The Berlin
Cit itiz ize en
Volume 15, Number 5
Berlin’s Only Hometown Newspaper
Finance director lays out budget concerns for 2011-2012
Special edition:
Cabin fever reliever Cabin fever, what is it and how do you cure it? Basically, you know when you have it, no need to call the doc. Symptoms include, but are not limited to: restlessness, irritability, irrational frustration with everyday objects, excessive sleeping, boredom and an urge to go somewhere else. The cause is spending excessive amounts of time at home, mainly because the weather is too rotten to go anywhere or do anything. School vacations can exacerbate the problem. Stephen King’s novel The Shining (later a movie) is an extreme example of how a bit of winter isolation can get out of hand. With 10 feet of snow outside (it seems), this winter has pushed our limits. What’s the remedy? In this week’s edition, The Citizen offers several ideas to provide a little fun and escape from the grind of winter. Possible cures include: pizza, movies, outings, football — and celebrating Ground Hog’s Day (Feb. 2) which marked the halfway point of winter and promises the days will become brighter. We’ve featured winter snow photos from reader submissions (page 15) as a way to say good-bye to the worst of it. (We hope.) — The Editor
Thursday, Februar y 3, 2011
Few bright spots on the horizon By Olivia L. Lawrence The Berlin Citizen
Citizen photo by Olivia L. Lawrence
Flowers are rare sights these days — except at local florists. This scene is from the greenhouse at Brierley-Johnson, the Florist. Outside, snow piles up against the windows.
Finance Director Jim Wren draws a sobering picture of the issues the town faces as it moves into the 2011-2012 budget season. “There are not a lot of positive things to be said,” Wren said. “Since I’ve been doing municipal finance, this is the most difficult year I’ve seen.” Investment revenue is down, the state is talking cuts in municipal aid and an infusion of stimulus money will soon be a thing of the past. So far, the Capital Improvement Plan committee has reviewed the Wren town’s five-year plan and made its recommendations; and all town departments submitted operating budgets in December. Town Manager Denise
See Budget, page 8
Hungry?
Pizza rules in Berlin with lots of places to pick one up By Olivia L. Lawrence The Berlin Citizen
Citizen photos by Olivia L. Lawrence
Olgun Kandmir removes a pie from the oven at Empire Pizza.
People love pizza and Berlin has its fair share of pie joints — and everyone has a favorite place or two. Because where there’s pizza there are opinions. The Citizen included eight Berlin establishments in its survey. Seven of these have the word “pizza” in their name: Bill’s Pizza and Central Pizza, on Farmington Avenue; Bella Pizza on High Road; Pure Pizza and Berlin Pizza on the Berlin Turnpike; Village Pizza on Beckley Road and Pizza Rama on Deming Road (currently in the process of changing ownership). For No. 8, we’ll include the Pine Loft as it bills itself as a pizzeria. Other outlets sell pizza and have a following, like Portafino’s and San Remo Bakery. But for the purposes of this See Pizza, page 7
At Bill’s Pizza, Pete Ladas kneads the dough.