HE sits in his wheelchair as the family rushes around him .

He can not move much , or say more than hello .

He can not participate in the summer activities that everyone pursues with great vigor day after day .

If it 's warm enough , he goes out onto the deck and snoozes in the sun with the dogs .

Unlike them , however , he does n't jump up and make excited noises when people come .

At most , he slowly turns his head and smiles .

Everyone speaks to him politely , but not for long .

What 's the point .

He ca n't say more than a couple of words , and it 's hard to tell how much he understands .

He is my stepfather , Peter , an 88-year-old man who in the last decade has been transformed from a lively and dynamic person into not much more than a body occupying space .

He has post-polio syndrome , a condition that seeps the strength from his upper body as steadily as it weakened his legs when he was a teenager .

A couple of strokes have further debilitated him .

As my son , Asher , said to my mother one day , it 's as if he 's hardly a person anymore .

And yet this is n't how Asher , 14 , behaves toward him .

He constantly monitors Peter 's feet to see if they 've slipped off the footrests of his wheelchair .

He always asks if Peter wants something to drink .

His recognition of the full extent of what it means to be a person goes beyond his frustration at Peter 's limitations .

Asher is concerned with Peter 's comfort , his feeling of inclusion .

Peter 's situation brings out Asher 's own humanity .

Peter is certainly a person to my mother , Addy , though she has no illusions about his abilities .

He is her third husband , the one who was finally her friend .

She does what she can to make him comfortable and to replicate his old habits .

Since his only real pleasure is food , she makes him good meals for lunch and dinner .

At night they listen to Amy Goodman on NPR and then watch Chris Matthews and a couple of episodes of `` Seinfeld '' or `` Curb Your Enthusiasm . ''

On Tuesdays , Peter 's longtime men 's lunch group comes over to eat with him and discuss books and politics .

Peter does n't participate , but he enjoys the routine .

Last summer he could still join them at the local restaurant .

He would motor up the street in his Jazzy wheelchair with an orange pennant waving above his head to warn cars away .

He is far from being able to do anything like that now .

Peter needs to be cared for at the most basic custodial level .

When my friend Anne visited , her 9-year-old son , Nick , was interested in what this entailed .

Over the course of a five-day stay , Nick asked many questions of Stacey , the woman who comes in to get Peter out of bed in the morning -- the very practical questions that most adults prefer not to think about .

Several times Stacey saw Nick looking in the window when it was changing time .

He was n't fazed by what he saw .

He accepted Peter 's condition and presence in the house as natural .

He was right about that .

My mother and Peter live on the lip of a harbor in Maine .

All summer , family members passed through , usually for a week or so .

I stayed the longest -- six weeks .

On some days there were enough people staying to fulfill my old fantasy of a big house full of people , bursting with robust togetherness .

This was a new phenomenon here .

For many years we were only welcome to stay for a short time .

The stepparents had limited tolerance for each other 's children , especially the noisy grandchildren .

I often rented nearby to make visits to my mother less stressful .

Other sons and daughters did the same .

We rarely overlapped or had the sense of a beloved summer house , full of traditions passed down through generations .

We each had a private relationship with Maine , and with Peter and my mother .

But an unexpected side effect of Peter 's deterioration has been a lessening of the feeling that anyone beyond my mother and stepfather creates a crowd .

Now Peter seems to enjoy the bustle that my mother used to believe was an imposition on him .

He is no longer an aging intellectual who requires quiet for reading and writing .

The grandchildren are older , and he is younger , babylike .

After breakfast , he sleeps for a couple of hours in the kitchen , no matter the amount of dish washing or screen-door banging .

So family life swirled around him this summer .

We spent the kind of easy time together that I like best , quantity rather than quality .

Just hanging out .

Siblings , nieces and nephews trooped through with significant others in tow .

They each had a relationship with Peter while they were there .

Some spent time talking to him even if he could n't reply .

Others made sure he was comfortable at the table during meals .

Though it was easy to forget he was in the room , everyone was delighted when he broke into a conversation with a responsive remark .

The old Peter ! It was good to see him again , if only for a moment .

Starting the last week of July , my mother began to say fall was in the air .

I bridled against this , though I knew what she meant .

I felt it too , a change in the light from white to yellow , a softening of the wind , a resignation of the leaves on certain trees .

But I did n't want to skip ahead , so I pretended not to notice .

It 's summer , I insisted .

This is what summer is like in Maine .

It is tempting to make this whisper of fall a metaphor for Peter 's diminishing presence .

September brings up memories of how the end of summer felt during childhood , a loss .

Yet I find myself resisting the comparison .

Peter is alive , and summer does n't officially end for 10 more days .

I 'm still wearing white .

GENERATIONS .

Summary: Alice Elliott Dark Generations essay on summer spent in Maine with her family and her stepfather , Peter , 88 , who is debilitated with post-polio syndrome and effects of strokes .

Summary: Drawing .


FIVE years ago my brother and I spoke regularly .

Five years ago we drank together , teased each other without mercy and , occasionally , even expressed feelings of affection .

After 9/11 we did not .

My brother is a 20-plus-year veteran of the New York City Fire Department , a former marine with a degree in history whose politics are conservative .

He is four years older and quite a bit larger than me .

I am a 20-plus-year veteran of big-agency advertising , a creative director turned fiction writer whose politics , not surprisingly , do not lean conservatively .

Until five years ago , this was not such a big problem .

There were plenty of other things to talk about , and we knew that despite our differences , there was still much to appreciate about each other .

On Sept . 11 , 2001 , I was in Boca Raton , Fla . , on business accompanied by my wife , my 3-year-old daughter and my mother-in-law -LRB- yes , my mother-in-law came on business trips with us back then -RRB- at , of all things , a sales convention for a yogurt company .

At 9 a.m. , we were granted a 10-minute respite from the executive Vince Lombardi-isms and the Roman Colosseum-inspired motivational décor .

The first thing I did was check the messages on my personal communications device du jour , because in 2001 , I was convinced that the more I checked the quotidian drivel it contained the more it seemed that my ad agency , yogurt convention , frequent-flier-miles-financed-family-business-trip life mattered .

But this time what the messages told me were hardly drivel .

I immediately called New York to check on my brother who was not supposed to be working , but with firefighters you never know .

He was n't working .

He 'd soon go to the site , but luckily he would n't be one of the 343 firefighters killed .

For the next hour , I 'm fairly sure that he watched what I watched , that he looked away when I looked away , and I am fairly sure that at 9:59 a.m. , when the south tower of the World Trade Center collapsed , he felt exactly what I felt .

What we all felt .

I am also sure that those were the last pure , nonpoliticized thoughts any of us would have about that day , and the last time that my brother and I would feel the same way about anything for some time .

Renting a car and driving home was our only option .

At first I wanted to push through , to rush the family home .

`` To what .

`` my wife asked .

`` To have our daughter watch her parents sit paralyzed in front of a television set .

`` So we took our time , taking a scenic , non-traditional route back to New York .

I got my information from fellow travelers and National Public Radio .

I found comfort in the measured voices of `` All Things Considered , '' solace in `` I love New York '' signs in Georgia , inspiration in the words on Jefferson 's tombstone at Monticello , near Charlottesville , Va . , which noted that he was also one of the fathers of religious tolerance in this country .

Meanwhile , my brother was getting his information from rescue workers and fellow firefighters .

Because of his military background , his job in the years before the attack had included training recruits at the Fire Academy at Randalls Island .

His job in the months ahead would be to coordinate funerals .

Dozens of funerals .

For friends and friends of friends , each with a story more tragic than the last .

Late at night on Sept . 14 , my family slept as I drove through Pennsylvania .

With no NPR to be had for the time being , I listened to sports guys weighing in on the Northern Alliance , D.J. ` s explaining the tenuous Pakistani-Afghani relationship .

With each passing mile , more and more proselytizing and hate seeped into the views of the syndicated giants .

Driving near Port Jervis , N.Y. , a state trooper pulled alongside our car and shined a spotlight inside while the rest of my family was sleeping .

Four strangers in a red rental car with Florida plates .

Suspects .

To think that 9/11 drove a stake between my brother and me is as naïve as thinking that it drove one through the country .

Red and blue staters had been at each other 's throats for a while , and my brother and I had clashed on and off over lots of things for years .

But this took it farther .

He had been affected by it in ways I could not imagine .

Of the 343 firefighters killed , he knew dozens .

No one that I knew had died .

Within a week , I would go back to work .

For more than a year , he would go to funerals and I imagine that in addition to grief , a man with my brother 's courage and sense of duty must also have been dealing with a serious case of survivor 's guilt .

But did that make his opinions -- which had become increasingly angry and pronounced -- right .

Over the last five years we 've disagreed about everything from the 2000 and 2004 elections to the war in Iraq , radical Islam and of course , the liberal news media .

For a while we tiptoed around politics but when we were together everything seemed political .

For a while we did n't speak at all .

But lately we 've been talking .

I care too strongly for him to let politics destroy our relationship and I think he feels the same .

The other day I called him .

He had just gotten home from the hospital where a fellow firefighter , Lt . Howard Carpluk Jr . lay in critical condition from injuries suffered when the floor had given way in a burning Bronx building .

Another firefighter , 25-year-old Michael Reilly , who had served in the Marines in Iraq , had already died .

My brother told me he was there near Mayor Michael Bloomberg as the doctors gave them an update .

-LRB- Lieutenant Carpluk died the following day . -RRB-

My brother sounded tired .

After some time , while discussing Labor Day plans , I told him that I 'd been invited to discuss my book on a conservative talk show in Boston and joked that I feared an ambush .

He told me to tell them that my brother was a New York City firefighter , and maybe they 'd go easy on me .

Op-Ed Contributor James P . Othmer is the author of the novel `` The Futurist . '' .

Summary: Op-Ed article by James Othmer describes ways in which his relationship with his brother , veteran New York City firefighter who worked at World Trade Center site , changed after 9/11 .


C . Lee Hanson , of Easton , rarely plans ahead to visit Connecticut 's memorial to the victims of Sept . 11 .

But at odd moments he finds himself going to the site , on Long Island Sound at Sherwood Island State Park in Westport .

There , he sees once again the three names carved in stone : those of his son , Peter .

His son 's wife , Sue .

And their 2-year-old daughter , Christine .

They were passengers on United Flight 175 and died when their airplane hit the World Trade Center five years ago tomorrow .

Paula Clifford Scott of Mystic goes there , too , mostly during annual memorial services .

There are two familiar names etched in stone , and on her heart : those of her daughter , Ruth McCourt , and 4-year-old granddaughter , Juliana .

They were on the same flight as Mr. Hanson 's family , and were among the 152 from Connecticut who died that day .

States with the largest losses from the attacks have had difficulty memorializing those who died .

New York only recently awarded the first big construction contract for the footings of a memorial at the World Trade Center site .

New Jersey 's state memorial , under construction at Liberty State Park in Jersey City , has run into opposition because it obscures views of Lower Manhattan from the park .

But Connecticut , at former Gov . John Rowland 's urging , moved swiftly to create a state tribute to the victims of Sept . 11 .

Within seven months a site overlooking the Sound had been chosen .

At the first anniversary of the attacks , the memorial was taking shape , with nearly every element donated -- including the design , done with the participation of victims ' families .

Best of all is the location .

In a place where sea meets sky , the memorial offers the promise of tranquillity , even in the face of loss .

`` I like simple things , '' Mr. Hanson said , and it pleases him that the design of the memorial is not complicated .

The names of the victims are carved in granite bricks , scattered randomly , to symbolize the senselessness of the act that took their lives .

Beach roses bloom nearby , and benches invite contemplation .

On a clear day , the Manhattan skyline is visible .

It is from here that horrified Connecticut residents watched the billowing smoke from New York City after the attacks , and mobilized to help .

Asked what the state memorial meant to her , Ms. Scott said : `` Remembrance -- and life .

Life stopped for a little while that day .

It was up to us to begin again . ``

Connecticut 's lovely memorial to Sept . 11 keeps alive memories of the victims , comforts the families and offers solace to visitors .

It stands also as a monument in proud contradiction to those who say government can not do anything right .

Connecticut .

Summary: Editorial holds Connecticut 's memorial to September 11 , at Sherwood Island State Park in Westport , keeps alive memories of victims , comnforts families , offers solace to visitors and stands as monument that contradicts those who say government can not do anything right .


WHEN affluent suburbanites travel , they can be quite fussy , demanding that airplanes show up and take off like clockwork and that anything less is -- to use a word the fastidious favor -- unacceptable .

But when they 're lounging in their backyards , they want the skies to be jet-free , or at least noise-free .

If jets must be seen , they should not be heard .

The problem in hubs like New York is that the two desires are fast becoming irreconcilable .

American airlines handled 739 million passengers last year .

By 2015 that number is expected to balloon to 1 billion .

No one wants an airport sprouting next door , with all the attendant whines , drones and roars , so the Federal Aviation Administration has been trying to squeeze in more flights by rejiggering the way planes use air space in the corridor between Philadelphia and Connecticut .

But the redesign has set off a fury among people living around Westchester County Airport , which includes thousands of Connecticut residents .

It turns out that flight patterns around the airport may have to be tinkered with because of the spillover from changes in patterns at La Guardia Airport , meaning more whines and roars for those living below .

Until recently , the issue of rerouting seldom flashed on the public 's radar , mostly because the F.A.A. had not always been forthcoming .

In February , Janet Lockton , president of the Greenwich-based Air Conservation Trust , went to an F.A.A. slide show in Stamford and came away reassured that Westchester 's airport would be untouched , and that La Guardia flights would spend more time over the uncomplaining waters of Long Island Sound .

But then she ordered three CD 's containing 1,226 pages of the preliminary environmental statement and discovered in the nearly impenetrable appendixes that planes taking off from the county airport would indeed loop over Westchester and Connecticut for longer periods .

She alerted officials across the state border , and in June , County Executive Andrew J . Spano issued a letter to the F.A.A. , based on an environmental consultant 's study .

Mr. Spano 's letter rebuffed the F.A.A. ` s preferred proposal for flight patterns because the plan would have '' a significant impact `` on places like Rye Brook , Pleasantville and Briarcliff .

Some aircraft , Mr. Spano bristled , would `` incredibly '' be rerouted over the Indian Point nuclear plant .

He did n't mention Connecticut , but the new flight paths would raise decibel levels in Greenwich , Stamford and New Canaan -- though how unhinging the noise would be has been disputed , with the F.A.A. minimizing any spikes in volume and the consultant , Harris Miller Miller & Hanson Inc . , saying the changes would probably be `` highly noticeable . ''

The county airport already has limits on noise enshrined in county law .

In any half-hour-period , no more than four commercial planes can land or take off at the airport , and those planes together can carry no more than 240 passengers .

Flights are practically banned between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m.

The airport has intentionally been kept a backwater , with such anomalies as propeller-plane flights to Toronto .

`` There are people who persist in talking about how Westchester could , should or would expand , '' said Robert Funicello , director for environmental projects at Westchester 's transportation department .

`` It is n't going to happen . ``

He and Ms. Lockton argue that planners need to think about alternatives like high-speed trains .

The Port Authority thinks the area needs a fourth full-scale airport to go with Kennedy , Newark and La Guardia , probably at Stewart Airport outside of Newburgh , N.Y.

Other regional planners think a day of reckoning can be put off if everybody sacrifices , including Westchester Airport and its neighbors .

It 's hard to argue that officials should not do all they can to block noise in the suburbs , where people pay a premium for tranquillity .

But advocates for quiet skies may have to start pondering a day not too far distant when the major airports ca n't handle any more planes , and travelers ca n't get flights they need .

Changes will have to be made that would raise the number of flights and ratchet up the noise .

We live in an era , after all , when flying on a plane has become almost as routine as riding a subway .

Many of the people who can afford spreads in Westchester and Connecticut earn much of their living traveling for business , which could slow down if air travel gridlocks .

`` We 're going to run out of room at airports or room in the skies unless people get the big picture view , `` said Kevin Mitchell , chairman of the Business Travel Coalition , a group that represents corporate buyers of travel services .

`` The upshot is much higher business fares and even higher leisure fares . ''

In the past half century , airplane travel has changed from an indulgence of the well-to-do to a convenience that most people can enjoy .

If airports stop growing , travel could become far less democratic , and just visiting an aunt in Missouri may become prohibitive .

That 's a trade-off well worth thinking about by those carrying on the worthy fight against noise .

E-mail : joeberg@nytimes.com .

Summary: Joseph Berger column on dispute between Federal Aviation Administration and tens of thousands of Westchester County and Connecticut residents over FAA plan to alter flight patterns at Westchester County Airport , which has potential to increase noise .

Summary: Photo .


Fans of the lyrical qualities of 19th-century paintings -- purity , serenity , sentiment -- will find a visit to the Bush-Holley Historic Site in Cos Cob immensely appealing .

There , the latest installation in a series of exhibitions devoted to artists who lived and worked in the Greenwich area presents the work of John Henry Twachtman -LRB- 1853-1902 -RRB- , one of America 's most genteel and popular Impressionist painters .

Twachtman is a particularly appropriate choice for this museum .

He was a cornerstone of a lively late-19th-century art colony centered on the Bush-Holley House -- where he lived from time to time as a guest and painted and taught other artists .

He also bought a 17-acre property in Greenwich , where he did his finest work .

The current exhibition is a selection of paintings produced on his Greenwich property , coupled with a handful of works done on his travels to Massachusetts , California and Europe .

The exhibition is subtitled a painter 's painter , for Twachtman was admired more by other painters than by collectors for much of his career .

Several of the early paintings here were owned by his peers , including a lovely Venetian cityscape that once belonged to J . Alden Weir , a fellow Impressionist .

Twachtman devoted himself to teaching , which also helped to buoy his reputation among other artists .

The show opens with a picture of the artist 's home in Greenwich , showing a small farmhouse surrounded by acres of largely uncultivated land .

Twachtman set the farmhouse high up in the canvass , at the crest of a hill and shaded by a light clump of autumnal trees .

It works on all levels , being neither ponderous like his earlier tonalist pastiches nor as formulaic as some later Impressionist paintings .

Twachtman also liked to paint the back facade of his house , viewed close up from above and below or framed through the tangled greenery of his overgrown garden .

`` Artist 's Home Seen From the Back `` -LRB- circa 1894 -RRB- is perhaps the most accomplished of these pieces , the contrasts of color and light in the garden areas augmented with some pleasantly pedantic detailing .

Though it shows the artist 's obvious painterly gifts , the most interesting works are views from the Bush-Holley House , looking out over the quiet bay below .

A great deal has changed in the century since Twachtman painted here , not the least of which is the development of the shoreline .

Gone is much of the natural beauty and tranquillity of the setting , which is what drew Twachtman and other artists to the Bush-Holley house .

Two of the most curious paintings are also the least successful .

They are scenes of Yellowstone Park , where Twachtman traveled to paint on commission for a patron .

One of the works depicts a gushing waterfall , the other a ravine , but neither is entirely convincing .

Both are painted from an implausible point of view , that of someone hovering midair or standing in the middle of a river .

Nor do the tones of pink , lavender-gray , powder blue and green seem quite right .

Twachtman was painting in Yellowstone in 1895 , by which time he was an accomplished and much admired artist .

So why were his Yellowstone paintings so off the mark .

Perhaps he had become accustomed to painting at home , focusing on the lush greenery , brooks and barns of Connecticut , and was just unsure of himself and his relationship with the new subject matter .

Whatever the explanation for these aberrant images , they pale in comparison to his Greenwich and Cos Cob paintings , of which there are several excellent examples here .

`` Autumn Mists '' -LRB- circa 1890 -RRB- , which depicts the pond on his property , clearly shows Twachtman 's skill at painting water .

Passages of blue and green paint are thickened in parts with white to give the surface some texture , but they also capture subtle gradations of light .

It is thoroughly cinematic .

`` John Twachtman : A Painter 's Painter , `` William Hegarty Gallery , Bush-Holley Historic Site , 39 Strickland Road , Cos Cob , through Oct . 29 .

Information : -LRB- 203 -RRB- 869-6899 or www.hstg.org.

ART REVIEW .

Summary: Benjamin Genocchio reviews works by John Twachtman at Bush-Holley Historic Site in Cos Cob , Conn .

Summary: Photos .


Alma Winemiller is the old maid 's old maid .

And Amanda Plummer is all over her like a swarm of drugged Southern bees in Hartford Stage 's heartfelt and heart-wrenching new production of `` Summer and Smoke . ''

Tennessee Williams often said that Miss Alma , as almost everyone calls her , was his finest female character and the one most like him .

She is a Mississippi minister 's daughter , still relatively young in the years just before World War I but already spinsterish , admiring of the `` everlasting struggle '' between good and evil represented by Gothic cathedrals , and eventually dependent on and grateful for `` little mercies , '' like her prescription for sleeping tablets .

Ever since her mother turned into a mental infant , Alma has been responsible for the running of the household .

She is dutiful but angry -LRB- `` You act like a child , but you have the Devil in you , '' she tells her mother -RRB- and occasionally vengeful .

There is not an uncomplicated or stereotypical bone in Alma 's body , and Ms. Plummer adds complexities and vulnerabilities of her own .

Alma 's problem is that she has been in love since childhood with the golden boy next door , John Buchanan Jr . , played with easy Redfordish charm by Marc Kudisch .

That 's Doctor Buchanan .

But John 's problem is that he is n't much interested in taking over his respected father 's medical practice .

He prefers to spend his time drinking and carousing with fast women like Rosa Gonzalez -LRB- Stephanie Beatriz -RRB- , whose father owns the local casino .

Williams almost always throws an exotic `` foreign '' character or two into his company of mostly genteel white Southerners .

In this case he does n't have anything nice to say about Latinos .

Rosa exists only as a giggly sexual object , and Papa Gonzales -LRB- Mateo Gómez -RRB- is depicted as loud , drunken , greedy and violent .

The only two characters who really matter , however , are Alma and John .

The obvious question is why hunky John bothers with pitiful Alma at all , so real chemistry between the two characters is crucial .

This production , smoothly directed by Michael Wilson , delivers that in no uncertain terms .

Mr. Kudisch 's John is sincerely fascinated by Alma , if only because of her enlightened ideals .

Ms. Plummer 's Alma is absolutely breathless when John unbuttons her blouse to place the stethoscope on her chest .

John 's sexual interest in her is real , too .

At this point in his life , he wants to sleep with every woman who crosses his path .

If `` Summer and Smoke '' is one of Williams 's lesser-known works , there are unfortunate reasons .

Although the critic Brooks Atkinson praised it to high heaven when it opened on Broadway in 1948 , it was a flop , running only three months or so .

Maybe that was a result of perceived overkill : Williams 's Pulitzer Prize-winning drama `` A Streetcar Named Desire '' had opened less than a year before and was playing two blocks away .

It is also possible that Margaret Phillips was not the right Miss Alma .

The 1952 Off Broadway revival , at Circle in the Square , with the remarkable Geraldine Page in the role , received a warmer welcome .

Ms. Page recreated her role for the imperfect 1961 film version , opposite Laurence Harvey as John .

-LRB- Ms. Page and Ms. Plummer starred in the 1982 Broadway production of `` Agnes of God , '' for which Ms. Plummer won a Tony Award . -RRB-

The brilliance of `` Summer and Smoke '' lies in its final scenes -- Alma and John 's last encounter -LRB- in which his line `` It has only been three or four times '' is an almost unbearably painful realization -RRB- , followed by Alma 's unexpected conversation with a traveling salesman .

If this were John Buchanan 's story , it becomes clear , Alma would play a very minor role , if she appeared in it at all .

`` Summer and Smoke '' is at Hartford Stage , 50 Church Street , through Oct . 1 .

Information : www.hartfordstage.org or -LRB- 860 -RRB- 527-5151 .

THEATER REVIEW .

Summary: Anita Gates reviews Hartford Stage production of Tennessee Williams 's play Summer and Smoke , directed by Michael Wilson .

Summary: Amanda Plummer and Marc Kudisch star .

Summary: Photo .


IT may have left no physical damage in its wake , but the recent communal storm in this oceanfront city over the future of its beaches has realigned the political and environmental landscape .

Despite fears about the city 's vulnerability to a major hurricane , the five-member City Council , three Democrats and two Republicans , voted unanimously in May to reject a $ 98.5 million beach preservation project by the Army Corps of Engineers that was designed to protect Long Beach from ocean flooding .

The plan would have placed a berm of dredged sand along the beach 10 feet high , with a 5-foot dune on top , from the western end of Long Beach to Point Lookout , more than six miles to the east .

Point Lookout agreed to a separate plan after the Long Beach project was rejected .

A major opponent of the corps ' plan was an environmental and surfer-advocacy group , the Surfrider Foundation , whose members said the project would create dangerous riptides and harm the look of the beach , with no guarantee that the city would be better protected , as the corps and the proponents of the plan claimed .

The group held meetings to get its message to the public and the council alike , and produced testimony by a coastal engineer and several representatives from local communities whose beaches had undergone similar projects .

All testified against the corps ' proposals for Long Beach .

Jeff Kupferman , the chairman of Surfrider 's Long Beach Action Committee and a 45-year city resident , said that while rejection of the plan was a `` major victory '' for Surfrider , surfing was far from the only issue .

`` We had concerns about swimming safety , as well as surfing , about fishing , kayaking , aesthetics -- any use of the beach , '' he said .

James P . Hennessy , a Republican council member , agreed .

`` It was never just about surfing , '' he said .

`` The council does n't agree about much , but it did agree that the beach fill part of the project was wrong . ``

What annoyed Mr. Kupferman was that Surfrider was portrayed negatively by those who favored the plan .

`` Their attitude was we were , ' Yo , just a bunch of surfer dudes out to get a wave , ' '' he said .

`` And they used that as the hook to try and discredit us .

The fact that we prevailed has sent a lot of ripples out into this community . ``

Alison Johnson , a Long Beach resident and vice chairwoman of Surfrider 's New York City chapter , which worked closely with the Central Long Island chapter in opposing the plan , said that the decision had ramifications beyond Long Beach .

`` It will make the powers that be look at storm protection on the East Coast in a different way , '' she said , `` which is the biggest success you can ask from any project . ''

Assemblyman Harvey Weisenberg , a lifelong Long Beach resident and a vocal supporter of the Corps of Engineers ' project , was less sanguine about the outcome .

`` How did people get elected to office that are so ignorant .

`` he said of the City Council .

`` I just pray hard and hope to God we do n't get hit by anything . ``

Even with the beach issue decided , the officials ' alliance with activists may continue .

Mr. Hennessy and the other Republican council member , Thomas R . Sofield Jr . , have proposed an alternative storm-management plan , which includes working with advisory groups like Surfrider , and the city has asked independent coastal engineers for ways to address beach protection .

Mr. Hennessy said he still had hopes of working with the Corps of Engineers should it agree to return to Long Beach , but he is adamant about his vote to reject the project .

`` I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of people who came up to me and said we 'd made a mistake , `` he said .

STORM PROTECTION .

Summary: Article on controversy over rejection by City Council in Long Beach , NY , to beach preservation project by Army Corps of Engineers designed to protect beach from ocean flooding .

Summary: Surfrider Foundation contended plan to build 15-foot-high berm and dune from Long Beach to Point Lookout would create dangerous riptides and harm look of beach and would not protect beach .

Summary: Photos .


HE sits in his wheelchair as the family rushes around him .

He can not move much , or say more than hello .

He can not participate in the summer activities that everyone pursues with great vigor day after day .

If it 's warm enough , he goes out onto the deck and snoozes in the sun with the dogs .

Unlike them , however , he does n't jump up and make excited noises when people come .

At most , he slowly turns his head and smiles .

Everyone speaks to him politely , but not for long .

What 's the point .

He ca n't say more than a couple of words , and it 's hard to tell how much he understands .

He is my stepfather , Peter , an 88-year-old man who in the last decade has been transformed from a lively and dynamic person into not much more than a body occupying space .

He has post-polio syndrome , a condition that seeps the strength from his upper body as steadily as it weakened his legs when he was a teenager .

A couple of strokes have further debilitated him .

As my son , Asher , said to my mother one day , it 's as if he 's hardly a person anymore .

And yet this is n't how Asher , 14 , behaves toward him .

He constantly monitors Peter 's feet to see if they 've slipped off the footrests of his wheelchair .

He always asks if Peter wants something to drink .

His recognition of the full extent of what it means to be a person goes beyond his frustration at Peter 's limitations .

Asher is concerned with Peter 's comfort , his feeling of inclusion .

Peter 's situation brings out Asher 's own humanity .

Peter is certainly a person to my mother , Addy , though she has no illusions about his abilities .

He is her third husband , the one who was finally her friend .

She does what she can to make him comfortable and to replicate his old habits .

Since his only real pleasure is food , she makes him good meals for lunch and dinner .

At night they listen to Amy Goodman on NPR and then watch Chris Matthews and a couple of episodes of `` Seinfeld '' or `` Curb Your Enthusiasm . ''

On Tuesdays , Peter 's longtime men 's lunch group comes over to eat with him and discuss books and politics .

Peter does n't participate , but he enjoys the routine .

Last summer he could still join them at the local restaurant .

He would motor up the street in his Jazzy wheelchair with an orange pennant waving above his head to warn cars away .

He is far from being able to do anything like that now .

Peter needs to be cared for at the most basic custodial level .

When my friend Anne visited , her 9-year-old son , Nick , was interested in what this entailed .

Over the course of a five-day stay , Nick asked many questions of Stacey , the woman who comes in to get Peter out of bed in the morning -- the very practical questions that most adults prefer not to think about .

Several times Stacey saw Nick looking in the window when it was changing time .

He was n't fazed by what he saw .

He accepted Peter 's condition and presence in the house as natural .

He was right about that .

My mother and Peter live on the lip of a harbor in Maine .

All summer , family members passed through , usually for a week or so .

I stayed the longest -- six weeks .

On some days there were enough people staying to fulfill my old fantasy of a big house full of people , bursting with robust togetherness .

This was a new phenomenon here .

For many years we were only welcome to stay for a short time .

The stepparents had limited tolerance for each other 's children , especially the noisy grandchildren .

I often rented nearby to make visits to my mother less stressful .

Other sons and daughters did the same .

We rarely overlapped or had the sense of a beloved summer house , full of traditions passed down through generations .

We each had a private relationship with Maine , and with Peter and my mother .

But an unexpected side effect of Peter 's deterioration has been a lessening of the feeling that anyone beyond my mother and stepfather creates a crowd .

Now Peter seems to enjoy the bustle that my mother used to believe was an imposition on him .

He is no longer an aging intellectual who requires quiet for reading and writing .

The grandchildren are older , and he is younger , babylike .

After breakfast , he sleeps for a couple of hours in the kitchen , no matter the amount of dish washing or screen-door banging .

So family life swirled around him this summer .

We spent the kind of easy time together that I like best , quantity rather than quality .

Just hanging out .

Siblings , nieces and nephews trooped through with significant others in tow .

They each had a relationship with Peter while they were there .

Some spent time talking to him even if he could n't reply .

Others made sure he was comfortable at the table during meals .

Though it was easy to forget he was in the room , everyone was delighted when he broke into a conversation with a responsive remark .

The old Peter ! It was good to see him again , if only for a moment .

Starting the last week of July , my mother began to say fall was in the air .

I bridled against this , though I knew what she meant .

I felt it too , a change in the light from white to yellow , a softening of the wind , a resignation of the leaves on certain trees .

But I did n't want to skip ahead , so I pretended not to notice .

It 's summer , I insisted .

This is what summer is like in Maine .

It is tempting to make this whisper of fall a metaphor for Peter 's diminishing presence .

September brings up memories of how the end of summer felt during childhood , a loss .

Yet I find myself resisting the comparison .

Peter is alive , and summer does n't officially end for 10 more days .

I 'm still wearing white .

GENERATIONS .

Summary: Drawing .


It 's exciting to wander the stalls of foreign bazaars , food halls and markets , with their stocks of rich and strange ingredients that promise , perhaps , a thrill of sweet discovery .

Some of that excitement can also be had in White Plains , where Yaranush packs its shelves and cases with foods from the Mediterranean and the Middle East .

Even shoppers familiar with the wares grab a basket and trawl the aisles of this small shop .

But old-timers might head right for the clear boxes of dried fruit and shelled and unshelled nuts , just beyond the breads heaped at the entrance .

Some wander to the back for sesame cakes and for glistening , honey-dripping baklava .

Then there 's the refrigerated case .

Next to items like stuffed grape leaves , eight kinds of olives , savory pastries , yogurts , hummus , tabbouleh and tzatziki are the bins of feta , why I usually come here .

Yaranush has three types of feta bobbing in a brine bath : Greek , French and Bulgarian .

And they 're all made from sheep 's milk .

The crumbly Bulgarian 's sour , salty taste is good on a salad .

The Greek style , smooth and somewhat less salty , goes well with tomatoes and in sandwiches .

The mild and creamy French spreads nicely on crackers and can take a sweet or savory topping .

Customers unsure of which feta to choose can request samples .

Between the breads and the baklava , shelves burst with coffees , all sorts of preserves -LRB- including quince and pumpkin -RRB- , vegetables , herbs , spices , cookies , condiments , biscuits , candy and even mortars and pestles and sets of dainty coffee cups .

Most labels are in English , but if a jar of mysterious syrup or a bag of Persian dried lemons catches the eye , the gracious owners are always on hand for explanations and advice .

Yaranush Mediterranean Foods , 322 Central Avenue , White Plains .

-LRB- 914 -RRB- 682-8449 .

M . H . REED Westchester .

Summary: Article on Yaranush Mediterranean Foods in White Plains , NY .


FIVE years ago my brother and I spoke regularly .

Five years ago we drank together , teased each other without mercy and , occasionally , even expressed feelings of affection .

After 9/11 we did not .

My brother is a 20-plus-year veteran of the New York City Fire Department , a former marine with a degree in history whose politics are conservative .

He is four years older and quite a bit larger than me .

I am a 20-plus-year veteran of big-agency advertising , a creative director turned fiction writer whose politics , not surprisingly , do not lean conservatively .

Until five years ago , this was not such a big problem .

There were plenty of other things to talk about , and we knew that despite our differences , there was still much to appreciate about each other .

On Sept . 11 , 2001 , I was in Boca Raton , Fla . , on business accompanied by my wife , my 3-year-old daughter and my mother-in-law -LRB- yes , my mother-in-law came on business trips with us back then -RRB- at , of all things , a sales convention for a yogurt company .

At 9 a.m. , we were granted a 10-minute respite from the executive Vince Lombardi-isms and the Roman Colosseum-inspired motivational décor .

The first thing I did was check the messages on my personal communications device du jour , because in 2001 , I was convinced that the more I checked the quotidian drivel it contained the more it seemed that my ad agency , yogurt convention , frequent-flier-miles-financed-family-business-trip life mattered .

But this time what the messages told me were hardly drivel .

I immediately called New York to check on my brother who was not supposed to be working , but with firefighters you never know .

He was n't working .

He 'd soon go to the site , but luckily he would n't be one of the 343 firefighters killed .

For the next hour , I 'm fairly sure that he watched what I watched , that he looked away when I looked away , and I am fairly sure that at 9:59 a.m. , when the south tower of the World Trade Center collapsed , he felt exactly what I felt .

What we all felt .

I am also sure that those were the last pure , nonpoliticized thoughts any of us would have about that day , and the last time that my brother and I would feel the same way about anything for some time .

Renting a car and driving home was our only option .

At first I wanted to push through , to rush the family home .

`` To what .

`` my wife asked .

`` To have our daughter watch her parents sit paralyzed in front of a television set .

`` So we took our time , taking a scenic , non-traditional route back to New York .

I got my information from fellow travelers and National Public Radio .

I found comfort in the measured voices of `` All Things Considered , '' solace in `` I love New York '' signs in Georgia , inspiration in the words on Jefferson 's tombstone at Monticello , near Charlottesville , Va . , which noted that he was also one of the fathers of religious tolerance in this country .

Meanwhile , my brother was getting his information from rescue workers and fellow firefighters .

Because of his military background , his job in the years before the attack had included training recruits at the Fire Academy at Randalls Island .

His job in the months ahead would be to coordinate funerals .

Dozens of funerals .

For friends and friends of friends , each with a story more tragic than the last .

Late at night on Sept . 14 , my family slept as I drove through Pennsylvania .

With no NPR to be had for the time being , I listened to sports guys weighing in on the Northern Alliance , D.J. ` s explaining the tenuous Pakistani-Afghani relationship .

With each passing mile , more and more proselytizing and hate seeped into the views of the syndicated giants .

Driving near Port Jervis , N.Y. , a state trooper pulled alongside our car and shined a spotlight inside while the rest of my family was sleeping .

Four strangers in a red rental car with Florida plates .

Suspects .

To think that 9/11 drove a stake between my brother and me is as naïve as thinking that it drove one through the country .

Red and blue staters had been at each other 's throats for a while , and my brother and I had clashed on and off over lots of things for years .

But this took it farther .

He had been affected by it in ways I could not imagine .

Of the 343 firefighters killed , he knew dozens .

No one that I knew had died .

Within a week , I would go back to work .

For more than a year , he would go to funerals and I imagine that in addition to grief , a man with my brother 's courage and sense of duty must also have been dealing with a serious case of survivor 's guilt .

But did that make his opinions -- which had become increasingly angry and pronounced -- right .

Over the last five years we 've disagreed about everything from the 2000 and 2004 elections to the war in Iraq , radical Islam and of course , the liberal news media .

For a while we tiptoed around politics but when we were together everything seemed political .

For a while we did n't speak at all .

But lately we 've been talking .

I care too strongly for him to let politics destroy our relationship and I think he feels the same .

The other day I called him .

He had just gotten home from the hospital where a fellow firefighter , Lt . Howard Carpluk Jr . lay in critical condition from injuries suffered when the floor had given way in a burning Bronx building .

Another firefighter , 25-year-old Michael Reilly , who had served in the Marines in Iraq , had already died .

My brother told me he was there near Mayor Michael Bloomberg as the doctors gave them an update .

-LRB- Lieutenant Carpluk died the following day . -RRB-

My brother sounded tired .

After some time , while discussing Labor Day plans , I told him that I 'd been invited to discuss my book on a conservative talk show in Boston and joked that I feared an ambush .

He told me to tell them that my brother was a New York City firefighter , and maybe they 'd go easy on me .

James P . Othmer is the author of the novel `` The Futurist . '' .


`` The Rising , '' Westchester County 's towering memorial to the victims of 9/11 , did not get off to a promising start .

The drawings were lovely but the design was flawed .

It called for 109 polished steel cables , one for each Westchester resident killed that day , to rise from a circular base and intertwine into a pillar soaring magically to the sky .

But the plan had to be rethought when the engineers informed the architect that his vision was likely to collapse under its own weight .

Fixing it meant spending a lot more money , and as the Board of Legislators debated the issue and a crash fund-raising effort began , it seemed possible that this project could end up stalling and floundering as badly as its hexed counterpart at ground zero in Lower Manhattan .

That it did not -- and that a completed memorial is scheduled to be dedicated today at Kensico Dam Plaza in Valhalla -- is a testament to the virtues of flexibility and cooperative good will , and to the power of a beautiful idea .

`` The Rising '' was the unanimous choice of a committee of victims ' family members overseeing the design competition .

The architect , Frederic Schwartz , and his engineering team recovered quickly from the technical setback .

They replaced the cables with thicker stainless-steel rods , adjusted the swooping profile and came up with a structure that honored the original concept while promising to stand up to wind and gravity .

The cost overrun for the redesigned memorial was not insignificant -- its original $ 200,000 price tag ended up at about $ 770,000 .

By all accounts , that was the only real mix-up .

Under the leadership of County Executive Andrew Spano , who first proposed the memorial in a State of the County address in 2002 , `` The Rising '' arose in a process that seems to have been a near-miraculous convergence of vision and efficient follow-through .

The victims ' families were consulted at every step .

They chose not only the design but also the site , in the shadow of the mighty Kensico Dam .

They were invited to submit messages to be etched beneath the victims ' names on the granite plaques encircling the memorial , and many did .

The product of their collaboration is remarkable , a web of polished steel that recalls but does not mimic the elegant geometry of the World Trade Center .

To walk around and beneath it -- to read a name and family tribute on a marker and then follow the path of a single steel strand that pulls your gaze up and into the endless depth of a blue sky -- is to participate in an act of remembrance that can upend your expectations of what a memorial can do .

`` The Rising '' proves that adding a bit of group participation and democracy to the creation of a work of art is not always fatal to an artist 's vision -- that the work of committees is not doomed to end in blandness and incoherence .

It shows that a memorial incorporating personal tributes -- one that lets loved ones write the text -- does not have to succumb to maudlin sentiment .

The messages are powerful in their simple dignity , and remind us that the heroism and suffering of that September morning were not confined to a few blocks of Lower Manhattan , but radiated throughout the New York region , and beyond .

Finally , and most strikingly , `` The Rising '' shows that a memorial necessitated by an act of mass murder need not be morbid .

This strange , shimmering tower , which aims skyward and lifts the heart with it , seems likely to be simultaneously a place for solemn remembrance and a source of delight .

That 's a paradox , but one we will be only too glad to puzzle over .

Westchester .

Summary: Editorial praises The Rising , Westchester County 's towering memorial to victims of 9/11 at Kensico Dam Plaza in Valhalla , NY , as testament to virtues of flexibility and cooperation and power of a beautiful idea .


TO those caught up in the loose-hipped calypso beat wafting over Peekskill this time last year , the One World Arts and Culture Fest at the Paramount Center for the Arts might have seemed little more than well-organized fun .

But like a good many events masquerading as simple entertainment , the festival , which returns for a second run on Sept . 13 , was the beginning of a larger mission for Jon Yanofsky and his staff , who had watched the region metamorphose and had not liked what they believed was a limited cultural response to the changes .

`` We saw a demographic that was not really respected in arts programming , '' Mr. Yanofsky , the center 's executive director , said recently in a phone interview .

`` Looking around , we were seeing a void in the kind of really broad-spectrum festival that would meet the interests and needs of an increasingly diverse regional demographic .

There were lots of heritage festivals , but no one that put out a really big umbrella and looked at a large spectrum of cultural and artistic expressions . ``

And so , building upon an idea from a board member , Geneive Brown Metzger , Mr. Yanofsky and his team created what they thought was missing : a festival whose scope was vast enough to entertain the masses in one of Westchester County 's most diverse areas and to provide the Paramount with a means of more accurately defining its potential audience and ultimately connecting with it .

`` We did n't know what to expect , `` Mr. Yanofsky said .

`` But one of the best ways to learn about and reach your market is to offer a festival and learn everything for free . ''

What they got was a great turnout , he said , and events , like an Afro-Puerto Rican dance and music workshop , that were attended by people aged 7 to 65 .

`` We were able to fund-raise enough last year that we could honor our original vision that the majority of activities be free , '' Mr. Yanofsky said , noting that the festival charges admission only to films .

`` That proved to be a really important component . ''

This year 's festival , which has been expanded to five days from four , begins Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. with an awards ceremony and the opening of a visual arts show .

Two films -- `` The Harder They Come , '' Perry Henzell 's 1972 cult hit starring Jimmy Cliff as a reggae singer-turned-political outlaw amid the brutal exploitation of the Jamaican music scene , and `` Calle 54 , '' Fernando Trueba 's 2000 love song to Latin jazz -- will be shown at 8 p.m. on Thursday and Friday , respectively .

-LRB- Admission is $ 8 for adults , $ 5 for children . -RRB-

The pianist Arturo O'Farrill , whose father , the Afro-Cuban jazz pioneer Chico , is the subject of an entire segment of `` Calle 54 , '' will introduce that film and answer questions afterward , and even play a few riffs .

Saturday is Family and Youth Day , a new addition to the festival with seven hours of free performances and workshops in capoeira , the Brazilian martial art .

African dancing and drumming .

South American storytelling .

And flamenco dance and steel drum playing , starting at noon .

`` We wanted to specifically provide programs to bring kids to so they could experience the very diverse expressions of our region 's very diverse communities , `` Mr. Yanofsky said .

Last year 's Free Music Day was headlined by the calypso giant the Mighty Sparrow .

This year 's , from 1 to 7 p.m. on Sunday , features performances by Bakithi Kumalo of South Africa , the Adehye African Dance Group from Ghana , the Ecuadorian altiplano group Runahurco , and samba and capoeira ensembles , before segueing into the day 's top draw , the reggae stalwarts the Wailers .

`` People have been coming up to me and saying : ' The Wailers in Peekskill for free .

Are you kidding me .

' `` Mr. Yanofsky said .

`` And I tell them , ' Yes , it 's free . '

Thank our sponsors when you see them . ``

Paramount Center for the Arts , 1008 Brown Street , Peekskill .

Information : -LRB- 914 -RRB- 739-2333 .

Summary: Article on second annual One World Arts and Culture Fest at Paramount Center for the Arts in Peekskill , NY , which is set to open on September 13 .

Summary: Photos .


THE Jacob Burns Film Center 's annual fund-raising awards dinner and auction is a flashy affair , featuring dignitaries from the film industry and bidders who pool together to try to win big prizes , like a ride in the Fuji blimp .

At this year 's event , which will celebrate the nonprofit center 's fifth anniversary , the items up for auction include a weeklong vacation in Nantucket and , perhaps the most-sought-after prize , an in-home concert performed by the Tokyo String Quartet .

Stephen Apkon , executive director of the Burns Center , said that items offered at the event generally go for $ 5,000 and up , and bidding for the quartet usually starts at about $ 10,000 .

The Tokyo Quartet , widely considered one of the world 's premier chamber music groups , has a long-running connection with Westchester County and the Burns Center , based in Pleasantville .

The first violinist , Martin Beaver , and the cellist , Clive Greensmith , live in Dobbs Ferry .

The second violinist , Kikuei Ikeda , lives in Chappaqua .

When the quartet needed a local rehearsal space a few years ago , Brian Skarstad , a Pleasantville violin maker , offered a room in his downtown workshop .

The quartet used the space for a couple of years , and town residents would often stop outside the door to listen .

After the Burns Center opened in 2001 , Mr. Skarstad 's wife , Louise Beach , a composer , asked the quartet if they would be willing to play a house concert for the film center 's first benefit auction , in 2002 .

They agreed , and found the intimacy of the performance refreshing .

`` We really love doing these concerts , '' Mr. Greensmith said in a telephone interview .

`` More often than not , the audience is made up of incredibly interesting people , real chamber music lovers .

The Burns Center attracts a very cultural audience . ``

The Tokyo Quartet has performed a house concert for every Burns Center fund-raising auction .

At the start of each year , the quartet sets aside two or three potential concert dates -LRB- the quartet 's regular touring schedule is arranged at least a year in advance -RRB- .

Mr. Greensmith and Mr. Ikeda are also regulars at the film center , which each year presents more than 450 films from 50 different countries .

`` It 's a different spread of films than you 'd get at the blockbuster-type places , `` Mr. Greensmith said .

`` We live near this cultural center of New York City , but it 's important to celebrate the ingenuity of local places like this . ``

Last year 's house concert was held at the Chappaqua home of Marvin Israelow and Dorian Goldman , classical music fans who had unsuccessfully bid on the Tokyo Quartet in two previous years .

`` When we were outbid the first time , we were invited to join the performance , '' Mr. Israelow said in a telephone interview .

`` After that , we became even more enchanted by the possibility of having the Tokyo in our home . ''

On their third try , Mr. Israelow and Ms. Goldman joined forces , and funds , with six friends and won the Tokyo 's services in a lively bidding session .

They invited nearly 20 friends for the concert and a pot-luck dinner .

The quartet performed works by Mozart and Bartok , discussing the pieces before playing .

At intermission , Mr. Beaver offered to let a teenage violin student in the audience play his Stradivarius -LRB- all four members of the Tokyo play Stradivariuses that were once owned by the virtuoso Niccolò Paganini -RRB- .

`` His parents ' jaws dropped to the floor , but he played it well , `` Mr. Israelow said .

`` The performers were extraordinarily gracious and generous , and the living room vibrated for weeks and months afterwards with the sounds of the concert . ''

The Jacob Burns Film Center 's Fifth Anniversary Celebration and Awards Dinner will be held on Saturday , Sept . 16 , at 7:30 p.m. , across from the center , at 364 Manville Road , Pleasantville .

For information , call -LRB- 914 -RRB- 773-7663 or visit burnsfilmcenter.org.

Summary: Article on Jacob Burns Film Center 's annual fund-raising awards dinner and auction in Pleasantville , NY . Items for auction include in-home concert performed by Tokyo String Quartet .

Summary: Photo .


WHEN affluent suburbanites travel , they can be quite fussy , demanding that airplanes show up and take off like clockwork and that anything less is -- to use a word the fastidious favor -- unacceptable .

But when they 're lounging in their backyards , they want the skies to be jet-free , or at least noise-free .

If jets must be seen , they should not be heard .

The problem in hubs like New York is that the two desires are fast becoming irreconcilable .

American airlines handled 739 million passengers last year .

By 2015 that number is expected to balloon to 1 billion .

No one wants an airport sprouting next door , with all the attendant whines , drones and roars , so the Federal Aviation Administration has been trying to squeeze in more flights by rejiggering the way planes use air space in the corridor between Philadelphia and Connecticut .

But the redesign has set off a fury among the tens of thousands of Westchester and Connecticut residents living around Westchester County Airport .

It turns out that flight patterns around the airport may have to be tinkered with because of the spillover from changes in patterns at LaGuardia Airport , meaning more whines and roars for those living below .

Until recently , the issue of rerouting seldom flashed on the public 's radar , mostly because the F.A.A had not always been forthcoming .

In February , Janet Lockton , president of the Greenwich-based Air Conservation Trust , went to an F.A.A. slide show in Stamford and came away reassured that Westchester 's airport would be untouched , and that LaGuardia flights would spend more time over the uncomplaining waters of Long Island Sound .

But then she ordered three CD 's containing 1,226 pages of the preliminary environmental statement and discovered in the nearly impenetrable appendixes that planes taking off from the county airport would indeed loop over Westchester and Connecticut for longer periods .

She alerted officials across the state border , and in June , County Executive Andrew J . Spano issued a letter to the F.A.A. , based on an environmental consultant 's study .

Mr. Spano 's letter rebuffed the F.A.A. ` s preferred proposal for flight patterns because the plan would have '' a significant impact `` on places like Rye Brook , Pleasantville and Briarcliff .

Some aircraft , Mr. Spano bristled , would `` incredibly '' be rerouted over the Indian Point nuclear plant .

How unhinging the noise would be has been disputed , with the F.A.A. minimizing any spikes in volume and the consultant , Harris Miller Miller & Hanson Inc . saying the changes would probably be `` highly noticeable . ''

The county airport already has limits on noise enshrined in county law .

In any half-hour-period , no more than four commercial planes can land or take off at the airport , and those planes together can carry no more than 240 passengers .

Flights are practically banned between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m.

The airport has intentionally been kept a backwater , with such anomalies as propeller-plane flights to Toronto .

`` There are people who persist in talking about how Westchester could , should or would expand , '' said Robert Funicello , director for environmental projects at Westchester 's transportation department .

`` It is n't going to happen . ``

He and Ms. Lockton argue that planners need to think about alternatives like high-speed trains .

The Port Authority thinks the area needs a fourth full-scale airport to go with Kennedy , Newark and La Guardia , probably at Stewart Airport outside of Newburgh , N.Y.

Other regional planners think a day of reckoning can be put off if everybody sacrifices , including Westchester Airport and its neighbors .

It 's hard to argue that officials should not do all they can to block noise in the suburbs , where people pay a premium for tranquillity .

But advocates for quiet skies may have to start pondering a day not too far distant when the major airports ca n't handle any more planes , and travelers ca n't get flights they need .

Changes will have to be made that would raise the number of flights and ratchet up the noise .

We live in an era , after all , when flying on a plane has become almost as routine as riding a subway .

Many of the people who can afford spreads in Westchester and Connecticut earn much of their living traveling for business , which could slow down if air travel gridlocks .

`` We 're going to run out of room at airports or room in the skies unless people get the big picture view , `` said Kevin Mitchell , chairman of the Business Travel Coalition , a group that represents corporate buyers of travel services .

`` The upshot is much higher business fares and even higher leisure fares . ''

In the past half century , airplane travel has changed from an indulgence of the well-to-do to a convenience that most people can enjoy .

If airports stop growing , travel could become far less democratic , and just visiting an aunt in Missouri may become prohibitive .

That 's a trade-off well worth thinking about by those carrying on the worthy fight against noise .

E-mail : joeberg@nytimes.com .

Summary: Photo .


WHEN Natalie Wells bought a home in Englewood , N.J. , a year ago , she was unaware that her American pit bull terrier was illegal to own in the city .

Shortly after moving in , she was told by one of her daughters about a city law that banned the breed , commonly called pit bulls , along with several similar breeds and Rottweilers .

Under the 1999 law , even this year 's best-in-show winner at the prestigious Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show , Rufus , a colored bull terrier from Holmdel , N.J. , would be banned in Englewood .

`` I pretty much knew in my gut it was n't right , `` Ms. Wells said .

In July , Ms. Wells filed a challenge to the law in Bergen County Superior Court along with Mia Rodriguez , a neighbor who also owns a pit bull , and the American Dog Owner 's Association of Castleton , N.Y.

Last month , Superior Court Judge Jonathan N . Harris agreed with Ms. Wells and ordered the city to stop enforcing the law because it was in conflict with a New Jersey statute that prohibits restricting dogs by breed .

`` Cities do n't have the right to make laws that violate state law , `` said Flora Edwards , the lawyer who represented the plaintiffs .

`` If the legal drinking age is 21 under state law , the City of Englewood or Montclair ca n't say it 's 25 or 18 . ``

According to a Centers for Disease Control study , the pit bull breed was responsible for more dog-bite fatalities than any other breed from 1979 to 1998 , the latest year for which figures were available .

The breed was responsible for 66 of 238 dog-bite fatalities during that period .

Rottweilers were next , with 39 .

The New Jersey Vicious and Potentially Dangerous Dog Act sets out criteria for dealing with aggressive dogs , but prohibits breed discrimination .

New York has a similar statute .

Connecticut 's law does not ban breed discrimination .

Despite such laws , some communities still have restrictions on specific breeds .

They range from outright bans to requiring property insurance coverage and the use of shorter leashes and muzzles in public .

Tanya Ford , village clerk in Hempstead , N.Y. , said she was aware of no challenges to its law , which categorizes American pit bull terriers and several related breeds as vicious dogs , requiring that they be muzzled when walked and kept on a chain with a minimum strength of 300 pounds and not exceeding three feet in length .

Owners must also have liability insurance of $ 100,000 .

Mahlon Goer , a pit bull owner who tracks legislation in New York for the American Dog Owner 's Association , said the state still allowed insurance companies to drop customers or deny property insurance to prospective customers based on the breed of dog they own .

Underwriting policies vary , according to the group , but beyond pit bulls and related breeds , the list includes Siberian huskies , Great Danes , German shepherds , St . Bernards and Dalmatians .

Opponents of breed-specific laws say it is difficult to know how many communities have such laws because keeping tabs at the local level can be difficult unless laws are highly publicized .

According to the American Kennel Club , last year it tracked 105 communities around the nation where breed-specific legislation was pending , enacted or defeated .

The group had tracked another 76 through July .

Among the municipalities in the region that have breed-specific laws are Larchmont , Sands Point and Hempstead in New York and Millville and Atlantic City in New Jersey .

Numerous communities across the United States have such laws .

One of the most controversial is in Denver , where authorities have euthanized more than 1,000 pit bulls since the reinstatement of a ban on the breed in May 2005 .

The city 's animal control division had suspended enforcement of the ban in 2004 after the governor signed a bill restricting local governments from outlawing certain breeds .

But the city successfully sued , arguing that the bill violated its home-rule authority .

In Englewood , Douglas Bern , a lawyer who served on the City Council when the law was passed , said the council was responding to incidents in a public park where the dogs were being used to intimidate people .

He said the police had also felt threatened by pit bulls when responding to a call at a home .

The city argued that the municipal law complemented state statute , which was designed to address situations where `` existing local laws inadequately address the problem '' of aggressive dogs .

`` The city of Englewood 's ordinance in this regard actually furthers and is consistent with the legislative intent , which is to address a void where local governments have not addressed the area of vicious or potentially dangerous dogs , `` the city said in a court brief .

Under the ordinance , bull terriers , Staffordshire bull terriers , American pit bull terriers , American Staffordshire terriers , Rottweilers or `` any dogs of mixed breed which has the appearance or characteristics of being predominantly of the breeds , '' were banned from the city .

Some summonses had been issued under the law , but city officials did not know how many .

`` It 's like there 's a stigma for having one of these kinds of dog , `` said Ms. Rodriguez , who owns an ailing 8-year-old pit bull named Cyrus .

The Englewood City Council will discuss the law at its Sept . 19 meeting , said Scott Reddin , the council president .

He said he did not expect the council to challenge the court 's decision .

`` We were profiling certain breeds and that was found to be unconstitutional , '' he said .

`` I do n't think the council will have any problem rescinding that . ``

Numerous national dog owner and veterinarian associations have come out against breed-specific laws , saying they are unfair and do not address the problem of aggressive and dangerous dogs .

`` As we like to say , punish the deed , not the breed , '' said Lisa Peterson , a spokeswoman for the American Kennel Club .

`` We think breed-specific laws are unfair to responsible dog owners . ''

Barbara Bishop , who owns Rufus , the top dog at the Westminster show , said she was trying to use the dog 's success to highlight the unfairness of breed-specific bans .

`` We want to let people know that every dog has teeth and every dog can bite , whether it 's a Chihuahua or a bull mastiff , `` Ms. Bishop said .

`` Every dog will be a product of what it 's brought up to do . ``

Ms. Bishop attributed much of the image problem of the pit bull breeds to people who train them to be vicious , including drug dealers who use them as guard dogs .

`` We have Rufus , who 's the top winning colored terrier of all time , and we still have people stop in the street and say , ` There 's a pit bull , ' `` she said .

For Ms. Wells , the law seemed even more absurd because her 12-year-old pit bull , Sentry , has cataracts and has had cancer , heart surgery and a hysterectomy .

`` She is a member of the family , '' said Ms. Wells , who has two daughters , ages 34 and 32 .

`` My kids tease me all the time and say she 's my favorite daughter . `` .

Summary: Article on legal challenges pit bull owners have been making against local laws in New York City metropolitan area that ban or restrict certain dog breeds .

Summary: Opponents of breed-specific laws say it is difficult to know how many communities have such laws .

Summary: Numerous national dog owner and veterinarian associations oppose breed-specific laws , saying they are unfair and do not address problem of aggressive and dangerous dogs .

Summary: Photos .


FOR failing to meet performance standards , the Clara T . O'Connell elementary school in Bristol , Conn . , spent three years on the `` in need of improvement '' list under the federal No Child Left Behind program .

When a new list came out last month , Connecticut had 290 elementary and middle schools on it , but the O'Connell School was not among them .

It had achieved what no other school in the state had managed under the four-year-old program : It had worked itself off the list .

`` For three years , the headline was that we were on the list , '' said Michael F . Audette , O'Connell 's principal .

`` Human nature being what it is , people would ask the teachers , ' What school do you teach at .

` And when the teachers would say , ' O'Connell , ' they 'd say , ` Is n't that the school that 's on the list .

` And the teachers would say , ' Yeah , but we 're doing a lot of good things . '

But nobody sticks around for the ` yeah , but . '

Now it 's nice to have a different headline , and now we can say , ` Yes , we 're that school . '

`` Henry Garcia , a spokesman for the State Department of Education , said O'Connell 's achievement was a testament to its hard work .

`` It takes schools that are in need of improvement time to see the progress once they develop curriculum and other strategies that improve student achievement , '' he said .

The number of Connecticut schools failing to meet what the program calls adequate yearly progress doubled in the 2005-6 academic year , up from 145 schools the year before .

The results were reached using scores from the Connecticut Mastery Tests , then figuring them into a host of categories and subcategories , including the number of children living in poverty who attend a school .

At the O'Connell School 80 percent of the students are poor , Mr. Audette said .

The tests require that at least 74 percent of students demonstrate proficiency in math , 68 percent in reading and 70 percent in writing .

In the 2002-3 school year , O'Connell passed all categories except reading , getting a score of 44 percent .

It also failed to meet the reading goal in 2003-4 , but reached it the next year .

In 2005-6 , it scored 61 percent in reading .

That was not high enough to meet the No Child Left Behind requirements , but federal officials put O'Connell in the `` safe harbor '' category , for schools that have significantly improved , and removed it from the `` in need of improvement '' list .

To raise the reading scores , Mr. Audette said , he and his staff reviewed the pupils ' reading data for weak areas .

The Mastery Tests require that pupils read passages and answer questions about what they have read .

To prepare , the children were asked to answer a reading question each day until they showed proficiency in expressing their comprehension .

Mr. Audette also hired additional reading support staff members and trained teaching assistants , assigning them to particular grades , where they placed the children into small groups and gave them a second instructional reading period each day .

Mr. Audette signed on with the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project at Columbia University .

The Bristol School District paid for consultants from Columbia to teach faculty members at O'Connell .

The effort paid off , especially for the third graders .

They scored 90 percent in writing proficiency in the 2005-6 Mastery Tests .

`` If I was to pinpoint exactly what we did , I would say we really looked at our reading instruction , '' Mr. Audette said .

`` It 's kind of common sense .

If you want to be a good pianist , you practice the piano . ``

EDUCATION .

Summary: Article on Clara T O'Connell elementary school in Bristol , Conn , which spent three years on ` in need of improvement ' list under No Child Left Behind program and has managed to work itself off list .

Summary: Photo .


IN the 50 years he has lived in Montclair , N.J. , Rob Bianco has seen his share of monsoon-like downpours , blizzards , ice storms , even the remnants of hurricanes .

But Mr. Bianco , the superintendent of public works for Montclair , had never seen anything like the storm that ravaged the leafy landscape of his hometown on July 18 .

`` We literally had trees and telephone poles , some as high as 20 to 30 feet in the air , that were sheared and cut off , '' he said .

`` It was a treetop tornado , meaning it never hit the ground , but it still caused a great amount of destruction . ''

The storm , which hit the northeast corner of Verona , N.J. , before blowing with a vengeance -- about a mile wide -- through a swath of Montclair for roughly a half-hour , destroyed about 200 trees on public property in Montclair , an Essex County township of about six square miles .

The most heavily damaged areas , Mr. Bianco said , were Brookdale Park , which covers 121 acres in Montclair and Bloomfield , and the township 's Edgemont Park .

`` We had some cars smashed and a lot of people running for cover , '' he said .

`` It was a miracle that no one got hurt . ''

But what about all of those damaged oak and pine trees , some of which Mr. Bianco said were 250 years old .

`` Cleaning it all up was quite a daunting task , '' said Matthew A . Vastano , the executive vice president of Nature 's Choice Corporation , a yard-waste recycling company in Union , N.J. , hired by Montclair to clear the debris caused by the storm .

`` Montclair is not your normal town where vegetative waste is concerned , '' Mr. Vastano said .

`` The town , which has huge , huge trees , is very environmentally conscious , and it wants to keep all the trees it can . ''

The trees it could not keep were hauled away by Nature 's Choice to a temporary storage site .

Any piece of wood 16 to 18 inches long was put onto chipper trucks and into machines that turned it into chips .

Anything larger was cut into logs .

Some 25 truckloads of those logs were placed into 40-foot containers on trucks -- at a cost of $ 350 per container -- for eventual mulching .

In the end , about 600 cubic yards of mulch and topsoil , or 300 tons , were produced -- enough to cover about 100,000 square feet , according to Mr. Vastano .

Mr. Bianco said that Nature 's Choice would give Montclair some of the mulch or topsoil for free if the town needed it for a special project , but that the company was free to sell it to landscapers and other businesses .

`` We are a business , not a charity , '' Mr. Vastano said .

`` We 'll take most of that mulch and turn it into hardwood mulch or dye it either black or a shade of red before selling it . ``

Dianne Marus , the director of Montclair 's Department of Finance , said that the cost of the storm cleanup came to $ 366,950 but that the price , tallied by the Department of Community Services , did not include overtime costs for the Police -LRB- $ 74,983 -RRB- and Fire Departments -LRB- $ 4,650 -RRB- .

All told , Montclair has spent $ 446,583 on storm-related services , and the job is not yet finished .

`` There are still a number of stumps to be removed and lots of re-planting to do , '' Mr. Bianco said .

`` By the time all is said and done , this entire project is going to cost us more money and continue for at least another month . ''

STORM CLEANUP .

Summary: Article on work of Nature 's Choice Corp , yard-waste recycling company hired by Montclair , NJ , to clear debris caused by July 18 storm that destroyed about 200 trees on public property .

Summary: Company turned trees into about 600 cubic yards of mulch and topsoil .

Summary: Photo .


DEEP into suburbia , on a sound barrier that runs along the Taconic State Parkway here , a graffiti artist announces his presence with a single word painted in yellow and black : `` Me . ''

Officials said that graffiti had reached new heights this summer .

And in a town that bills itself as a retreat from more urban locales , politicians and police officers are taking the problem seriously .

`` Whether you grew up here all your life , or whether you moved here from the Bronx or Yonkers or Long Island , you do n't want to see that , `` said Linda G . Cooper , the town supervisor .

`` And so we 're trying to take a very firm position . ``

In June , the Yorktown police began graffiti patrols as a deterrent .

They also began photographing graffiti they found to create a catalog of the work of local vandals for use in investigations , Lt . Donald Schuck said .

Since July , Lieutenant Schuck said , the police have arrested nine boys on graffiti-related charges .

The most recent came on Aug . 28 , with the arrest of a 14-year-old from Mohegan Lake , a hamlet of Yorktown .

The police said he had sprayed a wall at a town-owned sports club , causing about $ 400 in damage .

The boy , charged with making graffiti and possession of graffiti instruments , both misdemeanors , was released to his mother and was scheduled to appear on Friday in Westchester County Family Court in White Plains .

The town , which has seen stop signs , park buildings , businesses and even a police radar unit defaced this summer , is also considering new legislation .

One proposed law would require vandals to pay restitution .

Another would mandate that residents who discover graffiti on their property clean it within 72 hours .

Ms. Cooper said that rapid removal discouraged vandals .

Town officials and youth advocates said there were a number of reasons for the surge in graffiti .

Lieutenant Schuck said increased access to the tools of graffiti had played a role .

Young people , previously stymied by a county law forbidding the sale of spray paint to anyone under 18 , have begun ordering the paint over the Internet , he said .

Joan Valenstein , chairwoman of the advisory board for the Yorktown Teen Center , a branch of the Boys and Girls Club of Northern Westchester , said the increase might be the byproduct of boredom in a town that she said did not provide enough youth activities .

Ms. Cooper said some of the graffiti included gang insignia previously seen in the southern , more urban part of the county .

Whatever the source of the graffiti , the town seems determined to stamp it out .

But out on the Taconic State Parkway , high above the cars rushing by , defiance is etched in yellow and black .

VANDALISM .

Summary: Officials in Yorktown , NY , say graffiti has reached new heights this summer .

Summary: Police have begun graffiti patrols as deterrent and have arrested nine boys on graffiti-related charges since July .

Summary: Photo .


WHEN Natalie Wells bought a home in Englewood , N.J. , a year ago , she was unaware that her American pit bull terrier was illegal to own in the city .

Shortly after moving in , she was told by one of her daughters about a city law that banned the breed , commonly called pit bulls , along with several similar breeds and Rottweilers .

Under the 1999 law , even this year 's best-in-show winner at the prestigious Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show , Rufus , a colored bull terrier from Holmdel , N.J. , would be banned in Englewood .

`` I pretty much knew in my gut it was n't right , `` Ms. Wells said .

In July , Ms. Wells filed a challenge to the law in Bergen County Superior Court along with Mia Rodriguez , a neighbor who also owns a pit bull , and the American Dog Owner 's Association of Castleton , N.Y.

Last month , Superior Court Judge Jonathan N . Harris agreed with Ms. Wells and ordered the city to stop enforcing the law because it was in conflict with a New Jersey statute that prohibits restricting dogs by breed .

`` Cities do n't have the right to make laws that violate state law , `` said Flora Edwards , the lawyer who represented the plaintiffs .

`` If the legal drinking age is 21 under state law , the City of Englewood or Montclair ca n't say it 's 25 or 18 . ``

According to a Centers for Disease Control study , the pit bull breed was responsible for more dog-bite fatalities than any other breed from 1979 to 1998 , the latest year for which figures were available .

The breed was responsible for 66 of 238 dog-bite fatalities during that period .

Rottweilers were next , with 39 .

The New Jersey Vicious and Potentially Dangerous Dog Act sets out criteria for dealing with aggressive dogs , but prohibits breed discrimination .

New York has a similar statute .

Connecticut 's law does not ban breed discrimination .

Despite such laws , some communities still have restrictions on specific breeds .

They range from outright bans to requiring property insurance coverage and the use of shorter leashes and muzzles in public .

Tanya Ford , village clerk in Hempstead , N.Y. , said she was aware of no challenges to its law , which categorizes American pit bull terriers and several related breeds as vicious dogs , requiring that they be muzzled when walked and kept on a chain with a minimum strength of 300 pounds and not exceeding three feet in length .

Owners must also have liability insurance of $ 100,000 .

Mahlon Goer , a pit bull owner who tracks legislation in New York for the American Dog Owner 's Association , said the state still allowed insurance companies to drop customers or deny property insurance to prospective customers based on the breed of dog they own .

Underwriting policies vary , according to the group , but beyond pit bulls and related breeds , the list includes Siberian huskies , Great Danes , German shepherds , St . Bernards and Dalmatians .

Opponents of breed-specific laws say it is difficult to know how many communities have such laws because keeping tabs at the local level can be difficult unless laws are highly publicized .

According to the American Kennel Club , last year it tracked 105 communities around the nation where breed-specific legislation was pending , enacted or defeated .

The group had tracked another 76 through July .

Among the municipalities in the region that have breed-specific laws are Larchmont , Sands Point and Hempstead in New York and Millville and Atlantic City in New Jersey .

Numerous communities across the United States have such laws .

One of the most controversial is in Denver , where authorities have euthanized more than 1,000 pit bulls since the reinstatement of a ban on the breed in May 2005 .

The city 's animal control division had suspended enforcement of the ban in 2004 after the governor signed a bill restricting local governments from outlawing certain breeds .

But the city successfully sued , arguing that the bill violated its home-rule authority .

In Englewood , Douglas Bern , a lawyer who served on the City Council when the law was passed , said the council was responding to incidents in a public park where the dogs were being used to intimidate people .

He said the police had also felt threatened by pit bulls when responding to a call at a home .

The city argued that the municipal law complemented state statute , which was designed to address situations where `` existing local laws inadequately address the problem '' of aggressive dogs .

`` The city of Englewood 's ordinance in this regard actually furthers and is consistent with the legislative intent , which is to address a void where local governments have not addressed the area of vicious or potentially dangerous dogs , `` the city said in a court brief .

Under the ordinance , bull terriers , Staffordshire bull terriers , American pit bull terriers , American Staffordshire terriers , Rottweilers or `` any dogs of mixed breed which has the appearance or characteristics of being predominantly of the breeds , '' were banned from the city .

Some summonses had been issued under the law , but city officials did not know how many .

`` It 's like there 's a stigma for having one of these kinds of dog , `` said Ms. Rodriguez , who owns an ailing 8-year-old pit bull named Cyrus .

The Englewood City Council will discuss the law at its Sept . 19 meeting , said Scott Reddin , the council president .

He said he did not expect the council to challenge the court 's decision .

`` We were profiling certain breeds and that was found to be unconstitutional , '' he said .

`` I do n't think the council will have any problem rescinding that . ``

Numerous national dog owner and veterinarian associations have come out against breed-specific laws , saying they are unfair and do not address the problem of aggressive and dangerous dogs .

`` As we like to say , punish the deed , not the breed , '' said Lisa Peterson , a spokeswoman for the American Kennel Club .

`` We think breed-specific laws are unfair to responsible dog owners . ''

Barbara Bishop , who owns Rufus , the top dog at the Westminster show , said she was trying to use the dog 's success to highlight the unfairness of breed-specific bans .

`` We want to let people know that every dog has teeth and every dog can bite , whether it 's a Chihuahua or a bull mastiff , `` Ms. Bishop said .

`` Every dog will be a product of what it 's brought up to do . ``

Ms. Bishop attributed much of the image problem of the pit bull breeds to people who train them to be vicious , including drug dealers who use them as guard dogs .

`` We have Rufus , who 's the top winning colored terrier of all time , and we still have people stop in the street and say , ` There 's a pit bull , ' `` she said .

For Ms. Wells , the law seemed even more absurd because her 12-year-old pit bull , Sentry , has cataracts and has had cancer , heart surgery and a hysterectomy .

`` She is a member of the family , '' said Ms. Wells , who has two daughters , ages 34 and 32 .

`` My kids tease me all the time and say she 's my favorite daughter . `` .

Summary: Numerous national dog owner and veterinarian associations opposes breed-specific laws , saying they are unfair and do not address problem of aggressive and dangerous dogs .

Summary: Photos .


FOR failing to meet performance standards , the Clara T . O'Connell elementary school in Bristol , Conn . , spent three years on the `` in need of improvement '' list under the federal No Child Left Behind program .

When a new list came out last month , Connecticut had 290 elementary and middle schools on it , but the O'Connell School was not among them .

It had achieved what no other school in the state had managed under the four-year-old program : It had worked itself off the list .

`` For three years , the headline was that we were on the list , '' said Michael F . Audette , O'Connell 's principal .

`` Human nature being what it is , people would ask the teachers , ' What school do you teach at .

` And when the teachers would say , ' O'Connell , ' they 'd say , ` Is n't that the school that 's on the list .

` And the teachers would say , ' Yeah , but we 're doing a lot of good things . '

But nobody sticks around for the ` yeah , but . '

Now it 's nice to have a different headline , and now we can say , ` Yes , we 're that school . '

`` Henry Garcia , a spokesman for the State Department of Education , said O'Connell 's achievement was a testament to its hard work .

`` It takes schools that are in need of improvement time to see the progress once they develop curriculum and other strategies that improve student achievement , '' he said .

The number of Connecticut schools failing to meet what the program calls adequate yearly progress doubled in the 2005-6 academic year , up from 145 schools the year before .

The results were reached using scores from the Connecticut Mastery Tests , then figuring them into a host of categories and subcategories , including the number of children living in poverty who attend a school .

At the O'Connell School 80 percent of the students are poor , Mr. Audette said .

The tests require that at least 74 percent of students demonstrate proficiency in math , 68 percent in reading and 70 percent in writing .

In the 2002-3 school year , O'Connell passed all categories except reading , getting a score of 44 percent .

It also failed to meet the reading goal in 2003-4 , but reached it the next year .

In 2005-6 , it scored 61 percent in reading .

That was not high enough to meet the No Child Left Behind requirements , but federal officials put O'Connell in the `` safe harbor '' category , for schools that have significantly improved , and removed it from the `` in need of improvement '' list .

To raise the reading scores , Mr. Audette said , he and his staff reviewed the pupils ' reading data for weak areas .

The Mastery Tests require that pupils read passages and answer questions about what they have read .

To prepare , the children were asked to answer a reading question each day until they showed proficiency in expressing their comprehension .

Mr. Audette also hired additional reading support staff members and trained teaching assistants , assigning them to particular grades , where they placed the children into small groups and gave them a second instructional reading period each day .

Mr. Audette signed on with the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project at Columbia University .

The Bristol School District paid for consultants from Columbia to teach faculty members at O'Connell .

The effort paid off , especially for the third graders .

They scored 90 percent in writing proficiency in the 2005-6 Mastery Tests .

`` If I was to pinpoint exactly what we did , I would say we really looked at our reading instruction , '' Mr. Audette said .

`` It 's kind of common sense .

If you want to be a good pianist , you practice the piano . ``

EDUCATION .

Summary: Photo .


IT may have left no physical damage in its wake , but the recent communal storm in this oceanfront city over the future of its beaches has realigned the political and environmental landscape .

Despite fears about the city 's vulnerability to a major hurricane , the five-member City Council , three Democrats and two Republicans , voted unanimously in May to reject a $ 98.5 million beach preservation project by the Army Corps of Engineers that was designed to protect Long Beach from ocean flooding .

The plan would have placed a berm of dredged sand along the beach 10 feet high , with a 5-foot dune on top , from the western end of Long Beach to Point Lookout , more than six miles to the east .

Point Lookout agreed to a separate plan after the Long Beach project was rejected .

A major opponent of the corps ' plan was an environmental and surfer-advocacy group , the Surfrider Foundation , whose members said the project would create dangerous riptides and harm the look of the beach , with no guarantee that the city would be better protected , as the corps and the proponents of the plan claimed .

The group held meetings to get its message to the public and the council alike , and produced testimony by a coastal engineer and several representatives from local communities whose beaches had undergone similar projects .

All testified against the corps ' proposals for Long Beach .

Jeff Kupferman , the chairman of Surfrider 's Long Beach Action Committee and a 45-year city resident , said that while rejection of the plan was a `` major victory '' for Surfrider , surfing was far from the only issue .

`` We had concerns about swimming safety , as well as surfing , about fishing , kayaking , aesthetics -- any use of the beach , '' he said .

James P . Hennessy , a Republican council member , agreed .

`` It was never just about surfing , '' he said .

`` The council does n't agree about much , but it did agree that the beach fill part of the project was wrong . ``

What annoyed Mr. Kupferman was that Surfrider was portrayed negatively by those who favored the plan .

`` Their attitude was we were , ' Yo , just a bunch of surfer dudes out to get a wave , ' '' he said .

`` And they used that as the hook to try and discredit us .

The fact that we prevailed has sent a lot of ripples out into this community . ``

Alison Johnson , a Long Beach resident and vice chairwoman of Surfrider 's New York City chapter , which worked closely with the Central Long Island chapter in opposing the plan , said that the decision had ramifications beyond Long Beach .

`` It will make the powers that be look at storm protection on the East Coast in a different way , '' she said , `` which is the biggest success you can ask from any project . ''

Assemblyman Harvey Weisenberg , a lifelong Long Beach resident and a vocal supporter of the Corps of Engineers ' project , was less sanguine about the outcome .

`` How did people get elected to office that are so ignorant .

`` he said of the City Council .

`` I just pray hard and hope to God we do n't get hit by anything . ``

Even with the beach issue decided , the officials ' alliance with activists may continue .

Mr. Hennessy and the other Republican council member , Thomas R . Sofield Jr . , have proposed an alternative storm-management plan , which includes working with advisory groups like Surfrider , and the city has asked independent coastal engineers for ways to address beach protection .

Mr. Hennessy said he still had hopes of working with the Corps of Engineers should it agree to return to Long Beach , but he is adamant about his vote to reject the project .

`` I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of people who came up to me and said we 'd made a mistake , `` he said .

STORM PROTECTION .

Summary: Photos .