Calif. Inaugural To Feature Celebs

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Disco star Donna Summer and Tony-award winner Jennifer Holliday will headline the festivities at California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's inauguration. The inaugural committee said next Friday's schedule will include a black-tie gala as well as environmental-themed displays on the capital grounds in Sacramento that will be open to the public. The Los Angeles Times reported Saturday that construction firms, insurance companies, developers and other private donors, who, according to campaign finance watchdogs, have business with the governor's office, will pick up the $1.4 million tab. Unlike other donations from so-called special interest groups with business before the state, contributions to the inaugural committee are not subject to legal limits. The Times said the watchdogs have called the affair "unseemly." Julie Soderlund, a spokeswoman for the governor's inaugural committee, told the Times, however, that the companies give because "they believe in the governor's vision for the state of California." She denied that the contributions influence Schwarzenegger's actions in office.