5 Things You Need to Know Today: March 24

1.  Tickets are now on sale for the Newport Beach Public Library Literacy Service's fourth annual Gift of Literacy Author Luncheon. The event will be held Friday, April 8, at 11:30 a.m., at the Radisson Hotel, 4545 MacArthur Blvd., and will feature author Nicole Mones. She will talk about her third book, The Last Chinese Chef, which takes readers into a hidden universe of one of the world’s great cuisines. The book was the winner of the World Gourmand Award and the first work of fiction ever excerpted by Gourmet magazine. Tickets for the luncheon can be purchased by calling Literacy Services at 949-717-3874 and are $75 per person or $100 for a seat at the Author’s Table.  Proceeds from the event will help fund the Newport Beach Public Library Literacy Services program, which serves more than 100 adult learners annually with free literacy instruction.

2. Don't forget! Now through October, the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf is selling Orange County Blend Coffee and Orange County Sunshine Blend Tea, two blends exclusive to the O.C. area, at 24 locations throughout the county. The coffee is $9.95, and the tea is $8.95. For every bag of coffee or tea sold, the stores will donate $1 to a designated school. In Corona del Mar, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf has partnered with Harbor View Elementary. Read our story for more information.

3. Appointments are now being accepted for the American Red Cross Blood Drive being held Tuesday, March 29, from 7 a.m to 1 p.m. The blood drive will take place at Corona del Mar High School. To schedule your appointment go to givelife.org. 

4. Applications and essays are now being accepted for the Brad Evans' Memorial Scholarship. Two $1,000 awards are available to all Corona del Mar seniors who graduated from Harbor View Elementary. Completed applications are due by Friday, April 29. For an application, contact Lesa Hodgkins at 949-929-3893 or hodgieclan@aol.com.

5. Today will be mostly cloudy, with a chance of showers throughout the day and highs in the upper 50s, according to the National Weather Service.