'If You Don't Like the Cops, Call a Hippie'

FAIRFIELD: "Yes, what a GREAT mother! Her 16-year-old son now has police record that will follow him for the rest of his life because of a harmless plant. You really showed him!" This is what one reader said in response to 16-year-old resident was charged on Wednesday with and drug paraphernalia after his mother turned the evidence into police.

SHELTON: "Amazing that the BOE has 'leftover' money yet every budget year they are rallying parents to support them for increased funding. I am a parent with kids in the school system and a strong supporter of education funding, but things like this really leave me puzzled. Here we are charging parents up to $600 per year for their children to play sports, yet the BOE ends up with $212K in unspent funds. The mayor made an interesting point last night... historically the city and BOE never spend that much for dental insurance, so it is tough to buy the argument from the BOE that they guessed on the amount due to the new self insured health plan and ended up with a surplus. Regardless, those are taxpayer dollars that were earmarked for education and they should be spent. There should be no surplus. Transfer the money elsewhere in the budget, give the money back to the taxpayers, refund the pay to play money, buy some books... but don't just let the money sit there. Taxpayer dollars aren't investment dollars meant to accrue interest. The money should be spent in the current budget year or given back to the city at the end of the fiscal year." This is one reader's response to an article about what should be done with the $

STAMFORD: "Great story! As a school board member, I spoke out often about the achievement gap and it's impact on all our kids. I still remember how stunned I was when seeing student tracking data back to the late 1970s that showed no migration from the black and Hispanic kids in the lower 2 groupings after a conversation with a church member who graduated from Westhill in the late 70s. I lived through the initial board conversations that brought Josh Starr here (they were tough) and on middle school reform (they were even tougher). We must continue the work required to fix our achievement gap. After a career of military service that took me to Germany for the Cold War and the Middle East for the Gulf War, getting this gap fixed is essential for our continuation as a democracy!" This is one reader's response to an article about

WESTON-REDDING-EASTON: "I grew up in Weston, was once a police officer in Weston [and] am now retired from law enforcement. This is so typical, 'Whine-stein,' if you wanted to be chief you should have put your time in, instead of being a flash in the pan 'here for a term or two and gone.' In the 60's, the saying was 'if you don't like the cop's call a hippie,' Hope 'Whine-stein's' number is out there, cause that's who Weston's gotta count on. Troxell saved the town 60K." This is one reader's response to an article about whether Weston Police Chief John Troxell was in the wrong for failing to include First Selectman Gayle Weinstein in his communications regarding the .