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Special Reports
Thursday, July 23, 2009
A Westporter’s View: Final Farewell to Walter Cronkite
By Jeffrey Mayer
Special to WestportNow
New York—-More than a thousand family members, friends, colleagues and fans filled St. Bartholomew’s Church on New York’s Park Avenue today for the funeral service of veteran CBS News anchorman Walter Cronkite.
Westport First Selectman Gordon F. Joseloff, a former CBS News correspondent, chats with Westporter Jeffrey Mayer outside St. Bartholomew’s Church in Manhattan today before the funeral for Walter Cronkite. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com
Among those occupying a coveted front of the church spot was Westport First Selectman Gordon F. Joseloff, a former CBS News correspondent and Cronkite colleague.
The crowd began to gather before 1 p.m. outside the ornate Romanesque church as photographers and TV cameramen stood behind police barricades.
This reporter spotted Joseloff in the crowd and joined him as the former Cronkite writer met old friends and colleagues and caught up on the lives of CBS alumni.
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Saturday, July 18, 2009
A Westporter Remembers His Friend Walter Cronkite
By Gordon F. Joseloff
Special to WestportNow
To most Americans, he was the most trusted man in America. To me, Walter Cronkite was a good friend, a prized mentor, and a man to whom I owe much of my professional broadcast journalism career.
Walter Cronkite and Gordon F. Joseloff share a moment in Moscow in 1981 when Joseloff was the CBS News correspondent there. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) CBS News photo
Our connection was we both worked in Moscow for the United Press International (UPI) news agency. It was called United Press when Walter worked there in the late 1940s. It was UPI when I followed in his footsteps three decades later.
There was no doubt that the Moscow wire service connection solidified my journalistic credentials in Walter’s mind--something that became evident after CBS hired me in 1975 while in Moscow for UPI.
At CBS News, I began on the radio side, initially writing newscasts and occasional commentaries for Walter, as well as Dan Rather, Bob Schieffer, Ed Bradley, Roger Mudd, Charles Osgood, Douglas Edwards, and others.
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Tuesday, May 05, 2009
Our Quest for the Best Margarita in Westport
By Benedicte Berg & Eileen Hart
In advance of Cinco de Mayo today, two margarita-loving ladies began to wonder: what Mexican restaurant makes the best margarita in Westport?
Benedicte Berg (l) and Eileen Hart, two Westport stay-at-home moms, enjoy margaritas at Westport’s Viva Zapata. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Contributed photo
We had a number of burning questions to answer: Who is/was this Margarita anyway? Did she like salt? What exactly goes into a margarita? A quest was born.
Our rigorous scientific approach to this quest consisted in visiting the three Mexican restaurants in Westport twice each. Viva Zapata, co-winner of our Guinness quest (See WestportNow March 13, 2009), was a natural place to start. Then we visited Villa del Sol and Zole.
At each place we ordered a fresh margarita and/or a special margarita.
More "Our Quest for the Best Margarita in Westport"
Monday, April 13, 2009
Adult Film Star Marilyn Chambers, Ex-Westporter, Dies at 56
UPDATE Marilyn Chambers, the 1970 Westport Staples High School graduate then known as Marilyn Ann Briggs who won early fame as an Ivory Snow detergent model and later as an adult film star, died Sunday at her suburban Los Angeles home. She was 56.
Marilyn Chambers poses with the Ivory Snow box in which she was depicted holding an infant. File photo
Chambers was found unresponsive at her residence, said a spokesman for the Los Angeles County corner’s office. The cause of death is under investigation but foul play was not suspected and an autopsy is pending, he said.
The Associated Press quoted a family friend, Peggy McGinn, said as saying Chambers’ 17-year-old daughter found the actress’ body at her home in the Los Angeles suburb of Canyon Country.
Chambers became a pop culture phenomenon when she gave up work as a model advertising Ivory Snow laundry detergent to star in the X-rated “Behind the Green Door” in 1972.
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Friday, March 13, 2009
Our Quest for the Best Guinness in Westport
By Eileen Hart and Benedicte Berg
With St. Patty’s Day fast approaching, two Guinness-loving ladies began to wonder: which establishment in Westport pours the best tasting pint of Guinness?
Eileen Hart (l) and Benedicte Berg seek the best Westport Guinness. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Contributed photo
We are busy ladies, so heaven forbid we waste our precious free time with bad beer! A quest was born.
This quest lasted several weeks, during which time we not only ferreted out the 10 locations that serve Guinness, but also, purely in the interest of scientific exploration and objectivity, visited each establishment twice.
As we slugged through pint after pint (tough work, but we’re tough broads), we fell to chatting with a number of locals about our quest. We came across a number of misconceptions, or myths, about Guinness. These myths simply CANNOT be allowed to persist, we feel.
More "Our Quest for the Best Guinness in Westport"
Thursday, January 01, 2009
Our Annual New Year’s Gift to WestportNow Readers
Once again, WestportNow is pleased to present as a New Year’s gift to its readers our review of the past year through the eyes of Westporters who contributed photos to WestportNow in 2008. CLICK HERE.
In 2008, WestportNow continued to record remarkable growth--December saw a 55 percent increase in unique visitors over a year earlier.
As we near our sixth anniversary serving Westport, we are pleased that an increasing number of advertisers have learned that WestportNow reaches more Westporters than any other local Web site. Please patronize those who advertise and suggest to those who don’t they are missing the best advertising buy in Westport.
We are honored to be cited frequently by national publications as a trendsetter in Internet citizen journalism.
And we are very proud to have received two first place awards in May from the Connecticut chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists--the first time Web-only publications were allowed in the competition.
Finally, we continue to be grateful for the public trust shown in us and look forward to continuing to serve Westport in 2009. Best New Year wishes to all WestportNow readers.
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Actress Eartha Kitt, 81, Dies at Her Weston Home
Eartha Kitt with her daughter Kitt Shapiro before a preview of “All About Us” at the Westport Country Playhouse last year. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Contributed photo
Actress and singer Eartha Kitt died today at her Weston home, a family spokeswoman said. She was 81.
Kitt, a frequent performer at the Westport Country Playhouse and visitor to Westport, had been under treatment for colon cancer. Her daughter, Kitt Shapiro of Westport, was by her side.
She was performing almost until the end, taping a PBS special six weeks ago in Chicago which is set to air in February. Her recording of the Christmas song “Santa Baby” was certified gold last week.
Kitt was well known for her distinctive voice and made a name for herself in her portrayal of Catwoman in the television series “Batman.” That role produced Kitt’s recognizable sultry cat growl.
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Friday, December 12, 2008
Westport Mother: “I’m Your Face of Affordable Housing”
Shannon Hanley: “We have pride in our community, too.” (CLICK TO ENLARGE) WN photo from Westport Town Television
A single mother of four Thursday night made an emotional plea for more affordable housing in Westport, telling the Planning and Zoning Commission: “I’m your face of affordable housing--it’s me.”
Shannon Hanley, 39, who said she lives in a two-bedroom house in the Westport Housing Authority’s Hales Court project, said approval by the commission of a planned expansion of the project to 78 units was essential. The commission will vote on the application next week.
Her voice breaking at times, Hanley said: “I urge you to pass this project because we need to get this going because my son is turning 8, and soon I will be giving him my bedroom so he has his own space. And I’m not the only one.”
After introducing herself, Hanley told the commission: “And for the record I am not a drug addict, alcoholic or psychotic.”
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Saturday, September 27, 2008
Paul Newman Dead at 83
UPDATE Paul Newman died at his Westport home Friday night. He was 83.
Paul Newman: A Westporter for almost 50 years. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) WN file photo
Newman had been ill for some time with what published reports said was lung cancer. Publicist Jeff Sanderson said he was surrounded by his family and close friends.
“His death was as private and discreet as the way he had lived his life,” Sanderson said in a statement. He said that a week ago, Newman sat with one of his daughters in a garden, took in the late summer beauty, and said very quietly, “It’s been a privilege to be here.”
An actor, film director, entrepreneur, race car driver, racing team owner and humanitarian, Newman won numerous awards, including an Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a Cannes Film Festival Award, and an Emmy award.
Saturday, September 06, 2008
Commentary: Maybe We Should Ban Paper Bags, Too
By David Pogue
Special to WestportNow
I generally write about technology. But this week, I got to be part of the government process in Westport in a small way, and I thought I’d write up my experience.
See, last week, in my blog, I wrote about how hard it can be to make the right environmental choices. Every product has upstream and downstream ecological costs, and sometimes they’re impossible to calculate. I used, as one key example, the paper-vs.-plastic shopping bag debate.
Imagine my surprise when, a couple of days later, a reader let me know that the Representative Town Meeting (RTM) right here in Westport was considering an outright ban on plastic shopping bags, and that the public would be invited to speak before the vote.
Personally, I can’t stand the thought of what these 500 billion plastic bags are doing every year. On average, you use a plastic shopping bag for *12 minutes*—and then you throw it away. (It’s always driven me crazy when the drugstore clerk tries to give me a plastic bag when all I’m buying is a pack of AA batteries.)
More "Commentary: Maybe We Should Ban Paper Bags, Too"
Thursday, September 04, 2008
Commentary: A Westporter’s Diary of the GOP Convention
By Michael Rea
Special to WestportNow
St. Paul , Minn.—Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin proved her mettle as a “bull dog with lipstick” Wednesday night at the Republican National Convention.
At one point, she commented to the press that she was not going to Washington to live up to their expectations but rather the peoples’. With that, the assembled delegates pointed to the media boxes and chanted “You, you.”
Some political commentators smiled. Others, like Anne Compton, glared.
Most of the Connecticut delegates had political hangovers this morning. One shot of Romney, one shot of Huckabee, triple shot of Rudy, and then all hell broke out as Sarah took to the podium.
More "Commentary: A Westporter’s Diary of the GOP Convention"
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
Commentary: Comparing the Conventions
By Brian Reich
Special to WestportNow
St. Paul, Minn.--Having attended the Democratic National Convention in Denver and now the Republican one in Minneapolis/St. Paul, there is a stark contrast—and not just because the issues and rhetoric are different.
The Democrats and Republicans throw very different conventions, with very different goals and purpose.
I have been on the road for the past two weeks—first in Denver where I was on staff as a member of the Democratic National Convention’s online content team, and more recently in Minneapolis, where I was attending, and blogging, the RNC as special press, aka credentialed new media.
Why would anyone want to go to both conventions? Lots of reasons, actually: First, I love politics—and national conventions are as big as it gets in politics.
More "Commentary: Comparing the Conventions"
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
Westporter Among GOP Delegates Attacked
Special to WestportNow
St. Paul, Minn.--Westporter Michael Rea was among Connecticut Republican Party delegation members who came under attack from protesters as the delegates attempted to make their way to the Xcel Convention Center on Monday.
The 56-year-old Rea, a member of Westport’s Representative Town Meeting (RTM) and the 4th Congressional District coordinator for Sen. John McCain, said the incident involved pushing, shoving, and the protesters locking arms and physically cornering and intimidating delegates.
“It was finally broken up by the members of the Connecticut delegation as hapless police looked on,” said Rea, who was uninjured in the melee.
“They (the police) were either intimidated by the protesters cameras recording the attack or completely unprepared for the confrontation.”
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Thursday, August 28, 2008
Commentary: The Life of a Convention Groupie
By Kimberly Lake
Special to WestportNow
Denver--You know what I love about conventions? If you know someone, who knows someone, who knows someone, who knows someone, (pause, inhale, then say as fast as you can in one breath) who knows someone, who knows someone, who knows someone, who knows someone, (inhale!) you can usually get a ticket for something. 
If we were deep sea fishing, we’d call it trolling (flash to image of large, sleek, well-outfitted fishing boats cruising up and down the broad avenues of Denver trying to hook the Big One).
So my convention companion (I’ll call him C.C.) and I, feeling like Charlie Bucket in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, manage to get our fingers onto a precious floor pass to go along with our general admission tickets.
We then look at our watches and realize that if we don’t start now (it’s noon), we’ll never get to the Pepsi Center on time. But don’t panic! The efficient convention planners have thought of everything when it comes to moving the masses.
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Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Commentary: Breaking Up With Hillary is Hard to Do
By Jessica Bram
Special to WestportNow
Denver--Several readers and people back home have asked me whether I’m finding it true here at the Democratic National Convention that there’s division among the Democrats.
Is it true that there is unrest among Hillary Clinton supporters over ceding the nomination to Barack Obama? Were the hurt feelings real? And could there be an insurrection on the floor, as some have predicted?
Or was all this just the usual hype by the press, seeking to stir up controversy in the age-old ploy to boost ratings?
Westport’s Martha Aasen, one of Hillary’s pledged delegates among the Connecticut delegation, expressed a common perspective. “I really feel that the press in exaggerating the idea of a disgruntled opposition. What does exist is a minority,” she said.
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Note: WestportNow Publisher Gordon F. Joseloff is also First Selectman of Westport
