Sweet dreams for kids at Congregation Beth Shalom
“An Evening of Sweet Dreams,” a special program for kids, will be held at Congregation Beth Shalom on Friday, Feb. 20. The evening will start at 6 p.m. at a Tot Shabbat Service. Dinner will follow at 6:30 p.m., and the program will begin at 7 p.m.
Congregation Beth Shalom is located at 1212 Thannisch Drive in Arlington.
RSVPs for the “Jewish Bedtime Rituals for Young Children” program should be made as soon as possible with Stephanie Posner, 817-468-4439 or 817-675-4353.
The evening will take place in the Assembly Room of the Religious School and is free to all participants.
The program is funded by a grant from the Jewish Federation of Fort Worth and Tarrant County.
Andy Karsner testifies before Senate Energy Committee
Andy Karsner, son of Blanche and David Karsner, was in the news last week when he testified before the Senate Energy Committee. The Washington Times said: “‘Fundamental reform of the means and mechanisms for disbursing loan guarantees that enables consistent and continuous capital formation in the markets is indispensable if the new administration has any hope of achieving its stated goals for doubling renewable energy production in the next 36 months,’ said Andy Karsner, the former assistant energy secretary who is now a distinguished fellow at the Council on Competitiveness.
“Mr. Karsner, who directed the program under the Bush administration, said he plans to tell senators Thursday that a ‘clean energy bank’ should be established to administer the loans.”
The Wall Street Journal said on Thursday: “Andy Karsner, assistant secretary for energy efficiency and renewable energy under President George W. Bush, told a Senate panel that a combination of ‘bureaucratic dysfunction,’ ‘organizational intransigence,’ and ‘institutional barriers’ had contributed to the agency’s ‘painfully slow’ progress on loan-guarantee applications in recent years.”
Cnnmoney.com, in their piece, said: “The last administration’s Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Andy Karsner, said the loan program — and the DOE at large — face bigger problems than money. Karsner advocated for the creation of a clean energy bank — a new government entity that could relieve the DOE of responsibilities it was never meant, and is not equipped to handle: namely, the actual rollout and financing of technology. ‘The guts of what we do at the DOE well is science and technology,’ he told the Committee. Once things get out of the R&D phase, he said, the DOE is ‘handcuffed’ by its position as a civil service agency.”
Hadassah members have a ‘Date with the State’
On Sunday and Monday, Feb. 8–9, 50 members of the Greater Southwest Region of Hadassah ascended the State Capitol to meet with state legislators and other state officials for a “Date with the State.”
Issues important to Hadassah members and brought to the attention of our state leaders included:
• SCHIP — a bill to help the
nearly half million uninsured
Texas kids get health insurance
• Stem cell research
• Texas nursing legislation to
prevent nurses from working
excessive hours
• The creation of the Texas
Holocaust and Genocide
Commission
Thanks to the efforts of Senators Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa and Florence Shapiro, a State Proclamation was introduced acknowledging the work of Hadassah. Hadassah leaders were invited to the floor of the Senate to be recognized and congratulated. The group met with Governor Rick Perry and newly elected Speaker of the House Joe Straus from San Antonio.
Representing the Fort Worth Chapter of Hadassah were “Date with the State” Co-Chairs Laurie Werner, Debby Rice and Rhoda Bernstein.
With 8,600 members in the Greater Southwest Region, Hadassah’s visit provided an opportunity to bring their collective voice to key influential leaders. For more information about Hadassah, the largest women’s volunteer organization in the U.S., call Debby Rice, 817-706-5158, e-mail debbyb@sbcglobal.net or go to the Web site at www.hadassah.org.