Lynn Flint wrote yesterday: “The ground ozone count for today in Westport is 122 (way high).
“Anything above 70 is considered USG (unhealthy for sensitive groups). Normal is around 10.
“The same high count is forecast for Friday.
“This condition is invisible, not like forest fire smoke. I’ve noticed it the last few days whenever I was outside my eyes started to burn, my vision became blurry, and I started to cough vigorously.”
Be careful out there!
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A reader writes: “Students graduating during the COVID lockdown in 2020 were denied graduation ceremonies, and the accompanying fanfare and celebrations.
“To create alternative markers of these students’ accomplishments, schools produced and distributed lawn signs for each graduate’s family to display.
“Now, 4 years later, I see lawn signs for Staples, Bedford, even Goddard School graduates. Why?
“Can we please stop, for the sake of our landfills? Graduates are able once again to celebrate and be celebrated.
“So let’s end the practice of producing plastic signs that do not get recycled. biodegrade or do anything useful.”
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A celebration of Leonard Everett Fisher’s life is set for this coming Monday (June 24, 3 to 6 p.m., Westport Library).
The date is special. It would have been the noted illustrator/artist, longtime civic volunteer and proud World War II veteran’s 100th birthday.
Donations in his and his wife’s name can be made to “Margery & Leonard Everett Fisher Endowment for Children’s Books in the Arts,” c/o Westport Library, 20 Jesup Road, Westport, CT 06880.
Leonard Everett Fisher (Photo/Ted Horowitz)
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Only 2 athletic facilities in Westport — Paul Lane Field at Staples High School, and PJ Roman Field behind Saugatuck Elementary — have lights.
That may change.
Now that a 10-year agreement with Staples neighbors has expired — and with more demands on fields than ever, due to the growth of sports like rugby and girls lacrosse — discussions are beginning about lighting more places.
The Planning & Zoning Commission Recreation Subcommittee meets next Thursday (June 27, noon, Zoom; click here for the town website livestream).
The agenda includes:
- Review of participant feedback on athletic field lighting for properties (seen here).
- Discussion of temporary vs. permanent lighting, and times of the day.
- Discussion of the next steps in implementing athletic field lighting.
Paul Lane Field (lower right) is Staples’ only lighted athletic facility. the baseball diamond, and adjacent Albie Loeffler Field and Jinny Park Field are not. (Photo/Dan Woog)
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Book the date!
Tickets for Billie Jean King’s appearance at the 25th annual “Booked for the Evening” — the Westport Library’s signature fundraiser (September 12) — go on sale Monday, July 15, at 10 am.
“Bookmark” this page to order yours.
Billie Jean King
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What’s “low income” in Fairfield County?
A household income of $100,000 for a family of 4.
A study by MarketWatch Guides examined date from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
In much of the rest of the country, low income is closer to $50,000 or less, says Claudia Phillips of MarketWatch.
Click here for the full story, in CT Mirror.
Not a lot of money.
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Summer arrived yesterday.
And so — right on cue — did the Good Humor woman.
There are other ice cream trucks around. But for generations of Westporters, this is the only one that counts.
Bonus points if you remember Ray.
(Photo/Karen Weingarten)
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Westport Garden Club members were out in force recently, at Grace Salmon Park.
They’ve been planting, trimming, weeding and overseeing the gardens and new sundial.
It takes a village. The Westport Garden Club makes sure ours always looks gorgeous.
Westport Garden Club members (from left): Joanne Heller, Kelly Frey Pollard, Nathalie Fonteyne, Orna Stern and Joellen Bradford.
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The “dog days” of summer are in August.
But tomorrow o(Saturday, June 22, 10:30 a.m. to noon, Jesup Green), the Westport Book Shop is hosting “Doggy Days of Summer.”
There’s a reading by Denis O’Neill, dog-themed art, games, and a chance to meet Woofgang & Co.
Excited for the “Doggy Days of Summer.” (Photo/Lou Weinberg)
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Speaking of summer: It was the solstice — and a full moon last night.
Dalma Heyn captured the scene, at Old Mill Beach:
(Photo/Dalma Heyn)
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Congratulations to Katie Augustyn. The longtime Westporter is the Sunrise Rotary Club’s new president for 2024-25. She was inducted Wednesday.
Katie Augustyn (center), at her Sunrise Rotary presidency induction. Looking on are the 2023-24 president Liz Wong, and Robert Friend, Rotary district governor.
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Brendan Toller has a new job too.
The former marketing manager of the Westport Library’s Verso Studios — who is also a film director and musician — has been named director of operations and new initiatives at WPKN, Bridgeport’s free-form, listener-supported FM radio station.
At Verso Studios, Toller helped develop the mission, partnerships, and programming and marketing efforts.
Brendan Toller (Photo/Michael Civitello)
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Jianmei “Jamie” Zheng died June 14 at Yale-New Haven Hospital, with her family by her side, after a battle with lymphoma. She was 61.
She was born in China. After she and Ping Zhou married in 1986, Jamie earned a master’s degree in computer science from the Illinois Institute of Technology.
They and their 2 children eventually settled in Westport, where they lived for the past 18 years.
Jamie was a lifelong enthusiast of music and the arts. As a girls she performed traditional Chinese dance onstage, and later developed a love for classical music and opera. She followed that passion through world travel. Locally, she enjoyed MoCA CT, the Westport Country Playhouse, Westport Community Theatre, the Music Theatre of Connecticut and Fairfield University’s Quick Center.
Jamie practiced yoga, and was a founding member of a book club. She also found great happiness at Sherwood Island State Park, and relished in her daughter’s accomplishments.
In addition to her beloved husband Ping of 38 years, Jamie is survived by her daughters Connie (Scott) and Katie, and brothers Jianquan and Jianbin.
A memorial service is set for June 29 (11 a.m., Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Westport).
In lieu of flowers, contributions in Jamie’s memory can be made to the American Cancer Society.
Jamie Zheng
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While Westporters sweltered, these swans enjoyed cool Lees Pond.
Amy Swanson spotted them, for today’s “Westport … Naturally” feature.
(Photo/Amy Swanson)
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And finally … On this date in 1978, the original production of “Evita,” based on the life of Eva Perón, opened in London.
(Don’t cry for “06880.” But please: Help support us, with a tax-deductible contribution. Just click here. Thank you!)
