Our new anonymous reader opinion feature, Sound Off, launched today in the print edition of The Register Citizen and online. Click here to check out today's installment, which includes complaints about everything from the handling of Torrington's dog park proposal, to rude drivers, discarded cigarette butts and the way hostesses on the Food Network flip their hair around.

One week left to vote for your favorite local businesses in dozens of categories in The Register Citizen's Readers' Choice contest.
Click here to go directly to the online ballot, or check the print edition of The Register Citizen for a ballot you can mail in or drop off to us.
Remember ... simply filling out a ballot makes you eligible to win cash prizes of $75, $50 or $25.

We were proud here at The Register Citizen last week to be honored for the newspaper's contributions to the United Way and all it does for charitable causes here in Northwest Connecticut.
But prouder still were our feelings about Andrea Benedict, leader of the business office here at The Register Citizen and Foothills Trader.
She was honored with the United Way's "People Who Inspire Us" award.
For years, Andrea has been the one-woman-band operating behind the scenes to coordinate The Register Citizen's annual Warm the Children campaign.
Warm the Children has provided money for warm winter clothing for thousands of children from needy families in Northwest Connecticut over the years.
It's one of the few charities out there that can boast zero administrative costs ... meaning that every penny donated goes directly to these kids. That's possible because Andrea does all the work!
So Andrea, we join the United Way in saying you inspire us! It was a bit of public recognition that is well-deserved.

Effective today, The Register Citizen has opened the floodgates of a new public forum called "Sound Off."
The idea is to provide readers with the opportunity to comment on any topic that's on their mind, from minor annoyances, to political gripes, to praise for an unsung hero who never seems to get proper credit.
We're turning our pages over to you.
Yes, there's an outlet already for this kind of thing ... letters to the editor.
But we've found that many people don't have the time to write, are intimidated by the format, don't feel comfortable putting their name out there, or just don't feel comfortable writing something.
Sound Off is different.
All you need to do is pick up the phone and leave your message - anything you want to say - at 860-626-6590.
It's completely anonymous.
And if you don't feel comfortable making that phone call, there's another way to get into Sound Off ... just drop an email to soundoff@registercitizen.com. No need to provide your name - it's anonymous - and we won't print your e-mail address or anything like that.
Again, the number to call for Sound Off is 860-626-6590.
Look for Sound Off to appear in The Register Citizen in the next few days, as soon as we get some of you comments built up, and then check it out daily.

You can call it another victim of changing times.
The TV listings book that typically appears in Sunday's Register Citizen was missing yesterday, eliminated based on years of waning interest and changes in the habits of newspaper readers and TV viewers.
So many households now rely on Cable TV channel guides, which have become more and more sophisticated, and on interactive online TV listings, that even TV Guide changed its format a few years back to de-emphasize actual channel listings.
To fill the gap, we have expanded our daily in-paper TV grid to Sunday, and are working on plans to expand those daily listings.
You can also go to our Web site, www.ctcentral.com, for TV listings. Click here for the direct link.

John A. Pucino of Torrington was the winner of the Wii video game system that The Register Citizen gave away through a free drawing at the Northwest Connecticut Chamber of Commerce Home and Business Expo March 29 and 30. He picked it up at our office on Water Street on Thursday.
Because the Wii has caught on so fast, and they're actually still kind of hard to find in stores because of the demand, the drawing turned out to be pretty popular.
Pucino's name was picked out of 264 total entries.

A Register Citizen favorite over the years has been the annual Readers' Choice contest, in which our readers vote for the most outstanding businesses in a variety of categories ... everything from Best Take-Out Dining to Best Muffler Shop.
The first print ballot appears in today's Register Citizen on page B6. Pick up a copy, fill it out with your choices in as many categories as you wish, and mail it in or drop it off at The Register Citizen, 190 Water St., Torrington, CT 06790.
Simply filling out a ballot makes you eligible for cash prizes of $75, $50 and $25, which will be chosen from a drawing once all the voting is in.
And a very important change this year ... for your convenience (no clipping from the newspaper, no need to buy a stamp and stuff an envelope), for the first time ever we have placed the ballot on our Web site. All you have to do is click on or write in your choice in each category, put down your name and press a button! On the Web site version of the ballot, we have even included the four top vote-getters in each category from last year to give you some perspective.
Click here to go directly to the online ballot.

Monday's Foothills Trader will include a special "Chidren's Birthday Party Guide," including a directory of local businesses that offer services such as bounce house rentals and others that will actually host your child's party.
The guide also includes some hints for parents.
It is amazing how much effort, time and money goes into birthday parties even for very young children these days. If you are about to join the madness, check out Monday's Foothills Trader for some help.

A new daily feature was launched in The Register Citizen this morning.
"What You Can Do" will provide a specific volunteer opportunity or donation you can make to aid local charities or causes.
The first to be highlighted is an opportunity at the Friendly Hands Food Bank (50 King St., Torrington, 860-482-8661), which is seeking non-perishable food donations and children's clothing from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
It can be found on page 3 of today's print edition.
Imagine the impact we could have if even a handful of the newspaper's readers took action each day in response to needs such as this!

Hey folks. We are launching this blog to keep readers and advertisers updated on the happenings at The Register Citizen, The Foothills Trader and http://www.registercitizen.com/.
We are planning many new features and improvements to the newspaper in the coming months, and you can check back here anytime to get an update.
As always, we welcome questions, concerns, suggestions and any other feedback you have to offer. Feel free to e-mail me at mderienzo@journalregister.com, or post a comment in response to any of our blog entries!

Matt DeRienzo

Interim Publisher

The Register Citizen

The Foothills Trader