Darien Morning Briefing: 4.11.12, Wednesday

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Today is Wedesday, April 11, 2012.

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Today's lead pictures come from ""

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THIS MORNING:

Parent Film Series: "Race to Nowhere": PG-13 (1 hr. 25 mins.), 2009. 10 a.m. Community Room, Darien Library. "'Race to Nowhere' points to the silent epidemic in our schools: cheating has become commonplace; students are disengaged; stress-related illness and depression are rampant; and many young people arrive at college and the workplace unprepared and uninspired."—from the library's announcement—IMDb—trailer—Rotten Tomatoes

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HEADLINES:

EVENTS & REMINDERS

Adults

• Film: "Crossing Delancey": 1:30 p.m. Community Room, Darien Library. "Amy Irving stars in this high-spirited contemporary comedy about a single Manhattan woman, Isabelle “Izzy” Grossman, who is hurled into a romantic adventure when her grandmother hires a matchmaker to help Izzy find a husband. Starring Amy Irving and Peter Reigert; Rated PG; 97 minutes (1988)."—library announcement—IMDb—trailer—Rotten Tomatoes
• Reserve a seat: Beds & Borders talk on gardening: "Heather Stephenson, head of product development at Beds & Borders, national leaders in container gardens, will be holding a talk at Nielsen's Florist on Sunday, April 15 at 1 p.m. She will be discussing cold weather plantings and how to combine, annuals, bulbs and perennials to create beautiful containers. You'll also learn how to select plants with a variety of colors and textures [...]"—from on Darien Patch
• NORWALK: Maritime Aquarium Open House for Educators: Free. "Educators can enjoy a special free evening with The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk all to themselves on Wed., April 11, as they preview the Aquarium’s educational programs, its “FINtastic RefurbFISHment” and new IMAX movie."—from on Darien Patch
• Donation Drive: Gently used blankets and towels for pets: All day at The Hairy Barker Inn & Spa, 21 Tokeneke Rd. The store "is collecting GENTLY USED towels and blankets for BLANKETS AND BOWLS. These are among the most asked for items at shelters. Blankets and Bowls will distribute these items to any shelter in need."—the on Darien Patch.

Parents:

• Parent Film Series: "Race to Nowhere": Free. PG-13 (1 hr. 25 mins.), 2009. 10 a.m. Community Room, Darien Library. "'Race to Nowhere' points to the silent epidemic in our schools: cheating has become commonplace; students are disengaged; stress-related illness and depression are rampant; and many young people arrive at college and the workplace unprepared and uninspired."—from the library's announcement—IMDb—trailer—Rotten Tomatoes

Kids:

• Toddler Tales: 10:30 to 11 a.m. Storytime Room, Darien Library. "Walkers up to 36 months and caregiver."—library announcement.

• IMAX movies at the Maritime Aquarium: 10 North Water St., Norwalk. Sea Rex (11 a.m., 2 p.m.), Born to be Wild (noon), Search for the Great Sharks  (1 and 3 p.m.)—from an aquarium Web page

• Meerkats exhibit at the Maritime Aquarium: "These are active animals with very charismatic faces and highly interesting social structures, so they are a lot of fun for visitors to watch.”—Jack Schneider, the Aquarium’s curator of animals, quoted on this aquarium Web page.

Teens:

• Schedule: "B" Day. Periods: 3 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 5
• Direct a one act play: "Anyone interested in directing a Student One-Act Production must submit two copies of their form and script to Mr. Speiser or Ms. Herman by Friday."—announcement, Darien High School website.
• Don't ask her from a ladder truck. It's been done: "The Junior-Senior Prom will be held Friday, May 18th at the Greenwich Hyatt. Admission to the prom may be purchased Monday, April 23 through Monday, May 7th.  Admission purchased after that time will incur a late fee. Complete information and permission forms will be mailed to junior and senior homes during break week.  Questions?  See Mrs. Ricci in the Main Office."—Darien High School website
• Voter Registration Drive: Don't let them get elected without asking for your vote. "Wednesday in the cafeteria. See plasmas for details."—announcement, Darien High School website
• Recycle your sneakers: "The Ecocitizens Club and The Darien Environmental Group are collecting old sneakers to make “Nike-grind”  – a recycled, sustainable surface for athletic surfaces and playgrounds.  Please bring in your old sneakers (no cleats!) and deposit them in the box in the front lobby during April and May."—announcement, Darien High School website
• CAS Bandjam Comes to Darien High School "The deadline for the submission of registration materials is Friday, April 13, 2012."— on Darien Patch. 
•  Depot April Calendar

DARIEN PLAYHOUSE SHOWTIMES

Why are there matinees on a Monday? Probably because Darien public schools are closed for a "staff development" day.

• Mirror, Mirror: 7 p.m., PG (1 hr., 46 min.)—IMDb—trailer—Rotten Tomatoes
• The Hunger Games: 7 p.m., PG-13 (2 hrs., 22 mins.)—IMDb—trailer—Rotten Tomatoes

GOVERNMENT MEETINGS

All meetings take place in , 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:

• Board of Education, 7:30 p.m., Board Meeting Room, district offices at Town Hall (PDF of agenda)

• Park & Rec Commission, 7:30 p.m., Room 119B

• Weed Beach Building Committee, 7:30 p.m., Room 119A

• Zoning Board of Appeals, 7:45 p.m., Room 206 (PDF of agenda)

FORECAST as of 1:20 a.m. Tuesday (update)

• Wednesday: "A chance of showers, mainly after 1pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 55. Northwest wind around 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30 percent."
• Wednesday Night: "A chance of showers, mainly before 10pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 38. North wind between 10 and 13 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: 6:21 a.m.
• Sunset: 7:29 p.m.

• High tide: 2:31 a.m. (8.6') 
• Low tide: 9:09 a.m. (-1.8')
• High tide: 3:08 p.m. (7.6')
  
• Low tide: 9:24 p.m. (-0.1)
  

HOW TO USE PATCH:

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