Our daily column, 5 Things You Need to Know Today, will help you to get your day started and offer you some fodder for water cooler conversation

1. Today is Good Friday.

2. At sundown begins the start of Passover.

3. Tom Mahoney was elected chair of the Framingham Planning Board by a 3-2 split vote Thursday night. It was Stephanie Mercandetti's first Planning Board meeting.

4. Residents on Carter Drive Thursday afternoon reported seeing lots of police cruisers and officers with guns drawn in their neighborhood. Framingham Deputy Police Chief Craig Davis said the police department received a report of a suicidal individual, not from Framingham, driving in the neighborhood and possibly armed. While looking for the individual, residents were asked to stay indoors. Davis said the individual was not arrested but taken to a psychiatric facility.

5. April 2-8 is National Public Health Week. This year's theme is A Healthier America Begins Today: Join the Movement! Every year, chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes are responsible for millions of premature deaths. Americans miss 2.5 billion days of work because of these illnesses, and all of that lost productivity adds up to more than $1 trillion. Injuries, unexpected accidents and violence affect people daily in all aspects of life. Unintentional injuries, such as motor vehicle crashes, poisonings, and burns rank among the top 10 causes of death for people aged 44 and younger. Catching and preventing these illnesses and incidents before they develop is the key to improving our nation’s health, reports the cause's website.