What if California's prison crisis would end - its overcrowding would ease, its spiraling prison costs would settle, and its streets would become much safer for law-abiding citizens - just as soon as Californians realized that their safety cannot be measured in the number of people behind bars?

California is poised to sell 11 state office buildings to a consortium of private investors for $2.3 billion who, in turn, will charge the state rent for at least 20 years to occupy the taxpayer-financed structures.

California's prisons are so overcrowded and their conditions so appalling, that the Supreme Court may rule against Governor Schwarzenegger after hearing oral arguments in Schwarzenegger v. Plata.  In the lawsuit, a special panel of three federal judges ordered the state to reduce its prison population from nearly 200% of capacity to 137.5% of capacity.