The Wake-Up Call: Sleep-Deprived Edition

We all have those mornings when it's hard for us to get moving. For us, this is one of them. Maybe you're feeling the same way, Groveites—rubbing the sleep from your eyes, pondering a double espresso shot, trying to work up the energy you know you'll need for the day. Here are a few tidbits of news we hope will act like a jolt of caffeine to your system.

In the Patch:

Wake Up! You could win a free pint of ice cream. Bet that got your attention. The Cosumnes Fire Department is holding a "Give a Pint, Get a Pint" blood drive this Friday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Fire Station 71. Donors get Baskin Robbins coupons, so mark your calendar.

Wake Up! You could owe the CSD hundreds of dollars for weed abatement. Each year, the Cosumnes Community Services District identifies properties where overgrowth of weeds represents a fire hazard. They clear the weeds, then charge the property owners. If your house has been added to the program, tonight's is your last chance to contest it. Get more information here.

Outside the Patch:

Wake Up! More tornados, wildfires and droughts are on their way worldwide...at least according to this column in the UK's Guardian newspaper, which outlines how extreme weather patterns are becoming the new normal. One climate scientists calls the phenomenon 'global weirding.'