Next Thursday (December 16, 6 p.m.) the Planning & Zoning Commission will hold a public hearing on a text amendment involving fences.
A new proposal would require that the finished side of a fence be installed facing the adjacent lot or street. The idea is for the more attractive side of a fence to face outward, toward the neighbors and street.
A new text amendment would mandate that the “bad” side of a fence (shown here) would have to face the property of the homeowner who built it.
There’s an exemption for lot lines adjoining a non-residential lot, or a lot line directly adjacent to wetlands.
To see the full amendment, click here, then scroll down to Text Amendment #806.
The December 16 public hearing will be livestreamed at www.westportct.gov, and is available on Optimum Channel 79 and Frontier Channel 6020. Comments can be sent prior to the meeting to PandZ@westportct.gov. Residents may join the meeting to offer live testimony.
I launched “06880” in March of 2009. Ever since, it’s been a one-man band.
Sure, I use the editorial “we.” But “06880” has always been “me.”
Now, it’s “us.”
06880 Inc. has been registered with the State of Connecticut. I — I mean, we — are now an official non-profit organization.
I’ve got a board of directors to advise me, and keep me in line. Together, we can:
Host events. We’ve started already, with this Saturday’s Holiday Stroll. See you downtown, from 4 to 7 p.m.!
Develop community-wide educational, entertainment and inspirational programs.
Hire help, like interns and perhaps a staff photographer.
Support worthy causes.
I — I mean, we — pledge that the content of “06880” will not change. If anything, the bonds that connect this physical place and our online community will be tighter than ever.
The sky’s the limit. Yet “06880” will still be grounded, right here in the real 06880.
PS: We’ve applied for tax-exempt status. When the IRS says “great!”, all contributions will be tax-deductible. And if your company has a matching grant program, you can then add us to the list.
Why is this man smiling? Because he now has a board of directors! (Photo/Pam Einarsen)
They’re true heroes this week, and next. Especially, the week after that one.
But really, our FedEx, UPS, US Post Office and Amazon delivery people are heroes 52 weeks of the year.
They bring us our our packages, quickly and efficiently.
They do it in all kinds of weather. They do it despite a dizzying array of obstacles: traffic, nowhere to park, locked gates, blocked paths, snarling dogs, vague addresses, missing house numbers, unwieldy packages … the list is as long as the long list of deliveries.
We complain occasionally that they put our stuff by doors we don’t use. Or they don’t ring the bell.
Well, boo hoo. If you or I had their job, we’d do it far less efficiently — and far less quickly — than they.
So this month. if you’ve got a regular delivery person, tip him or her handsomely.
If not, put some treats out for whoever shows up.
We’re lucky — especially during this pandemic — that we can order whatever we want, whenever we want to, knowing it will show up pretty much whenever it was promised.
We’re far luckier to have the men and women who make it possible. They are truly our Unsung Heroes.
IMPORTANT PS (ho ho!):I’m not forgetting our amazing US Postal Service letter carriers (who often carry packages too). I’ve featured several as Unsung Heroes over the years — including our very first Unsung Hero ever (click here).
Here’s one more shoutout to all our USPS carriers. Thank you for all you do, all the time, for all of us!
(To nominate an Unsung Hero, email dwoog@optonline.net)
La Plage — the Longshore Inn restaurant — is much more than a summer place.
They’re offering prix fixe holiday menus that reflect holiday traditions, while incorporating “coastal flavors.”
The Christmas Eve (4 to 10 p.m.) and Christmas Day (noon to 6:30 p.m.) menus ($79 per person) include starters like crispy Copps Island oysters with green tomato remoulade, and Maine lobster mosaic; entrees such as Stonington sea scallops risotto and Alen Brother filet mignon; and desserts like Christmas trifle and Connecticut maple syrup panna cotta. Click here for the full menu.
New Year’s Eve features an a la carte menu, with the first seating from 4 to 6:30 p.m.
There’s dancing and a 5-course prix fixe menu ($175 per person) from 8 to 10 p.m. Specialties include wild salmon tartare, Périgord truffle salad, local black sea bass a la plancha, and crispy duck breast. Click here for the New Year’s Eve menu
New Year’s Day brunch is served a la carte, from noon to 2:30 p.m.
Click here for reservations, or call 203-684-6232.
When Sarah Swanberg owned her first acupuncture location in Stamford, many customers came from Westport. They urged her to open here.
Right before COVID struck, she signed a lease near Terrain. She never opened — and closed her Stamford studio for 3 months, too.
Then she found a space by the Delamar Hotel in Southport. But that didn’t feel right either.
Then Roger Leifer offered an office at the Willows medical complex, on Kings Highway North at Wilton Road. Indigo offers acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine, with a focus on women’s health, fertility and pregnancy, insomnia, anxiety, headaches and chronic pain.
Indigo also offers facial cosmetic acupuncture and micro needling, pelvic floor physical therapy, virtual nutrition consultations and online courses.
Sarah loves Westport. She’s been welcomed by the community.
Last month she was also welcomed by Governor Lamont, when he toured local businesses with actress and social media influencer (and Westporter) Eva Amurri. Click below to see:
In case you missed the previous notice: A memorial service for Julie Belaga — our former state representative, gubernatorial candidate, regional EPA administrator and Export-Import Bank director — is set for 10 a.m. on December 19, at the Westport Library.
She was one of Westport’s great public servants — and a wonderful woman too.
Longtime Westport resident Edgar Louis Van Gelder died Thanksgiving Day at his residence in Meadow Ridge in Georgetown. He was 98 years old.
He spent his childhood in Hilversum, Holland with his sister Ada and brother Joost. His family fled the Nazi regime, and arrived in the US in 1939.
After graduating from Windsor Mountain School in Vermont, Ed enlisted in the Royal Netherlands Army Air Force. After training in Jackson, Mississippi he was assigned to the No. 18 (NEI) Squadron RAAF. They fought in the South Pacific against Japanese occupation of what was then the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia).
As a navigator Ed took part in over 40 bombing raids, facing heavy enemy defenses. The squadron was based on the northern coast of Australia under American-British-Dutch-Australian Command. After the war, he transported prisoners from Japanese internment camps. For his service, Queen Juliana awarded him the Silver Flying Cross of the Netherlands.
After discharge, Ed attended New York University. He soon joined the Van Gelder-Fanto Corporation in Manhattan, specializing in pharmaceuticals. In 1958 he became a full partner. With his partner Stan Hier, he expanded the business to become a global competitor.
In 1949 Ed married Inge Lange. She was born in Germany, but as a small child in 1927 immigrated to the US with her mother. The couple lived first in Tarrytown, New York,, then moved to Westport in 1952. In 1961 they purchased the Guyer Farm on Hillspoint Road, and spent the next half century refurbishing the house and barn.
A businessman, husband, father, passionate sailor and aviator, Ed spent his retirement traveling with his wife. His most memorable voyage was to Antarctica on a Russian research vessel. Ed and Inge were active members of the Westport Community Theater throughout the 1960’s. After his retirement, they delivered Meals on Wheels.
He became a member of the Y’s Men, and was elected to Westport’s Planning & Zoning Commission.
Ed was predeceased by his wife and siblings. He is survived by his son Jeff, daughter Caroline, and grandsons Robin, Alex and Erin.
For 80 years, a statue of Theodore Roosevelt has stood outside New York’s Museum of Natural History. It shows the early 20th century president on horseback. Two men — an indigenous person, and an African — walk beside him.
The New York Post reports that, as the former president is “criticized for glorifying colonialism and racism,” it is being sent to North Dakota, on a long-term loan to the new Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library.
It’s already been covered with scaffolding and a tarp.
Theodore Roosevelt statue (Photo by Edward H. Blake, courtesy of Wikipedia)
Why is this “06880” news? Because the statue was designed and created in 1939 by James Earle Frasier, in his North Avenue studio.
Located now at Fraser Lane, north of Coleytown Avenue, the studio was one of the reasons Westport became known as an artists’ colony. Among the guests of Fraser and his wife Laura Gardin Fraser, also an internationally known sculptor: Teddy Roosevelt’s wife.
James Earle Fraser, at work on a bust of Theodore Roosevelt in his Westport studio.
The sculpture has not always been controversial. Fraser said, “The two figures at [Roosevelt’s] side are guides symbolizing the continents of Africa and America, and if you choose may stand for Roosevelt’s friendliness to all races.”
Fraser also designed the buffalo nickel, as well as the “End of the Trail” sculpture of a Native American slumped over a tired horse. That work depicts the damage inflicted by Europeans on this continent’s indigenous people.
Two of James Earle Fraser’s designs.
Click here for the full New York Post story. Click here for more information on the statue. Click here for more on James Earle Fraser. (Hat tip: Adam Stolpen)
The “CBS Sunday Morning” staple — aka David Pogue (don’t tell the kids!) made an earlier-than-usual appearance in 2021. He told “06880” he wanted to make sure there were no supply chain issues with any suggestions.
As usual, much of the segment was filmed in David’s Westport home. Both Santa and Techno Claus know it well.
David Meth likes the Wakeman Town Farm Christmas tree lights. A lot.
He does not like the lights on the Town Hall tree.
(Photos/David Meth)
David says: “The lack of warmth lighting up the Christmas tree at Town Hall is its usual, typical, surgical, antiseptic white—an embarrassment to the town. Yet it goes on year after year without change or care by the administration, who seem to lack an understanding of how color positively affects people.
“The town is very clear as it expresses an attitude that announces: ‘Get it done to say it’s been done.’ The warmth exuded from the tree at Wakeman Farm is what we should expect—welcoming, full of life and color for all.”
Rod Serling has not lived in Westport for 60 years. And he’s been dead for 45.
But visitors to Sherwood Island have recently experienced a “Twilight Zone” moment. There — in the middle of our beautiful, wooded beachside state park — sits a decrepit trailer park.
(Photo/Werner Lipeolt)
Has it sat there — unnoticed — for years? But wait — why is there a trailer park in a state park?
Because it’s a movie set, silly!
As “06880” has reported several times, Netflix is filming “Mr. Harrigan’s Phone” there. The Stephen King thriller stars Donald Sutherland and Jaeden Martell, and will be released next year.
When, presumably, the Black Bear Trailer Park is just a long-ago memory.
PS: How about some kind of Oscar for that set designer?!
Youn Su Chao has resigned from the Board of Education.
Her replacement must be a registered Democrat. Letters of application should be submitted by email (lgoldstein@westportps.org) or to Westport Board of Education, Town Hall Room 307, 110 Myrtle Avenue, Westport, CT 06880. The deadline is next Monday (December 13).
The Greens Farms Garden Club does wonderful work. And not just in the 06838 zip code.
The other day, members beautified the Gillespie Center men’s shelter downtown. They weeded, trimmed, raked, pulled vines and planted daffodils all around the property across behind Barnes & Noble (and around the corner from Tiffany).
The area was so overgrown, it was hard to find the stone wall or bench in the area. Now it looks great.
Early next spring, Garden Club members will trim back larger shrubs, and add more plantings.
Greens Farms Garden Club members take a brief break at the Gillespie Center.
Tonight (Tuesday) at 7 p.m., the state Department of Transportation hosts a virtual public information meeting about the replacement of the Greens Farms Road Sasco Brook bridge.
The presentation will be recorded. Click here for instructions on how to access the meeting, and how to provide comments or ask questions.
Joel Robert Hallas (W1ZR) died peacefully at home in Westport on Thanksgiving morning, with his family by his side, after a hard 3 -year fight against pancreatic cancer. He was 79.
Joel was an electrical engineer, sailboat owner and expert in telecommunications and amateur radio. He wrote 7 books about ham radio and antennas.
A 1960 graduate of Greenwich High School, he served in the Army from 1962-65. Stationed in Frankfurt, Germany, he earned the rank of E5 in the Signal Corps. He then graduated with a bachelor of science in electrical engineering from the University of Connecticut.
While working at Raytheon, Joel earned a master of science in electrical engineering from Northeastern University. He also worked for Norden Systems, GTE, IBM, Seagram’s and AT&T, on radar and telecommunications projects. He taught telecommunications at the Rochester Institute of Technology from 1993-1997.
In Westport he was known for sailing his sloop Windfall on Long Island Sound, with family, friends, co-workers, Y’s Men and his golden retrievers. He twice served as commodore of the Minuteman Yacht Club. He was appointed to the Parks & Recreation Commission, where he headed the committee that was instrumental in improving Compo Beach’s Ned Dimes Marina, including the concrete flotation docks that increased capacity and convenience.
At the end of his career Joel joined the staff of the National Association of Amateur Radio as technical editor of their journal QST. He wrote a popular monthly column and did a podcast called “The Doctor is In,” answering technical questions from hams.
Among the books Joel wrote are Basic Radio;Basic Antennas; The ARRL Guide to Antenna Tuners; Hamspeak; The Care and Feeding of Transmission Lines; Understanding Your Antenna Analyzer, and The Radio Amateur’s Workshop.
Joel is survived by his wife of 58 years, Nancy Gatrall Hallas; daughter Katie J. (Mike) Phillis, and son Dr. Stephen J. (Dr. Sabrina Noel) Hallas.
Burial will be private. A memorial service will be held this spring.
This year — which for many Westporters was a surprisingly good one, Wall Street-wise — as we buy presents for loved ones, friends, and people whose good graces we need to keep, we should also think about help others.
Give what you can.
It does not hurt that helping them can also ease our tax burden a few months from now.
But who to give to?
Far be it for “06880” to say. So here is a list — off the top of my head — of some worthy local organizations. Each one has a clickable link 🙂
I know I’ve missed some. Rather than bite my head off (very un-Christmas-y), please mention them in the “Comments” section. Then I’ll add them to this list.
And please: Keep your suggestions local (southern Fairfield County). There are way too many very worthy national and international groups to include. Thank you!
Catch a Lift: Westport supports veterans through fitness programs Circle of Friends: Teens work with children with disabilities
CLASP: Group homes and opportunities MyTEAM Triumph: Road race support for children, adults and veterans STAR Lighting the Way: Support for all ages Sweet P Bakery: Provides jobs for adults with learning disabilities; supplies The Porch at Christie’s with delicious baked goods
Mercy Learning Center: Life skills training for low-income women Read to Grow: Promoting children’s literacy from birth, supporting parents as babies’ first teachers Westport Book Sales: Providing employment for people with disabilities — and offering books, while providing funds for the Westport Library Westport Library: They do it all!
AWARE: “Assisting Women through Action, Resources and Education” Dress for Success Mid-Fairfield County: Empowering women by providing professional clothes and other support Malta House: Shelter and programs for young pregnant women and their babies
Click here to help support “06880” via credit card or PayPal. Any amount is welcome, appreciated — and tax-deductible! Reader contributions keep this blog going. (Alternate methods: Please send a check to “06880”: PO Box 744, Westport, CT 06881. Or use Venmo: @blog06880. Or Zelle: dwoog@optonline.net. Thanks!)
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