By Donald H. Harrison
NATIONAL/ INTERNATIONAL – Democratic U.S. Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon has asked Google and Apple to remove from sale an app developed in Saudi Arabia to permit Saudi husbands to track, monitor and thereby control the movement of women in their families. According to The Washington Post, Wyden denounced Saudi Arabia’s patriarchal guardianship system as “abhorrent surveillance and control of women.” …After being shot in the head in 2011, U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords eventually had to resign her congressional seat. Now her husband, former astronaut Scott Kelly, has announced he will run in Arizona for a U.S. Senate seat to which Republican Martha McSally was appointed. … Criminal defense lawyer Jeffrey Lichtman won fame successfully defending clients like Gambino crime family boss John Gotti, but he was unsuccessful in his defense for drug king pin Joaquin Guzman “El Chapo” Loera. After a jury convicted the cartel boss on 10 counts, Lichtman commented to The New York Times, “I’ve never faced a case with so many cooperating witnesses and so much evidence. We did all we could as defense lawyers.”
ISRAEL MATTERS – Masa Innovation Fund recently sponsored a forum for entrepreneurs in Los Angeles. One of the speakerss was Alon Shtruzman, chief executive officer of Keshet International, an Israeli media distribution company. “There is more and more appetite and curiosity for Israeli shows,” he told some 150 attendees. “Israel is a great, diverse focus group for different cultures.” … Photographer Zion Ozeri has been tasked by the Museum of the Jewish People at Beit Hatfusot to chair the judging of a worldwide photo contest for teens with the theme “My connection to the Jewish people.” More information may be obtained by clicking here .
SAN DIEGO COUNTY –Philanthropist Irwin Jacobs, retired cofounder of Qualcomm, and San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, have shelved plans to divert cars from Balboa Park by building a road from the Cabrillo Bridge to an underground parking lot. The problem, according to a story in the San Diego Union-Tribune, was escalating projected costs up from $75 million in 2016 to current bids ranging between $101.7 million to $117.9 million. .. Developer Uri Feldman of Sunroad Enterprises has been given four months by the San Diego Unified Port District to come up with plans for a 450-500 room hotel on Harbor Island. The U-T’s Lori Weisberg reported that Feldman’s proposed 325-room hotel was deemed insufficient by the Port District. … Former San Diego Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman, who accepted a job with National University, soon will be touring law enforcement agencies around the country to tell officers and deputies about the private university’s various degree programs, according to the U-T. … City Councilwoman and mayoral candidate Barbara Bry is calling for strict city regulation of rental electric scooters. She says they should be prohibited from high-traffic pedestrian areas, on sidewalks and on boardwalks and should be subject to fines for unsafe or illegal parking. Additionally, she said in a news release that the City of San Diego should be able to adopt helmet regulations for scooter riders, be able to demand equitable access to scooters for communities that could benefit from them the most; require up-to-date reporting on the number and whereabouts of rental scooters in the city, and charge reasonable fees for investment in education, enforcement and infrastructure. .. Freshman San Diego City Councilwoman Dr. Jen Campbell, who chairs the Council’s environment committee, has appointed Miller Saltzman as her community representative for the Point Loma and Midway areas.
ELSEWHERE IN CALIFORNIA – Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti soon will have on his desk for signature or veto a bill sought by animal rights activists to ban the sale of most furs in the city. The City Council passed the measure on Tuesday, but, as a matter of procedure, the bill must be voted on for a second time before it goes to the mayor.
SPORTS – Theo Epstein, president of baseball operations for the Chicago Cubs, has told the Chicago Tribune that shortstop Addison Russell, who still has 28 games of a 40-game suspension to sit out following allegations of domestic abuse, will be held to an “incredibly high standard” as he undergoes therapy and counseling…
BUSINESS – Joe & Shira Teichman, founders of Breakthrough Dating, say they have developed a computer app that uses artificial intelligence to turn away “gamers” who provide phony information about themselves. Called Forj, the app is said to weed out people who are not interested in long-term relationships, and verifies users for age, gender, profile picture match and location, among other attributes. Information is available by clicking here.
SIMCHAS – George Segal, whom Wikipedia describes as “one of the first American film actors to rise to leading man status with an unchanged Jewish surname,” is 85 today. He starred in such films as Ship of Fools, King Rat, and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf. … Jerry Springer, the talk show host who was born to German Jewish refugees in London and later served as a city councilman and mayor of Cincinnati, is 75 today…. Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, who previously had served as his state’s attorney general, is 73. … Matt Salinger, the Captain America actor who was the son of Catcher in the Rye author J.D. Salinger, is 59 today.
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Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted via donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com