Headlines
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 […]
New Britain Youth Theater Auditions for ‘Peter Rabbit Is Lost!’
News Brief New Britain Youth Theater (NBYT) is looking for young aspiring actors for its production of the play ‘Peter Rabbit Is Lost!’ and will hold auditions in January. The play is an adaption of Beatrix Potter’s classic children’s books including The Tale of Peter Rabbit, The Tale of Benjamin Bunny, The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck, and others. […]
City Hall Watch: Stewart Wants More Money For Tilcon Watershed Study; Costs To Exceed $350K
By John McNamara The Stewart administration is seeking an additional $17,500 for an environmental study of Tilcon Inc.’s long-term plan to lease city watershed for trap rock mining. The extra cost is up for consideration at the December 14th Common Council meeting and follows the June 2016 Common Council approval of a $337,000 no-bid contract […]
Proposal on Affirmative Action Strikes Out Many Provisions
Press Pool Story The Republican-dominated City Council is considering a proposal by Mayor Erin Stewart on the city Affirmative Action Plan that proposes numerous deletions of text. On Wednesday, December 7th, the Council’s Administration, Finance and Law Public Committee will consider a resolution by Republican Council members Kristian Rosado and Louis Salvio to approve the […]
Jr. Hurricanes Win Game 1 in Championship Playoffs
Press Pool Story The 11U Jr. Canes football team won their first round game over Tyler Hurricanes of Texas 24-6. The game, on Monday, December 5th, was part of the playoffs of the American Youth Football (AYF) Championships. The Jr. Hurricanes team, with community support, traveled to the AYF Championships in Kissimmee, Florida to compete. On Wednesday, December […]
New Britain Election Postscript: “If Trump wins will I have to leave the country?”
By John McNamara “If Trump wins will I have to leave the country?” The question was asked of me by a Holmes School student when I was leaving the Masjid Al Taqwa mosque on Arch Street on a Sunday evening in August. It didn’t matter that the 5th grader has probably lived in New Britain […]
Berriault Announces Exploratory Committee for City Elections
Press Pool story Bobby Berriault, a member of the Democratic Town Committee and a community activist, has announced that he is forming an exploratory committee to run for city office in New Britain. “We as a city are facing serious challenges that our elected officials are ignoring,” said Berriault. “The New Britain Public School system is […]
New Britain Powder Puffs Lose in Overtime to Southington
New Britain High School’s Powder Puff team lost 17-14 in overtime on Monday night against Southington High School. The game winning 20-yard field goal came from Southington’s Caroline Kemnitz. New Britain was led by a strong performance from quarterback Jamyra Irizarry, who was a pivotal factor in the Hurricanes two scoring drives. While all the […]
Cathy Spano to Receive NHS Lifetime Achievement Award
News Brief Catherine M. Spano has been a longtime community activist and leader. Known for years as the “Mayor of Oak Street”, and affectionately referred to by many as “Auntie Kay”, she was a founding leader of the North-Oak Neighborhood Revitalization Zone and her advocacy led to the creation of the Oak Street Police Substation. […]
Organizing for the Holidays with LesMess’ CEO and Founder Leslie Jacobs
By Rhona Cohen — Editor, New Britain Progressive I came to Connecticut in 2006 to help organize in the movement for health care for everyone. It was all consuming work and while I worked at organizing people my home became less so. I didn’t mind, nor did my husband who was similarly immersed outside of […]