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Casting Announced for Comedy “Morning’s at Seven” Script in Hand Playreading at Westport Country Playhouse

Zoo to Host Asian New Year Celebration

BRIDGEPORT: Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo, the state's only zoo, invites families to celebrate Asian New Year on Saturday, February 4, 2012 from Noon to 3:00 p.m. The Year of the Dragon festivities will feature activities for the entire family including a special children's parade around the Zoo grounds, story time, crafts, and many more fun activities. Please visit the Carousel to meet some of our special lizard guests and partake in the festivities. The snow date is February 11.

About Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo celebrates its 90th birthday in 2012 and is closer than you think! Connecticut's only zoo features 300 animals representing primarily North and South American species. Visitors won't want to miss our Amur (Siberian) tigers, Brazilian ocelots, Red wolves, and Golden Lion tamarins. Other highlights include our South American rainforest with free-flight aviary, the prairie dog exhibit with "pop-up" viewing areas, the New England Farmyard with goats, cows, pigs, sheep, and other barnyard critters, plus the hoofstock trail featuring bison, pronghorn, deer, and more. Visitors can grab a bite at the Peacock Café, eat in the Picnic Grove, and enjoy a ride on our colorful carousel. For more information, visit http://www.beardsleyzoo.org

Haviland Street Gallery listings

South Norwalk - 22 Haviland Street Gallery presents "Midwinter Mix" , February 12 - March 10; works from the kitchen, kiln, and studios of Karen Ford, Shiela Hale, Susan McCaslin, Nancy Woodward. Pre-Valentine Opening Reception: Sunday, February 12, 2 p.m. - 4 p.m.; Artists Talk: Sunday, March 4, 2 p.m. - 4 p.m. Gallery hours through March 10: Wednesdays through Fridays, 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturdays 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. By appointment please call 203-852-6727. PRESS RELEASE 22 Haviland Street Gallery is cooking up an earthy and tasty exhibition called "Midwinter Mix", a collection of inspired works from the kitchen, kiln and studio of artists Karen Ford, Shiela Hale, Susan McCaslin and Nancy Woodward. The Pre-valentine Opening is Sunday, February 12 from 2 p.m. - 4 p. m. "Midwinter Mix" runs through March 10.

An accompanying Artists Talk by all four artists will be presented at the gallery on Sunday, March 4, from 2 p.m. - 4 p.m. Shiela Hale's work includes installations, sculpture, and assemblages constructed with books, text and ephemeral natural materials. She also designs and builds furniture in her Katonah, N.Y. studio. Her artwork is intimately related to the materials and processes of daily living. For "Midwinter Mix" she'll add a dash of culinary arts by making sculpture and food on the theme of eggs. shielahale@gmail.com 914-232-8007 www.shielahale.com Karen Ford's award-winning Asian-inspired porcelain serving pieces are a fusion of clay, fire and glass. Strikingly beautiful, they also enhance the everyday ritual of eating, drinking, and living. More than 50 national exhibitions including Craft USA 2011 at Silvermine Arts Center, distinguish this Westport artist's career. info@karenfordceramics.com 203-856-7945 www.karenfordceramics.com

Susan McCaslin's muted ink and watercolor works on paper can be folded to keep in your pocket. Inspired by the sense of discovering hidden treasure, her small collections contain narratives on parenting, fertility, childhood, and genealogy. She lives and works in New Haven sharing studio space with Design Monsters, a graphic design studio she runs with her husband, George Corsillo. susan@susanmccaslin.com 203-559-8172 http://www.susanmccaslin.com Nancy Woodward photographs the natural world with a sense of meditation and deep concentration. Her series of Tree Spheres in "Midwinter Mix" are elegantly rendered evocations. Woodward works out of her New Canaan studio, where the digital darkroom, she says, "affords me the resources to coax out even the faintest of shadows and ethereal landscapes". ncwood@optonline.net 203-229-0294 "Midwinter Mix" is on view in the rooms of 22 Haviland Street Gallery's historic house on Haviland Street in downtown South Norwalk's design district. Through March 10 gallery hours are Wednesdays through Fridays, 3 p.m. - 5 p.m.; Saturdays, 2 p.m. - 5 p.m.; and by appointment. For more information please call 203-852-6727.

Women’s Center Annual Breakfast February 8th

The Women’s Center’s 4^th Annual "Hearts of Hope" Breakfast to be held on Wednesday, February 8, 2012, 7:30-9:00 a.m., at the Fox Hill Inn in Brookfield , will feature local Bullying Prevention Advocate Deborah Zegas Berman as this year's guest speaker.

Ms. Berman, a Ridgefield resident, will present “The Irreversible Effects of Bullying.” Her program talk focuses on the personal toll bullying has taken on her family, Connecticut 's updated Bullying Prevention Legislation and her role in its creation and passage, and ways to affect real change.

Please call the Women's Center at (203) 731-5200 to host a table of 10 for $200 or to register as an individual for $20.

Here are some upcoming February events at the Black Rock Branch Library

Mondays & Wednesdays from 12:00 – 1:00 PM. The Black Rock Branch Library, 2705 Fairfield Avenue presents: Get Fit Bridgeport – The Black Rock Branch announces a physical fitness series using exercise DVD’s, that are available at the library. They are simple to use and appropriate for those who have not exercised regularly, or who need a gentler way of exercising, yet want results. This program is free but registration required. Please call 203 337-9676 to reserve your spot. As with any exercise program, check with your doctor if you have any known health issues.

Wednesdays – 10:45- 11:45 AM. The Black Rock Branch Library, 2705 Fairfield Avenue presents: Little Rocks. Join us for our popular Little Rocks program for children up through age 3 with a caregiver. Stories, rhymes, music, movement, short films, and time for play are all part of the mix! Contact: Miss Bina: 203-337-9676.

Tuesday, February 7^th at 6:30 PM, The Black Rock Branch Library, 2705 Fairfield Avenue presents: Waiting for Superman – A Black Rock Documentary Film Series Presentation. Filmmaker Davis Guggenheim reminds us that education “statistics” have names: Anthony, Francisco, Bianca, Daisy, and Emily, whose stories make up the engrossing foundation of WAITING FOR SUPERMAN. As he follows a handful of promising kids through a system that inhibits, rather than encourages, academic growth.

Thursday, February 9th at 6:00 PM, The Black Rock Branch Library, 2705 Fairfield Avenue presents: Family Film Festival – Ratatouille. Remy is a young rat in the French countryside that arrives in Paris, only to find out that his cooking idol is dead. When he makes an unusual alliance with a restaurant’s new garbage boy, the culinary and personal adventures begin despite Remy’s family’s skepticism and the rat-hating world of humans. For all ages! Popcorn and juice!

Wednesday, February 15th at 1:00 PM, The Black Rock Branch Library, 2705 Fairfield Avenue presents: Food for Thought – Book Discussion. The Black Rock Branch Library’s lunchtime book club meets the 3rd Wednesday of the month at 1:00 PM - bring your brown bag lunch, we will provide coffee, tea and dessert. Our next book up for discussion is: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows have written a wondrous, delightful, poignant book — part Jane Austen, part history lesson. Call the library today and reserve your copy: 203 337-9676.

Saturday, February 18th at 2:00 PM, The Black Rock Branch Library, 2705 Fairfield Avenue presents: The Underground Railroad with Pearlye Sams Allen. Please join the Black Rock Children’s Department in celebration of Black History Month with Pearlye Sams Allen’s interactive Underground Railroad Program.

Here are some upcoming February events at the Black Rock Branch Library

Mondays & Wednesdays from 12:00 – 1:00 PM. The Black Rock Branch Library, 2705 Fairfield Avenue presents: Get Fit Bridgeport – The Black Rock Branch announces a physical fitness series using exercise DVD’s, that are available at the library. They are simple to use and appropriate for those who have not exercised regularly, or who need a gentler way of exercising, yet want results. This program is free but registration required. Please call 203 337-9676 to reserve your spot. As with any exercise program, check with your doctor if you have any known health issues.

Wednesdays – 10:45- 11:45 AM. The Black Rock Branch Library, 2705 Fairfield Avenue presents: Little Rocks. Join us for our popular Little Rocks program for children up through age 3 with a caregiver. Stories, rhymes, music, movement, short films, and time for play are all part of the mix! Contact: Miss Bina: 203-337-9676.

Tuesday, February 7^th at 6:30 PM, The Black Rock Branch Library, 2705 Fairfield Avenue presents: Waiting for Superman – A Black Rock Documentary Film Series Presentation. Filmmaker Davis Guggenheim reminds us that education “statistics” have names: Anthony, Francisco, Bianca, Daisy, and Emily, whose stories make up the engrossing foundation of WAITING FOR SUPERMAN. As he follows a handful of promising kids through a system that inhibits, rather than encourages, academic growth.

Thursday, February 9th at 6:00 PM, The Black Rock Branch Library, 2705 Fairfield Avenue presents: Family Film Festival – Ratatouille. Remy is a young rat in the French countryside that arrives in Paris, only to find out that his cooking idol is dead. When he makes an unusual alliance with a restaurant’s new garbage boy, the culinary and personal adventures begin despite Remy’s family’s skepticism and the rat-hating world of humans. For all ages! Popcorn and juice!

Wednesday, February 15th at 1:00 PM, The Black Rock Branch Library, 2705 Fairfield Avenue presents: Food for Thought – Book Discussion. The Black Rock Branch Library’s lunchtime book club meets the 3rd Wednesday of the month at 1:00 PM - bring your brown bag lunch, we will provide coffee, tea and dessert. Our next book up for discussion is: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows have written a wondrous, delightful, poignant book — part Jane Austen, part history lesson. Call the library today and reserve your copy: 203 337-9676.

Saturday, February 18th at 2:00 PM, The Black Rock Branch Library, 2705 Fairfield Avenue presents: The Underground Railroad with Pearlye Sams Allen. Please join the Black Rock Children’s Department in celebration of Black History Month with Pearlye Sams Allen’s interactive Underground Railroad Program.

Party with the Bridgeport Banner as we sail past 100,000 online readers!

Celebrate the Bridgeport Banner's 100,000 hit!

That's right! In less than 10 days, the 100,000th person to have logged on to the Banner to read about news, sports, politics, business entertainment and everything else under the sun will put us past the milestone!

The 100,000th reader will receive a speacial prize package to celebrate the occasion! Keep reading for details.

SO REMEMBER THAT LUCK NUMBER READERS AND ADVERTISERS! 100,000!

Black History Month programs scheduled at Newfield and Downtown Libraries

Saturday, February 4th at 2:00 PM, The Newfield Branch Library, 1230 Stratford Avenue presents: The Underground Railroad with Pearlye Sams Allen. Please join the Newfield Children's Department in celebration of Black History Month with Pearlye Sams Allen's interactive Underground Railroad Program.

Wednesday, February 8th at 6:30 PM, The Bridgeport Public Library, 925 Broad Street presents: The Underground Railroad with Pearlye Sams Allen. Please join the Children's Department in celebration of Black History Month with Pearlye Sams Allen's interactive Underground Railroad Program.

The University of Bridgeport and New York Times-bestselling author Dr. Peter D'Adamo announce the new Center for Excellence in Generative Medicine

By ANN QUASARANO

Bridgeport: The University of Bridgeport (UB) and Dr. Peter J. D'Adamo, internationally acclaimed clinician, researcher and author of the bestselling Eat Right 4 Your Type, announced today the collaborative launch of the Center for Excellence in Generative Medicine (COE) which will be located at 115 Broad Street across from the UB Health Sciences Complex on campus, and it is scheduled to open in Spring 2012.

The COE will continue to train naturopathic doctors while broadening the College of Naturopathic Medicine's curriculum. It also will sponsor research in the fields of nutrigenomics and epigenetics, which examines how human genes interact and are affected by the environment, lifestyle and diet.

University President Neil A. Salonen, Dr. David M. Brady, Vice Provost for Health Sciences, and Dr. D'Adamo signed the official agreement for the Center at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, January 24, at a ceremony held on the eighth floor of the BU’s Wahlstrom Library.

"Dr. Peter D'Adamo is a giant in the field of naturopathic and integrative medicine, and he has made transformational changes in the way thousands of doctors treat their patients. He has taught them to better manage and reduce patient's risk for various chronic health conditions. Having him here at UB uniquely allows our students and interns to be mentored by him while in their primary training and provides patients in the Greater Bridgeport area affordable access to this comprehensive approach to health care," said Brady.

"From our first discussions about the possibility of a Center of Excellence in Generative Medicine, almost three years ago, our goal was to investigate the use of new technologies, algorithms and philosophies as applied to a new type of patient care; one that is personalized and crafted according to these generative principles," said D'Adamo. "I believe that today we embark on a project that holds great promise for humankind and I am especially proud that this initiative has found a partner in the University of Bridgeport, a recognized educational world leader in the field of integrative medical education."

Dr. Elizabeth Pimentel, Dean of the College of Naturopathic Medicine, echoed Brady's enthusiasm. "We are thrilled that we are able to offer our students the opportunity to learn from someone who has been called the 'most creative scientist in the western world' and who is a true pioneer in our profession. Many people made this happen, not the least of which are the students who have embraced these changes whole-heartedly. Special thanks to the Curriculum Committee who were quick to see how this collaboration would benefit our college and the patients served by our clinic, and to the Clinic staff who go above and beyond to make the shift run smoothly."

As planned, the center builds upon D'Adamo's work, which became well known with the 1996 publication of Eat Right 4 Your Type, which promoted the ideas of blood type, diet and personalized nutrition. For the past 15 years, D'Adamo has continued his research on human biochemical individuality and he has published over 20 books, including the recent, Textbook of Generative Medicine.

The Center of Excellence in Generative Medicine is a revolutionary initiative, and it is without parallel or equivalent in any other school of medicine. With the addition of the new Center of Excellence, "we will enhance the naturopathic curriculum as well as provide patients the opportunity to receive this cutting-edge care," Brady said.

Shays Announces for United States Senate; Calls for balanced budget within six years

Hartford - Christopher Shays today officially announced he is a candidate for the United States Senate

By AMANDA BERGEN

He made the announcement just after noon before an enthusiastic crowd at the Old State House in Hartford.

During his speech, Shays said he would make it a #1 priority to balance the federal budget.  As Congressman, Shays sponsored and voted for a balanced budget amendment, and balanced the budget for four years despite a Democrat President.  

“When I am elected to the United States Senate, I will sponsor legislation that balances the budget within my six year term of office, and vote that way, regardless of the political consequences, and regardless of which party is in the majority,” said Shays.  “Until we get our financial house in order, nothing else matters.”