The Daily Five: Prescription Discounts Coming to East Lyme and Twittering About Storm Sandy Damage

1. Today will be mainly sunny with a high temperature of 50 degrees, according to Weather.com, though it's going to be cold again tonight when temperatures drop to 38 degrees.

As tempting as it is to say "Et Tu Brutus?" the next winter storm rolling in, named Burtus, is going to hit the Western United States. Our weekend forecast is looking pretty good, mostly sunny with the promise of temperatures in the 60s on Sunday, so make the most of it!

2. Prescription discount cards. Old Lyme residents have them, Lyme residents have them, and now East Lyme residents will be receiving them.

On Wednesday, East Lyme Board of Selectmen voted to sign a contract with that are accepted at 63,000 pharmacies nationwide.

The cards are provided by the town through the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities at no cost to the town. Cards will be mailed out to residents in about six weeks. The program offers big discounts on prescription medication, prescription vision coverage, hearing aids and even some prescriptions approved for pets.  

3. Hurricane Sandy did substantial damage to East Lyme's infrastructure but it turns out that Tropical Storm Irene was harder on town roads. According to First Selectman Paul Formica, Irene affected 150 roads with downed trees and storm damage. Sandy impacted 65 roads but even the worst affected are now open to traffic once again. One that seemed to be completely destroyed was rebuilt in just two days to allow CL&P trucks to pass through to fix power lines in the Crescent Beach area.

4. Save the Sound, Senator Richard Blumenthal, and representatives from the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, Connecticut Sea Grant, and Connecticut Audubon Society will participate in a live Twitter chat with members of the public today at 2:30 p.m. to discuss the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy and how it impacted Connecticut’s wildlife, coastline, and Long Island Sound.

Questions should be Tweeted to @SavetheSound and must include the hashtag #LISSandy.

5. East Lyme's Emergency Operations Center was open 24/7 during Hurricane Sandy and the days that followed but it wasn't always smooth sailing. During the storm, the EOC's server crashed and not because of the storm itself, but because of inherent problems with the server itself that effectively took the EOC offline. 

Emergency Management Director Richard Morris said he would be asking for money in the next budget to buy a new server. In the meantime, East Lyme Board of Selectmen approved a $9,000 special appropriation on Wednesday to rebuild the server and CAD computer infrastructure for the town's emergency services. The motion will now go to the Board of Finance, which must vote on the special appropriation.