Lakers Tonight, Campaign Financing and Bloggers Wanted

Today is May 6. It is the 126th day of the year. We are under a waxing crescent moon. Sunset will occur about 7:42 p.m. Here are five things to know:

1. Playa del Rey resident Phil Jackson and the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers kind of have a big game tonight. The Lakers are down 0-2 in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Dallas Mavericks. Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals is tonight in Dallas and tipoff is at 6:30 p.m.

Jackson kept it loose yesterday and joked around with reporters, according to this story in the Los Angeles Times.

2. The National Weather Service forecast for this afternoon calls for sunny skies with a high of 65 degrees with patchy fog expected after 11 p.m. and an overnight low around 55 degrees. It should be cloudy Saturday morning before gradually clearing to mostly sunny with a high near 63.

3. The Federal Election Commission has released campaign finance data from the candidates running for the vacant seat in the 36th Congressional District, which includes Marina del Rey, Playa del Rey and Del Rey. We'll have a story on that later this afternoon, so check back.

4. Patch is looking for bloggers. We're rolling out a new blogging platform this week and are looking for local bloggers to write about whatever they want, whenever they want. If you're interested or want to learn more, send me an email: Paul.Chavez@patch.com

5. Did you know that you can follow Marina del Rey Patch, which also covers Del Rey and Playa del Rey, on Facebook and Twitter?