Waterbury police have arrested two Kennedy High School students accused of breaking into the school, stealing thousands of dollars worth of computers and selling them to pawn shops.

Police said a teacher noticed a window was broken after arriving at school on Monday morning, but that was just the beginning. Several laptops were also gone, police said.

Bryan Cruz and Gabriel Rodriguez, who are both 18 years old, were arrested and charged with larceny, burglary, criminal mischief and additional charges, according to online court records.

The Waterbury Republican-American reports that tracking information from one of the stolen computers led them to Cruz, who said he brought some computers from a man, but then admitted to breaking into the school.

According to the Republican-American, Rodriguez told police he acted as a lookout.

Both teens have been released from custody.

Cruz is due in court on March 24 and Rodriquez is due in court on March 25.

It's not clear if they have legal representation.

Residents will soon be voting on a $460,000 settlement for a Windsor Locks police sergeant who was acquitted of hindering the investigation into a fatal crash that sent his son to prison it is heading to the voters.

A public hearing and town meeting is set for tonight to discuss the settlement agreement between Robert Koistinen and the town of board of finance.

The Board of Finance and Board of Selectmen signed off on the settlement and selectmen voted to put the agreement to a referendum and set a town hearing for 7 p.m. on March 5, followed by a town meeting.

The referendum is set for March 17.

Sgt. Robert Koistinen’s son, Michael Koistinen, who was also a police officer, was off-duty in October 2010 and had been drinking when he struck and killed Henry Dang, a 15-year-old boy who was riding a bicycle, according to police.

Michael Koistinen is now serving a five-year prison sentence.

Robert Koistinen was fired from the department in January 2012 and charged with hindering prosecution in the investigation into that crash. He was found not guilty in October 2012.

The case then went to the state Labor Board, which decided Koistinen should get his job back.

“This settlement has been years in the making and is the result of many hours of negotiation. The Police Commission unsuccessfully litigated the termination of Robert Koistinen before the State Labor Board and the state had also unsuccessfully tried Robert Koistinen for hindering prosecution and interfering with police,” the police commission said in a statement.

The proposed settlement includes giving Robert Koistinen $265,000 in back pay from January 2013 to April 1, 2015, and $195,000 to waive all claims, past and future, including in accrued vacation time and sick time.

Should Windsor Locks residents vote in favor of the settlement, Koistinen would resign, according to the board.

A “no” vote would reinstate Koistinen to active duty, making him the fourth-ranking member of the department and costing the town at least $347,000 for back pay, retraining and re-certification.

A passenger jet skidded off a runway at LaGuardia Airport and crashed into a fence as it tried to land amid a blinding wintry mix Thursday morning, sparking a minor fuel leak in one of its wings, prompting evacuations and injuring several people, Port Authority officials say. 

There were 127 passengers, including Giants tight end Larry Donnell, and five crew members on board Delta flight 1086, an MD-88 headed to New York from Atlanta, Georgia, when it slid off the runway around 11 a.m., authorities said. Two dozen people reported minor injuries, according to the FDNY, and three of those people were taken to the hospital.  

Passengers described feeling turbulence as they landed, like a rocking motion. One said the jet hit the runway and didn't slow down until it smashed into the fence, inches from the water.

The impact caused a minor fuel leak on the plane's left wing, the Port Authority said. The fuel was leaking at a rate of about 1 gallon per minute, but fire crews were able to quickly stop the leak. 

LaGuardia's two runways were shut down immediately after the accident and the city's Office of Emergency Management said all incoming and outgoing flights had been suspended. Several LaGuardia-bound flights were diverted and nearly 900 flights were canceled. One of the runways reopened around 2 p.m., allowing air traffic to resume, though travelers were advised to check the status of their flights with their carriers. 

About 3 inches of snow had fallen in New York at the time of the accident, but wind, sleet and snowflakes combined to hamper visibility and make paved surfaces slippery. NBC 4 New York meteorologists say freezing fog was observed near LaGuardia around 11 a.m., which likely coated the already snow-topped runways with an icy glaze and may have contributed to the accident.

Port Authority Executive Director Patrick Foye said that the two planes that arrived on Runway 13 before Delta 1086 landed smoothly, with pilots reporting good braking ability. Foye added that the runway was plowed shortly before the plane skidded off the runway.

Audio logs from LiveATC.net provide a clearer picture of the circumstances before and after the accident. About 30 minutes before the scheduled Delta flight 1086 landing, air traffic controllers are heard asking ground crews about the conditions of Runway 13. 

According to the logs, the crews advise traffic control there is about a quarter inch of wet snow on the runway and a snow bank about a foot high. The tower repeats the conditions back.

"Affirmative, and the runways have not been treated," crews respond, according to the LiveATC.net logs. "We're just grooming and plowing."

The logs later capture the moment air traffic controllers try to get in touch with the flight.

"Delta 1086 ... Delta 1086? Delta 1086, tower are you with me?" controllers are heard saying.

The pilot does not respond, and controllers are heard over the next few minutes speaking with ever-increasing urgency as the assess the situation. 

"The airport is closed, the airport is closed. We have a 3-4," one voice says.

"We have an aircraft off the runway. LaGuardia Airport is closed at this time." 

Photos posted to Twitter and other social media showed the tail of the plane dipping into the snow; the nose was pointed upward and appeared to be damaged. Other photos showed the front of the plane smashed through the fence as passengers climbed out onto a wing and trudged through snow to safety. 

Video posted to Instagram from Donnell shows orderly exits as passengers respond to directions from officials in orange reflective vests. Donnell said later he and the other passengers were scared, but otherwise mostly OK; he said he felt "blessed."

"I feel fine physically and hopefully all the other passengers did not have any significant injuries," the Giants player said in a statement released by the team. "We were all shocked and alarmed when the plane started to skid, but most importantly, as far as I know, all of the passengers and flight crew were able to exit the plane safely.” 

Multiple emergency crews from different agencies, federal and local, respond to the scene. The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating.

In a statement, Delta said all customers deplaned safely and were transported to the terminal.

"Our priority is ensuring our customers and crew members are safe," the airline said. "Delta will work with all authorities and stakeholders to look into what happened in this incident."

In October, a Delta MD-88 flight from Atlanta with about 63 people on board struck the concrete pier supporting the same runway involved in Thursday's accident, and had its landing gear ripped off. The 75-ton plane skidded, 2,700 feet on its nose wheel and belly; the fuselage cleared the pier by only 16 inches, according to NTSB data. Three minor injuries were reported. 

Police have arrested an 18-year-old accused of threatening a Granby High School student with a gun over social media, sending the middle and high schools into lockdown Wednesday afternoon.

Darien Beasley, 18, of Hartford, has been charged with first-degree threatening and second-degree breach of peace.

Police said Beasley used social media to threaten a high school student with a firearm at 2:05 p.m. Wednesday. The schools were locked down at 2:10 p.m., and police traced Beasley to a home in Granby, where they took him into custody.

Investigators determined there was no "immediate threat," and classes resumed around 2:30 p.m. Granby Supt. Alan Addley said in a phone message to parents that both middle and high school students would be dismissed at regular time.

Beasley is being held on $1,000 bond and is due in court Friday in the event he does not post bond, according to police.

It's not clear how Beasley is connected to the high school student he allegedly threatened.

Granby police continue to investigate and said additional arrests are possible.

No one was hurt during the incident.

In the days after a South Windsor High School teacher was suspended for assigning his students an erotic poem, the school system is shedding light on the suspension of a second teacher who was placed on leave in December.

Paul Jussila, of Manchester, was placed on paid administrative leave in mid-December "in connection with certain matters related to [his] conduct as an employee of South Windsor Public Schools," the superintendent's office wrote to him in a letter dated Dec. 17.

Jussila is listed on the South Windsor High School website as an applied technology teacher.

The school system is investigating, and Jussila is forbidden from entering school property or contacting students while he remains on leave. Asst. Supt. Colin J. McNamara said in the Dec. 17 memo that Jussila's suspension is indefinite.

South Windsor school officials have not elaborated on the allegations against Jussila.

David Olio, an English teacher at South Windsor High School, was suspended last week for asking students to read what officials are calling a "highly inappropriate" poem during class. The poem has been identified as "Pledge Master" by Allen Ginsberg.

A state trooper was taken to Stamford Hospital as a precaution after he was hit while responding to a crash.

The trooper, from Troop G, was in his vehicle when it was rear-ended on the northbound side of the Merritt Parkway in Stamford, near exit 35.

He was taken to Stamford Hospital as a precaution and is OK, police said.

Some flights traveling through Bradley International Airport have been diverted after a plane skidded off the runway and crashed into a fence at LaGuardia Airport in New York on Wednesday morning.

A Delta commercial jet tried to land in New York amid a wet, wintry mix around 11 a.m. Thursday and slid off the runway and into a fence. Two dozen passengers reported minor injuries.

As a result, a small number of flights out of Bradley, predominantly Delta, were reouted, according to a spokesperson for the airport.

Delta is working to re-book flights for affected passengers or arrange ground transportation to New York, according to airport officials.

A group of dad bloggers is pushing Amazon to rename its “Amazon Mom” membership program to a more inclusive “Amazon Family” in the United States.

The campaign, which started over two years ago, has gained a new momentum this week, following the death of blogger Oren Miller, an early champion of the campaign.

The “Amazon Mom" program, which caters to new parents and caregivers and provides discounts on diapers and other kid-centric items, already is called "Amazon Family" in the United Kingdom, Canada and other countries where Amazon operates.

Miller, a father of two who died on Feb. 28 after a nine-month battle with lung cancer, asked Amazon back in 2013 to call the program what it’s named in many countries outside the U.S.

“It's not about a name and it's not about me personally being offended,” Miller wrote on his blog, Blogger and a Father. "… It's about a company that looks at the U.S., then looks at England, and then decides that over there, parent equals mom or dad, while here, well, we're not ready for that yet.”

The number of dads who stay at home with their children has risen in recent years from 1.1 million in 1989 to up to 2 million in 2012, according to the Pew Research Center.

Miller first drew attention to the name in 2013 when he pointed readers to a petition established by another blogger, Jeffrey Harrington, a dad from Kansas.

On March 3, Miller’s fellow bloggers restarted the campaign, using the hashtag #AmazonFamilyUS and sharing a graphic created by Chris Routly, who publishes the Daddy Doctrines, to ask the company to change the name.

By Thursday afternoon, Harrington's change.org petition gathered over 5,200 signatures.

“This is not a case of dads versus moms,” wrote Carter Gaddis, a member of the 1,000-strong dad blogger community Miller founded, and a “Today” contributor. “We’re not angry. We’re baffled, frankly, because most of us believe that Amazon is better than this.”

As of Thursday afternoon, Amazon has not responded to a request for comment.

Police have arrested a New Haven man accused of looking into dressing rooms where people were changing at a consignment store in Orange.

According to police, a shopper caught Alfonso Perez-Meneses, 31, of New Haven, peering into the dressing room area at Consignment Originals on Boston Post Road in Orange the afternoon of Feb. 27.

Police were called to the consigment store, where they took Perez-Meneses into custody and charged him with public indecency and disorderly conduct.

He was released after posting $500 bond and is due in court March 9.

Eleven-year-old San Franciscan Cash Ashkinos can't afford the tuition for an entrepreneurial summer camp, so he's turned to crowdfunding to raise money.

His IndieGoGo campaign boasted was closing in on $2,000 in donations at the time of this writing, which is just shy of a $2,500 goal that he has set in order to attend Camp Inc., a Jewish entrepreneurial camp in Colorado.

The initiative caught the eye of a writer at Time.com, who wondered whether Cash may be "The Next Mark Zuckerberg?"

"I think that people see on the video how earnest and excited he is about the camp and want to help him," his mother Tanya Schevitz told NBC Bay Area. "You can see in the video that he's both nervous and excited. He's an 11-year-old, and he comes off that way, and I think people can see how real the campaign is."

Schevitz noticed that many people have donated money in increments of 18, an important number in Judaism that represents good luck.

"That makes me feel good and shows Cash that his Jewish community cares," she said. "I didn't grow up with a Jewish community around me, and I love that he has that."

Cash said in his video that if he exceeds his $2,500 goal, he'll donate the rest to the Camp Inc. scholarship fund for other children to use.

Cash once created a lemonade stand to raise enough to go to a summer camp that he was interested in; his mother said that this campaign is a natural extension of his entrepreneurial spirit and his aptitude with computers.

"I'm pretty sure that his future is in the world of Silicon Valley," she predicted, noting that he currently dreams of designing video games.

Cash is part of a growing wave of children across the country leveraging sites like IndieGoGo for their educational pursuits.

A 9-year-old in Massachusetts raised over $20,000 on Kickstarter to develop an original role playing game for RPG Camp. Her goal was just $829.

Organizers behind a proposed stadium for the Oakland Raiders and the San Diego Chargers in a Los Angeles suburb filed paperwork Wednesday to bring their plan before voters.

Submission of the ballot initiative to the city of Carson, California, marks an incremental step in development of the $1.7 billion project.

If approved, it would modify zoning laws to allow construction of a stadium on the site of a former landfill.

Organizers, funded by the two teams, could begin collecting petition signatures as soon as next week to place the plan on the ballot. They'll need to get 8,041 signatures in the next 180 days.

The Raiders and Chargers announced last month they are planning a shared stadium in Carson if both teams fail to get new stadiums in their current hometowns.

A ballot approval would put the plan on the same footing as another NFL stadium project 10 miles away in Inglewood that is backed by St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke.

The fast-tracked Inglewood plan last week got to skip the ballot process with a simple City Council vote because it is being added to an already-in-progress development.

Yet another stadium plan, for downtown Los Angeles, also remains alive, but has no team attached.

New, up-close video of an Upper East Side jewelry store burglary shows men in full-face ski masks grabbing cash and valuables after they managed to get into the store through a hole in the wall, police say.

Police have been looking for the three masked men since the early-morning burglary at Torino Jewelers on Feb. 23. Police said they made a hole in the lobby of 767 Lexington Ave. next door and then worked their way into the jewelry shop.

The men managed to steal numerous pieces of jewelry from wall displays and glass counters in the store before taking off on foot.

Police released new video Thursday showing the suspects rummaging around in an office looking for valuables. One man appears to be looking for surveillance cameras, pointing directly into one camera with a flashlight. 

They take a drawer full of cash and take off. 

No one was injured in the burglary. 

Anyone with information about the suspects is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.
 

About 4 million American households include at least one adult with increasing memory loss or confusion, a new federal study shows,

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study is the first to report on worsening memory loss or confusion in households and could offer insight into the health and financial consequences for families. Older adults with complaints about memory have a greater risk of developing mild cognitive impairment, which is potentially a precursor to Alzheimer’s disease.

Matthew Baumgart, the senior director of policy for the Alzheimer’s Association, told NBC Owned Television Stations that the findings should be a "wake-up call for the long-term care system."

“It is really important to look at these numbers, and for the public health system to take notice,”  Baumgart said. “It’s a wake-up call for the long-term care system. It should be a wake-up call for the federal government to invest more in the research so that we can change the trajectory of the disease.”

The researchers analyzed data from the 2011 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, looking at households in 13 states in which at least one adult had memory loss or confusion that had gotten worse in the last 12 months.

They found that included 12.6 percent of households. In 5.4 percent of households, all of the adults had experienced increased memory loss or confusion.

The researchers wrote that their findings highlighted the magnitude of the problem and could affect public policies.

“For example, increasing awareness about recognition of signs and symptoms of cognitive decline in self or others can allow household members to seek medical advice and plan for future needs,” they wrote.

Baumgart said that there was an epidemic of Alzheimer’s disease in the United States and that the numbers were projected to get even worse.

“We’re going to go from over 5 million Americans living with the disease today to as many as 16 million by 2050 — that’s tripling the number of people who are living with this disease,” Baumgart said. “It’s the most expensive disease in America so you can imagine the burden that this huge growing number of people with it will is going to have on our system unless we do something about it.”

Baumgart said that the CDC’s data on people beginning to have memory problems was important as a good predictor for future dementia.

“It is really important to look at these numbers, and for the public health system to take notice,” he said. “It’s a wake-up call for the long-term care system. It should be a wake-up call for the federal government to invest more in the research so that we can change the trajectory of the disease.”

A second report, also from the CDC, looked at the age and health of Americans with memory limitations and also difficulties functioning. It found that they tended to be younger.

Those researchers looked at data for people 45 years or older from 21 states that participated in the 2011 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.

“Eligibility for services is often age-dependent; our findings underscore a need to ensure assistance for people who have increased confusion or memory loss and functional difficulties but who do not meet the present age-related eligibility requirements,” the researchers wrote.

NBC Owned Television Stations' Jennifer Vasquez and Evan Carr contributed to this report.
 

A convicted sex offender is suspected of raping a woman at knife-point in East Windsor early Thursday morning, then slashing his own throat when armed officers told him to drop the knife he was holding, according to police.

James Michael Polk, 43, of South Windsor, picked up the victim at a local strip club called Mardi Gras II, then brought her to the business he manages, Power Service Concepts at 8 Thompson Road, according to East Windsor Police Det. Matthew Carl. The woman was a patron at the club.

Carl said Polk brutally raped her, inflicting severe bruises, cuts and broken bones. Carl said the woman's injuries are some of the worst he's seen in his 19 years of police work. The woman remains in the hospital but will survive the attack.

According to Carl, the victim called 911 and hung up just before 3 a.m. Thursday. Police said the call came from a woman who appeared to be hurt, so they traced the call to a landline phone at Power Service Concepts.

Police forced their way into the building, where they found Polk armed with a knife. Carl said the victim was able to run to safety when police arrived.

Polk allegedly told officers, "You're going to have to kill me," and slit his own throat when police held him at gunpoint and told him to drop the weapon, according to Carl.

Police said officers were about to use a stun gun on Polk when he cut his neck.

Polk was rushed into surgery at Hartford Hospital and is expected to survive. He remains in the intensive care unit under police guard and has not yet been charged in the attack, according to Carl.

Police expect to charge him with offenses including sexual assault, kidnapping and violation of probation, Carl said. Polk previously served five years in prison for first-degree sexual assault charges stemming from a 2003 attack.

Polk is listed on the state sex offender registry with convictions on third-degree sexual assault, sexual battery and kidnapping charges. Carl said he was arrested again in 2013 for failure to register as a sex offender in East Hartford.

The State Police Major Crime Unit is assisting with the investigation.

Anyone with information should call the East Windsor Police Department and ask for Det. Scott Roberts at 860.292.8240.

A former postal worker in Middletown is "no longer with the postal service" after throwing mail into a dumpster by a supermarket last month, according to the U.S. Postal Service.

London Mulcahy, of the U.S. Postal Service Inspector General's office, said the carrier tossed mail into a dumpster behind the Price Chopper supermarket on Washington Street in Middletown on Feb. 9.

The discarded mail was taken out of the dumpster and delivered to the intended recipients two days later, Mulcahy said.

According to Mulcahy, the office of the Inspector General learned of the incident Feb. 12 and launched an investigation.

The mail carrier held responsible is no longer working with the USPS.

Mulcahy couldn't say whether the worker was fired or quit.

A similar incident was reported in Uncasville last month. The status of that mail carrier is unclear.

UPDATE: Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey said Officer Wilson was at the GameStop to buy a gift for his son.

Philadelphia Police are in mourning after the loss of one of their own.

Officer Robert Wilson III, an 8-year veteran with the 22nd District, died from his injuries after he was shot several times at close range during an attempted robbery inside a North Philadelphia GameStop.

The 30-year-old father left behind two young children, as well as a grandmother.

• Gunman Guilty of Killing Off-Duty Philly Police Officer

"Take a moment and say a prayer for this family," said Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey. "And this 9-year-old boy who will now grow up without a father. A 1-year-old is going to grow up without a dad because of what happened today."

Wilson, who was in full uniform, along with his partner, went inside the GameStop at the Hope Plaza Shopping Center on 2101 West Lehigh Avenue around 4:30 p.m. Thursday. Suddenly, two armed men came inside and announced a robbery.

"We don't know if they knew he was a police officer or not," Ramsey said. "We suspect, perhaps, they did not."

• Admitted Highway Cop Killer Gets 10-20 Year Sentence

Wilson immediately confronted the pair, leading to a shootout. The suspects, who were on both sides of the officer, shot at him several times at close range as Wilson returned fire, officials said.

"Even though he was being struck multiple times, he continued to fire until the fatal was fired," Ramsey said.

Customers at the shopping center ran for cover. Sharon Coffield, an employee at the nearby Rainbow Clothing Store, told NBC10 she heard the gunshots and then witnessed part of the shooting.

"My assistant manager ran to the door," Coffield said. "She was getting ready to pull down the bleachers and that's when she saw the cop out there shooting!"

• Vigil Held for Slain Philadelphia Police Officer

Wilson's partner heard the gunfire and shot at the suspects as well, police said.

"Whoever was in the GameStop, they must've been shooting out," Coffield said. "And he was like, shooting in. And he was running across the lot."

One of the suspects was struck though police have not yet confirmed whether he was shot by Wilson or his partner.

The second suspect who wasn't struck fled the store and tried to blend in with a crowd outside but was quickly apprehended by responding police officers, according to investigators.

• Somber Milestone in Police Sergeant's Line-of-Duty Murder

A call for an officer down went out at 4:44 p.m. and Wilson was rushed to Temple University Hospital, where he died from his injuries at 6:25 p.m.

"I knew him," Ramsey said. "He was one of the best police officers this city has to offer. A very, very brave, heroic individual. Even though he was struck multiple times he was able to continue to fire." 

• Jury Deadlocked: Cop Killers Won't Be Executed

The suspect who was shot was taken to Einstein Hospital, though officials have not yet revealed his condition. Police also said the suspects had priors, and one was on parole.

Police later recovered the suspects' weapons at the scene of the shooting, a .40-caliber and a 9mm. One of the weapons had an extended clip, allowing the suspect to fire more rounds than usual, officials said.

• Philly Police Get $10K Grant in Honor of Slain Officer

Wilson along with his partner were part of the group of 22nd District Officers who volunteered to participate in the trial run of the Philadelphia Police body camera program. During our interview with him in December, Wilson told us he wanted to work to rebuild trust between police and the community.

"It's less negative reaction from the community," Wilson said. "They're recording us and we're recording them also." 

Ramsey also said he met Wilson through the body camera program.

"I had a chance to meet all of them when I stopped by there to talk to them and thank them for volunteering," he said.

Ramsey did not confirm whether or not Wilson was wearing a body camera at the time of the shooting. Police were able to recover surveillance video from the GameStop however. The video was reviewed by homicide investigators.

Ramsey, who is part of a national task force focused on law enforcement's relationship with the local community, also spoke on the danger police officers face on a daily basis.

"People tend to lose sight of the dangers inherent in being a police officer," Ramsey said. "Sometimes they're seriously injured or even murdered as a result of trying to protect every single person in this city...He put his life on the line to make Philadelphia a better city and a safer city."

A police procession was held for Officer Wilson Thursday night as an ambulance transported his body to the Medical Examiner's Office.

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf also released a statement on Wilson's death.

“My deepest condolences are with Officer Robert Wilson’s family tonight and his colleagues at the Philadelphia Police Department, especially the officers of the 22nd District," Wolf wrote. "This senseless act is devastating and a stark reminder of the danger faced everyday by our brave men and women in uniform. Across Pennsylvania, members of law enforcement and our first responders put their lives on the line to protect our families and our communities. We can never forget their selfless service and sacrifice.”

Officer Wilson is the eighth Philadelphia Police officer to die from a gunshot since 2006, according to the Fraternal Order of Police. Moses Walker, who was also from the 22nd District, was the last Philadelphia Police officer to lose his life. He was shot and killed after finishing his shift back on Aug. 18, 2012.

One of the gunmen convicted in Walker's death will be formally sentenced to life in prison Friday.

Norwich is a city built on its Irish heritage, and it plans to celebrate this weekend with a parade, street festival and Mass. But residents just might need a little of that Irish luck to make all of this snow disappear.

"This year, we have some major snowfall," said Miriah Toth, a member of the Norwich Parade Committee.

Make that some hard-working leprechauns at the public works department, who will start moving the snow from the parade route Friday morning.

"They've already come out and cleared the parade route one time. After these last two storms, they're going to come out at 5:30 and truck all of the snow out of the parade route," Toth explained.

This year’s theme, “I Love Shenanigans” is appropriate given that mother nature has thrown some shenanigans the parade planners’ way this winter.

"It's been difficult. Even scheduling meetings has been difficult," Toth said.

Toth said it will take about an hour for the floats, bagpipers, and Irish step dancers to make their way down the three-quarter of a mile parade route. Last year, 3,000 attended the parade.

With a forecast of temperatures in the 40s, they’re expecting a big crowd decked out in their Irish best on Sunday.

"We're thinking that people will want to take the opportunity to get outside and do something. Everybody's been kind of stuck inside this winter," she added.

The parade starts at 1 p.m. Sunday on Main Street.

In his bid for reelection, Hartford Mayor Pedro Segarra sent out a series of fundraising emails that inflated his own record while spreading false information about one of his opponents, Luke Bronin.

"I think that there was a source that was used... for his voter records. When the campaign looked into it, it was not the best source, or a source that was not correct in terms of the information that it gave out," Segarra said during an interview Thursday.

In fundraising emails, Segarra’s campaign claimed that high school graduation rates in Hartford had "more than doubled" while he served as mayor. According to Hartford Public Schools however, from 2010 to 2013, rates increased from 57 percent to 71 percent.

Segarra amended his email, saying that his record is still a good one on education, even if the increase isn’t as high as his campaign initially said.

"Since I've been involved in city politics, most especially as mayor, there have been substantial increases in graduation rates," he said.

In other emails, Segarra accused Bronin of being absent from his polling place while Bronin was registered to vote in Hartford. According to the Connecticut Secretary of State, Bronin was a registered voter in Hartford from 2006 to 2009, and again starting in 2013.

"I was surprised that they were going negative, especially at this point in the campaign," Bronin said. "You would think that if they were going to go negative that they would at least use accurate information."

Segarra said he wants to showcase his time in Hartford, and wouldn’t comment on that particular allegation against Bronin.

"The bottom of the line is, I have been in this city for four decades so I think that wraps it up," Segarra said.

Bronin worked for the Obama administration and served in Afghanistan as an intelligence officer from 2009 to 2013. He subsequently served as Gov. Dannel Malloy's top legal adviser.

Bronin said he’s not going to speculate on the motivation behind the false attacks, but did say he thinks such emails are a reflection on what a second Segarra term may look like.

"I'll tell you what kind of a mayor I will be which is a hands on manager who takes responsibility as going to be held accountable."

Segarra said the information came from a campaign staffer who claimed to have obtained the information from the Connecticut Democratic Party.

A spokesman for the party said the information from the Secretary of the State is the accurate information.

Bronin and Segarra will square off in the Democratic primary which is in September.

Dozens of Connecticut National Guardsmen received a celebratory sendoff Thursday night in Hartford ahead of their departures for Cuba and Afghanistan.

About 35 members of the 143rd Regional Support Group will head to a military post in Afghanistan, while 55 soldiers from the 192nd Military Police Battalion are bound for Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

"We have a lot of leadership going down and it should be quite easy to make sure they provide a safe, humane environment for the detainees that are down there right now," explained Master Sgt. Edmund Scarchilli of the 192nd Military Police Battalion, which is based in Niantic.

His wife said it's hard to see him go but knows he has a job to do.

"I'm sad, I'm going to miss him but we support the mission," said Kerri Scarchilli, of North Stonington. "I mean, we know this is his job."

According to the National Guard, the deployment of the  Middletown-based 143rd Regional Support Group is "unprecedented," because the unit was only given two months to prepare instead of the usual 18 to 24 months.

Both groups will spend nine months to a year overseas.

Police and firefighters are responding to the report of a roof collapse at 24 East Street in Wolcott, according to the police department.

Dispatchers said crews are just arriving on scene and have not yet assessed the damage.

No additional information was immediately available.

Check back for updates.