It’s been a while since we checked in with our ospreys.
Carolyn Doan visited the Fresh Market raptors on Saturday. She reports:
“I found mom on the very top of a neighboring pine tree. She was giving herself full view of the action around her.
“To her left, the first of her 3 chicks had fledged and was enjoying space away from his sisters. To her right, 2 female nestlings were front and center in the nest, getting ready for their first flight. It may happen this week!”
Speaking of our fine feathered friends: “Birdbrain” is not a compliment.
But for the past few years, birds have been bright enough to build nests on top of a fire alarm signal box in the Playhouse Condominiums parking garage.
It’s warm. It’s protected from both weather and predators. And because they’re birds, “home” is a lot easier to access than residents who battle the shopping center traffic every day.
Still, bringing a chick into the world is not easy. In years past, the condo’s cleaning crew has dismantled the nest; other times, the parents abandoned it.
But this year, all’s well in birdland.
The Playhouse Condos proudly announces its newest resident:
Chick, atop the fire alarm box. (Photo/Dick Truitt)
On Saturday, the Westport Community Gardens held an open house.
Dozens of residents of all ages flocked to the Hyde Lane oasis. They toured the 100-plus plots; marveled at the wide variety of fruits, vegetables, herbs and flowers grown there; enjoyed the pergola and bocce court, and toured the Long Lots Preserve that rings the plots.
Gardeners shared tips — and some of their bounty too.
Enjoying the Westport Community Gardens… (Photo/Lou Weinberg)
Last week, members of Club203 enjoyed art classes at the museum. The next Club203 art class is August 14 (6 p.m.).
The organization — Westport’s social club for adults with disabilities — is just one of several MoCA Gives Back partner groups.
The goal of the MoCA program is to offer art experiences to all, through high-quality programming, and strong outreach to under-resourced populations.
MoCA Gives Back is successful, thanks to dedicated volunteers and instructors.
An exhibition on August 27 will showcase works created by MoCA Gives Back participants.
Meanwhile, Friday night’s MoCA Some Noise: Open Mic Night offered performers a chance to share poetry, readings and acoustic music in the gallery. More are planned.
But that gives us 4 days for the weather to clear before Thursday’s 9th annual “06880” blog party.
We’re all set for 6 p.m (July 20). The site is Compo Beach — the alcohol-is-okay South Beach, by the trees (the opposite end from the cannons).
Bring your own food, beverages (no glass bottles!), beach chairs and blankets. We can always use a folding table too.
Our blog party is a community gathering – a chance to meet and mingle with the diverse “06880” community (both online and real). It’s fun, un-fancy, and free!
We extend a special welcome to all our new “06880” readers. And those who have never come to our bash. See you July 20!
Patti and Doug Brill and friends say: “Come to the blog party!”
Longtime Westporter Bernard Dorogusker died on June 29, with his family at his side. He was 97.
The Bronx native was born to immigrant parents. Times were not easy, but he and his 2 siblings experienced a full New York City childhood. He helped in his father’s store, and sold comics on the corner and hot dogs at Yankee Stadium. At 13, he attended the 1939 World’s Fair.
Bernie served in the Army in the European Theatre under General George S. Patton, Jr.
After his service he attended RCNY and the RCA Institutes for post graduate work in radio and electrical engineering. He loved everything about computers, instrumentation and technology, and started his career building computers at IBM.
This led to a decades long engineering career at the Perkin Elmer Corporation. He worked on government projects, including instrumentation for aircraft and the Hubble Space Telescope.
He met his wife, Barbara Helen Zepko, at Perkin-Elmer. They married in 1959, settling down to start a family near Compo Beach.
Bernie’s passion for all things sports included racing cars, skiing and sailing. In the early 1960s he turned in his iconic Austin Healey to focus on One Design competitive sailing.
Bernie was fascinated by wind patterns, aerodynamics and sail performance, and spent years studying data and research.
Cedar Point Yacht Club became his second love (after his family), and Bernie and his Thistle #1124, “Zelda III,” were a fixture of an award-winning fleet for many, many years.
He was instrumental in growing various fleets at the club, and was a master technical scorekeeper for all things racing at CPYC. After decades of successful racing he retired his boat, and became principal race officer for the cruising fleet. The cruising class honors him every year with the Bernie Dorogusker Trophy for every division in their Wednesday night series.
Bernie also was instrumental in publishing a book on Cedar Point’s history.
Seth Vanbeever honored him with a social media post. Seth wrote:
“35 years ago I was in the junior sailing program at Cedar Point. I wanted to race on the big boats, the cruising class, in the Wednesday night series. No one wanted to take a 12-year-old on the boat.
“I went to the race committee and asked if they needed any help. Bernie, who was in his 60s, said, ‘Shuuuuur’ in his New York accet.
“Bernie didn’t put me to work. He taught me to how to do race committee. He took me under his wing (while explaining Bernoulli’s principle) for the next several years.
“I did race committee on Wednesday nights, raced Thistles on the weekends with Bernie and Walt Stuebner. We even sailed in the Frostbite Series at Essex Yacht Club.
“these two men taught me a tremendous amount about the sport of sailing. I will always remember Bernie.”
Bernie is survived by his wife Barbara of Trumbull; daughters Robin of Boxford, Massachusetts and Laurie of Trumbull; grandsons Erik and Alex Weisensee; brother Alvin, and many nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his sister, Renie Zinsmeister.
A graveside service with military honors will be held this Friday (July 21, 11 a.m., Oak Lawn Cemetery, Fairfield). A memorial service at the Cedar Point Yacht Club will take place at a later date.
And finally … Andre Watts died last week, at his Bloomington, Indiana home. He was 77, and suffered from prostate cancer.
The New York Times called him “a pianist whose mighty technique and magnetic charm awed audiences and made him one of the first Black superstars in classical music.”
He was “an old-world virtuoso — his idol was the composer and showman Franz Liszt — with a knack for electricity and emotion. He sometimes hummed, stomped his feet and bobbed his head while he played, and some critics faulted him for excess. But his charisma and his technical powers were unquestioned, which helped fuel his rise to the world’s top concert halls.” Click here for a full obituary.
(If you enjoy our decade of osprey coverage — or anything else “06880” does — please consider a contribution. Just click here — and thank you!).
An “06880” reader wondered why — now that the pandemic has eased — the Planning & Zoning Commission still conducts Zoom meetings.
I asked P&Z chair Danielle Dobin to respond. She says:
The P&Z Commission votes every few months to determine whether we will continue with virtual (Zoom) meetings, or return to in-person meetings at Town Hall.
Here’s my take on why a majority of commissioners have opted to continue meeting via Zoom:
1. Electronic meetings are simply superior with regard to P&Z review (and the Zoning Board of Appeals too), which requires applicants and staff to discuss and review in great detail specific site plans, construction drawings and landscape plans.
Via zoom, we (the Commission and the public) are all on the same page, looking at the same plans and seeing the same drawings via screen share as a project’s specifications are reviewed in detail.
Members of the public examine plans, before a meeting.
In contrast, at Town Hall commissioners would peer across the room at poster boards (often not a complete set of plans) set up on an easel facing our table near the podium (making these images impossible for members of the public to see), or referencing printed-out, thick packets of which the public did not have physical copies.
Members of the public watching via TV from home could barely make out materials as they faced away from the camera, so they could listen along but could not follow.
Former Planning & Zoning commissioners Chip Stephens and Cathy Walsh, at a Town Hall meeting several years ago.
Details of final plans are often tweaked right before meetings, so applicants would also distribute new packets at the hearing to commissioners, and this new information wouldn’t necessarily be posted to the town website.
Consequently, members of the public would have no opportunity to review or see changes in the plans themselves. In my opinion, there simply wasn’t the same level of collaborative review of plans by the public and the commission when the P&Z met at Town Hall.
2. Zoom meetings have exponentially expanded public participation and engagement. Prior to the pandemic, we generally had 2-3 senior citizens attend regular P&Z public hearings.
Now, people of all ages and walks of life regularly join the Commission: moms with young children at home, people traveling for work, people commuting, etc. It’s been a wonderful change!
It’s impossible to predict when an item will be called and when the public will be asked for input. While many people can’t make the trip to Town Hall in the evening, or if they do, won’t wait around for 1 to 2 to 3+ hours to testify in person in the auditorium, they are able to Zoom in with their screens on or off, and jump in with a comment when their item is called.
Zoom meetings allow members of the public to be home to have dinner, tuck their kids in, help with homework, stay late at work, travel for work etc., and to also testify.
Zoom meeting.
3. P&Z meetings often last past 11 p.m. Zooming in from home makes a huge difference for the staff (who face a long commute home from Westport) and for the commissioners, all of whom work and are up early to commute, drive kids to school or travel for work. This also means we can participate in meetings while traveling for work, or even from the office.
4. An unexpected benefit of Zoom is that commissioners can look directly at each other’s faces and at those testifying. and vice versa.
At Town Hall, commissioners sit side by side. We have to crane our necks to see or make eye contact with each other and with anyone testifying. Those testifying look at us from an angle. If we arrange a table to look at each other in the auditorium, then some of our backs would be turned to the in-person audience and there would be no way for applicants to present plans so that we could see them along with the audience.
If we move the podium to the center gap in seats so folks will be looking @ the commission, the faces of those testifying will not be visible to the TV audience or on the recording. On Zoom, we all (public, commission and applicants) sit around the same virtual table looking at each other…for better or worse!
5. Lastly, when meetings were in person it was tough to stay after 11 p.m., as staff and the janitors would have to all stay with us.
On Zoom this isn’t an issue — the janitor doesn’t have to stay till midnight for us to continue meeting.
Danielle Dobin
For members of the public who have waited to testify or present their application through 4 hours of previous testimony, it is a boon to still be able to speak post-11 p.m.
Unless we’re falling asleep, we no longer follow the policy of only opening an application before 10 p.m. unless an applicant or the public asks us to postpone.
I hope your readers will join us via Zoom on Monday for our next public hearing. As is often the case, we have some interesting applications scheduled for that night.
(The next Planning & Zoning Commission meeting is tonight. Click here for the Zoom link.)
(Have a question about Westport? “06880” is happy to try to get an answer. Have a few bucks to support us? Please click here. Thank you!)
Last week’s Photo Challenge may have been the easiest ever.
A week before Bastille Day, the photo of 2 Citroëns was — bien sûr! — in front of Westport’s favorite (and only) French restaurant, Rive Bistro. (Click here to see.)
Clearly, it’s also a very popular spot. Félicitations to the more than 3 dozen readers who quick responded correctly:
Fred Cantor, John McCarthy, James McKay, Morgan Smith, Luke Garvey, Ferdinand Jahnel, Jeff Jacobs, Lois Himes, Paul Quinsee, Scott Broder, Andrew Colabella, Susan Yules, Ian Overton, Ed Simek, Susan Moran, Jonathan McClure, Barry Cass, Seth Braunstein, Judith Marks-White, Jack Krayson, Karen Como, Ken Stamm, Robin Jaffee Frank, Tom Feeley, Amy Schneider, Howard Edelstein, Marjolijn Baxendale, Sally Cadoux, Beth Berkowitz, Peter Powell, Steve Stein, Audrey Fox and Laurie Sorensen.
This week’s Photo Challenge is more difficult.
Then again, any one would be.
(Photo/Mark Mathias)
If you know where in Westport you’d see this, click “Comments” below.
(If you enjoy our weekly Photo Challenge, please consider an “06880” contribution. Click here — and thank you!)
Toby Slavin’s 2-out, bases loaded grand slam helped the Westport 12U Little League team win the district title yesterday.
They beat a very tough Fairfield National squad, 6-2 in 9 innings (regulation is 6).
And they did it even though the home team had a runner on 2nd with no outs in all 3 extra innings.
Oh, yeah: After his grand slam, Toby pitched his 2nd straight scoreless inning, to secure the win.
This is their third straight district championship, after winning at U-10 and U-11 . But it’s the first 12U district title for Westport since 2013, and only the third 12U title since 1957.
The sectional tourney — the next stop on the road to the Little League World Series in Williamsport — is tomorrow (Monday), 5:45 p.m. at Unity Park in Trumbull.
Congratulations to players Henry Ellis, Chase Landgraf, Toby Slavin, Grant Theisinger, Evan Sealove, Nolan Walters, Christopher Lambert, Luke Moneyhon, Jack McGrathm Torrey Rossetter, Miles Delorier and Justin Goldshore, and coaches Jonathon Ellis, Justin Walters, Marc Theisinger and Thomas Whelan.
Rachel Doran — the 2015 Staples High School graduate who died just before her senior year at Cornell University after a rare reaction to common medication — will be honored on August 12.
Cornell Human Ecology will remember her contributions to the campus through her “intellect, creativity, warmth and sense of humor.”
Her legacy will be recognized through the naming of an exhibit space in the Human Ecology Building, where she developed her talents as a curator.
Rachel Doran, at Cornell University.
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Johanna Keyser Rossi is a frequent contributor to “Westport … Naturally.” With images like these, it’s easy to see why.
Eleven now participate in the Westport Prevention Coalition’s “Liquor Sticker” campaign.
Participating shops display “liquor stickers” and informational material at their counters.
The stickers are used to seal previously opened bottles. The idea is that teenagers will see them in their parents’ liquor cabinets, and decide not to open them.
It’s an awareness and education tool for both youngsters and adults, says Margaret Watt. She co-chairs the WPC, a partnership of Westport’s Youth and Human Services Department, Positive Directions, and other local groups.
Liquor stickers, at a store counter.
“Many residents have more alcohol on hand for summer get-togethers,” Watt says.
“This is a great time for parents to discuss underage drinking with their kids and take precautions at home to prevent children from accessing it.”
The WCP notes that a 2021 Positive Direction youth survey showed Westport teens drinking at a rate higher than the 2019 state average.
That’s “eye-opening,” the Coalition says, because ’21 occurred during the pandemic, when social opportunities were somewhat limited.
Store owners have reported positive customer reaction to the “Liquor Sticker” campaign.
“They’ve been very popular,” says the owner of Dan’s Liquors. “Everybody says that they’re a great product, that it’s a really interesting idea.”
Westport’s beaches are closed today for swimming, due to high bacteria levels.
Fingers crossed for tomorrow …
No swimming today! (Photo/Paul Quinsee)
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Dawes — the LA folk-rock quartet — celebrates the release of their 8th LP tomorrow (Sunday, July 16; doors open at 5 p.m., show at 6) at the Levitt Pavilion.
It’s one of a very few Northeast shows on their tour.
The folk-pop-jazz-American roots group Pete Muller & the Kindred Souls is the opening act.
Premium lawn seats go for $85. Other lawn tickets go for $45. Click here to order.
Wine Spectator’s 2023 Restaurant Awards honor the world’s best restaurants for wine. This year there are 3,505 winners, from all 50 states and more than 70 countries.
One Westport restaurant made the cut: Gabriele’s Italian Steakhouse. Wine Spectator cites its offerings from France, Italy and California.
And finally … happy 77th birthday to Linda Ronstadt.
She’s recorded many memorable songs. I’m still fondest of her first:
(“06880” marches to a different drum: We don’t accept advertising. Instead, we rely on contributions from readers like you. Please click here to support our work. Thank you!)
Posted onJuly 15, 2023|Comments Off on Online Art Gallery #170
Welcome to our 170th online art gallery.
We opened in the early days of the pandemic, as an opportunity for “06880” artists hunkered down at home to share their work with the world.
More than 3 years later — now back to near normal — we’ve done what all artists do: We’ve grown and evolved.
But one thing has not changed. We still need your submissions.
Age, level of experience, subject matter — there are no restrictions. Everyone is invited to contribute.
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.)
“Beautiful Boarge.” Photographer Mike Hibbard says:“Pluck the blue flower and float it, face up, on white wine. Sip and refill very carefully. A transformation (of the flower) occurs in about 30 minutes.”
Untitled (Judith Katz)
Untitled (Santiago Lozano)
“After the Storm” — pastel on paper (Clayton Liotta)
Untitled — Italy (Lauri Weiser)
“Sunny Cityscape” — acrylic paper (Lis Hisgen)
Untitled — Martha’s Vineyard (Wendy Levy)
“Planting” (Lawrence Weisman)
“Red Sky at Night, Sailor’s Delight” — pencil and crayon (Steve Stein)
“Rudder, Prop, Keel, and Bottom — Sloop Joanne B” (Peter Barlow)
“Warmth” (Tom Doran)
(Entrance is free to our online art gallery. But please consider a donation! Just click here — and thank you!)
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