A Feb. 1 story by Education Reporter Alexandria Rocha cited several incidents of harassment suffered by members of Palo Alto High School's Gay-Straight Alliance. According to The Paly Voice, a journalism Web site run by Palo Alto students, Supervising Deputy District Attorney Jay Boyarsky attended a faculty meeting at the school on Feb. 2 to make an official statement offering support for gay students. "I hope that my showing up and lending a hand to GSA will send a signal that intolerance and discrimination against any group is not acceptable," Boyarsky told the Voice.
John Strand sued North Dakota's Cass County in February 2003, hoping to save an old jail from demolition. According to In-Forum, his legal expenses now stand at more than $60,000. The county is also seeking $39,000 in what Strand says is a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation, or SLAPP suit. His attorney, John Goff, claims that such actions have "a significant chilling effect on people's First Amendment rights." High Plains Reader applied for membership to the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies last year and in 2002.
