5 Things You Need to Know Today

1. Thaddeus Williams, 24, who was accused of acting as a getaway driver in a series of takeover style robberies in Rancho Bernardo and elsewhere, was convicted of three counts of robbery Wednesday. See a previous story about the robberies .

2. The Board of Education is scheduled to hold a special meeting/workshop from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday at the district office, 15250 Avenue of Science. On the agenda: a resolution to spend $5,600 on a study to decide if the district's electoral process allows different demographic groups, such as minorities, to be represented on the board; a strategic planning workshop with the Board and the Superintendent's Cabinet about district goals. The agenda is attached to this story.

3. The Chelsea's Light Foundation, created in honor of Poway teen Chelsea King who was murdered after a run near Rancho Bernardo Community Park, is planning to "reclaim" the park Friday by creating a giant sunflower made up of people in yellow T-shirts. Sunflowers were Chelsea's favorite. The group says it needs 500 people to form the flower, which will then be photographed from a helicopter. The event is scheduled from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. and organizers say students will still have time to join if they come after school ends. The park is located at 18448 West Bernardo Drive. Parking is available at the park, but attendees may also go to the Westfield shopping center (272 East Via Rancho Pkwy, Escondido), park near BJ's restaurant and be shuttled over. For more, visit here.

4. The Citizens Fiscal Sustainability Task Force projected the city's deficit for the coming fiscal year at $130.4 million, double Mayor Jerry Sanders' estimate of $56.7 million. The task force's projection includes another $29.3 million for retiree health care, and $44.4 million for deferred maintenance.

5. About 60-75 people are expected to be honored at the Hats Off to Volunteers event at Webb Park next month. Local organizations who have yet to submit their honorees to the group are asked to do so right away.

City News Service contributed to this report.