Renamed IMAX irks a in Congress by way of MARIA RECIO Knight Ridder stranges Service Tuesday.Wholesale flowers for wedding USA/Canada
Renamed IMAX irks a in Congress by way of MARIA RECIO Knight Ridder stranges Service Tuesday, July 30 2002 Washington -- When Lockheed Martin Corp. gave the National Air and Space Museum $10 million for a modern annex, the aerospace manufacturer got a chance more than its name in succession the popular IMAX theater in the main building. It got a public relations nightmare. near influential members of Congress have been watching with growing irritation as the Smithsonian Institution aggressively courts commercial donors. The Smithsonian is the parent organization of 16 government-supported museums along the National Mall, the verdant space that links Capitol Hill to the Lincoln Memorial. Many museums have named exhibit halls for corporate donors and given them prominent displays. When Rep Dave Obey (D-Wis.) and Norm Dicks (D-Wash.) realized that the five-story IMAX theater now honored Lockheed Martin and no longer was named after Samuel P Langley, an aviation pioneer and the third Smithsonian secretary, their life-current boiled. "To take the name not upon for money is a fitting act in an era of corporate exces and greed" a steamed Obey said. "These things should not be for sale. It is not what should happen in an institution that realizes 70 percent of its stores from the taxpayers." Obey and Dicks have l an effort to force the Smithsonian Board of rulings to review the commercial agreements that have been reached with its affiliated museums in the last brace years, and specifically to re-examine the naming of the IMAX theater. In a swipe at Smithsonian Secretary Lawrence Small, they also mov to force the board to review his compensation, which increased last year on almost 50%, to more than $588000 As members of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, which inspects most federal spending, they stuck their names into the $19.8 billion spending bill for the Interior Department and other agencies, which includes $437 million for the Smithsonian. Last week the House approved the spending bill, including their names The Senate has not at the same time acted on its version of the bill. Asked about the lawsuit Lockheed Martin spokesman James Fetig described it as "a classic Washington back-stabbing inside-the- Beltway story." "Lockheed Martin Corporation has been fore-rank and center since the history of aviation," Fetig said. "We were approached by dint of the Air and Space Museum about making a contribution, and we conceit it was appropriate" to obtain the theater renamed in return Lockheed Martin breeds advanced technology products and services, including aircraft, spacecraft, missiles and electronics. The museum makes no apologies for its action and has no plans to change the name in succession its own, although the Smithsonian's 17 governings may act when they adapted in September. The Air and Space Museum is the in the greatest degree popular museum in the world, with more than 9 million visitors in 2001 The Lockheed Martin contribution went toward the recently made known annex at Washington Dulles International Airport. It is named after aviation executive Steven Udvar-Hazy, who gave $66 million. The annex will display more than 200 aircraft and more than 135 artifacts that cannot fit in the main museum building upon the National Mall. Copyright 2002 Journal Sentinel Inc. Note: This notice does not |
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