5 Things You Need To Know Today: July 3

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. The Framingham Frogs swim team won its first meet of the season Tuesday night. The Frogs, a Framingham Parks & Recreation co-ed team of swimmers age 6-18, defeated Norwood, on the road, 284-192.

2. Congratulations to the winner of Natick's VOICE: Charlene Frary, a Framingham Realtor with Realty Executives Boston West and a familiar volunteer with Voices of MetroWest and the Framingham History Center. Fray will be singing at the Miss Natick Pageant at the Natick Elks tonight at 7 and the annual Natick Parade on July 4th in front of Jones Drug at 9 a.m.

3. United Way of Tri-County is offering free lunch at the Pearl Street Cupboard and Café from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. for children age 18 or younger. Click here for more details.

4. Due to Independence Day, the Framingham libraries will close today, July 3 at 5:30 p.m. and will not re-open until Friday, July 5 at 9 a.m.

5. MassDOT said it expects heavy traffic around Massachusetts is expected the afternoons of July 3 and July 7. To ease the congestion, construction in Boston will be halted beginning July 3 and allowed to resume July 8. The state’s 18 MassDOT service plazas will offer free coffee between 10 p.m. July 4 to 5 a.m. July 5. The plazas serving free coffee include 11 service plazas along I-90, including Framingham.