------------------------------------------------------------------------------------0  
Jews in the News                                                            -------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Like you, we're pleased when members of our community are praiseworthy, and are disappointed when they are blameworthy. Whether it's good news or bad news, we'll try to keep track of what's being said in general media about our fellow Jews. Our news spotters are Dan Brin in Los Angeles, Donald H. Harrison in San Diego, and you. Wherever you are,  if you see a story of interest, please send a summary and link to us at sdheritage@cox.net.  To
see a source story click on the link within the respective paragraph.
____________________________________________________________________________________________

             Home      May 2007   Jews in the News by month    Go to June 2007 editions

Please click the date below to go directly to that day's entry, or scroll down.    

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 


Tuesday, May 1

*A new novel by Michael Chabon imagines the Jews having been resettled in Alaska. Scott Timberg has a profile of the author in today's Los Angeles Times.

*Doctors Robert J. Lefkowitz of Duke University, Solomon H Snyder of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and Ronald M. Evans of the Salk Institute were jointly awarded the Albany Medical Center Prize in Medicine and Biomedical Research for their work on the roles of neurotransmitters and hormones in cellular activity. The story is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) is sponsoring legislation with Republican Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah to provide an additional seat in the House of Representatives for both Utah and the District of Columbia. The Associated Press story ran in today's Hartford Courant.  That newspaper also had another Associated Press story quoting Lieberman as saying that unless the two major political parties are more civil toward each other, a third party effort to de-polarize politics may result.

*Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defense Minister Amir Peretz were excoriated by the Winograd Commission for "severe failures" in the conduct of the Second Lebanon War. There are calls for them to resign. Steve Erlanger and Isabel Kershner of the New York Times News Service have the story in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Critics of former CIA Chief George Tenet say a story in his book that Richard Perle wanted the U.S. to take revenge against Iraq immediately after 9/11 is being disputed because of discrepancies in Tenet's time line. Josh Getlin has the story in the Los Angeles Times.

*Robert Rosenthal, an American bomber pilot who later served as part of the legal team that prosecuted Nazis at the Nurenberg trials, has died. An obituary appears in today's Los Angeles Times.

*San Diego First Lady Rana Sampson, wife of Mayor Jerry Sanders, has been named by the Girl Scouts of the San Diego-Imperial Counties as one of 10 local "Cool Women of 2007."  She consults widely on fighting crime. The story is in Diane Clark's column in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Paul Wolfowitz, contending he is the victim of a "smear campaign" fought to hold onto his job as president of the World Bank.  U.S. President George W. Bush reiterated his support for him.  The story by Jeannine Aversa of the Associated Press appears in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.
 (return to top)          
 

Wednesday, May 2

*Eitan Cabel, a junior minister from the Labor party, resigned from Israel Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's Cabinet in protest of Olmert's continuing leadership in the wake of the damaging Winograd Report on the 2nd Lebanon War.  The story by Joel Greenberg of the Chicago Tribune is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Comedian Billy Crystal has been selected as the tenth recipient of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, according to officials at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The story is in the Public Eye section of today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Kalooki Nights, a humorous novel by Howard Jacobson about growing up Jewish near Manchester, England, drew a mixed review from novelist Jennifer Gilmore in today's Los Angeles Times.

*Sen. Joe Lieberman, the Connecticut independent and one of President George Bush's most vocal war backers, says in the debate over funding, he hopes Congress won't spend anymore time " trying to send a message... then you begin to jeopardize funding for the troops." The Associated Press story is in today's Hartford Courant.


*LoveMusik by Harold Prince is not an easy play to categorize, but at its core is a story about the relationship between Three Penny Opera composer Kurt Weill and Lotte Lenya. Patrick Pacheco provides a background story on the play in today's Los Angeles Times.

*Fred Zeidman, a longtime Texas friend of President George W. Bush, was not surprised by Bush's veto of the war spending bill even in the face of public opinion polls showing Americans want the war over. "He is not going to let public opinion interfere with what he thinks is right for the United States," Zeidman said. The story by Michael Abramowitz and Peter Baker of the Washington Post is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.
(return to top)

Thursday, May 3

*U.S. Sen. Norman Coleman of Minnesota, a Republican who doesn't approve of the President's war plans, but doesn't like the Democratic pull-out legislation either, describes the atmosphere in Washington as "toxic" in the wake of the President's veto of congressional legislation on Iraq funding. A story by Naom H. Levey and Janet Hook is in today's Los Angeles Times.

*The use of force by Los Angeles police on journalists covering a demonstration at MacArthur Park has prompted Police Chief William J. Bratton to promise an investigation.  KPCC-FM News Director Paul Glickman suggests a police review of policies and procedures is in order to assure the safety of the media.  The story by Anna Gorman and Stuart Silverstein is in today's Los Angeles Times.

*Israel Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni has told Israel Prime Minister Ehud Olmert that he should step down in the wake of the Winograd Commission findings on the 2nd Lebanon War.  Steven Erlanger of the New York Times News Service has the story in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Daniel Hirsch, president of the anti-nuclear group Committee to Bridge the Gap, said a court decision faulting the Environmental Protection Agency's efforts to clean up Boeing's Rocketdyne field laboratory near Simi Valley, is a clear victory for environmentalists.  The story by Gregory W. Griggs is in today's Los Angeles Times.

*U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn) says the U.S. government needs to find ways to stop terrorists from recruiting and communicating by Internet. His Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee has been holding hearings on the issue. David Lightman has the story in today's Hartford Courant.

*Dr. Carolyn Robinowitz, president-elect of the American Psychiatric Assn., has voiced approval of plans by the Food and Drug Administration to require labels on certain anti-depressants that tell not only the possible dangers but the possible benefits of taking the drugs.  Denise Gellene has the story in the Los Angeles Times.

*Amichai Shai, head of Israel's international crimes unit, said fugitive Knesset member Azmi Bishara is accused of advising his fellow Arabs across the Lebanese border, how to increase the harm to Israel in the 2nd Lebanon War.  The Associated Press story is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.
(return to top)

Friday, May 4

*Sara Caplan, testifying in a special hearing into alleged evidence tampering in the case in which record producer Phil Spector is being tried on charges of murdering actress Lana Clarkson, said she saw a defense lawyer pocket what might have been a fingernail. Matt Krasnowski of the Copley News Service has the story in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Composer Eran Cohen, whose music was in Borat, the movie starring brother Sasha Boron Cohen, will have a composition commissioned by the Turan Alem Kazakhstan Philharmonic Orchestra.  The story is in today's Los Angeles Times.

*He loves playing cool jazz on the double bass or the piano, and Israelis are very excited about Ariel Lanyi, who is only 9 years old. Marshall Thompson has the story in today's Los Angeles Times.

*Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at Cal State San Bernardino, has expressed disappointment

*A San Diego Union-Tribune editorial pokes fun at Assemblyman Lloyd Levine (D-Van Nuys) for what it describes as his propensity to "microregulate our lives." In particular the newspaper does not like a bill requiring minors to get a doctor's note before they go to tanning salons.

*Thousands rallied yesterday in Rabin Square in Tel Aviv demanding the resignations of Ehud Olmert as Israel's prime minister and Amir Peretz as defense minister in the wake of the Winograd Commission report which was highly critical of their performances in the Lebanon II War. Joel Greenberg of The Chicago Tribune has the story in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Eugene & Lee Salek, retirees living in the senior community known as Ocean Hills Country Club in Oceanside, have won $38 million in the California Lottery. Lola Sherman has the story in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter spoke yesterday at the University of California Irvine and was well received. Before the speech, Emily Shaaya and other members of Anteaters for Israel distributed leaflets disagreeing with the views he expressed in Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid. The school's nickname is "The Anteaters."  Dave McKibben has the story in today's Los Angeles Times.

*Anti-Semitic vandalism appeared on the window of the office of Los Angeles City Councilman Jack Weiss. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and other officials condemned the hate crime.  Steve Hymon has the story in today's Los Angeles Times.

* World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz told the committee investigating the pay raise received by his girl friend that the bank's rules governing compensation packages are unclear. The Associated Press story is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.
(return to top)
                                             
Saturday Evening, May 5

* U.S. Senators Russell Feinstein of Wisconsin and Ron Wyden of Oregon are questioning a U.S. State Department report that lists The Sudan as a U.S. ally in the war against terrorism. Josh Meyer has the story in today's Los Angeles Times.

*Rabbi Leonard Heiman of Congregation Beit Tikva of Santa Fe, N.M, won front page coverage in the Santa Fe New Mexican for one of his non-pulpit talents: he is an expert bridge player.  The story was written by David Miles.

*The murder trial of record producer Phil Spector will resume on Monday with or without his chief defense lawyer, a Superior Court judge has decided. The Associated Press story is in the regional briefs section of today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

* Adonis Irwin was arrested by Los Angeles police in connection with the vandalism with swastikas of the office of Los Angeles City Councilman Jack Weiss. Steve Hymon reported the story in today's Los Angeles Times.

*Attorney Howard L. Weitzman tried to argue that heiress Paris Hilton was a person with unique problems, but Superior Court Judge Michael T. Sauer would have none of it.  He sentenced Hilton to 45 days in county jail for violating probation by driving with a suspended license.  The story is in today's Los Angeles Times.

*A World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz fights to retain his job, more than 700 of the bank's employees have signed a petition calling for an end to corruption and a demonstration that the bank practices what it preaches.  The Reuters story is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Superior Court Judge David P. Yaffe nullified the City of Los Angeles' living wage ordinance, saying that the City Council should have respected a referendum to put the issue on the ballot.  Joe Matthews and Steve Hymon have the story in today's Los Angeles Times.
(return to top)

Sunday, May 6

*The celebrity preacher Aimee Semple McPherson wasn't above blaming the nation's troubles on Jews and other scapegoats, but in private she supposedly took Milton Berle as a lover. A new biography by Matthew Avery Sutton is the subject of a review by Michael Joseph Gross in today's Los Angeles Times.

*Ian Campbell, the general director of the San Diego Opera, says the mission is not only to entertain but also to "advance the knowledge" of audiences.  Valerie Scher has the story in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Donald Cohen, executive director of the Center on Policy Initiatives, believes that San Diego's Centre City Development Corp. should place more emphasis on building housing that low-income wage earners can afford.  The story by Lori Weisberg is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Bruce Cutler, attorney for Phil Spector, is big, brash and right at home in high profile trials.  A profile by Greg Krikorian appears in today's Los Angeles Times.

*Two biographies of Albert Einstein—one by Walter Isaacson, the other by Jurgen Neffe—are pondered by Scott LaFee in a story in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

* Senior citizens who remember carefree youths at Camp Cayuga are gathering in San Diego to honor nonagenarian Ruth Fineman, who co-owned the camp with her husband.  Ozzie Roberts has the story in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Jacob Keidar, an employee of Israel's Foreign Ministry, says a project largely funded by the United States to determine the feasibility of a Red Sea to Dead Sea Canal to restore the shrinking Dead Sea, also could lead to a desalination project for the area. Jamal Halaby of the Associated Press has the story in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Sanford Levinson of the University of Texas and Robert Levy of the CATO Institute have been instrumental in getting the courts to reconsider the Second Amendment, guaranteeing the right to bear arms.  Adam Liptak of the New York Times News Service has the story in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Mark Regev, a spokesman for Israel's Foreign Ministry, said Israel is not surprised by a recent statement by Khaled Mashaal of Hamas to prepare for a "hot summer" of battle with Israel.  Regev said Israel has no illusions about the real goals of Hamas.  Diaa Hadid of the Associated Press has the story in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) delivering the weekly radio address for Democrats, called on President George W. Bush to work with the Congress to find a way to "fund the troops and change the mission" in Iraq.  The Associated Press story is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Sandi Shore, daughter of stand-up comic Sammy Shore, has been training comedians at the Comedy Store in La Jolla.  The story by Lee Grant is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.
(return to top)

Monday, May 7

*Morris Casuto,  regional director of the Anti-Defamation League, is among the people quoted in a touching story about the fight of Brian Bennett against Lou Gehrig's disease. Bennett is a Catholic educator who has been a close friend to the Jewish community sometimes at personal risk.  The story by Helen Gao is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*The murder trial in Los Angeles has a cast of characters with surnames resembling those on the rosters of almost any Jewish organization. Witness Gregory Diamond, Judge Larry Paul Fidler, defense attorney
Roger Rosen, USC law professor Jean Rosenbluth, Spector lawyer Robert
Shapiro, Loyola Law School professor Laurie Levenson, defense attorney
Bruce Cutler, character actor Stanford Blatch, attorney Sarah Caplan,
defense pathologist Michael Baden, and attorney Leslie Abramson
(who is quoted as saying "You want me not to be Jewish now?") and, oh
yes, the defendant, Phil Spector. Peter Y. Hong has the story of the latest round of the trial in today's Los Angeles Times.

*Suppose you lived in a quiet cul-de-sac neighborhood and were told that the streets are for vehicles, so keep your children from playing on them and don't socialize with your neighbors out there either.  How would you feel?  When Steve Rubinstein received such a message from his homeowner's association in south Carlsbad, he complained that such rules smacked of Big Brotherism.  Logan Jenkins  devoted a column to the controversy in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

* "The Scroll" by artist Ruth Weisberg is a 90-foot-long mixed media drawing that mixes autobiography, Jewish history and tradition.  It will be the centerpiece of a new exhibit opening at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles tomorrow. Scarlet Cheng has the story in today's Los Angeles Times.
(return to top)

Tuesday, May 8

*Author Naphtali Bendavid's book on the efforts of the Democratic Congressional Committee to wrest control of the Congress from the Republicans—The Thumpin' — focuses on the efforts of U.S. Rep. Rahm Emanuel.  David L. Ulin's book review is in today's Los Angeles Times.

*The state attorney general's office has found that San Diego District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis had acted within her proper authority when she decided that shootings by sheriff's deputies of four Latinos were lawful.  The story by Greg Moran is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Joan & Irwin Jacobs donated $1 million to support the upcoming exhibit at the San Diego Natural History Museum of the Dead Sea Scrolls, but other corporate sponsors also are lining up.  Manny Cruz has the story in this month's San Diego Metropolitan.

*San Francisco resident Lisa Katzman was forced to move from her home after her neighbor's house collapsed and damaged hers. A San Francisco Chronicle news photo by Katy Raddatz is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Archaeologist Ehud Netzer of Hebrew University has located the tomb of King Herod. The Associated Press story is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Former U.S. Rep. Lynn Schenk (D-San Diego) is one of several female attorneys profiled in an article by Joe Tash in San Diego Metropolitan pegged to the Lawyers Club, which she helped to found, celebrating its 30th anniversary. Schenk's husband Hugh Friedman also is mentioned.

*U.S. Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Sherman Oaks) has a bill to authorize construction of housing units for disabled veterans.  The problem is by limiting eligibility to just this group, the bill may fail federal non-discrimination standards. The story by Mary Engel is in today's Los Angeles Times.

*Diane Ogden, a music talent coordinator, testified in the murder trial of record producer Phil Spector that he used a gun to force her to disrobe and go to his bedroom before trying to have sex with her.  Matt Krasnowski of the Copley News Service has the story in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*California State Sen. Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) believes it is improper to use derogatory words like "idiot" in state laws, so is backing a language clean-up measure that would refer to people with very low IQs as "mentally incapacitated."  The Sacramento Bee story is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Pushing for the dismissal of embattled World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz, some European governments are willing to permit the United States to pick the next president, if the U.S. persuades Wolfowitz to resign.  The New York Times News Service story by Steven R. Weisman is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.  A cartoon on Wolfowitz by Steve Breen is in the newspaper's opinion pages.

*Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaraslovsky was one of the architects of a restructuring program for governing the state's most populous county.  Susannah Rosenblatt has the story in today's Los Angeles Times.
(return to top)

Wednesday, May 9

* U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) attached an amendment creating penalties for gasoline companies that price gouge to a bill that would require automobile companies to improve average mileage per gallon of gasoline from 25 miles to 35 miles.  The story by Richard Simon is in today's Los Angeles Times. Boxer also is seeking legislation to make certain that gasoline pumps register true volumes at the pump. Elizabeth Douglass has that story in the Los Angeles Times.

*U.S. Rep. Susan Davis (D-San Diego) is introducing legislation to repeal some legislative preferences for a private toll road company that wants to speed traffic between Orange County and northern San Diego County.  Terry Rodgers has the story in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*House Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel (D-IL) says the Congress plans to send another bill to President George W. Bush that would tighten the reins on the conduct of the war in Iraq. The story by Noam N. Levey is in the Los Angeles Times.

*U.S. Rep. Bob Filner (D-San Diego), chairman of the House Veteran Affairs Committee, reacted favorably to a report calling for an overhaul in how returning service personnel are treated for post traumatic stress syndrome.  The story by Rick Rogers is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*A group of short stories written by playwright Arthur Miller before he died has been collected in a book, Presence: Stories, that is the subject of a review by Tim Rutten in the Los Angeles Times.

*Archaeologist Ehud Netzer says he has little doubt that the tomb he found really is that of King Herod.  Ken Ellingwood of the Los Angeles Times has the story.

*San Diego State University students are mourning the death of Shirley Jennifer Poliakoff, an Alpha Phi sorority member who was found dead in her apartment Sunday morning, May 6. Shanee Warden and Nicole Bissett have the story in today's Daily Aztec, SDSU's student newspaper.

*U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Penn.) said a legislative bargain is in the works under which the U.S. first would establish stronger border protection measures before regularizing the immigration status of people already in this country.  The New York Times News Service  story by Julia Preston is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*The judge in the Phil Spector murder trial has declined to level sanctions against the defense team for being late in disclosing evidence. The Associated Press story is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Los Angeles) has introduced legislation to ban the federal government from selling off or commercially leasing the Veterans Administration campus in West Los Angeles.  Protecting the campus is also a priority of U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaraslovsky.  The story by Martha Groves is in today's Los Angeles Times.

*Adonis Irwin, accused of placing swastika stickers on the office of Los Angeles City Councilman Jack Weiss, has been charged with committing a hate crime. A story is in today's Los Angeles Times.

*Howard L. Weitzman, attorney for hotel heiress Paris Hilton, is appealing her 45-day sentence for violating the terms of her probation on a drunk driving conviction.  Hilton fans meanwhile are appealing to California Gov. Arnold Shwarzenegger to pardon her. The story by Andrew Blankstein and Richard Winton is in today's Los Angeles Times.

*The San Diego Union-Tribune calls in an editorial for the resignation of World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz.
(return to top)

Thursday, May 10

*Michelle Berman of the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History says toxic algae off the Southern California coast is poisoning some whales, dolphins and porpoises.  Kenneth Weiss reports the story in today's Los Angeles Times.

*Former San Diego Mayor Susan Golding has accepted a position as chief executive officer and president of the San Diego Child Abuse Prevention Foundation.  Columnist Diane Clark reports in today's San Diego Union-Tribune that Golding is succeeding a woman who once served as an aide in her honor's City Hall office.

*U.S.. Sen. Bernard Sanders was the lone "no" vote on a bill approved by the Senate 93-1 to give the Food and Drug Administration more power to regulate pharmaceuticals both before and after going to market.  Sanders expressed disappointment that the bill did not also permit Americans to import lower-cost pharmaceuticals from other countries. The story by Robert Pear of the New York Times News Service is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Stephanie Jennings and Elizabeth Grosvenor were the latest women to testify in record producer Phil Spector's murder trial that he threatened them with a gun.  Defense lawyers brought up that one of them had been paid by a tabloid newspaper to tell her story and the other had been convicted of embezzlement. Matt Krasnowski of the Copley News Service has the story in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Los Angeles) has asked the National Academy of Sciences to convene experts to help Congress deal with a conundrum: some members would like to promote the use of liquified coal as a substitute for Middle Eastern petroleum, but others are concerned that mass conversion will be more harmful to the environment than coal.  Richard Simon and Janet Wilson have the story in the Los Angeles Times.
(return to top)

Friday, May 11

*White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten was given a difficult assignment by President George W. Bush: Find common ground with the Democratic Congress on funding the war in Iraq.  Carl Hulse and Jim Ruttenberg of the New York Times News Service have the story in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Legislation by U.S. Rep. Susan Davis (D-San Diego) to repeal an exemption in federal law that helped backers of a proposed Orange County-Northern San Diego County toll road won approval on a 30-27 vote of the House Armed Services Committee. The story by Terry Rodgers is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Attorney Howard Dickstein who represents some of California's gaming tribes said a proposal to turn the state lottery over to a private company could result in the tribes stopping their payments to California for exclusive gaming rights within certain areas.  Ed Mendel has the story in today's San Diego Union-Tribune. State Sen. Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) is not ruling out the idea, however.  A story by Evan Halper in the Los Angeles Times quotes him as saying "The notion of trying to find creative ways to retire state debt sooner rather than later I think is worth exploring."

*Dan Glickman, chairman of the Motion Picture Association of America, says because of smoking's addictive effects, a proposal is under study to give "R" ratings to movies that otherwise would be "PG" if they include scenes with characters smoking.  Frank Ahrens of the Washington Post has the story in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*U.S. Rep. Sander Levin (D-Mich.) believes an investigation of violence against trade unionist in Colombia is necessary before any trade agreement with that country can be fast-tracked.  Congress seemed more disposed to speedy consideration of trade agreements with Panama and Peru, although some Democrats told Democratic Whip Rahm Emanuel (D-IL) they would like time to read the fine print of such trade agreements before they come to the floor of the House for a vote. Molly Hennessy-Fiske has the story in today's Los Angeles Times.

*Israel's Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni in a meeting with Egypt's President Hosni Mubarek laid plans for a visit of Arab ministers to Israel to discuss a Mideast peace proposal offered by Saudi Arabia.  Michael Slackman and Mona El-Naggar have the story in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Theodore Maiman, who developed the laser 47 years ago, has died at age 79.  John Johnson Jr. wrote the obituary in today's Los Angeles Times.

*Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, in testimony just made public, said that the Israel Defense Forces did not fight well in Lebanon, but that the war was necessary.  Amy Teibel of the Associated Press has the story in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner said he will scrutinize very carefully All State Insurance's plans to increase homeowners' insurance premiums by 12 percent for the company's 900,000 customers in the state. Blaming wild fires, the company also said it would cease selling any more homeowner insurance in California. Marc Lifsher and Kathy M. Kristof  have the story in today's Los Angeles Times.

*Bryanna Schwartz, co-editor of the The Nexus, the student newspaper of Westview High School in the Rancho Penasquitos area of San Diego, is building herself quite a resume for a future job in journalism.  The newspaper won "best of show" at a recent national high school journalism convention.  The story by Blanca Gonzales is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune

*When record producer Phil Spector met the woman he is accused of murdering, Lana Clarkson, at an exclusive lounge at the House of Blues, the hostess did not know who he was and tried to deny him entry, a prosecution witness testified.  Matt Krasnowski of Copley News Service has the story in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*U.S. Reps. Robert Wexler and Debbie Wasserman Schultz, both Florida Democrats, sharply questioned Attorney General Alberto Gonzales during a hearing yesterday of the House Judiciary Committee. Wexler was concerned that Gonzales declined to tell the panel who had initiated the firing of eight U.S. Attorneys around the country, including Carol Lam of San Diego. Wasserman Schultz complained the Justice Department has not pursued voter fraud cases in Florida. Richard B. Schmitt has the story in today's Los Angeles Times.
(return to top)


Saturday, May 12

* U.S. Rep. Howard Berman (D-Los Angeles) says the feeling permeates Congress that the public expects action on undocumented immigration, which he called a "national crisis."  Jerry Kammer of the Copley News Service has the story in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Duke University law professor Edwin Chemerinksy, ACLU attorney Mark Rosenbaum, and Los Angeles City Councilman Jack Weiss provide a chorus of approval for Los Angeles Police Chief's actions in the wake of an incident in which police officers were videotaped beating protesters at MacArthur Park, but there is discontent among rank-and-file police officers over the chief's approach.  Patrick McGreevy and Matt Lait have the story in today's Los Angeles Times.

*District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis was accused by Chula Vista City Councilman Steve Castaneda of trumping up criminal investigations of him to aid the reelection campaign of his rival Chula Vista Mayor Cheryl Cox.  Dumanis had no comment.  The story by Tanya Mannes is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune. Meanwhile, in his column in the same newspaper, Logan Jenkins awarded a "brick" to the district attorney's office for its handling of a minor case at Mira Costa College in Oceanside.

*Ranaan Eliaz, a former director at the Israeli National Security Council, has written a fine background piece about the Jewish roots of French President-elect Nicolas Sarkozy, which can be found on the website of the Australian Jewish News.

*Death has taken screenwriter Bernard Gordon, 88, who led the protest against the awarding of a lifetime achievement Oscar to Elia Kazan because of Kazan's cooperation with Senator Joseph McCarthy's discredited Communist hunts.  An obituary by Valerie J. Nelson is in today's Los Angeles Times.

*Don Harrison and the San Diego Jewish World were announced to the readership of the San Diego Union-Tribune in Sandi Dolbee's Weekly Offerings column today under the subheading "Worthy of Note."  We thank her for the kindness.

*A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held yesterday for the Hertzberg/Davis Forensic Science Center, named for former Assembly Speaker Robert Hertzberg and former Gray Davis.  But delays have prevented the operation from moving into the building.  Patrick McGreevy and Stuart Pfeifer have the story in today's Los Angeles Times.

*Dan Hirsch, co-chairman of the Santa Susana Field Laboratory Working Group, expressed support for a bill by U.S. Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley) extending federal benefits to workers who can link their cancer to exposure at Rocketdyne's Santa Susannah Field Laboratory, a one time DOE facility.  Gregory W. Griggs has the story in today's Los Angeles Times.

*Gary & Jerri-Ann Jacobs reportedly are closing escrow on a $50 million complex of four homes in Del Mar, a real estate transaction that may be the largest in San Diego history.  Roger Showley has the story in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Brian & Rebecca (Feen) Kanefsky are married today because their mothers decided to do some online prospecting with JDate. Nicole Neroulias of Religion News Service has the story in today's San Diego Union-Tribune. A companion article polled readers on their Jewish mothers.

*Barry Scheck, co-founder of the Innocence Project, hailed the decision of a judge in Oklahoma who freed 22-year inmate Curtis E. McCarty after hearing evidence that a since-fired Oklahoma City chemist may have tampered with evidence.  Henry Weinstein has the story in today's Los Angeles Times.

*Gary Weinstein, president of the Alpine Library Friends Bookstore, says the group which raises money for the library, is about to lose the space where rent was free and is now looking for a new home. Sharon A. Heilbrunn has the story in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.
(return to top)


Sunday, May 13
 

*Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez head the administration team which President George W. Bush has fielded to negotiate the immigration issue with the Congress.  In his weekly radio address, Bush reported consensus is nearing.  The Associated Press story is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Janet Horwitz Colman, a former student and teacher at Dorsey High School as well as the founder of the school's alumni association, has found a treasure: a 1928 photo of the school's namesake, Susan Miller Dorsey, the first female superintendent of Los Angeles City Schools.  Cecilia Rasmussen tells the story.

*San Diego Port Commission Chairman Steve Cushman, commenting on foundering lease negotiations between the Port and Gaylord Entertainment, said "We gotta put Humpty Dumpty back together again."  The column by Gerry Braun is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Aaron Feldman, owner of Sunroad Enterprises, is at the center of a controversy over whether San Diego's city government showed favoritism to his company by allowing the construction near Montgomery Field  of a 180-foot office tower, 20 feet higher than the Federal Aviation Administration says is prudent.  The story by David Hasemyer is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Robert Friedman, chairman of the Real Estate Disposition Corp. of Irvine, had a big day at the San Diego Convention Center yesterday where more than 1,200 people attended an auction of foreclosed properties. The story by Emmet Pierce is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Travel guide book guru Arthur Frommer celebrates his 50th anniversary in the industry.  The Associated Press story by Beth J. Harpaz is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Tamar Galatzan, a candidate in the upcoming election for Los Angeles School Board, has been pummeling incumbent Jon M. Lauritzen his opposition, later changed to support, for charter schools in South Los Angeles. Galatzan favors them.  The story by Howard Blume is in today's Los Angeles Times.

*Richard Steve Goldberg, who had been on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list on charges of child molestation, was arrested in Montreal, Canada, where he was living under an assumed name.  The story by Patrick McGreevy is in today's Los Angeles Times.

*Lisa Rolen was working for the Santa Barbara News-Press when she read a book on the Holocaust and realized that a contributing factor was German citizens not speaking up against abuses. With that in mind, she quit the newspaper that once won a Pulitzer Prize but today is considered a disgrace.  Columnist Lou Cannon wrote the story in today's Los Angeles Times.

*Howard Lederer, the four-time poker champion who some people like to call the "professor," tried out the role at Harvard University where he lectured on game strategy.  The Wall Street Journal story by Neil King Jr. is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Monica Lewinsky, or at least the memory of her famous affair in the White House with President Bill Clinton, is an unspoken factor in Hillary Clinton's run for the White House.  Patrick Healy of the New York Times News Service has the story in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Former Mideast Peace Negotiator Dennis Ross says no peace is possible if the environment beyond the table—in the society itself—is not accounted for.  Columnist Robert J. Caldwell suggests with Hamas using a Mickey Mouse character to teach children to hate Jews, peace between Palestinians and Israelis may be far off.  His column is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Lynn Schenk, a member of the California High Speed Rail Authority, is praising Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger for taking a stand in favor of improving inter-city transportation in California.  Schenk is a former congresswoman and one time chief-of-staff to the man Schwarzenegger ousted in a recall election, Gov. Gray Davis.  Her column is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Louis Vener, who helped to preserve a 1929 La Jolla Shores home, will be among the "People in Preservation" honorees at an upcoming banquet sponsored by the Save Our Heritage Organization (SOHO). Roger Showley's story about the efforts by Louis & Tammy Vener is in today's San Diego Union Tribune.

*Whether it's a Republican like Mike Antonovich or a Democrat like Zev Yaraslovsky, members of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors are likely to attract campaign contributions from the same people, many of whom have business before the county, according to a story by Jack Leonard and Doug Smith in today's Los Angeles Times.
(return to top)
 

Monday, May 14
*Edgar Bronfman Jr., chief executive and chairman of the Warner Music Group, has been mum on the controversy over whether record companies should decline to market songs with obscene lyrics or which preach violence. Marcus Franklin of the Associated Press has the story in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*A book review by  of Michael Chabon's The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Phillip Booth appeared in the May 13 edition of the St. Petersburg (Fla) Times. Bruce Lowitt who lives in that area passed the review along.

*Apropos of the logo at the top of this column, it was 59 years ago today that David Ben-Gurion declared the independence of the area of Palestine partitioned by the United Nations to serve as a Jewish state. In a memorable ceremony in Tel Aviv on May 14, 1948, he named the new state "Israel." Israelis celebrate Independence Day, Yom Ha'atzmaut,  on the 5th day of Iyar, according to the lunar Hebrew calendar.

*Stephen Feinberg, founder of Cerebrus Capital Management, proposed purchaser of Chrysler Corporation for $7.4 billion, is described as a reclusive individual who avoids publicity.  Kimi Yoshino and Martin Zimmerman have the story in today's Los Angeles Times.

*Attorney Barbara Lichman once told City of San Diego officials that Sunroad Enterprises temporarily would keep its controversial building near Montgomery Field at 160 feet, pending a company study of whether a 180-foot height would pose a risk to aviation.  The company subsequently decided to go ahead with the higher height. Lichman's letter was included in a chronology of the case reported by David Hasemyer in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Dr Norman Mann once persuaded a Christian colleague, Dr. George Bremner, to volunteer with him at a dental clinic in Kiryat Malachi, Israel, a city that was formerly a partnership region for San Diego's Jewish community.  When Bremner died last month, an obituary quoted Mann and others about Bremner's good works abroad and here in San Diego, where he had lived up to his vow never to turn away a patient for financial reasons. That April 24 obituary by Michael Kinsman provided Bremner an opportunity to do another good deed from beyond the grave, as it were. Kinsman followed the newspaper's style of referring to people who are not MD's as "Mr." rather than as "Dr.," prompting so many complaints that the newspaper's ombudswoman Carol Goodhue instituted an examination of that policy.  he result: dentists also will be identified in the San Diego Union-Tribune with the title "Dr." before their names. Goodhue's discussion of the case is in her column in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Israel's Defense Minister Amir Peretz announced that no massive retaliatory strike at Gaza is planned now, despite increasing Qassam missile attacks from that Palestinian territory.  His announcement came as Fatah and Hamas factions within Gaza were skirmishing with each other. The story by Ibrahim Barzak of the Associated Press is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune

*Robin Duboe Siegle, business manager of the National Conflict Resolution Center, added her tribute to Catholic School educator Brian Bennett in today's letters-to-the-editor of the San Diego Union-Tribune. She was commenting on a May 7 story by Helen Gao which focused on Bennett's upbeat attitude despite his affliction with Lou Gehrig's disease. 
(return to top)
 

Tuesday, May 15

*Joel Bellman, an aide to Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaraslovsky, said the Board of Supervisors will meet in closed session today to discuss the case of a woman who died after officials at Martin Luther King Jr.—Harbor Hospital ignored her as she writhed in pain on the floor in the hospital's admitting area. The story by Charles Ornstein is in today's Los Angeles Times.

*From his prison cell in Israel where he is serving 35 life sentences, Mohammed Irman smuggled out a book, Engineers of Death, about his bomb-planting Hamas cell that set off the explosions at the Cafe Moment and at Hebrew University, killing 35 persons, including Marla Bennett of San Diego.  Dion Nissenbaum and Mohammed Najib of MCT News Service have the story in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.  In San Diego, Linda Bennett, Marla's mother, told San Diego Jewish World that she was bewildered how someone could smuggle a book out of a high-security prison. She added that she had not made up her mind if she wanted to read the killer's words.

*U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) predicted the United States would withdraw its military forces in 2008, even if it results in a "Rwanda-style bloodletting."  The story by Eric Black is in today's Star Tribune of Minneapolis-St. Paul.

*Former "Hollywood Madam" Heidi Fleiss and actor Tom Sizemore have settled out-of-court her harassment suit against him.  The City News Service story is in today's Los Angeles Times.

*U.S. Supreme Court Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer were on the dissenting side of a 5-4 decision restoring capital punishment in a death penalty case that had been set aside by the U.S. Ninth Circuit of Appeals.  The story by David G. Savage is in today's Los Angeles Times.
 
*The state Senate has approved a bill by Sen. Carole Migden (D-San Francisco) which would award California's electoral college votes to whatever candidate wins the most popular votes in the election for president.  The bill, intended to prevent a candidate who didn't win the popular vote from becoming president, now heads to the Assembly.  The story by Steve Lawrence of the Associated Press is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert planned to meet today in Jordan with King Abdullah II to discuss the Arab peace initiative. The meeting will take place against a backdrop of increasing violence in the Palestinian territories between Hamas and Fatah factions. The Associated Press story is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Israel's Vice Prime Minister Shimon Peres was interviewed today on the general Middle East situation by David Makovsky of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.  Here is a link.

*U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) was nonplussed by the resignation of Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty in the aftermath of the controversial firing of eight United States Attorneys.  He said it was "ironic" that McNulty, who tried to level with a Senate committee investigating the firings, was let go, while Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, who "stonewalled" the committee, remains in power.  A story by David Johnston of the New York Times News Service is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Prosecution witness Kathy Sullivan testified in the murder trial of record producer Phil Spector that he once displayed a gun in her presence, but didn't threaten her.  She said the gun was so big, and Spector so small, that he "looked like Elmer Fudd."  Matt Krasnowski of Copley News Service has the story in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Assemblyman Todd Spitzer (R-Orange County), who has sharply criticized Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez has been reassigned to the smallest legislative office in the State Capitol Building, an office some have nicknamed the "doghouse."  The Associated Press story by Samantha Young is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*The board of the World Bank will decide the fate of its president, Paul Wolfowitz, at a meeting today.  Prospects for Wolfowitz's continued tenure dimmed when a special panel issued a report saying he had broken the rules in arranging a hefty raise for his girlfriend, Shaha Riza. The Associated Press story by Jeannine Aversa is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

(return to top)

Wednesday, May 16

* Is billionaire New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg thinking of financing his own run for the presidency as an independent.  U.S. Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) thinks it's a possibility.  Scott Martelle has the story in today's Los Angeles Times.

*Los Angeles County Court Commissioner Sam Bubrick is 90, but his friends of the bench and bar wouldn't let him retire, even if he wanted to.  Valerie Reitman has the story in The Los Angeles Times. 

*San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders says he really does know Aaron Feldman, notwithstanding his previous quote to the contrary to an investigative reporter for the San Diego Union-Tribune. The acknowledgment of his acquaintance with the developer of the controversial high rise building near Montgomery Field may be found in a column by Gerry Braun in today's San Diego Union-Tribune. The controversy over the building drew nine letters to the editor in the same newspaper.

*Legislation by U.S. Sen. Russell Feingold (D-Wis.) legislation to cut off funds for the Iraq War next March has won the endorsements of Senators Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Barrack Obama (D-Ill.), the two leading Democratic presidential candidates.  Noam N. Levey has the story in today's Los Angeles Times. 

*Los Angeles Deputy City Attorney Tamar Galatzan appeared to have been elected to the Los Angeles City School Board in a successful challenge to incumbent Jon M. Lauritzen.  Howard Blume and Duke Hefland have the story in today's Los Angeles Times.

*Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told Jordan's King Abdullah II that he is ready to meet with the leaders of the Arab world, but his comments were overshadowed by gun battles in which Hamas members executed eight police officers belonging to Fatah.  The Associated Press story by Ibrahim Barzak and Karin Laub is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Bernie Rappaport, chairman of Vistans for Civic Pride and Safety, is campaigning in favor of a June 5 local ballot measure that would change the status of Vista from a general law city to a charter city.  Matthew Rodriguez has the story in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Commenting on the death of Jerry Falwell, Brian Schaefer, coordinator for J-Pride, an organization of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Jews, said the former Moral Majority Leader's "hateful speech" had to be combated. A roundup story is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.  Elsewhere, Reform Rabbi Eric Yoffie, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, told the Los Angeles Times that Falwell often used religion to divide people, but he was genuine about getting people to express their religious faith. The story by Stephanie Simons is in today's Los Angeles Times.

*Former Deputy Attorney General James Comey told a Senate committee that in 2004 Alberto Gonzales tried to get then-Attorney General John Ashcroft to sign a surveillance program authorization while he was recuperating in an intensive care room following surgery. Ashcroft refused, but Gonzales put through the authorization anyway,  Comey said. U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) said the incident suggests Gonzales has minimal regard for the rule of law. The Copley News Service story by Dana Wilkie is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune. Meanwhile, the plan of current Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty to step down by summer's end prompted U.S. Sen. Arlen Spector (R-Penn.) to comment that under Gonzales, working for the U.S. Department of Justice is embarrassing. The Associated Press story by Lara Lakes Jordan is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Record producer Phil Spector walked out of his mansion and said, "I think I killed somebody," his chauffeur Adriano De Souza testified at Spector's trial on a charge of murdering Lana Clarkson.  Matt Krasnowski of the Copley News Service has the story in today's in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Harvey Weinstein, whose Weinstein Co. has five films to show at the Cannes Film Festival, explains why he undertakes the considerable expense of exhibiting there:  "If you got it, flaunt it," he advises.  The story by John Horn is in today's Los Angeles Times.

*White House spokesman Tony Snow said "all options are on the table" when asked if President George W. Bush would support the removal of embattled Paul Wolfowitz as president of the World Bank. The Washington Post story is  in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.
 

Thursday, May 17

*The trial balloon for New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's possible run as a self-financed independent for the presidency received more loft when U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) told a reporter he would be "open" to supporting the mayor. Christopher Arnott has the story in today's Hartford Courant. An Associated Press story involving Lieberman in the Hartford Courant reports speculation that demands that Patsy Papandrea resign her membership in the Democratic State Central Committee for forwarding a racist and anti-Semitic e-mail—a communication that she thought was a joke and for which she later apologized—may be less motivated by the e-mail's content and more by Democratic furor over her support of Lieberman in last year's election against official Democratic nominee Ned Lamont.

*It's not that judges don't like having the office of the district attorney sharing the South Bay courthouse in Chula Vista; it's just that they need the room for more courts.  Now, District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis has announced she'll have the offices moved to a building across the street.  Ray Huard has the story in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Alan Greenspan, former chairman of the Federal Reserve, has been signed as a consultant by Pacific Investment Management Co.  Walter Hamilton of the Los Angeles Times has the story.

*In retaliation for the continuing Qasam missile attacks on Sderot,  Israel Air Force fighters fired two rockets at Hamas targets in Gaza yesterday, killing four Hamas members, but Palestinians were killing each other at an even more furious rate: 18 killed in fighting between the Fatah and Hamas factions.  Joel Greenberg of the Chicago Tribune has the story in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Peter Kahane, pianist and conductor of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, is returning to his position after a two-month hiatus that was due to hypertension.  The story is briefly reported in today's Los Angeles Times.

*Robert Klein, chairman of the state stem cell research committee, said the State Supreme Court's decision to refuse a challenge to the constitutionality of stem cell research, guarantees its future in California. Mary Engel has the story in today's Los Angeles Times.

*U.S. Sens. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) were among the 20 non-Republicans who voted against a proposal by Democratic Senators Russell Feingold of Wisconsin, Harry Reid of Nevada and Christopher Dodd of Connecticut to set next March as the cutoff for funding the Iraq War.  David Lightman had the story in yesterday's Hartford Courant. 

*Dr. Mario Z. Rosenberg, a gastroenterologist, was among three doctors arrested yesterday on accusations of bilking insurance companies for unnecessary surgeries. The Associated Press story is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), reacting to a list of 26 U.S. Attorneys that had been considered for firing by the Justice Department, says it shows how "amok" the processes were under Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. The Washington Post story by Dan Eggen and Amy Goldstein is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.   

*Adriano de Souza, chauffeur to murder defendant Phil Spector, said in a second day of testimony that he was afraid for his life after the record producer told him he thought he may have shot someone.  Matt Krasnowski of the Copley News Service has the story in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

* Paul Wolfowitz announced he will resign as president of the World Bank on June 30, ending the controversy over whether he inappropriately arranged salary increases for his girlfriend, Shaha Riza.  {A letter to the editor on this subject is below.}

Friday, May 18

 

*Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said in Chicago that he did not think the growing number of defaults on mortgages would have much effect on the economy, and he cautioned members of Congress not to be too sweeping in proposals for reforming the mortgage lending system.  U.S. Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) and U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) are among legislators who have proposals on the issue pending.  The story by Jeremy W. Peters of the New York Times News Service is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Michael Eisner, former chairman of Disney, has a new project: marketing 90 second serial videos that can be received on cell phones.  James Hebert has the story in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*The immigration bill that U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff helped to broker with Congress has bipartisan support from Senators like Arlen Specter (R-Penn.) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif), has procedures for immigrants here illegally to become legal; requirements for a border fence; sanctions against employers of illegal immigrants, and a declaration that English is the official language of the United States. The story by Jerry Kammer and George Condon Jr. of Copley News Service is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders has decided to issue a stop-work order against the 180-foot Sunroad Enterprises building owned by Aaron Feldman because its height might prove an obstacle to aviation at Montgomery Field.  Jennifer Vigil's story is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*A court hearing was held to decide whether Vice President Dick Cheney, Karl Rove, Lewis "Scooter" Libby and Richard Armitage violated Valerie Plane's civil rights by disclosing that she was a CIA agent.  The Associated Press story is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune. 

*Bad news for teen fans of the Veronica Mars television show on CW. "It's over," according to CW Entertainment President Dawn Ostroff. Karla Peterson's column is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*U.S. Senators Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) say they will call for a no-confidence vote in Alberto Gonzales as attorney general. Among those expected to vote in favor of the non-binding resolution, based on their statements, are Senators Arlen Specter (R-Penn.) and Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) The Associated Press story by Laurie Kellman is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert visited Sderot to tell residents they shouldn't feel alone; Israeli jets meanwhile flew over targets in Gaza in retaliation for continued Qassam missile attacks on Sderot. The Associated Press story by Sarah el Deeb is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.  In other news, Palestinian Masseb Bashir was charged with gathering information for a conspiracy to assassinate Olmert.  He gained access to Israel while working for Doctors Without Borders, according to an Associated Press story in the Hartford Courant

*San Diego's Old Globe Theatre is tackling Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, a daunting task in the wake of the definitive performances on film by Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. Anne Marie Welsh has the story in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*President George W. Bush, saying he was "sorry" that Paul Wolfowitz had to resign as president of the World Bank, said he would soon have a new nominee for the position.  Jeannine Aversa of the Associated Press has the story in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.  Steve Breen also had an editorial cartoon on Wolfowitz's resignation in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

Saturday, May 19
 

*Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal shared his ideas with the House Judiciary Committee on ways to lower gasoline prices.  Meanwhile, a senator from his state, Joseph Lieberman, commented "You can try to make the oil companies be fair with their pricing, but the real solution is more long-range, more comprehensive."  David Lightman has the story in today's Hartford Courant.

*A bill by state Sen. Christine Kehoe (D-San Diego) that would take some of the glamour out of Alan Bersin’s job as chairman of the San Diego Regional Airport Authority was approved by the state Senate on a 30-7 vote.  The measure would eliminate $172,000 in annual salaries for board members, and cap them instead at $900 per month per official. A story by Steve Schmidt is in today’s San Diego Union-Tribune.

*White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten has been in some tough negotiating sessions with the congressional leadership over provisions of a military funding bill for Iraq.  The story by Shailagh Murray of The Washington Post is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune. 

*Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is famous for saying as little as possible on the bench.  Since October 2004, when transcripts began identifying justices by name, he has spoken only 284 words.  In comparison, Justice Stephen Breyer has spoken 35,000 words just since January. The Associated Press story is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Economist and author Paul Erdman, whose book The Swiss Account, has been credited with helping the World Jewish Congress investigation into Nazi accounts stolen from Jewish victims, has died at 74.  An Associated Press obituary ran in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) has introduced legislation that would bar the Veterans Administration from commercially developing its medical center complex in West Los Angeles.  U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Los Angeles) previously introduced similar legislation in the House. The story by Martha Groves is in today's Los Angeles Times.

*San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders says the city will investigate what went wrong, not who to blame, in the city failing to act immediately to stop construction of a 180-foot high building owned by Aaron Feldman that the FAA believed would interfere with aviation at Montgomery Field. The story by Jennifer Vigil is in today’s San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Assemblyman Mike Feuer (D-Los Angeles) and Los Angeles City Councilman Jack Weiss have been successful in their campaign to persuade CalTrans to clear brush along the freeways before the state enters its summer brush fire season.  Steve Hymon has the story in today's Los Angeles Times.

*Tension is on the rise at the University of California Irvine where an anti-Israel exhibit sponsored by Muslim students was the backdrop for an incident last Monday in which a Muslim student said he was followed and nudged by an unmarked car driven by an FBI agent.  The local FBI office said it was investigating. The story by H.G. Reza is in today's Los Angeles Times  

*Chess master Gary Kasparov and other demonstrators were prevented by Russian authorities from boarding a plane in Moscow for Samara, where a meeting between Russia and the European Union is being held.  The Associated Press story is in the briefs section of the San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Bernard Kouchner, son of a Jewish father and Protestant mother, has been appointed France's Foreign Minister by President Nicholas Sarkozy, prompting members of Kouchner's Socialist party to call for his expulsion for working in the Conservative's government. The story by Molly Moore of The Washington Post is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Risa Levitt Kohn, curator of the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit coming soon to the San Diego Natural History Museum, was a source for a preview story about the exhibit by Religion and Ethics Writer Sandi Dolbee in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Matthew Levitt, the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, and Yale University Press are being sued by Dr. Laila Al-Mayarati for suggesting in the book, Hamas: Politics, Charity and Terrorism in the Service of Jihad, that  the charity she heads, KinderUSA, is linked to terrorism.  Greg Krikorian has the story in today's Los Angeles Times,

*Psychologist Robert Reiff, 93, a former president of the community psychology division of the American Psychological Association, has died in San Marcos.  The obituary by Michael Kinsman ran in today’s San Diego Union-Tribune.

*The gentrification of the Venice section of Los Angeles is driving out the artists who once gave the area a seedy fame.  Many people don't want to lose the artists, and Steve Soboroff, president of Playa Vista, has been exploring whether there is a way to create an artists quarter. Martha Groves has the story in today's Los Angeles Times.

*U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Penn.) says architects of the compromise legislation on immigration are still open to suggestions on how the bill can be strengthened so that it does not appear to be a blanket grant of amnesty for undocumented aliens.  The story by Nicole Gaouette is in today's Los Angeles Times.

*A three-judge panel of the U.S. Ninth District Circuit Court has backed actress Elizabeth Taylor in a suit brought against her by members of the Orkin family, who said a Vincent Van Gogh painting Taylor purchased rightly belonged to them as descendants of a woman from the Nazis stoles the painting.  The Reuters story is in today's Los Angeles Times.

*Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has dropped his efforts to put the Los Angeles City School Board under his direct control.  With him at a news conference were two School Board members who had opposed his efforts, Board President Marlene Canter and Board Member Julie Korenstein.  The story is in today's Los Angeles Times.

*Now that Paul Wolfowitz has agreed to resign as president of the World Bank, a debate is shaping up whether the United States should continue to have the right to name the president of that institution, with Europe naming the president of the International Monetary Fund.  Peter S. Goodman and Mary Jordan of The Washington Post have the story in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.
(return to top)


Sunday, May 20
 

*Bertolt Brecht and other German Jewish intellectuals who migrated to Los Angeles with the coming of Hitler are featured in Weimar on the Pacific, a book by Ehrhard Bahr.  A review by Jonathan Kirsch is in today's Los Angeles Times.

*Michael Chabon's creation, detective Meyer Landsman in The Yiddish Policeman's Union, is described as one of the most exciting fictional detectives to come along since Sam Spade or Phillip Marlowe.  The book review by Michiko Kakutani is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*U.S. Rep. Susan Davis (D-San Diego) is accused in the San Diego Union-Tribune's "America's Finest Blog" of being the "exact opposite" of a straight talker in terms of her opposition to the proposed toll road between northern San Diego County and Orange County.  The story in today's edition is by Chris Reed.

*Although San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis created a unit last year to investigate public corruption, there has been only one prosecution to date.  Gerry Braun has the story in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Songs by Bob Dylan as interpreted by jazz singer Barb Jungr are evidence that the La Jolla Music Society is not just presenting classical music anymore.  Valerie Scher has the story in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Harvey Fierstein will be bringing his Torch Song Trilogy  to the Diversionary Theatre for a 25th anniversary revival of the story about a drag queen and lovable mensch.  The story is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Former President Jimmy Carter had called George W. Bush the "worst" president in U.S. history.  Among his numerous criticisms of Bush was that he has no peace process in place in Israel. The Associated Press story is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Paula Jacobs, regional director of the American Jewish Committee, has a letter to the editor in today's San Diego Union-Tribune supporting immigration reform. In the same column of letters, Edgar D. Hopida, local public relations director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, argues that it is not anti-Semitism but "fear of displacement" that fuels Arab opposition to Israel.

*Hans Jovishoff, an advocate for seniors and frequent critic of San Diego city government, has died at 93.  The obituary by Michael Kinsman is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Lael & Jay Kovtun were the honorary chairs, and son Gordon & Annika Kovtun the chairs, of the 29th anniversary celebration of the Mingei International Museum. Burl Stiff has the story in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Art critic Robert L. Pincus hails a new sculptor on the scene, Sharon Levy, whose masters of arts thesis, "The Wood," is on display in the Marcuse Gallery of the University of California San Diego.  The story is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*On a family trip to Amsterdam, travel writer Mary McNamara confronted the problem of explaining the Holocaust to her young children while visiting the Anne Frank House.  Her story is in today's Los Angeles Times.

*An editorial in today's San Diego Union-Tribune lays out the reasons the newspaper hopes U.S. District Court Judge Barry Ted Moskowitz will rule in favor of the Bajagua project to prevent Mexican sewage from flowing across the U.S. border.

*Eli Pariser, executive director of the liberal group MoveOn.org is one of several political activists who forecast an expanded role in the showing of political ads by such major web sites as My Space and YouTube.  The story by Scott Martelle is in today's Los Angeles Times.

*Israel's Defense Minister Amir Peretz vowed continued air strikes on Hamas fighters in Gaza to suppress the rocket fire that has been plaguing the Israeli city of Sderot. The retaliatory attacks have prompted Fatah and Hamas factions to call a cease fire against each other.  Sarah El Deeb of the Associated Press has the story in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaraslovsky described himself as "dumbfounded" by a "shocking" videotape which showed a dying patient writhing in pain in the admitting area of King-Harbor Hospital without anyone showing any concern. The story by Charles Ornstein of the subsequent investigation is in today's Los Angeles Times.

*Retiring Point Loma High School teacher Larry Zeiger advises the Jewish Culture and Wit Club with 15 students, only one of whom is Jewish.  In fact, the first name of the president is Jesús, and the vice president is named Christian. Columnist Lee Grant has the story in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.
 

Monday, May 21
 

*U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif) has earmarked about $25 million in a public works bill for the revitalization of the Los Angeles River to transform it from a concrete channel to more natural form.  Los Angeles environmentalists may celebrate but congressional watchdogs say it's a sign Democrats are up to the same pork-barreling tricks as Republicans.  Richard Simon has the story in today's Los Angeles Times.

*Stanley Chodorow, a professor emeritus of UCSD, has been mentoring San Diego Independent Scholars, a group of people from non-academic professions, who enjoy doing deep academic research.  Cathy Robbins, a member of the group, tells how it works in a story on the Voice of San Diego website.

*Relations between U.S. Reps. Susan Davis (D-San Diego) and Darrell Issa (R-Vista) are at an all-time low because of their differences over a proposed toll road that would cut through Camp Pendleton to link Northern San Diego County and Orange County.  Dana Wilkie has the story in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Two teenagers were arrested for "tagging" the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam.  Police said the vandalism did not appear connected to anti-Semitism. The Associated Press story in the World Briefs column of The San Diego Union-Tribune.

*In retaliation for the rocket attacks on Sderot, Israel's Air Force fired a missile at the home of Hamas lawmaker Khalil al-Haya, killing eight persons, according to Palestinian reports.  Al Haya was away attending an Egyptian brokered truce meeting between the rival Hamas and Fatah factions of Palestine. The Associated Press story by Sarah El Deeb is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Keri G. Katz has been selected by San Diego County Superior Court Judges to serve as a court commissioner to hear traffic cases.  The story by Greg Moran is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Roman Polanski stopped his news conference in Cannes, accused journalists there of asking "empty questions" and suggested the blame may lie with computers.  The story is in the public eye column of The San Diego Union-Tribune.

*What is Sandi Richman wearing today? You may not care but for trend-enslaved buyers for  fashion outlets throughout the country, the answer can be big news. Leslie Earnest has the story in today's Los Angeles Times.

*Intellectual property attorney Michael Rosen, president of the Republican Jewish Coalition in San Diego, has been elected secretary of the San Diego Republican Party.  Logan Jenkins tells the story in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Penn) says it is possible Attorney General Alberto Gonzales will resign before a non-binding resolution of censure comes before the U.S. Senate. Specter is expected to vote in favor of such a resolution. The Associated Press story by Hope Yen is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Text messaging can really run up the phone bill as teenager Sofia Rubenstein, 17, of the Washington D.C. area learned when she received an invoice for over $1,100 from her phone company.  Margaret Webb Pressler of The Washington Post has the story in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Deborah Szekely, founder of the Golden Door Spa and Rancho La Puerta, was awarded an honorary doctorate during commencement ceremonies at San Diego State University.  The story by Arthur Salm is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

Tuesday, May 22

* Hall of Champions founder Bob Breitbart has some new memorabilia of Ted Williams' for the museum's collection on San Diego athletes. Williams, the Boston Red Sox slugger who was a high school student in San Diego, apparently sent the material in 1993 to Barry Lorge, but the package somehow got lost. It was found by workmen in the rafters of the Old Cracker Factory.  The item leads the column by Diane Bell in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) has signed on as a cosponsor of a bill by Sens. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) and John McCain (R-Ariz) to implement various policies for the reduction of greenhouse emissions.  The Associated Press story is in the StarTribune of Minneapolis-St. Paul.

* Donald M. Ginsberg, a ranking expert on superconductors, has died at 73.  The obituary by Jeremy Pearce of the New York Times News Service is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Former NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin is just one of the people in Washington who have felt the sting of Senator John McCain's temper, according to an article by Ralph Vartabedian and Michael Finnegan in today's Los Angeles Times.

*Disney Chief Executive Officer Robert Iger said he was "appalled" that Palestinian television features a Mickey Mouse-like figure, Farfour, calling for the destruction of Israel. He said his company talked to the Palestinian government about the issue but was not responsible for the Palestinians' decision to remove it from the air.  An Associated Press story by Gary gentile is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*A Qassam missile launched from Gaza killed an Israeli woman standing next to her car in Sderot and strikes by the Israel Air Force in Gaza killed five persons described as terrorists.  The New York Times news service story is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*James McElroy, the attorney who represented the late Philip Paulson in a suit to remove the Mount Soledad Cross from city land, has been awarded fees of $962,673 by U.S. District Court Judge Gordon Thompson Jr.  Awaiting court hearing, meanwhile, is a follow up case in which the American Civil Liberties Union represents the Jewish War Veterans in challenging the constitutionality of the cross being on now-federalized land. Greg Moran has the story in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*A bill by state Sen. Christine Kehoe (D-San Diego) to reform the San Diego Regional Airport Authority would strip the power of Sheriff Bill Kolender and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to make appointments to the board, and instead have the board selected by the County of San Diego, City of San Diego and other local governments. The story by Rob Davis was posted today on the Voice of San Diego.

*Simcha Catering, which will handle kosher events, has been launched by Lisa Richards, owner of the Picnic People.  A profile by Jennifer Davies is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Pfizer's Chief Financial Officer Alan Levin has resigned.  The company is reducing its work force by 10 percent.  The Associated Press story by Wallace Witkowski is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Singer Adam Levine of Maroon 5 takes listeners into the "seamy, bitter, obsessive side of romance" in his new release "It Won't Be Soon Before Long" Ann Powers says in a review in today's Los Angeles Times

*U.S. Reps. Adam Schiff (D-Calif) and Artur Davis (D-Ala), both former federal prosecutors, have introduced a resolution to censure Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.  The bill was an element in a story by James Gerstenzang in today's Los Angeles Times.

*Leah Silverman's production in Los Angeles  of David Henry Hwang's Yellow Face was criticized as "flat footed," but otherwise reviewer Charles McNulty found the play which deals with racial identity issues well worthwhile.  In his story, McNulty noted that an actor's apparent non-Asian identity is handled with an explanation he is a Jew of Russian Siberian Asian stock. 

*Defense attorneys in the murder trial of record producer Phil Spector grilled his chauffeur, Adriano DeSouza, about whether the Brazilian immigrant may have misunderstood when Spector allegedly said he thought he might have killed actress Lana Clarkson.  The story by Matt Krasnowsi of the Copley News Service is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) says disclosure that the anti-diabetes medication Avandia could increase the risk of heart attack is the "latest reminder that FDA isn't effectively monitoring the safety of drugs." He has scheduled hearings into the issue. Karen Kaplan and Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar have the story in today's Los Angeles Times.

*UCSD Prof. Miles Kahler, in a commentary in today's San Diego Union-Tribune, says it's too bad that in the wake of the resignation of World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz that the United States continues to have the right to appoint the president.  Many such appointments were undistinguished, Kahler writes.

Wednesday, May 23

*New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has announced a plan to require all licensed taxicabs in New York City to become fuel-efficient hybrid vehicles by 2012. The story is included in a national roundup column in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*U.S. Sen. Benjamin Cardin (D-Maryland) has been hampered in an effort to honor the late author Rachel Carson on her 100th birthday.  A senator from Oklahoma, Tom Coburn, said the Silent Spring author hampered the use of helpful pesticides. The Washington Post story is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*U.S. Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Illinois) said although congressional Democrats were unsuccessful getting a deadline to end the war in Iraq, the inclusion in the bill of mandates for the Iraqi government to meet "ends the blank check of more troops, more money, more time and more of the same." The Associated Press story by David Espo is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Comedian Al Franken who is preparing to run as a Democrat for the U.S. Senate against incumbent Norm Coleman of Minnesota is worth between $4.3 million and $9.9 million, according to required disclosure documents.  The Associated Press story by Frederic J. Frommer was in yesterday's StarTribune of Minneapolis and St. Paul.

*One fourth of the American Muslim population under 30 believe there are circumstances justifying suicide bombings, with one poll analyst suggesting they believe in such tactics for the fight against Israel. Most of the U.S. Muslim population oppose suicide bombings in all circumstances. The Associated Press story is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*The San Diego Union-Tribune, in an editorial, says the violence within the Gaza Strip and its emergence as a fortified base for attacks against Israel, is killing any chances for Palestinians to achieve a larger independent state.

*Former State Department official Edward S. Walker Jr., in a column in the San Diego Union-Tribune, suggests that as long as Hamas is in power in the Gaza Strip, it will rachet up violence whenever peace with Israel beckons.  He recommends reading Natan Sharansky's book The Case for Democracy. 

*Chauffeur Adriano DeSouza stuck by his story that record producer Phil Spector told him, "I think I killed somebody," the night actress Lana Clarkson died of gunshot wounds.  Matt Krasnowski of Copley News Service has the story in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Although a fire to the First United Methodist Church of San Diego caused considerable damage to the structure in Mission Valley, Temple Emanu-El plans to continue meeting without interruption in a chapel on that campus.  The Reform congregation has been renting the Methodist facilities during the reconstruction of its own sanctuary in the Del Cerro area of San Diego. Sandi Dolbee and Joe Hughes have the story in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

 

Thursday, May 24

*Frida Birnbaum of Hackensack, N.J., has done what few other women of 60 would consider: with the help of in-vitro fertilization, she gave birth to twins.  A photo from the Hackensack University Medical Center is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Philanthropist Eli Broad donated $6.5 million to Alliance for College-Ready Public Schools, a group promoting Charter Schools in Los Angeles.  The story by Joel Rubin is in today's Los Angeles Times.

*U.S. Rep. Stephen Cohen (D-Tenn.) questioned Monica M. Goodling, former Justice Department liaison to the White House, about the religious creed of her law school founded by evangelist Pat Robertson.  The story by Maura Reynolds is in today's Los Angeles Times.

*A package of bills to benefit veterans—including one calling for closer monitoring of possible brain injuries from bomb concussions—has been shepherded through the House of Representatives by U.S. Rep. Bob Filner (D-San Diego), chairman of the House Veteran Affairs Committee.  The story was in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*The family of murder victim Ronald Goldman is entitled to any money that O.J. Simpson's attorney may be holding for him, a Superior Court judge has ruled.  The story is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Former Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan says sharp increases in the value of Chinese stocks are unsustainable and that a contraction in their prices is likely. The Bloomberg News story is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Israel Defense Force pilots kept up their retaliatory attacks on Gaza in response to the missiles aimed at Sderot from inside the Palestinian territory.  Meanwhile Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh met to see if they could agree on a cease fire with Israel. The story is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) has called for the Justice Department and the Federal Communications Commission to block the acquisition of XM Satellite Radio Holdings by Sirius Satellite Radio Inc.  The Reuters story is in today's Los Angeles Times.

*U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) pronounced himself disappointed by the most recent trade talks between China and the United States. The Associated Press story is in today's Los Angeles Times.

*U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Penn.) is part of a bipartisan coalition that meets regularly to steer the Immigration Reform bill through the Congress. The Associated Press story is in today's Los Angeles Times.

*In what may prove a key ruling, the judge in record producer Phil Spector's murder trial said a forensic expert for the defense withheld evidence found at the crime scene.  The story by Matt Krasnowski of Copley News Service is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*A recall campaign against Los Angeles City Councilman Jack Weiss got off to a shaky start when City Clerk Frank Martinez ruled that the papers had not been properly served.  The story is in today's Los Angeles Times.

*A controversial civil rights attorney, Stephen Yagman, is a defendant in a high profile federal tax evasion case. Joe Mozingo has the story in today's Los Angeles Times.

Friday, May 25

*U.S. Sens. Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, both California Democrats, have introduced legislation to require foreign ships calling in U.S. ports to curb smokestack emissions. Shipping has an adverse impact on efforts by local Air Pollution Control Districts to meet federal smog standards, Boxer said.  The story by Mike Lee is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Julie Dubick, policy director for Mayor Jerry Sanders, and her husband, attorney Mitch Dubick, an attorney for Higgs Fletcher & Mack were the subject of an inquiry by City Attorney Mike Aguirre in the Sunroad Enterprises case.  The reason: Mitch Dubick once filed a suit in behalf of Sunroad Enterprises owner Aaron Feldman in a quickly resolved issue with the Internal Revenue Service.  Aguirre wants correspondence from the mayor's office to track if Feldman ever received special treatment.  The story by Jennifer Vigil is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Supposedly, no one can contribute more than $2,300 to a congressional campaign, so therefore the playing field is fairly even, right?  The House of Representatives on a 382-37 vote approved legislation dealing with the practice of "bundling" in which a single person goes around and collects many checks from other people then presents them to campaign committee, magnifying his or her influence.  Now such bundling would have to be reported on disclosure forms. U.S. Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill) praised the legislation, while Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) said it didn't go far enough.  A story by Mike Dorning of the Chicago Tribune is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) says Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has "lost the confidence of many of us in the United States Senate," but President George W. Bush says he still supports Gonzales. The story by David Johnston and Eric Lipton of the New York Times News Service is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Defense Attorney Marc Friedman described animal rights arsonist Kevin Tubbs as a gentle young man whose depression over losing his girlfriend to another pushed him into violent acts, but a federal judge in Eugene, Oregon, sentenced the defendant to over 12 years imprisonment.  The Associated Press story is in today's Los Angeles Times.

*Irwin Jacobs, co-founder of Qualcomm, will address doctoral graduates at the University of San Diego's commencement ceremonies tomorrow.  The story is in a briefs column of today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Israel's Defense Force arrested a Cabinet minister and other members of Hamas, and also bombed a shack near the residence of Palestinian Prime Minister Ismael Haniyeh in an effort to persuade the Palestinians to stop rocketing Sderot.  The Associated Press story by Ali Daragmeh is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Sen. Carl Levin, chair of the Armed Services Committee, reflected the ambivalence he and many fellow Democrats felt about the Iraq War budget passed last night on a 80-14 vote.  Opposed to the war, he could not bring himself to vote to stop funding while U.S. troops were "in harm's way." A story utilizing the Associated Press and New York Times News Service is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Attorney Richard Rothschild of the Western Center on Law and Poverty hailed a decision by a state appeals court striking down the earning ceiling of $1,078 a month for people to be eligible for free health care.  The story by Tony Perry is in today's Los Angeles Times.

*U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) is receiving treatment for a tick bite so it won't develop into Lyme Disease.  The story is in today's Los Angeles Times.

*Accountant Menachem Shoval wants to build an Orthodox shul and some soccer fields he owns in a rural part of Poway.  However, neighbors have built a gate across the public right of way.  The courts have sided with him, but the city has dragged its feet in removing the gate. The story by Lisa Petrillo is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*The works of Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster are among the prize possessions of cartoon collector Charlie Roberts of Oceanside.  Harvey Kurtzman of Mad Magazine also is represented. Linda McIntosh has the story in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*The California Assembly on a 42-23 vote passed legislation forbidding cities from passing ordinances that prohibit landlords to rent to illegal immigrants—a response to an attempt by the City of Escondido to do just that. Assemblyman Todd Spitzer, R-Orange, was among those voting against the legislation by Assemblyman Charles Calderon, D-Whittier.  Spitzer said it could prevent landlords from making legitimate inquiries about tenants' backgrounds to see if they are able to pay the rent. The Associated Press story is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*The Metropolitan Transit Authority increased fares for rail and bus passengers higher than Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa had proposed.  This provoked a quarrel between the mayor and County Supervisor Zev Yaraslovsky. The story by Rong-Gong Lin II and Jeffrey L. Rabin is in today's Los Angeles Times.


Saturday, May 26

 

*Two new biographies of Hillary Clinton—one by Washington Post journalist Carl Bernstein—thus far have caused little in the way of a political stir, despite being issued in time for the buildup to the 2008 presidential race.  The story by Stephen Braun is in today's Los Angeles Times.

*Lowell Blankfort paid tribute to his golfing buddy, former U.S. Ambassador to Kuwait Frank E. Maestrone, who has died at 84.  The diplomat, who helped draft the Second Sinai Withdrawal, had all but disappeared from public view in his retirement when Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990 made him an interviewee in great demand, Blankfort recalled.  An obituary by Tanya Sierra is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Fannie Lee Chaney, whose slain Civil Rights worker son James Chaney, was murdered in Mississippi in 1964 along with two New Yorkers Michael Schwerner and Andrew Goodman, has died at age 84.  Emily Wagster Pettus of the Associated Press has the story in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-California) is objecting to a plan by the Bush administration to relocate the Naval Special Warfare Command from the Naval Amphibious Base in Coronado to Little Creek, Virginia.  The story by Paul M. Krawzak of the Copley News Service is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune

*Immigration attorney Jonathan Ginsburg says a law under consideration by the Senate would wipe out an exemption for exceptional individuals to jump to the head of the line of those waiting to become U.S. citizens.  Would such a change have prevented Albert Einstein from coming to America?  Anthony Faiola of The Washington Post has the story in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Entrepreneur Irwin Jacobs—not the same man as the Qualcomm co-founder of the same name—has become a central figure in a legal controversy over whether Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott received personal gifts from vendors.  Jacobs has several companies, including one that builds recreational boats. The Associated Press story is in the Los Angeles Times.

*Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald says in court documents that I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, should serve jail time for his conviction for lying to investigators about the source of leaks that exposed Valerie Plame as an undercover CIA agent. The Associated Press story by Matt Apuzzo is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Some antiwar activists were furious at the congressional Democrats who voted for the compromise funding bill for the Iraq War, because it didn't include a deadline for U.S. troop withdrawal.  Among them was Eli Pariser of MoveOn.org.  The story by Richard Simon was in today's Los Angeles Times.

*The sudden closure of private Harborside School in downtown San Diego has left some parents upset, including Joel Saltzman who complained of a "lack of creative thinking" on the part of the governing board.  David E. Graham has the story in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Billionaire investor Sam Zell's move to purchase the Tribune Co., which owns the Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times among other media outlets, had advanced with the company buying back stock from shareholders to clear the way for the deal.  The Associated Press story by David Carpenter is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

Sunday, May 27
 

*Randy Cohen, vice president of Americans for the Arts, says the impact of the arts on the American economy is important.  In 2005, for example, they accounted for $166.2 billion in spending and 5.7 million jobs. Laurence Arnold of Bloomberg News has the story in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.  

*Psychologist Leonard Eron, who warned parents that their children could suffer from watching too much violence on television, has died at 87.  An obituary by Patricia Sullivan of The Washington Post is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Deborah Messing plays the lead in a new TV series, The Starter Wife, about a woman who must cope with normal life after she is dumped by her high-powered Hollywood executive husband.  The story by Mary McNamara is in today's Los Angeles Times.

*Alan Nevin, chief economist with the California Building Industry Association, said an economic model by UCSD student Rob Gertz that San Diego will face its worst foreclosure rates on homes over the next three years, is well conceptualized and executed, but that he nevertheless expects foreclosures to "spike" and then settle back to normal rates.  The story by Roger Showley is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Aida Oceransky, a Mexican Jew of Ukrainian origin now living in Spain, says Spaniards are manifesting a revival of interest in Sephardic culture. The story by Michael Levitin is in today's Los Angeles Times.

*Black and White, a novel by Dani Shapiro about an artist who used her daughter as a subject for drawings that were somewhere between high art and pedophilia, has drawn a favorable review from Scott Eyman in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*The chairman of the California Horseracing Board, Richard Shapiro, has hired a contractor to the board, Darrell Vienna, to train his own horses, prompting conflict-of-interest questions.  The story by Nancy Vogel is in today's Los Angeles Times.

*Civil Rights attorney Carol Sobol has noted that one of the police officers involved in the May Day melee at MacArthur Park—Cmdr. Louis Gray—also was involved in a 2000 incident at Parker Center in which non-lethal force was used on demonstators, causing hundreds of thousands of dollars in lawsuits.  Patrick McGreevy and Richard Winton have the story in today's Los Angeles Times.

*Syndicated columnist Gene Weingarten of the Washington Post has invented a new phrase "Googlenopes"—word combinations that even the powerful Google search engine can't find because they don't exist until someone like Weingarten writes a column.  His first example: "unintelligent Jew." His column appears in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

Monday, May 28


*Public relations consultant Jack Berkman has announced an anonymous donor has contributed $150,000 to permit the Harborside Charter School to finish its semester. The story by Tony Manolatos is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Judy Bernstein, San Diego-area staff member for the International Rescue Committee, is filled with admiration for Daniel Akech Thiong, a former "Lost Boy of the Sudan" who earned bachelor's degrees in theology and mathematics from the University of San Diego.  Dean Calbraith has the story in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Margy Feldman, president and chief executive of Jewish Big Brothers/ Big Sisters reports that 90 percent of the children the group sends to Camp Max Straus are members of families who live below the poverty line.  The story by Amy Kaufman is in today's Los Angeles Times.

*Gabe Cohen, an outfielder for UCLA, has been selected by Pac-10 coaches as a co-newcomer of the year along with USC shortstop Grant Green. The story by Gary Klein is in today's Los Angeles Times

*New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has sponsored the transformation of the city government's television channel from a hodgepodge of televised meetings to a lively presenter of "The Secrets of New York."  Its star, Kelly Choi, is a journalist and former model.  Erika Hayasaki has the story in today's Los Angeles Times.

*Harold Goldstein, executive director of the California Center for Public Health Advocacy, was shocked when he heard a description of Burger King's Quad-Stacker which includes four meat patties, four slices of cheese and eight slices of bacon. There ought to be a law to require restaurants to explain the nutritional content of such offerings, he says.  The story by Michael Stetz is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*TreePeople founder Andy Lipkis said the recent big fire at Griffith Park did some beneficial work that others were unwilling to do: remove some invasive species from the area.  The story by Deborah Schoch and Ashraf Khalil is in today's Los Angeles Times.

*The Blessings of a Broken Heart by Sherri Mandell has been adapted into a new play by Associate Director Todd Salovey.  The story by Anne Marie Welsh appears in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Adam Mendelsohn, a spokesperson for California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, says a bullet train to link California's cities is not a top priority.  But David Crane, a member of the California High Speed Rail Authority, isn't giving up.  He wants a meeting with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and U.S. Senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, all California Democrats, to work out a financing plan. The story by George Skelton is in today's Los Angeles Times.

*Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, under domestic pressure to do something about the continuing rocket attacks on Sderot, declared that as Israel retalliates "no one is immune"—which some observers took as a warning that targeted assassinations of top Hamas leaders may be in store.  The story, based on Associated Press and New York Times News Service material, is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*U.S. Senators Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania and Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas, Republicans on opposite sides of the immigration debate, have said they believe they can work out a compromise. The story by Molly Hennessy-Fiske is in today's Los Angeles Times.

*Marcia Zerivitz, chief curator and founding executive director of the Jewish Museum of Florida in Miami Beach, recommends to the new Haitian museum that it not be overly concerned with establishing the provenance of some items brought by immigrants. If nothing else, the art works' history can start with their arrival.  The Associated Press story by Jennifer Kay is in today's Los Angeles Times.

Tuesday, May 29
*Frieda Birnbaum, 60, has returned with her two new babies from a maternity ward to her home in Saddle River, N.J., saying everyone is feeling "fine."  The Associated Press story is included in a column of briefs in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Richard Blum, husband of U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, has holdings in URS Corp., a company that is now purchasing Washington Group International for $2.6 billion to create an engineering and construction powerhouse.  In the past Feinstein has been accused of a conflict of interest for being on a military constructions appropriations subcommittee which approves military contracts, including those with URS.  Feinstein has denied any conflict.  The story by Evelyn Iritani is in today's Los Angeles Times.

*Retired Israeli Gen. Shlomo Brom, in a paper published by Tel Aviv University, concludes there is no sure-fire way to suppress the firing of Qassams from Gaza short of Israel reoccupying that territory—which would force Israel to once again become responsible for Gaza's 3 million inhabitants.  The Associated Press story by Karen Laub is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*With the third installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean so successful at the box office, there is little question that Jerry Bruckheimer is planning a fourth installment. The story by Josh Friedman is in today's Los Angeles Times.

*As president of Disney, Michael Eisner commanded a global empire with 125,000 employees.  After his ouster in 2005, he has adjusted to downsizing. His small office in Beverly Hills has just five employees.  The story by Laura M. Holson of the New York Times News Service is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*U.S. Sen. Carl Levin (D-Michigan), appearing on television's Face the Nation, disagreed with Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama who said troop reductions are possible in September after General David Petraeus submits a report evaluating the effect of the recent troop surge.  Levin said there's no reason to wait until then; "we've got men and women dying in Iraq right now." The story by Robin Fields is in today's Los Angeles Times.

*Radio talk show host "Dr. Laura" Schlesinger had sold out audiences for two nights at the 1,523-seat East County Performing Arts Center, but otherwise attendance at its events has been disappointing.  Liz Neely has the story in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*A side issue in the Phil Spector murder trial is the question of what impact the trial will have on the reputation of Henry Lee, an ace criminologist who has been accused of removing evidence from the scene where Lana Clarkson's body was found. The story by Matt Krasnowski of the Copley News Service is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Bataan Death March survivor Lester Tenney was among World War II veterans at the La Costa Glen retirement home relating war experiences on Memorial Day. The story by Chris Moran is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*The mammoth compromise bill continuing funding for the War in Iraq and other Defense and Veteran related issues was stripped of a provision sought by California Democrats to prohibit the administration from leasing or selling the Veteran's Administration property in West Los Angeles.  U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman (D-California) said the removal of that provision at the behest of the Bush administration was "an unfortunate setback."  The story by Martha Groves is in today's Los Angeles Times.

Wednesday, May 30
 

*Pakistani businessman Abdul Rehman Jinnah, accused of funneling illegal campaign contributions to U.S. Senators Barbara Boxer (D-California) and Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) collapsed in court during a hearing into the amount of bond he should post.  The story by Greg Krikorian and Robin Fields is in today's Los Angeles Times.

*Israel's former Prime Minister Ehud Barak was the top-placing candidate for the leadership of the Labor party. He will face a runoff with retired admiral Ami Ayalon for the position from which Israel's Defense Minister Amir Peretz will depart. The story is in the World Briefs column in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Dr. Marc Eckstein, medical director for the Los Angeles Fire Department, said procedures are being tightened to assure that regulatory agencies receive reports on any instances of alleged or proven medical malfeasance on the part of paramedics. The story by Rich Connell and Robert J. Lopez is in today's Los Angeles Times.

*Mario Feferbaum, president of the Foundation for the Memory of the Holocaust, said his Buenos Aires museum soon will exhibit the passport carried in Argentina by mass murderer Adolf Eichmann.  The Associated Press story by Bill Cormier is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*The California Assembly approved by a 44-29 vote legislation to require certain guns sold in the state to automatically stamp a serial number on bullet cartridges—a procedure which sponsor Assemblyman Mike Feuer (D-Los Angeles) said could provide a trail of evidence to a killer.  The story by James P. Sweeney of the Copley News Service is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg read her dissent in a 5-4 decision in which the majority ruled that a woman who claimed to have suffered from wage discrimination hadn't filed her claim in a timely manner.  Ginsburg, who received support from fellow Jewish justice Stephen Breyer, argued that the pattern of discrimination can be secretive making it impossible to gather sufficient facts to file a claim within the 180-day period. The story by Linda Greenhouse of the New York Times News Service is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune. Another version of the story by David G. Savage is in today's Los Angeles Times.

*Pulitzer Prize winning food critic Jonathan Gold doesn't make a tsimmis about it, but he says a key to success in his business is to be obsessed with quality.  A story by Dan Laidman of the Copley News Service is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Jerry Gumpel, attorney for Baja Acquisitions, declined to comment to news media about his client's acquisition of the 46-acre Baja Studios near Rosarito Beach where the movie Titanic was made. Nevertheless, Diane Lindquist was able to piece together a story in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Judge Mandel Himelstein lowered from $1,000 to $660 the fines and fees that students will have to pay for holding a party in the mid-city area where the noise level was deemed excessive.  The story by Sherry Saavedra is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*U.S. Rep. Tom Lantos (D-California), chairman of the House International Relations Committee, said sanctions against Sudan, while welcome, could have saved many lives if they had been applied before. In the Darfur region, "the genocide continues without stop," Lantos said.  The story by Michael Abramowitz and Colum Lynch of The Washington Post is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Lou Lupin, an attorney for San Diego-based Qualcomm, said it will challenge the verdict of a federal grand jury that the cell phone company infringed upon three patents owned by Broadcom.  The jury awarded the latter company $19.6 million in damages.  The story by Jeff St. Onge and Bill Callahan of Bloomberg News is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Brian Morgenstern, a Circuit City employee who saw the video that led to the arrest of suspects allegedly planning an attack on Fort Dix, said he hesitated before alerting federal authorities to his suspicions because he didn't want to violate anyone's right to privacy.  The Associated Press story by Geoff Mulvihill is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner recommended that insurance companies charge employers 14.2 percent less on their premiums without adversely impacting coverage for employees.  The story by Dean Calbreath is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Economist Robert J. Samuelson criticizes those politicians who on the one hand decry global warming and on the other fulminate against high gasoline prices.  Among those he singles out is U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) His column is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Ben Silverman of Reveille Productions is expected to be named the new entertainment chief at the National Broadcasting Corporation. The Associated Press story is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune. Another version by Meg James is in today's Los Angeles Times.

*Los Angeles Coroner Dr. Louis Pena, testifying in Phil Spector's murder trial, said actress Lana Clarkson did not kill herself.  The story by Matt Krasnowski of the Copley News Service is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas were to meet in an effort to curb the growing violence between the two countries. The story is in the World Briefs column in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Barbra Streisand has canceled her concert next month in Rome, citing production delays.  The high prices at the concert ranging from $200 to $1,200 per ticket had prompted protests in Italy.  The story is in the "Public Eye" column of today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Robert Zoellick, former chief trade negotiator, has been tapped by President George W. Bush to be president of the World Bank, replacing Paul Wolfowitz. The Associated Press story by Jeannine Aversa is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

Thursday, May 31
*Rabbi Yonah Bookstein, a rabbi who works with University of California Irvine students, says anyone overtly Jewish on that campus is liable to be harassed, but UC Irvine Chancellor Michael Drake said during a forum at Shir Ha Ma'alot Synagogue that he cannot intervene against "free speech."  The story by H.G. Reza is in today's Los Angeles Times.

*Elizabeth Dervan, 16, and Amanda Fink, 17, are organizing a dance-a-thon and silent auction at Polytechnic School in Pasadena for Darfur refugees. As Jews aware of the Holocaust, they said they feel a responsibility to do what they can to prevent genocide.  The story by Martha Groves is in today's Los Angeles Times.

*Will the compromise immigration legislation prompt an increase in immigrants seeking to come to the United States illegally, with the idea of forging documents to "prove" they had been residents prior to January 1, 2007?  U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-California) didn't directly answer this question, but defended the compromise that moved the legislation forward.  The story by Jerry Kammer of the Copley News Service is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*In Norfolk, Virgina, U.S. District Court Judge Jerome B. Friedman has ordered that Majed Talat Hajbeh be freed from prison because he had been held for nearly four years for violating immigration laws and in all that time no country could be found to deport him to. The Associated Press story is included in a column of briefs in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg received mixed reviews in a San Diego Union-Tribune editorial. The newspaper agreed that a law restricting the time people may file a discrimination claim may need fixing.  But, it said, that's up to Congress, not up to the Supreme Court.

*Jonathan Greenberg, superintendent of the Perris Union High School District, says a high-speed, alcohol-influenced crash on Interstate 15 that took the lives of three students and critically injured another during a senior class trip, is "breaking our hearts...kids are just heartbroken."  The story by Kristina Davis and J. Harry Jones is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*The works of photographer Arthur Lavine are on display at two venues: The Museum of Photographic Arts and the Four Walls Gallery in North Park.  A review by Neil Kendricks is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Adam Levine of Maroon 5 needs to get out of bed more, writes reviewer Erin Glass, who is clearly uninspired by Levine's sex life.  Her review is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Connecticut) is on tour of U.S. military facilities in Iraq.  One of the first questions a soldier asked him in a forum was when the troops could leave.  The story by Leila Fadel of MCT News Service is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*In the latest battle between Qualcomm and Broadcom, the former is accused by the latter of having hidden documents that were at variance with Qualcomm's testimony in another case and which might have affected the outcome of a trial which Broadcom won anyway.  Lou Lupin, an attorney for Qualcomm, said in an apology to the judge in the case that the failure to produce the documents was inadvertent. The story by Kathryn Balint is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*New York Times television critic Joanne Ostrow describes The Starter Wife, a new USA television offering starring Debra Messing of Will-and-Grace fame, as "six hours of divorcée porn, cable-style."  Her review is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Former Congressman Lionel Van Deerlin of San Diego writes in his column in the San Diego Union-Tribune about a new Creation Museum that opened in Petersburg, Kentucky, devoted to a literal interpretation of Genesis. Among high-tech exhibits is one suggesting that the Grand Canyon was created by the sudden flood of water at the time of Noah.

*Martin Nissenbaum and Richard Shapiro, partners in Ernst & Young, were among four defendants accused in an indictment unsealed in Manhattan federal court of attempting to defraud the Internal Revenue Service by creating phony tax shelters for clients, then having the clients pretend to withdraw from the bogus shelters by claiming that the September 11, 2001 terror attacks forced them to reconsider their investments.  The Associated Press story by Larry Neumeister is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Coroner Dr. Louis Pena, testifying in the Phil Spector murder trial, acknowledged under cross-examination that it could not be said from the angle of bullet penetration whether victim Lana Clarkson was shot by someone else, or by herself. But he continued to insist that the case was a homicide.  The story by Matt Krasnowski of the Copley News Service is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Dr. James W. Weinstein of the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Hanover, N.H., concludes in a new study that some back problems are better treated with surgery than with drugs and physical medicine.  The story by Thomas H. Maugh II is in today's Los Angeles Times.