Darien Morning Briefing: 2.22.12, Wednesday

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Today is Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2012.

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Today is Ash Wednesday.

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HEADLINES:

• Moderator: Some Think RTM May Reject Ed Budget
• Darien's in: Let the Hockey Playoffs Commence
• Stepping Stones: A Place for Kids 10 & Under on February Break
• 'Where's Our Compassion?' ("You Said It" column)

Police:

• Shoplifter Used Paisley Jacket to Hide Loot
• $482 in Cash Stolen from Pet Supply Shop
• Cops: Darien Man Embezzled from Stamford Company

EVENTS & REMINDERS

Adults:

• 'Meet Us on Main Street' Book Talk: Wednesday 11 a.m. to noon, Darien Library. "Tell us what you've been reading and we'll share our picks plus fill you in on the week's hot books and DVDs."—from the events listing on Darien Patch.
•  Fairfield County Business Connections: 7 a.m., Rowayton Library. "Fairfield County Business Connections provides a structured and supportive system of giving and receiving referrals.  Please visit our website for all the details!"—from the events listing on Darien Patch
• 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!"
• FRIDAY: Movie: "Contagion": 7:30 p.m. at Darien Library.
• Darien TV79 Program Guide
• Darien Antiques Show at First Congregational Church March 2-4

Kids:

• Stepping Stones: A Place for Kids 10 & Under on February Break
• Debut of Aquarium's 'FINtastic RefurbFISHment' [VIDEOS]
• 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:

• There are no known meetings today.
  

FORECAST as of 12:26 a.m., Monday (update)

• Wednesday: "Increasing clouds, with a high near 54. West wind between 8 and 15 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph."
• Wednesday Night: "A chance of light rain before 11pm, then a chance of showers, mainly between 11pm and 4am. Cloudy, with a low around 41. West wind between 8 and 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30 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).