The Wheaton 5: Aug. 22

1. Following yesterday's storms and power outages, we have a beautiful Monday... Today will be mostly sunny, with highs in the lower 80s and refreshing northwest winds of 10 - 15 mph gusting up to 25 mph. Tonight will become mostly clear, with lows in the upper 50s (which will feel almost chilly!).

2. A free Emergency Mortgage Assistance (EMA) program clinic will be held today at the Wheaton Plaze Office Building, 11002 Veirs Mill Road, Suite 100. The clinic is to help homeowners in danger of defaulting on mortgage payments due to loss of income with completing EMA loan applications. It's sponsored by the Montgomery Works One Stop Center, as part of Maryland's HOPE Initiative program. Hours are 9:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.; please call (301)929-4350 to register.

3. Sunday's powerful thunderstorms left many area residents--primarily in Wheaton--without power yesterday. During mid-afternoon, 3,194 Wheaton customers lost power, according to Pepco. By evening the utility provider reported local outages were down to fewer than five. If you you have been affected, or know someone who still does not have power, let us know.

4. Coming up later today in our Portraits of Faith, we meet Dr. Ella Redfield, leader and founder of Wheaton's New Creation Church.

5. Stay tuned also for Frugal Families, our weekly listing of money-saving tips and deals, where this week we share some of our "favs" of  web daily deal sites.

Happy Monday!