Summer is here!
Well, at least, beach parking emblems (oldtimers call them “stickers”) are available for purchase — online and in the Parks & Recreation Department office — for Westport and Weston residents starting this Thursday (March 19), at 9 a.m. There is no limit for Westport and Weston residents. Click here for fees.
Beach parking emblem sales for non-residents begin tomorrow (Wednesday, March 18), at 9 a.m. The fee is $545, plus sales tax. There is a limit of 450 for the season — first come, first served.
If you bought emblems or registered for programs in previous seasons, your online account is already set up. Click here to log in. Then select “Memberships,” and follow the prompts.
If you have not bought emblems or registered for programs previously, click here. Then click the “Purchase Now” icon on the right.
Emblems will be mailed in 14-21 days. They are not required until May 1.
If you forget your login or password, do not create another account. Select the proper “forget” button on the login page. For further help, email recreation@westportct.gov.
Office hours are 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays.
Beach stickers go on sale this week. (Photo/Mark Marcus)
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The Staples High School boys basketball team is one game away from a historic accomplishment.
The Wreckers — ranked #1 in Division I — downed Notre Dame Prep 67-61 last night at Fairfield Warde, in a state tournament semifinal contest that was nowhere near as close as the score seems.
That lifts the Westporters into the state championship against #2 West Haven.
The game — to be played Saturday or Sunday, on a date and time to be determined at Mohegan Sun — will be their first state championship since 2023. Three years ago, they fell short in their quest for the Division II crown.
If the Wreckers win this weekend, it will be their first state title since — are you ready? — 1937.
That’s right. Staples’ last Connecticut championship came when Franklin Roosevelt was in the White House. And 9 years before the founding of the NBA.
Go Wreckers!
There could be another historic moment this weekend too.
The boys could be joined by the Staples girls basketball team.
The Wreckers’ girls state tournament semifinal game tips off at 6 p.m. tonight (Tuesday), at Bethel High School.
The Wreckers — seeded #3 in Division II — take on #10 Bristol Central.
Go Wreckers indeed!
The 2026 Staples girls basketball team.
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Speaking of sports: Sports Business Journal just unveiled the nominees for their 2026 Sports Business Awards Executive of the Year.
Astonishingly, 3 of the 5 are from Westport.
They are NBC Sports president Rick Cordella, ESPN president Jimmy Pitaro, and TKO Group Holdings president and COO Mark Shapiro. (The 2 non-Westport nominees are 23XI Racing co-owner Michael Jordan, and TWG Global CEO Mark Walter.
Cordella — who would be the first NBC Sports leader to win the award since Dick Ebersol in 2009 — oversaw the NBA’s return to NBC, the Super Bowl and the Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina, and negotiated a 3-year deal for MLB to return to the network this season.
Pitaro won the award in 2020. He led the re-launch of the DTC-focused ESPN app, the acquisition of key assets within NFL Media and a renegotiated MLB media deal, and was selected to the Broadcasting + Cable Hall of Fame.
Shapiro presided over TKO (the parent company of UFC, WWE, PBR, On Location and IMG). UFC agreed to a $7.7 billion, 7-year deal with Paramount Skydance, while WWE agreed to a $1.625 billion, 5-year deal with ESPN.
The 19th annual Sports Business Awards ceremony — including 14 other categories — will be presented May 20 at the New York Marriott Marquis Times Square.
Good luck to all 3 local nominees. Looks like there’s a 60% chance that the Sports Business Executive of the Year will be one of our neighbors.
Will they share an Uber to the event? (Or — more importantly — home?)
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With 74 power outages in Westport (0.58% of customers), and a much more substantial 1,128 in Weston (29%), it’s a good time to remind readers that Office Evolution is a great option.
The co-working space opposite Westport fire headquarters on Post Road East offers free day passes to new customers, and discounts on hourly private office space.
It’s a great way to get work done, charge devices, and enjoy hi-speed Wi-fi.
Call (203-635-8770) or email (WestportCT@OfficeEvolution.com) — if you can!
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Probate Judge Lisa Wexler is running for re-election, in the Westport-Weston district. She says:
“Being your probate judge for the last 13 years has been a great privilege. I have loved being able to help so many people in our community. I remain committed to fulfilling the responsibilities of probate judge with the utmost integrity, transparency and fairness. I hope that I have earned your trust and confidence for another term.
“Most people think that probate courts are only for wills, trusts and estates. But over half of our work involves people with special needs, including the elderly and those suffering from mental illness. As your probate judge, I use the tools available to me to try as best as I can to help those in our community who are the most vulnerable.”
Wexler has opened the court on Tuesday nights for public lectures, writes an email newsletter, appears at the Westport and Weston senior centers, and speaks before gatherings of trusts and estates professionals. She also made probate hearings available for the first time, via CDs.
A graduate of the New York University School of Law and Johns Hopkins University, she is a member of the Weston Kiwanis and Hadassah, and advisory board member to Jane Doe No More, and is a board member of The Jeffrey Modell Foundation.
Judge Lisa Wexler
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Last month, “06880” reported on Westport’s first-ever Mini Moguls Marketplace. The youth business fair — founded and organized by Staples High School junior Aanya Gandhi — drew (very) young vendors in grades 5–8, and plenty of shoppers, to the Westport Library.
Long Lots Elementary School students Leo Rubin and Luke Capolupo made and sold personalized necklaces. Their first sale was to an important customer: superintendent of schools Thomas Scarice.
The event jump-started their business. Since then, they’ve expanded sales at school. Leo then pitched the idea to ASF. The popular Post Road East store now carries their product.
An Instagram post says: “LL Creations’ beaded necklaces are made for players and true sports fans alike. Rep your passion, support young entrepreneurs, and give back — 10% of proceeds go to the Boys & Girls Club.”
Luke Capolupo and Leo Rubin at ASF.
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Attention, college juniors and seniors interested in a career in management consulting: A Westport firm is offering a summer internship.
The New England Consulting Group’s program runs from June 1 to August 7. They’re looking for interns from top colleges; any major is appropriate.
It’s on-site in Westport, with a $5,000 stipend.
Contact Tom Sebok, managing partner: ths@necg.net (subject line: Westport Summer Internship at NECG); 917-825-2206.
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You don’t have to be Irish — or even a human being — to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.
Jolantha — Weston’s favorite pig — is all decked out in green. Sure, and it’s a great day when everyone eats corned beef.
Not ham or bacon.
(Photo/Hans Wilhelm)
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David Berkman has been a major jazz voice for decades. Since his first visit to the Jazz at the Post — a soldout performance a few years ago with Antonio Hart — he has become a favorite at VFW Post 399.
This week, as the featured artist of JazzFC’s March Jazz Madness, he presents his own writing for quintet.
Berkman will be accompanied by saxophonists Billy Drewes and Greg “The Jazz Rabbi” Wall, bassist David Ambrosio and drummer Jay Sawyer.
Shows are Thursday (March 19) at 7:30 and 8:45 p.m. Dinner starts at 7. Click here for tickets, and more information.
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What could be more appropriate for today’s St. Paddy’s Day “Westport … Naturally” photo than this wearing-of-the-green shot?
(Photo/Bob Weingarten)
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And finally … to all who celebrate today (and who doesn’t?):
(And on that note, may we ask for a bit o’ green today? If you’d like to support “06880” — and, ahem, this Danny Boy — please click here. Thanks — and may the luck of the Irish be with you!)
