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A4 U.S. NEWS
Saturday 23 January 2021
Former Make-A-Wish Iowa CEO charged with embezzling funds

By RYAN J. FOLEY of Make-A-Wish's ethical
Associated Press standards and policies,
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — and we will continue to co-
The former CEO of Make-A- operate with law enforce-
Wish Iowa has been arrest- ment," he said. "We know
ed on three felony charges that we have an obligation
alleging she embezzled to safeguard every dollar
tens of thousands of dol- given to us."
lars from the charity that No attorney was listed for
supports sick children, the Woodley in online court
group confirmed Friday. records. Each charge she
Jennifer Woodley, 40, was faces is a class C felony
booked at the Polk County that carries up to 10 years
Jail in Des Moines on Thurs- in prison.
day on two counts of first- Make-A-Wish Iowa has an
degree theft and the un- annual budget of $4 million,
authorized use of a credit a staff of 16 employees and
card. She was released on is governed by a 17-mem-
bond. ber volunteer board.
Months after becoming its During Woodley's tenure,
leader, Woodley secretly the 35-year-old chapter
awarded herself a $10,000 granted its 4,000th wish for
bonus in October 2019 that a child and said it planned
had not been approved This Jan. 21, 2021, photo provided by the Polk County Jail in Des Moines, Iowa shows Jennifer to grant about 170 wishes
by the board, according Woodley. for children per year.
to criminal complaints un- Associated Press Jail records list Woodley's
sealed Friday. new address as Winston Sa-
The bonus, which Woodley span, the complaints state. over one year. Iowa, said the organization lem, North Carolina, where
added to a list of legitimate Woodley allegedly did not Based in the Des Moines swiftly dismissed Woodley her husband, Matt Wood-
bonuses earned by other reimburse the group for suburb of Urbandale, the and notified police after ley, is an assistant basket-
employees, cost the orga- those expenses. Iowa group is one of 60 discovering the problems ball coach at Wake Forest.
nization $15,540 in all, po- The organization an- chapters of Make-A-Wish last July. He said the orga- The couple has had two
lice said. nounced last summer that America, which works to nization was "deeply sad- daughters who have re-
Woodley also made 84 un- it had discovered finan- provide support and mem- dened and disappointed quired brain surgery, and
authorized purchases on cial irregularities during a orable experiences for chil- by the events" that led to one of them received a
an organization credit card compliance review and dren with critical illnesses charges against Woodley. trip to Walt Disney World
that were for her personal that Woodley had been and their families. "We thank the Urbandale through Make-A-Wish Iowa
use, totaling more than dismissed after serving as Dave Farnsworth, the board Police Department for its in- before Woodley was hired
$23,000 over a 10-month president and CEO for just chairman for Make-A-Wish vestigation into this breach as CEO.q

Loathed New York City bus terminal is bound for an upgrade

building be replaced." A statue of Ralph Kram- est infrastructure priorities
The new station would be den, the fictional bus driver for our region," he said. "The
built on top of the exist- from "The Honeymooners," prosperity of our tri-state
ing one, with sleek, glass- stands outside its main en- area will depend on our
walled entrances and trance. It also provided an ability to provide access
added infrastructure to ac- apt backdrop for "Midnight across the region and con-
commodate more buses. Cowboy," the 1969 film nect people to jobs."
Ramps that stretch across that illuminated New York's Officials have debated
several blocks would be seedy underworld. replacing or overhaul-
moved, and a storage Prior to the coronavirus ing the bus terminal, the
building would be built to pandemic, the terminal country's busiest, for years.
keep empty buses off the handled more than 250,000 But political squabbling
streets. passenger trips on week- between lawmakers and
Construction could begin in days, many commuting Port Authority officials from
2024, finish by 2031 and cost from New Jersey. A Port both states left the project
In this March 19, 2015 file photo, large panels of the ceiling are as much as $10 billion, the Authority-commissioned stalled while other major
missing at the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York. Port Authority said. About study projected that num- infrastructure projects ad-
Associated Press $3 billion would come from ber would increase to more vanced, including a new
selling rights to build four than 330,000 by 2040. World Trade Center transit
By DAVID PORTER veiled a proposal Thursday commercial buildings in the Tom Wright, president of the hub and multibillion-dollar
Associated Press to rebuild and expand the area, including one atop Regional Plan Association, makeovers of LaGuardia,
NEW YORK (AP) — New embattled midtown Man- the terminal. It would also an urban planning think JFK and Newark Liberty air-
York City's main bus termi- hattan bus terminal. require local and federal tank, called the new plan ports.
nal, long ridiculed for leaky "Everyone knows the bus funding. "a creative approach to a The bus terminal wasn't in-
ceilings, dirty bathrooms terminal. Very few have The Port Authority Bus Ter- complicated problem." cluded in the Port Author-
and frequent delays, could anything good to say about minal opened in 1950 at "Fixing the Port Authority ity's 10-year capital plan in
be in for a major overhaul. it," Port Authority Executive Eighth Avenue between Bus Terminal for the 260,000 2014, raising the ire of com-
The Port Authority of New Director Rick Cotton said. 40th and 42nd streets near people who rely on it every muters and New Jersey
York and New Jersey un- "It is way past time that this Times Square. weekday is one of the high- lawmakers.q