Sunny Skies, Lakers Win and Moms Still Wanted

Today is Feb. 23. It is the 54th day of the year. We are under a waning gibbous moon. Sunset will occur about 5:46 p.m. Here are five things to know:

1. Del Rey Yacht Club members Jean and Scott Adam and another couple from Seattle were killed by Somali pirates after their yacht was hijacked off the coast of Africa. Our latest story on the tragic turn of events is here and a story on their grieving friends and families is here. We offer our most sincere condolences to family and friends.

2. The National Weather Service forecast for this afternoon calls for mostly sunny skies with a high near 57 degrees with partly cloudy skies tonight and a low around 44 degrees. It should be mostly sunny Thursday, too.

3. Playa del Rey resident Phil Jackson and the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers put the beat down on the Atlanta Hawks last night at Staples Center with a 104-80 win. The Lakers are on the road tonight and will face the Portland Trail Blazers at the Rose Garden. Tip-off is at 7:30 p.m.

4. Don't forget that it's swing dance night tonight at Rusty's in Playa del Rey. Patch contributor Pauline Vu had a recent article about it that you can read right here.

5. We're creating a new Moms Council that we hope will range from the working mom to the stay-at-home mom to the stay-at-home dad to the PTA parents to the soccer moms. The Moms Council will use its motherly expertise to facilitate discussions about parenting and help guide parenting coverage for the site. If you're interested, please send me an e-mail at: paul.chavez@patch.com.