The upper parking lot of the Westport Public Library was closed off today as preparations were under way for this weekend’s Blues, Views and BBQ Festival. The library will be open Saturday 9 a.m.-5 p.m. and on Sunday 1-5 p.m. The Taylor Place parking lot will be open for library patrons,
and the two-hour parking limit will be waived, the library said. It said it will also waive late fees for books due this weekend if they are returned on Tuesday. The library is closed Monday, Labor Day. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Contributed photo
Levitt Getting Ready for BBQ Fest
BBQ Fest Includes Hoops
While not exactly what you might expect to find at a BBQ Fest, hoops will be for sale at this weekend’s Blues, Views and BBQ Festival at Westport’s Levitt Pavilion. Mary-Beth Oliver, founder of Greenwich-based wesellhoops.com, was busy late today getting her booth set up for Saturday’s opening. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Contributed photo
State Approves $500,000 for Levitt
By James Lomuscio
The State Bond Commission today approved $500,000 in state aid for the Levitt Pavilion for the Performing Arts as it moves ahead to construct a new $6.7 million outdoor facility overlooking the Saugatuck River.
“Obviously, we’re gratified that the State Bond Commission confirmed the request that came out of the governor’s office,” said state Rep. Jonathan Steinberg who had spent more than a year pushing for the allocation.
“It goes to show that with hard work Westport can get its fair share of funding, and we’re very excited to see what the new Levitt will look like next spring.”
Collaborating with Freda Welsh, the Levitt’s executive director, Steinberg said he was able to convince key people in Hartford that the pavilion “was a Connecticut institution, and it was in danger of not getting its project done for the next season if it did not have the funding.”
Westport Property Transfers Aug. 13 – 17, 2012
Westport property transfers as reported by the Town Clerk’s office for the period Aug. 13-17, 2012:
125 Main Street Assoc LLC to Campana 125 LLC, 125 Main St., $33,500,000
Janette Arenander to 6 Twin Circle LLC, 6 Twin Circle Drive, $725,000
Robert Stetz Est. to American Home Builders LLC, 9 West Branch Road 80 percent interest, $940,000
Stephen Stetz Est. to American Home Builders LLC, 9 West Branch Road 20 percent Interest, $235,000
WestportNow Teardown of the Day: 8 Pequot Trail
An application for a permit to demolish the house at Westport’s 8 Pequot Trail, off Sylvan Road North, is in process. Built in 1955, the one-story contemporary has 2,518 square feet, is situated on a 1.32-acre property and changed ownership last month for $1.48 million. Because the house was built more than 50 years ago, the application will be reviewed by the Westport Historic District Commission. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com
Himes: ‘Politicians Are More Polarized Than People’
U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, the 4th District Democrat seeking his third term, told the Westport Sunrise Rotary Club today that Americans now are witnessing political polarization that is a matter of timing. “It’s a highly polarized environment,” he said. “It’s common before national elections, but I think that the politicians are more polarized than our people are.” He added, “After the elections i believe there will be a successful negotiation that puts the national debt back on track for the long run.” (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com
Longshore Scene
Friday, August 31, 2012
10 a.m. – Town Hall Room 201 – Baron’s South Committee Executive Session
10 p.m. – 2 p.m. – Westport Arts Center – “Landscape: Scene/Re-seen”
10 a.m. – 4 p.m. – Westport Historical Society – “The Sound & the Saugatuck” & “Watershed Moments”
8 p.m. – Westport Country Playhouse – “Harbor”
See more events: Celebrate Westport Calendar
Nancy K. Ivison, 92
Nancy Kenna Ivison, former owner of the Pymander Bookshop in Westport and a former New Canaan resident most recently of Atlanta, died Aug. 27 in Atlanta. She was 92.

Nancy Ivison: owned Pymander Bookshop. Contributed photo
Born April 25, 1920 in Knoxville, Tenn. to Louise and Jo Kenna, she grew up in Charleston, W.V. where she attended Charleston High School and later Salem Academy in Winston-Salem, N.C. She was a graduate of King- Smith Studio School in Washington, D.C. where she studied theater arts and drawing.
She returned to Charleston and was an ambulance driver during World War II. She met and married Quin Morton, also of Charleston, with whom she had two daughters, Nancy Louise and Alice Byrd Morton.
The couple divorced in 1955 and she later married M. Thayer Ivison of New York City and moved with him to New Canaan where she lived until 2007. They had two children together, Catherine Cady and Douglas Thayer Ivison.