Five Things You Need to Know Today: March 20

1. Public hearing for school budget. The Newton School Committee will hold a public hearing this evening on . The committee gave its preliminary approval of the budget in a straw vote last Thursday. Tonight's hearing is set to start at 6:30 p.m. in the . 

2. What's going on at the former Macy's site? Have you noticed the construction going on at the former Macy's site in Chestnut Hill? Well, .

3. First day of spring! Although it has felt like spring for a few days now, today is the first official day of the season, also known as the Spring (or Vernal) Equinox. 

4. New channels for NewTV. Effective today, 's Community Channel on Comcast will be switching to Channel 8, and the Education Channel will move to Channel 99 due to an FCC requirement. The Government Channel will remain on Channel 9. These changes will only be for Comcast subscribers in Newton. 

5. Board of License Commissioners. The Board of License Commissioners will meet tonight at 7:30 p.m. in room 209 at . Some of the items up for discussion include a package store license for and a Common Victualler License for the Tiger's Loft Bistro at . To view the full agenda, click the .pdf to the right.