The first 7 answers to last week’s Photo Challenge were incorrect.
Burying Hill Beach? Camp Mahackeno? More than half a dozen guesses missed what I thought was a slam dunk: the out-of-place-looking hill in Winslow Park, halfway between Compo Road North and the Playhouse parking lot.
But then you came through.
Eighteen readers nailed it. Several remarked on the oddness of the topography. One called it “funny”; another, “creepy.” (Click here to see.)
The hill might not be natural. One theory is that it’s built on remains of the mansion — later, a sanitarium — that anchored the property from the 1850s through the 1970s.
Whether or not that’s true, congratulations to Leigh Gage, Jerry Kuyper, Tom Talmadge, Regi Kendig, Karen deMille, Andrew Colabella, Cat Malkin, Chip Stephens, Daniel Maya, Sal Liccione, Sally VanDevanter, Dan Ashley, Brooks Sumberg, Robert Grodman, Duane Cohen, Mary Stewart, Matt McGrath and Sally Palmer.
You weren’t first. But you were right.
Today’s Photo Challenge is a bit more artistic than most. The game is the same, though: If you know where in Westport you’d see this, click “Comments” below.
(Photo/Jerry Kuyper)
(Every Sunday, “06880” hosts this Photo Challenge. We challenge you too to support your hyper-local blog. Please click here to make a tax-deductible contribution. Thank you!)
The British came, 248 years ago. We sent ’em packing.
They came again — this time with guitars — 187 years later. We loved ’em.
Now it looks like the British are coming again. This sign now flies at the former Porch deli, on Cross Highway:
(Photo/Diane Johnson)
It certainly seems as if Gruel Brittania — the Fairfield restaurant beloved for its shepherd’s pie, fish and chips, bangers and mash, Yorkshire pudding, mushy peas, scones and more, founded by Westporter Karen Hubrich — is moving in.
And it sounds as if the target for opening is next month.
Jolly good!
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Several dozen protesters gathered on the Ruth Steinkraus Cohen Bridge yesterday.
As they have every Saturday for weeks, they carried signs decrying a variety of actions by President Trump and his administration.
As with past demonstrations, there were honks and thumb’s-up signs from passing drivers.
Organizer Bean Corcoran says protests will continue every Saturday, from 11 a.m. to noon.
Among the protest targets: funding cuts to PBS. (Photo/Rowene Weems)
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Mothers Day is around the corner. (Next Sunday — get on it!)
Which means Fathers Day is not far. And that means the Yankee Doodle Fair.
The dedades-old tradition returns that weekend. Dates are Thursday and Friday, June 12 and 13 (6 to 10 p.m.); Saturday, June 14 (1 to 10 p.m.), and Sunday, June 15 (1 to 5 p.m.).
As always, there are carnival rides, games, food — you name it. Sand art is back too.
And as always, it’s a major fundraiser for the Westport Woman’s Club, where the whole shebang takes place.
Speaking of the Westport Woman’s Club: There’s a Red Cross blood drive there (44 Imperial Avenue) on May 12 (8 a.m. to 1 p.m.). They provide baked goods, too.
Click here or call 800-733-2767 for an appointment.
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Westport has Winslow Park.
Tomorrow — after 9 years of effort — Weston will have its own dog park.
Weston Dog Park opens at 22 Lords Highway East, on part of the Moore property — land purchased by the town more than 2 decades ago for $2.3 million, specifically for municipal use.
Construction, design and the first years of maintenance are funded through grants like ARPA, gifts from private individuals, and a contribution in memory of late 2nd Selectman Brian Gordon.
It will be open 9 a.m. to sunset. Click here for more information.
Plenty of Staples High School’s athletic teams do great community service work.
Few do it better than the boys lacrosse program.
Every year, they try to raise $50,000 for Sticks for Soldiers. Every year, 100% of their funds help combat-wounded veterans and their families.
This year, they’re selling custom Sticks for Soldiers shirts and hats. Orders are being taken online (click here) through May 7. (Under “team,” select “Staples HS Sticks for Soldiers 2025”; the password is Sticks2025).
The annual Sticks for Soldiers game is May 19. Hats and shirts can be picked up there.
Mary Scott Himes is this month’s gueste exhibitor, at the Westport Book Shop.
Her prints explore questions of identity and the female body.
She says, “I started making things again during my treatments for breast cancer in 2021. Cancer has taken many things from me, but my art practice is what I took from it.
“In the public realm, married to Representative Jim Himes, I play a role. I am a person whom people think they know. This leads to questions about how we create identity: how the different layers of history and mass culture and personal experience bond together to make us who we are.
“My nascent art practice focuses mostly on printmaking because I love the spatial thinking, the variety of techniques, and the collaborative creative process it offers.”
Himes co-founded and was executive director of The Unload Foundation. The Connecticut arts initiative developed educational and cultural events to raise awareness around issues relating to gun rights and gun violence.
The opening of the new Finalmente Restaurant on Post Road East — across from Design Within Reach and next to Jeera Thai — “has exceeded our expectations,” says owner Giuseppe Cinque.
He asked “06880” to pass along this message: “We are deeply grateful for the warm congratulations and heartfelt welcome we’ve received from the Westport community. It’s been truly moving, and more meaningful than we could have imagined.”
And finally … in honor of the (probable) new operator of The Porch (story above):
(From the UK to the Ruth Steinkraus Bridge — and everywhere in between — “06880” brings you Westport-oriented news you can use. Please click here to support our work. Thank you!)
In the 1960s I walked across the street from my house on High Point Road, up a hill, and onto the back fields at Staples High School.
My friends and I strolled through, on our way to Burr Farms Elementary. It was our time to be free, and talk about life through our 11-year-0ld eyes.
After school, we raced back up to play touch football and baseball on the Staples field.
When I became a high school student, it was my route to school. After soccer practice, it took me 2 minutes to walk home. That proximity was one of the joys of my childhood.
Generations of kids followed me — literally — to and from Staples.
At some point, a chain link fence was erected. Two gate doors — one at the corner of Jinny Parker Field, the other near left field of the baseball diamond — kept access open.
Suddenly — right after spring break last month — those gates were padlocked.
Padlock at the edge of Jinny Parker Field.
There was no warning. No explanation.
And definitely, no entrance.
For nearly 20 years, Dave Briggs has lived a few yards behind Jinny Parker Field. His daughter — now in college — walked to Staples that way. His son, a junior, did too.
Now he — and many other High Point and nearby students — drive.
Others throw their backpacks over, and hop the fence. One may have rolled his ankle doing so.
Dave is furious. He says that neighbors — many of whom bought homes in part because it was so close to Staples (and Bedford Middle School, where High Point kids walked also) — are too.
High Point Road path, with fence at right. Brush and rocks on both sides shows the difficulty and danger of hopping the fence. (Photos/Dave Briggs)
Homeowners whose properties abut Staples have always allowed walkers to cut through their property. It’s a decades-old High Point Road tradition.
“Kids today don’t do enough independently,” Briggs says. “We should celebrate that they walk to school. And environmentally, we’re adding all these cars to the road.”
(Many students have after-school activities, so buses are impractical. Like I did decades ago, athletes who could walk 2 minutes home after practice now must drive, or be picked up.)
This aerial photo from 1965 shows the several buildings that comprised Staples High School; the athletic fields in back, and High Point Road behind it. The arrow marks where I grew up.
People are also angry that they were not warned about the padlocks. And their requests for explanation, Briggs says, have not been answered.
No one knows who made and approved the decision, or why. Staples administrators? The superintendent of schools?
“06880” asked superintendent Thomas Scarice: “Can you provide any info on who made the decision, and why they’ve been put in place?”
He replied quickly on Wednesday: “Not at this time. I am trying to learn about the purpose of these gates, the fence itself, who’s responsible for the land behind the fence, the history, etc. I walked the area today with facilities and our school security office from the Westport Police Department, also I’m meeting with the Conservation Dept as one area is specifically monitored by their department. Working on it.”
In the meantime, the padlocks remain in place.
And — for the first time since Staples High School was built on North Avenue, in 1958 — students living nearby are fenced out.
Senator Chris Murphy was at the Saugatuck Rowing Club yesterday.
He was the keynote speaker at the Center for Children’s Advocacy’s “Giving Children a Voice” event.
The CCA is not well known in Fairfield County. But it’s New England’s largest children’s legal rights organization. As Murphy noted, it does crucial legal work, helping young people and their parents navigate issues in education, healthcare, housing and the courts.
Many politicians could have mailed it in. But Murphy cares passionately about CCA’s work. He noted its increasing importance these days, as both government support systems and funding sources are cut, and under attack.
Murphy and other speakers described the important role Westporters can play with CCA, both financially and by promoting its valuable work. Click here to learn more.
Murphy was introduced by his father, who the senator said instilled in him a concern for people who lack access to resources and power.
The event also included a powerful and personal speech by a Bridgeport mother, whose life has been changed by CCA’s work with herself and her children.
Senator Chris Murphy, at the Saugatuck Rowing Club. (Photo/Dan Woog)
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The Startup Westport “Innovation in Sports” panel on Wednesday — with residents Rick Cordella (president of NBC Sports) and Rob Simmelkjaer (New York Road Runners CEO), moderated by Staples High School graduate Andrew Marchand — was fresh, fun, insightful and educational.
All 3 participants were honest and entertaining. They talked about their work, the technology and innovation behind it, the future, and their personal successes and failures.
If you missed it — or want to see it again — you’re in luck. The Westport Library’s Verso Studios crew taped it. Click below to see:
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Earthplace’s calendar is filled with events.
But May may be its busiest month ever. There are several events this weekend, and others in the days ahead. They include:
Birding Walk (Saturday, May 3, 8 to 9 a.m.; suggested donation $10): Follow an ecologist along the trails.
Forage the Wild (Saturday, May 3, 12 to 1:30 p.m.; free): Plant-based chef Chrissy Tracey and “Yard To Table” podcasters Trevor Crafts and Ellen Scherer Crafts lead a fun walk.
Bees and Blooms: Spring Wildflower ID Walk (Saturday, May 3, 1 to 2:30 p.m.; members $8, non-members $10): Enjoy the native plant courtyard and woods; learn about spring ephemerals and other early blooming flowers.
Bird Habitat Restoration (Sunday, May 4, 11 a.m.): Help remove invasive plants.
Winged Wonders (Sunday, May 4, 1 p.m.; free with admission): Experience birds of prey outside their enclosures.
Canoe Paddle (May 17, 1 to 3 p.m.: members $50 per canoe, non-members $60 per canoe): Head down the Saugatuck River in search of osprey, egrets, turtles and more.
Plein Air Painting Workshop (May 24, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.; members $15, non-members $20): Learn the basics of landscape painting, along Earthplace’s meadows and trails.
Fresh Bounty:Spring Foraging (May 25, 1 to 2:30 p.m.; members $8, non-members $10): Walk through the sanctuary.
Kids Night Out:Pollinator Party (May 30, 6 to 9 p.m.; members $50 per child, non-members $60 per child): An evening of fun and learning; ages 5-12.
Sheri Gordon writes: “I’m so happy to see Westport taking proactive measures to protect runners, bikers, walkers and even drivers from accidents due to bushes growing in the town’s right of way, blocking sight lines.”
She sent the photo below. Sheri also asks “06880” readers who live in areas with lots of foot traffic to coordinate with the Department of Public Works to ensure the safety of all.
Public Works crew cleans up sightlines at the end of Soundview Drive. (Photo/Sheri Gordon)
Whether you got a chance to help build the new Compo Beach playground or not, there’s one last volunteer opportunity left.
Both skilled and unskilled workers are needed today (Saturday, May 3), from now through 4 p.m. Hands are needed to put benches in place.
“Bring your gloves, your enthusiasm and your community pride,” organizers say.
One more day needed!
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For years, the CT Challenge bike ride has been one of summer’s biggest events.
Funds raised from the 25-, 50- and 100-mile jaunts through the Connecticut countryside raised tens of millions of dollars to help cancer survivors rebuild, improve and prolong their lives through exercise, nutrition, mind-body health and support programs.
This year’s event will be very different. It’s moving from a physical ride to a virtual one.
And instead of one day, bikers will have the entire month of July to ride and raise money.
Riders can go solo, or as part of a team. They pick their dates, routes and paces — any time during July. Click here for details.
MyTeam Triumph — the non-profit that pairs volunteers with people with disabilities, so all can enjoy road races and swimming events — has 2 upcoming events.
One is new; the other is a favorite standby.
For the first time ever, myTeam Triumph participates in the Boys & Girls Club of Stamford 5K. It’s Thursday evening, May 15 at Mill River Park.
Three days later, it’s the always popular Bloomin’ Metric cylcing tour (not a race!). It’s set for Sunday, May 18 at Sherwood Island State Park.
Sorelle Gallery’s next show features landscapes by Karin Olah.
Inspired by the colors and light of coastal landscapes, the South Carolina artist creates multi-layered paintings with acrylic paint, hand-dyed fabric, and vintage textiles.
A reception is set for May 10.
Karin Olah
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No matter what else is happening in the world, we’ve still got spring here.
Today’s stunning “Westport … Naturally” nighttime photo comes from Anne Bernier’s back yard. It proves that the season’s beauty is not limited to daylight hours. What a sight!
And finally … this gorgeous spring keeps giving us joy, with its birds and bees, flowers and trees …
(Here’s one fact of life: “06880” would not exist without reader support. If you enjoy this hyper-local blog, please click here to support our work. Thank you!)
We’ve made a tiny tweak to our online art gallery.
One of our artists says that marking a piece “for sale” is a bit crass.
He’s right. From now on, any artwork that an artist offers for sale will say “available for purchase.”
The process is the same. Just click the link in the caption, then fill out the email that pops up.
Buyers arrange the purchase — price, original or print, framed or unframed, shipping or pickup, etc. — directly with the artist. Happy shopping!
Meanwhile, a reminder about our works: We invite submissions from all “06880” readers. No matter what style or subject you choose — and whether you’re a first-timer or old-timer — we welcome your submissions. Watercolors, oils, charcoal, pen-and-ink, acrylics, digital, lithographs, collages, macramé, jewelry, sculpture, decoupage, needlepoint — we want whatever you’ve got.
This feature is open to all. Age, level of experience, subject matter — there are no restrictions. Everyone can contribute.
Please email a jpeg to 06880blog@gmail.com. And please include the medium you’re working in — art lovers want to know.
“Flying Fish” — encaustic was embellished with gold leaf (Dorothy Robertshaw — Available for purchase;click here)
“Deep Blue” — digital photography, combined with Photoshop and Midjourney manipulation (Ken Runkel — Available for purchase; click here)
Untitled (June Rose Whittaker — Available for purchase; click here)
Untitled (Duane Cohen — Available for purchase; click here)
“Peck’s Ledge Sunset” — watercolor (Kathleen Burke — Available for purchse; click here)
“Another Mist Opportunity” (Michael Tomashefsky — Available for purchase; click here)
“Daisy the Daffodil Detective” (Patricia McMahon — Available for purchase; click here)
“Parade of Tulips” (Cindy Wagner — Available for purchase; click here)
“Bubbles” (Karen Weingarten)
“A Nautical Gate in Stonington” (Peter Barlow)
“So Nice to See Green Pouring in My Window Again” (Tom Doran — Available for purchase; click here)
“Sauna and Loofah” (Steve Stein)
“88 … 89 … 90” (Lawrence Weisman)
(Entrance is free to our online art gallery. But please consider a donation! Just click here — and thank you!)
A full house at Town Hall watched Monday, as ROAN Ventures — the developer of the Hamlet at Saugatuck retail/residential/hotel/marina/and more project — showed their latest architectural renderings and traffic studies to the Planning & Zoning Commission.
The 90-minute presentation included a number of PowerPoint slides.
The audience — in person, and watching at home — got plenty of information. Much of it went by fairly quickly.
ROAN has shared their deck with “06880.” If you missed a few of the details — or missed the meeting entirely — here some highights.
Parking garage.
Valet parking slide.
Surface parking count.
Parking garage (top) and assorted signage.
Building height (waterfront view), compared to National Hall.
Another slide depicting building heights.
The former Pine Knoll Inn (at the site of today’s Playhouse Square) inspired the design of this building.
Earlier drawing (left) and revised (right) show simplified, more connected buildings, and the addition of a waterfront plaza.
Earlier rendering (left) and revised (right) show broader access to the Saugatuck River.
Before (left) and revised (right) renderings show height changes.
Aerial renderings. Railroad Place is at bottom; Riverside Avenue and Saugatuck River are at right.
Proposed traffic improvements.
Proposed traffic signal upgrades.
(“06880” was the first media outlet to report on The Hamlet project. We’ve followed the story every since. Please click here, to support our ongoing coverage — and everything else we do. Thank you!)
Posted onMay 2, 2025|Comments Off on Top Cops Earn New Jobs
Three prominent Westport Police Department members have earned promotions.
Captain David Wolf will join Ryan Paulsson as deputy chief. Lieutenants Eric Woods and Jillian Cabana will rise to captain.
The changes are effective May 23 — the day that Deputy Chief Dave Farrell succeeds Police Chief Foti Koskinas.
Wolf joined the WPD in 2001. He was a DARE officer, field training officer, emergency medical technician and certified telecommunicator.
He was a law enforcement instructor, and one of the department’s first crisis intervention officers. In that position helped improve the police response to people struggling with mental health issues.
Deputy Chief David Wolf
Wolf was a crisis/hostage negotiator, and a team leader with the Southwest Regional Emergency Response Team. He spent many years on the police union’s executive board, including vice president.
In 2014 Deputy Wolf was promoted sergeant. In 2017 he was named a lieutenant, and served as the WPD public information officer. He became a captain in 2022, overseeing the Professional Standards Division. He conducted internal affairs investigations, working closely with Westport’s Civilian Public Safety Departments Review Board.
Wolf has been awarded the Chief’s Commendation, and many unit citations.
He earned a BA from Franklin & Marshall College, and a juris doctor degree from the University of Connecticut Law School. He is married and has 5 children, and a 1-year-old granddaughter.
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Woods began his career with the Westport Police Department in 2001. He was promoted to sergeant in 2009. In that role he supervised patrol operations, and mentored younger officers. He was named lieutenant in 2013.
Captain Eric Woods
In 2017 Woods was assigned to the Detective Bureau. He oversaw complex investigations, working with state and federal partners.
In 2022 he assumed responsibility for internal operations of the department. He managed logistics, advanced the digital footprint of Westport Police Department records requests, and oversaw critical administrative functions.
Captain Woods earned a BS in criminal justice from the University of South Carolina. He lives in Milford with his wife Sarah and their 3 children.
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Cabana joined the WPD in 2006. She was promoted to detective in 2009, to sergeant in 2013, and lieutenant in 2014.
Captain Jillian Cabana
She has served in several key roles, including patrol shift commander and commander of the Detective Bureau. She also served as an executive board member of the Westport PBA and Westport Police Union.
Cabana’s honors include Meritorious Service Award, Honorable Police Service, Investigator’s Award, Community Service Award, and multiple unit citations.
She has also been recognized with awards from the Drug Enforcement Agency, US Attorney’s Office, Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence, and the Domestic Violence Crisis Center, where she served on the board of directors.
Cabana graduated from the University of New Haven with a BS in criminal justice. She holds a master’s degree from Southern New Hampshire University in justice studies, and a graduate certificate in public administration. She lives in Trumbull, with her 2 children.
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First Selectwoman Jen Tooker says, “As with Chief Farrell, I am honored to make these appointments. Each of them has an excellent reputation in the community. They are dedicated and experienced law enforcement professionals who will work as a team to make the department, and most importantly, the residents and visitors of Westport their priority.”
As La Plage reopens this week — and the adjacent Inn at Longshore gets ready for its renovation, and the entire park gears up for summer — let’s look back to an earlier incarnation.
Long before the town of Westport bought a failing private country club in 1960, all 180 acres were owned by Frederick E. Lewis.
He was a multimillionaire, back when the term meant something.
The Texas oilman had quite an estate. Here’s a view — taken, presumably, by a still-new-fangled aeroplane — in the 1920s.
(Photo courtesy of Christopher Maroc)
There was no golf course or pool. There was, however, a (decorative) lighthouse — the conical structure near the top of the photo, next to what appears to be a boathouse for Lewis’ yacht.
The lighthouse survived through the 1960s.
(Photo courtesy of Peter Barlow)
What is now the Inn is shown at the lower right.
It was something to see. Here’s a close-up:
(Photo/courtesy of Alden Bryan)
What went on at that property, we can only guess.
We do know one thing, though: Harry Houdini performed an escape trick in the water by the dock.
The date was June 30, 1917. The event was a Red Cross And Allied War charities drive. Click here for that very cool story, from the “06880” archives. It includes details of a rare video taken then (below).
It purports to show his escape. According to a YouTube commenter though, that footage was spliced in from Houdini’s film “The Master Mystery.”
After today’s Friday Flashback, you’ll never look at Longshore the same way again. (Hat tip: Scott Smith)
(Friday Flashback is one of “06880”‘s many regular features. If you enjoy this — or anything else on our website — please consider a tax-deductible contribution. Just click here. 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!)
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