With the Starbucks drive-through closed for renovations, Westport Police have some time on their hands. They’ve got a break from monitoring the traffic that clogs up the Post Road every day.
So tomorrow (Wednesday, October 2, 8 to 9:30 a.m.), they’ll have coffee at McDonald’s.
And everyone is invited.
Stop by the officers’ table for coffee and conversation.
It will be a space with no communication barriers, no speeches, no agenda — just “honest conversations about issues affecting our community, a chance to ask questions and discuss local things to do and places to eat.”
Without worrying, for a few minutes, about Post Road traffic.
Posted onOctober 1, 2024|Comments Off on Roundup: Compo Dogs, Elementary Redistricting, Breast Cancer Detection …
Compo Beach is going (back) to the dogs.
Starting today, canines are welcome.
They must be leashed, except in the off-leash area south of the pavilion (including South Beach).
Dogs are not allowed in the pavilion, playground and on walkways. Humans are required to pick up their pets’ poop.
Violators of any of the regulations are subject to a $77 fine.
Enjoy the next 6 months. Fido and friends will be barred from the beach again, on April 1.
Yogi Bear and Daisy played by the rules yesterday. Today, they get their paws sandy. They look forward to seeing old friends, and meeting new ones. (Photo/Cathy “Cat” Malkin)
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A new redistricting “map viewer” is available on the Westport Public Schools website (click here to see).
It’s part of the dedicated “Redistricting Resources” page (click here for the page).
Families can use both locational services, or search by address, to explore the interactive map.
At the September 19 Board of Education meeting superintendent of schools Thomas Scarice recommended “Scenario A1 — Phase 1,” with formal board action to be taken in November.
Screenshot of the elementary school redistricting plan. Saugatuck is in the middle (pink). Clockwise from top: Coleytown, Long Lots, Greens Farms, Kings Highway.
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Longtime Westporter Gloria Gouveia — former town zoning administrator, now a highly respected land use consultant — is the newest member of the Connecticut Mirror community editorial board.
Her first opinion piece for the statewide non-profit journalism cite is powerful, personal, and very timely.
As Breast Cancer Awareness Month begins, Gloria shares her own experience with the disease.
She also advocates for access to mammograms and breast cancer care for all women, regardless of income or insurance coverage.
Click here to read “Reach Out for Help With Early Breast Cancer Detection.”
Gloria Gouveia
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On the 1-year anniversary of the October 7 massacre in Israel, the Jewish Federation of Fairfield County will sponsor an interfaith “As One We Come Together” gathering.
The day before (Sunday, October 6, noon to 3 p.m., Compo Beach), a ceremony will remember and honor the 101 people still held as hostages by Hamas. The public is invited.
As Broadway fans everywhere mourn the death of Gavin Creel yesterday at 48, from a rare form of cancer, Westport Country Playhouse staffers and audiences had special reasons to remember the Broadway and West End star.
In January 2022, PBS broadcast “Stars on Stage,” a special performance taped 4 months earlier at the Playhouse. Click below for a short clip:
Eight months later, when Renée Elise Goldsberry headlined the WCP benefit gala, Tony and Olivier Award winner Gavin Creel offered “coffee and conversation” as a silent auction item.
Creel was a graduate of the University of Michigan’s School of Music, Theater and Dance, about a decade before Staples High School 2003 graduate Justin Paul.
But when Paul and his musical theater songwriting partner, Benj Pasek, were just starting their careers, Creel gave them a boost by performing their songs.
Staples Players co-director Kerry Long posted this 2008 clip on social media:
And the winner of the Botanical Arts Photography Award at the Westport Garden Club’s “Westport’s Town Treasures” last weekend is … former president Kelle Ruden.
No, the fix was not in.
Judging was blind. Officials did not know who submitted what.
Kelle was “gob-smacked” to learn her image — “Pollinators,” taken at Sherwood Island State park — took the top prize.
Items include New York Yankees tickets, a ski on/off weekend at Stowe, a private wood-fired pizza party, clinics with varsity players, a chance to announce the starting lineup at a match — and a VIP day at a concert with Old Dominion, the award-winning country band whose guitarist/vocalist, Brad Tursi, is a former Staples soccer star.
Click here to see all the items, and bid. The auction ends Sunday (October 6, 10 p.m.).
Brad Tursi — former Staples soccer star, now a country music idol.
Jazz singer and noted Westporter Melissa Newman kicks off JazzFC’s first annual “Girls’ Night Out Festival” — 4 weeks of female jazz artists — this Thursday (October 3), at VFW Joseph J. Clinton Post 399.
It’s part of Jazz at the Post. Shows are at 7:30 and 8:45 p.m.; dinner service begins at 7. The music cover is $20 ($15 for veterans and students).
Melissa will be joined by guitarist Tony Lombardozzi, bassist Phil Bowler and drummer Bobby Leonard. Click here for tickets, and more information.
Melissa Newman
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“ColleCTomania: The Outsized Influence of Swiss Posters” — a collection of Tom Strong’s archives — has been extended, at MoMA CT.
The exhibition — including a diverse range of poster from the 1930s through the present, plus a short documentary video — now runs through December 29.
(Another day, another “Roundup” filled with news about education, health, politics, and of course dogs and golf balls. If you like this eclectic, daily mix, please click here to support our work. Thanks!)
Comments Off on Roundup: Compo Dogs, Elementary Redistricting, Breast Cancer Detection …
For over 20 years, A Better Chance of Westport has provided academically gifted and highly motivated young men of color the opportunity for an education at Staples High School.
Several dozen teenagers have seized that chance. They’ve taken full advantage of the school’s many academic, arts, athletic and other offerings.
They’ve also taken part in enrichment activities throughout town, and nearby. Westport has opened its arms to the ABC scholars, who come from New York City and New Jersey. They’ve rewarded us with their hard work, inspiring personalities, and post-college successes.
This year, those scholars have an even better chance of achieving their dreams.
Thanks to a generous grant from the Westport Young Woman’s League — and the creativity and passion of executive directors of student life Daniele Dickerson and Dale Mauldin — there is a renewed focus on the 7 teenagers’ intellectual, artistic and cultural exposure and enrichment.
Through visits to museums, restaurants and Wakeman Town Farm, plus experiences like kayaking, in Westport, New York and beyond, the husband-and-wife directors hope to fill the scholars’ lives with the kinds of experiences many Westport youths take for granted.
ABC has always had a budget for outings and events. But, Dickerson says, the WYWL grant “completely changed the scope of our activities. Using the muscle of trying new things can be life-changing. We’re super grateful.”
Kayaking on the Saugatuck River was one of the first activities this year. Most of the scholars had never done anything like that. The Sea Kayak Connecticut guides were “knowledgeable and great,” Dickerson says. “The kids had so much fun — and learned a lot.”
Everyone onto the water!
Hungry Pot — the Korean BBQ restaurant — welcomed the scholars recently. In addition to a tasty meal, they learned about culture.
A discussion about K-pop music elicited many different perspectives. “It was really interesting,” Dickerson says. “They were so smart and insightful.”
The directors plan to introduce the scholars to many more cuisines and cultures, via food.
“Restaurants are the gateway to being global citizens,” Dickerson says. “It’s such a joy to see these young people try something for the first time. They picked out different meats, sides and sauces, and did the grilling.”
Similarly, Wakeman Town Farm offered a “farm to table” cooking class.
The scholars toured the farm, learned how the food they would eat is grown, met the animals, had fun — and were introduced to “a life skill,” Dickerson says.
“Farm to Table” day at Wakeman Town Farm.
A trip to the HBCU Classic — the Howard University vs. Morehouse College football game at MetLife Stadium, complete with a battle of the bands — mesmerized the young men.
The HBCU Classic, at MetLife Stadium.
The scholars prepared for the new school year with a book club. During the summer they read “Ready Player One,” a science fiction novel involving technology, simulation and gaming.
Over dinner, the teens discussed it with ABC board members.
There will be more book club meetings ahead.
Clean plates and open minds, at the Glendarcy House Book Club meeting.
As the weather cools, the excursions will move indoors. Trips to New York museums, art classes and other experiences are planned for the fall and winter.
“So many people are scared of what they don’t know, or of meeting different people,” Dickerson says.
“We want to expose the scholars to as many experiences and people as we can.”
The Westport Young Woman’s League grant is helping them do that. So are Dickerson and Mauldin’s creativity at finding those experiences and people, and connecting the scholars with them.
It’s all part of the many important life experiences 7 great young men are enjoying, through A Better Chance of Westport.
And through the generosity, and genuine interest, of many others in town too.
(To learn more about A Better Chance of Westport — including how to volunteer and donate — click here.)
A packed house at Fairfield University enjoyed Dustin Nickerson’s great routine. They also went about the serious work of raising money to continue Homes with Hope’s mission to fight homelessness and food insecurity in Fairfield County.
Dustin Nickerson, at the Quick Center Saturday night. (Photo/John Videler for Videler Photography)
There was great applause when Homes with Hope president and CEO Helen McAlinden discussed the Wilton Road apartments.
The evening also honored Connecticut Commissioner of Housing Seila Mosquera-Bruno. She has supported Homes with Hopes’ Gillespie Center and Project Return renovations, as well as the Wilton Road purchase.
Nickerson, and all who worked on the event provided a great win-win Saturday night: for those who need shelter, and those who help provide it.
From left: Angel Bruno, Connecticut Commissioner of Housing Seila Mosquera-Bruno, comedian Dustin Nickerson, Homes with Hope president and CEO Helen McAlinden.
About 80 people — and a large number of animals — gathered on the Saugatuck Congregational Church’s front lawn yesterday, for the annual Blessing of the Animals service.
In addition to the human and other participants, several animal-related local organizations took part.
Interim pastor Rev. Kari Nicwander offered the blessings.
Rev. Kari Nicewander (right), blessing some dogs. (Photo/Mark Mathias)
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Tracy Porosoff is a great “06880” photographer.
Yesterday, she volunteered with The Community Synagogue’s “Reverse Tashlikh” project, cleaning the Longshore shoreline.
She and others were struck by the number of golf balls in the grass below the driving range.
She wonders: “Can the town erect better barriers to keep golf balls from getting into Long Island Sound?”
A few of the many Longshore golf balls. (Photo/Tracy Porosoff)
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Today’s spectacular “Westport … Naturally” photo comes from superb nature photographer Lou Weinberg. He writes:
“The common eastern bumblebee mates at the end of summer, and hibernates over the winter. They have a queen, and live in colonies of 300 to 500 bees.
“They learn to solve problems, and can recognize and remember human faces. Of course, they are excellent pollinators. They are particularly effective with tomato plants, employing a technique called ‘buzz pollination.’
“These bumblebees hibernate in the ground, making green open spaces incredibly valuable to their survival.
“This picture was taken in the Long Lots Preserve surrounding the Westport Community Gardens, a particularly biodiverse, and very green, open space.”
And finally … Kris Kristofferson, the introspective singer/songwriter (and Rhodes scholar) whose songs were hits for dozens of artists — died yesterday on Maui, Hawaii. He was 88.
Hospital for Special Surgery cuts the ribbon on its new orthopedics center in Westport today.
They’ve come a long way since their days as the Hospital of the New York Society for the Relief of the Ruptured and Crippled.
The Orthopedics outpatient center at 276 Post Road West is the second HSS and Stamford Health collaboration in Westport. HSS Sports Rehabilitation opened in 2022 at the other end of town, on Post Road East in the small plaza near Layla’s Falafel.
HSS Orthopedics with Stamford Health, at 276 Post Road West.
But the local connection goes back to those early “Ruptured and Crippled” days.
The third surgeon-in-chief of that hospital (renamed Hospital for Special Surgery in 1940) was Dr. William Bradley Coley. He served from 1925-33.
If the Westport native’s name sounds familiar, it should. The Coleytown neighborhood is named for his family.
A world expert on malignant tumors, Dr. Coley was born in 1862. While attending Yale University, he continued working on his father and grandfather’s farm.
Dr. William Coley
After completing Harvard Medical School in 2 years, Dr. Coley became an expert on malignant tumors, as well as hernia repair.
Besides his work at the Ruptured and Crippled Hospital, he served as chief surgeon at New York Cancer Hospital (now Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center), and taught at Cornell University Medical School.
Coley’s daughter, Dr. Helen Coley Nauts, continued his work on inoperable malignancies. She died in 2000, at 93.
Dr. Coley — and even his daughter — would be amazed at what the Hospital for the Ruptured and Crippled has become.
The new Westport orthopedic facility, for example, features 7 provider offices, 12 exam rooms, and 2 X-ray suites.
Physicians and staff offer care in hand and upper extremities, joint replacement physiatry, spine, and sports medicine. Foot and ankle service will be added soon.
The center will also become the second HSS location in Connecticut to provide patients 12 years and older with quicker access to orthopedic care for sudden injuries and pain.
Since opening its doors earlier this month, the Orthopedics outpatient center has helped many Westporters with all kinds of issues.
Just don’t call them “ruptured and crippled.”
(The Westport HSS Orthopedics with Stamford Health outpatient center at 276 Post Road West is open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information and to schedule an appointment, click here or call 203-391-2270.
(“06880” frequently covers new openings in Westport. If you enjoy this hyper-local blog, please click here to support our work. Thank you!)
But plenty of folks still drive along Hillspoint Road, from Schlaet’s Point to Old Mill Beach.
Along the way, they see the construction taking place at 254 Hillspoint Road.
A long, low wooden home has been demolished. In its place rises a massive new home. The site was extensively blasted, with plenty of concrete poured for what seemed at first like a bunker.
But the construction trailer in front looks nothing like a typical makeshift office. Instead, it’s been gussied up to show the many passersby just what the interior of the home could look like, when finished.
That was the subject of last week’s Photo Challenge (click here to see).
It was hardly a challenge to many readers. Fred Cantor, Emily Gordon, Paul Edward Cahill, Dave Eason, Cat Malkin, Joelle Berger, Matt Murray, Andrew Colabella, Karen Como, Jerry Kuyper, Seth Schachter, Nathan Greenbaum, Seth Braunstein, Michael Szeto, Lisa Hayes, Judy Reid, Michael Simso, Laura Streitfeld, Michael Calise, Lynn Wilson, Nancie Rinaldi, Arthur Hayes and Deering Rose all knew exactly where and what it was.
A couple of readers said it was too easy. One complained, “Really, Dan??”
Yes, really.
Our Photo Challenge is only as challenging as the photos readers submit. If you’ve never contributed one, you can’t complain about what others send. As the saying goes: “If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem.”
Now, if you know the solution to this week’s Photo Challenge, click “Comments” below.
(Photo/Susan Garment)
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!)
Yesterday — after years of fundraising and preparation — VFW Joseph J. Clinton Post 399 began dredging its 50-year-old marina.
The Saugatuck River project will restore the 34-slip marina, a task required every 20 years to maintain its functionality and safety.
The initial phase began with Post members dismantling the existing marina, in preparation for the digging to start next week.
“We’re very excited and relieved that we are finally moving forward,” says Post 399 quartermaster Phil Delgado.
“With growing local membership and more visiting veterans taking advantage of our offerings, we realized this project was essential to ensuring our financial future.
“We will create a space where veterans, their friends and the community can enjoy the fantastic views of the Saugatuck River.”
Dock work on the Saugatuck.
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Restaurant Week begins today.
The Westport Weston Chamber of Commerce’s annual event runs through Sunday, October 13. Yes, that’s 2 weeks. I guess “Restaurant Fortnight” sounds too confusing, in this video game age.
One of the 20 restaurants — Rizzuto’s — has added something special to its prix fixe menu.
Owner Bill Rizzuto has planned a “throwback menu” to the days the Riverside Avenue spot was Manero’s. (It was later several other restaurants, including John Harvard’s and Conte’s.)
It features a buttery garlic bread basket, prime rib, and (of course) Manero’s beloved gorgonzola salad with each main course dish.
They’ll also serve “dividend martinis and Manhattans.”
For a full list of all participating restaurants, with links to their menus, click here.
PS: This week marks Rizzuto’s 15th anniversary here. Congrats!
Rizzuto’s
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There’s a special guest at this Friday’s Sunrise Rotary Club meeting.
1st Selectwoman Jen Tooker will share her administration’s priorities, and offer updates.
The event, at Green’s Farms Church, starts at 7 a.m., with coffee, bagels and muffins. The meeting begins at 7:30, with Tooker starting around 8.
At its regular meeting on Friday, October 4, 2024, the Westport Sunrise Rotary Club will have as its speaker Westport First Selectwoman Jen Tooker. She will share her administration’s priorities and provide an update on all the great things that are happening in Westport. There will be time for Q&A.
Thomas Jendrock spotted this sign, at Sherwood Island State Park:
He calls it ambiguous.
Agreed.
“The red slash is through the person and the dog,” Thomas notes.
“Does that mean people are banned (doggie’s pets), or doggies are banned (people’s pets)?” Or both?
But the red slash does not look official. Maybe someone is trying to suggest that the sign itself should be banned?
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And so it begins.
One of the first trees to turn this fall — and the subject of today’s “Westport … Naturally” feature — is this one on Peaceful Lane, off Whitney Street:
There are so many to choose from. But let’s go with one song, from one musical, with a Westport connection: 2003 Staples High School graduate Justin Paul’s “Dear Evan Hansen”):
(Since 2009, “06880” has been your source for hyper-local news and journalism. If you appreciate our work, please click here to support us. Thank you!)
Picnic tables have been a popular feature of Old Mill Grocery by Romanacci — and before that, Joey’s by the Shore and Elvira’s — for at least 30 years.
A recent addition — a gelato cart — also proved wildly popular, until questions about its legality forced its removal.
Now, donors in the century-old market/restaurant in the heart of the Old Mill neighborhood hope that a text amendment will ensure that both the picnic tables and gelato cart can continue to serve customers.
And that similar spots, in other Westport neighborhoods, can do the same.
Picnic tables — shown here in a photo of Joey’s by the Shore — have been part of the Hillspoint Road market for at least 30 years. However, they were never officially addressed in town regulations.
Text Amendment #846, submitted to the Planning & Zoning Commission, would allow outdoor eating areas for any retail food establishment existing or operating in a residential zone prior to September 1, 2024, and exempt them from the 50-foot setback requirement; update the “outdoor eating area” definition to include the right to utilize portable food carts and service stations, and expand the sale of alcohol to those same food establishments.
In addition to Old Mill Grocery, the text amendment would benefit The Porch at Christies on Cross Highway, and The Country Store on Wilton Road.
The Porch at Christie’s would also benefit from proposed text amendments.
An explanatory statement, filed as part of the text amendment application, notes that small markets, with up to 10 interior seats and offering “take and go” food, have become increasingly popular since the pandemic.
“They provide convenient access to their goods, while creating a strong sense of community and connection with one’s neighbors,” the statement says.
“The vision and impetus behind these proposed text amendments is for these establishments to serve as a place where neighbors can enjoy a casual glass of wine, or a beer, with their food, unwind, and socialize with their friends.”
The amendments are also “consistent with the Town of Westport’s 2017 Plan of Conservation and Development,” which encourages “tiny commercial uses embedded” in some residential areas, while “maintaining residential character.”
The Country Store, at the corner of Wilton Road and Newtown Turnpike.
It’s not easy for a small deli or market like Old Mill Grocery, The Porch or The Country Store — located away from commercial neighborhoods — to bring in enough revenue.
But donors in the 501(c)(3) that preserved the 105-year-old community resource believe that there’s enough neighborhood support, and other drive-by business, to support them.
OMG’s text amendment — which includes the picnic tables that have been there since the previous millennium, and specifically mentions items like the gelato “food cart” — would, they say, go a long way toward ensuring their continued viability.
Well into the next century.
Click here to view the full pending application of Text Amendment #846. Based on statutory requirements, the Planning & Zoning Commission’s public hearing will wait until November. Residents can comment on the application by emailing PandZ@westportct.gov.
Old Mill Grocery & Deli is popular with people of all ages. (Photo/Ed Simek)
(“06880” regularly covers business, local politics and beach news. Sometimes they all intersect. If you enjoy our hyper-local coverage, please click here to support our work. Thank you!)
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