Our Town

Temple Emanu-El Consecration The Temple Emanu-El Kurn Religious School consecration class of 5777 at Simchat Torah on Monday, Oct. 24.  … Read more »

THE WESTIN LA PALOMA RESORT & SPA has earned the 2016 Best of Meetings Today Award from Meetings Today magazine. THE TUCSON JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER announced several staff promotions in the Early Childhood Education program as a result of the recent retirement of Wendy Edmonds, co-director of the program… Read more »

An exhibit by LAURI MARKS KAYE, “A Tucson Portrait Story,” will be on display in the windows of the historic Roy Place Building, 44 N. Stone Ave., through Dec. 31. The line drawings depict people, places and events that make Tucson remarkable, from Gates Pass and Hotel Congress to… Read more »

AARON GREENBERG of the JIM CLICK AUTOMOTIVE TEAM was one of two winners of the Arizona Daily Star’s Readers’ Choice Awards for Best Auto Sales Person. The other winner was Alfonso Avitia of Jim Click Nissan.     JEWISH FAMILY & CHILDREN’S SERVICES received an $8,000 grant from Phoenix… Read more »

Tween escapes and adventures PJ Our Way tweens put their heads together to try an escape room game and learned some tricks that would have made Houdini proud at an Escapes and Adventures party on Sunday, Sept. 18 at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. PJOW’s next event will be… Read more »

Philadelphia native MICHAEL WALDEN joined the UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA HILLEL FOUNDATION staff as director of Jewish student life. Walden also holds the position of Ezra Fellow, a program for early career Jewish professionals that includes training in experiential Jewish education and immersive Jewish learning. He earned his Bachelor of… Read more »

Painter JOSH GOLDBERG’s most recent book, “Eight Beggars: Concatenating Verses of Separation and Repair,” has been published by Albion-Andalus Books and is available from the publisher or Amazon.… Read more »

STACI KRUPINSKY is a new commercial lines sales executive for Lovitt & Touché, where she will focus on workers’ comp and business insurance in select markets. Previously, she owned a Farmers Insurance Agency in Tucson. Before that, she worked as a sales trainer and agency business consultant for Farmers… Read more »

Jillian Cantor

JILLIAN CANTOR, author of “Margot” and “The Hours Count,” will speak at Antigone Books on Sept. 2 along with fellow Tucson author Mark Beauregard. Riverhead Books recently released the paperback version of “The Hours Count,” Cantor’s acclaimed historical novel about a woman who befriends Ethel and Julius Rosenberg.… Read more »

Kathy Rodriguez

THE TUCSON JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER announced several new hires. KATHY (KAT) RODRIGUEZ joins the J as assistant director of digital marketing and communications. Previously, Rodriguez was a marketing specialist at the University of Arizona Medical Network. She holds an Associate of Arts degree from the Fashion Institute of Design… Read more »

Rep. McSally visits Holocaust History Center Jewish History Museum board member Leonard Schultz shows U.S. Rep. Martha McSally photos of his parents-in-law, Rachel and Rachmil Kane, in the Holocaust survivor exhibit at the Holocaust History Center. McSally visited the Holocaust History Center at the Jewish History Museum on July… Read more »

ARIZONA THEATRE COMPANY has received a $1 million matching guarantee toward its $2 million fundraising goal from Tucson businessman and ATC board member Mike Kasser. The ATC board of trustees has extended its fundraising deadline to July 15. ATC had announced last month that it needed $2 million by… Read more »

The Arizona Center for the Book has selected “My Tata’s Remedies/Los remedios de mi tata” by RONI CAPIN RIVERA-ASHFORD as the Arizona Great Read for 2016.  Each year, a list of books representing the literary heritage of the 50 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands… Read more »

Israel Scouts Friendship Caravan The Tzofim (Israel Scouts) visited Tucson for several days last month. Along with their annual concert at the Tucson Jewish Community Center on June 20, the scouts also gave performances for Camp J and Handmaker Jewish Services for the Aging and spent time with local… Read more »

Camp J time capsules Summer campers at the J traveled through time to visit Old Tucson Studios and learn about the Jewish History Museum time capsule that was opened by Gabrielle Giffords in 2010. They decided to make their own time capsules and stuffed them with a penny, recent… Read more »

KIM EGITA is the new chief financial officer for the JEWISH FEDERATION OF SOUTHERN ARIZONA. Previously, she was finance and assets director at Our Family Services, where she oversaw the financial aspects of its 2012 merger with New Beginnings for Women and Children, where she had been administrative director… Read more »

JAMES A. WHITEHILL was elected president of the board of trustees of the Jewish Community Foundation of Southern Arizona last month. Whitehill has served as a JCF trustee since 2008. Board member Goggy Davidowitz is a newly elected vice president. New board members include Caron Mitchell, Stephen Rodgveller and… Read more »

Happy birthday, Israel The Weintraub Israel Center capped off Tucson Celebrates Israel Week with a family-friendly Yom Huledet L’Yisrael (Happy Birthday Israel) party at the Tucson Jewish Community Center on Sunday, May 15. The event included Israeli party games, party favors and birthday cake.       Lag B’Omer… Read more »

(Cymera Caren-Boyd)

RABBI SHAFIR LOBB, formerly of Tucson, was named one of “America’s Most Inspiring Rabbis 2016” by the Forward. Lobb has been the rabbi of Congregation Eitz Chayim in Port Saint Lucie, Fla., for one year. Previously, she was rabbi of Port Saint Lucie’s Temple Beth El Israel for three… Read more »

The seventh grade class of TEMPLE EMANU-EL’s Kurn Religious School participated in the Association for Fundraising Professionals Youth in Philanthropy program. The students chose to support cancer research and, after issuing a request for proposals, selected the American Cancer Society as their fund recipient. The class raised $1,038, with… Read more »