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Sunday, August 29, 2004

“It Beats Going to the Gym”

Jim Powers of Hamden chose Vivian Schaufler of Westport as his partner for a dance at tonight’s closing performance at the Levitt Pavilion in Westport. Powers, 80, a professional dance instructor, said dancing keeps him young, adding, “It beats going to the gym.” (CLICK TO ENLARGE) WestportNow.com photo

08/29/04 08:41 PM Comments (0) • Permalink •

End of Another Season at the Levitt

The Levitt Pavilion closed out its summer season tonight with the big band sound of the Fairfield Counts. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) WestportNow.com photo

08/29/04 08:29 PM Comments (0) • Permalink •

Minding Their Own Beeswax

The Fairfield County Horticultural Society hosted its annual Flower and Harvest Show today at Westport’s Earthplace, The Nature Discovery Center. The Backyard Beekeepers Association hosted a beekeeping jamboree with live hive displays, honey products to sample, crafts and activities. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Julia Mally for WestportNow.com

08/29/04 06:52 PM Comments (0) • Permalink •

Another Compo Beach Beauty

It was another beauty of a day today at Westport’s Compo Beach with cloudless skies and the temperature in the upper 80s. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) WestportNow.com photo

08/29/04 03:12 PM Comments (0) • Permalink •

Longtime Westporter Martin J. Hamer Dies at 72

Longtime resident Martin J. Hamer, an author, entrepreneur and former employee of IBM, died Friday at his Westport home. He was 72.

Hamer, who was active in local causes, was editor with his wife Judith of the 1994 book “Centers of the Self: Stories by Black American Women, From the Nineteenth Century to the Present.”

His first work won him an Atlantic Monthly First Award in the early 1960s. His writings were included in several short story anthologies. He was a former columnist for the Westport News and had been published on the op-ed page of The New York Times.

In addition to his wife of 41 years, he is survived by three daughters, two sisters, and five grandchildren. A memorial service will be held Tuesday at 1 p.m. at the Saugatuck Congregational Church in Westport.

08/29/04 09:16 AM Comments (1) • Permalink •

Saturday, August 28, 2004

Beach Relief

Westport’s Compo Beach was a sea of colors Saturday as Westporters sought relief from the temperature that reached into the 90s in some areas. Today’s forecast calls for patchy fog in the morning with a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon. It will be humid with highs in the upper 80s. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Richard Barnett for WestportNow.com

08/28/04 11:10 PM Comments (0) • Permalink •

Everyone Into the Water

Low tide at Compo Beach Saturday was a perfect time to cool off in the waters of Long Island Sound. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Richard Barnett for WestportNow.com

08/28/04 11:09 PM Comments (0) • Permalink •

Sunday, Aug. 29, 2004

7 p.m. - Levitt Pavilion - Closing night with Fairfield Counts, big band sound and swing

08/28/04 11:09 PM Comments (0) • Permalink •

Westport Fire Log Saturday Aug. 28, 2004

6:47 a.m. 1372 Post Road East, wires down
6:51 a.m. ֖ 5 Charcoal Hill Common, fire alarm
10:21 a.m. I-95 southbound exits 18-17
5:43 p.m. ֖ Lone Pine Lane, EMS call

08/28/04 11:04 PM Comments (0) • Permalink •

Friday, August 27, 2004

On the Rocks

WestportNow reader Richard Barnett came across this rock balancing act off of Hillspoint Road near Compo Beach a while back and managed to get a snap of it before it disappeared. Richard Barnett for WestportNow.com

08/27/04 11:10 PM Comments (5) • Permalink •

Saturday, Aug. 28, 2004

8 p.m. - Levitt Pavilion - Jeremiah Long Band

08/27/04 11:06 PM Comments (0) • Permalink •

Westport Fire Log Friday Aug. 27, 2004

12:45 a.m. Appletree Trail,EMS call
5:53 a.m. ֖ 399 Post Road West, fire alarm
7:11 a.m. - 399 Post Road West, fire alarm
7:32. a.m. - 399 Post Road West, fire alarm
8:09 a.m. - 399 Post Road West, fire alarm
8:21 a.m. 4 Rockland Place, fire alarm
9:16 a.m. ֖ 162 Kings Highway North, smoke in basement
9:59 a.m. Post Road East, EMS call
11:30 a.m. ֖ Maple Avenue South, EMS call
2:27 p.m. Bayberry Lane and Apache Trail, EMS call
2:28 p.m. ֖ 4 Marc Lane, fire alarm
3:29 p.m. Webb Road, EMS call
8:23 p..m. ֖ Westfair Drive, lockout

08/27/04 11:04 PM Comments (0) • Permalink •

Westport Native to Present Documentary During GOP Convention Week

A film by Westport native DJ Kadagian will be one of two independent films screened next week as a double-bill during the Republican national convention in New York. The subjects are issues their producers say the GOP gathering ignores.

Kadagian’s work, “State of the Union: the Color of Freedom is Green” is a 45-minute documentary that he says takes a “critical but honest look at the interplay of money and politics and the impact on the underclass.”

Much of his thinking on the subject was formed while growing up in Westport which he calls “the capital of materialism in America.”

As a biographical sketch on his Web site puts it, “Growing up in this environment influenced his path first to join and experience great success in the material world and then ultimately to question that system in his chosen medium/ film.”

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08/27/04 05:44 PM Comments (1) • Permalink •

Spreading the Word

Westport First Selectwoman Diane G. Farrell (c) helped spread the word today at Town Hall for “Harvest Rides 2004,” a fundraiser for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Connecticut presented by Westport-based Sound Cyclists Bicycle Club of Fairfield County. (See WestportNow July 5, 2004) (CLICK TO ENLARGE) WestportNow.com photo

08/27/04 10:30 AM Comments (0) • Permalink •

Thursday, August 26, 2004

It’s a Christmas Wrap on Woody Lane

This was the scene on Westport’s Woody Lane Thursday night as a television crew wound up filming scenes for a new reality series debuting this fall called “Film Fakers” for AMC. They were pretending to film a feature length film about Christmas at a home there. The crew, which also shot footage Wednesday at Swanky Frank’s on Post Road East (See WestportNow Aug. 25, 2004), put a Christmas look on the house to add to the seasonal theme. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Emily Laux for WestportNow.com

08/26/04 11:07 PM Comments (0) • Permalink •

Friday, Aug. 27, 2004

8 p.m. - Levitt Pavilion - Nathan and the Zydeco Cha Cha’s

08/26/04 11:05 PM Comments (0) • Permalink •

Westport Fire Log Thursday Aug. 26, 2004

6:13 a.m. Hillandale Road, EMS call
9:06 a.m. ֖ 21 Charles St., fire alarm
9:28 a.m. Coleytown Elementary School, 65 Easton Road, fire alarm
9:58 a.m. ֖ 81 Clinton Ave., fire alarm
10:35 a.m. 11 Old Hill Farms Road, fire alarm
11:08 a.m. ֖ 6 Imperial Landing, fire alarm
5:03 p.m. 221 Post Road West, fire alarm
5:06 p.m. ֖ Sandy Hill Terrace, EMS call
5:39 p.m. 118 Roseville Road, fire alarm
8 p.m. - 26 Main St., lockout
9:56 p.m. ֖ Wilton Road and River Lane, spill at MVA

08/26/04 11:03 PM Comments (0) • Permalink •

Connecticut Median Income Slipped in Last Three Years

It may have been hard to notice in Westport, but Connecticut’s median household income slipped in the last three years, the U.S. Census Bureau reported today.

The agency also reported that more state residents became poor and the ranks of the uninsured increased slightly.

In a separate census survey statisticians also estimated that almost 11 percent of children - and 14 percent of children under age 5 - lived in poverty in Connecticut during the past 12 months.

About 7.9 percent of Connecticut residents have incomes below the poverty level, a three-year average of census income statistics found. The number of people in poverty rose four-tenths of a percentage point from 2001 to 2003.

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08/26/04 08:07 PM Comments (0) • Permalink •

Westport Traffic Backup

Late afternoon traffic backs up on Westport’s Wilton Road. Traffic in the area is the subject of a study by the Westport/Weston YMCA as part of its effort to relocate its headquarters from Westport’s center to its Camp Mahackeno property off of Wilton Road. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

08/26/04 03:53 PM Comments (0) • Permalink •

Hurry Up and Wait

Freshmen students at Westport’s Staples High School waited today for hours in the cafeteria to meet with guidance counselors in the mini-arenaӔ in preparation for school opening Sept. 1. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Emily Laux for WestportNow.com

08/26/04 10:30 AM Comments (0) • Permalink •

Wednesday, August 25, 2004

Early Morning Visitor

An early morning visitor to the Compo Beach Basin checked out the boats. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Larry Untermeyer for WestportNow.com

08/25/04 11:10 PM Comments (1) • Permalink •

Thursday, Aug. 26, 2004

5:30 p.m. - Town Hall Room 201 - SBC Staples Subcommittee
7 p.m. - Town Hall Room 309 - Sherwood Mill Pond Advisory Committee
8 p.m. - Levitt Pavilion - Jodi Keogan and Company, opera selections

08/25/04 11:05 PM Comments (0) • Permalink •

Westport Fire Log Wednesday Aug. 25, 2004

2:09 a.m. 208 Post Road West, check a hazardous condition
7:54 a.m. ֖ 50 Nyala Farms Road, smoke in basement
8:22 a.m. I-95 southbound exits 17-16, MVA
9:06 a.m. ֖ 208 Post Road West, public service call
9:19 a.m. Reichert Circle, EMS call
12:52 p.m. ֖ 52 Roseville Road, fire alarm
2:40 p.m. 422 Post Road East, check a hazardous condition
3:04 p.m. ֖ Compo Beach Road, EMS call
3:22 p.m. Merritt Parkway northbound exits 42-44, MVA
4:10 p.m. ֖ 120 Harbor Road, fire alarm
6:28 p.m. Merritt Parkway southbound 41-40, MVA
7:01 p.m. ֖ 11 Bonnie Brook Road, motor vehicle lockout

08/25/04 11:03 PM Comments (0) • Permalink •

Westport’s Tom Seligson Produces 9/11 Commission TV Report

Westport resident Tom Seligson, a television producer and author, is the executive producer of a television special on the 9/11 Commission Report to air on The History Channel.

The two-hour documentary, which will air Sept. 8 at 10 p.m., is, in effect, a filmed version of the controversial report of the Commission Report that examined the behind-the-scenes details of the Sept. 11, 2001 attack on the United Statees.

In session for more than a year and a half, the commission conducted more than 1,000 interviews, ranging from anonymous CIA operatives, to both Presidents Clinton and Bush.

Its staff also reviewed more than two million pages of documents, many of them formerly classified.

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08/25/04 06:32 PM Comments (3) • Permalink •

Lights, Camera, Action at Swanky Frank’s

A television production company took over Swanky Frank’s on Post Road East in Westport today to film scenes for a new reality television series “Film Fakers” debuting in the fall on AMC. The producers prentended to film a full-length feature film called “Holly Holiday” about a woman named Holly who is disgruntled with the commercialization of Christmas. They also used a house on Woody Lane. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) WestportNow.com photo

08/25/04 09:16 AM Comments (1) • Permalink •

Christmas in August

The dining room at Swanky Frank’s on Post Road East in Westport was transformed into a movie set and production office today for a television production company shooting a new reality series called “Film Fakers” for AMC. They were pretending to film a trailer for a feature film called “Holly Holiday.” Note the frosted windows and Christmas decorations. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) WestportNow.com photo

08/25/04 09:13 AM Comments (0) • Permalink •

Hollywood Hamburgers at Swanky Frank’s

Caterers get set to feed the television production company shooting a scene today at Swanky Frank’s on Post Road East in Westport. Asked what they were serving at the eatery known for its hot dogs, a worker replied, “hamburgers.” (CLICK TO ENLARGE) WestportNow.com photo

08/25/04 09:11 AM Comments (0) • Permalink •

Tuesday, August 24, 2004

“Westport” Has an Encore at Anti-War Theatrical Evening

As Republicans delegates gather for their national convention in New York, “Westport” is taking center stage at a Manhattan one-night series of war protest plays and songs, dance, and comedy and poetry.
Author Stephen O’Rourke: no offense meant to Westport. Contributed photo

A one-act play first performed a year ago at the New York International Fringe Festival, Westport,ђ is a satire of the decision to invade Iraq by Richard O’Rourke, 40, who grew up in New Canaan.

Directed by another former New Canaan resident, Jase Draper, it will be among the evening’s entertainment Sunday at The Ensemble Studio Theatre, 549 W. 52 St., beginning at 7 p.m.

The play depicts a Connecticut under siege and three denizens of Fairfield County holed up in a suburban house and living with their idea of deprivation.

We’re down to our last wheel of brie. I think the smoked salmon is almost gone,” complains one Westporter.

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08/24/04 11:16 PM Comments (0) • Permalink •

Westport Firefighters Donate Funds for Iraq Care Packages

Westports professional firefighters have donated $1,000 to send care packages to U.S. soldiers stationed in Iraq.
Shirley Sambrook of Fairfield receives a $1,000 check from the Westport firefighters for Project From the Heart postage. From the left: Asst. Chief Jon Gottfried, Firefighter Brett Kirby, Miriam Zalenski, Shirley Sambrook, Pat Vida, Dot Szudoro, Elsie Voros, Lt. John Plofkin and Asst. Chief Chris Ackley. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Contributed photo

The donation comes from the firefightersҒ benevolent fund—a non-profit charity organized in 1976 and administered on a volunteer basis by members of the department to support local charitable organizations.

The Iraq mailing gift came about from a chance encounter at a local supermarket where the firemen shop for their meals, according to a news release from the department.

Bakery worker Miriam Zalenski struck up a conversation with Lt. Chris Ackley, whose nephew recently returned from a tour of duty in Falluja.

The baker, along with a group of her friends, had been collecting and mailing items to the soldiers since the Vietnam conflict.

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08/24/04 11:10 PM Comments (2) • Permalink •

Wednesday, Aug. 25, 2004

10:30 a.m. - Town Hall Room 102 - International Hospitality Committee
5 p.m. - TownHall Room 309/307 - Board of Selectmen
7 p.m. - Levitt Pavilion - Bugs and Balloons: The Love Bug’s Hug

08/24/04 11:05 PM Comments (0) • Permalink •

Westport Fire Log Tuesday Aug. 24, 2004

6:53 a.m. 49 Clinton Ave., fire alarm
1790 Post Road East ֖ motor vehicle accident
10:03 a.m. 49 Clinton Ave., fire alarm
10:11 a.m. ֖ 605 Post Road East, motor vehicle accident
10:30 a..m. 204 Long Lots Road, fire alarm
11:49 a.m. ֖ Charcoal Hill Road, EMS call
12:08 p.m. Woody Lane, EMS call
12:13 p.m. ֖ 605 Post Road East, motor vehicle lockout
12:35 p.m. 100 Beachside Ave., car leaking gasoline
4:22 p.m. ֖ 52 Old Road, fire out
5:47 p.m. 45 Old Hill Road, fire alarm
5:56 p.m. ֖ 2 Pine Drive, fire alarm
7:05 p.m. Maple Avenue North and Hyde Lane, wires down
8:45 p.m. ֖ 6949 Main St., Trumbull, hazmat call
9:08 p.m. Whitney Glen Drive, residential lockout

08/24/04 11:03 PM Comments (0) • Permalink •

Back-to-School, Labor Day Mean Increased Police Patrols, Sobriety Checks

With students about to return to school and the Labor Day holiday approaching, the Westport Police Department is launching a campaign aimed at increasing student safety and preventing alcohol-related accidents.
This bus on Post Road East reminds drivers school begins Sept. 1 Ron Malone for WestportNow.com

Classes begin in Westport Sept. 1 and in the days leading up to that date, police will operate additional radar and selective enforcement details in school zones and along commuter routes, according to Lt. Dale E. Call.

In addition to the extra patrols, offices will follow elementary grade buses for the first three or four days of school, he said.

Coinciding with the stepped up student safety drive is a “You Drink and Drive, You Lose” public education campaign targeting impaired drivers.

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08/24/04 02:10 PM Comments (0) • Permalink •

Westport Young Woman’s League Head Focuses on Technology and Members

The Westport Young Woman’s League is holding its annual membership drive led by its president, Joanne Heller.

At the same time, Heller, who was installed as the group’s 49th president in June, is focusing on improving the way the League is communicating with its membership and community through an improved Web site.

“Our members are very busy women,” she said. “I want to make it easier for them to get information about league events, upcoming fundraisers, and community service projects.

“The easier we make it, the more our members will be able to get involved.”

Heller, a Westport resident since 1993, has been a League member since 1996. The mother of three has a background in sales and has been active in Girl Scouts, PTA, and St. Luke Church.

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08/24/04 10:35 AM Comments (0) • Permalink •

Monday, August 23, 2004

Ideal Sailing Weather

The ideal weather Sunday and Monday was just right for a sail on Long Island Sound off the Westport beachers. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Emily Laux for WestportNow.com

08/23/04 11:22 PM Comments (0) • Permalink •

Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2004

8 p.m. - Levitt Pavilion - Paul King Orchestra

08/23/04 11:05 PM Comments (0) • Permalink •

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