LAT20170111

$2.00DESIGNATED AREAS HIGHER ©2017WSCE D WEDNESDAY, JANUARY11, 2017 latimes.com

For months, “StarWars” creator
George Lucas held the art world in
suspense:Would he put his$1-billion
Museum ofNarrativeArtin Los Ange-
les or San Francisco?
On Tuesday came the answer.
Lucas’ personalcollectionof fine
and popularart , including ephemera
relatedto his “StarWars” franchise,
will fill a futuristic-looking new muse-
um planned for L.A.’sExposition Park
that beat outa competing design for
Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay.
The rivalry had pitted the two cities in
the competition not only for Lucas’
collectionand the tourism it will bring
but also for the thousands of jobs that
backers said the project will create.
Lucas hassaid he will fund the
projectto the tune ofabout$1 billion,
inc luding building costs, hisart and

an endowment of at least $400 million.

The Lucas Museum further ex-

pands the art museum landscape in

greaterL.A.,whichhasbecomeaglob-

al hotspot for art production. The

Broad museum opened in late 2015 in

downtown L.A.,across the street from

the Museum of Contemporary Art.

The formerSanta MonicaMuseum of

ArtwillreopenintheArtsDistrictthis

fall, renamed the Institute of Contem-

porary Art Los Angeles.Meanwhile,

the noncollecting Main Museum

madea soft debut in downtown’s Old

Bank District in October.

“It feels like this incrediblegift has

come home.I always thought Los An-

geles was the natural placeto spread

the vision of George Lucas andMel-

lody Hobson,to make art and creativ-

ity accessible and inspirationalto the

nextgeneration,” Mayor Eric Garcetti

saidofthefilmmakerandhiswife.“It’s

ARENDERINGshows proposed Lucas Museum ofNarrative Art, with Coliseum nearby. The newcomer
would alter the local artmuseum landscape; L.A.’s mayor sa ys it will bring a legion of constructionjobs.

Lucas Museum ofNarrative Art

NEW FORCE IN L.A.

George Lucassets sights on Exposition Park for museum

“STARWARS”creator Lucas

has spentyears trying to erect a

museumfor his art collection.

MichaelKovacGetty Images

ByDeborahVankin

[SeeLucas,A8]

SACRAMENTO— Less

than fouryears after declar-

ing California’s budgetbal-

anced for the foreseeable fu-

ture, Gov. Jerry Brown on

Tuesday said the state is

projectedtoruna $1.6-billion

deficit by next summer — a

noticeable shiftinthestate’s

fiscal stability thatcould

worsen under federal spend-

ing cuts championed by

President-elect Donald

Trump.

“The trajectory of rev e-

nue growth is declining,”

Brown said in unveiling his

$179.5-billion plan for thefis-

cal year thatbegins inJuly.

Thegovernor’s sober as-

sessmentcomesontheheels

of se veral months of lagging

tax revenuecollections, a

change in the state’s for-

tunesthatcouldstiflehisfel-

low Democrats’ call for addi-

tionalspendingandgive fuel

to Republican demands for

additional cuts.

Brown’s budget advisors

lowered the official taxrev e-

nue forecast, in part, be-

cause of slower thanex-

pected growth in wages.

They alsoreducedexpecta-

tions for sales andcorporate

taxesbecause ofbroaderna-

tional trends.

Brown proposedto ad-

dressthedeficitprimarilyby

slowingthegrowthinspend-

ing on public schools by

$1.7 billion,a change that

brings funding down to the

minimumrequired byfor-

mulas enshrined in Califor-

nia’s Constitution.

Thegovernor alsopro-

posed scrapping$1.5 billion

worth of spending ideas left

over from last year’s budget

negotiations, including

higher subsidies forchild-

care programs andaward-

ing new colleg e scholarships

to California studentsfrom

middle-class families.

“To manage unreliability

requires prudence,” Brown

said of his decisionsto ad-

dress the projected budget

shortfall.

The governor’s fiscal

blueprint is theceremonial

first pitch in Sacramento’s

annual budget writing sea-

son, and, as such, the details

will shift in coming months

to addresschangingfiscal

conditions. Thatcould in-

clude any effort by the na-

tion’s ruling Republicansto

rethinkanyofthe$105billion

in federal funding promises

the state expectsto receive

for a variety of services.

The mostconsequential

Brown warns

of deficit in

new budget

Governor predicts a

$1.6-billion gap and

urges fiscal prudence.

Education spending

would be hit hardest.

ByJohn Myers

[SeeBudget,A9]

WASHINGTON —Sen.

Jeff Sessions forcefullyde-

fended hiscivi l rightsrec ord

Tuesday and pledged, ifcon-

firmed as the nation’s next

attorney general, to put

aside his personal views and

uphold laws protecting

abortion and same-sex mar-

riage.

Testifying before the

Senate Judiciary Commit-

tee as President-elect Don-

ald Trump’s pick to leadthe

Justice Department, Ses-

sions alsovow ed to recu se

himselffrom decisions in-

volving former Democratic

presidential candidate Hil-

lary Clinton’s handling of

classified material.

The daylong confirma-

tion hearingwas a mostly

collegialaffair with fellow

senatorspolitely prodding

the 70-year-old former fed-

eral prosecutorto explain

his recordon issues ranging

fromtorturetoimmigration.

As a longtime member of

the committee now review-

ing hisexpected nomination

to become the nation’s top

lawenforcementofficer,Ses-

sionshassatontheopposite

side of the witness table for

five previous confirmation

hearingsforattorneygen-

eral candidates.

So it’s no surprisethat

the seasoned Alabama law-

makeravoided any self-in-

flicted wounds during his

testimony, keeping hiscom-

posure amid questioning

and periodic disruptions

from protesters in the audi-

Sessions

defends

rights

record

At his confirmation

hearing, he also vows

to uphold laws at odds

with his ownviews.

ByDel QuentinWilber

[SeeSessions,A9]

CHICAGO —President

Obama reprised his mes-

sage of hope and change

Tuesdayasanantidoteto an

unstableworld, delivering a

farewell address inwhichhe

exhorted alliesto keep the

faith as President-elect

Donald Trump assumes

power but also painteda re-

alis t’s portrait of the threats

to democracy.

From hisadopted home-

town of Chicago, Obama

spokefranklyaboutthedan-

gers posed by economic in-

equality, divisiveness and a

lack ofa “common baseline

of facts” in public discourse.

He returned again and again

to the importance of pre-

serving and upholding de-

mocracy.

But inrefashioning his

winning 2008 campaign

message for 2017, he asked

thecrowdoffriendsandsup-

porters to hold fastto their

optimism and to look within

for leadership.

“I am askingyou to be-

lieve not in my ability to

bring aboutchange, but in

yours,” Obama said. “I am

askingyou to holdfast to

that faith written into our

“I AMaskingyou to believe not inmy ability to bring about change, but inyours,”

said Obama, with wife Michelle, daughter Malia andVice PresidentJoe Biden.

Zbigniew BzdakChicago Tribune

‘Yes, we did. Ye s, we can’

In hisfarewell address,

Obamawarns of

threatsto democracy

but callsfor optimism.

ByChristiParsons

and Michael A.Memoli

[SeeObama,A6]

Real estate developers
have longbeenapivotalpart
of political fundraising at
Los Angeles City Hall,
bankrolling the campaigns
of mayors, City Council
membersand other elected
officials.
That phenomenon has
fueled persistent suspicions
that campaign contrib-
utions — not established
planning rules — influence

the votes of local lawmakers

as they approve shopping

malls, hotel towers and

other building projects.

Nowa handful of Los An-

geles lawmakers are calling

for a ban on such donations

from real estate developers,

saying theywant to counter

the perception that money

drives thosedecisions.

The proposal, unveiled

Tuesday by City Council

members David Ryu, Joe

Buscaino, Paul Krekorian,

PaulKoretzandMikeBonin,

would direct city officialsto

draft a new law that would

prohibit donationsfrom de-

velopment companies and

their principals during, and

shortly after, city reviews of

their building projects.

L.A. targets ‘pay

to play’ image

Officialsseek to block

campaigngifts from

builders with projects

under city review.

By David Zahniser and
Emily Alpert Reyes

[SeeContributions,A12]

Former sheriff

faces a retrial

Federal prosecutors will

press ahead witha new

obstruction of justice

trialfor ex-L.A. Sheriff

Lee Baca.CALIFORNIA

Weather

Morning rain.

L.A. Basin: 63/52.B

Drought-ravaged

lakes revived

Weeks of rain have dra-

matically raised water

levels in the state’s res-

ervoirs.CALIFORNIA

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