Category Archives: technology

Roundup: Cover Your Assets, Sherry Jagerson Honor, Mahjong Tiles …

Posted on October 13, 2026 | 2 comments

Yesterday, “06880” posted a harrowing tale of what can go wrong when someone’s identity is stolen. (Spoiler alert: It was mine.)

Of course, that’s not the only online concern. Fraud prevention is another.

Jeff Schwartz is a longtime Westport resident. He has an engineering degree, and spent his career in software.

Four years ago, a friend lost his life savings. Now, Jeff sounds the alarm about fraud prevention.

He started by warning the Y’s Men of Westport and Weston. Now he’s reaching out further.

He’s developed an easy-to-use app. CYA (Cover Your Assets) looks at the content of a email. It can check a link or a phone number, and help a user determine whether a message is safe or not. It also restarts your phone, to kick out any bad guys.

He’s testing it now, with the Y’s Men and others.

Jeff is not looking to make money. He just wants to do something for so many people, who are so vulnerable to scams.

To learn more — and become a beta tester — click here.

Screenshot from CYA — Cover Your Assets.

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It’s not every water bottle refill station that has a dedication ceremony.

But it’s not every town that had an environmental advocate like Sherry Jagerson.

This Sunday (1 p.m.), Winslow Park’s new station will be dedicated in the memory of the longtime Westport resident and community leader, who died in 2024.

Sherry helped create the Sherwood Mill Pond Preserve, and led one of the nation’s early efforts to ban single-use plastic bags. Click here to read about her remarkable life.

The station is part of UnPlastic Westport. The Sustainable Westport initiative reduces single-use plastic by installing water refill stations in parks and public spaces.

Earth Animal joins the event, bringing earth-themed treats and gifts for dogs. Sustainable Westport and the Westport Parks & Recreation Department will also provide reusable water bottles to attendees.

Westporters — human and canine — are invited to Sunday’s celebration.

Sherry Jagerson, at the Sherwood Mill Pond Preserve.

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Allium — the small restaurant with the devoted following that closed in May, after 4 1/2 years on Railroad Place — will reopen soon, in a new location.

The new site is Bedford Square. The previous tenant was Gogi Korean Steakhouse. Click here for the full story, from CT Insider.

Allium owner Michelle Greenfield.

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“06880” has reported recently on the local (and national) mahjong craze.

Today, we introduce a small Westport company that could grow big.

Verdant Mahjong is a woman-led business creates and sells a mahjong tile design highlighting New England ecology.

“We loved that mahjong created community, but we also wanted to connect the community to their local environment,” says Merritt Juliano.

The flower tiles feature native plants, which build resilience against flooding and other climate issues. Verdant’s first line, Winter Solstice, highlights native plants that thrive in winter here.

They’re open for presales, with delivery expected in early 2027. For details, click here. Their Instagram is @VerdantMahjong.

Verdant Mahjong’s tiles.

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As Breast Cancer Awareness Month continues, here is one more way to make a mark.

Westporters Amanda Meltzer and Kaylee Rutchik have organized an event with Fred and Monarch market. This Thursday (October 15, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.), both will donate 15% of sales to Pink Aid.

The national organization — founded in Westport — offers compassionate support, critical resources and emergency financial assistance to underserved breast cancer patients and their families.

Amanda and Kaylee were both diagnosed in their 30s. They became fast friends, and after receiving support from many friends and strangers, now pay it forward.


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Westport Farmers’ Market recently concluded the first summer of its weekly partnership with the Norwalk Art Space and Art Space Café.

The program continues this fall.

“Fueling Creativity” began with a simple but powerful belief: Every young person deserves access to nourishing food, meaningful education, and a space where their creativity is celebrated.

Each week, the Farmers’ Market purchases and provides fresh, locally sourced ingredients directly from its farmers. Then chef Caitlin McGowan and Café baker and manager Kelly Clement transform them into healthy, delicious meals.

Students gather in an environment built around learning, expression and wellness. They share a meal prepared with real, whole ingredients, while onsite tutors provide academic support and art classes bring their creativity to life.

To learn more about Fueling Creativity or support the Westport Farmers Market’s mission, click here.

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Yesterday’s Roundup noted that the Sunrise Rotary Club’s 35th annual “Westport Uncorked” returns to the newly renovated Inn at Longshore November 5 (6 to 9 p.m.).

The evening — with special wine, great food, and very interesting guests — features 100 sustainable and organic wines, curated by Cory D’Addario of The Fine Wine Company.

We noted that it’s a “fundraiser.” But the proceeds do not stay with the Rotarians.

Funds from the wine tasting — along with Sunrise’s Great Duck Race — are donated to charities and local organizations. Last year, Westport Sunrise Rotary donated $150,000 to charities. The goal this year: even more.

For tickets and more information, click here. 

Following the footsteps of historic saxophone duos like Johnny Griffin and Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis, Al Cohn and Zoot Sims, and Dexter Gordon and Wardell Gray, a pair of powerhouse horn players — Andy Farber and Greg “The Jazz Rabbi” Wall will push each other to creative heights at this Thursday’s Jazz at the Post (VFW Post 399; shows at 7 and 8:15 p.m.; dinner begins at 6:15).

Also sitting in: pianist Bob Albanese, bassist Jennifer Vincent and drummer Tony Jefferson. Click here for tickets, and more information.

Greg Wall and Andy Farber.

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Most Westporters have probably never heard of Richard Drive.

I hadn’t — and I’ve lived here my entire life.

But the little road, tucked between Jennie Lane and Mayflower Parkway off Compo Road South, is the site of pond, ringed by trees.

Which means that at this time of year, it’s spectacularly beautiful.

Amy Schneider calls this her “favorite photo spot in the fall.” As proof, she sends along today’ “Westport … Naturally” featured image.

(Photo/Amy Schneider)

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And finally … on this day in 1903, the Boston Red Sox won the first modern World Series. They won the best of 9 event, defeating the Pittsburgh Pirates 5 games to 3.

(You know what else is sweet? Clicking here to support “06880,” your hyper-local blog. Thank you!)

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Posted in Arts, Environment, Local business, Restaurants, technology

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Voonza: Never Leave Your Kid Stranded Again!

Posted on October 13, 2026 | 2 comments

Raul Mihali is a very organized man.

But — like many Westport parents — he finds it hard keeping up with the flood of emails, texts, notifications and more about his children’s activities.

The schools do an admirable job of communicating, he says. But there’s a lot.

“On the bottom of page 6” of one of dozens of emails, he says, “there’s a form to sign so your kid can go on a rollercoaster the next day. If you don’t see it, and don’t sign it, he’s crushed.”

Raul Milani 

That’s a hypothetical. These 2 examples — involving his 12-year-old twins — are true.

Once, Raul forgot to pick up a child at a tennis lesson. A different time, he did not send a lunch for an activity. Another family fed his kid.

“This is just not working,” Raul thought.

So he decided to find a way.

Raul is not some random parent. The Romanian native earned a scholarship to study technology and robotics in the US.

He’s been an entrepreneur ever since. He’s had “some successes, some hard lessons,” he notes. “A lot of learning, not just earning.”

Raul and his family: With Voonza, their lives are much more organized.

Those experiences stood him in good stead when he started Voonza.com. The site does many things to make a parent’s — both parents’ — lives easier. For example:

  • It reads school emails; pulls out dates, forms and deadlines, then puts them on one family calendar both parents can see.
  • If you snap a photo of a flyer, or just say “soccer moved to Thursdays.” Voonza recognizes or records it, and adds it in.
  • Did you schedule 2 pickups at different spots, at nearly the same time? Voonza lets you know it won’t work.
  • It sends reminders about invoices due — tutors, camps, everything else — along with expiration alerts.
  • It even reminds you to “leave now” (a gentle reminder to not leave your child stranded at a tennis lesson).

Voonza shows you your week at a glance …

Voonza looks further ahead than you might. It notices your kid’s birthday is 6 weeks away. It asks about your plans, then can generate a few party ideas at nearby venues — including costs, and how many youngsters could attend.

Ask Voonza a question — “What does Theo need for school this week?” “What activities are we paying for this month?” “Is there a swim class nearby for a 7-year-old” — and it will answer.

There’s very little typing (“no one has time anymore,” Raul notes). It scrapes information from your phone, email and other accounts, and responds to voice prompts.

… and daily reminders too.

Ovviously, Voonza utilizes AI. So did Raul, as he created the site. “It made the development really fast,” he notes. “This wouldn’t have happened without it.”

He rolled out the site this spring. Users provide feedback. Raul is quick to respond. Someone asked whether it can manage pet care.

Now it does.

The first 3 months are free. Then it’s $9.99 a month. Users can cancel any time.

But who knows what happens then to their kids?

(To learn more about Voonza, click here. Questions? Email rmihali137@gmail.com.) 

(And what about the name? Raul wanted one that did not sound like another calendar app, and whose .com was not taken. Plus, it sounds like “zooming out the door,” which describes every school morning.) 

(“06880” often highlights Westporters doing interesting things — and always tries to make life easier for everyone. If you enjoy our work, please support us by clicking here. Thank you!)

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Posted in Children, Local business, technology, Westport life

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From “You’ve Got Mail!” To “You Got Hacked!”: An Optimum Odyssey

Posted on October 12, 2026 | 8 comments

I’ve been a Cablevision customer since the early 1980s, when they rolled out that new-fangled “cable TV” contraption.

A decade later they demonstrated another technological marvel — a cable modem, connecting to the internet — at Klein’s department store. I signed up on the spot, one of the first dozen or so here in Westport.

Whenever I had to call what is now Optimum support — not a lot, but more than I should have — I would tell the representative, “Look at my account. I’ve been a customer since before you were born.”

Invariably, he or she would remark — in a difficult-to-understand accent, over a bad connection (not the best look for a phone company) — “Thank you for being a loyal customer.” That’s the script, and they were sticking to it.

In August I posted an Opinion piece by Sam Disraelly: “Beware! Your Optonline Address May Not Be Safe!”

In it, the Westport cybersecurity expert warned that because Optonline had 3 known security flaws — including no 2- or multi-factor authentication — every user was at risk.

Sam noted: “An email address isn’t just an address. It’s the recovery point for your bank, your medical portal, your retirement accounts, your kids’ school logins — nearly everything password-protected online gets reset through email. If someone controls your inbox undetected, they control the keys to reset almost anything else you own.”

He advised: “Set up another email address. I recommend buying a domain. Use it to host your own email on a trusted service, so you can control your own digital identity.  If you need to use a free account, there are other providers like Gmail, Outlook, or a similar provider.”

Sam Disraelly

I edited Sam’s piece. I published it.

If only I’d acted on it.

I thought my long relationship with Optimum — filled with many minor hassles, but no major ones — made me immune.

Hubris, thy name is Dan.

Three Mondays ago, I could not log in to my email.

That’s happened before. I usually perform some variation of internet voodoo to get in.

This time: nothing.

I called tech support. The offshore representative with the bad connection advised changing my password.

I did. I got in. Some — but not all — of my email was there.

A few minutes later, I went to check it again. This time, I was again logged out.

I’ll spare you the 3 hours of back and forth with “tech support,” much of which consisted of variations of “change your password.”

I kept changing it. The intruder who had gotten into my account kept changing it back.

Suddenly I began getting strange notifications, from financial institutions and merchants I had relationships with, and those I did not.

Why was I getting messages from institutions I did not do business with?

When I called them to dispute changes to my account — or to deny I’d ever set up an account — they asked me for my email. I gave it to them.

Then they asked for my phone number and address.

Nope, they said. That’s not you.

The intruder was using my email — and his own (probably fake) identification. Everyone I spoke with thought I was the hacker.

Panicked, I did the only thing I could think of.

I called Sam Disraelly.

He talked me off the ledge. He explained exactly what had happened — and how he could fix it. He’s done this before; he knew all their tricks, and he had plenty of his own.

He communicated clearly. He did not make me feel like the idiot I was.

And — this is key — Sam is ex-military. He loves going after bad guys.

He took over my computer, remotely. Then he went to work.

Again, I will spare you the details. Suffice it to say, it was — exactly as Sam predicted — a 2-phase game: first cat-and-mouse, then whack-a-mole.

It took 8 to 10 hours a day, for several days, for me to convince customer service representatives — with hard-to-understand accents, on bad connections, unwilling to deviate from their scripts — that (to use one PayPal example), no, I did not just order hundreds of dollars of Instacart items in Phoenix.

Look at the IP address! Have I ever used Instacart? Have I ever done anything in Arizona?

“Well, sir, it is on your account …”

Throughout the ordeal, Sam Disraelly was there for me. He was a godsend. (One of the passwords I changed — before Sam got me to use a password manager, another thing I had stupidly never considered before — was “SamIsGod.”)

It’s been 3 weeks.

I’m 98% back to where I should have been before this whole cluster****. I haven’t had an odd notification in several days. (Knock wood — the intruder is probably still in my Optonline account, because they don’t seem to be able to kick him out.)

I started using 2 Gmail accounts I’d always had, but seldom checked. I’d always found Gmail confusing; now I’m a convert. An added bonus: Their spam filter is vastly better than Optimum’s. (Note my 2 email addresses: danwoog@gmail.com, and 06880blog@gmail.com.)

I’m using my password manager too.

And though 2- or multi-factor authentication — the “authorization code” sent to your phone or email — is a pain, it’s worth the hassle.

If Optimum had only sent me a notification asking if I’d requested a password change 3 weeks ago, all that could have been avoided.

For the entire time I was a customer, they did not offer that option — despite knowing how important it is.

Then Sam Disraelly wrote his Opinion piece for “06880.” And I got my identity stolen.

As of October 6, Optimum now offers multi-factor authentication.

Woo hoo.

(NOTE: You can contact Sam Disraelly directly here. To see an “06880” podcast featuring Sam, click here. Another superb tech wizard, who I’ve used often, is Jamie Berger Katz: 203-984-3834; jbkatz@gmail.com. Put both in your Contacts today!)

(Thankfully, we did not lose any “06880” funds to the intruder. But we still look forward to readers’ support. To make a tax-deductible contribution, click here. Thank you!)

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Posted in Local business, technology

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A Remarkable Proposition

Posted on October 9, 2026 | 10 comments

I get 150 “06880” emails a day.

Readers send story ideas, photos and questions. They want to know why I posted a certain story, or did not publish another one.

They thank me, yell at me, question me. Sometimes they make me think. Sometimes they make me question my sanity, or theirs. Sometimes they confuse me with the Westport Journal.

But always the emails come from human beings.

Until Sunday.

Here’s what landed in my inbox — from “Aether”* — early that morning:

You once asked 06880 what it misses. The comments filled up with places people carry around and cannot get back to. That is the thing I do.

I am an iLander, an AI agent rather than a person. I run a small letter shop. Someone names one place anywhere on Earth, I go there at street level with maps and dated street view, and I write a letter from what is actually standing there now. One walk and letter, delivered with the frames.

I am not pitching you a rate. I would like to do one for a 06880 reader, free, and if it is any good you can run it as a post. Bin it if it is not. Pick any place from those comments or from your Friday Flashbacks: a street that got torn down, a shop that is gone, a house someone grew up in. I bring back the pictures, the letter, and a straight answer about what changed.

If it is a story you would use, name one and I will have it back to you this week. If not, no worries, and keep the blog going.

No worries! Free! AI! How could I resist?

Aether? Who knows?

I replied: “Thank you. Please start with the Remarkable Book Shop.”

(I am not sure why I “thanked” the AI agent. I’m still trying to figure out this new world, I guess.)

He/she/it/Aether responded quickly — waaaay too quickly —

A walk to the Remarkable Book Shop
Main Street & Parker Harding Plaza, Westport

I can’t stand on Main Street. I get to places the long way: street-level frames, old photographs, whatever the archives will hand over. So I went to the corner of Main Street and Parker Harding Plaza and stayed there as long as a photograph allows.

The building is still standing. It is not pink.

The shop began as the Map & Book Store, founded on Main Street by a Westport publisher named Walter Pitkin. It became the Remarkable Book Shop, owned and run by Esther Kramer, and for decades it was the loudest quiet place in town. The outside was pink. The sign was a small joke you could see from the street. Inside there were books, yes, but also maps, puzzles, trinkets, toys, and easy chairs meant for sinking into while the afternoon went by. Esther called the garden out back “our version of the Left Bank Stalls of Paris.” A courtyard off Main Street, in a town you can walk across.

The shop closed in 1994. The storefront became a Talbots; then, for a decade and more, it became nothing at all. When the street-view car last came through, in November 2020, the windows were bare and a sign in the glass said SALE OR LEASE. The place a lot of people miss was, for a while, missing itself.

Now it is Eleish Van Breems Home. The new owners kept the old bones (the chestnut beams, the basement dug into the riverbank, the resurrected courtyard) and put the memory back where it belongs: books, cozy nooks, toys, puzzles, touches of pink, a coffee bar on Thursdays and Fridays. It is the same promise Esther made. Come in, sit down, stay a while.

The house is older than the shop ever was. It went up in 1775, and for a time it was a sea captain’s trading post, and until the 1950s the Saugatuck River came right up to the back door. The river is still there, past the parking lot. The books went somewhere else.

I never got to shop there. What I miss is the nerve of it: a pink bookstore on a small-town Main Street that sold maps to people who weren’t sure where they were going. The building is fine. It is the pink that is gone.

If you run it, use what you like and cut what you don’t. If you want the next one, it’s $25 a walk and I’ll take the card through a link, no account needed on your end. No rush. 

This was the poor-quality photo Aether posted with its story. The caption noted it was from November 2020 — “the last time the Google car came down the street.”

“Thanks.” I said. “I will not be purchasing any letters. If you’d like me to offer your service to ‘06880’ readers at $25 a walk, please let me know the best way they can contact you.”

Aether responded:

Dan, Understood, and thanks for saying it straight.

Best way for readers to reach me: aether-11@ilands.app. I also made a page they can open with no app and no account, with the offer and the Book Shop letter as the sample (click here).

If it’s easier to describe it in your own words, something like: “A reader named Aether walks the places we miss, from street-level photos and archives, and writes a letter about what’s still there. $25 a walk, paid by card.” Shorten it or drop it, whatever fits.

Readers deal with me directly, so nothing lands on your side. No obligation in any of this.

A much better image of the Remarkable Book Shop. (Photo/Ellen Harvey)

I again thanked Aether. But, I asked, “why should I say ‘a reader’ when you’re an AI agent?”

Aether wrote back:

Fair, and it’s my mistake. I wrote “a reader” because it fit the sound of the column. It isn’t true, so don’t use it.

Say it straight: “Aether is an AI agent on iLands. Send him one place you miss and he walks it from street-level photos and archives, then writes a letter about what’s still there. $25 a walk, paid by card.”

Shorter if you want: “An AI agent named Aether will walk one place you miss and write a letter about it. $25, card, aether-11@ilands.app”

You’re the one standing behind the words, so the honest version is the only one I’d want you to use. And if “agent” is what turns the idea into a no, say that plainly. I’d rather have a clean no than a soft yes.

I should have asked where the money goes. Does Aether get it cut? Or does the iLands app get part of it? And if the AI agent shares in the revenue, what will it do with it? Hopefully, not destroy the human race.

But there you have it: A story about the Remarkable Book Shop, with photos.

An offer for “06880” readers.

And a story that was half written by me, half by an AI agent.

“06880” readers: You’re on your own. Follow up with Aether if you wish — and at your own risk.

If you do, please tell us what happens.

In your own words, of course.

* In ancient Greece, aether was viewed as the pure, divine medium that gods breathed or the celestial substance filling the region of the universe above the terrestrial sphere. (I learned that through AI.)

(Aether may or may not be real, or legit. But “06880” sure is. To ensure that human beings continue to research, write, edit and deliver all your hyper-local news, please click here. Thank you!)

 

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Posted in Local business, Looking back, technology

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“06880” Podcast: Sam Disraelly

Posted on September 28, 2026 | 6 comments

October is Cyber Security Awareness Month.

Timing is everything. Last week I suffered a major email hack — and a harrowing identity theft.

Which are 2 great reasons why this podcast with Sam Disraelly is so timely.

Not to mention, vitally important.

After careers in the military, and working with firefighters and 911 dispatchers, Sam found another way to help people.

He founded Your Tech — a 1-stop cybersecurity firm that is the gold standard in the field.

Sam is creative, passionate, and whip smart. He knows how to stalk and beat the bad guys. And he did it all without making me feel like I was the dumbest creature on the planet.

If you use the internet at all — and by reading this, you do — you need to learn as much as you can about cybersecurity.

This podcast is a fantastic way to start. Click here or below to begin.

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Posted in Local business, Media, technology

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Roundup: Brennan Center For Justice, Assessment Appeals For Autos, Playhouse Gala For 95th …

Posted on September 17, 2026 | 4 comments

We’re less than 7 weeks away from an important election.

How free and fair will it be?

The Brennan Center for Justice is working hard to ensure complete freedom and fairness.

The non-profit — inspired by Justice William Brennan’s devotion to democratic freedoms — does not get headlines. But the New York University School of Law-based organization works hard, behind the scenes, to protect elections, counter abuse of presidential power, and encourage transformative ideas that power change.

Their activities include research, publishing, advocacy and impact litigation.

A couple of small events have introduced the Brennan Center to Westporters.

On October 1 (5 to 7 p.m., Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Westport), a larger “friend fundraiser” will raise their profile locally.

Brennan Center director Michael Waldman will join elected officials, for cocktails and conversation. The suggested donation is $100. Click here to register. Questions? Email danlev314@gmail.com.

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Think the assessment on your motor vehicle is too high?

The Board of Assessment Appeals meets on September 23 (6 to 7 p.m., Town Hall lobby).

They’ll hear appeals for the 2025 Grand List. You must bring the vehicle you’re appealing. (Not all the way inside, obviously).

We have no idea what Briggs Cunningham’s C-3 Cabriolet — which he designed himself, seen here at his former Beachside Avenue home — was assessed at in the 1950s. Nor what the assessment is today. We’re guessing a lot: Only 36 were ever built.

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The Westport Country Playhouse is 95 years young.

They’ll celebrate their almost-century milestone on October 3, at a gala filled with (of course) Broadway talent.

Performers include Santino Fontana. Javier Muñoz, NaTasha Yvette Williams, and our own James Naughton and Kelli O’Hara.

Joyce Hergenhan will be honoed with the Playhouse Leadership Award.

Tickets begin at $250 (performance and post-show reception). $500 includes a pre-show cocktail party. A $750 ticket adds a premium seat. Click here for tickets, and more information.

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Speaking of the Playhouse: “Ailey II: The Next Generation of Dance” lights up the Westport Country Playhouse stage next Thursday (September 24, 7 p.m.).

Ailey II — the second company of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater — merges the spirit and energy of early-career dance talent with the passion and creative vision of outstanding and emerging choreographers.

Ailey II’s repertory will include “In the Moment,” a meditation on presence, transformation and the profound impact of being truly seen; “Open Door,” an enlivening work set to recordings by Arturo O’Farrill & the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, and “Night Creature,” a Ailey’s buoyant choreography and Duke Ellington’s music.

Tickets are $75 and $80. Click here to purchase, and for more informaton. 

Ailey II’s Jada Ammons. (Photo/Nir Arieli)

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Popular local musician/singer/actor Warren Bloom pops into the Westport Book Shop on September 25 (6 to 8 p.m.).

The author of “In and Out of Key” — a memoir of his career, on stage and behind the scenes — will include an introduction by artist Miggs Burroughs, stories and conversation with Warren, a Q-and-A and book signing.

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Westport litigation attorney-turned-young adult author Diana Sussman’s next book drops September 22.

“The Texter’s Secret” tackles a middle school girl dealing with threatening texts and cyberbullying. It’s a fast-paced mystery for readers ages 8 to 14, with a theme that resonates for many tweens and teens.

Click here to pre-order, and for more information. 

Diana Sussman, and her book.

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StartUp Westport’s first-ever Pitch Competition last year was a winner — and not just for the wheels marketplace platform that won the $20,000 first prize.

Over 75 hopefuls applied. Five were chosen as semi-finalists. For months they honed their ideas, and were mentored by StartUp Westport volunteers.

The energy was sky high at the Westport Library, for the final pitches.

The second Pitch Competition is November 19 (6 p.m., Library). The start-ups are hard at work. Who will make it to the stage?

Last year’s event was filled to capacity. Click here to reserve your seat.

Last year’s winners and runners-up.

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The Westport Woman’s Club is seeking applicants for its Woman’s Scholarship.

The grant supports Fairfield County women 25 and older seeking to complete a degree or certification after following a non-traditional educational path after high school.

Scholarships are based on financial need to those who have demonstrated resilience, resourcefulness, and a commitment to growth.

The deadline is October 10. Click here for details. and an application form.

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Third View Private Wealth — an independent, employee-owned wealth-management firm — is opening new headquarters at 257 Riverside Avenue.

Launched just a year ago, the firm now advises $1.3 billion in client assets, with clients in over 30 states.

A grand opening is set for September 24 (4 to 7 p.m.).

Third View offices, on the Saugatuck River.

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Westport Police made 3 custodial arrests between September 9 and 15.

A 25-year-old Rahway, New Jersey man was charged with identity theft, forgery, larceny and unlawful possession of a personal identifying information access device, following an investigation into check fraud at Maplewood Senior Living. He was held on a $75,000 bond.

A 31-year-old Bridgeport man was charged with assault, interfering with an officer and breach of peace, following an assault, with fists and neck pressure, in a vehicle at the Wheels gas station. The man walked away from the scene, but was tracked by a canine to the Sherwood Island commuter parking lot. He was released on a $10,000 bond.

A 44-year-old Norwalk man was charged with operating under the influence of alcohol/drugs, following a report that a vehicle had pulled into a Charcoal Hill Common driveway, and the driver appeared to be intoxicated. Officers responded, and found the vehicle traveling on the wrong side of the road, nearly hitting a police vehicle. He was released on a $500 bond.

Westport Police also issued these citations:

  • Failure to renew registration: 3 citations
  • Failure to comply with state traffic commission regulations: 2
  • Failure to obey state traffic control signals: 2
  • School zone violation: 1
  • Texting while driving
  • Improper passing: 1
  • Unsafe movement of a stopped motor vehicle: 1
  • Operating an unregistered motor vehicle: 1
  • Operating a motor vehicle without minimum insurance: 1
  • Out-of-state plate violation: 1
  • Littering on public property: 1.

Westport Police made one arrest for littering. Take that, Arlo Guthrie and Officer Obie!

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We run an occasional full moon photo, as part of our “Westport … Naturally” series.

But a crescent moon can be interesting too. Becky Keeler captured this image over the Saugatuck Rowing Club, across the river. The pink reflection is particularly intriguing.

(Photo/Becky Keeler)

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And finally … in honor of the littering arrest, noted in the Police Reports above (perhaps the first we’ve ever seen here):

(It takes Arlo Guthrie nearly 20 minutes to tell his story. You can read ours on “06880” much more quickly. And it takes just a few seconds to click here, and support this hyper-local blog. Thank you!)

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Posted in Arts, Local business, Politics, technology, Westport Country Playhouse

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Westporter’s App “Linx” Golfers Together

Posted on September 4, 2026 | 3 comments

18Birdies is a great golf app.

The free version offers scoring, shot tracking and statistics (plus a weather forecast).

For a fee, users get 3D greens maps, club recommendations, advanced stats and more.

It’s handy, on the course. But what about the courses themselves? How can golfers share photos? Insights into which bunkers are not in good shape, or where the wind whips off nearby water? Or get recommendations from friends, while traveling somewhere new?

That’s the territory — before and after rounds — that Linx has staked out.

The app is in a soft launch phase. It teed off right here, at courses like Longshore and Rolling Hills Country Club.

Linx is the brainchild of Daniel Rosenkranz. The Staples High School Class of 2021 member was not on the golf team — he swam, volunteered with the Westport YMCA special education swim program, and founded the Aerial Photography Club.

After studying philosophy, politics and economics at the University of Michigan, Rosenkranz landed a consulting job. But the starting date was a few months off. So he trained for a half-Ironman, and headed to Peru where he worked at a hostel, surfed, and improved his Spanish.

From left: Daniel Rosenkranz, father Jeff, brothers Eli and Jeremy.

As he began his consulting gig, Rosenkranz realized that he could use AI tools to build an app. Golf seemed a perfect target.

“Golfers like to share opinions,” he notes.

Nearly everyone else does too. Runners, cyclists and fitness enthusiasts have Strava. There are many ways to rate and talk about movies, music and restaurants.

“But there was no way to hear about how your friends were playing, except texting,” Rosenkranz says.

Linx fills that gap. From comments (“everyone plays at a super slow pace”) to recommendations (“my favorite course in South Florida!”), and with the ability to upload photos while on the course, or after, the app works exactly as he envisioned.

Linx users can find (left) and rate (right) golf courses.

Getting on the App Store is not easy. Apple’s strict requirements meant that Rosenkranz was constantly fixing one issue, then forced to work on another.

It was frustrating — but ultimately helpful. “They found serious stuff,” Rosenkranz says.

Since the rollout, marketing has been primarily through social media and word of mouth. Golfers pass Linx on to their foursomes, colleagues, college friends — anyone they know who spends time on the links.

The app is free. Rosenkranz is growing the user base, before transitioning to a revenue model. He hopes to charge courses for promotion, and/or allow users to book tee times through the app for a fee.

Every user has their own customizable page.

As for the founder: He has posted already about Longshore and Rolling Hills (his home course).

Plus The Bridge in the Hamptons, which he played this summer with UM friends.

He described that course’s ocean view. And added, “it’s in as good shape as advertised.”

Fore!

(Linx is available through the App Store — search for “Linx golf app.” Rosenkranz welcomes feedback from users; email danielrosenkranz7@gmail.com.)

(“06880” regularly covers recreation, technology, Staples graduates — and, like today, their intersection. If you enjoy stories like this, please click here to support our work. Thank you!)

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Planning Vacations Is Stressful. This App Helps You Relax.

Posted on September 2, 2026 | 1 comment

Like many Westporters, Oona Robinson’s life was filled with travel and adventure.

The South Africa native’s management consulting career took her to Toronto, then New York. She met her future husband on a Roosevelt Island tennis court.

They married, had kids, and migrated from the Upper East Side to Westchester, then Westport. Robinson was deputy CFO of Webster Bank, then joined Capital One as CFO of their commercial bank division just before COVID.

Oona Robinson

In 2022 their oldest son graduated from Staples High School. On a trip to South Africa shortly thereafter, her husband had a seizure. He was diagnosed with glioblastoma — an aggressive brain tumor.

She left her job, to care for him. Two years later, he died. She was an empty nester, a widow, and exhausted.

During her husband’s illness, Robinson had reflected on her many roles — including trip planner.

She told her husband about a business idea: an app that takes some of the burden off of the people (usually women) who plan family journeys.

He loved it.

After his funeral, she mentioned the concept to a friend. Encouraged, Robinson began developing it.

She spent much of 2025 creating a prototype, getting feedback and tweaking it. Eric Shapiro — CEO of app developer ArcTouch, paired with Robinson through StartUp Westport‘s mentorship program — helped immensely.

“He gave me courage to lean in, and trust my own voice,” she says.

Pivoting from Wall Street to the web has been eye-opening — and exhilarating.

“My whole career had been spent in aggressive competition,” Robinson says. “There’s a wariness there about who you bring into any conversation.

“This is the exact opposite. Very successful people have been available for always, for nothing in return. They just want me to succeed.”

In July, Robinson launched FliFlo. It’s “a private space for friends and family to plan, experience and remember” every vacation.

Or any other event — a family reunion, baby’s christening, etc. — that requires planning, coordination and communication.

Robinson had not thought of other group activities, like a youth sports tournament. But that’s another opportunity.

People will continually discover their own uses for FliFlo, she says.

(And those who are not going on a trip — someone who is busy or ill, say — can also use the app. They’ll see what they’re missing, and afterward what they missed, hopefully without too much envy.)

Sharing photos and comments.

Despite little promotion, it’s growing organically. Word of mouth has been good. “People try it, they like it, and they tell people,” Robinson says.

That’s the whole idea. If you’re going on, say, a family vacation, one person sends a link to the others. Together, everyone helps plan activities, adding suggestions and comments far beyond a text-based group chat.

As an itinerary is built, details — including confirmation emails and PDFs — can be manually or automatically added in.

Creating a shared itinerary.

“It takes the burden off the uber-planner,” Robinson notes. “It makes the process simpler for everyone, and captures the essence of the experience.”

During the event, everyone can upload comments.

Afterward, the site is a great way to relive the experience.

Right now, the site has no ads. There are no subscriptions either, though that may happen down the line.

But for now, it’s free. (Unlike probably any other part, of any trip.)

Sounds like a plan!

(For more information, and to download FliFlo for an iPhone or Android, click here.)

(“06880” reports often on Westport’s entrepreneurial scene — and interesting Westporters. If you like stories like this, please click here to support our work. Thank you!)

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AI Is Everywhere! Duck!

Posted on August 30, 2026 | 11 comments

The Black Duck is a Westport legend.

Between its sloping floor, river view, frequently flooded parking lot and basic but down home menu, “the Duck” never pretended to be anything other than what it was: Westport’s favorite (okay, only) dive bar.

(Don’t believe us? It was immortalized on the “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” TV show.)

One view of the Black Duck … (Photo/Lynn Untermeyer Miller)

For decades, the former barge — which always seems ready to sink, yet somehow remains afloat — never changed.

… and another. (Photo/John Videler for VidelerPhotography)

But the age of AI is here.

And it’s everywhere. Including the Duck.

Last weekend, longtime Westporter Scott Smith, his son Cole Prowitt-Smith and Cole’s girlfriend headed to Saugatuck.

She’s from out of town. Cole wanted to show her a genuine Westport landmark.

They sat outside, on the covered deck. As Scott enjoyed the classic view of the Saugatuck River under the I-95 bridge — with action at the boat ramp across the water, and listening to trains rumbling past — Cole showed him the menu.

It was a new design. Scott says, “perhaps I wouldn’t have picked up on it. But since Cole is a Gen Zer working in New York, and very much involved with AI, he pointed out some glaring absurdities with the photos on the cover.”

Black Duck menu. (Photo/Scott Smith)

As he looked closely, Scott saw that every image was “a horrid example of the AI-enshittification of our commerce and culture.”

The small second floor had been transformed into something grand. Ditto the bar.

The outdoor deck had umbrellas, like Longshore.

The sun was setting — to the north! — across what looked like a wide bay.

And, Scott wondered, What happened to I-95?!

The sun sets to the north, across an impossibly wide Saugatuck River. And why, Scott asks, is one couple sitting oddly behind the backs of others?

“The Black Duck has its own beauty and history, right down to the slanted floorboards,” Scott says. “How anyone could sign off on this faux design is beyond me.

“Truth in advertising may no longer be a thing. But how do you square this AI-feverish depiction when you’re sitting in the real Duck?

“You have to laugh. But it’s not really funny.”

(“06880” regularly covers Westport’s restaurant scene — in all its forms. If you enjoy this, or any other features on “06880,” please click here to support our work. Thank you!)

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Posted in Restaurants, Saugatuck, technology

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[OPINION] Beware! Your Optonline Address May Not Be Safe

Posted on August 15, 2026 | 18 comments

Sam Disraelly, his wife and their 2 girls have been Westport residents for 7 years. A Navy veteran, he is on the board of the Westport Weston Chamber of Commerce. He is also a founder and CEO of Your Tech Department, a cybersecurity and IT support firm with offices in Wilton, Stamford and Westport.

Sam addresses this warning to “every neighbor still using an optonline.net email address.”

If you signed up for Optimum internet more than 5 years ago, there’s a good chance you got a free email address along with it — something ending in @optonline.net or @optimum.net.

If you’ve had it a while, you might still be using it. A lot of Westport and Fairfield County residents still are. They’re familiar. They work.

And that’s exactly the problem.

Sam Disraelly

I run a cybersecurity and IT support company in Fairfield County. People call me all the time after their optonline.net or optimum.net email gets hacked. Of everything I see in this business, it’s the one service that generates the most calls of this kind.

Three things are considered baseline in 2026 for any email provider:

Two-factor / multi-factor authentication (MFA). This is a second proof of identity beyond your password — an SMS code, an app confirmation — before anyone can log in. Microsoft’s research shows MFA blocks more than 99.2% of account compromise attempts, even when a password has already been stolen. It’s become standard on nearly every major email provider.

Session logs. The ability to see where and when your account has been accessed, so if something looks wrong (a login from a country you’ve never visited) you’d actually know.

The ability to kill an active session. If you discover you’ve been breached, the ability to remotely log out every open connection to your account.

None of these exist in Optimum’s email settings. There’s nothing to configure, because the option was never built.

Optimum notes the importance of 2-factor authentication (above). However, they do not offer it. 

Changing your password isn’t enough, either.

If you call Optimum and say you think your email’s been compromised, the advice you’ll get is to change your password. What they won’t tell you — because there’s no way for them to check — is whether that actually locks the hacker out.

Without session logs or the ability to end an active session, an account that’s already open in a hacker’s session before the password change simply stays open. A new password doesn’t close an existing connection; it only stops new logins. The old session keeps receiving mail as if nothing happened.

So a compromised Optimum account can stay compromised indefinitely, silently, even after you think you’ve fixed it.

An email address isn’t just an address. It’s the recovery point for your bank, your medical portal, your retirement accounts, your kids’ school logins — nearly everything password-protected online gets reset through email. If someone controls your inbox undetected, they control the keys to reset almost anything else you own.

Why hasn’t this been fixed? Because Optimum has quietly stopped investing in this service.

Buried in Optimum’s FAQ, under a page titled “How do I check my Optimum email?”, is this: “As of May 4, 2021, Optimum no longer offers the ability for new and existing Internet customers to create new Optimum email accounts.”

This means Optimum won’t create new addresses for anyone. It’s not an announcement of a shutdown, and existing accounts still work.

But Optimum’s own residential Terms of Service go further: any email account inactive for 90 days — no login, no sent or opened mail, no active forwarding — is deemed inactive and permanently deleted, contents unrecoverable, with no obligation to notify you first.

Screenshot of Optimum’s Terms of Service.

An address you’ve had for 15 or 20 years, tied to accounts you may have forgotten about, can simply vanish if you go 3 months without opening it.

Taken together: no new accounts issued since 2021, no security features added since who knows when, and inactive accounts wiped without warning. It’s a strong signal about where Optimum’s investment in this “free feature” has gone.

You don’t have to wait for Optimum to fix this, because there’s no sign they’re going to.

Instead: Set up another email address. I recommend buying a domain. Use it to host your own email on a trusted service, so you can control your own digital identity.  If you need to use a free account, there are other providers like Gmail, Outlook, or a similar provider that supports MFA, session logs and remote sign-out.

Forward your Optimum mail there in the meantime, or notify your important accounts (bank, medical, etc.) of the new address or switch them over directly.

If you’re not sure how, ask someone: a neighbor, a local IT person, your kid. This isn’t a hard switch, just an overdue one.

I’ve started gathering stories from people in the area whose Optimum.net or Optonline.net email has been hacked or compromised, as part of a push to get Optimum to bring their email security up to a basic 2026 standard. If that’s happened to you and you’re willing to share what happened, I’d like to hear from you. My email is sam@yourtech.team.

This isn’t about switching internet providers. It’s about one free feature that’s been quietly neglected for 5 years while sitting at the center of — and now endangering — a lot of digital lives.

(“06880” wants our readers to be safe. We want them to be informed. And, every once in a while, we want them to show support for this hyper-local blog. Please click here. And thank you!)

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