Due to an apparent sewage leak in the Saugatuck River, the Westport Health Department advises against swimming in the river and Westport coastal waters.
They’ll let us know when the leak has stopped, and it’s safe to go back in.
Until the leak is fixed, this is the best way to enjoy Compo Beach. (Photo/Amy Schneider)
Sure, the saying goes, if you remember the ’60s, you really weren’t there.
But if you went to Woodstock, you must remember it.
In honor of the 50th anniversary of that memorable concert/party/generational earthquake, “06880” hopes to run a special story.
If you have any connection to Westport (you grew up here, you live here now, you drove through once on I-95) and to Woodstock (you went there, you wanted to go, you were conceived there), please email your memories (and photos) to dwoog@optonline.net.
Lotta freaks!
In 2011 a pair of tiny cottages were damaged beyond repair, by 2 successive storms: Irene and Sandy.
The homes sat on tiny parcels of land. One was just .005 acre.
But they were known to everyone — at least, everyone who knows about the footbridges connecting Old Mill with Compo Cove. The cottages were on the right (Long Island Sound) side, between the bridges.
The town bought the cottages — for $1,111,650. But every penny was reimbursed, thanks to FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program.
The structures were torn down. For a few years, the land sat vacant.
It’s still empty. It’s still beloved by fishermen.
But now it’s also been spruced up. There’s a garden, and a granite slab for sitting.
Welcome to Westport’s newest park. It’s probably also the smallest.
Now all it needs is a name.
(Photos/Amy Schneider)
Posted in Beach, Local politics, Real estate
Saugatuck River and the I-95 bridge, behind Saugatuck Sweets (Photo/Dan Woog)
Posted in Pic of the Day, Saugatuck, Transportation
First came the sand wheelchair.
Next was the Mobi-Mat.
Then Parks & Rec added picnic tables with cutouts for wheelchairs, and handicap-accessible barbecue grills.
On Tuesday (August 6, 12 noon, pavilion), Compo Beach adds another amenity: floating wheelchairs.
They’re donated by SMILE (Small Miracles In Life Exist) Mass. The organization has provided over 130 floating beach wheelchairs — but these are the first in Connecticut. Fairfield and Norwalk get them too.
A floating beach wheelchair.
The devices look like beach recliners. Yet in addition to maneuvering over sand — like the chair donated in 2012 by the Westport Rotary Club — these allow children in wheelchairs to float comfortably in the ocean.
They also allow therapeutic movement in water. Because salt water is more buoyant than fresh water, people who use beach wheelchairs in the ocean move more than in a pool.
On Tuesday, the saying “everyone into the water!” will really be true.
Posted in Beach, Organizations
Tagged Compo Beach, floating wheelchair, handicap accessible beach, SMILE Mass
Lou Nistico is fondly remembered as part of the family that owned the Arrow — the beloved Italian restaurant in Saugatuck (it’s now Mystic Market).
In the mid-1970s though, he was also the concessionaire at Longshore. His daughter Joanne was the bartender.
At the time, Westport was the illustrators’ capital of the world. They worked at home, but socialized often.
A group of cartoonists often played golf, then headed inside for martinis. Joanne calls them a “fun and wild group of talented men.”
One day during lunch, they dashed off this collage for Lou:
Famous names are included: Tony DiPreta (who drew “Joe Palooka”), Bud Jones (“Mr. Abernathy”) and Bob Gustafson (“Tillie the Toiler”).
Dick Wingert’s “Hubert” looks half in the bag, as he raises a glass to “Lou the Great!”
But check out Stan Drake’s “Juliet Jones,” and his/her R-rated comment.
Then look at Curt Swan’s Superman next to Grace — and his wandering eyes.
They make a nice couple. Their cartoon kids would have been gorgeous.
Posted in Arts, Entertainment, Friday Flashback, Longshore, Sports
Tagged Curt Swan, Joanne Nistico, Longshore, Lou Nistico, Westport cartoonists
Eight months ago during a strong storm, a boat lost its Saugatuck Shores mooring. Ever since, it’s been wedged between the sea wall and a dock.
Yesterday, it was finally removed.
Norwalk-based G&C Marine Services did the job — pro bono.
Shores residents are now G&C fans for life.
(Photo/Tom Risch)
Folklore says that cats have 9 lives.
The proposed Hiawatha Lane housing development has been rejected 8 times by town officials.
Its developer is betting the 9th time’s the charm.
In June, Westport’s Planning & Zoning Commission struck down Summit Saugatuck’s plan for 187 units on the narrow road nestled between Saugatuck Avenue and I-95 exit 17. Board members cited concerns about access by firefighters and first responders, as well as traffic and pedestrian concerns.
Applications for sewer connections were denied earlier, by the P&Z and/or Board of Selectmen, in July and September 2007; January 2015; July 2016, and February 2017.
A text amendment and zone change were voted down in November 2016. The text amendment, map amendment and zoning amendment request defeated this past June was the 8th request.
Every denial was unanimous.
Summit Saugatuck’s plan for Hiawatha Lane.
But Summit Saugatuck principal Felix Charney will be back again. Because the proposal is submitted as an 8-30g application — meaning it falls under the state’s “affordable housing” regulation — it’s been re-submitted. A public hearing is set for September 12.
The plan would include 130 market-rate units, and 57 deemed “affordable.” Hiawatha Lane already includes many homes that are among the most affordable in Westport.
The 8-30g statute mandates that 10% of a town’s housing stock be “affordable,” under a state formula. Westport is currently at 4%.
However, only units constructed after 1990, and those that are deed-restricted for 40 years, are considered. Most Westport units serving lower-income groups do not fall into either category.
In March, Westport received a “Certificate of Affordable Housing Completion” from the state Department of Housing. The result was a 4-year moratorium on 8-30g.
The moratorium was granted “based upon the significant progress Westport has made in supplying affordable housing,” 1st Selectman Jim Marpe. Yet the moratorium does not preclude more submissions, like the one Summit Saugatuck is proposing.
Summit Saugatuck and Garden Homes — another developer whose proposal to build on untenable land was denied by the town — tried to get the state to vacate the moratorium. Their petition was denied on Monday by Connecticut’s Department of Housing.
1177 Post Road East helped Westport earn a 4-year moratorium on 8-30g proposals.
The town has received “moratorium points” for these units:
As noted earlier, that does not count any affordable housing built before 1990.
(Hat tip: Carolanne Curry)
Relaxing off Compo (Photo/Amy Schneider)
Eve Potts is a longtime Westporter. She’s been active in the arts, history, education and much more. Today, she shares a special encounter with “06880” readers.
Those of us who have been in Westport a long time remember vividly when there was a great deal of discussion (not all of it positive) about inviting a group of youngsters from Bridgeport to join classrooms in Westport. The program was known as Project Concern.
Over 40 years have passed since those first eager kids jumped off a bus from Bridgeport and were enrolled in Westport elementary schools. My 2 daughters were in the lower grades at Burr Farms. They were excited to welcome one of the girls, Anjetta Redmond, to stay at our house overnight each Tuesday so she could be part of the special early morning music rehearsals.
Eve Potts painted Anjetta Redmond’s portrait 40 years ago, when she was a guest in their home.
A couple of months ago — after all these years — we had a wonderful reunion with Anjetta Redmond Holloway and her close friend, Lisa Jones Mendenhall, who often joined Anjetta at our house overnight.
The conversation was lively. Besides getting reacquainted and sharing photos of kids, grandkids and husbands, we talked a bit about their Westport experience.
Both talked frankly — and enthusiastically — about what a great experience it had been for them. They were emphatic that coming to Westport, and learning about this other world, had impacted their lives.
We asked how they were treated back in Bridgeport after they enrolled here. They said there was teasing, and some pretty derisive comments from some of their friends.
Both women insisted that they honestly never felt any prejudice from their Westport schoolmates, even as talk of recalling the Westport Board of Education chair swirled and became reality here in Westport.
There was a lot of reminiscing — about funny happenings, and about Lisa’s brother Leonard who had been accepted into the program because an older sister had suggested it would be good for him. Leonard was a favorite at Burr Farms School for his incredible ability to walk on his hands and do other acrobatic feats.
The women mentioned the treats that were available in Westport, like Baskin- Robbins, that weren’t available in Bridgeport. Amy remembered how her Bridgeport friends brought Now & Laters — candy not available in Westport — to school to sell to kids here.
It was a wonderful morning: very loving, very happy, and very nostalgic.
Both Anjetta and Lisa have had very successful careers and marriages. Anjetta has had a long career at People’s Bank, and is a research representative. Lisa, who also worked for years at People’s Bank, is now employed by the Board of Education in Bridgeport. She is involved in discussions about the validity, balance and fairness of magnet school policies.
Here’s what Lisa posted on Facebook when she got home:
OK. So the year is 1971. There’s a program called Project Concern being introduced to inner city communities. Myself, along with my friends Anjetta Holloway and Wanda Thompson-Mosley, to name a few, were allowed the opportunity to attend.
We joined Brownies, then Girl Scouts. We played the flute and clarinets, mastered cartwheels and splits, and went to sleepaway camp. Arthur Treacher’s Fish and Chips was good eating (no Arthur Treacher’s in Bridgeport), and we were completely fascinated with Baskin-Robbins’ 31 flavors.
Fast forward. It’s 2019 and you receive a friend request from Amy Potts. Hmmm. Amy and Abby from Westport — could it be? Yes, it was, and this morning after 40-plus years we met for breakfast with Amy, her mom, and her auntie.
What a great time we had reminiscing of how great life was way back then. Life is good. Always cherish each moment.
(For more “06880” stories on Project Concern, click here, here and here.)
Posted in Children, Education, Looking back, People
Tagged Anjetta Redmond Holloway, Burr Farms Elementary School, Eve Pots, Project Concern
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