Latest news with #BufferZone
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Sunderland warn of ‘catastrophic consequences' if homes built near stadium
Premier League club Sunderland AFC have opposed plans to build houses near their Stadium of Light ground, saying development could have 'catastrophic consequences'. Chairman Kyril Louis-Dreyfus said the club will make formal objections to the city council's plans to allow for homes to be built in what had been a buffer zone around the stadium. His predecessor Sir Bob Murray, who oversaw the move from Roker Park to the 49,000-seat ground in 1997, was furious about the change, calling it a 'disgrace'. He said the local authority had previously agreed protections which would prevent development near the stadium, thus allowing the club to increase capacity if needed, but that the city council had 'torn them up'. Sir Bob said having houses up close to the Stadium of Light risked hemming it in, which was the cause of the move from Roker Park. Mr Louis-Dreyfus has now spoken out against the plans as well. He said: 'As the custodian of Sunderland AFC, it is my duty to safeguard the future of our club. 'This includes the Stadium of Light – the beating heart of our city. 'Unfortunately, Sunderland City Council has recently taken steps relating to the Sheepfolds development that could have catastrophic operational consequences on our club and, by extension, our community. 'We are under no illusion that the city needs a more appropriate housing provision and support those endeavours fully. 'However, later this week we will be submitting a formal objection against the proposals relating to the Sheepfolds and I encourage all city stakeholders to come together and join us in protecting the future of our football club and the City of Sunderland. 'Together, we have limitless potential, but it will only be realised through delivering on a shared purpose and vision.' There were fears that having homes close to the stadium could impact its ability to host major concerts as well as block any future expansion plans. The Stadium of Light has hosted England games and was built on the site of the former Monkwearmouth Colliery. Sunderland City Council has been approached for comment.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Judge Lifts Buffer Zone Outside Karen Read Trial
A ban on protests within a 200-foot 'buffer zone' outside a Massachusetts courtroom was lifted by the judge in Karen Read's trial Thursday, opening the door to quiet demonstrations in the public areas outside the building.'Quiet, offsite demonstrations on public property, in areas and at times that do not interfere with trial participants' entrance into or exit from the Courthouse, and that do not interfere with the orderly administration of justice, and that are not intended to influence any trial participants in the discharge of their duties are specifically outside the scope of the Buffer Zone restrictions,' Judge Beverly Cannone wrote in a decision released Thursday. Cannone had ordered the buffer zone, she said, to prevent protesters from intimidating jurors and witnesses and making so much noise as to disrupt the proceedings. A federal judge refused to issue a preliminary injunction against the buffer zone, finding that a group of protesters was unlikely to be able to show that its First Amendment rights outweighed the right to a fair the protesters' lawyer, Mark Randazza, told the First Circuit appellate court last week that his clients would agree to remain silent, protest only on streets and sidewalks off courthouse property and stay away when jurors entered and left the courthouse. 'The First Amendment is back from vacation in Massachusetts,' Randazza said in a statement. 'After treating courthouse sidewalks like North Korea with better landscaping, the First Circuit reminded everyone that free speech doesn't take vacations just because one judge or police department is offended.' Cannone reversed herself after the First Circuit Court of Appeals issued a Per Curiam in which jurists urged a reconsideration. "Read's case has become something of a cultural phenomenon. It has drawn headlines, controversy, and, as relevant here, throngs of demonstrators near the Norfolk County Courthouse (the "Courthouse"). The prior behavior of some of those demonstrators - including loud protests and the display of materials directed toward trial participants - frames a potential conflict between the state court's effort to conduct a fair trial and demonstrators' right to express their views," the court wrote. Read, 45, is charged with hitting her Boston cop boyfriend John O'Keefe, with her SUV and leaving him to die in a snowbank after a night of drinking. Her Los Angeles defense attorney Alan Jackson insists that O'Keefe died after a fight with another cop inside the house of another officer where his body was found and then framed Read. The controversy swirling around the case intensified when text messages from the lead police investigator in the case, Massachusetts State Police Trooper Michael Proctor, wrote in a group text that included his supervisors that he had searched Read's phone for nude photos of her. He also called her 'whackjob cunt,' ridiculed her for having a chronic illness, made disparaging comments about her body and said that he hoped she would kill herself. He was fired in March. On Thursday, jurors heard evidence about whether it was possible that O'Keefe was punched in the face prior to his body being found in the snow. Dr. Irini Scordi-Bello, a Commonwealth of Massachusetts medical examiner, testified during cross-examination that she did not find any injuries on O'Keefe's body consistent with being struck by a vehicle. 'You did not include in your autopsy in any fashion, any discussion of whether Mr. O'Keefe's injuries were consistent with a motor vehicle accident, did you?' a member of Read's defense team Robert Alessi asked. 'I did not,' Scordi-Bello answered.'Did you evaluate it at all in your autopsy?' Alessi said. 'Whether Mr. O'Keefe had any injuries consistent with a motor vehicle accident?' 'Yes, I did examine his lower extremities,' Scordi-Bello said. 'That is protocol in any case of suspected impact with a motor vehicle. So I did examine his legs and I did not see any evidence of an impact site.' O'Keefe's manner of death was ultimately listed as undetermined after Scordi-Bello was unable to come to a homicide ruling based on available evidence at the time of the in the case is in its fourth week. Jurors were sent home on Tuesday after Read fell ill.
