Five Things To Know Today

 1.  Today is Wednesday, June 29.  The National Weather Service predicts partly sunny skies, a slight chance of rain in the morning and a high temperature of 78 degrees. Tonight the low will drop to 60 degrees.

2.  Four union employee contracts with the town of Groton expire on Thursday. The Groton Municipal Employees Association represents 89 full-time and regular part-time employees and is the largest union; the Groton Police Union represents 63 officers; the United Steelworkers of America represents 52 employees, including those in public works, and the Groton Telecommunicators Association represents 13 staff members.

3.  A professional women's group called freshconnections is opening a chapter in Groton and will hold a meeting  at 9 a.m. today at 654 Long Hill Road to discuss the group's formation.  The networking group was founded in Mystic and includes chapters in Norwich, Old Saybrook, Wakefield, R.I. and Westerly,  R.I.  Today's discussion will focus on organizing the Groton group and the best time and day for future meetings. For more information, click here or call Lorraine Sanborn at (860) 448-2243.

4.  Mystic Market is one of two new groups that will try to win the Lighthouse Cake-Off Competition on July 1 at the Custom House Maritime Museum in New London. The bakers are creating cakes that resemble local lighthouses, and will be judged on artistic merit and taste. Erica Suffoletto and Gabriella Hartman of Mystic Market will create Mystic Seaport Lighthouse. Araminta Poole, of Minta's Sweet Treats, LLC, is making the Avery Point Lighthouse. The event is free and open to the public.

5.  Groton Planning and Development Director Michael J. Murphy and Environmental Planner Deborah Jones attended the Connecticut Municipal Climate Network Workshop on June 20 at Manchester Community College. Laurie Roberts, an intern working with the two, presented her spring semester project there. Roberts created a database and mapping system to identify places in town that could be affected by climate change and storms, particularly near the coast.