News Nearby: Board Shutdown of Autistic Boy's Speech Goes Viral

Big news broke across the region this week. Here's a look at some of those stories.

School Stops 14-Year-Old Autistic Student From Questioning Treatment

The Northport-East Northport Board of Education cut off a 14-year-old boy from speaking during Monday’s meeting when the teen, who has a form of high-functioning autism, attempted to express what he felt was unfair treatment in his classroom due to his disability.

Christian Ranieri held back tears as he left the room after being shut down just a few sentences into his speech, in which he was asking the board to hear him out after he felt he was unfairly suspended for two days from school.

The school board president cited privacy laws in his reasoning for halting Ranieri's speech. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act protects the privacy of student education records.

More Questions Than Answers Available at Homeless Student Forum

A shelter for homeless families has raised more questions among the Hauppauge community than county officials could provide answers for in a two-hour forum held on Tuesday night.

Concerned Hauppauge residents, community members and school board officials packed the Suffolk County Legislature's auditorium to standing-room only on Tuesday, ready to launch an endless barrage of questions over the county's decision to open a family shelter this summer in a nearby hotel andits impact on the Hauppauge Public School District.

Cops Find Steroids on Lindenhurst Coach in Commack

A Lindenhurst High School volleyball coach is facing charges of possessing anabolic steroids, according to Suffolk Police.

Suffolk County Police arrested Kevin Muscarello, 40, of Sayville on Sunday just after 11 a.m. near Vanderbilt Parkway and Commack Road in Commack according to published reports.

Gun Remark Sets Off Confrontation

A call for Gene Cook, candidate for town supervisor, to withdraw because of a remark about guns led to several ugly exchanges Wednesday outside Town Hall.

Former Suffolk County 17th District Legis. Jane Devine, a Democrat, and others with ties to Town Hall, plus several gun control advocates, called a press conference to insist that Cook end his campaign, citing a 1979 hostage situation at Town Hall. But several people carrying signs supporting Republican candidates repeatedly tried to shout Devine and others down, accusing the women of thuggery and character assassination.

Parents: Common Core is 'Hijacking Our Kids'

Smithtown school district parents tore apart the controversial Common Core curriculum and state assessments, blaming it for creating students fear and avoid schoolwork.

Amy Hennig, a Smithtown parent of two students, said since the Common Core math has been implemented in Smithtown School District her daughter has started complaining of stomach aches, as stress over the new learning system has manifested in physical symptoms.

Kings Park Parents Seek Permanent Memorial to Honor Soldier Son

Kings Park parents of an American soldier hope to work with Smithtown town officials to create a permanent memorial to honor their late son, after a makeshift shrine has gone missing.

Rose Marie Byrne and her husband, Oliver, were able retrieve a picture of their son, Seamus, dressed in his U. S. Army fatigues from the Village of the Branch's Town Hall on Thursday afternoon.

Trading Spaces: District Mulls Lease Expansion at Westbrook

A tenant leasing space in the shuttered Westbrook Elementary School is asking the West Islip School District about renting an additional closed bathroom and closet area in exchange for a lease revamp as it's offering to do the needed $22,000 in renovations, according to district officials.

The South Shore Children’s Center of West Islip wants to use a former bathroom, where fixtures were removed many years ago, according to school officials. The bathroom area is 128 square feet and the request includes partial use of a supply closet, about 64 square feet, according to school officials.