jews d
in
the
continued from page 78
Charles Ornstein
He met Freed at an investor confer-
ence in California, where a chance
meeting between the two led to a con-
versation about Detroit restaurants,
family connections and, of course,
Danny Raskin.
CHARLES ORNSTEIN
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The Neuman Family, Sid, Lauren,
Harry, Miriam and Shirah
and the Staff of
STAR
DELI
Congratulate the Jewish News and especially
DANNY RASKIN
For being a big part of our community for 75
Years! We are so grateful for your support
in helping make Star Deli One of Michigan’s
Best Carry-Out Delis!
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80
July 18 • 2017
jn
It’s been more than two decades
since Charles Ornstein lived in Metro
Detroit, but he still can’t stop at his
favorite spots without seeing friends,
a classmate’s parents or someone
who knows his sister.
Ornstein likes to eat at Buddy’s
Pizza with his wife and kids. Recently,
he also took his kids to Marvin’s
Marvelous Mechanical Museum, a
favorite place from his childhood.
“They were mesmerized,” he says.
Recent trips home have also
taken him to his old synagogue,
Congregation Shaarey Zedek in
Southfield, and back to Hillel Day
School, where, he says, along with
his participation in AZA and USY, he
learned the importance of Jewish val-
ues and community.
Ornstein moved out of the area
in 1992 to attend the University of
Pennsylvania. He currently resides
in Glen Ridge, N.J., but that hasn’t
changed his sports allegiance.
“I remain a Lions fan,” he explains.
Currently a senior reporter for
ProPublica covering health care and
the pharmaceutical industry, he
says Harrison High School’s Catalyst
newspaper, along with AZA and USY
newspapers, helped move him along
his path to becoming a journalist.
Having lived in Pennsylvania,
Texas, Virginia, California and now
New Jersey, he says he’s still struck by
how tight knit the Jewish community
in Metro Detroit is. “Even when you
leave the community, the commu-
nity doesn’t leave you,” he says. “I’ve
searched for communities where I’ve
lived to match that feeling.”
Alan Rothenberg
ALAN ROTHENBERG
Alan Rothenberg grew up in Detroit,
reading the Jewish News, in a neigh-
borhood where people walked places,
back before the community was cen-
tered in the suburbs. He’s still close
with friends from childhood, some
he shared kindergarten through the
U-M of Michigan with, even joining
the same fraternity, Sigma Alpha Mu.
Rothenberg’s family attended
Temple Israel. They had a kosher
home, and he went to Hebrew school
after a full school day.
Rothenberg and his wife, Georgina,
now married 54 years, married before
he started U-M law school. They
moved to Los Angeles in 1963, where
they still live, for a job. They have
three grown sons, two in Los Angeles
and one in San Francisco, and six
grandchildren.
Detroit gave Rothenberg a love of
sports — his father took him to his
first Tigers game at age 6. In high
school, he and a friend took the bus
to Olympia Stadium to snag Red
Wings tickets. As a young lawyer,
he worked for sports entrepreneur
Jack Kent Cooke, then owner of the
Lakers, Kings, the Forum and the
Washington Redskins, launching
Rothenberg’s career in sports law and
business.
“Had I not been a dyed-in-the-wool
sports fan, I probably wouldn’t have
been as quick to accept that job,” says
Rothenberg. He went on to become
chairman and CEO of 1st Century
Bancshares, chairman of 1st Century
Bank, and chairman of sports
sales and advisory firm Premier
Partnerships.
Meanwhile, Rothenberg says he’s
impressed with the work being done
in Detroit’s revitalization. “I think the
city itself is coming back. And I think
inevitably it will return to be one of
the great cities in America.” •