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Tuesday, August 31, 2004

Tom Paxton Headlines Westport Arts Center Concert Sept. 11

Tom Paxton opens WAC season Sept. 11. Contributed photo Legendary folk singer-songwriter Tom Paxton will headline the first concert of the Westport Arts Center 2004-05 season Saturday, Sept. 11 at 8 p.m. at the Seabury Center.

I cannot think of a more appropriate artist to observe this date, and to launch our season,Ӕ said the group’s executive director, Eileen Wiseman.

Tom Paxton is an extraordinary musician, and to hear him perform in the intimate setting of the Seabury Center is a rare treat.Ӕ

Paxtons most recent CD, “Looking for the Moon,” was nominated for a Grammy for Best Contemporary Folk Album of 2003. It includes ғThe Bravest, his tribute to the firemen who risked and lost their lives in the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center.

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08/31/04 10:32 PM Comments (0) • Permalink •

New Left Turn Lane at Staples

Drivers heading south on North Avenue now have a new left turn lane at the new main entrance to Staples High School, just in time for Wednesday’s school opening. WestportNow.com photo

08/31/04 10:23 AM Comments (0) • Permalink •

Out of Control

A young female driver was injured today when her SUV went out of control and struck a tree on Long Lots Road near Meadow Brook Lane in Westport. She was transported by Westport EMS to Norwalk Hospital with non-life threatening injuries. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) WestportNow.com photo

08/31/04 09:59 AM Comments (0) • Permalink •

Close-Up Look

Firefighters inspect a Nissan Pathfinder that went out of control and struck a tree today on Long Lots Road near Meadow Brook Lane in Westport, sending one person to the hospital. WestportNow.com photo

08/31/04 09:55 AM Comments (0) • Permalink •

Monday, August 30, 2004

Dogs at the Beach Hot Topic

Westport resident Barbara Paul (l) tells the Representative Town Meeting (RTM) Parks and Recreation Committee Monday night why she is opposed to efforts to relax rules regarding dogs off-leash at Compo Beach before 9 a.m. during the winter months. The committee, during a three and a half hour meeting, voted 4-3 to recommend the full RTM reject the proposal at its Sept. 7 meeting. However, it voted 4-3 to recommend approval of another proposal allowing dogs in cars in the Soundview Drive parking lot at all times except between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekends and holidays during the summer season. WestportNow.com photo

08/30/04 11:22 PM Comments (1) • Permalink •

Considering the Photographic Evidence

Mark Smith, chair of the Parks and Recreation Commission (3rd l.), shows photos of Westport’s Compo Beach Monday night to members of the Representative Town Meeting (RTM) Parks and Recreation Committee. The group was considering a Sense of the Meeting resolution for the Sept. 7 RTM meeting calling for improved cleanup procedures for the beach’s boardwalk area. The committee deferred action on the item pending assessment of beach cleanup efforts during the busy Labor Day weekend. WestportNow.com photo

08/30/04 11:18 PM Comments (0) • Permalink •

Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2004

10 a.m. - Town Hall Room 201 - Administrative Review Committee
11:30 a.m. - Town Hall Room 201 - Planning and Zoning Committee to Develop Zoning Regulations for Affordable and Work Force Rental Housing on Town-Owned Property

08/30/04 11:05 PM Comments (0) • Permalink •

Westport Fire Log Monday Aug. 30, 2004

8:10 a.m. 216 Bayberry Lane, fire alarm
12:01 p.m. ֖ 75 Beachside Ave., public service call
12:05 p.m. 5 Charcoal Hill Common, check a carbon monoxide detector
6:32 p.m. ֖ 16 Sandy Hill Terrace, fire alarm
6:50 p.m. Evergreen Ave., EMS call
8:55 p.m. ֖ 27 Old Mill Road, fire alarm
9:25 p.m. Grist Mill Lane, EMS call

08/30/04 11:03 PM Comments (0) • Permalink •

Board of Education Honors Retiring Police Youth Officer

The Westport Board of Education tonight honored retiring Westport Police Detective Arnie DeCarolis for his many years of service to the schools and community as youth officer. He is shown addressing the board flanked by Sandra Urist, chair, and Supt. of Schools Elliott Landon. Picture is from cable coverage of the meeting which tonight marked resumption of regular telecasts of board sessions. WestportNow.com photo

08/30/04 09:11 PM Comments (4) • Permalink •

Peter Bacanovic Barred from Securities Industry

Peter Bacanovic, the former stockbroker convicted of helping Westport’s Martha Stewart lie about a 2001 stock sale, has been barred by securities regulators from working for a broker or investment adviser.

The ban was agreed to Friday by Bacanovic and the Securities and Exchange Commission and became known today.

Bacanovic and Stewart were each sentenced to five months in prison and five months of house arrest after they were convicted in March of lying about why Stewart sold 3,928 shares of ImClone Systems Inc. on Dec. 27, 2001.

The federal judge overseeing the case allowed both to stay out of prison while they appeal their convictions.

08/30/04 01:57 PM Comments (0) • Permalink •

Saying it with Flowers

Margaret Denninger of Stamford admires some of the winning flowers at the Fairfield County Horticultural Society’s annual Flower and Garden Show Sunday at Westport’s Earthplace, The Nature Discovery Center. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Julia Mally for WestportNow.com

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

Sunday, August 29, 2004

Long Lots Bus Drop Off Ready But Not Expanded Parking

The bus drop off area is paved and ready at Long Lots Elementary School, but school officials say the expanded parking area will not be ready in time for Wednesday’s school opening. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) WestportNow.com photo

08/29/04 11:11 PM Comments (0) • Permalink •

Monday, Aug. 30, 2004

7:30 p.m. - Town Hall Room 309 - RTM Parks & Recreation Committee
8 p.m. - Staples High School Library - Board of Education

08/29/04 11:05 PM Comments (0) • Permalink •

Westport Fire Log Sunday Aug. 29, 2004

2:33 a.m. 300 Nyala Farm Road, fire alarm
6:38 a.m. ֖ 300 Nyala Farm Road, fire alarm
9:42 a.m. Roseville Road, EMS call
10:26 a.m. ֖ 4 Compo Parkway, fire alarm
11:21 a.m. 45 Silent Grove North, fire alarm
Noon ֖ Post Road East, EMS call
12:27 p.m. 197 North Ave., wires down
2:48 p.m. ֖ 1276 Post Road East, motor vehicle accident

08/29/04 11:03 PM Comments (0) • Permalink •

“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 •

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