Category Archives: Business

News related to Bricklyn businesses

Strike Ends! Bricklyn Eagle to Resume Publication

September 28, 2023

Bricklyn Eagle newspaper strike ends after 206 days. Shattered record for longest strike in Bricklyn history!

Federal Council President Hilma Plater-Zybrick calls for assistance from “Gang of Four” (GOF) in resolving strike, noting GOF’s success in defusing last Winter’s “Great Donut” crisis.

Photo of Plater-Zybrick on left. Photo of Gang of Four not available. Note: as part of the “mediators’ oath,” mediators do not allow their photos to be taken.

**Fortunately, the Bricklyn newspaper strike did not reach this level of strife!**

IStock.com photo credit, Aalter, Belgium – the painting “la liberte” displayed with lego figures.

GOF succeed in resolving long-standing labor dispute, addressing increased vacation time; limitations on use of AI; and implementation of daily donut allowance for all workers.

GOF members explain that “throwing away the key” and “locking both sides in a room in the Excchange Building for 24 hours with only FOX News available” led to resolution of all key issues.

Photo of Excchange Building.

Newspaper Guild President Thomas J. Brickify, Jr (below right wearing pressman’s attire) and Bricklyn Eagle CEO Jeff Brickzos (below left wearing shades) share donuts together after signing new three year agreement. Newspaper deliveryman cheers labor settlement.

Bricklyn Eagle Editor Walt Brickman says Eagle’s dedicated team of reporters and columnists “will catch readers up on important Bricklyn events and news that occurred over the past seven months.” Eagle set to resume publication the first week of October.

Loyal Outland readers rejoice: no longer “stuck with reading The New York Times and Washington Post every day,” and can now return to the “far more interesting news of Bricklyn,” long-time Bricklyn Eagle reader declares.

In honor of the Gang of Four’s Invaluable help in resolving the newspaper strike, Bricklyn Eagle Editor (and aspiring poet) Walt Brickman penned the following:

Photo of Editor Walt Brickman.

They Found Common Ground

In the bustling city, where printers once roared, A newspaper strike, a labor discord, But from the ashes, a new dawn unfurled, With stories untold, in a changed newspaper world.

Hail to the Gang of Four, heroes so bright, In the chaos of headlines, they brought us light, Their voices united, their message so clear, “We’ll end this ordeal, dispel all your fear!”

Together they stood, four pillars of grace, With empathy, wisdom, they’d win the race, They bridged the divides, they forged the accord, In the heart of the storm, their voices restored.

Through ceaseless negotiation, they found common ground, A pact was established, the lost trust was found, They fought for their rights with hearts full of rhyme, And ended the strife with more vacation time.

Limitations on AI, a thoughtful decree, To preserve our humanness, to let us be free, In a world of machines, we found our own way, In the poetry of print, where our hearts could sway.

No longer confined to the newsroom’s tight coil, Reporters now bask in their new found free soil, More hours of leisure, the gift of the day, To savor life’s pleasures in their own special way.

But that wasn’t all, for donuts then arrived, A daily delight, a treat so contrived, To sweeten the deal, to mend the divide, In sugary circles, our rifts set aside.

We welcome Letters to the Editor. Please email to: bricklynvt@gmail.com

Agreement Brokered by “Gang of Four” Defuses Donut Crisis

February 11, 2023

by Bricklyn Eagle politics and law correspondent Mark Tiler Richmond

Prior articles on “The Great Donut Debate”

Summary of Article ➤ A petition calling for banning the sale and consumption of donuts in the Realm of Bricklyn has been withdrawn after successful efforts at mediating the dispute between pro and anti-donut groups.

In a series of behind-the-scenes meetings, a group of four mediators has brokered an agreement between pro-donut and pro-croissant groups.

Federal Council President Hilma Plater-Zybrick announced last night that a petition to ban the sale and consumption of donuts has been withdrawn, and that the Council will endorse both foods as “vital to the Realm,” and take steps to ensure that both are readily available for sale and consumption in Bricklyn.

Plater-Zybrick showed her skill by leading the Council through this latest crisis. Plater-Zybrick was instrumental in bringing together the “Gang of Four,” the unofficial name given to the mediation team, comprised of two Bricklyn mediators, joined by two from the Outland city of South Burlington, Vermont.

As is required by the ethics of their profession, none of the mediators would offer any comments to the press. However, after speaking to some of the interested parties, we can report on how the parties reached an agreement, an agreement unanimously endorsed by the Federal Council last night.

*Pro-croissant Henry Brickbelly and pro-donut Jessica Tiler Jones, celebrate the end of the “Great Bricklyn Donut Debate” by sharing a table outside The Excchange Building.*

Henry Brickbelly, leader of “NoDos,” the anti-donut, pro-croissant advocacy group acknowledged that banning donuts “might have been a step too far.”

As Brickbelly explained, “the Gang of Four reminded us of the American experience with Prohibition in the 1920s and early ‘30s and how that led to higher levels of organized crime and bootlegging, the loss of thousands of jobs, and then the ultimate repeal of Prohibition. … We didn’t want to go down that road.”

Anti-donut forces also apparently realized that their petition’s prospects looked dim once news began circulating that the Council might request that the League of Inland Cities enshrine the donut’s status as an object of “intangible cultural heritage in Bricklyn.”

Outland Friends of Bricklyn also weighed in against the donut ban, and in favor of reaching some accommodation between those favoring donuts, and those favoring croissants.

Tom Brickorti of the Bricklyn Chamber of Commerce — *Bricklyn Chamber of Commerce President Tom Brickorti*

Chamber of Commerce President Tom Brickorti, noted that: “The mediation process with the Gang of Four worked well. The Chamber and various business interests reminded everyone of the continued economic benefits to Bricklyn from its donut shops and related enterprises, and the importance of keeping the Simpson clan here.

At the same time we were able to point to the increase in tourism from francophone nations already resulting from the new Le Bricklyn Hotel, and the fact that a French patisserie is planning to open here soon.”

As Brickorti added, “our pro-croissant friends are great people, who came to see that banning donuts was not needed in order to promote croissants. From the Chamber’s perspective valuing both donuts and croissants was a win-win outcome.“

Dave Tiler Broffman , CEO of Dunk Them Donuts, the Bricklyn-based donut distribution enterprise, echoed Brickorti’s sentiments, commenting that “we were all ultimately on the same page, in wanting to keep Bricklyn’s donut traditions alive, while also allowing for a new diversity of food cultures.”

Chief Clancy Wiggum, head of the pro-donut Bricklyn Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association (BPBA) pointed out that “our members look forward to learning to appreciate the taste of croissants, especially,” he grinned, “when they’ll be delivered fresh out of the oven to the station house every morning, at no cost to our officers!” ✥

➤ For more on the use of mediation in resolving conflicts, see Building Consensus, by Lawrence Susskind & Patrick Field, from our companion publication, the Planning Commissioners Journal.

We welcome Letters to the Editor. Please email to: bricklynvt@gmail.com

Kudos to the CuDo! A Look at Bricklyn’s Unique Currency

August 10, 2021

by Paul B. Macro, Bricklyn Eagle Business & Economics Correspondent

Summary of Article ➤ Bricklyn’s official currency is the CopperDonut. Learn about the fascinating history of the “CuDo” and how it relates to both the Republic of Vermont and donuts.

*The Realm of Bricklyn’s CopperDonut is modeled after the Republic of Vermont’s Coppers. The reverse side of a one CuDo coin is shown here. Current value of a one CuDo is approx. 75 cents U.S.*

The CopperDonut — or CuDo 🍩 as it is commonly called — is Bricklyn’s official currency, adopted in 1971 to replace the Danish krone.

The CuDo both honors Vermont (which welcomed in LEGO immigrants from the Danish Realm) and recognizes the key role that donuts play in Bricklyn, which bills itself as The Donut Capital of America.

➤ During the 14 years of its existence, the independent Vermont Republic used its own currency, including from 1785-1788 copper coins. The Coppers were minted by Reuben Harmon, Jr. of Rupert, with a view of the Sun rising over the Green Mountains, on its obverse side, and the “all-seeing eye of Providence” surrounded by 13 stars on the reverse.

It should be noted that the Federal Council in 1971 considered replacing the Danish Krone with the U.S. Dollar, but Bricklynites at that time were angered by U.S. involvement in the Vietnam war. As a result the Federal Council responded to public pressure by nixing the original plan to adopt the dollar, choosing instead to issue its own currency, the CopperDonut.

The CopperDonut’s Design

It was in appreciation of Vermont’s assistance in the founding of the Tri-Partite Realm of Bricklyn that Bricklyn’s founders decided to name and model their new currency after the Copper — the late 18th century Vermont Republic’s currency — using a slightly modified version of the Copper’s “Eye of Providence” design.

*Real, tasty, Bricklyn donuts in their right hands; CopperDonut coins in their left.*

At the same time, the newly formed Bricklyn Chamber of Commerce felt that the importance of donuts to Bricklyn should also be recognized in the Realm’s new coins.

Thus the similarity in look of the coin to a donut (though the coin is actually about 15 percent thinner than a typical donut).

Of course, being roughly the size, shape, and heft of an actual donut makes the CuDo an inordinately challenging piece of currency to carry around in a purse or pocket, despite the fact that the blended copper is wafer thin — less than the amount of jelly in a jelly donut. As a result some Bricklynites have taken to using CuDo containers.

As a practical matter, paper CuDo notes are more widely used, but the historic coin CuDo remains popular among Bricklynites!

The CuDo is not without a special kind of risk: cracked teeth.

This happens when individuals (often drunk, stoned, or donut-crazed) inadvertently bite into a CuDo thinking it’s a baked donut.

Another dental patient who bit into a CuDo mistaking it for a fresh baked donut.

Biting into the thin layer of copper inside a CuDo can cause dental damage, perhaps explaining why Bricklyn has an inordinately high number of dentists! ✥

They Found Common Ground

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The CopperDonut’s Design

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