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The What

The What: This Week in Southwest Connecticut

The What is your look around southwest Connecticut for the week of May 28.

The What: This Week in Southwest Connecticut
Happy unofficial start to summer! (Photo by Kelly Prinz)

Tuesday, May 28

Happy Tuesday! Hope you all had a meaningful Memorial Day weekend. We wanted to take a second and remember all of the amazing men and women who have served our country and share this amazing feature from our partner organization NancyonNorwalk, highlighting a veteran in Norwalk who’s made it his mission to honor all the service members who gave their lives. 

Now that the weather is warming up and we’ve hit the unofficial start of summer, residents and visitors are heading to our region’s many beaches. Southwest Connecticut boasts miles and miles of coastline, and some of the best beaches in our state, including Sherwood Island Park, a state-run beach in Westport. The beaches serve an essential role for our region, as places for relaxation, community, tourism, and more. 

As you make your plans this summer, here’s a look at the latest Beach Grades from Save the Sound, a regional nonprofit focused on environmental action, which rates the water quality along the Sound. The report, released earlier this month, found that 73% of the almost 200 beaches across Connecticut and New York received grades in either the A or B range. 

Read the full article to see how the beaches in your community scored or check out our video featuring the highlights. 

You can also check out some of our previous reporting around water quality in the Long Island Sound including: 

Even though it’s summer, there’s still a lot happening around southwest Connecticut. Let’s see what’s going on this week.

Stamford

The Transportation Committee is hosting a public hearing on Wednesday, May 29 at 7 p.m. where residents can weigh in on the city’s location plans for automated traffic enforcement safety devices. Learn more about how city representatives advocated for these devices particularly in school zones. 

Also this week, the Fiscal Committee will be voting on accepting $337,500 from a developer to be used for a new traffic signal at the corner of Washington and Tresser Boulevard at its meeting on Wednesday, May 29 at 7 p.m.

Other meetings this week include: 

Norwalk

The city is hosting an Enforcement Open House on Thursday, May 30 at 6 p.m. Residents are invited to attend and learn more about how our enforcement process works and how departments work together to address enforcement. The departments in attendance will include Planning and Zoning, Code Enforcement, Police, Fire, Health, and Blight. Attendees can also meet the “new Neighborhood Improvement Team, who will manage blight cases, and help keep Norwalk beautiful.”

Other meetings this week include: 

Fairfield

The Board of Education will meet at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, May 28 and receive an update from the Connecticut State Department of Education regarding the district’s plans to address racial imbalance in its schools. 

Other meetings this week include: 

Greenwich

Residents are invited to the Greenwich Communities Strickland Road Public Forum on Tuesday, May 28 at 6 p.m. Greenwich Communities, the town’s Housing Authority, will present its plans for a proposed development near the Cos Cob train station. In a statement, First Selectman Fred Camillo urgered residents to attend this meeting and come with “an open mind about the proposal. Nothing has been decided or finalized but this is a proposal that can do a lot of good by providing more affordable housing and also help get us out from under the thumb of the [state] 8-30g law.”

On Thursday, May 30, the town will host a Public Hearing on Greenwich Avenue ADA Improvements at 6 p.m. The hearing will include a look at the plans for modifications along Greenwich Avenue that would improve ADA-accessibility. According to the town, the accessibility improvements provide opportunities to incorporate additional landscaping, improved lighting, and safety features. Improvements will include parking, sidewalks, pedestrian ramps, curbs, landscape beds, and lighting. 

Other meetings this week include: 

Darien

The Great Island Advisory Committee will meet on Tuesday, May 28 at 7 p.m. and discuss hiring a consulting firm to develop a master plan for the future of Great Island.  

Other meetings this week include: 

Westport

There will be a joint meeting of the RTM Finance, Public Works, Transit & Parks & Recreation Committees on Thursday, May 30 at 7 p.m., where the committees will review and vote on approving $990,000 for Phase I of the Cross Highway School Zone Corridor Improvements, and on using $265,000 from the American Rescue Plan Act funds for the development of a Parks Master Plan.

Other meetings this week include: 

Please note: All of these agendas and information here are current as of Sunday night. Meeting times and agendas may get adjusted throughout the week.

If you are interested in being a part of our reporting or just want to share your thoughts, please reach out at coastalconnecticuttimes@gmail.com. 

Have a great week,

Kelly Prinz

Founder, Reporter at Coastal Connecticut Times

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