To the Point

Potpourri of Reporter-s Notebooks

In this holiday edition, we feature some of our favorites from the end-of-show segment that we call the Reporter-s Notebook. The colorful potpourri of features spotlight everything from ecclesiastical skyboxes and barbershops to hurricane parties and royal scandals. Newsmaker: Security Victory and Tragedy in Israel Israel is still reeling over yesterday-s simultaneous terrorist attacks on Israelis in Kenya, and another in Israel itself. The violence came on the day the Likud Party was choosing between Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Foreign Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Tracy Wilkinson, Jerusalem bureau chief for the Los Angeles Times, reports on Sharon-s victory at the polls and the tragedy that shook Israelis at home and abroad. Crypts at the Cathedral: -The Ecclesiastical Skybox- : On Labor Day, the Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles dedicated its massive new cathedral. Everything about Our Lady of the Angels is big, including its $3.5 million annual operating cost. Mary McNamara of the Los Angeles Times reports on the Archdiocese unusually creative approach to paying the bills, $ 2000-a-square-foot burial crypts that will be some of the priciest real estate in town. (Originally broadcast on August 30, 2002 on this program.) Barbershops Hub of Talk, Real Marketing : The film Barbershop, whose dialogue makes fun of revered African-American leaders, was a huge hit with black audiences. It-s also focused attention on a revitalized relic of American life and culture. The Wall Street Journal-s Maureen Tkacik looks at the popular social hubs that have become an influential center of contemporary marketing. (Originally broadcast on October 1, 2002 on this program.) Rough Diamonds : This summer, Major League Baseball prepared to strike and Little League endured ongoing charges of falsifying age and residency requirements. In Cuba, baseball-s been a hit since the 1860-s, and President Fidel Castro-s an avid fan. Susan Orlean traveled to Cuba to write -Rough Diamonds- for The New Yorker. (Originally broadcast on August 15, 2002 on this program.) Sandy Koufax: A Lefty's Legacy : In America, baseball is a sort of -national religion.- But in 1965, one player great refused to play in a World Series game because it fell on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year for Jews around the world. Jane Leavy, author of a -reluctantly tolerated- biography of Sandy Koufax, looks at the star player who loved the game and shunned the limelight. (Originally broadcast on September 13, 2002 on this program.) Where Y-ats Party as New Orleans Floods : Isadore swept through New Orleans in September, with 65 mile-an-hour winds that knocked out power and flooded streets. Though the storm caused a good deal of damage, it wasn-t bad enough to spark a real party. Mel Schiro, a twelfth generation New Orleanian, says when it gets really bad, they throw hurricane parties. (Originally broadcast on September 26, 2002 on this program.) When Times Are Tough, Sell Your Stuff on eBay : Despite falling stock prices, eBay at least survived the collapse of the dot-com economy, perhaps because the Internet auction site provides a market for financially strapped Americans who use it to sell stuff they-d otherwise throw away. The Wall Street Journal-s Nick Wingfield why countless people turn to the cyber-marketplace. (Originally broadcast on August 27, 2002 on this program.) The Butler Leaked It: Britain's Royal Scandals : Recently London tabloids obsessed over embarrassing revelations about life behind the palace walls. The source of the leak was a former royal butler. On trial for stealing from Princess Diana-s estate, Paul Burrell was saved by the Queen-s timely recollection that Burrell was just saving some things for posterity. Sarah Lyall watched it all for the New York Times.(Originally broadcast on November 15, 2002 on this program.) This edition of To the Point will not air on KCRW because of special holiday programming.