Reflecting Westport's tradition of generous education spending, records released by the town's Finance Department and Board of Education show that public school employees again dominated the list of the town's highest-paid personnel in 2011. Assistant Superintendent for Business Nancy Harris was the second highest-paid town employee, with a salary of about $204,000, followed by Cynthia Gilchrest, the school district's director of pupil services and elementary education, who was paid $165,000. [...] when you look at our school system, which is so large and complex, you need a really good chief executive officer and support staff to run the operation. Police Field Training Officer Howard Simpson was fourth-highest on the overall list -- and the top earner outside the school system -- with total pay of about $164,000. First Selectman Gordon Joseloff, who was paid approximately $101,000 last year, was not among the 50 highest-paid public employees.

Westport has its own developing love story between two red-tails that met in an unlikely setting: rehab in neighboring Weston under the care of Dara Reid and volunteers of her Wildlife in Crisis non-profit organization, which cares for injured and orphaned wildlife. Reid and Ben Harrell, store director for the Westport outdoor clothing and equipment outfitter, Patagonia, released both hawks late Saturday afternoon from the balcony of a home off Evergreen Avenue near Winslow Park. Harrell's participation indirectly paid homage to Patagonia's founder, Yvon Chouinard, who, according to the company's website, "got his start as a climber in 1953 as a 14-year-old member of the Southern California Falconry Club, which trained hawks and falcons for hunting." The male and female hawks were both injured in separate incidents in the same general area days apart and were recuperating at Wildlife in Crisis when they bonded, prompting Reid and her team to decide to release them together in hopes they will become a mating pair. Peter D'Amico, a Westport special police officer, Animal Control Division, said the male got caught in a net near Evergreen Avenue last month and he brought it to Reid's rehab center. All the while, volunteers must painstakingly implement care without letting an animal bond with humans because that would prevent their reintroduction to their natural habitat and impose on them a sentence of life in captivity for the remainder of their lives.

Andrew Carnegie, 38, of Yonkers, N.Y., faces a sixth-degree larceny charge in Westport after police said he was seen siphoning cooking oil from Balducci's food market on Post Road East. Police seized a large tanker truck in that investigation, but no arrests have been made. [...] two or three years ago, restaurateurs had to pay to get rid of used fry grease.

The Greens Farms Academy boys basketball team extended its school record win streak to 15 games with wins over Christian Heritage (70-64) and Kingswood-Oxford (77-57) last week. GFA closed out regular season at 18-3, and earned the No. 2 seed in the Fairchester Athletic Association playoffs. Junior Sean Obi extended his consecutive double-double streak to 43 games. Obi had 37 points, 20 rebounds, five assists and five blocked shots against CHHS. Senior captain Charlie Ross won his final dual meet match with a first period pin, and classmate Aubrey Carter won a 9-3 decision. In the Western New England Tournament, eighth grader Cristian Rivera (106) wrestled a very strong tournament pinning a wrestler who earlier in the season beat him by pin.

Factors in closing the Norwalk store, the owners said, are economic conditions, rent and the belief customers could be better served by consolidating operations in the Westport store at 1439 Post Road East. The owners said the Norwalk store has marked down prices on brands that include Timberland, Dunham and Bates footwear, plus High Tec, Carhartt, Under Armour and White Sierra attire.

Allen was seen driving north on Riverside Avenue where he stopped for a red traffic light in the left lane at the intersection with Bridge Street. The left lane is dedicated to vehicles driving straight, and the right lane is for vehicles turning onto Bridge Street, police said, but when the light turned green, Allen made a wide right-hand turn from the left lane, crossed over the double-yellow traffic lines and stayed on the wrong side of the road for several seconds before moving into the appropriate lane, police said.

With October targeted as the start of construction for a new Westport Weston Family Y at the Camp Mahackeno property, Y leaders are seeking approval to connect the facility to the town's municipal sewer system. Establishing a sewer connection for Mahackeno would also protect the Saugatuck River, as wastewater from the new facility would be transported to the town's sewage treatment facility, Y officials said. Y leaders also announced last week that they will pursue a "phased" building strategy for building the Mahackeno Y. While the Y gained approval from the Planning and Zoning Commission in 2008 for a 102,000-square-foot facility at Mahackeno, plans now call for a 55,000-square-foot main building to be built initially. In addition to $12 million raised from a capital campaign, the Y will finance phase one construction through the sale of its downtown building as well as borrowing, Reeves said. The Board of Selectmen, acting in its capacity as the town's Water Pollution Control Authority, has not yet set a date for a public hearing to review the Y's proposal for the Mahackeno sewer line.

According to the organizers: Startup Weekends are 54-hour events designed to provide superior experiential education for technical and non-technical entrepreneurs. Beginning with Friday night pitches and continuing through testing, business model development, and basic prototype creation, Startup Weekends culminate in Sunday night demos to a panel of potential investors and local entrepreneurs. Participants are challenged with building functional startups during the event and are able to collaborate with like-minded individuals outside of their daily networks. [...] whether you're considering a startup, know someone who has a great idea for a startup, want to find out more about how startups work or just want to see some incredibly creative people -- and maybe the next Facebook -- give some thought to attending this event.

The program's art projects will follow a toy theme inspired by the center's current "Toy Stories" exhibit of works by artists who work with toys, video and toy-making technology, according to a center news release. Projects will include Calder-inspired circus figurines, crayon mosaics, funky-faced robots and other creations.