its proponents have not been able to get it out of committee for a vote.

Jim Naughton, at the Westport Rotary Club. (Photo/Dave Matlow)

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Photographs are not allowed during the trial of Donald Trump — at least, not during the actual action.

But a few photographers have been allowed in before the proceedings begin. This one — published around the world — was taken by Staples High School graduate Spencer Platt:

(Photo/Spencer Platt for AFP)

It’s not the first time Platt has shot a Trump-related image.

In 2022 he was one of 5 Getty Images photographers who earned a Pulitzer Prize in Breaking News Photography, for their coverage of the January 6 assault on the US Capitol. (Hat tip: Richard Seclow)

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For well over a decade, Project Return ran one of the most intriguing fundraisers anywhere.

Local artists created one-of-a-kind birdhouses. They were auctioned off, at a gala event.

Everyone had fun admiring — and bidding on — the unique structures. It raised much-needed money, for supportive housing.

I’m sure the birds loved it too.

Some of the men and women who created those birdhouses — and their collectors — got together for a reunion last night.

They mingled and reminisced.

And showed off their still-working, still beautiful birdhouses.

Here’s a small sampling:

 

(Photos/Lynn Untermeyer Miller)

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Westport PAL is collecting used sports equipment. It will be used on their Memorial Day float, and donated to organizations in need.

Equipment can be dropped off any time in the lobby of Police headquarters on Jesup Road. Pickups can also be scheduled; call Emma Rojas at 203-571-7505.

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There’s been another Tesla Cybertruck sighting in town.

Saryn Koche and her son saw it parked behind Don Memo.

This one had a dog inside.

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Every April, Bob Weingarten takes a photo of his window frame. It’s an annual reminder of Westport’s springtime beauty.

And a perfect image for today’s “Westport … Naturally” feature.

(Photo/Bob Weingarten)

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And finally … Happy Ford Mustang Day! Sixty years ago today — on April 17, 1964 — the iconic automobile was introduced to the world.

It is currently the longest-produced Ford car nameplate.

(Want to celebrate Ford Mustang Day? Pony up a few bucks for “06880”! Just click here. Thank you for your support!)

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Posted in Children, Politics, Sports, Staples HS, Transportation

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Friday Flashback #394

Posted on April 12, 2024 | 16 comments

Jesup Green has been in the news lately. Plans to add parking spots at the top — and, later, more green space near the Saugatuck River — have sparked controversy.

The small park in the center of town has long been a gathering spot, for joyful celebrations and solemn ceremonies.

For decades, it was the end point for the Memorial Day parade. Speeches, patriotic songs and 21-gun salutes followed (as kids rode their bikes in the parking lot, and the Good Humor man did a brisk business).

In 1965, Staples student Adam Stolpen delivered the Memorial Day address.  Others in the photo include Westport resident and former Connecticut Governor John Davis Lodge (Navy cap) and World War I veteran and grand marshal E.O. Nigel Cholmeley-Jones (in uniform). 

In August of 2013, Jesup Green was packed for a different type of ceremony.

Hundreds of Westporters honored the town’s Little League all-stars. They’d just returned from the Little League World Series, where they made a magical run all the way to the finals.

Jeb Backus marveled, “As a 3rd-generation Westporter living here for 50 years, this was the most special town event I have ever attended. Absolutely amazing.”

(Photo/Jeb Backus)

NOTE: That’s not the first connection between Jesup Green and Little League. In the 1950s and ’60s, there was a baseball diamond a few yards away — near where the Westport Library is now. 

And next to both: the town dump. I’m not making this up.

More recently, Jesup Green has been the site of rallies: for Black Lives Matter, and against anti-Asian and antisemitic incidents.

It’s also where Westport Pride holds its LGBTQ+ celebration every June.

Local clergy members on Jesup Green, at Westport Pride. 

Jesup Green is where Westporters gather, in good times and bad.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt died on April 12, 1945 — exactly 79 years ago today.

Two days later, stores throughout Westport closed.

Residents headed to the green. They sang “America,” “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” and “Abide With Me.”

Veterans fired a military salute. The somber sounds of “Taps” filled the air.

As it had been for decades — and continues to be today, Jesup Green was Westport’s town square.

(Courtesy of Cindy Buckley)

(Every Friday, “06880” takes a look back. If you enjoy this — or any other feature — please support your hyper-local blog. Just click here. Thank you!)

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Posted in Downtown, Friday Flashback, Politics, Sports

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Roundup: Parking Petitions, Fred Guttenberg, Alan Cumming & Ari Shapiro …

Posted on April 12, 2024 | 16 comments

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.”

The Change.org petition says:

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.

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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.​

Click here for tickets, and more information.

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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

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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.

LWV registers new voters at Staples.

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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.

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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.

To register (it’s free!), click here.

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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

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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.

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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.

“Between Tides” (Molly Doe Wensberg)

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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.

Chris Le Brun

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As spring envelops us, scenes like this are popping up — and entrancing — folks all over town.

Today’s “Westport … Naturally” can be found on Compo Road South.

It won’t last long. But that makes it even more special.

(Photo/Bob Weingarten)

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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!)

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Posted in Entertainment, Local politics, Obituaries, Politics, Westport Country Playhouse, YMCA

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[OPINION] Phil Ochs, LBJ, Westport And The World

Posted on March 31, 2024 | 19 comments

Keith Hagel graduated from Staples in 1963, then 4 years later from Tufts University, where he was editor-in-chief of the student newspaper.

Keith Hagel, back in the day.

He was a reporter and editor at Fairpress in Westport, and an editor in Norwalk and Maine. He and his partner, Andrea Hatch, live in Maine and Colorado, play in competitive Scrabble tournaments nationwide, and haunt used bookstores.

56 years ago today, Keith attended a memorablle Staples concert. It was not, however, the Doors, Cream, Yardbirds or Animals. Keith writes: 

1968 was a crazy, hazy year — a seemingly incessant drumbeat of slogans, opposition to the Vietnam War, and violence.

“Hell, no, we won’t go!”
“Hey, hey, LBJ, how many kids did you kill today?”
“Girls say yes to boys who say no.”
“One, two, three, four, we don’t want your fucking war.”

Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy were murdered. With the safe harbor of graduate school draft deferments ending, anti-Vietnam War protests exploded on campuses and in the streets, rupturing families and friends into verbally armed camps spewing rhetorical bullets at each other.

Protesters’ chants of “the whole world is watching” — as it was — did not stop Chicago police from battering and bloodying them at the Democratic National Convention.

Anti-war protestors and police clashed, at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

1968 was an awful year. But it wasn’t all bad.

Now, 56 years later, in another bitterly divided nation, many of us who have morphed from social unrest to Social Security still vividly, and perhaps nostalgically, recall those slogans that often were uttered with a combination of defiance, anger and moral righteousness.

But very few, even among geezers and soon-to-be geezers, remember Phil Ochs.

Yet I will never forget him, nor will any of the approximately 1,000 others who on March 31, 1968, packed the Staples High School auditorium to hear him in a benefit concert for a Peace Corps project.

Phil Ochs

I was 22, had just flunked out of law school, and was hoping I could dodge the draft (though I was not candid enough then to say “dodge”).

A folk singer, acoustical guitarist, prolific songwriter and outspoken critic of the Vietnam War, the slim, intense 28-year old blended sardonic comments and lyrical napalm in his songs and commentary on that early spring Sunday night in 1968, as he repeatedly lashed out at President Johnson on Vietnam. The overwhelmingly anti-war audience loved it.

Until, from the wings, a young woman called out urgently.

“Phil! PHIL!!”

I froze in my seat. I’m sure others did too.

This was not part of the show. The memory of hearing in a college class in 1963 that President John F. Kennedy had been assassinated flashed back, chillingly.

Ochs turned and went to talk briefly to the woman in the wings, then came back to address the stunned, suddenly hushed audience.

“I’ve been told that President Johnson has just announced he will not be a candidate for re-election,” Ochs said quietly.

One of Westport artist David Levine’s most famous works was of President Johnson, who had revealed a gall bladder operation scar to the public (photo). Levine envisioned it as a map of Vietnam.

Pandemonium. Utter, freaking pandemonium. Roars of “Gene, Gene” erupted from supporters of insurgent Democratic presidential candidate Senator Eugene McCarthy of Minnesota.

Some people in the audience thought the news was an April Fools’ joke.

I didn’t. The urgency in the voice of the woman from the wings could not have been practiced.

Ochs motioned for quiet.

Few would have faulted him for taking a few more verbal or musical potshots at a bombastic, swaggering president now figuratively knee-capped by cascading opposition to the Vietnam War he had so aggressively escalated.

Instead, Phil Ochs softly said he thought Johnson’s announcement probably was the most noble act the president had ever made.

And so he dedicated his next song, about change, to the man he had been skewering only moments before.

Ochs made his point, and chose not to rub it in.

And that was it. The concert was over, prematurely, as people in the audience literally sprinted to the parking lot to listen to the bombshell news on their car radios. No cell phones in 1968.

The euphoria was short-lived. Only 4 days later Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was gunned down in Memphis. Then in June, Senator Kennedy also died from an assassin’s bullet.

In August Chicago cops, egged on by the city’s bully boy mayor Richard Daley, broke heads, in what investigators later described as a police riot, at the Democratic convention.

In an anticlimax, the nomination went to warhorse Vice President Hubert Humphrey, a former liberal and “Happy Warrior” who had become a sad mouthpiece for Johnson.

The cover of Phil Ochs’ 1969 “Rehearsals for Retirement” album.

Richard Nixon cruised to the presidency. The war, the protests, and the deaths of the young went on

Phil Ochs tried to go on.

For a while he did, continuing to compose, perform and protest. As a defense witness at the trial of the radical dissenters who became known as the Chicago 7, Ochs offered to sing his trademark anti-war song, “I Ain’t Marching Anymore.” Judge Julius Hoffman, whose major credentials were being a relative and former law partner of Mayor Daley, rebuffed him.

So Ochs sang his protest to reporters outside the courtroom. When Walter Cronkite ran the clip on his evening television news show, millions heard Ochs’ message.

But he would not be the same for long. Devastated by the deaths of King and RFK, he spiraled down into a dark hole of depression and substance abuse. He thought he was washed up.

In April 1976 — little more than 8 years after his unforgettable concert in Connecticut — Phil Ochs hung himself. He was 35.

It’s 56 years since March 31, 1968. I’m 78 now. As mobility outranks nobility for me, I have come, grudgingly, to appreciate the benefits of a walker and priority parking privileges.

I probably ain’t marching anymore, anywhere. Weed is now legal in Maine and other states. The longhairs of the ‘60s and ‘70s increasingly have become gray hairs and no hairs.

The enticingly mini-skirted young women we called “chicks” in those days now have to deal with artificial knees and/or hips, not to mention still-pervasive sexism and ageism.

Almost no one remembers Phil Ochs.

Phil Ochs

I  asked 15 people, mostly 50 or older, if they knew who Ochs was. Only one did: a bearded, white-haired former newspaper reporter who, to my delight, spat out “I Ain’t Marching Anymore.”

The others were clueless. That was a shame.

In March 2024,  the US remains sharply and hostilely divided as ever. Another egotistical, swaggering politician, this time a former president, having tried and failed to bring about a coup, continues to lie that he won the last election, while he tries to run out the clock on multiple criminal charges before this year’s vote.

Keith Hagel today.

Rogue cops and gutless legislators oppress minorities. COVID is still around and deadly, while some fools continue to deny or minimize its existence.

A lyrical, moral comet, Phil Ochs sang truth to power. He faded from the spotlights long ago. But on a spring night in late March 1968, he shone with a class act before 1,000 Westport concertgoers And he still matters today.

Ochs didn’t get to take a bow that night or do an encore. So — very belatedly — let’s give him a cheer, adapted from youth sports:

“Two, four, ’68, who do we appreciate?

Phil! PHIL!”

(That 1968 concert was not Phil Ochs’ only Westport appearance. Click here for a story about his very different performance, here in town.)

(“06880” is “where Westport meets the world” — yesterday, today and tomorrow. Please click here to support our work. Thank you!)

19 Comments

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Roundup: Political Donations, Dante, Matthew Modine …

Posted on March 30, 2024 | 3 comments

In the 13 months ending in February 2024, President Biden raised $3.17 million in individual contributions from Connecticut residents. Donald Trump brought in $1.4 million.

But, CT Mirror reports, Trump leads in the number of individuals who donated since last April: 31,708 to 5,925.

Westport is one of only 2 Fairfield County towns in which Biden drew more individual donations than Trump: 188 to 99. The other town is Sherman (10 to 2).

Click here for the full story, including an interactive map.

Donation map, showing which candidate had more donations in each Connecticut town. Biden is blue, Trump is red.

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Just in time for Easter, the full soundtrack for “Dante: Inferno to Paradise, Part 2: Resurrection” is available for streaming.

Emmy- and Grammy-winning composer (and Staples High School Class of 1971 graduate) Brian Keane scored the music — his latest success, in a wide-ranging career of writing, producing and recording.

Click here to download.

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Speaking of video:

Matthew Modine (“Oppenheimer,” “Full Metal Jacket”) will be at the Westport Library for a free screening of his new documentary, “Downwind” (April 11, 6:30 p.m.)

He’ll  be joined by his producing partner, Adam Rackoff. They’ll discuss the movie afterward, then answer audience questions.

“Downwind” tells the story of what happened after the events depicted in “Oppenheimer.” It focuses on Mercury, Nevada, the testing site for 928 large-scale nuclear weapons from 1951 to 1992.

Featuring members of the Shoshone Nation and many others affected by the radioactive fallout from those tests, the documentary “uncovers the US government’s disregard for everyone and everything living ‘downwind.’”

“Downwind” currently holds a perfect 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes.

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Happy Easter weekend!

Jolantha – Weston’s favorite pig –was inspired by a poem by Wordsworth. As she gets ready for tomorrow’s holiday, she is “dancing with daffodils.”

(Photo/Hans Wilhelm)

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Speaking of Easter: Pam Docters spotted these decorations on Wilton Road, in yesterday’s spring-like weather.

(Photo/Pam Docters)

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Spotted this morning in the Compo Beach area:

(Photo/Richard Gabor)

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Tuesday, April 2 is “Donation Day” at Shake Shack.

Mention “Donation Day” at the register or drive-thru, or use the promo code “Donateburger” on their app.

Shake Shack will give 25% of your total meal price to the Cancer Couch Foundation, a breast cancer research organization.

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There have never been bathroom facilities at Old Mill Beach.

And — judging from the reaction after a port-a-potty was proposed for the small stretch of sand — there never will be.

But one intrepid owner of a parking garage (for nearby homes) facing Sherwood Mill Pond has solved the problem:

(Photo/Oliver Radwan)

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Dr. Alice Paul was one of the early 20th century’s most prominent women’s rights activists.

She was one of the keys to the passage of the 19th Amendment, and in 1923 introduced the Equal Rights Amendment.

Dr. Paul was a 40-year resident of Ridgefield.

On April 13 (2 p.m.), the Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Westport hosts a talk with Darla Shaw, who worked with Dr. Paul for many years, here in Fairfield County. The public is invited.

Dr. Alice Paul

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Last year’s 1st-ever National Drinking with Chickens Day was such a success, Wakeman Town Farm is bringing it back.

Next months event (May 23, 6:30 p.m.) features live music by Luke Molina, light bite including pizza by Tony Napolitano, craft cocktails by mixxed.by.ed, and guest appearances by the WTF flock.

Tickets to the hen party are $100 each. Click here to register … then shake a tail feather.

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Bobbi Essagof spotted this dove — today’s “Westport … Naturally” feature — on her Saugatuck Avenue deck.

“Peace ahead?” she wonders.

From her lips to …

(Photo/Bobbi Essagof)

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And finally … speaking of chickens (see story) above:

(“06880” is your hyper-local blog — and your source for everything Westport-related, yesterday, today and tomorrow. Please click here to support our work. Thank you!)

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Posted in Beach, History, Library, Politics, religion, Restaurants, Totally random

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Roundup: Fashionably Westport, Cops, 3 Presidents …

Posted on March 29, 2024 | 10 comments

Hundreds of Westporters mingled, sipped cocktails, nibbled on light bites, listened to jazz, bid on auction items, and watched dozens of neighbors walk the Westport Library runway last night.

“Fashionably Westport” is one of the town’s hottest tickets. The annual Westport Downtown Association event is a fundraiser for Homes with Hope.

MC Dave Briggs and runway director Carey Price kept things lively.

A full day of in-store activities follows today (Friday, March 29).

Seen on the runway: 1st Selectwoman Jen Tooker …

… Representative Town Meeting member Andrew Colabella …

… and a host of other models. MC Dave Briggs is at right. (Photos/John Videler for Videler Photography)

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When it comes to watching — and understanding — a solar eclipse, most of us are, well, in the dark.

The always-helpful folks at the Westport Astronomical Society can help.

For the April 8 event, Westport Observatory volunteers will bring telescopes and safety gear to the Westport Library’s upper parking lot (near the Levitt Pavilion).

Peak eclipse is at 3:26 p.m., when the sun in Westport will be 90.7% obscured.

The next partial solar eclipses aren’t until 2028 and 2029 — and they won’t obscure the sun anywhere near what we’ll see next month.

For that, you’ll have to wait until the total solar eclipse on the morning of May 1, 2079.

 Partial solar eclipse.

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There are a thousand reasons to appreciate and admire our Westport Police Department.

Here’s reason 1,001.

Next Thursday (April 4, 5 to 9 p.m.), officers will “work” with the wait staff at Rizzuto’s restaurant. Customers are encouraged to leave extra tips. They’ll all go to Special Olympics Connecticut.

Our police are known as Westport’s finest. Thanks to the force, Rizzuto’s and Special Olympics, for this very “fine” idea.

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Music and Women’s History Month are the themes of 4 new art exhibits at the Westport Library.

“Thinking Inside the Box” on the main level is an idea put forward by artist and author Melissa Newman. 21 artists from around the area created multi-dimensional works.

In the Sheffer Gallery, Marlene Siff’s “Finely Tuned” features 5 large dimensional paintings named for, and linked to, a specific expression found in music, along with several maquettes she created prior to construction of the final pieces. Visitors to the gallery can scan a QR code next to each piece and listen to the musical selections that inspired her. Finely Tuned runs through June 10, with a reception and artist talk moderated by Miggs Burroughs on May 5 (2 p.m.).

Also running through June 10 is Camille Eskell’s exhibit, “Scheherazade: Storyteller.” Eskell’s reception and talk is on Wednesday (6 p.m.). Eskell’s digital photo-based collages incorporate textiles such as saris, hand-made paper, cast sculpture, trims, jewels, and more, to explore self-perception, societal attitudes, and psychological states related to gender bias.

Rounding out the new exhibits is “Art of the Album: And All That Jazz,” album covers from the collection of Ellen and Mark Naftalin, displayed in the Jesup Gallery. It features album covers of some of the pioneering jazz musicians who changed the face and sound of American music forever.

From left: Camille Eskell, Marlene Siff, Mark Naftalin.

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David Meth went to the transfer station the other day. The amount of trash in one gigantic vehicle stunned him.

He watched in awe as it disgorged its garbage. It took a long time.

As the truck unloaded and the pit filled, David took some photos.

“06880” often posts beautiful shots, of gorgeous Westport.

These are a bit different. But they too provide an important look into who we are.

Beginning …

middle …

… and end. (Photos/David Meth)

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Westport loves our ospreys.

But as we look at these magnificent raptors, it’s easy to forget that they survive by preying on other creatures.

The other day, one of our Fresh Market ospreys dined out on a good-sized flounder. Ospreys have a keen eye for detecting prey from afar, sharp talons for killing, and powerful beaks for tearing flesh.

That’s today’s  “Westport … Naturally” nature lesson.

(Photo/Mark Laclair)

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And finally … I was at the “3 Presidents” event at Radio City Music Hall last night. Joe Biden, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton were interviewed by Stephen Colbert.

It was a remarkable evening.

The 3 US presidents discussed the state of America and the world. They looked back at history, and forward to November.

They were interrupted several times by protestors, angry about Biden’s policies in the Middle East. “Let them speak,” he said.

Obama took a stronger tone: “You can’t just talk, and not listen. The world is complicated. It’s hard to solve these problems.”

There were speeches too by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and First Lady Jill Biden.

Plus — and this is where this feature is heading — entertainment. The list included Queen Latifah, Lizzo, Ben Platt, Cynthia Erivo, Lea Michele and Mindy Kaling.

Cynthia Erivo

The only one of those performers I had ever seen live was Ben Platt. I’m sure I would have gone to my grave without imagining seeing any of the others.

But they all slayed.

So — in keeping with our traditional end-of-Roundup musical salutes — enjoy:

(“06880” is indeed “where Westport meets the world.” Please click here to support our work. Thank you!)

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Posted in Arts, Environment, Library, Police, Politics

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