Pocket Change
Local politicians are demanding the resignation of the director of Veliko Turnovo’s museum of history, following a recent audacious theft of several highly valuable antique gold coins from the museum. They claim that the museum acted irresponsibly in the affair.

Mother Dearest
Police tracked down a mother after she had been missing for six months with her three young children. She was found by border police in the Bulgarian town of Petrich on the Greek border. It appears that the mother planned to sell her children to a Greek buyer who would train the children to be pickpockets before sending them to Western Europe. The children are now being cared for by a social institution in Bulgaria. Ironically, under Bulgarian law, their mother is legally entitled to take her children away again.

Puppy Love
Local residents are complaining about the mayor’s policy on stray dogs. They allege that the mayor has such canines killed outright to save money on their care. One resident also said that, allegedly, the mayor is preventing a German organisation from opening a rescue centre for stray dogs, as it would commit the municipality to spending money on the care of the animals.

Poll Dancing
A recent poll of English speaking-visitors to Veliko Turnovo found that many tourists, particularly those from the UK, prefer the Veliko Turnovo region to the “delights” of the Black Sea coast. They state that the coast is becoming too similar to the Spanish “Costas”, which gained notoriety in the 1970s for being hideously over-developed resorts, full of cheap buildings and poor quality hotels, with massive tourist overcrowding. Veliko Turnovo was viewed by many polled as being more reflective of “traditional Bulgarian” culture. In related news, local real estate agents claim that the demand for “cheap property” in the region continues, with Brits seeming to be the main buyers, although agents have had enquiries from many Americans willing to get into the property investment scene.

Bus Crash Appeal
Ilia Izmirliev, the driver of a bus that plunged into the swollen Lim River in April 24, leading to the death of 12 Bulgarian children, has lodged an appeal against his seven-year jail sentence.
On March 9, the Veliko Tarnovo district court sentenced Izmirliev to seven years' imprisonment. Both Izmirliev and the transport company Pamporovo AD were ordered to pay 50 000 leva to each of the parents of the children who died.
The accident happened while the children were travelling home after a school trip to Dubrovnik.
This past week, on April 4, a chapel was opened to commemorate the victims.