A Westport resident is both confused and disturbed by Westport’s new gas-powered leaf blower ban. It went into effect May 15.
Requesting anonymity (his wife does not want him to be “that guy”), he writes:
We and many of our neighbors forced our landscapers to make the investment in electric blowers if they wished to continue working with us.
However, it is apparent that many other homeowners have either ignored the new initiative or are willing to look the other way, causing a pretty serious negative externality for those of us who insist the workers follow the law but are still subjected to a sound that I find nearly unbearable.
Do you know if I am the only one annoyed by people ignoring the ruling?
“06880” has been inundated with photos of people still using gas-powered leaf blowers. Most photographers request anonymity, like this one. It shows a landscaper at the Westport Woman’s Club.
I am pretty sure I read that the police do not wish to become involved, which essentially turns the law into a suggestion. [EDITOR’S NOTE: The ordinance as written does not involve police. The only enforcement comes from a complaint to the Conservation Department.]
The decibels grow here inside my house, due to a landscaper on an adjacent block.
Do you happen to know if the powers that be have any suggestions? I have approached everyone on my small block (we have a group text), imploring them to do the right thing.
But in Westport, noise from adjoining blocks might as well be in one’s own backyard.
Sorry to belabor, just wondering if this topic has come up at all. If not, I’ll shut up and put on some headphones.
It sure has come up.
A lot.
“06880 wonders: How are you handling your landscapers? Are your neighbors doing the same? Have you tried to organize, cajole, plead, threaten — either them, a work crew, or both? What’s next? The Comments section is open to all. Please be as civil as possible.
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“The other day, while paddleboarding on the Sound, I misjudged the strength of the wind. I was unable to return to my launch site.
“The wind picked up after I set out. It fought my every motion, drifting me further and further from land.
“Fortunately, I noticed a small motorboat in the distance. After a few frantic waves (no pun intended) from me, the captain noticed my distress and steered his boat in my direction.
“After skillful navigation to reach me, Captain Mark and his son Kirk graciously helped pull my paddleboard onto their beautiful wooden boat — which left very little room to steer.
“Not only did Mark and Kirk warmly welcome me aboard, but they graciously brought me close to the shore.
“For taking time out of their day to save a winded fellow Westporter, I would like to nominate Mark, Kirk and their dog Teddy as Unsung Heroes of the week.
Deb Markus did not get a photo of her rescuers. But here she is, with her paddleboard.
(Unsung Hero is a weekly “06880” feature. To nominate a hero, email 06880blog@gmail.com. To support our work, please click here. Thank you!)
Grammy Award-winning guitarist and soon-to-be Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee Peter Frampton is the latest star to headline at the Levitt Pavilion.
He brings his “Positively Thankful Tour” to Westport’s under-the-stars amphitheater on Sunday, September 15.
Despite the announcement of his farewell tour over 4 years ago due tothe
degenerative disease inclusion-body myositis, the legendary musician continues to play venues across the country.
After 48 years, “Frampton Comes Alive!” remains one of the top-selling live records of all time: over 17 million worldwide. He will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland this fall.
Concert-only tickets start at $125 ($112.50 for Levitt members); gala plus concert tickets (which include premium seating and a pre-show cocktail party) start at $500 ($475 for members).
The pre-sale begins at 10 a.m. today. Tickets go on sale to the public on Friday (June 28, 10 a.m.). Click here to order, and for more information.
The large Longshore lap pool was supposed to open around Memorial Day. An issue with the filter delayed that date.
The goal was to have it fixed by Monday, June 24, when pool hours expanded and lessons began.
Bingo! It’s back in action — and getting plenty of use, by grateful swimmers. (hat tip: Brandon Malin)
Longshore pool. (File photo/Pamela Einarsen)
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Leslye Headland is headed to Broadway.
The 1999 Staples High School graduate — who has earned kudos as a playwright, screenwriter and director, with hits like the play and film “Bachelorette,” the movie “Sleeping With Other People” the Netflix comedy “Russian Doll” and the Disney+ series “The Acolyte” — has written “Cult of Love.”
It begins previews November 20, and opens at the Helen Hayes Theater on December 12.
Her Broadway debut is her final work in a series called “Seven Deadly Plays.” Inspired by the 7 deadly sins, this one is about pride. It was first staged in Los Angeles in 2018.
“Cult of Love” focuses on 4 adult children of one family and their partners, coming home for a contentious holiday gathering. (Hat tip: Tommy Greenwald)
Leslye Headland
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Just hours after her birth 9 weeks prematurely in June of 2022, Shea Greenfield’s heart stopped beating.
Doctors saved her life. But she was diagnosed with Long QT Syndrome. Her heart’s electrical system takes longer than usual to recharge between beats. She is at risk of fainting, seizures, cardiac arrest and sudden death.
There is no cure for the condition. And Shea’s condition is one of the most severe her doctors have ever seen.
Shea’s parents, Mark and Kira, had moved to Westport a year earlier. In addition to educating themselves about LQTS, they began raising funds for the Mayo Clinic, where Dr. Michael Ackerman’s team does cutting-edge research.
Last year, the Greenfields organized a fundraiser. Despite a last-minute venue change from outdoors, due to Canadian wildfires — “Shake it for Shea” raised $290,000 for Dr. Ackerman’s lab.
That was just the start. This year’s event — held earlier this month at the FTC Warehouse — was eye-popping. It brought in over $440,000.
“The community came out in such a special way again,” the Greenfields say.
“We had over 500 people. It was magical!”
Plans are already underway for next year. Can you say “half a million”?
Shaking it up, at the “Shake it for Shea” fundraiser. (Photo/Fred Marcus Photography)
Westport poet laureate Jessica McEntee is going national.
Her second poetry chapbook, “Frida Kahlo Wakes Up to Find Diego Rivera in the Mood and Other Poems,” will ship in mid-October.
A blurb says: “This book brims with restless women: Frida Kahlo, Penelope, a lover, mother, daughter, neighbor, insomniac, consumer, adulteress — and each voice ‘magics the glass into mirror.’
“Studded with details that feel intimate yet alien, taking us places that range from a polar bear enclosure to ‘A Deathbed Confession,’ these are poems of uncanny sensuousness.”
Pianist David Morgan is a local treasure — and a national one.
He has performed and recorded with Wynton Marsalis and Wes Anderson. He’s written music for CBS Sports, Discovery, A&E, MTV, and TV shows. He also produces recordings for artists in his own studio.
Morgan is well known here as a member of the Fairfield County-based jazz group Portal.
He joins bassist Jason Clotter, Tyger MacNeal and saxophonist Greg “The Jazz Rabbi” for tomorrow’s Jazz at the Post (Thursday, June 27, shows at 7:30 and 8:45 p.m.; dinner service at 7; VFW Joseph J. Clinton Post 399; $20 music cover, $15 veterans and students).
The series’ season finale includes a presentation of the Micky Golomb Memorial Scholarship to Jack Wood.
Reservations are strongly recommended: JazzatthePost@gmail.com.
Parents sent their kids away for 8 weeks. They played sports, swam, did arts and crafts, had campfires, made new friends, complained about the food, and went back again, year after year.
Now there are lacrosse camps, water skiing camps, dance camps, adventure camps, write your college essay camps, music camps, riding camps, robotics camps, community service camps, and scores of others.
There are plenty of traditional summer camps, of course: all-boys, all-girls and coed. But 8 weeks has shrunk to 7. Or 6 1/2.
Or 3.
Some kids pop in and out. They’ve got travel baseball showcases, soccer tournaments, and many other demand on their limited summer time.
How can parents make sense of all the options?
They can call Melissa Post.
Melissa Post (far left) and Tripp Lake friends (from left): Alissa Tofias; Sara Immerman, whose daughter now goes to Tripp Lake with Melissa’s girls; Dr. Tracy Brenner, a Westport mom and child psychologist, who trains camp staffs on how to best work with today’s children, and helps kids with camp readiness.
Many Westporters know her as one-half of WestportMoms, the multi-pronged social media platform that keeps so many women looped in (and sane).
Westport contributes more than its share to that figure.
Melissa had just left a startup, and was raising twin 2-year-olds and a 6-month-old, when she went to the 100th anniversary celebration for Tripp Lake. She’d been both a camper and tennis counselor at the traditional all-girls Maine camp.
Melissa Post (far left) as a camper on Visiting Day at Tripp Lake, with her mother and younger sister.
A friend she met there who runs Camp Specialists needed a representative in Fairfield County.
Melissa loves camp. She likes to talk. She was a natural fit.
She spends hours with families of prospective campers. She learns their ages and interests, then dives deeper.
What kind of camp would be best: traditional, sports, arts, religious? Do they want a rustic setting, or a camp more upscale? How long a session? Single gender or coed? How much can parents spend? (“Camp is a luxury,” Melissa acknowledges.)
She then provides a list of 8 to 10 camps, out of the 200-plus she works with. She answers questions, as they help make decisions.
There is no charge. Camp Specialists is a referral agency. They earn a small commission for every camper who enrolls.
Melissa and Fred Post, with their daughters at Tripp Lake. They attend the same camp she did.
But why use Melissa? Why can’t parents just ask around?
“People don’t tend to go to camp with friends,” she explains.
“Camp is a special break from the regular environment. You can be a different person at camp. You make different friends.”
Plus, Melissa says, most parents don’t know all their options, or even what they’re looking for.
Since she began, she’s seen a “dramatic” change in the camp world. There are many more specialty camps, with new sports-specific ones cropping up constantly.
Westport families are taking advantage of camps’ new shorter options: 3 1/2 weeks, 2 weeks, even just 1.
The tightened school calendar, desire to take family trips, and demands of other activities like travel sports teams have all cut into the long-sacrosanct full summer camp experience.
A summer camp staple.
Still, Melissa says, “a lot of Westport parents want their kids to experience nature, in a setting without a lot of amenities. They want their kids to be around people who don’t judge them on what they have.
“People historically thought of camp as a Jewish thing,” Melissa notes. Now, she says, 2/3 of the campers she places are not Jewish.
The growth of technology has increased the need for camp. One mom told Melissa, “My kid is in the closet with his laptop. I have to send him to camp.”
“Kids are truly disconnected at camp,” Melissa says. “It’s an adjustment, but they love it. They don’t have to constantly check in.”
Especially since COVID, she’s noticed a rise in children’s dependence on other people to solve problems. “Camp is a place to gain independence, and learn to figure things out with just your counselors and friends.”
Post-pandemic too, parents are more safety-conscious than ever. They ask camp directors — and Melissa — about everything from food allergies to security.
Safety first, at Camp Laurel.
The camp season has begun. But Melissa is not chilling by the water, relishing a child-free summer.
This is the time when prospective families visit camps, planning for next summer. She helps them figure out where to go.
Melissa also visits camps, and talks to directors.
She knows 3 directors especially well: Jem Sollinger of Camp Laurel, and Camp Manitou’s Jon and Sara Deren. Both camps’ winter headquarters are in Westport — on the second floor of the same Brooks Corner building.
But Melissa does not push those camps to Westport parents. And the directors don’t, either.
“They’re very careful about over-extending their reach in this area,” Melissa says. “They don’t want their camps saturated with local kids.”
Sollinger and the Derens even encourage people to talk to her about options beyond their own camps.
They — and Melissa Post — pitch a big tent.
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Last week, Newman’s Own launched a “Pay What You Want” Pizza truck.
All proceeds go to the Newman’s Own Foundation, which gives 100% of its profits to help children facing adversity.
The first stop was New York City. It will travel across the country all summer long, offering several varieties of Newman’s Own pizzas.
Today it’s Westport’s turn.
That’s particularly fitting. The non-profit has been headquartered here since 1982, ever since its founding by our own Paul Newman and his family.
The Pay What You Want Pizza truck will be at Newman’s Own’s office (1 Morningside Drive North, just north of the Post Road) from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. today (Tuesday). From 3 to 6 p.m., it’s on Main Street (close to the Post Road).
There was plenty of emotion Sunday afternoon, at Saugatuck Congregational Church.
The Susan Fund held its 43rd annual reception — and awarded 18 college grants to Fairfield County residents.
All have been diagnosed with cancer.
“They have, in addition to medical bills, the college bills, which are just enormous,” says Jeff Booth, Susan Fund chair.
“So whatever financial support we can give them is a huge help.”
Some of the Susan Fund recipients honored on Sunday.
Also honored: Ann Lloyd.
The Susan Fund founder and chair emerita was presented with a birthday cake. At 90, she is still actively involved with the non-profit.
The Susan Fund was established in 1980 in memory of her daughter Susan Lloyd, a Staples High School graduate who lost her battle with cancer. Since its founding, the organization has provided over $2 million in scholarships to more than 900 students.
To learn more about the Susan Fund, and to donate, click here.
Ann Lloyd. The podium is covered with photos and letters from Susan Fund recipients.
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“06880” likes to post good news, whenever we can.
Like us, Jaime Bairaktaris knows there are many young people who do good things that go unnoticed. And that their parents never see.
Yesterday, he wrote on social media:
“Did your son and his friend go to Old Mill Grocery & Deli a bit ago?
“As I ordered my lunch, 2 ‘tweenage’ boys walked in. One went to get Peanut M&Ms, but immediately stopped to ask his friend if he had any allergies. The friend said no, so he grabbed his M&Ms.
“They went to the counter, ordered politely, paid with cash, counted their change, then made sure they both put money into the tip jar — stopping each other to make sure that they tipped.
“No phones, no TikTok dances, no skibidi Ohio rizzing. As often as I see negative posts about local kids doing dumb things, I hope the parents of these kids see this and know their sons did a great job of showing everyone in the deli that Westport’s future is just fine.
“Not to mention how well raised they were (to confirm allergies for their friend, and count change?!). In the words of TikTok-era youth: they were very sigma.
“I can only hope they never roll through a stop sign when they get their licenses.”
An old favorite — First Folk Sunday — returns next month.
But the venue is different.
The series — afternoons of music in a relaxed, mellow atmosphere — kicks off July 7 (12:30 to 2:30 p.m.) at its new home: the Saugatuck Rowing Club.
Suzanne Sheridan (vocals, rhythm guitar), Tim DeHuff (lead guitar) and Bob Cooper (keyboard) offer a Bob Dylan retrospective.
The season continues with rising folk star singer-songwriter Lisa Bastoni (August 4), a Joni Mitchell tribute with Suzanne Sheridan (September 1), the return of The Flying Fingers Jug Band (October 6(, a Woody Guthrie homage featuring many performers and an audience sing along (November 3), and a special event December 3.
The music cover charge is $15; click here for tickets. An a la carte menu and open bar is available for audience members. For more information, click here or call 203-984-7562.
Meanwhile, a reminder: Westport’s streets don’t clean themselves.
This machine was out yesterday on Bayberry Lane, sweeping up debris.
There’s not a lot of room to walk, jog, bike, skateboard or do anything else.
But thanks to our Public Works Department, it’s a lot less dangerous today than yesterday.
(Photo/Jonathan Alloy)
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The first heat wave of the summer has ended. It may be cool enough for Harbor Road residents to venture outside, and sit in these chairs looking out toward Longshore.
It’s an idyllic summer scene. And the reeds make it a great candidate for our “Westport … Naturally” feature.
And finally … in honor of Paul Newman’s “Pay What You Want” pizza truck, we remember the actor/philanthropist:
(Whether you lived here when Paul Newman did, or you just came yesterday, “06880” is your hyper-local blog. We rely on support from all our readers. Please click here to help. Thank you!)
Chirag Shah has spent his career building communities.
He’s done it as the number one coach for Compass, helping realtors work more efficiently, lead more fulfilled lives (and make more money).
He’s worked with clients in 38 states, including professional athletes. He has offered career and life lessons, inspired creativity, and unlocked passions.
But for years, the man who cared so much for community spent little time in his own.
The realization that many remarkable people in Westport and Fairfield County were spending unproductive hours commuting to and from New York — and, like him, leaving their families behind, in communities they barely knew — was a life-changing moment for the life coach.
And it led directly to the creation of Content Studio of Westport.
A launch party last week brought together many of the men and women Shah hopes will take advantage of his big, bold space on Saugatuck Avenue next to the Goddard School.
Chirag Shah, at last week’s party. (Photo/Charlie Scott)
He’s transformed a former mini-market into a cutting-edge podcast studio, event space, stage and bar.
It’s a place to produce content like podcasts, social media videos and livestreams; expand entrepreneurial ideas and networks, and grow businesses, right here in Westport. There’s no need to hop a train to the city.
Although it’s close enough to the station so that other creative folks can come to us.
Pro quarterback Chris Streveler uses Content Studio to deliver a keynote address for his business. He also recorded Instagram reels.
Shah is like many people who moved to Westport recently. He loves everything about this place: the schools, beaches, Longshore, library, restaurants, shopping and amenities.
“This is a magical place,” he says. “You can know your neighbors. You go to Compo, and see and feel the joy and happiness. Your kids can run around and play. You can see the sunsets.”
He grew up not far away. His parents owned a stationery store in Larchmont, They taught him the values of hard work and customer service, which he held true as he built up his own consulting businesses.
Shah moved here in 2019. A year later, the pandemic shifted work from office to home. He recognized the benefits of casting aside the daily commute. But he felt the need to separate his home and work lives.
Could he do it here?
He found vacant space across from Dunville’s. Though a prime location, no one had figured out how to use it effectively.
Content Studio occupies the space to the right of the Goddard School.
Shah envisioned it as an office for his coaching practice.
But he also built it out (with a warm, welcoming, New York/tech vibe). His vision was a place to come, be creative, build a brand, host or attend an event — and then head off to your kids’ activities, have dinner together and put them to bed.
He calls himself “a conduit of gathering people to foster relationships that wouldn’t exist — and to help them have dinner with their families. I want their lives to be fulfilled, professionally and personally. Every kid deserves to have their parents present.”
Over 100 people got a close look at Shah’s space last week. They came from all walks of Westport life, and from around the county.
Jay Norris — a co-founder of Content Studio — tapes a podcast and creates videos there. He addressed the launch party crowd. (Photo/Charlie Scott)
As they ate, drank, chatted, toured the production studio, and met Shah and Jay Norris, the Westport entrepreneur who is a co-founder of Content Studio, they glimpsed the possibilities for doing some of their own work — and hosting their own events — in the very cool space.
And just a few minutes after they left, they were home.
… and a client uses the large screen for a Zoom meeting.
Content Studio production room. (Photo/Charlie Scott)
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