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Community Corner

5 Things to Know in and around Murrieta: April 22

It's Earth Day!

1. Fog is expected before 11 a.m. and after 11 p.m., it may drizzle, according to the National Weather Service.  Otherwise, today will be sunny with a high near 84. Tonight, there will be increasing clouds and a low of 54.

2. The local chapter of Assisteens, a teen branch of the Assistance League of Temecula Valley, offers youths an opportunity to gain valuable work experience while also fulfilling community service requirements needed for graduation. They also gain work experience, build up references and resumes, and learn how to balance a budget and raise money. The young people elect their own board, oversee the budget and finance their own projects, such as Operation Book Worm, which provides new books to children. Members also coordinate social and community activities and volunteer in the league's thrift shop. A membership drive is under way for the group, which is open to youths in grades 7-12 who are willing to commit to volunteering 30 hours per year. Membership packets and information are available at www.temeculavalley.assistanceleague.org. For more information call 909-838-8492.

3. Animal Friends of the Valleys is giving proud pet parents the chance the show off their furry friends in the 2013 Calendar Contest. Picture entries are being accepted through July 31, 2012. Each submission requires a $10 donation, which of course, benefits the homeless animals at AFV.Sponsorships in the form of business card size ads are also available. And each calendar page is looking for a premium placement page sponsor. For more information, click here.

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4.   is offering a Kid Toons Family Matinee. This is a weekly program that provides families with G-Rated entertainment. Beginning at 10:30 a.m. at 27531 Ynez Road in Temecula, admission is $2.50. Today's feature: “Peppa Pig Muddy Puddles and other Stories." For more information, click here.

5. EARTH DAY HISTORY:  It may be hard to imagine that before 1970, a factory could spew black clouds of toxic into the air or dump tons of toxic waste into a nearby stream, and that was perfectly legal. They could not be taken to court to stop it. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, “because there was no EPA, no Clean Air Act, no Clean Water Act. There were no legal or regulatory mechanisms to protect our environment”. Therefore, in Spring 1970, Senator Gaylord Nelson created Earth Day as a way to force this issue onto the national agenda authorized the creation of a new federal agency to tackle environmental issues, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

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