Rainy Days, Tsunami Awareness Week and Follow Us

Today is March 23. It is the 82nd day of the year. We are under a waning gibbous moon. Sunset will occur about 7:09 p.m. Here are five things to know:

1. The National Weather Service forecast for this afternoon calls for rain with a high near 58 degrees and showers tonight mostly before 11 p.m. and an overnight low around 46 degrees. A series of storms is expected to bring rain and cold temperatures through Saturday.

2. Playa del Rey resident Phil Jackson and Los Lakers beat the Phoenix Suns, 139-137, in a triple-overtime last night at Staples Centers. The home team wore "Los Lakers" jerseys and the visitors "Los Suns" as part of the league's campaign to celebrate Hispanic heritage.

3. We're in the middle of “Tsunami Awareness and Preparedness Week,” a countywide effort to inform residents of beach communities about the county's tsunami emergency plans and encourage people to be prepared. Check out the attached tsunami awareness video prepared by the U.S. Geological Service.

4. UCLA's Institute for Democracy, Education and Access (IDEA) has just released its 2011 Educational Opportunity Report on learning conditions across California public schools. The results aren't pretty. You can read about it right here.

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