Westport ranked No. 1 for energy efficiency of the 14 towns statewide participating in the Neighbor to Neighbor Energy Challenge, a federal Department of Energy grant program, it was announced today.

Pippa Bell Ader, chairwoman of the Westport Home Energy Challenge and a member of the Green Task Force, said Westporters completed more home energy solutions visits from Connecticut Light & Power (CL&P) “and had more energy efficiency upgrades than all the other towns.”

Westport’s rewards from the program include an electric vehicle truck and an electric vehicle charging station, heavy-duty recycling bins, bicycle racks, and solar lights, she said.

“As a continuation of this successful program, the Green Task Force will be kicking off the Stay Cool Westport campaign,” added Ader, to promote energy efficiency savings during July and August.

The Westport Weston Family Y’s special partnership with Earthplace, the Nature Discovery Center, to host a combined summer day camp got off to a hot start this week, the first of nine weekly sessions. With this week’s heat wave, the special theme of this week’s Session 1 was particularly apt: survival. The campers took hikes in the shady woods, learned how to build lean-tos, visited Earthplace’s resident animals and took a short bus ride to the Family Y for free swim. For more information about summer camp at Earthplace-Mahackeno, visit http://www.earthplace.org. Pictured is counselor Rachel Beach with one of Earthplace’s full-time residents, a female ferret. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Contributed photo

By Jim Cameron

This week marks the 30th anniversary of the Mianus River Bridge collapse, which killed three people. 

That accident on I-95 in Greenwich was attributed to years of neglected inspections and maintenance, the inevitable result of penny-pinching in Hartford.

Will the recent Metro-North crash (which injured 76 passengers) also be tied to long-postponed repairs?

Last week, the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CDOT)  commissioner testified before U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal that Connecticut has spent $3.2 billion in the last decade on the New Haven rail line, while Amtrak spent just $64 million.  And all that spending still couldn’t prevent the May 17 derailment.

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy announced today that the Department of Transportation (DOT) has launched a strategic planning approach to transportation policies, programs, and projects.

Called Transform CT, it will improve economic growth and competitiveness, build sustainability, and provide a blueprint for a world-class transportation system, he said.

“Transportation is the backbone of our economy,” said Malloy. “The movement of people and goods, facilitating commerce, and bolstering tourism all depend on a highly functioning transit and highway system. 

“Transform CT will help define the very future of Connecticut through a stakeholder process that will solicit input from residents and businesses about what works and what doesn’t in our multi-modal system. The complexities in transportation are enormous, but this process will help us plan for a more sustainable, more efficient future.”

Almost 100 Westport customers were in the dark tonight after a heavy rainstorm moved through the area.

CL&P said 99 customers were without power at 11:25 p.m.

A small drone hovers over South Beach at Compo Beach tonight before a thunderstorm moved in. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Helen Klisser During for WestportNow.com

Storm clouds gathered over Wewstport’s Compo Beach tonight as heavy rains moved into the area. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Helen Klisser During for WestportNow.com