Darien Morning Briefing, Oct. 14

Today is Friday, Oct. 14, the 287th day of 2011.

HEADLINES

EVENTS & REMINDERS

• Weekend One-Acts: Tonight at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m., the presents Weekend One-Acts, featuring I Can't Imagine Tomorrow by Tennessee Williams and Variations On the Death of Trotsky by David Ives. Doors open half an hour before showtime.
• 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

• The Big Year: 7:30 p.m., 9:30 p.m. (1 hr. 40 min.)
• Real Steel: 7:00 p.m., 9:30 p.m. (2 hr. 7 min.)

GOVERNMENT MEETINGS

• None scheduled

FORECAST

• Friday: Showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 3 p.m., then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 4 p.m. Some of the storms could produce heavy rain. Patchy fog before 9am. High near 71. South wind between 11 and 14 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. 
• Friday night: Showers and thunderstorms likely before 10 p.m., then a slight chance of showers between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m. Cloudy, then gradually becoming partly cloudy, with a low around 53. West wind between 14 and 18 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. 

TIDES & TIMES

• High tide: 1:13 a.m. (7.0')
• Sunrise: 7:04 a.m.
• Low tide: 7:17 a.m. (0.7')
• High tide: 1:19 p.m. (7.7')
• Sunset: 6:15 p.m.
• Low tide: 7:50 p.m. (0.3')

TODAY IN HISTORY

• 1322: Robert the Bruce of Scotland defeats King Edward II of England at Byland, forcing Edward to accept Scotland's independence.
• 1586: Mary, Queen of Scots, goes on trial for conspiracy against Elizabeth I of England.
• 1908: The Chicago Cubs defeat the Detroit Tigers, 2-0, clinching the World Series. It would be their last one to date.
• 1926: The children's book Winnie-the-Pooh, by A. A. Milne, is first published.
• 1962: The Cuban Missile Crisis begins: A U.S. Air Force U-2 reconnaissance plane and its pilot fly over the island of Cuba and take photographs of Soviet missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads being installed and erected in Cuba.
• 1982: President Ronald Reagan proclaims a War on Drugs.

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.