Lee Ann Sandweiss

Brian Besser: Rabbi

First Posted: 5/10/13 02:04 PM EDT Updated: 5/10/13 02:04 PM EDT
Originally published February/March 2013

BY LEE ANN SANDWEISS Rabbi Brian Besser avoids the adjective “traditional” when he discusses Judaism, and he’s quick to tell you why. “There are many traditions in Judaism and no one is superior to any other. I know, because I have immersed myself to one degree or another in all streams of Judaism.” Besser is Bloomington’s new rabbi; he has been serving Congregation Beth Shalom since July 2012 and was officially installed as rabbi in a ceremony this January. For the 51-year-old New Jersey native, it has been a long and winding road to Bloomington and Beth Shalom. Raised in a Conservative Jewish household, he admits to falling away from Judaism while a student at Harvard University but then reconnecting [...]

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Filed Under: Our Town Tagged With: Brian Besser, Congregation Beth Shalom, Joe bocchino, Lee Ann Sandweiss, Shannon Zahnle

Magbloom.com Wins Best Journalism Website in Indiana

First Posted: 4/22/13 04:32 PM EDT Updated: 5/23/13 03:40 PM EDT

Magbloom.com, the website you are looking at, captured the award for Best Journalism Website at the Society of Professional Journalists’ “Best of the Best” annual gala held at the Marriott Hotel in Indianapolis on April 19. The judges said magbloom.com is “an inviting website, and the team there tells the stories of life in Bloomington very well.” Bloom won 12 journalism awards in all, including six first-place honors, three second-place, and three third-place for writing, photography, and design. Here is a complete list of the Bloom winners. First Place Lynae Sowinski and Kaye Lee Johnston, magbloom.com Best Journalism Website Elisabeth Andrews, “The Lotus Festival,” Aug/Sep 2012 Arts and Entertainment Writing Magazines and non-daily newspapers Jeremy Shere, “The Young Turks of Technology,” [...]

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Filed Under: Web Exclusives Tagged With: Christine Barbour, Elisabeth Andrews, J. Bruce Baumann, Jeremy Shere, Kaye Lee Johnston, Lee Ann Sandweiss, Lynae Sowinski, Shannon Zahnle, Society of Professional Journalists, Steve Raymer

For Babies: Local Stores Have It All (Photo Gallery)

First Posted: 4/10/13 09:19 AM EDT Updated: 4/10/13 09:19 AM EDT
Originally published April/May 2013

BY LEE ANN SANDWEISS From organic cotton diapers to children’s exercise equipment, Bloomington independent retailers stock all the essential and sundry items needed to outfit the younger set—from tots to tweens. ETC for the Home, 3333 S. Walnut, has a showroom devoted to babies and children that contains a wide array of cribs, dressers, hutches, built-to-grow beds, and changing stations from Young America furniture, as well as Peg Perego and Recaro car seats, and American-made UPPAbaby strollers. ETC also carries organic, nontoxic mattresses from Naturepedic, bedding, children’s exercise equipment, toys, and stuffed animals. “We know parents look for safety and the latest technology in the products they choose for their family, so these are the only brands we stock,” says [...]

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Filed Under: Home/Family, Web Exclusives Tagged With: Bella Bella Arts, ETC for the Home, James Kellar, Lee Ann Sandweiss, Nicholas Demille, O'Child, Rebecca & Me, Shannon Zahnle, The Green Nursery

The Legacy of Schindler’s List

First Posted: 4/10/13 09:10 AM EDT Updated: 4/15/13 03:32 PM EDT
Originally published April/May 2013

BY LEE ANN SANDWEISS Director Steven Spielberg’s Academy Award-winning film Schindler’s List tells the true story of German industrialist Oskar Schindler, who risked his life to save 1,100 Jews from the Nazi death camps in World War II. Today, there are nearly 7,000 living descendants of Schindlerjuden (Schindler’s Jews). Bloomington residents Arthur Fagen and his daughters, Gabriela Fagen and Rebecca Fagen Houghton, are among them. Arthur’s parents, Lewis and Rena Fagen, owe their lives to Schindler. Protected by him in his factories, they survived the war and its aftermath, came to America, raised a family, and are still alive today. Arthur, 62, is a professor of orchestral conducting at the IU Jacobs School of Music. He and his wife, Paulette, [...]

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Filed Under: Features Tagged With: Arthur Fagen, Gabriela Fagen, IU Jacobs School of Music, Lee Ann Sandweiss, Lewis Fagen, Megan Lindsey Photography, Oskar Schindler, Paulette Fagen, Rebecca Fagen Houghton, Rena Fagen, Shannon Zahnle

Silas Andrews:  A Shop Reminiscent of Paris (Photo Gallery)

First Posted: 4/4/13 02:00 PM EDT Updated: 4/18/13 03:51 PM EDT
Originally published February/March 2013

BY LEE ANN SANDWEISS Stepping into the Silas Andrews store, located at 405 S. Walnut next to The Chocolate Moose, is like entering a tiny shop in le Marais, the historic district of Paris. It is exactly that Old World ambience that owners Sally Livingston and her brother and business partner R. Silas Heath were hoping to create. “We love French culture and style, as well as things that appear handcrafted with an heirloom quality,” says Livingston—who looks every bit the Gibson Girl with her upswept chignon, prim lace blouse, and brocade shawl. The store is tightly packed with a wide range of gift items, many with French motifs like the Eiffel Tower or fleur-de-lis. Silas Andrews carries jewelry, scarves, [...]

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Filed Under: Fashion/Shopping, Web Exclusives Tagged With: Lee Ann Sandweiss, R. Silas Heath, Sally Livingston, Silas Andrews