Darien Morning Briefing: 4.23.12, Monday

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Mountain Lion Power Point Presentation: Bill Betty, an expert on mountain lions, or pumas, has spoken in the area before and will be at the Darien Nature Center on May 11. Here's a description of one of his recent presentations. 

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Today is Monday, April 23, 2012.

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HEADLINES:

(Fairfield County Police Digest)

(OMG PD)

Sports:

EVENTS & REMINDERS

Adults

• TUESDAY: Meet the Author—Anne-Marie Sutton: $15 for the public, free to DCA book group members, 10:30 a.m., Darien Community Association. In "her second novel of the Newport Mystery Series, Gilded Death, [...] The gala June engagement party of Imogen Revel in the ballroom of Mon Plaisir, her family's Newport mansion, is tragically interrupted by the death of her fiance, Hugh, after drinking from a glass of poisoned burgundy."—from on Darien Patch
  
• TUESDAY: Meet the Author—Cristina Alger: author of the novel Darlings, 7 p.m., Darien Library. "Howary LLP, the storied Wall Street law firm where Paul Ross has worked as an attorney for seven years, has imploded after the managing partner is indicted. When Paul loses his job, his father-in-law Carter Darling, billionaire financier, offers him the chance to head the legal team at his hedge fund. [...] But Paul’s luck is about to shift [...]"—from on Darien Patch
• Buy tickets for the Library Spring Gala: $130. Saturday, May 12, at 6:30 p.m. "Join us at Light Up the Library at the Imagination Gala! We will have cocktails, Hors D'oeuvres, entertainment, silent art auction and a live auction. Funds that are raised will be used for Library materials (all books, movies, computers, magazines, books on cd, information resources, and programs are paid for by private donations)."—library announcement

Parents:

• TUESDAY: Eagle Hill-Southport School Open House: 9 to 10:30 a.m., 214 Main St., Southport. "These admissions presentations, led by the Headmaster, allow prospective parents to learn about the school's philosophy, tour the school, and meet with the Director of Admissions.  An RSVP to Carolyn Lavender, Director of Admissions, at (203) 254-2044 is required."—from on Darien Patch
  

• at the Darien Nature Center

Kids:

• Science Spot at the Stamford Museum & Nature Center: Mondays, 3:30 to 4:15 p.m. Stamford Nature Center. "Stop by the Overbrook Nature Center on your Monday afternoon visits to learn the science behind some of our favorite natural wonders. We'll study amphibians and make slime, discover color science through making our own watercolors, build with magnets and more! Each week will be a different theme and feature a take home project. Recommended for 5 and up."—Stamford Nature Center 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

Teens:

•  Darien High School schedule: "E" Day periods: 2 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 8
• Class officer petitions: "Petitions are available on the DHS Website for students interested in running for 2012-2013 Class Officer. Petitions must be printed and returned to Mr. Nelson or Mr. Buckley by noon on Monday, April 23rd, the first day back from vacation."—from the Darien High School announcements page
• TUESDAY: 8 a.m. Workshop for all Sophomores: "The Guidance Department is hosting a mandatory workshop for all sophomores on Tuesday, April 24th at 8am."—see DHS website for details
• TUESDAY: Summer of the Monkeys movie: 3 p.m., Darien Library—library announcement—IMDb—Rotten Tomatoes
• "Trashless Tuesday" is April 24 during Earth Week. "There will be a 'Swap, Don’t Shop' event in the vending area of the café.  Staff and students are invited to bring in a gently used item – and take home a new treasure!  Anything that can be carried out by hand is welcome.  For more information, see Katie Maccarone or Felicia Knise."—Darien High School announcement
• Depot April Calendar

DARIEN PLAYHOUSE SHOWTIMES

• The Three Stooges: 7:30 and 9:30 p.m., PG (1 hr., 46 min.)—IMDb—trailer—even stupider trailer—something else—Rotten Tomatoes
• The Lucky One: 7 and 9:15 p.m., PG-13 (1 hr., 41 min.)—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:

• Finance & Budget Committee of the Representative Town Meeting, 7:30 p.m., Board of Education Meeting Room, Darien Public Schools offices, Town Hall (PDF of agenda)
• Rules Committee of the Representative Town Meeting, 8 p.m., Auditorium

FORECAST as of 10:22 p.m. Sunday (update)

• Flood Advisory
• Flood Watch
• Coastal Flood Statement
• Hazardous Weather Outlook

• Monday: "Showers likely, mainly before 11am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 58. Breezy, with a south wind between 17 and 22 mph, with gusts as high as 33 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible."
• Monday Night: "A chance of showers, mainly after 10pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 43. Breezy, with a south wind between 16 and 22 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: 6:02 a.m.
• Sunset: 7:43 p.m.

• High tide: 1:03 a.m. (7.7')
• Low tide: 7:41 p.m. (0.0')
  
• High tide: 1:02 p.m. (7.0')
  
• Low tide: 7:45 a.m. (0.7')
  

HOW TO USE PATCH:

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