Month: July 2012 - Page 2 - Westportnow.com

Tuesday, May 30, 2023

Absentee Ballots Available

Westport Town Clerk Patricia Strauss announced today that absentee ballots for the Democratic and Republican Primaries, to be held Aug. 14, are now available at the Town Clerk’s office.

The office in room 105 of Town Hall, 110 Myrtle Ave., is open Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m to 4:30 p.m.

Those electors registered with the Democratic or Republican Party may qualify for one of the following reasons: active service in the armed forces of the United State, illness or physical disability, religious tenets, which forbid secular activity on the day of the election, duties as an election official at the polling place other than their own during all of the hours of voting, and absence from the town during all of the hours of voting.

Application for a ballot can be requested in person at the Town Clerk’s office or by calling (203)341-1110. The application form is also available online by downloading the form at http://www.westportct.gov/townclerk. Absentee ballots will be available now through Monday, Aug. 13, the day before the primaries.

Getting Ready for Lobster Fest

The banner installed above Westport’s Main Street today reminds passersby of the inaugural Lobster Fest Westport Rotary Club fundraiser event at Compo Beach on Saturday, Sept. 22 from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Attendees will be limited to 750 in its first year. Tickets, available at westportrotary.org and from members of the Westport Rotary Club, are $40 for adults, and $10 for children 3 to 12 with a separate kid-friendly menu. Proceeds go to Westport Rotary Foundation to support local charities. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Tony Riggio for WestportNow.com

Jo-Anne G. Tallcouch, 73

Jo-Anne R. Graziani Tallcouch of Easton, a U.S. Postal Service employee in Westport for more than three decades, died July 28. She was 73.

Jo-Anne Tallcouch: longtime Westport postal employee. Contributed photo

Born in Bridgeport on Aug. 28, 1938, she was daughter to the late Joseph and Anna Somen Graziani, A graduate of Bassick High School, Class of 1956, she had been a Fairfield resident for 35 years before moving to Easton 10 years ago.

She had worked in admissions for Long Island College and Norwalk Hospital. She later worked for the U.S. Postal Service in Westport for more than 32 years until retirement. While there, her likeness was used for a commemorative stamp honoring the U.S. postal worker.

She had also been a waitress in several area restaurants. She enjoyed traveling, especially her monthly trips to the Atlantic City casinos. She also loved her shopping trips with her sister Lorraine, which were always filled with fun and laughter.

Final Farewell to Restaurateur

There was a large turnout today at Westport’s Assumption Church for services for Westport restaurateur Frank S. DeMace, co-founder of Mario’s Restaurant, who died Tuesday at the age of 78. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

Site of Planned New Movie Theater in Westport

Today’s announcement of plans for a 6,500-square-foot independent art movie theater in Westport took place at the planned site— space behind Tavern on Main on Main Street. Organizers hope construction can be completed by next summer. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

Coming Attraction: Theater on Main

By James Lomuscio

In what was called a milestone in the more than two-year drive to bring a movie theater back to town, Westport Cinema Initiative (WCI) Director Sandra Lefkowitz today signed a letter of intent to lease space behind Tavern on Main to construct a 6,500-square-foot independent art house theater.

Taking part in today’s signing agreement ceremony were (l-r) property owner Philip Teuscher, Sandy Lefkowitz, WCI director, and state Rep. Jonathan Steinberg, WCI president. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

“Today is a milestone for bringing a movie theater back to Westport,” said state Rep. Jonathan Steinberg, president of the WCI board, at the signing in the parking lot accessible through a narrow driveway off Main Street. “Now we have a location, a great location, one of the last undeveloped lots in downtown Westport.”

Philip Teuscher, whose family owns the tavern as well as the lot behind it, signed on behalf of his family, agreeing to grant the WCI a favorable, undisclosed lease in memory of his mother Marjorie Thorneycroft Booth Teuscher, Lefkowitz said.

“I remember going to the Fine Arts theaters in the 1950s for 50 cents,” said Teuscher, whose father bought the property in 1944. “This will be the locus for a theater Westport hasn’t had for 12 years.”

Partly Cloudy Reflection

Westport’s Saugatuck River on Sunday reflected dark clouds and brighter skies as the weather quickly shifted, bringing a brief torrential downpour in mid-afternoon which quickly gave way to sunshine. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Phyllis Groner for WestportNow.com

Monday, July 30, 2012

10 a.m. – 4 p.m. – Westport Arts Center – “Landscape: Scene/Re-seen”
10 a.m. – 4 p.m. – Westport Historical Society – “The Sound & the Saugatuck” & “Watershed Moments”
10 a.m. – 5 p.m. – Westport Public Library – Maker in Residence
7:30 p.m. – Town Hall Room 201 – Green Task Force
7:30 p.m. – Westport Public Library – Nancy Shulins: “Falling for Eli”
8 p.m. – Levitt Pavilion – Westport Cinema Initiative: “Saving Hubble”

See more events: Celebrate Westport Calendar

Travel Writer Suzy Gershman, Ex-Westporter, Dies at 64

Suzy Kalter Gershman, a former Westport resident best known for her “Born to Shop” travel series, died July 25 in her native San Antonio, Texas, after a year-long battle with brain cancer. She was 64.

Suzy Gershman: known for her “Born to Shop” series. Contributed photo

An author, journalist and television personality, she brought her international expertise to readers, television viewers, travelers and shoppers the world over with her magazine articles, shopping tours, and the “Born to Shop” travel guides.

Gershman was also the author of “C’est la Vie,” a bestselling memoir about her first year of widowhood during which time she moved from her Compo Road South home in Westport to Paris and began a new life. On the book’s cover was a dog rescued from the Westport animal shelter.

In an effort to learn more about the dog’s Westport background, she penned a plea for information in the dog’s name that appeared on WestportNow on Jan. 15, 2004.

Sunday, July 29th, 2012

Paying Tribute to a Legendary Restaurateur

There were long lines today as friends attended services at the Harding Funeral Home for legendary Westport restaurateur Frank S. DeMace, co-founder of Mario’s Restaurant, who died Tuesday at the age of 78. There will be a service Monday at 10 a.m. at the Church of the Assumption, 98 Riverside Ave. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com