Get Out of Town!

By Fran
WestportNow Consumer Correspondent
fran@westportnow.com

Speaking as a Westport homebody who would rather vacation at home than just about anywhere, even I can use a change of scene right about now.

The only ones seem to be having any outdoor fun around here are the dogs on Compo Beach. If you can get away, it’s definitely time to leave town.

And who knows … when you get back there may even be daffodils at Trader Joe’s.
Prime Time Shuttle will pick you up at the train station or Westport Inn for $48 for the airport trip. Contributed photo

Here is the cost of a one-way trip from your home in Westport to LaGuardia Airport. Prices include tolls but not gratuities:

Limousine and Taxi Services:

Norwalk Car Service $84
853-1267

Norwalk Taxi $89
855-1764

Wilton Taxi $104
227-3063

Continental Limo $114
(203) 386-8477

Blue Chip $117
853-2090

Westport Star Taxi $120
Westport
227-5157

Teddys Chauffered Services $123
Westport
866-2231

Best Carriage $130.90
866-9995

Basic Airport Transportation $133.80
853-0000

Prime Time Limousine $138.60
(203) 348-3199

Fairfield County Limo $140.10
853-1623

Luxury Car LTD $141
222-9001
Westport

Premier Limousine $145
Westport
454-5679

Shuttles and Vans

Connecticut Limo (800) 472-5466. $48 per person. On a roundtrip ($96 per person) one additional person is 50 percent discounted to $48 round trip, and up to two accompanying children travel free. Pickup is from the South Norwalk train station.

Prime Time Airport Shuttle of Connecticut (203) 899-1280
Pickup is at the Westport train station or Westport Inn.
First person is $48, additional person pays $32; $15 for an accompanying child 14 and under.
For at-home pickup, the first person pays $52, $32 for an additional person, no child discount.

Red Dot Airport Shuttle (203) 332-0666. $51/per person, with no discount for an additional person. At-home pickup in a private car is $141.

Services That Drive Your Car

Prices include gratuity but not tolls; extra charges may apply for early morning or late night.

Bonenfant's Drive Your Auto Service
Westport
222-2239
$72.45

Nutmeg Driving Service
Westport
227-2327
$94.80

Saturday, February 14, 2004

10 a.m. Bedford Middle School -- Antique Show
8 p.m. Town Hall - Westport Community Theatre's "Godspell"
9 p.m. - Stage 18, 18 Leonard St., Norwalk -- Westport Arts Center presents Melissa Errico

Staples Boys Basketball: Staples Upsets Bridgeport Central 68-64

In a hard fought contest, Staples upset Bridgeport Central tonight 68-64 to improve to 9-4 in the FCIAC and 12-4 overall.

The game was played on the Hilltoppers home court and saw Wrecker senior John Baumann score a game high 30 points.

Central, the defending Class LL champion, falls to 13-2 overall and 11-2 in the FCIAC. The JV squad also won, 74-64.

"Obviously it was a big win for us," said Staples coach Jason Kirck.

"We wanted to make a statement and show the rest of the league that we can play high quality basketball and beat a good team. We showed that tonight."

The Wreckers face Wilton on Monday at Staples in Senior Night.

Kmart Files Suit Against Martha Stewart

Westport’s Martha Stewart, on trial for stock fraud, is now the target of a suit from Kmart Corp. which says her company is overcharging for the exclusive rights to sell housewares and other product bearing Stewart’s name.

Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. said today that Kmart's interpretation of their contract would cut what it gets from Kmart by millions of dollars and said it would contest Kmart's court filing.

Stewart stepped down last June as chairman and CEO of Martha Stewart Living but remains its biggest stockholder.

Kmart, which emerged from bankruptcy in May, has stood by its Martha Stewart Everyday line, touting the brand as one of its main assets despite Stewart's legal troubles.

In a complaint filed Wednesday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Chicago against a subsidiary of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Kmart said the company has sought more in royalties from the retailer than their contract calls for.

Kmart is accusing subsidiary MSO IP Holdings Inc. of acting in bad faith and is seeking unspecified damages.

Martha Stewart Trial: Finally a Win for the Defense

It's been tough going for the defense attorneys in the stock fraud trial of Westport's Martha Stewart, but today the judge gave them a win.

The ruling by U.S. District Judge Miriam Goldman Cedaraum dealt a blow to the government's effort to prove Stewart committed securities fraud, the most serious count against her.

Cedarbaum blocked any expert testimony on whether investors would have considered Stewart's public statements about her ImClone Systems sale important.

The securities fraud count accuses Stewart of propping up the stock price of her own company, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, by claiming in 2002 that her ImClone sale was proper and that she was cooperating with authorities.

Conviction on the securities fraud count carries a 10-year prison term. Each of the other four counts against Stewart carries five years. Cedarbaum granted a motion by Stewart to block expert testimony on the "materiality" of Stewart's statements in 2002.

The ruling blocks testimony on "whether a reasonable investor would have considered the statements important in making an investment decision," the judge said.

Cedarbaum ruled as the 10th day of testimony got under way at the trial of Stewart and ex-stockbroker Peter Bacanovic.

They are accused of lying to investigators about why Stewart sold 3,928 shares of ImClone on Dec. 27, 2001.

The pair claim they had a pre-existing understanding to sell the stock when it fell to $60 per share. But the government says Stewart was tipped that ImClone CEO Sam Waksal was trying to dump his own shares.

ImClone shares tumbled after the government announced the next day that it was rejecting the company's application for approval of the cancer drug Erbitux.

The Food and Drug Administration finally approved the drug Thursday, sending ImClone shares sharply higher in early Friday trading.

Stewart's lawyers spent this morning attacking the credibility of an FBI special agent whose notes are the only government record of Stewart's two interviews with investigators in 2002.

One of the charges against Stewart is that she lied when she said in one of the interviews that she did not recall whether her office kept a log of a message left by Bacanovic on the day of the stock sale.

But FBI special agent Catherine Farmer testified today she had no notes of Stewart specifically saying she did not remember such a log. Farmer apparently wrote only in a report she prepared after the interview that Stewart said she could not recall.

"And you were the only person taking notes for the United States government that day, right?" Stewart lawyer John Tigue asked.

"Yes," Farmer replied.

Stewart's assistant has testified Stewart personally altered the log of the Bacanovic message, then ordered that it be restored.

Prosecutors expect to end their side of the trial by next Thursday. Robert Morvillo, one of Stewart's lawyers, said the defense team will have an estimate of the length of their case next week. The trial resumes on Tuesday.

Former Eddie Bauer Store Now an Orvis Sale Room

The old Eddie Bauer store at the intersection of Post Road East and Main Street has taken on a new identity – an Orvis Sale Room. The mail order company, which also has a number of retail and warehouse outlets, specializes in outdoor sporting goods, men’s and women’s clothing, and specialty items. Since the Eddie Bauer store closed last summer, the building has also housed a store that sold Halloween costumes and masks and then Christmas holiday items. WestportNow.com photo

Absentee Ballots Available for March 2 Democratic Presidential Primary

Town Clerk Patricia H. Strauss reminded voters today that absentee ballots are now available for those electors who will be unable to vote in person in the March 2 Democratic presidential preference primary.

She said absentee ballots will be issued because of active service in the armed forces, absence from the town during all hours of voting, illness, physical disability, or religious tenets.

Strauss said only enrolled Democrats may vote in this primary.

"If you are not yet registered to vote, or you are an unaffiliated voter, it is not too late to register or enroll in a party," she said.

The deadline is Feb. 26 by mail -- meaning an application must be received by the registrars by that date -- or March 1 at noon if in person. She urged residents to call the Registrars' office for more details at 341-1115.

At last count, Westport had 4,839 registered Democrats, 5,420 registered Republicans, and 5,577 unaffiliated voters, Strauss said.

She said residents should call her office to have an absentee ballot application mailed or apply in person. The phone number is 341-1110.

The Town Clerk’s office, Room 105 in Town Hall, 110 Myrtle Ave., is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Applications may also be obtained through the Secretary of the State's Web site and mailed to the Town Clerk's office.

Thursday, February 12, 2004

Noon - Toquet Hall - Westport Art Center's "Play With Your Food"
7 p.m. - Fire Headquarters - Public Site & Building Commission
7:30 p.m. - Town Hall Auditorium - Planning & Zoning Commission

Board of Finance Approves $150,000 to Clear Assessor Backlog

The Westport Board of Finance today approved a special $150,000 appropriation to help clear a backlog of building permit work in the assessor's office that could yield the town as much as $2 million in additional tax revenue.

But approval came only after intense questioning of Assessor Glenn Werfelman and his assistant, Kevin Murowsky, produced the revelation that the backlog problem had existed for at least five years.

First Selectwoman Diane Goss Farrell earlier in the day had told her weekly citizens brown bag luncheon, which was largely devoted to complaints about the 2003 property revaluation, that she had only learned of the backlog difficulty a week ago.

She said the permit backlog problem was "separate and distinct" from what the J. F. Ryan firm was doing in carrying out the revaluation.

"In prior years, we hired part-time staff to catch up," Farrell said. "What we need to do is monitor more closely how they are keeping up with the permits."

A Feb. 9 letter from Werfelman to Farrell requesting the appropriation made no mention of how long the problem had existed other than to say the funds were needed to "assist our office with the significant amount of field work currently on file."

Farrell opened the special finance meeting by saying, "the intent for this evening is to assist the two gentlemen at the other end of the table," gesturing to Werfelman and Murowsky. "We have 1,700 permits outstanding," she said.

But it was only under additional questioning that the assessors listed details of the backlog – 20 "questionable" permits from 1998, 64 from 1999, 105 from 2000, 201 from 2001, 416 from 2002, 737 from 2003, and almost 150 issued so far this year.

Based on the values cited in the permit applications, Werfelman estimated there could be as much as $200 million in properties that had not been assessed yet for inclusion in the grand list.

Board chair Steven Ezzes, a Democrat, asked Werfelman why he had not asked for help earlier. The assessor replied that the problem had been manageable before but that complaints about the new revaluation had made the backlog more urgent.

"There should be no backlog," Ezzes responded. "The office should be properly staffed so you can go out and investigate them in a timely manner."

Republican Charles Haberstroh also complained about the delay in asking for additional help and wanted to know why auditors had not picked up the backlog problem. He also asked what procedures were in place to make sure it did not happen again.

Farrell said she had instructed Werfelman to inform her any time the backlog reached 400, but several board members said that was allowing the problem to go on too long.

Ron Malone, a member of the Representative Town Meeting (RTM), told the meeting that money the assessors had failed to collect for new buildings and improvements to existing ones was "money honestly owed to this community."

"It is just sitting there and we should speed up this process, take care of business and maintain our focus," he said.

Board member Jeff Mayer, a Democrat, expressed concern about cases in which a home had changed hands since the permit work was completed and that the new owner would be asked to pay back taxes for the previous owner.

Former RTM member Tom Feeley echoed Mayer's comments and said no one wanted to get a bill for someone else's back taxes. He urged that specific guidelines be given to the assessor's office about which back permits to clear up first and how to handle older ones.

Ezzes endorsed Feeley's call and asked Farrell to provide the board with a list of procedures to be followed in clearing the permit backlog.

Murowsky said he was open to suggestions about how to handle cases in which taxes were due on property that had changed hands.

Mayer suggested that this might be a good time to take on an additional staffer in the assessor's office so the town does not find itself short of staff in the future that might produce a similar problem.

The assessors said they anticipated workers from the firm selected to clear the backlog to begin their work about March 15 and complete it by Aug. 1.

Werfelman said additional tax bills would then go out separately from the regular tax bills.

The RTM will take up the $150,000 appropriation request at its March 9 meeting.

Westport Property Transfers Feb. 2-6, 2004

Property transfers as reported by the Westport Town Clerk's office for the period Feb. 2-6, 2004:

Debbie Helft Lerner to Audrey Lawrence-Rosenberg, 9 Bauer Place, $525,000.

Stephen Laura Mirkin to Norine P. Sedita, 58 Hills Lane, $337,500.

Kevin M Smith and Deirdre M. Ofarrelly to Jennifer Olsen Mattissen, 58 Old Road, $605,000.

Dwight F. Meyer and Amy N. Forte to Bruno J. Bellock and Ellen E. Galluccio, 5 Partrick Road, $1,050,000.

Robert B. Rogers Jr. to Deirdre M. Ofarrelly and Kevin M. Smith, 58 Wright St., $840,000.

Donna M. Wasik to Christopher D. and Joan K. Votta, 133 Roseville Road, $1,350,000.

Yvette Waldman to Amber L. Sweedler, 24 Surf Road, $3,580,000.

Ruth J. Schwindeman to Land Group Inc., 159 North Ave., $608,000.

Wallace M. Davis to Robin M. Farley and Dean M. Granoukos, 1 Partrick Road, $900,000.

John M. and Joanne M. Deeley to Rodney E. and Marta M. Ulane, 158 Imperial Ave., $775,000.

Westport Home and Land Co. L L C to Michael and Angie Makris, 3 Terra Nova Circle, $872,250.

Rosemarie C. Eakin to Peter S. and Christina H. Bailey, 41 Valley Road, $745,000.

David Haehl and Belinda Linn MacDaniel to Terence J. O'Grady Trust, 11 Dr. Gillette Circle, $435,000.

57 Wilton Road Living Trust to Good Deal Group L L C, 57 Wilton Road, $1,100,000.

Westport Home and Land Co. L L C to Michael A. and Judith D. Guthman, 42 Terra Nova Circle, $1,187,630.

Stephen A. and Jean K. Weiss to Justine B Lieberman, 89 Compo Road North, $525,000.

Martha Stewart Trial: Judge Denies Mistrial Motion

This is the ninth day of the stock fraud trial of Westport's Martha Stewart and it began today with her lawyer trying to end the proceeding by asking for a mistrial. The federal judge overseeing the case promptly denied the motion.

The attorney, Robert Morvillo, said the government's charges, which include reference to a "secret tip," were really about insider trading, meaning he should be allowed to try to exonerate Stewart by showing such trading never occurred.

"I have the right to prove a lack of motive by proving there was no insider trading," Morvillo told the court shortly after the day's proceedings began.

"You're saying this trial is being transferred to an insider trading trial?" Judge Miriam Goldman Cedarbaum said.

"You read a secret tip as insider trading. That's not a ground for dismissing the indictment." And she dismissed the mistrial request.

The surprise move by Morvillo came as a lawyer from the SEC was about to take the stand for a second day to discuss Stewart's interview with regulators about her now well known sale of ImClone Systems stock in late 2001.

The lawyer, Helene Glotzer, had questioned Stewart twice in 2002 about her sale of ImClone stock.

Morvillo tried to show that Glotzer has given biased testimony against Stewart.

Morvillo also tried to draw out details of Glotzer's close work with the federal prosecutors handling the case. The SEC, prosecutors and the FBI routinely conduct joint white-collar investigations.

"Is it your hope that the government wins this case?" Morvillo asked.

"Yes," Glotzer said. "I believe in the case." But she stressed she was a "fact witness" who had no bias in her testimony.

Prosecutors have placed Glotzer on the stand in hopes of laying the foundation for what they say are repeated lies by Stewart in 2002 about why she sold 3,928 shares of ImClone stock on Dec. 27, 2001.

Stewart told the SEC in 2002 that she did not remember being tipped that ImClone CEO Sam Waksal was trying to dump his shares on the same day that she did, according to Glotzer's testimony.

Stewart also claimed in two SEC interviews that stockbroker Peter Bacanovic handled her sale of ImClone that day. It was actually Bacanovic's assistant, Douglas Faneuil, who took the order.

The day after the stock sale, ImClone announced disappointing news about a cancer drug that sent the shares on a quick 18 per cent decline. Waksal later admitted having insider knowledge of the news.

Stewart and Bacanovic are accused of cooking up a cover story for the sale - that they had agreed earlier to get rid of Stewart's shares if the price fell below $60.

Under questioning from Morvillo, Glotzer said the SEC had not provided Stewart a form before a February 2002 interview that advises interviewees that lying to the agency is a crime.

But under questioning from prosecutor Michael Schachter, Glotzer said SEC routinely does not provide the form when it conducts joint interviews with prosecutors. And she said Stewart was clear on what the agency expected.

"She was advised to be truthful, and that she could speak to her counsel at any time," Glotzer said.

Glotzer testified Tuesday that in her first interview with Stewart in February 2002, she questioned Stewart about her ImClone stock sale.

The SEC investigator said that when she asked Stewart about a telephone message from Peter Bacanovic, her broker at Merrill Lynch, Stewart said she didn't know whether the message had been recorded in the computerized log.

Glotzer's testimony came after Stewart's assistant testified Tuesday that Stewart personally changed a Dec. 27, 2001, phone message from Bacanovic telling her that ImClone stock would start falling, but then changed the message back.

No Progress in Stop & Shop Labor Talks

No progress is reported in talks involving members of Westport-based Local 371 of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union and Stop & Shop.

The current contract is set to expire at midnight Saturday, along with contracts covering 37,000 other workers at Stop & Shops in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

"There has been no progress in the talks on anything," union President Brian A. Petronella told the New Haven Register.

Negotiations will resume at 10 a.m. Friday at the city’s Omni New Haven Hotel at Yale University.

There are 79 Stop & Shop supermarkets in Connecticut, including 21 in greater New Haven.

The grocery chain is the state’s third largest employer, with an estimated 15,500 workers, according to J. Morrissey & Co., a Hartford consulting firm.

The main sticking point is the same one that spurred the ongoing strike at several grocery chains in California -- Stop & Shop wants employees to start paying far more of the cost of providing medical benefits, Petronella said.

Supermarket chains nationwide have cited competition by non-unionized grocery stores, such as those located in Wal-Mart Supercenters, in seeking such concessions.

Stop & Shop officials are asking employees to pay 20 percent of the cost of providing health care, Petronella said.

Employees currently pay a 20 percent co-pay for office visits, but contribute nothing directly out of their paychecks.

Because the union provides health care benefits, such a move would cripple the union’s benefit program, as many employees would opt out of it, Petronella said.

The company would no longer have to contribute money for those who opt out, and that would drain the union’s benefit accounts, he said.

The company pays $475 a month for health care benefits for full-time employees and $120 for part-timers, Petronella said.

The company also wants to eliminate time-and-a-half or double-time pay for working on Sunday, and wants to freeze pension contributions at current levels, he said.

A strike against the Albertson’s, Vons -- owned by Safeway -- and Ralphs -- owned by Kroger -- chains in southern California by the United Food and Commercial Workers has idled 70,000 union grocery clerks since Oct. 11.

Daily pickets outside the stores have kept shoppers away in droves, and analysts estimate Safeway is losing at least $20 million a month as a result.

Albertson’s has said it lost an estimated $132 million in sales during the first 19 days, and Kroger said third-quarter earnings fell 57 percent.

Stop & Shop spokesman Faith Weiner said it is premature to talk about a strike, the Register reported.

Board of Finance Members Discuss Education Budget

Several things were clear from Tuesday night's Board of Finance session -- improved communication is needed with the Board of Education and finance members are now more attuned to Connecticut's Freedom of Information Act.

The work session, held in tight quarters in one of Town Hall's smallest meeting rooms because other rooms were booked, was called to make amends for holding an unnoticed discussion about the same subject following the board's regular Feb. 4 session.

That discussion had started as an informal calendar-checking talk after the meeting adjourned but turned into a full-scale dialogue about the town's biggest budget item.

The discussion was a violation of the Freedom of Information Act because it had not been noticed in advance and took place after the meeting was adjourned.

Members could have legally added the subject to their meeting agenda by a two-thirds vote but did not do so.

At Tuesday night's meeting, Steve Ezzes, the Democratic chair of the board, said the breach was inadvertent and apologized to those in attendance.

Then it was into a more than one-hour discussion among the five members present (Democrat Shelly Kassen and Republican Charles Haberstroh were absent) about the education budget. No Board of Ed members attended.

Ezzes explained that his board had written to Sandra Urist, chair of the Board of Education, asking its members to hold off on approval of their budget pending additional talks with the Board of Finance.

Ignoring the request, Board of Education members approved their $75.1 million budget Monday night. Urist told that meeting they were under tight time restraints to get the finance plan to the funding bodies as required by the Town Charter.

Ezzes said he was concerned about the insurance budget line and said he felt it was over funded. He said he had expected the educators at their Monday meeting to cut their budget by between $800,000 and $1 million as a result.

Fellow Democrat Jeff Mayer said he regretted that members of both boards had not had a chance for more discussion prior to Monday's action.

"It is important for boards to talk with each other and to work collaboratively," he said. "If we don't, we risk a train wreck."

He added, "In seven years of scrutinizing the (education) budget, I've never been so in the dark this late in the game."

But Kevin Connolly, also a Democrat, disagreed. "I don’t feel we are in the dark at all," he said. "It might be naïve for us to think we are going to have a warm and cuddly meeting (with the educators)."

He said he had seen the proposed education budget and the finance board must deal with it as it is presented.

Connolly said he, too, regretted there had not been more dialogue between the boards, and added, "There is an illusion of communication – that's all there is."

Republican Gavin Anderson said he and other members were moved to look for additional tightening in the education and town budgets because an early projection presented to the board had called for about a 16 percent increase in taxes this year.

"The magnitude of that number caught everyone's attention," he said.

He stressed, however, that this was a very preliminary number and had since been reduced to "single digits." But he said it was still very important to scrutinize the education budget from a financial perspective.

"We have less wiggle room in the reserves," Anderson said. "We are going to be looking at this as purely financial. We shouldn’t be looking at educational issues."

He said one parent had called him to plead with him not to reduce the education budget.

The caller said such an action would not enable the educators to make good on their decision Monday night to restore school start times at two schools that had been changed this year to save money.

Anderson said it was the job of the Board of Finance to tell the Board of Education how much money it was being allocated and then let its members decide how to spend it.

"I'm not going to make decisions on school start times," he said.

The Board of Finance begins its review of the town budget tonight and will meet with educators on the budget Feb. 25.

Wednesday, February 11, 2004

10:30 a.m. - Town Hall Room 102 - International Hospitality Committee
Noon - Room 309/307 - Citizens Brown Bag Luncheon
2:30 p.m. - Senior Center - Commission for Senior Services & Senior Center Policy & Planning Board
4:30 p.m. - Town Hall Room 309/307 - Board of Selectmen
5:30 p.m. - Town Hall Room 309 - Board of Finance special meeting
5:30 p.m. - Staples High School, Room 516 - School Building Committee Staples Subcommittee
6 p.m. - Town Hall Room 309/307 - Board of Finance work session
7 p.m. - Town Hall Room 102 - RTM Information Technology Committee
7:30 p.m. - Westport Library - Library Board
7:45 p.m. - Town Hall Room 201/201A - RTM Finance Committee and Board of Education

Tight Quarters for Board of Finance Session

The Westport Board of Finance met tonight to discuss education budget issues. The session, in tight quarters in a Town Hall meeting room, was held to make amends for holding a similar discussion following adjournment of its Feb. 4 regular meeting -- a violation of the Freedom of Information Act. Board Chair Steve Ezzes said the breach was inadvertent and he apologized to those attending. (CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE). WestportNow.com photo

Staples Boys Basketball: Staples Defeats Trumbull 66-44

The Staples boys varsity (11-4, 8-4) beat Trumbull 66-44 (3-12, 1-11) tonight while the JV team (12-3, 9-3) won 66-49.

The freshmen won 56-51 (8-6, 6-5).

The next game is against Bridgeport Central at Central on Friday. Central was undefeated in the FCIAC before being upset by Fairfield tonight 53-51.

Bridgeport Central plays Ridgefield Wednesday night in a make up game before facing the Wreckers Friday night.

Martha Stewart Trial: Assistant Says Martha Altered Record

The assistant to Westport's Martha Stewart testified today her boss sat down at her computer and altered a record concerning a message left by Stewart's stockbroker about ImClone Systems stock.

Stewart immediately stood up and and then ordered the message restored to its original wording, Ann Armstrong said.

The original message read: "Peter Bacanovic thinks ImClone is going to start trading downward."

It reflected a call by Bacanovic on Dec. 27, 2001, the day Stewart sold her 3,928 shares in the company - and the day before the company announced a negative decision from government regulators about an ImClone cancer drug.

Armstrong testified that Stewart saw the message on Jan. 31, 2002, and replaced it with the words: "Peter Bacanovic re imclone."

"She instantly stood up, still standing at my desk, and told me to put it back to the way it was," the assistant testified at Stewart's stock-fraud trial in Manhattan federal court.

Armstrong told jurors she was "startled" by Stewart's conduct, and that Stewart had never before altered a message in the log, which Armstrong maintains at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Stewart's media company.

The government alleges Stewart was tipped by Bacanovic that the family of ImClone founder Sam Waksal was trying to sell his shares on Dec. 27. She is charged with obstruction of justice and securities fraud, among other counts.

Stewart and the broker say they had a pre-existing deal to sell ImClone when it fell to $60 a share.

Prosecutors walked Armstrong through her memory of January and early February 2002 in hopes of convincing jurors Stewart was worried about the circumstances of her sale of ImClone.

They introduced a calendar entry showing Bacanovic scheduled a breakfast with Stewart on Jan. 16, 2002, about three weeks after the stock sale.

Stewart had met with or spoken to her lawyers on each of the three days before she changed the log, Armstrong said. Four days later, on Feb. 4, Stewart met with government investigators for the first time in the ImClone probe.

According to a federal indictment, Stewart claimed in that interview with investigators that she did not know whether Bacanovic's message from Dec. 27 had been recorded in Armstrong's message log.

The altered message log represents one of the most critical pieces of evidence in the government's case against Stewart.

Another is a worksheet that prosecutors say Bacanovic doctored after the stock sale to make it appear he and Stewart had previously discussed a plan to sell ImClone when it hit $60 per share.

Armstrong shut her computer down for the day, but retrieved the message's original wording in the days that followed. She printed a copy of the original wording and saved it in a manila envelope.

Under questioning from Stewart lawyer Robert Morvillo, who was trying to limit damage from the testimony, Armstrong said Stewart called her the night of Jan. 31 and asked her to keep trying to restore the original wording.

"Did she ever tell you not to try to restore it?" Morvillo asked.

"No," Armstrong answered.

At another point, Morvillo asked, "Did she ever ask you to lie or cover up this incident?"

"No," Armstrong replied.

On Monday, Armstrong broke down in tears as she recalled speaking to Stewart on Dec. 27, when she gave her the message from Bacanovic. Armstrong maintained her composure on the witness stand Tuesday.

A Securities and Exchange Commission investigator, Helene Glotzer, was to testify later today about Stewart's initial interview.

Bank of Westport to Merge with Fairfield County Bank Corp.

Bank of Westport and Fairfield County Bank Corp. today announced agreement for Fairfield to acquire Westport.

The announcement said Bank of Westport shareholders would receive $12 per share, valuing the deal at $11.2 million.

Bank of Westport shares closed up $3.30 at $11.80, a gain of almost 39 percent over Monday's close. The stock traded as low as $5 in 2002.

The acquisition followed last year's merger of Westport National Bank with The Greenwich Bank & Trust Company. It now operates as a division of Connecticut Community Bank.

"We are extremely pleased to partner with Fairfield County Bank Corp.," said Keith Lyon, president and chief executive officer of the Westport bank.

"It is a high quality organization that will continue to serve our customers, employees, and communities with the same attention and commitment as Bank of Westport."

He said the bank's Westport and Fairfield locations and their staff will continue to serve customers who will have the benefit of Fairfield's 13 other branches, investment and insurance products.

"In addition, the lending capability available to our customers will be much greater than it is today," he said.

Paul S. McNamara, chair of Fairfield County Bank Corp., said the acquisition was "a strategic opportunity to expand our brand of community banking to the Westport market."

Fairfield County Bank Corp. operates two divisions, Ridgefield Bank in Ridgefield, Wilton and Georgetown, and as Fairfield County Bank (formerly, Fairfield County Savings Bank) in Norwalk, Darien, Rowayton and Fairfield.

Tuesday, February 10, 2004

7 p.m. - Town Hall Room 309 - Historic District Commission
7:30 p.m. - Town Hall Auditorium - Zoning Board of Appeals
7:30 p.m. - Town Hall Room 201 - Architectural Review Board
8 p.m. - Town Hall Room 201/201A - Special Board of Finance

Board of Ed Votes to Reverse School Start Time Decision

The Westport Board of Education voted tonight in effect to reverse its controversial decision last year to change the school start times of Coleytown Elementary School and Coleytown Middle School to a half hour earlier to save money. By a 4-3 vote, board members added $249,000 to their proposed budget to cover the additional cost. They defeated a proposal to adjust all school start times by 15 minutes which would not have required additional funding. Audience members lined up to address the board before their votes. Later, by a 6-1 vote (with Mark Owades opposed), the board approved an operating budget of $75,123,677, a 7.25 percent increase over the 2003-4 operating budget. (CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE). WestportNow.com photo

Boys Varsity Basketball: Staples Tops Greenwich 76-53

Staples beat Greenwich 76-53 tonight to extend its record 7-4 in the FCIAC and 10-4 overall while forward John Baumann became a McDonald's All American finalist.

The 6-foot-7 senior, who has been recruited by Columbia University in the fall, had been selected in January as one of 2,500 finalists in the McDonald's competition.

Since its inception in 1977, the McDonald’s All American Boys Game has annually showcased the top 24 boys high school basketball players.

The 2004 McDonald's All American Game will be held March 31 in Oklahoma City. The event marks the third annual girls game and 27th annual boys game.

Monday, February 9, 2004

7 p.m . - Town Hall Auditorium - Freedom of Information workshop
7:30 p.m. - Town Hall Room 201/201A - Parks & Recreation Commission
7:30 p.m. - Staples High School, Room 516 - Board of Education anticipated executive Session
8 p.m. - Staples High School Library - Board of Education

Sunday, February 8, 2004

2 p.m. Westport Public Library McManus Room - Concert of traditional American and Celtic folk songs
2:30 p.m. Westport Woman's Club - State Atty. Gen. Richard Blumenthal speaks on "The Patriot Act: An Erosion of American Democracy" presented by Democratic Women of Westport