Roundup: Staples Choral Concert; Da Pietro’s; BleachMaker; More

School’s out for summer. But you can listen today — and any (or every) day to Staples High’s Spring Virtual Choral Concert.

Masterminded by the great director Luke Rosenberg, with video work from student Tomaso Scotti, the wonderful event included solo performances, a choral work from each ensemble, and senior updates.

Click below for the full performance:

Click below for the choral performances only:

Among the restaurants that have recently reopened: Da Pietro’s.

The small spot on Riverside Avenue has a new “casual menu,” for takeout or delivery. Click here for details.

Owner/chef Pietro Scotti of DaPietro’s

Westporter Brandon Wilson was just a week into Peace Corps training in Costa Rica in March, when COVID-19 forced all volunteers to evacuate.

Back here and uncertain about next steps, he began working for a Louisville-based company. Waterstep was right up his alley: They empower citizens in developing nations to take care of their long-term water needs.

The key is a sanitizing BleachMaker. The portable device produces 1 gallon of powerful disinfectant in an hour using only water, salt and a 12V/DC power source for on-site.

During the pandemic it’s being used in the US too, in homeless shelters, food banks, prisons, jails, hair salons and other places that need bleach.

Money from domestic sales is used to donate BleachMakers in places like Kenya, where it’s disinfecting hospitals. It’s also a way for people to create microbusinesses.

“Instead of paying multinational corporations for bleach, money stays in local communities,” Brandon notes. He encourages “06880” readers to explore Waterstep further; just click here.

And finally … 50 years ago, the Temptations sang about a ball of confusion. Still, that’s what the world is today.