Scott Smith is one of many Westport gardeners and environmentalists who has observed something troubling outdoors. He writes:
“Where are the bees? The butterflies?
“The sunflowers in my garden are 10 feet tall. The purple coneflowers, black-eyed Susans, milkweed and other native flowers and bushes are blooming (at least the ones the deer don’t nibble).
“Yet I find our pollinator friends are few and far between. At least in my yard.
“It’s been a good summer for fireflies, the wasps are out and about, and with the recent rains the mosquitoes are ascendant. But where are the pollinators?
“I’ve not sprayed pesticides or any chemicals on my property for years, nor do most of my neighbors. So let me ask my fellow 06880 gardeners and backyard apiarists: Can you send some bees and butterflies my way?”
Scott Smith’s garden is beautiful — but bee- and butterfly-less.
Westport resident Jay Norris and chef/restaurateur/TV personality Marcus Samuelsson are breaking bread together.
The noted entrepreneurs have partnered to offer performance-based leases to minority-owned food businesses.
Norris is CEO of Guesst Software. Crain’s New York Business says the company — which facilitates short-term retail leases in dozens of the country’s leading malls — will now give “artisanal, mom-and-pop restaurants access to ‘A+’ locations–without the upfront cost or standard 15-year lease.”
For example, UrbanSpace — which runs food halls through New York City — will commit 10 spaces at their Bryant Park holiday market to qualified minority-owned businesses who set up leases through Guesst. Norris says that allows them to “explore the world” beyond their own neighborhoods.
Samuelsson told Crain’s that large restaurants like his usually sign 15-year leases. His partnership with Norris allows landlords to be flexible and patient with rents.
Norris plan to launch a “women’s merchant movement” in the fourth quarter. His goal is to “give a voice to voiceless minority business owners,” no matter who or where they are.
To read the full Crain’s story (behind a paywall), click here.
A sobering opinion piece in today’s New York Times, exploring the sad state of public swimming lessons and pools in the United States — leading to 11 drowning deaths a day across the country — does mention several bright spots.
Including Westport.
The final 2 paragraphs of Mara Gay’s piece, “When It Comes to Swimming, ‘Why Have Americans Been Left on Their Own?'” read:
Coral Gables, Fla., has a colossal, stone-ringed public pool known as the Venetian, complete with waterfalls and grottoes. Austin, Texas, boasts a three-acre public pool fed by underground springs. Ann Arbor, Mich., has public pools with giant water slides. In 1960 the elegant Connecticut shore town of Westport bought the deed to a country club. Residents there swim in a public pool that sits beside the shimmering waters of the Long Island Sound.
Every American deserves the chance to swim somewhere just as nice.
And finally … on this date in 1975, Teamster leader Jimmy Hoffa disappeared from the parking lot of a Detroit-area restaurant. He was never seen again.
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