WATCH: Newsom, others praise $239M learning center at San Quentin

(The Center Square) – Gov. Gavin Newsom and others, including a survivor of a crime, gathered Friday morning at the San Quentin Rehabilitation Center to praise the opening of a $239 million learning center designed to prepare inmates to re-enter society.

The 81,000-square-foot facility consists of three buildings, including a technology and media center with podcast and TV production facilities and reentry center, a hub of classrooms that are operated with universities and a college and features an expanded library, and a community and workforce area that includes a gathering hall, cafe and store. There will be outdoor classrooms with views of the San Francisco Bay, according to the Governor’s Office.

The center was funded through a lease revenue bond, and Newsom said it made more sense to spend the money at San Quentin than to spread it out thinly among many prisons. ...