Politicos Among High Kickers

Among the high kickers in tonight's "Forbidden Westport 2044" production were state Rep. G. Kenneth Bernhard (3rd l) and Selectman John Izzo (5th l). (CLICK TO ENLARGE) WestportNow.com photo

Doing the Westport Two-Step

Board of Finance member Rick Benson and Westport News editor Christina Hennessy were among dozens who performed in the Westport Rotary Clubs' "Forbidden Westport 2044" tonight at Bedford Middle School. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) WestportNow.com photo

Westport Rotary Clubs Present "Forbidden Westport 2044"

Cast members of "Forbidden Westport 2044," a combined production of Westport's two Rotary Clubs, sing the finale tonight at Bedford Middle School. First Selectwoman Diane G. Farrell is third from left. More photos on COMMUNITY page. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) WestportNow.com photo

Dog Day Afternoon

Sunny skies and a mid-afternoon temperature in the low 80s in Westport was just right for Miranda to do a little Saturday afternoon sunbathing. Ron Malone for WestportNow.com

Youth Film Festival Tickets on Sale on Main Street

Westport Youth Film Festival (WYFF) representatives Brian Mayer and Chris Casey sell tickets on Main Street today for the first youth film festival being held at the Fairfield Community Theatre May 22. Tickets also will be on sale Sunday from 12-4 p.m. and are available online at www.wyff04.org. Proceeds will benefit Paul Newman's Hole in the Wall Gang Camp. Contributed photo

Woman Says She Was Robbed Outside Bank

Westport police question a woman who reported she was robbed of an unknown amount of cash today by a man with a gun at the rear of Fleet Bank. 980 Post Road East. Police were looking for a 6-foot black male wearing a white T-shirt, dark pants, and a New York Yankees baseball cap. The woman was not injured. Thom Burrows for WestportNow.com

Get Organized, Already!

By Fran
WestportNow Consumer Correspondent
fran@westportnow.com

Let’s see if I’ve got this right. You decided to get a jump on spring cleaning one balmy day a few weeks ago. Closets unearthed, file drawers emptied, winter clothes removed from drawers and piled on furniture pending the dry clean-versus-donate decision.
Definitely needs organizing. WestportNow.com photo

Then it got cold and you got busy and now you’re left with … unkempt piles, disorganized closets, and an office full of paperwork in which you can’t find a thing.

How do I know this? Let’s just say I know it too well.

Which is how I’ve also come to know the value of a top-notch professional organizer.

Even if one thinks of oneself as a fairly organized person, there’s something to be said for the tricks, techniques and systems these never-say-die crackerjacks come armed with. And even more to be said for having someone stand by your side until it all gets DONE.

Here are a few professional organizers I know who regularly travel to Westport. Since prices sometimes vary per job, not all were willing to quote hourly rates for this column.

Make sure you call first to discuss the job, hourly rate, and whether they charge for travel time (most do not.)

First, my own NUMBER ONE personal favorite:

Under Control
Marcia Sloman
Ossining, New York.
914-923-1057, undercontrol@mindspring.com. If there is any intelligence to the organization of my office it’s due to Marcia, with whom I have worked repeatedly. (Don’t ask her to blow my cover; professional organizers are highly protective of their clients’ anonymity.) With a loyal following in Connecticut (and no charge for travel time) Marcia is a bright and soft-spoken optimist who has figured out everything from how to re-ink my favorite 20-year-old adding machine to designing complicated ticker/filing systems. She specializes in offices, space organizing, paper management, time management and goal setting. A very worthwhile $90/hr.

Here are a few I also know and can personally recommend:

Get Organized With Carolann Slayton LLC
Carolann Slayton
Northford
203-484-7780, Carolann@pro-organizer.com. Take a look at her Web site and you’ll know you’re dealing with a real pro. Coach and professional organizer specializing in clutter control for homes and professional offices, filing systems, records management, kitchen and space organizing, and event and meeting planning,.

Dianne M. Fullarton,
Organizational Consultant
Darien
203-655-4796
If you’ve got a big job that feels insurmountable for emotional reasons – for example, involving an estate or relocation – you won’t find a kinder heart to guide you through it. But at the same time she’s an experienced professional who gets the job done. Dianne’s specialties are residential downsizing and moving. She comes equipped with hankies.

Anita & Company
Anita Taylor
Fairfield
259-9649, anitaylor@msn.com, www.anitaylor.com. Stand back: Anita Taylor’s got energy and personality to spare. She’ll whip your place into shape so fast you won’t know what hit you. Friends of mine who have used her to reorganize their professional offices swear by her. Specialties are residential, home-based businesses, legal and small offices. A mentor for new organizers, Anita is also a speaker and teacher at the Entrepreneurial Center on time management, organization, and networking.

Or else give any of these a call:

Strategize, Organize, Simplify LLC
Cara M. Brook
Stamford
203-348-4SOS, SOSLLC@optonline.net
Specializes in residential and small business moves, filing systems, paper and clutter management. $60/hr.

All Together Organizing
Janet Sherwood
Fairfield
336-6406, janetshr@yahoo.com, www.JanetSherwood.com. Specializes in home and office, mail processing, paper management, garages/basements, kitchen, bedroom, closets
$75/hr.

“neatness counts!”Beth Holland
Stamford
203-912-8851, beth@neatnesscounts.com, www.neatnesscounts.com. Specializes in closet and kitchen design and organizing, home offices, moving/relocations, and space designing “to make homes as functional, attractive and calming as possible.” Prices start at $85/hr.

Organized Living
Jo Ann Sheldon
Norwalk
203-866-6882, josheldon@worldnet.att, www.organizedliving.com
Specializes in residential, home office, small business. Emphasis on management of paper, personal funds, time and life. She’s a past president of the Connecticut chapter of the National Association of Professional Organizers (www.napo.net)
so this is no organizing neophyte. $90/hr. and up.

DTS Organizing Solutions
Margot Bassick
Fairfield
259-4195, dtsorg@aol.com. Specializes in home offices, paper management and filing systems, procedures manuals and space organizing.

Sort It Out
Myrna Baye
Stamford
203-325-1142, myrnabaye@aol.com. Specializes in closet, space and kitchen organizing, home offices, paper management, and working with seniors.

Organization 101
Margaret Burke
Stratford
203-767-2582, priorganize@yahoo.com. Specializes in closet and estate organizing, filing systems, garages/attics/basement, residential.

A Helping Hand Organizing
Katherine Castillo
Norwalk
847-3899, AHelpingHand123@aol.com. Specializes in “the chronically disorganized,” closet organizing, estate organizing, filing systems, garages/attics/basements/kitchen organizing, moving/relocations, and paper management..

Organizing with Final Touches, LLC
Lila Davis/Irma Robinson
Stratford
203-377-5399, orgwithfinaltouches@snet.net. Specializes in closet organizing, garages/attics/tag sales, offices, residential, moves/relocation, wardrobe coordinating.

Saturday, May 15, 2004

8 p.m. - Bedford Middle School - Westport Rotary Clubs present "Forbidden Westport 2044"
8 p.m. - Greens Farms School - Westport Arts Center presents acoustic folk artists Patty Larkin and Peter Mulvey

Former Westporter Judith Schindler Installed as Rabbi in North Carolina

Judith Schindler, a 1984 Staples grad, has been installed as rabbi at Temple Beth El in Charlotte, N.C.

Among those attending the installation service today was Schindler's mother, Rhea, who still lives in Westport, according to the Charlotte Observer.

Schindler, 37, had been associate rabbi at the temple for five years. She is married and the mother of two.

Being a rabbi runs in the family. Schindler's father, Alexander, was one of the most influential leaders in modern Reform Judaism before he died in 2000 at age 75.

Of the 920 Reform Jewish congregations in North America, Temple Beth El is one of about a half-dozen with more than 1,000 families to be led by a woman, the newspaper said.

Jacknifed on I-95

A jackknifed tractor trailer at Westport's exit 17 on I-95 backed up traffic for miles today in both directions. View of the accident in the southbound lane is from a Department of Transportation traffic camera. There were no reported injuries. DOT photo

Blumenthal to Issue Same-Sex Marriage Opinion Monday

State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal plans to issue his opinion on the legality of same-sex marriage in Connecticut on Monday, the same day Massachusetts is expected to begin issuing marriage licenses to gay couples to comply with a court order.

The opinion will be watched especially closely in Westport. The five ministers at Westport's Unitarian Church have recently performed marriage ceremonies for gay and lesbian couples in New Paltz, N.Y.

And First Selectwoman Diane G. Farrell, who is also a justice of the peace, has said she will perform same-sex marriages if Blumenthal gives the goahead.

"The issues are really historic and profoundly significant," Blumenthal said today, according to an AP report.

"It was enormously challenging, but we are bound by the law as the legislature and courts have established it. We're doing our very best to articulate the current state of the law."

His ruling comes in response to requests from local officials, including Farrell, and a letter from Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney questioning if laws in any state permitted gay couples to marry.

Romney said in a letter to leaders in 49 states that out-of-state gay couples will be prohibited from marrying when same-sex marriage becomes legal in Massachusetts on Monday unless the laws in their home state permit the marriages.

Blumenthal said he has been in touch with attorneys general in several states and indicated that some of them will opt not to respond.

"I feel that Gov. Romney is the highest ranking public official in a neighboring state and we owe him the courtesy of a response," Blumenthal said. "Obviously, to the extent we can provide guidance for assistance for our own citizens we have a duty to do so."

Thirty-eight states have passed some form of a Defense of Marriage Act, either as a statute or constitutional amendment, barring gay marriages.

Blumenthal said his office has heard from a number of groups on both sides of the issue during his research on the question. They've expressed their views and offered constitutional theories, he said.

"Some of those views have been helpful from both sides," said Blumenthal, who gave no indication of where his legal opinion will fall. "If the law is clear, we will state what it is. If it's unclear, we will say so."

This weekend, groups in support of gay marriage and in opposition to it are planning rallies at the state Capitol.

Westport's Lisa Bastoni: Street Singer and Recording Artist

Lisa Bastoni does clubs and corners. Andy Haer/lisabastoni.com Today's Boston Globe spotlights 1994 Staples grad Lisa Bastoni and the singer-songwriter's odyssey from performing for spare change on Boston street corners and subway stops to a just-released CD.

Now living in Somerville, Mass., Bastoni, 27, grew up in Westport as "the troubled daughter of parents who are now recovering alcoholics," the newspaper said.

"Performing for spare change on corners and in T stops has taught her about the healing powers of songs and the redemptive joy of sharing your art with others," according to the Globe.

"The hard lessons have come from other places."

"I think music on the streets can really help people," Bastoni told the newspaper.

"Just being down there and playing, you can put a smile on people's faces. I've learned a lot about performing, how to be comfortable singing in front of strangers."

Bastoni has just come out with an impressive self-released CD, "Your First Sweetheart," the Globe said, and meanwhile continues to make the rounds at area clubs and busk around town.

Unhealthy Air Quality Expected Today

For the second time in three days, federal and state health officials say they expect elevated levels of fine particles today with unhealthy levels expected in southwestern Connecticut.

A similar advisory was issued Wednesday.

An advisory from the Environmental Protection Agency and the state Department of Environmental Protection said when fine particle concentrations in the ambient air are elevated, people with respiratory or heart disease, the elderly and children are the groups most at risk.

Maps showing real-time particle levels throughout New England are available at the EPA Web site. Updated air quality forecasts are also available at this Web site.

Specific air quality forecasts for Connecticut also are available from the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Air Quality Hotline at 860-424-4167 or at its Web site.

When fine particle concentrations in the ambient air are elevated, people with respiratory or heart disease, the elderly and children should limit prolonged exertion, the advisory said.

Unlike ozone, however, fine particle concentrations can be elevated throughout the day, and thus affected individuals are not recommended to simply reschedule their exercise to the morning hours, it said.

Particle pollution is produced by a wide variety of natural and manmade sources, including factories, power plants, trash incinerators, motor vehicles, including diesel engines, construction activity, fires, and natural windblown dust.

In the wintertime, wood smoke is also a contributor to particle pollution.

The Tony Awards: the Westport Connection

Monday's announcement of the 2004 Tony Award nominations showed a strong connection to Westport -- the Westport Country Playhouse, that is.

“Many nominees have links to the Playhouse attesting to the level of quality that our stage offers,” said Joanne Woodward, the Playhouse's artistic director.

“We take pride and delight in the success of the Playhouse’s friends and colleagues, and are pleased to see their achievements recognized.”

She cited the following: Elisabeth Morten, president of the Playhouse's board of directors (Connecticut Theatre Foundation), is one of the producers of “Caroline, or Change,” nominated for Best Musical.

Also, Bill Haber, a member of the Playhouse artistic advisory council and board, is a producer of “Jumpers,” nominated for Best Revival of a Play.

And there's Christopher Plummer, nominated for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play for “Lear." He appeared in “A Word or Two before You Go” on the Westport stage in 2001, and is a member of the artistic advisory council and the board of directors.

Doug Hughes, nominated for Best Direction of a Play for “Frozen,” directed “Outward Bound” and “All My Sons” in past Playhouse seasons, and will direct “The School for Husbands” this year. He worked with the Playhouse before making his Broadway debut.

Swoozie Kurtz, nominated for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play for “Frozen,” appeared in “Ancestral Voices” at the Playhouse in 2000.

Also, Jefferson Mays, nominated for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play for “I Am My Own Wife,” appeared in “Outward Bound” in 2002 at the Playhouse.

Stephen Schwartz, the composer of “Wicked,” garnering 10 nominations including Best Musical, presented “An Evening with Stephen Schwartz and Friends” at the Playhouse in 2002.

Kristen Chenoweth, nominated for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical for “Wicked,” appeared in “For the Children” at the Playhouse in 2001.

The not-for-profit Westport Country Playhouse, under the artistic direction of Woodward, is in its 74th year. This summer's productions will take place at the Ridgefield Playhouse while work continues on the Playhouse renovation and modernization.

The 2004 season, playing June 24 through Aug. 15, includes two plays and an arts festival. For complete information, visit www.westportplayhouse.org, or call (203) 227-4177.

Friday, May 14, 2004

9 30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. - Westport Young Woman's League house tour

Ex-Westporter: "We Left Because We Didn't Want to Live in a Mall"

A former Westporter, testifying before a Rhode Island town meeting in favor of stricter zoning regulations, told them he left his longtime Connecticut town because he didn't want to live in a mall.

E. Keith Maloney, 62. who with his wife, Susan, sold their home on Greens Farms Road earlier this year, was among a number of speakers before the Bristol Town Council Wednesday night.

They said formula businesses had ruined towns they've lived in according to the Bristol Phoenix.

In a unanimous vote, the council approved an ordinance that places tight restrictions on formula businesses that try to open in the town's historic district, the newspaper said.

Maloney, who moved to Bristol a month ago, "was a longtime resident of Westport, Conn., and remembers a time 30 years ago when nary a chain store was located in the town," the report said.

"He left the town with no regrets, he said, 'because we didn't want to live in a mall.'"

The newspaper said Bristol's ordinance is the first of its kind in New England and one of just a handful in the country.

It said the ordinance forces applicants that fall under certain criteria, such as a McDonald's or a Banana Republic, to receive approval from the Bristol Historic District Commission and the Zoning Board of Review.

Either can deny a business's application, the newspaper said.

RTM Committees Hear Underage Drinking Proposal

The Westport Youth Commission Wednesday night presented its long-awaited revised proposed ordinance to curb underage drinking to two committees of the Representative Town Meeting (RTM).

Pearl Kane, co-chair of the commission, told members of the Ordinance Committee and the Public Protection Committee that underage drinking was a public health problem that posed risks to the entire community.

"This is not about bringing back prohibition or temperance unions but saving the lives of our children," she said.

Under the proposed ordinance, drinking by underage youths would be banned on both public and private property and those doing the drinking as well as those hosting the party would be subject to fines up to $90.

The RTM considered similar legislation three years ago. But members voted to postpone any action after some expressed concern about constitutional issues of police entering private homes.

Westport Police Chief Al Fiore, who took over Jan. 1 from former Chief William Chiarenzelli, told the committees that the proposed legislation would not change his officers' ability to enter homes.

"In no way shape or form does it give us the right to go into homes," he said. "What the Constitution says (about protection from illegal search and seizure) is what we do."

He said police need "probable cause" that an illegal act or crime is being committed in order to enter private property and that would not change.

Fiore said what would be new under the proposed ordinance is that it would provide "some sort of equity" – meaning not only would those responsible for serving alcohol to minors be subject to punishment but so also, for the first time, would those consuming alcohol.

While acknowledging the ordinance would "create a little more paperwork," Fiore said it would neither make his officers' work easier nor harder. "It creates an option to make it a little more equitable," he said.

Asked whether he endorsed the legislation – which his predecessor did enthusiastically -- Fiore said, "I am not passionate about it. If we don’t get it, it would not be a problem."

But in answer to a question later, he said there may be others in his department "who might be enthusiastic about it."

Samantha Owades, a Staples High School senior and co-chair of the Youth Commission, said the ordinance would provide a deterrent to drinking that does not exist now.

"There is drinking going on every weekend in Westport," she said. "I think this would be a deterrent to kids who are mostly on the fence. It would make them really scared about being caught."

Assistant Town Attorney Gail Kelly, who drafted the legislation for the Youth Commission, said 34 communities in Connecticut have adopted similar legislation. She said the state legislature has considered similar measures but never adopted any.

Richard Lowenstein, District 5, chair of the Public Protection Committee, urged Youth Commission members to seek wider support for the measure from the schools, PTA groups, and parents.

He also asked proponents to provide evidence of the effectiveness of similar legislation in other communities.

Alice Shelton, District 2, chair of the Ordinance Committee, suggested that the measure spell out those under 21 who would be exempt from its provisions – including teenagers working in restaurants or making deliveries for liquor stores.

The committees took no action on the measure but agreed to meet again to further consider it with a possible eye to bringing it to the full RTM in late summer or early fall.

(Editor's Note: The editor of WestportNow is also Moderator of the RTM and a member of the Ordinance Committee.)

Thursday, May 13, 2004

7 p.m. - Westport Fire Department - Public Site & Building Commission
7 p.m. - Town Hall Room 2012/201A - Planning & Zoning Commission Work Session - Addition
7:30 p.m. - Town Hall Auditorium - Revaluation Working Group
7:30 p.m. - Town Hall Room 201/201A - Planning & Zoning Commission

Lightning Strikes in Westport Keep Firefighters Busy

A lightning bolt from an afternoon thunderstorm touched off a fire at a home on Wake Robin Road today causing extensive damage to the basement garage and adjoining furnace room, fire officials said.

It was one of a number of storm-related incidents that kept emergency personnel busy in late afternoon.

No injuries were reported in the 4:57 p.m. fire at 14 Wake Robin Road, according to Assistant Chief Chris Ackley.

An engine company and the ladder truck responded to the home on a report of a slight haze in the building and an odor of smoke, he said.

As firefighters rounded a corner to the back of the house, they saw flames roaring from the garage and immediately called for additional help.

"As additional help arrived, the fire personnel gained control of the fire, which originated in the garage and had extended into the furnace room," Ackley said.

"Fire was also discovered within the interior walls around the chimney of the first and second floors."

He said damage to the home was moderate with smoke damage throughout the building. The fire marshal's office determined the cause to be a lightning strike.

Shortly before the Wake Robin Road fire, at 4:45 p.m., firefighters responded to a report of a structure fire at 250 Post Road East in the Colonial Green shopping complex.

No fire was found, but it was determined that a nearby lightning strike was the cause of the alarm, Ackley said.

As that scene was being investigated, another engine company responded to a report of a lightning strike and fire in an electrical transformer at the read of Crossroads Hardware on Main Street.

Three minutes later, another alarm came from 23 Meadow Lane reporting a hazardous condition. Arriving firefighters found that the residence had apparently been struck by lightning, Ackley said.

They reported minor damage to the home and requested an inspector respond with a thermal imaging camera. No fire was found.

The afternoon thunderstorm-related incidents followed two additional Westport Fire Department responses.

At 12:08 p.m., firefighters reported to an accident on the northbound lane of I-95 on the Saugatuck River Bridge involving four vehicles, including a tractor trailer.

The accident tied up northbound traffic and came as state workers closed Westport's Bridge Street Bridge for repairs. The result was a traffic bottleneck that stretched from the Saugatuck train station to Post Road East.

One person was taken to Norwalk Hospital as a result of the I-95 accident. One vehicle was extensively damaged, two had minor damage, and the tractor trailer had a fluid leak, the fire official said.

Firefighters applied absorbent material to the spill area and then assisted Connecticut Department of Transportation officials in removing debris from the roadway.

At 1:20 p.m., a hazardous material technician from the Westport Fire Department responded with the Mid-Fairfield County Haz-Mat truck to assist the Norwalk Fire Department with a minor mercury spill. No injuries were reported, Ackley said.

Lightning Causes Westport Fire

A fire started by a lightning bolt during this afternoon's thunderstorms heavily damaged parts of a home on Wake Robin Road. Firefighter Bruce Kelly surveys the scene. Flames damaged the garage, an adjoining furnace room, and interior walls around the chimney on the first and second floors. There was smoke damage throughout the house, fire officials said. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) WestportNow.com photo

Slow Go in Saugatuck

It was slow going in Westport today. Northbound traffic exiting I-95 at exit 17 in Saugatuck because of a mid-day accident on the Saugatuck River bridge ran into stalled traffic on Charles Street. Local traffic was backed up because of closure of the Bridge Street bridge for repairs. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) WestportNow.com photo

Bridge Closure + Accident = Gridlock

Westport traffic was backed up from the Saugatuck rail station to Post Road East today because closure of the Bridge Street bridge for repairs coincided with a mid-day accident on the northbound side of the I-95 Saugatuck Bridge. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) WestportNow.com photo

Connecticut Town Budget Battles Pit Yankees Against Yuppies

The town is Avon, near Hartford, but the dilemma is that of Westport and many other communities -- the fissure between yuppies and Yankees, the new and the old, between those willing to pay for top-flight schools and services and those who fear being priced out of their hometowns.

Today's Hartford Courant (registration required) spotlights the issue in Avon, but many of the arguments and fears expressed by those in the community will sound very familiar to Westporters.

Unhealthy Air Quality Expected Today

Federal and state health officials say they expect elevated levels of fine particles today with unhealthy levels expected in southwestern Connecticut.

An advisory from the Environmental Protection Agency and the state Department of Environmental Protection said when fine particle concentrations in the ambient air are elevated, people with respiratory or heart disease, the elderly and children are the groups most at risk.

Maps showing real-time particle levels throughout New England are available at the EPA Web site. Updated air quality forecasts are also available at this Web site.

Specific air quality forecasts for Connecticut also are available from the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Air Quality Hotline at 860-424-4167 or at its Web site.

When fine particle concentrations in the ambient air are elevated, people with respiratory or heart disease, the elderly and children should limit prolonged exertion, the advisory said.

Unlike ozone, however, fine particle concentrations can be elevated throughout the day, and thus affected individuals are not recommended to simply reschedule their exercise to the morning hours, it said.

Particle pollution is produced by a wide variety of natural and manmade sources, including factories, power plants, trash incinerators, motor vehicles, including diesel engines, construction activity, fires, and natural windblown dust.

In the wintertime, wood smoke is also a contributor to particle pollution.

General Assembly Approves Reval Delay Bill

Westport and other Connecticut communities will have the option of delaying property revaluation for up to three years under a bill passed by the General Assembly.

The House and Senate passed the measure Tuesday in a special session as part of an amendment tacked on to an omnibus funding bill.

The new option comes as Westport debates how to proceed on reval after receiving state permission to delay the 2003 property assessment by one year.

The Reval Working Group appointed by First Selectwoman Diane G. Farrell has indicated its preference to conduct a full physical revaluation rather than a less accurate statistical update.

The plan approved Tuesday also allows municipalities to do property revaluations less frequently than required by the current law.

A five- and 10-year cycle for revaluation will be used, rather than the current four- and eight-year cycle.

Communities will be required to do a full-scale revaluation, based on a physical inspection of property, on the fifth year and a statistical revaluation, based on market sales, on the 10th year.

The governing body of each municipality due for revaluation will decide whether to delay it and for how long.

The Representative Town Meeting (RTM) could consider the issue at its June 1 meeting.

Picking Up Speed

The $74 million renovation and expansion of Staples High School is picking up speed as the goal nears of occupancy of some portions of the new building by year's end.. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Emily Laux Roche for WestportNow.com

Columbia Professor Updates Parents on Her Study of Westport Youngsters

By Emily Laux Roche
WestportNow Community Correspondent

For five years, Columbia University developmental psychology professor Suniya S. Luthar has been studying a class of Westport youngsters, tracking their daily lives of relationships, pressures and risky behavior as they moved from the sixth grade to Staples High School.
Dr. Suniya Luthar, a Columbia University developmental psychology professor, updates Westport parents Tuesday on her study of Westport adolescents. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Emily Laux Roche for WestportNow.com

So on a day when many adults with a spare lunch hour would have taken a walk or headed for the beach, more than 100 people packed Westport's Toquet Hall at noon Tuesday to hear the latest findings of Luthar’s long-term study of suburban youth behavior.

In cooperation with the Westport school system, Luthar has spent the last six years closely studying a group of 300 Westport students, who are now in 11th grade.

Her presentation Tuesday focused on what factors in the lives of sixth, seventh and eight grade students can predict risky behavior, including substance abuse, promiscuity, eating disorders and cheating.

Her most significant finding: “family closeness” during these three middle school years can be a deterrent to risky behavior in high school

“Closeness to mom is uniformly most important in predicting adjustment,” Luthar told the audience, made up mostly of mothers of Westport students. “So, happy mother’s day.”

Luthar added that other elements -- closeness to dad, regular family dinners, and parents’ familiarity with their children’s daily lives -- make up her definition of family closeness.

“Having dinner regularly, five times a week as a family is what I would call a ‘robust finding,'" she said.

While the importance of close family relationships came as no surprise to this group of listeners, other findings dispelled some popular notions about what can lead to risky behavior.

For instance, the idea that today’s overscheduled kids are stressed-out from too many soccer games and tutoring sessions is a myth, based on the findings of her study.

There is no significant connection between what she called “levels of distress” -- anxiety, depression and stress -- and an excess or deficit of extracurricular activities.

Luthar also told the audience that her findings do not support the idea that peer relationships in middle school can lead to risky behavior.

“What is clear is that between sixth and eighth grades, it’s not the activities, it’s not the peers, it’s the families that make a difference,” she said in a discussion after her formal remarks.

Luthar’s study has received widespread attention in the national and trade press. It has grown to include other communities, and now receives funding from the National Institutes of Health.

With a team of 10 doctoral students and 30 masters students supporting her, Luthar examines some 800 hundred variables each year for the Westport study.

Her presentation, though mostly statistical, was interspersed with excerpts from the "Frontline" documentary, "The Lost Children of Rockdale New York," a film that investigated an outbreak of syphilis among teens in an affluent suburban community in the mid-1990s.

(Editor's Note: The views expressed or implied, if any, by community correspondents are the sole responsibility of the contributing correspondent.)

Wednesday, May 12, 2004

10:30 a.m. - Town Hall Room 102 - International Hospitality Committee
Noon - Town Hall Room 309/307 - Citizens Brown Bag lunch
2:30 p.m. - Senior Center - Center for Senior Activities Policy and Planning Board
5:30 p.m. - Staples High School, Room 515 - School Building Committee Staples Subcommittee
8 p.m. - Town Hall Room 201/201A - RTM Ordinance Committee and Public Protection Committee

Westport Property Transfers May 3-7, 2004

Property transfers as reported by the Town Clerk's office for the period May 3-7, 2004:

Courtney Daly and Chris B. Caldwell to James and Andrea Pouliot Rourke, 34 Bridge St., $622,000.

Sandra E. Messinger to Corina Baumann Doebeli, 16 Lone Pine Lane, $830,000.

Estate of Sheila C. Tchitcherine to Marc and Cathy Lasry, 40 Sylvan Road North, $1,325,000.

Bishop Design and Development LLC to James P. Burke, 91 Turkey Hill Road South, $1,900,000.

Harry J. and Lillian Nossek to Jason and Ali W. Bovis, 33 Hillandale Road, $575,000.

Michael D. Krupnikoff and Jennifer P. Salki to Thomas J. and Elizabeth S. Carstens, 6 Pioneer Road, $1,112,000.

Sean M. and Tina L. Sullivan to Steven L. and Jennifer F. Bean, 15 Marine Ave., $875,000.

David G. and Margaret N. Eickholt to Terry Freidenberg, 118 Wilton Road, $1,190,000.

Westport Home and Land Co. LLC to Douglas I. Melson, 6 Terra Nova Circle, $1,005,615.

James A. and Nancy M. and Paula D. Fichtenkort to Krsto Mrdelja, 45 Compo Road South, $710,000.

Judy Morris and James Maglione to Alec M. Foege and Erica M. Sanders-Foege, 8 Brookside Place, $560,000.

Vavel Builders LLC to Philip Siciliano, 146 Bayberry Lane, $2,114,800.

Norfield Builders LLC to Timothy J. and Emily McKay Sullivan, 3 Buck Hill Road, $2,200,000.

Ray Delmonte to 99 Bayberry Lane LLC, 99 Bayberry Lane, $1,400,000.

Fairfield Country Developers LLC to Vera Flame, 31 Hickory Drive, $467,000.

Eliana Ellern to Fairport Development LLC, 205 Bayberry Lane, $768,000.

Livingston G. and Michelle M. Howard to Willem and Marian Oost-Lievense, 40 Richmondville Ave., $490,000.

Westport Home and Land Co. LLC to Edmund and Mary P. Coulson, Unit 38 2 Terra Nova Circle, $992,092.

Newmans Host Farrell Fundraiser

Westport Democratic First Selectwoman Diane G. Farrell chats with fellow Westporters Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward tonight at a fundraiser for the 4th Congressional District candidate the Newmans hosted at their home.. Ann Sheffer for WestportNow.com

Parks and Recreation Commission Denies Change in Beach Dog Rules

By Juliet Balian
WestportNow Community Correspondent

The heated battle about dogs at Compo Beach reached another milestone decision Monday night as the Parks and Recreation Commission voted unanimously to make no new changes in the rules despite pleas from dog lovers.

The five–member commission ruled that the regulations put in place two years ago are precisely the right ones -- fair to dog owners who want to play with their dog on the beach and non-dog owners who are afraid or don’t want to be around dogs.

This was the second year of the new regulations which reversed the dog policy which allowed dogs off leash at Compo Beach for more than 30 years.

The new regulations separated Compo Beach into on-leash and off-leash dog areas in the winter months.

It was also the second year of a sunset clause imposed by the Representative Town Meeting (RTM) that required further study of the matter to allow for any modifications to the regulations that may be needed.

The RTM must affirm the new regulations before Oct. 1 or the rules will revert to the old regulations allowing dogs off leash on all parts of the beach in the off-season.

DOGGPAC, Dog Owners for Good Government Political Action Committee, sees the new regulations as restricting dog owner access to public open lands in town.

The group conducted a survey with its own volunteers for the last two years to gain information on how many people with and without dogs use Compo Beach in the winter and whether usage is driven by weather, time of day or day of week.

After their findings showed that virtually only dog people use the beach before 9 a.m. in the winter, DOGGPAC asked the commission to modify the current regulations and allow dogs off leash before 9 a.m.

This modification was turned down by the commission Monday night.

When Westporter Judy Schultz asked the commission why they would not accept the DOGGPAC recommendation, chairman Mark Smith responded, “It’s simply not true that there are no people without dogs on the beach before 9 a.m."

"Many Westporters don’t want to be around dogs or are afraid of dogs and they should be able to walk the beach from dawn to dusk.”

Commission member Frank Kneisel cited concerns about the enforcement of a before-9- a.m. regulation and said he “was very impressed by (Police) Chief (Al) Fiore’s remarks that enforcement would be a problem.”

Alan Landis said he saw no need for any modifications since the Parks and Rec Department reports that the policy is working very well and summarized his position by saying, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

Wendy Crowther, the one commission member who had in the past expressed some interest in compromise, said she now feels that “the new regulation satisfies most of the people most of the time."

"Dog owners can still walk the whole length of the beach with their dog and therefore it is a fair and equitable policy," she said. "I have become a believer in the system we have in place down there.”

Dog owners said they feel deprived of their legitimate recreational activity of exercising themselves and their dogs at the beach in winter. Requiring a leash on part of the beach changes the dynamics completely, they contend.

It is this point they say that Smith has been unable to understand as he offers the explanation that “requiring a leash on part of the beach is the only change we’ve made and that’s what all this has been about for the last two years.”

DOGGPAC said it plans to continue to request fair and equal access to public lands in Westport.

Skip Crane, a DOGGPAC member, said, “If I can walk with my dog off-leash on Main Street and am welcome in many of the shops downtown, why do I need a leash to walk my dog at the beach or in other town parks?”

(Editor's Note: Juliet Balian, in addition to being a WestportNow community correspondent, is also a member of DOGPPAC. As was noted in Ms. Balian's first report for WestportNow on April 16, the views expressed or implied, if any, by community correspondents are the sole responsibility of the contributing correspondent.)

Farrell Vows to Seek More Transportation Aid

Westport First Selectwoman Diane G. Farrell is applauded by supporters Monday night as she accepts the Democratic Party nomination in the 4th Congressional District at the party convention in Norwalk. Farrell vowed to make getting federal dollars for the area's transportation needs a top priority, telling the crowd:, "I will park my butt in every office that will help bring solutions to our area." (CLICK TO ENLARGE) WestportNow.com photo

Shays Asks for Support

U.S. Rep. Christopher Shays accepts the GOP nomination for re-election from the 4th Congressional District at the party's convention in Stamford Monday night. "I ask for your active support not just tonight but throughout this campaign," he said. Thom Burrows for WestportNow.com

Tuesday, May 11, 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
7:30 p.m. - Westport Public Library - Poetry and pizza for high school students

Farrell is Formally Nominated by Democrats

Westport First Selectwoman Diane G. Farrell cites the record of her Republican opponent as she accepts the Democratic Party nomination tonight at the party's convention in Norwalk to run in the 4th Congressional District against Rep. Christopher Shays. See more photos on POLITICS page. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) WestportNow.com photo

Shays is Formally Nominated for Re-Election

U.S. Rep. Christopher Shays is dwarfed by the American flag as he accepts the Republican nomination to run for re-election in Connecticut's 4th Congressional District tonight at the party's convention in Stamford. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Thom Burrows for WestportNow.com

Report: Martha Stewart's Lawyers to Ask Judge to Go Easy on Her

The Wall Street Journal reported today that lawyers for Westport's Martha Stewart plan to argue that a prison sentence could hurt her company and force it to lay off some of its 500 employees.

The newspaper said the lawyers, in asking a federal judge to go easy on Stewart when she is sentenced for lying to investigators next month, will cite a 1995 appeals court decision.

That ruling spared a corporate executive a jail sentence because he was deemed crucial to his company.

The Journal cited "a person familiar with the matter" as the source for its report.

Legal experts say it is a long shot because her company has continued operating since she stepped down as chairman after being indicted in June 2003, the newspaper said.

Monday, May 10, 2004

7:30 p.m. - Town Hall Room 201/201A - Parks and Recreation Commission
7:30 p.m. - Westport Public Library - Meet the author, Susan Antilla, "Tales from the Boom-Boom Room: Women vs. Wall Street"
7:45 p.m. - Town Hall Room 309 - RTM Finance Committee & Board of Finance
8 p.m. - Staples High School Library - Board of Education

Lorna Meets Lorna

Westport artist Nina Bentley (r) is the featured artist in the current Barney's New York exhibit "Madison Avenue: Where Fashion Meets Art." She is seen here with Lorna Wendt of Stamford alongside one of her works, "Corporate Executive Wife's Service Award Bracelet (Homage to Lorna Wendt)." Wendt made headlines as a divorce litigant in 1995 when she fought to get half of her husband's estimated $100 million net worth. Bentley's work is an oversized assemblage sculpture consisting of a heavy metal chain and coffee pots. See another photo on ARTS & LEISURE page. Contributed photo

A Mother's Day Quiz...

So what do Westport soccer moms do on Mother's Day? (Hint: they are at Wakeman Park). (CLICK ON PICTURE FOR ANSWER) Emily Laux Roche for WestportNow.com

Heading Home

A young Westporter rides home after a soccer game today at Wakeman Park. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Emily Laux Roche for WestportNow.com

Schools Superintendent to Present Revised "Cut List"

Westport Superintendent of Schools Elliott Landon Monday night will present a revised list of recommended reductions to meet the $450,000 cut made by town funding bodies to the Board of Education's proposed 2004-2005 $75.6 million operating budget.

In a memo to the board in advance of the meeting, Landon said his recommendations were modified from ones he made in earlier memos of March 22 and April 12.

The biggest change from the last memo concerns a proposed $165,000 cut for three elementary reserve teacher positions. The recommendation came under intense criticism by some members at a subsequent board meeting.

Instead, Landon's new proposed cuts include a secretarial position at Staples High School for a savings of $38,000, a technology assistant part-time position for a savings of $17,500, and $50,000 in preventative maintenance.

He is also proposing a $33,475 cut in supplies (up from $7,500 in his last memo), a $48,525 reduction in furniture (up from $23,500 in his last memo), and a $36,000 cut in the subsidy to Continuing Education.

The $50,000 benefits cut recommended in his last memo was reduced to $30,000.

Remaining the same from his last memo were cuts of $125,000 for an assistant superintendent's position and $48,000 associated with leasing trucks for the maintenance department.

Instead, the schools, with the Finance Board's approval, will purchase the trucks.

In his memo, Landon said while each of the items is of benefit to the school system, "it is my belief that their removal will have the least damaging effect upon students and programs."