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Picture of Charlotte Hildebrand

Charlotte Hildebrand

Sweet Sorrow

A wall of neatly coiffed ladies charges up to the counter to place their orders for baked goods on one of the last days before the holidays and one of the last days before Brown\’s Bakery in North Hollywood closes its doors forever. Some of the customers have been buying their cakes, cookies and bread here for as long as the bakery has been open, and that\’s 42 years. Some have been Brown\’s customers even longer, when it was Brown Brothers Bakery on Wilshire Boulevard; some for longer still, when Brown\’s was in the Bronx, during the war.

Voices of Peace

In the long view — and who could have a longer view than the man who, until recently, was the U.S. State Department\’s Middle East negotiator for the past 12 years? — Dennis Ross believes that diplomacy in the Middle East boils down to psychology. \”The idea of taking politics out of foreign policy,\” Ross said, \”is as illusory as taking psychology out of human behavior, and what is foreign policy after all, but a collection of human behaviors.\”

Answering the Call

A historic conference call recently took place between the six Jewish Big Brothers and Big Sisters (JBBBS) associations in America. The Jewish agencies had never spoken together outside of informal gatherings at Big Brothers Big Sisters of America (BBBSA) conferences; in the past, they had never had a reason to speak as one.

In Community We Trust

Alex Mylyavsky had been in Los Angeles for three months as a refugee from Kiev, Ukraine. He was looking for a job, but it was a vicious cycle: he couldn\’t get a job without experience, but how could he get experience without a job?

Centenarian Inspiration

Sam Dabby was 100 years old on Nov. 5, but he waited to celebrate with members of his family and friends at a Nov. 18 party given at Kahal Joseph Congregation Temple. Among the celebrants was his workout trainer, Jeremy Forte, who has been helping Dabby lift weights and exercise for the past year. \”Sam has a variety of medical challenges, but it\’s never too late to start working out,\” Forte says. \”Like Sam says, \’You don\’t have to wait a 100 years to do it.\’\”

Hollywood Mecca

The MPTF was founded in 1921 by Hollywood pioneers Mary Pickford, Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, D.W. Griffith and others as a service organization for industry employees, retirees and their dependents.

East Ventura Bound

If you\’re looking to move into a new home in Los Angeles, good luck. Last month, the median sale price for an L.A. home jumped 10 percent to $213,000, setting an all-time record for L.A. County.

Olympic Mettle

Los Angeles Jews agonized along with the rest of the country as the results from the Nov. 7 election trickled in. Hardly as split as the rest of the nation, Jews in California preferred Al Gore to George Bush 82 to 15 percent.

Board Meeting

Skate Roc \’n Jam, an event held Nov. 5 at the Hollywood Los Feliz JCC, drew about 100 skateboarding enthusiasts who tried their luck on newly built ramps and rails borrowed from Oasis in Hollywood; listened to music by the group Custom; talked shop with DV8, a skateboarding shop in Eagle Rock; and basically allowed one and all a place to jam.

Green With Envy

For those who are loath to consider Bush as the next president, the principled Green Party is turning out to be the Nightmare Party.

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