Pic Of The Day #104

Posted on July 30, 2017 | 6 comments

The Saugatuck River and downtown, looking north, from 13-year-old Daniel Rosenkranz’s drone. (Photo copyright Hawkeye Aerial Photography)

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Posted in Downtown, Pic of the Day

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Adios y Hola, Villa Del Sol!

Posted on July 30, 2017 | 3 comments

Villa del Sol has served its last margarita.

At its longtime Elm Street location, that is.

The interior of Villa del Sol, as seen from the outside steps.

The popular downtown restaurant is moving to 170 Post Road West. The former site of Peachwave has been vacant for over 2 years.

David Waldman — developer of Bedford Square — is purchasing the Mexican restaurant, adjacent to his new complex. It’s part of a land swap. He’ll demolish the old Villa del Sol. In return, he’ll construct a retail/residential building across Elm Street, behind Lux Bond & Green.

The old Villa del Sol on Elm Street. On the left is the new Bedford Square. The restaurant will be demolished, and used for parking.

(Hat tip: Steve Stein)

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Posted in Downtown, People, Real estate, Restaurants

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Photo Challenge #135

Posted on July 30, 2017 | 22 comments

One mystery was solved with last week’s photo challenge: The image by Seth Schachter showed Dead Man’s (or is it Deadman’s?) Brook, as it runs through Sconset Square before disappearing underneath the Post Road on its way to Imperial Avenue. (Click here for the photo, plus all the correct — and incorrect — guesses.)

But another mystery remains:  Why the name? No one answered that question. If you’ve got a clue, feel free to comment here.

Vanessa Bradford, Rich Stein, Elaine Marino, Michael Brennecke, Don Chambers, Jill Turner Odice, Edward Bloch, Mary Cookman Schmerker and Seth Braunstein all knew exactly what the photo showed. Fred Cantor, Amy Ancel and John Terpening came close — but had the wrong side of the Post Road.

Here is this week’s challenge. If you know where in Westport it is, click “Comments” below.

(Photo/Lynn U. Miller)

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Posted in Downtown, Photo Challenge

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Nina Royce Heads West

Posted on July 30, 2017 | 8 comments

She’s not a politician. She’s not a civic volunteer. She’s not a noted artist.

But politicians, volunteers and artists — especially artists — all love Nina Royce.

And we’ll all miss her, now that she’s left the Westport she loved and served so long and well.

She moved here in 1969, from New Haven. She married a Harvard guy, David Royce. Three children — and a master’s in fine arts — followed.

Nina spent 45 years at Max’s Art Supplies — the beloved downtown gathering spot for artists, designers, and anyone else needing pens, paint or paper. Nina was an important part of the glue that kept this town’s arts scene connected and vibrant.

Nina Royce (far left) with Max’s colleagues — and the store’s famous Karron’s clock.

For the past 3 years — ever since Max’s closed — you could find Nina at Age of Reason. She worked her magic on that innovative toy store’s many devoted customers — young and old.

Nina was also a regular at the Senior Center. She enjoyed exercise classes — and everyone there enjoyed her quiet, sunny presence.

Now it’s time for a change. Nina is moving to Ashland, Oregon. She’ll be near her son Zach, and granddog Otto. Seattle (son Peter) and Minneapolis (daughter Casey) are not too far away.

Nina has put out the welcome mat for Westporters heading west.

Happy (Oregon) trails, Nina, from all of us whose lives you have enriched!

(Hat tip: Jo Shields)

Nina Royce (seated, center) was feted by friends last week. She’s already on her way to Oregon.

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Posted in Arts, Children, Local business, People

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Pic Of The Day #103

Posted on July 29, 2017 | 5 comments

You can never be too careful! Spotted under the I-95 bridge in Saugatuck.

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Posted in Pic of the Day, Saugatuck, Weather

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Aaaargh! I Moved To The Wrong ‘Burb!

Posted on July 29, 2017 | 14 comments

Tomorrow’s New York Times real estate section has a long article, with a provocative title: “What To Do When You’ve Picked the Wrong Suburb.”

“Just like someone living on the Upper East Side won’t fit into Williamsburg, someone who likes Maplewood may not fit into Short Hills,” the story says.

You may expect block parties, when all you get are nannies playing indoors with their charges. You may come for the outdoors, but discover deer ticks.

“Are you looking for a Whole Foods and a farmers’ market?” the Times asks. “Do you want to see pickup trucks or Volvo S.U.V.s? A spinning studio or a Planet Fitness? Trump bumper stickers or ‘Resist’ signs?”

Westport has a Whole Foods — AND a Farmers’ Market. Farmers’ Market.

The piece is Westchester, Long Island and New Jersey-centric.

But at the end, it pivots to Westport.

Ali Bernstein, the owner of Suburban Jungle Realty, a real estate strategy firm that helps families transition from city to suburb, said it’s best to know the good — and the bad — before moving. She said her clients hear about aspects of a place that real estate agents may gloss over. “We’ll tell you, ‘It may seem like a 28-minute train ride, but there’s no parking at the station and you’ll drive around to find a spot,’” she said. “You’re going to move there knowing as much as possible.”

Ms. Bernstein founded her company, in part, because she struggled with finding the right suburb herself. She and her husband left the city for Westport, Conn., which they loved for its beautiful architecture, beaches and vibrant cultural scene. But after they moved in, the town seemed sprawling and they longed for a small town with mom-and-pop shops. Ultimately, after a fresh search, they bought a home in Westchester in Armonk, where they know shopkeepers in town.

Has she found her people? She thinks so. “It’s life-changing when you live in a town where you’re raising kids with people you want to be raising kids with,” she said.

What do you think? Did you pick the right — or wrong — suburb? If so, how? Click “Comments” to share your story.

(To read the full New York Times story, click here.)

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Posted in Media, Real estate

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Buy Nothing. Get Something. For Real.

Posted on July 29, 2017 | 9 comments

The other day, I posted a story about Goodwill. A reader complained about high prices at the local “thrift shop.” Many readers agreed.

A few days later, alert “06880” reader Libby Kole emailed me about a less expensive alternative.

In fact, it’s free.

There’s no physical location. Instead, you find “Buy Nothing” online.

The Westport Facebook group is part of a national movement. It helps people trade, share, give and get just about anything.

Kole cited one example. She picked up boxes from a woman who just moved here. In return, Kole posted a rocking chair. (She’ll give the boxes away too, when she’s done moving herself.)

Nothing is for sale. There is no bartering. It’s just free.

The national site for Buy Nothing Groups lists things that can be given. They include clothes, dinners, plants, rabbits, laundry detergent, antiques, bikes, canoes, kombucha, flowers, eggs and beds.

People offer services too: nursing or childcare. A resting place for a dying dog. An arborist checking on trees. Guitar lessons.

Users have requested over-the-counter medicines in the middle of the night. Books, rugs and stuffed animals for a 1st grade classroom. Blackberries for wine-making (the recipient then shared his wine with the entire community). A home, while an apartment is being renovated.

Though the Westport group is just getting started, it quickly zoomed past 250 members.

The list of offerings is not as clever as the national examples. But it is typically Westport.

There’s a Sub-Zero dual zone wine cooler (“worth 4K” — though it needs $1,300 worth of evaporators). A kids’ scooter. Size 6 Crocs (“rejected by my child”). Carry-on luggage. Lice shampoo.

The $4,000 wine cooler.

It’s all there for the taking.

What gives?!

(Click here for the “Buy Nothing Westport, CT” Facebook group.)

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Posted in Economy, technology

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Pic Of The Day #102

Posted on July 28, 2017 | 1 comment

Fishing at Compo Beach. (Photo/Jaime Bairaktaris)

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Posted in Beach, Pic of the Day

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Whale’s Tails

Posted on July 28, 2017 | 5 comments

This morning’s sighting of a humpback whale in Long Island Sound between Compo Beach and Cockenoe Island has drawn plenty of attention. (Click here  for a great WestportNow video.)

It also brought this email from alert “06880” reader and RTM member Wendy Batteau. She writes:

In another slice of my life, I work with the Maritime Aquarium (and also the Ocean Alliance). Regarding the whale, I received the following email from folks at the Aquarium:

Whales fall under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. There are federal restrictions on how closely you are allowed to approach them.

We do not want everyone in Fairfield and New Haven Counties with a boat to go chasing after this animal. We do not want boaters hurt, and we do not want this whale to be hurt.

One of the 3 humpbacks that turned up in the Sound 2 years ago was killed “by blunt force trauma,” probably in a collision with a sailboat.

If someone has videos or photos, please forward the images to Dave Hudson, John Lenzycki and Dave Sigworth: jlenzycki@maritimeaquarium.org; 
dhudson@maritimeaquarium.org;  dsigworth@maritimeaquarium.org.

Photos or video of the underside of the whale’s tail would be especially helpful. The pattern on the underside of every humpback’s tail is unique, and seeing it may help to identify the whale.

This is not the same whale spotted this morning off the coast of Compo. It is, however, a humpback whale.

5 Comments

Posted in Beach, Environment, Organizations, People

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Yellow Pages, The Sequel: RTM Reps Help Westport Go Green

Posted on July 28, 2017 | 20 comments

Yesterday, “06880” reported that Westporters can avoid the coming Yellow Book plague by opting out.

Today, there’s even better news on the driveway littering front.

RTM representatives Liz Milwe, Jeff Wieser and Matthew Mandell have worked for months to make opting out of phone book deliveries easier, more effective — and environmentally friendly.

Spurred by Westporter Morgan Mermagen’s 200-signature petition, the RTM members started work on a town ordinance. The Local Search Association — the national lobbying organization for companies like the Yellow Pages and Frontier — heard about the plan. They — and members of those businesses from around the country — came to Westport, to meet with the 3 RTM members.

But the talks reached an impasse.

So this spring, the RTM reps moved forward with their proposed ordinance.

The companies reached out again. Finally — with the help of assistant town attorney Gail Kelly, and following months of conference calls — a deal was struck.

There will be no ordinance. However, all phone book distributors in Westport have agreed to follow these parameters:

  • All plastic bags used during delivery will be made with 20% post-consumer recycled content. This will be noted on the bag.
  • A new opt-out notice — showing the website www.YellowPagesOptOut.com — will cover 30% of one side of the bag.
  • A letter to the town, announcing a pending distribution by any company, will be done 90 days prior to any event, and 30 days prior to a cut-off for being able to opt out of that (and future) distributions.
  • All books will continue to have a notice on the front cover about the opt-out, with the same URL.
  • Within 14 days after delivery, the distribution company will return through the route, picking up any unclaimed bags within view.
  • A report will be sent to the town each year, noting how many people have opted out.

“These are serious concessions made by companies trying to stay relevant in a changing time,” says Mandell. “Each side used all of its might to sway things, with First Amendment rights waved around more than once. In the end this is a fair solution.”

“The change in the bags is a success for the environment,” adds Milwe. “It will be a greater success if residents opt out and if they tell their friends to opt out. Let’s make it happen!”

The 3 RTM members will now work with the town and local groups to create a campaign to inform all residents about the opt-out.

For more information, contact Milwe (lizmilwe@gmail.com), Wieser (JWieser@hwhct.org) or Matthew Mandell (matthew@westportd1.com).

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Posted in Environment, Local business, Local politics, Organizations, People

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