The Wake-Up Call: Wild Things, R.I.P. Amy

Good morning, Elk Grove! Here's what's happening in Elk Grove and the world today.

In the Patch:

Where the wild things are. The nearby Galt library hosts at 6:30 tonight, where kids can meet animals from five continents and learn about their histories. Admission is free.

Deadline for whooping cough shots extended. Does your child still not have the pertussis vaccine now required to enter grades 7-12 in the fall? State legislators have extended the deadline to show proof of vaccination until 30 days after school starts. (In the Elk Grove Unified School District, that'd be September 14.) Find more information about the vaccine here.

Outside the Patch:

R.I.P., Amy Despondent mourners paid their last respects to British soul singer Amy Winehouse at a funeral in London today. A cause of death has still not been determined, though media commentators worldwide have speculated the 27-year-old singer's demise July 23 was drug-related, due to her wild lifestyle. This New York Times obit gives a good sense of the career of Winehouse, perhaps the Nina Simone of our generation.