Posts by Robin Schwartz
Justice Seeker
Valerie Newman’s passion for getting innocent people out of prison leads to new role. Anyone who steps inside Valerie Newman’s Detroit office at the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice is greeted by a colorful, framed poster emblazoned with these words from the Torah: “Justice, justice shalt thou pursue.” Newman calls the biblical quote from Deuteronomy…
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Leading By Example
Repair the World’s new executive director reflects on her inaugural year. You might find her jogging through Detroit’s Woodbridge neighborhood or working in a greenhouse or helping to bury old prayer books in a sacred space for Jewish texts. But you’ll most likely find Sarah Allyn, 30, of Detroit at Repair the World’s cool headquarters…
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Delicate Balance
“Sandwich Generation” caregivers walk a fine line with their own mental health. She had a special set of rules about crying — when and where she could let her emotions flow. Barbara of West Bloomfield, a wife, mother and member of what’s known as the Sandwich Generation, agreed to share her story with the Detroit…
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Bittersweet Sendoff
Gayle’s Chocolates to relocate to Arizona after 34 years in Royal Oak. For decades, chocolatier Gayle Harte has made many occasions sweeter from weddings to bar/bat mitzvahs to holiday celebrations and more. So, it’s no surprise that she’s doing something sweet for friends and fans to soften the blow of her departure after 34 years…
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Securing Schools & Synagogues
Local security leaders ‘at a state of readiness’ following school, church shootings. When a gunman armed with a semiautomatic AR-15 assault rifle shot and killed 17 people and wounded 14 others at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., on Feb. 14, Gary Sikorski, director of community-wide security for the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan…
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Soul Café Unveils New Sunday Dinner Hours and Menu by Popular Demand
A sold-out crowd filled the dining room of Soul Café inside the Friendship Circle Farber Center in West Bloomfield Jan. 14 for the café’s first-ever Sunday dinner. It was an exciting start to a new tradition that diners have been waiting for. Soul Café is the only dairy, full-service kosher restaurant in Michigan. Several pop-up…
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HealthQuest’s Sol Cogan Offers $20 Appointments To Ease Pain and Help the Community
Dr. Sol Cogan knows a thing or two about pain. He has dedicated his life and career to eliminating it — for everyone from professional athletes to cancer patients to accident victims to seniors. It all started with his own devastating injury as a high school wrestler about three decades ago. “I was thrown on…
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Chocolate turkeys stuffed with treats? Yes, please!
The quest for the perfect piece of chocolate led Gayle Harte to start a chocolate factory in her Huntington Woods home back in 1979. She was certain she could create the kind of rich, creamy chocolate she’d been dreaming about. As Gayle perfected her recipes, word started spreading about her decadent bite-sized desserts and, before…
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Head to Tapper’s new store for the best selection of Michigan-made beer — and diamonds, too
Tapper’s Diamonds & Fine Jewelry took the wraps off its newest store at the Somerset Collection in Troy Oct. 21. What makes it stand out from all others? A Bridal Bar offering the largest selection of engagement rings in Metro Detroit (which will be celebrated at a Wedding Weekend event Nov. 10-12) — plus a…
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Linda Solomon and Ilene Kahan Gallery Opening
The fabulous photography of Linda Solomon and thought-provoking collage work of Ilene Kahan are on display in a joint exhibit at the TH Muller Galleri in Detroit. The art space, located at 2987 Franklin Street (in Detroit’s East Riverfront district near Stroh River Place) features dramatic lighting, hardwood floors, stainless steel fixtures, floor-to-ceiling windows, and…
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