Aerial view

Potential Buyer of Most of Thorndal Circle Office Park Proposes Building 175 Homes There

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Most of the office park at Thorndal Circle is close to being sold to TC Northeast Metro Development Inc., which is proposing to demolish five office buildings and construct five residential buildings with 175 homes, according to filings with the Darien Planning and Zoning Department. The proposal will be the subject of a public hearing by the town Environmental Review Commission at 7 p.m., today, Wednesday, May 22 in Darien Town Hall, Room 119. If approved and built, the 11-acre development will be one of the biggest in town, comparable to the Corbin District downtown as well as Darien Commons and Heights Crossing in Noroton Heights. Cushman & Wakefield Capital Markets, a large commercial real estate firm that represents the owners, says on its website that the Thorndal Circle property is “under contract,” a real estate term meaning “the seller has accepted an offer, but there are still conditions to clear before closing,” according to Opendoor, a San Francisco-based real estate company. Although the reasons for the buyer to have conditions before actually acquiring the property are unclear, the decisions town land use boards make on whether to approve the project and under what conditions could potentially make the buyer cancel the deal, likely putting the property back on the market.

Darien Memorial Day 2024
Robert H. Patton

Memorial Day Speaker Announced: Robert Patton, Son of a Major General, Grandson of WWII General George S. Patton

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Darien’s Memorial Day keynote speaker this year will be author Robert H. Patton, grandson of General George S. Patton Jr., of World War II fame, and son of Major Gen. George S. Patton IV. The Darien Monuments and Ceremonies Commission, which organizes the Memorial Day parade and observances, announced Patton’s role as keynote speaker. Patton will deliver the keynote address at 11:30 a.m., Monday, May 27 during the town’s Memorial Day observance in Spring Grove Veterans Cemetery. The observance will take place right after the Memorial Day Parade. If the weather doesn’t cooperate, it will be held in the Community Room of Darien Library.

Public Safety

Police: Man Acts Belligerent with Supermarket Customers, Walks Out With Beer Without Paying

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A 37-year-old New Haven man became disruptive with other customers immediately after entering Palmer’s Market, and he was even attempting to start fights with some of them, Darien police were told. Police gave this account of the incident, including accusations not proven in court:

The incident happened shortly before 6 p.m. (when police went to the Heights Road supermarket) on Saturday, May 11. The man walked out of the store with a 12-pack of beer without paying, police were told. Police found the man on Hollow Tree Ridge Road, carrying the beer. The man told police he was drunk and needed some beer.

Public Safety
Police

Shoplifting Cases: Sunglasses Worth $300 from Warby Parker, Bagful of Merchandise from Walgreens

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Shoplifters hit two Darien stores recently, apparently walking out with three pairs of sunglasses from one and a bag of merchandise containing what appeared to be cold medicine from another. The first incident happened at the Warby Parker store at Darien Commons in Noroton Heights. The manager said a female entered the store at 5:40 p.m. on Wednesday, May 8 and was seen selecting various sunglasses throughout the store. She left the store without buying anything. Employees checked the shelves and discovered that three pairs of sunglasses were missing.

Public Safety
Police Darien Police 02-01-17

Police: Woman Yells and Throws Cups in Chipotle Restaurant

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When a 29-year-old woman who was picking up a delivery at Chipotle restaurant on the Post Road asked an employee for a cup, she was told she would have to pay for it; she not only refused but began yelling at the employee, police said. Darien police gave this further account of what happened, including accusations not proven in court:

Police were called to the restaurant at 71 Post Road shortly before 12:37 p.m. on Wednesday, May 8. The employee told police that the woman, a Stamford resident, argued, got upset and came around the counter, then started yelling at the female employee. A witness told policee that the woman began throwing cups as she was yelling. Police reviewed surveillance video recordings and confirmed that the woman did go behind the counter, yelled and threw cups.

Public Safety

Police Chief on Wednesday Jewelry Store Burglary: ‘We’re on Our Way to Successfully Wrapping Up That Case’

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UPDATE, 9:25 p.m.:

Prospects are good for “successfully wrapping up” the investigation into Wednesday’s burglary of a downtown jewelry store, Police Chief Jeremiah Marron Jr. told the Police Commission on Thursday. “So, detectives have a good start with this investigation, and through networking and information that we already had, I think, we’re on our way to successfully wrapping up that case, even though it just started,” Marron said. Four masked thieves broke through a glass door at David Harvey Jewelers sometime before 4:32 a.m., Wednesday, a police announcement said. When they left with their loot, jewelry was scattered on the store floor and outside, on the sidewalk, police said. Police are hoping to “develop a little bit more information from the public,” he said.

Darien Phone Scams 2024
Gabriella Rodrigues mug shot

Police: Theft of $45,000 in a Phone Scam Results in Arrest of 29-Year-Old Florida Woman

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A 29-year-old Fort Lauderdale, Florida woman scammed $45,000 out of a Darien woman by pretending to be an employee with the victim’s bank, Darien police said. The Florida woman turned herself in at Darien Police Headquarters Friday, May 10, in response to an arrest warrant charging her with first-degree larceny, a felony. Darien police gave this account of the incident and investigation:

On Sept. 29, 2023, the victim told police that she received the call. The woman pretending to be a bank employee, Gabriella Rodrigues, told the victim that there had been a fraud committed with her account.

Darien Drug Selling Arrest 2024

DEA Says Latest Drug Raid Conducted Tuesday on West Ave NOT Related to Earlier Raid on Pine Brook Lane

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A third raid on an area home by federal Drug Enforcement Administration agents and various police agencies took place sometime early Tuesday morning, May 14, at a house on West Avenue, Darien police said. But this latest raid is part of an investigation separate from the one connected to the two earlier raids, a DEA spokeswoman told Darienite.com. One of those earlier raids took place at a home on Pine Brook Lane. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for Connecticut said that Christopher Pomponi, 58, of Pine Brook Lane, was involved in distributing drugs. The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Pomponi’s home on Pine Brook Lane, a small street off of Old Kings Highway North, was used to “store narcotics and drug proceeds, convert cocaine into crack cocaine and package narcotics for street sale.”

Healthy Living

Know Your Enemy: Expert on Ticks to Discuss the Risks, Prevention and More, 11 AM, Tuesday at Darien Library

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Tick-borne diseases are a major public health concern for Connecticut residents.  Goudarz Molaei, PhD., will discuss tick concerns in detail from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Tuesday, May 14, at Darien Library. — an announcement from Darien Library and Darien Health Department

Dr. Goudarz is a scientist at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station (CAES), and conducts research and directs the Tick and Tick-borne Disease Surveillance Program (aka Tick Testing Laboratory). He will discuss native and invasive tick biology, infection status, the risk associated with tick bites, and what actions you can take to prevent illness for you and your family, including pets! Get educated and stay safe! About the Presenter
Dr. Goudarz Molaei is a Research Scientist and Director of Passive Tick Surveillance and Testing Program at the CAES.

Business

Palmer’s Market Announces Limited/No Access to Some Departments, 8 AM to 1 PM, Tuesday

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Palmer’s Market will have limited or no access to several departments Tuesday, May 14,
between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m., because a condenser unit is being replaced, the supermarket announced. “As a result, there will be limited/no access to the following departments: frozen foods, prepared foods, meat, and specialty cheese,” the announcement said. “We apologize for the inconvenience and will work to get everything back up and running as quickly as possible.”

Darien Drug Possession 2024
Macdonald LaPerriere, Pellot

Waterbury Trio Accused of Stealing Groceries from Multiple Supermarkets, Including Lobsters and Steaks

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Two men and a woman, all from Waterbury, drove to supermarkets around the state, stealing food that included steaks and lobsters, Darien police said. Maybe they liked surf ‘n’ turf. Police gave this further account, including accusations not proven in court:

At 3:34 p.m. on Monday, April 29, a Stop & Shop employee told a police officer that a man, later identified as Joseph Macdonald, had loaded a shopping cart full of merchandise and then left the store, saying he had left his wallet in his vehicle. (The police account is a bit confusing: It says Macdonald attempted a larceny, but doesn’t say whether he took the merchandise out of the store, or whether he tried to do so and was stopped. It also doesn’t say how a store employee became concerned enough to notify a police officer if nothing was stolen.

Darien Public Schools Personnel 2024
Dr. Karolyn Dahlstrom, Principal of Middlesex Middle School

Middlesex School Principal Resigns: 1 of 9 Head Administrators of 3 Darien Schools in Just Over 1 Year

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Dr. Karolyn Dahlstrom, principal of Middlesex Middle School, will be resigning effective June 30 to accept a new position with North Branford School District, Darien Schools Superintendent Alan Addley announced Monday. Her replacement will become the ninth top administrator of one of three of Darien schools in just over a year, as principals and interim principals are coming and going from Ox Ridge and Hindley elementary schools and now Middlesex Middle School. Dahlstrom will become the next principal of North Branford Intermediate School. Darien Public Schools will immediately post a permanent principal vacancy with a July 1, 2024 start date and a full search will commence,” Addley said in an email to Middlesex staff and parents.  “Staff and parents will be part of the interview and selection process. I will keep the Middlesex Middle School community apprised as we move through the processes of appointing a new principal.”

Darien Department of Public Works 2024
Town Seal Room 206 Town Hall

Gorham’s Pond Gates to Open Later This Month for Repairs

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The Gorham’s Pond Tide Gates will be opened again this Spring for repairs, the Darien Department of Public Works announced. The gates will be opened on Monday, May 20, 2024 and closed again on Friday, May 24. The opening or closing of gates may be delayed due to weather. The gates cannot be operated following extensive rain events or a series of very high tides because of the large volume of water flowing over the dam. Tide gates will be closed before Memorial Day (Monday, May 27).

I-95 Closure in Norwalk 2024

The Long Traffic Nightmare Is Over: Lanes Open on the I-95 FREEway

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Both sides of Interstate 95 are now open at the site of the truck crash where the Fairfield Avenue bridge once stood. Here’s what it looked like at 9:27 p.m., Sunday on the live cam used by CDOT (now stopped):

And as ofd 2:51 p.m., it looked like almost the entire state was free of traffic congestion (at least on major roads) with the exception of a small area in Greenwich near the New York border, a stretch east of Danbury and in central New Haven:

 

This is most of a news release issued Sunday morning before 10 a.m. by Gov. Ned Lamont’s office:

Governor Ned Lamont and Connecticut Transportation Commissioner Garrett Eucalitto today announced that Interstate 95 in Norwalk will be fully reopen to traffic in both directions by 10:00 a.m. on Sunday, May 5, 2024. Following the major motor vehicle collision that occurred during the morning of Thursday, May 2, which shut down the highway and snarled traffic in lower Fairfield County and around Connecticut, the Connecticut Department of Transportation and its contractors got the highway fully reopened in less than 80 hours. Work involved demolishing the Fairfield Avenue Bridge over I-95 because of the significant damage it sustained from the collision; removing tons of concrete, steel, and debris from the roadway; sweeping the road; milling; paving; and restriping pavement markings. “It is truly amazing that in less than 80 hours from that fiery crash Thursday that shut down traffic in both directions, the highway again is fully open,” Gov. Lamont said.

Public Safety
Police

Police: Late Night Screaming Results in Summons for Darien Woman to Appear in Court

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A 2:26 a.m. report of loud screaming coming from a Darien home on Wednesday, April 22 resulted in police arriving and eventually issuing a 54-year-old Darien woman with a  summons to appear in court for a misdemeanor charge. This account, from Darien police, includes accusations not proven in court:

When police spoke with the victim, they were told the Darien woman, a resident of Ridgeview Avenue, had just been in an argument. Police determined there was probable cause to charge her. Officers determined there was probable cause to charge the woman with disorderly conduct for the above listed charge. They issued her the summons to appear later that day in state Superior Court in Stamford.