Will Hartman Upper East Side Flex is a restaurant import from Prince Edward Island which immediately gives it some credibility - "P.E.I" as they call it is the source of some of the best mussels the world has to offer Bar Food The Penrose is one of several Upper East Side restaurants that are making this neighborhood sort of cool again Will is passionate about bagels and being disappointed by The Mets He has been writing for The Infatuation since 2023 Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker A Celebration of Life for family and friends will be held at a later date Wheelan-Pressly Funeral Home and Crematory Illinois is assisting the family with arrangements the family requests memorials be sent to David Hoexter Illinois 61263 in recognition of Preemption United Methodist Church and the Matherville Volunteer Fire Department daughter of Claude and Beulah (Givens) Arms Maxine was employed with Tri-City Tool & Die and also served as president of Ken-Tronics she was a bus driver for the Sherrard School District.  Maxine was an active member of Preemption United Methodist Church She enjoyed assisting her husband with the Society of Manufacturing Engineers and QC Elite Team 648 Robotics Maxine also bowled in the Morning Glories League for many years.  Maxine loved cooking for church fundraisers and Wonderful Wednesday community meals She held many fond memories of vacations with her family and church friends Maxine loved her horse Redwing and her dogs She was very involved in her grandsons lives and Ryan Hoexter and Jenny Keener; her brother Missouri; and many nieces and nephews.  Maxine was preceded in death by her parents; infant son Della June Simpson; and niece Stefanie Beal.  Kimberly Fisher is a Pursuitist contributor Celebrate love at Hoexter’s this Valentine’s Day with a decadent three-course prix-fixe menu ($125 per person) Indulge in signature dishes like Caviar and Potato Chips and Chicken Pot Pie with cognac and puff pastry Whether it’s a romantic date night or a Galentine’s celebration Hoexter’s chic and charming ambiance sets the stage for an unforgettable evening Reservations: Book online or call directly a seasonal rooftop oasis atop the elegant Casa Cruz townhouse has been reimagined into an elegant chalet-style retreat inspired by Switzerland’s snow-capped peaks This intimate 30-seat space is the ultimate date-night destination The space is decked out in plush shearling furs and soft pink tables glowing under warm candlelight The exclusive Alpine-inspired menu features decadent fondues including a must-order champagne-infused and truffle-topped variation alongside crafted cocktails that capture the magic of the season the restaurant will also offer special dessert creations to sweeten your romantic evening Reservations: Book via OpenTable, email reservations@casacruznyc.com Celebrate love in style at Gabriel Kreuther a two-Michelin-starred restaurant renowned for its Alsatian-inspired cuisine indulge in a luxurious five-course prix-fixe menu featuring exquisite dishes such as Citrus-Cured Tuna Loin End your meal on a dreamy note with On Cloud 9 Reservations: Book online or call directly.$375/per person The a la carte menu features Market Carrots & Kale Salad Roasted Bone Marrow with Manilla clams in a shallot reduction topped with lemon-herb crumbs its crowd favorite Butternut Squash Ravioli The Valentine’s Day pre-fixe menu starts with either A Symponie of Caviar (A caviar tasting featuring Sevruga with vichyssoise Trout on smoked salmon rillette with chilled lemon Vodka) or Wild Mushroom Toast (robiola The second course a choice of Sweet Potato Salad with Lentils Hen of The Woods with Herbed Vinaigrette or Foie Gras Torchon with Poached Pear Gelle The decadent main courses include  Long Island Black Bass “A La Nage” with Lobster Dumpling scallions with garlic crumbs or Filet Mignon with Fondant Potato and broccolini $175/per adult with an optional $215/pp wine pairing Transport your Valentine to Paris with a romantic three-course dinner at Brasserie Fouquet’s this chic brasserie offers a timeless French dining experience complete with classic dishes and an ambiance that whispers amour you can also visit Fouquet‘s LoveShack in the lobby beside Titsou Bar – a pop-up shop featuring a curated selection of gifts from vendors like Heaven Mayhem Reservations: Book via Resy, $195 per person Step back into time with an evening at The Tusk Bar Sip cocktails with The Tusk Bar’s Plateau Fruit des Mers a luxurious seafood platter for two featuring East Coast oysters paired with a bottle of exquisite Gosset Grande Réserve Brut ($250 for two) Reservations: Resy French Indonesian restaurant Wayan by Chef Cédric Vongerichten invites lovebirds to experience Love in Every Bite with a specially curated prix-fixe menu ($108 per person) at the cozy Shareable dishes include Seasonal Citrus Salad End your meal on a sweet note with Strawberries Dipped in Chocolate and Pandan Custard Reservations: Book online or call directly and a freelance writer that has been published in over 50 publications including Huffington Post (Disclosure: Kimberly is under contract with Casa Del Sol Tequila) © 2025 Pursuitist. All Rights Reserved. Unless noted, some photos may belong to their respective owners and are used under the principle of fair use, according to Section 107 Hoexters is the return of the first of over 25 restaurants for the Shapiro family So it makes sense that, in the reopening of Hoexters, at 174 E. 82nd Street near Third Avenue — a neighborhood restaurant that originally reigned around the corner for about a decade — she’d look to the family legacy The menu comes from chef Lauren Schwichtenberg who most recently cooked at Brooklyn’s LaLou and meat-centric mains like a half-chicken But it’s the gorgonzola garlic bread ($18) from the original menu — a 1970s dish if there ever were one — that’s been the bestseller so far white-on-white) appetizer is an Italian loaf dressed with garlic “I’d been hearing about it my whole life,” Shapiro says she’s been “astounded” at the number of orders since the restaurant opened earlier this month Shapiro got a notification from Etsy of a matchbook for sale from Hoexter’s Market which had been a butcher shop that he’d converted to a well-regarded market and restaurant with positive reviews from the New York Times’ Mimi Sheraton It prompted a discussion about reopening the spot Hoexter’s has always held sway in the family even after her father sold the restaurant in the late ’80s A giant mural of the original staff that used to reside behind the bar had been periodically hanging in the family home; it shows Shapiro’s father and grandfather in a butcher’s jacket “I can remember as a child everyone going through who everyone was,” she says And Hoexter’s laid the groundwork for the family’s other restaurants Today that mural overlooks one of three dining rooms in the 90-seat restaurant with a 10-seat bar with retro design elements like a black-and-white penny tile floor (“Market” and the apostrophe have been dropped from the name.) Hoexters is open for dinner Sunday through Thursday from 5 to 10 p.m and Fridays and Saturdays from 5 to 11 p.m '#' : location.hash;window._cf_chl_opt.cOgUQuery = location.search === '' && location.href.slice(0 location.href.length - window._cf_chl_opt.cOgUHash.length).indexOf('?') !== -1 '?' : location.search;if (window.history && window.history.replaceState) {var ogU = location.pathname + window._cf_chl_opt.cOgUQuery + window._cf_chl_opt.cOgUHash;history.replaceState(null "\/a-glimpse-at-the-class-of-2020\/?__cf_chl_rt_tk=PNqVRrOhmJKsA7ACBpN18TxfKQrXEYsJNfBUGUtwats-1746539783-1.0.1.1-L_sMnV2_tuZJvXBTOUIRuf7ynAW0iGzC02ObnYIENbA" + window._cf_chl_opt.cOgUHash);cpo.onload = function() {history.replaceState(null ogU);}}document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0].appendChild(cpo);}()); 2023 at 6:00 pm ET.css-79elbk{position:relative;}The new Hoexter's restaurant will open this year in the former Flex Mussels space at 174 East 82nd St — around the corner from where the original Hoexter's operated decades ago NY — Nearly 50 years after a cozy restaurant called Hoexter's Market first beckoned Upper East Siders into a Third Avenue storefront its brand will be revived on the same block — thanks to the daughter of its original owner known to modern-day Upper East Siders as the owner of Flex Mussels plans to open the new Hoexter's inside Flex's former home at 174 East 82nd St. A seafood fixture on the Upper East Side, Flex relocated last summer to a new location a block south months after a February fire badly damaged the East 82nd Street space Inspiration for the new venture struck when Shapiro stumbled across an Etsy listing for a matchbook from the original Hoexter's "I've kind of made it my life's mission to find old relics from his projects in the past," Alexandra Shapiro told a Community Board 8 committee on Tuesday The original Hoexter's won a positive review in 1978 from New York Times restaurant critic Mimi Sheraton (Meats at the restaurant were sourced from Bobby Shapiro's other venture cut mirrors set into an old bar and romantically theatrical stage lighting" — though the critic lamented the cramped table layout in the "jam-packed" restaurant Shapiro envisions a "real old New York neighborhood place "The kind of place you can sit at the bar and have a great martini and a shrimp cocktail and a burger but also have a really delicious steak in the back," she told the board Its design will be "classy but approachable," focused on being "a great place for the neighborhood," she said Hoexter's will initially be open daily from 4 p.m Related coverage: Flex Mussels Opens New Upper East Side Restaurant: See Inside, Food Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts. A native New Yorker revives her family’s 1970s Upper East Side restaurant a brasserie that opened in November on East 82nd Street near Third Avenue you don’t feel like you’re on the Upper East Side People are packed into connecting rooms covered in wild wallpapers: flamingos and tigers when you walk in golden stars and moons lit up by a custom Murano-glass chandelier Hoexters—pronounced “Hexters”—is the kind of restaurant that becomes exactly what you need when you need it whether you’re there for a quick martini or a celebratory steak dinner and you order a prime rib and an expensive bottle of wine,” the restaurant’s owner “If you want to have a beer and a shrimp cocktail Subscribe  Gift a Subscription Freight volume is generally a good indicator of economic activity because someone bought all those goods being shipped on planes “So when we see major logistics firms like FedEx report disconcerting results it can send up alarm bells for all kinds of economic onlookers,” said Adie Tomer a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution FedEx is blaming a weakening economy in Asia Six years ago, for example, FedEx bought a European company called TNT Express And the next year, it was hit by a cyberattack That caused disruptions to service and took some recovery time customers flee to competitive networks,” Hoexter said He also pointed out that about half of FedEx’s business comes from its Express service you still have to fly the plane,” said Hoexter “So you have the fixed cost without the revenue.” The decrease in volume could also be related to more people shopping in person as opposed to having things shipped directly like they were at the beginning of the pandemic “It’s us now going to the store to buy toothpaste and not ordering it online,” said Allison Poliniak-Cusic an equity analyst covering transportation and industrial technology at Wells Fargo “So we’ve returned to a little bit more normal behavior.” including reducing the frequency of its flights and closing more than 90 FedEx Office locations — all of which is unusual in the lead-up to the holidays The cuts indicate FedEx is anticipating the holiday season will fall short of expectations a research scientist at the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics shippers at this time of the year invest into having excess capacity having rather too many than too few trucks on the road,” he said Winkenbach said a downturn might prompt FedEx and other logistics companies to change how they approach necessary innovations Think about more sustainable delivery models,” he said He wondered whether FedEx and its competitors will see a downturn as a reason to scale down those efforts — or double down on them Sign up for the Marketplace newsletter to get the day’s biggest business stories straight to your inbox every weekday evening The 31st anniversary event of Chabad House on Campus in Pittsburgh honored Chancellor Patrick Gallagher for his support of Jewish life on campus. It began with a special dedication. Full Story, Photos, Video Chabad House on Campus celebrated its 31st Anniversary Event honoring Chancellor Patrick Gallagher for his support of Jewish life on campus From the Havdallah ceremony in memory of the Tree of Life Kedoshim to the student fund created in honor of the Chancellor towards mental health awareness on campus and the inspiring remarks from County Executive Rich Fitzgerald Rabbi Shmuel and Sara Weinstein are directors of Chabad House on Campus together with Pitt undergrad directors Rabbi Shmuli and Chasi Rothstein and JGrads Directors Rabbi Shua and Shoshana Hoexter including County Executive Rich Fitzgerald Director of the Pittsburgh Holocaust Center For related articles check out www.chabadpgh.org Sign up for the COLlive Daily News Roundup and never miss a story Δdocument.getElementById("ak_js_1").setAttribute("value",(new Date()).getTime()) Δdocument.getElementById("ak_js_2").setAttribute("value",(new Date()).getTime()) Keep up the good work and Teilchu MeiChayil El Chayil By submitting the above I agree to the privacy policy and terms of use of JTA.org Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are the busiest time at one of the most well-known synagogues in the country — here’s a behind-the-scenes peek at a year’s worth of preparation But the senior staff at the Upper East Side’s Temple Emanu-El — one of the largest Reform synagogues in the world — are already sitting down to discuss the logistics for Rosh Hashanah services and events Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services are the most attended of the year among the congregation’s 2,400 member households which this year starts on the evening of Wednesday the majestic Romanesque Revival building at 1 East 65th St There’s a mind-boggling amount of preparation for the 20 services and events that will take place over the most significant days on the Jewish calendar and there are tasks for every one of Emanu-El’s 125 employees From ordering flowers to 40 hours of choir rehearsals to cleaning the 35-foot-tall organ pipes as deputy executive director Vivien Hoexter puts it a large congregation prepares for its busiest season the New York Jewish Week sat down with six key staff members at Temple Emanu-El to get an inside peek at what it’s like to prepare for the High Holidays at one of the best-known synagogues in the country Keep reading for our “oral history” of how High Holiday services happen Interviews have been condensed and lightly edited for clarity Rabbi Joshua Davidson looks at the bima of Temple Emanu-El where he’s conducted High Holiday services as senior rabbi since 2013 senior rabbi: As soon as one set of High Holidays ends I’m already making notes for the following year — sometimes it’s about things as simple as “that cue didn’t work,” or we need a better transition from this prayer into that prayer You have to remember all of those things while they’re still fresh in your mind the Temple Emanu-El staff come together to set the schedule of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services as well as other events and programs during that period chief operating officer and executive director: The very first thing I do is confirm with Rabbi Davidson his vision — the services That gives us a frame then we put all the things on top of that frame We come together to create this very special and important experience perhaps the highlight of our members’ year Cantor Mo Glazman: We have a musical team meeting in April to hammer out a rehearsal schedule that accommodates all these instrumentalists and singers [The High Holidays] involve over 50 singers in part because we do multiple services at the same time and in part because each of these services have somewhat of a different flavor deputy executive director: We have an Excel grid that we work on for months to figure out exactly who should be outside the synagogue greeting people Throughout the summer — typically a quiet time in synagogues — preparations for the autumn holidays slip into high gear Glickman: I always say it’s “the storm before the calm.” We work very it’s very calm when you get to the holidays People know where they’re supposed to be when Hoexter: We have cross-departmental meetings about once every two weeks “What stuffed animals do we want to use this year for the young families services a company shines the images on our bronze exterior doors we also had the bronze around the five indoor elevators completely cleaned and shined up Our maintenance team gives the floors a high-gloss polish Hoexter: We do a ritual called “the dig out,” where we get rid of everything we no longer need from furniture that’s broken to prayer books that we no longer use that need to be buried We have this huge building and you know what they say — any available space will be filled This year we filled up a truck and a half of things to be disposed of works with the musical team to develop a musical program that meets the moment working with instrumentalists and a large choir Temple Emanu-El’s organ is the largest of any synagogues in the world with 10,000 pipes ranging from the size of a pencil to nearly 35 feet tall but we still want to connect with people’s musical minds and souls for the moment of the day These days that would be the State of Israel and antisemitism and Jewish identity “How would the music reflect those needs?” This year Glazman and his team put together songs that make sense of the attacks on Israel on Oct 7 through the lens of High Holiday liturgy Glazman: For Rosh Hashanah morning there is a section of the liturgy that reads: “On Rosh Hashanah it is written on Yom Kippur it is sealed; How many shall pass on and how many shall come to be; Who shall live and who shall die.” This particular stanza of prayer inspired Leonard Cohen to write “Who by Fire.” If there was something we could have done to save you … my sweet boy.” Davidson uses the quieter summer hours to begin writing the two sermons he’ll give — one on Rosh Hashanah and one on Yom Kippur Each sermon is about 25 minutes — around seven single-spaced pages Rabbi Amy Ehrlich will deliver a sermon on Erev Rosh Hashanah and Rabbis Sara Sapadin and Sarah Reines will deliver sermons on Yom Kippur morning I’m already thinking about sermon topics in a more precise way I usually try to write one sermon addressing the events of the moment and how we as Jews might experience or approach them I try to pick a theme which is much more personal to help people through the challenges that life throws at them beyond the challenges of the world around us because we’re all on our own very personal journeys with loved ones and friends and health he plans to talk about “our responsibilities to ourselves and to others.” and the needs of finding balance to fulfill both Davidson: I read a lot of articles and books and I read sermons of rabbis who wrote generations ago Davidson’s go-tos include “The Gifts of Life,” written by his father When I have drafts that I think are worth anybody’s time who was for 40 years the senior rabbi of Temple Beth El in Great Neck New York and still the best preacher and sermon writer I know Then I send them to Rabbi Peter Rubenstein for whom I served at Central Synagogue when I was first ordained and he has a brilliant eye and mind as well and he picks up on different sorts of things and then I make those edits and then I read them out loud to my wife She is the final judge and will let me know if things are clear or not I try to write the sermons so that I have drafts a month before because I think the editing is the most important part of the whole thing because sometimes when you read something and you hear it works with his team to create innovative programming for services for teens Witman: One of the things we’re trying to do at Emanu-El is create accessible moments for parents to model Jewish life for their kids This is also an opportunity for families to see clergy as people that are accesible and creatures of the sea and creatures on the land we’re going to do a race between the tortoise and the hare — we’ve created our own skit for it and we are using the tortoise as a way for kids to recognize that on Shabbat and on Yom Kippur it’s a time for us to really step back and try to rest and rejuvenate We’re going to bring a real tortoise into the sanctuary and have a projection of hare bouncing around the room a neighborhood pet store on the Upper West Side and we have an exciting plan to bring him to life with the voice of our clergy Families will have the opportunity to encounter him after the service who will be in the sanctuary on Yom Kippur for the family services Witman’s team had also designed custom swag for the young families service Witman: We’ll be handing out plush tortoises to the kids with the message “Slow down; you move too fast.” For the adults we’ll provide Shabbat “cell phone sleeping bags.” I don’t like to refer to our service as a production but I do think production value is really important as you’re trying to take people on a spiritual journey So it matters how you think about transitions and our spiritual leaders do an incredible job of that We really try to support them and lift them up in order to give everyone we serve meaningful and a spiritual experience mailings and emails about the High Holidays are planned during the summer The department is also responsible for the livestreams of the High Holiday services something the temple began during COVID-19 Emanu-El’s services had more than 600,000 views in more than 100 countries Bryan Limon, senior director, communications and marketing: There are a ton of emails. There are emails for requesting tickets, emails for getting RSVPs, emailing out the scheduling, emailing the requests for Yizkor [memorial service] — everything you can think of from the Men’s Club or the Women of Emanu-El to the Young Families program to make sure that we have runway on their needs and we’re not sending out like 20 emails in one week we send a holiday card and gift to new members we send out candlestick holders for Shabbat they receive a round challah and some honey we decided to also send a High Holiday greeting card to all our members so we custom designed and printed a really beautiful card with an embossed illustration of the Ark in the Fifth Avenue Sanctuary Some of the pre-High Holiday preparations are physical spends time throughout the year strengthening his body and his voice Glazman: Part of vocal health is being in good physical shape — I love to work out a lot and lift weights and swim and run and all those things you’re asking your body to do something for a prolonged period of time and your body has to be there for you in a way that’s supportive and healthy Similar to if you were a basketball player you may want to do yoga and also learn how to sprint I do these lessons which are just like acrobatics of the voice to stay healthy I’ve been working with the same voice coach She works with several cantors and Broadway singers and opera singers She can tell everything about my day after about three notes of singing In the final weeks leading up to the High Holidays musical team and operations teams conduct “cue meetings” to do run-throughs of the services Davidson: I sit down with all of my colleagues and we go through the prayer book from the beginning of Rosh Hashanah through the last blast of the shofar on Yom Kippur this is where Rabbi Ehrlich is going to pick up,” “This is where Rabbi Davidson is going to pick up,” “This word is the cue for the singing of that song” and we go through it in great detail One of the challenges of this sanctuary is that the organist is up above the sanctuary while the rabbi is on one side of the bimah So it’s impossible to elbow somebody and say “You’re up.” So you have to have it all figured out they really didn’t get it together in time.” The sound engineers have to have a sense of what’s going to happen when Our livestream video team has to be aware of all the things happening and where all the prayers are in the prayer books so that they can simultaneously broadcast the service and make sure that the right words are popping up on the screen It’s a multi-team extravaganza to get all of the departments ready for the production of the service Davidson stands at the bima of the main sanctuary it probably takes six hours for us to go through all of these cues we were also working hard to try to figure out how and where to place into the context of the traditional High Holiday liturgy prayers and meditations that allow people to reflect on the tragedy of Oct because obviously the High Holidays literally bookend Oct Hoexter: We actually create a guide each year for the maintenance team so they know what each setup is — where the musicians are going to sit if we’re going to use clear glass podiums or wooden ones The clergy is mostly up on the bimah — is there any point at which they’re going to come down off the bimah and would need a microphone when they’re off Glazman: The choir gets four three-hour rehearsals and we layer in instrumentalists on top of that and then I’ll meet with the organists privately for a few sessions If there are people who are singing duets with me It’s somewhere in the ballpark of 40 hours of rehearsal Davidson: There are some services where we have a choir on the bimah and other services where we have instrumentalists on the bimah So sometimes the choir is up above with the conductor and the organist and the instrumentalists are down here and they have to figure out how to stay in time when they’re not together the instrumentalists and the cantor actually hear them a split second after they’ve sung With services happening in two different sanctuaries throughout High Holidays it’s crucial for clergy to know exactly where they need to be we have to cycle the people through and we also have to cycle the clergy through There’s a service going on in the main sanctuary at 10 o’clock and then there’s service in the Lowenstein Auditorium at 10 o’clock while the Torah is being read in the main sanctuary Then we flip and I come into the main sanctuary and preach while the Torah haftarah and shofar are being blown in there There have been years where I’ve finished and I’m like Am I going to walk in there and I’m going to walk in at the wrong time Who’s going to be leading this service if I leave right now?” We don’t have walkie-talkies so we just have to work on it A live feed of the rooms streams in a small room in between the Main Sanctuary and the Lowenstein Sanctuary so clergy and staff can keep track of where in the service each room is while they run at the same time in the sense that closer to the bimah the seats are more expensive because you have better sightlines People who have assigned seats hold onto them for years and sometimes they pass them to their children so we have a number of three- or four-generation families who are members of the synagogue the team of ushers has a 15-minute window to collect the donation cards from seats and place down new cards for the Shir Hadash service Hoexter: One of the things we talk about is how to do the laying down of the cards in a 2,500-seat auditorium to make sure that every seat has the right card with the right name We have only 15 minutes between services to collect and put down new cards — we’ll have at least a dozen people putting down cards — so you can imagine it takes a lot of planning to do that quickly Keeping up adrenaline is an important consideration for Emanu-El employees during the holidays Hoexter: We try to schedule the staff so that every single staff member has a break during the day on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur like our membership staff and our help desk are running around and making sure that everything is going well Glickman: We don’t want people to have to worry about what they’re having for lunch All of the Jewish holidays start in the evening so we’ll have a Rosh Hashanah evening dinner provided for our staff and our security team as well We serve traditional foods that we would have in our own homes — kugel and chicken and brisket again just so everybody has easy access to stay nourished and hydrated seeing our members and dealing with small issues here and there so hopefully it makes everyone’s day a little bit easier Hoexter: We definitely feed our staff members on Yom Kippur Most of us find it extremely difficult to work without eating and drinking fasting is not as big of an issue as one might think Davidson: Those of us who are leading services are operating on adrenaline We’re just so focused on what we’re doing that I think we just kind of keep at it I’m sure they feel the hunger pangs in a different way the High Holidays remain a special time for the congregation’s clergy and staff Davidson: Looking out [at the congregation] on the High Holidays it was daunting — and I’m still always nervous because one should be a little bit nervous when you do your work — but now I look out and I see faces of people who I’ve come to know and love and who shared some very wonderful moments with so I’m not talking to a group of strangers here Joshua Davidson and Sarah Reines with a confirmation class of teens at Emanu-El Glazman: There’s a general buzz in literally every department because this doesn’t happen without every single person’s help Sometimes those of us on the bimah are the most “out front” for this by design but literally everyone in this building has a responsibility that is critical to make this into something special So the overall feeling is we have this buzz At Neilah, which is at the close of Yom Kippur, we’ve all been fasting and we’re at those waning moments  where the gates of destiny for us are about to close it feels to me like almost a mystical experience Your body feels depleted and at the same time It’s a time where that intensity and desperation of prayer feels like not only I’m feeling it It’s affirmation to me that what we’re doing matters Davidson: It’s a tremendous amount of work but there’s great camaraderie and joy in it “Thank goodness we don’t have to do that for another year.” not just because the holidays are now done but my favorite moment is at the end of Yom Kippur Because the tradition is that you’ve been renewed and reborn for another year If you really stick it out till the end of Neilah The New York Jewish Week brings you the stories behind the headlines, keeping you connected to Jewish life in New York. Help sustain the reporting you trust by donating today I accept the Privacy Policy This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page A damaged car is seen after a storm in Paderborn BERLIN — A storm that swept across parts of Germany generated three tornadoes the country's weather service said Saturday One of them left a trail of destruction and more than 40 people injured in a western city Meteorologists had warned of heavy rainfall hail and strong gusts of wind in western and central Germany on Friday and people in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia were advised to stay home Storms on Thursday had already disrupted traffic uprooted trees that toppled onto rail tracks and roads and flooded hundreds of basements in western Germany The German Weather Service confirmed three tornadoes in North Rhine-Westphalia — in Paderborn Forty-three people were injured in Paderborn as the tornado tore across the city's downtown area on Friday afternoon Trees in a park and stop lights "snapped like matches," roofs were ripped off buildings and windows smashed and the storm left a roughly 300 meter (yard) -wide trail of destruction Police urged people to stay home or stay out of the city on Saturday so as not to get in the way of recovery work They said they still expected possible risks from high wind authorities in Bavaria said 14 people were injured Friday when the wooden hut they were trying to shelter in collapsed during a storm at Lake Brombach Spain was sweltering Saturday under unusually high temperatures for late spring The mercury rose to 42.3 degrees Celsius (108 Fahrenheit) on Friday afternoon in Andujar At least 13 regions were on alert Saturday due to heat Spain's State Meteorological Agency AEMET said and the temperatures could provoke storms in five of them The "unusual and extreme" temperatures are expected to peak Saturday Become an NPR sponsor Please select what you would like included for printing: Copy the text below and then paste that into your favorite email application to parents John and Elna (Ohlsen) Lorentzen teaching English and serving as an Assistant Principal Most of her years in education were at Thornton Township High School in Harvey IL as well as at several other south suburban schools She received her Bachelor’s degree in English from Wittenberg University in 1961 and went on to receive her Master’s in Education from Northern Illinois University in 1973 She was a faithful member of Shepherd of the Prairie Lutheran Church and knowledge will live on through the lives that she has touched Dan (Claudia) Hoexter and James (Julia) Hoexter A memorial service will be held on Saturday 2017 at 2 pm at Shepherd of the Prairie Lutheran Church Memorials can be given to: The Alzheimers Association or the Anti Cruelty Society Express condolences online at www.fitzgeraldfh.com Enter your phone number above to have directions sent via text This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply Service map data © OpenStreetMap contributors Vivien Hoexter and Linda C. Hartley, Guest Contributors | August 23 Amy Houston is Managing Director of Management Assistance for the Robin Hood Foundation. She is among the nearly 50 social sector leaders that Vivien Hoexter and Linda C. Hartley interviewed for their new book, Big Impact: Insights & Stories from America’s Non-Profit Leaders This article was originally published on February 9 What is the greatest misconception about you A misconception about me personally and about the work we do at Robin Hood is that we value data more than the human aspect of our work The misconception is that you must choose between head and heart What is the most important thing you tell young people who are thinking about making careers in the nonprofit sector It is much harder to find resources than it is to find ideas Smart people understand how challenging it is to build sustainable revenue models in our space—and every new social change organization must tackle this question head on everyone who wants to do this work has to sell Everyone needs to talk compellingly about the work and why it matters messaging and public speaking are all critical For people thinking about career development go deep on one thing and gain a real skill set Work for someone who is really talented and really energizing The nonprofit sector still has so much to learn from what the best private sector organizations are doing in terms of talent development If you can find a nonprofit that lives and breathes a commitment here What new opportunities do you see for your organization in the next five years We have been in this business for almost 30 years The model has always been to take this year’s funding and invest it the next year Testing and perfecting takes more than a year The question is how do we keep the direct and urgent nature of the current model and balance it against moving the needle on longer-term issues This is also an interesting time for collaboration The problem in the sector is we have all these different people with great ideas Robin Hood is really a collection of a couple thousand of these people who say that fighting poverty is the goal and we are going to invest in that together But how do we do that in an even more significant way with donors But now we are doing a lot more co-creating We are increasingly the place where folks come to see their big ideas brought to life made stronger by our experience and the skills of the team So the big question: How do we deepen and magnify the best ideas out there How are the choices of very wealthy private philanthropists influencing traditional foundation giving Robin Hood’s donors focus laser-like on those who have less It’s that clarity of mission—and collection of talents and energy—that gives Robin Hood its power Every donor knows they can do more collectively than alone Robin Hood is one of the best continuing experiments in collaborative social change What is the one thing you would say to your colleagues who are leading nonprofits seeking foundation funding Have confidence in and clarity about the product you are delivering Robin Hood and our funding peers are far more pliable than folks realize and far more flexible in working to support great models Do one thing incredibly well versus trying to do a little bit of everything The biggest mistake people make is being too focused on problems and less focused on effective solutions We have direct conversations with organizations seeking funding—and the biggest reason we turn groups down is because the program doesn’t do enough The program may make life better for someone in poverty—but it is not responsible for changing a life trajectory it is imperative that we focus on the programs that actually change a life Hartley and Hoexter are principals of H2Growth Strategies LLC, which provides strategic planning, fundraising and governance counsel to mission-driven organizations. H2Growth has partnered with more than 100 organizations to raise over $1.5 billion. For more information about the book and the authors, please visit http://www.h2growthstrategies.com/book Sign up for a single user or multi-user subscription. WASHINGTON — Robert Solymossy doesn’t remember when he last gassed up his one remaining car. His other two cars are blissfully consigned to memory, along with his lawn, his driveway, and “a lifetime’s worth of furniture” accumulated over the 23 years he lived in a detached single-family house in Oakton, Va. In 2005, Solymossy, now 67, and his wife, Diana Sun Solymossy, 58, traded all that in to live in an Arlington, Va., condo with a gym, a rooftop pool, and dozens of shops and restaurants right downstairs. They bought it unbuilt, choosing from a floor plan. “It was a leap of faith, to say the least, but the location was really good,” he said. “After we moved in, I realized that this is really, really great; this really rocks.” The Solymossys were front-runners of a mini-trend taking root in some parts of the nation: Baby boomers swapping out their single-family suburban homes for the bustle of city life. Reversing the trajectory of the Eisenhower generation, which fled cities for the suburbs, these boomers are following a path that younger people have embraced in droves. Many are empty nesters, and freed of the need to factor in school districts and yard sizes, they are gravitating to dense urban cores near restaurants, shops, movie theaters and subway stations. Between 2000 and 2010, over a million baby boomers moved out of areas 40 to 80 miles from city centers and a similar number moved to within 5 miles of city centers, according to an analysis of 50 large cities by the real-estate brokerage Redfin. While a 2010 AARP survey showed that 85 percent of people 50 to 64 prefer to stay in their current residences, the percentage decreases with income, a relevant detail in the Washington, D.C., region, where household income is double the national median. And those who move increasingly want to live where they can walk and bike to amenities. “The millennials and the boomers are looking for the same thing,” said Amy Levner, manager of AARP’s Livable Communities, adding that she is hearing more and more about people over 50 migrating to urban areas. Surveys of boomers’ preferences show that they are more interested in “smart growth” areas than in sprawl. And they are such a large generation that even if only a small percent embrace city life, the effect could be dramatic, Levner said. “This is just the tip of it,” she said. Chris Leinberger, a professor at the George Washington University School of Business and a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, said that while comprehensive data won’t be available for another decade, the shift toward urban living is “the largest social trend of the early 21st century.” Although boomers aren’t driving it, he said, some are jumping on. The boomers’ generation had embraced a more extreme version of suburban life than their parents had — adding to the burdens of home and garden care and commuting, Leinberger said. “The baby boomers’ lots are much bigger and they moved further out,” he said. “They’re tired of mowing their lawn; it takes sweat equity, or you have to write a check to someone to do it.” Real-estate agents around the metro area say they are noticing a change. “There is definitely a shift occurring in this age group,” said Andy Alderdice, an agent with W. C. & A. N. Miller Realtors in Bethesda, Md., adding that she made a similar move recently after living for 31 years in a house in Potomac. Now, the couple goes out two or three nights a week, walking across the street to go to dinner or the movies. When Harold and Betsi Closter sold their four-bedroom house in Annandale, Va., to move to a two-bedroom condo in Washington, “It was pretty much a wash, but this has allowed us to get rid of one of our cars and we feel good about having reduced our carbon footprint,” said Harold Closter, 63. The new location has also been good for their health and their social life; they walk regularly, and they have met people involved in the arts, local government and small businesses. “The spirit on the streets — there’s a kind of vitality, a regeneration,” Harold Closter said, adding that most people in their building are younger than they are. “We’ve made a lot of new friends, and we’ve found that it’s a lot easier for our friends to get to us, because we’re right on the Metro … Our (adult) son and his friends think this is pretty cool as well.” Sitting on his terrace with his wife, the Washington monument and the National Cathedral rising in the distance, Solymossy grinned. “I don’t have to spend my time taking care of the house, replacing the gutter, sealing the driveway,” he said. “After you make the move, it’s like a big rock lifted off the back of your neck.” Stay secure and make sure you have the best reading experience possible by upgrading your browser! BERLIN -- At least three more women have told German police they survived the Horror House of Hoexter including one who said she was imprisoned and tortured there for three months Bielefeld police said in a statement Monday they have received 50 tips from the public about the case and that more victims may be out there -- dead or alive A 46-year-old man and a 47-year-old woman -- known only so far as Wilfried W -- were arrested April 21 after calling an ambulance for a woman with head injuries She died shortly afterwards in hospital and doctors alerted authorities to the signs of abuse Police believe the couple met the woman after posting an online dating ad and kept her imprisoned in their home for nearly two months later admitted to police they tortured and killed another 33-year-old woman in 2014 She said they stored her body in a deep freezer occasionally cutting off pieces to burn in their fireplace a 51-year-old woman in the Berlin area recognized the house in the news and told police she was also held there after answering a personal ad in August 2011 She said she was locked inside the house with "no possibility of fleeing" and tortured She said she never called police for fear the couple would track her down Police say they've discovered no indication of sexual abuse at the horror house in the town in central Germany the couple's motive appeared to have been more about power and control than for sexual reasons Police said the couple would tear out clumps of victims' hair and chain them to radiators for days at a time "It was about trivialities. For example, if a knife was placed on the right and not the left, that was enough to trigger punches, kicks," Chief Superintendent Ralf Ostermann, the head of the homicide, told Bild The pair legally separated in 2013 apparently for financial reasons Hoexter's chief prosecutor Ralf Meyer told media that she She told police she took part in the abuse because she was "beholden" to him and feared the same fate if she didn't follow his orders Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience Don't have an account? Create Account transmission or republication strictly prohibited This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy You can manage saved articles in your account Things you buy through our links may earn Vox Media a commission Thanks to dropping rents and the arrival of some younger residents the UES’s reputation as a sleepy restaurant desert is changing a tavern that mixes martinis with smashburgers and mortadella plates in a room adorned with a 17-foot mural that once hung in the original Hoexter’s Market (it was around the corner) Alexandra Shapiro’s father owned that spot she revived the name in an effort to recapture a bit of that bygone energy What’s the biggest thing that’s changed since then “from what I understand about the ’70s.” Here a handful of places that are helping to shake up the neighborhood a little more 1825 Second Ave., nr. 95th St.; soledadnyc.com Toloache chef Julian Medina’s upscale Michoacán spot with lobster birria tacos and duck carnitas in mole His take on pasta seca is Mexican-style “dan dan noodles” with longaniza sausage and chipotles 1725 Second Ave., nr. 89th St.; albadawinyc.com This expansion of the Brooklyn-originated chain brings in Palestinian classics like mansaf and ouzi 300 E. 88th St., nr. Second Ave.; reginasgrocery.com Every sandwich is named for a member of the family at this sandwich-counter mini-empire and Calabrian chile on stirato bread — to eat in Central Park 1712 First Ave., nr. 89th St.; hollybrooklane.co The homestyle southern kitchen serves a fiery Cajun chicken sando and jambalaya “remixed” as arancini in a comfortable space that feels like a friend’s living room 151 E. 82nd St., nr. Lexington Ave.; amarenanyc.com Roman-style pizzas — also from chef Medina 174 E. 82nd St., nr. Third Ave.; hoexters.com the mood at this revamped throwback might be best described as “Raoul’s North.” 1553 Second Ave., nr. 81st St.; thaphraya.com The regional Thai menu features whole branzino in a spicy and sour curry of shrimp paste It’s served in a palatial setting inspired by the Wat Arun temple in Bangkok 140 E. 74th St., nr. Lexington Ave.; chezfifinyc.com A Parisian restaurant with Basque sympathies — like the San Sebastián deviled-crab dish known as txangurro a la donostiarra — will open this summer from the owners of Sushi Noz 10–07 Lexington Ave., nr. 73rd St.; mariamulatanyc.com a traditional Colombian mixed grill; the passion-fruit mojitos and tropical décor bolster the vacation vibes By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice and to receive email correspondence from us Your request appears similar to malicious requests sent by robots Please make sure JavaScript is enabled and then try loading this page again. If you continue to be blocked, please send an email to secruxurity@sizetedistrict.cVmwom with: Germany — Hundreds of mourners packed a church in central Germany yesterday to remember Associated Press photographer Anja Niedringhaus who was killed on assignment in Afghanistan after a life spent between the chaos of war and the serenity of her rural birthplace relatives and colleagues of Niedringhaus packed Corvey Abbey in a medieval monastery in Hoexter She was remembered for her ability to find humanity amid terrible events A priest read a letter from AP special correspondent Kathy Gannon who was wounded in the April 4 attack that killed Niedringhaus Gannon recalled some of Niedringhaus’ last words: “I am so happy.” A black casket topped with a row of white flowers was surrounded by wreaths near steps leading up to the altar where a large photograph of Niedringhaus was placed Bells pealed before the start of the service a procession of mourners walked along the Weser River to the cemetery for her burial on a sunny day AP’s senior vice president and executive editor said Niedringhaus loved to capture calm when there was chaos all around her “And I believe that is why her pictures from terrible places resonated with so many people around the world,” Carroll said She found the quiet human moments that connected people in great strife to all the rest of us around the world.” Niedringhaus started her career as a freelance photographer for a local newspaper in Hoexter at the age of 16 Her coverage of the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 led her to the European Pressphoto Agency in 1990 and worked throughout the Middle East as well as in Afghanistan and Pakistan She was part of the AP team that won the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for breaking-news photography for coverage of Iraq among many journalistic awards and honors for her work Hoexter now expects UPS' earnings for the current quarter to be 15% below his prior estimate With the stock at its lowest level since July 2020, is UPS a buy, or is the dividend stock falling for valid reasons UPS' sales and operating margins have been falling as the transportation sector has been hit hard by pullbacks in consumer spending and high interest rates Management is guiding for 2025 revenue to decline by 2.3% but expects its operating margin to rise by 130 basis points to 8.8% -- an increase compared to 2024 UPS Revenue (TTM) data by YCharts. UPS noted that S&P Global forecasts 2.5% GDP growth in 2025 and a 2% increase in real exports and global industrial production if tariffs and trade wars hinder economic growth these estimates could prove too optimistic and UPS' results could be noticeably worse than its already uninspiring projections FedEx just cut its fiscal-year adjusted earnings per share (EPS) guidance to a range of $18.00 to $18.60 per share that's down by more than 6% from the guidance it gave just a quarter ago and down 12.9% from its initial forecast for the year from June Given the analyst cut that sent UPS stock falling last Tuesday there appear to be reasons to be concerned that UPS' results could be even lower than projected A slowdown in 2025 could put the company's medium-term goals in jeopardy UPS said it expects to return to margin growth in 2026 -- forecasting a domestic operating margin of 12% by the fourth quarter of 2026 But if there's a period of prolonged economic weakness it may not be able to hit that goal on schedule Since it began distributing regularly scheduled quarterly payouts in 2000 there have been years when the company did not raise it UPS boosted its quarterly dividend from $1.02 per share to $1.52 per share -- a massive increase that may have been a mistake in hindsight UPS was firing on all cylinders -- growing its revenue and generating tons of free cash flow (FCF) that 49% higher dividend would have been reasonable EPS and FCF fell while UPS continued to make modest annual increases to its payout UPS Dividend Per Share (TTM) data by YCharts. Now, UPS' dividend payments are absorbing the bulk of its FCF and earnings. When UPS decided on that large dividend raise in 2022, it had a much more manageable payout ratio On UPS' fourth-quarter 2024 earnings call on Jan management said it expects $5.7 billion in 2025 FCF which includes its annual pension of $1.4 billion $3.5 billion in capital expenditures as it invests in improving its network UPS doesn't think it will generate enough FCF to cover its capital allocation targets which will put pressure on its balance sheet its balance sheet would still be in great shape UPS paid down debt during the pandemic years when it was booking unusually strong earnings Its net total long-term debt position is just $15 billion -- which is healthy for a company of its size -- as evidenced by its strong leverage ratio UPS Net Total Long Term Debt (Quarterly) data by YCharts. UPS can cover a bit of its capital return program by taking on debt in the near term. However, that's not a sustainable strategy, and it will need to improve its earnings and FCF significantly to reach its target payout ratio of 50% President Donald Trump's tariffs are coming at a terrible time for UPS as the company was already in recovery mode economic slowdown could delay the company's turnaround and put further pressure on its balance sheet And if macroeconomic conditions get really bad and stay bad for a while UPS could have little choice but to consider a dividend cut UPS' yield is high enough that it could trim the payout and still be an excellent source of passive income if UPS reduced its dividend to $1 per share per quarter -- about the same payout it was distributing at the end of 2021 before its massive raise the stock would still yield 3.6% based on its share price of around $110 at the time of this writing That's still a far higher yield than the market average and higher than many quality dividend stocks and its dividend could take a cut and still be attractive UPS is also trading at a dirt-cheap valuation of just 16.3 times earnings UPS would still have a P/E of around 20 at the current share price making it a bargain even assuming an especially negative scenario and UPS could be a great buy for patient investors willing to look past the next few years Before you buy stock in United Parcel Service The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years Consider when Nvidia made this list on April 15 if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation Stock Advisor provides investors with an easy-to-follow blueprint for success including guidance on building a portfolio TheStock Advisorservice has more than quadrupled the return of S&P 500 since 2002* Bank of America is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Daniel Foelber has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bank of America, FedEx, and S&P Global. The Motley Fool recommends United Parcel Service. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy All market data (will open in new tab) is provided by Barchart Solutions Information is provided 'as is' and solely for informational purposes, not for trading purposes or advice. For exchange delays and terms of use, please read disclaimer (will open in new tab) With the stock at its lowest level since July 2020, is UPS a buy, or is the dividend stock falling for valid reasons UPS' sales and operating margins have been falling as the transportation sector has been hit hard by pullbacks in consumer spending and high interest rates UPS Revenue (TTM) data by YCharts. UPS Dividend Per Share (TTM) data by YCharts. Now, UPS' dividend payments are absorbing the bulk of its FCF and earnings. When UPS decided on that large dividend raise in 2022, it had a much more manageable payout ratio UPS Net Total Long Term Debt (Quarterly) data by YCharts. UPS can cover a bit of its capital return program by taking on debt in the near term. However, that's not a sustainable strategy, and it will need to improve its earnings and FCF significantly to reach its target payout ratio of 50% The new mayor of Douglas knows the issues facing the city, from a shallow harbor to possible consolidation with two other communities. He told council members Monday night after his election that he needs their help to get his job done — after all, he’s only been a councilman for a year. “I ask for your patience and support because I have a lot to learn,” said Jim Wiley. “I’m very excited to move forward.” Wiley succeeds Renee Waddell, the town’s first female mayor who decided not to seek another term. The council nominated three people for mayor: Wiley, Eric Smith and Martha Hoexter. Wiley won on a 4-3 vote. Hoexter was named mayor pro tem, the person who runs the meetings and represents the community when the mayor is not available. She held that position during Waddell’s term. Wiley is the third mayor since Douglas became a city in 2004. Matt Balmer was the first mayor. Waddell was voted in to the position when Balmer resigned in 2009. Wiley has lived in Douglas since 2005. He owns a laundry in Douglas and Holland that also handles dry cleaning. Will Hartman, Willa Moore & Neha Talreja New York is a wonderful, populous place where there are 8.5 million opportunities to cross paths with other people, every single day. Sometimes, those millions of strangers are a nuisance, especially when they clog up the city’s best restaurants with their ring lights, or are simply obnoxious about having a good time. Here are seven great restaurants where, if you go early enough, you can find some peace without compromising the quality of your meal. NY 10003">.css-56eu0z{width:1em;height:1em;display:inline-block;line-height:1em;-webkit-flex-shrink:0;-ms-flex-negative:0;flex-shrink:0;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray100);vertical-align:middle;fill:currentColor;}102 3rd Ave New York Yellow Rose is a great place to live out your saloon fantasy of a bartender sliding a glass of unknown brown liquor down a weathered bar It's also a great place to eat delicacies of Southern Texas (lots of beans this small East Village spot gets stampeded The vintage Texas rodeo and music posters vanish in a sea of black leather-clad margarita drinkers so you can actually hear every croon of Willie Nelson’s voice Israeli Williamsburg but Laser Wolf has staked its claim to Brooklyn’s best view of Manhattan So people will probably be eating fluffy pita and grilled meat here for a long time Snagging a reservation for this Israeli spot in Williamsburg after 6pm still requires acrobatics but that one hour between 5-6pm is the sweet spot—easily bookable in advance you’ll be eating their housemade brown sugar soft serve in a paper cup 8.7The FlyAmerican Bedford-Stuyvesant There is nothing quite like an early bird special at The Fly the cave-like Bed-Stuy chicken specialist is deafeningly loud that you might have trouble tasting your food and ordering the entire menu—but to really taste the juiciest rotisserie chicken in Brooklyn 7.8Hoexter’sCafe SpaghettiItalian Carroll Gardens One of the best things about Cafe Spaghetti’s magnificent backyard—complete with a vintage Vespa and a to-scale traffic circle—is that it feels like Carroll Gardens’ public living room Tables of 8-10 people on a mission to consume as much red wine and spaghetti pomodoro as possible are pretty common and their volume dials up as the night goes on if you're looking to enjoy old-style Italian food like spiedini alla romana without the sense of community head over early to beat the crowds while still getting a heavy dose of charm 8.0Kiki'sGreek Lower East Side People go to this Greek spot on the Lower East Side to bathe in house wine and share a meat platter with 15 of their closest friends But what about on an evening when you'd just like to eat saganaki smothered in honey all by yourself You go before the regular suspects have even eaten breakfast so there's no advanced planning required Keep it in mind the next time you leave work and realize you'd like a greek salad and lemony grilled octopus for some Dimes Square people-watching at a safe and solitary distance Whether you want to take yourself out for a nice meal or just eat something quick with minimal human interaction Willa was raised in Brooklyn and now lives in Brooklyn which means her favorite bagel place hasn't changed since birth she continues to work on her bias against the city’s Mexican food Get our news on your inbox! Suscribe x MercoPress, en Español Montevideo, May 6th 2025 - 13:58 UTC The United Kingdom Export Finance (UKEF) support available for trade with Uruguay has been increased to up to £4 billion meaning an additional £2.25 billion in support for UK companies exporting to Uruguay and for Uruguayan buyers of UK goods and services  This finance can be used to support projects across numerous sectors including infrastructure allowing Uruguayan buyers to access finance in their own currency and making sourcing from the UK even more competitive April 11 at the Ambassador’s Residence UKEF is the UK’s export credit agency Its role is to provide support to UK companies who wish to export goods and/or services UKEF can support a wide variety of structures including Public-Private Partnerships and proposals for financing limited-resource projects Over the years UKEF has provided finance to numerous foreign buyers in the construction of bridges Some interesting facts about the export credits: UKEF has up to £4 billion available for Uruguay; Finance is available to Uruguayan buyers to pay for goods and services from the UK typically between 2-10 years and up to 18 years depending on the sector; UKEF guarantees can be provided for bank loans in Uruguayan Pesos (UKEF cannot lend in Uruguayan Pesos but in GBP More information available in Spanish at UK Export Finance Brochure (PDF, 2.1MB, 5 pages), and if interested in attending the conference, please contact uktrade.uruguay@fco.gov.uk. Commenting for this story is now closed.If you have a Facebook account, become a fan and comment on our Facebook Page Please check your email and enter your one time pin below:   Open in Gmail Professor Balthazar is one of South Africa’s foremost legal minds so it doesn’t interfere with his daily duties The recent interviews held for the one position on the Constitutional Court have been somewhat more interesting than the previous vacancy interviews For the first time it appears that greater emphasis was given to discussing legal principle the law as set out in cases that have been decided and the jurisprudential direction that the Court should take This is an extremely welcome development and is hopefully a harbinger of things to come Regrettably, the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) could not nominate all four applicants; hence the process will have to be redone. Some lessons have, however, been gleaned from these interviews.advertisementDon't want to see this? Remove ads The application by Professor David Bilchitz brought something new to the proceedings It’s been a long time since an academic lawyer was nominated for a position on the Constitutional Court In general academic lawyers have fared very poorly in these deliberations Cathi Albertyn and Penelope Andrews were all unsuccessful candidates notwithstanding their obvious academic credentials Only three academics have made it onto the Court – Kate O’Regan Yvonne Mokgoro and Johan van der Westhuizen (although in the case of Van der Westhuizen he had also served for a short while as a high court judge) There can be little doubt that the appointment of justices O’Regan and Mokgoro were inspired moves by the JSC As young as she was when she was appointed O’Regan’s record supports the obvious conclusion that she was one of the finest judges that the Constitutional Court has produced over the 30 years of its existence progressive and highly thoughtful member of the Court Read more in Daily Maverick: ConCourt interviews: JSC fails to recommend enough candidates Their accomplishments could arguably be seen as support for Bilchitz’s application does not wish to focus on the personal application of Bilchitz but rather about the general position of academic lawyers and the possible appointment thereof to the Constitutional Court When justices O’Regan and Mokgoro were appointed the Constitutional Court was of course in its infancy and had jurisdiction only insofar as constitutional matters were concerned the sexist nature of the legal profession meant that the JSC was well advised to lift its gaze beyond the practising profession and ensure that highly qualified women should be appointed to the Court as indeed was the case both with regard to the then professors O’Regan and Mokgoro the Constitutional Court has jurisdiction over all appeals both of a constitutional and more general nature 30 years into democracy and the gender imbalance both on the Bench and in the legal profession has (certainly not sufficiently) been addressed There is now a greater pool of talent within the profession which can promote both diversity of demography and of jurisprudential outlook The exchanges between the JSC and Bilchitz were both instructive and helpful in seeking to develop a set of guidelines for a possible appointment of an academic lawyer to the appointment of an academic to the highest court in South Africa is for a talented academic lawyer to be given an opportunity to act on the high court and gain forensic experience before elevation to the Constitutional Court The argument which appears to have been advanced by Bilchitz is that this approach would preclude academics from being appointed in that they do not have practical expertise to deal with high court matters similar disputes are very much the stuff of the Constitutional Court a truly talented academic with appropriate support from his/her court colleagues would be able to cope more than adequately with the work of a high court judge as has been the case with a number of academics who have been appointed to these courts The key question is whether the academic applicant is of so exceptional a kind that his or her lack of any judicial experience can justify an appointment to the highest court in the land where issues of company law constitute a significant part of the cases dealt with by the Constitutional Court Let the high court be the forum for seeking to mine unproven talent For this reason therefore the exchanges between the JSC and Bilchitz were both instructive and helpful in seeking to develop a set of guidelines for a possible appointment of an academic lawyer. advertisementDon't want to see this? Remove ads one issue of principle in the interview conducted with Bilchitz that deserves comment It appears that in 2019 he wrote an article criticising those who suggest that Israel may be an apartheid state or that it has colonial characteristics That he was perfectly entitled to articulate his position in the manner in which he did But that he refused to engage with questions put to him about his article on the basis that he was an acting judge of the court was most unfortunate This issue of Israel/Palestine has now dominated the South African political and legal discourse for some time The public are entitled to know whether an applicant’s commitment to human rights is universal or selective and how they apply to a controversial case The other important consequence of the interviews relates to the workload of the Court It is overwhelmed by petitions seeking leave to appeal and it is increasingly slow in providing its judgments A constitutional amendment to ensure that a small panel of justices rather than the full Court can deal with petitions is both needed and is urgent But vacancies on the Court also need to be filled expeditiously If there are acting appointments to be made experienced judges with a definite record of expeditious delivery of judgments should be appointed That Court needs all experienced hands on deck if it is to retain its efficacy and hence legitimacy I completely disagree with the last statement in the article “Let the high court be the forum for seeking to mine unproven talent The Constitutional Court IS the highest court in the land candidates should adjudicate matters in the highest court in the land Prof Balthazar’s version of the key point surely narrows the question too much A high-level academic lawyer might have greater detailed knowledge in areas such as company law A top-flight academic might also have greater detailed knowledge of constitutional questions there is a strong argument for the involvement of at least some academic lawyers in the constitutional court This approach would introduce a stronger deliberative element to judicial review in general ' + scriptOptions._localizedStrings.webview_notification_text + ' " + scriptOptions._localizedStrings.redirect_overlay_title + " " + scriptOptions._localizedStrings.redirect_overlay_text + " Jon LockettPublished: Invalid Date THESE chilling images reveal inside the torture home where a couple dubbed Germany's Fred and Rose West lured young women to their deaths Angelika Wagener, 49, and her ex-husband Wilifried placed lonely heart ads in local newspapers to attract targets back in 2013 The photos even show the bath where one of their two victims escaped being drowned - only to die of her injuries days later Other images show the squalid living conditions inside the isolated property - which cops say was the site of horrific crimes The house even had its own hidden staircase leading to a room secreted beneath the ground floor The address 'Saatweg 6' in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia has become as infamous in Germany as the Wests' property at 25 Cromwell Street, Gloucester. Local citizen Richard Niederpruem said: "Our beautiful town is now only referred to as a torture village." He said that biker gangs now visit the house to hold photo shoots in front of the property where the couple carried out their crimes. One of the their chilling adverts read: "Farmer is looking for a wife. I am kind, nice, gentle." A German court heard how the pair beat, strangled, burned and scalded the women at their Hoexter, North Rhine-Westphaila home. The victims had their hair ripped out and were abused with electric shocks before being doused with pepper spray. One woman was dismembered and had her body parts frozen before she was defrosted and allegedly cremated by the couple in a burner in their living room, Angelika admitted in court. The horrific case came to light when the couple tried to drive a 41-year-old woman to her home in April 2014. The woman's health dramatically deteriorated after their car broke down and they waited for an ambulance. She died in hospital where medics became suspicious about her injuries, alerting police. Wilifried told the court he had not known "what was right or wrong" We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at tips@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4368 . You can WhatsApp us on 07810 791 502. We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours Our journalists strive for accuracy but on occasion we make mistakes. For further details of our complaints policy and to make a complaint please click this link: thesun.co.uk/editorial-complaints/