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Jews in the News                    -------------------------------------------------------------
 News spotters: Dan Brin in Los Angeles, Donald H. Harrison in San Diego, Marsha
Sutton in North San Diego County. To see a source story click on the link within the
respective paragraph.  If you spot a Jewish-interest story in your favorite publication,
please send us the link.
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*U.S. Rep. John Doolittle (R-Calif.), facing a political corruption probe concerning his relationship with convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff,
says even if charges are brought against him he won't resign his seat
in the House of Representatives. The story is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Rabbi Michael Berk, 54, has been formally ratified as the senior
rabbi of Congregation Beth Israel. The story is in the Religion Roundup column in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Alan Bersin, in his new role as chairman of the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority, is the center figureon the cover of this month's San Diego Metropolitan magazine.  Timothy J. McClain wrote the story.

* The American Civil Liberties Union, on behalf of local members of the  Jewish War Veterans, have subpoenaed three Republican members
of Congress—Brian Bilbray, Duncan Hunter and Darrell Issa—to learn whether religious considerations were the reason the site of the Mount Soledad Cross was transferred from city to federal ownership. Greg Moran's story is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Gail Forman was intrigued by the story in The Jewish Daily Forward about Rabbi Yonassan Gershom’s melding Torah stories with Star Trek concepts.  She beamed it to us and we beam the story to you.

*Rick Hurvitz, executive producer of the new MTV show Pimp My Ride says an upcoming Earth Day show will feature a biodiesel muscle car.  John O'Dell has the story in the Los Angeles Times.

*Gary Kasparov, the former world chess champion, was questioned for four hours by Russian security agents in the aftermath of demonstrations against the Putin regime. The story is in today's Los Angeles Times.

*U.S. District Court Judge Jeffrey Miller has agreed to change the
wording of a recent ruling at the request of defense attorneys for
former San Diego City Councilman Michael Zucchet. The story by Kelly Thornton may be found in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Architect Moshe Safdie is one of the creative geniuses behind a $5 million, 8,000-square-foot Noah's Ark exhibit that will open June 26 in
Los Angeles' Skirball Cultural Center.  Lynne Heffley reports the story
in the Los Angeles Times.

*As a final item in Diane Bell's column, she reports that Stu Segall's
24-Hour Studio Diner at 4705 Ruffin Road is the focus of a new reality series, Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. The column is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, says his committee may subpoena former White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card to testify in its inquiry about how Valerie Plame's identity as a CIA undercover agent came to be leaked.  The Associated Press story is part of a roundup of national news
in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*The World Bank's board has created an ad hoc committee to determine whether its embattled president, Paul Wolfowitz, should stay or go. 
Krissah Williams and Karen DeYoung of the Washington Post have the story in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaraslovsky believes criticism is unwarranted that his board has been violating the state's open meeting laws.  Jack Leonard and Susannah Rosenblatt reported the story in today's Los Angeles Times.

* Musician Herbert Zipper, who survived the Nazi concentration camps and taught in Los Angeles and New York, will be memorialized with an exhibit at Los Angeles' Crossroads School.  Martha Groves tells the story in today's Los Angeles Times.

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