News

Gerald Francis O’Connell, 87

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Gerald (Gerry) Francis O’Connell of New Canaan, CT, Nantucket, MA and Sanibel, FL died November 27, 2025, surrounded by his incredible wife of 61 years Judith Ann (Papp) O’Connell and his loving family. 

Gerry was born on October 17, 1938, the second son of Desmond Henry Sr. and Rosemary McGough O’Connell in Plainfield, NJ. The brother of predeceased Desmond H. O’Connell, his wife Roberta O’Connell and Timothy E. O’Connell, his husband Larry Little. Father to Kevin M. O’Connell, his wife Dianna, Julia (O’Connell) Bossidy, her husband Michael, Patrick M. O’Connell, his wife Robin, Megan (O’Connell) Marciano, her husband Lance, Colleen (O’Connell) Bailey, her husband Troy and Erin (O’Connell) Hoffman, her husband Mitch. He is survived by his 21grandchildren, Michael, his wife Emma, Edward, his wife Annie, Madeleine her fiancé Justin, Josephine, Ryan, Quinitin, Courtney, Katherine, Emery, Shea, Brinley, Isabella, Christina, Nicholas, Teresa, Conor, Reagan, Brendan, Maddox, Brody and Cole as well as two great grandsons James and Graham. Gerry was loved profoundly by his family and left nearly everyone he encountered with gratitude for their time with him.

Business

Local Holiday Shopping: Franco’s Wine Merchants [Q&A]

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For today’s installment of our local holiday shopping series, we talked on Tuesday afternoon to Carl Franco of Franco’s Wine Merchants at 130 Elm St. Here’s a transcription of our interview. ***

New Canaanite: The shopping season officially kicked off on Black Friday. How’s it going in the early days here? 

Carl Franco: Usually people are a little slow right after Thanksgiving, and they always take a few days, or sometimes a week. But with Thanksgiving so late this year, I think people just realized it’s 30 days for Christmas.

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Firefighters’ Union Takes ‘Vote of No Confidence’ in Chief

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Saying the head of the New Canaan Fire Department committed an ethics violation, unduly influenced promotions and has failed to address problems with equipment, the local firefighters union last week took a vote of no-confidence in the fire chief. In a letter dated Nov. 24 (available here and below in full), New Canaan Firefighters Local 3224 said the Fire Commission’s five-day suspension last month of Chief Albe Bassett—a matter addressed in executive session, out of the public eye—was related to “outside business activity,” representing “a profound breach of trust that the Union cannot ignore and will not minimize.”

“The report specifically states ‘Chief Bassett’s failure to disclose his financial interest and recuse himself from the examination process constitutes a violation of the Ethics Code,’ ” the union’s letter said. “He was subsequently suspended for five days without pay by the Fire Commission.”

It wasn’t immediately clear what business the letter referred to. The Fire Commission during a Nov.

Government

Wet Weather Delays Work on Alley Between Playhouse and LPQ

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Town officials say they’re trying to wrap up work on the alley between The Playhouse and Le Pain Quotidien so that it’s open to shoppers during the holiday season. Closed for the past month, the alley—or ‘allée,’ as it’s called by the Department of Public Works—is getting a new ramp and staircase connecting the Playhouse Lot to Elm Street. In addition to making the alley traversable to those with mobility challenges, the ramp is expected to help move delivery trucks off of Elm Street itself—part of a multi-phased plan to help traffic flow in the heart of downtown New Canaan. Yet the project is still “at least two pours away,” Public Works Director Tiger Mann said, referring to concrete. “They’re getting close to the secondary pour for the staircase itself,” Mann told members of the Board of Selectmen during their regular meeting, held Tuesday at Town Hall and via videoconference.

News

Catherine Leone Cody, 85

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Catherine Leone “Cathy” Cody passed away on Oct. 30, 2025, following complications related to a recent illness. She was 85. Cathy died at The Enclave at Rye, New York. She had lived in New York City for many years.