5 Things You Need To Know Today—Wednesday, Jan. 11

Check the traffic out there and today's gas prices before heading out the door!

Today is Wednesday, Jan. 11—104 years ago today, President Theodore Roosevelt declared the Grand Canyon a national monument—and here are Melrose's five fast facts for the day:

1) This is my winter song to you. The storm is coming soon: Today will be sunny, with a high near 38 and north wind between 5 and 7 mph, but then overnight a storm rolls through. A chance of snow before 4 a.m., then rain and snow likely. Increasing clouds, with a low around 30. East wind between 7 and 14 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60 percent. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible. (Forecast by the National Weather Service.)

2) ... to stay warm: Tri-CAP will be at the Milano Senior Center today from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. to help first-time, low income applicants of any age . Appointments are required and can be made by calling Tri-Cap at 781-322-6284. No walk-ins.

3) It isn't so much the paintings themselves which I want to consider, as the way we now see them: Melrose Arts welcomes artist, Chris Chou, who will demonstrate her unique painting style in mixed media (see picture) at a , starting at 7 p.m. Chris is a native of Taiwan and a 2007 Guggenheim Fellow. She uses ink, watercolor, wax, and acrylic to create images of personal symbolisim.

4) It's—it's a cookbook! Here are today's specials around Melrose:

• : Soup—Black Bean w/ Lime Sour Cream; Lunch—Chicken Quesadilla [Note: menu subject to change.]

• Do you own a Melrose eatery? E-mail your daily specials to danield@patch.com by 6 p.m. and we'll include them in next morning's .

5) Our weekend starts on Wednesday: Here's today's lineup of weekly columns that run each Wednesday on Melrose Patch:

• Get Out: Looking for something to do this weekend? Our roundup of stuff to do this weekend in Melrose now runs on Wednesdays at 3 p.m. (Giving you more time in advance of Thursday night events.)

• Poll Results: Every Thursday we run a poll about a timely issue on Melrose Patch, and the following Wednesday, we'll bring you the results and invite you to continue the conversation.

As always, check our calendar for the full slate of events—and add your own!