5 Things You Need to Know Today: Tuesday, March 20

1. Hot under the collar: The Northern California weather continues into Tuesday with some fog and overcast skies in the morning clearing to a partly sunny day, according to the National Weather Service. Temperatures will be cooler than yesterday -- only into the high 50's -- which is okay with me because as of this writing Patch headquarters is a little too warm for March.
2. Seize the day: In case you've been living under a rock -- and believe me, I see the appeal -- you must have heard by now that today is the official first day of spring. Do something, well, springy like clean out your window sills or pop the screens back into their frames to welcome all that fresh air back into your house. Before you know it, you'll have the air on.
3. Extracurricular activities: I know, now that The Walking Dead and Downton Abbey have wrapped up their seasons, you're running out of evening activities. Bad news, you'll need to scratch the Planning Board meeting off your list of possible things to do Tuesday night. The regularly scheduled meeting has been canceled, as has the next meeting on April 3.
4. Join the party: Attention Little Silver and business owners: Have you claimed your free listing on Patch? You'd be in good company because recently businesses like , ,, and all took advantage of that feature. Click here to watch a handy video laying it all out for you and climb aboard!
5. Your school rules: parents, don't forget to vote in the Favorite School contest sponsored by Cartridge World and the chance to win $15,000 for the school. Click here for all the details on the contest that will let the school buy computers, technology, books or supplies. The more votes your school gets, the better your school's chances are to win. So vote often - and tell your friends and family to vote, too.

About this column: "5 Things you Need to Know Today" is a Patch column where we round up events, facts and information at a glance. Stay tuned every weekday for our five informative tidbits.