California Landmarks Up For Sale

In an effort to raise some cash, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed selling off some of the state's historic landmarks -- including San Quentin Prison and the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

1 minute read

May 14, 2009, 2:00 PM PDT

By Nate Berg


"Sale of the properties, to be included in the governor's revised budget plan today, would raise between $600 million and $1 billion, although it would not provide financial relief for two to five years, according to the proposal.

Other items on the list for potential disposal include Cal Expo, site of the state fair in Sacramento; the Del Mar Fairgrounds in San Diego County; the Cow Palace, a nearly 70-year-old exhibition hall in Daly City, bordering San Francisco; and the Ventura County Fairgrounds.

It is not clear whether lawmakers would be willing to part with the real estate the governor has identified. Proposals to sell San Quentin and the Coliseum have not advanced in the Legislature in recent weeks.

And many other questions remain unanswered, including where the state would put death row, even as it is spending hundreds of millions of dollars to build new housing for condemned inmates at San Quentin, which sits on a stunning Marin County waterfront property, or how much a new prison would cost."

Thursday, May 14, 2009 in Los Angeles Times

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