Clover Farms (now Stew Leonard’s) had a milk vending machine on Riverside Avenue. Il Pastaficio has a machine that sells fresh pasta — the first in the world, owner Federico Perandin says.
So it should be no a surprise that Temple Israel has launched the world’s first Jewish vending machine.
But it is.
Rabbi Michael S. Friedman calls the machine “a one-stop shop for living a Jewish life. It puts Jewish rituals in easy reach, providing a simple yet profound way to engage with Jewish tradition.”
The machine vends a variety of Jewish items, from Shabbat candles and mezuzah scrolls to Israeli snacks.
Assistant Rabbi Zachary Plesent adds, “At Temple Israel, we’re not just embracing innovation; we’re making it a tangible part of our community. This Jewish vending machine physically manifests our commitment to making Jewish tradition accessible to everyone.”
Everyone is invited to see and enjoy the Jewish vending machine. It’s inside the building, near the stairs.
Rabbi Michael Friedman, with the world’s first Jewish vending machine.
“Along the Lines” — the Connecticut Department of Transportation podcast — recently hosted Matt Pentz.
The Norwalk Transit District CEO discussed “micro-transit” — including its place in Westport. (Norwalk Transit operates Westport’s buss.) Click here to listen. (Hat tip: Sal Liccione)
If you love remember and/or love Coney Island — and who doesn’t? — you’ll enjoy Robin Jaffee Frank’s 2-part look at the historic site.
On April 4 and 11 (6:30 p.m.), she’ll be at the Westport Museum for History & Culture. Her talks are in conjunction with the museum’s “Playful Pastimes” exhibit.
Building on Frank’s exhibition and book “Coney Island: Visions of an American Dreamland,” Frank will explore Coney Island’s appeal as a subject for artists and filmmakers, from the Civil War to today.
“Their visions of Coney Island imagined the future and later recalled the past, conveying changing ideas about leisure, and exploring the mixing of people of different races, ethnicities, classes, and sexual orientations, transcending social boundaries,” Frank says.
Three of Artists Collective of Westport member Béatrice Crane-Baker’s works have been chosen for a Connecticut Center for Contemporary Printmaking show in Norwalk. It runs from June through August.
When it closes some of the prints may go the Litho Werkstatt in Berlin, part of a swap arrangement between the German gallery and the printmaking non-profit.
And finally … when you saw “Coney Island,” you knew this was coming, right?
(Whether you’re from Brooklyn, or you’re a Westport native, or landed here from anywhere else: You’re part of this “06880” online community. Please click here to support our work. Thank you!)
More than 70 years ago, Westport scrapped its annual town meeting.
The New England tradition — dating back to colonial days — had gotten unwieldy, as our community grew in the post-war years.
But town meetings still live on in Vermont.
When the AP went looking for a place to illustrate how in these polarized times local government can still work, they found Elmore.
The town of 886 cherishes its March town meeting. And part of the reason is the moderator: Jon Gailmor.
Townspeople there have called him a neighbor for over 40 years. But Westporters still remember him as a member of Staples High School’s Class of 1966.
He sang with Orphenians. After graduation, he and classmate Rob Carlson formed a duo that earned a cult following up and down the East Coast.
After time in Europe, Gailmor settled in Elmore. He’s become a Vermont state treasure — an actual title — as a singer. In addition to performing, he runs songwriting workshops for kids.
(Last fall, he returned to Westport. He headlined Suzanne Sheridan’s First Folk Sunday at the VFW)
The AP story says that after moving north, Gailmor “found the town meeting tradition nothing short of miraculous. It wasn’t some politician spouting off, but real people taking part …. You feel important. You feel like you are being listened to.”
Click here to read the full article. (Hat tip: Tom Allen)
Jon Gailmor, at the Elmore Town Hall. (Photo courtesy of AP/David Goldman)
Tickets went on sale today for one of Westport’s best — and most fulfilling — fundraisers: CLASP Homes’ “Taste of Westport.”
The 18th annual event is set for May 22 (6 p.m., Inn at Longshore). As always, the Taste brings together the area’s best food and drink providers. There’s a wide array of dishes, and spirits from more than 2 dozen local establishments.
New this year: a vodka and caviar bar, and tequila tasting.
Plus music by the always-popular. Bar Car Band, and a very extensive silent auction.
It all benefits CLASP. The nonprofit provides homes, support and services to adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Tickets are $150 per person until April 12, then $175 after. Click here to purchase. PS: It always sells out.
“Eighteen Fairfield County residents are visiting Israel this week on a mission to learn how the country is coping with the war, and to help where there are labor shortages.
“More than 200,000 Israelis have been forced to flee from their homes since the war began: about 100,000 from Gaza and 100,000 from northern Israel where, a few miles from the Lebanese border, Hezbollah regularly launches low-flying, hard-to-intercept missiles. Most families are housed in hotels and private homes around the country.
“The Connecticut delegation, organized by the Jewish Federation of Fairfield County, packed food boxes for these displaced families. They are volunteering with Pantry Packers, the oldest continuously operating network of social services in Israel
“They also met with hostage families.
“It’s been an amazing trip. Next we head to one of the destroyed kibbutzim, and the Nova Music Festival site. It will be an incredibly emotional day.”
Westporters on the Israel mission trip include (from left): Jeffrey Mayer, Lynn Rabinovici, Lisa Hayes, Stephanie Gordon, Sonia Ben Yehuda and Nancy Diamond.
Carl Addison Swanson has lived in Westport since 1952.
He cares about the town — and wants it “safe and fun.”
Several years ago, he pushed for the installation of solar speed monitors near his home off North Avenue. He lives near Bedford Middle School, at the bottom of the hill from Staples where — unless there is school traffic — drivers routinely zoom by.
Are they working?
He went out Monday (10 a.m.), Tuesday (2 p.m.) and Wednesday (5 p.m.), and checked the speed of 50 southbound cars.
The average speeds:
Monday: 48 mph
Tuesday: 32 mph (school buses were slowing traffic)
Wednesday: 52 mph.
“It seems the speed monitors are not really slowing cars and trucks down that much,” Carl says.
“Funny, as I stood there taking notes, cars/trucks did slow. But that said, a 2015 study found that these types of monitors are not meant to slow cars down more than 10 mph.”
Carl believes that North Avenue — home to 4 of Westport’s 8 schools — needs traffic lights.
“Space them from Coleytown to past Staples,” he says, and traffic will quickly find alternative routes.
Solar-powered speed monitor on North Avenue. (Photo/Carl Addison Swanson)
Civic Learning Week is an annual non-partisan effort, highlighting civic education in local communities.
The Westport Public Schools were active participants.
The week included middle school classroom activities about civic engagement. At Staples High School, 1st Selectwoman Jen Tooker answered questions from students regarding her career path, job responsibilities, and more.
She also congratulated the students who will represent Staples at “We The People,” a national competition involving simulated congressional hearings in Washington next month.
The Staples team recently qualified by tying for first place at the state competition with Trumbull High.
1st Selectwoman Jen Tooker, with Staples High School’s “We the People” team, during Civic Learning Week.
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Noted artist and Staples High School graduate Michael Gish died earlier this month in Providence. He was 98.
Mike joined the Reserve Officer Training Corps in 1943, at Dartmouth College. In 1944, after learning his older brother, USMC PFC Jim Gish, had been killed in action on Saipan, Mike left school to complete his aviation training with the Marine Corps.
Too young to see combat in WWII, Mike retired from the Marines as a naval pilot in 1946 to complete his education. He received an bachelor’s degree in fine art from Dartmouth in 1949.
Indelibly affected by the death of his brother, Mike decided to pursue art and the military as a career. He continued his education at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris, France, in 1951 as a visiting student. Mike received a master’s in fine art from Yale University in 1964.
Mike then returned to active duty with the Marine Corps as a helicopter pilot, advancing to lieutenant colonel. In 1967 he was sent to Vietnam as a “combat artist.”
Mike received the Air Medal, for flying 24 combat missions. One of his paintings, “Studies of Helmets in the Sand,” was chosen to be the poster for the National Vietnam Memorial.
In 1991, at the age of 65, Mike became a full colonel in the Marines when he deployed to Iraq. As a combat artist for Operation Provide Comfort, he documented Kurdish refugees from the First Gulf War.
In 1993 Mike went to Somalia, where he continued his documentation of refugees and displaced people during Operation Restore Hope. Mike’s paintings have been displayed at the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Washington, as well as the Smithsonian Museum.
A large part of Mike’s work reflects his love of still life and landscapes, particularly New England and his beloved Block Island. A prolific painter who worked well into his 90s, Mike was also a full professor of art at Fairfield University.
He was predeceased by his wife Marguerite (Drouin). He is survived by his children Charlotte Wall (Steve) of Southport, North Carolina; Peter (Robin Kaiser) of Hanover, New Hampshire, and Carl (Elizabeth) of Palo Alto; grandchildren Carla and Stephanie Wall; Sophia, Miranda and Olivia Gish, and Peter and Henry Gish, as well as his partner of many years, Marilyn Bogdanffy.
A memorial service will be held at the Hotel Coolidge in White River Junction, Vermont (May 18, 4 p.m.. Another ceremony will be held on Block Island this fall. In lieu of flowers, a donation may be made One to the U.S. Marine Corps Heritage Foundation.
Mike Gish
One of Mike’s many fans told “06880”:
“We, along with many other admirers of him as a painter and a person, were saddened to note the death of Mike Gish. We acquired a number of his pieces –oils and watercolors that reflect the luminosity of his palette and the range of his interests, from Block Island to the cliffs of Normandy to a barn in Fairfield.
“We were introduced to him in the mid-1980s when, quite by happenstance, we visited his studio with a real estate agent who was showing the house. We were struck in particular by a small study of a couple of Adirondack chairs.
“Wondering if we might acquire it, we learned he was about to have a show at a local gallery. That led to an invitation to the preview. We went, expecting only to browse more of his work, but then — in a familiar story — we were so struck by this wonderful rendering of a familiar Westport landmark that we amazed ourselves by buying it.
“It has held a place of honor in our house ever since.”
And finally … I’ve posted this song by Jon Gailmor before.
But because:
It’s one of my favorite songs of all time, about one of my favorite states, and …
I mentioned it in the very interesting item about Jon (above), and …
This is my blog …
I’m posting it again. Enjoy!
(Today — like every day — our Roundup is jam-packed with a wide variety of info. If you enjoy this daily feature, please support our work. Click here to make a tax-deductible contribution. Thank you!)
Jesup Green — specifically, plans for converting 20% of it (near the police station) into 44 parking spaces — is the first agenda item at Monday’s Planning & Zoning Commission meeting (March 25, 7 p.m., Zoom).
The intent of the Jesup part of the plan to be presented by Department of Public Works director Pete Ratkiewich on Monday is to relocate the parking spaces lost to the proposed redesigned Parker Harding Plaza, to the upper portion of Jesup Green. The plan includes removing 3 healthy mature pine trees, and relocating several other trees.
Three pine trees at the upper part of Jesup Green would be removed, under a proposed parking lot plan. (Photo/Jennifer Johnson)
Ultimately, the town intends to create another plan for the parking spaces currently located on lower Jesup (known as the Taylor lot). The concept for that plan is to move the Taylor lot parking away from the Saugatuck River, toward the green. Funding for that plan has not yet been approved by the Representative Town Meeting.
The new Jesup Green spaces would alleviate parking when Parker Harding is closed for renovation, and make up for spaces lost after the redesign is completed. It would also provide parking for downtown employees.
In August 2020 — amid widespread power outages due to Hurricane Isaias, and during the pandemic — Westporters observed social distancing on Jesup Green, to access the Library’s Wi-Fi.
RTM member Jennifer Johnson — whose district includes downtown — believes that the town needs completed plans for both Parker Harding and Jesup Green before any decision to is made to alter Jesup Green. She writes:
The RTM has not approved funding for design yet.
The RTM Transit Committee — which has jurisdiction over parking — has not approved the plan to convert 20% of Jesup Green into parking.
Jesup Green is our town green. Yes, we occasionally use Veteran’s Green, but there’s something far more special about Jesup. We should keeping it as open space, in addition to the view of the water.
The Green is where we mark important town events together. Who could ever forget the day when the town gathered to honor the Westport Little League World champions?
Jesup Green ceremony honoring the 2013 Little League World Series finalists. (Photo/Jeb Backus)
The Green is where kids can run without falling into the river.
I think the town needs an overall plan — plus a sense of the total cost — before Jesup Green is ripped up for more concrete (and trees taken out).
I fear “interim” could become permanent if we run out of funding trying to complete other capital projects first.
(Click here for the link to Monday’s P&Z meeting. It is also available on Optimum Channel 79 and Frontier Channel 6020).
Westport’s 2 budgets — town operations, and education — passed big hurdles this week.
On Monday, the Board of Finance okayed First Selectwoman Jennifer Tooker’s $84,380,124 proposal. It’s a 1.96% increase from the current year.
Last night, it was the Board of Education’s turn. Their $147,300,744 request represents a rise of 8.08% over the current year. Much of that is driven by health insurance.
Both budgets now move to the Representative Town Meeting, for final approval.
Tomorrow’s Board of Education meeting (Thursday, March 21; 7:30 p.m., Staples High School cafeteria) includes discussion of redistricting, and a Policy Committee update.
The Policy Committee meets today (Wednesday, March 20; 11 a.m., Town Hall auditorium) for a 6th reading of possible revisions to the Student Discipline document.
Last month, “06880” wrote about — and linked to — a new online map. It gives residents a chance to provide feedback on Westport’s Safe Streets and Roads for All Safety Action Plan project.
Users easily zoom in on a particular place in town. The map has 3 options to drop a pin, and offer feedback: “Safety Concern”; “Safety/Improvement Idea”; “Good Example.” There’s a chance too to like a previous comment (and see how many other residents agree).
In the month since, Westporters have made dozens of suggestions and comments.
You can see them all. Click here; then scroll down, and click “Continue.”
You can also add your own thoughts. It’s a dynamic, ongoing — and very interactive — map.
PS: Click here for the “Traffic & Pedestrian Safety” page on the town website.
Every icon represents a bad or dangerous spot (orange thumbs-down); something good (blue thumbs-up), or a comment (gray light bulb). Each icon is clickable, to read details.
Couch Potato Salad — the great new illustrated word puzzle game developed by Westporter Zack Gross — is adding players every day.
(What’s it all about? Click here for the very fun back story.)
Now you can see how you stack up against everyone else. And win $100 while doing so.
Every day, Couch Potato Salad posts a clever image. It describes 2 common phrases, linked together by a shared word in the middle. The image above shows (duh) “Couch Potato Salad.”
Couch Potato Salad’s March Madness competition is free to enter. All you need is a creative brain.
Just click here. Sign in. Play the daily puzzles from today (March 20) through March 31.
The top 3 scores earn $100 each. Winners are the 3 players who solve the most puzzles out of the 12.
Tiebreakers are: Most Nailed (got the answer in one entry), Most Sailed (did it piecemeal), and finally, time (quickest solutions).
Can you figure this one out? The answer is at the end of this item.
The site gives you all the info you need to play (it’s easy). Sign in using an email and password (not the “password-less” login).
Some puzzles are dated prior to March 20. You can play them, but they won’t count for this competition.
You don’t have to play the puzzles on the day they are posted. But there will be a leaderboard, so you can see how you stack up.
MoCA Westport’s new exhibition opens with a reception and special performance by Sahmra Sawyer (also known as Supreme Divinity) tomorrow (Thursday, March 21, 6 to 8 p.m.).
“It Will Go On” merges MoCA’s gallery space with the first New England installation of the Black Art Library. The exhibit explores how the visual and the literary intersect, and inspire each other. It “urges visitors to interrogate contemporary forms of silencing, quieting, and censorship.”
The exhibition runs through June 16, and is free for MoCA Westport members. There is a $10 suggested donation for non-members.
Longtime Westporter Margaret Labbance DeMace died peacefully, surrounded by her family, on Friday. She was 91.
She was born in Fairfield. When I-95 was built, she and her mother relocated to Westport. A neighbor, Dominick DeMace, became the love of her life.
They married in 1955. She proudly raised 3 children, and cherished her role as grandmother and great-grandmother. S
Marge enjoyed winters in Florida, and mission trips the couple took with Assumption parish. She was an active member of its prayer network, and a devoted attendee at Saturday mass.
She was predeceased by her husband. Marge is survived by her children David, Danielle Yingling and Dominick (Joanne); grandchildren Stephanie Fagan (Joseph); Christina Bierwirth, and Natalie, Emily, Elisabeth and Eric DeMace, and great-grandchildren Connor and Devin Fagan, and Andrew Bierwirth, as well as many nieces and nephews.
The family will receive relatives and friends today (Wednesday, March 20) from 4-7 p.m. at Harding Funeral Home. A Mass of Christian burial will take place at Assumption Church tomorrow (Thursday, March 21, 10:00 a.m). Burial will follow at Saint John’s Cemetery in Norwalk.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions to Assumption Church may be made in her name.
Marge DeMace
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Today’s “Westport … Naturally” photo could have been taken at many Westport locations. Spring is popping up everywhere.
And finally … Vera Lynn was born on this date, in 1917. The English singer — who, along with Winston Churchill, was an enormous inspiration to her country during World War II — died in 2020, at 103.
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What do Lynsey Addario, Christiane Amanpour, Carl Bernstein and Robert Woodward have in common?
They — and 12 others — will be honored by Long Island University, as the first-ever Polk Laureates, “for outstanding contributions to American journalism in the spirit of George Polk.”
The April 12 event marks the 75th anniversary of its George Polk Awards in journalism. It’s at Cipriani 42nd Street, and will hosted by Anderson Cooper.
Lynsey Addario
The 16 honorees’ careers reflect the Polk Awards’ commitment to “outstanding investigative reporting.
LIU calls Addario — a 1991 graduate of Staples High School — a “fearless and resourceful combat photographer whose photo in 2022 of a Ukrainian family slain by a Russian mortar was just one example of compelling work in war zones across the world.”
In early 2022, Lynsey Addario’s photo of Ukrainian soldiers trying to save the father of a family of 4 — the only one who still had a pulse — after being hit by a mortar near Kyiv drew worldwide attention to the horrors of Russia’s invasion.
Four very different women founders and investors offered insights and advice last night, to a large Westport Library crowd.
The event celebrated StartUp Westport‘s 1st anniversary, along with Women’s History Month.
Tracy Cho (Qeepsake, a family-story company), Marissa Fayer (DeepLook Medical, women’s health), Alison Gregory (AreaHub, environmental information) and Kathryn Winokur (Hally Hair, beauty products) described the joys and challenges of their work.
Moderator Galia Gichon — co-managing partner of Tidal River Fund — asked compelling questions about “angel investors,” mentors and more. The public had their chance too, with several entrepreneurs speaking up at the end.
Among the takeaways:
“You have to make hard decisions on the fly, and be comfortable with them.”
Female entrepreneurs are often asked, “What does your husband do?” Men are never asked that.
“You should support and invest, to help create the world you want.”
Only 2% of all venture capital funds go to women.
The next StartUp Westport event is April 30. ESPN CEO Jimmy Pitaro — a Westport resident — will be honored as Innovator of the Year. Click here for tickets, and more information.
From left: Alison Gregory, Marissa Fayer, Tracy Cho, Kathryn Winokur and moderator Galia Gichon, at last night’s StartUp Westport panel. (Photo/Dan Woog)
Twelve Staples High School musicians have earned All-State recognition.
Congratulations to band members Deneil Betfarhad (trumpet), Ryder Levine (flute) and Zachary Newshel (timpani); orchestra members Isabel Jo (viola), Ludovit Pauliny (oboe) and Ayush Rudra (double bass), and choir singers Demi Betfarhad (bass), Josie Caricato (alto), Sofia Donroe (alto), Alex Esser (tenor), Alyssa Lee (alto and Andrew Maskoff (tenor).
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Every Westporter has an opinion on the future of the Cribari Bridge.
But what about the railroad bridge nearby?
On April 16 (7 p.m., Zoom), the state Department of Transportation hosts a virtual public information meeting concerning the mechanical and electrical rehabilitation of the Metro-North bridge over the Saugatuck River.
Registration is required. A Q-and-A session follows the presentation, which will be recorded. To learn how to join the meeting, provide comments and ask questions, click here.
This meeting will also be livestreamed on the CTDOT YouTube channel; no registration is required.
Construction is expected to begin in the fall of 2025.
Members of the public can submit comments and questions by April 30. Email Hareshkumar.Dholakia@ct.gov, or call 860-594-3173. Reference State Project #0301-0177 in the email or voicemail.
Railroad bridge over the Saugatuck River. (Photo/Patricia McMahon)
The Exchange Project — founded by Westport mom Carly Ridloff — is a great way to reduce your carbon footprint. Just exchanging clothing!
This Thursday, the Exchange Project’s “Sustainable Shopping Event” (March 21, 6 to 9 p.m., Nihcols MD, 1215 Post Road, Fairfield) is “a night of fabulous fashion and community focus.” It includes drinks, bites, skincare and (of course) sustainable shopping.
The idea is simple: Clean out your closets; select 10 or so items in perfect condition.
Drop your items at the designated drop location. Then go to the event, to mingle, and shop.
Attendees will receive skin treatments, skin scope evaluations, discounts on special products, gift bags, expert styling tips from local influencer/fashion guru Zac Mathias, and more.
Guests are encouraged to recycle empty beauty products in the New Nichols MD Recycling Program.
All unclaimed items will be donated to a women’s shelter selected by the event’s hosts.
After launching in Westport in 2021, the Exchange Project has expanded to New York and Florida. For more information, click here.
A few tickets remain for the Westport Woman’s Club “Death by Bathtub Gin” murder mystery dinner.
This Saturday (March 23, 6 p.m.), their Imperial Avenue clubhouse will be transformed into a Jazz Age speakeasy.
A professional troupe of Broadway actors will guide 100 guests through a hunt for the “murderer.” It may well be one of them.
The night includes cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and a 3-course Italian dinner, as the “murder mystery” unfolds.
Flapper dresses and tuxedos are welcome. A photo booth will have “jazzy” accessories for all. There’s a silent auction too.
Tickets are $150. Proceeds help fun scholarships, grants and food gift cards — continuing the Woman’s Club’s 100-plus years of service to the community.
Call 203-227-4240, or email wwc@westportwomansclub.org for tickets.
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Pianist/vocalist Johnny O’Neal and drummer Joe Farnsworth headline this Thursday’s Jazz at the Post (March 21, shows at 7:30 and 8:45 p.m.; dinner from 7 p.m.; VFW Joseph J. Clinton Post 399; $20 music cover charge; $15 for students and veterans).
Influenced by Art Tatum and Oscar Peterson, O’Neal began as a gospel pianist. He later became the house pianist at Birdland, and part of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers.
A highly regarded jazz drummer, Farnsworth is known for his blazing speed, precision and melodic playing.
Reservations are highly recommended: JazzattthePost@gmail.com.
Staples High School graduate Jill Wellner died peacefully at her Fairfield home last week. She was 69, and survived nearly 6 years after being diagnosed with glioblastoma.
Her family says: “Jill bravely faced many life challenges and was dedicated to helping others. She worked at a number of high-profile health care organizations, including Bridgeport Hospital, Mount Sinai Hospital and the Veterans Administration.
“She was a talented change agent who proposed innovative ways to improve quality, access and profitability. She is most proud of being certified as a Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt and passing this knowledge on to countless teams, students and colleagues.”
Jill studied at Wells College, Fairfield University the University of Connecticut before receiving her second master’s degree in epidemiology and public health from the Yale School of Medicine.
She served as an adjunct professor at the Yale School of Nursing, Sacred Heart University, Norwalk Community College and Salve Regina University.
She took joy from being with family and friends, especially fellow Staples alums.
She loved wine, traveling, the arts, and was fluent in French.
In addition to her husband Ken, Jill is survived by her daughter Jessica Daponte (Matthew), and siblings Anne Lynn (Bruce), John Kantor, and Reginald Kantor (Brigitte), along with many nephews, nieces and cousins.
Visitation is tomorrow (Wednesday, 4 to 7 p.m., Spear-Miller Funeral Home, 39 South Benson Road, Fairfield). A funeral service will be held Thursday at 10 a.m., in the funeral home.
And finally … spring arrives tonight, at 11:06 p.m.
This was our second straight Winter That Wasn’t. Not exactly a “long cold lonely” one.
I feel bad for the plow guys. But otherwise …
(As the days get longer, there’s more time than ever to support “06880.” Please click here to make a tax-deductible contribution to your hyper-local blog. Thank you!)
Sure, Wheels2U Westport is the Westport Transit District’s on demand, group ride, door to train platform shuttle service.
But every year, it also sponsors a poetry contest.
The first 2 were for limericks and haikus. This year’s event features acrostic poetry. (That’s where the first letter of each line spells something special — in this case, “Wheels2U.” Duh.)
Here’s a sample, from Westport poet laureate emirita Diane Lowman:
Where shall I go How shall I get there Everywhere traffic snarls Everywhere parking dilemmas Let us be your chariot Simply call Wheels2U 2 take you door to door Ur transport dreams come true
Gift certificates to Westport restaurants of their choice will be given to the top 7 poems. One first prize winner will receive a $100 gift certificate; 2 second prize winners get $50 certificates, and 4 third prize winners receive $25 each.
Wheels2U
Here’s another sample from Lowman:
What a joy Having not to worry Every morning Every evening Let us do the driving Sip your coffee 2 station and back home Ucan rely on Wheels2U
Want to win the contest, but don’t know a thing about Wheels2U?
Westport residents and commuters to Westport can use the Wheels2U Westport app to request a pickup between 5:45 and 10 a.m., and between 4 and 9:30 p.m. You’ll be taken to or from the Saugatuck or Greens Farms train platform, and your home or workplace anywhere in Westport.
Pickups should be requested 20 minutes before you would normally leave to drive to the station. The fare is $2 when paid with the Wheels2U app.
For more information about Wheels2U, click here. For more information about the Westport Transit District’s services for the elderly and people with disabilities, clickclick here.
Whisking you away Home to train and back again Exceptional service Every rider pleased Lively conversations with fellow passengers Spark lifelong friendships 2make commuting happy Use Wheels2U
The rules:
The contest is open to all residents of Westport. Enter as often as you like.
Entries should be sent to pgold@westportct.gov no later than March 30. Put “Acrostic Contest” in the subject line; include your name, address and email.
Winners will be chosen by Lowman, and Peter Gold and Karina Betfarhad, directors of the Westport Transit District, at their sole discretion.
All entries become the property of the Westport Transit District. Entrants give the WTD permission to use their entries without compensation to promote the operations of the Westport Transit District and Wheels2U Westport as the directors see fit, including, but not limited to, using the entry as an advertising poster at the Westport and Greens Farms train stations or in marketing emails. The Westport Transit District may modify entries to meet its needs.
Where do you want to go? How about the train station? Exactly where Wheels2U takes you Every weekday. Lovely service. So give it a try 2day. U bet!
(“06880” is your hyper-local blog — and a great place to learn about contests like this. Please click here to support our work. You may not win the Wheels2U contest, but you’ll be a winner for us.)
The Western Connecticut Council of Government and South Western Regional Metropolitan Planning Organization have endorsed a state Department of Transportation request for $4.1 million for the right of way and design phase of rehabilitation or renovation of the William F. Cribari Bridge. (Click here to read the draft report.)
Public input is invited in several ways:
A Zoom meeting this Thursday (March 14, noon). The meeting ID is 835 3614 6030.
A meeting this Tuesday (March 12, 7 p.m., Ferguson Library, Stamford).
People wishing to speak at either meeting should email plan@westcog.org. Include your name and the subject you will speak on.
Comments on the bridge project can also be emailed to plan@westcog.org, sent to Western Connecticut Council of Governments, 1 Riverside Road, Sandy Hook, CT 06482, or phoned in to 475-323-2071. The deadline is noon on April 1.
William F. Cribari Bridge (Photo/Fred Cantor)
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MoCA Westport is gearing up for spring and summer.
Among the offerings:
Recess Art Camps (April 15-19, ages 4-7)
Artisan Workshop Series
Paint Nights for Teens (Fridays, 6:30 to 8 p.m.)
Paint Nights for Adults (Thursdays, 5:45 to 7:15 p.m.)
Summer Art Workshops for Kids (ages 8-12)
Camp MoCA
For information on these programs and other MoCA events, click here.
Four Westport artists — all anti-gun violence advocates, and part of the current “In Our Hands: Gun Culture in America” exhibit at Bridgeport’s Metro Studios — will discuss their work this Sunday (March 10, 2 p.m.).
Miggs Burroughs, Darcy Hicks, Daniel Recinos and Tammy Winser share their thoughts, influences and processes.
Admission is free, but donations are accepted to benefit Sandy Hook Promise and Street Safe Bridgeport.
One of the most popular “06880” features is photos of Westporters who think they can park anywhere they want.
But they’re not our only entitled neighbors (or, perhaps, ourselves). Consider this person, who was considerate enough to pick up his pooch’s poop (odds are, someone was watching), yet could not be bothered to dispose of it properly.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will require 12,000 signatures to get on the Connecticut presidential primary ballot, as an independent candidate.
Alert “06880” reader Jan Carpenter knows he is a controversial figure.
But, as volunteers fan out with petitions, she says: “This is democracy in action.”
When volunteers in Westport ask for signatures, she hopes residents will be kind.
“If you don’t approve, they will simply thank you and allow you to get on with your day,” she says. “If you sign, they will thank you as well. If you sign, you are not committing to vote for anyone in particular this fall. You are simply signing to endorse democracy and choice.”
And finally … Steve Lawrence died Thursday in Los Angeles. He was 88, and suffered from Alzheimer’s disease.
In a long career, including with his wife Eydie Gorme, he “kept pop standards in vogue long past their prime and took America on musical walks down memory lane,” the New York Times says. Click here for a full obituary.
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Is Staples High School the Jeep capital of the world?
Dave Briggs wanted to find out.
The well-known Westporter — a national broadcaster with CNN, NBC Sports, Fox News and Turner Sports; marketing executive with Cann Social Tonic, the micro-dosed THC and CBD drink; Westport Library board member and, later this month, Fashionably Westport MC — took a tour of the school’s parking areas, including Bedford Middle School where juniors park.
Of 133 cars, he counted 33 Jeeps. That’s almost exactly 25% — 1 in 4.
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On the exact (to the day) 100th anniversary of their founding, the Westport Rotary Club celebrated with a gala dinner last night, at the Inn at Longshore.
Rotarians from near and far, town officials and friends honored the club’s long and storied history, from the early days (largely, but not always, strait-laced), to the easing of membership rules and the admission of women, to the current strong and generous nature of the club.
(Everyone received a book by Ron Henkoff chronicling Westport Rotary’s first 100 years, too. Click here for details.)
Videos and slides showed the enormous, multi-million dollar impact Westport Rotary has had on Westport, and the world.
As the next 100 years begin, the Westport Rotary Club prepares for its centennial gift: lead sponsor of the renovation of the Compo Beach playground.
Congratulations to all who made last night (and the reason for the celebration) possible. Special shout-outs go to longtime Rotary organizer and advocate Rick Benson, and last night’s MC, former president Jeff Wieser. Well done, all!
Twenty Westport Rotary Club presidents — representing exactly 1/5 of the club’s 100-year history — gathered for a photo at last night’s celebration. The oldest living former president (1968), George Damman, sent video greetings from Florida.
MC (and former president) Jeff Wieser models 100-year glasses. (Photos/John Videler for Videler Photography)
The Long Lots School Building Committee posted this update yesterday:
The deadline for submission of Request for Proposals/Quotes qualification statements from interested construction managers and architects was February 22.
The committee met on March 5 to discuss the submissions. They agreed on which respondents would be invited to submit proposals and be interviewed by the LLSBC.
Each of the selected firms will be contacted this week. The interview process is expected to be completed over the next 2 weeks. The goal is to select a construction manager and architect by the end of the month.
The design phase can then begin.
The Long Lots School Building Committee is moving forward to select a construction manager and architect for the project.
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On Wednesday, Ukraine Aid International — the non-profit founded by Westporters Brian and Marshall Mayer, which organizes and delivers aid to residents and first responders — hosted a roundtable for officials and volunteers in Fairfield County towns that have sister city relationships with that war-torn nation.
Westport — whose sister city, Lyman, was UAI’s first such project — was well represented. Police Chief Foti Koskinas described his trip there last year, and emphasized the importance of his ongoing relationships with his counterparts in the Donetsk region.
Just hours earlier, he said, he had been texting with the Lyman police chief. The Ukrainian chief — who says often that Westport’s support inspires everyone in his town — proudly wears with a Westport Police Department patch.
Lyman police chief, with the Westport Police logo.
But the star of the event, held at the Ukrainian-American Club in Southport, was 4-month-old Archie Wauchope.
The son of Staples High School graduate Clyde Wauchope and his wife Katya, UAI’s director of development, he wore a bib that said — in Cyrillic letters — “Slava Ukraini! Slava Archie!”
In other words: “Glory to Ukraine! Glory to Archie!”
Archie Wauchope, his bib and his parents.
To learn more about Ukraine Aid International, and donate to Westport’s sister city Lyman, click here.
As the Norwalk Transit District — which oversees the Westport Transit District — “re-envisions” bus service here, they invite Westport residents to a meeting March 12 (7 p.m., Town Hall auditorium).
The charrette-session format will include remarks from Transit District officials, then a chance for attendees to give feedback on improvements they’d like to see.
The unique Westport Weston Chamber of Commerce Saturday night entertainment — dinner at one of 12 downtown restaurants, then a dance party with 8-piece funk and soul band West End Blend at the Westport Library — followed by post-concert happy hour pricing for drinks at any of the 12 participating restaurants (Arezzo, Basso, Capuli, Casa Me, Don Memo, Emmy Squared, Goji, Il Pastaficio, Mexicue, Nômade, Spotted Horse and Walrus Alley.
Tickets ($87) include the concert, dinner, tax and tip (drinks are not included). Tickets for the concert only are $35. Click here to buy, and for more information.
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Aargh!
There was another confusing date in yesterday’s item about beach emblem sales. Here is the re-corrected info. “06880” apologizes for the confusion:
Beach parking emblems go on sale online, and in the Westport Parks & Recreation Department office, at 9 a.m. next Monday (March 11) for Westport and Weston residents. The number of sales to Westport and Weston residents is not limited, and they are not required until May 1.
Sales of emblems to people not living in Westport or Westonbegin online, and in the Parks & Rec office, at 9 a.m. next Wednesday (March 13). A limit of 450 will be sold.
If you have purchased emblems or registered for Parks & Rec programs in prior seasons, you already have an online account established. Click here to log into your account. Then choose memberships; in the search box, type “Resident.” This brings all Westport resident vehicle packages to the top page. Weston residents should type “Weston” in search box.
After verification (Parks & Rec may request a copy of your current registration, or updated proof of residency), online purchases will be mailed to you. It may take 14-21 days.
Longtime Westport resident Phyllis Markoff died Tuesday. From 1982-88, she served proudly as president of Temple Israel.
She is survived by her children John (Laurie), Cathy (Jim Bessent), Janet and Nancy (Jeffrey Burt); grandchildren Alisa (Andy), Bill (Anita), Briana, Lily, Jack (Hanna Wallace), Kane (Lana Holley) and Blaze, and great-grandchildren Aaron, Alec, Sophia, Lydia, Isabella and Axel. She was predeceased by her husband Del.
The family will hold a private memorial service next month.
Today is International Women’s Day. In its honor, Westport-based non-profit Nest Egg Foundation is sponsoring a free online chat about women’s health and reproductive care (including in vitro fertilization).
The event begins at 3 p.m. today (March 8). Click here for the Zoom link.
And finally … in honor of the inaugural boxing exhibition taking place next month at the Westport Country Playhouse (story above):
(“06880” is your one-stop spot for news about beach stickers, buses, boxing, and much much more. Please click here to support this hyper-local blog. Thank you!)
Beginning March 11, the town will charge drivers at electric vehicle charging stations on town-owned and operated property.
Officials say the plan is competitive with other local charging stations, while also offering “a sustainable and cost-effective option for EV owners.”
Stations at Town Hall, the Westport Library, the Baldwin Lot, Senior Center and Fire Department headquarters will charge 35 cents per kilowatt hour for the first 3 hours.
After a 15-minute grace period, users will be charged an idling fee of $10 an hour. The goal is to discourage drivers from occupying spaces after they have charged their vehicles.
Stations at Saugatuck and Greens Farms railroad stations will also charge 35 cents per kwh. However, there is no idling fee, because vehicle owners use the station for commuting (and pay a railroad parking permit fee as well).
Payment may be made through QR codes on the charging unit, or through a 3rd-party app used for EV charging.
EV charges in the Baldwin lot, after installation last year. They were not yet in use, because they had not been turned on.
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Last night, News12 Connecticut ran an excellent story on tomorrow night’s event “Past, Present and Future Opportunities for Diverse Entrepreneurs” (February 29, 6 p.m., Westport Library).
Sponsored by StartUp Westport and Westport 10 — and coming on the heels of allegations of racism in town, and at the end of Black History Month — the timing is fortuitous.
Jay Norris — a co-founder of both organizations (StartUp Westport is aimed at creating a tech entrepreneurial hub here; Westport 10 is a networking and social group for Black men and their families — told News 12: “The goal is diverse entrepreneurship. We believe we’re all stronger together. We need to acknowledge ech other. We need to support each other’s business.”
He cited martin Luther King’s inspiration — and his focus on a “diverse economic perspective,” which remains unreached.
Tomorrow’s event — moderated by MSNBC host and Westport resident Craig Melvin — will be followed by a cocktail reception. Click here for more information, and to register. Click here for the full News12 story, including video of Norris’ interview.
Everyone thought Ridgefield — the #1 seed in the boys basketball FCIAC tournament), ranked #2 in the state, and unbeaten in league play this year — would roll to their 4th FCIAC championship in 6 years last night.
Everyone except Staples.
The Wreckers got a highlight reel performance from sophomore Sam Clachko — 40 points, including 7 3-pointers and 11 of 12 foul shots — en route to a 73-57 demolition of the Tigers, in last night’s semifinal at Wilton High School.
The 4th-seeded Stapleites advance to tomorrow night’s final. They take on #2 Trumbull at 7 p.m., again at Wilton. It will be the Wreckers’ 2nd straight FCIAC final appearance, under 2nd-year coach Dave Goldshore.
The Westporters dropped a tough 48-46 decision to Ridgefield during the regular season. But they battled evenly in the first half, then pulled away in the second.
Junior Adam Udell added 13 points, in the all-around team effort.
Bill Vornkahl — the Korean War veteran and for over 50 years the organizer and heart of Westport’s Memorial Day parade, who died last month — will be honored this Saturday (March 2, 1:30 p.m.) at VFW Joseph J. Clinton Post 399.
The Bill Vornkahl Citation of Service will be presented to his family. The public is invited.
The event was coordinated by Westport’s state legislators Dominique Johnson, Jonathan Steinberg and Ceci Mahar, and the Board of Selectwomen.
Bill Vornkahl (Photo/Ted Horowitz)
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The New York Times reports:
A former New York University administrator admitted on Tuesday to spending $80,000 in public money meant for minority- and women-owned businesses on a swimming pool at her Connecticut home as part of a broader $3.5 million fraud she orchestrated, officials said.
The former administrator, Cindy Tappe, made the admission while pleading guilty to second-degree grand larceny, court records show. Under a plea agreement with the Manhattan district attorney’s office, she will be sentenced to five years’ probation and must pay $663,209 in restitution to cover the full sum of money she diverted for personal expenses.
Tappe, 57, lives in Westport, the Times says.
Ms. Tappe’s “fraudulent actions not only threatened to affect the quality of education for students with disabilities and multilingual students, but denied our city’s minority- and women-owned business enterprises a chance to fairly compete for funding,” Alvin L. Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, said in a statement.
Deborah Colson, Ms. Tappe’s lawyer, said in a statement that her client “strongly regrets her misconduct.”
Click here for the full story. (Hat tip: Scott Brodie)
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A few tickets are still available for Bedford Acting Group’s production of “The Lion King Jr.”
The curtain rises at 7 p.m. on March 15. Additional shows are set for March 16 (3 and 7 p.m.), and March 17 (3 p.m.).Click here for tickets, cast lists and more information.
This Sunday (March 3, 4 p.m.), the United Methodist Church of Westport & Weston hosts a chamber music vespers service. It includes a string quartet, poetry and prayer, plus refreshments and conversation. The public is invited.
The church invites donations of non-perishable food items for Summerfield UMC Light on the Hill in Bridgeport.
(Photo/Dan Woog)
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High winds are predicted today.
Will they topple this utility pole on Compo Road South, a few yards from the Post Road?
(Photo/Mark Mathias)
Mark Mathias writes: “This does not look safe. It’s as if someone said, “let’s put this pole in the street and stack it on some 4x4s. What could go wrong?”
It seems, he says, “like a YouTube failure video waiting to happen.”
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The sun may not shine today.
But our “Westport … Naturally” photo — taken yesterday on Myrtle Avenue by Molly Alger — should bring a warm smile to everyone.
And finally … I never heard of Roni Stoneman, or the Stoneman Family. I never watched “Hee Haw,” where she played banjo and (apparently) had her biggest success.
But the former member of the “renowned Appalachian string band” had quite a career. She died Thursday in Tennessee, at 85. Click here for a full obituary.
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