It had all been so idyllic. George Lucas bought land in tony Marin County, California and fulfilled his dream of building Skywalker Ranch, which now houses world class film production facilities. He has expanded the property and buildings over the years, but earned praise from neighbors for always preserving the splendor of the rural landscapes. However, when Lucas filed plans to fulfill the final part of Skywalker's expansion, neighbors formed a committee to block him, citing harm to the fragile environment. The controversy has torn the neighborhood of wealthy people apart, some siding with Lucas, others rejecting his plans for expansion. Now Lucas has announced he is caving in and will relocate to an area where Lucasfilm is not considered to be "an Evil Empire." He's thrown fuel on the fire by filing plans to sell off the land on which the expansion was to be built and use it for "affordable housing." Predictably, this has sent residents into a frenzy, citing fears that impoverished people will be terrorizing the neighborhood. Lucas says there is no malicious intent- he just wants to help lower income people. (In Marin County, "lower income" can be $88,000 per family of four). Some neighbors are lobbying to get Lucas to reconsider and promise to support his plans for expansion, but the legendary director seems intent on moving his latest operations elsewhere. Maybe it can all be resolved by dueling light sabers at dawn. For more click here