There might be someone in Westport who does more interesting things, meets more interesting people, has his hand in more projects, and reaches a wider audience, than David Pogue.
But I haven’t met him or her.
As a “CBS Sunday Morning” correspondent — “explainer,” he calls it — he covers any topic worth delving into, from cryptocurrency to how Ukrainians use technology in wartime.
He’s also been a PBS “Nova” star (that’s a pun he might make). He’s written about technology for the New York Times, Scientific American, Yahoo, and in more “Missing Manual” books than even he can count.
And that doesn’t count his decade as a Broadway conductor.
Hard to believe we covered all that — plus what brought him to Westport, and what keeps him here — in our 30-minute conversation at the Library. But that’s part of the Pogue magic. (He’s a magician too. No fooling.)
Click below for our podcast, courtesy of the Westport Library’s Verso Studios. It’s almost as good as “CBS Sunday Morning.”
But you also live in Greens Farms. Maybe Coleytown. Or Saugatuck.
Those are a few of the neighborhoods that make up our town. Some are long established, predating our founding in 1835. Some are newer, the result of growth or realtors’ whims.
All are part of ‘06880.”
Karen Scott knows Westport neighborhoods as well as anyone. A co-founder of KMS Partners @ Compass, the other day she took me on a (phone) tour of town.
The Mid-Fairfield County Board of Realtors defines 13 distinct Westport neighborhoods. Besides the 3 mentioned above, there are a few everyone recognizes: Old Hill and Compo Beach, for example. Some are less well known, like Red Coat in the far northwest, Long Lots, Roseville/North Avenue and Compo South (see map below).
(Map courtesy of Mid-Fairfield County Board of Realtors)
A couple are new. Hunt Club (from the Fairfield border and Cross Highway west to Bayberry and south to the Post Road) and Compo Commons (the smallest of all, more commonly known as Gault).
But 2 caught my eye. One is In-Town. The area between the Merritt Parkway, Saugatuck River, Post Road and Roseville Road — with, among others, North Compo and all its side streets — has, with the influx of families from Manhattan and Brooklyn, suddenly become very desirable.
They like the proximity to downtown — they can walk there in theory, if not practice. Until recently though, no one lived “In-Town.” They just lived “close to town.”
Washington Avenue, an “In-Town” neighborhood. (Photo/Google Street View)
The other relatively new name is “Saugatuck Island.” When I was a kid, there was just “Saugatuck Shores.” (And houses there were among the cheapest in Westport. Some were not winterized. Who wanted to live way out there, anyway?!)
But a while ago — no one is sure when — some residents living beyond the wooden bridge decided to become even more exclusive than what had then become the already prestigious Saugatuck Shores.
Hence “Saugatuck Island.” One long-time and embarrassed resident cringes every time she hears it. But there it is, complete with a large sign at the entrance. (Fun fact: No other Westport neighborhood has an actual “entrance.”)
(Photo/Gene Borio)
Karen Scott says that neighborhoods are a good way to describe Westport. “Everyone has preferences,” she notes. “Some people want land, not neighbors. Others don’t want a lot of land. Some prefer near the beach, or close to town. Some want to be close to amenities. Some want to be close to the train station, I-95 or the Merritt” — though with COVID, commuting convenience is less of a concern these days.
The hot real estate market has cooled the “neighborhood” concept a bit, she says. “When there aren’t a lot of homes for sale, some people say, ‘I don’t care. I just want to be in Westport.'”
The neighborhood concept itself has evolved (and become more formalized). At one time, Karen says, areas of town were designated by school districts. (That was probably easier when there were 3 junior highs — Bedford [now Saugatuck Elementary School], Coleytown and Long Lots — rather than just 2 middle schools, located a mile from each other.)
The Long Lots neighborhood has been “sub-divided.” It now includes the Hunt Club area.
As a realtor, Karen Scott is used to describing Westport’s 13 “official” neighborhoods, then squiring clients around to those that sound interesting.
Some buy in neighborhoods they took a quick liking to. Others end up in ones they did not originally consider.
But for all its different neighborhoods, Westport is really one big small town. And most people, Karen says, find “joy and happiness” all over, once they’re here.
The men and women of the Westport Weston Family YMCA’s Aqua Fit classes are an energetic bunch.
They’re also community minded. All month long, they’re joining with Westport veterans’ groups, to raise awareness and help.
Yesterday, after class, a coffee hour and informational table in the Y lobby was staffed by members of VFW Joseph Clinton Post 399, and the VFW Auxiliary. They explained all the good things they do, for veterans and Westport.
Next Saturday (May 7, 10 a.m.), the Staples high School girls golf team — coached by beloved Aqua Fit instructor Patty Kondub — will tidy up and pay respect at veterans’ graves in Assumption Cemetery on Greens Farms Road. Everyone is welcome to help.
On Saturday, May 21 (4:30 to 5:30 p.m.), the public is invited to join a “drop-in” Aqua Fit class. Get healthy, see why members are so loyal — and the $20 fee for the drop-in class will benefit the VFW Auxiliary.
All month long, the Aqua Fit program is sponsoring a donation box, with “Wish List,” in the Y lobby. Both collections support Homes for the Brave, the nonprofit that helps homeless veterans.
For more information, email Patty Kondub (nortonpk@icloud.com) or Joan Evon (joanevon@optonline.net).
Westport Weston Family YMCA CEO Anjali McCormick (directly under the “Y” signs) joins members of the Westport VFW, VFW Auxiliary and Aqua Fit to promote the month of awareness of veterans’ issues.
Beginning yesterday, stickers are required for parking at all Westport beaches.
The lifeguard chairs are not yet in position, but will soon be. Meanwhile, 2 varieties are being stored — along with what look like new chairs — at the Soundview lot.
The Westport Weston Cooperative Nursery School hosts a great, on-brand event this Saturday (May 7, 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Imperial Avenue parking lot). It’s presented by Longshore Sailing School.
The 15th annual event includes vehicles of all shapes and sizes (for kids of all ages to climb on, and take photos of): fire trucks, police cars, ambulances, cranes, dump trucks, buses, big rigs, boats and more.
Plus food trucks, live entertainment, merchandise for sale, raffle tickets, “roaming railroad trackless train rides,” face painting, balloon animals, sensory play and more.
It can get loud. Guests with sensitivity to noise can enjoy a quiet hour from 9 to 10 a.m., with no sirens or horns.
Saturday night’s benefit concert in Trumbull for cancer research began with a “stick tap” honoring Charlie Capalbo. The former Fairfield Ludlowe High School goalie died last month, after battling 4 cancers. He was one month shy of 24 years old. Charlie’s grandparents are Westporters Richard Epstein and Ina Chadwick, and his mother is Staples High grad Jennifer Wilde Capalbo.
This weekend, our dog was hit by a car when he ran out of Winslow Park. My 10-year-old son Alex — a 5th grader at Kings Highway Elementary School — wants to share a letter with the Westport community, in an effort to save other dogs.
If you have recommendations on what we can do to make this park safer for dogs, please let us know.
On Saturday I was volunteering at the library with my mom. After our shift ended we were looking for books, when we got a call from my dad. He said my dog got hit by a car. We rushed to get out of there.
A little while later we got a call from my dad again, saying my dog died. I was so sad, and so were my dad and mom.
The Johnsons, and their dog.
The reason he died is because he was running out of Winslow Park. There was this perfectly high stone wall … and a literal 5-foot gap. He ran and ran. When he came to the road he stopped for a split second and ran. And when he was in the middle of the road he got hit by a car. He got hit in the head and died immediately. The good thing is that he had no pain.
We have been grieving ever since he died. April 30, 2022 is the WORST DAY EVER. We cried and cried.
My point is that we should close off that big gap in Winslow Park. Some dogs died before my dog the same way, and I want to prevent that from happening to other dogs in the future.
My dog was only 3 years old. His name was Winnie the Pooh.
RIP Winnie The Pooh. We love you so much. You will forever be in our hearts, and will be with us in spirit. Love you so much Winnie.
Thousands of Westport families know “Dr. Nikki.” As a co-founder of Village Pediatrics she puts kids and parents at ease. Her quick informational videos made her an international TikTok and Instagram star.
Now she has a new venture. As “Dr. Gorman” — a more adult title — she’s opened the Westport Medical and Wellness Center. Two things separate it from most practices in the area: the “direct primary care” model, andhere integration of yoga, massage, acupuncture, meditation and other holistic types of care.
Dr. Gorman has always loved children. She was an 8-year-old babysitter in her native Palos Verdes, California; a Big Sister at the University of Pennsylvania, and after Duke med school and a residency at Stanford Children’s Hospital, she helped found a practice on New York’s West Side. She moved to Westport with her then-husband, a cardiologist, and spent several years with Dr. Jerry Lieberman in Weston.
Dr. Nikki Gorman
Fourteen years ago, she and Dr. Jenn Gruen founded Village Pediatrics. All along — in New York, Weston, and in Village’s offices on Kings Highway North and Riverside Avenue — Dr. Gorman enjoyed the business side of medicine. She’s helped eliminate paper, modernize offices and move into telemedicine.
Her dream was to own a medical building. At the same time, Dr. Gorman saw a need for adults in the area to access a new kind of care. Some did not have their own primary physician; some did not want to pay for the “concierge care” that doctors in the area have moved toward.
A realtor told her about a building on Whitney Street Extension, behind the CVS parking lot. A husband-and-wife naturopath team were selling it; they rented other rooms to therapists.
It was exactly what Dr. Gorman wanted. She could run the new practice, and offer rooms to a variety of wellness practitioners.
She could also offer direct primary care — a rarity in the area.
Her website describes it as “a membership-based care model in which patients pay primary car providers a flat, simple, periodic fee directly for unlimited access to primary and preventative services.”
There are no insurance deductibles or premiums. (Insurance is needed, however, for services like imaging and labs, medications, specialist care and hospitals. The practice does not participate in Medicare.)
Without the pressure from insurance companies to see high volumes of patients, practitioners can spend time on healthcare — and prevention. “We really get to know our patients,” she says.
Membership is $200 a month, or $2,000 for 12 months. All wellness services are charged separately.
The difference between direct primary care and concierge medicine, the website says, is that concierge practices may bill insurance while also charging a monthly or annual fee. Those patients are still responsible for co-payments and additional insurance costs.
In direct primary care, patients pay a set fee for all-inclusive services during sick and preventative exams. Medications, labs and in-office procedures are “substantially discounted.”
Dr. Gorman adds, “Direct primary care can be a wonderful option for businesses who want to give their employees an insurance option but can’t afford commercial carriers. Many employers end up not offering insurance at all. This is a way to make sure employees at least get their primary care needs met.”
Westport Medical and Wellness Center is approaching local businesses now, with the option.
As Dr. Gorman interviewed wellness practitioners — yoga instructors, a massage therapist, acupuncturist, meditation facilitator, holistic health coach, even a sexuality coach — she realized that all could work together, to provide complete health care. Anxiety, back pain, high blood pressure — many medical issues can be treated holistically, by a team of people.
She’s having a good time designing her new space — inside and out. She plans a chicken coop for the back yard, and a garden for outdoor yoga.
Dr. Gorman’s new office on Whitney Street Extension, behind the CVS parking lot.
Dr. Gorman will continue to be Dr. Nikki. She sees young patients three days a week. She won’t actually treat adults; in her new role, she’s overseeing the business side of the practice.
“This is fun,” she says. “I love the entrepreneurial side. And I love helping people.”
As Dr. Gorman adds adults to her focus, she notes how it all leads back to her longtime love of children.
“If parents are healthier and less stressed out, that helps kids too,” she says.
In other words: It takes a village to raise healthy youngsters.
But they’re not the only local bagel-maker that’s gone Big Time. Sugar & Olives is badass too.
Their Badass Bagels line — that’s the name — just signed a deal with Goldbelly. The website showcases the best eats in the country, and ships overnight. The page isn’t live yet, but it will soon show a variety of offerings.
They’ll also sell 3,000 bagels at the Smorgasburg every Sunday in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park, starting in early June. It’s one of the best — and most selective — food markets in the country.
But you don’t have to schlep all the way out there. Plenty of happy clients — corporate and personal — right here rave about the 100% sourdough recipe. (Okay, technically Sugar & Olives is a few feet over the border, in Norwalk. So sue me.)
They also sell at the Westport Farmers’ Market and Double L Market. Outside of Westport, they’re at the Kitchen Table in Pound Ridge, a few other farmers’ Markets, the Granola Bar in Greenwich and the Old Yew in the West Village.
The bagel business has taken over much of Sugar & Olives. There’s no more in-person dining. But Jennifer Balin and her wonderful crew do offer seasonal prepared items, which can be picked up by customers along with their bagels. Click here for details.
Like many Westporter, Joey Kaempfer was appalled at the clear-cutting that took place recently at the Westport train station. It was a safety project, Eversource and Metro-North say.
“We need to raise money to replace them,” Kaempfer — a Staples High School Class of 1966 graduate, who is building a home nearby — says.
He’s ready to donate $5,000 for seed money. But, he says, “some serious group has to raise the balance — probably $95,000.” They have to get permission to plant the new trees too, of course.
Is it doable? Are any groups or individuals interested? Click “Comments” below.
Recent tree removal (and overhead wires) at the Westport train station. (Photo/Matthew Mandell)
Plenty of great books (and vinyl, CDs, DVDs, etc.) are still available at the Westport Library Book Sale.
Plus one that is absolutely, positively a hell of a book.
(Photo/Frank Bruce)
Today (Sunday, May 1, noon to 5 p.m.), all items are half price. Tomorrow (Monday, May 2, 9 a.m. to noon), you can fill a bag for $5, or purchase individual items for half-price.
Wakeman Town Farm’s “Old-Time Pancake Breakfast” fundraiser is not until Saturday, June 18 (9 a.m. to noon). But folks are already signing up for a time slot.
The menu includes flapjacks and sausages with all the fixin’s, plus coffee and OJ. It’s outdoors, so the kids can wander over to say hi to the alpacas, sheep and goats.
The price is $13 for adult, $5 per child 2 and up. Money raised will help renovate the aging red barn, providing space for classes and programs. Click here to register.
Want to know more about the little-known but amazing gem known as the Smith Richardson Wildlife Preserve?
Aspetuck Land Trust’s partner, Connecticut Audubon’s land steward Charlie Stebbins, will host a “Walk and Talk” this Thursday (May 5, 10 a.m.), at the site off Sasco Creek Road on the Southport border.
He’ll describe the remarkable transformation, from an overgrown weed nest to a paradise for nesting birds (and bees). All are welcome — and like the preserve, it’s free.
And finally … today is the 1st of May — aka “May Day.” It’s a traditional holiday in many European cultures, with dancing, singing and cake.
“Mayday” — one word — is an international signal of distress. It has nothing to do with the month, though. It’s an Anglicized version of “m’aidez” — French for “help me!”
There’s another way to summon aid: “SOS!” It stands for “Save Our Souls.” It became popular when Morse code was new: 3 dots, 3 dashes, 3 dots.
Which, in a roundabout fashion, leads us to today’s song:
The Westport Library’s logo is familiar — and flexible.
The ellipsis promises “more to come… .” It shows up in many elements of the new building (including the Forum clock — check it out the next time you’re there).
The three dots also appear near the lower entrance. That was last week’s Photo Challenge (click here to see). It was quickly and correctly identified by Andrew Colabella, Lynn Untermeyer Miller, Robert Mitchell, Seth Schachter, Suzanne Warner Raboy, Barbara Durham and Michael Turin. All win a free library card 🙂
This week’s Photo Challenge is a bit different. If you know where in Westport you could see this, click “Comments” below.
Posted onMay 1, 2022|Comments Off on Gilbertie’s Townwide Scavenger Hunt Kicks Off Today
Gilbertie’s Herbs & Garden Center is 100 years old.
They’re throwing themselves (and the town) a giant party on June 4. The day includes music from Mystic Bowie, a petting zoo, artisans and craft vendors, 3 food trucks, ice cream and beer.
But you don’t have to wait a month for Gilbertie’s fun. Today, they kick off a townwide scavenger hunt.
A scavenger hunt map.
You’ll need a smartphone, car and driver, at least one other person to read and solve clues, the clues themselves, and a pen or pencil. I’ll provide the clues — just click here, and print them out — but you’re on your own for the rest.
There are 13 sites, and 15 clues. The scavenger ends at Gilbertie’s, where you stand under a sign, take a picture (for their Wall of Fame), and become eligible to win a $50 Gilbertie’s gift card. There will be one winner each week, from now through May 29.
The scavenger hunt takes about half an hour. It’s a great activity for families, anyone new to Westport, anyone who’s lived here a long time and loves Gilbertie’s — or anyone else.
Click here for details. Then click your seatbelt, and scavenge away.
Comments Off on Gilbertie’s Townwide Scavenger Hunt Kicks Off Today
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Her website describes it as “a membership-based care model in which patients pay primary car providers a flat, simple, periodic fee directly for unlimited access to primary and preventative services.”
The ellipsis promises “more to come… .” It shows up in many elements of the new building (including the Forum clock — check it out the next time you’re there).
