Aceco, a Maryland demolition company, finds itself in a public relations nightmare sparked by people offended at its role in tearing down the White House East Wing to make way for President Donald Trump’s planned ballroom.

So many people posted unflattering messages about the firm — giving it one-star reviews — that Yelp temporarily disabled further comments. Posts included: “Traitors to the United States,” “How dare you destroy part of OUR house,” and “Oops. Bad move tearing down the People’s House.”

Demo companies aren’t accustomed to coping with the social media fallout that comes from becoming an unwitting player in the nation’s politics and culture wars. So what does Aceco do now?

Calls and texts to Aceco were not returned, but Roger Hartley,  dean of the University of Baltimore’s College of Public Affairs, speculated that the company could say: “We were asked, and since we do this [work], we said ‘yes.’ We don’t pass judgment on somebody for what they want to do. If the president of the United States calls and says it’s OK to do this, we’d typically do it,’ ” Hartley said.

The two-story East Wing of drawing rooms and offices, including workspace for first ladies and their staffs, has been demolished as part of Trump’s plan to build a $300 million ballroom nearly twice the size of the White House, The Associated Press reported from photos Thursday.

Trump, a Republican, posted on Truth Social earlier this week that “ground has been broken on the White House grounds to build the new, big, beautiful White House Ballroom.”

He said the East Wing “is being fully modernized as part of this process” and that the work is being funded by “many generous Patriots, Great American Companies, and, yours truly.”

ACECO is a demolition company based in Silver Spring, Maryland and doing some of the demolition work at the White House. (Kevin Richardson/Staff)

A mark of Trump’s second presidency has been its intimacy with some of the richest companies in the world. It began with large donations to Trump’s inauguration fund, and it has continued with his ballroom. Lockheed Martin, Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, and Google are among those who contributed. Alphabet, Google’s parent company, gave $22 million, as noted in a recent settlement with the administration.

In addition to the tech and defense giants, Trump mega-donors Miriam Adelson and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick were among those who gave to the project, as were cryptocurrency luminaries Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss.

Aceco, headquartered on a quiet street adjacent to downtown Silver Spring, faced an onslaught of social media criticism after the firm’s name was clearly visible in photos of the rubble. They have since taken down their website, and left a page with its logo (“Redefining Demolition”) and a note, saying “This site is under construction.”

Crisis leadership specialist Rob Weinhold said the company should be proactive.

“Now is not the time to retreat,” said Weinhold, of the Fallston Group in Baltimore. “If you don’t tell your story, somebody else will. If somebody else tells your story, it certainly won’t be the story you want told.”

Weinhold said he would advise Aceco or other firms in such a fraught situation “to demonstrate their work history” and show they were taking “due care and caution” in such a sensitive project.

And, he said, “Leave the politics to the politicians and the demolition to the experts.”

Rep. Andy Harris, Maryland’s sole congressional Republican, did not respond to a request for comment prior to publication. The delegation’s Democrats have criticized the ballroom project and said its timing is inappropriate.

“We shouldn’t be surprised. Isn’t this the guy who was flanked on his swearing-in day by billionaires?” Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, the Maryland Democrat, told The Sun.

She said the destruction happening during a government shutdown makes the decision even worse.

“What does he do in the midst of it? At the height of arrogance, indifference, cruelty — and really just immorality — we not only take down that building, but we build a ballroom.”

Sun reporter Ben Mause contributed to this article. Have a news tip? Contact Jeff Barker at jebarker@baltsun.com

 

Developer Ari Parritz has asked the city of St. Paul for $3.5 million in financial assistance to establish a six-story, mixed-use building at the northeast corner of Grand Avenue and Victoria Street, the current site of the Victoria Crossing East Mall and the former Billy’s on Grand restaurant and bar.

Parritz on Friday said the requested assistance would be structured as a “redevelopment TIF district.” Tax increment finance districts allow property tax proceeds from a real estate development to be used on site for a number of years, funding certain types of environmental or public-facing improvements.

“It’s being used primarily for blight remediation and other qualified redevelopment costs,” Parritz said. “The city already did their third-party blight study and it came back substandard on all three buildings. Everything we’ve heard from the city council is supportive of redevelopment here, and an appropriate use of redevelopment TIF. It meets all the statutory requirements.”

The largely residential project, under the applicant name 845 Grand LLC, would include 12,800 square feet of commercial and restaurant space on the ground level facing Grand Avenue, 90 market-rate apartments and one level of underground parking. The parking would span 23 public parking stalls and 99 residential parking stalls.

Replacing Billy’s on Grand, adjacent mall

The new structure would run about a half-block from 841 to 857 Grand Ave., replacing the longstanding home of Billy’s on Grand, which closed permanently in January, as well as the mall that houses the Juut Salon, Paper Source and the now-shuttered Trade Winds fashion and accessories boutique. It also would replace a vacant residential building.

“Juut is coming back into the project,” said Parritz, noting the beauty salon has found a temporary new home nearby. “They’re going to enter the central retail space in our building, targeted to summer 2027.”

For St. Paul, TIF has become an increasingly common — albeit controversial — funding tool to boost private real estate development, as it allows private developers up to 26 years of tax incentives. The city currently captures about 7.9% of its tax capacity for TIF spending.

Meanwhile, the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development announced on Tuesday that it had awarded St. Paul $350,000 for abatement, demolition and public infrastructure improvements at the site. DEED officials noted that the project would increase the city’s tax base by $377,000 and leverage $44.2 million in private investment.

TIF use

A recent analysis from the fiscal watchdog group Insight St. Paul found that St. Paul’s tax levies to service TIF district debt increased 40% from 2015 to 2024, growing from $31.6 million to $44.2 million. While some suburbs also have adopted greater TIF use in recent years, the city of Minneapolis actually decreased its TIF spending by more than 50% during the same period.

City Council President Rebecca Noecker said Friday that at a time when the federal government is cutting funds to municipalities, cities have to dig deep to come up with their own redevelopment strategies for priorities like redevelopment on Grand Avenue.

“I’m supportive,” said Noecker, who represents the area. “It sounds like it’s a project that will bring needed vitality to the neighborhood. (TIF is) a controversial issue, but it’s a really important tool and it needs to be used judiciously. … Those are tax dollars we otherwise wouldn’t have had.”

Related Articles

Closure of Grand Avenue segment ends Tuesday with free community celebration

Dining Diary: Hit these two haunted St. Paul restaurants for spooky season

As The Lexington turns 90, a public celebration and a new chef

NEW YORK (AP) — The NFL reminded its players Friday that they are prohibited from taking part in any form of illegal gambling and betting on league games.

Related Articles

State tennis: Hill-Murray tandem wins doubles title

Frederick: Chris Finch is at his best when he’s not beholden to anything or anyone

North Carolina transfer Cade Tyson can have ‘really good year’ for Gophers

The NBA hoped to begin its season on a strong note. Now it faces a gambling scandal

How a 2018 Supreme Court decision paved the way for meteoric growth in legal sports betting

In a memo obtained by The Associated Press, the league asked all 32 teams Friday to reiterate key aspects of its gambling policy and make the document readily available to players.

“We all have a responsibility to protect the integrity of the Shield by ensuring that our game is played fairly, honestly and to the best of a player’s ability,” the NFL management council wrote in the memo. “NFL players must also take appropriate steps to safeguard the game against gambling-related risks that may undermine the confidence and trust of the fans.”

The reminder followed an FBI investigation into illicit gambling activities resulted in the arrests of NBA coach Chauncey Billups of the Portland Trail Blazers, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and others.

“These developments underscore the risks that all sports are facing in the current environment and serve as a reminder of the need to adhere strictly to the NFL gambling policy,” the NFL wrote.

According to the NFL policy, players must not:

place any bet on NFL Football;
throw or fix any NFL game or event, or otherwise manipulate or attempt to manipulate any play or other aspect of an NFL game;
share confidential, non-public information regarding any NFL game, player or event with any third party.

The NFL Players Association sent a similar memo to players Friday pointing out that they should not bet on the NFL, gamble at the team facility or while traveling for a road game or staying at a team hotel, have someone bet for them, share “inside information,” enter a sportsbook during the NFL playing season except to access another part of the casino, or promote any form or gambling or any gambling entity.

NFL players are allowed to legally place bets on other sports as long as they are off club property or not traveling with the team. They also are allowed to take part in traditional fantasy football leagues (prize money cannot exceed $250) and legally gamble at casinos on personal time.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Jonathan Weinhagen resigned from the Mounds View school board on Friday amid allegations that he embezzled more than $200,000 from the Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce during his time as its president and CEO.

Jonathan Weinhagen in a photo submitted for a Mounds View school board candidate profile. (Courtesy of Jonathan Weinhagen)

Weinhagen, 42, of Shoreview, stepped down from the elected school board seat effective immediately, Mounds View Public Schools said in a notice to district families and staff Friday afternoon. He had been on the seven-member board since June 2014.

The board will need to discuss steps to fill the rest of his term, which ends Jan. 3, 2028, the notice said.

Board chair Diane Glasheen and school district superintendent Chris Lennox did not respond Friday to requests from the Pioneer Press asking for comment.

The five-count indictment alleges Weinhagen ran a fraud scheme between December 2019 and June 2024 — when he abruptly left the chamber — by setting sham contracts with a consulting company that he made up. He allegedly deposited money from the contracts into a bank account he opened under the phony company’s name and used it for personal expenses.

A grand jury on Wednesday indicted Weinhagen on one count each of wire fraud, mail fraud, attempted bank fraud and providing a false statement on a loan application. He made an initial court appearance on the charges Thursday, and was released from custody on an unsecured $25,000 bond.

The indictment also alleges Weinhagen stole $30,000 that the chamber had given to Crime Stoppers for reward money following the shootings of three children in Minneapolis in May 2021. After the cases went unsolved, Weinhagen asked Crime Stoppers to return the money in May 2022 and directed the nonprofit to send the refund check to his home, claiming it was the chamber’s new address. He allegedly used the money for personal expenses.

Weinhagen is also accused of using a chamber credit card for personal expenses, including for first-class airfare and a two-bedroom oceanfront room in Honolulu. He created fake documents to make it appear as though the expenses were for legitimate chamber business, the indictment alleges.

Related Articles

US imposes sanctions on Colombia’s president and family members over drug trade allegations

Editorial: Trump’s Santos commutation is typically contemptuous of ‘law and order’

Lionel Laurent: Louvre robbery gang used a brazen new criminal blueprint

Former chamber exec, Mounds View school board member Jonathan Weinhagen indicted

Family of St. Paul man who died in prison calls for accountability from DOC

After leaving the chamber, prosecutors say, Weinhagen tried to defraud a bank of $54,661 by falsely claiming on a loan application that he worked for a Minnesota-based restaurant holding company and providing a phony bank stub showing a $425,000 annual salary. The bank denied the loan.

Weinhagen worked at the St. Paul Area Regional Chamber of Commerce for about six and a half years, including more than two years as vice president, before departing in October 2016 for the Minneapolis chamber. His resignation from the Minneapolis organization followed an internal investigation that projected a $500,000 deficit in 2024.

An attorney for Weinhagen is not listed in the federal court file, and he has not responded to a message left for him asking to respond to the allegations.