The Register Citizen will unveil a number of improvements to its Sunday paper, including a major expansion in the space and number of pages devoted to local news coverage, effective with this week’s edition on Aug. 9.

“We are committed to continual improvement,” said Register Citizen Publisher Matt DeRienzo, “and after a year in which we significantly expanded local news coverage in the daily paper, we felt that adding more to the Sunday edition was long overdue. The Sunday paper should stand out from the rest of the week, as readers have time to enjoy more extensive and in-depth articles and features.”

Changes include an expansion of the number of pages devoted to local news coverage, and the launch of a new, second local news section of the paper called “Northwest Connecticut.” It will contain local news articles, a new weekly human interest story on remarkable people from Northwest Connecticut, and the popular “Notebook” feature and local crossword and word search puzzles that were launched earlier this year.

One of the most significant additions to the Sunday paper will be a feature of the “Northwest Connecticut” section that will include news items every week for every one of the 26 towns in Litchfield County.

The paper will reintroduce the popular “A Life Remembered” feature each Sunday on the life of a local resident who has recently passed away.

A new feature called “It’s My Job,” detailing the workplace experiences of local people, will anchor the Sunday business page.

Space will be added to provide a more comprehensive roundup of news from across the nation and world, and a new section will feature advice, lifestyle and feature articles.

The Sunday sports section will also see improvements this week, with the addition of a “Coach’s Corner” feature sharing the wisdom and techniques of local coaches, a “Where are they now?” feature on how local high school athletes are faring in college athletic programs and beyond, a weekly notebook feature on UConn sports, and the introduction of three new opinion columns on local, state and national sports, respectively.

Also with this Sunday’s newspaper, The Register Citizen will re-launch a weekly TV listings book. The 24-page tabloid will be far more extensive than the one discontinued by the paper last year, published with color throughout, seven days’ of listings and articles, features, editors’ picks, celebrity news and puzzles. It will be included free in the Sunday Register Citizens of Aug. 9 and Aug. 16, and then offered for an additional 50 cents a week to any home delivery subscriber who would like to continue getting it.

“We think these new features, combined with continuing Sunday favorites such as our Owen Canfield, Mike Driscoll and the Garden Goddess columns, color comics, coupons, department store fliers, Parade magazine, local history features and more, will make the Sunday paper an even better bargain for our readers throughout Northwest Connecticut,” DeRienzo said.

For more information about these changes, contact Publisher Matt DeRienzo at mderienzo@registercitizen.com or 860-489-1877, or Editor Jordan Fenster at jfenster@registercitizen.com or 860-489-3121, ext. 333.