Source: Los Angeles Times

The Los Angeles Times published an article on the New Year's celebration of the Hindu community in Northridge, CA. Despite the fact that Hindus follow their own lunar calendar, many Hindus worldwide have celebrated the Gregorian New Year since British colonial rule. This Hindu celebration included the passing out of pastries and a sacrificial fire to invoke Agni, the god of fire.

Source: The Baltimore Sun

On December 12, 1998, The Baltimore Sun reported on the dedication of the $2.3 million Greater Baltimore Temple, the first Hindu Temple in the Baltimore region, in Finksburg, MD. With more than 1,000 people expected to participate in the 3-day dedication events, the Greater Baltimore Temple will be the worship center for approximately 1,600 Hindu families in metro Baltimore and southern Pennsylvania. The 14,000 square-foot building includes a temple hall, a library, and a community center with space for 350 people.

Source: The Houston Chronicle

On October 3, 1998, The Houston Chronicle reported that Western Hindus, "feeling a need for renewal in Hinduism," are founding a council of senior religious leaders to codify moral standards and religious practices in the West. These leaders will then meet in Austin, Texas in August 1999 with several hundred Hindu clergy and community leaders to deal with many problems that Hindus face in Western society. The goal of this endeavor is to hold annual meetings beginning in 1999 and eventually formulate a code of conduct, or "...

Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

On August 11, 1998, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that a blessing of the ground ceremony took place on August 9th in Pewaukee, WI. The approved worship center, set to be two-stories and 22,000 square feet, will serve approximately 1000 families in Wisconsin. Many of the Hindus in the area had to make regular sojourns to Chicago because there was no temple in Wisconsin. There will also be a smaller temple on the site for Jains to worship and meet.

Source: Press Journal

World Tibet Day, founded by Ma Jaya Bhagavati, the spiritual leader of Kashi Ashram, was celebrated in religious services across the world, and at Central Park in New York City. The effort is part of an Interfaith Call for Freedom of Worship in Tibet and Universal Religious Freedom. The intention is to raise awareness of human rights abuses and religious freedom abuses in Tibet, and to eventually convince the Chinese to respect the Tibetan people, the Tibetan religion, and the Dalai Lama.

Source: Los Angeles Times

On June 6, 1998, the Los Angeles Times published an article on the expansion project of the Venkateshwara Hindu Temple in Malibu, CA. The 15 year old temple is adding another wing to its seven-acre complex to house stone-carved statues of Shiva and two other deities. The temple is named for a deity who is said to be a manifestation of Vishnu. Housing both Vishnu and Shiva is uncommon in India, but more common in the United States. Nadadur Vardhan, secretary of the Hindu Temple Society of Southern California, stated that, "our...

Source: The Detroit News

On Wednesday, May 27, 1998, the Detroit News carried an article entitled "Seminar to Help Hindus," describing a Troy workshop that "aims to give Indian youths an anchor in U.S. society."