September 6, 2019 by Greenwich Sentinel

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FRIDAY, September 6, 2019

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Crowd Cheers Siri as She Leads Vikings to Victory

S Greenwich High School Teacher Ian Tiedemann will receive the Council for Economic Education (C E E)’s 2 019 A l f r e d P. S lo a n Fou nd at ion Te a c h i n g C h a m p i o n Aw a r d , r e c o g n i z i n g excellence in economic education. Tiedemann’s awa rd comes w it h a schola rship to at tend C E E ’s 5 8 t h A n n u a l Financial Literacy and Economic Conference in Los A ngeles, a nd $2,500 for Greenwich High School to support economic and financial e duc at ion . For more o n t h i s s t o r y, g o t o greenwichsentinel.com S The Greenwich Police Department continues to investigate the murder of 13-year-old Mattew Ma rgol ie s , who went fishing on Aug. 31, 1984 and never returned home. His body was fou nd on a hillside on Sept. 5, 1984. If anyone has any information on this case, please contact the Greenwich Police Tip line at 203-622-3333 or toll free at 800-372-1176. Tips may also be emailed to tips@ greenwichct.org S Wes Hay nes, Executive Director of t he Mer r it t Pa rk w ay Conservancy, spoke in front of the Retired Men’s Association of Greenwich on Wed ne sd ay about the story of the origin, construction, and effect of the historic parkway that changed the design of American roads and life in Fairfield County, the challenges it faces, and what is being done to ensure its future as a safe and beautiful drive. For more on this story, be sure to check out next week’s Greenwich Sentinel. S T he Glenv i l le Fire Department will hold a 9/11 memorial ceremony on Wed nesday at t he Glenv i l le Fire House, beginning at 7 p.m. A ceremony will also be held at Cos Cob Park at 5 p.m.

Monterosso Vikings' led by Siri Bazzoni (center above) won the second public match of the 2019 East Coast Open against new team Christophe Landon' Los Violines. Played in front of a sold-out venue with close to 4,000 fans, Monterosso Vikings finished with an 11-10 score, securing the last spot for the Semi-Finals. The Most Valuable Player was awarded to Los Violines' Pedrinho Zacharias, and the Best Playing Pony blanket was awarded to Don Ercole "Navideña" played by Bartolome (Barto) Castagnola of Monterosso Vikings team. Barto is already rated 7 handicap at just 18 years old, as the son of a successful 10-goaler player from Argentina there are great expectations for his career, but he seems to be fulfilling those expectations with ease. Coming up, the season's Grand Finale will be held Sunday, September 8th, the final match of the East Coast Open.

August Home Sales Report By Mark Pruner

We had 63 si ng le fa mi ly homes sales in August 2019 in Greenwich. This is 2 more sales than we had last year and just 1 less than our ten-year average. We a l s o h ave 83 c ont r a c t s waiting to close which is 22 or a third more than we had last year at this time. Both are indicative of our strengthening market. Earlier in the year sales and

contracts were not good and there was some real worry about whether Greenwich real estate was going through a paradigm shift that meant we were just going to have a slower market in the new federal tax regime with non-deductible state and local taxes. It may be possible that we are seeing a sales slowdown, but the last two months we have started to pick up ground on last year and on our historical averages. Just as in this month, our contracts were up in July poi nt i ng to t he bet ter sa les month that we had in August. Wit h a hig her nu mber of contracts, we are very likely to see a better month in September 2019 than we saw in September last year. However, it’s not like the last two months were stellar, they were just average. Average

looks pretty good compared to bad and we’ve had two months of average, so things are looking up. It ’s n o t o n l y s a l e s t h a t are back to average, but also inventory. Above $2 million we are basically the same as last year, except for $5 -6.5 million where we are down from 51 listings to 43 listings this year. Below $2 million we have a mixed bag. We have more inventory from $600K – 800K and from $1.5M – 2.0M, but less inventory from $800K - $1.5M. These changes in both directions are not small. From $1.5M – 2.0 million we are up 19 listings and from $800K - $1.5M we down the same 19 listings. When you add it all up, our inventory at 585 listings is only 3 more than last year or not even 1% different.

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First Selectman Peter Tesei on ‘the Treasure of the Bruce’ By Anne W. Semmes First Selectman Peter J. Tesei has presided over the Town of Greenwich, its governing, its 62,000 residents, and its special partnership with of the Bruce Museum and its collection for the past 12 years. As a fifth generation resident, Tesei has deep roots in Greenwich – he knows the historic imprint that generous indiv idua ls have had on t he Tow n. “It was Rober t Br uce who lef t his ma nsion to t he Town,” he tells, “Also, Robert Bruce and his sister built the old Town Hall, on Greenwich Avenue, which now houses the Greenwich Arts Council and other nonprofit groups.” Looking back on that Gilded A g e , Te s e i s e e s h o w “ v e r y successful af f luent residents making gifts to the Town were transforming it from a more rural, agricultural community to a subu rba n com mu n it y.” To d ay, h e c it e s W i l l i a m L . Richter, with his $15 million donation to the soon-to-be New Bruce, as a “twenty-first century Robert Bruce.” It was Tesei who introduced Richter to the Bruce Museum a nd to Peter C . Sut ton, t he long time Executive Director now ser v ing as Director Emeritus. “In this role as the Town's chief elected official,” Tesei says, “you have to be a

champion for all of its people and for its institutions.” So, when the call came from resident Richter, with his desire to gift the Town, Tesei saw a “natura l sy nerg y in t iming” with the expansion plans of the Bruce. T he Br uce receives some 10 to 15 percent of its annual budget from the Town. Tesei lists the Town’s contributions for the fiscal year 2019-2020 as $875,000 for ongoing operations and $824,000 for capital improvements to the existing Museum building.” “The expansion of the Bruce with its exquisite c o l l e c t i o n ,” s ay s Te s e i , “ i s further reinforcing Greenwich as a world-class communit y, a global destination. Being in close proximity to our Harbor a nd Dow ntow n, a nd located within Bruce Park and near to Roger Sherman Baldwin Park, which has become t he event venue for our town, the New

Bruce is an attraction that will spur cultural enrichment and economic activity.” “The proposed design lends itself to the topography of the site. It incorporates the natural elements and provides natural light into the building. There's a cer tain elegance to it, and it's inviting because it has this public space that you can come into, where we can say ‘let's go look at this wonderful program or exhibition and then let's go have a cup of coffee.’” “It's ver y beneficial as we look to attract people to our Town that this amenity is here for our children – not ever y child has the opportunity to go into New York to the wonderful institutions that are there. And this treasure of the Bruce affords them that ability through their schools or through their parents being able to take them because it's very accessible.” Te s e i s e e s t h e B r u c e Museu m a s prov id i ng , “a unique and special way to support this cultural enrichment. So, Bi l l R ichter has really set the standard that others, I believe, are going to fol low bec au se t hey see t he same value that this Museum has for the broader community. It's really a tremendous legacy for those who have the ability to contribute to make the New Bruce a reality.”

Excerpts from The Waterwheel

Nature “Right-Sizes” Us ILLUSTRATED BY WAJIH CHAUDHRY

S G ov. Ne d L a mont announced earlier t his week t hat he has signed a n executive order st reng t heni ng Connecticut’s ongoing ef for ts to combat t he effects of climate change. The order expands the responsibilities of the Governor’s Council on Climate Change (GC3); increases membership of the GC3; and directs DEEP to evaluate pathways to transition to 100 percent clean energy grid by 2040.

BY MARCELO BIANCHI

S Sgt. Debora Vesciglio of the Greenwich Police Department has retired after 33 years of service to the Town. Before coming to work for the Greenwich Pol ice Depa r t ment , Vesciglio was a teacher in the Stamford Catholic Regional School system a nd a coach at New Canaan High School. The Department hopes to see Vesciglio remain involved with the Department as a Special Police Officer.

By Jill S. Woolworth, LMFT Indoor spaces can make us forget our true size. We can swell to larger-than-life with a recent accomplishment or shrink to insignificance with a disappointment. When we are indoors, our appearance and our performance are often evaluated, either by ourselves or by others. It is easy to feel too big or too small. Walking in the woods, in the mountains, on a beach, or even around the block restores us to our true size. Nature does not evaluate us. There is no need to look a certain way or to do more than put one foot in front of the other. Being in nature causes blood to flow away from the parts of our brain that brood over things we cannot change. Solitude, silence, and slowing our pace can restore a sense of wellbeing. Brad shuts down his laptop when it needs to reboot. For the same reason, he takes 10 minutes to walk outside every day at lunchtime. Even in the cityscape where he works, fresh air and the occasional tree remind him that there is life beyond his deadlines, his financial concerns, and the challenges of raising children. Nature reboots his brain. An excerpt from The Waterwheel by local author, Jill Woolworth, available through Amazon. Alternatively, we encourage you to shop locally where it is also available at Diane's Books or Christ Church Books & Gifts.