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   From: democrat.assholes@tomsteyer.com   
      
   California Gov. Gavin Newsom is facing blowback after unveiling a new   
   $239 million rehabilitation center at the infamous San Quentin prison —   
   complete with a cafe and sweeping views of San Francisco Bay.   
      
   Newsom attended the opening of the new San Quentin Learning Center, with   
   the goal of “proving that rehabilitation and public safety go hand in   
   hand,” he said at ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday.   
      
   The center, which features Scandinavian-inspired design, also includes   
   podcast studios, recording spaces and a store “to normalize social and   
   vocational experiences.”   
      
   Critics of the amenity-filled center blasted Newsom for the redesign,   
   saying prisons shouldn’t be cushy.   
      
   “A prison is supposed to be a prison,” Republican state Sen. Tony   
   Strickland told The Center Square. “He’s putting money, from my   
   understanding, into grocery stores to ‘normalize the environment.’ His   
   words, not mine.  A prison should be a prison. People go to a prison   
   because they committed a crime. When you commit a crime, you have to pay   
   the consequence for that action.”   
      
   The buildings were modeled off Scandinavian design because Nordic   
   countries emphasize rehabilitation over punishment.   
      
   “Once home to California’s death chamber and a symbol of an outdated,   
   cruel system, the three buildings at the learning center are the   
   physical embodiment of the California Model,” Newsom’s office said in a   
   statement.   
      
   Some state lawmakers are concerned that the massive financial investment   
   ignores the victims of prisoners’ crimes.   
      
   “Victims have become ghosts in our process,” Republican state   
   Assemblyman Tom Lackey told KTXL. “I do believe in rehabilitative   
   process; it’s worth investing in. We have to balance it.”   
      
   The project’s $239 million price tag was funded by a lease revenue bond,   
   meaning taxpayers will ultimately foot the bill because the money comes   
   from government coffers.   
      
   Other lawmakers would like to see the sum go toward the implementation   
   of Proposition 36, which was passed in 2024 and increase penalties for   
   certain crimes.   
      
   “Given the tight budget that we have, every dollar that is spent on one   
   thing cannot be spent on something else,” Republican state Sen. Roger   
   Niello told the Sacramento Bee.   
      
   Newsom said the project is compatible with being tough on crime, as it   
   will help shape ex-cons ahead of their release from prison.   
      
   “You can be smart as well as tough on crime,” Newsom said.   
      
   “It’s about pragmatism. It’s about dealing with the fundamental fact   
   that 95% of the people in the system will go back to your neighborhoods,   
   and what kind of neighbors do you want them to be?”   
      
   https://nypost.com/2026/02/21/us-news/gavin-newsom-blasted-for-2   
   9m-redesign-of-san-quentin-prison/   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)