Four months ago, this paper wrote about war resister Patrick Hart (see Artvoice v5n10, “Brave Hart”), a former Army sergeant and Buffalo native who went AWOL and sought refugee status in Canada along with his wife, Jill, and son, Rian. The story detailed Patrick’s difficult decision after nearly 10 years in the Army, as well as the many obstacles the Harts had yet to overcome on their way to successfully being granted refugee status.

On July 6, the New York State Court of Appeals ruled that the state’s constitution does not guarantee gay couples the right to get married. Because the plaintiffs—44 couples in four lawsuits—raised no federal issues, there can be no appeal to the US Supreme Court. So the issue, as noted by Judge Robert Smith in the 17-page majority opinion, becomes legislative.

Three weeks ago Friday—the day after the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) released its draft unit management plan for Zoar Valley—the Buffalo News published an article under the headline “Zoar Valley’s ancient trees protected.” Countless readers no doubt breathed a sigh of relief, happy in the knowledge that WNY’s most significant ecosystem would remain intact. To a few readers, however, namely Albert Brown, Turiya Mistretta and Roger Tredo—all members of environmental group Friends of the Ancient Forest (FAF)—the News’ declaration was premature.