Plans to sell Civic Center in SF and the Ronald Reagan Building in LA

Plans to sell Civic Center in San Francisco and the Ronald Reagan Building in Los Angeles have a lot of residents wondering, “How broke IS California?”

The answer: very.

According to SFgate.com, the state is trying to sell city buildings to a private corporation for $2.3 billion.  Even if the sale goes through as planned, the state’s deficit this year will come to somewhere in the neighborhood of, oh, $6 billion.

Obviously there’s been an uproar – but not nearly as boisterous as one might expect.  Aside from the fact that this is embarrassing, there’s that whole “selling of government assets to a private entity” thing.  Concerns have also been raised as to whether the bidding process was fair, and whether the sale is being rushed through before citizens really know what’s going on.  There’s also some concern over whether paying Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido a $500,000 “finder’s fee” is an epic waste of taxpayer dollars.

But the issue has remained relatively quiet, at least in San Francisco where the very heart of the city – it’s actual, real-live Civic Center – is up for grabs.  Perhaps this is because, unless you’re headed to court or the ballet, many San Franciscans prefer to avoid the homeless and/or violent drug addict obstacle course that is much of the Civic Center area after dark.  Many of us visit the area only on special occasions like LoveFest, Gay Pride, or the Giants Celebration Parade.  Whatever the reason, one simply doesn’t hear much about the issue on the Muni, or in any of the cafes.   One can only hope that they’re being more vigilant in L.A.