Darien Morning Briefing, Nov. 7

Today is Monday, Nov. 7, the 311th day of 2011.

HEADLINES

EVENTS & REMINDERS

• Free blood pressure screening: At 10 a.m., drop by the to get your blood pressure checked free of charge. Anne Shaw, a Darien resident and nurse from Visiting Nurse and Hospice of Fairfield County, will visit the center the first Monday of every month to perform the screening.
• "Healthy Oceans": At 7 p.m., the welcomes Stephanie Wear — director of coral reef conservation for The Nature Conservancy — for a presentation entitled "."
• "How Safe Are We?": At 7 p.m., the hosts led by two former CIA operatives who "will assess the effectiveness of federal, state, and city programs underway to protect us against future terror attacks."
• Linda George paintings: From now until Nov. 9, by Linda George will be on display in the library's Art Gallery.
• Fashion Transformed: From now until Jan. 27, the y hosts ." The exhibit features 17 costumes from the era. The center is open Tuesday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

DARIEN PLAYHOUSE SHOWTIMES

• Puss in Boots: 7:00 p.m. (1 hr. 30 min)
• The Ides of March: 7:00 p.m. (1 hr. 40 min.)

GOVERNMENT MEETINGS

• RTM TGS&A: 7:30 p.m., room 213 [agenda]

FORECAST

• Monday: Sunny, with a high near 59. West wind between 7 and 10 mph. 
• Monday night: Mostly clear, with a low around 45. West wind between 3 and 6 mph.

TIDES & TIMES

• Low tide: 2:37 a.m. (0.7')
• Sunrise: 7:23 a.m.
• High tide: 8:42 a.m. (7.5')
• Low tide: 3:37 p.m. (0.3')
• Sunset: 3:13 p.m.
• High tide: 9:10 p.m. (6.8')

TODAY IN HISTORY

• 1665: The London Gazette, the oldest surviving journal, is first published.
• 1775: John Murray, the Royal Governor of the Colony of Virginia, starts the first mass emancipation of slaves in North America by issuing Lord Dunmore's Offer of Emancipation.
• 1874: A cartoon by Thomas Nast in Harper's Weekly, is considered the first important use of an elephant as a symbol for the United States Republican Party.
• 1916: Jeannette Rankin is the first woman elected to the United States Congress.
• 1929: In New York City, the Museum of Modern Art opens to the public.
• 1944: Franklin D. Roosevelt is elected for a record fourth term as President.
• 1967: President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, establishing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
• 1991: Magic Johnson announces that he is infected with HIV and retires from the NBA.

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