Rain Looming, Rooter Bus and Los Lakers Tonight

Today is March 22. It is the 81st day of the year. We are under a waning gibbous moon. Sunset will occur about 7:08 p.m. Here are five things to know:

1. The National Weather Service forecast for this afternoon calls for mostly sunny skies with a high near 59 degrees with partly cloudy skies tonight and an overnight low around 49 degrees. Enjoy the sunshine while you can; forecasters expect rain Wednesday after 11 a.m. and a slight chance of rain Thursday too.

2. The Los Angeles County Department of Beaches & Harbors, which oversees county beaches and Marina del Rey, has opened a Twitter account @lacdbh to issue alerts, advisories and notifications to get the word out during public emergencies, such as the recent tsunami advisory. The department also has a Facebook page that provides real-time information in case of an emergency. Additionally, the department has set up RSS feeds on its website to get information, alerts and notices of commission meetings.

3. The St. Bernard High School boys and girls basketball teams will be playing for the state title Friday in Sacramento and a rooter bus will take fans Friday morning from the school to Power Balance Pavilion (previously Arco Arena) for the games. There are also plans in the works for an alumni breakfast the morning of the game. Anyone interested in riding on the rooter bus should contact Kelley LeBouf at klebouf@stbernardhs.com.

4. Playa del Rey resident Phil Jackson and the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers (50-20) host the Phoenix Suns (35-33) tonight at Staples Center. It's a Noche Latina game and the home team will be wearing their "Los Lakers" jerseys and the visitors will be wearing "Los Suns" as part of the National Basketball Association's campaign to celebrate Hispanic heritage. Los Lakers are 12-1 since the All-Star break.

5. Did you know you can follow Marina del Rey Patch, which also covers Del Rey and Playa del Rey, on Facebook and Twitter?