Westport’s Martha Stewart, fresh from a courtroom victory, says she is pleased the judge has dismissed the most serious charge against her and is optimistic she will exonerated.

Stewart, who has maintained silence through her federal court trial in Manhattan, posted her remarks on her www. marthatalks.com Web site.

“As my trial nears its conclusion, I am hopeful and optimistic that I will be exonerated and able once again to devote my full attention to developing and promoting the creative home keeping ideas that so many loyal customers and supporters have come to rely on for inspiration in their own kitchens, gardens and craft rooms,” she said.

“I’m pleased that the judge has dismissed the most serious of the charges against me, concluding that there is no evidence to support it.”

The Westport Assessor’s office today released an updated version of the “model” being used to determine values in the 2003 property assessment.

The document contains technical changes to the version released earlier this week, according to Deputy Assessor Kevin Murowsky.

He said they include adding a breakdown of “style” variations that the assessors use in making their assessment.

The three-page schedule, available here as a PDF document, essentially is a roadmap that appraisers use in making judgments about properties, taking into account such variables as age, location, and property features.

Murowsky said he anticipated a revised 2003 property assessment list to be completed over the weekend.

It will reflect changes made as a result of interviews with residents as well as a spot review of whole streets and neighborhoods around town, according to First Selectwoman Diane Goss Farrell.

The federal judge overseeing the trial of Westports Martha Stewart today dropped one of the most serious charges against her—securities fraud.

The action came after media organizations reported that proposed instructions to the jury that the judge shared with lawyers Thursday night still contained the charge, according to a person briefed on the draft document.

Jury deliberations will begin next week on the remaining charges against Stewart and her former stockbroker, Peter Bacanovic.

Judge Miriam Goldman Cedarbaum had made clear she had doubts about the validity of the charge, which carried a possible 10-year prison term.

The charges Cedarbaum left intact against Stewart included conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and two counts of lying to investigators.

Each count carries a possible maximum prison term of five years.

Media organizations covering the trial of Westport’s Martha Stewart today asked the judge overseeing the trial to release the names of the jurors in the case when they deliver their verdict.

A federal appeals court has ruled U.S. District Judge Miriam Goldman Cedarbaum was wrong to bar reporters and the public from watching jury selection last month.

Cedarbaum has not indicated whether she will release the names.

But a letter to the judge from 17 media outlets said jurors’ names are routinely released after trials - and that interviews of former jurors benefit the judicial system.

Westport First Selectwoman Diane Goss Farrell told today’s brown bag lunch she estimates as many as 1,000 notices regarding property assessments might go out next week as a result of a review of the 2003 assessments. But she left unclear how many might indicate changes. “Everyone who raised a question will get a notice,” she said, adding,“They’re not cherry picking—they are looking at whole streets all over town.” She said a revised assessment list will be published identifying properties where assessments have changed. (CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE). WestportNow.com photo

Lawyers for Westport’s Martha Stewart rested their case today without putting her on the stand. They called only one witness during a defense that lasted less than an hour.

Courtroom sources said they expected closing arguments will take place next Monday and Tuesday with the judge charging the jury Wednesday after which it will begin deliberations.

The lone defense witness was Steven Pearl, a lawyer who testified about notes he took during a February 2002 interview in which the government claims Stewart told a series of lies about the day she sold her stock in ImClone Systems.

The session is an important part of the government’s case, and the defense sought to use Pearl’s testimony to raise questions about what Stewart was asked during the questioning - her first interview with investigators.

The “model” used by the firm hired to carry out Westport’s controversial 2003 property assessment has been made available at the office of the town assessor.

“It’s there and anyone can get a copy,” said First Selectwoman Diane Goss Farrell today.

Residents had been pressing Farrell for access to the valuation schedule since a Feb. 3 meeting by the Representative Town Meeting (RTM).

At that meeting, John Ryan, head of J. F. Ryan Associates, the firm which carried out the assessment, told questioners that the model was the key to residents’ property values.

It had been expected but became official today neither Westport’s Martha Stewart nor her co-defendant in their stock fraud trial, broker Peter Bacanovic, will testify in their own defense.

Stewart’s attorney, Robert Morvillo, made the decision about Stewart after it became apparent that Bacanovic would not testify.

With the trial winding down, Morvillo said he intends only to call a couple more witnesses, including, if the judge permits, a memory expert who would testify why Stewart was unable to remember some details of her ImClone stock sale.

Courtroom observers said final prosecution and defense arguments in the trial could begin later in the week or the judge might put them off until next Monday and Tuesday.

Westport and other area air travelers will soon have a new airport choice for commercial jet service—for the first time since 1996, commercial jet service is returning to Tweed-New Haven Airport.

Delta Air Lines announced today that beginning May 27, one of its Delta Connection carriers, Comair, will fly three daily round-trip jet flights between Tweed and Delta’s Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport hub.

Delta Connection will be the first new airline to serve New Haven since United, United Express and Continental Express all pulled out in 1996.

“This is a huge milestone for the city and the region,” Tweed-New Haven Airport Authority Chairman Lawrence DeNardis said.

The South Western Regional Planning Agency (SWRPA) announced today it will host public meetings to receive input for the regions long-range transportation plan covering the 2004-2030 time period.

The meetings will be held March 2 from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and again from 4:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the agency offices, 888 Washington Boulevard Җ 3rd Floor in Stamford.

Comments also may be submitted electronically to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). or mailed to the attention of Sue Prosi, senior transportation planner, at 888 Washington Boulevard 3rd Floor, Stamford, CT 06901.

Information about South Western Region Long Range Transportation Plan is available at SWRPA֒s Web site at: www.swrpa.org.