Sunday night I did something I don’t often do these days. I watched a movie — with commercials — on “regular” TV. It happened to be “The Sound of Music,” one of my all-time favorites, which clocked in at four hours on ABC. I realize I could...

When it comes to celebrating Hanukkah, Chabad in the St. Louis area likes to go big, as in really big. Among noteworthy events, there will be a menorah lighting near the Arch and on Historic Main Street in St. Charles, just a stone’s throw away...

After the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June and Missouri immediately activated the state’s “trigger law” banning legal abortion, I got to thinking about those who fought hard for reproductive rights before the passage of Roe in 1973. In...

Lately, I’ve been thinking about legacies — how they happen, what they mean, how we hope to be remembered, how we actually are remembered. Maybe these thoughts have something to do with the realization that I have lived many more years than are likely...

What’s in a name? Maybe more than you think. In a letter to Shaare Emeth members, Cantor Seth Warner explains how the Reform congregation has renamed its B’nei Mitzvah program to B’Mitzvah Program. “This shift reflects Shaare Emeth’s commitment...

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I walked into Loren Ludmerer’s Ladue home on a recent Wednesday. Our meeting had been scheduled for 10 a.m. but that morning the rain was coming down hard.  At 7:59 a.m. I got an email from Ludmerer asking if...

They say necessity is the mother of invention. Boy, was that ever the case for St. Louis native Sarah Hirsch Maddali. After she and her husband had two children, now ages 3 and 6, Maddali grew frustrated that she couldn’t find age-appropriate...

A generous St. Louis donor who wishes to remain anonymous is helping to fund technology that will create an interactive, accessible and autonomous experience for visitors with visual impairments at many of Israel’s museums.  With support for the...

Forgive me as I continue to shake the cobwebs from my brain after a month-long binge of the Hallmark channel. As regular readers may recall, I am a sucker for totally predictable made-for-TV holiday movies, especially ones that go heavy on the cheese. It...

The Creve Coeur police and K9 unit and the Creve Coeur Fire Department showed up as did Louie, the mascot of the St. Louis Blues. The principal of Bellerive Elementary was also on hand, along with the school’s roadrunner mascot, as well as massive tow...

Eight years ago, when Rebecca “Becca” Berg went on a Birthright trip to Israel, her group met with volunteers from Gift of Life. The nonprofit runs a bone marrow and blood stem cell registry that helps facilitate transplants for children and adults...

One of the realities of being a journalist is that you’re always on the lookout for your next good story. Rarely, do we find time to look back, or update readers on stories that in some ways are still works in progress. So as 2021 winds down, I’d...