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Yesterday was Westport Clean-up Day. The Y’s Men (of course) did their part, at the Baldwin parking lot.
Unlike last year, they did not find an abandoned sofa. But there was still more than enough trash to go around.
Y’s Men take a break. (Photo courtesy of Jay Dirnberger)
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One more Main Street vacancy has been filled. OKA — the English furniture retailer — will move into the former Banana Republic property. (Hat tip: Kathleen Fazio)
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Longtime Westporter and university professor David Levande died Friday. He was 75.
Born in the Bronx, he grew up in Mount Vernon, New York. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Syracuse University and a doctorate from Teachers College, Columbia University.
David was a well-respected professor at the Southern Connecticut State University graduate school of education. He took pride in founding a summer institute for improving urban education, following his lifelong passions of equity, tolerance and kindness.
David previously taught at Iona College, Enrico Fermi Middle School in Yonkers, and the Bronx.
He was a popular fixture in Westport for years, enjoying Compo Beach, tennis, the YMCA, and connecting with new and old friends at local restaurants and cafes. A devoted father and grandfather, he is survived by his daughter Lynne Longo (Christopher) of Bethel; son Paul Levande (partner Bryce Payne), grandchildren Andrew, Dylan and Matthew Longo, and niece Rachel Sirak. David was predeceased by his sister Laura Levande.
Services will take place tomorrow (Monday, April 26, 2 p.m. at Willowbrook Cemetery in Westport. In lieu of flowers, David’s family requests that donations be sent to the Lewy Body Dementia Association in his name.
David Levande
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Rindy Higgins is a substitute teacher in town. She writes:
One day when I was assigned to 3rd grade at Saugatuck Elementary School, a little girl looked pensively at her writing, slightly nodding her head from side to side.
Eventually she came up to me and said excitedly, “Look! Look at the word ‘impossible.’ If you change it just a little bit, it can say ‘I’m possible!'”
Wow! Learning from kids is the biggest reason I love to teach! So I called the class together to consider how one might use this idea.
Lots of them shared their ideas, such as changing ‘it’s impossible for me to make that goal’ to ‘I’m possible; I can make that goal!'”
What a great lesson. So the next time it seems ‘impossible,’ think “I’M possible!'”
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And finally … Shock G was found dead on Thursday in a hotel in Tampa. He was 57.
He was the leader of the hip-hop group Digital Underground, was found dead on Thursday at a hotel in Tampa, Fla. He was 57.
Digital Underground had a string of hits in the early 1990s, and launched the career of Tupac Shakur.
