Jolene Almendarez
Jolene Almendarez is the granddaughter of Mexican immigrants who came to San Antonio in the 1960s. She was raised in a military family and has always called the city home. She studied journalism at San Antonio College and earned a bachelor's degree in Journalism and Public Communications from the University of Alaska Anchorage. She's been a reporter in San Antonio and Castroville, Texas, and in Syracuse and Ithaca, New York.
Jolene spent several years as Managing Editor of The Ithaca Voice where she enjoyed the city's gorges and restaurants (especially Shortstop) but missed San Antonio tacos constantly. She's tried Cincinnati chili and thinks anything served with a side bag of cheese is exceptional.
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COVID-19 may be linked to surrenders, but not in a way some may think.
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Hebrew Union College's Board of Governors, based in New York, voted to sunset the historic Cincinnati rabbinical program by the end of the 2026 academic year.
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The Collaborative Agreement focuses on dozens of issues around equity, independent oversight, use of force, and transparency. But organizers say the mission is ongoing.
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The change received more than a two-thirds vote from the HUC Board of Governors. It ends the nearly 150-year-old rabbinical program at the campus where American Reform Judaism was founded.
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The Alternative Transport Program offers people experiencing an overdose to receive targeted addiction treatment instead of racking up medical bills. It also saves the Cincinnati Fire Department money.
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Cincinnati is the North American birthplace of Reform Judaism, largely because of the 1875 founding of Hebrew Union College. But the school's dwindling enrollment is forcing a difficult decision.
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The most contentious proposed change would stop rabbi ordinations at the birthplace of American Reform Judaism.
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The BA.2 variant likely won't cause major problems locally because of the number of vaccinated people in the community and those who have already had the omicron variant.
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Women of color say they feel a sense of not belonging and fight for visibility at predominately white institutions of higher education.
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Cincinnati officials are raising the transgender pride flag over City Hall Plaza, and the main library downtown is hosting an event Thursday evening to offer resources and community to trans people.