Forward.com

High School Unmusical: A Comic Book Artist Draws Adolescence in All Its Awkward SplendorAriel Schrag, 28, is almost done with high school. Actually, she graduated from Berkeley High School in California a decade ago, and since then she has earned an English literature degree from Columbia University, authored or edited several books, and spent two years as a staff writer and story editor on Showtime’s hit series “The L Word.” One of her books is being made into a movie, and she’s accomplished enough — her art having appeared in regional and national publications as well as in museums and galleries across the United States, Canada and Europe — to be teaching master classes.…Read more

Jewish Insider Tapped To Be Golden State’s Most Powerful DemocratLong before Darrell Steinberg was tapped to become California’s most powerful Democrat, the labor lawyer-turned-legislator developed his political acumen in the Jewish communal world.…Read more

Beatle ManiaFolk singer Gerry Tenney breaks into song midway through an interview: “Ze ikh a royte tir ikh vill es farbn schvartz….”…Read more

Final Frontier Calls to NimoyThe new “Star Trek” film’s trailer shows a vast shipyard where the U.S.S. Enterprise is under construction, as a voice intones that famous phrase, “Space, the final frontier….”…Read more

House Leaders Vow Tough Stance on IranIn the wake of Rep. Tom Lantos’s announcement last week that he will retire from Congress later this year, both potential successors to his chairmanship of the powerful House Foreign Affairs Committee are promising no significant shift in policy toward Israel and Iran.…Read more