5 Things You Need To Know Today: Oct. 23

“Five Things You Need to Know Today” is a Patch column that provides readers with essential, daily information at a glance.

1. Evening showers: Today will be increasingly cloudy with a calm wind and a chance of showers after 9 p.m., according to the National Weather Service. High: 63, Low: 45. Chance of precipitation: 40 percent.

2. Women and the vote: North Hill in Needham is sponsoring a panel discussion on the role of women in modern day elections today from 10 a.m. to noon at Wellesley College Club. This program is free and open to all active adults in the Boston area. For more information or to RSVP, visit www.­northhill.­org/­courses or email RSVP@­northhill.­org.

3. Selectmen meeting: The Needham Board of Selectmen will meet today at 7 p.m. on the first floor of Town Hall. See the agenda here. Citizens are invited to meet informally with selectmen 15 minutes prior to the start of the meeting. While not required, citizens are encouraged to call the selectmen's office at 781-455-7500 ext. 204 to arrange an appointment.

4. Green Needham talk: Green Needham is hosting the October Massachusetts Climate Action Network Steering Committee Meeting today from 7-8:45 p.m. at the Needham Free Public Library. The topic of discussion will be “Tax the Bads, Not the Goods: Is a Carbon Tax in our future?” Could such an approach work in Massachusetts? Could a grassroots ballot initiative build enough statewide support to make it a reality? Learn more at greenneedham.org. This program is free and open to all.

5. Know a good person? Needham Youth Services is seeking nominations for the Patrick C. Forde Good Person Memorial Award. Nominated individuals must be Needham residents, at least 21 years of age and must not be paid for their work with children, youth or families for which they are being nominated. Nominations will be accepted for the 2012 recipient until Nov. 1. Nomination forms are available in the Youth Services Office and online at needhamma.gov/youth/fordeaward.