Around Town: Comparing apples and oranges?

Around Town: Comparing apples and oranges?Last week, the La Cañada school board postponed a vote on the district's new teacher complaint policy when it appeared that the board would split 2-2.

Staffer Megan O'Neil reported that the proposed policy “states that the district will not ‘entertain complaints which surface allegations against employees where the complainant has neither directly witnessed the events related to the complaint' or is not the parent or guardian of a student witness.” (Valley Sun 3/8/12, “School board members disagree over complaint process.”)

Imagine the following hypothetical: The little boys have arrived for soccer practice. A couple of boys tell the coach that a teacher blindfolded a female student and played a tasting game. Afterward, the coach talks to the parents talk about this disclosure. The mothers of the two boys who witnessed the event emphatically do not want to report the incident. The other parents and the coach, equally emphatically, do want to report the incident.

The coach and the parents of the non-witnesses go to the school district.

“Sorry!” says the school district. “Under our policy, you can't file a complaint unless you are the parent or guardian of a student witness.”

The teacher's union agrees. This is a zero sum game for the union. There can only be one winner.

“We need to protect our teachers' due process rights,” says the union.

“But what about the kids?” asks the coach.

“Sorry,” says the union. “The teachers have rights.”

The school board agrees.

“The witnesses and their parents have a right to privacy. Don't bring their names into this if they want to stay out of it,” says the school board.

Let's take it a step further: The little boys do not witness a tasting game. They see an act of sexual intercourse. Their mothers do not want to get involved, but the other parents and the coach rush over to the district.

“Sorry!” says the school district. “Under our policy, you can't file a complaint unless you are the parent or guardian of a student witness.”

They go to local law enforcement, which, of course, begins an investigation.

Imagine another scenario: You arrive at the grocery store. You've known the manager for years. He's not a friend, but a friendly acquaintance. Just before you enter, the soccer coach is exiting.

“Don't buy the apples. One of them is rotten,” he says. “Most of them look good, but I saw Fuji that had a worm coming out if it.”

You rush over to the manager. “Someone told me about a bad apple, you might want to check it out.”

The manager would never tell you, “Sorry, you are not a witness to the rotten apple, so I'm going to ignore what you say!”

The store manager would never turn you away because you are his customer and his job is dependent on service to the customer.

Apples and oranges? Please let me know. Tune in after March 27 for the school board's final vote.

ANITA SUSAN BRENNER is a longtime La Cañada Flintridge resident and an attorney with Law Offices of Torres and Brenner in Pasadena. Email her at anitasusan.brenner@yahoo.com and follow her on Twitter @anitabrenner.

Waitresses under the gun in Israel

Two recent stories from Jacob's Bones raise important issues regarding women's rights in Israel.

Last January, Lior Weintraub, speaking on behalf of the Israeli Embassy, wrote to the NY Times in response to their coverage of the women's rights issues

“Israeli Women Core of Debate on Orthodoxy” ([Israelis Facing a Seismic Rift Over Role of Women) points out the challenges faced by Israel in balancing the principles of democracy and pluralism. Though the examples cited are serious, they are peripheral to the lives of the vast majority of Israeli women, who enjoy full and equal rights unrivaled anywhere in the Middle East — indeed, in most of the world...Any threat to women’s rights in Israel will be resisted by Israel’s leaders, among them the three government ministers, 24 members of Parliament, the heads of Israel’s two main opposition parties, a general on the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the chief justice of the Supreme Court, all of whom are women."

But less than two months later, where is the resistance? See Dimona Girl Kicked out of School for Working at McDonalds with the Boys

Efrat Daniel, in senior at Shalhevet HaDarom (“שלהבת הדרום“) High School in Dimona, has been suspended from school for the last three months because she worked at kosher McDonalds during the previous summer.

The school in Dimona receives State funds.

Efrat’s school objected to the fact that her co-workers included men and perhaps also the standard McDonalds employee costume. When they found out several months into the year how she spent her summer they expelled her. The family says that the school would only let her daughter back if she attended a post-graduation seminar for girls that would conflict with national service...The head of the school, Rabbi Yaakov Hemed ...denied that the school forbid students to do national service, but he did confirm that they preferred students to do teacher’s seminary rather than service. He did not specifically deny that they had added a post graduation requirement for Efrat that would conflict with army service.

Read more at Jacob's Bones, which has links to the media coverage and sources for the Dimona story.

Meanwhile, in Jerusalem, a restaurant in a mixed (Haredi, Secular) neighborhood was forced to pick between waitresses and a kosher certification. "A restaurant in the Rehavia neighborhood of Jerusalem, Heimishe Esin ( ‘היימישע עסין’ ), was told that it could not hire waitresses on Thursday night if it wanted a...kashrut certificate. So he removed women from those shifts." Click Click here to read more.

Update: The Jerusalem story was picked up by Haaretz and Forward

Kosher Mole 101

Step One: Poultry and stock
You may use leftover roast turkey or chicken. Kosher turkey and chicken.

Leftover Turkey: Strip the meat from the carcass. Place the turkey carcass in a pot, cover with water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Let cool. Remove the turkey carcass and strip the remaining meat off the carcass. Strain the broth and reserve it. The next day, remove all congealed fat from the broth.

Chicken: Prepare the day before. Prior to cooking, soak a 3.5 lb kosher chicken in cold water. Drain. Pat dry. Place chicken in a heavy pot. Lightly sprinkle with garlic power. Cover with water. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer until cooked. Remove chicken from pot. Let broth cool in refrigerator overnight. The next day, remove congealed fat from broth.

Step Two: Preparing the Chiles
Use plastic medical gloves to work with the chiles. Use a pair of poultry shears or other scissors.
You will need the following dry chiles:
4 dried Pasilla chiles. If Pasilla chiles are not available, substitute Chile Ancho.
6 dried Ancho Chiles (if you can’t find Ancho, then substitute 4 additional Chile Pasilla)
2 dried Chile Negros
5 dried Chile Mulatos
Sometimes I add more types of Chiles. It’s all optional, but these are the basics. The Chile Mulatos and Chile Negros are essential to the flavor, in my opinion.

Under cold running water, pull the stems off of the chiles and discard. Cut into the side of the chile and shake out the seeds. Discard the seeds. Rinse the chile with cold running water from the tap. If there are thick ribs in the chile, cut it out and discard.

Using the scissors and wearing your plastics glove, cut up the dried chiles and place in a large pot. Bring the broth to a boil. Pour boiling broth over the chiles, just enough to cover them.
Let the chiles sit in the broth for at least 40 minutes.

Step Three: Preparing the Mole’
While the chiles are stewing in the broth: Bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Add salt. Place 4 medium to large Roma tomatoes in the boiling water. When the skin starts to peel off, remove the tomatoes from the water. Peel the skin off each tomato. Set aside. Toss the water. You can use the pot later, if your blender gets too full.

Step Four: Measuring ingredients:
While the chiles soak,
Measure out the following ingredients:
3/4 cup almonds, unsalted, blanched.
1/2 cup shelled Pepita seeds or squash seeds
1/2 cup black seedless raisins
1 teaspoon fresh minced or finely chopped garlic. (Use the real thing. It will taste better.)
1 cup chopped onions. (Red is nice, any kind will do.)
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1 tablespoon Allspice
1 teaspoon powered Cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground Cloves
1 teaspoon ground Cumin seeds
2 teaspoons anise seeds
1/4 teaspoon black pepper.
1 banana or 1 flour tortilla. (Banana works if someone has a wheat allergy).

Also: one Tomatillo. Remove the dry parchment-like skin. Rinse it off and set it aside.

Step Five: Blender work
Check your chiles. Are they hydrated? How about you? Need a beer?
Place the almonds, Pepita/Squash seeds in the blender.
Blend until they look like flour.
Add some of the liquid from the chiles. Add the chiles. If your blender
is small, do this in two stages.
Add all the tomatoes and the one Tomatillo. Add all measured seasonings (above).
Blend like crazy. Be sure to wear the Adat Ari El apron you stole I mean borrowed from Rae.

Step Six: Cooking the Mole’
The stuff in the blender is the Mole’. Cover the bottom of a large pot with a layer of olive oil. (Confidential to the Torres cousins. I know. I know. The traditional recipes call for lard. But this is a KOSHER recipe. Plus which, olive oil is healthier. Nuf said. )

Heat. Pour the contents of the blender into the pot. Let it sizzle. Turn down the heat. Let it simmer for 40 minutes or so. Add remaining poultry stock as you see fit.

Set aside. Let cool in refrigerator over night.

Step Seven: The next day is good for chocolate
The next day, you are ready to go. Now is a good time to pour a glass of hopefully non-Kosher Chardonnay.

Put on your "kiss the cook" apron and carefully check the chicken/turkey for bones. Pull apart the meat and add to the Mole in the pot. Add two star anise. (Be sure to find them later.) If you like jalapeño, add one fresh whole jalapeño chile. If you are Jewish, you might not like Jalapeños. It’s an acquired taste, but one well-worth having.

Oh yeah. Add the chocolate. How much? Not too much. 2 tablespoons. Whisk it in. The chocolate has to be parve, powered, unsweetened. Believe it or not, the chiles are easier to find than the chocolate.

Simmer for 30 minutes.

Remove the two star anise and the Optional Jalapeño. (Sounds like a good name for an indie band.)

Serve with KOSHER corn or flour tortilla, Len Torres’ Famous No-Lard Refried Beans and
Jen O’Connell’s Equally Famous Texas Style Fried Rice. (Recipes to follow.) If you are Chicano, you might not like this, but the Jewish community really likes a little avocado or guacamole to put on their tortilla.

To keep it Kosher do NOT add any dairy products.

Around Town: Real world is not a zero sum game

Around Town: Real world is not a zero sum game

The upcoming private screening of “The Hunger Games” has got me thinking about Gabrielle Leko again. Here's why.

In case you missed it, Leko is the La Cañada High School math chair who is alleged to have called a ninth-grade student “Jew boy,” made fun of a kid's stutter, made an ethnic remark to an Armenian kid, and spelled out a swear word to her students. Former school board member Cindy Wilcox, in her capacity as a private citizen, filed a complaint with the school district on June 15th. In October, seeing no movement on her complaint, Wilcox went to the media.


The local reactions were strong and heartfelt.

Mandy Redfern, president of the La Cañada Teachers Assn., questioned Wilcox's decision to make the complaint public.

One letter writer chastised Wilcox on the grounds that her complaint was “utterly malicious and without basis” (“Cindy Wilcox should leave La Cañada,” Valley Sun, 10/26/2011).

Without public response by Leko, several current calculus students defended her, saying that if the ethnic comments were made, they were made in a joking manner. Which is why “The Hunger Games” reminds me of the Leko debacle.

Teachers are role models for the dominant culture. Some students, but not all, look to the teacher for the dominant cultural mores.

The students who defended Leko's hurtful words as “banter” have adopted her comments as normative. They believe that it is a cultural norm to use ethnic slurs, as long as the intent is to kid around.

Kateniss Everdeen, the young heroine of “The Hunger Games,” would never have sided with the teacher. For one thing, the Kateniss character is independent. She sticks up for the underdogs, and does so at the risk of her own life.

In Britain, with a different cultural norm, our Leko situation was covered differently. The ethnic slurs were given equal billing with the profanity. (See “Foul-mouthed teacher fired after calling student ‘Jew boy' and mocking another's speech impediment,” Daily Mail Online, 2/9/2012). Not so in the local media, where we debated political correctness and the need to say “ethnic slur” instead of “Jew boy.”

Different countries. Different sensitivities.

Which brings us back to Kateniss Everdeen. She was no friend of any authority figure. She routinely broke the rules in order to feed her family. Her story is the story of self-individuation.

Shouldn't we expect the same from any red-blooded American kid? To be a little bit of a rebel? To possess an overdeveloped instinct for fairness? To have the moral courage to defend a classmate?

“The Hunger Games” is popular because Kateniss Everdeen has all of those qualities. In the end, she proved that the real world is not a zero sum game. She proved that there can be more than one winner.

Come support our schools at the film's screening on March 26. For more information, seewww.lcfef.org or call the La Cañada Flintridge Educational Foundation at (818) 952-4268.

ANITA SUSAN BRENNER is a longtime La Cañada Flintridge resident and an attorney with Law Offices of Torres and Brenner in Pasadena. Email her at anitasusan.brenner@yahoo.
com and follow her on Twitter @anitabrenner.

Around Town: Educational Foundation to screen 'The Hunger Games'

The La Cañada Flintridge Educational Foundation consistently comes through for our public schools. This month, the LCUSD accepted a $2-million check from the foundation. “Foundation President Paul Murray noted it was a record amount for the organization, exceeding the donation for the previous school year by $900,000.” (Valley Sun, Feb. 9, “La Cañada Unified receives $2 million from foundation.”)

The money makes up the shortfall in public funds, and reduces class sizes, because our tax dollars do not go directly to our local schools. (See www.lcfef.org/what/)



Wondering how they do it? The foundation has succeeded in a down economy due to the commitment of its volunteers, direct donations and matching funds. Of equal import, the foundation puts on awesome events.

Case in point — there will be a private movie screening of “The Hunger Games” on March 26, with 100% of ticket sales going to the foundation.

“The Hunger Games” is a great choice. The film is based on Suzanne Collins' trilogy, published by Scholastic, the publisher of the Harry Potter books. The novels show signs of being equally popular.

I first heard about “The Hunger Games” last year from a 30-year-old vegetarian veterinary student. She said the book was better than the Harry Potter books.

I stayed up until 2 a.m. reading the first book. No spoilers here. I won't give the plot away.

“The Hunger Games” is set in a post-apocalyptic future where the U.S. is divided into 12 districts and a “capitol.” Each year, one boy and girl from each district are picked to fight to the death in a televised event. The winner receives honor and riches.

Not exactly your mama's Harry Potter.

Unlike Harry Potter, there are non-magical weapons.

Unlike Harry Potter, there's hand-to-hand combat.

Unlike Harry Potter, the hero is a teenage girl who sticks up for the underdog.

The author is the daughter of an Air Force officer. She says she was inspired not only by the myth of Theseus, but by watching television during the invasion of Iraq. Collins flipped the channels between cable news and a reality show until it all began to blur.

Presently, there are about 1.4 million active-duty military personnel in our country, and an equal number in the reserves. That's about 1% of those available for military service. The U.S. population is 313 million. Less than 1% of us have any connection to the military. Why are civilians fascinated with boot camp physical training, paintballing, “Survivor” and other forms of aggression? Is life a zero sum game?

The story resonates and the film will intrigue you. Come out to support our schools on March 26.

For more information, see www.lcfef.org or call the La Cañada Flintridge Educational Foundation at (818) 952-4268.

ANITA SUSAN BRENNER is a longtime La Cañada Flintridge resident and an attorney with Law Offices of Torres and Brenner in Pasadena. Email her at anitasusan.brenner@
yahoo.com.

Chicago Tribune Around Town: Educational Foundation to screen 'The Hunger Games'

La Canada Valley Sun Around Town: Educational Foundation to screen 'The Hunger Games'

Around Town: Getting help on Jericho Road

Last year the Jericho Road Project, based in Massachusetts, launched an outpost in the San Gabriel Valley, thanks to seed money from the Ayrshire Foundation. The Jericho Road Project matches skilled volunteers with nonprofit organizations.

Melanie Goodyear, the project's executive director and sole employee, says that the goal is “to promote community development, strengthen social services and enrich the lives of volunteers.” She maintains a roster of skilled volunteers, including IT consultants, marketing specialists, lawyers and financial experts, and matches them to the needs of the nonprofit.


“Surely you won't come to La Cañada Flintridge,” I said, over a cup of coffee at Europane.

“Why not?” Melanie asked.

“Isn't La Cañada too wealthy to merit your services?”

“Not at all,” Melanie replied.

Melanie, who has a master's degree in theology from the Claremont Colleges, explained that La Cañada's school boosters, hospital guilds, church social service groups and other organizations enrich and create a sense of community. Jericho Road will help organizations that are small, apolitical and non-sectarian. A church social action group (e.g. a soup kitchen) would be considered if there are no sermons required in exchange for the soup.

For groups that qualify, Jericho Road will do a two- or three-month assessment of ways to give the group a greater capacity to achieve the group's mission.

Depending on the initial assessment of the nonprofit, there is no limit to the types of services that Jericho Road can offer, as long as Melanie can find the right skilled volunteer. Jericho Road's seven-step match-making and project management process, has been successful with other groups. There are specific goals, with deadlines and scope for each project.

Recent projects ranged from marketing to board development. Local projects include Flights of Fancy, a story-telling nonprofit based in Sunland, Lake Avenue Church's ACTS Thrift Store, Girls on the Run and the Pasadena Senior Center.

All organizations need a little boost now and then, even organizations in La Cañada Flintridge.

Jericho Road has provided skilled volunteers in the areas of strategic planning, leadership training, legal advice, business planning, website construction, database creation, graphic design, marketing, editing, copy writing, facilitation, mediation, video production, board assessment, board development, photography and professional coaching.

“That's great,” I told Melanie, and I explained that there are dozens of volunteer organizations and non-profits based in the 91011. They range from Friends of the La Cañada Flintridge Library to the La Cañada Flintridge Chamber of Commerce and Community Association. We have the La Cañada High School Friends of Drama and the La Cañada Spartan Booster Club, alongside the La Cañada Flintridge Tournament of Roses Association. And then there's the Community Center of La Cañada Flintridge, the Lanterman House museum, the Assistance League of Flintridge that lends its support to our local schools, and the La Cañada Thursday Club, which donates scholarships to local high school seniors. The list of local nonprofits goes on and on.

“We're ready to help,” Melanie said.

If volunteers are the glue that holds a town together, then the future looks rosy for La Cañada and for Jericho Road.

For more information, contact Melanie Goodyear at (626) 319-6466, or see www.jerichoroadproject.org.

ANITA SUSAN BRENNER is a longtime La Cañada Flintridge resident and an attorney with Law Offices of Torres and Brenner in Pasadena. Email her at anitasusan.brenner@yahoo.com and follow her on Twitter @anitabrenner.

Around Town: The college admissions two-step

In its January newsletter, La Cañada Unified released the statistics for the La Cañada High School class of 2011. There were 375 LCHS graduates in June of 2011, excluding five foreign exchange students. Ninety-eight percent have enrolled at colleges throughout the country and abroad, of whom 84% chose four-year colleges. (See www.lcusd.com — click on “District Newsletter.”)

As February begins, high school seniors from the class of 2012 have completed most of their college applications and have transmitted their midyear final-exam grades.

At Flintridge Prep, between 40 and 50% of the senior class applied “early action” or “early decision” and the college counseling office is recuperating from what it calls the December craziness. The applications are in, but the work continues.

Lyn Logan, the mother of two Flintridge Prep graduates, is now the owner of Lyn Logan College Counseling. After her kids got through the college application process in late 1990s, Logan obtained a college counseling certificate. She worked as assistant director of college counseling at La Salle High School in Pasadena and then started her own business.

Logan relayed the following advice: “Seniors, it is the beginning of February and by now, you should have submitted your college applications (if you still have some to submit — finish up). Be sure that you regularly check your email and college admissions portals for important messages and updates about your application status. Also, remember to have your high school counselor send in mid-year reports, with transcripts from the first semester of this year, to all of the private schools and out-of-state public schools that you have applied to.”

Meanwhile, at Harvard-Westlake, the juniors get a handbook that includes a summary of the college acceptance statistics for the prior two years, broken down into eight rounded GPA ranges, college-by-college, by number of applications and number of acceptances. The handbook is a tremendous resource that summarizes the college application process. It available online at www.students.hw.com/Portals/44/Handbook%202013.pdf

The Harvard-Westlake counselors caution parents against getting too involved. They want the children to take ownership of the process, with the parents at a comfortable distance.

That’s easier said than done, when the children are in a school setting with overworked college counselors. Logan suggests that parents stay involved. February is a good month to look into the financial-aid process.

Logan says, “If your senior is applying for financial aid, you should be filling out and submitting the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) now. Go to www.fafsa.ed.gov to get started. Some private schools also require the CSS PROFILE, which can be found on the College Board website. The FAFSA must be filed by March 2 for California schools. (Out-of-state schools may have earlier deadlines — be sure you know what they are.) Seniors with a minimum 3.0 GPA who have at least one California school on the FAFSA should submit a GPA Verification Form (available from their counselor) to the California State Aid Commission; they may be eligible for a Cal Grant, as well as federal aid.”

Deadlines. Forms. It’s lots of work, but as the Harvard-Westlake counselors caution that the admission process is not an assessment of a student’s self-worth. “Admission officers admit and deny applications (pieces of paper), not applicants.” (Harvard-Westlake Handbook)

Good luck to the Class of 2012!Around Town: The college admissions two-step