As a nurse in San Francisco General Hospital’s psychiatric emergency room, Jennifer Esteen’s typical first task was to, as she put it, “take people out of handcuffs.” Twelve years of treating mentally ill patients brought to the ER by law enforcement taught Esteen that the health care system, especially regarding mental health, was broken. She…
This essay was adapted from a section of the book “Why Do Jewish? A Manifesto for 21st Century Jewish Peoplehood,” published by Gefen Publishing in Nov. 2021. If the last century of Jewish American life was built by the Jews of the East Coast, then it’s quite possible the next hundred years of Jewish life…
In a stunning decision, a federal judge sentenced former Chabad of Poway rabbi Yisroel Goldstein to 14 months in prison for tax and wire fraud on Tuesday, overriding prosecutors’ sentencing recommendations of house arrest and providing a measure of relief to a community still reeling from a deadly shooting at the synagogue in 2019. Federal…
Jeff Morgan was thinking about the cabernet sauvignon grapes he bought this fall in Pope Valley, near Napa. “I’ve been sourcing grapes from this particular vineyard for I’d say almost 20 years,” said Morgan, co-founder of Covenant Wines. “And I’ve never had an issue with water before. We’ve always had enough water to get through…
The rapper Westside Gravy has several tattoos on his right arm that pay tribute to his geographical and cultural roots. On his upper arm, he has an outline of California decorated with elements of the state flag, including the grizzly bear. An image of the African continent appears on his inner arm in the Pan-African…
Governor Gavin Newsom used a visit to Los Angeles’s Museum of Tolerance to announce millions in funding to Holocaust museums and education initiatives across the state, and to launch the Governor’s Council on Holocaust and Genocide Education, and highlight key budget investments that ensure mass genocides, like the Holocaust, are not forgotten. “We find ourselves…
He’s the bassist for a Jewish spiritual community, an inventor of cutting edge technologies for the blind and now: a MacArthur Genius. This week, the MacArthur Foundation announced Joshua A. Miele as a 2021 fellow. The fellowships, commonly called the “Genius Awards,” come with $625,000 over five years, with no strings attached, and are given…
There’s a limit to what any one person can accomplish in her time on earth. Marcia Freedman managed to blow right past the limit and just kept going. Pioneering feminist, LGBTQ activist, Knesset member, author and co-founder of an esteemed Middle East peace organization, Marcia Freedman died Sept. 21 in Berkeley. She was 83. “She…
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