The Daily Five: Bargains By the Bay in Niantic

1. It's going to be hot again today. Weather.com is predicting a high temperature of 82 degrees and an overnight low of 71 degrees. There's a 20 percent chance of rain and the possibility of a stray thunderstorm, most likely in the late afternoon and this evening.  

2. I thought it was hot but now it's official. A report released by the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration on Wednesday says that July 2012 was the hottest month on record, hotter even than July 1936, which was the height of the Dust Bowl and until now, had been the hottest month recorded in the United States.  

3. Summer means sales and you won't find a better deal than downtown Niantic on Main Street. Today is the start of the 8th Annual Bargains by the Bay Tent and Sidewalk Sale, which runs from August 9 to Sunday, August 12. Stores are setting up tents outside and offering deals on everything from antiques to beach gear, women's clothing to skates.  

As it's Thursday, you'll be able to do a little grocery shopping too. Niantic Farmers' Market opens at 3 p.m. offering fresh local and organic produce from market stalls set up on Methodist Street. 

4. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy will be addressing issues close to the hearts of many local folks today. According to a press release, this morning the governor will participate in a roundtable discussion on Long Island Sound hosted by Senator Joseph Lieberman.

Participants include Senator Richard Blumenthal, Commissioner Daniel Esty, federal officials and environmental organizations, and they'll be discussing Long Island Sound preservation achievements over the past two decades, the current health of the Sound and how to better protect it.

If you want to weigh in on the subject, the event will be held at 10 a.m. at Sound School Regional Vocational Aquaculture Center, Foote Building, Library Classroom, 60 South Water Street, New Haven.

In the afternoon, Gov. Malloy's press office says the governor will hold a bill signing ceremony in Branford to commemorate the passage of Public Act 12-165, a new law designed to give Connecticut towns increased opportunity for input when it comes to determining the location of cellular communications towers.

That's happening at 12:30 p.m. at Stony Creek Dock, 35 Indian Point Road in Branford.

On a more local level, the Planning Commission meeting scheduled for 9 a.m. in Old Lyme Memorial Town Hall today has been cancelled. Similarly, there will be no Open Space Committee meeting in Old Lyme tomorrow. Really, it's such nice weather, who can blame them?

5. As many local residents work at Pfizer, I thought you might be interested in this news. Pfizer says that the seven-building complex it owns on Eastern Point Road in Groton known as . 

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