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Race to Save the White Barn Theatre

By James Lomuscio

The race is on to save the White Barn Theatre.

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Actress, producer and theater impresario Lucille Lortel founded the White Barn Theatre in 1947.  (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Contributed photo

Preservationists and theater lovers are set to converge at Norwalk City Hall on Wednesday, March 2, at 7 p.m. to plead with the Norwalk Historic Commission to save the iconic theater from the wrecking ball.

The experimental theater was established in 1947 by the late, legendary actress, director and producer Lucile Lortel on her husband Waldo Mayo’s 18-acre estate straddling Norwalk and Westport.

Now, New Canaan developer Jim Fieber, who bought the property more than a decade ago, plans to build between 10 to 15 large homes on the property’s remaining 15 acres.

Malloy Warns of Workforce Cuts

By Keith M. Phaneuf and Arielle Levin Becker

www.ctmirror.org

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s administration confirmed today the downward trend in state revenues — though not the precise numbers — that nonpartisan analysts reported earlier this week.

While the governor never used the word “layoff,” he told reporters today that state government’s workforce must shrink considerably soon, and that the next state budget, for the 2016-17 fiscal year, still must be balanced without tax hikes.

And Malloy’s budget chief, Office of Policy and Management Secretary Benjamin Barnes, told legislators today that the administration has been monitoring negative trends in state income tax receipts since mid-January. The administration’s decision not to report this before today prompted one Republican on the legislature’s tax-writing panel to call the choice “reprehensible.”

“I think there’s a bigger downside than there is an upside” to state tax revenues at this time, Malloy told reporters after a press conference to promote a constitutional amendment to protect state funding for transportation.

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More Power Outages

UPDATE More power outages hit Westport today as winds picked up, bringing down trees and power lines.

Eversource said in late afternoon more than 600 Westport customers were without power at one point. By 5:30 p.m., the number was down to 15. Some of the outages were deliberate so repairs could be made.

Al Lara, an Eversource spokesman, said today’s sustained strong winds created new outages, knocking down trees and equipment already damaged or weakened by the previous storm. 

“Statewide we have about 2,300 outages remaining from the previous storm.  The rest are new outages from today’s winds,” he said.

Arrest Follows Slap, Protective Order Violation

Officers arrested a Westport woman for disorderly conduct and violating a protective order after she allegedly slapped the victim and left the victim’s house, police said today.

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Christina Kaufman: bail set at $25,000. Westport Police photo

According to Lt. David Farrell, the report came in as a missing person since the suspect Christina Kaufman, 33, had left the house.

She was located later Wednesday night and served the warrant, he said.

She was held in lieu of a $25,000 bond and arraigned in Norwalk Superior Court on Thursday.

Woman Arrested for Protective Order Violation

Officers arrested a Bridgeport woman for violating a protective order and harassment in the second degree, police said today.

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Kaitlin Buggy: sent text messages.. Westport Police photo

Kaitlin Buggy, 31, turned herself in Thursday on an active warrant, Lt. David Farrell said, adding that the suspect had contacted the victim several times via text messages over a six-day period.

“There is an active protective order in place from previous incidents involving Buggy and the victim,” Farrell said.

Buggy, on whom police placed a $25,000 bond, was arraigned the same day in Norwalk Superior Court.

On Main Street, Busted for Boot Thefts

Officers nabbed a Norwalk man in connection with the January theft of three pairs of boots from Theory at 69 Main St., Westport police said today.

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Andre Fowler: free on $1,500 bond Westport Police photo

Andre Fowler, 22, was arrested Thursday on a warrant at the Stamford Police Department, where he was being held, polie said.

According to the police report, Fowler was one of two suspects who on Jan. 19 took the boots while distracting store employees.

“The employees noticed the boots were missing after the suspects left the store, so they reviewed the in store video footage,” said Lt. David Farrell. “Store employees notified the surrounding stores of the theft, and description of the suspects.”

Police Seek Cell Phone Thieves

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The Westport Police Department today requested the public’s assistance in identifying two males pictured at the bottom of this surveillance photo. It said two males were involved in the theft of a cell phone on Tuesday at the Dunkin Donuts store, 1595 Post Road East. The first suspect (r) has short brown hair and was wearing a sweatshirt and jeans. The second suspect was wearing a skull cap, has facial hair around his lip and chin area, and was wearing a dark jacket and jeans. Both appeared to be about 30 years old. Anyone with information on the identities of the two males is asked to contact the Westport Police Department Detective Bureau at (203)341-6080. Westport Police photo

WestportNow Teardown of the Day: 46 Sylvan Road North

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An application for a permit to demolish the house at Westport’s 46 Sylvan Road, North in the Old Hill section, is in process. Built in 1963, the one-story raised ranch, has 1,566-square feet, is situated on a one-acre property and last changed ownership, according to Town Assessor records, in May 2011 for $500,000. 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

Westport Property Transfers Feb. 8 – 12, 2016

Westport property transfers as reported by the Town Clerk’s office for the period Feb. 8 - 12, 2016:

Virginia Helen Page to H&P Builders, 36 Westfair Drive, $500,000WNproperty.jpg

Michael K. Heine to Peter B. and Susan N. Marshall, 9 Tamarac Road, $950,000

Lynn W. and William Paul Bush III to Morton H. Rothstein and Carol Knobelman, 110 Weston Road, $1,237,500

Juanita R. and Bernard E. Hamilton Jr. to Eric and Holly Rousseau, 49 Crescent Road, $749,000

Staples Nets 10 National Merit Finalists

The 2016 National Merit Scholarship Program has named 10 Staples High School seniors as finalists, each one with a chance to earn one of 7,400 scholarship awards totaling more than $35 million nationwide, school officials announced today.

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National Merit finalists include: (​back row, l-r)  Nicholas Ribolla, Quinn B. Hughes, George R. Menz, and Grant G. Tobben; (front row)  Aaron J. Samuels, Peter C. Sauer, Hannah H. Debalsi, Jodie I. Baris, and Stephen K. Xu; Missing from picture: Arjun S. Dhindsa. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Contributed photo

Staples finalists are: Jodie Baris, Hannah Debalsi, Arjun Dhindsa, Quinn Hughes, George Menz, Nicolas Ribolla, Aaron Samuels, Peter Sauer, Grant Tobben and Steven Xu.

According to school offcials, winners will be chosen as early as March from a group of more than 15,000 finalists. They said winners will be chosen on the basis of their skills, accomplishments, and potential for success in rigorous college.

Each Staples finalist had to meet the following criteria:  an outstanding academic record, a principal’s recommendation, and SAT scores that confirm the student’s earlier qualifying test performance.