Richard Penske, a Greenwich gentleman

Written by Christopher vonKeyserling
Thursday, 16 February 2012 00:00

Last month, Roger Penske, not just his monster Mercedes Dealership Corporation, came to Greenwich. In one afternoon, he overrode a corporate policy towards regional dealership and service centers. After a short conference with the impacted neighbors and town officials, he realized that a local scale operation was the appropriate plan for his new complex on the Post Road. In a matter of hours he had changed his application to Planning & Zoning and had it approved.

In direct contrast is the Lexus Service Center proposal on Old Track Road. This poor dealership owner is at the mercy of the Lexus Corporation and its “cookie cutter” requirements for “branded” service centers. He has been caught in a bitter contest between Goliath Lexus and his neighbors, town officials, and the Greenwich Plan of Conservation and Development. Here, there is no individual, human being, or person with which to reason, and no serious, local consequence for corporate obstinacy. Who should take the moral penalty? Certainly not our old neighbor, the Griffin Family who is caught between a “rock and the hard place.” With no moral responsibility there is no real accountability for the corporate actions.

A winter stay-cation

Written by Lizzy Trotta
Thursday, 16 February 2012 00:00

As February break comes closer and closer, everyone begins to hear about the exotic and warm places their friends will be traveling to — like the Bahamas, Los Cabos and Florida. But what is a poor soul to do if the farthest their vacation plan takes them is to the mailbox?

Well, maybe Greenwich isn’t the most exciting place to spend February break, but it’s certainly not terrible. Although it’s not as warm as say the Bahamas, it does have a couple of hidden gems to enjoy during those few, precious days off from school.

Now everyone who plans on vacationing in the warmer areas of the world are almost inevitably going to spend some time at the beach — and I dare to ask why can’t we do that too?

No need to look old no matter what age

Written by Joe Pisani
Thursday, 16 February 2012 00:00

For the first time in my life, I went to a dermatologist. Next week, I’ll be bungee jumping.

I always thought the dermatologist was a doctor for celebrities, vain women and kids with pimple problems. My wife and daughters go more often than I change my car oil.

Growing up in Pine Rock Park, we were too poor for dermatologists, so my mother bought me a tube of Clearasil to treat my zit collection. Actually, she bought a case of Clearasil that lasted well into my 30s, and there still are some half-empty tubes in the medicine cabinet.

At this stage in life, going to the dermatologist was like bringing my car in for a 25,000-mile checkup at 125,000 miles and getting a new paint job.

Valentine’s Day

Written by Victoria Baker
Thursday, 09 February 2012 15:59

The most popular way to celebrate Valentine's Day is with a fancy dinner... you dress up a little, you order a fine wine and a few delicious morsels later romance is in the air! So here are some of my personal recommendations for an unforgettable Valentine's dinner.

We can all be doctors now

Written by Joe Pisani
Thursday, 09 February 2012 00:00

The Koreans, who gave us Hyundai, Samsung and the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, are on the verge of a major technological breakthrough that will let your smartphone diagnose your illnesses. It will save you a fortune in doctor bills but probably run up your cell-phone bill worse than your teenage daughter.

Scientists at Korea Advanced Institute of Science of Technology are exploring how touch-screen technology can perform medical tests, possibly even diagnosing cancer, by detecting bio-molecular matter and electronic charges in your body. I’m not clear how it works, but I suspect it’s similar to technology the IRS uses to determine whether you’ll get audited.

This is an exciting development for us hypochondriacs, who are prone to rare diseases since the invention of the Internet and WebMD.

Newfound pride and subsequent shame

Written by Katie Ellison
Thursday, 09 February 2012 00:00

The Super Bowl is considered to be one of the most important (if not the most important) sporting events of the year. According to the Huffington Post, 111 million viewers tuned in to last year’s Packers-Steelers game to enjoy an evening of food, family and football.

This year’s New York Giants versus the New England Patriots line-up created a delicate situation in town this past week. The fact that our town is technically part of New England, but we are so close to New York, makes the rivalry lines slightly more blurred in Greenwich than they might have been had this year been a game with the Ravens and the Niners. You can’t just assume that everyone who lives in our area roots for one team or the other. This made for an awkward situation going to school last Friday — Convent of the Sacred Heart’s Giants Day, particularly as my family is devoted to the Patriots.

The five biggest lies about highway tolls

Written by Jim Cameron
Thursday, 09 February 2012 00:00

Like it or not, get ready to pay tolls on our interstates and parkways. Transportation officials in Hartford say there’s just no other way to raise badly needed money for overdue infrastructure repairs. Tolls may not be popular, but neither are collapsing bridges.

In the last decade’s debate on highway tolling, here are the five biggest lies that opponents have used to stall the return of highway tolls:

The federal government won’t let us, also known as “We’ll have to return millions in federal funding.” Not true, as U.S. Department of Transportation officials told us at a South Western Regional Planning Agency-sponsored meeting in Westport years ago. The federal government regularly allows tolls to be used as traffic mitigation and revenue raising tools.

Mythopoeia of undergrounding wires

Written by Sean Goldrick
Thursday, 09 February 2012 00:00

As the saying goes, each is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts. Yet when it comes to putting electric wires underground, “undergrounding,” in industry parlance, the facts are difficult to pin down.

At a Greenwich public hearing last year, representatives from CL&P asserted that it would cost $3.3 million per mile to underground electric wires in Greenwich. I followed up with CL&P engineer John Siclari who stated that the $3.3 million figure is based on a “blended average” of estimates. Tom Dorsey, CL&P manager for government relations, admitted that the figure is not based on an estimate for Greenwich, or for Connecticut, but comes from estimates in other states. Dorsey pointed to a 2009 study by the utilities industry-funded Edison Electric Institute which put the cost of undergrounding overhead wires at a maximum of $2.1 million per mile. Dorsey contends that undergrounding in Greenwich could cost more due to the town’s being “filled with rock ledge.” Yet CL&P has yet to perform an estimate for Greenwich or this region.

French Cinema

Written by Victoria Baker
Thursday, 02 February 2012 11:41

The annual Focus on French Cinema Festival is just around the corner and with the advent of Spielberg's new film "The Adventures of Tintin" based on the French comic books, French storylines are suddenly in vogue. This year the 8th Annual Festival will occur on March 23-25 at the Performing Arts Center of Purchase College. For more information log onto Focusonfrenchcinema.org. There is an enormous amount of talent and preparation that goes into organizing this festival and attendees are never disappointed.

Let the games begin!

Written by Curren Iyer
Thursday, 02 February 2012 00:00

With the beginning of the new year, Brunswick immediately plunged its students into preparation for one of the less memorable events of the year: Midterms. Once school reopened after winter break we had two weeks to review material, from the fading summer days of early September, up until that seemingly far away week before break. Exams were conveniently placed the week following Martin Luther King Jr. Day, allowing us to cherish Dr. King’s work even more by giving us an extra day of studying before we immersed ourselves in this fun-filled week. Then, as we emerged from these trials, battle-weary and worn, we believed it was all over. Little did we juniors know it was just the beginning...