Video: Sandy Face, Remaking Paul Newman's Town and a Wilton Tragedy

Editor's Note: A summary of the week's top stories from outside Fairfield follows, with links to the full original articles included. A special feature of "The Towns Around Us" is Video Editor Cecelia Smith's news broadcast, including exclusive footage, seen at right. Thanks for checking in, and we hope to see you next weekend!

'Tis the Season To Be Mouthy

• Darien: As anyone who's addicted to cable "news" programs (or has visited Patch's interactive Voter Guide) knows, we're in the midst of a hotly contested mid-term election season. From Washington, D.C. the enmity between Democrats and Republicans spreads and, according to Darien First Selectman Dave Campbell, it's hit the home of the Blue Wave. Darien is a waterfront community — a fact that may help explain Campbell's vivid metaphor for what local Dems are doing to him, as reported on Patch.

"We have clearance, Clarence."

• New Canaan: Astronauts may not be able to view New Canaan's Waveny Park water tower from space, but in a quiet, I-95- and Post Road-free bedroom community that calls itself "The Next Station to Heaven," it's an imposing structure (despite the small forest that conceals its base and ladder.) So when a high school coach called the cops because he saw someone wandering around atop the tower, news quickly spread (this in the wake of the Tyler Clementi tragedy in Manhattan). Our favorite part of this story is what the 22-year-old A&A Communications worker identified as the person wandering around up there said when all hell broke loose below him. Check it out.

I'm Cold. Why Aren't You? Oh Wait …

• Ridgefield: Like Jack Nicholson's character from "About Schmidt," many of us support our chosen charitable organizations from living room sofas, donating money when photos of caged dogs and flood-ruined homes move us. This week in Ridgefield, some remarkable athletes raised money for Alex Rodriguez's favorite nonprofit, the Boys and Girls Club, through an athletic feat that's exhausting even to read. Check out our story.

What Would Paul Newman Say?

• Westport: He could eat 50 eggs, but could the star of "Cool Hand Luke" swallow a dramatic downtown reimagining of the place he called home? Check out our story on Westport Patch to find out what town leaders have in mind for parking, expanded riverfront paths, new buildings and a vast overhaul of zoning regulations.

Grim Tragedy Concludes with Gruesome Discovery in Wilton

• Wilton: Patch's breaking news coverage of the tragic drowning of a Wilton couple who took off in a raging Norwalk River last week culminated Monday with the discovery of James Lind's body. Check out our story for that story, links to day-by-day coverage of the dramatic, and infinitely sad, tale, including an exclusive interview with a man who pulled the body of Lind's girlfriend, Doreen Wallace, from the brown water.