Darien Morning Briefing, Oct. 12

Today is Wednesday, Oct. 12, the 285th day of 2011.

HEADLINES

EVENTS & REMINDERS

• Farmers market: The Darien Farmers Market is open for business from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the municipal parking lot off of Mechanic Street (across from Goodwives Shopping Center).
• Meet author Rainbow Rowell: Rainbow Rowell, author of the best-selling Attachments, will appear at 7 Allwood Rd. tonight at 7:30 p.m. Rowell will and sign copies — email TatumFichthorn@gmail.com if you plan to come.
• Favorite recipes discussion: At 12:30 p.m., Donna Spellman — Director of Self Sufficiency and Independent Living with Family Centers — will be at the  for her . This week's topic: favorite recipes.
• Linda George paintings: From now until Nov. 9,  by Linda George will be on display in the 's art gallery.
• Children of the Desert: From now until Oct. 29, the  hosts "Bana Ba Motlhaba: Children of the Desert," featuring photographs by Dave Hamman and Botswanan crafts. The center is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays.

DARIEN PLAYHOUSE SHOWTIMES

• Real Steel: 7:00 p.m. (2 hr. 7 min.)
• Dolphin Tale: 7:00 p.m. (1 hr. 52 min.)

GOVERNMENT MEETINGS

• Zoning Board of Appeals: 7:45 p.m., room 206 [agenda]

FORECAST

• Wednesday: Cloudy, with a high near 67. East wind between 11 and 14 mph. 
• Wednesday night: Periods of rain, mainly after 10 p.m. Low around 59. East wind around 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. 

TIDES & TIMES

• Low tide: 6:05 a.m. (0.5')
• Sunrise: 7:02 a.m.
• High tide: 12:08 p.m. (7.8')
• Low tide: 6:36 p.m. (0.2')
• Sunset: 6:18 p.m.

TODAY IN HISTORY

• 1492: Christopher Columbus's expedition makes landfall in the Caribbean. The explorer believes he has reached South Asia
• 1892: The Pledge of Allegiance is first recited by students in many US public schools as part of a celebration marking the 400th anniversary of Columbus's voyage.
• 1901: President Theodore Roosevelt officially renames the "Executive Mansion" to the White House.
• 1960: Nikita Khrushchev pounds his shoe on a desk at United Nations General Assembly meeting to protest a Philippine assertion of Soviet Union colonial policy being conducted in Eastern Europe.
• 1979: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the first of five books in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy comedy science fiction series by Douglas Adams is published.
• 1999: The UN proclaims that the world population has reached 6 billion.
• 2000: The USS Cole is badly damaged in Aden, Yemen, by two suicide bombers, killing 17 crew members and wounding at least 39.

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.