Darien Morning Briefing: 2.21.12, Tuesday

Today is Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2012.

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Darien Patch welcomes our newest blogger, Jenny Voelker, who has her first blog post up:

• Hunting for Extracurricular Activities

You too could be a 'Local Voices' Blogger for Patch.

HEADLINES:

• Parents Council Explains Support for Ed Budget

• Darien Girl Swimmers Win Medals

• Norwalk Man Charged with Violating Protective Order

• Nanny Charged with Stealing Tableware

• Voting for Patch's 'Best of 2012' Begins Feb. 27

• Lawmakers: Use Fare Increases for Upgrades

• Men in Suits, Boys in Trouble, Prisoner in Ceiling

EVENTS & REMINDERS

Adults:

• Facebook & Twitter: Social Tools You Can Use: Darien Library, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. "[W]e’ll be demo-ing both websites to show you what they’re all about. Special attention will be given to the new Facebook Timeline feature."
• One Book, One Community 2012: "Visit us now to check out your copy of 97 Orchard [for adult] or The Inquisitor's Apprentice [for young readers]. Then, join us in March and April as we host a slew of discussions, workshops, lectures, film screenings, and events that support the books’ themes. There will be programs for adults, teens, and children. Help build a better community!"
• Darien TV79 Program Guide
• Darien Antiques Show at First Congregational Church March 2-4

Kids:

• Debut of Aquarium's 'FINtastic RefurbFISHment' [VIDEOS]
• Toddler Tales: 10:30 to 11 a.m., Storytime Room, Darien Library. "Walkers up to 36 months and caregiver."
• Sleepytime: 6 to 6:30 p.m., Storytime Room, Darien Library. "2- to 6-year-olds family storytime."
• WEDNESDAY: 7, 8 Create!: Storytime Room, Darien Library. "Attention seven- and eight-year-olds: this is just for you! Join us for a weekly drop-in program on Wednesdays at 4:15 [till 5:15 p.m.]. Enjoy books, crafts, activities, and games."

Teens:

• We Love Wednesdays: 3 to 4 p.m., Darien Library. "Drop in the teen lounge for various crafts and cool programs.
• February Doings at the Depot (calendar)
• 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.

DARIEN PLAYHOUSE SHOWTIMES

• The Artist: 7:30 and 9:30 p.m., P.G. 13 (1 hr., 40 min.)—IMDb—trailer—Rotten Tomatoes
  
• The Vow: 7 and 9:15 p.m., PG-13, 1 hr., 44 min.)—IMDb—trailer—Rotten Tomatoes

GOVERNMENT MEETINGS

All meetings take place in Town Hall, 2 Renshaw Rd., unless otherwise noted. Since Darien town government provides no reliable, centralized list of town government meetings, and there is not enough time in the day to go searching for them, this list may well be incomplete:

• Operations Planning Committee, 8 a.m., Room 206
  

FORECAST as of 9:21 p.m., Monday (update)

• Tuesday: "A slight chance of rain after 3 p.m. Mostly sunny, with a high near 45. East wind 5 to 14 mph becoming south. Chance of precipitation is 20 percent."
• Tuesday Night: "A chance of rain before 3am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 38. South wind between 10 and 13 mph, with gusts as high as 24 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40 percent."

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: 6:08 a.m.
• Sunset: 5:39 p.m.

• Low tide: 4:51 a.m. (-0.4') 
• High tide: 10:51 a.m. (7.7')
• Low tide: 5:15 p.m. (-0.5')
• High tide: 11:13 p.m. (7.6')

HOW TO USE PATCH:

• Posting Comments
• Posting An Event
• Become a 'Local Voices' Blogger
• Signing Up for Alerts and Sending News Tips
• Posting Your Own Announcement

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