Coffee’s on for Thursday

Join fellow residents and NewCanaanite.com editor Michael Dinan for the monthly Community Coffee, to be held 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 4 in the Jim & Dede Bartlett Auditorium at New Canaan Library. The Coffee is presented in partnership with the library, and the brew is supplied by Zumbach’s Gourmet Coffee (thank you, Doug). The free, public coffee is a group conversation about what’s happening around town, moderated by Dinan. Topics come from attendees and we spend no more than 10 minutes per subject.

Did You Hear … ?

New Canaan Police at 6:33 p.m. on Nov. 21 received a report of $200 stolen from a purse in the Verizon store on Elm Street. The investigation is ongoing. 

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The Glass House Design Store is open for holiday shopping, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday through Monday (and will keep the same hours for Dec. 16 to 22). ***

Here’s the new installment of the “Dance Diaries” in the New Canaan High School student newspaper, The Courant, by Valentina Baldini, a senior who interned at NewCanaanite.com this past summer.

Woman Who Tripped and Fell on Forest Street Sues Town

A Shelton woman who tripped and fell in downtown New Canaan nearly two years ago has sued the town for damages. The plaintiff, Antoinette Simeone, at about 11:30 a.m. on Dec. 20, 2023 (a Wednesday) was crossing Forest Street at East Avenue “when she walked onto and over a depressed sidewalk area her foot was caused to catch due to the depressed sidewalk’s armorcast tile which had become worn, cracked, uneven, broken, and jagged causing her to trip and fall,” according to a complaint filed Sept. 30 in state Superior Court by attorney Angelo Maragos of Norwalk-based Goldman Gruder & Woods, LLC. The town is required to keep its sidewalks in a “reasonably safe condition for pedestrians” yet New Canaan allowed it to become “dangerous, defective and unsafe condition for anyone” to use, Maragos said in the complaint.

‘An Amazing Contributor’: Town Officials Honor the Late Jim Lisher

New Canaan’s highest elected official and others honored longtime resident Jim Lisher since his passing last week, calling him a humble and dedicated community volunteer whose impact is felt throughout town and beyond, especially for seniors. First Selectman Dionna Carlson during Tuesday’s regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen noted that Lisher had a successful career in business and, afterwards, dedicated himself to the Health & Human Services Commission, where he served as chair for 10 years. “He also served as chair of the Commission on Aging,” Carlson said during the meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. 

She continued: “He also chaired several studies for the Board of Selectmen on senior health and housing needs, which resulted in the New Canaan Optimal Living Community Plan. And as part of that plan, he helped create the iSTEP Telehealth program. And this program was recognized as a ‘Connecticut Livable Community’ best practice.

Did You Hear … ?

New Canaan Police are investigating the theft of an unlocked car (keys left inside) from a Juniper Road home, reported at 10:57 a.m. Sunday. ***

New Canaan’s Claire Ayoub at 4 p.m. Sunday will screen her film, “Empire Waist,” at the Triangle Community Center in Norwalk (650 West End Ave.), followed by a Q&A. ***

The Town Council during an organizational meeting Wednesday unanimously elected Michael Mauro as chair and Hilary Ormond and Janet Fonss as vice chairs. ***

Brown Harris Stevens, sponsor of the New Canaan Chamber of Commerce Gingerbread House Tour, has donated 150 Gingerbread House Kits which families can sign up to build and have displayed around town. Sign-up opens up at 10 a.m. on Nov.