Good morning, Alexandria.

Grab the umbrella on the way out: showers and maybe a thunderstorm before noon, patchy fog until 9 a.m., then it clears and climbs to near 70 degrees by afternoon. Saturday is the reward: sunny and near 60, with a northwest wind that’ll gust past 25 mph, so hold on to your hat at the farmers market.

It’s a school's morning. The ACPS capital budget landed Thursday at about twice what the city said it could afford; a new parent group is circulating a letter about classroom screen time; and ACPS posted a meeting agenda after the sign-up deadline to discuss it. If you want to weigh in on the capital plan, sign up for Tuesday’s hearing by noon Sunday; there’s a link in item 1.

Tonight, the Titans close out the regular season at home against South County at 7 p.m. Tomorrow, City Council opens budget season with a 9 a.m. retreat at Del Pepper, and the city’s fall Community Cookout runs 1 to 4 p.m. at 2425 Mill Road, free food and all. Everything else, from Pumpkin Rescue to Paula Poundstone, is in the weekend guide below.

One more thing: one year in, 347 of you pay for this newsletter monthly or annually, and 497 have chipped in at some point. A few have asked what more should come with that. I’ve put some ideas at the bottom of today’s email, and I’d like to hear from everyone, paid or not. Just reply.

Here’s what you need to know for Friday, Nov. 6.