Five Things You Need To Know Today, Aug. 20

Here are five things you need to know today:

1) Sunny day...

It's going to be another beautiful Monday today! According to the National Weather Service, we'll see sunshine and temperatures in the high 70s. Perfect! Expect temps to drop into the 60s at night.

2) Can there be a "quiet riot?"

On August 20, 1980, a court case between Nicholas Abraham and the city of Woburn was settled by a jury. According to MassCases.com, Abraham sued the city after his bowling alley was "atrociously vandalized" on Sept. 3, 1970. Abraham was awarded $147,750. The case documentation states, "During the summer of 1970 there was much unrest among the young people of the city, which manifested itself in acts of vandalism. Gangs of teenagers congregated regularly at the Four Corners, approximately 100 to 300 yards from the alley. On six to eight occasions during June, July and August, the bowling alley sustained minor damage from vandalism, and in each instance Abraham received notice from his manager or the Woburn police, who regularly patrolled the area." Lawyers considered whether there was a "quiet riot" at the bowling alley—meaning that no one heard or saw anything, but there was likely a riot inside the building. Although Abraham won the case, it was determined that a riot could not be inferred from vandalism.

3) Event spotlight

Project Learn, a licensed childcare organization, is accepting registrations for the after-school program at the .  

4) In case you missed it

Sometimes there is just so much stuff in the police log, we have to expand the Week In Review. That's what happened yesterday.  

5) Hello aliens!

On this day in 1977, the United States launched the Voyager 2, a 1,592 pound space probe created by NASA to study the outer solar system. Included on the probe was a golden record with information on Earth and the human race created in the event the probe was picked up by extraterrestrial travelers. Included on the record were images of earth and its lifeforms, scientific information and greetings in various human languages. Also included were 'sounds of earth' including the sounds of whales, a baby crying, waves on the beach and a variety of music. Fortunately they didn't include the game Spaced Invaders; we don't want to give aliens any bad ideas.

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