By Bonnie Adams, Government Editor
Region – Today is Monday, July 16, the 198th day of 2012.
On this day in 1999, another tragedy rocked the Kennedy family when John F. Kennedy, Jr.; his wife, Carolyn Bessette Kennedy; and her sister, Lauren Bessette, perished when the single-engine plane Kennedy was piloting crashed into the ocean off the coast of Martha's Vineyard.
On this day in 1990, more than 1,000 people were killed when a 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck the Luzon Island in the Philippines.
And on this day in 1945 the first atom bomb was successfully tested in Alamogordo, NM. The blast had the destructive power equal to 15,000 to 20,000 tons of TNT.
Today's birthdays include – the late dancer Ginger Rogers (1911), Stewart Copeland of the rock band, the Police (1952) and actor Will Ferrell (1967).
Here are six tips for the day ?
1. The blogs in our “I was just thinking?” series have really resounded with our readers! Here are links to two that we posted this past week ?
http://communityadvocate.com/2012/07/10/i-was-just-thinking-about-dont-sweat-the-small-stuff/
http://communityadvocate.com/2012/07/13/i-was-just-thinking-a-restaurant-is-not-a-playground/
2. Kids can learn about “stars, planets, and other astronomical wonders” in this fun program to be held tomorrow morning, Tuesday, July 17 at the Northborough Free Library. (Please note – registration is required.)
http://communityadvocate.com/2012/07/03/northborough-museum-of-science-night-sky-program/
3. “4 Guys in Tuxes” will perform tomorrow night, July 17 as part of the summer concert series at Southgate at Shrewsbury.
http://communityadvocate.com/2012/06/28/shrewsbury-southgate-summer-concert-4-guys-in-tuxes/
4. The hot, dry weather means many communities are putting water bans and/or restrictions in place. Shrewsbury officials have just posted its restrictions on the town's website.
http://www.shrewsbury-ma.gov/egov/docs/1342191724687.htm
5. The city of Marlborough has everything residents need to know about the city's new trash collection process on its website.
6. So far, thankfully, we haven's had to deal with any hurricanes yet this year. But there have been, of course, a number of significant ones over the years that have struck New England. You can learn more about them here ?
http://www.mass.gov/eopss/agencies/mema/new-england-hurricanes-of-note.html