By Bobby White
Wall Street Journal
SAN QUENTIN, Calif. -- Even amid the real-estate bust, waterfront property in the San Francisco Bay area is a luxury few can afford. That’s why some California lawmakers want to sell San Quentin State Prison -- which houses more than 5,300 inmates on prime land with stunning views of the bay -- to developers who might pay as much as $2 billion.
State Sen. Jeff Denham, who has sponsored a bill to sell the complex of historic buildings for private development, thinks the proceeds could help replenish California’s recession-depleted coffers.
“I believe maximum-security inmates shouldn’t have waterfront property,” said Mr. Denham, a Republican from Modesto, in the state’s Central Valley. “They could build a new facility somewhere else in the state and it could be done at a fraction of the cost.”
Read full story here: San Quentin seen as a hot property