From that beginning, the big question concerns the divisions within the Jewish community: who decides what being Jewish is all about, from the extremes of accepting anyone who self-identifies as a Jew or to the orthodox view of Jewish matrilineal inheritance.
The enormous new hotel being built in downtown Los Angeles will be an InterContinental, its developers announced Tuesday. The nearly 900-room hotel will be the heart of a skyscraper called Wilshire Grand, soon to be the tallest building in the West at 73 stories. The tower set to open in 2017 will also have several floors of office space for rent and ground-level shops and restaurants.
Marriott doubles down on high-rise hotels in L.A. The Renaissance Hotel will cost $200 million, rise more than 20 stories with 450 rooms and open in 2016 across the street from the downtown L.A. Live complex. As demand for downtown Los Angeles hotel rooms grows, plans have emerged for yet another high-rise inn near Staples Center. The announcement comes as hoteliers are scrambling to cash in on downtown's revival as a tourist destination and convention hub.