Devices have been placed at various points downtown.
Results will be posted, when available.
Meanwhile, here’s an early finding: There’s a lot of traffic these days.
Traffic survey device at Post Road East and Myrtle Avenue. (Photo/Sal Liccione)
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Tragedy was averted at 8:30 p.m. Friday night. A northbound SUV driver on Newtown Turnpike went into the woods. The vehicle caught fire, but he was pulled out by a neighbor.
A nearby resident notes that young children live in the area. “The road is very dangerous, because drivers who use it as a cut-through speed by.”
The Fire and Police Departments, and EMTs, were on the scene. Eversource responded quickly, and replaced the downed power line.
LymanAID — the huge party thanking Westporters for their support of our sister city in Ukraine — has a booth at the Yankee Doodle Fair.
Stop by today and tomorrow to learn about the big event. It’s Sunday, July 9, 1 p.m. until dusk, at the Ukrainian-American Club, Post Road in Southport next to northbound I-95 Exit 19 entrance ramp.
There’s music, food, drinks, and much more. And it’s free — though there will be opportunities to help support Lyman through raffles, a treasure sale, Yankee auction, coffee table book pull, plant sale, “LymanADE” stand and more.
VIP tickets are available too. Click here to register, and for more details.
Katya Wauchope, at the LymanAID booth at the Yankee Doodle Fair.
Davide — the new Church Lane pop-up — is a year-old brand. Its first retail outlet features its second collection ever.
Davide (pronounced dah-vee-day) is the brainchild of Joseph Davide Tacopina. A Westport native (and son of one of President Trump’s attorneys), he attended Cheshire Academy and met students from around the world.
Inspired by his father’s ownership of several Italian soccer clubs, Tacopina’s collection blends “athletic culture” with pieces inspired by Marlon Brando and Lake Como. There is plenty of loose-flowing linen and silk.
The 24-year-old designer is self-taught. He chose Westport as the site of his first pop-up because it’s his home. He hopes to take it global.
Real Estate University — the school for aspiring (and current) real estate professionals, founded in 2005 by Karena Piedmont — has moved from Norwalk to Saugatuck.
The move felt right. She’s already trained scores of Westport realtors over the years. Classes are both in-person and via Zoom.
The address is “Saugatuck Lofts, 101 Franklin Street” — the exposed brick, co-working space in a former grain facility at the Westport Metro-North station, as you take a right at the end of Railroad Place. It’s literally “steps from the train,” for students who travel that way.
“There’s so much synergy here,” Piedmont says. “I share space with real estate attorneys and other professionals. I love being part of a community of like-minded, hard-working small business owners. I wish I moved here years ago.”
“And I love hearing and seeing the trains pass.”
There’s one more bonus: She’s also just a few steps away from “The Benjamin“: the Airbnb she owns at 35 Franklin Avenue.
Saugatuck Lofts
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Also new: the Westport Weston Family YMCA’s director of gymnastics.
Former USA national team gymnast Bryon Knox brings over 40 years of competition. coaching and program development to his new role.
Most recently, he was head gymnastics coach at Southern Connecticut State University. Before that, he led the University of Bridgeport to 6 straight NCAA Division II national championships.
Byron coached 70 USA Gymnastics/All-Americans, and 150 scholar-athletes. He is a former USA women’s national team coach.
He has been with the Y part-time since October, coaching the competitive girls team and instructing coaches. Click here for more information on the Y’s gymnastics program.
Rob Docters’ new book — “Ethics and Hidden Greed: Your Defense Against Unethical Strategies and Violations of Trust” — answers questions like, “How do we protect ourselves and our business interests from the unethical behaviors of others? Why doesn’t intuition serve as the best guide for detecting unethical strategies?”
The 1975 Staples High School graduate hopes to make people more aware of (and armed against) scams, as well as choosing more ethical choices themselves. (A strong animal rights activist, he covers the brutality of boiling lobsters alive).
Charles McGillion-Moore of Westport helped Norwalk’s Maritime Rowing Club to a national championship in the Men’s Under-15 Coxed Quad, at least weekend’s 28th USRowing Youth National Championship in Sarasota, Florida.
Other top finishes by Westport and Weston rowers include Men’s Youth U-16 Coxed Quad, 4th place (Adam Turner and Matthew Lupinacci); Women’s Youth U-17 Quad, 6th place (Mina Leon); Men’s Youth U-17 Quad, 7th place (Jack Cushman); Women’s Youth U-15 Coxed Quad, 8th place (Syke Coats); Men’s Youth U-16 Coxed Quad, 12th place (Fox Parker), and Men’s Youth U-16 Eight, 18th place (Simon Meyers).
The regatta marked the final high school event for Maritime’s seniors, including Dan Kleeger and Lilly Murphy of Westport, and Justin Sun of Weston.
And finally … on this day in 1994, Los Angeles police chased OJ Simpson’s Ford Bronco for an hour and half. He finally gave up, and was arrested for the murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman.
(“06880” is your hyper-local blog — and a non-profit. Please click here to make a tax-deductible contribution. Thank you!)
Most weeks, our online art gallery is filled with paintings and photos from around the world.
This week, we’ve got several from our backyard. Compo Beach, downtown and Blau House & Gardens are all represented.
We’ve also got needlework and ceramics — two mediums we don’t see much of here.
Everyone is invited to contribute. Age, level of experience, subject matter — there are no restrictions.
All genres are encouraged. Watercolors, oils, charcoal, pen-and-ink, acrylics, lithographs, collages, macramé, jewelry, sculpture, decoupage and (yes) needlepoint — whatever you’ve got, email it to 06880blog@gmail.com. Share your work with the world! (PS: Please include the medium you’re working in — art lovers want to know.)
“Summertime” — pencil on paper (Clayton Liotta)
“The Buoys Hanging Out” (Karen Weingarten)
Untitled — Compo Beach (Sunil Hirani)
Diane Yormark created hanging wall planters. Her husband Ken adorned them with vines.
Beth Berkowitz crocheted this baby sweater.
Untitled (Tom Doran)
Untitled (Dorothy Robertshaw)
“Blau House & Gardens” (Mike Hibbard)
“Westport Bridge Over Saugatuck, En Plein Air” — oil on canvas (Cindy Wagner)
“Do Unto Others” (Lawrence Weisman)
“Westerly Library, Afternoon Sun” (Peter Barlow)
“The Sauna” (Steve Stein)
Untitled (Tom Lowrie)
Untitled — lone sea urchin underwater, Greek island of Limnos (Claudia Sherwood Servidio)
“Dune Grasses” (Ken Runkel)
(Entrance is free to our online art gallery. But please consider a donation! Just click here — and thank you!)
Well, it looks like Police Chief Foti Koskinas and I are wrong.
If you looked at this morning’s “06880 On the Go” video, you saw intern Colin Morgeson asking random folks random questions about Westport.
One of them was about the towns that border ours. “Norwalk, Fairfield, Weston, Wilton,” they asserted. Colin nodded, and congratulated them.
At the Farmers’ Market, he happened upon our top cop. Foti added “Easton.”
I was standing nearby. I was surprised, but thought about it. Of course: that stretch of Easton Road just past Catamount led into the corner of Easton where Helen Keller once lived.
So when my turn came, I confidently added “Easton.”
Nope!
As Evan Stein clearly points out, that stretch of Route 136 actually runs through Weston.
Before posting, I did a quick map search. Too quick, as it turns out.
Celebrating Pride Month, with sweaters and laces: Nancy Axthelm’s grandchildren Dylan (8) and Everett and Hudson (2-year-old twins). (Photo/Nancy Axthelm)
Longtime Westporter/amateur historian Fred Cantor was fascinated by a recent “06880” story on the Playhouse Kitchen.
The restaurant operated on the Post Road (State Street), in front of the Westport Country Playhouse, in the 1930s and ’40s. It may have opened earlier, under a different name.
The building still stands. We know it as Winslow Park Animal Hospital.
Fred reached out to Debbie Hooper Fisher, another longtime resident. Her grandparents operated the Playhouse Kitchen. Debbie writes:
My grandparents, Rose and Michael Vigilante, owned this Colonial for many years. It served as a real estate office under Steve Crowley, and is now veterinary practice.
Rose opened the Playhouse Kitchen in a section of her home. It served many actors and actresses, while they performed at the Playhouse.
Rose was a warm, outgoing, energetic and engaged lady. She loved to cook and welcome patrons into her “kitchen.”
Many continued their friendship with Rose well-beyond their performances. One example was Rose O’Neill, famous illustrator, writer and creator of the Kewpie doll. They shared the same name and many other interests, such as flowers.
My mother Rita helped in the Playhouse Kitchen as a young girl. Many of the famous actors’ autographs are addressed to Rita with sweet, endearing comments. She loved meeting them, and they inspired her to participate in plays at Staples when she was older.
A few of the autographs addressed to Debbie’s other Rita.
Robert Lambdin, a well-known Westport artist and illustrator, also befriended Rose. Some of his large murals still hang around town.
My family donated many of his illustrations (gifted to Rose) to the Westport Historical Society. I still have an illustration Robert gave me as a wedding gift, as well as other paintings in my own home in Westport.
My grandmother also offered overnight stays to actors and actresses when they were in town and just starting their careers.
Another interesting note: My grandparents were also close friends of the Baron (Walter Langer van Langendorff, inventor of White Shoulders perfume). As they aged, they decided to sell their home and property to him (the land is now known as Winslow Park).
However, my grandmother missed the house so much she repurchased it back from the Baron (for more than they’d sold it for). Ugh — but she was so very happy to be back “home”!
My grandfather Michael was also very active in his own pursuits, as a builder, sheriff and president of the Sons of Italy. He was responsible for many of the still-standing stone walls throughout Westport, which he and his company built during the Depression.
He also built homes off Bayberry Road. He named the private road after my family (on my father’s side) Hooper Road.
We are so grateful for the many stories my grandparents shared with us throughout the years about Rose’s Kitchen, the incredible meals she cooked for us most Sundays, and both Rose and Michael’s many contributions to our family and the town!
Playhouse kitchen interior.
Fred Cantor adds these details:
In the summer of 1941, the Playhouse Kitchen was included on a couple of occasions in Billboard Magazine’s national “night club” listings of musician performances.
Also Zachary Scott, who appeared alongside Lana Turner and Ronald Reagan in 1940s films, wrote to his family about having his meals at the Playhouse Kitchen when his first job after college in the summer of 1939 was at the Westport Country Playhouse. He said:
Westport itself is a small village right on the Boston Post Road. We eat our meals at the Playhouse Kitchen next door, as both it and the Inn are on property adjoining the theatre. The theatre itself is the most attractive thing you ever saw.
Outside it is a great big red barn. Inside it is mid-Victorian red plush and gilt—-seats several hundred and is modernly equipped.
Fred also says that Paul Robeson seems to have eaten at the Playhouse Kitchen, and/or stayed at the inn, in 1940. That was at a time, Fred says, when “a lot of establishments, even in the North, were still not integrated.”
(If you enjoy our Friday Flashbacks — and/or any other “06880” features — please consider a tax-deductible contribution. Just click here — and thank you!)
The state Department of Transportation is working on the Cribari Bridge from 10 a.m. through noon today.
They plan intermittent openings and closings. Police officers will be stationed on both sides of the bridge — with one at Post Road West/Wilton Road/Riverside Avenue, and one on Post Road East/Imperial Avenue — to assist with traffic, as it is diverted to the Post Road.
Traffic congestion will be heavy. Drivers are urged to avoid the area if possible.
The Cribari Bridge will be closed intermittently through noon today. (Photo/Adam Goldberg)
The Westport Weston Family YMCA had a split decision this week.
The Planning & Zoning Commission agreed to their requests to increase the capacity of their Mahackeno camp from 360 youngsters to 400, and for 1 more hour of morning practice for the Water Rats swim team.
No whistles may be used at the pool, and someone must be available 24/7 in case of neighbors’ concerns.
But the board denied a request for extended hours for the splash pad and large slide.
Lou Kitchner has had some great bands, during his 16-year career as a beloved Westport music teacher.
But none ever received a 99 score (out of 100) at the Fantastic Festival — an adjudicated event — until this year’s Bedford Middle School Wind Ensemble.
They’re also his first concert band to win 1st place. They beat out 65 bands from 4 states for that honor.
Lou told parents: “A professional trumpet player with a degree in performance commented she has never heard a band at this age, this good. She said, ‘your band puts high school bands to shame. I cannot believe they are middle schoolers and can play like this.’ She went on to compliment their tone, style, mechanics and musicality.”
Congratulations, Lou and all the musicians. Staples High School looks forward to hearing you play! (Hat tip: Maggie Gomez)
The Bedford Middle School wind ensemble. Director Lou Kitchner is in the back row, center.
The newest Staples Tuition Grants named award honors Dick and Paula Leonard.
For decades, they were fixtures in the Westport community. As a long-time English teacher at Staples High School, president of the Westport Education Association and a labor lawyer, Dick inspired educational excellence for generations of Westport students.
A successful real estate broker, Paula gave generously of her time in many ways. She helped lead construction of the Westport Senior Center and convert the original Saugatuck Elementary School into The Saugatuck, providing moderate income housing to aging town residents.
Paula Leonard died last month. A celebration of her life is set for June 25 (3 p.m., Senior Center).
The award commemorates the spirit of community and volunteerism that Paula and Dick embodied. Click here to donate; click here for the Staples Tuition Grants home page.
Paula and Dick Leonard.
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Rindy Higgins was inspired by yesterday’s “06880” story on the Interfaith Refugee Resettlement Committee, and their work to help a Syrian family find a home in Stratford.
The longtime Westporter works with the extended family of 11. She helped get household supplies, offered job ideas, and provided tutoring and love. She’s especially excited at the great progress made by their 6-year-old.
She notes that the 16-, 14- and 11-year-olds need pro bono tutors in math, reading and English. Volunteers can email 06880blog@gmail.com; I’ll pass your information on to Rindy.
Volunteer tutors are needed for 3 Syrian younsters.
Club 203 wrapped up its fantastic first year yesterday, with karaoke at the Westport Library.
The social organization for adults with disabilities welcomed dozens of partiers. CRUMBL Cookies donated goodies, MoCA took care of the art, CTFSN presented on taking new friendships to the next level, and volunteers made everyone feel welcome.
Club 203 kicks up again in September. Click here for more information.
Club 203 karaoke at the Westport Library. (Photo/Stacie Curran)
As if traffic wasn’t bad enough yesterday — the Cribari Bridge was stuck in the “open” position for a while — this supposedly licensed driver ignored the “One Way/Do Not Enter” sign, plus 2 lines of cars facing him, to cause chaos on Main Street.
(Photo/Jamie Walsh)
We’re used to seeing occasional wrong-way automobile drivers. We seldom see wrong-way truckers.
Jamie Walsh describes what happened around 2:30 p.m.: A state trooper pulled the driver over. Cars had to back up onto the Post Road to let the truck pass.
The trooper followed him with lights on, presumably to a safer location to continue their conversation.
Perhaps the trooper could say: “Don’t you know? There’s a cut-through in Parker Harding Plaza!”
Work on the Evergreen Avenue sewer system between Myrtle Avenue and Washington Avenue begins July 5, and runs through August 4. Through traffic will be detoured from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. weekdays. Evergreen Avenue will be open to the residents of the area.
Markings are made for the Evergreen Avenue sewer project. (Photo/Mark Mathias)
The 2nd annual Westport Pride drag show is set for tomorrow (Saturday, June 17, 5 to 8 p.m., MoCA Westport).
“Light Up the Night” is family friendly. The evening includes neon face painting, hair and makeup services, a photo booth, custom pizzas and cocktails.
The show itself begins at 6 p.m. MC Desmond reads from their book “Be Amazing: A History of Pride.” After 3 performers, there’s a Q-and-A about their journeys.
Kevin Mashia died Wednesday, at his Norwalk home. He was 54, and began his career at Westport Tile & Design, using his creativity and eye for design well. He then moved on to Hastings Tile.
Kevin is survived by his parents, Richard and Martha; his sister Stephanie, niece Sydney, and many friends.
A Mass of Christian Burial is set for Tuesday, June 20 (10 a.m., Assumption Church). The family will receive friends in the Harding Funeral Home on Monday (June 19, 4 to 7 p.m.). Click here to leave online condolences. Contributions in Kevin’s name may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Kevin Mashia
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“Westport … Naturally” has been swamped with dozens of deer photos.
This is the only one, though, that includes a “dear” little kid.
Yash Lorenzato got acquainted with 2 fawns, in his North Bulkley Avenue yard.
The free event is set for June 27 (8 p.m.). Chris will join virtually, with Lindsay in person. The event will be livestreamed and recorded as part of her podcast, “Lunch with Lindsay.”
After the conversation, members of the audience will have the opportunity to ask Paul questions. Priority will go to children and teenagers at the Library. Copies of “61” will also be for sale.
Chris Paul
“I can’t wait for people to see this side of Chris Paul,” Lindsay says.
“I love uncovering the experiences, things, people that connect us all, and I’m excited to bring this podcast to life for a night and give kids in the community a chance to hear from someone they look up to.
“His play on the court speaks for itself. But I’m especially pumped because Chris’ story about his inspiration to be the best basketball player he can be is much broader than sports. It’s about the human connection and inspiration. I think we can all relate to that.”
The event is a partnership between the Library, Westport Weston Family YMCA, Y’s Men of Westport/Weston, and “06880.”
An All-America high school player in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, hPaul gained national attention when he made a run at the state high school scoring record, just 5 days after his grandfather died of a heart attack during a robbery at the service station he owned. Paul’s last attempt before coming out of the game was a free throw that he missed intentionally — ensuring he would finish with 61 points, the same age as his grandfather. It was 6 points shy of the state record.
Chris Paul will be in conversation with Lindsay Czarniak.
Paul starred at nearby Wake Forest University. He was the 4th overall pick in the 2005 NBA draft by the Charlotte Hornets. He has enjoyed a great career with the Hornets, Los Angeles Clippers, Houston Rockets, Oklahoma City Thunder and now Phoenix Suns.
The 2006 NBA Rookie of the Year was the first player in league history to register 20,000 career points and 10,000 career assists, records since reached only by LeBron James. Paul is a 12-time All-Star. He won 2 Olympic gold medals with Team USA, in 2008 and 2012, and was named to the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team.
Lindsay Czarniak is an award-winning sportscaster. She anchored SportsCenter for 6 years and has also served as a FOX NFL sideline reporter, CBS SRX racing host, and studio host for NBC’s Summer and Winter Olympic Games coverage.
Click here to register for a seat at the Library event. You can order “61” through the same link.
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