Five Things to Know Today, Feb. 8

Welcome to Wednesday. Here are some things to know today.

The weather: Some sunshine, the National Weather Service says, with a high of about 61 degrees. The low tonight will be around 32.

Gas prices: A gallon of regular can be had for $3.46, according to www.georgiagasprices.com (at Shell, 5414 Five Forks Trickum Road at Rockbridge; and at Kroger, 4155 Lawrenceville Hwy at Beaver Ruin). The highest price reported was $3.49, (at Shell, 4088 Five Forks Trickum at Killian Hill, and at 10 other places.)

Security? Once upon a time there was a country so obsessed with the threat of domestic and foreign attacks and plots that it built a security apparatus to keep watch at every level. At the borders, in offices, in homes, the eyes and ears of agents and informers caught everything remotely suspicious and reported it up the chain to the center. The country was East Germany, and when its government collapsed in 1989 in the fall of state Communism across Europe, the extent of domestic spying became clear. The Stasi, short for Ministry of State Security, was the secret police that listened everywhere, even recruiting spouses to inform secretly on each other. The Stasi was founded on this day in 1950, around the start of the Cold War. It was dissolved with the end of East Germany in 1990.

Bears. Who knows if it’ll be truly arctic, but if you’re feeling shaggy, the Mountain Park pool is hosting an Aqua Triathlon and Polar Bear Swim on Feb. 25. Proceeds benefit the aid group Living Water, which works to provide clean drinking water around the world. There’ll be a version of a triathlon with all events in the water: 10 minutes each of aqua running, aqua cycling and swimming. Or you can just brave the cold outdoor pool by going down the tower slide. You need to preregister to get a t-shirt and the minimum
donation is $26 per person.

Planets. The best months for viewing Saturn in the night sky are just starting. It rises around 11 p.m. now, but starts slipping westwards relative to Earth as of today and therefore rises a little earlier every night. While you’re waiting for a more convenient time to see Saturn, there’s already clear nightly viewing of Venus and Jupiter. And with binoculars, you can even spot Uranus, out near the edge of the solar system.