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Los Angeles Times
11 hours ago
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
It's too late for buyer's remorse. Why L.A. can't back out of hosting 2028 Olympics
The Great Depression threatened the 1932 Olympics. A pandemic raged during the 2021 Tokyo Games. Parisians planned a 'poop protest' in the Seine before the 2024 Games. From natural disasters, construction woes or unpopular opinion, every Olympics has faced threats in the planning process. Yet nearly every time, the city, ready or not, still hosted the Games. With less than three years before the L.A. Olympics, calls on social media for the city to withdraw or cancel have intensified. Wildfires devastated Pacific Palisades and Altadena in January. L.A. had to balance a $1-billion deficit. Immigration raids have put communities on edge while President Trump has threatened further military intervention. But Olympic preparations press forward. So invested in the success of the 2028 Games, the International Olympic Committee allowed venue naming rights for the first time in history. LA28, the private group responsible for organizing the Games, has contracted more than 70% of its $2.5-billion sponsorship goal, with more deals coming. No matter the calls for withdrawal, the prospect remains almost impossible. 'There's no buyer's remorse,' said Michael Payne, a sports marketer and former longtime IOC executive. Legally, no. Host cities and host country national organizing committees (in this country, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee) sign a host city contract (HCC) after the IOC officially awards the Games. The contract for the 2028 Games, signed by then-Mayor Eric Garcetti and then-City Council President Herb Wesson in September 2017, states procedures for termination from the IOC's perspective but doesn't leave the same option for the host city or the national organizing committee. 'While one cannot foreclose all potential theories, it is hard to imagine a scenario where Los Angeles could terminate the HCC without facing substantial legal issues,' Nathan O'Malley, an international arbitration lawyer and a partner at Musick, Peeler & Garrett, wrote in an email. 'Especially if the reason for ending the contract was a political disagreement between the federal, state and local branches of government.' The HCC keeps the door cracked open by saying the Olympic organizing committee could request the IOC to consider 'undue hardship … which could not reasonably have been foreseen.' But it does not obligate the IOC to make changes, cancel or assume liability. Even the COVID-19 pandemic was not enough to reach this standard. After an initial one-year delay of the Tokyo Games, medical professionals pleaded to cancel amid rising COVID cases. Public sentiment soured drastically, with protests in the streets and a March 2021 poll by Asahi Shimbun, one of the most prominent newspapers in Japan, finding that 83% of voters believed that the Olympics set to take place that summer should be postponed or canceled. But, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said, only 'the IOC has the authority to decide.' Breaching the contract could have put Tokyo in danger of being sued by the IOC for $4 billion to $5 billion, economist Andrew Zimbalist told Yahoo Sports in 2021. The Nomura Research Institute estimated the total cost of cancellation to be 1.8 trillion yen — about $16.6 billion. The IOC can terminate the HCC and withdraw the Games from a host city if the host country 'is at any time … in a state of war, civil disorder, boycott, embargo decreed by the international community or in a situation officially recognized as one of belligerence or if the IOC has reasonable grounds to believe that the health or safety of participants in the Games would be seriously threatened or jeopardized for any reason.' The procedure to terminate the Games requires the IOC to officially put the host city, the host national Olympic committee and the Olympic organizing committee on notice, which leaves them 60 days to address the problems. If the problems persist, the IOC can withdraw the Games. While the IOC could make the ultimate decision to pull the Games, the host city, the host national Olympic committee and the Olympic organizing committee would still be responsible for costs incurred and lost revenue, according to the HCC. If the IOC were to sue for damages — whether it pulled the Games or if L.A. broke the contract — the amount would be decided by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). 'In terms of quantifying what the damages would be, particularly this close to the Games if they did not have access to terminate, [withdrawing] would be exposing L.A. to quite a bit of liability just to pull the plug on this without any other basis,' said Maureen Weston, a law professor at Pepperdine. The biggest — and most expensive — hurdle for most Olympic planning is construction. L.A., which touted its multitude of existing venues during its initial bidding process, is already ahead of the curve. 'From where I sit, they're probably better prepared than any city has ever been,' said Payne, who led the IOC's marketing for 20 years and advised on the successful host bids for the 2012, 2016 and 2028 Games. But the next three years will not be without concerns, said Jules Boykoff, a political science professor at Pacific University and longtime Olympic scholar. A ballot measure proposed by organizers with the hotel workers union could affect construction for the temporary venues by requiring a citywide vote. The Olympics, scheduled to open on July 14, 2028, will take place during wildfire season. While LA28 has promised to cover all Games operational costs, the city has still pledged funds for transportation and infrastructure improvements that will remain after the torch is extinguished and will be liable for the first $270 million in overruns. Then there's the federal government. 'The federal government is necessary for security, funding and transportation, but Trump is 'extraordinarily erratic,' Boykoff said. While signing an executive order to establish an Olympic task force, the president also took a swipe at Mayor Karen Bass, calling her 'not very competent.' 'Typically there's coordination between the local, city government, where the Olympics are being hosted, and the federal government, positive, collaborative energy,' Boykoff said. 'And there's not that at all with this.' Following precedent from the 1996 and 2002 Olympics, the 2028 task force will be focused on security, transportation and entry/exit policies. Then-Vice President Al Gore chaired both the 1996 and 2002 Olympics task forces. Trump installed himself as the task force chair for the 2028 Games. 'I think in general, these task forces are not run by the people that are chairing them, really,' Boykoff said. 'I think that the actual day-to-day machinations will not be overseen by the President. … So I view it as more of sort of a prestige post that he's giving himself to look important. And I think it signals that he really values the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics coming off [well].' Among other responsibilities, the task force, which will be led by an executive director, will 'assist in the planning and implementation of visa processing and credentialing programs for foreign athletes, coaches, officials, and media personnel.' Accredited Games personnel from every country must be allowed entry into the United States, and any sign of travel limitations on Games participants could be in violation of the HCC, prompting potential termination. LA28 chairman Casey Wasserman has emphasized that he has assurances from the federal government that the United States will be open, despite recent travel bans and tighter scrutiny of international travelers arriving in the U.S. Trump's June proclamation includes exemptions for athletes, team personnel or immediate relatives entering the country for the FIFA World Cup, the Olympics or other major sporting event as determined by the Secretary of State. But in the two months since the ban, visas have been denied for athletes, including the Cuban women's volleyball team traveling for a tournament in Puerto Rico, a baseball team from Venezuela that qualified to play in the Senior League Baseball World Series and Senegal's women's basketball team preparing for a training camp. 'The international community has to believe that the U.S. will fulfill our obligations,' Weston said, 'and that people coming from around the world to not only participate in the Games, but to attend and to support the Games as spectators, as fans, staff, personnel, that they're welcome here, they are safe.' Denver, which was awarded the 1976 Winter Olympics, is the only city to reject the Olympics after it was selected by the IOC. Organizers won the host position in 1970 with a bid that misrepresented the city's Olympic capabilities, said Adam Berg, the author of 'The Olympics that Never Happened: Denver '76 and the Politics of Growth.' The overconfident committee hypothetically placed skiing sports in areas with no anticipated snowfall. Wanting to appease the IOC's desire to put all events within a one-hour radius from the Olympic Village or the main stadium, the organizing committee chose venues that were close in proximity, but had no realistic ability to host sports. When organizers started to rework the plans to be more realistic and budgets soared, politicians and citizens grew concerned. In November 1972, voters approved an initiative that barred Olympic organizers from using public funds on venue construction. Without the funding, organizers could not proceed, and the IOC relocated the event to Innsbruck, Austria, which had hosted the 1964 Winter Olympics. But 50 years later, it's unlikely that there could be a repeat. The 1976 Winter Olympics had 1,123 athletes. L.A. will be the largest Olympic Games ever with 11,198 athletes. It'll bring the Paralympics to the city for the first time. Needing to find a new host on short notice for an event that has grown exponentially both in competition and TV production since Denver's sudden switch would be a nearly impossible task. 'It's literally a totally different universe,' Payne said of comparisons between Denver and L.A. Denver avoided paying massive damages, Berg said. But the IOC, which goes through a more extensive bid evaluation process now, had yet to harness the financial power of the Olympics and broadcasting partners in 1972. Today's iron-clad host city contract had not yet been formalized. 'The International Olympic Committee has really tightened up its fiscal ship over the years,' Boykoff said, 'and always to its own advantage.' If any city should be ready to host the biggest Olympics in history, it should be L.A. Not only because of the existing venues, but because of the unprecedented 11-year planning time after the IOC awarded the Games in 2017. Now with less than three years remaining, relocating to a city that would likely have to build new venues would be unrealistic for the IOC. 'The IOC is really in a bind too,' said Mark Dyreson, a sports historian at Penn State. While there has never been an official backup option named, L.A. is often in the conversation. The city volunteered as a potential emergency host when the 1924 Paris Olympics were threatened by severe floods. Although the Olympics remained in the City of Light, Dyreson said L.A.'s offer was the first step of getting on the IOC's radar to eventually earn the 1932 Games. When Athens, Greece, struggled to keep pace with venue deadlines for the 2004 Games, the IOC coordination committee publicly criticized organizers for the construction debacle. There were whispers that L.A. could be ready at a moment's notice. Now the idea of moving the Olympics from L.A. would be a major role-reversal for the city that had historically been seen as a viable backup. 'For Los Angeles, a city whose identity is partly predicated on staging the Olympics twice, and now having a third time,' Dyreson said, 'I think it would be really, really difficult for L.A. to give up the Olympics.' The Games run through the heart of L.A.: Olympic Boulevard, formerly 10th Street, was named for the 10th Olympic Games in 1932.
BBC News
6 days ago
- Climate
- BBC News
Hundreds of Gedling homes affected after burst water pipe
More than 200 properties were left without water or low pressure after a pipe burst in a road in water main burst on Lingwood Lane, between Woodborough and Lambley, caused problems for homes and businesses in the NG3 and NG4 areas, including of water flooded the road, causing travel disruption Trent said teams were on site to restore water supply "as soon as possible" and repair the pipe. One resident said the road had been flooded and it was impassible."It's absolutely a wash. It's boot deep," he said."When you go down on to the football field down there, it's a mess."Michael Payne, MP for Gedling, said the burst water main had caused disruption for public transport and residents in Woodborough Stoll, county councillor for the Calverton ward, said: "Woodborough has a history of flooding, so an event like this, particularly this type of mains water rupture, brings out anxiety in the village - quite rightly."There's a few bungalows towards the back of the sports field where the water is encroached on to the garden and on to patios, but fortunately there's been no internal flooding."Amanda Mellor, chairwoman of Woodborough Flood Action Group, added they were able to alert properties that could have been affected."In this instance, we were able to know the properties that are more vulnerable and the people that might need some help," she said."We went to them and basically swept water into drains so it didn't go near their houses." Severn Trent said it had received about 200 complaints from customers reporting no or low pressure, adding some in the affected areas had water said the team worked to restore the water supply by moving water around the network, as well as bringing in water tankers to of the road has been shut while work is carried out to repair the pipe.A Severn Trent spokesperson said: "Customers should now start to see their water slowly returning following a burst to a large water pipe on Lingwood Lane. "We are sorry to anyone who has experienced little to no water as a result, but after engineers quickly moved water around the network and used tankers to pump water into the network - supplies are now starting to go back to normal. "Our focus will now be to fix the pipe, and to do that we will require a section of Lingwood Lane to be closed. "We are sorry for any disruption this will cause, but it will be our priority to have it fixed and back to normal as quickly as possible."
Yahoo
01-07-2025
- Yahoo
Mass. man spent 32 years in prison claiming innocence. His first chance at parole was denied
After attending a party more than 30 years ago, a Massachusetts man was found guilty of the murder of two men who had been killed by more than a dozen gunshots. But Michael Payne, 52, continues to claim his innocence. And earlier this year, for the first time, he saw a possible path to freedom through a new state law allowing him to seek parole. On June 21, 1995, Payne was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder, armed robbery, and unlawfully carrying a firearm in Suffolk Superior Court. He was sentenced to two concurrent life terms without the possibility of parole for his murder convictions. He became eligible for parole after a recent Supreme Judicial Court decision that states emerging adults between the ages of 18-20 cannot be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Due to the decision, Payne, who was 20 at the time of the murders, was able to go in front of the parole board for the first time in February. The board, however, denied him getting parole yesterday stating there were 'concerns' following his statements at the hearing. At about 4 a.m. on March 28, 1993, eyewitnesses said that Kevin Christopher and Lloyd Industrious were killed when Payne and his co-defendants fired several rounds into a vehicle that the two men had been sitting in in Dorchester. One of the people took jewelry from at least one of the men who had been shot, and ran from the scene. Christopher had 11 gunshot wounds and Industrious had 7 gunshot wounds. An eyewitness selected Payne's photo out of 14 other photographs. However, Payne stated that he attended the nearby party but he was not involved in the murders. He claimed that he learned about the murders for the first time on the news. During his February parole board hearing, Payne told the parole board that the programming offered through the state would not be beneficial for him 'and self-improvement is not a need area,' the parole board wrote in its decision. Payne's sister and a friend spoke in support of parole during the hearing, while Suffolk County Assistant District Attorney Montez Haywood testified against parole. His parole request was denied but the board was torn on how long until his next hearing. One board member voted to grant parole after 6 months in another program, while another board member voted to deny parole with a review in one year from the date of the hearing. Ultimately, it was decided that there will be another review in 2 years. Parole denied for Mass. man who raped 14-year-old he met at library After serving time for 1992 Tasty Chicken killing, paroled man detained by ICE Man convicted of fatal shooting at Mattapan ice cream parlor in 1990 gets parole 'Yes, I stabbed him': Woman paroled after fatal Christmas week stabbing amid abuse claims Man who killed Milford police officer granted 'compassionate release' Read the original article on MassLive.
The Age
29-05-2025
- General
- The Age
A literal swag of spoils
Rob Baxter's (C8) canine feculence concerns (C8), reminded Michael Payne of West Pymble of 'a petite friend of mine who was the victim of a bag snatch while walking her dog. She had trouble containing herself as her old handbag was used to contain her doggie do.' 'Carrying a full poo bag is a badge of honour,' asserts Robert Hosking of Paddington. 'It says: 'I did not leave that poo on the pavement. That was some other irresponsible person. I am a responsible dog owner!' And a call-out to Woollahra Council for providing not only plenty of bins, but poo bag dispensers on those bins.' Meanwhile, we await plaudits from Andrew Taubman of Queens Park for not calling it 'Poop'. 'An ABC TV newsreader blithely reported that the 'Sydney Surf Club' had torpedoed the proposed Rosehill Racecourse sale,' notes Jim Dewar of Davistown. 'Must've been a board decision then ...' 'Cracker night (C8) was Empire Day, and we had half-day off school to build the bonfire and sort out our crackers; tom thumbs, double bungers, sparklers, catherine wheels and skyrockets,' writes Judy Jones of Thornleigh. 'One particular cracker night, one of the lads had the bright idea of putting a smouldering log in the tray of his ute, and we piled in with it. We drove the neighbourhood, lighting and throwing penny bungers over the side. We put the chooks off laying and the cows gave no milk for a few days. The innocence of childhood!' For letter box annihilation, Michael Johnston of Corlette thinks bigger is better: 'Thunders were much more effective than tuppenny bungers when attempting to destroy a letter box on cracker night …….. so I'm told.' 'My father was a GP, and he typically had a red lamp on the wall outside his surgery,' says Libby Cameron of Newport. 'The night before cracker night, he would remove the costly panel of red glass on which his name was inscribed – he knew too well the temptation for local youngsters to pop a double bunger into the lamp. I'm delighted to say the lovely lamp is still standing as a decoration in our daughter's garden.' Peter Riley of Penrith sees an election strategy in all this: 'Ever since they tried to conscript me into the Vietnam War, voting Liberal has been verboten, but if Sussie and her new libs promise to reinstate cracker night, then I'm in!'
Sydney Morning Herald
29-05-2025
- General
- Sydney Morning Herald
A literal swag of spoils
Rob Baxter's (C8) canine feculence concerns (C8), reminded Michael Payne of West Pymble of 'a petite friend of mine who was the victim of a bag snatch while walking her dog. She had trouble containing herself as her old handbag was used to contain her doggie do.' 'Carrying a full poo bag is a badge of honour,' asserts Robert Hosking of Paddington. 'It says: 'I did not leave that poo on the pavement. That was some other irresponsible person. I am a responsible dog owner!' And a call-out to Woollahra Council for providing not only plenty of bins, but poo bag dispensers on those bins.' Meanwhile, we await plaudits from Andrew Taubman of Queens Park for not calling it 'Poop'. 'An ABC TV newsreader blithely reported that the 'Sydney Surf Club' had torpedoed the proposed Rosehill Racecourse sale,' notes Jim Dewar of Davistown. 'Must've been a board decision then ...' 'Cracker night (C8) was Empire Day, and we had half-day off school to build the bonfire and sort out our crackers; tom thumbs, double bungers, sparklers, catherine wheels and skyrockets,' writes Judy Jones of Thornleigh. 'One particular cracker night, one of the lads had the bright idea of putting a smouldering log in the tray of his ute, and we piled in with it. We drove the neighbourhood, lighting and throwing penny bungers over the side. We put the chooks off laying and the cows gave no milk for a few days. The innocence of childhood!' For letter box annihilation, Michael Johnston of Corlette thinks bigger is better: 'Thunders were much more effective than tuppenny bungers when attempting to destroy a letter box on cracker night …….. so I'm told.' 'My father was a GP, and he typically had a red lamp on the wall outside his surgery,' says Libby Cameron of Newport. 'The night before cracker night, he would remove the costly panel of red glass on which his name was inscribed – he knew too well the temptation for local youngsters to pop a double bunger into the lamp. I'm delighted to say the lovely lamp is still standing as a decoration in our daughter's garden.' Peter Riley of Penrith sees an election strategy in all this: 'Ever since they tried to conscript me into the Vietnam War, voting Liberal has been verboten, but if Sussie and her new libs promise to reinstate cracker night, then I'm in!'
