Daily Five: Budget Decisions, A Ribbon Cutting And Five Fitch High Students

1.  Today is Friday, May 4.  The National Weather Service predicts showers and thunderstorms, mainly after noon, cloudy skies and a high temperature of 57 degrees. The chance of rain is 60 percent. The low will fall to 53 degrees tonight.

2. Representative Town Meeting approved a budget of $6.59 million for public safety this week, the same as the town council recommended. The RTM debated for more than two hours before taking the vote. The body also approved $4.6 million for the City of Groton and $359,000 for Groton Long Point, a cut of about $19,500 from the council’s recommendation. The RTM meets next on Monday at 7 p.m. in the Groton Senior Center.

3. The Noank Community Market will hold its grand opening and ribbon cutting at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday.   last summer, and is turning it into a cooperative market with organic products, a deli, bakery and a catering business. More than 80 of the 300 members of the cooperative have pledged loans.

4.  Author Stacy Lee Goforth, of Groton, will be at Books-A-Million in Waterford at 2 p.m. on Saturday with co-authors Sheila Pearl and Kimberly Burnham for a book signing of the newly-released "Pearls of Wisdom: 30 Inspirational Ideas to Live Your Best Life Now." The book is a collection of writings by 30 authors, led by the writers of “Chicken Soup for the Soul”.

5.  Five students took part in the 2012 National Financial Capability Challenge this spring and scored in the top 20 percent nationwide, according to the Fitch High newsletter. More than 80,000 seniors across the country took the challenge, aimed at improving the financial knowledge of high school students. The five students are: Conor Doyle, Renee Harms, Mitchell H. Miller, Niral V. Patel and John P. Stevens. Congratulations!