Which Way, L.A.?

Public Funding Defeat Puts LACMA Plans on Hold

Measure A in last month-s Los Angeles County election was advertised as a bond measure for earthquake and fire safety. It also would have provided seed money for the County Museum of Art to begin a $300 million reconstruction project to replace its existing buildings. After the bond issue failed, LACMA-s board shelved the project, along with the design by celebrated architect Rem Koolhaas. No longer will Wilshire Boulevard become the site of dramatic new architecture to compete with Downtown-s Disney Hall. Is it a major cultural loss for a city with world-class aspirations, or just good sense after an economic reality check? We get contrasting views from LA Times architecture critic Nicolai Ouroussoff and Joel Kotkin of the Pepperdine Institute for Public Policy. Newsmaker: Tuition Increase for California State Universities The governing boards of the state's two major systems of higher education both expected to raise student fees today. The action by the regents of the University of California and trustees of the California State University system is being taken in response to the state-s $20- to $30 billion budget deficit. Howard Welinsky, member and incoming vice-chair of the California Postsecondary Education Commission, has details. Reporter's Notebook: Long Road to Restoration of Manzanar Internment Camp In the months after Pearl Harbor, some 120,000 Americans of Japanese ancestry were rounded up and interned in government camps. Manzanar, between Independence and Lone Pine on Route 395, was one such camp. Last week, a dilapidated building was returned to the Manzanar site as part of the effort to reconstruct a sad chapter in US history. Sue Kunitomi Embrey, who lived at the camp, is part of the reconstruction effort.