Our weekday morning column, 5 Things You Need to Know, provides you with information that can help you plan your day and give you some fodder for water cooler conversations.

1. It's the first official day of summer, and the longest day of the year. So...

2....it's appropriate, but inconvenient (for those who don't love the heat), that it's supposed to be a scorcher today. (And tomorrow. But let's start with today.) Stay hydrated, stay out of the sun, and take a look at some tips officials offer for keeping cool.

3. Summer means, among other things, summer reading! Whether you're a child required to read, or an adult who'd love to make more time to read for pleasure, what's on your list? See Patch's summer reading lists, brought to you by author James Patterson, for some teen and kid-friendly suggestions.

4. It's one of our goals here at Natick Patch to give you the information you need. One of the ways we do this is by responding in a timely fashion to your questions, and answering them through our "You Ask, Patch Answers," column. It's simply, really: you ask a question, we answer it. If there's something in town that has you scratching your head, or you don't know where to find the info you need, send questions our way.

5. The town has posted a notice about an upcoming public hearing that will be held Monday, July 2, to determine the fee for licenses issued for the off-premises sale of wine and malt beverages (beer & wine package store). The hearing will be at 7 p.m. in the Edward H. Dlott Meeting Room of Town Hall. Anyone wishing to be heard on the matter should attend.