Tag Archives: Jeffrey Pogue

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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Roundup: Gather ‘Round The Table, Dan Hurley, Scrabble …

Posted on March 25, 2024 | 2 comments

Homes with Hope invites residents interested in helping young women in need of a supportive home to “Gather ‘Round the Table” on May 14 (11:30 a.m., The Inn at Longshore).

The theme of the non-profit’s annual event — “home as a place of healing” — inspires local designers and home stores to create and donate unique tablescapes. Attendees can purchase raffle tickets for a chance to win the table designs.

The luncheon benefits Project Return at Susie’s House, on Compo Road North. Plans have been approved for renovations, to better accommodate the needs of homeless women in Fairfield County.

Once completed, the unique program will offer a longer-term housing solution, in a nurturing and home-like environment.

Click here for tickets.

Project Return’s “Susie’s House.”

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The University of Connecticut is the #1 seed in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.

And who better to interview Husky coach Dan Hurley than another Nutmegger, Dave Briggs?

During March Madness, the longtime Westporter is hosting “Fast Break” for Turner Sports.

It includes live game action, analysis, post-game reaction and social media moments.

The show is available at MarchMadness.com, and the “March Madness Live” app.

Click below for the Dan Hurley clip:

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Speaking of media: A few years back, young Jeffrey Pogue and his partner won the North American School Scrabble Championship — 2 years in a row.

This year — as a first-year Brown University student — the 2023 Staples High School graduate was back.

This time, he was an event commentator.

No, it does not capture national attention like March Madness. There are no brackets, and you won’t talk about it today at work or in school.

But it does have a website. Click here to see.

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Last night around 7:25, a truck turned into Trader Joe’s.

Literally.

(Photo/Chris Fanning)

Chris Fanning — who was there — writes: “Westport Police were soon on the scene, and smoothly straightened things out. I’m not so sure about the building!”

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Half an hour later, a Westporter coming off I-95 exit 18 saw this sight:

Her son’s first thought, as the string of lights moved, was “aliens!”

They quickly learned though, it was Elon Musks’s  Starlink satellites.

Not quite extraterrestrials. But still pretty cool.

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Picture taken at approx 8:08pm coming off of exit 18 on I-95 where we came to a full stop to view (and I’m sure the cars behind us weren’t thrilled – but were nice enough to not honk).

Fans of the “06880”/Westport Downtown Association Holiday Stroll know Frank Murgalo as the event’s Santa Claus. (Shhh…don’t tell the kids!)

On May 3 (6:30 p.m. food and cocktails; 8 p.m. show), VFW Joseph J. Clinton Post 399), he trades his St. Nick suit for a microphone.

Frank joins 2 other US military veterans — Rodney Norman and Howie Mason — for an evening of laughs. It’s called “The Young Guns of Comedy” (get it?!)

The 3 comedians specialize in military stories.

Dinner includes a lobster roll and wings. Click here for reservations, or call Frank: 203-856-4222.

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Whatever goes around, comes around.

In 2005, Allyson Stollenwerck was sworn in to the Board of Finance by Patty Strauss. The new board member was pregnant with her first child, and just beginning 6 years in office.

The 2005 swearing-in …

On Friday she was sworn in again — this time by Ruth Cavayero — to the same body. She’s filling Brian Stern’s seat, after his recent resignation.

,,, and 2024.

Her child is now 2 months away from his Staples High School graduation.

Congratulations, Allyson!

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The Wheels2U app, used to book rides on Westport’s door-to-train station shuttle service, will be upgraded tonight. Riders can use the upgraded app beginning tomorrow morning (Tuesday, March 26).

To keep riding on Wheels2Um after tonight:

  1. Log into the Wheels2U app. You will be prompted to create a new account. You can use your current one, or new credentials;
  2. Re-enter your payment information;
  3. Book your next ride.

Riders should add an extra 5 minutes before booking your next trip, to update your account.

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As rain poured down on Saturday, these deer sought refuge on Bayberry Lane.

Jonathan Alloy snapped today’s “Westport … Naturally” photo, near Easton Road.

(Photo/Jonathan Alloy)

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And finally … happy 77th birthday to Elton John!

And of course, my favorite:

(Don’t go breaking my heart! Please support “06880” — your hyper-local blog. Just click here to make a tax-deductible donation. Thank you!)

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Posted in Local politics, Sports, Transportation

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Jeffrey Pogue Picks Xis

Posted on May 1, 2019 | 3 comments

Alert reader/nationally known tech guru/writer/TV star/proud Westport parent David Pogue writes:

Last year at this time, I wrote a guest post for “06880” about the Hasbro North American School Scrabble Tournament. The huge, 2-day event for kids was in its 16th year. First prize for the middle-school division: $10,000.

The reason: Last year, my son Jeffrey — then a Bedford Middle School 7th grader — and his partner Noah won it.

This weekend, they went back to defend their championship.

The North American School Scrabble Championship competition.

There were reasons for optimism: The boys had had another year to prepare, playing Scrabble online every day and studying lists of obscure words.

On the other hand, their team — the Rackmasters — caught everyone by surprise last year. “They kind of came out of nowhere,” said Kevin Belinkoff, a play-by-play commentator (it’s live-streamed, so far-flung family can watch). “They weren’t one of the favored teams coming in, and did a tremendous job.”

Great! But that meant another “out of nowhere” team could sweep the tournament this year.

And of course, luck is a factor. If you get terrible letters — all vowels, for example— it’s hard to win.

This year’s event was held in a Marriott ballroom in Philadelphia. It did not start well. Jeffrey’s partner, Noah Slatkoff, lives in Canada. Thunderstorms canceled his flight. So Noah and his dad drove through the night — 7 1/2 hours — to get there on time.

Nonetheless, the Rackmasters dominated the 6 games of Day One. They defeated their opponents by huge margins (like 603 to 271!). That’s important, because in the event of a tied record at the end, the total point “spread” determines who advances to the finals, for all the marbles.

Jeffrey Pogue (right) and Noah Slatkoff, in the zone.

There weren’t as many marbles this year. Hasbro had a tough 2018 — the demise of Toys R Us  hurt sales — and cost-cutting affected the Scrabble championship.

The top prize was $3,000, down from $10,000; the venue was an airport hotel instead of a sports stadium, and the opening party was a ghost of its traditional carnival-like self.

Nobody cared. A kids’ Scrabble tournament is a friendly affair, a chance to spend a weekend away from home, running around with fellow word nerds. It still felt thrilling and well-run.

Day Two did not begin well for our Rackmasters. They lost their first game by 7 points — their first championship loss in 2 years. Their opponents (the Scrabble All-Stars) drew some amazing tiles, including 3 incredibly useful “S”s, both of the blank tiles, and all of the high-point ones: J, X, Q, K, and Z.

The Rackmasters’ 1st loss in 2 years was livestreamed.

Our boys were no longer undefeated, nor in first place. Their spirits crashed.

When they won their next game though, their record was 7-1, tied with the All-Stars and another team. Who would advance to the final, against the sole 8–0 team?

Rackmasters! Their huge point spread from the previous day ensured them a place at the big table onstage.

Their opponents — the Dyslexic Manic Shop — weren’t strangers. One boy had been Jeffrey’s partner 2 years ago at this event.

The final game was brilliant. First one team pulled ahead, then the other, over and over again. Parents and players, sequestered in a different room and watching by video, shrieked and applauded each play.

As usual in high-level Scrabble, many of the plays were not common English words (oolite, scry, haj awa …).

As the letters ran out, Jeffrey and Noah faced a tough call. They could play “ixia” for 39 points (as everyone knows, that’s a South African plant of the iris family), or “xis” for 19 (the 14th letter of the Greek alphabet).

They played the lower-scoring word.

It was strategic. They figured on their next turn they could add an A, forming “axis,” thus harvesting all 8 points of that X tile a second time. That A could also be a part of a new word going down — and landing on the juicy Triple Word Score tile in the lower-left corner.

Ta-da!

That’s exactly what happened. The Rackmasters won — for the 2nd straight year.

It will be their last victory. Next month, Jeffrey graduates from Bedford. As a Staples freshman he’ll no longer be eligible for the middle school division. That’s the main event, with big cash prizes and the most participants. In the high school division, you play alone.

The winners: Jeffrey Pogue and Noah Slatkoff.

It’s time for the next generation of Westport Scrabble champions to emerge. Jeffrey got involved (and met his partner Noah) through Cornelia Guest, a national Scrabble figure. She runs a weekly club at the Ridgefield Library, where she teaches, coaches  and nurtures young players. (Email corneliasguest@gmail.com for details.)

Jeffrey also plays at weekly Scrabble Club meetings at the Pequot library in Southport, closer to home.

Jeffrey highly recommends Scrabble clubs to your kids (so does his dad). It’s a full-brain activity, requiring skills in language, math and strategy. It’s non-electronic and tactile. It’s social. And it’s every bit as exciting as any sporting event.

For Jeffrey there are benefits far beyond prizes, trophies and thrilling weekends in Philly. For the rest of his life, should the conversation ever turn to Greek letters or South African flowering plants, he’ll be ready.

Jeffrey Pogue with his proud father, David.

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Posted in Education, Teenagers, Totally random

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Jeffrey Pogue’s Quixotry, Muzjiks-Filled Scrabble Championship

Posted on May 2, 2018 | 8 comments

Alert “06880” reader/tech guru/proud father David Pogue writes:

When I grew up in Cleveland, my parents regularly brought out the familiar Scrabble set — 100 letter tiles in a bag — as a family activity.

But competitive Scrabble is a different world, and around here, Cornelia Guest is the doorway into it. She’s a Scrabble champion in her own right, a real aficionado, and she runs a weekly Scrabble club at the Ridgefield library. Over the years, she’s cultivated a number of Scrabble champions.

My older son Kell joined her club for a couple of years. That’s how we discovered the Hasbro North American School Scrabble Championship, an annual 2-day tournament for middle  and high schoolers. (There’s a Rubik’s Cube championship held concurrently.)

My youngest son, Jeffrey, is 13 and a 7th grader at Bedford Middle School. Last year he entered the Championship in Boston; he and his partner came in 10th. “I was a bit upset that I didn’t do as well as I hoped,” he says. (Yes, I interviewed my own kid for this story.)

“But I also learned what it’s like, and how to study and practice. This year I studied a lot more. I used a study program called Zyzziva.”

Only months before the North American Championship, Jeffrey found himself without a partner. “Cornelia has a lot of contacts in the Scrabble world. She found Noah Slatkoff, a Canadian kid. In a previous tournament he placed 2nd in his division against a bunch of adults.”

Jeffrey met him online, via Skype. The video didn’t work for the first month or so, so Jeffrey never knew what his partner looked like. But they screen-shared, and played online games of Scrabble a couple of times a week.

Jeffrey Pogue (right) and Noah Slatkoff.

Jeffrey says that their skills matched up nicely. “Noah is really good at getting us out of sticky situations — like if there are a few tiles that are hard to fit onto the board, he’ll find a place to play them — whereas I like finding high-point plays. So if we have, like, the W or the F tiles, which are worth 4 points each, I try to find a place to play them where they’ll be worth 30 points.”

Incredibly (to me), the 2 boys never met in person until they arrived at the Championship in Philly past this weekend.

It’s an unbelievable event. Hasbro runs it (the ulterior motive is probably to foster a new generation of Scrabble fans). But it’s warm, well-run, and spirited. It feels like a friendly sort of nerd Olympics.

Hanging out at the North American Championship.

The event was held at Lincoln Field, where the Eagles play. Not on the field itself (Scrabble isn’t that popular), but on the mezzanine areas inside the stadium. Huge banks of tables are set up with Scrabble boards, score sheets, and timing clocks.

Family members sit in a different area, so we can’t watch the games. But during each of the 9  rounds, we can watch one particular game — the matchup of 2  current leaders, for example — on big screens mounted through the area. There’s an overhead camera for the board, a manned TV camera trained on the players, and sneaky little surface cameras to show the players’ Scrabble racks.

Jeffrey and Noah in mid-match. Note the chyron at the bottom of the screen.

Professional commentators deliver play-by-play, just like on ESPN. It’s amazing. “Oooooh, that’s a brilliant play! They managed to dump those extra vowels, and landed on the triple-word score square. Now the Scrabbula team is at a huge disadvantage. The only question is, will they realize that ‘outgets’ is not actually in the Scrabble dictionary? Will they challenge?” And so on.

By the end of the first day, the Rackmasters — the Jeffrey-Noah team — had won all 6 of their matches. Undefeated! We, their parents, were freaking out.

“Before every single game, Noah and I got really nervous,” Jeff says. “A lot of the players are older than us. ‘Oh no, these opponents look scary! Do you think we can do this?’ And when we finally realized, ‘Wait a minute, we’re going to the finals!,’ we both got really excited. It was crazy.”

As Day 1 ends, Hasbro throws a huge party for the competitors and their families: face painting, a DJ, dancing, sketch artists, giant Jenga towers, Nerf football toss, food for all the competitors. Suddenly the competition is forgotten, and they’re all just kids. It’s kind of awesome.

On Day 2, Sunday, there are 2 more matches. Each new opponent is tougher than the one before. The Rackmasters had won Game 6 by only 27 points. It seemed improbable that our boys could sustain their incredible momentum.

Game on!

But sure enough they won Game 7, and then Game 8, guaranteeing a slot in the final playoff.

This final game pairs the top 2 teams. It’s winner take all. Doesn’t matter what your record is from the weekend so far; whoever wins this game wins the $10,000 first prize.

The tournament is livestreamed online, so Jeffrey and Noah’s far-flung relatives and friends all tuned in to watch. These kids are so advanced, you probably wouldn’t even recognize half of what they played as words. Aurei? Tavs? Agee? Ferin? Zori?

After 45 minutes of intellectual battle, the Rackmasters played their last tile, signifying the end of the game.

Jeffrey and Noah’s final board. How many of these words do you know?

“At first my brain didn’t register it,” Jeffrey says. “We shook hands with the other team, and the room was really quiet for a bit. Then we’re like, ‘Oh wait — we have a few more points than they do! We… WON!’ I gave Noah a little hug. It was crazy. My mind was racing.”

His mind, but my heart. The competition was thrilling to see (you can watch the final match online here), and of course I’m proud enough to burst. These kids really worked for it — Jeffrey sat on the couch, night after night for weeks, teaching himself every possible 7-letter word from the 300 most commonly-drawn sets of tiles — and it’s my hope that they’ll take away some good lessons in the value of preparation, good sportsmanship, even money management. (Jeffrey plans to invest some of his $5,000 share and give some to charity.)

In the meantime, Cornelia welcomes anyone in grades 3 to 8 to join the club, which meets at Ridgefield Library every Tuesday from 6 to 7 p.m. (Email her at corneliasguest@gmail.com for details.)

Who knows? Maybe one day soon, it could be your kid scoring 126 points for QUIXOTRY or MUZJIKS at the North American Scrabble Championship.

Jeffrey Pogue and his proud dad, David.

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