Feature
Council Names Members to Stanley Park Trust
By Celeste Roche | Correspondent at January 29, 2015 | 6:15 pm |
Appoints Compensation Committee to Study Elected Appointed Salaries A slate of trustees for the Stanley Park Trust Fund was approved Wednesday night during the Common Council meeting. Trustees will be Paul Catanzaro, Richard Judd, Tobias Freeman, Darlene Clark and John Stout. The Fund was established “pursuant to the requirements set forth in the Stanley Park Deed more...
Iwo Jima Survivors Recall Battle as Anniversary Nears
By Amy Melissa Kirby | New Britain Historical Society Director at January 29, 2015 | 6:00 pm |
During the nearly two-hour flight from the aircraft carrier to Iwo Jima, Raymond Greene could have had a number of thoughts in his mind. The dangerous mission ahead; his family and sweetheart back home; or the recent loss of his brother in another battle. However, this tough nineteen-year-old fly boy had in his mind the excitement of the action ahead, as well as the more...
Democrats Gear Up for 2015 Elections
By Chris Seymour | Correspondent at January 22, 2015 | 6:30 pm |
It may only be January, but it’s never too early to begin discussing the November Mayoral race and the potential Democratic challengers to Republican first-term mayor Erin Stewart. With that in mind, The City Journal reached out to several potential candidates to get the very early lowdown on the 2015 mayoral race. Alderman David DeFronzo is one politician who more...
City Bond Rating Upgraded
By Editor at January 22, 2015 | 6:15 pm |
Standard & Poor’s Rating Services (S&P) has announced a significant upgrade to New Britain’s bond rating, increasing it by three notches to “A” with a stable outlook, up from their rating of “BBB” last year when the City was downgraded. “This is phenomenal news and is a strong validation of the difficult financial decisions we have made over more...
Mayor Announces “Beautify New Britain” Awards
By Editor at January 22, 2015 | 6:00 pm |
Mayor Erin E. Stewart has announced a new initiative to recognize New Britain property owners who have beautified or significantly improved their property(s). “This program is intended to reward both residential and commercial property owners who have demonstrated a commitment to New Britain by taking pride in their properties,” Stewart stated. “It is also more...
New Route 72 Overpass Design Revealed
By Robin Vinci | Editor at January 15, 2015 | 6:30 pm |
Beehives will soon adorn a City eyesore giving new life to a dreary area of New Britain. A working group for the Streetscape Project put together two schemes for the final design of the overpass on the Route 72 Bridge. On Wednesday, Mayor Erin Stewart made her final choice for a design that features the City’s signature beehive look. “When we were looking at more...
School Board Budget Proposal Shows 10.59% Increase
By Robin Vinci | Editor at January 15, 2015 | 6:00 pm |
Superintendent of School Kelt Cooper this week presented his 2015-16 budget proposal asking for a 10.59 percent increase including 60 new positions. The new budget would stand at $136,242,393. That’s an increase of $13,042,393 over the adopted 2014-2015 budget of $123,200,000. “The budget is the culmination of multiple meetings with various departments,” said more...
What Would You Like to See?
By Robin Vinci | Editor at January 15, 2015 | 4:15 pm |
This week’s question on our Facebook group was an easy one for readers. We simply asked people to answer this question “I would like to see more _______ in New Britain.” As usual answers were varied with many differing opinions on the issues. One very prominent answer was lower taxes. Jodi Rybczynski said she wanted tax cuts for property owners as well as more...
Bielinski Bungle
By Robin Vinci | Editor at January 8, 2015 | 6:30 pm |
After hearing from a private attorney hired just for the Civil Service Commission to decide what was legal for them to do, the Commission voted to remove Jessica Gerratana as Common Council Administrative Supervisor (CCAS) and repost the job, fine Democratic Mayor Pro Tem Suzanne Bielinski $250 (down from the original $2,500) and recommend the Council remove her from more...
Finances Lead Mayor Stewarts’s 2015 Goals
By Robin Vinci | Editor at January 8, 2015 | 6:15 pm |
Each New Year the New Britain City Journal asks the Mayor what his/her goals are for the year. Here are the top 5 goals from Mayor Erin Stewart for 2015. 1. Balance The Budget with No Tax Increase “Last year when we obviously tried to fix what happened in years prior we realized it was not a one year fix,” said Stewart. “Last year we wanted to balance the more...
