As the auditions for Newington's Got Talent! began, 20 acts had signed up. By the time they were over, more than twice that many acts had performed on the stage of the Town Hall Council Chambers. There was everything from singers and dancers to a magic act and a martial-arts team.

NEWINGTON - It's been a long journey for Newington-Berlin hockey coach Dave Harackiewicz. A journey, as it turns out, that has taken him all across the East Coast during his 27 years of coaching the sport he's loved since he was a kid.
"I don't know what I would do without [hockey] in the winter," Harackiewicz said. "I won't tell my wife that, but no, I just enjoy it. It's a great game. I've been involved for many years and I will continue to do that until either I can't skate or I can't coach or I just lose the passion. But I don't see that happening in the near future."
Harackiewicz added the latest milestone to his coaching resume the night of Jan. 23, notching his 200th career win as a high school head coach in Connecticut.

BRISTOL - Regional planners gave a green light Thursday to the 9.4-mile busway between New Britain and Hartford.
"I'm willing to support this project because it's very important to New Britain," said Dennis Kern, one of Berlin's representatives to the Central Connecticut Regional Planning Agency.

NEWINGTON - It's official, almost. Mayor Jeffrey Wright will announce his candidacy for governor Tuesday at 11:30 a.m.

Increased emphasis on anti-noise and blight enforcement, and more focus on the town's Capital Improvement Budget (CIP) five-year plan, the 10-year Plan of Conservation and Development, and disaster planning. The Town Council set these as its goals for the new year.

NEWINGTON - A fire Wednesday night that killed an elderly man was accidental and caused by combustible materials stored too close to a floor-mounted propane heater, Fire Chief Chris Schroeder said.

"Instead of a big blighted mark on our town right at a gateway point, that says 'Your Loss,' now it will be our opportunity," said Mayor Jeffrey Wright.

Residents working to protect a portion of Cedar Mountain say they have nothing against developers. They simply see value in leaving the land open.

Newington resident Michael Gerhart has been named Mayor Jeffrey Wright's replacement on the Metropolitan District Commission (MDC) board.

The town is looking to put a 150-foot cell phone tower in Churchill Park to improve wireless communications service for local emergency service providers and to earn some money too.