Five Things for Wednesday: Sunny, Hobbit, Lights, Giving & More

Johnston Weather:

• Wednesday: Sunny with highs in the 40s.
• Wednesday night: Partly cloudy and cold. Lows in the 20s.
• Thursday: Continued sunny with highs in the 40s.

Hobbit: Celebrate the book The Hobbit — before Peter Jackson got his hands on it and turned it into a three-film epic — tonight at 6 pm at Mohr Library in Johnston [The first installment opens tomorrow night — check Moviefone.com for times and tickets.]

Lights: For some people, there's just no limit to how they'll light up their homes for the holidays — still, National Grid offers a few energy savings tips to hold down the electric bill. And if you're thinking more of the revenue side of the equation, you could win $500 toward your electric bill in the Patch "Deck the House" contest.

Giving: A special tip of the Santa hat to the folks over at FM Global in Johnston, who this week announced that they've contributed more than $1.44 million to the United Way's 2013 campaign.

Celebrity Birthdays:

• Mayim Bialik, 37: Former child star of TV show "Blossom."
• Dionne Warwick, 72: Second most-charted female singer (56 hits).
• Emerson Fittipaldi, 66: Formula 1 racing champion in 1972 and '74.