1. Today should be sunny, with a high around 38, according to the National Weather Service. Tonight should be partly cloudy, with a low around 24, according to the service.
2. Per request of a reader, Patch asked First Selectman Dan Steward Thursday if the town has done an independent audit of the overtime given to employees to ensure employees in their three years before retirement are not getting an overwhelming amount of overtime. A town employee’s pension is based off of their last three years’ pay, including overtime, so if an employee boosts their salary with overtime the last three years they will have a larger pension.
Steward said the police department is the main department that has a lot of overtime and could do what is described above. However, he said their union contract makes the overtime distributed relatively evenly, as most of the officers are looking for overtime.
The contract stipulates that it goes in order so employees all have a chance to work overtime. That ensures that the overtime is evenly distributed, and that has been reflected in paychecks, Steward said. He added that he wants overtime distributed evenly not just because of a possible enlarged pension but also because it improves morale and ensures that employees are not being overworked.
3. A “Snowflakes for Sandy Hook” benefit set to be run by Connecticut's Parent Teacher Student Association at the Crystal Mall Saturday has been cancelled after the Town of Newtown has asked for people to stop donating because they are overwhelmed with donations.
The event was expected to take place on Saturday, and would have had people drop off snowflakes they made at Old Navy in the mall. The plan was to have those snowflakes hung in the elementary school in Monroe that students from Newtown’s Sandy Hook Elementary will be attending. However, the program has since been cancelled.
4. No new movies open today at Waterford's Regal Cinemas, but three did open on Christmas.
Django Unchained, which had to be the most violent movie I've ever seen in my life, plays at 6:50 and 9:35. Les Miserables, which I heard was excellent, plays at 7 and 9:25. And Parental Guidance, starring Billy Crystal, plays at 4:15, 6:45 and 10:25.
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5. On this date in 1912, the first municipally-owned streetcars started running in San Francisco, California. And on this date in 1612, Galileo Galilei became the first astronomer to observe the planet Neptune, although at the time he believed it was a star.
Quote of the Day
“Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is a force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master.”
-George Washington
Trivia of the Day
On this date in 1856, this future president was born, the man behind the creation of the League of Nations. What president was it?
Yesterday’s Answer: A type of bamboo is the fastest growing plant in the world, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.
