Charlestown -- The Novel

Today is Wednesday, Feb. 23. Here are five things you need to know today.

1. So there’s a new novel coming out. It’s called Charlestown. Yup. By an author named David Martin who, it should be noted, was raised in Walpole, Mass. The book is a fictional tale about Boston cab drivers in the early 80s and their struggle to form a union. What’s the Charlestown hook? In the story, there are some possibly crooked players in the union fight and they happen to be from .... Charlestown! (And the North End.) You can read more about it at www.charlestownnovel.com. Couple of points: Mr. Martin, the author, was a real estate guy. While he was doing an appraisal in a triple-decker (maybe in Charlestown?) he came up with the idea for this book. Another point: I got notification of this book from a PR person. The subject line on her email was, inexplicably, “Boston Chowda.” This is, it would seem, the year of The Town.

2. And speaking of The Town — it may get recognized on the Oscars this Sunday night. Jeremy Renner was nominated for best supporting actor. He played Ben Affleck’s buddy and delivered the finest Boston accent in the film. However, he’s up against Christian Bale, who did a heroic job portraying Dicky Eklund in The Fighter, another Bostonish movie that will get lots of attention on Oscar night. One more Boston movie you’ll see Sunday: The Social Network. Great flick shot at that institution in Cambridge that has a colossal endowment and a ton of tax-free property. No comment.

3. Interested in getting your lifeguard certification? The Charlestown Community Center is holding , starting March 14, at the Community Center. If you want to sign up, you’ve got to attend a pre-requisite test on Feb. 28 at 4 p.m. To pass, you must be able to swim 300 years using a combination of strokes and be comfortable surfacing diving. The course costs $150 and participants should be 15 years old by April 6. For more details or to register, contact Mimi or Beth at 617-635-5170.

4. The Charlestown Nursery School and the Charlestown Working Theater bring some fantastic programming to the neighborhood. They’re joining forces next week to screen a new and provocative documentary about education. Race to Nowhere will be shown on March 3 at 6 p.m. and again at 8 p.m. at the Working Theater. Seats are limited, so you’ve got buy tickets in advance if you want to attend. For tickets to the 6 p.m. show, click here. For tickets to 8 p.m., click here.

5. It seems meaningless to type this, but here goes. It will be quite cold again today. Sunny with a high near 36.

For more information on what's happening around the neighborhood, check out events calendar.