Texas pols cried foul after Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont dunked on the city of Houston — calling it “butt-ugly” in a battle of cross-country trash talk that led him appearing to walk back his dis.
Lamont, who was visiting the city for the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, delivered the jab on a radio show earlier this week following the University of Connecticut’s championship win on Monday.
“After winning the semifinals, you walk around downtown Houston, which is butt-ugly,” Lamont said on WPLR-FM’s “Chaz and AJ Show.” “Not much there.”
The zinger left Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner looking to tee up Lamont with a technical foul.
“Houston is not butt-ugly. Houston is a clean city. The downtown area is clean” he told local station KHOU in an interview posted to his Twitter page.
“He’s just factually wrong,” Turner said as he noted the city fed, housed and hosted him and the victorious UConn basketball team.
“And you’re going to go back and talk about ‘butt-ugly?’ Which end was he looking from?” Turner added.
Both Lamont and Turner are Democrats.
Turner also delivered a scathing rebuke in a series of tweets from his account.
In one tweet, he said Lamont’s statement is “indicative of a loser” and in another tweet he questioned “when is the last time Connecticut hosted a NCAA #FinalFour?”
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo also weighed in.
“Hi @NedLamont, I’m sure we got some wires crossed about how incredible Houston is” she tweeted as she offered to take him around the city. “Consider this a standing invite!”
Lamont appeared to backtrack when asked about the verbal barbs during an unrelated press conference Thursday, calling the people in the city gracious and welcoming.
“[Turner] said: ‘Maybe the governor’s looking at the wrong end of a beautiful horse,’” Lamont said. “I guess I resemble that comment. I want to say more importantly that nothing compares to the beauty of that amazing basketball championship on Monday night.”
He also stressed he was joking when he made the “butt-ugly” quip.
Turner tweeted Thursday evening that he and Lamont spoke over the phone and Lamont apologized for his comments.
“I accepted his apology and again congratulated his @UConnMBB team on their victory,” Turner said.
In a sea of glimmering Broadway lights and advertisements in Times Square, one man had a special request for his girlfriend of six years.
Jose Negron of Waterbury, Conn. wanted to give his long-term girlfriend Alicia Cartigila a marriage proposal that would be as large as his love for her — so he rented out space on a billboard in the advertisement capital of America.
As the couple walked through the busy street, a photo of Cartigila, Negron, and their son appeared on a 55-foot-wide, 31-foot-tall billboard with the caption “Will You Marry Me?”
Before Cartigila knew it, Negron was on one knee, and the couple was surrounded by strangers realizing they were witnessing a memorable moment in the lovebirds’ lives.
Cartigila excitedly said “yes,” before Negron got up and embraced her with a hug in celebration as many cheered around them.
“I’m shocked! Very surprised. I looked up and I saw the ‘Will you marry me?’” Cartigila said to PIX11 News.
For many, renting out a billboard in one of the busy advertisement hubs in the world seems unrealistic, but Negron booked the photo to appear through Timessquarebillboard.com for only $150.
Those wanting to rent out space for proposals, birthdays, wedding anniversaries or self-promotion can do so upon approval.
The billboard is above the Pelé Soccer store at 1560 Broadway between 46th and 47th streets and the image would appear once an hour for 15 seconds for 24 hours in Times Square.
For $500 daily, a business can display a video or photo for 60 seconds an hour for 24 hours.
The purchaser will get an email confirmation when they can expect their image to appear next to Broadway ads and celebrity endorsements.
The owner of the billboard, Jaime Suarez — a Miami-based lawyer who came up with the idea during the Covid-19 pandemic — rents the space out for special occasions but also for local businesses.
Inspired by his love of New York City, Suarez wanted to give the public accessible advertising opportunity after witnessing “the failure of numerous small local businesses due to the pandemic.”
“If you thought big brands with gigantic advertising budgets were the only ones that could afford the theater district’s spotlight, think again!” the press materials say.
The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain, but the antiques in this historic home are seeking to scatter to the winds.
The Stamford, Connecticut abode where “My Fair Lady” was penned will soon hit the market for roughly $2 million — and ahead of it listing for sale, it’s the site of a multi-day curio fair.
“The estate sale is being held at a historic home, designed by architect Frazier Peters, where in the summer of 1955 Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe wrote the musical ‘My Fair Lady’ while renting the property,” interior designer and antique dealer Francis Merante told The Post of the event, which began this Friday and will continue until this Sunday, Jan. 29. (Specific hours and further details are available on an online listing for the event.)
Lerner and Loewe’s stage musical was inspired by the 1913 play “Pygmalion” by George Bernard Shaw, and — following its success on Broadway — was made into the same-name 1964 film adaptation starring Audrey Hepburn as the poor flower vendor Eliza Doolittle.
According to Merante, “The set design of the original production is actually based on the floor plan of the house.”
The stone house is set to list after the weekend, the first time it will be on the market in nearly half a century as its current resident, a woman named Jakki Peters, has owned it for nearly 40 years. “She has filled it with antiques and decorative objects she collected while traveling the world and shopping local antique stores in New York and Connecticut,” said Merante. “The sale includes many unique antique items including Chinese furniture, Victorian-era furniture and unique garden items from around the estate.”
The main house — as well as its remaining contents, a carriage house apartment, a two-car garage on the property and a 2008 Mini Cooper S — will list with Andrew Smith of Houlihan Lawrence once it formally hits the market.
A Connecticut state lawmaker was killed on the road early Thursday morning after a wrong-way driver slammed into him and his vehicle erupted into flames, authorities said.
State Rep. Quentin Williams was fatally struck on his trip home from the governor’s inauguration ball — and just hours after being sworn in for his third term in office.
“We were about as close as any two people could come, and I can just say that I’ve rarely gotten calls … I don’t think I’ve ever gotten a call as devastating as the call that I got at 6:06 this morning,” State Sen. Matt Lesser said, according to WTNH.
The tragic crash happened around 12:30 a.m. as the 39-year-old Democrat was traveling southbound on Route 9 in Cromwell en route to Middletown, the area that he represented in the state House of Representatives. His car became engulfed in flames following the head-on impact, officials said.
The town where the accident occurred was about 15 miles from Hartford where the governor’s inaugural ball took place.
The wrong-way driver, 27-year-old Kimede Mustafaj, also died. It’s unknown if alcohol or drugs were involved.
Gov. Ned Lamont ordered flags in the state in to be flown at half-staff in light of the stunning tragedy.
“This is devastating news, and I am incredibly saddened by this tragedy,” the governor said in a statement.
“Quentin had an infectiously optimistic personality, and he absolutely loved having the opportunity to represent his lifelong home of Middletown at the State Capitol. Public service was his passion, and he was always advocating on behalf of the people of his hometown.”
Williams, who graduated from Middletown schools, was the new co-chair of the General Assembly’s Labor and Public Employees Committee. That committee was going to meet for the first time Thursday, but instead all legislative activity was postponed until Monday.
The state Capitol and Legislative Office Building were both closed until next week.
Williams, also known as Q and a rising star in Connecticut politics, leaves behind his wife and mother. He grew up in public housing and went on to become the first African American to represent Middletown in the General Assembly, according to his biography on his legislative website.
“Representative Williams truly embodied the phrase larger than life,” Middletown Mayor Ben Florsheim said in a statement. “His laugh, smile, and presence were felt in every space shared with him.
“His passing is a true loss for our community. A light has been dimmed today.”
Lesser, the state senator, said his slain colleague talked about running for statewide office one day, or even for Congress.
“These are all things that he would think about,” he said. “We’ll never know. He had big dreams and hopes … I think he had a damn good chance of realizing.”
A joint funeral will be held at a local stadium this week for the two Connecticut cops gunned down after being lured to a home by a bogus 911 call.
The memorial services for Bristol police Sgt. Dustin DeMonte and Officer Alex Hamzy will take place at the Pratt and Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field in East Hartford on Friday at 11 a.m., NBC News Connecticut reported Sunday.
A visitation for Hamzy will be held Wednesday starting at noon at the Lyceum in Terryville, the funeral home announced online. A wake for DeMonte has not been released.
The two veteran cops were ambushed Wednesday as they responded to a domestic disturbance call — only to be gunned down by Nicholas Brutcher, who was waiting outside with an AR-15-style assault rifle, police said.
A third officer, Alec Iurato, 26, was wounded in the exchange of gunfire.
The officers were lured to the home after receiving a fake 911 call, cops said.
Brutcher, 35, a beer-guzzling divorced dad with an affinity for guns, was shot and killed at the scene, while his brother, Nathaniel, was wounded and transported to the hospital.
The two brothers had gotten into a brawl at a local bar earlier in the night, but Connecticut State Police have yet to establish a motive for the slayings.
DeMonte, 35, is survived by his pregnant wife, Laura, and two daughters, Phoebe and Porter. Hamzy, 34, a Bristol native, is survived by his wife, Katie, his parents and two sisters.
A Connecticut man with a history of animal abuse who twice ran for office was arrested Tuesday for allegedly pouring bleach onto a cat and beating it to death, police said.
Raymond Neuberger, of Fairfield, was charged with animal cruelty and other crimes in connection to the feline’s August death.
Neuberger — who ran unsuccessfully for state office in 2016 — is accused of severely beating a cat that later died of its injuries under veterinary care.
Fairfield police opened up an investigation into the cat’s death after the department received a report from an emergency veterinary clinic that the cat’s injuries were suspicious.
The cat had several signs of physical injury and neurological trauma and had been covered in a liquid that turned out to be bleach, police said.
Veterinarians determined the cat had died as a result of blunt force trauma after conducting a necropsy.
Investigators found Neuberger, 38, to be the prime suspect and issued a warrant for his arrest.
Further investigation revealed that he had also allegedly “engaged in violence, domestic in nature” and a second arrest warrant was completed, Fairfield police said without providing further details on that incident.
Neuberger was arrested Tuesday and charged with cruelty to animals as well as first-degree assault and disorderly conduct in connection to the domestic violence incident.
He was released from custody after posting $30,000 bonds and is due back in court Wednesday.
Neuberger, who was also reportedly a Fairfield Representative Town Meeting candidate, previously served time for abusing his fiancé’s two dogs in 2018.
He was convicted of burning one of the two 5-year-old King Charles Cavalier Spaniels and fracturing the ribs of another, according to the Connecticut Post.
The lawyer appointed to advocate for the dogs, Thor and Charlie, said in 2018 that he was concerned Neuberger would abuse animals again in a now ominous statement cited by the local outlet.
“I was insisting that he get jail time because cruelty to animals is a serious crime and I had no confidence that he wouldn’t offend again,” lawyer Kenneth Bernhard said at the time.
Superstar chef-helmed restaurants, cozy community-styled cafes, and hip bars have added to the Constitution State’s drinking and dining scene this year, turning Connecticut into a delicious fall destination for hungry weekenders.
The biggest roar came when Michelin-starred chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten opened Happy Monkey in wealthy Greenwich this spring.
The chic-casual Greenwich Avenue spot has a Latin-themed fall menu of shareables and small and large plates.
Highlights include a seasonally changing margarita menu to pair with grilled maitake mushrooms, $20, shrimp tacos topped with spicy citrus peanut slaw, $21, and grilled lobster served in smoked chili butter $52.
Longtime Jean-Georges kitchen accomplice, Executive Chef Ron Gallo (late of Vongerichten’s the Inn at Pound Ridge and his Upper East Side restaurant JoJo), heads the Greenwich kitchen.
The interior design’s focal point is a long communal table in front of a mural depicting famed Mexican artist Frida Kahlo alongside a companion spider monkey, who may, or may not, have been happy (376 Greenwich Ave.).
Nearby, right on Greenwich Avenue, the two-time James Beard Awards’ Best Chef Brian Lewis created a another American venue dubbed the Cottage Greenwich.
It opened this spring, seven years after the launch of the Cottage in Connecticut’s upscale Westport neighborhood.
Try the brisket bao buns with kimchi, $12; or miso basted cod served with a shiitake marmalade, wrapped in a buckwheat crepe, $23 (49 Greenwich Ave.).
Over in northwestern Connecticut’s blissfully bucolic Litchfield Hills, the Mayflower Inn & Spa, Auberge Resorts Collection in Washington recently completed a top-to-toe renovation-transformation with a new chef in residence: James Beard Award-winning author and student of naturopathy and herbology, Cortney Burns.
Dine in the inn’s main restaurant, the plant-filled Garden Room, but be sure to drop into the Tap Room bar, and the intimate terrace overlooking the lawn’s boxwood maze and curtain of woodland.
Burns developed her menu for healthy recipes picked up during travels through Tibet and India, and a tenure at San Francisco’s celebrated Quince, Café Rouge and Boulette’s Larder, as well as Nick Balla’s Bar Tartine.
Along with tasty ingredients from local farms and producers, Burns picks and plucks herbs and produce from the inn’s kitchen garden to create signature breakfast dishes like a soft egg with buckwheat grits, sprouted lentils and locally foraged mushrooms, $24; anise flavored rye flour waffles with rhubarb compote, $21; and a matcha and ashwagandha smoothie to reduce stress and promote gut health, $15. That’s just breakfast: imagine dinner (118 Woodbury Road).
In New Preston, Community Table’s chef Christian Hunter is finally stretching his wings after joining the restaurant in 2020 and riding out pandemic shutdowns and restrictions.
Hunter, an alum of two Relais & Châteaux member kitchens (Lake Placid Lodge and the Weekapaug Inn) spices his New American dishes with Middle Eastern and Asian flavors such as chermoula, freekeh, berbere, house-made garam masala, salsa macha, and locally made miso.
Its ecology-focused wine list highlights lesser known grape varietals as well as small batch organic and biodynamic wines. Along with dishes informed by local farms, guests have the added treat of in-house baked sourdough cardamom rolls served with roasted coriander honey butter (223 Litchfield Turnpike).
Also in Litchfield County, chef and farmer Tracy Hayhurst has launched the Seed & Spoon restaurant at her organic Husky Meadows Farm in Norfolk.
Culinary stays in the farm’s five luxury suites include farm activities, such as discovering wild edibles, creating a kitchen garden, cooking classes, and the Happy Hour Farm Walk, which combines a glass of wine or cocktail and a stroll through the fields. The focal event is, well, eating.
Followed by relaxation in the sitting room, or by the outdoor fire pit. The all-inclusive farm-stay includes all meals and starts at $1,950 per couple. 30 Doolittle Drive.
Isla & Co., which opened in Fairfield in late June, finally received its liquor license and is now firing on all cylinders from morning coffee to late night cocktails — such as the signature Wizard of Aus made from Starward Whiskey, lemon juice, sugar, egg white, and topped off with shiraz, $14.
This sister spot to Isla & Co. in Williamsburg, part of Parched Hospitality Group (the Australian team behind New York City’s Hole in the Wall restaurants, the Sentry, Daintree, Isla and Ghost Burger) brings executive chef Matt Foley’s faves, like spicy shrimp rigatoni in a vodka sauce, $23, fish and chips $26, and Thai vegetable green curry, $22 (11 Unquowa Road).
In New Haven, by the Quinnipiac River, chef Emily Mingrone opened Fair Haven Oyster Co. this summer. The elegant midcentury-designed seafood bar has waterfront views, which is especially nice out on the large deck; grab a spot while the warm weather holds up. Fall returns oysters to their prime and the menu includes a raw bar of local oysters and fish crudos, and such Mediterranean dockside classics as whole grilled sardines, as well as seasonal specials (307 Front St.).
For something lighter, hit Arden’s, a new community cafe, provisions and coffee shop in Rowayton, a shoreline village in Norwalk’s southwest corner.
It has a coastal New England meets Mediterranean menu, and partners with local purveyors like Flour Water Salt Bread, Millstone Farm, and Nit Noi to create a seasonally rotating menu of sweet and savory cafe classics — sandwiches, $16 to $20, salads, $15 to $16, and signature plates, $14 to $22 (158 Rowayton Ave.).
In Mystic, Connecticut’s dining capital, The Port of Call has opened right next to the restaurant credited with turning the town into a foodie destination, The Oyster Club.
This collaboration between Oyster Club owners 85th Day Food Community and the Real McCoy Rum in neighboring Stonington is helmed by Oyster Club beverage director Jade Ayala, its executive chef, Renée Touponce, and general manager Nancy Hankins.
.The Port of Call spreads out over two levels: Upstairs is more refined and styled like a vintage yacht saloon, with a focal point being the “Million Mile Bar,” named because its top is made from wood sourced from the Charles W. Morgan, the last wooden whaling ship in the world, which traveled a million miles over 180 years. The teak floors are made from the original deck boards from another ship, the Joseph Conrad. Antique wood aside, it’s the place for crafted cocktails.
Below “deck,” Dive, a diver-themed bar, offers drinks and games with more of a pub vibe. Both share a small plates-style menu (15 Water St.).
Just don’t call Port of Call a dive bar! It’s a diver bar and one more tasty reason for a foodie weekender in the Nutmeg State.
Greenwich Wine + Food fest returns in October to celebrate 10th anniversary
After taking a COVID pause, Greenwich Wine + Food returns in October for its 10th-anniversary blowout benefiting two national non-profit organizations with roots in Connecticut: The Jacques Pépin Foundation and Wholesome Wave.
The 2022 celebration includes a speakeasy dinner at South Norwalk-based distillery, SONO 1420; an omakase dinner at Rowayton Seafood Restaurant and Market; a pop-up dinner at Kneads in Westport; and the Big Easy dine-around event at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, NY.
But the event’s blowout evening is the GWF 10th Anniversary Celebrity Chef Gala, honoring legendary chef Jacques Pépin. It begins with a VIP reception and continues with a chef’s table dinner by a dozen or so chefs cooking a four-course meal in front of guest’s tables. Tickets start at $1,400.
Also not to be missed, Serendipity magazine’s Most Innovative Chefs awards, which include Steven Chen (MIKU, Greenwich), Will Friedman (Kawa Ni, Westport), Jared Sippel (L’Ostal, Darien) and Renee Touponce (Oyster Club, Mystic).
There will also be performances from Dumpstaphunk (featuring Cyril Neville performing the music of Nola legends The Meters), Big Head Todd and the Monsters, and Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue.
The Bridgewater, Connecticut, estate of the late ’50s and ’60s hit songwriter Lee Pockriss — of “Catch a Falling Star,” “Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini” and “Johnny Angel” fame — has hit the market for $3 million.
The charming property at 137 Skyline Bridge Road spans 10 acres surrounded by woods — and it includes a pool.
At 2,873 square feet, the three-bedroom, 3½-bathroom home, built in 1940, features a large formal living room that flows into a dining space, a sunroom, a sunken home office and a large den.
The main bedroom also comes with a balcony overlooking the pool and the surrounding rolling lawn.
The estate begins with a gated drive that leads to two separate paths — one goes to the front of the house and the other leads to a detached three-car garage.
Pockriss passed away in 2011. His widow, Sonja, is selling the estate.
The late musician wasn’t the only creative inspired by these surroundings. The property was formerly owned by animal portraitist and children’s book illustrator Marguerite Kirmse. Before that, by sculptor and actress Jenifer Heyward, daughter of Dorothy and DuBose Heyward, the couple behind “Porgy and Bess” — the book and play with music by the Gershwin brothers including classic songs like “Rhapsody in Blue.”
The listing broker is Michael Caporizzo, of William Pitt Julia B Fee Sotheby’s International Realty.
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