Five Things You Need to Know Today, April 11

Today is Monday, April 11. Here are five things you need to know:

1. Get ready for some warm weather. Temps are expected to reach the lower 70s with mostly cloudy skies and a chance of showers and thunderstorms in the morning. Partly sunny skies in the afternoon with wind gusts up to 35 mph.

2. Perhaps you’ve heard: Mayor Menino has signed an executive order banning sugary drinks from being sold in city departments. Over the next six months, unhealthy drinks such as sodas, fake fruit drinks and energy drinks will be phased out of vending machines across the city. They will be replaced with drinks like milk, flavored waters and natural juices. Read more .  

3. South End resident Andrew McKinney was recently named by the Massachusetts Association of Buyer Agents to its 2011 board of directors. McKinney is an associate broker with Buyer Brokers Only, LLC and a licensed attorney in Massachusetts. A 2005 graduate of Suffolk Law, he is a member of the National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents.

4. Construction for the Boston Marathon starts on Tuesday. The city will install crowd control fencing and add other temporary structures along the route. Media outlets also got the word to remove all newspaper vending boxes - they can be replaced on Thursday, April 21. In the meantime, it looks like you'll have to go elsewhere for your morning paper. Or, you know, start reading the news online at South End Patch (can't resist a shameless plug).

5. Want to catch up on news in the South End? Check out our week in review to view snippets of last week's top stories.