NewsMax.com and NewsMax Magazine revealed that Shriver had agreed to join the board of the financially ailing museum, with one big catch.

The state's first lady demanded the museum dump its focus on California's illustrious history and focus on women's role in the state.

After three board members resigned over Shriver's outrageous demands - and a wave of publicity led by NewsMax - Shriver has backtracked.

In what the Los Angeles Times called a "concession to those who feared California's past would be overshadowed in the new design," at Shriver's urging the museum's board yesterday voted to approve a new concept in which women's history would be part of a larger facility dedicated to state history.

"We were all very concerned. What happens to all the archival materials and the broader picture, as opposed to just focusing on women?" Assemblywoman Carol Liu, incoming head of the state legislative women's caucus, told the Times. "I think a compromise has been reached regarding the proposal, and it's a laudable compromise."

The Times noted that Shriver's influence on the museum's operations has been expanding steadily.

Last May, the paper reported, she ushered in a new exhibit dedicated to California's "remarkable women." She then quietly put pressure on the museum's 16-member board to concentrate entirely on women's history. The board consented and directed staff members in September to work with her and others to develop the new California Women's History Museum.

A museum consultant placed an ad for a director and announced that the space would be revamped by Edwin Schlossberg, the husband of Shriver's cousin Caroline Kennedy.

Perhaps one wing of the new Shriver-backed state museum could be dedicated to political nepotism, Kennedy-style.

"Many thought there would be no other place to preserve California history if this were to become an entirely women's museum," Assemblywoman Judy Chu told the Times.

"And in addition, there is a women's museum being built in San Francisco. She would have had to face some very tough questions about why there would be a competing museum and what would happen to the history of California. How would it be preserved if this were to go through?"

Terri Carbaugh, a spokeswoman for Shriver, had this version of why plans suddenly changed:

"More people are served by expanding her original vision into a larger one that incorporates all of California history. We always intended to include the archives, but to profile them in a prominent way."

Editor's note: