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.
=================================================
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
=================================================
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
==============================================
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.
Carl Swanson’s family moved to Westport in the summer of 1955. They quickly experienced 2 hurricanes — Connie and Diane — with their 26 inches of flooding.
Jo Ann Miller — who later married Carl — moved here in 1984, during Hurricane Diana. It too crippled much of the state.
Now — after decades in Westport — they are moving to Bermuda.
But not before a big moving sale. Among the items: sculptures by their late friend Kelley Spearen, Jo Ann’s engaging artwork, tools, sports equipment, kitchen appliances and much more.
The Saturday sales are August 9 and 23 (10 a.m. to 2 p.m.) at their home off North Avenue, near the Bedford Middle School entrance (follow the signs).
All proceeds will benefit 2 local groups: VFW Post 399, and “06880.”
Carl and Jo Ann’s generosity is apt. He is a writer, and long-time participant in and contributor to this blog. Jo Ann is the daughter of Lt. Gen. Thomas Miller (USMC-deceased), and the goddaughter of astronaut John Glenn.
“We have been blessed to have lived in this town for so long. It is time to give our last goodbye, to benefit those who give to the community every day,” Jo Ann says.
Thank you, Carl and Jo Ann, for your thoughtfulness — and for all you have done for our town, for so many years.
Carl Addison Swanson and Jo Ann Miller have already donated one of Kelley Spearen’s sculptures to Wakeman Town Farm.
Speaking of art: Tomorrow (Tuesday, August 5, 11 to 11:30 a.m., Senior Center), the Westport Permanent Art Collections highlights the work of 5 of Westport’s most noted and beloved artists.
Works from Howard Munce, Susan Malloy, Alfred Willmott, Estelle Margolis and Stevan Dohanos will transport attendees back to the Westport of the 1950s.
Among the works: Dohanos’ “Star Pitcher,” which “06880” featured a few days ago:
This weekend, Westport’s lifeguards took time out from saving people, searching for lost kids and applying Band-Aids, to compete in the annual Lifeguard Olympics, at Compo Beach.
Among the events: races, and a tug of war.
The Olympics were coordinated by senior foreman Mike Guinta, and aquatics director Danilo Sierra-Giraldo.
Their miraculous 1969 season, when an astonishing late-season surge culminated in a World Series championship, and …
The 7 seasons before it, when they never finished higher than 9th out of 10 teams — particularly their atrocious, miserable, sometimes comic, certainly memorable debut year of 1962.
More than 6 decades later, baseball fans still remember it.
Including Mark Galley. Even though he had not yet been born.
Galley’s sports pedigree is strong. His father Dick was a 3-sport athlete in Staples High School’s Class of 1959, setting several baseball records.
Mark was in Staples’ Class of 1983, but graduated from Loomis Chaffee. He was a Trinity College quarterback, and captained the ski team.
Galley began his professional TV and film production career in Los Angeles.Back in Westport, he was a DJ on 95.9 The Fox, then in the 1990s joined Modem Media — the world’s first interactive agency, headquartered on Saugatuck Avenue.
He led the creative department, building early websites and interctive experiences for brands like Heineken, Delta Airlines, Sony and John Hancock.
Mark Galley
After winning multiple awards, Galley started his own agency, Spitfire Interactive, on Main Street. He pioneered in-store and menu boards for Subway. Other clients included GE, NASCAR, Energizer and Kraft.
Ten years later he moved on to become chief marketing and creative officer at LifeCare. Most recently, with American Dream in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Galley promoted 450 brands, attractions and restaurants.
Meanwhile, all along — for more than 25 years — he worked on a Mets project.
A quick look at that initial year of “ineptitude, mediocrity, and abject failure,” it also captured the importance of the team to New York, 4 years after the Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers abandoned the city for the West Coast.
At the heart of the story — and the man who gave Breslin’s book its title — was manager Casey Stengel.
The only man in history to have played or coached all 4 New York teams — those 3, plus the Yankees — Stengel was a larger-than-life character.
Just as he’d done with players, fans, sportswriters and everyone else 60 years earlier, Stengel — who was fired by the Yanks in 1960, age 70, for being “too old,” and died 15 years later, at 85– captivated Galley.
Stengel was an important part of the screenplay that Galley began writing in the early 2000s. Another key piece was the behind-the-scenes maneuvering by baseball owners to keep only 1 team (the Yankees) in New York — and then, when that failed, to manipulate the expansion Mets’ draft so completely that their squad of castoffs, misfits and never-will-bes would be the laughingstock of baseball.
The rival owners succeeded. Throughout the entire season, the Mets nevers won on a Thursday. They had 2 pitchers with the same name (Bob Miller). Their mascot, “Mr. Met,” got beaned and beat up.
They were eliminated from playoff contention on August 7 — the earliest date in baseball history. Their season ended on a triple play.
New York welcomed the Mets in 1962. The city had no idea what lay ahead.
Surely, Galley thought, this is a tale worth telling.
For over 2 decades, he reearched and wrote. He envisioned a TV show — “Amazin'” — of 18 episodes, each 45 minutes long. His script ran 930 pages. He already has 140 songs picked out, for the series.
Five years ago, Galley got an agent. They shopped it around. Producers and directors liked it.
But, they all said: We need to see a book first.
So — like a baseball player who is told to learn a new position, or try a new stance — Galley went back to work.
He cut the screenplay by more than half, to “just” 400 pages. In April, “How the Worst was Won” was published.
It’s turned some heads. Colin Cosell — Howard’s grandson, and the Mets’ PA announcer at Citi Field (with Westporter Marysol Castro) — is a fan.
Galley was interviewed by Michael Carlon, for his “Uncorking a Story” podcast.
A few producers have come sniffing around.
A lot still has to happen for Mark Galley’s book to become a TV series.
Then again, a lot had to happen for the 1962 Mets to morph — a mere 7 years later — into world champions.
Amazin’!
(To order “How the Worst was Won,” click here. To learn more about the book, click here.)
(“06880” is where Westport meets the world. And when that world includes the 1962 Mets — well, that’s how we roll. But we can’t do it without readers’ support. Please click here to help. Thank you!)
Click here to help support “06880” via credit card or PayPal. Any amount is welcome, appreciated — and tax-deductible! Reader contributions keep this blog going. (Alternate methods: Please send a check to “06880”: PO Box 744, Westport, CT 06881. Or use Venmo: @blog06880. Or Zelle: dwoog@optonline.net. Thanks!)
GET THE “06880” APP
The “06880” app (search for it on the Apple or Android store) is the easiest way to get “06880.” Choose notifications: whenever a new post is published, or once or twice a day. Click here for details.
The 7 seasons before it, when they never finished higher than 9th out of 10 teams — particularly their atrocious, miserable, sometimes comic, certainly memorable debut year of 1962.
At the heart of the story — and the man who gave Breslin’s book its title — was manager Casey Stengel.
But, they all said: We need to see a book first.
