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FRIDAY, June 28, 2019
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A New Path to the Water at Tod's Point
The Briefing Room
By Paul Silverfarb
S The Planning & Zoning C om m ission g ra nted approva l for phase 2 of Greenw ich Countr y D a y S c h o o l ’s c a m p u s expansion. Work at 257 Stanwich Road includes several improvements and additions, such as, t he construction of a new arts quad and more educational space, a performing arts center and kitchen. Work is expected to be completed over the next three years. S According to t he Connecticut Department of Transportation, lanes will be closed for bridge work on I-95 bet ween Exits 3 and 5 on the north and southbound side. The work is scheduled to last until July 26. Work will take place from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. Mondays through Thursdays. No work will take place on Fridays and on weekends. S Greenwich Detectives have been working collaboratively w it h social workers from the Greenwich Department of Human Services to conduct outreach to local residents known to be struggling with drug addiction. The intent of t his program is to steer people toward treatment programs rather than the criminal justice system. The program has been r u nning for over a month and ten people struggling with addiction h a v e b e e n c o nt a c t e d . For more i n for mat ion o n t h i s s t o r y, g o t o greenwichsentinel.com S Earlier this week, Gov. Ned Lamont held a bill signing ceremony at Tribus Beer Company, a locallyowned craft brewery in Milford, to commemorate the enactment of legislation modernizing several of Connecticut’s outdated blue laws to support growth in Connecticut’s booming craft beer industry. Most notably, the measure gives craft breweries the ability to sell more for consumption off-premises. S The Greenwich Public Schools announced its participation in the federally funded Summer Food Ser v ice Progra m (SFSP) to ensure children have access to nutritious me a l s w he n s c ho ol i s not in session. This year, the program is offered at Glenville School and is available to all students attending summer school at Glenville School. For more information, call 203625-7499.
A small and simple solution is going to allow a lot more people to enjoy and have access to the water from Long Island Sound along the Greenwich coastline this summer. Last week, with help from the Greenwich Lions Club, the Town of Greenwich officially rolled out a beach mat at Greenwich Point that will allow residents with disabilities, parents with strollers and beachgoers with carts the ability to travel, sand-free, all the Town of Greenwich First Selectman Peter Tesei cuts the ribbon for the new beach mat at Tod’s Point during a ceremony last week. The Greenwich Lions Club way to the waterline. “It takes a great team,” said donated the mat to the town.
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Eastern’s Budzelek Records in Legendary Studio By Richard Kaufman When Laura Budzelek was studying abroad in the late 1990’s, while attending the University of Connecticut, she once dressed up as John Lennon and The Beatles with her friends to stroll across the Abbey Road crossing. She never thought in her wildest dreams that she'd be back in 2019 recording in the very same studios where John, Paul, George and Ringo made a name for themselves all those years before. Budzelek , who moved to Greenwich from Stamford when she was five years old, became a fan of The Beatles after she was introduced
to them by her music teacher at Eastern Middle School. Bud z elek t he n we nt on to become a musician, as well as a part-time teacher in Greenwich, coincidentally at EMS. Her new single, "Relish the Romance", releases June 28. It was recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London, appropriately on Feb. 14 — Valentine's Day. "I formed a band about a year ago with British musicians. I had checked out the studio last August. I had a tour of the studio and I just felt very strongly about going back and recording a song," said Budzelek, whose musical style is a blend of baroque pop and world music
genres. "I'm a huge classic rock fan. To be there and to be in the essence of where these musical legends have created music was a total honor. I realized my dream." Budzelek added that as a solo musician, she's usually on her own a lot. But she was able to go to her band for input and feedback throughout the recording process. "It felt surreal. To paraphrase The Beatles’ song, ‘I got by with a little help from my friends.’ I had my guys there with me: Pete Anderson on lead guitar, Gabriel Cairnes on bass, and my drummer, Mike Vishnick," Budzelek said. "Relish the Romance" is a song that a lot of people can relate to,
Biker’s Quest to End ALS Eastern Middle School music teach Laura Budzelek and her band pose for a group photo while recording her newest single in Abbey Road Studios.
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S The Town of Greenwich w i l l pr e s e nt f i r e wor k displays at Binney Park and Greenwich Point Park. Both displays are scheduled for Saturday, July 6, with a rain date of Sunday, July 7. The Binney Park display is open to everyone. No Park Pass required. Normal rules for access to Greenwich Point will be in effect.
Greenwich Lions Club secretary A la n G u n z bu r g , who a l s o i s Chairman of the First Selectman’s Advisory Committee for People w ith Disabilities. “We have a good committee. The committee serves at the pleasure of the First Selectma n, who has been a n incredible accessibility champion for the Town. I am remarkably proud of the accomplishment. It takes a handful of people that are committed, find issues and look to solve them.” The vinyl mat, nearly six feet wide, stretches from the f irst
Budzelek added. "The song speaks to people about when you first meet someone and you're not sure if it's going to work out or not. It's about relishing the romance, trusting love and basically just going for it," she said. "I think sometimes people are a bit broken from disappointments with love. This song is basically telling people to savor every moment of it, even the beginning. Trust the idea of true love happening." I n t he br idge of t he s ong ,
Budzelek plays a Fender Rhodes piano, which gives the track a bit of a 1960's tinny feel, which The Beatles perfected. Budzelek will perform at the Ferguson Library in Stamford, on June 28. She hopes to perform a concert in Greenwich in the future. Yo u c a n f i n d " R e l i s h t h e Roma nce" on iTu nes, Spotif y, Google Play, Amazon and www. cdbaby.com, beginning June 28. For more information go to www. laurabudzelek.com.
On June 21, bicycle riders from all over gathered up at Boston College to start the three-day trek from Chestnut Hill, Mass. and ended in Greenwich, as the ALS Tri-State Trek once again hit the pavement to raise money and awareness for ALS research. On Sunday afternoon, the 270-mile bike ride finished in Roger Sherman Baldwin Park, where families and friends greeted tired, but motivated bicycle riders. Once again, Greenwich was well represented in the Trek, as bikers from Team Niblock, a team riding for Greenwich Country Day School’s Andrew Niblock, who is currently battling ALS; and Team Greenwich, a group riding for several ALS patients including Greenwich Police Department’s Sgt. Roger Petrone, who passed away from ALS back in 2014 took to the road for the ride from through the streets of Massachusetts and Connecticut. As of press time, this year’s ALS Tri-State Trek has raised $729,265 for ALS research at the ALS Therapy Development Institute. Since the beginning of the ALS Tri-State Trek back in 2003, the ride has raised over $8 million in an attempt to one day find a cure.
BOE Member Rabin Running for Selectmen By Richard Kaufman Current Board of Education member, Lauren Rabin, is the latest candidate to throw her hat into the ring for a selectman position on the Greenwich Board of Selectmen. "This has been something that I thought about for quite some time as a future aspiration," Rabin said earlier this week Rabin, a Republican, is a vice president of integrated marketing for Gartner Inc., in Stamford, Conn. Before being elected to the BOE in 2015, Rabin served as a
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member of the Representative Town Meeting in District 9 for four years, and was also on the town's Board of Social Services from 2012 to 2015. She has served on numerous BOE committees. Rabin believes her experience in the workplace and in town government would help her excel in the position if elected. " I fe el one of t he role s of selectman is to nominate people for boards and commissions. Having served on some of them, I have a sense of what we're looking for," Rabin added, noting that she'd like to take that a step further. "Since
so many of our town employees are managed by independent boards and commissions, what I feel I can try to accomplish is taking a look at best practices that any specific board or commission might be utilizing and try to share that more broadly across other boards and commissions." A Greenwich resident since the age of nine, Rabin attended the public school system (Cos Cob School, Centra l Ju n ior High and Greenwich High) and raised her family here with her connection to Greenwich would husband, David, who is the CEO serve her well, she said. of Greenwich United Way. Rabin’s "I also think because of
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my ex p er ience , a not her role of selectman is to k ind of be an ombudsman to the rest of government and community," she added. "I feel like I can really bring a lot of pieces together to make things more connected." Rabin said that in the future, the town will have to f ind the right balance between the school district’s Capital Improvement Plan and other needs in town, such as the need for open field space, improving recreational facilities and community centers. "I think we're all in agreement
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