Sara, Katie and Dylan Bluth (Courtesy Jeff Bluth) For two local families, the Bluths and the Smiths, the summer camps at Tucson’s Jewish Community Center, fondly known as Camp J, mean much more than just fun for the kids. Their stories reveal the profound impact camp can make. For Jeff Bluth, it is exciting to see the… Read more »
Tucsonan Kim Bayne in her Griddler on the Roof food truck Update 1.21.15: Due to family health issues, Griddler on the Roof is temporarily suspending operation. For more information, visit http://facebook.com/GriddlerTruck . Kim Bayne likes new challenges. Although she’s been a business and technology writer for most of her career, memories of cooking for the Jewish holidays with her mother and grandmother… Read more »
Masha Gessen “Speaking truth to power” is a way of life for Russian-American Jewish journalist Masha Gessen. An outspoken critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, a staunch supporter of gay rights and a chronicler for the voiceless, the award-winning author will speak at four community events during “A Day With Masha… Read more »
Max Goldschmid It’s cool. It’s funky. And, if you ask local musician, producer and owner of 11:11 Studios, Mike Levy, its rhythm can be visualized something “like an egg rolling” — slightly off-kilter, yet quasi-sober — “steady, but swinging,” he calls it. We’re talking about jazz and, later this month, Tucson… Read more »
James Deem Tucson author James M. Deem will speak at Hadassah Southern Arizona’s luncheon on Sunday, Jan. 11. Deem, the author of over two dozen books for adults and young adults, will present “Albertine’s Doll: A Holocaust Story from Belgium.” This is one of the stories from his upcoming book, “The… Read more »
The Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona is getting ready for its annual Campaign Super Sunday phone-a-thon and Mitzvah Day on Sunday, Jan. 25, at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. From 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., volunteers can make calls soliciting tax-deductible gifts to the Federation that support Jewish life… Read more »
A sex trafficking awareness vigil will be held on the University of Arizona Mall on Monday, Jan. 19 at 6:30 p.m. Sex trafficking survivor Beth Jacobs and Mayor Jonathan Rothschild will speak and take part in a candlelighting ceremony. Jacobs is the founder of Willow Way, a local organization… Read more »
Rabbi Benji Levene The 2014 Cohon Memorial Foundation Awards will be presented at Temple Emanu-El at Shabbat services on Friday, Jan. 9 at 7:30 p.m. Rabbis Baruch J. Cohon and Samuel M. Cohon will present the awards to this year’s winners, Jonathan Ornstein and Rabbi Benji Levene. Both recipients are being honored… Read more »
Congregation Or Chadash will hold a Texas Hold’em poker tournament, plus a dinner and casino night, on Saturday, Feb. 7 at the Tucson Scottish Rite Cathedral, 160 S. Scott Ave. The tournament is limited to 150 players on a first-come, first-served basis. Walk-ins are welcome, unless sold out. The… Read more »
The University of Arizona Hillel Foundation will hold its annual alumni basketball event, a pre-game dinner before the UA vs Oregon basketball game, on Wednesday, Jan. 28 at 5:45 p.m. at the Hillel Foundation, 1245 E. 2nd St. The event will include dinner, door prizes, a visit with UA… Read more »
Shalom Tucson will host a free bagel brunch for newcomers and anyone interested in the Tucson Jewish community on Sunday, Jan. 18 at 10 a.m. at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. Representatives from synagogues, agencies and organizations will be on hand, along with the Jewish community concierge, Ori Parnaby.… Read more »
Mary Kate Callahan (front) and her teammates (L-R): Abigail Will, Laura Haley, Jessica Honea, Kimberly Nicolai, Molly Supple and Halli Schmittenberg celebrate the end of a successful season for the University of Arizona Women’s triathlon team. (Photo: Jimmy Song Photography) The Tucson Jewish Community Center will present “Consider Yourself Challenged,” a family friendly fundraiser on Sunday, Feb. 8 from 4 to 6:30 p.m. The University of Arizona TriCats will be on hand to conduct children’s activities and discuss equipment and training required to participate in a triathlon. Mary Kate… Read more »
Tracy Salkowitz Community foundations are the coolest thing ever … well, you would think so, too, if you had the greatest job in the world. The first community foundation was created in Cleveland in 1914 by Frederick Goff, a local banker, who understood the need for a centralized philanthropic vehicle to… Read more »
The University of Arizona Poetry Center will present a Jan. 8 memorial reading from 7 to 8 p.m., to witness, remember, and commemorate the 4th anniversary of Jan. 8, 2011, when a gunman killed six people and wounded 13 others, including Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, outside a Tucson Safeway store. In… Read more »
George Miller
George Miller, mayor of Tucson from 1991 to 1999, died Dec. 25 at the age of 92. Born in Detroit, Miller was a Tucsonan since 1939 and briefly attended Tucson High School. He served as a U.S. Marine in World War II, was wounded in the Battle of Saipan… Read more »
Tucsonans can activate the Jewish concept of halbashat arumin, clothing the needy, this cold season by participating in a clothing drive to benefit Primavera Men’s Shelter. This social action effort running through Jan. 4 is sponsored by the Tucson Jewish Community Center and the Jewish Community Relations Council in partnership with several… Read more »
Sheldon Metz Sheldon Metz thought he was retiring from a big-time career as an event producer when he came to Tucson in 2007. “Instead, I’m busier than ever,” says Metz, 69. “My doctor says that’s what keeps me going.” Soon after Metz and his wife, Linda Schulman-Metz, arrived here, he jumped… Read more »
The Women’s Philanthropy Advisory Council of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona is seeking nominees for its ninth annual Bryna Zehngut Mitzvot Award, recognizing an outstanding Jewish teenage girl. The award was created to honor the memory of Zehngut, a community leader who died in 2005. Award nominees must… Read more »
Melissa Kosinski-Collins, Ph.D. Melissa Kosinski-Collins, Ph.D., associate professor of biology at Brandeis University, will speak on “When Good Proteins Go Bad” at a University on Wheels breakfast cosponsored by the Tucson Chapter of the Brandeis National Committee and the Tucson Jewish Community Center on Jan. 8 from 9 to 11 a.m. at… Read more »
Adam and Dana Goldstein at Hava Tequila 2014 “Sequins & Bowties” will be the theme for Hava Tequila, the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona Young Leadership’s annual party. The Jan. 10 event, for ages 21 and over, will include a DJ, dancing, photo booth, dessert bar and signature drinks. “We are building on last year’s success while… Read more »
