Business

‘I Love This Community’: Dashing Diva Beauty Launches on Cherry Street

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One of New Canaan’s hottest salons has a new owner. Gianna Parente has been with the salon formerly known as “Divaz,” now Dashing Diva Beauty, since she was 17. Taking over the business’s lease in August, after the previous owner decided not to renew, the native New Yorker formed a connection to New Canaan through her years of working here. “Truthfully, I feel like I grew up here,” Parente told the New Canaanite. “I’ve been here since I was very young, and when my boss was not going to re-sign, I kind of was like, oh my god, I can’t see us all not being together, I can’t see our clients leaving.

Around Town

‘How Am I Going To Do This’: Local Man, 30, Seeks Kidney After Five Years of Dialysis

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Miles Casas, a 30-year-old man from New Canaan, has been battling kidney failure for the past five years. Diagnosed with Membranoproliferative Glomerulonephritis; a rare autoimmune disease, at the age of 12, Casas’ condition would only worsen with age. 

”It’s extremely rare, it typically happens in children,” Casas, who attended St. Aloysius School, told the New Canaanite. “A mutation happens in the DNA for unknown reasons, maybe caused by stress or an illness. It could be for various reasons, but basically it’s unknown and there’s not really a cure for it.”

As a result of this condition, Casas lost function in both kidneys in 2019, requiring him to undergo nine hours of dialysis every night in order to survive.

Around Town

‘It’s Really Taken Off’: A Terrifying Fundraiser on Buttery Road

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Though many local homeowners opt to forgo Halloween decorations this time of year, for Dr. Dani Cohen and her family, it is a spectacle months in the making. What began with a 12-foot-tall skeleton in their front yard four years ago has slowly grown into an intricate display, featuring lights, sound effects and even motion-activated animatronics. And this year, Cohen has partnered with St. Jude Children’s Hospital and their Skeleton’s for Hope program, a fundraiser which provides avid Halloween decorators an opportunity to turn their displays into something more. “We have a QR code out in the front of the house for families who come by, they can enjoy and have a much larger global impact for those who are in need of it,” Cohen told the New Canaanite.

News

‘He Was Our Number One Defender’: NCHS Alum Raises Funds in Memory of Coach Art Brown

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A New Canaan High School alum has successfully raised more than $8,000 and counting to help commemorate one of the Rams great athletic coaches. That coach is the late Art Brown, a seasoned instructor who provided invaluable mentorship and support to NCHS’s athletic community. Throughout his 15-year tenure as coach for NCHS’s track and cross country teams, he inspired hundreds to be the best they could be, going out of his way to ensure that all students had the individual support they needed. The fundraiser, started by NCHS ‘23 grad Jackie Siegel, aims to place two benches commemorating coach Brown in Waveny Park. Any excess funds raised will be donated to the scholarship fund started in his name.

Business

New Dermatology Practice To Open Downtown Next Month

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A new Dermatology practice is slated to open next month, located on 38 East Ave. Founded and led by board-certified Dermatologist and Dermatopathologist Dr. Elle H. de Moll, Elite Dermatology Physicians will begin seeing patients of all ages following their grand opening on Oct. 19. Originally from Wilton, de Moll earned her medical degree from the University of Connecticut School of Medicine. Post college, De Moll completed an internship with the Yale program of Internal Medicine at Norwalk Hospital, where she was recognized as Intern of the Year.