Morning Weather Report
Today
Showers likely, mainly between 9am and 3pm. Areas of fog before 3pm. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a high near 69. East wind 6 to 9 mph becoming southwest in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.
Tonight
Partly cloudy, with a low around 47. West wind 8 to 10 mph.
Tomorrow
Partly sunny, with a high near 61. West wind 9 to 13 mph.
Tomorrow Night
Mostly cloudy, with a low around 41. West wind 8 to 10 mph.
Finalists Announced for TEAM Westport Teen Diversity Essay Contest; Ceremony this Tuesday
Press ReleaseThe three finalists for the 2023 TEAM Westport Teen Diversity Essay Contest have been announced by TEAM Westport in partnership with the Westport Library. The public is invited to the Essay Awards Ceremony at the Westport Library on Tuesday, April 18, 2023 at 6 pm. Registration for in-person or livestreamed attendance may be made via this link.
This is the 10th consecutive year the Contest has been conducted. It is open to any students (Grades 9-12) attending a school located in Westport or any students (Grades 9-12) who live in Westport but attend schools elsewhere. An award of $1,000, $750 or $500 will be made for placement of 1st, 2nd, or 3rd, respectively. This year’s finalists are Savvy Dreas (Greens Farms Academy Junior), Tyler Darden (Staples High School Senior), and Annie Dizon (Greens Farms Academy Senior). The public is invited to attend the ceremony to hear the essays and celebrate the finalists' contributions.
The 2023 Essay Charge is “The Dialogue Challenge: Effective Engagement on Race, Ethnicity, Religion and LGBTQIA+. In 1,000 words or less, reflect on your own interactions with people who have different racial, ethnic, religious, and/or LGBTQIA+ identities and/or perspectives. What kinds of conversations were particularly helpful in prompting you to rethink your beliefs or opinions, perhaps causing you to change your mind or enabling you to better understand others’ points of view? Based on these experiences, what specific actions would you suggest that individuals, schools, and/or town entities in Westport take to promote good-faith dialogue, reduce bias, and foster understanding?
Team Westport’s mission is to make Westport a more welcoming community with regard to race, religion, ethnicity, and LGBTQIA+. In order to achieve its mission, one of TEAM Westport’s goals has been to promote opportunities for people to come together in dialogue to better understand each other’s experiences, decrease bias, and learn what we have in common. Meaningful dialogue depends on a good faith effort to set aside preconceived beliefs or what we think we know about other people. www.westportct.gov/teamwestport
Morning Weather Report
Today
A 20 percent chance of showers before 11am. Areas of fog before 11am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a high near 65. Calm wind becoming east 5 to 7 mph in the afternoon.
Tonight
A 50 percent chance of showers after 2am. Areas of fog after 2am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a low around 51. East wind around 8 mph.
Tomorrow
Showers likely, mainly between 8am and 2pm. Areas of fog before 8am. Otherwise, cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with a high near 64. East wind around 10 mph becoming south in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.
Tomorrow Night
A 30 percent chance of showers before 8pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 46. Southwest wind around 9 mph.
Wheels2U Shuttle Looks for Support as Budget Cut Looms Near
Press ReleaseWestport is in danger of losing the Wheels2U shuttle yet again.
In what has become an annual rite of Spring, the Board of Finance voted at its March meeting to eliminate all funding for Wheels2U, the Westport Transit District’s door-to-train station on-demand commuter shuttle. This will effectively shut down the service as of June 30, 2023. (Note: The door to door service for the elderly and persons with disabilities will not be affected.)
We need your help to keep the shuttle alive!
The Transit Committee and the Finance Committee of Westport’s Representative Town Meeting (RTM) are meeting on April 17th and April 26th, respectively, to make recommendations to the full RTM regarding the budget for Wheels2U and the full RTM is meeting May 1st to vote on restoring funding to keep the shuttle running for another year.
Please send an email to the RTM (RTM-DL@Westportct.gov) between now and the end of April urging the RTM to restore the budget and keep the shuttle alive. All emails sent to this address will also go to the members of the RTM Transit and Finance Committees.
Wheels2U provided over 21,100 rides to and from Westport’s two train stations to more than 1,170 people since the start of the current fiscal year on July 1, 2022, with over 2,780 rides to and from Westport’s train stations in March alone.
Wheels2U supports Westport residents and businesses and aids economic development by providing a cost-effective and environmentally-friendly way for Westport commuters, reverse commuters, and others to link their homes, their employers, and downtown to the train stations. By sharing your stories of how useful the service has been to you we can help to save the shuttle service.
It takes a vote of 70% of the RTM members present and voting at a meeting to override the Board of Finance and restore the funding for Wheels2U, and every bit of support matters.
Information about Wheels2U, its cost, the benefits it currently provides to riders and the town as a whole, and what it could become if it’s allowed to continue and grow, can be found by clicking this link.
Thank you for your support!
Peter Gold,
Director, Westport Transit District