Darien Morning Briefing, June 28

Today is Tuesday, June 28th, the 179th day of 2011.

HEADLINES

EVENTS

• Short Stories for Long Days: Carroll Stenson leads a weekly discussion on short stories at the from 3 to 4 p.m. Copies of the stories are available for pickup at the Welcome Desk during the week prior to each meeting.
• Toddler Tales: Caregivers and walkers up to 36 months are welcome at the library for this storytime, which runs from 10:30 a.m. to 11 a.m.

TIDBITS

• Tax Day: Annual motor vehicle taxes and semi-annual real estate taxes are due in Darien this Friday, July 1. According to the Tax Collector's Office, taxes must be paid within one month of the due date to avoid penalty interest. Delinquent taxes are subject to interest at the rate of 18 percent per year (1.5 percent per month, $2 minimum) — or any part thereof — from the original due date of the tax.
  
• Dog Licenses: Darien's annual dog licensing period continues today and runs through Thursday. To avoid a penalty, new licenses must be procured on or before June 30 when the current ones expire. Owners can stop by the 's office (Town Hall room 101) from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For information on fees and required paperwork, check here.
• Get Puzzled: Help the library solve the world's largest jigsaw puzzle in record time for a chance to be entered into the Guinness Book of World Records.

GOVERNMENT MEETINGS

• Planning and Zoning Commission: 8 p.m., room 206 [agenda]
• Board of Education: 7:30 p.m., BOE meeting room

FORECAST

• Tuesday: A chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 5pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 81. South wind between 3 and 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
• Tuesday Night: A chance of showers and thunderstorms, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 10pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 66. South wind around 6 mph becoming west. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. 

TIDES & TIMES

• 3:49 a.m.: Low tide (0.58')
• 5:23 a.m.: Sunrise
• 9:44 a.m.: High tide (6.55')
• 3:51 p.m.: Low tide (1.01')
• 8:30 p.m.: Sunset
• 9:54 p.m.: High tide (7.60')

TODAY IN HISTORY

• 1865: The Army of the Potomac is disbanded.
• 1914: Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria, and his wife Sophie are assassinated in Sarajevo by young Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip, the casus belli of World War I.
• 1969: The Stonewall Riots begin in New York City, marking the start of the Gay Rights Movement.
• 2004: Sovereign power is handed to the interim government of Iraq by the Coalition Provisional Authority, ending the U.S.-led rule of the nation.

Forecast obtained from the National Weather Service; tide information obtained from Tides.INFO (calibrated to Long Neck Point); 'Today in History' items compiled from Wikipedia and other sources.