Kraft rips Wu on White Stadium: ‘A catastrophic failure of city management'
:
Advertisement
Standing in front of a remaining wall of the stadium, fenced in by a construction, Kraft said Monday that Wu was overseeing 'the least transparent City Hall in generations.'
'You need to stop hiding the ball and tell the taxpayers what the actual cost is going to be,' he said. 'This is a catastrophic failure of city management.'
Kraft said his campaign had received the $170 million from City Hall insiders, but did not name names. Asked what is driving costs up, he told reporters they should 'check with the city.'
Messages left with Wu's office and campaign were not immediately returned Monday morning.
The stadium rehabilitation plans, which aim to create a home for the women's professional soccer team Boston Legacy FC, has been met with mixed reaction locally. The stadium is located within Franklin Park, Boston's largest green space.
Advertisement
Proponents have lauded the badly needed improvements to the facility, which had fallen into disrepair, and access for Boston Public Schools student-athletes and the Franklin Park community, as well as the positive impact of a women's professional soccer team playing in a public facility.
But there also has been plenty of pushback from opponents who say a professional soccer stadium is not the right fit for the location. They have concerns about impact of the project on that park and the surrounding areas.
In recent weeks, the Emerald Necklace Conservancy continued its legal challenge of the project, filing a notice of appeal with Massachusetts Appeals Court.
At Monday's news conference, opponents of the project held signs reading 'Save Franklin Park' and 'Franklin Stadium Bag Job.' Much of the stadium's old edifice has been demolished. On Monday, scaffolding stood in front of one stadium stand that faced an entrance to the park.
Additionally on Monday, the NAACP Boston Branch called
'However, we have serious concerns about the current $200 million proposal to redevelop White Stadium into an 11,000-seat venue to be leased to Boston Unity Soccer Partners (BUSP), a private, for-profit entity,' read the statement.
Advertisement
The team is to use the renovated stadium for portions of up to 40 days of the year, plus be responsible for year-round maintenance and operations.
A new eight-lane track will surround the professional-level grass field, with BPS Athletics gaining new office space in the city-financed and rebuilt east grandstand, which also will contain student and community usage space.
The team is responsible for the construction of the west grandstand and a year-round restaurant being built just outside the stadium and still within the parcel.
On Monday, Kraft said he would support an alternative concept proposed by the Emerald Necklace Conservancy that would see White Stadium refurbished into a
'That's what I would've liked to have seen happen,' he said during the press conference.
A handful of demonstrators protesting the city's current plan replied: 'Still can!'
The city's proposal for the site, he said, constituted a 'bad idea' from the onset. Wu, he said, has been 'outfoxed' by private investors behind the deal.
'The public deserve answers,' he said.
This developing story will be updated. Michael Silverman and Niki Griswold of Globe staff contributed to this report.
Danny McDonald can be reached at
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Los Angeles Times
2 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
City officials want to fund immigration defense. The budget crisis makes it hard
Good morning, and welcome to L.A. on the Record — our City Hall newsletter. It's Noah Goldberg, with assists from Julia Wick, Seema Mehta and David Zahniser, giving you the latest on city and county government. Days after the Trump administration's mass immigration raids came to Los Angeles, City Councilmember Ysabel Jurado started looking for money to help the city's undocumented residents. In a June 10 motion, she asked City Administrative Officer Matt Szabo to detail options for finding at least $1 million for RepresentLA, which provides legal services for undocumented Angelenos facing deportation. A week later, an official from Szabo's office said they were 'unable to identify eligible funding sources' for the $1 million, which would come on top of $1 million the city has already allocated to RepresentLA. This summer in L.A., an immigration crisis is colliding with a budget crisis, leaving some councilmembers frustrated that the city cannot do more, as federal agents whisk thousands of immigrants away to detention centers and potential deportation. The city has been active in court, joining an ACLU lawsuit that temporarily blocked federal agents from using racial profiling to carry out indiscriminate immigration arrests. Mayor Karen Bass also announced a program to provide immigrants with gift cards, funded by private philanthropy, when many were afraid to go to work. But coming up with another $1 million for immigrant legal defense, after city officials closed a nearly $1-billion deficit through cuts and slated layoffs, has proved a slog. 'Why is it that we can't find the money for this?' asked Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martínez during a Civil Rights, Equity, Immigration, Aging and Disability Committee meeting on Aug. 1. 'It appears that level of urgency is not being transmitted through this report, because when we're in other situations, we find the money.' Jurado piggybacked off her colleague. 'This is an immigration legal crisis,' she said, adding that she felt 'disappointment, frustration and, frankly, anger with the outcome here that we can't find a single dollar to support immigrant communities and this legal defense fund.' 'I find it really hard to believe that the CAO couldn't find any money for it,' she said in an interview. RepresentLA, which is a public-private partnership with the county, the city, the California Community Foundation and the Weingart Foundation, has seen a surge in demand for legal services since the immigration raids began in June, said Jorge-Mario Cabrera, a spokesperson for the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, or CHIRLA, which manages RepresentLA. 'The need is higher than the needs being met,' Cabrera said. The city has contributed funding for RepresentLA since its inception in 2021 — initially $2 million each fiscal year before dropping to $1 million in 2024-2025 and $1 million this year out of a total budget of $6.5 million, with the other $5.5 million coming from L.A. County. RepresentLA, which has served nearly 10,000 people, provides free legal representation for undocumented immigrants facing removal proceedings, as well as other services such as help with asylum applications. Some attorneys are on staff, while others are outside counsel. In April, Bass said in her State of the City speech that the city would 'protect every Angeleno, no matter where you are from, no matter when you arrived in L.A ... because we know how much immigrants contribute to our city in so many ways. We will always stand strong with you.' But behind the scenes, the city's financial struggles put even the initial $1 million for RepresentLA in jeopardy, with the mayor proposing to slash it to zero for this fiscal year. 'Getting the initial $1 million back was quite a battle,' said Angelica Salas, CHIRLA's executive director. 'It had been zeroed out. We were able to get just the money enough to continue the program for those who are currently in the program.' The City Council managed to claw back the $1 million during budget negotiations by slowing down hiring at the LAPD, as well as 'ending duplicative spending,' said Naomi Villagomez-Roochnik, a spokesperson for Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez, who sits on the budget committee. (The mayor and Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson have since said they are looking for money to reverse the hiring slowdown.) 'It's a crumb when you compare it to the rest of the city budget,' Hernandez said. RepresentLA has 23 attorneys working on deportation hearings, and Salas said each represents about 35 clients at any given time. An additional $1 million 'would allow us to expand our capacity for the new people — the thousands of people who have now been picked up in this new sweep,' she said. At the committee hearing earlier this month, Councilmember Monica Rodriguez said the City Council should find savings in other areas to help pay for important programs like RepresentLA. 'Next time the city attorney comes asking us for outside counsel money, you could say 'No' and redirect those resources. ... When the mayor comes for Inside Safe, for additional discretionary money that she is unaccountable for, you could say, 'No, we're taking $1 million and putting it for RepresentLA,'' she said. 'Let's effing go.' The committee called on the city administrative officer's staff to research options for funding RepresentLA, including grants or reallocating money from elsewhere. Szabo confirmed to The Times that things will be different at the next committee meeting. 'Our next report will provide options to fund RepresentLA at the level requested,' he said in a text message. BALLOT ROYALE: Labor unions and business groups have been locked in a heated battle of ballot measures for the last three months, after the City Council hiked the minimum wage for hotel and airport workers. Each side is trying to get measures on the ballot that would have far-reaching effects, including one that would put the minimum wage increase to a citywide vote. Unite Here Local 11, which represents hotel and restaurant workers, has proposed four ballot measures that, according to critics, would wreak havoc on the city's economy. Business leaders, in turn, have filed a ballot petition to repeal the city's $800-million business tax — a move denounced by city officials, who say it would gut funding for police and other essential services. — SAGE ADVICE: The Jurado staffer who was arrested during an anti-ICE demonstration in June gave a heads-up to her boss that she planned to take part, according to text messages obtained by The Times through a public records request. 'Going to the protest at [City Hall] fyi,' Luz Aguilar wrote to Chief of Staff Lauren Hodgins. Hodgins responded with words of caution. 'To reiterate what we spoke about a few mins ago, if you choose to take part in any community action, please ensure that you approach the event with peace and care for those around you and stay safe,' Hodgins wrote. 'This is not a city-sanctioned activity and you are participating on your own accord so want to ensure your safety along with the safety of those around you.' Aguilar did not text back. She was later arrested at the demonstration and ultimately charged with resisting arrest after allegedly assaulting a police officer. — BACK TO COURT: Prosecutors filed two new corruption charges against City Councilmember Curren Price this week. The charges were connected to two votes he cast on funding for the city housing authority and the L.A. County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, both of which were paying Price's wife, Del Richardson. Price's attorney called the new charges 'nothing more than an attempt to pile on to a weak case.' Sources told The Times this week that prosecutors tried to get Richardson to testify in front of a grand jury as part of Price's case. She did not ultimately do so. — IT'S FUN TO STAY AT THE YMCA: Bass, L.A. County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath and City Councilmember Traci Park were all in the Palisades Thursday morning at a ceremony where Horvath pledged $10 million from her discretionary funds toward rebuilding the Palisades-Malibu YMCA. — GIFT ECONOMY: Our public records request for all the gifts Bass received in the last year and a half came back, with the list largely composed of ceremonial gift exchanges with her foreign counterparts (chopsticks and a teacup from the mayor of Sejong, South Korea, estimated cost $32; a scarf and a hat from Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, estimated cost $45). There were a few interesting tidbits: Bass received flowers (~$72) from race and gender scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw, who coined the term intersectionality. There were also fancy Dodgers tickets and food (~$590, but marked as 'paid down') from her longtime lawyers at Kaufman Legal Group, along with flights and travel for two speaking engagements. — NOT RULING IT OUT: When Bass appeared on the podcast 'Lovett or Leave It,' host Jon Lovett gave her a 'crazy pitch': What if the city of Los Angeles broke off from the county, forming its own city-county? Bass said it 'wasn't that crazy' and asked (jokingly) whether Lovett would be taking on the messy ballot initiative … before reverting back to her standard line on the need for intergovernmental cooperation. Bass also told Lovett that the city is still looking at ways to carve out an exemption to Measure ULA taxes for Palisades fire survivors selling their lots. And, she said, the city is in the process of hiring its long-promised film liaison 'as we speak.' — HOT SEAT: Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democratic lawmakers launched a special election campaign on Thursday, urging California voters to approve new congressional districts to shrink the state's Republican delegation, as Texas Republicans fight to redraw their own maps to favor the GOP. If the plan moves forward through the many hoops ahead, another district could be created in southeast Los Angeles County, which would undoubtedly kickstart frantic maneuvering ahead of 2026. (L.A. County Supervisor Hilda Solis' name is already getting thrown around as a potential candidate, though her office didn't respond to a half-dozen queries.) — DON'T ASK, DON'T TELL: City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto came out swinging against SB 79, state Sen. Scott Wiener's latest housing density bill, back in May. Now, both proponents and opponents are clamoring to know whether Bass will take a position on the controversial bill. The Times has been asking too, but so far the mayor and her team have not responded to questions. That's it for this week! Send your questions, comments and gossip to LAontheRecord@ Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up here to get it in your inbox every Saturday morning.
Axios
19 hours ago
- Axios
With indictment, Cantrell joins Louisiana's notorious political history
Mayor LaToya Cantrell became the first New Orleans mayor to ever be federally indicted while serving her term in City Hall. Why it matters: Cantrell becomes part of a notorious history of Louisiana politicians who have faced criminal charges from their time in office, which has long lent the state an unenviable reputation. Between the lines: Also the first Black female mayor of New Orleans, Cantrell has long said she has faced more intense scrutiny than others who have held the role. As New York Times columnist Charles M. Blow wrote last year during a failed effort to recall Cantrell, the mayor "has faced constant accusations of impropriety" as she's been "subject to a kind of sexism specific to Black women: misogynoir, as it's called." Worth noting: Cantrell's attorney told Axios around 1:30pm Friday that he had not received a copy of the indictment yet. He did not make any further comments. Catch up quick: Dozens of Louisiana politicians have faced criminal charges. Here are three standouts. Former Rep. William Jefferson Jefferson faced corruption charges after the FBI filmed him taking a $100,000 cash bribe with the goal of paying off an African official, the FBI says. Days later, the FBI infamously found $90,000 stashed in his freezer. He was convicted of bribery, racketeering and money laundering. Former Gov. Edwin Edwards The colorful Cajun was so popular with voters that he was elected governor four times from the 1970s through the early 1990s, though he faced multiple federal indictments during his third term. But he wouldn't be convicted until May 2000, when he was found guilty of taking bribes over riverboat casino licenses in his fourth term. Edwards spent eight years in a federal prison before launching a final unsuccessful campaign for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2014. Former Mayor C. Ray Nagin Nagin, who led New Orleans during and immediately after Hurricane Katrina, was the city's first mayor convicted of corruption, according to WWL. Nagin, who was charged after leaving office, was found guilty of 20 counts of wire fraud, bribery and tax evasion after prosecutors said he took bribes while in office. He was sentenced to serve 10 years and was released early when officials sought to decrease prison populations in 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic.
Axios
20 hours ago
- Axios
DOJ gives Boston and other sanctuary cities an ultimatum
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi has put Boston on notice: Cooperate with the Trump administration's immigration crackdown or else. Why it matters: Boston is one of 32 cities the Trump administration is going after for having policies that restrict local police cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Driving the news: Bondi gave Boston Mayor Michelle Wu until Tuesday to send a response confirming her "commitment to complying with federal law," per a letter she sent to Wu this week. The letter asks Wu to identify specific initiatives the city is taking to eliminate sanctuary policies. What they're saying:"Any sanctuary jurisdiction that continues to put illegal aliens ahead of American citizens can either come to the table or see us in court," Bondi wrote on X Thursday, announcing the "demand letters." The other side:"Unlike the Trump administration," Wu said in a statement to Axios, "Boston follows the law." Wu defended the city's policies to a congressional panel in March. She said barring police cooperation with federal immigration agents who don't have a warrant fosters trust between crime victims, witnesses and police, among others.
