Meet the Cast of 'West Side Story'

1. Meet the cast of West Side Story today at noon at the mall.  A special performance will be followed by a book signing at Borders of the newly released title: West Side Story: Cultural Perspectives on an American Musical, by Elizabeth A. Wells. The musical revival is currently playing at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood. Today's mall performance will take place in front of Bloomingdale's and Zara on the main level.

2. The Los Angeles Unified School District has OK'd a plan to begin classes at most schools on Aug. 15 and end on June 1. The school year has traditionally started soon after Labor Day. The plan does not affect schools on multi-track, year-round schedules.

3. Separately, the LAUSD board has decided to allow the sale of corporate sponsorships and naming rights of facilities on campuses. Officials say revenue generated by the sales of such sponsorships would help save jobs and preserve programs susceptible to budget cuts. Under the policy companies could buy the right to post signs in school cafeterias or naming rights for athletic fields or campus buildings.

4. The Los Angeles City Council today will consider overriding Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's veto of a planned March 8 ballot measure that would give the council more control over the Department of Water and Power. If passed by voters, the measure would give the council authority by a two-thirds vote to fire the department's general manager and board members or reverse their removal by the mayor.

5. Weather today will be mostly cloudy with a chance of showers and highs in the low 60s. Still beats Minneapolis.

One more thing to do today: Follow Westwood Century City Patch on Facebook or Twitter.

Thought for the day: "Walking on water wasn't built in a day."—Jack Kerouac