Wednesday, August 31, 2005
Tree Falls on Maple Avenue South
A large tree, weakened by recent heavy rains, fell across Maple Avenue South at No. 81 near Green’s Farms Road tonight. Utility workers had to shut off power lines hit by the tree before it could be removed. Westport firefighters Jeff Gootman (l) and Bruce Kelly monitored the work. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com
Library Officials Hope For Patriot Act Changes
A Westport Public Library official said today the library is hopeful changes may be on the way to the Patriot Act that would lift provisions that allow federal agents to demand library records. 
Explaining the government case: Connecticut U.S. Attorney Kevin O’Connor speaks to reporters today outside U.S. District Court in Bridgeport. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Ron Malone for WestportNow.com
George Wagner, assistant Westport library director, spoke as the American Civil Liberties Union urged a federal judge in Bridgeport today to lift a gag order on a Connecticut library or library service which is being asked by the FBI to turn over records about patrons under the federal Patriot Act.
Wagner said library officials have been concerned with the law since it was passed shortly after Sept. 11, 2001, and that the demand for files from a local library entity heightened those concerns.
“People should be able to use the library without concerns that people will seek their records,” he said.
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Westport Gas Prices, Like Elsewhere, Expected to Jump
By Jonathan Thrope
If you haven’t already gassed up your car today, you might want to do it before midnight.
A Westport gas station owner, who requested anonymity, told WestportNow today that his prices will jump by 40 cents as of midnight tonight in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
He said that he is being told by his suppliers that gasoline allotments are going to get tighter and that it’s “going to get real dirty.”
The owner said he fears that his supplier in New Haven may run out of gas sometime next week. He said he is already worrying about his rent since his gas sales will almost definitely drop in the coming weeks.
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Celebrating Women’s Right to Vote
A group of Westport area women recently marked the 85* anniversary of the Constitutional amendment that gave women the right to vote with an informal lunch at the Blood Root restaurant in the Black Rock section of Bridgeport. Seated (l-r) are: Carol Diamond, Joan Kahn, Martha Aasen, Vidal Clay, Jackie Heneage, and Pat Hendrickson. Rear (l-r) are: Janet Roberts, Jill Beres, Bobbie Herman, Sarah Herz, Athena Ploumis Bradley, and Barbara Webster. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Winifred Balboni for WestportNow.com
Save the Children Responds to Hurricane
Westport-based Save the Children said today it will assist rural communities it serves in the South in rebuilding following Hurricane Katrina.
Also, sponsored children in the region were safe, and Save the Children-sponsored schools took on minor damage from the storm, the charity said.
Save the Children provides literacy and physical fitness programs in a number of rural, poor communities throughout the United States.
Katrina slammed the Gulf Coast Monday with winds over 145 miles per hour destroying homes and businesses in its path and causing significant flooding, including in New Orleans.
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Man Linked to Local Robberies Gets 20 Years
A Shelton man linked to robberies in Westport and the region last fall was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Tuesday.
James Haggerty, 46, had pled guilty to robberies in at least nine businesses from Westport and Fairfield to Seymour and Milford. He was sentenced in Milford Superior Court.
He specifically pled guilty to robbing the East Star Palace, a nail salon located on Post Road, last Oct. 10.
He used a gun and knife in several of the robberies, and told police that spree was prompted by a problem with crack cocaine and heroin.
Tuesday, August 30, 2005
Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2005
10:30 a.m. – Town Hall Room 102 – International Hospitality Committee
2 p.m. and 8 p.m. - Westport Country Playhouse - Journey’s End
5:30 p.m. – Town Hall Room 201 – School Building Committee
Playhouse Announces “Movie Tuesdays” Guest Speakers
Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Sidney Lumet, James Ivory and Milo O’Shea will be among the celebrity guest speakers in the Westport Country Playhouse’s “Movie Tuesdays” series beginning in September, it was announced today.
“Movie Tuesdays” offer classic movies followed by special guests talking about their experiences with the films. All guest speakers are subject to change.
“The Verdict” will be screened on Tuesday, Sept. 27, at 7 p.m., accompanied by a discussion with the film’s director, Sidney Lumet, and actors Paul Newman and Milo O’Shea.
Newman received an Academy Award nomination for his role as Frank Galvin, a down-on-his luck, drunken attorney with a medical malpractice case on his hands. O’Shea plays a corrupt judge in the 1982 film. Ticket availability for “The Verdict” is limited.
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Letters Being Sent About Westport Reval Inspections
The Westport Assessor’s Office said today letters will go out next week to residents whose homes were either unavailable to revaluation inspectors or who refused an initial interior inspection.
“The interior inspection of the property is essential in order to properly appraise the market value,” Assessor William Gaffney said in a news release.
He said inspectors from Vision Appraisal Technology in conjunction with his office are continuing the physical inspections of all Westport properties as part of the revaluation update.
“Presently field personnel are inspecting properties south of I-95 and north of the Merritt Parkway,” Gaffney said.
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Arts Center Names New Directors
Eight new directors have joined the Westport Arts Center’s Board of Directors, and one retiring member was made an honorary member.
Jon Bullard, Richard Di Marco, Tamson Hamrock, Catherine Johnston, Eugene Miller, Ann Sheffer, Peter Thorner and Frances Wilson were named to the board, and Susan Malloy will be an honorary board member.
“We’re delighted to welcome such an outstanding group of men and women with such diverse talents, expertise and vitality,” said Cindy Vaccaro, WAC president, in a written statement. “The Arts Center’s mission and goals are in great hands.”
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Westport Area Red Cross Volunteers Mobilizing
A number of Westport area Red Cross volunteers may be heading south to help in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina within the next week.
Michelle DeLuca, emergency services director of the Westport-based Mid-Fairfield County Chapter, said she has received a number of inquiries from volunteers wishing to head south to help with relief efforts.
“We don’t have anyone there now, but we will be sending people down over the next few days,” she said.
Hurricane Katrina rocked the Gulf Coast Monday with winds up to 145 miles per hour destroying homes and causing significant flooding, including in New Orleans.
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Compo Marina Ned Dimes Naming Ceremony Sunday
A ceremony formally naming Westport’s Compo Beach Marina in honor of Edwin K. “Ned” Dimes will take place Sunday afternoon, First Selectwoman Diane G. Farrell announced today.
The 5:30 p.m. event will be followed by a reception and she and Toni M. Dimes, Dimes’s widow, invite all Westporters to attend, Farrell said. Beach parking permit requirements will be waived.
Dimes, a longtime prominent Westport attorney and former chairman of the Board of Finance, died last March 4 after a lengthy illness. He was 81. (See WestportNow March 4, 2005)
“Ned’s love for boating was only out-shadowed by his love for his family and for our community,” Farrell said. “It is most fitting that the marina where he spent hundreds of hours of boating be dedicated to him.”
Walgreen’s Goes 24 Hours
Early risers today noticed a new banner outside the Walgreen’s drug store at Post Road East and the Sherwood Island Connector. The retail outlet on the site of a former state police barracks competes with CVS drugs at Post Road East and Compo Road North in offering an around-the-clock operation. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Ron Malone for WestportNow.com
School Board Moves Forward on Special Education Survey
The Westport Board of Education Monday night chose Glen Martin Associates of Troy, N.Y. to administer a survey of special education parents.
The board heard presentations from three marketing and research firms before choosing Glen Martin Associates.
The firm was lauded by most board members who were pleased with how participatory the survey process will be as well how broad an area the survey will cover.
Schools Superintendent Elliot Landon also noted the firm’s experience working on similar surveys, and he was pleased with the relatively low cost of $30,000 for the survey.
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Monday, August 29, 2005
Today’s WestportNow Teardown: 14 Winding Lane
Today’s WestportNow teardown is 14 Winding Lane in Westport’s Old Hill area. A demolition application is pending. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com
Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2005
11 a.m. - Town Hall Room 309 - Planning and Zoning Commission anticipated executive session
8 p.m. - Westport Country Playhouse - Journey’s End
Linda Johnson Named Westport Teacher of the Year
Linda Johnson: named Teacher of the Year. Contributed photo
Linda Johnson, a third grade teacher at Long Lots Elementary School, tonight was named Westport’s Teacher of the Year.
Johnson, who has been teaching 17 years with the last three in the Westport school system, was chosen from among eight teachers nominated for the honor by their colleagues.
The announcement was made during a Board of Education meeting at Town Hall.
As Westport’s Teacher of the Year, Johnson will automatically be entered in the state Teacher of the Year competition later this year.
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Jacozzi Named Health Director
By Jonathan Thrope
Sue Jacozzi: moving up the ranks. Jonathan Thrope for WestportNow.com
The Westport-Weston Health District Board of Directors did not have to look far to find a new health director.
Today the board unanimously appointed Sue Jacozzi as the district’s health director.
An executive search committee recommended Jacozzi for the job and her term, contingent on approval by the Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Public Health, will be for three years.
Jacozzi is replacing the recently retired director Judy Nelson, who held the post for 20 years.
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Neighbors Meet About Norden Development
Carolanne Curry, of the Save Saugatuck West Association, shows a map of properties purchased by the Norden Park developer in her neighborhood and predicts what homes could be purchased next for a potential housing project in Norwalk. About 50 residents—including several RTM members, state Sen. Judith Freedman, and Selectman John Izzo—attended a meeting Sunday night at Curry’s home regarding a potential housing development on the Norden site, which is on the Westport-Norwalk border. The project, which could feature more than 300 homes, may have an access driveway through the Hiawatha Lane neighborhood in Westport. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) WestportNow.com photo
Wall Street Journal: Westport Man in Hedge Fund Fraud Probe
Today’s Wall Street Journal reports that a Westport man is one of the principals involved in a Stamford-based hedge fund now the subject of a fraud investigation by federal and state officials that may involve hundreds of millions of dollars.
261 Bayberry Lane: for sale sign outside. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com
The newspaper said Daniel Marino, chief financial officer of Bayou Management LLC, lives in Westport and earlier this month a visitor to his office found a six-page letter on his desk that began, “This is my suicide note and confession.”
The letter asserted that Marino, along with Bayou founder Samuel Israel III and a former partner named James Marquez, had “defrauded all these investors” from “about 1998 to now,” according to Sgt. Gary Perna of the Stamford Police Department, the report said.
The Journal quoted the police officer as saying he tracked down Marino and took him to a hospital for psychiatric evaluation. Reached by telephone over the weekend, Mr. Marino sounded weary and referred a reporter to his attorney, who declined to comment, the Journal said.
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Sunday, August 28, 2005
Flying the Flag on Main Street
The Westport Downtown Merchants Association has erected American flags along Main Street to complement the ones on the Ruth Steinkraus Cohen Bridge in the town’s center. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Larry Untermeyer for WestportNow.com
Monday, Aug. 29, 2005
6 p.m. – Town Hall Room 307 – Board of Education anticipated executive session
8 p.m. – Town Hall Auditorium – Board of Education
A Jazzy End to the Season
The 54th and final free performance of the Levitt Pavilion’s summer-long season of entertainment took place tonight, indoors due to the weather, at Saugatuck Elementary School in Westport. The Fairfield Counts, a jazz ensemble consisting of Farfield County musicians, provided the closing act for the Levitt’s 32nd season. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Jonathan Thrope for WestportNow.com
Neighborhood Organizing Over Potential Development
By Jennifer Connic
Neighbors adjacent to the Norden Park development are organizing against a potential housing development on the site on the Norwalk-Westport border because the access may be through their Westport neighborhood.
Carolanne Curry, of Hiawatha Lane Extension, has sent around a letter to her neighbors about a meeting that will take place tonight about potential development of the site.
The potential development could mean hundreds of homes constructed on the Norden Park site, and the plan would include access onto Hiawatha Lane.
“A developer has already purchased a number of homes around here,” Curry said. “This could affect over 300 people.”
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Compo Dawn
Pink skies at dawn today signaled the end of a week of perfect summer weather. The forecast for today called for rain and storms, a hint of Hurricane Katrina. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Emily Laux for WestportNow.com
Kayaking With a Pal
Saturday’s good weather enabled a kayak enthusiast and her dog to take to Westport waters. The Wheaton terrier is even wearing a life jacket. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Luisa Francoeur for WestportNow.com
An Added Incentive
Buyers of a home at 148 Compo Road South in Westport are being offered an added incentive—a free Mini Cooper. The price for the five-bedroom home with four and a half baths is $1,495,000. Listing broker is Robin Coleman of the Higgins Group. There is an open house at the property from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m today. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Jonathan Thrope for WestportNow.com
Saturday, August 27, 2005
Compo Sunset
Sunset Saturday at Westport’s Compo Beach. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Ron Malone for WestportNow.com
Playtime at Compo Beach
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The cannons at Westport’s Compo Beach were ideal for playing Saturday. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Emily Laux for WestportNow.com
Sunday, Aug. 28, 2005
3 p.m. - Westport Country Playhouse - Journey’s End
7 p.m. - Levitt Pavilion - The Fairfield Counts
Having Fun at Canteen Night
Among those enjoying tonight’s 1940s-themed Canteen Night benefitting the Westport Historical Society and the Mid-Fairfield County Chapter of the American Red Cross were (l-r): Janet Filling, Red Cross chapter executive director; Westport Police Chief Al Fiore and his wife, Kim; Denise Torv, executive director of the Society; Joni Andrews, Society president, and Maggie Feczko, a past Society president. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Contributed photo
Running Into the Fall
There were 102 runners participating in today’s second to last Westport Road Runners race of the summer. The 9.3 mile race started at Compo Beach and took a long loop around the Compo area. Anatolie Vartosu, 37, of Stamford won the race in 55:55 while the first woman to finish was Heather Crosby, 31, of Danbury. The first Westporter to finish was Paul Greenberg, 44, who was the fourth overall finisher. The tenth and final race of the summer will take place next Saturday at 8 a.m. It will be a 10-mile race, starting at Staples High School. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Jonathan Thrope for WestportNow.com
CAPT Scores Highest in Five Years
The Westport school district’s Connecticut Academic Performance Test (CAPT) scores are the highest they have been in five years.
Staples High School sophomores did best last spring in reading with 89 percent of the class passing that portion of the test.
In writing, 86 percent of the class passed the test, and 79 percent of the class passed the math portion of the test.
In science, 76 percent of the class passed the test.
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Getting Help from Neighbors
Roadrunner competitor Ann Shaffer gets an assist from neighbors in the Green’s Farms area today. The weekly summer runs wind up next weekend. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Ron Malone for WestportNow.com
Fishing at Compo
Westporter Jerry Finch and his daughter enjoy some fishing Friday night at Compo Beach. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Ron Malone for WestportNow.com
Realtime NY Metro-area traffic reports from Traffic.com
PROPERTY TRANSFERS
Westport Property Transfers Aug. 15-19, 2005MORE >>
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[Editor’s note: The following comment has been edited to delete…
Thanks Diane
No kidding? What a surprise!
approx. 5,0000 sq, ft, in two and one half stories…
Great community journalism, great photojournalism. Congrats to WestportNow for setting…
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