Daily News Roundup: How a Conservative Charity Helped Build Trump’s White House
June 5, 2017 | Read Time: 2 minutes
Inside a Nonprofit “School for Political Warfare”: The David Horowitz Freedom Center, described by its founder as part of a “shadow political universe,” helped propel hard-line positions on immigration and Islam to the heart of the conservative movement and bolstered the rise of Trump strategists Steve Bannon and Stephen Miller, The Washington Post writes in a profile of the organization and Mr. Horowitz, a onetime New Left radical turned right-wing firebrand.
Billionaires Continue Battle Over Donor-Funded Hudson River Venue: The Army Corps of Engineers issued a revised permit for Pier 55, the planned $250 million performance space backed by media mogul Barry Diller. The new permit could help the project overcome a protracted legal fight being financed by another wealthy New Yorker, real-estate developer Douglas Durst, reports The New York Times.
Education Philanthropist Stays True to Public-School Mission: The Wall Street Journal (subscription) profiles George Weiss, the wealthy money manager whose promise 30 years ago to pay college tuition for a Philadelphia school’s entire sixth-grade class has grown into Say Yes to Education, a national nonprofit that partners with cities to boost educational prospects for poor children through scholarships and social services.
$30 Million Gift Boosts STEM Plans at Santa Clara U.: The donation from the Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Foundation supports construction of a science, technology, engineering, and math complex at the Northern California campus, reports the San Jose Mercury News. The project was launched earlier this year with a $100 million gift by Silicon Valley property developers John and Susan Sobrato.
Minneapolis Museum Dismantles Gallows Sculpture Protested by Native Groups: The Walker Art Center had been lambasted as culturally insensitive for erecting “Scaffold,” an installation intended as a historical commentary on state-sanctioned hangings of Native Americans and others, in a planned sculpture garden without consulting leaders of the region’s federally recognized tribes, writes The Wall Street Journal (subscription).
