Letters
WestportNow welcomes letters from readers on matters pertaining to Westport and Westporters. Those of 300 words or less are given preference. Letters are edited for grammar, clarity, and accuracy. Publication shall be at the sole discretion of WestportNow. Third-party or anonymous letters, those signed with a pseudonym, or letters appearing in other publications are not published.
A postal address, e-mail address if available, and day and evening telephone numbers are required for verificiation purposes, although this information is not published. Letters may be submitted by e-mail to , via fax at (203) 286-2099, or by mail to 150 North Ave., Westport, CT 06880.
Saturday, January 12, 2013
‘We Have to Protect Children Now’
To the Editor:
To the residents of Westport. Right now the Board of Education is going through the process of doing a “security audit.”
While this is well and good, and instead of taking the advice of the excellent police and fire chiefs at no cost, the board will spend money asking retired police officers for the same answers we can get at no cost from our existing staff; this is business as usual for the Board of Education.
However, in the meantime we have to take logical action and use the advice and knowledge of the excellent police and fire officials we have on staff.
Cutting to the chase, the odds of a copycat attack from another mentally ill person are high. Therefore we have to protect the children now. Not wait a year for the results of a study done by outsiders.
More "‘We Have to Protect Children Now’"
Tuesday, January 01, 2013
‘Ideal Time to Install Solar Energy’
To the Editor:
We are writing to advise your Westport readers that if they ever considered the installation of solar energy at their homes, this is an ideal time to do it. But time is running very short on this opportunity to achieve significant savings.
Westport is one of four pilot communities which won state approval to participate in the SolarizeCT program which could reduce the cost of installing a solar photovoltaic system by as much as 30-40%. This savings, together with the federal tax credit of 30%, means that homeowners could install a system for well less than half of its actual cost, and reduce their electric bill to a fraction of what they’re paying now.
To qualify for the rebate, you have to commit to the program by January 14th, but the system can be installed any time within six months of signing up. An alternative lease agreement is also available, with low electric rates guaranteed for 20 years and no out-of-pocket expenses.
Both of us believe in the program and have signed up for solar installations, not only for the cost savings we will achieve but because we support the underlying agenda of using less commercial energy, which has a significant environmental impact.
To learn more, we suggest you call Encon, Westport’s selected installation vendor, at 203-375-5228 or visit EnconSolar.com. If you’d like to see what a solar installation looks like, there will be a “Solar Raising” event this Saturday, January 5, from 10:00 to 2:00, at 1 Bushy Ridge Road (food and warm refreshments will be served!).
Jonathan Steinberg
State Representative, 136th District
Vice Chair, Energy & Technology Committee
Westport
and
Ken Bernhard
Former State Representative, 136th District
Co-Chair, Board of Directors,
Connecticut League of Conservation Voters
Westport
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Watching Sandy From Washington State
To the Editor:
It is strange what a storm can do. Damage. Hardship. No electricity.
I grew up in Westport though I haven’t lived there since 1949. I graduated from Staples High School when it was on Riverside. Probably not many of you remember. I still call it my home. Ed Mitchell and family moved to Westport shortly before we did. He later founded the clothing store by his name. The families were friends when we lived in Lansdowne, PA.
I knew the sons of many of the artists that lived in Westport – the Dohanas and Von Schmidts families among others. We used to brag that we had more artists per capita than any other town in the USA.
I lived in a brown house between the minuteman and Owenoke Park on Compo Beach Road. We didn’t have numbers on the houses then but it has now been torn down and the lot was empty the last time a Google satellite photo was taken (March 2012). I just happened to check the news of Westport online when it was being demolished. Sad!
More "Watching Sandy From Washington State"
Thursday, November 08, 2012
Thank You, WestportNow.com
To the Editor:
There is an adage that a “picture is worth a thousand words.” This was confirmed by the recent coverage of the WestportNow.com photographers and unknown contributing photographers of the disasters left by Hurricane Sandy.
Even before the storm started, the WestportNow.com photographers were busy trying to provide the rest of us with news photos with captions of the preparation for Sandy.
From Oct. 27 through Nov. 6, I counted 180 photos with captions related to Sandy.
Sixty seven (37 percent) of the photos with captions were contributed by unknown Westporters while the reset for provided by individuals that normally cover Westport events.
Special recognition should be to Dave Matlow who provided 39 (22 percent) of the photos with captions during the entire period of the hurricane.
More "Thank You, WestportNow.com"
Thursday, July 07, 2011
A Quality of Life Issue
To the Editor:
It’s certainly time that the RTM and our First Selectman started looking for ways to improve the quality of life for all Westporters.
One obvious way to anyone who drives around town is to find ways to clear the many bottlenecks at our crossroads.
One that can be solved easily but does require some expenditure of funds is at the corner of the Post Road and Riverside. The building is on the NW corner. This building is for sale and now might be the perfect time to buy it.
Buying this property would allow for a second and possibly a third line of traffic approaching the Post Road, so cars going straight or turning right would not have to wait for everyone to make the difficult left turn. This backup sometimes takes three or four lights to get by.
Why not give it some consideration? Thank you.
Stanley Saltzman
Westport
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
A Thank You to Friends
To the Editor:
Thanks to all my friends for bearing with me on the latest batch of news about the domestic abuse incident that made national news.
I would like to state the following truths to correct the misinformation that was put in the paper and on WestportNow regarding the published domestic abuse case: I had been living in the home with my children for three months and had legal rights to be in the house and to see my children.
I was assaulted with my own iPhone while I was lying on my bed reading a book. I fought to get my iPhone back because I had an audiophile from earlier that evening of David treating me horribly in front of my children. I called 911.
He lied to the police, telling them that I was not supposed to be in the house and that he was acting in self-defense—not that he assaulted me first. Because we both hurt each other, we both had charges against us by the state, which have now been dropped.
For the record, this was a one-time event. Tensions are high in a divorce. David snapped and I reacted. Both of us were held accountable for our actions. But I remain the victim of published lies that have marred my reputation; and there is a tremendous unfairness to this.
If people get away with wrongdoings then they are only empowered to behave similarly in time.
I am not happy about the way the media has spun this story. Why police are not held accountable to protecting people’s privacy is beyond me. Someone who has been assaulted should not have to dial 911, because she is scared, at the risk of social exposure and humiliation to herself and her children.
And as a victim of abuse—to be further abused by the press, who so eagerly print untruths as truths without any standard of accountability—and to be bullied by my husband’s divorce lawyer, who threatened to sue me against my alimony for any loss in David’s income if I released the iPhone audiotape, is a perfect example of how victims’ rights are not fully protected and how bullies continue to be bullies.
I feel compelled to tell my truth because everyone knows that I always stand up for the truth and what is right. Yes. There are always two sides to a story but there is only one truth.
Thank you for all of your support over the past few weeks. You have really helped me to get through this very difficult time in my life. Let’s learn from this and move on. But let’s all stand up for what is right and true in this world—even if it’s difficult to do so.
Jennifer Pogue
Westport
Monday, January 10, 2011
Justification for P&Z Amendment ‘Hogwash’
To the Editor:
Last week I sat through the RTM committee hearing on the new zoning regulations—which P&Z quietly adopted in December.
Frankly, I couldn’t believe my ears. Not only is P&Z misleading the public about the number of nonconformities that these new rules will cause (1,100 versus the 200 or so that they first cited)—but I learned that the “environmental” reasons that they using to justify the amendment are hogwash.
The town engineer, the director of conservation, and the P&Z staff are all on record that we don’t need to include patios and terraces in “coverage” in order to control runoff and drainage.
In fact, all new houses are required to have “zero runoff.” What P&Z is trying to do is exactly what they have tried—and failed—to do in the past: stop the so-called big houses.
More "Justification for P&Z Amendment ‘Hogwash’"
Thursday, December 30, 2010
‘Sno Fun!
To the Editor:
Is there anything nicier,
sugar ‘n spicier,
anything more sweet or grandish,
than to see falling snow
setting all hearts aglow,
making everything so Fairylandish?
Each flake makes me quiver
with wonder,
I shiver
as softly I sing “Jingle Bells” -
Ah, the beauty, the thrill,
as it climbs up my sill
with its luscious white whipped-creamy swells.
I give up counting flakes,
each succeeding one makes
a more mountainous mound out my door.
Why does it keep falling?
It’s getting appalling -
I’ll never get out any more!
Now the power’s gone
,
no TV and no heat,
and my batteries are down to two!
Won’t someone please stop it?!
I can’t see atop it -
the snowplows can’t even get through!
They’ll find me next Spring
frozen to everything,
what the heck am I going to do?!
I have had it!
Enough!
Who invented this stuff?
You know,
I just hate snow,
don’t you?
Mary Grace Dembeck
Westport
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Do Something !
To the Editor:
For some time friends have asked me when Obama was going to do something.
Checking the record, I found that the President and most Democrats had:
+Passed a national health care bill
+Passed new financial regulations to watch Wall Street.
+Passed stimulus bills that stopped the skid in the market.
+Saved a number of corporations, like General Motors, from going under.
+Fired an army general who disgraced the service.
+Repealed the “don’t ask, don’t tell” law.
+Passed an $858 billion package of tax cuts and unemployment benefits
+Passed “New Start” an arms control treaty.
The list could be longer but I do not want to seem partisan!
Larry Aasen
Westport
Wednesday, November 03, 2010
Thanks from Steinberg
To the Editor:
I want to thank all of Westport for your support in my election as your new State Representative. I’m touched and honored by your confidence in me.
My opponent, Nitzy Cohen, waged an excellent campaign which made both of us better candidates. I want Nitzy’s supporters to know that I intend to represent all of Westport. You can count on me to listen and give voice your concerns as well.
I am committed to making Westport and Connecticut great places to live, work and grow. I will strive to reform our state government to be much more efficient, effective and responsive. You know I will do the hard work to make it happen.
Again, thank you Westport voters for your support at the polls and in the future.
Jonathan Steinberg
State Representative-Elect, 136th District
Westport
Friday, October 15, 2010
Thanks to Westport Businesses
To the Editor:
Target Training’s Cranbury Park Race last weekend donated funds to both Sloan Kettering and Smilow Cancer Center at Yale New Haven Hospital for children’s cancer research. The number of children being diagnosed with cancer is frightening.
Even with the difficult economic times, Westport and area businesses can always being counted on to help a worthy cause. A great big thank you to Honda of Westport, Propper Wellness Center, Rosenthal Surgery & Skin Care Center, Westport Pizzeria, Balanced Nutrition and Two Home Runs.
Special thanks to Brooks Systems located in Mystic, Conn. When I shared what we were doing, Robert Brooks, owner said, “Send details and I will send a check.” He did.
Thank you to Great Cakes for the coffee we cannot live without, A&J’s Market for the filling us with apples, donuts, cake and cider, Oscar’s Deli for the wonderful bagels, lox and cream cheese which were all devoured and to Garelick and Herbs for the great bagels and cream cheese, loved by all.
To Hallie Spear and her friends at Long Lots with the guidance of Amy who baked cookies, brownies, muffins and chocolate pretzels for the bake sale, we are so grateful.
Robin Scarella & Melissa Diamond
Connections Public Relations & Special Events
Westport
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Thanks from Allen Family
To the Editor:
The Walter Ethan Allen family is grateful to Jeff Allen for representing us at the momentous occasion of the official opening of the Sherwood Mill Pond Preserve.
Jeff and I, along with our siblings, cousins and friends, spent our childhoods playing in and around the Mill Pond, and preservation of a part of it is very meaningful.
A special acknowledgment is due to my mother, Mary Riordan Allen, the last remaining owner of the Allen’s Clam House property, who 11 years ago, in the spirit of Captain Allen’s concern for the Mill Pond and its meadows, turned down high purchase offers from developers in favor of selling the property to the town at a price it could afford.
With generous matching contributions from like-minded Westporters, (Paul Newman, Harvey Weinstein and Martha Stewart among them) the town of Westport was able to buy the property, and honor my mother’s wishes that it be preserved in its natural state, dedicated to my grandfather, Captain Walter Dewitt Allen.
Many thanks to past Selectperson Diane Farrell, and all who contributed to making this vision a reality
Bonnie G. Allen, Esq.
Northampton, Mass.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Bruce Family Grateful for Support
Dear Westport,
As a family, we would like to thank all of Westport, and indeed many in surrounding towns, for the love and support we have received in the days since the death of our son and brother Cameron.
We have benefited from the kind words and kind works of countless people and groups in these last two weeks, and those words and works have been life-sustaining for us. And that support has come from all corners of our town.
We cannot begin to list all the individuals and groups that have stood by our sides and buoyed our spirit in the past two weeks, but we do want especially to thank the members of Saugatuck Congregational Church and the Westport Garden Club, the kind people at Save the Children, and the Westport Police Department.
It is easy to use words like “community” without pausing to reflect on what they really mean. And it can be easy in this modern era to grow cynical, to lose sight of the personal. It is easy to forget what it means and what it should mean to be friends, neighbors, colleagues.
But in the last two weeks, Westport has shown us that it is indeed a community in the best sense of the word. It seemed to us that we lived in a small town, where everyone knows his neighbors, and everyone cares. This has been an immeasurable comfort to us, and has made a vast and deep difference in our lives.
From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you.
Iain, Linda, and Margot Bruce
Westport
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Thanks for Returning Lost Keys
To the Editor:
Yesterday while at Trader Joe’s I inadvertently dropped my key ring with my car and house keys somewhere between my car and the store. I only realized this when I was at the cash register.
After an brief search, retracing my steps at the store, I was not able to relocate them. The store personnel were very helpful and took my name and number in case they were turned in later in the evening.
This morning, the manager from the Saugatuck Rowing club called my home to say that some kind person had found my keys and due to the club’s key fob on my keys, returned them to the club for me. What a relief.
The person who dropped them off for me did not leave their name. Whoever you are, thank you very much for your kindness.
Rob Morrison
Westport
Tuesday, June 01, 2010
Y’s Men: Feel Sacred Obligation
To the Editor:
In regard to Memorial Day, the Y’s Men of Westport/Weston are pleased to be able to participate in the annual parade. For the Y’s Men participation is quite meaningful, probably due to the age of our members (a majority served in our armed forces).
To us, each year we conceive, design and build a float not to entertain, to win a prize, or promote our club. We feel a sacred obligation to honor our veterans who served our country.
Many died, and all were changed by their military service. Our float is a gift to the community with the hope that spectators might, for just a brief moment, reflect regarding what a great country we share and the debt we owe to those who served.
Neil Coleman/ Mario Sa’Couto
Y’s Men Presidents
Westport
Note: WestportNow Publisher Gordon F. Joseloff is also First Selectman of Westport