The early weather reports for Sunday afternoon appear promising so that is good news for those planning to head to Hartford for the parade.

Here's some preliminary info courtesy of UConn regarding the parade

The parade, which will take place near the Bushnell Park, Main Street and Capitol Avenue area of the city, will begin and end at the State Capitol building. A rally will take place on the north steps of the State Capitol immediately following the parade.

“The UConn women’s basketball team has established a long tradition of success when it comes to winning BIG EAST championships and NCAA national basketball championships. In Connecticut, Husky fans want to continue the state’s wonderful tradition of giving these young women and coaches the recognition and admiration they truly deserve,” said Governor Rell.

“A parade in downtown Hartford is just one way to do just that – not only for the players, the coaches and the University, but for the thousands of women’s basketball fans of all ages who helped cheer them on to a perfect 39-0 season and a sixth NCAA Championship,” said Governor Rell. “Frankly, the people of Connecticut needed some good news at this time and the undefeated women’s team was it. Let’s return the favor by lining the parade route and showing them how much they really mean to us.”


The UConn parade planning committee is coordinated by Governor Rell’s office, the Hartford Business Improvement District and the MetroHartford Alliance. The committee consists of representatives from the Office of the Governor, State of Connecticut, City of Hartford, University of Connecticut, Hartford Hospitality Task Force and civic organizations and businesses from throughout the Greater Hartford region.

The parade is being made possible through generous donations from the City of Hartford, State of Connecticut and a variety of civic organizations and area businesses. For parade sponsorship opportunities, contact Michael Zaleski at the Hartford Business Improvement District at
(860) 728-2274.

Personally, I have no objection regarding a parade being held to honor UConn's national championship team but it will be interesting to see how things play out when the numbers are crunched. In these rugged economic times, no state or city of Hartford tax payer should be asked to help foot the bill although they likely will be asked to do just that. Regardless of my opinion, the parade will go on and hopefully the various organizations involved in the planning of the event will practice moderation to ease the burden on tax payers.

Speaking of paying taxes, it's one more day until income tax deadline. Hope not everybody is waiting until the last minute.

Changing gears, former Wallingford resident Cathy Inglese is about to be named the new coach at Rhode Island in a couple of minutes. Inglese had successful stints at Vermont and Boston College and will remain in New England to take over at URI.