Broadcast journalists receive Bill Stout Award
“A lot of the work that I do is about uncovering people or institutions … that are not treating people honestly and fairly. I think those are core Jewish values,” said KNBC investigative journalist Joel Grover, who along with KCET’s Val Zavala is being awarded the Bill Stout Memorial Award for Excellence in Broadcast Journalism.
An investigative reporter and member of Temple Israel of Hollywood, Grover is known for exposing consumer fraud and government wrongdoing.
Zavala, vice president of news and public affairs at KCET, played a vital role in the long-running “Life & Times” newsmagazine and is the anchor of “SoCal Connected.”
“It’s a real honor,” Zavala said of receiving the Bill Stout award.
Presented by civil rights nonprofit organization Community Advocates, the award recognizes journalists whose reporting is in the tradition of Stout, a local and national broadcast journalist who railed against the deteriorating quality of local broadcast news.
This year’s recipients “really stand out,” because they “take tough issues and complicated issues and spend time exploring them,” said David Lehrer, president of Community Advocates and a Journal columnist. Lehrer runs Community Advocates with former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan, who serves as chairman of the organization, and Joe Hicks, vice president. Last year, they honored reporters Larry Mantle, Patt Morrison and Warren Olney.
The ceremony is scheduled to take place on Nov. 15 at the Taper Auditorium at the Riordan Central Library downtown. The ceremony is open to the public and will feature a keynote address by Judy Muller, a Peabody-winning correspondent and professor at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. NBC4 weathercaster Fritz Coleman is slated to host.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, a presenter at last year’s awards ceremony, described Stout as a newsman who had seriousness, wit and fearlessness that scared politicians into trying to get on his good side.
“He was a very respected curmudgeon … an intelligent curmudgeon who made a very compelling argument from his point of a view, and people listened to him,” Yaroslavsky said. “He had great credibility on any given issue.”
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Ex-Penn State president Graham Spanier charged in Sandusky sex abuse case
Former Pennsylvania State University President Graham Spanier was charged with perjury and obstruction as part of a “conspiracy of silence” in the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal, Pennsylvania Attorney General Linda Kelly said on Thursday.
Spanier also is charged with endangering the welfare of children, conspiracy and failure to report child abuse in the Sandusky scandal, which rocked college sports and focused national attention on child sexual abuse. Sandusky was a Penn State assistant football coach.
“This is not a mistake, an oversight or a misjudgment. This was a conspiracy of silence by top officials at Penn State, working to actively conceal the truth, with total disregard to the suffering of children,” Kelly told a news conference.
Two other former officials, Athletic Director Tim Curley and Vice President Gary Schultz, also face new charges of child endangerment, conspiracy and obstruction of justice. They had previously been charged with failure to report abuse and perjury, and both have pleaded not guilty.
NBC television reported on its “Today” show that the charges are based in part on emails uncovered during an investigation the university commissioned by former FBI Director Louis Freeh, whose report on the Sandusky scandal was issued this summer.
Spanier resigned as head of Penn State in November 2011 in the wake of the charges against Sandusky, who was convicted in June of sexually abusing 10 boys over 15 years and is serving a sentence of 30 to 60 years.
Reporting by Susan Heavey and Mark Shade; Writing by Ian Simpson; Editing by Jackie Frank
Ex-Penn State president Graham Spanier charged in Sandusky sex abuse case Read More »
Local Jewish philanthropists receive local heroes award
Delivering his acceptance speech to approximately 300 people from the stage of Club Nokia on the evening of Oct. 23, Abner Goldstine, joined by his wife Roslyn, said that the words of talmudic scholar Hillel inspired the couple to assist low-income Holocaust survivors in Los Angeles.
“If I am not for myself, then who will be for me? And if I am only for myself, then what am I? And if not now, when?” said Goldstine, accepting KCET and Union Bank’s annual Local Heroes Award, along with his wife.
Annette Shapiro, president of the board of Culver City-based drug and alcohol rehabilitation center Beit T’Shuvah, also received the annual Local Heroes Award.
Public television station KCET and Union Bank present the award annually because “diversity is one of our core issues, one of our core beliefs, and as a result of that, we wanted to figure out ways to reach back in our communities and highlight people doing phenomenal work,” said Frank Robinson, senior vice president and public affairs manager at Union Bank.
In 2007, the Goldstines established a fund at Jewish Family Service-Los Angeles (JFS-LA), the Abner D. and Roslyn Goldstine Fund for Holocaust Survivors, which provides essential emergency services to aging survivors.
The Goldstines are heavily involved in Los Angeles’ Jewish life: Abner has served as a past president of Sinai Temple and Jewish Vocational Service (JVS) and is a member of the board of directors at The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles. Roslyn is a member of the board of directors at JFS-LA, JVS and Sinai Temple and of the advisory board at the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies of American Jewish University
Shapiro, too, is a leader in numerous Jewish organizations. In addition to serving as president of the board of directors at Beit T’Shuvah, she is a member of the board of advisers at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs; she established the David Alan Shapiro Memorial Synagogue Center at American Jewish University in memory of her son David and has raised millions of dollars for diabetes research, among other endeavors.
KCET and Union Bank recognized 13 individuals from various communities throughout Los Angeles, including the African-American, LGBT, Hispanic, Asian-Pacific and women’s communities. The Goldstines and Shapiro were selected from a group of more than 40 nominees in the Jewish community. Last week, the honorees convened with friends and family at a ceremony downtown.
Abner Goldstine remains humble about his and Roslyn’s efforts.
“What we do we don’t think of as heroic but just things we have a responsibility to do,” he said. “It’s our responsibility to help when we can.”
— Ryan Torok, Staff Writer
Local Jewish philanthropists receive local heroes award Read More »
The final Obama/Romney showdown: A note to Jewish grandparents
I believe there is a unique bond between grandparents and grandchildren. We look out for each other. We have each other’s backs.
This year, the Romney-Ryan ticket and much of the Republican Party have been attempting to divide our generations, pitting one against the other.
We saw it in the first presidential debate. Mitt Romney looked into the camera and told voters, “Neither the president nor I are proposing any changes for any current retirees or near retirees, either to Social Security or Medicare. So if you’re 60 or around 60 or older, you don’t need to listen any further.”
Put aside for a second the veracity of the first part of this statement. The overall implication is disturbing: Older Americans don’t care about policies that affect their children and grandchildren. The Greatest Generation, Romney believes, is actually just out for itself.
[Related: A note to a stiff-necked people: Why you should vote Romney]
The truth is, many of Romney’s proposals would hurt seniors.
Romney has vowed to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). That would mean anyone enrolled in Medicare will pay an average of $4,200 more in health-care expenses over the next 10 years. Annual wellness visits would no longer be free. Those who fall into Medicare’s coverage gap for prescription drugs, sometimes called the “doughnut hole,” would lose their 50 percent discount on brand-name drugs and would no longer see the gap disappear completely by the end of this decade.
Obamacare ensured that Medicare is fully solvent at least until 2024 by getting rid of $716 billion in waste, fraud and needless spending — including $156 billion in unnecessary subsidies to insurance companies.
Romney, by repealing health-care reform and cutting more than $1 trillion from Medicaid, would deny coverage to approximately 50 million Americans who currently have it, including nursing-home patients, people with disabilities, low-income children and pregnant women.
Those are facts Romney doesn’t want you to know. But here are a few facts he thinks you don’t care about, because they may not affect you directly.
President Obama has nearly doubled funding for Pell Grants. He provided students and families with college tax credits worth up to $10,000 over four years. He invested $2 billion in community colleges. And he capped federal student loan repayment at 10 percent of monthly discretionary income.
Romney, by contrast, has vowed to roll back all of these vital programs intended to give the younger generation a shot at the American dream. Why? Because his priority is more special tax breaks for billionaires and hedge-fund managers.
President Obama has the vision to leave my generation with a better world by starting to address climate change and investing in cleaner, more sustainable forms of energy. Romney’s energy plan is to provide wealthy oil companies even more tax giveaways at our expense.
Obamacare will help many young people get health insurance. Without it we are less likely to seek preventive care or heed early warning signs, which can lead to more severe illness and higher medical bills. If we are younger than 26, we can now remain on our parents’ plan, giving them peace of mind and saving all of us money.
Our community has long been in the forefront of efforts to expand civil rights, passing laws and creating a culture that welcomes people who are unwelcome in other parts of the world. President Obama has fought for equal pay and women’s reproductive rights. He appointed two highly qualified women to the U.S. Supreme Court, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor. He ended laws that discriminate against gays and lesbians.
But you don’t care about any of that, do you? Romney and Paul Ryan seem to believe that you are ready to sell out your kids and grandkids as long as your needs are taken care of.
I think Romney and Ryan are wrong. They and their fellow Republicans are underestimating the bond that exists across the generations, inside our families. Jewish tradition speaks to this obligation, to teach and care for future generations: l’dor v’dor. I experience it in my own family.
And when we vote, let’s remember what’s at stake for everyone in our families.
Mik Moore is president of the Jewish Council for Education and Research (JCER), which launched “Obama on Israel,” a project aimed at presenting information about the president’s record on Israel.
The final Obama/Romney showdown: A note to Jewish grandparents Read More »
The final Obama/Romney showdown: A note to a stiff-necked people
To those Jews planning to vote for Obama:
Are you prepared to explain to your children not the principles upon which your vote is cast, but its probable effects upon them?
Irrespective of your endorsement of liberal sentiments, of fairness and “more equal distribution,” will you explain to your children that top-down economic policies will increasingly limit their ability to find challenging and well-paid work, and that the diminution in employment and income will decrease their opportunity to marry and raise children?
Will you explain (as you have observed) that a large part of their incomes will be used to fund programs that they may find immoral, wasteful and/or indeed absurd? And that the bulk of their taxes go to no programs at all, but merely service the debt you entailed on them?
[Related: [Related: A note to Jewish grandparents: The final Obama/Romney showdown: A note to a stiff-necked people Read More »
Bloomberg endorses Obama
The man who could walk away with the Jewish vote is giving his to Barack Obama.
In a column in today's Bloomberg News, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg gave his endorsement to President Barack Obama.
Bloomberg, a Republican-turned-Independent, cited the President's policies on climate change as the primary reason for his decision.
“We need leadership from the White House — and over the past four years, President Barack Obama has taken major steps to reduce our carbon consumption,” wrote Bloomberg. “including setting higher fuel-efficiency standards for cars and trucks. His administration also has adopted tighter controls on mercury emissions, which will help to close the dirtiest coal power plants (an effort I have supported through my philanthropy), which are estimated to kill 13,000 Americans a year.”
Bloomberg pointed out that as governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney supported the science of climate change and pursued policies to address it, but as a presidential candidate has backed off both positions. He writes:
Mitt Romney, too, has a history of tackling climate change. As governor of Massachusetts, he signed on to a regional cap- and-trade plan designed to reduce carbon emissions 10 percent below 1990 levels. “The benefits (of that plan) will be long- lasting and enormous — benefits to our health, our economy, our quality of life, our very landscape. These are actions we can and must take now, if we are to have ‘no regrets’ when we transfer our temporary stewardship of this Earth to the next generation,” he wrote at the time.
He couldn’t have been more right. But since then, he has reversed course, abandoning the very cap-and-trade program he once supported. This issue is too important. We need determined leadership at the national level to move the nation and the world forward.
Bloomberg stacked up some other reasons for his endorsement: Obama's record on women's rights, abortion, and gay rights, as well as his Race to the Top education initiative:
Nevertheless, the president has achieved some important victories on issues that will help define our future. His Race to the Top education program — much of which was opposed by the teachers’ unions, a traditional Democratic Party constituency — has helped drive badly needed reform across the country, giving local districts leverage to strengthen accountability in the classroom and expand charter schools. His health-care law — for all its flaws — will provide insurance coverage to people who need it most and save lives.
When I step into the voting booth, I think about the world I want to leave my two daughters, and the values that are required to guide us there. The two parties’ nominees for president offer different visions of where they want to lead America.
One believes a woman’s right to choose should be protected for future generations; one does not. That difference, given the likelihood of Supreme Court vacancies, weighs heavily on my decision.
One recognizes marriage equality as consistent with America’s march of freedom; one does not. I want our president to be on the right side of history.
When and how did the mayor make up his mind? In a long interview with Atlantic magazine this month, Bloomberg declined to endorse either candidate. In fact, he criticized Obama for failing to engage the Wall Street community, for using polarizing language and for failing to work across the aisle. He still has those criticisms:
In 2008, Obama ran as a pragmatic problem-solver and consensus-builder. But as president, he devoted little time and effort to developing and sustaining a coalition of centrists, which doomed hope for any real progress on illegal guns, immigration, tax reform, job creation and deficit reduction. And rather than uniting the country around a message of shared sacrifice, he engaged in partisan attacks and has embraced a divisive populist agenda focused more on redistributing income than creating it.
But it seems the fury of Hurricae Sandy, whose Ground Zero has been New York and New Jersey, has reinforced in the mayor's mind the critical need to recognize and address climate change. “One sees climate change as an urgent problem that threatens our planet,” wrote Bloomberg, “one does not. I want our president to place scientific evidence and risk management above electoral politics.
The big question is how a Bloomberg endorsement, coming just days before the election, will influence independent voters, and Jewish ones. Bloomberg is enormously popular among Jews– notwithstanding a smaller percentage of Orthodox Jews riled by his stand on the practice of metzizah b'peh in circumscision. In Bloomberg Jews find a leader whose politics and positions are fiscally prudent and conservative, but socially liberal. It's these same qualities that led Bloomberg to believe he didn't stand a chance in a Republican primary. When speaking to Jewish groups about politics, I always find a wide concensus that Bloomberg is the politician who they most admire.
So, question one is how will that translate into Jewish votes in crucial swing states like Ohio and Florida?
Question two is what led Bloomberg to endorse at all. He told the Atlantic that as mayor he will have to work closely with whoever wins, so why risk alienating the wrong guy? Maybe Bloomberg, a savvy investor, has decided to play his hunch.
Bloomberg endorses Obama Read More »
Obituaries: Nov. 2-8, 2012
David Azaria died Sept. 23 at 97. Survived by wife Camelia; daughters Cathryn, Marilyn Fleiss; 3 grandchildren. Malinow and Silverman
Natalie Bender died Sept. 28 at 87. Survived by daughters Nancy (Craig) Copeland, Jerilyn Spring; sons Bruce Walter; 8 grandchildren; 1 great-grandchild, Beau. Mount Sinai
Miriam Bransky died Sept. 27 at 88. Survived by daughter Sandra (Richard Adam); sons Samuel, Howard (Julia), Harlan (Theresa); 8 grandchildren; 4 great-grandchildren. Mount Sinai
Bill Brusslan died Sept. 22 at 82. Survived by wife Dee; sons Mark (Jeannette), Richard (Chun), Howard Levin. Mount Sinai
Steven Lewis Cantrock died Sept. 26 at 59. Survived by wife Gayle; daughters Rachel (Howard) Rosenzweig, Lisa (Daniel) Elkins; sister Joan. Mount Sinai
Saul Dell died Sept. 26 at 87. Survived by wife Shirley; daughters Toby, Francene; sons Brian (Susie), Daren (Gloria); 7 grandchildren; 2 great-grandchildren. Mount Sinai
Gisela Deutsch died Sept. 26 at 90. Survived by son Gabriel (Marsha); 1 grandchild; 4 great-grandchildren. Hillside
Galina Feldman died Sept. 25 at 78. Survived by niece Aleksandra (Vladimir Borodaty) Rubinshteyn. Mount Sinai
Dolores Fox died Sept. 25 at 84. Survived by daughter Barbara; son Steve. Malinow and Silverman
Robert Ira Fruchtbaum died Oct. 1 at 63. Survived by wife Irene; sons Marc, Eric; sisters Rona (Stanley) Karmiol, Rena Grober, Phyllis Zemlak, Marsha (Fernando) Alvarez; mother-in-law Nina Sandler. Mount Sinai
Mildred Giesberg died Sept. 16 at 87. Survived by husband Richard; daughter Susan (David Lappen); son Daniel (Carol Lifland); 6 grandchildren; 1 great-grandchild. Hillside
David Glazer died Sept. 22 at 94. Survived by wife Sylvia; daughters Carol (Guy Jackson), Ilene (Jim) Roper; 2 grandchildren. Mount Sinai
Alfred Goldkorn died Sept. 25 at 85. Survived by wife Judith; daughter Carmella (Philip) Glezer; son Peter (Ruthee); 4 grandchildren. Mount Sinai
Bluma Gryczman died Sept. 29 at 96. Survived by daughter Sharon (Abraham) Koresh; son Steven (Susan); 4 grandchildren; 6 great-grandchildren. Mount Sinai
Bella Israel died Sept. 23 at 86. Survived by daughter Shirley (Robert) Myers; son Albert (Susan); 3 grandchildren. Malinow and Silverman
Irving Kassman died Sept. 21 at 82. Survived by daughter Susan (Bob) Cockrell; sons Steven, Jeffrey; sister Harriet (Murray); brother Alan (Beth Ann); 2 grandchildren. Malinow and Silverman
Lorraine Kossoff died Sept. 24 at 88. Survived by husband Herbert; daughter Melinda (Cary) Rosenberg; sons Michael (Clarita), Roger; 1 grandchild; sister Beverly (Jack Waltman). Mount Sinai
Elsie Lazaroff died Sept. 29 at 86. Survived by husband Irving; daughter Barbara (John Hanwel); sons Daniel, William (Irene); 4 grandchildren. Hillside
Annette Maltzman died Sept. 29 at 88. Survived by sons Warren (Kate), Hilton; 1 granddaughter; brothers Mac, Sam, Burt (Marilyn); nephews; nieces; cousins. Eden
Theodore Morris died Sept. 24 at 87. Survived by wife Mickey Sider-Morris; daughter Fran (Rich) Morris-Rosman; sister Gaile (Stan) Waco, 1 grandchild. Hillside
Ellen Norton died Sept. 27 at 97. Survived by daughter Vivian Ross; son Peter (Barbara); 6 grandchildren; 2 great-grandchildren. Hillside
Michael Orenstein died Sept. 22 at 73. Survived by wife Linda. Malinow and Silverman
Sofia Pechman died Sept. 25 at 89. Survived by daughter Diane; son David (Susan); 2 grandchildren; brother Hal Rosenblatt. Mount Sinai
Barry Posner died Sept. 28 at 64. Survived by wife Pam; daughter Laura; sister Jeri. Mount Sinai
Joe Ruderman died Sept. 28 at 83. Survived by wife Naomi; daughters Teri (Keith) Kidon, Cimi Morgan; son Barry (Kathy Schultz); 8 grandchildren; sister Edith Smart. Mount Sinai
Emma Schlesinger died Sept. 25 at 91. Survived by husband Julius; sons Lewis (Marcia), George (Paula), Joseph (Ramona); 7 grandchildren; 3 great-grandchildren. Mount Sinai
Zachary Schwartz died Sept. 25 at 37. Survived by father James; sister Tracy Hughes. Malinow and Silverman
Paul Shapiro died Sept. 22 at 86. Survived by wife Irene; son Bruce (Merril Simon); 1 grandson; sister Marlene Gilbert. Mount Sinai
Hela Shapow died Sept. 12 at 86. Survived by husband Nathan; daughter Adena (Mike) Opos; son Mike (Estee); 5 grandchildren; 1 great-grandson. Chevra Kadisha
Eva Singerman died Sept. 22 at 81. Survived by son Mitch; daughter Mindy. Hillside
Selma Stein died Sept. 29 at 87. Survived by son Paul. Hillside
Valentin Veksler died Sept. 26 at 89. Survived by wife Esther; daughter Susan; son Alberto (Denise); 3 grandchildren; 2 great-grandchildren. Mount Sinai
Harold Waterman died Sept. 29 at 88. Survived by wife Harriett; sons Jeffrey (Muriel), Michael (Jacklyn); 7 grandchildren; 4 great-grandchildren. Hillside
Ira Wdowinski died Sept. 24 at 54. Survived by mother Beverly; sister Sharlene (Nimrod) Blau; 1 nephew; 1 niece. Mount Sinai
Gwendolyn Wunder died Sept. 24 at 82. Survived by son Matthew. Hillside
Robert Yudelson died Sept. 27 at 90. Survived by daughter Ruth; son Arthur. Hillside
Obituaries: Nov. 2-8, 2012 Read More »
Abbas hints has no ‘right of return’ to home in Israel
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas made a rare if symbolic concession to Israel on Thursday, saying he had no permanent claim on the town from which he was driven as a child during the 1948 war of the Jewish state's founding.
Among several disputes deadlocking Middle East peace talks has been the Palestinians' demand that as many as five million of their compatriots be granted the right to return to lands in Israel that they or their kin lost.
Israel rules this out, fearing an influx of Arabs that would eliminate its Jewish majority, and argues the refugees should resettle in a future Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, territories it occupied in the 1967 war.
Speaking to the top-rated Israeli television newscast, Abbas was asked whether he wanted to live in Safed, his boyhood town in the Galilee region of what had been British-ruled Palestine and is now northern Israel.
“I visited Safed before once. But I want to see Safed. It's my right to see it, but not to live there,” Abbas told Channel 2, speaking in English from the West Bank city of Ramallah.
“Palestine now for me is '67 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital. This is now and forever … This is Palestine for me. I am (a) refugee, but I am living in Ramallah. I believe that (the) West Bank and Gaza is Palestine and the other parts (are) Israel.”
Abbas has defied Israel and the United States by planning to ask the U.N. General Assembly to upgrade the Palestinians to a non-member state. Facing possible punitive Israeli and U.S. sanctions, Abbas has promised an immediate return to peace talks after the U.N. vote, which the Palestinians are likely to win.
The televised remarks, which were excoriated by Abbas's Palestinian Islamist rivals, also appeared aimed at influencing Israelis ahead of their January 22 legislative election.
Polls currently predict an easy win for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a rightist who says he wants to restart talks with Abbas but who has championed Jewish settlement of East Jerusalem and the West Bank – the reason the Palestinians gave for breaking off the last round of negotiations in 2010.
“NO THIRD ARMED INTIFADA”
Some Netanyahu government officials have voiced skepticism about Abbas's ability to deliver a peace accord, after he lost control of Gaza – from which Israel withdrew in 2005 – to Hamas Islamists in a brief civil war two years later.
On Channel 2, Abbas sought to play up his security control over Palestinian-run areas of the West Bank, saying that as long as he was in power “there will no armed, third armed Intifada (revolt against Israel). Never.”
“We don't want to use terror. We don't want to use force. We don't want to use weapons. We want to use diplomacy. We want to use politics. We want to use negotiations. We want to use peaceful resistance. That's it.”
Netanyahu's office had no immediate comment on the interview, which was aired as the prime minister returned from a visit to France. Israel has long blamed Abbas for the stalled diplomacy, saying his insistence it freeze settlements – which are widely viewed as illegal abroad – amounted to preconditions.
Paul Hirschson, a spokesman for Israel's Foreign Ministry, said the onus remained on Abbas to return to negotiations:
“If he (Abbas) wants to see Safed, or anywhere else in Israel, for that matter, we would happily show him anywhere. But there has to be a desire to move forward on the peace process.”
As Abbas is not an Israeli citizen, Hirschson added, “he doesn't have a right to live in Israel. We agree on that.”
In Gaza, Hamas denounced Abbas, saying he spoke only for himself. The Islamist movement does not recognize Israel and has regularly exchanged fire with it.
“No Palestinian would accept ceding the right of our people to return to homes, villages and towns from which they were displaced,” said Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri.
“If Abu Mazen (Abbas) does not want Safed, Safed would be honored not to host people like him.”
Secret Palestinian memoranda leaked to the media last year showed that Abbas had, during talks with the previous, centrist Israeli government, been willing to concede on some core demands – including by accepting a cap on refugees admitted to Israel.
Under Netanyahu, Israel has campaigned for the hundreds of thousands of Jews who it took in from Arab countries after the 1948 war to be recognized as refugees, proposing they be seen as a demographic counter-balance to dispossessed Palestinians.
(Additional reporting by Noah Browning in Ramallah and Nidal al-Mughrabi in Gaza; Writing by Dan Williams; Editing by Rosalind Russell)
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Calendar Picks and Clicks: Nov. 3-9, 2012
SAT NOV 3
Good Food Conference/Localicious
LACMA hosts provocative panel discussions exploring issues integral to building organic and sustainable food systems. On Sunday, head to the beach for Good Food’s Localicious fundraiser, featuring signature dishes prepared by 30 of L.A’.s leading chefs paired with 30 farmers from the Santa Monica Farmers Markets. Sat. Noon. $45 (includes museum admission). Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 5905 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles. (323) 857-6010. Sun. 6-9 p.m. $125. Annenberg Community Beach House, 415 Pacific Coast Highway, Santa Monica. goodfoodfestivals.com/la.
“Ripe”
After the death of a close friend, actress-comedian Wendy Hammers undergoes a transformation. She divorces her husband and re-enters the dating world in this autobiographical one-woman show. Blending dance, humor and confession, “Ripe” recounts the previous 10 years of Hammers’ life and celebrates the wisdom she gains along the way. Sat. Through Nov. 11. 8 p.m. $25. Greenway Court Theatre, 544 N. Fairfax Ave., Los Angeles. (323) 655-7679, Ext. 100. greenwayarts.org.
SUN NOV 4
Mitzvah Day
Synagogues from the San Fernando, Conejo, Simi, Santa Clarita and Antelope valleys pitch in and help out at a combination of on-site and off-site community service projects for kids, teens and adults, including campus beautification, food drives for Thanksgiving, making Chanukah cards, packing lunches for the homeless, writing letters to U.S. military service members, decorating pot holders for women in refugee camps, hiking trail cleanups, visiting seniors and donating blood. Congregations Adat Ari El, Temple Adat Elohim, Temple Ahavat Shalom, Shomrei Torah Synagogue, Temple Aliyah, Temple Judea, Valley Beth Shalom and others participate. Sponsored by The Jewish Federation Valley Alliance. Sun. Various times and locations. Free. Visit synagogue Web sites for additional details.
MON NOV 5
Zion Ozeri
World-renowned photographer Ozeri captures the cross-cultural dimensions of contemporary Jewish life from Bukhara to Djerba, Sana to Brooklyn, Mumbai to St. Petersburg. During “Jewish Identity, Jewish Diversity Through Photography,” Ozeri addresses how his images reflect ritual, spirituality and slices of Jewish life. On Nov. 6, he leads “The Language of Photography, Spring Board to a Social Action,” a workshop that examines the intersection of social action, his Jewish identity and photography. Mon. 4-5 p.m. Free. Pepperdine University campus, Pendleton Learning Center 125. Tue. Noon-1 p.m. Free. Fireside Room, 24255 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu. (310) 506-4164. pepperdine.edu.
Leonard Cohen
The oft-covered singer-songwriter and Shabbat-observant JewBu is still going strong. After the release of his 12th studio album, “Old Ideas,” earlier this year, Cohen hit a career high of No. 3 on the U.S. Billboard 200. Performing songs of love, desire, hope and redemption, the 78-year-old troubadour appears tonight with his eight-piece band at downtown’s Nokia Theatre. Mon. 8 p.m. $49.50-$279.75. Nokia Theatre L.A. Live, 777 Chick Hearn Court, downtown. (213) 763-6030. nokiatheatrelalive.com.
WED NOV 7
Hélène Grimaud
Born to Jewish parents from Corsica and North Africa, the French classical pianist frequently collaborates with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and is known for boldly reinterpreting works. Appearing at the Walt Disney Concert Hall for an imaginative recital program, the charismatic Grimaud performs Mozart’s Piano Sonata No. 8, Berg’s Piano Sonata, Opus 1, Liszt’s Piano Sonata in B minor and Bartok’s “Romanian Folk Dances.” Wed. 8 p.m. $55.50-$112.50. Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., downtown. (323) 850-2000. laphil.com.
FRI NOV 9
Barbra Streisand
The legendary entertainer and eight-time Grammy winner brings Broadway to the Bowl for two nights, concluding a tour of the United States and Canada in support of her new album, “Release Me,” a collection of previously unreleased songs. Streisand performs crowd-pleasing hits that span her entire career, including “The Way We Were,” an homage to the late Marvin Hamlisch, and sings duets with son Jason Gould, half-sister Roslyn Kind and more. Pop-jazz trumpeter Chris Botti and Italian operatic trio ll Volo also appear. Fri. 8 p.m. Nov 11. 7:30 p.m. $70.50-$756.50. Hollywood Bowl, 2301 N. Highland Ave., Hollywood. (323) 850-2000. hollywoodbowl.com.
“Cave … A Dance for Lilith”
Theatre Dybbuk and the L.A. Cotemporary Dance Company examine the notion of the outsider and the stranger through Lilith, the primary demon figure in Jewish folklore who is said to be the first woman before Eve. Incorporating Hebrew goddess mythology, kabbalistic concepts of creation and multicultural narratives of oppression and freedom, the multidisciplinary performance features five dancers and two actors whose movements offer multiple layers of meaning. Through Nov. 18. Fri. 8:30 p.m. $20 (online), $25 (door). Diavolo Performance Space, 616 Moulton Ave., downtown. brownpapertickets.com.
Calendar Picks and Clicks: Nov. 3-9, 2012 Read More »