Loose change: The Times is bearish on philanthropy, the WashPost says endowments are hurting and Wei

Welcome back from Rosh Hashana. It’s predictably not all good news:

• The economy will take a toll on philanthropy, says the New York Times.
• The Washington Post says that endowments are suffering in light of the tumbling market.
• A Las Vegas Jewish day school celebrated the opening of its $65 million campus, funded in large part by Sheldon Adelson, reports the Las Vegas Sun. (And Adelson invests $597 in the Sands Casino.)
• Mega producer Harvey Weinstein might cut a $1 million check to the Robin Hood Fund after losing a dare with a reporter, says Reuters.
• A Jerusalem Post op-ed makes a plea that this year be better for Holocaust survivors than last year was.
• Ron Lauder, whose one-man crusade brought term limits to the Big Apple, says he would support Mike Bloomberg if Hizzoner decides to push for a third term as New York’s mayor. (Maybe I’m missing something … but the only thing stranger would be if Lauder were endorsing someone’s effort to chop down all of those JNF trees.)
• Philanthropy could be hit by Wachovia’s falter, says bizjournal.com.
• Philanthropy adviser Richard Marker notes that philanthropists are really questioning whether they should give money to charities now, or make sure they can leave money to their families.

As for the Jewish media this week:

• Jewish Vocational Services in Boston is bracing for a rough year as unemployment rises, reports the Boston Jewish advocate. JVS’ Career Moves division reported a 20-percent increase in clients from last year, a 10-percent growth over the organization’s projected numbers, said the paper.
• The California legislature’s 85-day stalemate over the state budget caused serious financial difficulties for Jewish agencies in San Francisco waiting for their government allocations, reports j.
• New York City and New York State both ponied up at a recent Israel Bonds dinner in New York, where some $40 million of Israeli government bonds were sold.
• The Milwaukee Jewish Federation’s Jewish Community Foundation and the Helen Bader Foundation, which is based in Milwaukee, told the Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle that they fear only slight fallout from Wall Street’s slide. The JCF has its money invested with Goldman Sachs.
• The left-wing Israeli human rights group B’Tselem has established an office in D.C., reports the Washington Jewish Week.
• A Conservative shul in Baltimore has become the city’s hub for eco-kosher meat, according to the Baltimore Jewish Times.
• Chabad in Los Angeles is angling to build a residential complex that would include a girls’ seminary, condominiums and retail outlets, according to the Forward.
• Locals oppose the deal, says the L.A. Jewish Journal.
• Better Place, which is trying to turn Israel into the first nation with a national infrastructure for electric cars, pitched its plan to the New Jersey state House recently, according to the New Jersey Jewish News.
• The Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust gave the Arizona Jewish Historical Society a $225,000 grant to restore the Cutler-Plotkin Jewish Heritage Center, reports the Jewish News of Greater Phoenix.