Benched at Compo

Saturday's mild temperatures made it a good day to sit on a bench at Compo Beach and take in the scene.(CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE) WestportNow.com photo

Westport Firefighters Douse Brush Fire

Westport firefighters doused a small brush fire today on Wilton Road but not before it had blackened some woodlands. (CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE) Thom Burrows for WestportNow.com

Former Staples Golf Coach to be Inducted into Hall of Fame

A former golf coach at Westport's Staples High School is among two Connecticut men to be inducted into the National High School Athletic Coaches Association Hall of Fame this summer. See SPORTS.

Walkeman Park Scene

Two friends took out their skateboards in Wakeman Park Friday as the sun played peek-a-boo with the clouds.(CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE) Emily Laux Roche for WestportNow.com

Saturday, April 10, 2004

11 a.m. - Westport Historical Society - "21st Century Detective Work: Assessing & Researching Your Old House"
2 p.m. - Westport Public Library - Children's program: poet Alan Katz

A Good Friday for Strolling

The Good Friday holiday for many and warm temperatures in the upper 50s made it a good day today to stroll Main Street or to grab a sandwich outside at Oscar's Deli.(CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE) WestportNow.com photo

Schools Supt. Recommends Educators Not Seek Further Restoration

Westport Schools Supt. Elliott Landon is recommending that the Board of Education not seek to restore $450,000 cut from its proposed $75.1 million budget.

In a memo prepared for Monday's Board of Education meeting, Landon said the $800,000 restored to the BOE budget by the Board of Finance at its March 31 meeting had mitigated the board's earlier $1.25 million reduction.

The superintendent recalled that at the BOE's March 22 meeting he had presented a list of items to be cut in case restoration was not forthcoming.

"That list represented the best collaborative thinking of the whole administration," he said.

"With great deliberation we had sought areas of reduction that would have the least impact on students and program."

"Nevertheless, in light of the uncertain economic climate and given the fact that the cut had been mitigated, I do not recommend that the Board of Education seek further restoration," Landon said.

"To support this position, I have culled from the original list those items that, at least for one more year, we will be able to postpone with the least damaging effect on students and programs."

Landon's suggested budget reductions included elimination of an assistant superintendent's position, $125,000; elimination of three elementary reserve teacher positions, $165,000; elimination of a paraprofessional position, $23,500; reduced benefits, $50,000; truck leasing costs, $38,000; supplies (all schools), $7,500; instructional and non-instructional equipment, $7,500, and furniture, $23,500.

The Board of Ed can make a request for the $450,000 restoration at the Representative Town Meeting (RTM) annual budget meeting next month.

The educators will decide at Monday's meeting whether to endorse the superintendent's recommendation.

Friday, April 9, 2004

1 p.m. - Town Hall Room 201 - Board of Assessment Appeals

Westport's Revaluation Working Group Holds Inaugural Meeting

Westport's Revaluation Working Group met for the first time today to oversee the town's 2003 aborted property assessment.

The 10-member committee, made up of town department heads, elected officials, and members of the public, decided to meet weekly on Thursdays as it aims to prepare an interim report for First Selectwoman Diane G. Farrell by June 15.

Farrell appointed the group following her decision to seek a one-year delay in the town's property revaluation because of a backlog of 1,700 building permits going back at least five years that had not been included on the town's Grand List. (See WestportNow.com March 30, 2004)

There were also complaints by residents that many of the values published in the initial draft of the property list were unfair – either too high or too low.

At today's meeting, one of the group's members, Acting Assessor Kevin Murowsky, reported that the firm hired to help the town clean up the building permit backlog had begun its work and would likely cost less than initially anticipated.

Town bodies have appropriated $150,000 to hire the firm, Cole Layer Trumbull, but Murowsky said he expected them to complete their work in about 90 days for considerably less, perhaps about $50,000.

Farrell, who arrived late for the meeting, told the group they had "a daunting task" to perform.

She suggested that the committee divide up into subgroups, invite experts to consult and plan to hold at least two evening meetings to hear public testimony.

Farrell also suggested that the group invite the appraiser from Milford, which is doing its reval entirely in house, to attend to explain the mechanics of a mass revaluation.

As for correcting errors in the 2003 reval, Leaman said that the administration would present alternative strategies for the committee to consider in two weeks.

Some members of the public attending the meeting suggested that the town simply do a full physical reval, which it will have to do anyway in 2007.

But both Don Miklus, the town's finance director who chairs the committee, and Selectman Carl Leaman objected due to the cost and the time constraints.

The charge to evaluate the assessment model occupied discussion for a good part of the meeting, with members of the public expressing their concerns about the model and its implications.

Michael Stashower, a member of the Planning and Zoning Commission, argued that, without a full physical evaluation of every property in town, many relevant factors cannot be taken into account.

He said these included the subdivision potential for multi-acre properties, the impact of Poirer v. Wilton, a controversial recent zoning case in the Town of Wilton, the ability of developers nowadays to build practically everywhere, and the impact of teardowns and "McMansions."

Others expressed concern that the model gave too much weight to land value, something that was attributed to the teardowns.

The committee decided to hold a session at which Murowsky would explain the assumptions in the model.

Fairfield County Foundation Hosts Greenwich Lunch

The Fairfield County Community Foundation held its Women and Girls Fund lunch today in Greenwich with more than 800 women (and about 10 men) in attendance. Feminist Gloria Steinem (l) was the main speaker and here shares a laugh with Westport First Selectwoman Diane G. Farrell and Susan Ross, president of the group. The foundation, which announced this year's award recipients at the lunch, now has an endowment of $5 million with plans to go to $10 million in the next few years. WestportNow.com photo

Westport's Martha Stewart Takes in Yankee Home Opener

Westport's Martha Stewart (bottom) digs into a bag of potato chips at today's Yankees home opener at Yankee Stadium. Stewart, who will be sentenced in June on her conviction in her stock fraud trial, was in her usual seat near the Yankee dugout near Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. They saw the Yanks beat Chicago 3-1. Stewart kept busy during the game taking pictures with a digital camera and seemed delighted when the home plate umpire walked over and gave her a souvenir game ball. WestportNow.com photo

Reval Group Holds First Meeting

Westport's Revaluation Working Group held its first meeting today at Town Hall. Members will review events leading to the one-year delay in the 2003 property assessment and make recommendations. The group is chaired by Finance Director Don Miklus (end of table, blue shirt) and includes (clockwise) Helen Garten of the Representative Town Meeting; Audrey Magida, a real estate agent; attorney Mike Laux; Tax Collector George Underhill; Rick Benson of the Board of Finance; Acting Assessor Kevin Murowsky; Selectman Carl Leaman, and Garson Heller of the Board of Assessment Appeals. (CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE) Thom Burrows for WestportNow.com

Thursday, April 8, 2004

2 p.m. -Town Hall Room 201- Planning & Zoning Municipal Housing Zone Committee
2 p.m. - Town Hall Room 309 - Revaluation Working Group
7 p.m. - Town Hall Room 201/201A - Board of Assessment Appeals
7 p.m. - Westport Fire Headquarters - Public Site & Building Commission
7:30 p.m. - Town Hall Auditorium - Planning & Zoning Commission
7:30 p.m. - Westport Public Library - Woody Klein book signing

Hearings Planned on 9% Gas Rate Hike for Westporters, Other SCG Customers

Southern Connecticut Gas Co., which serves Westport and other southwest Connecticut communities, is seeking an almost 9 percent increase in its rates.

State utility regulators plan to hold hearings later this month on the request.

The gas company is seeking the $20.7 million increase to cover higher taxes and other expenses it has incurred since rates were set in 1999.

The requested rate increase would raise bills by about $16 a month for the average customer whose home is heated with natural gas, the company said.

Commercial and industrial customers also would see rate increases, depending on their use.

The state Department of Public Utility Control had scheduled hearings to start April 27. A draft decision is tentatively due July 9.

State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said his office is reviewing the proposed rate increase. He called it "excessive and unjustified."

Wednesday, April 7, 2004

10:30 a.m. - Town Hall Room 102 - International Hospitality Committee
Noon - Town Hall Room 309/307 - Citizens brown bag lunch
4 p.m. - Town Hall Room 201 - Beautification Committee
7 p.m. - Town Hall Room 309 - Board of Assessment Appeals
7:30 p.m. - Town Hall Room 201 - Flood and Erosion Control Board
7:45 p.m. - Town Hall Room 102 - RTM Finance & Public Works Committees

Opponents of YMCA Move to Mahackeno Establish Non-Profit Group

Opponents of the Westport/Weston YMCA's plans to move from its downtown Westport headquarters have established a non-profit organization with its own Web site.

Called Y Downtown!, the organization's logo includes the phrase "It's Not a Question, It's the Answer." The group's Web site said its aim "is to keep the Y downtown."

"The Westport/Weston YMCA is planning on abandoning its historic home on Main Street in downtown Westport," the group explains.

Meanwhile, the YMCA mounted its own campaign, called "Make Mahackeno Happen," complete with logo and space on its Web site.

It is aimed at explaining and gathering support for its decision to relocate to Mahackeno.

The Y Downtown group said "the Y's plan is to create at least a 100,000 square foot facility at its Camp Mahackeno site in residential and state-designated rural northwestern Westport."

It adds, "This relocation is not smart growth and will create sprawl and traffic congestion in an area in which roads already are overburdened with traffic.

"The plan will destroy a large swath of open space, change the character of this corner of town and could harm the local environment."

The group contends that moving the Y out of downtown "also will decrease patronage of local businesses, make the Y less accessible for youths and seniors and remove the sense of community the downtown location engenders."

The group called attention to an April 13 meeting by the town's Code Enforcement Committee, made up of town department heads, to discuss the Y's reported plans.

It said it would have representatives on hand to ask questions and be available to answer questions from the press.

Y Downtown said it is supported by – and supports – two local groups opposed to development projects in the northwest part of Westport and adjacent Norwalk – The Patrick Wetlands Preservation Fund and The Save Cranbury Association of Norwalk.

Westport Property Transfers March 29-April 2, 2004

Property transfers as reported by the Town Clerk's office for the period March 29-April 2, 2004:

8 Hedley Farms LLC to John J. and Sandra M. Fleming, 8 Hedley Farms Road, $3,425,000.

Andrian T. Paolini to Gary and Amy Goldberg, 82 Compo Road North, $1,399,000.

George W. Scott aka George W. Sr. to Mattera Construction Co. LLC, 43 Gorham Ave., $770,000.

Charles H. and Diane A. Reach III to Thomas and Elizabeth Beauregard, 1 Spruce St., $790,300.

Estate of Flora E. Kopstein to Margherita Basili, Unit 34 Whitney Glen, $425,000.

John B. and Jean Haworth to Lauren Singer and Emil Blanco, 35 Sasco Creek Road, $863,500.

John Kalas to Craig F. Edwards and Amy Matton, 219 Compo Road South, $620,000.

Susan C. Maloney to Charles H. and Diane Reach III, 120 Greens Farms Road, $1,150,000.

Martin Resnick to Peter and Jacqueline Schelfhaudt, Unit 54 Regents Park, $725,000.

Bruce and Celeste Y. Amlicke to Neil and Mary Morris, 7 Riverfield Drive, $1,182,000.

T & A Builders LLC to Barry D. and Lisa M. Blake, 38 Whitney St., $1,950,000.

Anne Patten to Harrison R. and Diane E. Valante, 7 Wake Robin Road, $1,130,000.

Pulitzer Prize Cartoonist Matt Davies Recalls Days at Staples High School

The year was 1983 and teenagers Matt Davies and his sister Talitha were uprooted from their London suburban life with the transfer of their banker father to a U.S. job. They ended up in Westport going to Staples High School.

Matt Davies is congratulated in The Journal News newsroom in White Plains, N.Y. after winning the Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartooning. Matthew Brown/The Journal News photo "It was a bit of a shock," recalled Davies, now 37, who Monday was named the 2004 Pulitzer Prize winner in editorial cartooning for his work at The Journal News of White Plains, N.Y.

"It was difficult and we had some adjusting to do. I think I loosened everyone up a bit."

Davies, whose family lived on Yankee Hill Road off South Compo Road, told WestportNow today in a telephone interview that he had no idea while at Staples that he would get into cartooning.

Asked if had worked on Inklings, the Staples newspaper, Davies replied: "I had no inkling about Inklings or journalism."

But he said he did aspire to be an artist and after Staples, he studied at the Savannah College of Art & Design in Georgia and then The School of Visual Arts in New York.

He also interned for a while as well with the late Westport airbrush artist Mike Noome. "I learned a lot from him and will always be grateful," Davies said.

He said he enjoyed his teenage years in Westport ("maybe my name appeared once or twice in the police reports") and it was here that he met his future wife on Compo Beach – the former Lucy Ackemann, a 1988 Staples grad.

The couple now lives with their two young daughters in Norwalk.

Before going full-time with the White Plains newspaper in 1993, Davies submitted cartoons as a freelancer to a number of Connecticut publications including The Hour newspaper in Norwalk and the former Fairpress newspaper in Westport.

In 1994, his work began to be syndicated by Tribune Media Services and appeared in numerous newspapers, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, and USA Today.

"It's just been amazing experience," Davies said of his winning journalism's most coveted award. "There has just been a tremendous outpouring of good will and I am very grateful."

The Pulitzer jury praised "his piercing cartoons on an array of topics, drawn with a fresh, original style."

Davies beat two other finalists, "Doonesbury" creator Garry Trudeau and the cartoonist of the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Steve Sack.

Staples Grad Matt Davies Wins Pulitzer Cartooning Prize

Matt Davies, a 1985 Staples High School grad, has won the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartooning. Davies, who now lives in Norwalk and works for The Journal News of White Plains, N.Y., moved from England to Westport in 1983 when his father, a banker, was transferred here. Davies' Pulitzer portfolio can be viewed HERE. Courtesy The Journal News

Tuesday, April 6, 2004

10 a.m. - Town Hall Room 201 - Administrative Review Committee
7 p.m. - Town Hall Room 309 - Shellfish Commission

Enjoying a Cold One

Members of the Saugatuck Rowing Club braved the cold temperatures and winds this morning on the Saugatuck River. The temperature was right around the freezing mark, but it felt a lot colder on the water. (CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE) Emily Laux Roche for WestportNow.com

Monday, April 5, 2004

7:30 p.m. - Town Hall Room 201/201A - Golf Advisory Committee

Cancer Doctor: "Our Westport Friends Would Want to Consider Alternatives"

A New Haven cancer specialist who opposes plans to run new power lines to southwest Connecticut above ground near schools says if Westporters knew the dangers involved, they'd seek alternatives.

Writing in today's Hartford Courant, Dr. Rachel Humphrey said, "There is no arguing that Connecticut, particularly Fairfield County, needs more electricity.

"To achieve this, local power companies have determined that more generators must be built and more power lines, carrying more voltage than ever before, must be erected between Norwalk and Middletown."

The problem, she said, is that much of the route calls for placing the power lines above ground, over residences, schools and parks in towns such as Durham, Cheshire, Hamden, Orange and Woodbridge.

"Power lines do pose a risk to children and families in Connecticut," said Humphrey, who is a cancer researcher for a pharmaceutical company and an oncologist at St. Raphael's Hospital in New Haven.

"The cost of providing more electricity to southern Connecticut should not include risking the health and safety of children in other parts of the state.

"I'm sure that if our friends in Westport knew they were powering their home computers with an energy source that was endangering the lives of their neighbors to the north, they'd want to consider alternatives."

"The solution is simple," said Humphrey, who is also a member of the grass-roots group Keep the Children Safe, which is petitioning to stop the construction of power lines near schools.

"Power lines must be buried or diverted to nonresidential areas. It is feasible to do so, and the cost to the individual Connecticut electricity consumer would be small."

Few People, No Animals Today at Compo

The weather was chilly and overcast today, keeping visitors to Compo Beach to a minimum. The annual ban on animals at town beaches went into effect April 1 and will continue until Oct. 1. (CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE) WestportNow.com photo

Politicians Turn Out for Pro-Choice Brunch

State and local politicians turned out in numbers today for the "Fifth Annual Pro-Choice Men Make Brunch" event sponsored by NARAL Pro-Choice Connecticut at a private Westport home. State Treasurer Denise Nappier turns to make a comment to state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal. Attendees included Republican Rep. Christopher Shays (rear in front of window) and Democratic Westport First Selectwoman Diane G. Farrell (c). (CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE) WestportNow.com photo

Hot Topic at a Hot Brunch

State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal was among the cooks today at the "Pro-Choice Men Make Brunch" at a private Westport home. Listening to his remarks are (l to r) state Rep. G. Kenneth Bernhard, Weston First Selectman Woody Bliss, state Rep. Bob Duff, and author Erica Jong. Stamford Mayor Dan Malloy is at right. Speakers denounced Bush administration efforts to limit women's rights regarding abortions. See another photo on COMMUNITY page. (CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE) WestportNow.com photo

Pet Pampering Time

By Fran
WestportNow Consumer Correspondent
fran@westportnow.com

Time for spring cleaning – and that includes your favorite dog or cat. There are plenty of choices for the attentive Westport pet owner to get them a checkup and/or groomed for the warmer weather ahead.
WestportNow's favorite mascot Abby is ready for his spring cleaning. WestportNow.com photo

Here are the veterinary facilities in Westport and what they charge for a basic annual office visit.

Westport Animal Hospital
814 Post Rd. E.
227-4117
Rocco J. Frank DVM
Small animal medicine and surgery, grooming (no shaping, just clipping);
Boarding for small breed dogs and cats. Adoption agency.
Office visit $46
House calls $100

Poster Animal Hospital
1677 Post Rd. E.
259-3647
Joan Poster VMD
Katherine Rogers DVM
Small animal medicine and surgery, veterinary acupuncture
Office visit $55
Late appointments and house calls $75

Schulhof Animal Hospital
199 Post Rd. W.
226-1231 or take a virtual tour of the facility at www.schulhofanimalhospital.com
Office visit $69
Christian C. Benyei DVM
Vicki June DVM
Traditional medicine and holistic alternatives, surgical facilities;
Boarding, grooming, and acupuncture.

No facility, just tender-hearted vets who makes house calls:

Jeffrey M. Kay DVM
227-6869
House Calls $40
Affiliated with Westport Animal Hospital, Animal Hospital of Greenwich, Stamford

Visiting Vet Service
Melissa Shapiro DVM
27 Park Lane
227-5557
(Call for price)
Affiliated with Animal Hospital of Greenwich, Stamford

And finally, don’t forget the Connecticut Humane Society, a non-profit organization where you can adopt a cat or dog and find low cost spay and neuter procedures. Although some other Connecticut Humane Society locations offer office visits and overnight boading, no information is available for the Westport location which is currently under renovation.

Sunday, April 4, 2004

Noon - Westport Public Library - Photographer Don Garbera
2 p.m. - Westport Public Library - Judy Handler and Mark Levesque on acoustic guitars and mandolin
2 p.m. - Town Hall - Community Theatre presents "Sherlock's Last Case"