California gets ready for garage sale

SACRAMENTO, CA (KGO) -- Jam-packed in a warehouse near the Capitol in Sacramento are thousands of items that the taxpayers bought that are now up for grabs at bargain prices during the state garage sale this Friday and Saturday.

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"The governor made it clear, he wants to cut waste, he wants to cut abuse in state operations; part of cutting waste is getting rid of property that state government no longer needs," Eric Lamoureaux of the Department of General Service said.

The usual office supplies are for sale as well as the not-so-usual, like the eight fortune teller machines the DMV somehow had for decades, old and dusty pianos from state parks and dental chairs from prisons. But most of those sold already after being listed on Craigslist.

And then there is recovered stolen property.

"The CHP provides to us really unique items, these are watches, jewelry, bracelets," Lamoureaux said. "If somebody still wants a film camera, this one's for $10. We've got them everywhere."

This time, the state is including up to 600 vehicles from its fleet.

Earlier this summer, Gov. Schwarzenegger ordered a 15 percent reduction. And to increase some of their value, Schwarzenegger is tapping into his celebrity status and has signed some of the cars' visors -- an idea that was suggested to him via Twitter.

The 15 state vehicles autographed by Schwarzenegger are available only by auction on eBay. Already, fans are driving up the price.

The online listings are aimed at attracting shoppers outside of the Capitol area. All together, the state hopes to make $1.5 million to help ease the budget crunch.

On Tuesday, Schwarzenegger also announced a new website where Twitter users can suggest and then rate ideas to solve California's ongoing budget problems.

LINK: Great California Garage Sale
LINK: MyIdea4CA.com

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