Bids are open for a new Death Row facility in California, but local lawmakers opposed to the project say that companies shouldn't even waste their time bidding on a project that won't be built.
Already with a high concentration of prison facilities, the state of California is looking to add a new death row facility to its San Quentin prison. Bids are open for construction of the facility, which could cost the state $360 million.
But one state assemblyman is vocally opposed to the project, and argues it won't pass legal challenges.
"'People are free to bid - but it is very likely that this project is not going to proceed,' [California State Assemblyman Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael)] says. 'I would be surprised if contractors put a lot of work into this. It will be wasted time if they do.'
Huffman says that legal challenges to the governor's loan authorization are in the works, as well as to his ability to launch any kind of prison construction initiative until he has dealt with overcrowding issues that he has been court-ordered to address.
'I think what he is doing is illegal,' Huffman says."
FULL STORY: California Moves on Death Row Project

Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage
Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”

Study: Maui’s Plan to Convert Vacation Rentals to Long-Term Housing Could Cause Nearly $1 Billion Economic Loss
The plan would reduce visitor accommodation by 25% resulting in 1,900 jobs lost.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Waymo Gets Permission to Map SF’s Market Street
If allowed to operate on the traffic-restricted street, Waymo’s autonomous taxis would have a leg up over ride-hailing competitors — and counter the city’s efforts to grow bike and pedestrian on the thoroughfare.

Parklet Symposium Highlights the Success of Shared Spaces
Parklets got a boost during the Covid-19 pandemic, when the concept was translated to outdoor dining programs that offered restaurants a lifeline during the shutdown.

Federal Homelessness Agency Places Entire Staff on Leave
The U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness is the only federal agency dedicated to preventing and ending homelessness.
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