ABOUT TOWN: Let the Debate Begin!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Kim Aronson Lazarian of Stoughton, best known for managing POSH in Easton.  Her brother Dr. Scott Aronson, is a podiatrist with a Stoughton office. And Happy Birthday to Dick Harrison, a longtime Coach and Director of STOYAC basketball, and a big part of the success of the Life Teen program at Immaculate Conception Church.

SCHOOL COMMITTEE DEBATE!  Today's the day that incumbent School Committee members Deborah Sovinee and Dr. Erdem Ural take on their challengers George Dolinsky and Jeff Benson in a debate at the Studios of SMAC at 421 Page Street.  The debate, which will be moderated by About Town columnist Mark Snyder (Snyder's Stoughton TV Show), will feature questions by Jeffrey Pickette, Editor of Stoughton Patch, and Teresa Franco, a reporter with the Stoughton Journal.  The show will air Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. on Comcast Channel 9, and Verizon Channel 28.

FREE YOUNG ADULT MOVIE: Stoughton Public Library presents a free presentation of the movie "SPEAK" today at 3:30 p.m. in the Wales French Room. Here's the background on the film:  After a blurred trauma over the summer, Melinda enters high school a selective mute. Struggling with school, friends, and family, she tells the dark tale of her experiences, and why she has chosen not to speak. Seating is limited. Come early! 

DOCUMENTARY FILM IRANIUM--AND EXPERT SPEAKER COMING TO STOUGHTON: Strategic policy and intelligence expert Claire M. Lopez will speak at a showing of the documentary Iranium Wednesday, March 16 at 7:30 p.m at at 1179 Central Street.

Lopez, who is interviewed in the film, is an expert in Middle East, national defense, and counterterrorism issues. A senior fellow at the Center for Security Policy and vice president of the Intelligence Summit, she has served with the CIA, as a professor at the Centre for Counterintelligence and Security Studies, and as Executive Director of the Iran Policy Committee. Admission is $10.

Iranium was made by the Clarion Fund, a non-profit organization that produces documentaries on threats to national security. The film premiered in various locations throughout the U.S. in February. With rarely seen footage, the film depicts the brutal reality of the regime in Tehran, and the threat it presents to its own people, to Israel, to the U.S. and to the rest of the world. The filmmakers stress that while Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has never hesitated to declare his intentions to destroy the West and to spread Islam and Sharia law throughout the world, American and European leaders continue to misread his intentions. Interviews with experts on the Middle East, terrorism, and nuclear politics give a clear explanation of the dangerous mix of the radical ideology and goals of the Iranian regime and its potential as a nuclear power. Questions? Call 781-344-8733.

Check back later today for the Afternoon Edition of About Town with Mark Snyder.