LifeLong Learning at PebbleCreek

Looking ahead to November

First TED, Premier, MML and Trip

LifeLong Learning will be in full gear by the first week in November. Be sure to mark your calendars now and plan to take care of reserving your spot when registration opens October 1.

Thursday, November 3: TED Talks Return for Six Sessions

After last season’s successful introduction, we are expanding the TED Talks to six Thursdays. See sidebar for explanation of TED Talks and details. The sessions are free, but registration is required.

Saturday, November 6: Intelligence, Israeli Style

When Victor John Ostrovsky, a former case officer for the Israeli Mossad, wrote By Way of Deception, the Israeli government tried to ban its publication. The explosive chronicle of his experiences in the Mossad details two decades of their frightening and often ruthless covert activities around the world.

He published the book in 1990 to draw attention to the corruption and shortcomings he claims to have witnessed in the Mossad. Ostrovsky has repeatedly argued that intelligence-gathering agencies must be permitted certain operational freedoms, but that significantly increased governmental oversight of espionage activities is necessary.

Tickets to all Premier Lectures are $15 per person and may be purchased in advance online or in person at the LLL Center or prior to any lecture. All Premier Lectures begin at 7:00 p.m. in the Renaissance Theatre.

Sunday, November 6: Chillin’ and Grillin’ at the Wigwam

LifeLong Learning’s first trip of the season is to The Wigwam, a major attraction of the west valley, for a delightful evening including good food and company.

After an insider’s tour of the hotel, the group will settle on the patio outside Litchfield’s restaurant for a demonstration of Chillin’ and Grillin’ by Chef de Cuisine Chris Knouse. Enjoy refreshing drinks and dinner including beef, lamb and fish dishes prepared before your eyes.

The cost of this trip is $80. Register online or in person and then meet the group in the lobby of the Wigwam at 5:00 p.m.

Monday, November 7: How Medicare Fraud Affects You

When you receive a statement from Medicare, do you carefully review it to make sure the charges are correct, or do you just toss it aside assuming all is okay?

Those forms are a first defense against Medicare fraud and when a health care provider bills Medicare for practices, patients or procedures that are false, we all pay. A special agent with the Department of Health and Human Services will talk about Medicare fraud and the billions of dollars of fraudulent bills that put a strain on the Medicare Trust Fund. This is an opportunity to learn about the different types of fraud, waste and abuse in Medicare and what you can do to help prevent it.

All Monday Morning Lectures begin at 10:00 a.m. Tickets are $4 per person in the Renaissance Theatre Lobby prior to the lecture.

Calling all PebbleCreek Book Club members!

LifeLong Learning has many events planned this year that will interest your club members. Read one of the many books written by our speakers, or plan a special book club meeting to attend a Premier or Monday Morning lecture of interest to your group.

If you attended our special book event last year, Cookies and Crime, you won’t want to miss what we have planned for book lovers in March. Please send information about your book club and a contact name and email to Susie Nee at [email protected] to receive more information about books, authors and special events. We don’t need to know the names of everyone in your book club, just one person we can contact via email. There will be no obligation to you to attend any of these events, but we don’t want your book club members to miss out on the fabulous programs we have planned this year.

Sales, registration begin October 1 for upcoming LLL season

Ready for the new LifeLong Learning season? Registration for classes and trips and sales for Premier Lecture tickets begin at 8:00 a.m. Saturday, October 1.

We strongly recommend you make your purchases online at www.lifelonglearningatpc.org but, if you want to do it in person, LifeLong Learning will be holding regular office hours at the new LLL Center.

You’ll find us in the Eagle’s Nest Activities Center in the former dance studio, Room 107.

On Saturday, October 1, volunteers will be there to help you register and purchase tickets from 8:00 a.m. to noon. After that the LLL Center will be open every Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to noon, except when there are Monday Morning Lectures. Then you may make your purchases in the lobby prior to the lecture.

If you order tickets online, they may be picked up at the Will Call counter any time the LLL Center is open.

FBI, Supreme Court and China subjects of Oct. morning lectures

October Monday Morning Lectures

The new LifeLong Learning season opens with three Monday Morning Lectures that, due to the renovation of the Renaissance Theatre, will be held in the Tuscany Falls Ballroom beginning at 10:00 a.m.

October 17: The FBI Returns to PebbleCreek

Once again we’ll have the privilege of learning about the FBI’s inner workings when Supervisory Special Agent Lance Leising with the FBI Phoenix Division delivers the first lecture of the season.

Leising will discuss the FBI Phoenix Violent Crime and Fugitive Program which includes bank robberies and kidnappings. He will also talk about how the Top Ten lists are developed and the public’s role in capturing fugitives. Because the FBI lectures are always popular, we recommend you arrive early to assure a seat.

October 24: Understanding China’s Threat

While the media focuses on the diplomatic difficulties between China and the U.S., the real threat is China’s economic power. Norman Levine, Ph.D., will talk about Chinese economic expansion in Central Asia and Europe and other economic strategies that have made China the second greatest economic power in the world.

A member of the Emeritus College at Arizona State University, Levine has lectured at the University of Beijing for a month each of the past 15 years and lectures on contemporary China at ASU-West. During his distinguished career of more than 30 years as a college professor and researcher of history, he taught at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana and the University of Maryland Baltimore County and published eight books, four of which have been translated into Chinese.

October 31: The Supreme Court and the Election

Just a week before the presidential election, ASU Professor Paul Bender returns to PebbleCreek to talk about the future of the Supreme Court under a new administration. The court, handicapped since the death of Justice Antonin Scalia and the Senate’s refusal to consider the nomination of Merrick Garland, will change considerably when the U.S. Senate approves a nominee appointed by a newly elected President. However, several important issues will be considered well before then.

Bender teaches U.S. and Arizona constitutional law. He served as dean of the law school from 1984-1989 during which time he was instrumental in starting ASU’s Indian Legal Program. Prior to joining ASU, he was on the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania Law School.