CRAIN’S Los Angeles

Your news for Wednesday, January 11, 2017

George Lucas picks L.A. for his $1B museum

“Star Wars” creator George Lucas picked Los Angeles’ Exposition Park as the site for his proposed $1 billion Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, rejecting a competing proposal from San Francisco to put the museum on that city’s Treasure Island. The museum will house Lucas’ collection of art and film memorabilia. The museum is expected to generate thousands of jobs. (Hollywood Reporter)

Snap to establish international headquarters in U.K.

Unlike other U.S tech firms, which tend to settle in nations with lower tax rates, Snapchat’s parent has selected London as the site of its new international headquarters. The move means all advertising sales made in countries where Snap doesn’t have a local operation will be booked in the United Kingdom. (The Verge)

SoCal had more workers, and more workers dying on the job

Some 96 L.A. and Orange county workers died on the job in 2015, up 19 (or 25 percent) from the number in 2014, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The higher number of workplace deaths reflected the improving employment situation in the nation’s second-largest job market. (Orange County Register)

SAG-AFTRA will defend law barring IMDb from listing ages

IMDb is suing to invalidate a state law that prohibits it from listing an actor’s age if an actor objects, arguing that the law violates constitutional protections on free speech. But the actors union SAG-AFTRA will defend the law it helped sponsor, along with the state of California. The union argues that the law is meant to discourage age discrimination against actors, mainly women. (CBS News)

China won’t give ‘Pokemon Go’ the green light

China’s state censor said it would not license the game – or any other augmented-reality games – until its potential security risks had been evaluated. Risks include the “threat to geographical information security and the threat to transport and the personal safety of consumers.” (Reuters)

Trump’s son-in-law to sell assets but keep them close to home

Real-estate investor Jared Kushner, who plans to accept a role as senior White House adviser, is divesting of many assets to allay concerns about conflicts of interest. But his plan to sell them to his brother or to a trust controlled by his mother falls short for many ethics watchdogs. (New York Times)

Small-business optimism sees biggest jump since 1980

The National Federation of Independent Business’ index jumped 7.4 points, to 105.8, in December, reflecting optimism surrounding President-elect Donald Trump’s plans for deregulation, tax reform and infrastructure spending. Half of the respondents said they expected better business conditions in the next six months. (Bloomberg)

ACA signups reach 11.5M, outpacing previous year’s numbers

Despite uncertainty over the Affordable Care Act, more Americans are signing up for insurance coverage through state and federal marketplaces. As of Dec. 24, the number of enrollments was 300,000 higher than at the same time the year before. Another 700,000 low-income people purchased basic health plans subsidized by federal funding. (Modern Healthcare)

Volkswagen execs, staff indicted by S. Korea prosecutors

South Korean prosecutors indicted seven current and former executives and employees of Volkswagen Group’s local unit, as well as one contractor, for alleged violation of the Clean Air Conservation Act and other charges, the prosecutors’ office said. Those indicted include a current executive at Audi Volkswagen Korea, Johannes Thammer, as well as former executives of the Korean unit, Trevor Hill and Park Dong-hoon (Automotive News)

College football championship fails to thrill in ratings

It’s not just the NFL struggling with viewership numbers this year, evidently. Despite the stunning upset of Clemson over Alabama in the NCAA game, ratings were still well below the record set in 2015 when Ohio State defeated Oregon. This week’s game did bring ESPN a 4 percent bump over last year’s matchup featuring the same teams. (USA Today)

If I Knew Then…

Photo: Christine Leong Connors, market manager of J.P. Morgan Private Bank, San Francisco
“The fear of it, if I was going to do it well, it held me back a bit.”
Christine Leong Connors, market manager of J.P. Morgan Private Bank, San Francisco
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more news

CES 2017 tricks out fashion with latest technology (Business of Fashion)
GM expects more earnings growth in 2017 (Automotive News)
Dutch train system now fully running on wind power (EcoWatch)
Healthcare lobby treads carefully around ACA repeal (New York Times)
Liberty Media Chairman says cable companies could buy T-Mobile (Bloomberg)