It started out as a white Christmas. By the end of the day, rain and 50-degree weather had washed most of the snow away.
All that remains are brown, crusty mounds like the ones below, at the Imperial Avenue parking lot.
The forecast is for temperatures in the high 40s today, 30s tomorrow and Wednesday, 40s and 50s the rest of the week and weekend.
Rain is predicted for New Year’s Eve. No big deal — you weren’t going out anyway, were you?
(Photo/Rowene Weems)
Was it a line for COVID testing — or the vaccine?
Perhaps PlayStation 5?
Nope, nope and nope.
This was the post-Christmas line outside Lululemon yesterday.
Jo Shields reports: “People waiting say it’s just social distancing, combined with shopping appointments and a limited number allowed in the store. Sounds like a really responsible company policy. Maybe even smart for sales.
“And although there were complaints about being cold, everyone was good natured and patient. And wearing masks.”
Barbara Levy entertained this good-looking — but hungry — visitor outside her Greens Farms home yesterday:
(Photo/Barbara Levy)
Pam Kesselman jokes: “Someone left a Big Bertha (large driver) in the 9th hole sand trap at Longshore. Please claim before it disappears.”
(Photo/Pam Kesselman)
And finally … we catch up with one more recently deceased musician.
Chad Stuart died last week of pneumonia. He was 79.
One-half of Chad & Jeremy — often confused with the longer-lived, more successful, equally cute British duo, one of whom also wore glasses — Chad & Jeremy made a brief career out of summer-themed songs.
And there’s this tidbit from Stuart’s New York Times obituary: describing Stuart’s solo career after the pair broke up: “At one point he opened for the hard-rock band Mountain in a bowling alley in Hartford, Conn.” Yesterday’s Roundup paid tribute to Mountain founder Leslie West, who died just 3 days after Chad Stuart.
It was touch and go, but I survived last night’s monster storm.
You can see the damage to my patio in the photo below. As soon as things ease up, I’ll head outside and clean up that newspaper wrapper that blew in from somewhere. Wish me luck!
(Photo/Dan Woog)
All told, 5 (!) Westport customers lost power. Three are still out.
But the storm that missed our town hit other parts of the state. At its height, over 56,000 Eversource customers were out. As of noon, service had been restored to 30,000. Sharon was the worst hit locality, with 70% of customers powerless.
Early in the pandemic, Stan Witkow started a virtual Bingo game. Winners donated their pots to a non-profit of their choice.
Players came from around Westport — and around the country. Each week, the game grew.
Now, Stan says, virtual bingo ends 2020 having raised $10,200.
“My wife Susan and I think this may be one of the best things we’ve ever done. We can ‘t believe how committed friends, neighbors and strangers (to us) have been to this effort.”
Major beneficiaries have been Connecticut Food Bank, Homes with Hope, Bridgeport Hospital’s special COVID relief fund, and numerous other organizations here and around the US.
And, Stan reports: “Best of all, everybody wants the game to continue next year. So it will!”
A scene from the Virtual Bingo game.
Christmas wreath, 2020-style:
(Photo/Gene Borio)
As of yesterday, Westport had 884 COVID cases since the beginning of the pandemic (772 confirmed, 67 suspected). The number of new cases in the week — 45 — was down slightly from the previous week.
There were no deaths from COVID within the past 7 days. Our cumulative total is 25. Click here for a full statewide report.
In May 0f 2019, Long Lots Elementary School 4th grader Brett Malizia wanted to help his friend and classmate Eden Kopreski. She had just been diagnosed with leukemia. He raised funds by running in a 5K race and half-marathon.
Brett — now 12 – is doing it again. This Sunday (December 27) he’ll do the Sono half marathon.
It’s a virtual event — every participant runs on his or her own — so there will be no crowds cheering. Brett’s mom — Westport native Ursual Richards Malizia — asked on social media for people to make posters. They’ll line the route, as a nice surprise for him.
Another way to support: Click here for a GoFundMe page. Money raised goes to help defray Eden’s medical expenses, as well as to a leukemia survivor organization.
Ursula and Brett Malizia
A Westport resident found the items below — and newspaper clippings, and more — at 378 Main Street, near Coffee An’. If they’re yours — or you know who they belong to — email lizziehwolf@gmail.com.
So how did you spend your Christmas Eve day?
These guys obviously finished their shopping, and had nothing else to do, so …
(Photo/Chris Tait)
And here was the scene a day later: 12:30 this afternoon…
(Photo/Dan Woog)
And finally … in the spirit of world peace, here is an African carol from Staples High School’s Candlelight Concert. It’s from 2010 — but it never gets old.
Because this is 2020, Christmas Eve and Day will be treacherous.
Winds will blow from 25 to 35 miles an hour; gusts may howl past 50. The strongest gusts are expected between 2 and 9 a.m.
Rain will pour down — 2 to 4 inches. It will be heaviest in the predawn hours.
With temperatures in the 50s, that means tons of melting snow.
So be prepared for flooding and wet basements, along with downed trees, flying furniture and (of course) power outages.
Sconset Square prepares for Deadman’s Brook to overflow. (Photo/Mark Mathias)
Westport will open its emergency operations center at Fire Department headquarters at 6 p.m. That mirrors Eversource’s start time for their on-call apparatus. They’ve already called in out-of-state help.
Could this be a repeat of Tropical Storm Isaias 4 months ago?
Back then, trees were in full leaf. They acted like sails on a boat, causing most of the uprooted damage.
This time it’s the weakened trees that will fall. Most of the damage this time will come from weak branches that fall — and pine trees.
An ominous phone alert from Eversource today warned customers to be prepared to lose power from a Christmas Eve storm. Heavy rain and winds gusting to 70 miles an hour were mentioned — though that was not on the Weather Channel forecast.
Fortunately, temperatures will be in the 50s.
The utility is planning for a Level 4 emergency. That means 10% to 29% of customers could lose power. Translation: 125,000 to 380,000 outages, with 1,500 to 10,000 trouble spots.
Restoration for a Level 4 event can range from 2 to 6 days.
Rest assured, though: Eversource has canceled vacations for its crews. They’ll be standing by.
So on Thursday, when you lay out milk and cookies for Santa: Charge your devices!
It was a bit too cloudy and foggy yesterday to really see the convergence of Saturn and Jupiter. It’s been nearly 400 years since the planets passed so close to each other, and nearly 800 years since their alignment — seeming to form one “Christmas star” — occurred at night.
But that didn’t stop a number of Westporters from heading to Compo Beach to look.
Jo Shields reports, “I heard someone say there was a lot of applause and cheering on South Beach. But then someone said it might have just been a plane.”
Here’s what she saw, on the jetty:
(Photo/Jo Shields)
It’s official!
Barnes & Noble signed its new lease yesterday, for the former Restoration Hardware site. “06880” reported that the deal was imminent last week. The opening is slated for February. David Adam Realty was the realtor.
Restoration Hardware moved out in June. Soon, Barnes & Noble will move in.(Photo/Chip Stephens)
Last summer, as the pandemic (first) raged, the Westport Downtown Merchants Association partnered with ASF, on a fundraiser to support local businesses. The community helped raise over $2,700.
Last month, the WDMA asked retailers to nominate employees who have gone “above and beyond.”
There were many stories about heroes who put in extra hours, offered creative ideas to keep businesses afloat, provided extraordinary customer service, or remained strong in uncertain times.
Now the WDMA has awarded 26 of those very deserving employees $100 Downtown Dollar eGift Cards. Congratulations and thanks go to:
Karyl Scott (Massage Envy)
Kimberly Lavigne (Sorelle Gallery)
Francisco Moreno (Winfield Street Deli)
Henry Potter (Athleta)
Ellyn Weitzman (Franny’s Farmacy)
Stephanie Soares (Don Memo)
Alba Antun (Don Memo)
Zach Hinman (Don Memo)
Owen Wiseman (Kawa Ni)
Kelly Clement (Kawa Ni)
Marco Almanza (Kawa Ni)
Lux Bond & Green Team
Paulino Garcia (The Whelk)
Lupita Cristostomo (The Whelk)
Matt Balga (The Whelk)
Julie Cook (Savannah Bee)
Will Newman (New England Hemp Farm)
John Vaast (Walrus Alley)
Patricia Andrade (Splash of Pink)
Isabelle Johansen (Cotelac)
Jinkuk Hong (Manna Toast)
Victor Mejia (Manna Toast)
Jessica Zito (Manna Toast)
Karen Martella (Catherine H)
The ink is barely dry on the new federal COVID relief package.
But this afternoon (Tuesday, December 22, 2:30 p.m.), Congressman Jim Himes and officials of the Small Business Administration join a live Zoom discussion to explain it. Click here for the link; the passcode is 509950.
Congressman Jim Himes
Jewish Senior Services is located in Bridgeport, but its Westport roots are strong and deep.
Ken Wirfel and Alan Phillips are the 2 most recent board chairs. Dozens of Westporters are board members and/or supporters, including the Nevas, Kassen and Magidas families.
Scores of Westport relatives are in long-term care there, have gone through short-term rehabilitation, or utilize JSS’ home care or community services.
Yesterday, the first doses of Pfizer’s COVID vaccine were administered there, to nearly 300 people. CEO Andrew Banoff called it “a day we will never forget.”
Although JSS’s mission is grounded in Jewish traditions, well over half of the residents and clients are not Jewish. They are “the largest faith-based not-for- profit senior care community in Connecticut.”
Amy Schneider captured the winter solstice sunset — the first one of the season — last night.
Here’s the “bright” side to winter: For the next 6 months, every day there’s a little more light.
(Photo/Amy Schneider)
The Saugatuck River Dancers keep dancing — and keep raising funds for suicide prevention.
Suzanne Harvey’s latest choreography is Meghan Trainor’s “Holidays.” She created it to share the joy of dance and the holidays with others. Tomorrow (December 23) is the 28th anniversary of her brother Michael‘s death. He was just 15 when he took his life.
Hilary Solder, Jill Alcott, Deb Montner, Michael Chait and Eva Rawiszer joined Suzanne in dance. The video is below. Click here for a link to donate to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
And finally … on this day in 1984, subway vigilante Bernhard Goetz shot 4 would-be muggers on a Manhattan subway. Five years later, he was part of a Billy Joel song.
Click here to help support “06880” via credit card or PayPal. Any amount is welcome — and appreciated! Reader contributions keep this blog going. (Alternate methods: Please send a check to: Dan Woog, 301 Post Road East, Westport, CT 06880. Or use Venmo: @DanWoog06880. Thanks!)
