Good morning, Westport.

Veteran journalist John Palmer is the new editor of the Westport Journal—he has deep local ties and plans to cover community issues with clear reporting.

Local Westporters Eleish and Van Breems opened their flagship home furnishings store on March 18 at 177 Main St.—the restored 1790 building once housed the pink Remarkable Book Shop that closed three decades ago.

Over 25 musicians will play at JazzFest on April 24 at Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 399 to raise funds for JazzFC community programs in Fairfield County — the event will start at 6 p.m. and will include a New Orleans-style dinner and a silent auction.

Staples High School juniors Zander Bauer and Elijah Falkenstein founded the local Make Our Schools Safe chapter after learning about the Marjory Stoneman Douglas tragedy—last month they testified via Zoom on a state legislative hearing and now plan to donate seven Stop the Bleed kits to Westport’s middle and elementary schools. Their work builds on teachers’ training and fundraising efforts to improve school safety for all students.

On Monday, the Board of Finance unanimously approved a $150.4 million operating budget for Westport public schools for 2025-26 in a meeting that lasted half an hour.

Board members warned that future education budgets with similar spending increases will face tougher scrutiny due to uncertain state and federal funding — public school spending now makes up about 63% of total town expenditures.

The Planning and Zoning Commission met Monday night for a 4.5-hour Zoom review of the Hamlet at Saugatuck development, discussing traffic and parking issues around 11 proposed buildings and 258 underground parking spaces.

Officials will hold a public hearing on March 31 as residents and town boards remain divided over plans to remove free on-street parking — a move many fear will worsen local congestion.

State researchers at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station released findings on Monday from their 2024 tick surveillance program that collected over 4,000 ticks at 40 public locations throughout eight counties.

The report showed that deer ticks were most common—lone star and longhorn ticks were also found in Fairfield, New London, Middlesex, and New Haven counties, and officials advise residents to check for ticks after outdoor activities.

A Sacred Heart University study shows over 76% of survey respondents say sports gambling is becoming more acceptable—many aged 18 to 54 favor it while some worry it could lead to corruption and match-fixing.

More than half also say betting makes sports more engaging.

Gang of Four Book Talk with Jon King

6:30-8:00 p.m. — The Westport Library — $30 — Explore Jon King's memoir and hear stories from the iconic British band Gang of Four.