Often, the press is accused of writing about only the negative. To begin our week in review, will counter that theory with two positive stories.

The first is Waterford High School’s Poetry Out Loud competition, where students are judged on how well they recite poems from memory, and how well they present the poem (the students were excellent). The second is a musical at Great Neck School, where one adorable little girl wearing a pink boa stole the show.

Now to the controversial and bad news (we can’t hold off forever). This week, the Board of Finance authorized sending a letter to state representatives asking for changes to the retirement of town employees, which the state controls. On Thursday, Patch took a look at the “onerous” subpoena served to the Waterford School District, which caused Superintendent Jerome Belair to say “There is absolutely no way we can physically meet this demand."

And on Monday, East Lyme’s dispatchers union continued to protest the proposed merger of East Lyme’s and Waterford’s dispatch centers.

In the world of crime, one Waterford man was arraigned for a New London shooting, while another was charged with a Wilton burglary. In the world of business, a new business opened on Cross Road, while the new owner of the New London Country Club said he was changing the name of the golf course.

In the world of government, the Board of Selectmen passed a 1.68 percent increase to the police budget for next year, although the total was lower than Chief Murray Pendleton would have preferred. And in the world of marine science competitions, Waterford had yet another strong performance in the Quahog Bowl.

Also, the ballot was set for the April 24^th Connecticut Republican primary, New London and Waterford talked about sharing emergency communication and a nine-year-old asked for a particularly selfless birthday present.