5 Things You Need to Know Today, Friday, April 5

Here are 5 pieces of information designed to get your weekend started a little early and to help make you the smartest person in your class.

1. Your Local 3-Day Weekend Weather Forecast:

• According to the NWS, today will be partly sunny, with a high near 55. Southwest wind around 8 mph.
• Friday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 28. Northwest wind 10 to 15 mph.
• Saturday Sunny, with a high near 47. Northwest wind 11 to 16 mph.
• Saturday Night Mostly cloudy, with a low around 31. South wind 3 to 7 mph.
• Sunday A slight chance of showers after 1pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 56. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
• Sunday Night A chance of showers after 10pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 41. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

2. It's Happening Today: Patriotic Committee Casino Night at 7:30 p.m. at the Tewksbury VFW on Vernon St. Stop by for a chance to win some fabulous prizes. $40 admission buys you the chips you will need to play poker, blackjack and roulette. Great fun for a great cause.

3. Reader Comment of the Day: "Diesel is fuel efficient so it would appeal to both NRA and tree huggers alike. Some tree huggers are farmers also and need a good pickup to get around. They wouldn't want to alienate a market by painting on the campaign slogans on those." Reader Rob C, commenting on the story, "Do You Own a Hybrid? Would You Buy a Hybrid?"

4. By The Numbers: 109 ... and counting. That was the number of comments, as of Thursday evening, on the story, New Life For Tewksbury High Artificial Turf Field. It's going to be an interesting Town Meeting.

5. It's Also Happening Today: The Tewksbury High girls softball team is in action today. The Red Raiders are on the road to take on Andover High. The first pitch is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.