Nov. 30: Five Things You Need to Know This Tuesday in Alameda

Need to Know appears every weekday on Alameda Patch. Send tips for future Five Things to janonpatch@gmail.com.

1. Tonight is the last installment of the mini-series, Parcel Tax Blues. The board of trustees votes on whether to put on the ballot in March 2011. The special meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. in the City Council's chambers at City Hall; you can also watch on Comcast Channel 15 or on the webcast.
2. If you don't want to watch school board, you might head over to  tonight at 7 p.m. just to find out what kind of music the  play (although the name offers some clues). Julie's gets some interesting bands that play all around the Bay Area and beyond, so go out and support the local talent.
3. OK, this is just wrong. Tonight at 8 p.m. ABC is showing How the Grinch Stole Christmas, at the same time CBS is showing Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. How are parents supposed to raise well-adjusted children without the complete pantheon of 1970s-era holiday cartoons?
4. At lunchtime Alameda's Rotary Club is hosting a speaker at its regular meeting who will talk about the mountain lions of northern California. (There's a joke in there about cougars who roam Alameda bars, but I won't go there.)
5. Stop by the new Karousel Boutique at 1532 Webster Street at 5:30 p.m. for the grand opening of the women's business incubator. Low-income entrepreneurs get business training and support through the city of Alameda and the Women's Initiative nonprofit, and present their goods at the store.

Plan ahead: Wondering what to do with the kids over holiday break while you're at work? Consider the Alameda Recreation and Park Department's affordable Winter Wonderland camp at Lincoln Park.