Darien Morning Briefing: Dec. 8, 2011

Today is Thursday, Dec. 8, the 341st day of 2011, five days before the town Shuffle Referendum and 17 days before Christmas.

Early to mid-morning events today include the Board of Education's Budget Committee meeting at 8:30 a.m. (see "Government Meetings", below); the YWCA "Community Coffee" about selecting a nursery school, at 9:30 a.m. (see the Events/Adults section, below); and the Darien Library's "Drop-In: Baby Lap Time" from 9:30 to 10 a.m (see Events/Kids, below).

HEADLINES

Holiday-related:

SHUFFLE REFERENDUM INFORMATION:

Websites for each camp:

• Stop the Shuffle
• Vote Yes Darien

From the town website:

• Taxpayer Impact of BOE/Mather Community Center Renovation
• P&Z Commission Mandatory Referral, 2 Renshaw Rd.
• P&Z Commission Mandatory Referral, 35 Leroy Ave.
• Mather Community Center Cost Analysis
• BOE/Mather Community Center Presentation, 9.19.11
• Annual Debt Service & Outstanding Principal
• Bond Total
• Public Works Garage Remodel
• BOE Occupancy Comparison
• Town Facility Optimization

EVENTS & REMINDERS

Adults:

• Tips for Selecting a Nursery School: a "Community Coffee" in the Community Room at the Darien Norwalk YWCA, 49 Old Kings Hwy. S., 9:30 a.m. Teri Manning, director of the First Congregational Church Nursery School, will discuss the topic. Free.
• Darien Nature Center : 6:30 to 9:30 p.m., $75. "Cocktail reception and silent auction featuring unique wreaths created by artists and friends to benefit the Nature  Center."—from the events listing 
• Darien Community Association's ends today: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. More than 40 vendors are there. A $5 admission charge pays for the DCA's philanthropy.
• Handel's Messiah: 7:30 p.m. Thursday at St. Thomas Church, 1 W. 53rd S., New York, NY. Darien's Matthew G. Higgins Iati, 12, will be one of the choristers from the St. Thomas Choir School singing at the concert (which is why Patch is telling you about a New York event). Doors open at 6:30 p.m., and the concert ends at 10:30. Tickets are available online.
• Wrap your gifts at the Darien Library, 7 p.m.: "We'll provide the wine, music, and wrapping supplies—you provide the unwrapped gifts! Join us in our Conference Room where we'll have an assortment of wrapping paper, scissors, tape, and ribbon." (From Saturday, Dec. 17 through Friday, Dec. 23, teenagers are available to help wrap gifts at The Depot.)
• FRIDAY: Darien Library Friday Film: The Help (2011) Starring Emma Stone, Viola Davis, and Bryce Dallas Howard; PG-13 (146 min).
• SATURDAY: : 7:30 p.m. in Norwalk Concert Hall, 125 East Ave., Norwalk. "Admission is FREE.   The 65-member, 4-part mixed chorus, directed by Brian Muller, will perform music for the holiday season."—quoted from the events listing.

Kids:

• Darien Library Drop-In: Baby Lap Time: 9:30 to 10 a.m.: "Pre-walking babies and caregivers participate in a lapsit storytime."

TEENS

Darien High School: 

• Schedule: for a D Day, periods will be: 1 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 7
• Donate a toy to the Toys for Tots program: Give it to the EXCEL program in Room G111 between now and Dec. 19. Toys should be new and unwrapped.

Darien Library:

• Useless Trivia, 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.

The Depot:

• FRIDAY: Closed for a private party
  

DARIEN PLAYHOUSE SHOWTIMES

• The Muppets: 7 p.m. (1 hr. 38 min.) — IMDb—trailer—trailer—website—Rotten Tomatoes
• The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn: Part 1: 7 p.m. (1 hr. 57 min.)—IMDb—trailer—website—Rotten Tomatoes

GOVERNMENT MEETINGS

• Budget Committee of the Board of Education, 8:30 a.m., Oak Meeting Room, Board of Education offices, 2 Renshaw Road (Town Hall building); agenda

FORECAST as of 10:37 p.m., Wednesday (update)

• Thursday: "Sunny, with a high near 46. Breezy, with a west wind between 11 and 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph."
• Thursday Night: "Partly cloudy, with a low around 34. West wind between 6 and 9 mph."

INTERSTATE 95 TRAFFIC CAMS

• 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

• Low tide: 3:26 a.m. (0.7')
• Sunrise: 7:06 a.m.
• High tide: 9:32 a.m. (7.3')
• Low tide: 4:06 p.m. (0.1')
• Sunset: 4:25 p.m.
• High tide: 10:46 p.m. (6.4')

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