State Museum Director Resigns Amid Struggle For Control
by Frank Donze - Times-Picayune (excerpt)

The executive director of the Louisiana State Museum, locked in a bitter dispute with Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu over the museum's management, announced Monday that he will resign to take the reins of the San Diego Historical Society.

David Kahn, who will officially step down later this month, is scheduled to assume his new post Aug. 1.

His resignation comes as the Legislature considers a proposal to give the lieutenant governor the authority to choose the museum's board of directors and to hire and fire its executive director -- a move opposed by Kahn and many of the museum's longtime supporters.

Landrieu, who approved Kahn's hiring two years ago, has said the changes he seeks would bring order to a dysfunctional system and make the museum more accountable to the lieutenant governor's office, which by law oversees its operations.