SAN DIEGO (SDJW) — The San Diego County Bar Foundation has notified Mary Lundberg that her late husband, former California Assemblyman Howard Wayne (D-San Diego) will be memorialized with a permanent plaque bearing his likeness in the Hall of Justice of the San Diego Superior Court.
A reception May 22 for Wayne and four other 2024 inductees will highlight their careers and community accomplishments, according to the SDCBF. The Distinguished Lawyer Memorial “is a professional honor awarding special and permanent recognition to deceased lawyers and judges of the San Diego County Bar who, in addition to demonstrating superior legal skills and high ethical standards throughout their careers, demonstrated outstanding dedication to the welfare of the community, and the maintenance and support of the mission of the San Diego County Bar Foundation,” according to the notification.
Sixty-eight lawyers and jurists have been honored since the award’s inception in 1979.
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Nikki Luna, a senior at Bonita Vista High School in Chula Vista, has simultaneously been taking classes at Southwestern College, where she has been writing for its newspaper, El Sol. Her stories have garnered awards from the regional chapter of the Society for Professional Journalists. Her designation last October by the Associated Collegiate Press as National College Reporter of the Year in the two-year colleges category was the first time the coveted award was won by a high school student. Last month, the American Scholastic Press Association awarded her for Best Investigative Reporting. In recognition of Luna’s journalistic excellence, Southwestern College President Mark Sanchez had her interview Holocaust Survivor Ben Midler, 95. for a half hour in front of an audience of 300. Her entries for the Associated Collegiate Press award included one story headlined “Holocaust remembrance” and another headlined “Area anti-Semitic incidents on the rise.” Ken Stone of Times of San Diego takes a deeper look at the career of this young journalist, who will turn 18 in May.
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Rabbi Noah Whittenburg, assistant rabbi at Beth Jacob Congregation, has accepted an equivalent position beginning July 1 at Congregation Ahavas Achim in Highland Park, New Jersey, which is approximately 45 minutes by car from his hometown of Teaneck, New Jersey. “It is at Beth Jacob that I have gone from a novice to an experienced Rabbi,” he wrote to his current congregation. “Yaffa and I truly value the relationships that we have made over the last three years and our sincere hope is that they will be lifelong relationships. I have been very blessed to work alongside Rabbi [Avram] Bogopulsky. I had very high hopes coming in of what I would gain and the reality far exceeded my expectations. His years of experience and wealth of knowledge have been very enriching.”
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Ruth Mastron, president of the House of Israel in Balboa Park, seeks volunteers for two purposes. First, to help with off-site school presentations during the schools’ culture fairs. “These outreach events can have a huge impact, so please consider signing up for one or more,” Mastron urges. “As the school year goes on, we’re likely to have more such requests, so keep an eye on the calendar. Since these usually happen during the week, they’re a great opportunity for those who can’t volunteer with us at the weekend.” Second, she said, “After December Nights and the flooding last month, the HOI definitely needs to be put in order! Deb and I will be there on Thursday, Feb. 22 to clean up, clear out, and dump some stuff at the storage unit. Sign up or just drop by when you can if you’d like to give us a hand.”
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Sha’ar Hanegev is the Israeli municipality that is a partnership region for the Jewish Federation of San Diego. Jewish National Fund has been sending volunteers to Sha’ar Hanegev and to nearby municipalities in Southern Israel that were attacked on October 7th. Russell Robinson, JNF’s chief executive officer wrote in a bulletin recently about the “Build Together” program to help communities like Kibbutz Erez in Sha’ar Hanegev. “Yes, I myself picked some produce! but our volunteers are picking about 14 tons a day, serving as a lifeline to the farmers, and playing with evacuated children, visiting wounded soldiers in hospitals, and packing care packages,” Robinson wrote. “They’re also bringing to life our Build Together campaign and have already cleared, cleaned, planted, and painted in Kibbutz Erez and Kibbutz Gvulot, rebuilt parks and gardens so evacuees will want to return home and contributed towards getting the homefront pop up school in the Eshkol region ready by working on massive landscaping to create inviting and soothing outdoor facilities, outdoor classrooms and gathering areas to hold classes outside. We refurbished structures to be used as educational facilities and built therapeutic gardening areas for the different classes. School opened last week for the lower grades and this week for the upper grades. Where there’s education, there’s life and it means families can move back home. This vital work will continue with every trip.” To participate as a volunteer, follow this link.
–OBITUARY NOTICE–
Beth Jacob Congregation informs that funeral services will be conducted on Tuesday at Mount Sinai Memorial Park in Los Angeles for Frederick Shadpour, the brother of Manijeh Breskin and uncle of Andrew Breskin and Alison Ferry. Shiva will be observed by the family in Los Angeles.
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SDJW staff report