Morning Scene

Members of the Saugatuck Rowing Club pause for some morning coffee along the Saugatuck River today and take in the fall scenery. WestportNow.com photo

Westporter Watts Wacker drives his Vespa to Staples football games. WestportNow.com photo

Todays Escapes section of The New York Times features Westporter Watts Wacker and his Vespa.
The 50-year-old futurist jettisoned his Camaro convertible last May for exclusive transport around town on his Italian-made Vespa ET4. ғI havent looked back,Ҕ he wrote in a essay for the newspaper.
Excerpt: I feel more at home, more me, on my Vespa. I have my nonconformist tendencies. For example, I wear shorts every day, even in church, even on my scooter.
ӓSome people laugh at me, but I don’t care. I’m not trying to be Jack Nicholson in Easy Rider.ђ There’s no overcompensating on a Vespa…
Riding my Vespa is so much fun I can hardly stand it. There’s the appeal of being in the elements, feeling the sun beating down on you ӗ all of the stuff that convertibles offer plus you get 65 miles per gallon.
דMy 14-year-old daughter loves to ride on the back; I coach her lacrosse team, and when we ride home from practice she holds her sticks. I ride to work, to the center of town, to high school football games…
I have my own commuting ritual. Every morning I sling my computer bag over my shoulder and zip straight to Starbucks. I pick up two cups of coffee, put them in a tray and ride one-handed to my office. (One product improvement I would suggest for the Vespa is cup holders.)
ӔWhen it’s really cold I pull on a pair of insulated Carhart overalls over my shorts. I’m planning on driving this thing 24/7/365. Except when it’s snowing.

Haberstroh, GOPers Top Westport Political Fund Raisers
In the final financial filing before next Tuesdays election, Republican Board of Finance candidate Charles Haberstroh and Westport Republicans were the top fund raisers.

Haberstroh, a member of the Representative Town Meeting (RTM) making his first town-wide bid for elective office, received $4,975 in individual contributions during the three-week period ending Oct. 21, according to a report filed with Town Clerk Patricia H. Strauss. That brought his total raised from individuals to $4,975.

The Republican Town Committee reported receiving $3,310 in individual contributions, more than three times that received by the Democrats in the period, $1,010.

Others raking in individual contributions for the period included Eleanor Lowenstein, running for re-election on the Democratic and Save Westport Now lines, who took in $1,870. She has now raised $5,540 from individuals.

Stephen Rubin, a petitioning candidate for the Board of Education, raised $1,445 from individuals. He had raised the most in the last reporting period—$6,615—for a combined total of $8,060, the most of any candidate.

Democrat Mary Parmelee, running for re-election to the Board of Education, raised $1,075 in individual contributions during the period, for a total of $6,269. Fellow Democratic education candidate Mark Mathias took in $569 in individual contributions for the period, raising his total to $4,005.

Republican education candidate Lewis Brey reported $435 in individual contributions for the period, raising his total to $2,380, while fellow Republican education candidate Edward Bowers reported $210 in individual contributions for the period, bringing his total to $1,210.

Petitioning education candidates Robert Andrew and Robert Chasin filed exemption forms saying they do not intend to raise more than $1,000.

Both Republican and Democratic Town Committees reported having about the same amount of money on hand two weeks before the election—$11,897 for the Republicans and $11,356 for the Democrats.

The Republicans reported expending $14,669 for the period, mostly in support of their individual candidates. The Democrats reported expenditures of $668.27. The next financial report is due in January.