Tag Archives: Kristin Schneeman

Roundup: Startup Pitch, Farmers’ Market Switch …

Posted on November 11, 2025 | 4 comments

If you like “Shark Tank,” you’ll love Westport Start-up’s first-ever Pitch Competition.

Five finalists — out of 77 applicants — will compete for $25,000 in non-dilutive funding November 20 (6 p.m., Westport Library).

The judges — all Westport-based venture capitalists — will evaluate live pitches from early-stage companies that have spent month refining their businesses, through mentorship and coaching, including Start-up Westport, the local public/private partnership of innovators and entrepreneurs.

Those finalists are:

  • Chroma Shield– Medical device technology
  • Mirabelle Medical– Women’s breast health technology
  • Neuro Puffs– Better-for-you snacks
  • Nexa Tax– Tax technology for athletes
  • Wheel Price– Automotive marketplace platform

May the best team win!

(To register to attend, click here.)

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Sure, the leaves are falling. The air is crisper.

But the biggest indication that the seasons are changing is the move of the Westport Farmers’ Market from outdoors on Imperial, to its winter indoor location at Gilbertie’s Herbs & Garden Center (7 Sylvan Lane).

The first date is November 20. Every Thursday, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the greenhouses will be filled with fresh, locally sourced produce and prepared foods.

Also on tap: kids’ activities, music, food trucks, and holiday pop-ups.

New this year: Once-a-month Saturday markets, beginning December 6.

In response to community feedback, WFM is also excited to expand the market with the addition of once-per-month Saturday markets (December 6th, January 3, February 7, March 7).

A pre-Thanksgiving market is set for Tuesday, November 25 (the WFM is closed on that holiday). Featured items include fresh produce, meats, desserts, flowers, pet food and more.

Click here to learn more about the Westport Farmers’ Market. Follow them on social media: @westportfarmersmarket.

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How do young Westporters learn the importance of Veterans Day?

By doing what the Cub Scouts of Pack 39 did on Sunday.

Working with Phil Delgado and Patty Kondub of Westport VFW Post 399, 4th grade Webelos Scouts visited Christ & Holy Trinity Cemetery on Kings Highway North. Very carefully, they placed flags at veterans’ graves.

Those flags provide a vivid, patriotic background today, as we honor all the men and women who served.

(Photos/Carlos Capellán)

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Yesterday’s “recanvass” of 3 Representative Town Meeting (RTM) election results — those decided by 20 votes or less — did not change any results.

It did cut Kristin Schneeman’s winning margin for the 4th and final District 9 seat from 3 votes to 2, over Sal Liccione. Both are incumbents.

When it was over, the loser congratulated and embraced the winner. As John Suggs — who was there at Town Hall — notes, “a real class act on Sal’s part!”

Kristin Schneeman and Sal Liccione. (Photo/John Suggs)

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Sustainable Westport takes their mission seriously.

And means much more than just composting, recycling and electric vehicles.

This weekend, the non-profit teams up with the Senior Center and Westport woman’s Club to collect lightly used durable medical equipment, to support Wheel It Forward.

Crutches, canes, wheelchairs, walkers, knee scooters, shower tub seats, toilet risers, new commodes and unopened disposable items can be dropped off at the Woman’s Club (44 Imperial Avenue), on Saturday, November 15 (8 to 10 a.m. and 2 to 4 p.m.) and Sunday, November 16 (11 a.m. to 1 p.m.).

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A new documentary about World War II journalist Sigrid Schultz — a longtime Westport resident — is nearing completion.

“Eyes on Evil” chronicles Schultz’s remarkable career covering the rise and fall of Nazi Germany — from the liberated exuberance of Weimar Berlin to Hitler’s ascent and the devastating aftermath.

It includes the years during the war when Schultz returned to the US and settled in Westport, after being injured in a British bombing raid on Berlin. She launched a nationwide lecture tour to warn Americans about the growing threat of Hitler’s regime.

In 1945 she was among a small group of reporters to cover the liberation of the Buchenwald concentration camp.

The film is directed by Vanessa Johnston, an award-winning documentary filmmaker and former Reuters producer based in Washington. She made several trips to Westport, including an interview with historian John Suggs.

Johnston has just launched a fundraising campaign. Click here for details.

Sigrid Schultz

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Congratulations to the Westport Police Department, and Officer Dominque Carr.

The WPD recently earned a Gold Traffic Safety Award from AAA Northeast. Only 12 police departments in the state received the honor, presented to communities that have implement programs and projects that have an active safety committee, and for efforts in education, engineering and enforcement, along with other statistical measures of success

Carr — a member of the WPD traffic enforcement division — was recognized for his efforts as a “traffic safety leader.”

From left: Officer Dominque Carr, Captain Eric Woods, Lieutenant Sereniti Dobson.

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“The A Chronicles 10-Minute Play Festival” — “bold, funny and fearless short dramas” by 9 playwrights, selected from over 350 submissions — runs for 2 performances on November 19 (2 and 7 p.m., at MoCA\CT).

The A Chronicles stages live theatrical events around reproductive rights —”amplifying voices, disrupting narratives to fuel real conversations.”

Click here for tickets, and more information.

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Composer/pianist Steve Sandberg plays Ellington, Monk, Mingus and Sandberg, blending classical, world music and jazz with exciting improvisation.

On Thursday, he brings his talents to Jazz at the Post (VFW Post 399; shows at 7:30 and 8:45 p.m.; dinner from 7).

Sandberg is joined by bassist Michael O’Brien, drummer Jeff Hirshfield, and saxophonist Greg “The Jazz Rabbi” Wall. Click here for tickets, and more information.

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Squirrels are a dime a dozen around here.

But an albino squirrel — like today’s “Westport … Naturally” feature (spotted across the border in Weston — that’s one in 100,000, says photographer Andy Berliner.

(Photo/Andy Berliner)

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And finally … to all the men and women who have served our country, so bravely and so well, for so long:

 

4 Comments

Posted in Environment, History, Local business, Police

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[OPINION] Leaf Blower Ordinance: RTM Proponent Responds

Posted on June 27, 2024 | 24 comments

This morning’s “Opinion” piece by one homeowner — detailing his frustration with Westport’s ban on gas-powered leaf blowers — elicited many responses.

Like blown leaves themselves, they were all over the place.

We also heard from Kristin Schneeman, a Representative Town Meeting member who helped sponsor the regulation. She writes:

We’ve been hearing loud and clear this summer the level of frustration people have with the use of gas blowers, which is why we passed an ordinance in the first place.

Unfortunately change always takes time. Passing an ordinance was never going to guarantee immediate 100% compliance, whether there were penalties associated with it or not. (Witness the single-use plastics ordinance.)

The responsible parties in Westport are property owners, not landscapers. There are probably hundreds of landscapers who work for clients in town, and most of them do not live in Westport; they serve clients in a number of towns (even states), and as such it can be hard for them to know what the local regulations are.

A gas-powered leaf blower …

Our Conservation Department made a significant effort to reach out to as many as it could find contact information for, but it was likely a fraction of those working in town.

Instead of speaking with and complaining to landscapers, I’ve been encouraging residents to speak with their neighbors directly.  We are all responsible for our own behavior on our properties, and that of anyone we hire to work for us on it.

Landscapers will respond to what their clients ask of them (as was the case with the author of the “06880” piece). There will always be people who flout regulations, even when there are penalties for doing so. But I’m optimistic that over time, the more people become aware of the existence of the ordinance and why it’s in place, the more people will ask their landscapers to comply.

This has happened in my own neighborhood. After notifying my neighbor about the ordinance when their landscaper continued to use his gas blower, first he stopped blowing when he mows their lawn; then he showed up with an electric backpack blower.

There is actually little reason to blow in summer. Grass clipping are best left in the lawn. Other neighbors have banded together to purchase a commercial-grade electric blower for the person they all use to take care of their lawns.

I’ve heard of other folks who have purchased an electric blower themselves, and asked their landscaper to use it on their property.

… and an electric one.

I know this is not everyone’s experience in town, but things have actually been appreciably quieter where I am in downtown – not silent, but much better.

I’ve heard from friends in another neighborhood that has been taking a very collective, neighborly, civil approach to education in their area as well. Again, it’s not 100% perfect, but it’s positive change.

Westport’s RTM chose not to make its ordinance punitive. It aims for education about the negative health, environmental and quality of life effects of GLBs, and for compliance.

I will note that Greenwich and Norwalk passed ordinances after we passed ours, which go into effect this summer and fall respectively, and they do carry penalties.  So any landscapers working in those towns will be subject to fines.

I’m asking everyone to have patience and reasonable expectations. This will take time. Next summer will be better than this summer, and more towns in Connecticut will likely come on board.

But we all need to play a role in speaking with our neighbors, explaining why gas blowers are bad and aren’t really needed during the summer months. Call me naive, but I actually believe most people comply with most laws not because they’re afraid of getting caught and penalized, but because they believe it’s the right thing to do or derive other personal benefit from them (personal safety, better quality of life, etc.).

I don’t stop at stop signs because I’m afraid of getting caught and fined. I do it to keep myself and others safe.

But it takes time for people to become aware of and accustomed to new laws and regulations, and to understand the reasons and benefits of them.

24 Comments

Posted in Environment, Local politics

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Leaf Blower Ordinance 101

Posted on March 30, 2024 | 24 comments

Kristin Schneeman is a Representative Town Meeting member, and a sponsor of Westport’s leaf blower ordinance. She writes:

In January 2023 Westport became one of the first towns in Connecticut to limit the use of gas-powered leaf blowers. Since then several towns, including Norwalk and Greenwich, have followed suit.

Starting this year, the use of gas blowers will be banned between May 15 and October 15, with a few exceptions and exemptions.

Anyone wishing to use blowers for light-duty summer activities such as blowing grass clippings, pollen and dust must have an electric blower. Please let your landscapers and neighbors know!

The town has chosen to regulate the use of gas leaf blowers for a number of reasons:

Pollution. Most gas leaf blowers use extremely inefficient “two-stroke” engines that spew large amounts of fine particulate matter and other pollutants into the air.

The California Air Resources Board studied lawn and garden equipment, and found that the best-selling commercial gas leaf blower put out more smog-forming pollution in one hour than a Toyota Camry driving 1,100 miles.

Health of residents and workers. The pollutants leaf blowers emit are known to cause cancer, heart issues, respiratory issues, problems in pregnancy, and even premature death for those with certain conditions.

Landscape workers suffer the most, due to chronic exposure.

Gas leaf blowers can also blast air at 200+ miles an hour, kicking up clouds of dust, mold, pollen, animal feces, and other tiny particles that linger in the air. These can irritate and cause health problems for both humans and pets.

Noise. Gas leaf blowers are so loud that they can cause hearing loss fairly quickly for anyone within a 50-foot radius.

Their noise has a strong low-frequency component that makes it travel especially far and pass through walls and windows easily.

A typical crew operating multiple machines generates enough noise to exceed EPA community standards for 800 feet in all directions, making it difficult to concentrate for people working from home or attending school remotely.

Biodiversity. Leaf blowers destroy the natural layer of leaf litter that protects and nourishes plants and wildlife, including pollinators hibernating there for the winter.

Lawn and garden beauty. Simply leaving short grass clippings on the lawn recycles their nutrients into the soil.

In the fall, leaves can be mulched with a lawn mower or left on garden beds, where they will protect plants through the winter, suppress weeds, and improve soil structure and health.

Instead of leaf blowers, we hope Westport property owners will use and encourage their landscapers to use some combination of battery-powered tools, mulch mowing, rakes, and “leaving the leaves” in garden beds.

(The environment and local politics are 2 of “06880”‘s regular beats. If you appreciate our hyper-local coverage, please click here to make a tax-deductible contribution. Thank you!)

24 Comments

Posted in Environment, Local politics

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Leaf Blower Ordinance Begins Tomorrow

Posted on May 14, 2023 | 21 comments

Westport’s new gas-powered leaf blower ordinance takes effect tomorrow.

Representative Town Meeting member Kristin Schneeman writes:

In January, Westport became one of the first towns in Connecticut to limit the use of gas-powered leaf blowers.

This year, from May 15 through October 15, gas-powered handheld and backpack leaf blowers may not be used on Sundays or holidays; after 3 p.m. on Saturdays, and before 8 a.m. or after 6 p.m. on weekdays (unless you are a homeowner doing their own yardwork or are using an electric blower.)

Beginning in 2024, gas blowers will be banned between May 15 and October 15 each year.  Please let your landscapers and neighbors know!

The town has chosen to regulate the use of gas leaf blowers for a number of reasons:

  • Most gas leaf blowers use extremely inefficient “two-stroke” engines that spew large amounts of fine particulate matter and other pollutants into the air. The California Air Resources Board studied lawn and garden equipment and found that the best-selling commercial gas leaf blower put out more smog-forming pollution in one hour than a Toyota Camry driving 1,100 miles.
  • Health of residents and workers. The pollutants leaf blowers emit are known to cause cancer, heart problems, respiratory issues, problems in pregnancy, and even premature death for those with certain conditions. Landscape workers suffer the most, due to chronic exposure. Gas leaf blowers can also blast air at 200+ miles an hour, kicking up clouds of dust, mold, pollen, animal feces, and other tiny particles that linger in the air. These can irritate and cause health problems for both humans and pets.
  • Gas leaf blowers are so loud that they can cause hearing loss fairly quickly for anyone within a 50-foot radius. Their noise has a strong low-frequency component that makes it travel especially far and pass through walls and windows easily. A typical crew operating multiple machines generates enough noise to exceed EPA community standards for 800 feet in all directions, making it difficult to concentrate for people working from home or attending school remotely.

 

Electric leaf blower.

  • Leaf blowers destroy the natural layer of leaf litter that protects and nourishes plants and wildlife, including pollinators hibernating there for the winter.
  • Lawn and garden beauty. Simply leaving short grass clippings on the lawn recycles their nutrients into the soil. In the fall, leaves can be mulched with a lawn mower or left on garden beds, where they will protect plants through the winter, suppress weeds, and improve soil structure and health. Instead of leaf blowers, we hope Westport property owners will use and encourage their landscapers to use some combination of battery-powered tools, mulch mowing, rakes, and “leaving the leaves” in garden beds.

For more details, scan the QR code or click here.

21 Comments

Posted in Environment, Local politics

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