Tag Archives: Downtown Plan Implementation Committee

Roundup: Orphenians’ Valentines, Compostable Cups, Carnegie Hall …

Posted on February 12, 2025 | 6 comments

In June, Staples Orphenians — our high school’s renowned, audition-only choral ensemble — travel to Spain, for an international choral festival.

They want to make sure every student can participate, regardless of financial circumstance. Proceeds raised above their goal will go to the Voces8Foundation, which is creating a music education hub in Westport.

As a fundraiser, Orphenian singers have created 1-minute a cappella clips of pop Valentine’s tunes. They range from love to friendship to (ugh) breakup — for example, “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You,” “My Girl” and “I Want You Back.”

For just $5.50, anyone can send a digital Orphenians Valentine “Singing Gram” to anyone in the world. It will be delivered Friday (Valentine’s Day). Click here to order (songs are listed under “Select an Option”).

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A reader writes: “I just learned at Starbucks that the town is requiring all businesses to switch to compostable cups and lids. Do you know more about this initiative and what happens when businesses don’t comply?”

I contacted Gately Ross, co-director of Sustainable Westport. She replied: “Nothing that we’ve heard about explicitly. I suspect they are referencing Westport’s Single Use Plastic ordinance.” (Click here for the full regulation.)

The ordinance — passed in 2019 — says that any food service business must “transition from disposable plastic food service ware to compostable and recyclable alternatives.”

“Single use plastic food service products” incudes food containers, straws, stirrers, plates, “clamshells” — and hot and cold beverage cups.

1st Selectwoman Jen Tooker cited the ordinance — and last year’s “Skip the Stuff” campaign, encouraging customers to request only utensils and other items that they really need — at this month’s State of the Town meeting.

Ross thinks that may have prompted Starbucks’ compliance with the ordinance.

The Conservation Department can issue fines of $150 per infraction, plus additional fees.

Ross notes: “Disposal of compostable goods is nuanced. Often they are confused for recyclable (which is suboptimal, because they will contaminate the recycling stream).

“Also, they are not accepted at the town transfer station food waste collection.

“Sustainable Westport recommends that residents contact their private hauler to see if they are permitted in curbside collections.

“Best answer: Reusables! Bring your own mug! Which Starbucks permits.”

A Starbucks compostable cup.

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The Downtown Plan Implementation Committee meets tomorrow (Thursday, February 13, 8:30 a.m., Town Hall rooms 307/9).

The agenda includes a review of the downtown design master plan, including parking study strategy and Jesup/Imperial lots design, as well as Church Lane closure, and “Jesup Alley.”

The Downtown Plan Implementation Committee will discuss the alley between Jesup Road and Post Road East.

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Sam Weiser has made it to Carnegie Hall!

The 2012 Staples High School gaduate takes the stage on February 27, with his Columbus, Ohio-based Carpe Diem String Quartet. Their presentation includes 2 world premieres.

The group is “one of the most unique and sought-after chamber ensembles on the cincert stage today. (The) boundary-breaking ensemble that has earned widespread critical and audience acclaim for its innovative programming and electrifying performances.”

Click here for tickets, or call 212-247-7800.

Sam Weiser (center, rear) with the Carpe Diem String Quartet.

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Speaking of the arts: One of the best shows in town is a backstage tour of the Westport Country Playhouse.

From the history-rich green room and dressings rooms, to the costume and set shops, you’ll get an up-close-and-personal, behind-the-scenes (and free) look at the 94-year-old theater.

Susan Garment took one the other day. She was particularly intrigued at the set being readied for the next production.

Working on the “Native Gardens” set. (Photo/Susan Garment)

“Native Gardens” opens February 18. Click here for details, and tickets. Click here for details about the Playhouse tours. The next ones are in Apri, May and June.

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Speaking of the Playhouse: Applications are open for this summer’s Joanne Woodward Internship Program.

Named in honor of the actress, director and former Playhouse artistic director, the program is one of the nation’s top training opportunities for emerging theater professionals.

Internships are available in marketing, development/fundraising, general production, and artistic and education.

In addition to working in their special Playhouse departments, interns attend weekly seminars with guest speakers, including staff members, visiting designers and artists, commercial producers and more.

The internships date to the 1940s. Among the most prominent alums of the program: Stephen Sondheim.

The Woodward Internships run from May 27 through August 1. Applicants must be 20 or older. The stipend is $655 per week. Housing is provide,d though ransportation is the responsibility of the intern.

For more information, including applications, click here or email education@westportplayhouse.org. The deadline is March 7.

Stephen Sondheim (crouching, top) during his 1950 apprenticeship. Other interns include future film director Frank Perry (front row, left) and Richard Rodgers’ daughter Mary (2nd row, 4th from left).

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Sure, you can send a store-bought Valentine’s Day card.

But Staples students have a chance to handwritten ones — with a strawberry heart, lollipop and words of encouragement.

The Teen Awareness Group sold Candygrams last week. On Monday, members personalized each one, with personalized messages.

The project was a fundraiser for TAG’s effort to connect the community, and remind students to support one another while making healthy choices around drugs and alcohol, and normalizing seeking support for mental health issues. 

Teen Awareness Group members create Candygrams. (Photo/Elaine Daignault)

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Like many Westporters, Seth Schachter checks eBay often, for items of local interest.

His latest find: this 19th-century sign.

The price: a mere $750.

Or “best offer.”

Click here to offer whatever you think it’s worth.

Or instead of buying it, perhaps a reader can clue us all in on John F. Coyle’s back story. Just click “Comments” below.

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Aspetuck Land Trust is partnering with Gilbertie’s Herbs & Garden Center, and Oliver Nurseries, to sponsor a new book club.

The first selection is “Soil: The Story of a Black Mother’s Garden,” by Camille Dungy.

The book – about a family’s decision to plant a diverse garden in Fort Collins, Colorado — has been called “a poetic reflection on plants, family, community, race, place, and legacy.”

Meetings are virtual. They’ll be facilitated by ALT member Jennifer Groves. A positive psychology coach and naturalist who leads efforts to connect people in meaningful ways to nature and each other.

“Soil” is available from Amazon, and at the Westport Library. The signup deadline for the club is February 20. Click here to register for the Monday, April 7 (6:30 p.m.) session. Click here for the Tuesday, April 22 (12 noon) meeting.

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In 1986, trombonist and bandleader John Fumasoli formed a 10-piece little big band, The Jones Factor. It has become a jazz legend.

Greg “The Jazz Rabbi” Wall met John a few years ago, at a memorial concert for Micky Golomb (namesake of JazzFC’s scholarship fund), and appreciated his musicianship and friendly vibe.

Tomorrow (Thursday, February 13, VFW Post 399; shows at 7:30 and 8:30 p.m.; dinner service from 7; $20 music cover, $15 veterans and students), Jazz at the Post welcomes The Jones Factor back.

In addition to Fumasoli and Wall, the shows feature bassist Dave Anderson, keyboardist Rob Aries, trumpeter Mark Collins and drummer Tyger MacNeal. Click here for tickets.

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It’s a tossup who likes to romp in the snow more: kids or dogs.

Based on today’s “Westport … Naturally” photo — taken near Burying Hill Beach — we’re betting on man’s best friend.

The canine variety, that is.

(Photo/Chrissey Hunt)

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And finally … today is the 216th anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln. The 16th president’s birthday was celebrated as a holiday — at least outside the South — as was George Washington’s, 10 days later. In 1968 Presidents Day was created to honor both, on the third Monday in February.

(“06880” is your hyper-local blog. We rely on support from readers like you. If you enjoy our work — and our 24/7/365 dedication to this town, and you — please click here to donate. Thank you!

6 Comments

Posted in Arts, Downtown, Environment, Local politics, Westport Country Playhouse

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“06880” Podcast: Melissa Kane

Posted on February 10, 2025 | 1 comment

Melissa Kane is board chair of Connecticut Against Gun Violence.

It’s an important job — but typical of her long public service.

She’s co-chaired the Downtown Plan Implementation Committe. Beford that, she was a Representative Town Meeting member, and Westport’s 3rd selectwoman.

The other day, we chatted at the Westport Library for an “06880” podcast. Click below to hear more about Melissa’s work with CAGV, and her other efforts in Westport.

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Posted in Local politics, Media, Politics

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Consultants: Spread Parking From Downtown Core; No Deck Now

Posted on January 27, 2025 | 9 comments

The latest parking consultants’ report is in.

The conclusion: Westport has a parking problem.

BFJ Planning + THA Consulting delivered that verdict — and a 9-page document — to the Downtown Plan Implementation Committee on Thursday. The study cost $46,900.

After observing parking occupancies during summer, fall and winter 2024, the consultants observed:

  • Peak occupancy downtown occurs on weekdays around 1 p.m.
  • Occupancies are highest in the “Core Parking Zone.”
  • Demand for all-day spaces in the core is at “practical capacity.”
  • Public lots outside of the core are “generally under-utilized.”

The “core zone” is the area north of the Post Road between Myrtle Avenue and Parker Harding Plaza, and south of the Post Road between the Taylor lot (lower Library parking) and Imperial Avenue.

The core downtown parking zone.

The consultants offered these goals:

Spread long-term parking demand out of the core lots. This could be done by creating all-day permits and permit areas. There would be one permit for a spot in the core zone, and a less expensive alternative for an outlying lot.

Increase hourly parking opportunities in the core. To do this, 3-hour spaces would be converted to 2- and 8-hour spaces; some all-day spaces within the core parking zone would become 2-hour spaces, and “occasional 15-minute parking” would be introduced in the core zone.

(The selectwomen recently changed 2-hour parking limits to 3 hours, at the urging of downtown merchants and restaurant owners.)

A parking management app could manage hourly parking. The consultants noted that there are already 13,000 ParkMobile users in the 06880 ZIP code.

License plate readers would be used for parking enforcement.

The popular Park Mobile app.

Increase the efficiency and security of the Police lot. Used primarily by the Police Department now, this could be expanded, restriped and clarified as a public parking area.

The consultants did not recommend a parking deck — a recent discussion in town for, among other places, Elm Street — due to its cost: estimated at $4.9 to $5.25 million.

Though noting they are “not anti-deck,” Georges Jacquemart, principal of BFJ Planning, said that introducing the parking management strategies outlined above should be the first steps for town officials.

He added that funds collected from parking fees could be used to improve pedestrian access from outlying lots, and perhaps be used for other downtown parking projects.

Perhaps a deck?

(Since 2009, “06880” has covered parking — and everything else that goes on downtown. Plus everywhere else in Westport. If you enjoy this hyper-local blog, please click here to support us. Thanks!)

9 Comments

Posted in Downtown, Local politics, Transportation

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Roundup: Tom Henske’s Total Cents, Teenagers Without Sense …

Posted on January 15, 2025 | 8 comments

Tom Henske makes total cents.

That’s not a typo.

It Makes Total Cents is the name of Tom Henske’s podcast.

Now in its fourth season as a Westport Library Verso Studios production, the dynamic, well-respected and always-on-the-money Westport financial expert — and an impressive array of guests — teach youngsters (and their parents, guardians, and grandparents) everything they need to know about financial literacy.

This year, the podcast will include video. That makes a lot of cents.

The first episode features University of Virginia professor Chuck Howard discussing expense prediction bias. Future episodes will focus on compound interest, borrowing and credit, college savings and more.

Episodes go live biweekly. They’re available on the Total Cents YouTube channel, plus Amazon, Apple and Spotify. All episodes and channels can be accessed through The Westport Library Community Partnership Podcasts page.

The podcast is an extension of the Total Cents blog, which includes conversation guides and e-news updates taken from Henske’s book, “It Makes Total Cents: 12 Conversations to Change Your Child’s Financial Future.”

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Alert, and warm, “06880” reader Jonathan Berg writes:

“This is no longer any of my business, as my last kid graduated from Staples last year.

“But I just drove past the school bus stop. There’s a wind chill of 16 degrees right now.

“I know from my kids that no one uses lockers, and they don’t want to drag a coat around all day.

“So they’re out there waiting for the bus in 16 degrees with no coat on, shivering.

“There’s a lot of sickness going around. I would think kids are going to get sicker out there every morning. I don’t really have a solution here, other than maybe drive your kids to school when it’s this cold if you can.

“Just a thought from a habitually concerned father.”

I don’t have kids, so I’m just a habitually concerned random guy. But here’s another solution: Tell your kid to wear a coat, toss it randomly in the cafeteria along with all the sports equipment and other stuff kids leave there, then pick it up at the end of the day.

Or else jog in place until the bus comes.

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The next Downtown Plan Implementation Committee public meeting is Thursday, January 23 (8:30 a.m., Town Hall Room 201/201A). 1

The agenda includes parking lots reinvention, the downtown design Master Plan, and parking study strategy presentation and review.

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Brand Nu Apparel popped up last summer, on Post Road West. Marcello DeAguero’s temporary shop offered athletic wear and street wear, “designed for creators of all kinds — athletes, artists, entrepreneurs, and dreamers.”

Now Marcello has taken the next step: a long-term retail location in Westport. Brand Nu Apparel is now open at 877 Post Road East (the building between Pizza Lyfe and the Sherwood Diner). Click here for details.

Brand Nu Apparel

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The Westport Business Networking International chapter’s next Visitor’s Day is January 23 (United Methodist Church, 7 a.m.; networking, business meeting, coffee and homemade baked goods).

Westport BNI has 55 members, with only 1 per category. Classifications available now include estate attorney, residential contractor, salon, restaurant, hotel, home security, personal trainer, photographer, caterer or bakery, commercial real estate, florist, event/wedding planner, travel/tour operator, automotive repair, roofer, nutritionist, physical therapy, promotional products and more.

In the past year, the group has passed over $3.3 million in closed business.

All visitors must pre-register. Contact Matthew Cummings of M&T Bank at (mcummings2@mtb.com) to sign up in advance. Click here for the BNI website.

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The holidays are over. But it’s never too late to give a wreath

Wreathing for Community‘s latest gift is Bridgeport’s Thomas Merton Family Center.

The wreath was created by Montira Earley, in collaboration with Neighbors & Newcomers of Westport, with donations from area residents.

The Merton Center is important to Montira, so she nominated it as a recipient.

From left: Amanda Figueroa-Camilo and Montira Earley, with the Merton Center wreath.

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There’s always something new at Compo Beach — and in the sky above it.

Today’s “Westport … Naturally” feature was captured there by Mark Sikorski.

(Photo/Mary Sikorski)

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And finally … in honor of Tom Henske’s “Total Sense” podcast (above):

(Speaking of money … you know the drill. Please click here to support your hyper-local blog. You’ll help the world go ’round. Thank you!)

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Posted in Downtown, Library, Local business, Local politics, Teenagers

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Roundup: Downtown Survey (Again), Ice Cream Downtown (New) …

Posted on November 23, 2024 | 10 comments

The Downtown Plan Implementation Committee has released the results of its most recent study.

What do 1,955 respondents, plus attendees at focus groups and a townwide charette say>

Surprise!*

Most want Jesup Green to be untouched, for parking or any other use. Some people would even like the open space expanded, toward the river.

The Imperial Avenue parking lot, while used for the Westport Farmers’ Market, Westport Woman’s Club, Levitt Pavilion and Westport Library, is not utilized for downtown shopping and dining.

Presented with 3 sites for a downtown parking deck, nearly 50% favored the Baldwin lot on Elm Street.

For details on those results, and other questions like parking limits, click here.

*Not really.

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Speaking of downtown: With Japanese, Israeli and French cuisine — plus Spotted Horse, Emmy Squared and Mrs. London’s — Church Lane is already a food mecca.

Soon, there will be an ice cream place too.

Van Leeuwen will open in the space previously home to Franny’s Farmacy.

It’s the 4th location in Connecticut for the chain, which features ice cream (including vegan), chocolate chip cookies, cookie sandwiches, sundaes and milkshakes.

The other sites are New Canaan, Darien and Greenwich.

Van Leeuwen also operates shops in Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Washington, Colorado, Texas and California.

(Photo/Sal Liccione)

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Westport River Gallery is filled with fine American, European and Asian art.

There are many different price points.

Nothing there sells for $6.2 million, however. To pay that amount for art, you need to go to Sotheyby’s, and be a Hong Kong crypto entrepreneur willing to pony up for a duct-taped banana.

But wait!

What was that, duct-taped yesterday to a utility pole, outside the Riverside Avenue gallery?

Looks like anyone could have had it for free.

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The Representative Town Meeting Environment and Health & Human Services Committees meet together on Monday (November 25, 7:30 p.m., Zoom).

They’ll continue their discussion about “concerns related to a potential artificial turf field being added to Long Lots School property, during the new school construction.”

The athletic fields at Long Lots Elementary School are now all grass. 

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Speaking of the environment: Next year marks the 95th anniversary of the Greens Farms Garden Club.

Members got a jump on the celebration Tuesday. The warm, sunny morning was perfect for palnting daffodils, at Machamux Park on Greens Farms Road.

The name comes from the Mohawk and Wallup Native Americans who settled in the area. They called the area overlooking Long Island Sound “Machaux” (“the beautiful land”).

In the mid-1600’s, colonists arrived. The 5 “Bankside Farmers” bought land along the shore from the Wallups.

It named Greens Farms in honor of John Green, one of the Bankside Farmers. A large memorial rock in the park will be surrounded by daffodils and grape hyacinths next spring — the Greens Farms Garden Club’s contribution to this “beautiful land.”

Second Selectwoman Andrea Moore and Westport parks superintendent Michael West helped prepare the garden bed for the volunteers.

In a few months, we’ll all enjoy their work.

Greens Farms Garden Club members, at Machamux Park.

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Och and oy!

That was the title of last night’s sold-out Westport Country Playhouse show.

Actor Alan Cumming (“Cabaret,” “The Good Wife”) and American journalist and singer Ari Shapiro (NPR’s “All Things Considered,” Pink Martini) joined forces for an evening of entertainment. 

The event’s title paid homage to Cumming’s Scottish and Shapiro’s Jewish roots. It was a night of thought-provoking conversations, slightly bawdy musical numbers and personal storytelling.

Alan Cumming and Ari Shapiro: Och and oy! (Photo/Susan Garment)

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Duck!

It’s today’s “Westport … Naturally” photo:

(Photo/Johanna Keyser Rossi)

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And finally … Vic Flick, the delightfully named guitarist whose “driving riff in the theme for the James Bond movies captured the spy’s suave confidence and tacit danger,” says the New York Times, died November 14 in Los Angeles. He was 87. and suffered from Alzheimer’s.

Click here for a full obituary.

(New businesses, art, gardening, sports, schools — it’s all here, just like it is every day, in our “06880” Roundup. If you rely us on for news you can use, please click here to support our work. Thanks!)

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Posted in Arts, Downtown, Entertainment, Environment, Local business, Local politics, Sports, Westport Country Playhouse

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Roundup: Ukraine, Local Politics, Sports …

Posted on November 19, 2024 | 11 comments

The Sunrise Rotary and Westport Rotary Clubs have pledged $2,500 each, to Ukraine Aid International.

Rotarian Ken Bernhard is seeking more funds, which the national club will match. The goal of $15,000 would purchase water filtration systems, for use in the war-torn nation.

The need is critical, in areas where Russian forces have destroyed water supplies.

UAI founders Marshall and Brian Mayer — who grew up in Westport — described the water filtration systems, and other aid their non-profit provides (including communications equipment, vehicles, and funds for children’s therapy camps) on Sunday, at a special dinner provided by Nômade.

Among the attendees: Senator Richard Blumenthal and Congressman Jim Himes. Both provided insights into the current status of US aid to Ukraine. Blumenthal — who has traveled there 6 times — noted the bipartisan support, with ties forged on his trips with Republican senators like Lindsay Graham.

Senator Richard Blumenthal and Congressman Jim Himes at Nômade. (Photo/Dan Woog)

Click below for Congressman Himes’ remarks:

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The Downtown Plan Implementation Committee holds a public meeting this Thursday (November 21, 8:30 a.m., Town Hall Room 307-9).

The agenda includes reviews of the parking lot project, a review of the public engagement process, and an update on the parking study and feasibility analysis.

Meanwhile, the Long Lots School Building Committee meeting scheduled for today (Tuesday) has been canceled.

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ESPN’s Jeremy Schaap has done it again.

The Westporter debuted his stunning new documentary, before a large Westport audience crowd.

“Pat Tillman: Life, Death, Legacy” is a profound and impactful look at the life and legacy of the NFL star who volunteered to serve in Afghanistan, then was killed by friendly fire.

Missed it? Click here for details on how to stream the video.

Jeremy Schaap, at the Westport Library. (Photo and hat tip/Dave Briggs)

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Also last night: A nearly sold-out audience enjoyed the Westport Country Playhouse’s latest Script In Hand reading.

“A Danger to Yourself and Others” took place — appropriately — the week before Thanksgiving, It involved a gas station robbery, library card revocation, love, and much more.

Script in Hand readings are regular — and very popular — Playhouse events.

Script in Hand readings give a great flavor of interesting plays. This is a scene from “A Danger to Yourself.” (Photo/Dave Matlow)

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It was a day for Clemson orange.

But there was plenty of Staples blue in Cary, North Carolina on Sunday.

Goalkeeper Paddy Donovan — a 2022 Staples High School grad — saved one penalty kick, in the ACC men’s soccer final.

But 2 Clemson teammates missed theirs, and Wake Forest captured the league championship, 7-6, after regulation and overtime ended 1-1.

Among the other local connections: Clemson is coached by 1979 Staples grad (and former state champion) Mike Noonan. He’s led the Tigers to 2 national titles in the past 3 years.

In the stands: Paddy’s parents, Dan and Nicole Donovan. Both are SHS alums too. Dan is a former Wrecker soccer state champion. And his late brother Doug was Noonan’s teammate, on that ’78 state title squad.

Also on hand: former Staples teachers Dave and Marianne Harrison (social studies and physical education, respectively). Both now live in North Carolina.

Next up for Clemson: The NCAA tournament. Donovan and his teammates earned a first-round bye.

From left: Nicole Donovan, Dave and Marianne Harrison, Dan Donovan. All sport Clemson orange.

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Speaking of sports: The Staples girls rugby program hosts a clinci for all current interested girls, in 8th grade and above, on November 24 (12:30 to 2 p.m., Staples football field).

Players from the University of New Haven Women’s Rugby Team will be lead the event. It’s a chance for girls (and their parents) see what rugby is all about, ask questions, and meet athletes. No prior experience is required.

The Staples girls rugby season runs from March through June.

Staples High School girls rugby. (Photo/Dylan Chatterjee Photography)

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It’s been an November to remember.

Just over a week before Thanksgiving, this is the still-splendrous scene at Celia Campbell-Mohn’s home, off Roseville Road:

(Photo/Celia Campbell-Mohn)

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And finally … on this day in 1493, Christopher Columbus landed on an island he first saw the day before. He named it San Juan Bautista. Today we know it as Puerto Rico.

The island has given the world many great gifts. Among them: our neighbor, longtime Weston resident José Feliciano.

(“06880” is where Westport — and Weston — meet the world. If you enjoy the connections you find here, please click here to support our work. Thank you!)

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Posted in Education, Library, Local politics, Politics, Sports, Staples HS, Westport Country Playhouse

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Roundup: Unitarian Vigil, SweatHouz, Big Bear …

Posted on November 6, 2024 | 4 comments

The Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Westport is hosting a “Candlelight Vigil for Hope and Peace” tonight, from 7 to 9 p.m.

The invitation says, “Come together for a collective sigh, some tears, laughter and mutual support.”

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Compo Acres Shopping Center specializes in several types of businesses: food, fashion and fitness.

Row House is closed. But a different kind of fitness “house” moves in next month.

SweatHouz is the brainchild of longtime friends Adam Peterson and Brian Liberty.

It will offer private contrast therapy suite, each with an infrared sauna, cold plunge and en suite Vitamin C shower.

The goal is to reduce inflammation, manage pain, improve immunity and sleep, boost mood, improve recovery, burn calories and improve performance.

SweatHouz plunge tub.

Anderson describes a “boutique, high-end, hotel-type feel.” Users can set the temperature for their cold plunge through an app.

Sessions — available singly, or through packages — are 60 minutes. Clients choose whatever options they like, from contrasts to just a sauna and shower.

Liberty learned about SweatHouz, and franchise opportunities, while recovering from a golf injury.

The Westport owners like their new neighbors, including SoulCycle and the bizarrely punctuated [solidcore].

“We’re not competing with fitness centers,” Peterson says. “People work out elsewhere, and get their recovery here.”

It doesn’t hurt that there are a couple of spots for healthy food nearby, like Sweetgreen (next door) and Pokeworks. (As well as Cobs Bread, and of course Trader Joe’s.)

Brian Liberty (left) and Adam Peterson, outside SweatHouz.

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The Downtown Plan Implementation Committee meeting scheduled for November 14 has been rescheduled for Thursday, November 21 (8:30 a.m., Town Hall room 201/201A).

Meanwhile, the Long Lots School Building committee announced yesterday that they will hold a special meeting today (Wednesday, November 6, Town Hall Room 309).

They’ll hear a project update, convene a work session to review conceptual parking concepts and conceptual elevations, and open the meeting up to public comment.

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A bear spotted on Sturges Highway on Halloween night seems to continue lurking in the area.

Ben James spotted him yesterday, on nearby Catamount Road.

“I guess it’s too warm to hibernate,” Ben says.

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Leaves are falling fast. There are only a few days left to enjoy “Westport … Naturally” scenes like this.

(Photo/Loretta Hallock)

Before we know it, we’ll be on to winter!

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And finally … a throwback to November, 2016:

(Another day, another few “06880” stories. No matter what happens in the world, we are your window on Westport. If you appreciate our work, please click here to support us. Thank you!)

4 Comments

Posted in Downtown, Education, Environment, Local business, Politics

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Roundup: Vote WEST, Downtown Survey, Lego Collection …

Posted on November 5, 2024 | 8 comments

Voting is a privilege, and a right.

It can also help you shop.

Check below, for this great (today only) offer from WEST (117 Post Road East):

(Hat tip: Dave Briggs)

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Want another chance to weigh in on Jesup Green, the Imperial Avenue parking lot and “structured parking”?

The Downtown Plan Implementation Committee’s new survey is now live.

It’s open through Monday, November 11. Click here, then follow the prompts.

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Veterans Day is an important — and often overlooked — holiday.

Westport’s ceremony is always meaningful, and well worth attending.

The Town of Westport and VFW Post 399 will host Veterans Day services next Monday, November 11 (Town Hall auditorium).

At 10:30 a.m., the Westport Community Band will perform marches and patriotic tunes.

The services begin at 11 a.m. The time and date are significant. The armistice ending World War I — “the war to end all wars” — began at 11 a.m. on November 11, 1918.

After the ceremony, all veterans and other community members are invited to VFW Post 399 for food and drinks.

Donations will help pay for refreshments (click here; then click “Donate”). Extra funds will help pay for permanent flag stands on graves throughout town.

The VFW has already decorated 500, at Assumption Cemetery. There are 700 more to go in Westport.

The Doughboy statue honors Westporters who served and sacrificed in World War I. It’s at Veterans Green, across from Town Hall where Veterans Day ceremonies are held. (Photo/Topsy Siderowf)

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Sustainable Westport keeps our town on its environmental toes.

Energy, transportation, yard waste, composting — it’s all part of the non-profit’s mission and work.

They’re always looking at new ways to reuse and recycle.

For their latest effort, they did not look far. Just in every corner and closet of every playroom in town.

Introducing: Sustainable Westport’s first-ever Lego donation drive.

Donate your “pre-loved Lego, Duplo, Technic, mini-figure and/or baseplate pieces.” Sustainable Westport volunteers will package and send them to Lego Replay — and arm of the Danish company — to ensure they find their way out of landfill, and into the hands of kids who need them most.

Full collections, partial sets, random pieces — nearly all are welcome. For  information about accepted pieces and how to prepare your bricks for donation, click here.

Donations can be dropped off at:

MoCA Holiday Artisan Marketplace (November 15 and 16, noon to 4 p.m.).

Wakeman Town Farm (November 22 through December 8, when open)

Earthplace (December 9 through 15, when open)

Westport Moms Holiday Event at Birchwood Country Club (December 12, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.)

Westport Weston Family YMCA (December 13 through 22, when open).

Questions? Email ghoffmann@sustainablewestport.org.

PS: Wondering why LEGO can’t be recycled? Click here.

Clean-up time!

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The 84th annual Candlelight Concert is set for Staples High School Friday, December 13 (8 p.m.), and Saturday, December 14 (3 and 8 p.m.). Tickets will be available soon (keep reading “06880” for details!).

Meanwhile, the Staples High School — which offers the beloved event as a gift to the town — welcomes businesses and individuals to purchase ads in the program, to help offset costs (and fund the Music Department’s programs for over 300 students).

Ads will be seen by over 3,000 people. For more information, email staples.music.parents.assn+ads@gmail.com.

Coming soon … Candlelight 2024!

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The National Charity League fosters mother-daughter relationships through a 6-year program of community service, leadership development and cultural experiences.

The Westport chapter has more than 275 members — women and their daughters in grades 7-12 — and provides volunteer support to over 30 non-profits.

Mothers of 6th grade girls are welcome to apply. Click here for more information, or email nclwmembership@gmail.com.

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Rising saxophone star Sarah Hanahan brings her talent to this Thursday’s “Jazz at the Post” (November 7, 7:30 and 8:45, VFW Post 399; dinner service at 6:45 p.m.; $20 music cover, $15 veterans and students; click here for show tickets).

Hanahan — named one of NPR Jazz Night in America’s “30 under 30 Youngbloods” — will be joined by bassist Mikey Migliore, guitarist Tony Davis and drummer Mike Camacho.

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After touring the 4 homes on Sunday’s “Historic Homes of 06880” tour, Nicholas Eisenberger thought he’d seen it all.

But passing Nyala Farm, he saw something else fascinating:

“What a beautiful sight, place, and day!” Nico says, of the bobcat (and tour) — and today’s captivating “Westport … Naturally” image.

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And finally …

(It’s Election Day! Vote with your pocketbook! Please click here to elect “06880” as your go-to, hyper-local blog, and support our work. We promise: We’ll never send an unsolicited text or email!)

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Posted in Children, Downtown, Entertainment, Environment, Local business, Staples HS

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Downtown Charette: Plans, Ideas, Opinions — And No Consensus

Posted on October 24, 2024 | 6 comments

A big crowd filled a small room at the Westport Library last night, to discuss a hot topic: the future of downtown.

The Downtown Plan Implementation Committee hosted a public charette for “all stakeholders.”

That group — including elected and appointed officials, real estate owners, merchants and their representatives, architects,  and plenty of residents — examined aerial photos, maps and plans for Parker Harding Plaza, Jesup Green, the Imperial Avenue parking and environs.

Plus 3 possible sites for a parking deck.

A large aerial photo showed the location of a possible parking deck on Elm Street.

They wrote their ideas on dozens of Post-Its and note cards.

Opinions were all over the lot. It was hard to find unanimity — even on beloved Jesup Green.

Plenty of attendees urged, “Don’t touch it!” Others recommended swapping it with the current Taylor parking lot, closer to the Saugatuck River.

The table devoted to plans for a parking deck at the the police station/Bay Street/Gillespie Center site adjacent to Jesup Green drew typically mixed responses.

“Does data show actual need?” one person wrote. “I always see open spots at midday.”

“A good spot,” a second said.

Architect and longtime Westporter Joe Vallone brought his own plan for an Elm Street parking structure. A Myrtle Avenue resident suggested instead that Town Hall was a better site for parking.

For every Westporter who suggested better use of an outlying lot — Imperial Avenue, say, or Town Hall — another countered that people do not want to walk more than they’re used to.

Then a third would point out that in Europe — and New York, where many Westporters residents lived not long ago — folks walk all the time.

One of many Post-It notes on the Parker Harding Plaza plan.

A public survey will be conducted next month. Downtown Plan Implementation Committee chair Randy Herbertson will present those results, and recommendations from consultants, after the holidays.

Metered parking? Moving the Farmers’ Market closer to downtown?

Last night, all ideas were on the charette table.

(Representative Town Meeting member Andrew Colabella says, “The town was well represented by our elected and appointed officials. The involvement of residents was positive. I wish more were involved.

(“However, this is only the beginning of a long process. I look forward to the public being involved from near and far. Send comments to rtm-dl@westportct.gov,”)

(“06880” is your hyper-local source for Westport news. We rely on reader support. If you enjoy our coverage, please click here. Thank you!)

Attendees at last night’s charette. (All photos/Dan Woog)

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Posted in Downtown, Local politics

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Roundup: Hurricane Help Collection Today …

Posted on October 8, 2024 | 5 comments

Hours have been extended for dropping off donations for victims of Hurricane Helene today (Tuesday), at Stop & Shop.

Items will be accepted now through 2:30 p.m.

The drive is being conducted by the Westport Rotary Club and Westport Sunrise Rotary.

The list of desperately needed items is long. It includes food and other supplies; tools and equipment; other essentials, and medical supplies. Click here for a full list.

In other Helene news, the Y’s Men of Westport/Weston have raised enough money to buy 10 generators for North Carolina.

Money continues to pour in.

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Jaden Waldman is spending his fall afternoons playing freshman soccer at Staples High School. The team is great, but they don’t attract many fans — just a few parents and friends.

Jaden will be seen by exponentially more people this fall in another role: as the younger Dr. Oliver Wolf, Zachary Quinto’s character on NBC’s new series “Brilliant Minds.”

Based on Dr. Oliver Sacks — the exceptionally gifted neurologist who suffers from a rare condition that gives him a unique perspective on care — it airs Mondays at 10 p.m., then streams the following day on Peacock.

The teenager — who goes by Jaden Myles Waldman professionally — is equally at home on the soccer pitch and the stage. He debuted in 2021 (after a pandemic delay) in “Caroline, or Change.”

His other credits include “Ne Zha,” “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” “The Plot Against America,” “Give or Take,” “Confetti,” and as Peter Pinkerton in “Pinkalicious & Peterrific.”

Jaden may be best known for his voice role as TO-B1 in the Emmy-nominated “Star Wars: Visions,” and Kun in the Oscar and Golden Globe-nominated movie “Mirai.”

Next up: a guest role on “Law & Order: SVU” October 24.

Jaden Waldman, in “Brilliant Minds.”

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And on TV right now: Jeffrey Pogue.

The 2023 Staples High School graduate was featured on the premiere of the new “Scrabble” game show.

For good reason: He’s a national Scrabble champion.

Producers flew Jeffrey — now a Brown University sophomore — to London this summer, for one day of shooting.

How did he do? Click here to see for yourself.

But we will say this: His father, David Pogue — a noted TV personality himself — is proud.

Very proud.

Jeffrey Pogue (right) on Scrabble TV.
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Yesterday’s Roundup included an item about signs from Huntington Learning Center and the Patch Boys that marred Kings Highway Colonial Cemetery.

Brian Rivel, who owns Huntington with his wife, notes that he did not place or dispose of his sign there.

“I was dismayed to read that,” he says. “We would never put a sign in a cemetery.”

Huntington Learning Center on Post Road East.

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The Downtown Plan Implementation Committee will hold a public meeting this Thursday (October 10, 8:30 a.m., Town Hall Room 201/201A).

Agenda items include the Jesup Green, Imperial Avenue and police station parking lots, and the parking study and feasibility analysis.

Remote and in-person comments from the public will be received as time is available. Comments can also be emailed to DPIC-comments@westportct.gov.

The future of the police station is one key to the development of a new downtown parking plan.

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Speaking of local politics: The Board of Finance regularly votes on big appropriations — our tax dollars at work.

But they don’t just study spreadsheets and grill town officials. Sometimes, they take field trips to better understand funding requests.

This Friday (October 11, noon), BOF members head to Old Mill Beach. They’ll walk on the pedestrian bridges and examine the tidal gates. It’s part of a request for $5,580,000 from the Public Works Department director, to rehabilitate the walkway and structure.

One of the 2 Sherwood Mill Pond tidal gates. (Photo/Phil Delano)

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There are only 78 days until Christmas

And just one month — 28 days — till Election Day.

Early voting takes place Monday, October 21 through Sunday, November 3, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the Town Hall auditorium.

On October 29 and 31, the hours are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Voting on Election Day (Tuesday, November 5), is from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., at regular polling places. Click here to view a district map.

Registrations done online, at the Department of Motor Vehicles or by mail must be completed (postmarked or received by the Westport Registrar of Voters by October 18.

All applications to register to vote after October 18 must be done in person at Town Hall, Room 107, in order to vote on November 5.

Citizens may also register and vote in person during the early voting period or on Election Day through same-day registration at Westport Town Hall, Room 107.

Meanwhile, the registrars of voters will begin memory card and tabulator testing this Thursday (October 10, 9:30 a.m., Town Hall, Room 212D.  The public is welcome to observe on Thursday, or until completion

Questions about any of the above? Email the registrars of voters: Deborah Greenberg (Democrats): dgreenberg@westportct.gov, 203-341-1116; Maria Signore (Republicans):  msignore@westportct.gov, 203-341-1117.

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Add this to your little kids’ Halloween activity list: a “fa-boo-lous”time at Wakeman Town Farm.

Youngsters ages 0-5 are invited — in costume — for a fun event October 25 (2 to 3 p.m.). Click here for tickets.

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Lynette Washington headlines this week’s Jazz at the Post (Thursday, October 10, VFW Joseph J. Clinton Post 399; shows at 7:30 and 8:45 p.m.; dinner begins at 7 p.m.; $20 music cover, $15 for veterans and students).

Her extensive career in jazz, R&B and gospel has taken her around the world.

Lynette will be joined by pianist Amina Figarova, bassist Will Goble, flutist Bart Platteau and drummer Vinton Hines, Jr. Click here for tickets, and more information.

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Spice — a gift shop specializing in fashion, home, entertaining, and baby and child goods — will move into the Sconset Square space recently vacated by Bespoke Designs.

This is Spice’s second location. The first is in Delray Beach, Florida.

(Photo/Sal Liccione)

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A bit of needed rain came and left yesterday morning.

The sun quickly came out. But not before Celia Campbell-Mohn captured this scene, at the Westport Weston Family YMCA, for today’s “Westport … Naturally” feature.

(Photo/Celia Campbell-Mohn)

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And finally … in honor of the arrival of Spice, Westport’s newest store (story above):

(Whether you’re scary, sporty, baby, ginger or posh, you’re part of our great online “06880” community. And we rely on you — our readers — to support our work. Please click here to help. Thanks!)

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Posted in Beach, Entertainment, Local politics

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