The Daily Five: Voter Registration, DOMA Decision, Spirit Week, and Business Boom in East Lyme

1. I hope you enjoyed the weather yesterday because you're going to need an umbrella today. Weather.com says there's an 80 percent chance of rain with the possibility of thunderstorms in the afternoon and this evening. We could get as much as half-an-inch of rain and wind gusts of 20 to 30 mph. The high temperature will be 66 degrees, the low 61 degrees.

2. Spirit Week at East Lyme High School has been in full swing this week culminating with the Homecoming Dance tomorrow night. But many students are none too happy that East Lyme school administrators are putting crimp in their style. After parents and some students complained about "inappropriate" dance moves, the school has imposed new rules for dancing. Saturday, those rules will be put to the test, and probably be tested by quite a few students. 

3. Special voter registration sessions will be held in East Lyme, Old Lyme, and Lyme on Saturday, Oct. 20, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The deadline to register by mail is October 23, or in person with local registrars until Oct. 30. 

According to Secretary of the State Denise Merrill the number of registered voters in Connecticut continues to rise, with another 40,000 new voters registering since the voter registration report on September 25 and more than 130,000 new voters registering so far in 2012.

4. Business is booming in East Lyme. Town Zoning Official William Mulholland said his phone is ringing off the hook these days with people calling, all eager to set up shop in East Lyme.

The Common Loon, a new restaurant scheduled to open any day now at 135 Boston Post Road, is putting on the finishing touches, refining its menu and just hung up a new sign to let people know it's there. Meanwhile, a Cost Cutters hair salon is slated to move in next door to Tri-Town Market at Flanders Four Corners.

There are also two applications pending before the Zoning Board. One, submitted by Gilberties Restaurant, is for a special permit to open a "Lazy Burrito" fast food restaurant at 327 Flanders Road. The other is an application for a special permit to operate an Organic Market at 32 Black Point Road in Niantic. Public hearings are scheduled to be held in November on both those applications.   

5. The 2^nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday ruled that the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is unconstitutional. The New York court was the third to make such a ruling, following similar decisions in federal district courts in Connecticut and Massachusetts. DOMA may have been struck down three times now but it's not quite out yet. All those decisions are heading for appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, which will ultimately decide the issue. 

In a press release issued yesterday, Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen applauded the 2nd District's ruling.

“As I’ve said before, discrimination based on sexual orientation has no place in our society or under our laws. Today’s ruling is another important step toward affirming the rights of all married couples in the state of Connecticut," he said. “I appreciated the opportunity to partner with our fellow states – New York and Vermont – which Connecticut joined in expressing the shared belief of our states that same-sex couples should be treated as equals under our law. I applaud the court for this important decision.”

This Day in History

On October 19, 1879, Thomas Edison introduces the world to electric light.

Daily Trivia

What are the three effects of electric current?

Yesterday's Answer: Kaa is the Indian Python in “The Jungle Book” 

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