Darien Morning Briefing: 2.1.12, Wednesday

Today is Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2012, the 32nd day of the year and 334 days from the end of the year.

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HEADLINES

Town budget

Sports

Adults:

• Darien Summer School online registration has begun. A copy of the course catalog is posted with on Darien Patch.
  
• THURSDAY: Girl Scout Alumnae Open House: All former Girl Scouts are invited to the open house at 9:30 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 2, at , 14 Brookside Rd. Come reconnect with fellow alumnae and learn more about our 100th Anniversary celebration this year!"—from the Darien Patch announcement.
• THURSDAY: Self-publishing with Darien Library's Espresso book printing machine: Panel discussion, 7 p.m.. "Have you ever dreamed of publishing your own novel, memoir, or cookbook of herring recipes passed down from your Norwegian grandmother? Well now you can! And you can do it all using Darien Library's brand new Espresso Book Machine." Facebook RSVP appreciated but not required—from the on Darien Patch.
• The Catherine Lindsey Actors/Playwrights Workshop will present a series of workshops at Darien Library in February, March and April. "Interested playwrights should submit ten pages of their scripts to Robert Cusack at robert.cusack1@att.net by Feb. 1, 2012. [...] The workshops will allow the playwrights to refine their scripts, which will then be submitted to the Darien Library Selection Committee. On Sunday, June 10 at 2 p.m., the Actors/Playwrights Workshop will present the first public-staged reading of selections from the plays in the Library’s Community Room."—from the announcement on the library website.

Kids:

• Libros y Cuentos: 9:30 to 10 a.m., Storytime Room, Darien Library: "2-year-olds to 4-year-olds with a parent/caregiver. This monthly bilingual storytime introduces children to Spanish vocabulary, books, rhymes, and songs. No registration needed."—library announcement.
• Darien Summer School online registration has begun. A copy of the course catalog is posted with on Darien Patch.
  
• Exploration Time for Kids at the Bartlett Arboretum: 10 to 11 a.m. "Join Todd DuPont and Brad Nagle will explore a variety of topics aimed at connecting you and your children to the botanical and natural world that grows all around us. Children will participate in hands on science, art and gardening activities and story time. Ages 2-8 (caregivers encouraged to attend). $5 for Members, $10 for Nonmembers. Open to the public, reservations not required."—from on Patch. 
• Create a video about a book you like, and enter it in the StoryTubes competition to win a prize. This week, Darien Library will have video equipment available for kids and teens from 5 to 18 years old to create their video, which can be entered into a competition from Jan. 20 to Feb. 20. The video equipment is available today from 1 to 6 p.m.

Teens:

• Darien High School Schedule for an "F" day: 4 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 6
• February doings at the Depot—from the Depot website.
• Individual Junior planning meetings start today: "Each Junior has the opportunity to meet with their counselor and parents to develop a plan to help them reach their post high school goals. These meetings should be scheduled by the student during their free period. Please check with your counselor if you want to schedule this during your lunch period. In addition to scheduling the meeting, students should submit their Junior Packet at least five days before their scheduled time. The completion of this packet is essential to have a productive meeting and not submitting could delay your materials being sent to colleges during senior year. The Junior Packets can be found on the Guidance website under Forms. Please see your counselor if you have any questions."—from an announcement on the Darien High School homepage.
• College and Career Center hours: "The College and Career Center will be open from 11-1 Tuesdays and Thursdays, and will begin offering scholarship information for those who are interested."—Darien High School announcement (from Friday)
• WRITING COMPETITION: For this third annual event sponsored by library, there is "$100 for the winner in each age group and category, You will also have the opportunity to meet with published authors and have your work printed and read by a large audience. And can you imagine putting this on your college applications?" Poetry, fiction and nonfiction are all accepted. If you have any questions, call Erica at 669-5225. [...] To enter email your entry along with the application form to teenstaff@darienlibrary.org beginning on Jan. 1.  Participants have until Feb. 28 to enter for a chance to win cash prizes.  An awards ceremony will conclude the competition on Saturday, March 31."—from the Darien Library website.
• VIDEO COMPETITION: Create a video about a book you like, and enter it in the StoryTubes competition to win a prize. This week, the library will have video equipment available for kids and teens from 5 to 18 years old to create their video, which can be entered into a competition from Jan. 20 to Feb. 20. The video equipment is available today from 1 to 6 p.m.

DARIEN PLAYHOUSE SHOWTIMES

• Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close: 7 p.m. (2 hrs., 9 min.)—IMDb—trailer—HD trailer—Rotten Tomatoes—Academy Award nominations: Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor: Max von Sydow
• The Descendants: 7 p.m. (1 hr., 55 min.)—IMDb—trailer—HD trailer—Rotten Tomatoes—Academy Award nominations: Best Picture, Best Actor in a Leading Role, George Clooney; Best Director, Alexander Payne; Best Adapted Screenplay; Best Editing

GOVERNMENT MEETINGS

All meetings take place in , 2 Renshaw Rd., unless otherwise noted.

• Environmental Protection Commission, 7:30 p.m., Auditorium (agenda)
• Advisory Commission on Coastal Waters, 7:30 p.m., Room 213 (agenda)

FORECAST as of 12:05 a.m., Friday (update)

• Wednesday: "Showers likely, mainly before 1 p.m. Cloudy through mid morning, then gradual clearing, with a high near 57. West wind between 10 and 14 mph, with gusts as high as 26 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60 percent. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible."
• Wednesday Night: "Mostly clear, with a low around 35. West wind between 7 and 13 mph."

INTERSTATE 95 TRAFFIC CAMS

See also Darien Patch's "Traffic & Gas Prices" page.

• Stamford: southbound, Exit 8 - Elm St.

• Stamford: northbound, south of Exit 9 - Lockwood Ave.

• Darien southbound, north of Exit 9 - Darien Service Plaza

• Darien northbound Exit 12 - Tokeneke Rd.

• Darien northbound, south of Exit 13 - Darien Service Plaza

• Darien southbound, Exit 13 - Rt. 1 (Boston Post Rd.)

• Norwalk southbound, Exit 15 - Stuart Ave.

• Norwalk Rt 7 south of Exit 1 - Connecticut Ave.

• Norwalk northbound, Exit 15 - Rt. 7

TIDES & TIMES

• Sunrise: 7:05 a.m.
• Sunset: 5:10 p.m.

• High tide: 5:46 a.m. (6.4')
• Low tide: 12:24 p.m. (0.8')
• High tide: 6:25 p.m. (5.7')

HOW TO USE PATCH:

Forecast obtained from the National Weather Service; tide information obtained from saltwatertides.com (calibrated to Long Neck Point).