\”We now tax Californians 2.7 cents per capita for all public art support,\” Paul Minicucci said, noting that in Canada, which has 4 million fewer residents than California, the National Arts Council has a budget of $660 million. He said similar figures for European nations are \”simply off the charts.\”
The Pacific Jewish Center (PJC) has been a Venice beach landmark for the past 60 years. Always a Traditional or Orthodox congregation, PJC has been on the fringes of the larger Orthodox centers in Pico-Robertson and Hancock Park — and a few miles too far west for some.
It\’s Sunday morning at the Church of Ocean Park, a Methodist church in Santa Monica that strangely lacks overt Christian insignia: there are no crosses or crucified Jesuses decorating the walls, but the stained-glass windows do picture a bearded figure tending to a flock of sheep, with a shaft of light illuminating his head.
David Woznica was anything but a model Hebrew school student.
Nearly 200 Jews descended on Sacramento this week to lobby California\’s most powerful politicians to protect major programs that serve the poorest and frailest Jews and other Californians from the budget ax.
The state budget is facing a projected $38.2 billion shortfall, and Gov. Gray Davis\’ plan to cut spending and increase revenue will have far-reaching effects on our state and our lives.
Through many years of rabbinic traveling and teaching, I\’ve been blessed to serve congregations from Long Island to Maui and from Canada to Australia. I\’ve prayed in shuls from Transylvania to Argentina, and I\’ve discovered that in all the world Juneau\’s community is unique. The fusion of Alaskan life and Jewish tradition never ceases to amaze me.
Helping the needy is what SOVA (Hebrew for \”eat and be satisfied\”) has been doing since 1983, when Santa Monica deli owner Hy Altman and wife, Zucky, created the nonprofit organization.
NORCs have cropped up around the country, with an estimated 5,000 now dotting the U.S. As the population grays — an estimated 75 million Americans will be over 55 in 2010 — the number of NORCs is expected to jump, said Andrew Kochera, senior policy advisor at AARP in Washington.
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