The latest edition of “Westport in Focus” — 1st Selectwoman Jen Tooker’s regular newsletter to residents — landed in email inboxes earlier today.
For those who did not open it — and “06880” readers outside of Westport who did not get it — the highlights include:
✔ A note about the newly redesigned Selectwoman’s Office page on WestportCt.gov: Selectwoman’s Office Home.
IT director Eileen Zhang and Tooker’s staff have spent quite a while redesigning this, and other departments’, home pages. The result: greater visual appeal, and ease of use.
Screenshot of the new Selectwoman’s Office page.
✔ The tentative pubic meeting timeline for the Hamlet at Saugatuck project. It includes
Planning & Zoning Commission meetings: April 7, and late April and May (NOTE: There is no Hamlet discussion tonight, March 31)
Flood and Erosion Control Board: April 2
Waterline Protection Line Ordinance and Conservation Commission: April 23-April 30
Historic District Commission: TBD
Board of Selectwomen, acting as the Traffic Authority: TBD
The Hamlet at Saugatuck proposal for Railroad Place.
✔ An update on the Long Lots School Building Committee.
Tooker reports that regular meetings continue. “Providing there are no other delays, it is anticipated that groundbreaking will occur this year, with an anticipated move-in date in September of 2027,” Tooker says.
The LLSBC recently received approval for awarding contracts for MEP commissioning aervices, building envelope commissioning services and geothermal test well services.
The project now enters the design development phase, with more detailed plans, elevations and finishes. This is expected to be completed in the next several weeks.
Meetings with the Board of Finance and Planning & Zoning Commission are being scheduled, and are anticipated to take place in the first part of April.
The School Building Committee will also schedule a work session with the Architectural Review Board, a meeting with the Representative Town Meeting Education Committee for an update, and meetings with all funding bodies and the full RTM (plus committees) over the next few months.
The LLSBC also hopes to schedule a town-wide charette during the design development phase.
On the first Thursday of every month, StartUp Westport sponsors a casual get-together.
The next one is April 3 (6 to 8 p.m., VFW Post 399; click here to register).
Call it what you want — meet-and-greet, networking, whatever — it’s an opportunity for our town’s tech entrepreneurs, innovators and investors to get together.
There’s no fee. Everyone is responsible for their own drinks and (if they wish) food.
But if a billion-dollar idea or deal comes out of one of these, maybe the men and women behind it can buy a round at the next one.
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Drugs, alcohol, suicide — those heavy topics, and more, are addressed regularly in Westport.
Free QPR suicide prevention training (Friday, March 28, 12 to 1:30 p.m., Positive Directions, 90 Post Road West). For the general public, 16+. RSVP: positivedirections.org/events
Exploring Westport’s Relationship with Alcohol. (April 7, 7 p.m., Toquet Hall). A community discussion, including a panel and breakout discussion groups to kick off Alcohol Awareness Month. Panelists include a parent, person in recovery, mental health counselor, substance counselor, LGBTQ community member and teen. RSVP: positivedirections.org/events
Save a Life Day. (April 9, 7 p.m., Town Hall). Positive Directions and Aspetuck Health District provide an overdose awareness event, sigh free Narcan and other supplies to participants. RSVP: positivedirections.org/events
Drug Take-Back Day (April 26, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Senior Center). Bring medications, for safe collection and disposal.
TOPSoccer — a national soccer program for youngsters with disabilities — flourished her for several years.
Now Eric Serotta and his daughter Blake, a Bedford Middle School 8th grader, are relaunching it.
The Westport Soccer Association and Weston Soccer Club are collaborating, to offer skill development and physical participation, to children in grades K-8 with physical and/or learning differences.
TOPSoccer will run on 5 Saturdays (11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.) beginning April 26, at Morehouse Farm Park in Weston.
To register as a player — or volunteer — click here.
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An incorrect date was given in yesterday’s Roundup for the Earth Animal/Fetch Rescue puppy adoption event at Earth Animal.
The correct day is this Sunday (March 30, 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.).
One of many puppies up for adoption this Sunday, at Earth Animal.
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Content Studio — the Saugatuck Avenue event space — hosts several exciting April events.
Mixology Mixer, with Ed Hernandez of Mixxed by Ed (April 10; 6 to 8 p.m.). Ticket includes 2 drinks, supplies, light bites, and a screening of the 1988 film “Cocktail.” “Perfect for date night, girls’ night out, or corporate team-building.” Click here for tickets.
Westport Downtown Association“town hall” (April 24), for members and those interested in learning more. Wine, beer and light bites, plus information on upcoming town and beautification events. For more information, email beth@contentstudio.com.
Mother’s Day Mini-Portrait Sessions (April 26; sessions available 8 to 5:30 p.m.). For mothers and their children, or children and grandchildren at any age. Click here to book a session.
The prolific author, longtime Westporter and Staples High School graduate just published his second book in 2 weeks.
Swanson — a Vietnam veteran — is now focused on vets’ issues.
“Thank You For Your Service” — published last week — is about a Marine who, despite 2 tours in Iraq, was not a US citizen (though here legally), as he awaits his asylum hearing. Click here to order from Amazon.
“A Fart in a Hurricane” — another Hush McCormick novelette — deals with 3 Marines who were fired from their jobs at the Veterans Administration, without due cause. They want their jobs back, and resort to any means — including blackmail. Click here to order from Amazon.
In April of 1777, British soldiers landed at Compo Beach, and marched to Danbury.
On April 6 of 2025, Westport art historian drives north to the Keeler Tavern Museum. There, at 3 p.m., she’ll discuss “Art, War, and Identity” — an exploration of how the persuasive power of artists during the Revolutionary Era helped sway public opinion, and forge our national identity.
Tickets are $15 ($10 members and students). Click here to purchase, and for more information.
Westport Police made one custodial arrest between March 19 and 26.
A 60-year-old New York City man was charged with criminal attempt to commit larceny, illegal possession of personal ID information device, and identity theft, following the attempted theft of funds from a bank account. He was held on $150,000 bond.
Westport Police also issued these citations:
Failure to comply with state traffic commission regulations: 12 citations
And finally … happy 56th birthday to Mariah Carey!
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But over 150 Westporters at the Westport Library yesterday heard 5 Representative Town Meeting members passionately describe their work on our town’s legislative body.
Andrew Bloom, Jimmy Izzo, Lauren Karpf, Pam Kopack and Kristin Mott Purcell represent different generations, and lengths of service.
But they share a reverence for the RTM. Over 75 years old, it is one of the last such forms of government in Connecticut.
The 5 members spoke about their work on a variety of committees; the insights they gain into Westport’s issues and residents; the importance of non-partisanship; the satisfaction they get giving back to the town (despite some long hours) — and the RTM’s unique seating arrangement.
After the panel, attendees had a chance to meet representatives from their own district. Town organizations, including the Boards of Education and Finance, and League of Women Voters, had informational tables too.
The “Community Conversation” event was arranged by RTM members David Rosenwaks and Claudia Shaum, through Nancy Kail’s RTM communications committee.
RTM members (from left): Jimmy Izzo, Kristin Mott Purcell, Lauren Karpf, Pam Kopack and Andrew Bloom. “06880”‘s own Dan Woog moderated the event. (Photo/Nancy Kail)
The Staplesl publication is one of only 6 in the nation to earn a Columbia Scholastic Press Association “Gold Crown,” for hybrid (web and newspaper) general magazine coverage.
… with advisors Joseph Delgobbo and Mary Elizabeth Fulco (standing, far left and far right).
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Every parent knows the importance of car seats.
But most parents don’t know that 73% of them are misused, or improperly installed.
On April 3 (11 a.m. to 2 p.m.), the Westport Police Department offers a free “car seat check.”
Just drive (carefully!) to police headquarters on Jesup Road. Your car seats will be checked by a certified child passenger safety technician. The event is co-sponsored by Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital.
How does plant migration help expand our native plant palette during climate change?
That’s the subject of this Friday’s Aspetuck Land Trust “Lunch and Learn” webinar (March 27, noon to 1 p.m.).
The Zoom talk will examine the role humans play in helping move plants (and animals), to aid in seed dispersal. Click here to register, and for more information.
Former Westport resident Adrienne Berman died Friday at the Watermark in Bridgeport, where she lived. She was 86.
The Chicago native moved to New York City, where she met her husband Bill. She career in retail, first as a business owner and later as the New York showroom manager for Brown Jordan Furniture. Her leadership and keen eye for design left a lasting impact.
Her family calls her “the heart and brain of her home, always providing love, wisdom, and unwavering support to those she cherished most.
Adrienne is survived by her husband; daughter Randy (Scott Ellis), son Larry (Betsy), and grandchildren Robert Zachary Ellis and Jacquelyn Ellis, Madalyn Culnane, and Jake and Josh Berman. She was predeceased by her son Jason.
A private service is planned.
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We’ll be seeing a lot more flower photos soon, in our “Westport … Naturally” feature.
Here’s an early season crocus:
(Photo/Wendy Levy)
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And finally … on this day in 1721, Johann Sebastian Bach dedicated 6 concertos to Margrave Christian Ludwig of Brandenburg-Schwedt. We know them today as the Brandenburg Concertos.
(“06880”: Where Westport meets the world. And you get the Brandenburg Concertos, too! If you enjoy your hyper-local, and always intriguing, blog, please click here to support us. Thanks!)
The Hamlet at Saugatuck — the retail/residential/hotel/marina proposal to remake part of Westport’s first commercial neighborhood — is moving through the regulatory process.
Yesterday, Matthew Mandell — the Representative Town Meeting (RTM) member whose District 1 includes Saugatuck — sent this report.
This Monday (March 24, 6 p.m., Zoom), Planning & Zoning Commission hearings continue with a staff report, questions by the P&Z, and the first of a number of town-hired consultants speaking.
The public might be gotten to, but there is time to absorb more before speaking
Earlier on Monday (noon), the P&Z will take a field trip to Saugatuck. If you are interested in watching the P&Z tour, come along. I am sure you will learn something. (NOTE: Only the P&Z may ask questions. This is not a public hearing.)
Drones will be flown to show the heights of the buildings.
Artists’ rendering of Hamlet buildings, on Riverside Avenue.
Here is a timeline. The Thursday (March 27) hearing has been canceled. Consultants paid for by the applicant (The Hamlet) have been hired to vet and double check the application and proposal. That’s part of the process.
A major consultant, though, has not begun their work, because the fee was paid only late this week.
As there is a statutory time constraint to this process, P&Z asked the developers for a 65-day extension (the norm). Their attorney gave them 35 days.
More extensions will be required, so why not just do it all now?
What happens if time runs out, and there is more to do? IMHO, the P&Z would deliver a denial without prejudice, and a new application would need to be filed. Better to get all the extensions than go through that hassle.
The Hamlet proposal includes “re-skinning” the 21 Charles Street building (opposite Zucca Gastrobar, at the corner of Franklin Street.
The Flood & Erosion Control Board will hear the application April 2. They will probably need this new consultant’s report to properly engage. So another hearing might be needed, as time is tight now for the consultant to do their work.
This would then go to the Conservation Commission, to weigh both waterway issues and the environmental clean-up.
Those hearings begin April 23 and continue to April 30, with a decision sometime in May.
These meetings are a big part of the process. I have seen slam dunk proposals get sidetracked by conservation issues.
P&Z will continue down its road, with another hearing March 31, probably April 7, and on into late April and May.
P&Z cannot close their hearing until a Conservation decision has been handed to them. It could be into June before a full decision is made, but late May is possible.
A view of the Saugatuck area proposed for redevelopment. Rememediation would be needed in the area of Minute Man Cleaners (above). Decades ago, it was the site of an automobile dealership.
All this is besides approvals by the state Department of Transporation and possibly other agencies, governing many of the things proposed. P&Z does not usually base decisions on future third-party decisions.
There are other pieces. An 8-24 for use of town property will also need to be filed with P&Z, which could slow the timeline.
The Historic District Commission will have to weigh in as well, as every building involved is under their jurisdiction — not just the historic ones on Railroad Place.
The Board of Selectwomen, acting as the town’s Traffic Authority, will also need to render decisions on traffic and parking issues.
This is a very large proposal. Much needs to be looked at. The public has already begun to engage, with letters into the file and opinion pieces in the press. I anticipate this will continue, and increase.
(To delve into the ever-expanding list of items concerning the proposal and application, click here.)
For the past couple of years, Westport has suffered thefts from private mailboxes. Checks are stolen, altered and cashed.
Amazingly, thieves also hit the big blue drop box outside Westport’s main post office in Playhouse Square.
Last Friday night — in a stupendously surprising and brazen move — the mail drop inside the post office was victimized. (The outside box was too).
Bad guys apparently “fish” for mail through the small slot. The staff is gone at night, but the front part of the building is open.
Westport’s postal clerks (who are perhaps the friendliest and most helpful in the entire US Postal Service) advise handing mail — particularly checks — directly to them.
Even the mail slot on the left is no longer safe (after hours).
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The Planning & Zoning Commission meets next Thursday (March 27, 6 p.m., Zoom).
They’ll continue to discuss a request for special permit/coastal site plan approval for The Hamlet at Saugatuck: the mix of hotel, residential and non-residential uses in the area bordered by Riverside Avenue, Railroad Place, Franklin Street and Charles Street.
Part of the Hamlet at Saugatuck plan: a market, adjacent to Luciano Park, where boats are now stored in a private parking lot.
For nearly 50 years, Neighborhood Studios has helped underserved children and those with special needs throughout Fairfield County.
Programs include an art institute for children ages 4-12; a dance academy for those as young as 3; theater for 6-12-year-olds; a Saturday studio; a music school, and a conservatory for teenagers serious about the visual arts, media, music, theater and dance. It’s hands-on, dynamic, fun. Neighborhood Studios offers hope, and changes lives.
Program graduates have gone on to attend colleges like Yale, the University of Connecticut, Howard University, Art Institute, Parsons School of Design, the New School, and Berklee College of Music. Some have become music or art teachers — and Broadway performers.
(That’s an added bonus. The goal of Neighborhood Studios is not to produce lifelong artists. It’s to use the arts to help each child achieve his or her potential — and, hopefully, nurture a lifelong love of the arts.)
It’s a small operation, with a big mission. And some of Neighborhood Studios’ driving forces are Westporters. Board members include Rita Appel, Bob Jacobs and Laurie Gross.
Laurie and Jeff Gross, their son Zack and his wife Sheera, Jim and Lizzie Wolf, Tauck and Brigade Capital Management are sponsors of a very cool “Dueling Pianos” fundraiser.
The April 24 event (7 p.m., Park City Music Hall, Black Rock) includes (or course) music — with a twist. Attendees can request favorite songs, then sing and dance along. There’s plenty of food and drinks, too. Click here for tickets, and more information.
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Speaking of the arts: Cabaret Olé — the fundraiser for the Staples High School Orphenians and VOCES8 Foundation that includes entertainment, Spanish tapas, a raffle and a silent auction — just got even better.
A VIP Flash Sale ticket — now just $170 — includes special seating, and a meet-and-greet (with photos) with “Wicked” star Mary Kate Morrissey, “Wicked” music director Dan Micciche, and more.
The raffle includes up to 10 nights at the Pineapple Beach Club in Antigua, theater tickets, restaurant gift cards and more. The silent auction features over 80 experiences and items. Bidding begins at noon on March 30; click here.
Cabaret Olé is March 30 (6 p.m., Christ & Holy Trinity Church). Preferred tickets are $150; general admission is $125. Click here for tickets, and more information.
Speaking (still) of entertanment: VersoFest has added another big name to next month’s music-and-more Westport Library event: 3-time Grammy Award-winning hip hop artist and co-founder of The Roots, Black Thought.
A conversation with “one of the best lyricists in hip hop history” and community leader June Archer is set for April 5 (4 p.m.; free).
Copies of Black Thought’s memoir, “The Upcycled Self: A Memoir on the Art of Becoming Who We Are,” will be for sale, with the author signing copies after the talk.
Black Thought and Questlove founded The Roots in 1987. From humble beginnings performing on Philadelphia street corners to commercial success, they expanded their reach as the house band for Jimmy Fallon, on “Late Night” and “The Tonight Show.”
Click here for more information on Black Thought. Click here for full details on VersoFest ’25.
Black Thought
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And more about music: Voices Café often attracts interesting artists, from up and down the East Coast.
On April 5, one of them is a homegrown talent.
In fact, very talented.
Dustin Lowman — a 2011 Staples High School graduate, now making his name as a New York-based singer/songwriter — opens for Lucy Kaplansky.
Dustin says: “In the years since leaving Westport, I’ve forged an unconventional path, using the tools that growing up there afforded me.
Livingston Taylor says,“Dustin is on the path of a terrific musical career. His musical voice is waiting to be heard by those hungry for the next real thing.”
Kaplansky has gained a fervid following over 3 decades for her folk-inflected singing and songwriting.
Click here for tickets about the show at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Westport, and more information.
Hey, Staples High School Class of 1985: Your 40th (!) reunion is coming!
Organizers have planned a welcome gathering on July 18 at the Black Duck, followed by a July 19 dinner at Saugatuck Harbor Yacht Club, and brunch at Compo the next morning.
Female high school seniors who plan to continue their education at a college or vocational school can apply for a $3,000 Philanthropic Educational Organization scholarship.
Criteria include academic success, community service and financial need. For more information click here, or email pal9948@aol.com.
Staples graduate and prolific author Carl Addison Swanson has a new book out. It’s called “Thank You For Your Service!”
The author says: “The beloved boat bum Hush McCormick is back on center stage as he is hired by a veteran’s wife to get her husband out of an immigrant detention center in Buffalo.
“While the vet in question served his country honorably in Iraq with 2 deployments, he is not a naturalized citizen, and subject to deportation if he commits 3 misdemeanors or 1 felony. Follow Hush and his small band of Marines who try the impossible: help a fellow Marine get out of federal prison.”
And finally … hey, didn’t Bob Dylan kind of predict the mail drop thefts (story above) in this song?
(Whether you’re in Westport, Mobile, Memphis — or anywhere else in the world — if you enjoy “06880,” we hope you support our work. As Dylan says; “I want you.” Please click here to donate. Thanks!)
Beach parking emblems (oldtimers call them “stickers”) are available for purchase — online and in the Parks & Recreation Department office — for Westport and Weston residents starting this Thursday (March 20), at 9 a.m. There is no limit for Westport and Weston residents. Click here for fees.
Beach parking emblem sales for non-residents begin tomorrow (Wednesday, March 19), at 9 a.m. The fee is $545, plus sales tax. There is a limit of 450 for the season — first come, first served.
If you bought emblems or registered for programs in previous seasons, your online account is already set up. Click here to log in. Then select “Memberships,” and follow the prompts.
If you have not bought emblems or registered for programs previously, click here. Then click the “Purchase Now” icon on the right.
Emblems will be mailed in 14-21 business days. They are not required until May 1.
If you forget your login or password, do not create another account. Select the proper “forget” button on the login page. For further help, email recreation@westportct.gov.
Office hours are 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays.
Beach stickers go on sale this week. (Photo/Mark Marcus)
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The Planning & Zoning Commission’s discussion of The Hamlet at Saugatuck proposal continues next Monday (March 24, 6 p.m., Zoom).
The specific agenda item is for “special permit/coastal site plan approval for a mix of non-residential, hotel and residential uses as part of an integrated site development, for property located in the General Business District/Saugatuck Marina” area.
Click here for details on The Hamlet at Saugatuck’s proposal.
A view of The Hamlet at Saugatuck, from the Saugatuck River.
Staples High School’s Asian Students Association is raising funds to provide menstrual hygiene products to women who face challenges accessing those basic necessities. The World Bank estimates that number as high as 500 million women.
There is a local need too. The Staples group’s goal is to raise $1,000 for Homes with Hope. The non-profit runs Westport homeless shelter and food pantry (whose shelves include hygiene products).
The club is a part of Dear Asian Youth, a youth-led, global non-profit that promotes solidarity with other marginalized communities, and equality and equity. Click here to donate, and for more information.
Speaking of Staples: Mark DeRosa’s teaches drawing and animation classes there, along with an after-school comic book course called Graphicus that publishes an annual anthology.
Last weekend they presented their work at Southern Connecticut State University’s Indie Comics Creator Con. It drew over 175 creators from around the country, and included panels and discussions about making and publishing comics.
DeRosa’s students saw first hand the impact their creations have on comic fans of all ages. They were buoyed by guest appearances from 2 principals: Staples’ Stafford Thomas, and Bedford Middle School’s Adam Rosen.
From left: Stafford Thomas Jr., son Stafford Thomas III, Dinuka Periyapperuma, Archie Kobetitsch, Will Hebel.
Congressman Jim Himes has scheduled in-person town hall meetings for this Saturday in Norwalk (10 a.m.) and Fairfield (1 p.m.), along with a telephone town hall on Monday, March 24 (7:30 p.m.).
Westport Country Playhouse artistic director Mark Shanahan is in rehearsal for “Theatre People.” The adaptation of the Hungarian play — set in 1948, in a Newport mansion — opens March 25.
But that’s not Shanahan’s only Hungarian connection. A play he adapted —Agatha Christie’s “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd” — is currently on stage there.
“I’m told that even in another country and another language, the audience still gasps at the big reveal,” Shanahan says.
From blowing bebop with the Charles Mingus Band to improvising with Anthony Braxton, Michael Rabinowitz has changed conceptions of what a bassoon can do.
Local jazz fans can hear him — and bassist Rich Zurkowskir, pianist Roberta Piket, drummer David Alvarez and saxophonist Greg “The Jazz Rabbi” Wall — this Thursday (March 20) at Jazz at the Post (VFW Post 399).
Shows are 7:30 and 8:45 p.m. Dinner service starts at 7. The music cover is $20 ($15, veterans and students). Click here for tickets.
Local experts will share insights on enhancing “lifespan and health span.” The first event (March 26, 6 p.m.) continues a conversation between TAP founder Dr. EJ Zebro and Jennifer Boyd, begun during their sold-out Westport Farmers’ Market session.
A team from Rhone will offer performance-driven gear. Register by email: info@tapstrength.com.
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Longtime Westport resident Malcolm Doak died peacefully at his home in Spring, Texas on January 27, surrounded by family. He was 95.
He joined Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps at Hackensack (New Jersey) High School).
While studying at Rutgers University, Malcolm was accepted into the USAir Force flight school. In 1952 he received his wings and married Vivian, the love of his life.
During the Korean War he served with distinction. Malcolm then transitioned to civilian aviation, while remaining active in the Air Force Reserves.
He entered corporate aviation as a pilot for IBM. He then served Wayfarer Ketch Corporation as chief pilot and director of flight operations. Owned by the Rockefeller brothers, Wayfarer Ketch allowed multiple companies to own their own aircraft, while pooling the resources of pilots, mechanics,
Malcolm flew Vice President Nelson Rockefeller, and led the first commercial flight into China after President Nixon normalized relations.
He finished his career at American Express as vice president of flight operations. Malcolm served as USAF academy liaison officer for the state of Connecticut, retiring with the rank of lieutenant colonel.
Malcolm and Vivian moved their 5 children to Westport in 1964. The couple donated time and money to the Westport Public Library, Westport Country Playhouse, Scouting, the Westport Weston Family Y and environmental organizations.
He enjoyed jogging and biking, then sculleld on the Saugatuck River into his 80s.
He is survived by his children Kathi of New York City; Lisa Lyne (James) of Spring, Texas; Ivy (Tim Montler) of Denton, Texas; Robin Neyrey of Spring, and Malcolm (Carole Ann) of Kirby, Vermont; 7 grandchildren, 2 step-grandchildren, and 3 great-grand children; 3 half sisters, and 1 step-sister. His wife Vivian Doak died in 2021.
Malcolm Doak
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There’s a late winter chill on the Saugatuck River. But — as they do in all weather, all year long, and as today’s “Westport … Naturally” photo shows — Saugatuck Rowing Club athletes are ready to work.
And finally … happy 55th birthday to Queen Latifah!
(If today’s “06880” helps you get your beach sticker — hey, that’s what we’re here for. We’re your hyper-local blog, 24/7/365. Don’t thank us — just click here to support our work! Much appreciated.)
Wildfires in California — and now Long Island. Hurricanes in inland North Carolina. Floods in Connecticut.
No place is safe from sudden, catastrophic weather events.
Center Street, last year. (Photo/Andrew Colabella)
As realtors, KMS Team at Compass highlight the many advantages of life in Westport.
But they advise clients about other things clients may not want to think about.
Like home insurance.
Our KMS friends pass along a recent report from the US Department of Treasury Federal Insurance Office. It says:
Home insurance is becoming more costly and harder to procure for millions of Americans. The costs of climate-related events pose growing challenges to insurers and their customers alike.
Average premiums increased 8.7% faster than the rate of inflation from 2018 to 2022. Some premium increases were much larger.
People living in the top 20% of ZIP codes, with the highest expected annual losses from climate-related perils, paid 82% more than those in the 20% lowest climate-risk ZIP codes.
Consumers in the highest risk ZIP codes faced 80% higher policy nonrenewal rates than those in the lowest risk ones.
Connecticut is in a high-risk zone:
The good news: While policy non-renewal rates sound ominous, during the study period they affected just 1.6% of policy holders in high risk areas.
As real estate advisors, KMS Team members talk often with insurance professionals. They learn how to avoid insurer obstacles during the selling, buying and closing process.
Tom Ayres and his team from Cross Insurance recently visited the Compass office.
To start, they said, buyers should have a trusted insurance broker run a “CLUE” (Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange). A database can show claims reports, to understand what went on with a home and property over the last 7 years.
This includes loss history on structures near water — for example, claims because of water damage.
Flooding is the most common and costly natural disaster in the United States.
Insurers keep a close eye on water damage. They offer discounts to homeowners for being proactive, taking precautions like installing water leak devices, lightning rods, low temperature alerts, flood venting, sprinkler systems with alerts, and automatic shut-off capabilities.
Flood guidelines will be updated again in November. All homeowners should review the updates with their insurance agent. (The Cross Insurance team believes that coverages and zones will not change too drastically.)
Grove Point flooding. (Photo/John Kantor)
Many homeowners do not have flood insurance. KMS Team emphasizes: Check with your agent!
The second most common concern is the roof.
It’s all about the age, condition, material and shape, KMS says. Those elements impact the overall integrity or eligibility for coverage.
What works in certain parts of the country may not work in another. For example, cedar/wood roofs are okay in Connecticut, but not Colorado. Metal is fine in Vermont, but not Texas.
Insurers and inspectors now use “roof scores,” determined through drone photos.
These also help determine replacement costs. If a roof is 15 years old, coverage may include 100% replacement. But as the roof ages, replacement coverage may drop.
Other home and property issues include:
Electrical system (knob and tube wires, cloth wiring)
Exterior insulation and finishing of the residence.
Renovations are an important insurance topic too. Will the work be minor or major? “Will you raze (or raise) your home?
Renovating and/or raising a home can affect insurance rates.
Coverage rates can vary, based on the use of the home and property. Is it occuped full time? Rented? Or are the owners rarely there?
The best way to keep insurance rates in check, KMS says, is to be proactive. Take steps to remedy aging elements of your home.
And keep in touch with your insurance experts. Let them know if you put on a new roof or add safeguards.
Insurance agencies work with a variety of insurance companies. They can match your home’s condition and needs with the best one.
(“06880” regularly covers Westport’s real estate scene. If you enjoy this — or any other feature on your hyper-local blog — please click here to support our work. Thank you!)
In this area, many of those talking are businesspeople. Most have some skin in the game.
That includes Stew Leonard Jr.
The Westport native — now CEO of Stew Leonard’s, the company his father founded, with 8 locations in the tri-state area — sat down the other day with Business Insider. Among his comments:
As far as tariffs go, I’ve talked to our suppliers in Mexico with avocados and beer and tequila, and I’ve talked to our suppliers in Canada. We get some tomatoes on the vine from Vancouver, and salmon is our biggest item from Canada. There’s also lobsters, but it’s not lobster season yet.
Basically, take your darts out for your dartboard because nobody that I’ve talked to, even the experts in the field, knows what’s going to happen.
Throw a dart. Is this tariff going to last one day? Is it going to last a week? Is it going to last a month?
What we’re scrambling to do is find alternate sources if there is an increase in the tariff. We’re sitting here riding the market day by day….
Click here to read the full story. (Hat tip: Doug McCarthy)
Stew Leonard Jr. (Photo courtesy/Westchester Magazine)
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On the 5th anniversary of the pandemic, COVID is still here.
Is bird flu here too?
While the CDC website shows no reported cases in Connecticut — or east of Ohio — one Westport woman is not so sure.
She told “06880” yesterday that she found 2 dead birds in the waters of the Ned Dimes Marina at Compo Beach, and another nearby on the Longshore golf course.
She was advised to contact the Aspetuck Health District, just to be sure.
Dead birds at the Compo Beach marina.
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For a while, I’ve wondered why nearly every new house in Westport seems to be white (with black accents).
I’m not the only one.
Dan Kois has thought about the trend too.
Now he’s written about it.
He concentrates on Arlington, Virginia. But the style is national, he notes.
His piece in Salon answers a number of questions, including why they’re so big, and why they’re so white. Click here to read. (Hat tip: Scott Smith)
This 4-bedroom, 3 1/2-bathroom house on Spriteview Avenue is on the market for $3.499 million.
It’s less than 3 miles from Staples High to the Westport Country Playhouse.
It’s a lot longer through Ithaca, New York.
That’s the route Zach De Brino took. It was worth the detour.
Before graduating from high school in 2019, he was an assistant director for Staples Players.
Zach earned a BFA in stage management from Ithaca College in 2023. Since then he’s worked Off-Broadway and regionally, including production assistant and crew swing on “Teeth” at Playwrights Horizons, assistant stage manager for the Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston, and event production coordinator in New York.
Now he returns home. Zach is the production assistant “Theatre People,” which opens March 25 at the Playhouse.
Click here for more information on the show, including tickets.
Zach De Brino, checking props for “Theatre People.” (Photo/Andrea Quiles)
Riverside Avenue and Lincoln Street neighbors fought hard.
But on Monday 2 large trees — perhaps over 200 years old — at 125 Riverside Avenue were cut down. Hours later, the oak at 79 Riverside Avenue next to Eloise Ray Park was also removed.
A home will be built adjacent to the park, on the Saugatuck River at the foot of Lincoln Street.
Nearby resident Charles Tirreno spent the afternoon helping his mother re-home newborn baby squirrels, whose nest was removed along with the tree.
“This has been a grave loss of habitat for countless species of mammals, insects, critically endangered turtles and protected birds,” he wrote in an email to his Representative Town Meeting District 9 members.
He urged his representatives to closely monitor the situation, to ensure that stipulations voted on by the Planning & Zoning Commission are adhered to.
Scene after trees were removed, adjacent to Eloise A. Ray Park. (Photo/Charles Tirreno)
Asked to comment by “06880,” RTM member Jennifer Johnson said, “This is a terrible loss for our entire community. It is an in-our-face reminder of how little Westport is doing to protect our town’s limited open space.
“Across Westport we are bearing witness to the systematic loss of cherished natural resources. From the assault on Jesup Green to the wiping out of the Community Gardens, and now a proposed 35,000-square foot area of asphalt, steel and concrete in the middle of Longshore. What’s going to happen to that giant sycamore gracing Charles Street when the Hamlet plows through?
“Sadly, the redevelopment of the property on 125 Riverside is a perfect example of community-wide inaction. We have an open space fund. Did anyone ever try to purchase the site for open space?
“Unfortunately, we waited to blame the person who eventually came forward to redevelop the site. That’s too late. We now must confront the loss of more glorious trees, and the missed chance to add parkland to our riverfront.”
“Please do not take any more trees!” added RTM member Sal Liccione.
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Mitchells — the small mom-and-pop men’s store that has grown in nearly 70 years to include 8 of the leading luxury retail stores in the US — has just gotten bigger.
Stanley Korshak — the leading luxury retailer in Dallas — is joining the Mitchell Stores family.
In addition to Westport — where Mitchells is headquartered — the group includes Richards in Greenwich; Mitchells in Huntington, New York; Wilkes Bashford stores in San Francisco and Palo Alto, and 3 Marios stores in Seattle, Portland and Bridgeport, Oregon.
The Mitchells have been close personal friends with former owner Crawford Brock and his family for over 20 years. Stanley Korshak is a 32,000-square foot store Dallas’ Uptown neighborhood.
Most important, Mitchells says, the store “shares our family’s vision to bringing customers the most exquisite luxury fashions in the world, with unequaled personalized service.” In addition to the main store, Stanley Korshak has one of the top bridal salons in the country.
“Stanley Korshak is a jewel in Texas. We will do everything to continue to offer world-class products and services that are perfectly tailored to Dallas customers,” says Chris Mitchell. The 3rd generation owner will spend half his time in Dallas, working closely with Crawford.
Meanwhile, the 4th generation of Mitchells has begun working with the company.
Ed and Norma Mitchell — who founded that original men’s store in a former plumbing supply building at the corner of Post Road East and Compo Road North in 1958 (now M&T Bank) — would be very proud.
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Staples Players actors are as close to professional as you can get, without an Equity card.
When the curtain rises Friday for “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” — Players’ spring production — they’ll be joined by a couple of legit Broadway actors, like Kelli O’Hara and Chris Sarandon.
Former Staples principal John Dodig (who had a memorable role in Players’ “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying”) and former State Senator Will Haskell — a Player himself in his high school days — will be onstage too.
But so will a few definite non-actors, like First Selectwoman Jen Tooker, Principal Stafford Thomas, and Wrecker boys basketball coach Dave Goldshore.
Plus “06880”‘s own Dan Woog.
We’re all “guest spellers.” We have no idea what we’re in for. We’ll just go with the flow.
And we’ll be guided by the very talented Players themselves. They’ve prepared well, for schmoes like us.
They’ll lead. We’ll follow. And we hope that audiences will laugh with — not at — us.
The full guest cast:
Friday, March 7 (7 p.m.): First Selectwoman Jennifer Tooker, Principal Stafford Thomas, “06880”‘s Dan Woog, Bedford Acting Group ‘s Ryan Smith.
Saturday, March 8 (2 p.m.): Actor Chris Sarandon, former State Senator Will Haskell and more.
Saturday, March 8 (7 p.m.): Coach Dave Goldshore and more.
Sunday, March 9 (2 p.m.): Tony Award winner Kelli O’Hara, former Staples principal John Dodig, Staples choral director Lauren Pine and more.
The Read to Grow Bookmobile arrives in Westport tomorrow (Thursday, March 6, 3 to 5 p.m., Compo Beach cannons).
Youngsters can climb aboard the bookmobile (not the cannons) to pick out a free book. The selection includes new board books, picture books and chapter books, for youngsters birth to age 7.
Kids LOVE climbing aboard to pick out a free book to take home! Their shelves are packed with new board books, picture books, and chapter books for kids birth to age 7—so there’s something for everyone!
The Animal Awareness Night scheduled for this evening (Wednesday, March 5) has been postponed. The new date is March 19 (7 p.m., police station classroom).
Topics include wildlife (with officer Peter Reid), pet adoption (with Westport Animal Shelter Advocates’ Julie Loparo), and dog licensing guidelines. The event is free.
Westport Animal Control officer Peter Reid is a featured speaker at Wednesday’s Animal Awareness Night.
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Sure, you can teach your kids how to decorate cookie cakes.
But on March 25 (7:30 p.m., The Blondinit restaurant), Jess Leventhal will teach adults how to create “a stunning 2-layer mini cookie cake that feeds 6-8 people, and is almost too beautiful to eat.”
The $125 ticket a choice of signature cocktail, and light fare by The Blondinit. Click here for details and registration.
Blondinit cookie cake.
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Johanna Keyser Rossi spotted today’s “Westport … Naturally” subject — a juvenile mute swan — swimming alone in the Saugatuck River, near Riverside Park.
(Photo/Johanna Keyser Rossi)
That’s such a rare sight in Westport. No, not a swan. I mean a young one, playing without an adult nearby.
Winter seems to be slowly slipping away. (Though temperatures will struggle to reach freezing today.)
There’s no snow in the forecast.
But even if we don’t see another flake this season, this is New England. In less than a year, we’ll shovel again.
Well, some Westporters won’t.
That’s the topic of Clarence Hayes’ “Opinion” piece today. The Representative Town Meeting member writes:
Westport is an outlier. Out of 169 municipalities in Connecticut, it is one of the very few (if not the only one) whose Public Works Department has the responsibility to clear residential sidewalks after a snowstorm.
In nearly every other community, this responsibility falls to the adjacent property owners. While Westport’s DPW does its best to keep up, it’s time to acknowledge that this system is unsustainable.
Cross Highway, after a snowfall.
Currently, our town has 26 miles of residential sidewalks. That number will grow, as new sidewalks are added.
The highway crew of 16 workers already puts in grueling 12- to 30-hour shifts clearing and salting roads during storms. After tackling streets, parking lots, and even hauling snow out of downtown, they are then expected to begin the long, labor-intensive task of clearing sidewalks.
Depending on the severity of the storm, it can take up to a week before all sidewalks are passable. If storms come back-to-back, sidewalk clearing may not happen at all.
By that time, snow has often hardened into “snowcrete” — a dense, icy layer that is far more difficult to remove than fresh snow, and creates even more hazardous conditions.
“Snowcrete” on Hillspoint Road, between Hillandale and Prospect Roads. (Photo/Clarence Hayes)
This means that even when sidewalks are cleared, they may still be icy, uneven or impassable in spots. And when storms come in quick succession, sidewalk clearing may have to be delayed or skipped altogether as crews focus on keeping roads safe.
Meanwhile, residents understandably want safe walkways immediately after a storm. Pedestrians, including schoolchildren and commuters, rely on these sidewalks to get around safely. But the reality is that the town simply cannot provide immediate service to sidewalks while prioritizing road safety.
The solution is simple and fair: Update our town ordinances to require property owners to clear sidewalks adjacent to their property, as is standard in most Connecticut towns.
Prior to storms, in addition to salting their driveway and front steps, homeowners would take a few more steps out and cover their sidewalk. This would dramatically ease the burden on our public works crews, while ensuring sidewalks are cleared faster for everyone.
There will, of course, be pushback from some who do not want to take on this responsibility. But Westport is a community that values walkability and safety. If we want our sidewalks to be clear and accessible after a storm, this ordinance change is a necessary step.
It’s time for Westport to adopt a sidewalk snow removal ordinance that aligns with the rest of the state. Doing so will improve safety, support our public works department, and ensure that our growing sidewalk network remains usable all winter long.
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