Did You Hear … ?

New Canaan on Thursday put a lien on the Forest Street property cited for violating the town’s blight ordinance.

Signed by Blight Officer Brian Platz, the town’s chief building official, the 1829-built multi-family home at 74 Forest St. is deteriorating and its .3-acre property is unkempt. The “Blight Lien and Certification of Continuing Lien” notice in the Town Clerk’s office says that $9,800 was owed as of May 22 and $100 per day additional is to be assessed as of that date (bringing the total to $11,500 as of Monday, June 8).

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More than 40 residents attended NewCanaanite.com’s inaugural Community Coffee on Friday, and the sole topic of discussion for the hour-long talk was the Pop Up Park downtown, suspended by the committee that created and managed it after some merchants raised concerns about traffic and the makeshift plaza’s effect on business. The objecting merchants had supported the park being in place on weekends through the summer, but not continuously from NCHS graduation to Labor Day. First Selectman Rob Mallozzi, who attended part of the coffee, said afterwards that one possibility that may be explored further is—rather than have the Pop Up Park in place continuously through the summer—picking one full week per month when it is set up, thus unburdening sufficiently those who put it up and take it down while still delivering the plaza to residents who have bemoaned its loss.

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The Rotary Club of New Canaan is seeking local families willing to host a foreign exchange student for the 2015-16 school year. The student, from Denmark, will spend three months each with three different families. Anyone interested should email Ann Cheney at anncheney23@gmail.com.

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The Norway maple tree in front of Town Hall—a lightning rod for some heated debate among residents, after one local woman (at least initially) objected to the tree warden’s posting of it for removal—will in fact come down, officials say. Tree Warden Bruce Pauley said in an email: “Due to the fact that the Norway maple in front of Town Hall is in a dangerous condition and close to sidewalks, the road, the building, and over benches and due to the fact that Andrea Sandor, after consulting with privately contracted experts, has agreed that the tree is dangerous and needs to be removed, and consequently withdrew her objection, the tree will be removed very soon. It will be replaced as soon as possible.”

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New Canaan Police Benevolent Association President, Officer Roberto Lopez, clarified for residents that the ongoing fundraising campaign for the PBA will call for them to write checks specifically to the ‘New Canaan Police Benevolent Association,’ in case locals are worried about being scammed. Should a resident wish to donate to the campaign by credit card, anyone concerned can take down the name of the individual calling on behalf of the PBA and phone the main number at the police department, 203-594-3500, to get confirmation that the solicitor is legitimate.

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New Canaan for now is in a “holding pattern” with respect to the introduction of natural gas by Eversource, formerly known as Yankee Gas. One complicating factor is that the town has not yet settled on a good place for Eversource to “lay down” its equipment during the extensive capital work that’s needed to run a line from Stamford into New Canaan, First Selectman Rob Mallozzi said at the Board of Selectmen’s June 2 meeting. Selectman Beth Jones said that she’s OK with waiting an additional season for the gas, as she would like to see whether the price remains stable through another winter.

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Summer Theatre of New Canaan announced its 12th season of professional theatre at Waveny: The organization will present Broadway hit Legally Blonde The Musical for its main family show this summer and will premier a new musical for children, Cinderella, A Fairy’s Tale a new musical as part of its Theatre for a Young Audience series. Also running weekly with Cinderella are Wizard of Oz and Charlotte’s Web.

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New Canaan’s L’Armoire Boutique and nonprofit organization Arts for Healing co-hosted a ‘Bubbles, Baubles and Beauty’ event last weekend. A fundraiser for Arts for Healing, which provides creative arts therapy services and programs for people with special needs in New Canaan and surrounding communities, the event saw four paintings created by AFH’s young clients auctioned off, together with 10 percent of sales from two days, raising a total of $2,440.

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Nate Moor, a 4^th-grader at South School, recently donated his winnings from a chess tournament to the New Canaan Community Foundation.

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We’re hearing that Samantha Karp, 21, of New Canaan, is a member of the Virginia College Advising Corps—a program that sees recent University of Virginia graduates placed in guidance offices of high schools in Virginia to work with students who might not otherwise consider going to higher education. The advisers help students navigate financial aid questions, arrange college visits and assist with college preparation. Karp worked toward a double major in psychology and women, gender and sexuality with a minor in bioethics and has taken a position at T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria. Congratulations!

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New Canaan’s Claire Foster earned an Honorable Mention from the Shoreline Arts Alliance, recognizing the best in children’s books, in the ‘Picture Book Text’ category for her story “One More.” Here’s part of the citation: “In the wonderful and unpredictable world of raising young children, parents must navigate how to set limits and create routines. The story of ONE MORE! walks through a day in the life of a toddler and reminds us how kids are masters of identifying opportunity and maximizing fun. Reading ONE MORE! aloud, parents will relate to the storyline as their child enjoys the predictive rhyme, familiar and fun language, and a big kiss from mom or dad at the very end.” Congratulations, Claire!

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New Canaan’s Megan Cullinane graduated last weekend from Colby College in Maine, earning a bachelor’s degree at a ceremony whose guest speaker was actor Robert Redford. Here’s part of what Redford told Cullinane, a St. Luke’s School graduate, and 482 graduating seniors at Colby: “You’re stepping into a world that’s, well, pretty rough. It’s pretty chaotic, pretty divisive. You’ve got climate change, you’ve got debt, you’ve got wars, you’ve got political paralysis. It’s kind of a grim story. But the story, I think, can be retold, and I really believe that you’re the ones to do it.”