Aging Creatively

Published on December 12, 2012

As my friends and I navigate our 60s and 70s, we notice — with amusement and consternation — how our conversations have changed. Instead of talking about our kids’ college applications and the best camping sites, we find ourselves discussing back pain and long-term care insurance. The bottom-line concern, of course, is how to create the best quality of life as we age.

JDC CEO Steven Schwager stepping down

Published on May 11, 2012

The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee’s CEO is stepping down.

Early Retirement in Hawaii

By Lisa Niver Rajna
Published on April 26, 2012

Living in limbo

By Danielle Berrin
Published on August 17, 2010

One day last spring, Jill Schary-Robinson Shaw was walking through a quiet, darkened corridor in the long-term care unit at The Motion Picture Home, the iconic Woodland Hills nursing home for entertainment industry veterans and their families. Hardly anyone was around — lights were dim, residents alone in their rooms — as Schary-Robinson Shaw, the daughter of Isadore “Dore” Schary, who ran MGM in the 1950s, wheeled her husband, Stuart Shaw, a resident of the home, around his desolate indoor neighborhood.

Is the time right for universal health care?

By Raphael J. Sonenshein
Published on November 22, 2008

Over 65 group could decide who wins this year’s presidential election

Published on October 15, 2008

Neither candidate on the campaign trail has spoken often on issues that matter to seniors, and when they have, it's been underreported by much of the media. So at the end of the day, how different are the candidates -- and their respective political parties -- from each other when it comes to issues of great importance to seniors, such as long-term care, Social Security, medical insurance and taxes?

A doctor’s visit

By Bill Boyarsky
Published on May 29, 2008

A visit with Dr. Eugene Gettelman, who celebrates his 100th birthday on June 17, shows how much medicine has gained and lost in the last half century

Some retirees make aliyah to San Miguel de Allende

By Buzzy Gordon
Published on May 1, 2008

A growing number of American Jews have chosen to retire to Mexico. Two of the largest expatriate communities, in San Miguel de Allende and Ajijic; have experienced contrasting experiences while attempting to establish spiritual leadership.

Five ways to find your purpose after 50 or 60 or 70 or . . .

By David Corbett
Published on December 20, 2007

But how does one find a new mission at age 50 or 60 or 80? A growing array of books, courses, programs and now Web sites exist to provide suggestions, and many of them offer valuable detailed guidance, worksheets and resources. Working your way through them all can be a chore. Here are five tools.

Young Jewish male takes ‘crak’ at mah-jongg

By Jay Firestone
Published on December 20, 2007

Theater: Davidson’s retirement leads to ‘Lessons’

By Tom Tugend
Published on November 15, 2007

Gordon Davidson is back where he belongs, in the director's chair. The man whose name is practically synonymous with Los Angeles theater, who raised the city's reputation from a provincial backwater to the breeding ground for innovative and controversial plays, retired in the summer of 2005 as founding artistic director of the Center Theatre Group. Now he has resumed his craft, not at the Mark Taper Forum, the site of many of his triumphs and some failures for 38 seasons, but at the more modest venue of the Strasberg Creative Center's Marilyn Monroe Theatre in West Hollywood.

Briefs: L.A. Koreans and Jews protest anti-Semitic cartoons published in South Korea; Police Chief Bratton warns terrorism will be threat for the rest of our lives

Published on March 1, 2007

Briefs

Educational programs help seniors fulfill postponed dreams

By Peter L. Rothholz
Published on February 1, 2007

Regardless of age or physical condition, intellectually curious seniors have many opportunities in the Los Angeles area to participate in an educational program that fits their needs in an enriching, stimulating and affordable environment.

Composer Martin Bresnick’s classically unique style turns 60

By George Robinson
Published on January 18, 2007

Even today, Bresnick "listens to everything," and his own compositions have a uniquely American eclecticism.

American-style retirement for Israel’s seniors

By Miriam Bulwar David-Hay
Published on December 21, 2006

Although old-age homes have always existed in Israel for those who cannot care for themselves, it is only in recent years that the American idea of retiring to a comfortable community of seniors has taken off here.

Rabbi Ending Long Hitch in Military

By Avigail Schwartz
Published on February 16, 2006

Lapp was 9 when his family arrived in the United States. He went on to study political science and religious education at Yeshiva University and was ordained at the Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary in 1957. He studied chaplaincy at the Command and General Staff College at Ft. Leavenworth, Kan., and the Army War College in Carlisle, Pa.

Spectator - Fiddle Dee Dee and Oy Vey!

By Gaby Friedman
Published on February 2, 2006

"Truthfully, my grandfather really was the catalyst for the journey," Brian Bain said in a phone conversation from Dallas, where he relocated after his New Orleans home was damaged by Hurricane Katrina. He was referring to Leonard Bain, a retired traveling hat salesman and silent film editor who was 99, in 2002, when the film was made. The elder Bain has since died at the age of 101.

Israeli Government Gets on With It

By Dan Baron
Published on January 12, 2006

As the prime minister lay in a post-operative coma Sunday, his temporary replacement, acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, chaired the weekly Cabinet meeting.

"We hope that the prime minister will recover, gain strength and with God's help will return to run the government of Israel and lead the State of Israel," Olmert said.

The Jewish Seat

By Rob Eshman
Published on July 7, 2005

Seven American Jews have served on the Supreme Court of the United States of America.

Make that eight -- if you include Sandra Day O'Connor.

O'Connor, who announced her retirement from the bench last week, isn't Jewish (you read it here first). But her legal opinions have had a profoundly positive effect on American Jewish life, which underscore the potential impact of the person President Bush nominates to replace her.

Appreciation is pouring in for O'Connor from streams of Judaism that rarely flow together. Orthodox groups have lauded her for her moderation, while more liberal denominations have praised her swing vote on issues dear to them.

The Social Security Fix: Pay Back Funds

By Rep. Henry Waxman
Published on April 14, 2005

President Bush has proposed the biggest transfer of wealth in history. He plans to use trillions of dollars in contributions to the Social Security Trust Fund to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy and other administration spending priorities.

Your Letters

Published on August 12, 2004

Your Letters

Federation Faces Underfunded Pension

By Marc Ballon
Published on July 29, 2004

Faced with a pension shortfall of $20 million, the organized Jewish community's largest philanthropy finds itself forced to divert millions of donor dollars to employee retirement benefits, rather than to needed social services.

Heschel’s ‘Visionary’ Principal Retiring

By Jane Ulman
Published on May 22, 2003

Today, Abraham Joshua Heschel Day School, with nearly 500 students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade, sits on a three-and-a-half-acre site in Northridge. And Shirley Levine is still diligently working to improve the school.

Planning Ahead Can Save on Health Care

By Gaby Wenig
Published on December 26, 2002

Because elder care can be an enormous drain on an individual's resources, with nursing homes costing in excess of $100 a day and home care costing even more, planning ahead and buying long-term-care insurance is one way of preventing the costs from being too overwhelming.

End of an Era at Harkham Hillel

By Julie G Fax
Published on November 21, 2002

The news was not good. Abraham Anidjar would have to stay in Los Angeles for a prolonged period to receive treatment for his liver condition.

The Circuit

By Michael Aushenker
Published on May 9, 2002

University Synagogue paid tribute to the 30-year career of Rabbi Allen Freehling, on the occasion of the socially active rabbi's retirement, with a gala at the Regent Beverly Wilshire.

Educator Q &A: Dr. Stu Bernstein

By Beverly Gray
Published on March 15, 2001

Dr. Stu Bernstein has spent 40 years with the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) as an elementary school teacher, principal and cluster administrator for Westside schools. On the occasion of his retirement, he was recently feted by the Association of Jewish Educators, with proceeds going toward the Multicultural Scholarship fund he helped establish. The National Conference for Community and Justice (NCCJ), formerly the National Conference of Christians and Jews, will give Bernstein its Humanitarian Award at an April 26 dinner.

Tight Races

By Rabbi Dov Fischer
Published on November 16, 2000

Initially, one cannot help but think that the surge of retired, elderly Jews to Florida, augmented by this year's Lieberman Factor, has redefined Florida politics into an Israel-style method of governance. While the rest of America was voting and deciding on Tues., Nov. 7, Florida was telling us - just as Israel runs under Barak - "Wait 48 hours, and then we'll decide." Two days later, as the last recount came in from Seminole County with Bush a nose ahead, Florida essentially told us, "Well, wait 48 more hours, and then we'll really decide." Even today, Nov. 17, with all the incoming mail ballots from those Floridian voters stationed out-of-state in the military and on campuses tallied, we still have the proverbial 48 hours and more. Recounts. Manual recounts. Just like Barak's Israel.

Working Through the Golden Years

By Ellie Kahn
Published on September 21, 2000

Seniors are fast becoming the largest segment of our population.

Replacing a Legend

By Wendy J. Madnick
Published on June 17, 1999

This month sees the official retirement of a Valley legend. Rabbi Eli Schochet of Shomrei Torah will step down after nearly 40 years at the pulpit. Still available for "life-cycle events," the synagogue's new rabbi emeritus will be essentially withdrawing from his very public position.