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Soundkeeper Sails to Big Win in Court Case

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WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. - Connecticut Soundkeeper Terry Backer was thrilled that the New York Supreme Court found that the state Department of Environmental Conservation's was too lenient in its management of stormwater runoff into Long Island Sound.

"This is a big win," Backer said. "Stormwater runoff is one of the critical and serious problems facing both the Sound and other area waterways."

The court ruled that the department was too lax in its certification and must "issue revisions" consistent with the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, also known as the Clean Water ...

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Neighbors

Exhibits Highlight Weekend in Westport

By Vanessa Inzitari

WESTPORT, Conn. – Wondering what to do this weekend? Here’s a look at some of the many events happening in Westport over the next two days:

Saturday, Jan. 28

▪ 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.: Check out “Toy Stories,” the newest exhibit at the Westport Arts Center, 51 Riverside Ave. The exhibit, which explores how we relate to toys and the memories and connections we have to them, features 30 artists who work with toys in a range of media. The exhibit runs through March 18.

▪ 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.: Celebrate winter at Earthplace, Westport’s nature discovery ...

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News

Cops: Ex-Westport Employee Stole From Work

By Vanessa Inzitari

WESTPORT, Conn. – A Bridgeport woman who worked in a downtown Westport shop was arrested Tuesday on a warrant charging her with theft, police said.

Ashley Butler, a former employee at Solstice Sunglass Boutique on Main Street, is accused of making fraudulent returns. Between September and October of last year, Butler, 24, allegedly credited an excess of $5,304.99 in fake returns to her debit card, police said.

The company's loss prevention manager noticed there was an excessive amount of returns being made at the store in November, police said.

Butler was ...

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Sports

Staples Girls Suffer 3rd Straight Loss

By Tom Renner 1 hour ago

WESTPORT, Conn. – Fairfield Warde basketball coach Dave Danko focused on defending Staples’ dynamic tandem of Jess Coelho and Erica Stein during Friday’s important Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference game. The Mustangs did, and the Wreckers struggled to find offensive answers.

The Mustangs won their fifth straight game with a 52-40 home victory over Staples, which has lost three straight. Both teams are now tied at 7-5 in the conference. Warde is 9-5 overall, while Staples slipped to 8-6.

Stein came into the game averaging 15.6, and Coelho averaged ...

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News

Seized Easton Horses Doing Well Under State Care

By Erin Lynch 8 hours ago

EASTON, Conn. – The five horses seized from Pee Wee Horse Farm in an animal cruelty investigation are thriving in their new home in a Niantic facility, said Ray Connors, the supervisor for the state Animal Control Division.

The owner of Pee Wee Horse Farm, Apollonio “Paul” Vittorio, was arrested Thursday by the Easton Police Department and charged with six counts of animal cruelty in a state arrest warrant.

The charges stem from an ongoing investigation by state animal control officers, who say they received several complaints about the condition of the ...

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Sports

High School Boys Ice Hockey Standings

By Eric Gendron 10 hours ago

Fairfield County Interscholastic Conference Boys Ice Hockey Standings - Through Jan. 26

East Division Conference Record Overall Record

Ridgefield 5-0 10-1

Darien ...

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Neighbors

Westport Cycling Studio Teams Up To Fight Cancer

By Vanessa Inzitari 10 hours ago

WESTPORT, Conn. – Attention spinning enthusiasts: Do what you love and help fight breast cancer this March. Westport's JoyRide Cycling Studio is organizing a team to participate in SpinOdyssey 2012, an indoor cycling fundraiser that raises funds for breast cancer research.

The JoyRide team will be led by studio co-owner and lead instructor Rhodie Lorenz, a Westport resident who's participated in SpinOdyssey for the past six years.

"SpinOdyssey is one of my favorite events of the year," Lorenz said in a statement. "It combines the amazing group energy of an indoor ...

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News

Shelter Struggles to Fit All the Homeless

By Nancy Guenther Chapman 01/27/12

NORWALK, Conn. – Updated, 11:12 a.m., Jan. 27. Bill Okwuosa left work to head home Thursday, his heart hardened and prepared to do the worst – or so he thought.

The director of Norwalk's Open Door Shelter had decided to turn people away because of overcrowding. But he couldn't do it.

"I just got in the car to leave and come home, and I'm noticing there's quite a few people outside the shelter that can't get in because we are beyond our capacity. And I told you I was going to stop letting them come in," Okwuosa said in a voicemail. "I can't do it. I ...

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News

Lawmakers Hedge Bets on Online Gambling

By Richard Weizel 01/27/12

FAIRFIELD COUNTY, Conn. – Gov. Dannel P. Malloy is betting that online gambling “is inevitable” in Connecticut and would raise significant revenue for state coffers. But Republican state legislators are wagering against him.

“It is clear online gambling will become a reality, given the federal decision, and now (we) must decide how to address it,” Malloy said during a news conference in Hartford earlier this month.

The online gambling debate was fueled after the U.S. Department of Justice released a legal opinion several weeks ago that New York and Illinois ...

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News

Spanish Report: Murder Suspect Hanged Himself

By Vanessa Inzitari 01/26/12

WESTPORT, Conn. – A Barcelona-based newspaper reports that Andrew Robert Levene, the suspect in the Dec. 8 murder of Westport jeweler Yekutiel Zeevi, hanged himself in his prison cell with clothing.

The Associated Press reports a statement from the U.S. Embassy in Madrid said American officials were notified of Levene's death Thursday but did not say how he died. The statement said Spanish authorities were investigating his death.

La Vanguardia, a Spanish-language newspaper headquartered in Barcelona, reports that Levene, 41, was found dead in his cell at Barcelona's ...

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Community Calendar

8:30 am

Westport Transit District Board
10:00 am

AKASHA, An Exhibit by Mixed Media Painter Kare ...
11:00 am - 11:30 am

Friday Fun Films
11:00 am - 4:00 pm

Westport River Gallery Exhibit
4:00 pm

Coaches vs. Cancer Basketball Games
6:00 pm

Wilton Y Wahoos Winter Invitational

See All Events

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News

Easton Horse Owner Faces Criminal Charges

By Erin Lynch 01/26/12

EASTON, Conn. – The owner of Pee Wee Horse Farm in Easton was arrested on multiple counts of animal cruelty Thursday morning. The arrest followed an investigation in which state Animal Control officers seized five horses, police said.

Apollonio “Paul” Vittorio, 75, turned himself in to Easton Police minutes before 11 a.m. Thursday after police notified him that the state had issued an active warrant for his arrest, according to Chief James Candee. Vittorio was released on a written promise to appear in court.

The charges stem from an ongoing investigation by state ...

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Neighbors

Westport Church Selects New Pastor

By Vanessa Inzitari 01/26/12

WESTPORT, Conn. – Saugatuck Congregational Church will soon be led by a new face. This past Sunday, the congregation appointed the Rev. Alison Buttrick Patton as its newest pastor, the church announced Wednesday.

Patton begins her ministry May 1, succeeding the Rev. Howie Toback, who's served as interim pastor since May 2010.

The native New Englander is currently an associate minister at First Church Simsbury, a position she's held since 2007. Before that, she was dean of community life and director of admissions and recruitment at Chicago Theological Seminary. She also ...

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