Five Things You Need to Know Today: April 29

1. "Brain Lessons and Life Stories." Paul Whalen, a doctor and expert in the emotional brain, will give a lecture tonight titled "Brain Lessons and Life Stories." The lecture, which will discuss how the brain processes emotional situations, will be held at the Newton Free Library and starts at 7:30 p.m.

2. Newton South used book sale. If you have piled up a few used books during your recent spring cleaning, consider donating them to the Newton South Used Book Sale. The sale will be held from May 21-23 in Wheeler Commons at Newton South and proceeds benefit literacy initiatives in the NSHS English Department. Drop off hours are: Monday and Thursday mornings, April 29 - May 16, from 7:15 a.m. – 8:15 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. at the POD in the Newton South parking lot (next to Goldrick House). For more information about book drop off, contact Suzanne Freudberg at suzannefreudberg@gmail.com.

3. Finance Committee. The Board of Aldermen's Finance Committee will meet tonight at 7 p.m. in room 222 at City Hall. The committee will continue budget discussions tonight, covering budgets for the Comptroller, Assessing, Treasurer and Purchasing departments. Tomorrow, the Public Facilities Committee will discuss the DPW budget.

4. Do you have photos from NewtonSERVES? We'd love to share them on the site! Post them to our community photo gallery, submit a blog post or email them to Melanie.Graham@patch.com.

5. Tomorrow: Blood drive. The American Red Cross will host a community blood drive tomorrow at the Newton Health Care Center, 2101 Washington St. The blood drive will be held from 2 p.m. - 7 p.m. To schedule an appointment, call 1-800-RED-CROSS (733-2767) or visit redcrossblood.com.