Needed: Sunglasses, Secret Santas, 5K Runners

Information to get your day in Essex started:

1. The Weather: Shock of all shocks today is expected to be mostly sunny, with a high of around 79, according to the National Weather Service. Overnight, it will be clear, with a low of about 60.

2. From history.com's This Day in History: "On this day in 2003, a major outage knocked out power across the eastern United States and parts of Canada. Beginning at 4:10 p.m. ET, 21 power plants shut down in just three minutes. Fifty million people were affected, including residents of New York, Cleveland and Detroit, as well as Toronto and Ottawa, Canada. Although power companies were able to resume some service in as little as two hours, power remained off in other places for more than a day. The outage stopped trains and elevators, and disrupted everything from cellular telephone service to operations at hospitals to traffic at airports. In New York City, it took more than two hours for passengers to be evacuated from stalled subway trains. Small business owners were affected when they lost expensive refrigerated stock. The loss of use of electric water pumps interrupted water service in many areas. There were even some reports of people being stranded mid-ride on amusement park roller coasters. At the New York Stock Exchange and bond market, though, trading was able to continue thanks to backup generators."
Also on this day, comedian Steve Martin was born (1945), and the U.S stopped bombing Cambodia (1973).

3. Register for the "Get Ready! Get Set! Get Fit!" 5K run at CCBC Essex before Aug. 16 and save $5 on the registration fee, which includes a T-shirt and door prize opportunities.

4. Don't kill me for using the "C" word, but the Cancer Support Foundation is already looking forward to Christmas and needs Secret Santas to help provide gifts for children either battling the disease themselves or have cancer in the family.

5. 5. Are you prepared for the brunt of hurricane season?