Presidential Library

The Richard M. Nixon Presidential Library, the first presidential library without presidential papers, will be built next to the house where he was born, Yorba Linda city officials formally announced today. In response to a question about why the city should be honoring a disgraced President, Mayor Ronald Bigonger said, "It's our intent to preserve history, not to judge it."

The chairman of the Academic Senate at UC Irvine said Wednesday that the Reagan presidential library would be "a good thing for historical scholars" and probably wouldn't be opposed by the faculty if built off campus. "I can't speak for all the faculty, of course, but my guess is that there wouldn't be any opposition (to an off-campus presidential library)," said Spencer Olin, who heads the UCI faculty-representative body.

A Methodist leadership group endorsed building George W. Bush's presidential library at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, essentially ending nearly two years of opposition. The largely symbolic votes dashed the hopes of opponents, many of whom contend that the Bush administration's views conflict with church teachings. The Bush library, museum and public policy institute is expected to open in 2012 or 2013.

The Royal Scottish Country Dance Society will perform traditional social dances from Scotland at the Reagan presidential library near Simi Valley on Dec. 2. The Ventura County-based group will present free 30-minute programs at the library's courtyard at 2 and 4 p.m. On Dec. 3, the library will begin its Winter Wonderland display of Christmas trees at the Courtyard Center Foundation.

Traffic on Thousand Oaks roads could increase if former President Ronald Reagan is buried at his presidential library near Simi Valley, city officials have said. "The biggest concern from the city's perspective would be on a traffic or air-quality basis and what impact the burial site would have," city staff member Joe Hinsberg said.

President-elect George W. Bush hasn't even moved into the White House, but that hasn't stopped two Texas universities from lobbying for his presidential library. Southern Methodist University in Dallas is the latest to enter the mix, joining Baylor University. The Waco school began making a push for the library in September, months before the election was decided.