California

Former Jewish Assemblyman Howard Wayne Tells How His Anti-Pollution Bill Became Law

Over coffee, Wayne explained to me that water from the higher elevations runs off regularly into the Bay.  Sometimes it’s rainwater; other times it is water from people watering their lawns, or hosing off their driveways, or washing their cars.  This water heads downhill, picking up whatever debris and pet excrement may lay in its path.  Eventually, the polluted water may find its way into a storm drain and then flow down to Mission Bay or to any of the beaches along the Pacific Coast. [Donald H. Harrison]

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California, Donald H. Harrison, San Diego County, The World We Share

B’Shalom: Body Image, Military History, Baseball Classic, Jewish Political News

Kristine Schomaker’s eating disorder had made her feel “othered” since her girlhood. She tried to imagine herself as a slender blonde but when she looked into the mirror, she saw herself as she was, a very large woman. Rather than hide from her physical presence, she decided to embrace it. She invited 59 fellow artists to depict her in the nude. Sculptures, photographs, paintings, and drawings in various media resulted in an exhibition now being shown through April 13 at the Mesa College Art Gallery. [Donald H. Harrison]

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California, Donald H. Harrison, International, Israel, Lifestyles, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Sports & Competitions, USA

The Story Behind a San Diego Couple’s Historic Gift to Israel

Documentary filmmaker Matthew Mishory has done a deep dive into the background of a San Diego couple who lived quietly, scrimped to such a point that they even reused their paper towels, and through their daughter made the largest philanthropic donation to Israel in the history of the Jewish state: $500 million. [Donald H. Harrison]

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California, Donald H. Harrison, Israel, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

B’Shalom: ‘Jacob’s Staff’; TV’s ‘Equalizer,” and Israel in the WBC

The tall ocotillo plant (Fouquieria splendens) that abounds in the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park has many common names, among them, according to the Britannica website, “coachwhip” and “vine cactus.”  “Ocotillo” translates from Spanish to “little torch” because of the red flowers that grow at the end of its branches. Perhaps its most mysterious nickname is one that may or may not tell a Jewish story, “Jacob’s staff.”[Donald H. Harrison]

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California, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education

Jewish Studies Professor Says Ethics Demand More Humane Treatment of Animals

“I think the single most important thing Jews can do if they want to reduce animal suffering, to practice the value of tzaar baalei Chayim, compassion for animals, is to reduce or altogether stop eating animal products,” says Gross, who is vegan.  “Even if one still continues to eat meat when out and about, it makes sense for food to be more deliberate in Jewish communal settings, which I think should be places where we aspire to have our food represent the best of our values.” [Donald H. Harrison]

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California, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, The World We Share, USA

B’Shalom: Restaurant Server Shirts, Jewish Political News

At a growing number of restaurants, there’s more to read than the menu.  The backs of the wait staff’s shirts can teach you Yiddish at a Jewish deli, or engage in some punnery at two Italian restaurants in the eastern part of San Diego and in Santee. [Donald H. Harrison]

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California, Donald H. Harrison, Israel, Lifestyles, San Diego County, Travel and Food, USA

B’Shalom: Schwarzenegger, Jacobs, Leak & Elo-Rivera

Hats off to former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger for his You Tube video, shown in an article republished on San Diego Jewish World, that urges antisemites to turn away from hate for their own sake.  Haters, he said, never win and end up broken.  [Donald H. Harrison]

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California, Donald H. Harrison, Holocaust, Opinion, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA

B’Shalom: Mineral Creations and Schmoozing with Bagels

By day, Carleigh Gold is a commercial contracts attorney, a precise occupation in which she must examine every clause to weigh its legal meaning and possible ramifications.  It is exacting work.  After work hours and on weekends, Gold gets to unleash her creativity.  For nearly 13 years now, she has painted in oils and acrylics, and over the past three years she has developed a new specialty: resin art utilizing minerals and gems found in nature. [Donald H. Harrison]

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California, Donald H. Harrison, Lifestyles, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County

B’Shalom: Abortion and the Guarantee of Religious Freedom

Thanks go to Marsha Sutton who drew my attention to Rabbi Barry Silver of Congregation L’Dor Va-Dor (Generation to Generation) of Palm Beach County bringing a federal suit in Florida seeking to overturn that state’s ban on abortions after the 15-week point of a pregnancy.  He was joined by Rabbi Arthur Wascow of the Shalom Center, as well as by the Unitarian Universalist ministers Harris Riordan and Tony Fisher, and by Buddhist minister Maya Malay. [Donald H. Harrison]

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California, Donald H. Harrison, USA

Temple Emanu-El Celebrates Purim with a Carnival

Chairs were cleared from the sanctuary of Temple Emanu-El on Sunday, March 5, and the space was converted into a carnival to celebrate one day in advance the Jewish dress-up day of Purim. The holiday celebrates Queen Esther’s foiling of the evil Haman’s plot against the Jews of Persia. [SDJW staff report]

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California, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, San Diego County, USA

Hubbs SeaWorld’s Jewish President Seeks Yellowtail Farming Off Coast

In 1995, the Institute began construction of another facility in Carlsbad where white sea bass are now raised.  The hatchery annually releases 100,000 white sea bass into the ocean.  After learning how to grow and manage a species in more than 20 years of operation of that laboratory, the Institute now is embarked upon a far more ambitious and potentially far more impactful project with California yellowtail. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Business & Finance, California, Donald H. Harrison, Israel, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, The World We Share

Robert Kennedy Assassin, Incarcerated in San Diego, Denied Parole for 16th Time

Published by Reuters (Reuters) – A California review board on Wednesday denied parole to Sirhan Sirhan, the Palestinian man serving a life sentence for assassinating U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy in 1968. Sirhan was denied parole for another three years by a panel of California parole board members, who said he was not suitable

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California

B’Shalom: Election 2024 Endorsements and Announcements

Republican Mayor Bill Wells of El Cajon has announced he will oppose Democratic Congresswoman Sara Jacobs for reelection in the 51st Congressional District.  He has served as mayor since 2013, and in a 50th CD primary election in 2018, he placed third behind Republican Congressman Duncan Hunter and Democratic challenger Ammar Campa-Najjar.  Jacobs was elected to Congress in 2020. [Donald H. Harrison]

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California, Donald H. Harrison, San Diego County, USA

B’Shalom: Marianne Williamson, Elissa Slotkin and Sara Jacobs

Two Jewish women are making big political waves.  Marianne Williamson has announced she will oppose incumbent President Joe Biden in the 2024 Democratic presidential primaries.  U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Michigan) has formally declared her candidacy to succeed Michigan’s retiring Democratic senator Debbie Stabanow in an effort by Democrats to remain in control of the U.S. Senate. [Donald H. Harrison]

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California, Donald H. Harrison, Israel, Opinion, USA