CLICK HERE for my latest column.
Even though it’s just a few hundred yards from our office, I haven’t made it over to Christmas Village yet this year. First of all, I’m not too clear on the age limit for making requests of Santa Claus, and until this column was done, I was still working on my list.
And here it is, a set of Christmas present wishes for Northwest Connecticut, in no particular order...

Our 20th anniversary Warm the Children campaign stands at $18.648.63 as of this morning toward our goal of $20,000.
The difference between where we're at now and reaching our goal over the next week is being able to serve 14 additional children, who otherwise will be added to the waiting list of kids we're not able to help.
As always, 100 percent of the money donated goes directly to the purchase of new, warm winter clothing for needy local kids.
Donations can be made to Warm the Children, care of The Register Citizen, 190 Water St., Torrington, CT 06790, or online at http://northwestunitedway.org/.

CLICK HERE for my latest column, about the critical juncture Torrington is approaching with the possible selection of a new school superintendent and new mayor.

CLICK HERE for an online version of our "Buy Local" Gift Guide if you missed it in yesterday's newspaper.

CLICK HERE for an online version of an earlier Christmas Gift Guide we published.

Another will be appearing in The Register Citizen on Wednesday, Dec. 17.

CLICK HERE for my latest column. Locally owned banks have money to lend, and local auto dealers are competing to offer you a great deal.

Thursday's Register Citizen will include a special Christmas Gift Guide focusing on gift ideas from locally owned shops.
And you could win a $100 gift certificate to one of those shops by counting the "Big Event" logos inside. It's all leading up to the chance to win a $500 gift certificate in a special advertising section the day after Christmas.
Also in tomorrow's Register Citizen will be the latest edition of our new Arts and Entertainment section. There are still tons of local events and performances happening leading up to Christmas.

If you missed Editor Jordan Fenster's article this morning on how the Torrington area's unemployment rate compares with the rest of Connecticut and the nation, CLICK HERE because it's a must read.
The gist is that Torrington's numbers are better than the state and the country, reeling from a year-long recession and shedding jobs by the thousands each day.
And the reason is the "diversity" of the industrial base.
Torrington was hit hard by the purchase and dismantling of the Torrington Co. earlier this decade. But what has sprung up in its place are a variety of entrepreneurs and small manufacturers. They are small, but some extremely successful. And if one fails, it doesn't have the kind of impact of a big fish like a Torrington Co./Timken going down.

CLICK HERE for Kingston, N.Y., Daily Freeman Publisher Ira Fusfeld's memories of longtime former Journal Register Co. CEO Bob Jelenic, who passed away on Wednesday night after a three-year battle with cancer.

And memories of Bob from his pre-JRC colleagues at the Toronto Sun can be found HERE, HERE and HERE.

CLICK HERE for The Register Citizen's editorial today on Bob's passing.

After a brief hiatus, we are relaunching a new-and-improved daily headline email service starting tomorrow morning.
CLICK HERE to sign up (it's as simple as typing in your email address), and each morning you will receive what is essentially an email version of The Register Citizen's front page, with clickable links to whatever headlines you are interested in.
It's perfect for the busy person who has a lot of Web sites bookmarked and doesn't have the time to visit them all regularly. This comes to you, and you can click through if you see what you like, or hit delete if you don't.
You will also receive on occasion an email alert when important local news breaks.
If you try it and it's not your thing, every email you receive from the service allows you to unsubscribe at any time.

Did you know that you can order photographs taken by Register Citizen's professional photographers?
Did you know that http://www.registercitizen.com/ has a lot more photos than are actually published in the print edition ... and that there might be great shots of your son or daughter or grandchildren at a local sporting event or other activity?
Did you know that you can also order special Christmas gifts incorporating those photos, including Christmas cards, holiday ornaments, coffee mugs and T-shirts?
And did you know that through Dec. 15, you can get any and all of the above with shipping charges for FREE, in time for Christmas?
Go to http://photos.registercitizen.com/, and when you order, enter the coupon code "RegCit9859" for free shipping.

It's with a heavy heart today that we mourn the loss of Bob Jelenic, founder of the company that owns The Register Citizen, and until last fall, its CEO and a larger-than-life leader.

Bob's heart and hands were involved and presence felt in the farthest reaches of a newspaper empire that grew and prospered exponentially over his 20 years at the helm.

He had the work ethic and chip-on-the-shoulder, something-to-prove drive of a blue collar upbringing, the financial acumen that came with a CPA's training, an off-the-charts IQ, the bravado and swagger of a star athlete, a blisteringly sharp sense of humor and a genuine love of the news business stemming from his early-career days at the Toronto Sun tabloid.

If Bob Jelenic hadn't become a legend of the newspaper business, he would have become a legend of whatever other industry he had chosen.

After less than a year as editor of The Register Citizen and with the company, Bob gave me the opportunity to join his corporate staff as director of news for small dailies and the company's weekly newspapers. The two and a half years I worked for him were more valuable than any business school education or management degree I could have received, and you could learn more about newspapers from Bob in an afternoon than you had in years on your own.

It is an understatement to say that Bob was not a positive reinforcement kind of guy. But I came to understand what longtime members of his team of publishers and managers knew well and loved him for ... he was intensely loyal to people who worked hard for him, he was quietly compassionate and generous with employees who hit a personal or professional rough patch, and he was the consummate "truth teller," almost physically incapable of anything but complete honesty about where you stood with him at all times.

One of the many new features at our redesigned Web site, http://www.registercitizen.com/, is the ability to post comments on stories.
A great example of how this is being used by readers is the expression of condolences and sharing of memories as comments on the obituaries that we publish.
Today, for example, many wonderful comments have been made (CLICK HERE) over the passing of Judge Madin.

If you missed the first issue of our new Arts and Entertainment section, check out this Thursday's edition for a review of the Nutmeg Ballet's annual production of "The Nutcracker," information about Torrington's Christmas Village, theater productions at the Warner Theatre and Thomaston Opera House, concerts at Infinity Hall in Norfolk and much more.

The Register Citizen will publish a "Buy Local" Christmas Gift Guide Thursday, Dec. 11, and readers will have the chance to win a $100 gift certificate to one of the local stores advertised in it. You'll have the choice of which one.
All you need to do is pick up a copy of the Gift Guide, count the number of "Big Event" logos placed in various ads throughout the section, and submit it and your name to the paper. Correct entries will be placed in a drawing to win the gift certificate.
You'll have a second opportunity to win $100 when we publish an "Affordable Gifts" Guide on Dec. 17, and a third opportunity when we publish our "Last-Minute Gift Ideas" Guide on Dec. 22.
It's all leading up to a "Big Event" section for after-Christmas sales, which will be published the day after Christmas, Dec. 26.
Count the logos in that section and you could win a $500 gift certificate to the featured business of your choice.

CLICK HERE for my latest column.

FROM THE PUBLISHER: Changes that are transforming the business of this newspaper
News of some nearby newspapers in trouble has led to this question being posed to me more than once lately: How is The Register Citizen managing to avoid the troubles that other “print media” seem to be having with competition from the Internet and the worsening economy?The quick answer is that we aren’t just “print media” anymore, and we have and will continue to change as our readers’ and advertisers’ needs change, whether that change is via technology or just mindset.

If you haven't read the print edition of The Register Citizen recently, you are missing out on a few changes that might make you want to give home delivery another chance.
Here are 50 reasons to take us up on our offer for a FREE two-week subscription, to see for yourself. No obligaton beyond that - you won't get a bill and the paper will stop coming after two weeks, unless you ask us to keep it going.
1. More Local News. We've more than doubled the space devoted to local news stories.
2. More Local Opinion. We've added a second opinion page, with more room for letters to the editor, cartoons and a slate of new opinion columnists.
3. Owen Canfield. The legendary, award-winning journalist and author brings you slices of life from Northwest Connecticut each Sunday.
4. Sound Off. The wildly popular and controversial reader comment column. It will entertain you, inform you and chances are likely, infuriate you at the same time.
5. Best of the Web. A selection of online reader comments on the biggest local stories of the day.
6. New Opinion Columns, Part 1. Seven days, seven Connecticut-based columnists, including yours truly, Editor Jordan Fenster, Register Citizen staffer Tim Lee, local WSNG-WDRC radio talk show host Dan Lavallo, former Norwalk Mayor William Collins, conservative commentator Don Pesci and Manchester Journal Inquirer Managing Editor Chris Powell.
7. New Opinion Columns, Part 2. Each day we also bring you a column on national topics, including once-a-week contributions from Winsted native Ralph Nader, political humorist Will Durst and Pulitzer Prize winner Ellen Goodman, and twice-a-week columns from conservative pundit Michelle Malkin and longtime Washington Post political guru David Broder.
8. Mike's Memories. Mike Driscoll's column about memories of Torrington is back on Sundays.
9. Local History, Part 1. A new daily local history feature, packaged with news from The Register Citizen's archives and the Daily Almanac and Today in History.
10. Local History, Part 2. A new Sunday section featuring Mike Driscoll's column, local history photos, historic front pages from the Winsted Evening Citizen and Torrington Register, local history essays and even history-themed advertising.
11. Arts and Entertainment Section. Bigger and better than ever, a new arts and entertainment section appears each Thursday, focused on Northwest Connecticut.
12. More Local Photos. With more space for local news comes more space for local photos, with more color than ever.
13. The Garden Goddess. Gwenythe Harvey, the "Garden Goddess," of Litchfield, writes an illustrated, extensive Sunday gardening advice column.
14. Local Business. A new Sunday page focused on local business, including stocks of local interest.
15. Most Commented and Most Popular. A daily feature on the editorial page, listing the most popular stories from http://www.registercitizen.com/ and the stories that the most online readers are commenting on.
16. Odd News. Beneath the weather map each day, weird and offbeat news and photos from around the world.
17. Municipal Meetings. A daily town-by-town listing of local selectmen, school board and other government meetings.
18. Your News. A new section on Sunday featuring community news, honor rolls, weddings, engagements, etc.
19. CTautomarket.com. A new Sunday classified feature with hundreds of listings of autos and trucks for sale from across Connecticut.
20. Sunday Sudoku. The popular weekday numbers game has expanded to Sundays.
21. Expanded Local Calendar. More space, and a more comprehensive listing of events from across the region.
22. Nation and World News. A full page of the top news from the nation and world, in the same easy-to-find location within the paper each day.
23. Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down. A daily pat on the back and slap on the wrist.
24. Sunday Feature. A full-page, in-depth weekly news feature.
25. Expanded TV listings. We've expanded our daily TV listings beyond prime time to include programs from early morning to late night, seven days a week.
That's what's new. Here's some of the old favorites you'll continue to find in The Register Citizen:
26. A Life Remembered. Reporter Tracy Kennedy's weekly feature on the life of a remarkable local resident who has left us.
27. What You Can Do. A daily spotlight on volunteer opportunities.
28. Our Folks.
29. Police Blotter.
30. Comics.
31. Classifieds. Still the best place to buy and sell, find a job, rent an apartment, etc.
32. Property Transfers. Every Sunday.
33. Weddings and Engagements. Every Sunday.
34. Weather Map. Interactive version online!
35. JoAnn Ryan. The president of the Northwest Connecticut Chamber of Commerce writes every Sunday.
36. Stock Listings.
37. Local Editorials and Letters to the Editor.
38. Obituaries.
39. Movie Listings. Every day.
40. Local Sports.
41. Exclusive UConn coverage.
42. Puzzles. Crossword, Sudoku and Jumble
43. Advice and Horoscopes. Dear Abby, Dr. Gott.
44. Kids' Page. New and improved and in color, every Monday
45. Health and Science Page. Every Tuesday.
46. Food Page. Every Friday.
47. Auto and Real Estate. Every Saturday and Sunday.
48. Senior Page. Every Monday.
49. Religion Page. Every Wednesday.
50. USA Weekend and Parade. Every Sunday.
For our two-week FREE trial subscription, call 860-489-1450 or email circulation@registercitizen.com.