Less than 2 weeks after its rejection, The Hamlet is back in the news.
ROAN Ventures — the developer of the proposed residential/ hotel/retail/event space Saugatuck project — appealed the decision.
In a filing late yesterday in Bridgeport Superior Court, ROAN alleges that Westport’s Planning & Zoning Commission acted “illegally, arbitrarily and in abuse of discretion,” in its 4-0 vote (with 3 abstentions) on July 28.
ROAN asks the court to direct the P&Z to grant approval, and pay the developer’s legal fees.
The appeal was expected by many town officials.
Aerial rendering of the Hamlet at Saugatuck project.
ROAN’s project began with a text amendment allowing development at the site bordered by Riverside Avenue, Railroad Place and Charles Street, and along the Saugatuck River.
It continued through many iterations, and hundreds of hours of meetings.
In its appeal, filed by attorney Eric Bernheim, ROAN says it complied with all applicable regulations, including “height, lot area, setbacks, building coverage, total coverage, building spacing, floor area, density, public waterfront access, architectural design, signage, parking and loading, traffic, public health and safety, and landscaping.”
Throughout the process, ROAN says, they worked with the P&Z’s consultants to address concerns, including building height, density and coverage.
The denial was “unreasonable, arbitrary and illegal,” the appeal says. The reasons for the decision were “inadequate, insufficient, and/or not supported by substantial evidence.”
Further, the P&Z decision “exceeded (its) jurisdiction and authority.”
The appeal alleges errors by the P&Z in incorrectly including a parcel not under contract in the total waterfront frontage, and referencing an “outdated and superseded rendering” of the waterfront buildings.
Furthermore, the court document says, the commission “ignored and disregarded all expert testimony and uncontested facts, from both Roan and the Commission’s own staff and … consultants,” in areas including traffic and the waterside garage entrance/exit.
There will be 2 more candidates on the November 4 ballot.
Democrats Steve Shackelford and Jodi Harris collected — and the town clerk certified — over 400 petition signatures.
He is a former Representative Town Meeting member; she is a former Staples High School PTA co-presisdent.
They’ll join Democratic Town Committee-endorsed candidates Lauren Karpf (RTM deputy moderator) and Abby Tolan (incumbent BOE member), and Republican Town Committee-endorsed candidates Dorie Hordon (incumbent), Michelle Hopson, TEAM Westport member Andy Frankel, and Kaitlin Zucaro.
Shackelford and Harris say, “We are honored to have the opportunity to earn the trust and support of our fellow Westport residents. We look forward to engaging with the community and sharing our vision for a thoughtful, effective and forward-looking board that puts students and families first.”
Steve Shackelford and Jodi Harris.
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The Westport dining scene is about to change.
And “06880” is eating it up.
Today (Thursday) at 6 p.m., Dan Woog and Dave Briggs bring our popular “Dave & Dan” Instagram Live camera to Don Memo. Our Instagram is @06880danwoog.
The popular Mexican restaurant in the middle of downtown will soon become a popular Italian-American spot: Massi Co.
We’ll chat with owner Massimo Tullio about the new concept, his own career, and Westport’s ever-evolving culinary scene.
Also today — like every Thursday, from May to November — the Westport Farmers’ Market comes alive, at the Imperial Avenue parking lot (10 a.m. to 2 p.m.).
But this day is extra special. It’s part of National Farmers’ Market Week, celebrated every first week of August.
Check out the 36 vendors — along with live music, informational tables, a great community vibe, and much more.
In other Farmers’ Market news, the Young Shoots photo contest — for photographers ages 5-18 — has been extended one week. The new deadline is August 15. Click here for details.
Happy National Farmers’ Market Week! And if you’re a young photographer: Celebrate with your camera.
See you at the Farmers’ Market! (Photo/Marcus Slomich)
Speaking (still) of food: Quietly but deliciously, Field Trip has helped make Westport the jerky capital of the Northeast.
The company’s headquarters are at 153 Post Road East, opposite Design Within Reach.
Now they’re adding a sister brand there.
DefenderBar will be the first bar ever — and one of the first snacks in the US — to use functional ingredients like psyllium husk (to support gut health) and dandelion root (for the liver and gut), while also fueling the brain and heart with chia, flax and hemp seeds.
There are 3 flavors: cinnamon churro oatmeal, peanut butter chocolate chip and coconut almond chocolate.
To support the launch on TikTok, Instagram and Facebook, founders Matt Levey, Tom Donigan and Scott Fiesinger invite any “06880” reader to come in to the store, and show you’ve followed the brand on any of those platforms.
You’ll get 25% off the entire store, including Defender and Field Trip.
The first 100 people in (and following on social media) will receive a free Defender bar. The promotion begins August 13, and runs through August 20.
Levey explains, “we realized we’re not 25 anymore. But we’re still pushing ourselves — on the trails, in the gym, at home with our wild kids — and we needed a better way to fuel that lifestyle.
“As longtime friends who have spent half our lives in the better-for-you food industry, and as adventurers and dads, we looked for something with functional macros, real ingredients, and satisfying.
“We were tired of bars that were all sugar and no substance, or ones that claimed to be ‘healthy’ but left us crashing mid-hike. So we got to work. We kept it simple, with nutrient-dense ingredients.”
Defender bars are definitely worth a field trip!
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Speaking of local businesses: The Gig Center (next to Sharkey’s Cuts for Kids) is now The Music Collective.
It offers the same services: private music lessons, rock band programs, instrument repairs, music books and instrument accessories. It’s also still the home of Westport Musical Instrument Rentals.
The new phone number is 203.292.3077.
Jamming at the Gig Center.
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Nature, memory, abstraction and form are the basis of 3 new art exhibits at the Westport Library.
The artists and their works are Steve Moen (“Circling Back,” in the Sheffer Gallery), Tom Kretsch (“A Symphony of Color,” South Gallery), and Linn Cassetta (“Eggcentric,” Jesup Gallery).
Each exhibit will have a separate reception (6 p.m.) and artist conversation (7 p.m.), with Artists’ Collective of Westport co-founder Miggs Burroughs. Moen’s is set for August 13; Kretsch’s is August 27, and Cassetta’s is September 17.
What’s new in the world universe of amateur telescopes?
Wesetport Observatory Bob Meadows is just back from the 89th annual convention of amateur telescope makers. He’ll describe all the innovations at the Westport Astronomical Society’s next lecture: August 19 (WAS classroom, 8 p.m.)
The event will also be livestreamed on Zoom and YouTube.
Seen at the Westport Observatory. (Photo/Frank Rosen)
And finally … on this date in 1789, The Department of War was established.
(Politics, food, art, entertainment … just another day on “06880.” If you learn about your town — or anything else — from our daily Roundups, please click here to support our work. Thank you!)
In a school filled with high achievers, Luca Caniato stood out.
Before graduating in June, he played violin in the orchestra; served 3 years as president of the Italian Club; founded the Photography Club and Aquatic Habitat Alliance; was elected to 4 Honor Societies; played varsity soccer, and was one of 2 seniors chosen by his classmates to turn the tassel at graduation.
Luca Caniato and Alex Hackett get ready for the finale, at Staples’ June graduation. (Photo/Ryan Allen)
It sounds like Luca had no time for anything else.
But the teenager — who heads soon to the University of Colorado, where he’ll be one of just 50 new students in the elite Leeds Scholars Program — has one more passion. It challenges him,calms him, and feeds his soul.
And — because he is on the go, even when relaxing — it’s been both a summer job, and a way to give back to others.
Luca Caniato (Photo/Melissa Alves)
Luca is an avid, and very accomplished, fisherman.
It started in 8th grade, when Bedford Middle School language arts teacher Steve Rexford taught Luca’s friends Josh Ginsburg and Preston Siroka how to tie flies and cast rods.
Intrigued by the “cool, unique” sport, Luca joined them. He got a fly rod and waders.
When Rexford met him at a Pennsylvania river — both families were vacationing nearby — Luca caught a 4-inch bass.
“I was hooked,” he says (pun fully intended).
Fishing is “so different from anything else. How you choose the right fly, tie it, cast a rod, engage the fish, land it — the whole approach is magical.”
Luca has fished with some very big fish: 3-time world champion fly fisherman and former French national captain Bertran Jacquemin, and Yannick Rivière, another world champion.
His mentor is Antoine Bissieux, 2025 Orvis Guide of the Year.
Luca fishes in Connecticut’s Farmington River — and far beyond, in Wyoming and Idaho.
Two summers ago — using money saved from painting and mowing lawns — he spent 2 weeks in Montana with former soccer teammate Ryan Thomas, who worked in a fly fishing shop. It was a great experience, including fishing off a boat at 3 a.m.
“Trout don’t live in ugly places,” Luca notes.
Luca Caniato, in the Italian Alps. (Photo/Luigi Mautino)
Other scenic spots are more local: the Saugatuck River at Ford Road, Compo Beach and Long Island Sound.
This winter, Fairfield students Matt Menozzi, Ryan Leavay and John McCloskey — who ran a fishing camp there — reached out to Luca. They wanted to start a Westport branch. Would he be interested?
Do fish swim?!
The Faifield camp supplied all the rods and equipment, and taught youngsters to fish in a safe, fun environment.
Luca marketed the camp through flyers, videos and social media.
It was fully booked. Through last week, 60 kids ages 7-14 (10 or so each week) fished with Luca and his counselors — his friends Josh and Preston, who first got him into fishing — at Burying Hill Beach, Old Mill, and their favorite spot, Compo.
Josh Ginsburg, and a happy camper.
They met weekday mornings, from 9 to noon. Some were already experienced; they’d take a rod, and run off. Others had to learn how to cast, lure a porgy and more.
“They may not be as big as a striper or bluefish,” Luca notes. “But when they catch even a porgy or sea robin, kids go crazy.”
He and the counselors make sure to celebrate every achievement, no matter how small.
One day, with the tide particularly low, few fish were biting.
Suddenly — at 11:40, as they all got ready to pack up — the boys started hooking fish.
Luca texted the parents to pick them up there, so they could keep angling to the end. “That was so much fun,” he says. “It was awesome!”
Casting on the Compo jetty.
(Yes, all the campers this year were male. Luca hopes girls will join next year, but notes, “guys are generally more interested in fishing.”)
Already a patient fisherman, Luca says that running the camp has helped him realize the time it takes to learn a new skills.
He adds, “Everyone learns differently. But fishing is hands-on. We have to do a lot of demonstrations.”
He’ll be back at the beach next year, introducing another group of boys (and girls?) to one of his many passions.
Just as he got hooked on the sport 4 years ago, Luca Caniato will reel the next generation of fishermen in.
(To learn more, email lucagcaniato@icloud.com, or click here. You can follow Luca’s fishing and photography adventures on Instagram: @lgcflicks.)
(“06880” regularly highlights the achievements of Westport’s great young people. If you enjoy stories like these, please click here to support our work. Thank you!)
Here in Westport we’ve endured long and heated debates, on a series of topics.
Really long. And very heated.
The outcomes have not pleased everyone. They never will.
But decisions have been made. And they’ve been made by people we elected to make them.
The Planning & Zoning Commission spent hundreds of hours on one topic — the Hamlet — this year alone. There were many other agenda items too. (Photo/Andrew Colabella)
They’re not random men and women. They’re fellow Westporters.
Our neighbors.
They sit through long — really long — meetings. They spend time before, reading reports. They spend time after, listening to residents.
You and I may not like their decisions. But they’re the ones who have stepped up, volunteered, and been elected or appointed to do the job.
Some are running again. Some have stepped down.
Some newcomers are on the November ballot. Some are petitioning to join them.
All deserve our thanks. They are doing the thankless, tedious and trying work of government.
We can watch the meetings, or not. It’s our choice.
They’re the ones sitting there, in person or on Zoom.
And some of those meetings are really long.
(PS: Interested in running for the Representative Town Meeting? You need just 25 signatures from voters in your district. The deadline is September 9. Contact Town Clerk Jeffrey Dunkerton: 203-341-1105; jdunkerton@westportct.gov.)
(“06880” is proud to honor Unsung Heroes — and tell many other tales of town too. Please click here to support your hyper-local blog.)
“Masquerade” — the immersive “Phantom of the Opera” revival — opened last week.
It’s unique.
Once audiences enter the fully transformed Opera House (formerly Lee’s Art Shop on West 57th Street), they trace the steps of the Opera Ghost, who has terrorized performers and management.
It’s quite an experience. Making it extra special for Westporters is Clay Singer. The Staples High School Class of 2013 graduate is one of 6 actors playing the Phantom.
He’s also the youngest performer to play the role fulltime in New York.
Clay’s portrayal is deeply influenced by Kevin Gray’s renowned interpretation — a favorite of his, for more than just its artistic brilliance. Kevin was a 1976 Staples (and Players alum). He died in 2013 — the year Clay graduated — of a heart attack. He was just 55.
The show operates in 6 “pulses,” beginning every 15 minutes. Clay performs in the 8 p.m. and 2 p.m. (matinee) pulses. (Select one of those time slots when buying tickets.)
As part of the series, Amurri invites Westporters to celebrate “the best local gems.” Winners will be featured in upcoming episoes. Click here — but hurry! Nominations close tomorrow — Thursday.
Categories include best breakfast sandwich, iced coffee, workout class, kids’ activity, boutique, girls’ lunch, blowout, mani/pedi, pizza, date night dinner, dessert, bar scene and local creator.
Screenshot from “The Westport Project”: Chris O’Dell and Eva Amurri.
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After months of major, urgent agenda items, the Representative Town Meeting took a break in August.
Members gathered at the Ned Dimes Marina for a BBQ, casusal conversation, and a chance to enjoy the sunset just like their constituents often do.
(Photo courtesy of Matthew Mandell)
Meanwhile, Westport residents interested in running for the Representative Town Meeting (RTM) can pick up a petition at the Town Clerk’s office.
To qualify for the November 4 ballot, candidates must collecct at least 25 signatures from registered voters in their district. Completed petitions must be returned to the town clerk by September 9.
For more information about the petition process or other election questions, contact Town Clerk Jeffrey Dunkerton: 203-3411105; jdunkerton@westportct.gov
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Calling all high school artists!
MoCA CT announces an open call for their 11th annual scholastic exhibition, “the Sound of Us: Youth Culture Now.”
It explores the effects of contemporary music on youth culture. Music today is more immediate, interactive and personal than in previous generations. This shapes the way young people communicate, form communities and express themselves, from slang and style to activism and identity.
Artists will select a song from 2020 to now, and create a work of art that shows its effects on youth culture through fashion, social interactions, speech, education, political alertness and activism, or life in general.
The Westport Rotary Club’s recent instrument collection project was a resounding success.
Yesterday, 225 guitars, clarinets, a piano and more were shipped to the Youth Orchestra of Ecuador.
But the music continues.
Diego Carneiro — a Brazilian cellist and Rotary Peace Fellow who travels the world, promoting peace and understanding through music and community empowerment — headlines an evening of classical music (August 13, 7 p.m., Green’s Farms Congregational Church).
He’s joined by soprano Jurate Svedaite, and the church’s msuic director Dylan Sauerwald.
Hundreds of classic and exotic cars — and thousands of auto enthusiasts — will fill the parking lot at 148 East Avenue in Norwalk this Sunday (10 a.m. to 3 p.m.).
It’s a benefit for the Vincent Penna Jr. Memorial Scholarship Fund.
Penna died unexpectedly in 2020 at 51, leaving behind a wife and teenage sons. He was a highly respected Westport Police officer for 26 years, rising to deputy chief before retirement.
Admission is free, but there is a $20 fee to enter a car (no cutoff years). The day includes live music, raffle prizes, food trucks, trophies and more. Thanks to more than 150 sponsors, the Italian American Police Society of Southern Connecticut will give away more than $40,000.00 in prizes.
Classic cars like these will be on display Sunday. (Photo/Andrew Colabella)
As one group tries to buy the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun from the Mohegan tribe — for a league record $325 million (and relocate it from Mohegan Sun to Boston) — another group has countered with over $300 million (and a move to Hartford).
That second group is led by Westporter Marc Lasry. He’s got the money — he’s a billionaire businessman and private equity manager.
But he’s also got basketball chops. He was a co-owner of the Milwaukee Bucks from 2014 to 2023.
Staples High School Class of 1991 graduate Lynsey Addario was a guest on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” today.
The New York Times Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist/author/MacArthur “genius grant” winner discussed US aid to Sudan, and the impact of budget cuts.
Addario noted that images must be repeated and seen multiple times, for them to have an effect on people.
Also in the media: Delano Melvin was on national television yesterday.
The 11-year-old Westporter asked “Today” show guest MrBeast — one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People — what he most likes about being a YouTuber.
Delano had an in for his question. His father, Craig, is a co-host of the NBC morning show.
I’m not a facial-type guy. In fact, I’d never had one in my entire life.
But when Lori — the owner of Dream Spa & Salon — offered me one, as part of their 25th anniversary celebration, I could not turn the other cheek.
Turns out, I’m one of the few people in Westport who doesn’t know Beata. The Hungarian native has been with Lori nearly as long as the spa has been on Post Road East, in a handsome Colonial home at the foot of the Crate & Barrel shopping plaza.
Beata has a townwide reputation for her craft. After an hour under her expert hands, I know why.
But this isn’t a story about My First Facial. It’s about Dream Spa’s quarter century: how it began, grew, and overcame challenges.
Lori began her business career at the Manhattan flagship locations of 2 storied stores: Lord & Taylor and Barneys.
Meanwhile, in the mid-1990s Bliss Spa was crushing it. Their one location, in SoHo, was almost impossible to get into.
As a retailer Lori knew the draw was less about the services, than about the creative, fun product line — “Bliss” — that they’d created.
She thought about her retail experience in the beauty market — including Clinique and Chanel — and played around with one-word spa names. “Dream” seemed perfect. (A “Dream Room,” “Dream Dollar” gift certificates, etc.)
Lori Dodd
She, her then-husband and their growing family had already moved to suburban Westport, for the space and schools.
Driving down the Post Road one day, Lori spotted a beautiful house, between Fortuna’s and Greens Farms Elementary School.
With help from commercial real estate attorney Jim Randel and landlord Hal Lustig, she spent 8 months building out her concept. Dream Spa opened 25 years ago today: on August 6, 2000.
Lori kept “3 E’s” in mind: excellence, experience and environment.
There were competitors — including Derma Clinic, which had begun in the same Post Road property, before moving to Playhouse Square — but Dream Spa slowly and steadily built its client base, and its reputation. (Lori honored Derma Clinic gift certificates, when they closed in 2008.)
Dream Spa decorates for the holidays.
Adding salon services in 2004 was a big step forward.
All along, Lori says, she paid attention to new treatments. But she is not one to jump on whatever is the latest thing. She sticks with the classics. Any treatment or product must “speak to (her) personally,” and stand the test of time.
Then came COVID.
It was one thing for an essential business like a supermarket or drugstore to limit the number of people inside, and institute social distancing.
But a discretionary service like a spa — which relies entirely on close physical contact – could have been devastated.
For several months, she and her staff visited clients at home. Others simply stopped treatments.
Several months after the pandemic struck, a group of anonymous donors collected funds to help local businesses. Lori was stunned to receive a check for $10,000.
The money was important. So was the fact that people understood what Dream Spa meant to the community.
Salon services, at Dream Spa.
With help like that — and her understanding landlord, Peter Van Witt — Lori made it through those very tough couple of years. She remains appreciative to all who aided her.
“The salon business will never be the same,” she says. “But we pivoted, and survived.”
Dream is not the only spa or salon in town, of course. Lori welcomes the competition. “It makes you focus on doing your best,” she says.
Dream Spa was busy the day I was there. Staff and clients were all smiles.
When I mentioned my facial with Beata that evening, there were more smiles — of appreciation. She (and Dream Spa) may not have been on my radar. Yet in the Westport spa world they, she (and it) are stars.
This was not me during my facial. But I did feel quite relaxed.
Beata has been with Lori the longest. But there are many other long-time, loyal staff members.
They — and Lori — now see the children of the first clients they served. The second generation is a reminder of what it means to serve a community for many years.
She also sees the same men year after year. They buy gift certificates for their wives and partners. (I was not the only male to get a facial that day from Beata. But — no surprise — women make up the bulk of Dream Spa’s clientele.)
Those clients are diverse. Some are youngsters. The oldest, a 102-year-old woman, get her nails done regularly.
When Lori came up with the name of “Dream” for her as-yet-unopened spa, she envisioned it working in many ways.
On her 25th anniversary, she has one message. It applies to her customers — but also to herself.
(“06880” regularly covers the Westport business scene. If you enjoy learning about what’s old — and new — please click here to support our work. Thank you!)
The new, wide Hillspoint Road sidewalk between Soundview Drive and Old Mill Beach was finished in time for the summer.
Except for one stretch, near Schlaet’s Point (the Compo jetty). Weeks later, it remains incomplete: an unlevel patch of dirt and gravel.
Several residents reached out to town officials.
The Department of Public Works is waiting for Eversource to set a push pole at the intersection of Hillspoint and Soundview, then adjust the guy wires so they are not a hazard to pedestrians.
They utility company must reset and reconfigure some wires in several places around the corner on Hillspoint.
Once that is done, the paving contractor will return.
In the meantime, a DPW crew was scheduled to add cold patch ramps today, to ease the transition on the sidewalk.
Harvest Fest is one of the best parties of the year.
Tickets are now on sale. But they go fast!
The September 13 food-and-wine event (6 p.m.) is Wakeman Town Farm’s biggest fundraiser.
There’s great seasonal fare by local farmers and chefs, wine and cocktails, live music, an auction (including private chef dinners in WTF’s Tim’s Kitchen, VIP trips, a stay at Watch Hill’s Ocean House resort and a wine wall, and a paddle raise for the new Farm on the Go program.
Speaking of farms: This Friday is the deadline for submission to the Westport Farmers’ Market’s “Young Shoots” photo contest.
So there’s one more day for photographers ages 5-18 to shoot images: this Thursday (August 8, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Imperial Avenue parking lot).
The contest — with cash prizes, in 3 age groups — is a partnership between the Westport Farmers’ Market, the Artists Collective of Westport, and the Drew Friedman Community Arts Center. Click here for details.
What’s the competition? Here are a few of the submissions so far:
Zoe Monschein — the 2024 Greens Farms Academy valedictorian — is a physics and applied math double major at the University of California – Berkeley.
But those are not her only talents.
The other day, at the 17th annual Women’s Major Softball Championship hosted by the fabled Stratford Brakettes, Zoe — a rightfielder for the Junior Brakettes — won the batting title, with a remarkable .636 average. She was also named to the All-Tournament team.
Though Zoe does not play softball for the Cal Bears, the tournament featured a number of NCAA Division I players.
Congratulations, Zoe! (Hat tip: Fred Cantor)
Zoe Monschein
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Last weekend might have been the nicest of the summer in Westport.
Just about everyone headed to beaches, pools, or out on the Sound.
So did many non-humans — including today’s “Westport … Naturally” featured gull, enjoying a dip at Bluff Point.
And finally … on this date in 1962, Marilyn Monroe is found dead at her Los Angeles home, from a drug overdose. She was 36.
(From handicap access and sidewalks to Harvest Fest and the Farmers’ Market, “06880” is here for you: 24/7/365. If you enjoy our coverage, please click here to support our work. Thank you!)
In May, the Board of Education rejected an appeal by Staples High School boys soccer head coach Russell Oost-Lievense of superintendent of schools Thomas Scarice’s decision to not renew his contract.
Freshman coach Chris O’Dell was also not renewed by Scarice. His appeal hearing is set for September 12.
Westport’s loss is Fairfield’s gain.
The pair have joined the coaching staff at Fairfield Warde High School, and been embraced by the Mustang community.
Despite the ordeal, both coaches retain their love for the Staples soccer program. Both are graduates of the school, and former captains.
In heartfelt letters to players and parents, Oost-Lievense and O’Dell describe their long connection to Wrecker soccer; thank their supporters, and note that Staples and Warde will collaborate in the future — including a fundraiser for pediatric cancer research, when the teams meet on September 27.
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