By Diana Brement , JTNews Columnist Even though her performance career in ballet didn’t last very long, Marjorie Thompson still feels the influence of her early years dancing with the New York City Ballet, “when George Balanchine was artistic director,” she says. “I was there at the right time,” reflectsContinue Reading
By Rivy Poupko Kletenik , JTNews Columnist Dear Rivy, It is that time of year when “Best of the Year” lists meet the awards season. It can be a full-time job keeping up! First our attention goes to the Golden Globe, then the People’s Choice, then, finally the Oscars. IContinue Reading
By Diana Brement , JTNews Columnist It’s always great when families get along, and more so when blended families do. Stepbrothers Raphi Schuster and Daniel Kaplan are doubly, maybe quadruply, blessed: They enjoy the support of an array of parents and stepparents, and shared interests in sports, school, synagogue andContinue Reading
By Janis Siegel , JTNews Columnist Unless you’re the parents of a Kobe Bryant or a Tiger Woods, most moms and dads probably spend most of their time and money helping their children make good grades. But new research from three Israeli doctors shows that awkwardness or disinterest in sportsContinue Reading
By Rivy Poupko Kletenik, JTNews Columnist Dear Rivy, I just read Nathan Englander’s short story in the latest New Yorker and I found something deeply disturbing about it. On one hand, I love to read and see Jewish things out there in the world. On the other hand, it’s almostContinue Reading
By Diana Brement , JTNews Columnist Kenny and Marleen Alhadeff are always happy to be honored, as they were Nov. 18, receiving the Outstanding Family Philanthropists award from the Association of Fundraising Professionals, Washington Chapter, for their work with the Foundation for Early Learning. On accepting the award, Kenny stressedContinue Reading
By Diana Brement, JTNews Columnist Columbus, Ohio native Brenda Luper (“go Buckeyes!”) was a relatively new arrival in the Seattle area in 2007 when she learned her mom had pancreatic cancer. “We had no idea what that meant,” she says. Sadly, her mother died four months later and “we spentContinue Reading
By Janis Siegel , JTNews Columnist As global governments focus on deterring nuclear threats and cyber-terrorism, we could be missing a longtime “frien-emy” in our midst that can keep us healthy — or take us out in a matter of hours. And they are everywhere. In groups, these individuals areContinue Reading
By Diana Brement, JTNews Columnist About two months ago my family and I visited Whitman College in Walla Walla. We arrived Friday afternoon and headed to the student union to buy challah from Challah For Hunger (which we wrote about in April) before our tour. Later, we joined about 30Continue Reading
By Rivy Poupko Kletenik, JTNews Columnist Dear Rivy, Hanukkah is our family’s favorite holiday. We host a different set of guests each night and we like to inject each year with its own special flavor. As the holiday approaches we identify a theme for the year and I try toContinue Reading
By Diana Brement, JTNews Columnist Waxing nostalgic Diana Brement JTNews Columnist 1 A confluence of events brought Susan Szafir to electronically publish “Bohemia: An Essay,” a brief memoir of part of her father’s life. “I was getting my certificate in non-fiction from the University of Washington,” she says, and neededContinue Reading
By Janis Siegel , JTNews Columnist Travel, particularly international travel, proves for many of us to be one of the best ways to explore different cultures and expand our worldview. In 2010 alone, there were 1 billion international arrivals for business and leisure, according to statistics from the World TourismContinue Reading
By Diana Brement, JTNews Columnist 1 It’s just happenstance, I promise, but readers will see that our featured M.O.T.s have names that inadvertently, but suitably, fit their occupations. People sometimes assume Eric LeVine changed his name to match his work, but his great-grandfather changed it a long time ago. EricContinue Reading
By Rivy Poupko Kletenik, JTNews Columnist Dear Rivy, There has been quite a bit of public conversation about the troubling issue of bullying. I watched CNN’s Anderson Cooper’s week-long Town Hall meetings on the issue and the new study results. I was alternately moved and upset, and I’m now deeplyContinue Reading
By Diana Brement, JTNews Columnist No, this isn’t a series on the Kezner family. But if I hadn’t interviewed Larry Kezner’s cousin Llance last issue, Larry’s name would never have jumped out at me from a Seattle Times piece announcing Larry’s small-boat passenger ferry connecting Seattle’s South Lake Union andContinue Reading
By Janis Siegel , JTNews Columnist Editor’s Note: This marks the debut of a new monthly column, “Israel: To Your Health,” which focuses on innovations in the health and medical fields from Israeli research and higher learning institutions. It should come as no surprise to anyone in “the tribe” thatContinue Reading
By Diana Brement, JTNews Columnist Oftentimes the greatest ideas are discovered by accident. Take Llance Kezner and his wife, Lori Peha Kezner, the founders of Garlic It!, their new garlic condiments produced in five flavors, as a case in point. Their “Private Reserve Caramelized Garlic Finish” won a “Sofi” awardContinue Reading
By Diana Brement, JTNews Columnist With one British and one South African parent, Tamara Gittelson grew up moving frequently from London to Cape Town and back, interspersed with “a couple of years in Israel doing ulpan and living on a kibbutz.” By her own admission, she became a bit ofContinue Reading
By Rivy Poupko Kletenik , JTNews Columnist Dear Rivy, Confession: I have a love-hate relationship with the High Holidays. On one hand, I very much look forward to the season of holiday meals, get-togethers and keeping all the family traditions. On the other hand I find all the talk ofContinue Reading
By Diana Brement, JTNews Columnist 1 “We started Purple about 10 years ago — 10 years ago exactly,” Larry Kurofsky told me a few weeks ago about the well-known restaurant with branches in Seattle, Kirkland, Bellevue and Woodinville. After graduate school, Larry and his wife Tabitha started a restaurant togetherContinue Reading
