San Diego County

Editor’s Surgery to Prompt SDJW Hiatus Dec. 15-Jan. 4

This publication will go on a hiatus that will begin Tuesday, December 15, 2020 and will continue through Monday, January 4, 2021.  Although San Diego Jewish World will remain on line, with its extensive archives,  no new stories will be filed during this period.  Advertisers will not be charged during the hiatus, even though their ads will continue to run. This three-week pause was necessitated by the fact that I will be having surgery on December 15th to remove a small meningioma from the surface of my brain – an operation that is expected to require a few days recovery period in the hospital followed by recuperation at home. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, San Diego County

The Rowdy Story Behind the Staid Bank Columns

I stopped by Ray the Swede’s workshop. The place was padlocked. A very official- looking notice from the State of California declared he owed back taxes, and the state had seized his business. Ray was a very talented stone maker, and had recently completed years of work on the facades of the new University of San Diego buildings. Because of the style and cost, these masterpieces of Old World detailing were rarely used to adorn buildings in the United States [Ira Spector]

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Business & Finance, Lifestyles, San Diego County

Teachers Should Have Priority for COVID Vaccine

Gov. Gavin Newsom recently announced that California’s plan for COVID-19 vaccine distribution will prioritize health care workers, first responders and those in congregate healthcare settings. Right after those listed should be teachers and school support staff so we can reopen our schools and get students back into the classroom for full-time, in-person instruction. [Mark Powell]

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San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA

Thanksgiving Blessings and Tzedakah

I’m always fascinated at Thanksgiving time to see how rabbis express what is a central tenet of Judaism: giving thanks to the Almighty for the many blessings bestowed upon us.
For example, the Forward offered a prayer from the book, Talking to God: Personal Prayers for Times of Joy, Sadness, Struggle and Celebration  by Rabbi Naomi Levy of the Neshuva congregation in Los Angeles. The poem focuses on every day things—children’s laughter, our ability to breathe, having enough food to eat, living in adequate shelters, being clothed, being healthy, the special people in our lives, and residing in a country where people are free to practice their religion without fear. [Donald H. Harrison]

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

JFS increases services many fold in pandemic’s wake

Eight months into the COVID-19 pandemic, Jewish Family Service of San Diego (JFS) remains committed to helping San Diegans of all faiths, backgrounds and ages maintain stability through this crisis and beyond. JFS released statistics on Wednesday to demonstrate the region’s increased need for assistance during the pandemic. The 102-year-old nonprofit has also announced a new, “Triple Your Impact Giving Tuesday” donation match challenge for the JFS COVID-19 Relief Fund on Dec. 1. [Jewish Family Service]

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San Diego County, USA

Janet Yellen to be 3rd consecutive Jewish Treasury Secretary

Among Jews nominated for important posts in the Biden Administration is Secretary of the Treasury-designate Janet Yellen, a former chair of the Federal Reserve.  Although she and her husband, Nobel Prize-winning economist George Akerlof, have not to date talked much publicly about their religious beliefs, it is known that as residents of Berkeley, California, decades ago, they attended services at that city’s Congregation Beth El, and that their son Robert Akerlof, who is now himself a professor of economics at the University of Warwick, was enrolled by them in the Beth El preschool. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA

Streaming Jewish Programs (Nov. 29-Dec. 4, 2020)

Following are programs of scholarly and popular Jewish interest that can be accessed via the Internet from Nov. 29 through Dec. 4, 2020.  All times are Pacific Standard Time. [Laurie Baron, Ph.D]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Lawrence Baron, Lifestyles, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Travel and Food, USA

Symphony, San Diego Rep give socially distanced performances

Two San Diego downtown theaters were illuminated last weekend, with live performances streamed from their audience-less venues. All the players, except the vocalists and wind players, were masked when performing, and all were seated at least six feet from one another. On Friday evening, in Copley Symphony Hall, the San Diego Symphony, under the direction of its Music Director, Raphael Payare, presented Together Apart: Strings, Winds, and Brass, featuring the orchestra in smaller groups; and Saturday evening, at the Lyceum Theatre, the San Diego Rep’s Lipinsky Jewish Arts Festival presented Jews, Jazz and Justice, curated by Yale Strom. Both programs are still available for viewing. [Eileen Wingard]

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Eileen Wingard, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County

SANDAG Reopens Bids for Historic Salomon Property

The future of Rancho Lilac, Valley Center’s historic and culturally-significant ranch, has been up in the air since 2011 when it was purchased by Caltrans in what is known as an environmental mitigation land exchange program.  There had been concern that the site could be permanently closed to public access. That apprehension appears to have been abated, at least for the present due to governmental action taken last week. [Robert Lerner]

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International, Jewish History, San Diego County, USA

The Jews of Congress

Congresswoman-elect Sara Jacobs of San Diego has been appointed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as the freshman representative on the House Democrats’ Steering and Policy Committee — a plum assignment that may mark the wealthy Californian as a future leader in the Democratic Caucus.  Jacobs, who succeeds retiring Congresswoman Susan Davis as the representative of California’s 53rd Congressional District is the granddaughter of Qualcomm co-founder and billionaire Irwin Jacobs, Ph.D, and herself a millionaire. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, San Diego County, USA

Anti-Semitism Then and Now

News relating to the Holocaust of 1938 to 1945 and to anti-Semitic, anti-Israel dangers of today are the focus of today’s news briefing.

Above, is a recent video interview conducted by Sandy Scheller of the South Bay Historical Society with Holocaust Survivor Rose Schindler of San Diego at the Chula Vista Public Library, which currently is hosting an exhibit on Holocaust survivors who moved to the South Bay region of San Diego County.  The video incorporates clips from previous video interviews with Schindler’s late husband, Max.  The stories of both Schindlers were told in their joint memoir, Two Who Survived. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, Middle East, San Diego County, Stephen D. Bryen, USA

S.D. Jewish Men’s Choir To Debut Album Dec. 6

Talent and technology will be put on display at 5 p.m., PST,  Sunday, Dec. 6, when the San Diego Jewish Men’s Choir posts on line its ten-track legacy album featuring songs in Ladino, Hebrew and Yiddish.  The free concert, accompanied by a Power Point presentation, will be carried on the choir’s Facebook page, which may be accessed via this website. [Donald H. Harrison]

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

San Diego Dems Endorse Montgomery Steppe for City Council President

By a 4-1 margin, members of the San Diego Democratic Central Committee endorsed City Councilwoman Monica Montgomery Steppe to serve as the next president of the San Diego City Council, rejecting the candidacy of  her fellow Democrat, Dr. Jennifer Campbell.  Montgomery Steppe represents the 4th Council District, and Campbell represents the 2nd District.

The vote Tuesday night came after Montgomery Steppe was endorsed by Assemblywoman Shirley Weber, Councilwoman Vivian Moreno, and outgoing Council President Georgette Gomez, The Voice of San Diego reported. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

Victory for the Point Loma Wastewater Treatment Plant

With sewage increasingly able to be recycled into potable water that can be integrated with the city’s water supply, less treated water will need to undergo secondary treatment before it is returned via the Point Loma Wastewater Treatment Plant (PLWTP) to the Pacific Ocean, according to U.S. Reps. Scott Peters and Susan Davis, both San Diego Democrats. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Obituaries & memorials, San Diego County, The World We Share, USA