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CONVENTION CENTERS
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State consultant suggests waiting on BCEC expansion
Hold off on that big expansion for now. That's the bottom line for the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center in an extensive report prepared
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HOSPITALS
Lawrence General named former Tufts Medical exec as new CEO
After a challenging year for Lawrence General Hospital and Holy Family Hospital, former Tufts Medical executive Diana L. Richardson will take over as interim president and CEO next month, the hospital system announced Thursday. She will join the organization on April 14, following
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MUNICIPAL FINANCE
Los Angeles faces $1b budget hole amid broad federal cuts, wildfire recovery
Los Angeles is facing a projected deficit of nearly $1 billion in the next fiscal year as the city grapples with the aftermath of historic wildfires and a deep decline in revenue. A key budget official painted a grim picture of the city's finances at a council meeting on Wednesday. Warnings included the possibility of thousands of layoffs and 'extremely difficult cost-cutting decisions' that will be required to close the gap, said Matthew Szabo, the city administrative officer. The shortfall is about 13 percent of the adopted budget, a threshold he called 'extraordinary.' 'This is an enormous hole to fill,' he told city council members. 'The severity of the revenue decline paired with rising costs has created a budget gap that makes layoffs nearly inevitable. We are not looking at dozens or even hundreds of layoffs, but thousands.' The stark statements offer a first glimpse into what is expected to be a challenging budget cycle for Mayor Karen Bass, a Democrat who is set to unveil her spending proposal next month. Most US cities can't operate at a deficit, so her plan is poised to include cost-cutting efforts. On Wednesday, she directed Szabo's office to game-plan ways to save between $500 million and $900 million in structural budgetary expenses. Cities across the United States are facing tough budget decisions this year as inflation raises costs and pandemic-era stimulus aid sunsets. Chicago's city council passed a 2025 budget that closed a nearly $1 billion deficit and in San Francisco, the city is projecting a budget shortfall of about $876 million for the 2026 fiscal year. The municipalities, already facing a squeeze, could see further pressures from federal government cuts. President Trump has threatened cities that don't comply with his immigration agenda while educational institutions are already cutting staff and freezing some spending.
— BLOOMBERG NEWS
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Boston Globe
42 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
Suffolk Sheriff Steven Tompkins's arraignment on extortion charges pushed to Thursday
Tompkins, a prominent Democrat in Boston political circles, was arrested earlier this month in Florida for allegedly pressuring the company under the threat of revoking a partnership with his office that was central to its licensing application. Prosecutors allege that in addition to forcing a company official to sell him stock for $50,000 before the venture went public, Tompkins subsequently demanded he be repaid after the value of his shares sank below his initial investment. Advertisement Tompkins has served as sheriff since 2013, overseeing the Nashua Street and South Bay jails in Boston and other detention operations in Suffolk County. He was initially appointed sheriff by former governor Deval Patrick, and then won the seat in the following election. He has been very active in local Democratic politics, offering up Tompkins has not resigned nor given any indication that he plans to in light of the criminal charges, though Advertisement Before he was named sheriff, Tompkins worked as the department's chief of external affairs and created the Common Ground Institute, a vocational training program for inmates about to be released, as well as The Choice Program, which sends correctional officers into Boston's public schools. As part of the legislation that shaped the cannabis industry in Massachusetts, the state requires businesses, as part of the licensing process, to lay out plans to promote diversity and invest in individuals and communities disproportionately affected by previous cannabis prohibitions. Federal prosecutors allege a cannabis company hoping to open in Boston sought to meet that licensing requirement through an agreement with Tompkins to train and hire people recently released from jail. But Tompkins used that partnership to extort the stock deal, prosecutors allege. The indictment of Tompkins didn't name the cannabis company. But a person familiar with the matter confirmed it is Ascend Mass, part of Ascend Cannabis, a multistate retailer whose local operations were once run by Tompkins's close friend Andrea Cabral. Cabral has since left the company. She was previously Suffolk County sheriff, and Tompkins was her top aide. When she was appointed to a statewide post as public safety secretary in late 2012, Patrick tapped Tompkins as her successor. Cabral is not the Ascend official who was allegedly extorted, according to the source, who asked for anonymity because they are not authorized to speak about it publicly. Ascend continues to operate the store in question on Friend Street in Boston, which was relicensed most recently in November, according to the state's Cannabis Control Commission. Material from prior Globe stories was used in this report. Advertisement Travis Andersen can be reached at
The Hill
2 hours ago
- The Hill
Conservative network Newsmax agrees to pay $67M in defamation case over bogus 2020 election claims
DENVER (AP) — The conservative network Newsmax will pay $67 million to settle a lawsuit accusing it of defaming a voting equipment company by spreading lies about President Donald Trump's 2020 election loss, according to documents filed Monday. The settlement comes after Fox News Channel paid $787.5 million to settle a similar lawsuit in 2023 and Newsmax paid what court papers describe as $40 million to settle a libel lawsuit from a different voting machine manufacturer, Smartmatic, which also was a target of pro-Trump conspiracy theories on the network. Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis had ruled earlier that Newsmax did indeed defame Denver-based Dominion Voting Systems by airing false information about the company and its equipment. But Davis left it to a jury to eventually decide whether that was done with malice, and, if so, how much Dominion deserved from Newsmax in damages. Newsmax and Dominion reached the settlement before the trial could take place. The settlement was disclosed by Newsmax on Monday in a new filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. It said the deal was reached Friday. A spokesperson for Dominion said the company was pleased to have settled the lawsuit. The disclosure came as Trump, who lost his 2020 reelection bid to Democrat Joe Biden, vowed in a social media post Monday to eliminate mail-in ballots and voting machines such as those supplied by Dominion and other companies. It was unclear how the Republican president could achieve that. The same judge also handled the Dominion-Fox News case and made a similar ruling that the network repeated numerous lies by Trump's allies about his 2020 loss despite internal communications showing Fox officials knew the claims were bogus. At the time, Davis found it was 'CRYSTAL clear' that none of the allegations was true. Internal correspondence from Newsmax officials likewise shows they knew the claims were baseless. 'How long are we going to play along with election fraud?' Newsmax host Bob Sellers said two days after the 2020 election was called for Biden, according to internal documents revealed as part of the case. Newsmax took pride that it was not calling the election for Biden and, the internal documents show, saw a business opportunity in catering to viewers who believed Trump won. Private communications that surfaced as part of Dominion's earlier defamation case against Fox News also revealed how the network's business interests intersected with decisions it made related to coverage of Trump's 2020 election claims. At Newsmax, employees repeatedly warned against false allegations from pro-Trump guests such as attorney Sidney Powell, according to documents in the lawsuit. In one text, even Newsmax owner Chris Ruddy, a Trump ally, said he found it 'scary' that Trump was meeting with Powell. Dominion was at the heart of many of the wild claims aired by guests on Newsmax and elsewhere, who promoted a conspiracy theory involving deceased Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez to rig the machines for Biden. Though Trump has insisted his fraud claims are real, there's no evidence they were, and the lawsuits in the Fox and Newsmax cases show how some of the president's biggest supporters knew they were false at the time. Trump's then-attorney general, William Barr, said there was no evidence of widespread fraud. Trump and his backers lost dozens of lawsuits alleging fraud, some before Trump-appointed judges. Numerous recounts, reviews and audits of the election results, including some run by Republicans, turned up no signs of significant wrongdoing or error and affirmed Biden's win. After returning to office, Trump pardoned those who tried to halt the transfer of power during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and directed his Department of Justice to investigate Chris Krebs, a former Trump cybersecurity appointee who had vouched for the security and accuracy of the 2020 election. As an initial trial date approached in the Dominion case earlier this year, Trump issued an executive order attacking the law firm that litigated it and the Fox case, Susman Godfrey. The order, part of a series targeting law firms Trump has tussled with, cited Susman Godfrey's work on elections and said the government would not do business with any of its clients or permit any of its staff in federal buildings. A federal judge put that action on hold, saying the framers would view it as 'a shocking abuse of power. '
Newsweek
2 hours ago
- Newsweek
Newsmax Settles Dominion Lawsuit as Trump Renews Attacks on Voting Machines
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Newsmax has agreed to pay $67 million to settle a defamation lawsuit brought by Dominion Voting Systems, which accused the conservative network of spreading false claims about Donald Trump's 2020 election loss, according to court documents filed Monday. The settlement comes a year after Fox News paid $787.5 million to resolve a similar case with Dominion. Newsmax also previously paid $40 million to settle a separate lawsuit from another voting technology firm, Smartmatic, which was also the subject of pro-Trump conspiracy theories aired on the network. Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis had already ruled that Newsmax defamed Dominion by broadcasting false claims about its voting machines. However, he left it to a jury to decide whether the network acted with malice and to determine the damages. That trial was averted when the parties reached the agreement last Friday. The deal was disclosed in a filing Monday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The announcement coincided with a new social media post by Trump, who vowed to eliminate mail-in ballots and voting machines supplied by Dominion and other companies—though it remains unclear how the former president could carry out such a plan. Trump lost his 2020 reelection bid to Democrat Joe Biden. This is a breaking news story. Updates to follow.
