Darien Morning Briefing, Sept. 22

Today is Thursday, Sept. 22, the 265th day of 2011.

HEADLINES

EVENTS & REMINDERS

• Meet the Author: At 7 p.m., author Jared Dillian will appear at the  to discuss his book Street Freak: Money and Madness at Lehman Brothers. A signing will follow the presentation. Refreshments will be served.
• Baby Laptime: At 9:30 a.m., the library hosts a "lapsit" storytime for pre-walking babies and caregivers.
• American Flag Project: From now until Oct. 1, a photographic exhibit by Steven Willard titled "" will be on display in the library'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

• Contagion: 7:00 p.m. (1 hr. 45 min.)
• The Help: 7:00 p.m. (2 hr. 17 min.)

GOVERNMENT MEETINGS

• None scheduled

FORECAST

• Thursday: Showers and thunderstorms likely, then showers after 2pm. High near 73. Southwest wind at 11 mph becoming northwest. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. 
• Thursday night: Showers likely, mainly before 8pm. Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming clear, with a low around 48. North wind between 13 and 18 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. 

TIDES & TIMES

• Low tide: 1:21 a.m. (0.9')
• Sunrise: 6:41 a.m.
• High tide: 7:22 a.m. (6.6')
• Low tide: 1:36 p.m. (1.1')
• Sunset: 6:52 p.m.
• High tide: 7:40 p.m. (7.2')

TODAY IN HISTORY

• 1598: English playwright Ben Jonson kills an actor in a duel and is indicted for manslaughter.
• 1776: Nathan Hale is hanged for spying during American Revolution
• 1888: The first issue of National Geographic Magazine is published.
• 1896: Queen Victoria surpasses her grandfather King George III as the longest reigning monarch in British history.
• 1975: Sara Jane Moore tries to assassinate President Gerald Ford but is foiled by Oliver Sipple.
• 1991: The Dead Sea Scrolls are made available to the public for the first time by the Huntington Library.

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.