tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26208853763089166462024-02-07T20:55:39.291-05:0026minus5On life in Washington after five years removedsamantha.p.friedmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04793470777939650909noreply@blogger.comBlogger102125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2620885376308916646.post-67142186869692654732013-05-28T17:13:00.002-04:002013-05-28T17:14:00.476-04:00SUNDAY: Rep. Van Hollen to speak at Literacy Council of Montgomery County’s 50th Anniversary<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMb7AXPLN5VdyEK0O9npfcpP9zvP1ac61kgiibLD-sJTffZWY7fkxr8rCepV1DhxG36-AcSFirzveehTgz0Bz77uA6KeBUnDYRRI16_UbEFei6xdAka0tt8_4jKyFEHGCdPd_iGkyTJ6s2/s1600/LCMC+logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMb7AXPLN5VdyEK0O9npfcpP9zvP1ac61kgiibLD-sJTffZWY7fkxr8rCepV1DhxG36-AcSFirzveehTgz0Bz77uA6KeBUnDYRRI16_UbEFei6xdAka0tt8_4jKyFEHGCdPd_iGkyTJ6s2/s1600/LCMC+logo.png" /></a></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">PRESS ADVISORY</b></div>
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May 29, 2013</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">CONTACT:</b> Shelley
Block</div>
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Office: (301) 610-0030; Cell: (301) 613-5824; <a href="mailto:shelley@literacycouncilmcmd.org">shelley@literacycouncilmcmd.org</a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">SUNDAY: Rep. Van Hollen to speak at
Literacy Council of Montgomery County’s 50<sup>th</sup> Anniversary</span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">ROCKVILLE, Md. –</b>
Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) will serve as the keynote speaker when the
Literacy Council of Montgomery County celebrates its 50<sup>th</sup>
anniversary in June. The nonprofit organization, which has been providing free
basic literacy and English as a Second Language tutoring and classes across the
county for the past half-century, will celebrate this milestone on Sunday, June
2, 2013, from 2-4 p.m. at VisArts at Rockville Town Square. </div>
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The program will be moderated by Kavitha Cardoza, WAMU
education reporter. </div>
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“The Literacy Council of Montgomery County has reached a
landmark moment – 50 years of service to Montgomery County,” said Marilyn
Block, president of the board of the Literacy Council of Montgomery County.
“During that time, we are proud to have provided basic literacy and ESL
services to more than 16,000 adult learners from 93 countries, including the
United States, and we have trained nearly 8,700 volunteer tutors. Today, we
serve approximately 1,500 adults every year.” </div>
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The anniversary celebration will commemorate the
contributions and accomplishments of current and former Literacy Council
students, volunteers, tutors and staff. The program will include remarks
by representatives from each of these groups. </div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">WHAT:</b> Literacy
Council of Montgomery County’s 50<sup>th</sup> anniversary Celebration</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">WHO:</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Rep.
Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), keynote speaker</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Past
and present students, tutors, teachers, volunteers, and board members of
Literacy Council of Montgomery County</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">WHERE:</b> VisArts at
Rockville Town Square</div>
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155 Gibbs Street, Rockville</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">WHEN:</b> Sunday,
June 2, 2013, from 2-4 p.m.</div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">The Literacy Council of Montgomery
County, Maryland, Inc. (LCMC) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1963, with
a mission to help adults living and working in the county achieve functional
levels of reading, writing and speaking English so that they may improve the
quality of their lives and their ability to participate in the community. The
LCMC offers basic literacy and English as a Second Language (ESL) tutoring, ESL
classes, computer-based literacy and ESL instruction, and English conversation
classes. The organization relies on volunteers to help provide many of its
direct services.</span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">For more information, visit </span></i><a href="http://www.literacycouncilmd.org/">www.literacycouncilmd.org</a><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt;"> and check
out LCMC’s </span></i><a href="https://www.facebook.com/LiteracyCouncilofMontgomeryCounty?fref=ts"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">Facebook page</span></i></a><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt;"> and </span></i><a href="https://twitter.com/literacymc"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">Twitter feed</span></i></a><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">.</span></i></div>
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<![endif]--><br />samantha.p.friedmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04793470777939650909noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2620885376308916646.post-18926460319377686232012-11-05T15:29:00.003-05:002012-11-05T15:31:36.265-05:00Vote for Maryland Question 6 (Marriage Equality) on Tuesday<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: blue;"><i>You'll find below a guest blog written by someone who cares deeply about marriage equality -- across the country but specifically in Maryland. Please read and consider the critical nature of voting FOR Question Six on the Maryland ballot tomorrow.</i></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hXbgjjX2PeM/UJgiHMv5wtI/AAAAAAAACBA/iGtnsz3ShbE/s1600/New+Email+Banner+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hXbgjjX2PeM/UJgiHMv5wtI/AAAAAAAACBA/iGtnsz3ShbE/s1600/New+Email+Banner+2.jpg" height="78" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Dear friends,<br />
<br />
Tomorrow is election day, and I am writing to
ask for your support on an issue that is very important to me --
marriage equality. Your ballot will include several
questions. On Question 6: same-sex marriage, I ask that you please vote
FOR the referred law. A YES vote on Question 6 is a vote for fairness
and religious freedom.
<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>What is Question 6?</b></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Passage
of Question 6 would, for the first time, affirm the right of gay and
lesbian couples to marry in Maryland. This issue may seem
noncontroversial, but it is not. 30 states currently ban all forms of
marriage except one-man-one-woman couples. While a handful of states
(and the District of Columbia) provide full civil marriage equality
rights as a result of legislation or court decisions, no state has ever
voted popularly to do so. Maryland would be the first, and we hope that
it will be joined on Tuesday by Maine and Washington.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The latest polls of likely voters have shown support hovering around 50% in Maryland -- too close for comfort.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So,
while you might think Barack Obama has Maryland in the bag -- and you
would be correct -- it is still important to vote for Question 6.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Where do I vote?</b></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Take a moment to <a href="http://www.elections.state.md.us/voting/where.html" target="_blank">look up your polling place</a>
and make sure you are registered to vote. The polls are open from 7
a.m. to 8 p.m. You don't have to bring a thing -- not even your driver's
license. Commit to voting and make a plan for what time you will go.
There could be a line at the beginning or end of the day. As long as you
are in line by 8 p.m., you should be permitted to vote.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
It would mean so much to me if you would commit to voting FOR Question 6. More information is available from <a href="http://marylandersformarriageequality.org/" target="_blank">Marylanders for Marriage Equality</a>.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Please forward this message to someone who might need a reminder. Thank you!</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
* * * * *</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<i>Below is the <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/key-ballot-questions-in-maryland/2012/11/04/3430e57c-1d51-11e2-ba31-3083ca97c314_story.html" target="_blank">Washington Post</a> Endorsement of Question 6:<br />
</i><br />
When [Gov.] O’Malley signed the Religious Freedom and Civil
Marriage Protection Act in March, the law’s effective date was pushed to
January, giving opponents time to petition the question onto the
November ballot. A vote for the landmark law would allow it to go into
effect and permit committed same-sex couples to wed. It would also make
Maryland the seventh state, in addition to the District of Columbia, to
approve marriage equality.<br />
<br />
Here’s what the law would not do: It would not force clergy to
perform marriage ceremonies in violation of their religious beliefs. Nor
would religious organizations be required to participate in such
ceremonies if they objected. The law strikes the right balance by
protecting religious freedom while granting the freedom to marry. We
urge Marylanders to vote for the law.</div>
samantha.p.friedmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04793470777939650909noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2620885376308916646.post-51943967017476030902012-11-03T11:08:00.002-04:002012-11-03T11:14:43.886-04:00Channel 9 covers tree stumps; auction announcement<object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,47,0" height="270" id="flashObj" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1&isUI=1" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="flashVars" value="videoId=1943083497001&linkBaseURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wusa9.com%2Fvideo%2Fdefault.aspx%3Fbctid%3D1943083497001&playerID=1685956553001&playerKey=AQ~~,AAAABvaL9Hk~,mLC66bU8hPOBGO8BPO1coBAeF5n-gkxo&domain=embed&dynamicStreaming=true" /><param name="base" value="http://admin.brightcove.com" /><param name="seamlesstabbing" value="false" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="swLiveConnect" value="true" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><embed src="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1&isUI=1" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" flashVars="videoId=1943083497001&linkBaseURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wusa9.com%2Fvideo%2Fdefault.aspx%3Fbctid%3D1943083497001&playerID=1685956553001&playerKey=AQ~~,AAAABvaL9Hk~,mLC66bU8hPOBGO8BPO1coBAeF5n-gkxo&domain=embed&dynamicStreaming=true" base="http://admin.brightcove.com" name="flashObj" width="480" height="270" seamlesstabbing="false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowFullScreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" swLiveConnect="true" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash"></embed></object><br />
Channel 9 came by to shoot the tree stump table and chairs and learn a bit more about the mystery.<br />
<br />
Now soliciting your ideas on who is behind this sweet story...<br /><br /><b>And one last announcement</b> - Thanks to the brilliant suggestion of a very smart friend, and because I don't feel the table and chairs is mine or anyone's to keep without properly paying this kindness and whimsy forward, <b>the table and chairs will be auctioned off to benefit Hurricane Sandy relief</b>.<br />
<br />
Please get in touch if you're interested. Funds will be donated through official channels to <a href="http://www.redcross.org/templates/render/render.jsp?pageId=11400031&scode=RSG00000E017&subcode=paiddonationsbrand&gclid=COCUw4GLs7MCFQ-f4AodLm0AXg">American Red Cross Hurricane Relief</a>.samantha.p.friedmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04793470777939650909noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2620885376308916646.post-76390113185188986142012-11-02T14:02:00.002-04:002012-11-02T14:02:25.961-04:00Washington Post story most popularThe excitement continues! Right now, the <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/mystery-patio-set-possibly-made-from-fallen-tree-turns-up-on-woodley-park-porch/2012/11/01/3a8489f0-244b-11e2-ac85-e669876c6a24_story.html">Washington Post's story</a> on the tree stump table and chairs courtesy of Hurricane Sandy and some local whimsy, is now trending as the most popular story on Post Local!<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaQrBLOCR6jRSD1lBDvMazqXezePPBFZ7C3NX8RAg6Z04PLN1QVgBRbHtd7TvXnVrEYpF-pqUQTdGaDdMke15VmeJTcgq2pRnHJOtIBxlzFvFYvoQny55Znf6TrJvyjPfqS6DK-AhoLNOh/s1600/post+most+screenshot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaQrBLOCR6jRSD1lBDvMazqXezePPBFZ7C3NX8RAg6Z04PLN1QVgBRbHtd7TvXnVrEYpF-pqUQTdGaDdMke15VmeJTcgq2pRnHJOtIBxlzFvFYvoQny55Znf6TrJvyjPfqS6DK-AhoLNOh/s1600/post+most+screenshot.jpg" height="321" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br />samantha.p.friedmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04793470777939650909noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2620885376308916646.post-56726261573393627042012-11-01T23:01:00.001-04:002012-11-01T23:01:50.884-04:00Washington Post covers tree stump table phenomenon!After I shared the <a href="http://www.26minus5.blogspot.com/2012/10/tree-stump-table.html">mysterious tale</a> of the "hurricane fairy" who left a table and chairs made out of the wood from a Sandy-fallen tree, I received some amazing responses:<br />
<ul>
<li>
Stop it! The hurricane fairy? Thanks for sharing this adorable story.
</li>
<li>Thank you for sharing. It brings a smile to my face knowing someone had some humor in all this.</li>
<li>This is a GREAT story. Speaks well the administration and the way the city is being run. I love it!!! I want one!!! </li>
<li>Someone loves you. How nice! </li>
<li>That is SO SWEET!!!! </li>
<li>How cool is that? Thank you for sharing the story and photo. Great happenings all around us, we should all share these tales more often! If you ever tire of your new porch furniture, let me know and I'll come take it off your hands - for a trade or your $. I showed it to my daughter and she adored it, asking if she could have one for her tree house. </li>
<li><span>Wow!! I loved seeing this, thanks for sharing. Looks like you have a very handy secret admirer! </span></li>
<li><div>
<span>It sure made me smile, laugh with joy even.</span></div>
</li>
<li><div>
This is fantastic - I love it! If I see you outside with a cup of tea next time I come by, I'll say hello!</div>
</li>
<li><div>
Wow - If that was the city, that's some terrific customer service. I can well imagine the tree guys left you the table and chairs - the teacups may be a playful neighbor? Please let us know if you resolve this friendly mystery! </div>
</li>
</ul>
And now, the story is even more famous thanks to <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/mystery-patio-set-possibly-made-from-fallen-tree-turns-up-on-woodley-park-porch/2012/11/01/3a8489f0-244b-11e2-ac85-e669876c6a24_story.html">the Washington Post!</a><br />
<h1>
<span class="entry-title">Mystery patio set possibly made from fallen tree turns up on Woodley Park porch</span></h1>
<div class="module byline">
<h3>
By <span class="author vcard"><span class="fn"> Rachel Karas</span></span>,
<span class="timestamp updated processed">Thursday, November 1, <span class="time special">9:49 PM</span></span>
</h3>
</div>
<div class="article_body entry-content">
<article>
<span class="dateline"></span> Superstorm Sandy claimed <a data-xslt="_http" href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/in-new-york-city-a-rising-death-toll-from-sandy/2012/11/01/ef59d872-2445-11e2-9313-3c7f59038d93_story.html?hpid=z2">more than 150 lives and countless homes </a>as
it rampaged through the Caribbean and up along the Eastern Seaboard.
But amid the damage and destruction have emerged stories of small and
large kindnesses.<br />
<br />
Store owners handing out food, those with power allowing neighbors to charge dying cell phones.<br />
<div class="article_body">
<article>
Now comes the tale of a truly unexpected gift — patio furniture.<br />
<br />
The
wind and rain that accompanied Sandy as the storm moved through the
Washington region Monday brought down a tree in front of Samantha
Friedman’s home in Woodley Park. It landed on an unoccupied car and
blocked Cathedral Avenue.<br />
<br />
On Tuesday, Friedman returned home from
work to find the tree gone from the street and her yard. In its place
and on her front porch were a table and four stools, made from what she
believes was the toppled tree. Cups, saucers and teapot had been placed
on top.<br />
<br />
Friedman posted a picture of the new setup on her blog <a data-xslt="_http" href="http://26minus5.blogspot.com/2012/10/tree-stump-table.html">26minus5</a>
with the caption: “Looks like the city of D.C. left us a present when
they removed the tree fallen from Sandy’s winds. The table, chairs AND
the tea set appeared on my front porch when I got home from work
yesterday.” <br />
<br />
The photo spread online when NBC4 Washington featured before and after pictures of the incident on its Facebook page.<br />
<br />
But
here’s the thing: D.C. Department of Transportation spokesman John
Lisle said the unfinished wooden furniture is not the work of the Urban
Forestry Administration, which oversees government tree cleanup in the
District.<br />
<br />
“I don’t think we had anything to do with it, or at
least, that’s the answer we got when we circulated the picture to
staff,” Lisle said. “I think our crews are a little bit too busy to be
stopping and making tables for people.”<br />
<br />
Friedman, 29, emailed the
neighborhood listserv in search of the furniture’s creator. A few people
offered to buy the stumps, but she declined.<br />
<br />
“I didn’t create it and I don’t feel like I own it. I don’t feel like it’s mine to be selling,” Friedman said. <br />
Most people responded in appreciation of what they saw as a bright
spot in the aftermath of the superstorm, she said. But no one knows who
the “hurricane fairy” might be.<br />
<br />
“I wish I knew who made it so they could get the credit,” she said.<br />
<br />
Friedman has decided to keep her new porch set. Whoever did it intended to leave it there, she said.<br />
<br />
“It’s very quirky and adds this welcoming environment to the front porch,” she said. “It’s a very cute little mystery.”<br />
<strong>
</strong>
</article>
</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://www.washingtonpost.com/rf/image_296w/2010-2019/WashingtonPost/2012/11/01/Local/Images/table.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(Samantha Friedman) - Woodley Park resident Samantha Friedman found a
tea set on top of a wooden table and chairs on her porch Oct. 30. She
believes they were made from a tree that fell in her front yard during
Hurricane Sandy Oct. 29, but has not been able to determine who left the
gift.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</article>
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://www.washingtonpost.com/rf/image_296w/2010-2019/WashingtonPost/2012/11/01/Local/Images/fallentree.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(Samantha Friedman) - A fallen tree lies across Cathedral Avenue after Hurricane Sandy toppled it Oct. 29.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h1 style="text-align: center;">
<span class="entry-title"> </span></h1>
samantha.p.friedmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04793470777939650909noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2620885376308916646.post-17865884969141238642012-10-31T12:19:00.004-04:002012-10-31T12:49:29.183-04:00Tree Stump Table on NBC4!Wow, thanks to <a href="http://www.nbcwashington.com/">NBC4 Washington</a>, the mystery of the tree stump tea service is becoming famous! NBC4 posted before and after pics on its Facebook page and even made the picture its cover photo.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSYg-msijVKSCVR3iU38sp8lxmGW9Cbe8r8IKC0ttunHicqpHFgLuUBOfANMdMsWw2K1XEoXnf9vPAXugkaJWN9UDRSoshYBNFqegBcmDy0vVlYjMDBptfJDTjRPMllOb2IVormnmOIOal/s1600/NBC4+Washington.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="177" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSYg-msijVKSCVR3iU38sp8lxmGW9Cbe8r8IKC0ttunHicqpHFgLuUBOfANMdMsWw2K1XEoXnf9vPAXugkaJWN9UDRSoshYBNFqegBcmDy0vVlYjMDBptfJDTjRPMllOb2IVormnmOIOal/s400/NBC4+Washington.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Caption from <a href="http://www.facebook.com/nbcwashingtondc">NBC4 Washington's Facebook page</a><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id=".reactRoot[214].[1][2][1]{comment10151236538888606_8255116}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]"><span class="UFICommentBody" id=".reactRoot[214].[1][2][1]{comment10151236538888606_8255116}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]."><span id=".reactRoot[214].[1][2][1]{comment10151236538888606_8255116}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[0]">: When
life gives you downed trees - make furniture. This is what tree-removal
crews left for a Woodley Park resident.</span></span></span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/nbcwashingtondc"><br /></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0qEtRS8Brt9mQr1Vs4zyZ90p-Ce_wBMdFHWO4HMx4PaoWRAVIUNo5eNP9-5jdHSF9IHMLsiaOlIdnS3UoZU4u5SPRb1J_2XjChKb4wZRqwufREbS0tl99hWr616YOAa0mU-CTfLH1Ow7z/s1600/nbc4+10.31.12+screenshot.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0qEtRS8Brt9mQr1Vs4zyZ90p-Ce_wBMdFHWO4HMx4PaoWRAVIUNo5eNP9-5jdHSF9IHMLsiaOlIdnS3UoZU4u5SPRb1J_2XjChKb4wZRqwufREbS0tl99hWr616YOAa0mU-CTfLH1Ow7z/s400/nbc4+10.31.12+screenshot.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The after and before pics featured at <a href="http://www.facebook.com/nbcwashingtondc">NBC4 Washington's Facebook page</a> - tea set and tree stump table; ginormous tree that fell thanks to Hurricane Sandy</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
samantha.p.friedmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04793470777939650909noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2620885376308916646.post-26499622769350323852012-10-31T10:33:00.004-04:002012-10-31T10:58:04.080-04:00Tree stump table<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdZFFChXRhyjR-s_oEmCEBrVK9YSuNY8CSwYPM__mQOu5iwo-brsvdPONRbHKpe5v65UaaP5giN_A4gKW4gEcfFi95DBjdAmyjvQ-7dqYXF99DWRtwKQ4bawsHwMgXE5-WoBdo-FHPKEng/s1600/Porch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdZFFChXRhyjR-s_oEmCEBrVK9YSuNY8CSwYPM__mQOu5iwo-brsvdPONRbHKpe5v65UaaP5giN_A4gKW4gEcfFi95DBjdAmyjvQ-7dqYXF99DWRtwKQ4bawsHwMgXE5-WoBdo-FHPKEng/s400/Porch.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looks like the city of D.C. left us a present when they removed the tree fallen from Sandy's winds. The table, chairs AND the tea set appeared on my front porch when I got home from work yesterday.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt0kkhh_8aKmaU_tR_pvHC8N-QJJvRtLZfG38Hvq58WR6cuZZ4tMug1uIti8-tDUghwnKO2O0MELf7DgBuIgyRIC363bKRH5_un1z1jkIBMQ7xwmcR7iGHe3eU1YZ0gUPN47I9hrm6k4Cu/s1600/Tree+stump+table.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
samantha.p.friedmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04793470777939650909noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2620885376308916646.post-18791590497459387102012-10-29T18:18:00.001-04:002012-10-29T18:18:03.851-04:00Sandy pays a visit to my streetThis just happened.<br />
<br />
A huge tree in my front yard just fell down, across my yard and that of two
neighbors, across Cathedral Ave. and hit a car. Amazingly, no houses or people got hit. We are incredibly lucky.<br />
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samantha.p.friedmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04793470777939650909noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2620885376308916646.post-60983505562338832702012-09-19T09:42:00.000-04:002012-09-19T09:51:58.351-04:00Jewish Agency head to offer leadership insights in Rockville TONIGHT, D.C. THURS.The president of my firm, Rabinowitz/Dorf Communications, has a <a href="http://washingtonjewishweek.com/main.asp?SectionID=88&SubSectionID=340&TM=39854.92">new blog on Washington Jewish Week</a>. This week, Steve Rabinowitz and I <a href="http://washingtonjewishweek.com/main.asp?SectionID=88&SubSectionID=340&ArticleID=17986&TM=82109.13">wrote a piece together</a>, talking up <b>Jewish Agency International Development's Misha Galperin and his new book</b>, <i>Reimagining Leadership in Jewish Organizations: Ten Practical Lessons to Help You Implement Change and Achieve Your Goals</i>.<br />
<br />
<b>Misha will be discussing the book</b> <a href="http://jccgw.org/articlenav.php?id=930">TONIGHT</a> (Wednesday, September 19) at the JCC in Rockville and <a href="http://thejdc.convio.net/site/Calendar?id=135261&view=Detail">TOMORROW</a> (Thursday, September 20) at the DC JCC. Come check it out. The full blog post follows below.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim_o_0hzIF43wcl95CqbWkzdlLcCrnbtIqRJrYG5jckl57CiCuLficWmb2FmmiMnGmTNWt_4rNQro8SQtlNQ5G6ZWEwfQPDUucflb6fi-CQawYOh48vgxSCnsTrN-E8-vT_8w740rwpx3D/s1600/Misha+picture.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim_o_0hzIF43wcl95CqbWkzdlLcCrnbtIqRJrYG5jckl57CiCuLficWmb2FmmiMnGmTNWt_4rNQro8SQtlNQ5G6ZWEwfQPDUucflb6fi-CQawYOh48vgxSCnsTrN-E8-vT_8w740rwpx3D/s200/Misha+picture.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Misha Galperin, <span class="st">President and CEO of Jewish Agency International Development</span></td></tr>
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Gotta' admit, it's nice to have a byline every once in a while!<br />
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<tr colspan="2" valign="TOP"><td><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana, Times New Roman, Times, Serif; font-size: xx-small;"><i>9/18/2012 10:22:00 PM</i></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana, Times New Roman, Times, Serif; font-size: medium; text-decoration: none;"><b>Misha Galperin to offer leadership insights in Washington, Rockville THIS WEEK</b></span></td></tr>
<tr valign="TOP"></tr>
<tr valign="TOP"><td align="LEFT"><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana, Times New Roman, Times, Serif; font-size: small;">with Samantha Friedman
<br /> </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana, Times New Roman, Times, Serif; font-size: small;">One of Washington's most famous sons of the Jewish nonprofit community returns to our area this week. <a href="http://www.jewishagency.org/JewishAgency/English/About/Profile/Misha.htm" style="color: maroon;">Misha Galperin</a>,
who headed the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington for nine years,
is now in New York as the head of Jewish Agency International
Development (a client), where he is responsible for the Jewish Agency
for Israel's External Affairs. He just came out with a new book, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Reimagining-Leadership-Jewish-Organizations-Practical/dp/1580234925/ref=la_B007GRRIU0_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1347046228&sr=1-1" style="color: maroon;"><i>Reimagining Leadership in Jewish Organizations: Ten Practical Lessons to Help You Implement Change and Achieve Your Goals</i></a>,
and he's coming back to Washington to talk about it. In other words,
he's got years of experience in Jewish leadership; yes, he literally
wrote the book.
<br />
<br />
The book is divided into ten lessons drawn from Misha's own experience -
in fact, the book came out of a speech he gave at his last DC Jewish
Federation annual meeting as CEO. Not only has he held high-level
positions locally and nationally, but what you might not know is he's
also a clinical psychologist who grew up in the former Soviet Union.
This background guides the way he advises people to become involved in
leadership capacities, to identify and cultivate leaders, to effect
positive change in an organization, and to ensure that leaders exert the
proper level of attention toward creating and carrying out a succession
plan to perpetuate their organizations.
<br />
<br />
Not everyone is a leader. Misha isn't afraid to admit this, or, he says,
should we be. He provides a list of what to look for in a leader,
things like inspiration, questioning authority while respecting the
past, empathy, courage, an affinity for problem solving, willingness to
make decisions and risk making mistakes, possession of deep convictions,
optimism. People may be natural-born leaders, he proffers, but if they
don't have the tools or support to hone their leadership skills, their
innate abilities will go to waste. Nurturing leadership must be a
larger, organized societal effort, not something done in a vacuum.
<br />
<br />
The book is a book for the here and now; the audience is current or
future leaders of Jewish institutions and nonprofits we may know or hope
to know - or hope to facilitate in their endeavors. Interestingly,
Misha opens the book by relating the opportunity for a refined focus on
leadership in the Jewish community to the Arab Spring and the Occupy
Wall Street movement. He writes:
<br />
</span><br />
<blockquote>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana, Times New Roman, Times, Serif; font-size: small;">"Similar movements are sprawling across the United States and Europe,
begging for financial equality in a world of haves and have-nots. Each
protest differs in its objective or focus, but they all share a common
denominator: the anger and disappointment that emerge in the vacuum of
leadership. These are largely grassroots, leaderless movements. They are
seen as attacking people with power, but ironically they too seek
someone to represent them. Protesters are dissatisfied with the status
quo, but there is no one to talk to, no one to listen, no one to
galvanize or point them in a direction. They want things to be
different, but they don't know how. This global trend showcases the
major deficit in leadership we are currently experiencing."
</span></blockquote>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana, Times New Roman, Times, Serif; font-size: small;">
You should read the book yourself - whether you're looking for people to
lead specifically Jewish organizations or any other organizations or
groups in which you're involved - but here's the cheat sheet of Misha's
lessons in leadership:
</span><br />
<ol><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana, Times New Roman, Times, Serif; font-size: small;">
<li>Find the right people</li>
<li>Nurture people who matter</li>
<li>Invest in partnerships</li>
<li>Don't be afraid to push the bus - when the "Jewish communal bus"
runs out of gas due to challenges including "lack of resources, nagging
politics, completion, and lack of enthusiasm," the real leaders step up,
and their value becomes apparent</li>
<li>Vision is everything</li>
<li>Work quickly</li>
<li>Take risks and make mistakes</li>
<li>Find a mentor</li>
<li>Zero in on what's important</li>
<li>Be inspired, stay inspired</li>
</span></ol>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana, Times New Roman, Times, Serif; font-size: small;">
Of course, these are only his lessons, and he makes an important point in closing:
</span><br />
<blockquote>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana, Times New Roman, Times, Serif; font-size: small;">"Articulate how you lead, and you begin to lead differently. Find the
language to express your own deeply held leadership principles, and you
will discover what you stand for, even if you have always had some
inkling before. Writing it down, speaking it, and sharing it with others
will help anchor your own commitments."
</span></blockquote>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana, Times New Roman, Times, Serif; font-size: small;">
For more, see what Washington Jewish Week's Meredith Jacobs learned about the book from her interview with Misha Galperin, <a href="http://washingtonjewishweek.com/main.asp?SectionID=4&SubSectionID=4&ArticleID=17963" style="color: maroon;">published in last week's edition</a>, as well as <a href="http://ejewishphilanthropy.com/becoming-a-real-leader-in-the-jewish-community-a-review/" style="color: maroon;">eJewish Philanthropy's review of the book</a>. Then come see Misha.
<b> </b><br />
<b>INFO ON THE ROCKVILLE AND DC BOOK TALKS THIS WEEK:</b>
<br />
<ul>
<li><i>The Jewish Community Center of Greater Washington in Rockville is presenting <a href="http://jccgw.org/articlenav.php?id=930" style="color: maroon;">A Conversation with Misha Galperin</a>, facilitated by JCCGW CEO Michael Feinstein, on Wednesday, Sept. 19 at 7 p.m.</i>
</li>
<li><i>The <a href="http://thejdc.convio.net/site/Calendar?id=135261&view=Detail" style="color: maroon;">Washington DC JCC will host Galperin</a> on Thursday, Sept. 20 at 7:30 p.m.</i>
</li>
<li><i>Both events are free; the DCJCC requests reservations.</i>
</li>
</ul>
<i>Follow me on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/steverabinowitz" style="color: maroon;">@steverabinowitz</a> but Samantha wrote most of this.</i>
</span></td></tr>
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samantha.p.friedmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04793470777939650909noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2620885376308916646.post-29314982937170488242012-07-26T15:51:00.000-04:002012-07-26T15:51:01.134-04:00Running at duskSometimes there is nothing better than a run through the city after a long day. It's refreshing and reflective and sometimes even revelatory. In last night's case, I found myself exploring a dirt trail in Rock Creek Park I'd never taken before.<br />
<br />
The trail wound through Dumbarton Oaks and Montrose parks, and I almost felt like I was seeing Washington from a vista I'd never had before. I don't know how I missed these trails. I have lived near an entrance to the park for almost a year now, but I guess like anything else, people tend to stick to what they know, and my norm is a paved trail that runs behind the zoo. There is something about running on a narrow dirt trail wide enough only for a single person, with a canopy of trees overhead that envelops you just enough to give shade and a little seclusion without feeling too cut off from the world.<br />
<br />
I emerged in what I suppose would be called northeast Georgetown, where R Street is lined by gorgeous homes and a cobblestone sidewalk. On the way home, I passed embassies and headed north through Dupont Circle. One route - so many elements of the city at once.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Deer at home in the Garden at Dumbarton Oaks</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Oak Hill Cemetery</td></tr>
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<br />samantha.p.friedmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04793470777939650909noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2620885376308916646.post-44210176430576032372012-06-20T08:53:00.003-04:002012-06-20T08:53:53.355-04:00Wordless Wednesday<div style="text-align: center;">
Father's Day at Sugarloaf Mountain</div>
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<br />samantha.p.friedmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04793470777939650909noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2620885376308916646.post-29968034122518521212012-06-18T17:23:00.002-04:002012-06-18T17:24:46.091-04:00TOMORROW: Faith leaders to fast to limit solitary confinement before Hill hearing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eUsvVIHvy_M/T9-beofpaCI/AAAAAAAABss/2iZIshyo8mc/s1600/NRCAT+logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="72" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eUsvVIHvy_M/T9-beofpaCI/AAAAAAAABss/2iZIshyo8mc/s320/NRCAT+logo.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Media Advisory: </b>June
18, 2012<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><br />
Contact: </b>Samantha Friedman, office: (202) 265-3000 or cell: (202) 215-9260
or <span style="color: blue;"><a href="mailto:samantha@rabinowitz-dorf.com"><span style="color: blue;">samantha@rabinowitz-dorf.com</span></a></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-size: 16pt;">TOMORROW: Faith Leaders to
Discuss Opposition to Prolonged Solitary Confinement<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-size: 14pt;">Capitol Hill press
conference to conclude 23-hour nationwide fast following first-ever
Congressional hearing on solitary confinement</span></i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="X-NONE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Washington, D.C.</span></b><span lang="X-NONE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> – </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">A group of religious leaders will end a 23-hour nationwide fast on
Tuesday, June 19, at 12 p.m. in the Dirksen Senate Office Building, interceding
on behalf of the </span><span lang="X-NONE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">tens of thousands of </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">American
prisoners currently housed in solitary confinement across the country. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The fast will be held in conjunction with a Senate
hearing on the use of solitary confinement in the U.S. federal penitentiary
system. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is the first time Congress
has explored this issue. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Hundreds of</span>
people of faith across the country have agreed to take part in the National
Religious Campaign Against Torture’s “23-Hour Fast to End 23-Hour Solitary” in
anticipation of Tuesday’s Senate hearing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The length of the fast symbolizes the 23 hours per day inmates are typically
required to spend in solitary confinement cells. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As evidenced by recent prisoner hunger strikes
in Virginia and California, refusing food is one of the few means prisoners
across the country have to protest their conditions in solitary confinement. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The fast is intended to draw attention to the
physical, emotional and psychological harm caused by prolonged solitary
confinement.</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">A</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">12 p.m. </span><span lang="X-NONE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">press
conference</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> Tuesday</span><span lang="X-NONE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> will include a ceremonial
“breaking of the bread” among religious leaders</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> of
various faiths,</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">to </span><span lang="X-NONE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">conclud</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">e the</span><span lang="X-NONE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">
fast.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Among those
attending will be:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Rev. Richard Killmer, Executive Director, National
Religious Campaign Against Torture<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Linda Gustitus, President, National Religious Campaign
Against Torture</span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">· </span></span></span>Dave Louden, Chief of
Staff, Justice Fellowship/Prison Fellowship Ministries<o:p></o:p>
</div>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Bill Mefford, Director of Civil and Human Rights,
General Board of Church and Society of the United Methodist Church<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Maggie Siddiqi, Program Coordinator, </span><span lang="X-NONE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Office
for Interfaith and Community Alliances</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">, </span><span lang="X-NONE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Islamic
Society of North America</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Rabbi Rachel Kahn-Troster, Director of North American
Programs, Rabbis for Human Rights-North America</span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">· </span></span>Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson
II, <span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">Director, Presbyterian Church Office of
Public Witness</span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"></span><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Kathy McNeely, Director, Maryknoll Office for Global
Concerns<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Archbishop Michael Seneco, Presiding Bishop, North
American Old Catholic Church<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Rev. Jonathan Barton, General Minister, Virginia
Council of Churches</span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The press conference is open to the media, and
coverage is welcome. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Photo and video opportunities
will be available.</span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span lang="X-NONE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The National Religious
Campaign Against Torture</span><span lang="X-NONE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> (NRCAT) has been outspoken </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">and effective </span><span lang="X-NONE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">in its efforts to </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">limit the use of solitary confinement in U.S. </span><span lang="X-NONE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">prisons</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Its</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> <span lang="X-NONE">press conference </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">will follow a</span><span lang="X-NONE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> hearing, </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="X-NONE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“</span></b><span lang="X-NONE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Reassessing
Solitary Confinement: The Human Rights, Fiscal and Public Safety Consequences,”<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>convened at 10 a.m. Tuesday, June 19,
in Dirksen 226 by the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on the
Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights, chaired by Illinois Sen. Dick
Durbin.</span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black;">What: </span></b><span style="color: black;">Discussion on
the </span>harmful use of solitary confinement in our nation’s federal prisons,
jails, and detention centers</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black;">When: </span></b><span style="color: black;">Tuesday, June
19, 2012, at 12 p.m.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black;">Where: </span></b><span style="color: black;">Room 216, Hart
Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black;">Who: </span></b><span style="color: black;">The National
Religious Campaign Against Torture and supporters</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Why: </b>To share the
reasons prolonged solitary confinement is morally, psychologically and
physically harmful, as well as economically detrimental, and to discuss
alternatives<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: 11pt;">The National
Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT)</span></i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> is a growing membership organization
committed to ending U.S.-sponsored torture, and cruel, inhuman and degrading
treatment. Since its formation in January 2006, 315 religious organizations
have joined NRCAT, including representatives from the Catholic, evangelical
Christian, mainline Protestant, Unitarian Universalist, Quaker, Orthodox
Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Baha’i, Buddhist, and Sikh communities.
Members include national denominations and faith groups, regional organizations
and local congregations. More information is available at <span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.nrcat.org/"><span style="color: blue;">www.nrcat.org</span></a></span>.
</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #010105; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">///</span><o:p></o:p></i></div>samantha.p.friedmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04793470777939650909noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2620885376308916646.post-84124976880264485582012-04-25T14:11:00.001-04:002012-04-25T14:12:01.506-04:00Arkansas Jewish food in TabletJoan Nathan went to Arkansas and wrote about my peeps!!<br />
<br />
As a follow-up to an <a href="http://26minus5.blogspot.com/2012/03/prepping-for-passoverat-white-house.html">earlier post</a> on <a href="http://joannathan.com/">Joan Nathan</a>'s enlightening visit into the world of Jewish food and culture in Arkansas, here's her piece published in today's <a href="http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-life-and-religion/97710/a-taste-of-the-jewish-south/">Tablet</a> magazine, complete with photos from the Jewish Federation of Arkansas' <a href="http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-life-and-religion/97710/a-taste-of-the-jewish-south/">Jewish Food Festival</a> and quotes from many of my most favorite Arkansans:<br />
<br />
<h1 class="story-title">
<a href="http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-life-and-religion/97710/a-taste-of-the-jewish-south/"> A Taste of the Jewish South </a></h1>
<h3 class="story-dek">
Jewish food festivals across the South offer a regional twist on
traditional recipes—and the best place to find corned beef in barbecue
country<br />
</h3>
<div class="story-meta">
By <a class="author" href="http://www.tabletmag.com/author/jnathan/">Joan Nathan</a><span class="pipe"> | </span>April 25, 2012 7:00 AM </div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="268" src="http://cdn1.tabletmag.com/wp-content/files_mf/nathan_042412_620px.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Frying latkes at last year’s Jewish Food Festival in Little Rock, Ark.
<i>(Doris Krain)</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<center></center>
The rented freezers at Congregation B’nai Israel in Little Rock,
Ark., are stuffed with over 1,800 latkes, 700 schnecken, 700 cabbage
rolls, and 400 kosher beef kebabs—all in preparation for the city’s
sixth annual <a href="http://www.jewisharkansas.org/content/events/food_fest.asp" rel="external">Jewish Food Festival</a> on May 6.<br />
<br />
“It brings the Jewish community together,” said Scott Levine, who
co-chairs the event with his wife, Jane. “And it is an opportunity to
introduce our culture and our foods to non-Jews.”<br />
<br />
“Lots of people have tasted falafel, but you wouldn’t believe how
many have not had a bite of kugel,” explained Leah Selig Elenzweig, who,
along with her husband, Neal, was one of the early movers behind the
event, which is sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Arkansas. For
those who don’t want to try something unfamiliar, the festival also
offers more standard Jewish fare, she added: “everything from kosher hot
dogs to deli sandwiches.”<br />
<br />
Jewish food fairs are springing up all across the South. There’s <a href="http://www.hardloxjewishfestival.org/" rel="external">HardLox</a>, the Jewish Food and Heritage Festival in Asheville, N.C.; the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/JewishFoodFestival" rel="external">Jewish Food Fest</a> in Corpus Christi, Texas; the <a href="http://templebethor.net/calendar/events/" rel="external">Jewish Food Festival</a> in Montgomery, Ala.; and the granddaddy of them all, <a href="http://www.mickveisrael.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3&Itemid=4" rel="external">Shalom Y’all</a>,
the Jewish food festival marking its 24th year in Savannah, Ga. And
like next month’s event in Little Rock, all these festivals offer a
chance for Jews to reconnect with their culinary heritage, and for
non-Jews to get a taste of Jewish cooking—including a particularly
Southern brand of Jewish cuisine.<br />
<br />
“I think they are very popular because people like ethnic food,” said
Lauri Taylor, chairman of Shalom Y’all. This fall’s event will feature a
wide range of Jewish food, from sizzling Sephardic lamb to homemade
chopped liver, apple strudel to egg creams—in addition to klezmer music
and other entertainment.<br />
<br />
“Food is a big part of Jewish culture in general,” said Macy Hart,
president of the Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish
Life—and Jews in the South have developed some of their own recipes.
“When we came to the South, Jewish dishes were not available to us. [So]
we assimilated our foods within the fabric of Southern life.”<br />
<br />
In most of the South, Hart explained, “we don’t have delis on every
corner.” So, if you want to sample a bit of this Southern Jewish
cuisine—schnecken with pecans, kugel with corn flakes—or if you just
want a good corned beef sandwich in the land of barbecue, the food
festivals are the place to be. “The importance of the contribution of
the Jews, even in communities with diminishing numbers, is shown here.”<br />
<br />
***<br />
<br />
Jewish food fairs in the South date back to just after the Civil War.
At that time, the festivals were often fundraising events, benefiting
synagogues or local hospitals, and the menus had specific themes, like
strawberries, or oysters.<br />
<br />
Yes, oysters. This tradition can be attributed to Rabbi Isaac Mayer
Wise, the founder of the Reform movement, who loved oysters. In an
editorial in his influential <i>American Israelite</i> newspaper on
April 4, 1895, he wrote: “There can be no doubt that the oyster shell is
the same to all intents and purposes as the scales are to the clean
fish, protecting against certain gases in the water. In fact, the oyster
shell is a close connection of scales. It is the scales only which the
Talmud acknowledges as the sign of cleanliness. … Oysters grown in ponds
outside of the sea are certainly kosher, also according to <a href="http://nextbookpress.com/books/381/" rel="external">Maimonides</a>.”<br />
<br />
<i>Aunt Babette’s Cook Book</i>, published in Chicago in 1889,
included an entire oyster chapter, as did many of the Council of Jewish
Women’s fundraising cookbooks from Boston to Portland, Ore. It is not
surprising then, that by the end of the century, a Reform temple in
Alabama held an oyster dinner fundraiser.<br />
<br />
Times have changed in the South, and even the Reform synagogues that
tend to hold these festivals provide some kosher food at the events.<br />
<br />
Today, the fundraisers have morphed into food fairs where the
communities boast of serving authentic New York deli food as well as
“start from scratch” Jewish kugels, blintzes, and schnecken. “You don’t
have to know how to pronounce rugelach or challah to know how delicious
these baked goods are,” boasts the Montgomery fair’s promotional
material. “Other menu items include brisket (slow-cooked beef), potato
latkes (pancakes) and stuffed cabbage—not to mention Carnegie Deli
cheesecake, straight from the Big Apple!”<br />
<br />
The foods served at these events tell as much about the history of the South as they do about today.<br />
<br />
Arkansas’ Jewish population currently includes roughly 2,000 families. According to the <i>Encyclopedia of Arkansas</i>, 14 towns, such as Levy and Altheimer, were founded by Jews or named after early Jewish residents.<br />
<br />
In Little Rock, Jews first peddled goods brought by river boats to
the outlying community of farmers. Little by little, they became
merchants (or, as one Mississippi lady told me, “mercantiles”) in stores
along the riverbanks, when the river was king, before the advent of the
railroad and later the automobile. Then their children became lawyers
and doctors, abandoning the small towns for bigger cities.<br />
<br />
Elenzweig strolled with me recently down from the Clinton Library to
the site of the Little Rock festival, the River Market Pavilion, perched
up high, like the Acropolis, on the banks of the Arkansas River, near
stores started by the first Jewish settlers. Coming mostly from Germany,
they brought dishes like the potato charlotte (which they now call
potato dressing, in Southern fashion), stuffed veal, and Elenzweig’s
grandmother’s recipe for her muffin-like schnecken rolled with pecans
and real brown sugar, rather than the more German walnuts and white
sugar.<br />
<br />
Elenzweig’s ancestors came first to nearby Pine Bluff in the mid-19th
century from Germany, probably lured there as others were by word of
mouth or newspaper advertisements in the German press promising them
land. In Pine Bluff, we visited the Jewish cemetery, as big as a
football field. Few, if any, Jews live there anymore, having moved to
Little Rock and elsewhere.<br />
<br />
Many of the old recipes have been lost with modern times and
intermarriage. But, at the food fairs you can see some remembrance of
the past.<br />
<br />
Elenzweig’s Grandma Tessie’s delicious recipe for schnecken, copied
from an old scribbled recipe, are baked by the hundreds. Elenzweig’s
husband, Neal, the cook in the family, shared his Brooklyn mother’s
cranberry stuffed cabbage, now used each year for the festival. The
kugel, adapted from Rita Fagan, who is in charge of gathering the food
for the festival, is especially popular, a very American recipe with
corn flake crumbs on top and noodles that don’t need to be boiled in
advance.<br />
<br />
Millie Baron’s Queens-born father came to Hot Springs (where Bill
Clinton grew up) with the Army during World War II, met her mother, and
stayed; Baron will be delivering some macaroons to the festival this
year. At her Ambrosia Bakery, Baron makes many Jewish recipes, and her
Jewish treats often find an audience among Arkansas’ non-Jews: Her
grandmother’s rugelach are a popular Christmas treat, for instance.<br />
<br />
Challah, which she calls braided bread, is sold every day of the year,
with churches often ordering them for the Sabbath. “Two men, one with a <i>Wall Street Journal</i> and another the <i>New York Times</i>,
order them every day with a cup of coffee,” she said. And when I was
visiting just before Purim, Baron was delivering 600 hamentashen to a
church in Little Rock that wanted to know more about their Jewish roots.
Recipes for her challah and bagels come from George Greenstein’s <i>Secrets of a Jewish Baker: Recipes for 125 Breads From Around the World</i>.<br />
<br />
The Little Rock food festival involves Jews living across the entire
state and brings people together in ways that only cooking can. For
months the (mostly) women gather at the synagogue or in their homes,
baking and freezing. Then, Sunday morning, they thaw the foods and cover
them in plastic wrap. The festival attracted over 12,000 people last
year; this year they are hoping for 15,000.<br />
<br />
For Elenzweig, the best part of the festival is meeting unaffiliated
Jews who somehow just appear. “Except for the food festival, I never
would have known about their Jewishness,” she said. “Maybe food brings
back memory for them and they just want to come.”<br />
<br />
But plenty of people who come aren’t Jewish at all. “We have a big
rush of folks coming in after church,” she noted. “At first I thought it
was all about us, but it isn’t. It is also about the outreach to the
greater community.”samantha.p.friedmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04793470777939650909noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2620885376308916646.post-28890144163126242922012-04-10T07:22:00.000-04:002012-04-10T07:22:47.901-04:00Blueberry bird's eggs<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Happy spring! Found these beauties in a tree next to my house. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5wjonkGAQh4WbPHcU1wCF1OJ0OnMGxPAEMZVwoyjoWmiEo-uYyWymzvbEg853d5cV0Y1Y_6GR5n1qHEhTLy6utWPBClBWQQe7HowRLWI7MfH7b9g74d7oHhWOtHHtBmOM59uXzy7lpTYv/s1600/IMG_0636.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5wjonkGAQh4WbPHcU1wCF1OJ0OnMGxPAEMZVwoyjoWmiEo-uYyWymzvbEg853d5cV0Y1Y_6GR5n1qHEhTLy6utWPBClBWQQe7HowRLWI7MfH7b9g74d7oHhWOtHHtBmOM59uXzy7lpTYv/s640/IMG_0636.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>samantha.p.friedmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04793470777939650909noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2620885376308916646.post-89039299415866323602012-03-30T15:49:00.000-04:002012-03-30T15:52:02.955-04:00Baby Jack the bulldogEveryone's favorite Hoya, Jack the Bulldog, is getting a puppy! As Jack recovers from his ACL injury and imparts all his mascot secrets, the little guy will keep him company and be inspired to become the next big thing in tearing up cardboard on the floor of the Verizon Center.<br />
<br />
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More from Washington Post's <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dc-sports-bog/post/georgetown-gets-a-bulldog-mascot-in-training/2012/03/30/gIQAMHnKlS_blog.html">D.C. Sports Bog</a>.samantha.p.friedmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04793470777939650909noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2620885376308916646.post-91686793274579992402012-03-28T08:31:00.000-04:002012-03-28T08:31:02.191-04:00Prepping for Passover...at the White HouseThis afternoon, Jewish cookbook author <a href="http://joannathan.com/">Joan Nathan</a> is leading a Passover baking demonstration
at the White House, and I am pretty excited I get to go. Nathan recently visited Arkansas to do some research on Southern Jewish culinary culture, and I hooked her up with some chefs there, including the pastry genius behind Hot Springs' <a href="http://www.ambrosiabakeryco.com/">Ambrosia Bakery</a>, Millie Baron, and <a href="http://www.todaysthv.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=104747&catid=2">Neil Elenzweig</a>, in whose kitchen I first tasted kreplach. Let's be clear —there's no Zabar's or Bagel City in Arkansas; I'm pretty sure that aisde from the <a href="http://smalltownlittlerock.blogspot.com/2010/05/jewish-food-festival.html">Jewish Food Festival</a> once a year, Millie's is one of, if not the only, places in the state where you can actually buy rugelach.<br />
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The White House will feature a <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/live%20">live stream</a> of <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2012/03/27/chosen-food-celebration-jewish-food-and-culture">Chosen Food - A Celebration of Jewish Food and Culture</a> beginning at 3 p.m., in case you want to tune in. The White House blog entry on today's event includes a recipe for pear charoset from Little
Rock chef Mike Selig of the Clinton Presidential Center, result of Joan Nathan's recent factfinding mission to my
beloved Arkansas!<br />
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Though they are very few, it seems any association for me with the White House kitchen always takes me back to Arkansas. Former White House pastry chef Roland Mesnier visited Little Rock to recount stories experienced<span style="color: black;"> during<a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_315145203"></a></span> <a href="http://www.chefrolandmesnier.com/gallery/creations-white-house/gallery">25 years at the White House</a> as part of the Carter, Reagan, Bush I, Clinton and Bush II administrations. This is the guy who lists such items as biscuit cutters and marzipan sculpting tools among the equipment in his kitchen, and while I'm still gearing up the courage to try most of his recipes, I am forever indebted to him for teaching me how to make the most delicious chocolate chip cookie (there's a secret ingredient).samantha.p.friedmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04793470777939650909noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2620885376308916646.post-15560088572692965512012-03-26T07:34:00.004-04:002012-03-27T11:18:34.244-04:00Cherry blossoms!Washington's famous cherry blossoms are even beautiful on a gray day. The much admired pink blooms came early this year
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<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">–</span>
the 100th anniversary of their arrival
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<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">–</span> and with recent windy weather, the ground by the Tidal Basin is already covered in the delicate petals. Was happy to catch a sighting before they're gone for the year.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Jefferson</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pink fireworks!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The FDR Memorial is embedded within the grounds near the cherry blossoms.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Washington's newest monument, in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr., also amidst the blossoms</td></tr>
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<br />samantha.p.friedmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04793470777939650909noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2620885376308916646.post-63439551664522195812012-03-09T06:49:00.000-05:002012-03-09T06:49:52.602-05:00Literacy shines in Little Rock<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhreNvMmO_lRFaIaHTIUekVyNhftC-zZIcOPEHKfv-H7Os3827RLKb2v53Qf1sP6b903Z7mXg-fwKrlaxmICMKivqOPBgs13vtyes6LRrSXkQeVhx9yWmLuXMMZkHWWwB6tLVHwx7GmM59W/s1600/104.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhreNvMmO_lRFaIaHTIUekVyNhftC-zZIcOPEHKfv-H7Os3827RLKb2v53Qf1sP6b903Z7mXg-fwKrlaxmICMKivqOPBgs13vtyes6LRrSXkQeVhx9yWmLuXMMZkHWWwB6tLVHwx7GmM59W/s200/104.jpg" width="200" /></a> <br />
<a href="http://www.literacylittlerock.org/">Literacy Action of Central Arkansas</a> celebrated its fourth annual Shine a Light on Literacy Thursday night at the Arkansas Governor's Mansion. Once again, hundreds of people had the opportunity to learn about the crucial need to improve adult literacy in the state, while at the same time bidding on great art and books.<br />
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<a href="http://www.todaysthv.com/news/article/200542/2/Group-holds-4th-annual-Shine-a-Light-on-Literacy">Today's THV</a> aired a great story on the evening; as always our inaugural honorary chairman of the first event held in 2009, Arkansas First Lady Ginger Beebe, and her husband Governor Mike Beebe, supported the cause as they do every year. A screenshot is below, but click the link to watch:<br />
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<a href="http://www.todaysthv.com/news/article/200542/2/Group-holds-4th-annual-Shine-a-Light-on-Literacy">http://www.todaysthv.com/news/article/200542/2/Group-holds-4th-annual-Shine-a-Light-on-Literacy</a>samantha.p.friedmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04793470777939650909noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2620885376308916646.post-33268037523267195402012-03-06T08:37:00.000-05:002012-03-06T08:37:20.792-05:00Frugal feast in honor of Shabbat (or, an ode to Sasha)My dear friend Sasha Lyutse, sustainable food warrior and vegan chef extraordinaire, recently brought her quickly becoming famous <a href="http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/slyutse/taking_up_slow_food_usas_5_din.html">Frugal Feast </a>to Washington. She and some friends in New York were inspired to come up with the concept after reading a <a href="http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/27/shared-meals-shared-knowledge/">column by the New York Times' Mark Bittman</a> on Slow Food USA's <a href="https://secure3.convio.net/sfusa/site/SPageServer?pagename=5Challenge_Home">$5 Challenge</a>. As <a href="http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/slyutse/taking_up_slow_food_usas_5_din.html">Sasha explains it,</a> the goal is "to show that buying normal ingredients from a regular grocery
store and cooking them at home is cheaper than going out to eat or
eating fast food and to help support healthy, sustainable, and
affordable food—what <span class="st">[</span>Bittman] calls, quite simply, 'real food.'”<br />
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So, a dinner party in the coziness of home, surrounded by friends and delicious home-cooked food and wine? I mean, what more does one really want out of dinner. Frugal Feast covers the basics -- the food, the satisfaction of not just being thrifty in one's grocery shopping choices, but really and truly saving money versus a standard night of cooking or going out, and the camaraderie of friends who appreciate the value of good, healthy food and togetherness.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9BV0fIADXS2ahPa7ywD6gOgkh9T3PkKArwsUwQXGkk1YiCjDXtUgyocwr5gdiow5ntHoR2vdadDKmkOn5SjCPVjv3NHmWo6GygxrUgDQYWxOu-T2bC9bdmh6MUFnnnt5vmh50UzFd6-JQ/s1600/IMG_8963.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9BV0fIADXS2ahPa7ywD6gOgkh9T3PkKArwsUwQXGkk1YiCjDXtUgyocwr5gdiow5ntHoR2vdadDKmkOn5SjCPVjv3NHmWo6GygxrUgDQYWxOu-T2bC9bdmh6MUFnnnt5vmh50UzFd6-JQ/s320/IMG_8963.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
What made <a href="http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/slyutse/a_frugal_feast_shabbat_in_our.html">Friday's Frugal Feast </a>even more special, however, was that it was Shabbat. No matter how religious one is, even if one isn't Jewish, there is something so unique about taking a break from the day, from the rapidity and non-stop nature of so many of our lives, to rest, to enjoy each other, to sit down with each other.<br />
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Lighting the candles, saying the prayers, sharing the home-made rustic bread Sasha created, added a sense of tranquility and comfort that is difficult to put into words. I think everyone present was sort of reflecting -- internally -- at how lovely all this was and how it should become a more typical part of our lives. <br />
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Before getting into the deliciousness that was the actual dinner, I should note that Ms. Lyutse is the person who has convinced me that vegan cuisine is not just for the birds and can in fact be quite hearty and delectable. In the past few months, she has made me such things as red lentils with sauteed onions and celery, t<a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/spfriedman/status/175025161366548480/photo/1">empeh on a bed of buckwheat garnished with caramelized onions</a> (always onions) and <a href="http://yfrog.com/z/h2kibydj">multigrain porridge</a>. I mean, seriously, when has the word porridge crossed your mind except in the context of Goldilocks? Trust me, it's real. When she asked me to buy turnips, I had to Google them in the store to figure out what I was looking for. She introduced me to quinoa, kale and swiss chard (reduced with garlic). In her modesty, she'll tell you that such dishes "make themselves" and that they're so simple, "no recipe exists."<br />
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"Food is the organizing principle of my life," she once said to me while stirring <a href="http://twitpic.com/303wyv">homemade oatmeal</a> (ingredients included walnuts, raisins and the sweet nectar of agave). <br />
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A visual taste of Friday's meal below. I challenge you to try the $5 per person meal and see what happens. It gives you a maximum you can spend to guide you as you think carefully about your recipes, ingredients and yields, but it's doable, I promise.<br />
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<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_g3i3K5yJrk/T1YMIN-gsdI/AAAAAAAABdk/Oj-dYmcMuBE/s1600/IMG_8929.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_g3i3K5yJrk/T1YMIN-gsdI/AAAAAAAABdk/Oj-dYmcMuBE/s400/IMG_8929.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Garlic and shallots at bottom left, the bread at top left and the sweet potatoes baking</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_cuoeF2NWbk/T1YMcIP9DeI/AAAAAAAABds/G2wqY_otGi4/s1600/IMG_8930.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_cuoeF2NWbk/T1YMcIP9DeI/AAAAAAAABds/G2wqY_otGi4/s400/IMG_8930.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beautiful ingredients</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QgUNlX9Da4M/T1YJnMrq1pI/AAAAAAAABdE/JTD4ogwnt58/s1600/IMG_8931.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QgUNlX9Da4M/T1YJnMrq1pI/AAAAAAAABdE/JTD4ogwnt58/s400/IMG_8931.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kale chips to start, topped with a concoction of macadamia nuts, cherry tomatoes, shallots and fresh rosemary</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-brv649HtbLQ/T1YPebEE1zI/AAAAAAAABeM/JDcnNDsoPME/s1600/IMG_0503.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-brv649HtbLQ/T1YPebEE1zI/AAAAAAAABeM/JDcnNDsoPME/s400/IMG_0503.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rustic bread baked in a Dutch oven</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nHnRqGIDvMY/T1YPRs2HALI/AAAAAAAABeE/yoalMg0Pjlg/s1600/IMG_8935_2.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nHnRqGIDvMY/T1YPRs2HALI/AAAAAAAABeE/yoalMg0Pjlg/s400/IMG_8935_2.JPG" width="318" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Roasted garlic and shallots to spread on the bread<br />
</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Bm_NTmXMcWA/T1YP6s1UULI/AAAAAAAABeU/-GFyRxgfomc/s1600/IMG_8932.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Bm_NTmXMcWA/T1YP6s1UULI/AAAAAAAABeU/-GFyRxgfomc/s400/IMG_8932.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beginnings of the stew</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tkqyEKyjdRw/T1YQC5clY2I/AAAAAAAABec/jRy8indGEqY/s1600/IMG_8938.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tkqyEKyjdRw/T1YQC5clY2I/AAAAAAAABec/jRy8indGEqY/s400/IMG_8938.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stew with coconut milk added</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fwcUpiIz7io/T1YQa87bVUI/AAAAAAAABek/o1ZyCyO9BGQ/s1600/IMG_8980.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fwcUpiIz7io/T1YQa87bVUI/AAAAAAAABek/o1ZyCyO9BGQ/s400/IMG_8980.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Coconut milk, chickpea and spinach stew with sundried tomatoes, ginger and lemon, served over roasted sweet potatoes and garnished with fresh cilantro</td></tr>
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<br />samantha.p.friedmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04793470777939650909noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2620885376308916646.post-2737681767393869762012-03-01T18:15:00.002-05:002012-03-02T11:19:16.836-05:00Just published! Sowing the Seeds of Sustainability<i>Wrote my first piece for <a href="http://www.270inc.com/">270 Inc.</a>, a bimonthly magazine designed to reach the business community in Montgomery and Frederick Counties in Maryland (the I-270 corridor). "Sowing the Seeds of Sustainability" will be published in March/April 2012 issue.</i><i> </i><br />
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<i>The original piece can be found at <a href="http://www.270inc.com/?p=1119">270 Inc.'s website</a>.</i><br />
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<h1 class="page-title">
Sowing the Seeds of Sustainabilty</h1>
<b>March 1, 2012</b><br />
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<span style="color: dodgerblue;">Sowing the Seeds of Sustainabilty</span></h1>
<h3>
Hospital green teams work to ensure a healthier future</h3>
<div style="color: #666666;">
<i><b>By Samantha Friedman</b></i></div>
<br />
A hospital should be the first place that comes to mind when
considering establishments promoting healthy living and a healthful
environment. But with their critical need to sterilize medical
equipment, eliminate germs and properly dispose of toxic or
disease-spreading medical waste, combined with the enormous energy and
water usage in a 24/7 facility, hospitals have only recently begun to
adopt environmentally sustainable practices.<br />
<br />
Medical centers are becoming increasingly diligent in their efforts
to operate in greener, environmentally sensitive ways that in the long
term actually save money and further improve patient health and
well-being. Until now, groups of dedicated hospital staff members with a
personal interest in making their workplace more sustainable most often
have led the push for change. Called “green teams,” they are comprised
of representatives from various hospital departments such as facilities
and building management, medical supply purchasing, food services,
transportation, housekeeping and janitorial services and community
outreach. These groups lean on and learn from each other, forming a
network through Maryland Hospitals for a Healthy Environment.<br />
<br />
“We have to go so far in changing the culture,” says Suzanne
Jacobson, an emergency room nurse who coordinates the green team at
Frederick Memorial Hospital in Frederick. “We can educate the hospital
community, but sustainable initiatives go beyond the hospital. That’s
what our goal is, to keep putting out there what the hospital is doing.”<br />
<br />
In Montgomery County, Shady Grove Adventist, Holy Cross, Montgomery
General and Adventist Rehabilitation hospitals have green teams.<br />
<br />
Green team leaders say it has not been hard to convince hospital
leadership of the significance of paying attention to things like energy
efficiency, reusable supplies, lower-chemical cleaning supplies and
paints and waste stream management. The backing of hospital
administrators is essential—they control the money needed for the
research behind and initiation into energy- and cost-saving efforts.
Today, more than three-quarters of Maryland hospitals have greening
programs, and three—the University of Maryland Medical Center in
Baltimore, Anne Arundel Medical Center in Annapolis and Mercy Medical
Center in Baltimore—have full-time “sustainability managers.”<br />
<br />
A compelling force behind growing sustainable operations in hospitals
is the concept that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. In
other words, one person or a single department can introduce recycling
bins, but when the whole hospital or the entire health-care provider
industry makes sustainable practices customary, the results will be
considerable, not only for the hospital, but the larger community beyond
its walls as well. Nationally, for instance, Kaiser Permanente, one of
the largest providers in the country, has used its huge purchasing power
to lead the way in requiring suppliers to share information on chemical
content in products, and in January, Kaiser announced the six-month
roll-out of a conversion to intravenous equipment free of PVC and DEHP,
chemicals known to have negative effects on people and the environment.<br />
<br />
Maryland green team leaders share ideas and resources through
Maryland Hospitals for a Healthy Environment (MD H2E), a grant-funded
initiative of the University of Maryland School of Nursing established
in 2005 to promote environmental sustainability in health care.
According to the organization’s technical director, Joan Plisko, who
visits facilities to advise them on best practices and organizes
meetings to facilitate collaboration among green team leadership, “We
are leading the nation. There are other states that are trying to pursue
this, but what you really need is funding, and we have had that
consistently over six years.”<br />
<br />
Practice Greenhealth is a national membership organization that keeps
hospitals tuned in to sustainable initiatives across the country;
hospitals pay to belong. Plisko, on the other hand, consults at no
charge. “For six years, [MD H2E] has been the go-to organization for
sustainability and health care. What our organization wants is for the
hospitals to own this.”<br />
<br />
Boasting successes and figuring out new ways to be environmentally
sound has become a “friendly competition” among green team leaders, says
Denise Choiniere, a public health nurse who is a sustainability manager
at the University of Maryland Medical Center.<br />
<br />
Plisko is certain the health care industry’s attention to green
efforts in Maryland will only grow – as well as set a model for other
industries. “The intersection of health care reform and environmental
sustainability is huge,” she says. “Doing the right thing for the
environment because we are health-care providers is essential. Energy
consumption saves money. Reducing your use of toxic pesticides and
switching to less toxic, green cleaners have a positive impact on the
health of employees, staff and patients.”<br />
She attributes an explosion in interest over the past two years to “a
little bit of good timing.” “You hear about global climate change, air
pollution, pollution in our water, so going green is now more
mainstream,” she says. “And when we can tie it to cost savings and
health outcomes, it’s a no-brainer.”<br />
<br />
<span style="color: dodgerblue;"><b>Waste Not, Want Not</b></span><br />
<br />
One of the most significant and widespread ways hospitals are saving
money is reducing medical waste. In the past, all waste coming out of
medical facilities, whether it was infectious medical waste (known as
red-bag waste) or what would elsewhere be considered standard municipal
trash (clear bag waste) was tossed out together and sent to be burned in
an incinerator. A dangerous side effect was the release of dioxins,
mercury, lead and other pollutants into the air.<br />
<br />
“I’ve been a nurse for 32 years,” says Carol Chandler, chair of the
green team at Shady Grove Adventist Hospital and the hospital’s director
of the nursing education department, “and back then, it seemed like
most of the equipment we used was reusable. Thirty-two years later, it’s
all disposable as we got into infection control and single-use devices
and began using more plastic rather than sending down equipment to be
sterilized and reused again. We have a huge impact on the environment
because of all of the disposables. Health care is the second largest
producer of waste after the food services industry. We use a lot of
resources, and we dispose of a lot of resources.”<br />
<br />
According to Health Care Without Harm, an international network of
hospitals, health care systems and environmental and community groups
interested in promoting medical industry standards that do not harm the
health of people and the environment, improving waste stream management
focuses on three strategies: separating wastes so only those that
require incineration are burned, reducing the amount of waste generated
and improving recycling of materials such as paper and reuse of
instruments and medical products when safe to do so. Significant
progress has been made nationally. The organization reports that while
more than 5,000 medical waste incinerators were in operation in the
1990s, there are fewer than 100 today.<br />
<br />
Chandler has led efforts at Shady Grove to analyze waste stream
management to effectively reduce the hospital’s footprint by examining
consumption at the front end as well as improving waste separation. If a
hospital pays by the pound for trash removal, recycling reduces costs. A
group of nurses spearheaded a successful initiative to explore whether
packaging containing sterile surgical equipment could be recycled. They
collected the plastic wrap, and the environmental services department
showed it to recycling companies to find out. The nurses were right, and
today, a greater proportion of the packaging is recycled than thrown
out. Nurses also have turned the blue wrap that contains sterilized
equipment into bags for patient belongings, further diverting the level
of trash headed for the landfill.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: dodgerblue;"><b>Cutting the Paper Trail</b></span><br />
<br />
One way to reduce paper use is to move toward electronic data
storage. At Holy Cross Hospital, says green team leader and service
coordinator for plant operations Claudia Schreiber, lab data and other
medical files and even W-2 forms are now digital.<br />
<br />
As far as energy conservation, incorporating low energy consumption
LED lighting to reduce carbon dioxide emissions is becoming increasingly
common. Adventist HealthCare for instance, now purchases nearly 15
percent of its electricity in what is known as green energy, making it
the largest purchaser of green energy of the health-care systems
participating in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Green Power
Partnership. Holy Cross is installing movement sensors in storage rooms
and other non-patient rooms to replace what used to be 24/7 lighting
with lights that automatically turn on and off as staff enters and
leaves.<br />
Product purchasing provides significant opportunities for
incorporating products that have less of a negative impact on the
environment, as well as cleaning products with less harmful chemicals.
Shady Grove, for instance, now uses biodegradable washcloths, and
Frederick Memorial Hospital has reusable needle boxes to cut down on
plastic waste. At Holy Cross, disposable leg warmers, used to prevent
blood clots for bedridden patients, and pulse oximeters are sterilized
and reused, saving the hospital money.<br />
<br />
Many of the efforts are simple but have monumental impact when
incorporated on a large scale. Suburban Hospital encourages recycling in
mixed bins throughout the hospital, has eschewed foam cartons and
plastic covers from the cafeteria and is replacing paper towel
dispensers with hand dryers in restrooms, says Leslie Weber, senior vice
president for government and community relations.<br />
<br />
Along the way, green team coordinators and sustainability managers
are focusing on educating fellow staff members on why sustainability
across the board is important and how they can better incorporate it
into their day-to-day lives, both at work and at home. Earth Day
provides a yearly opportunity to engage staff and update them on green
initiatives.<br />
When Shady Grove was in the process of building its tower expansion,
which opened in 2007, the green team conducted a cost/benefit analysis
on investing in water-saving technology that would recycle water as well
as reduce the amount of water needed for sterilizing equipment. It
successfully convinced the executive team to buy the equipment, reducing
water consumption by 70 percent.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: dodgerblue;"><b>LEEDing the Way </b></span><br />
<br />
The architectural industry’s green building standard is known as
LEED, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, a certification
system developed by the U.S. Green Building Council to acknowledge
facilities that incorporate sustainable design elements. Last year, Anne
Arundel Medical Center opened the first LEED-certified hospital tower
in the state.<br />
<br />
“The tower has between 18-20 percent energy conservation due to a
combination of our 17,000-square-foot green roof, which helps with
cooling and maintaining the temperature in the building, very
high-efficiency HVAC systems, and eight LED lights in operating rooms,
with 90 percent energy conservation,” says Charlotte Wallace, a
pediatric nurse turned sustainability manager at Anne Arundel Medical
Center in Annapolis. Surgeons appreciate the high-tech lighting because
the lights do not heat up like traditional overhead lights, maintaining
room temperature at a comfortable level and eliminating the need for
blowing air conditioning.<br />
<br />
In Montgomery County, Suburban Hospital, now a member of Johns
Hopkins Medicine, which is known for its sustainable initiatives, plans
to build a 300,000-square-foot addition that will double the size of the
current building. The engineering and architectural team has designed
the structure with the goal of achieving LEED Silver certification. Not
only is Holy Cross in the process of building a LEED Silver tower, but
it also has been incorporating LEED standards as it has renovated parts
of the older building. A new hospital Holy Cross is building in
Germantown, slated to open in 2014, will have a completely green roof,
like its new tower in Silver Spring.<br />
<br />
Transit is another area ripe for sustainability initiatives. In
Frederick, many staffers live outside of the city proper and must
commute to work, says Jacobson, which has motivated her green team to
develop a carpool system. The team’s transportation committee educates
staff on safe bicycling and is working to install more bike racks and
generally make the campus more bicycle-friendly. Holy Cross uses
diesel-fueled buses to shuttle employees from off-site parking lots. The
parking lots have been retrofitted to collect storm water in
underground vaults so as to not run off into the adjacent Sligo Creek
Subwatershed and are lit by high-efficiency LED bulbs. Certain spots are
reserved for carpoolers.<br />
<br />
Green team leaders agree that building good environmental practices
into the hospital environment is most effective when it can impact the
larger community. Frederick Memorial, for instance, is considering
sharing the service provided by a confidential paper shredding company
with which it contracts by inviting the public to dispose of personal
papers in need of shredding.<br />
<br />
Many hospitals now source produce from local farmers and host farmers
markets on their campuses. Shady Grove’s cafeteria features an
all-local vegetable stand popular among employees and composts just
about all food waste. Composting, in fact, has become fairly standard in
hospital kitchens. Suburban offered a community supported agriculture
program, known as a CSA, to its employees last summer. Holy Cross hosts a
local farmer who brings in produce and freshly baked pies to sell to
employees in the cafeteria.<br />
<br />
Adding components like an in-house farmer’s market and elements that
beautify the hospital environment can ease busy physicians’ and other
staff members’ lives while adding peace and tranquility to patient
experiences. When the green team initially gathered at Holy Cross, one
of the first things its members did was plant trees and install
birdhouses in the hospital’s healing garden.<br />
<br />
Perhaps the next step is going green in ways that can help others
beyond the hospital. Good Samaritan Hospital in Baltimore has been
recognized for its Grown for Good Garden, an employee-managed garden
that generated its first harvest last fall. Most of the crops were
donated to a local charity, Our Daily Bread, and the rest shared among
the employees who “put their sweat equity into the garden,” says the
mastermind behind the garden, Chris DeRocco, green team member and the
hospital’s director of food and nutrition. The garden educates people
on where their food comes from, encourages the community to donate seeds
or spend time working in the garden, and if DeRocco achieves his next
goal, will also become a means of patient occupational therapy. “You
start seeing the possibilities of how a small piece of ground can turn
into a whole host of things,” he says.<br />
<br />
<div style="color: #666666;">
<i>Samantha Friedman is a writer who grew up in Rockville and now lives in Washington, D.C.</i></div>
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</div>samantha.p.friedmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04793470777939650909noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2620885376308916646.post-49439947129340074502012-02-20T17:33:00.000-05:002012-02-20T17:33:09.124-05:00Deer in Rock Creek ParkOn a lovely, sunny President's Day today, I went for an afternoon run in the park. It was a refreshing reminder of how invigorating it is to run outside, and it's easy to be in the park and forget the city for a while. <br />
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Found these guys along the way!<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1UivTBPzoXjiNtg0WJiyJ2KZSDJkQGQcepNqwAzzSgV5Vl8yw4g_pPg8b4cqBsF7tsBf9DtixHp9hTRB8CaS2XCH-R4bZopCPjeMdxvzl9Yucn8IWvCQW6hnaVddv-OW-CYfSwLgN_NDi/s1600/IMG_0472.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1UivTBPzoXjiNtg0WJiyJ2KZSDJkQGQcepNqwAzzSgV5Vl8yw4g_pPg8b4cqBsF7tsBf9DtixHp9hTRB8CaS2XCH-R4bZopCPjeMdxvzl9Yucn8IWvCQW6hnaVddv-OW-CYfSwLgN_NDi/s400/IMG_0472.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Warm enough to go swimming</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2q3CbQVnSATIlz-_nqVEiZ4qjTODkzBK0uJoClJ-DAMONbFyAujDvmOFBJi3FCelJYMtzoRZycvhMYgqt5jLWMO7DPh_H6OXZSQUgd2r_NP4-LbHQpR-u9l1tkBlZ1LFztRuy-iRIcW8u/s1600/IMG_0473.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2q3CbQVnSATIlz-_nqVEiZ4qjTODkzBK0uJoClJ-DAMONbFyAujDvmOFBJi3FCelJYMtzoRZycvhMYgqt5jLWMO7DPh_H6OXZSQUgd2r_NP4-LbHQpR-u9l1tkBlZ1LFztRuy-iRIcW8u/s400/IMG_0473.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>samantha.p.friedmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04793470777939650909noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2620885376308916646.post-77079480755726666692012-02-14T12:08:00.001-05:002012-02-14T12:08:18.505-05:00Happy D.C. Valentine'sThe people at the <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/">Washington Post's</a> <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-buzz/post/your-dc-valentines-remixed/2012/02/06/gIQAVY0zuQ_blog.html">The Buzz blog</a> are geniuses. They came up with a concept called Washington Valentines, a photo gallery of very D.C. one-liners about love. I love it. A few of my favorites below, and the full gallery of reader-submitted posts cane be found <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/conversations/your-washington-valentines/2012/02/07/gIQAJQqrwQ_ugcgallery.html">here</a>.<br />
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<br />samantha.p.friedmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04793470777939650909noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2620885376308916646.post-60478544845670086072012-01-03T22:09:00.000-05:002012-01-04T10:32:38.286-05:00Me against the mouse<div>
I had woken up to him twice.</div>
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</div>
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The first time, it was a combination of squeaking coming from the kitchen and the sound of something scurrying around. It was the middle of the night. I closed my bedroom door and told myself I was imagining things.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
A few days later, I opened the door to the pantry to retrieve the dog food, and pieces kept falling out of the bag onto the floor. Very intelligently, I ignored this.</div>
<div>
<br />
Soon thereafter, I was again woken up in the middle of the night. It sounded like someone had broken in and was sitting at my desk, ferociously typing away on my laptop. I grabbed the phone and prepared to dial 9-1-1. But I emerged from my bedroom to find, of course, that no one was at the computer and that the sound wasn't typing; it was the pitter patter of not so welcome little feet somewhere in the apartment. Once again, I closed the door to the kitchen, and this time, put music on to drown out the sound. <br />
<br />
It hadn't yet occurred to me at this point not to leave food accessible. When I got more dog food from the bag one day, I realized this was no case of
the bottom of the bag wearing away. There were holes scratched all over
the bag. Someone, or something, had done this. Not only that, Clyde's bowl, which I had refilled the night before, was empty the next morning before he'd had a chance to take a nibble. <br />
<br />
It could no longer be denied. I had a mouse. And news to me, mice like dog food.<br />
<br />
I live in a quaint D.C. apartment in what was once a rather large and stately single family home. I'm told the house dates to the early 20th century. This all sounds very charming until it gets cold outside, and everyone wants to warm up and find a bite to eat. It was as early as October I first heard the evidence I had a pet I hadn't chosen. It would take more than two months before I would finally meet my little nemesis.<br />
<br />
So, I decided this situation had to be dealt with. But I'd never had a mouse before. Part of me didn't want to do anything inhumane, and then the part of me that loathes rodents would knock some sense into the kind, animal-loving other part. The last time I had seen a mouse inside was my history teacher's classroom my senior year of high school. Not one of my proudest moments, upon glimpsing the thing run across the floor, I started screaming and jumped onto a desk. <br />
<br />
When I told friends who had inhabited apartments in D.C. or New York of my more recent plight, they remarked with all too familiar nods, "I feel your pain." "My previous apartment was an exit off of a mouse highway." Then there was the worst story of all -- the friend who had come home from a trans-Atlantic flight, exhausted and jetlagged, to find what we'll call "evidence" on her pillow just as she was about to climb into bed.<br />
<br />
I feared Clyde, my peaceful little bichon, would encounter the mouse while I was out and some kind of mismatched battle would ensue. I wondered if the mouse was rabid. Every time I heard a creak in the walls of the old house, I thought it was him, skittering around. Could he climb walls? Where was the hole he hid in? I made sure there was never any food out, anywhere, he could get to. The dog food bag disappeared in place of a thick plastic cannister.<br />
<br />
I researched ways to trap him. I acquired a rat trap but was afraid I was going to break a finger if I didn't set the contraption right. I'm no engineer, so I found a Youtube on how to set one. No mouse came to eat the cheese I left. I was told maple flavored cereal is better bait. (The fact that people have enough experience with mice to know these things is scary.) I got those sticky pads you form into a little pyramid that are supposed to attract the mouse with their peanut butter scent. Again, no mouse. I did see a tail one day, and it was about all I could do to hold it together.<br />
<br />
Weeks went by. No more evidence of the mouse. I thought he had moved on to greener pastures where he could find more crumbs to eat.<br />
<br />
Until today.<br />
<br />
I got home from work to find Clyde staring strangely and silently at something on the floor in front of my bed. I thought it was a leaf and was about to pick it up with bare hands to throw away. But in fact, at long last, Clyde had discovered our mouse. I screamed, once, and the thing didn't move an inch. Was it dead? No. It was timid, like a rabbit you see outside. You know if you move slowly and don't come too close, it'll just sit there. The amazing thing was, the little guy was admittedly, actually kind of cute. He was about a quarter the size I had been imagining all this time. He was brown, and I had been envisioning some pallid gray thing.<br />
<br />
With Clyde as watchdog, I quickly retreated to the kitchen for the broom and a paper bag. With one brisk move, I swept the mouse into the bag and clamped it shut with my foot. That was the mouse's last night in my apartment.</div>samantha.p.friedmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04793470777939650909noreply@blogger.com1Washington, DC 20008, USA38.9451658 -77.062202838.9204668 -77.1016848 38.969864799999996 -77.022720799999988tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2620885376308916646.post-24014813542414417162012-01-02T07:56:00.001-05:002012-01-02T07:56:39.266-05:00The first sunrise of 2012<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKpuOEHtZRYldmi0L0DipCFVyQwSZ2h3rDF85bw_1o1jSjRTJ1-C8cR_Q2DHpeKJnpkpwcDXzF87CGZNxWkJwUnwuVptBuYRcGTh5rHBLmIXGXVqhadcoElkuYiFG4DlnU1aD_CYw-VBKy/s1600/First+sunrise+2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKpuOEHtZRYldmi0L0DipCFVyQwSZ2h3rDF85bw_1o1jSjRTJ1-C8cR_Q2DHpeKJnpkpwcDXzF87CGZNxWkJwUnwuVptBuYRcGTh5rHBLmIXGXVqhadcoElkuYiFG4DlnU1aD_CYw-VBKy/s400/First+sunrise+2012.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Six hours and 45 minutes into the new year, the view from Delaware</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />samantha.p.friedmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04793470777939650909noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2620885376308916646.post-74249975416310298772011-12-20T23:46:00.003-05:002011-12-20T23:47:13.160-05:00Happy Chanukah<div style="text-align: center;">
May your week and the new year twinkle with the lights of the holiday</div>
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