Bobbi Murray

Activists Strategize on Hotel Contracts

Published on November 24, 2005

Set in front of the hotel on the Avenue of the Stars, which was blocked off, this banquet-in-the-street supported some 4,000 striking workers at seven Los Angeles hotels.

Shake-Up!

Published on November 3, 2005

Proposition 77, the redistricting measure on next week's special elections ballot, is likely to shift considerably more Latino voters into Berman's district -- and perhaps give rise to a viable Latino challenger.

Fairfax Shops Feel the Squeeze

Published on October 20, 2005

A venerable Jewish business in the Fairfax District has received a short-term stay of execution. Hatikvah Records, an internationally known vendor of both popular and rare Jewish music, will remain open at 436 N. Fairfax Ave. until mid-January, despite earlier reports that its closure was imminent.

Villaraigosa a Yemenite?

Published on October 13, 2005

"Mayor Villaraigosa said many times during his campaign that he would lead a trip to Israel," Weiss said in a phone interview. "He feels a strong connection to Israel."

Community Brief

Published on August 4, 2005

Community Briefs

Eviction of Jew and Non-Jew Going to Trial

Published on July 21, 2005

A federal court trial, alleging that the Orthodox Jewish owners of a Pico-Robertson building evicted a tenant because he shared his apartment with a non-Jew, is scheduled to open in Los Angeles next week.

The suit by Lawrence "Chaim" Stein alleges that he was evicted in 2004 by the board of Torat Hayim, a nonprofit that is best known for its Pico-Robertson school and synagogue, but that also manages a handful of apartments.

Stein's central piece of evidence in the suit is a voice mail left on his phone answering machine by Michael Braum, one of the suit's defendants and the pro bono manager of the apartment in the 8800 block of Alcott Street.

"I can't believe you rented to a goy," says the voice on the tape, which Braum has acknowledged as his in a deposition.

"Two days after that, we get an eviction notice," Stein said.

Rejecting tenants based on religion is illegal. Braum noted in an interview that Torah Hayim's tenants include non-Jews. He insisted that the issue was not religion, but that Stein unilaterally changed terms of the lease.