Before any municipal project is approved, state statutes require an “8-24” hearing.
That’s the next step for Parker Harding Plaza.
On Monday (October 23, 7 p.m., Zoom), the Planning & Zoning Commission will discuss a request by 1st Selectwoman Jen Tooker to adopt the plan hammered out by the Downtown Plan Implementation Committee.
It would reconfigure the parking lot behind Main Street — built on landfill in the 1950s — to increase riverfront access, add 2-way traffic (while retaining the “cut-through” route), and make other changes.
Annette Norton is both a downtown merchant and a Westport resident. She has owned Savvy + Grace for 6 years. She also meticulously restored a 1700s North Avenue home,
She writes:
“I am deeply concerned about the DPIC project, including:
Redesigning Parker Harding parking lot and taking away 44 parking spots.
Moving the trash to the river.
Taking away loading zones, so traffic will be held up in the parking lot when businesses get their deliveries.
“My proposal/solution is to make a beautiful boardwalk by the river, leading people to the existing green space we already have downtown — Veterans Green — while encouraging additional exploration with a walking path throughout all downtown.
“Maybe we can increase the current footprint all the way to Coffee An’.
“How is losing 44 spots okay? And if we are trying to entice people to hang out by the river, were will they park?
“Downtown businesses rely on locals. When they cannot find parking, they shop elsewhere.
“DPIC brought up safety, which I take seriously. To my knowledge, the Fire Department has never had issues, since the parking lot was created.
“The current plan moves trash right next to the river. That can lead to trash falling along the road and parking lot, and traveling into the river. There are also safety issues for employees crossing the road to take out the trash.
“I love our downtown. I want it to survive and thrive for generations to come. Compo Beach and downtown are the crown jewels of our town. Thank you for your consideration and care.”
(Click here to view a livestream of Monday’s meeting. It will also be shown on Optimum Channel 79 and Frontier Channel 6020. Comments may be sent to PandZ@westportct.gov.)
Tickets are going fast for Saturday’s Westoberfest. We’ll drink to that!
The event (2 to 5 p.m., off Elm Street includes beer tasting from dozens of craft breweries; live music; food by Walrus Alley, Kneads Bakery, Lobstercraft and Little Pub; a children’s area run by the Artists’ Collective of Westport and MoCA; a street magician, bubbles and face painting; pumpkin and apple giveaways; food trucks, and vendors like Savvy + Grace.
Take-home tasting glasses with koozies are courtesy of Lux Bond & Green.
It’s all sponsored by the Westport Downtown Association. Click here for tickets, and more information.
Speaking of downtown: The Downtown Plan Implementation Committee holds a public meeting tomorrow (Thursday, October 12, 8:30 a.m., Town Hall Room 201).
Remote and in-person comments from the public will be received as time is available, or via email: DPIC-comments@westportct.gov.
The agenda includes a review of the parking lots design master plan, pedestrian access, sustainability and maintenance.
If you wonder why the state Department of Transportation is temporarily closing I-95 Exit 17, during the bridge rehabilitation project, check out yesterday’s scene:
(Photo/Jared McGill)
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This Sunday (October 15, 9 a.m.), the Board of Finance and the Long Lots School Building Committee will make a site visit to the elementary school.
BOF chair Lee Caney told “06880” that the tour will give members of his committee “the opportunity to review the Long Lots property, so we will have a better understanding of the terrain when we begin to discuss the funding of the project.”
No funding request has yet been made. But the BOF is one of the bodies that will be involved during the approval process for the $100 million project.
The finance board makes regular site tours before voting on appropriations, Caney added.
Miggs Burroughs and Mark Yurkiw have finished installing their “Signs of Compassion” exhibit at the United Nations.
The work depicts Burroughs’ “Signs of Compassion” — 30 lenticular photos, showing local residents using sign language to recite Emily Dickinson’s poem of the same name — and Yurkiw’s accompanying Braille “prayer wheel” mantra, based on those he saw in Bhutan (including a wheelchair-accessible element).
It takes up the entire 100-foot wall in the UN lobby.
Ever since the United Nations moved into its Manhattan headquarters in 1951, the lobby’s rotating art exhibit has been sponsored by member nations. For what is believed to be the first time, the featured works are offered by individual artists.
This is also the first time that Connecticut artists are featured at the UN.
“Signs of Compassion” is open to the public now through November 20, weekdays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.
Miggs Burroughs’ “Signs of Compassion,” in the UN lobby. Mark Yurkiw’s “prayer wheel” mantra is also displayed nearby.
Students of the Month “help make Staples a welcoming place for their peers and teachers alike. They are the ‘glue’ of the Staples community: the type of kind, cheerful, hard-working, trustworthy students that keep the high school together, making it the special place that it is.”
Congratulations to Joshua, and fellow senior Juan Nieves; juniors Mia Ferrigno and Evan Wallitt; sophomores Adam Turner and Addison Welling, and freshmen Autumn Kaye and Jaxsyn Liebert.
Staples’ October Students of the Month (from left): Joshua Jordan, Juan Nieves, Mia Ferrigno, Addison Welling, Adam Turner, Evan Wallitt, Autumn Kaye. Missing: Jaxsyn Liebert.
Seniors may request the “We Do Walkway” list through the same phone and email above.
Kids! Help seniors with shoveling (and raking). It’s fun (and profitable).
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Speaking of teenagers: Tomorrow, the Teen Awareness Group welcomes the International Save A Life Tour to Staples High.
The safe-driving program includes driving simulators. Students “get behind the wheel” to see the effects of impaired and distracted driving.
Sounds like a program that would benefit some adult drivers, too.
Distracted driving simulator.
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Longtime Westporters Suzanne Sheridan and Rozanne Gates will be (very deservedly) celebrated by the Triangle Community Center.
Fairfield County’s LGBTQ organization has named the music/photography/ activist couple its “Community” honorees. The award will be presented at TCC’s Visionary Gala October 21 (6:30 p.m., The Water’s Edge at Giovanni’s, Darien).
The event includes a DJ, food and cocktails, and silent and live auctions. Click here for tickets and more information.
Suzanne and Rozanne were instrumental in creating Fairfield County’s first Pride Festival in 2002, and urging the General Assembly to pass civil union legislation in 2005. As soon as the law was passed, they became the first Westport couple to be civilly united. They married legally in 2010.
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For the third year, Rach’s Hope Family Fun Walk will raise funds for food, transportation and lodging for people with loved ones in intensive care units.
Recent recipients include a Massachusetts family with a youngster suffering from a traumatic brain injury, a family whose child was critically injured at the Michigan State shooting, and a Fairfield County family with a child in critical care.
The event is October 22 (3 p.m., Compo Beach Ned Dimes Marina).
Rach’s Hope honors the 2015 Staples High School graduate who died from a rare illness at 21 years old, while at Cornell University.
The “Family Fun Walk” for everyone includes Rachel’s family. Her grandfather Michael Isenberg pledged to walk 1,000 miles yearly for Rach’s Hope. Participants will join him in walking the last mile, to fulfill his pledge.
They’ll also receive Rach’s Hope swag, hear music from Fairfield-based Ellis Island Band, and enjoy gourmet pizza and drinks from Pizza Pie Wagon and Greens Farms Spirit Shop.
To purchase tickets, donate or learn more about Rach’s Hope, click here. You can follow them on Facebook and Instagram.
Republicans and Democrats can agree on one thing: If their kids are interested in cheer, they should to to the the Staples High School cheer team’s Election Day clinic (November 7, 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
The clinic — a fundraiser for the squad — sold out last year. The fee ($75 before November 1, $85 after) includes lunch and a t-shirt. Click here to register, and for more information.
The Downtown Plan Implementation Committee will hold a public meeting tomorrow morning (Thursday, September 7, 8:30 a.m., Town Hall Room 201).
Agenda items include a strategic priority review, parking lots reinvention, pedestrian access and sustainability. Click here for the full agenda.
Discussion continues on the Downtown Plan Implementation Committee’s Parker Harding Plaza plan.
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The CT United Ride — Connecticut’s largest tribute to the victims and first responders of 9/11 — is important.
It’s also the largest motorcycle ride in the state.
And — as worthy as the cause is — it has a major impact on Westport traffic.
The ride this Sunday (September 10) begins at Sherwood Island State Park at 11:30 a.m. Bikers take I-95 south to Exit 17.
They then travel north up Saugatuck Avenue and Riverside Avenue (Route 33); they cross the Post Road onto Wilton Road, and continue to the Wilton town line.
The route is closed and continuous. With the assistance of a police escort, motorcyclists drive through traffic lights and do not stop at stop signs.
Expect extended traffic delays along the route — potentially 45 minutes or longer.
Plan alternate routes — and avoid the Post Road West/Riverside Avenue/Wilton Road intersection completely — from about 11:35 a.m. to 12:30. Roads will be completely impassable until the entire procession clears.
Motorcycles mass before the start of the CT United Ride at Sherwood Island State Park. (Photo/Penny Pearlman)
Emmy Squared Pizza opened officially yesterday. The restaurant — which replaces Amis in Bedford Square — was packed.
Emmy Squared features Detroit-style pizzas (square, with fluffy dough and cheesy crust), a Le Big Matt burger, as well as appetizers, salads, gluten-free and vegan options, craft cocktails, wine, beer, and more.
A special 10- by 14-inch pizza with 10 slices is being tested at the Westport location only.
There are 24 Emmy’s locations in the US, including New York, Philadelphia, Washington, Nashville, Louisville, Charlotte and Atlanta.
Meanwhile … as Homes with Hope’s food pantry runs low, they’ve reached out to the Westport Farmers’ Market.
And the Farmers’ Market is reaching out to their many customers.
Tomorrow and next Thursday (September 7 and 14, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Imperial Avenue parking lot), a non-perishable food and can drive will help replenish the shelves.
Needed items include canned fruits and vegetables, canned tuna/chicken/meat, peanut butter and jelly, pasta sauce, and hearty soups/chili. Drop-off bins will be clearly marked.
Registration began at 9 a.m. today for Westport Parks & Recreation Department fall programs. Click here for the link.
That’s also the way to register for Wakeman Town Farm’s youth programs, like “Little Farmer Parent & Me,” “Toddler Sprouts,” “Fantastic Farmhands” and “Farm Apprentice.”
Click here for more information on those programs, and how to register.
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With a heat advisory in effect for the area through tomorrow at 8 p.m. Westport’s Office of Emergency Management has opened 5 cooling centers:
One of Westport’s most iconic homes may soon be a teardown.
Among the items on the agenda for the next Historic District Commission meeting (Tuesday, September 12, 7 p.m., Zoom):
“To take such action as the meeting may determine to oppose the issuance of the demolition permit for 43 Compo Mill Cove and require the full 180-day delay.”
That’s the first house you see on Compo Cove from the pedestrian bridge — and the only one on the left side of the Cove path.
It’s been there for decades. But that’s not its first location. It was moved at some point in the 1900s, from its original location, across the way.
“Offshore wind could be the economic engine and energy solution California needs, but only if our state policymakers lead the way — and we’re running out of time to get it right.”
That’s the lead sentence in an op-ed piece — “Wind Farms Off California’s Coast Should be the Future of the State’s Clean Energy Grid” — that ran recently in the Los Angeles Times.
It was co-authored by Taylor McNair. The 2012 Staples High School graduate is a program manager for Berkeley-based GridLab, a non-profit focused on power grid transformation. Click here for the full piece.
Taylor McNair
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There are only 5 national recipients of this year’s Financial Literacy Ambassador Award.
And one is from Westport.
Staples High School student Andrew Rebello earned the honor (and a $1,000 prize). He got a perfect score on the Working in Support of Education Financial Literacy Certification test. His application then went through 3 rounds of judging.
Andrew credits his Financial Literacy teacher, Lenny Klein, for much of his success.
Andrew is co-captain of the Staples Investment and Trading Society, which participates in the Wharton Investment Competition.
He also founded the Staples team for the Federal Reserve Bank of New York Challenge. Last year, the team’s paper was published in the Journal of Future Economists.
Andrew also volunteers at the Long Lots Preserve.
Andrew Rebello
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The new “Jazz at the Post” season debuts tomorrow (Thursday, September 7; shows at 7:30 and 8:45 p.m.; VFW Joseph J. Clinton Post 399).
Guitarists Kenny Wessel and Rale Micic headline opening night. They’re joined by bassist Essiet Essiet, drummer Jason Tiemann, and Westport’s own “Jazz Rabbi,” Greg Wall on sax.
There is a $15 cover. Reservations are strongly recommended: JazzatthePost@gmail.com.
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“Voice Scapes Audio Theater” — an evening of comedy and drama — comes to Westport next month.
The short, original, contemporary pieces performed by award-winning actors, engineers and directors, with sound effects and music, benefits the Westport Rotary Club’s Education Fund.
The “fully immersive experience” is October 18 (7 p.m., Greens Farms Congregational Church).
Tickets are $25. Mail to Westport Rotary Club, PO Box 743, Westport, CT 06881, or Venmo @Thomas-Carey-73046 (last 4 cellphone digits: 5819).
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The Westport Library’s 3-part series on the brain kicks off tomorrow (Thursday, September 7, 7 p.m.).
Dr. Robert Altbaum and Dr. Daryl Story join Andrew Wilk. They’ll talk about strokes and transient ischemic attacks, focusing on maximizing chances for recovery. The doctors will answer questions after their presentations.
From left: Dr. Daryl Story, Dr. Robert Altbaum, Andrew Wilk.
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One Woody Lane homeowner is not taking any more s—.
This morning, the former Representative Town Meeting member brings another petition to the RTM and town clerk.
This one — signed by more than 20 Westport electors — asks the RTM to vote on a resolution at its October 3 meeting, affirming that the word “shall” means “mandatory,” as already defined in the Town Charter and the RTM Rules of Procedure.
If passed, the resolution would “compel and require” the moderator to place on the RTM agenda any petition signed by at least 20 electors at least 14 days prior to a meeting.
The impetus for McCarthy’s petition is a previous attempt to add an agenda item to tonight’s meeting regarding a review of the Downtown Plan Implementation Committee’s goals, process and proposed plan for Parker Harding Plaza.
The request — signed by over 50 electors, and verified by the town clerk — was denied by RTM moderator Jeffrey Wieser. His decision was affirmed in an opinion by assistant town attorney (and former RTM moderator) Eileen Lavigne Flug.
In other RTM news, members Seth Braunstein and Matthew Mandell have proposed an ordinance to create an Affordable Housing Fund.
A first reading is on the agenda for tonight’s meeting (Tuesday, September 5, 7:30 p.m., Town Hall auditorium).
“Creating a fund to accrue monies for the purchase of land, construction of housing and/or the buydown of market rate housing both aids the establishment of such homes and gives the town greater control over its own destiny,” the 2 members say.
In 2022 the Westport Planning & Zoning Commission adopted an Affordable Housing Plan, under state statute 8-30j, which called for the creation of such a fund. This ordinance follows through on that request.
Following RTM committee discussions, Braunstein and Mandell hope for a full vote at next month’s meeting. The next step would be for the P&Z to create a regulation to fund the initiative.
Among Westport’s current affordable housing options: Sasco Creek Village.
Sunday’s Saugatuck Congregational Church service honored their late, longtime senior and youth minister Rev. Ted Hoskins.
Among those at the pulpit: Rev. Peter Powell. Forty years ago, he worked with Rev. Hoskins to establish a homeless shelter and food pantry here.
In a tribute to both Rev. Hoskins and the church, Rev. Powell said:
“In my experience Ted lived the charge given in Matthew 25. As you read his obituary you could not fail to see how he fed the hungry, gave drink to the thirsty, welcomed the stranger, clothed the naked, healed the sick and visited those in prison.
“Some examples from my experience. The Westport Emergency Shelter was a response to homeless, now better described as unhoused, men sleeping in a room in this church. The legacy lives on. The Gillespie Center has 15 beds because Saugatuck Church found 7 bunk beds and 1 cot for the men.
“These beds were moved over to the Vigilant Firehouse. The Westport/Weston Health Department came in, measured the space and determined the number of cubic feet each bed required. When I pointed out that they backed into that number they refused to change.
“The Linxweiler House was empty, and Ted established a program he called Operation Bootstraps there. Unfortunately that program didn’t work, but with the guidance of Jim Gillespie the program was transformed into a sober house requiring all residents to have a job and stay sober. It worked for many years. It was a Ted legacy.
“In my early years at the Interfaith Housing Association Ted visited the firehouse and gave $100 bills to the night staff on Christmas Eve, the anniversary of our opening. He was always involved.
“In the early ’90s when I needed a new office, he gave me and IHA space in this building. I was here for a few years.
“Ted was your pastor, but he was also pastor to the town of Westport…. A conversation with Ted could resolve difficult issues. He was our social conscience. You shared him with the town. His shoes have never been filled as the acknowledged religious leader and social action conscience of Westport.
“When the unhoused men moved to the firehouse with Ted’s leadership, you opened your building to 12-step programs, helping Westport become a center for recovery for the entire region.
“I believe Ted could do all of this because he was your pastor. Hhe loved you and you loved him, and you both knew you were in love. He was a very public figure and crucial to the development of social action in Westport, but first he loved and cared for you. He did not wag his finger at you; he taught you how to respond to the Gospel. He had the credibility to do that because he was first and foremost your pastor. He visited, counseled, baptized, worshiped, married, buried and preached to you with a deep understanding of who you are and together you and he transformed Westport. He could not have done it without you ,and you could only do it because it was intrinsic to his life with you.
“Thank you for sharing him with all of us.”
Rev. Ted Hoskins
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Sunday’s Roundup noted a second epidemic of dozens of bagels spread around High Gate Road. This time there was a plastic bag, with many more bagels, nearby.
Last winter there was a similar scene at the same spot, off Maple Avenue South.
“Weird,” I wrote yesterday.
I soon received an email from “Peter T.” He said: “Regarding the Bagels on High Gate Road, they are there for the Deer to eat along with the cracked corn. Nothing weird about it!”
I asked who put them there, and whether he knew if deer liked bagels.
This time, “Nancy” responded (from the same email address). She wrote: “I live on the street and yes deer like the bagels and cracked corn that is out there.”
I asked about the unopened plastic bag. She said: “Why does it matter. The neighhood feeds the deer all year long”
Meanwhile, a reader points out, “deer around here eat everything that grows. They are hooved rats. And since it’s summer, they don’t lack in food sources.”
If last winter was any indication, those bagels will stay out on High Gate for weeks.
Unlike the mice and rats get them first.
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Lachat Farms’ grand (re-)opening was this past weekend.
In today’s “What’s Next in Weston” podcast, 1st Selectwoman Sam Nestor and Carol Baldwin, president of the Friends of Lachat Town Farm, discuss funding of improvements, and programs coming soon.
Click below to listen. The podcast is a service of the Y’s Men of Westport and Weston.
The big space recently vacated by Bed Bath & Beyond on US 1 — just over the border in Norwalk — will be filled in November.
The new tenant is a combination Bob’s/Eastern Mountain Sports store.
Bob’s Stores (sports clothing, shoes) is moving from Main Avenue to where Bed Bath and Beyond was on Westport Avenue in November. (Hat tip: Bruce Schneider)
This was a big weekend at Lime Rock — and not just for the 3 Westport race car drivers mentioned in Sunday’s Roundup.
Roger Kaufman writes: “I was stunned and honored to be given an award Sunday at the Lime Rock annual Labor Day weekend, festival and car show. It was Best in Class in the ‘Swedish category.'”
“My trusty 1963 Volvo 122S, which I’ve owned for 40 years, was a Westport car. It was sold by Lillian Oster and imported in 1963 via Larry Terrino on the Post Road. It’s my third one, and a tried and true companion for almost half a century.
“I had never been to Lime Rock or done many car shows until recently. But I decided to give it a whirl.
“It was of interest yesterday to the folks at Lime Rock that when Paul Newman saw the car in Weston around 2007), he came over to me at Peter’s Market, where he was bagging groceries with Joanne.
“He stuck his head in the driver’s side window and said, ‘what a great car !’ Cars were his hobby, and we had a great chat.
When most people rudely reserve picnic tables at Compo’s South Beach, they simply throw a tablecloth over the top, pretending not to see the “Picnic Tables May Not Be Reserved” sign.
Yesterday, the stakes got a little higher.
Here’s how one aggressive picnicker claimed his (or her) spot:
Janine Scotti sends along today’s beautiful “Westport … Naturally” photo — and its back story:
“What do you give a chef who is also the salt of the earth for his 74th birthday (coming soon)?
“A plot at the magnificent Westport Community Gardens. My beloved husband Pietro [former owner of Da Pietro restaurant] was in awe of the gardens, He is thrilled to be a part of this thriving community.
“I just gave him a private dusk tour. He wanted to see all the beauty of every plot. Hats off to you all!”
Pietro Scotti, with a giant sunflower. (Photo/Janine Scotti)
And finally … on this day in 1836, Sam Houston was elected first president of the Republic of Texas.
(“06880” is where Westport meets Texas — and the world. If you’re from here, there or anywhere, and you like this blog, please support our work. Just click here. And thank y’all.)
On Wednesday, the Board of Finance authorized the addition of 3 officers, to patrol 6 Westport schools.
They will be responsible for security at 2 campuses: one each at Coleytown Middle and Elementary Schools; Kings Highway and Saugatuck Elementary, and Long Lots/Greens Farms Elementary.
They will remain outside, unless called to an emergency inside.
The cost for a full year is $576,084. The request must now be approved by the Representative Town Meeting.
A second security item — a fob on all Staples High School staff members’ identification lanyard, which can summon help in a 500,000 square foot building and sprawling outdoor athletic facilities that does not have full cellphone service, or access to emergency phones everywhere — was withdrawn before the meeting.
One Westport police officer will be assigned to Coleytown Elementary School (foreground) Coleytown Middle (rear).
Before the start of last night’s Levitt Pavilion benefit concert with Daryl Hall and Todd Rundrgren, disgruntled patrons emailed “06880.”
“There is a tent blocking the view for a good portion of the patrons’ section,” one person wrote.
One view of the obstructed view …
“The sound board obstructs the view for most patrons,” someone else said.
… and another.
Carleigh Welsh — the Levitt’s director of development and marketing — responded to an “06880” email, as soon as the complaints were forwarded to her.
She wrote: “We have been moving people into non-obstructed seats. It would help greatly if they could email the box office right now if they are still in a legitimately blocked seat and we can relocate them. Some people we have approached have opted to stay put.
“Happy to share more about the rain tent covering the console in an email after show, but right now helping ushers fix any issues.”
Meanwhile — despite rain — the show went on. Todd Rundgren and Daryl Hall are pros.
And the audience raised funds to help the Levitt provide another 60 or so free concerts next year.
Which means everyone who graduated in June from Staples is now off to college, working, in the military, taking a gap year, or otherwise amusing themselves.
Which also means: Isn’t it time you took down your “Home of a 2023 Staples High School graduate” sign?
We get it. You were proud. Congratulations!
Now let’s move on …
Graduation is over! (Photo/Dan Woog)
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MDSolarSciences — the Westport-based sunscreen company — spent a day last week on a “sun safety tour.”
They handed out products to grateful — and now-protected — police, firefighters, EMTs, and Longshore employees.
MDSolarSciences representatives, and Westport firefighters.
Braiden Sunshine — who recently open for Leann Rimes, and mesmerized the audience — stars at the next First Folk Sunday (September 3, VFW Joseph J. Clinton Post 399, 12:30 p.m.; $10).
In 2015 — just 15 years old — he reached the semifinals of “The Voice.”
Click here for tickets. For more information, email info@firstfolksunday.com, or call 203-222-1441.
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Ellie Hamby and Dr. Sandy Hazelip — 81-year-old friends — got plenty of attention last year, when they circled the globe in 80 days. They traveled to 18 countries, and visited all 7 continents.
At the Yale Club on Wednesday, Howard Matson — a Westporter, and past international president of the Circumnavigators Club — honored the women with honorary memberships in the 121-year-old organization.
Howard Matson, with octogenarian circumnavigators.
And finally … in honor of last night’s Levitt Pavilion benefit concert (story above):
(Another day, another Roundup of all things Westport. If you enjoy this daily feature, please consider supporting our work. Just click here — and thank you!)
So are more parking spots than originally planned.
Plus: It’s ADA-compliant. And fire trucks now have the space they need, in case of emergency.
Those are the main takeaways from last night’s “charrette” — a meeting of residents, business owners, the Downtown Plan Implementation Committee and other stakeholders.
Nearly 150 people — including officials from many town boards — filled the Westport Library to look at architects’ drawings and artists’ renderings, listen to Public Works director Pete Ratkiewich, and ask questions about the Parker Harding Plaza renovation plan.
Public Works director Pete Ratkiewich presented the Downtown Plan Implementation Committee’s proposal, at last night’s charrette.
In his presentation, Ratkiewich acknowledged public criticism, following the release in June of DPIC’s then-most recent plan.
The elimination of the cut-through road, along the Saugatuck River from Main Street to the Post Road, elicited the most controversy. Concern was also voiced then about the loss of parking spaces, in a new configuration.
Ratkiewich began with a brief history of the parking lot. Until the mid-1950s, he noted, the river lapped up against the banks of Main Street stores.
For many years, the Saugatuck River backed up right to the rear of Main Street businesses. (Photo/Peter Barlow)
A Kowalsky Brothers landfill project created the plaza, to serve the growing downtown in the postwar boom.
Construction of Parker Harding Plaza.
Designed by landscape architect Evan Harding, the original plan had a row of cars facing the river directly. (See “1970” and “1985” in the aerial photos below.)
A 1985 project removed vehicles from that prime spot. It also reconfigured the area near Gorham Island.
Parker Harding Plaza, through the years.
That created — theoretically — 214 parking spaces. But because many are far tighter than standard spots, cars sometimes take up more than one space.
And because there are not enough handicap spots as legally required, only 37 total spots conform to current regulations.
In addition, large swaths of the narrow lane closest to the back entrances of stores are not wide enough for firefighters to operate.
For those reasons — and to create a safer environment for pedestrians headed through the lot, their cars or the river, as well as for flood mitigation, and as part of a larger redesign that includes the Taylor lot by the Westport Library — DPIC was charged with developing a new plan.
Simply restriping the lot would not work, Ratkiewich said. Complying with current ADA and fire laws would result in only 142 to 157 spaces — and the main lane would still not be wide enough to accommodate fire trucks.
But although a new plan would create two-way traffic in a widened road closest to the rear of stores, the elimination of the cut-through road drew a firestorm of criticism.
The newest plan retains the cut-through, slightly east of the current road. It improves the congested areas near both Gorham Island and Starbucks, and adds lighting, plantings, public art and clearly designated walkways.
The new plan provides 173 parking spaces — with 7 handicap spots, 3 truck loading areas (until 10 a.m. only), and enough room for fire trucks to operate.
The new Parker Harding plan shows the cut-through road, two-way roadway, loading zones (black) and more.
This artist’s rendering shows the cut-through road, heading south from the entrance near Gorham Island. Trash compactors will be hidden on the right. NOTE: The backs of the buildings will NOT be redesigned to look like Staples High School.
The main Parker Harding road will be widened, enabling 2-way traffic. The backs of the Main Street stores (right) will NOT be redesigned, despite this artist’s rendering.
With the cut-through road relocated slightly east of its current location (blue), there will be increased green spacy near the river. The DPIC plan includes public artwork, and more trees.
“This is not going to make everyone happy,” Ratkiewich acknowledged. “But we think it’s a good compromise of competing interests.”
Downtown Plan Implementation Committee chair Randy Herbertson (left) and Westport Downtown Association president Maxx Crowley, at last night’s charrette. (All charrette photos/Dan Woog)
(“06880” covers all of downtown — business, politics, events, bad parking — along with every other part of Westport. Please click here to support our work. Thank you!)
A reminder: Tonight (Tuesday, August 22) is the open house “charrette”: a public review and feedback meeting covering additional plans for the Downtown Plan Implementation Committee’s “Master Plan for Downtown Parking and Pedestrian Areas: Reconnecting the Riverfront.”
Particular focus will be on the Parker Harding Plaza design.
The session begins at 7 p.m. (Westport Library) All residents and downtown stakeholders are invited to attend.
Information on the project is available on the DPIC website. Feedback is welcome in its comments section.
DPIC also conducts regular public meetings, typically the 2nd Thursday of each month at 8:30 a.m.
Parker Harding Plaza cut-through road (left), and Saugatuck River. (Drone photo/John Videler for Videler Photography)
Westport Community Gardens continues its 20th anniversary celebration with another pop-up garden stand.
Everyone is invited to explore the Gardens — and adjacent Long Lots Preserve — and pick up very fresh produce, herbs and flowers this Sunday (August 27, 10 a.m. to noon).
Straight from the Community Gardens. (Photo/Karen Mather)
They raised over $4,000 for the great organization (which, many people don’t realize, runs almost entirely on donations).
The feeling of helping a good cause was enough. But the youngsters were rewarded yesterday. President Mike Burns led a personal tour of the facility — and personally thanked the girls.
WVEMS president Mike Burns and EMS member Sammi Henske flank the Rhimes family. (Photo courtesy of Shonda Rhimes)
James Naughton and Carole Schweid entertained a full house last night.
The “Play With Your Food” creator led the actor/director in a discussion on his life on stage and screen — and as a passionate advocate for Connecticut’s Medical Aid in Dying legislation.
Naughton talked about investing in theater (he’s been quite lucky), his work with Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward and many others, and the joys and frustrations of a life in the arts.
The evening included a screening of the short film “Not the Same Clarence.” The film, featuring Jim and his son Greg Naughton, depicts the realities of caring for a parent with dementia, and its impact on their lives.
The Y’s Men of Westport and Weston sponsored the event.
James Naughton and Carole Schweid. (Photo/Dan Woog)
Speaking of acting: Jodi Stevens and Scott Bryce are expanding SBEstudio — their Weston performing arts school — to Saugatuck Congregational Church.
Jodi (a Broadway veteran and voice, singing and acting coach for over 20 years) and Scott (her Emmy-winning producer/director/actor husband, and a former Staplesl Player) offer new programming too, including a spring 6-week film and TV intensive course.
A grand opening is set for this Sunday (August 27, 2 p.m.).
Musical theater group classes and private lessons are available from ages 4-5 (Broadway Beginnings) all the way to 15-18 (Young Professionals). A new Broadway Babies class, for ages 2-3, is in the works.
The Bryce family has a long history with the Saugatuck Church. Scott’s mother Dorothy was deacon emeritus, a founding member of the Interfaith Council of Westport, Weston, Wilton, and a founder of the Theatre Artists Workshop.
Jodi’s scholarship program for talented students without means will continue, under a new name: The SBEstudio Dorothy Bryce Scholarship Fund.
For more information on the Saugatuck Church and Weston programs, click here, email info@sbestudio.com, or call 203-247-6569.
Scott Bryce and Jodi Stevens (Photo courtesy of Celebrity Parents)
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Agent Orange has killed more than 300,000 US military veterans since our country left Vietnam in 1975.
The toll continues to rise.
In his new book “Agent Orange: A Short Sickening Saga of War,” Staples High School graduate/longtime Westport/prolific author Carl Addison Swanson explores the subject.
Amazon calls it “the tragic story of a Vietnam Veteran who, after 50 years of good health, is stricken with a heart disease connected directly to his exposure to the chemical AGENT ORANGE during the war.”
It is available on Kindle. Click here to order, and for more information.
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The last date of lifeguards at Burying Hill Beach is this Thursday (August 24).
Compo Beach lifeguards continue through September 4.
Beach stickers are required through September 30.
Burying Hill Beach lifeguards’ last day is Thursday. (Photo/Yvonne O’Kane)
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Traffic alert: The Department of Public Works’ annual roadway crack seal program begins this Thursday (August 24).
The work will continue for 2 weeks, on 15 miles of roadway. Be alert for 1-way traffic throughout the project.
MoCA’s fall exhibition — “Purvis Young: This is the Life I See” — features 36 large scale works by the American “outsider artist.”
This is the first time that the works, from the collection of Lynne and Jack Dodick, have been on public view.
The exhibition open September 15, and runs through December 29. A reception is set for September 14 (6 p.m.; free for members, $10 for non-members. Click here to register.) Advance registration is required.
Purvis Young (1943 – 2010) was a self-taught artist who dealt with the plight of the underprivileged and the consequences of racism and daily violence through a highly distinctive visual style. He lived his entire life in the Miami neighborhood of Overtown, once an entertainment destination as well as a Black neighborhood in the segregated South. Click here for more details.
Barry Kresch has spent several months observing nature, up close and personal.
He writes: “A pair of cardinals built a nest in a small tree outside my kitchen window. It was fairly low, so I was able to get some shots into it without disrupting the proceedings.
“I got much of the life cycle: first egg, mom sitting, chicks hatched, dinner is served, junior ready to take wing.
“After they left, I removed the nest. My wife told me they decay and get parasites, so the birds don’t reuse them.
“The same or another nesting pair then repeated the cycle. This time the nest was higher in the tree, not conducive to photos.”
This “life cycle” photo is perfect for our “Westport … Naturally” feature:
And finally … on this day in 2011 Nick Ashford — half of the husband-and-wife songwriting/production team Ashford & Simpson, and a former Westport resident — died of throat cancer. He was 70 years old.
(Reach out and touch … “06880” with your supporting hand. Please click here to make a contribution. Thank you!)
Westport resident and former Representative Town Meeting member John McCarthy organized a petition, asking the RTM to review the Downtown Plan Implementation Committee’s “goals, process and proposed plans” for Parker Harding Plaza.
The petition, with the signatures of 61 electors, was delivered to the Town clerk on June 27.
On Monday, assistant town attorney (and former RTM moderator) Eileen Lavigne Flug advised RTM moderator Jeff Wieser to reject the request.
Her memo to him, as well as 1st Selectwoman Jen Tooker and Town Attorney Ira Bloom, said:
You asked me to review a petition from John McCarthy and over 20 other electors received by the Town Clerk on June 27, 2023, requesting that you place on the September 5, 2023 Representative Town Meeting (“RTM”) agenda, “A review of the [Downtown Plan Implementation Committee’s (DPIC’s)] goals, process and proposed plan for Parker Harding, to be led by the lead petitioner [John McCarthy], with an invitation of the Chair of the DPIC to present if desired, with time reserved for RTM member and public comments
following the review.”
Section C5-6(C) requires the Moderator to place on the RTM agenda “such matters as…20 electors…may request.” It is your decision as Moderator to determine whether the petition requests an agenda item that is actually within the RTM’s purview. I understand from your email to Mr. McCarthy that you have already advised him that this is not an actionable item by the RTM, and I agree.
This screenshot from the Downtown Plan Implementation Committee shows the Parker Harding lot, and its proximity to the Saugatuck River.
This memo will elaborate on legal advice I gave you in our prior discussions about this.
The Supreme Court of the State of Connecticut has stated that: “Common sense is to be employed in the construction of a charter…. A city charter … ‘must be
construed, if possible, so as reasonably to promote its ultimate purpose.’ … ‘The unreasonableness of the result obtained by the acceptance of one possible alternative interpretation of an act is a reason for rejecting that interpretation in favor of another which would provide a result that is … reasonable.’”
Section C5-6(C) cannot reasonably be read to require that any item presented as described in that section must be placed on an agenda. Moderators have determined several times in recent years that petitioned items are not appropriate for the RTM agenda, including while I myself was Moderator.
Petitions to the RTM that have been denied in the past include a petition to overturn a Planning and Zoning Site Plan and Special Permit (which the RTM does not have the authority to do), and petitions to add an RTM rule or adopt an ordinance that would conflict with the Town Charter.
The purpose of an RTM meeting is to consider actionable items within the RTM’s purview. The purpose is not to provide a public forum for a discussion of any topic that 20 or more electors wish to discuss in a televised meeting in the Town Hall auditorium. There are other venues and forums for such discussions.
The RTM has an essential role in Town government. The RTM’s role in the proposed Parker Harding reconstruction is to consider whatever upcoming appropriations may be requested by the administration and recommended by the Board of Finance. In addition, if the P&Z were to issue a negative 8-24 or approve a map or text amendment relating to the project, the RTM may be asked to review that. There will be ample time for the public to express its views on the plans and the desirability of the project at the RTM committee meetings and the meetings of the full RTM when any such item is on the agenda.
McCarthy responded to Wieser:
Thank you for sending me the attached letter from Eileen Flug regarding our certified petition to the RTM which was delivered on June 27, 2023. Having worked on the RTM with both of you, I am quite perplexed as to how you and Eileen can both take the position that the Parker Harding matter should not be put on the agenda of the September 5th meeting. You know that this is an incorrect position to be taking.
The petition was signed by 61 Westporters who all took at face value the promise of the RTM as written in its Rules of Procedure (Sec. A162-6) as appended to the Town Charter where it says.
“The Moderator or, in the event of the Moderator’s inability to act, the Deputy Moderator or, in the event of the inability of both, the Town Clerk shall place on the agenda of the Representative Town Meeting such matters as the First Selectman, two Representative Town Meeting members or 20 electors of the Town may request by written notice delivered to the Moderator or the Town Clerk not less than 14 days prior to a Representative Town Meeting,…”
I also note that the per the Town Charter that “the term “shall” is to be construed as being mandatory” ( Sec. 1-2. – Definitions and rules of construction.)
So as this non-lawyer (and a few lawyers I have spoken with) sees it, as RTM Moderator you are mandated by the Town Charter to place onto the agenda of the next meeting the matter that was requested by more than 20 electors on a duly certified petition.
I trust you will do the right thing and place it on the RTM Agenda when it comes out on Monday August 21st.
Next up for the Downtown Plan Implementation Committee: a public review and feedback meeting covering additional plans for its “Master Plan for Downtown Parking and Pedestrian Areas: Reconnecting the Riverfront.”
Particular focus will be on the Parker Harding Plaza design.
The session is set for August 22 (7 p.m., Westport Library). All residents and downtown stakeholders are invited to attend.
Information on the project is available on the DPIC website. Feedback is welcome in its comments section.
DPIC also conducts regular public meetings, typically the 2nd Thursday of each month at 8:30 a.m.
Screenshot from the Downtown Plan Implementation Committee website.
Yesterday morning, Diane Bosch and her husband Eric chatted with a team from the space agency, at Compo Beach’s Ned Dimes Marina. A NASA boat was docked there.
As best as the Bosches could determine from the visitors, they were monitoring air quality, and satellite launched earlier this year from Elon Musk’s SpaceX group.
“They were a bit secretive when we tried to understand what they were doing,” Diane reports.
“They did say they were in town from the NASA site in Virginia — and they had nothing to do with the rocket launch the night before.”
And then there’s the Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Westport tag sale.
That event — one of the best bargain-hunting dates on the calendar — is this Saturday (August 5, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., 10 Lyons Plains Road).
Early birds can go at 8 a.m. ($20, at the door).
The indoor event has something for everyone: clothing, dishes, housewares, sheets, towels, pillows, small furniture, rugs, household appliances, artwork, puzzles, toys, electronics and more.
Everything is “priced fairly, to move.”
Questions? Email uuchurch@uuwestport.org, or call 203-227-7205.
Crabbers — with LED headlamps and big nets — were out again yesterday at the Sherwood Mill Pond, starting around 8:20 p.m.
Concerned residents — including environmentalists worried about over-fishing, along with neighbors disturbed by the bright lights — have contacted the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, as well as Westport Police and the Parks & Recreation Department.
Crabbing last night in the Sherwood Mill Pond. (Photo/Matt Murray)
Guardians caring for children do not have it easy.
But, says Westport-Weston Probate Judge Lisa Wexler, they may be eligible for thousands of dollars in grants to help with housing, food, transportation and enrichment activities.
Guardians can be grandparents or other relatives, or sometimes close family friends with long-standing relationships with a child.
Guardians save Connecticut $72 million a year, by keeping thousands of children out of foster care. However, unlike foster parents, Probate Court-appointed guardians receive no financial support for taking on this important (and often unexpected) responsibility.
State Kinship Fund awards grants of up to $550 a child — or $2,200 a family – a year help pay for necessities like glasses and clothing, or enrichment activities like summer camp, art supplies or creative books. The Respite Fund covers childcare, rent, transportation and food. These grants are capped at $2,200 a year.
Applications are at ctprobate.gov under the “Children’s Matters” tab, or by calling the Westport-Weston Probate Court: 203-341-1100.
State grants help guardians pay for enrichment activities.
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Outdoor music continues this weekend on Church Lane.
Accompanying diners and shoppers this evening is Dan Tressler. Tomorrow night: Vinnie Ferrone.
Musicians are sponsored by the Westport Downtown Association.
Outdoor dining on Church Lane.
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It’s the dog days of summer.
And Westport has officially gone to the dogs.
On Monday, Yogi Bear — a 2-year-old Keeshond — was named “Honorary Mayor of Westport” by 1st Selectwoman Jen Tooker.
Yogi (accompanied by his friend Cathy Malkin) was at Town Hall to push his agenda of free cookies for all dogs.
As honorary mayor, he promised to spread love and joy everywhere.
Yogi then headed to Old Mill Grocery & Deli, where he shared a slice of vegan pizza with State Representative Dominique Johnson. It’s bipartisan: She agrees with Tooker that there should be free cookies for all dogs.
Yogi Bear with State Representative Dominique Johnson.
An alert “06880” reader spotted a new bat house the other day, at Compo Beach.
If it’s yours, email 06880blog@gmail.com. Include where at the beach you may have lost it. I’ll contact the person who found it, and make arrangements for you to pick it up.
Bat house
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We love our butterflies.
But they often fly too fast for us to appreciate them fully.
Today, we’re in luck. David Hyman captured (on camera) this beauty. Enjoy this beautiful addition to our “Westport … Naturally” series:
1st Selectwoman Jen Tooker announced last week that “in coordination with the Downtown Plan Implementation Committee, discussion and reviews scheduled for town boards, committees and commissions in the upcoming weeks regarding the current proposal for the reconfiguration of the Parker Harding Plaza Parking Lot will be postponed.”
Still, last night’s Flood & Erosion Control Board agenda noted that town engineer Keith Wilberg would discuss plans to “revise the existing roadway and parking lot, build sidewalks, a riverfront boardwalk, and park areas, and to relocate trash and recycling dumpsters.”
John McCarthy reports that the board was told last night that the town pulled the Parker Harding application. However, a new application would be back, “possibly as early as September.”
Tomorrow (Friday, July 7, 10 a.m.), the Tree Board will hold a special meeting — at Parker Harding — to “observe and note the site and conditions of the trees” there.
The Tree Board will observe conditions at Parker Harding Plaza.
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Temperatures in the 90s — combined with humidity and smoke from Canadian wildfires — will make today very uncomfortable. Vulnerable populations will be especially affected.
It will moderate only slightly tomorrow.
Signs of heat-related illness include muscle cramps, fatigue, weakness, dizziness, fainting, headaches, nausea and vomiting. Children, adults 65 and older, those without access to air conditioning, outdoor workers and those with chronic health conditions are most vulnerable.
For someone experiencing heat-related illness: Move to a cool place, drink water, place cold cloths on the body and seek medical attention. For additional safety tips and information, click here.
The Westport Fire Department advises:
Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of water, even if not thirsty. Avoid excessive caffeinated or alcoholic beverages.
Seek shade and limit outdoor activities: Take breaks, pace yourself, and stay in shaded or air-conditioned areas.
Dress appropriately: Wear lightweight, loose-fitting, light-colored clothing. Use sunscreen and wear a wide-brimmed hat.
Check on vulnerable people: Monitor the elderly, young children, and those with pre-existing conditions. Ensure access to a cool environment.
Several cooling centers will be today and tomorrow:
Westport Weston YMCA(5:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.), with showers.
MoCa Westport(noon to 4 p.m.).
Senior Center(8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.).
Westport Library (9 a.m. to 9 p.m.).
MoCA Westport is a cool cooling center, in more ways than one.
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Westport Police made one custodial arrest between June 28 and July 5. A woman was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, and failure to drive in the proper lane, following a 1-car crash at Canal Park on Kings Highway North.
Westport Police also issued the following citations:
Failure to obey traffic control signals: 6 citations
Traveling unreasonably fast: 2
Failure to comply with state traffic commission regulations: 2
Speeding: 1
Distracted driving: 1
Improper passing: 1
Failure to yield right of way: 1
Driving with a foreign license after 30 days: 1
Operating a motor vehicle under suspension: 1
Violation of license class: 1
Operating a motor vehicle without tint inspection: 1
Failure to insure a motor vehicle: 1
One driver was cited for improper passing. This is not a view of the actual offense.
The original opening date for Tacombi was December 2022.
Seven months later, nada.
But it looks like the first margarita may be poured soon.
(Photo/Bob Weingarten)
Danny Meyer’s restaurant — which is expanding beyond Manhattan and Brooklyn — takes over the former AJ Farm Stand.
The website calls Tacombi “a Mexican company founded on the soft sands of the Yucatan … focused on sharing authentic taco culture. Our taqueros proudly work every day to preserve and share Mexico’s culinary traditions — and we do it sustainably with wholesome, simple ingredients free of antibiotics, hormones, genetic modification or artificial additives & preservatives.”
Westport is not the only area town with a storied arts history.
This Sunday (July 9, 1 to 4 p.m., Weston History & Culture Center) marks the opening of a new exhibit.
“Weston Illustrated: Penned, Painted & Sculpted” tells the story of influential artists between 1919-1965, and their connection to both the locals and locale of Weston.
It includes pieces on loan from the Friends of the James Daugherty Foundation, the Jenny Moore Collection, Westport Public Art Collection, Weston Public Library, Wilton Historical Society and WHCC’s collection.
Admission is free for WHCC members; non-members pay $5 (adults), $3 (children). If you mention the “CT Summer at the Museum” program at check-in, Connecticut children and one accompanying state resident adult can visit free.
The exhibit runs until February 25, 2024. The museum is open every Sunday and Thursday, from 1 to 4 p.m.
Speaking of the arts; Ellen Ehli is the Westport Book Shop’s featured artist for July. She’ll exhibit original multi-media paintings on paper and canvas.
Ehli is a self-taught abstract artist. Working with acrylic paints, pastes, oil pastels and other mixed media, she explores texture and depth to create one-of-a-kind works. She describes her style as “retro inspired organic shapes combined with a harmonious palette.”
All pieces are available for purchase. For more of her art, click here.
Jeffrey Hatcher — creator of the new Westport Country Playhouse adaptation of “Dial M for Murder — is the guest at a Sunday Symposium, following the July 16 3 p.m.
He’ll discuss how he re-thought the classic tale of blackmail and revenge.
The event will be moderated by Mark Lamos, Playhouse artistic director, who also directs the production.
The Symposium program is free and open to the public. No performance ticket is necessary. It begins immediately after the show, at approximately 5 p.m. Click here for more information on the show, including tickets.
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