Headlines
Stewart Accused of Denying Access to Council Videos to a Critic
Press Pool Story A city resident says that the city denied her a copy the video of a public City Council meeting after Republican Mayor Erin Stewart apparently questioned whether the resident planned to use the video to disparage her. The resident made comments on Facebook, dated December 14th, asking, “Does a public official have the right to restrict […]
Trump Attack on Immigrants Sparks Resistance in New Britain
Press Pool Story Donald Trump, now with the power of the presidency, has elevated his harsh campaign rhetoric against immigrants and immigrant communities into highly controversial policies. He is trying to actually build the wall on the border with Mexico that he often promised, he has banned Muslims from whole countries, including those trying to […]
Republicans Pass Over Violet Sims for Board of Education
Press Pool Story Dozens of city residents attended the City Council meeting on Wednesday, January 25th, in support of Violet Jiménez Sims to fill the vacancy on the Board of Education left by the passing of Democrat Judy Greco. Speakers at the public session before the meeting overwhelmingly favored Sims, the candidate nominated by city Democrats to […]
Democrats Organize in Support of Violet Sims for Board of Education Vacancy
Press Pool Story After mourning the loss of Democratic Board of Education member Judy Greco, City Democrats have nominated Violet Jiménez Sims to succeed Greco. Sims was selected at the Democratic Town Committee meeting January 19th to fill the seat. “Good news, our very own Violet Sims received the nomination and appointment by the Democrats […]
Berriault Defends Critque of Stewart
By Bobby Berriault In response to a recent post on the President of the Board of Education Nick Mercier Facebook page, calling me a liar, saying I live by “alternative facts” and complaining that I blocked him on my exploratory committee Facebook page, I want to rebut his first allegation and explain why he and […]
Auditions Announced for ‘A Song of Life: In the Key of the Pain’
News Brief: Actors and singers from the greater New Britain region are being invited to audition for the upcoming musical stage play ‘A Song of Life: In the Key of the Pain’. ‘A Song of Life: In the Key of the Pain’ is an original stage play about the inner conflicts and personal triumphs of the praise […]
Berriault Holds First Democratic Political Event of the Year
Press Pool Story, The city elections are underway, with Bobby Berriault holding the first event of the potential Democratic candidates for city offices this year. Berriault held a fundraising event for his exploratory committee at Roma restaurant on January 20th. He was joined by numerous dignitaries on a day with an intense political charge, as Republican […]
New Britain Residents Join Inauguration Day Protest in Hartford
Press Pool Story, New Britain residents will be joining people throughout the region in a protest against the policies of President-Elect Donald Trump on the day of his inauguration. The Rally, Friday 4:00pm to 9:00pm, is to “demonstrate against the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump.” Organizers of the Rally said on Facebook, that “Mr. Trump’s […]
New Britain Residents Rally Against Republican Health Care Repeal
Press Pool Story New Britain residents were among the hundreds of people who rallied at the State Capitol on January 15th to oppose Republican plans to repeal the Affordable Care Act, a move that would cost many New Britain residents their health care coverage and weaken health care for many more. The rally was called […]
Citywide Celebration in Honor Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Press Pool Story The Mary McLeod Bethune Club, in Partnership with the Black Ministers Alliance of New Britain sponsored the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. City-Wide Celebration Program. The keynote speaker was Mr. Lamar Bowsky, a Senior at Central Connecticut State University and 2nd Vice President of the N.A.A.C.P., New Britain Branch. The event was […]
Martin Luther King and the Economic and Social Bill of Rights
By Tim O’BrienColumnist Editor’s note: The following commentary was originally published on January 20, 2014 on Tim O’Brien’s blog. This weekend, our nation, state and communities celebrate and remember the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his accomplishments. It is a time when I have always felt inspired by his work, as a leader, […]
New Britain High School Student Earns Highest Exam Score in the State
Sarah Farley, a senior at New Britain High School has earned the highest score on thhe CTE (Career and Technical Education) Assessments exam, scoring 92 percent. Farley is being hailed for the difficulty of her achievement. Sondra Sanford, Assistant Coordinator of NBHS Programs and Community Partnerships, said that 48 percent of the students who take […]
NBHS Senior Performs at Regional Music Festival
Jasper Khambaylarsirikul, is a member of the NBHS Madrigal Singers, the Golden Hurricanes Marching Band and Tri-M Music Honor Society, as well as the student leader of the NBHS Men’s Choir. He plays flute, piccolo and oboe, and is learning clarinet. And he was selected to represent the school at the Northern Regional High School Chorus in […]
Spottswood Men’s Ministry Invites All to a Big Country Breakfast
News Brief The Men’s Ministry at Spottswood AME Zion Church invites all to a Big Country Breakfast. The event will be on Saturday, January 28th from 8:00am to 11:00am. It will be held in the Fellowship Hall at Spottswood AME Zion Church at 25 Crestwood Lane. Admission is $10. As its Facebook page notes, “The Spottswood […]
Stewart’s Economic Record Criticized
By Bobby Berriault I take issue with Mayor Erin Stewart’s recent assertion that our city’s economy is better than ever. While it is true that a few businesses have moved into New Britain – namely the food truck that is downtown a few hours a week, for every business that has moved into our city, […]
New Britain NAACP Chooses 2017 Leadership
Press Pool Story While state and national elections took center stage, there was another election in New Britain in November, as the NAACP New Britain Branch elected its leadership for 2017. Nominees for officers and Executive Board members were made in the Fall and NAACP members voted on November 9th. The election returned Ronald P. […]
Opening Day 2017 at the State Capitol
January 4th was the opening day of the 2017 regular legislative session, the start of the term for state legislators newly elected and re-elected in last November’s voting. Opening day at the State Capitol is a day of ceremony that marks the moment when legislators must roll up their sleeves for the legislative session ahead. […]
Stewart-Proposed High-Level Bureaucrat and Department Head Residency Requirement At Issue
Republican Mayor Erin Stewart will ask the Republican-dominated City Council to approve her choice to lead the “Human Resources Department”. The new high-level bureaucratic position was created when the Council approved Stewart’s proposal to increase the number of city departments to fifteen, including the creation of the Human Resources Department. Who her choice is for the position […]
New Britain Youth Theater Stage Combat Workshop
In preparation for the spring production of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, NBYT is offering a Stage Combat and Fight Choreography Workshop on Sunday, January 22. The workshop will cover some basic training of stage combat including safely fighting, falling, and using fake stage weapons. Connecticut actor and fight choreographer Rob Richnavsky will lead the workshop […]
New Britain School Officials Speak at School Absenteeism Summit
New Britain school Superintendent Nancy Sarra and Attendance Officer Joe Vaverchak were presenters at the national virtual summit sponsored by the United States Department of Education, building on the Obama Administration’s Every Student, Every Day Initiative to eliminate chronic absenteeism in the nation’s public schools. During the 90-minute summit on December 7, Sarra and Vaverchak […]