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WESTPORT, Conn. – As 2012 comes to a close, The Westport Daily Voice is looking back at some the biggest news stories of the year. In case you missed some of them, here’s a recap of the top 10 stories, in no particular order:
- Hurricane Sandy slammed Westport on Oct. 29, causing more than 10,000 power outages and widespread flooding. Seven homes were deemed destroyed, 260 homes were flooded and 25 were damaged by fallen trees.
- A Westport bus driver accused of making sexually explicit comments to Coleytown Middle School students on his bus Oct. 18 was later arrested and charged with risk of injury to a child, threatening and breach of peace. The driver, 44-year-old Daniel Florio of Norwalk, has since been fired.
- On Jan. 23, Andrew Robert Levene, the suspect in the Dec. 8, 2011, murder of Westport resident and business owner Yekutiel Zeevi, was arrested in Barcelona, Spain. Three days later, Levene, 41, reportedly hanged himself in his prison cell.
- Dozens of new restaurants and businesses opened in Westport throughout the year, including Urban Outfitters, the Spotted Horse Tavern, The Whelk, the Blu Parrot, Pink Sumo Sushi & Sake Café, Art's Deli, Moja, Terrain and many more.
- Two world records were set in Westport. The first was by Staples High School for having the most twins in one academic year and the second was set by the Unitarian Church for the most number of people caroling door to door.
- Westport and Fairfield mourned the loss of Westport teen Bradley Helt, a junior at Fairfield Prep who died April 9. He was 16.
- A Wallingford man who was hospitalized during a triathlon at Sherwood Island State Park in Westport on June 17 died the next day.
- Four permanent field lights were installed on the Staples High School football field in July after decades of failed attempts. The Staples varsity football team played its first Friday night game Sept. 14.
- President Barack Obama attended a $35,800-per-person dinner/fundraiser at the Beachside Avenue mansion of Hollywood movie producer Harvey Weinstein on Aug. 6.
- Daniel Shwisha, a Woodbridge man police said fatally shot his brother Gordon Shwisha in New Haven on Oct. 8, committed suicide in his parents’ Westport home about an hour later. Both men were graduates of Staples High School.
What stories do you remember from 2012 that didn’t make our Top 10? Tell us what you think the biggest story of 2012 in Westport was in the comments below.
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