The Daily Five: New Bathrooms at McCook's Beach, Second District Debate, and a Running Man

1. Today begins with showers that should lighten up as the day progresses, according to Weather.com. It's not going to get much warmer than 59 degrees and the overnight low should be around 48 degrees.  

2. On Monday, all the candidates running for the Second District Congressional seat met for a debate at Eastern Connecticut State University, where topics included health care, military bases in Southeastern Connecticut, medical marijuana and naturally, given the location, student loans.

About 250 people turned out for the debate, the Norwich Bulletin reported, including a number of supporters carrying large signs for incumbent Democrat Joe Courtney and Republican candidate, East Lyme First Selectman Paul Formica. The crowd also heard from third party candidates, Green Party candidate Colin Bennett and Libertarian Dan Reale.

As the incumbent, Courtney seemed to bear the brunt of the attacks, many of which seemed to come from third party candidates who challenged him on defense spending and for following the Democratic party line too closely. Formica said he thought the debate "went well" and gave him a good opportunity to "make a case for why we need change in Washington."  

3. The bathrooms that were under construction at McCook's beach in Niantic are now finished and open for business. This major improvement was unveiled with very little fanfare. Parks and Recreation Director Dave Putnam said it was a "soft opening" and that there will probably be more of a ceremony come the spring. The bathrooms aren't winterized and so though they're open now, they'll be closed in early December and will reopen again in early April.

4. You may have noticed a runner heading south down Route 1 yesterday but he wasn't just out for a jog. Earlier this year, Chris Nicholas became the 30th person to run solo across the country. Now he's on a mission to become the first person to do it twice within 12 consecutive months.

Nicholas began his second go around on October 14 from Portland, Maine. He stopped by Scott's Yankee Farmer in East Lyme yesterday to pick up some fruit for the road. He's running down the East Coast and then heading west, with the goal of finishing up in Portland, Oregon. Along the way he's raising funds for the Make A Wish Foundation, St. Jude, and the Wounded Warrior program. If everything goes according to plan, he'll complete his journey in seven months.  

5. Yesterday was the deadline for mail-in voter registration, which had to be postmarked by Oct. 23, but there's still time to register in person either with the Registrars of Voters or with the Town Clerks. East Lyme, Old Lyme, and Lyme will also be holding special voter registration sessions on October 30. 

This Day in History

On October 24, 1980, "(Just Like) Starting Over" is released by John Lennon in the U.K.

Daily Trivia

On which album does Lennon’s  "(Just Like) Starting Over" appear?

Yesterday's Answer: On an official horseshoe court, the stakes should be 40 feet apart.

(This Day and Daily Trivia was compiled by John Carroll.)