The 5.8-acre Red Rock Island in the middle of the San Francisco Bay is now up for grabs with a nice price tag of $25 million.

The island was previously listed in 2015, as we reported at the time, for just $5 million, although that was slashed from a 2011 price of $22 million.

The current owner, Brock Durning, who inherited the island from his father, currently resides in Alaska, per SFGATE. He reportedly wants to sell it to secure some extra money to care for his aging mother.

However, owning this island — one of the five in San Francisco, among Treasure Island, Yerba Buena, Alcatraz, and Seal Rocks — comes with significant hurdles. Divided among Contra Costa, Marin, and San Francisco counties, any big development plan would need to comply with the rules of all three. The city of Richmond, where 4.1 acres of the island technically lie, has previously opposed development plans — which in the past have included private residences, a yacht harbor, botanical gardens, billboards, a casino, a restaurant, and a hotel, as well as a proposed 25-story tower, none of which ever came to fruition.

Some more fun facts about the the craggy Red Rock Island: Russian trappers were regular visitors to the island in pursuit of its otters. In 1964, Mendel Glickman, the son of Frank Lloyd Wright, acquired the island for less than $50,000, hoping to construct a vacation retreat and harness its gas reserves.

Today, the rocky outcropping sits pretty much empty, although it does have one tree, a beach, and an abandoned Coast Guard fog bell. It also might have buried treasure and it definitely has deposits of the mineral manganese, which was apparently covertly mined in the mid-1900s.

Possible development could range from a private home or possibly a desalination plant and solar farm, as Chris Lim, the real estate agent representing the property, told SFGATE.

Feature image via Flickr/Don Barrett under Creative Commons.

Holy smokes.

This just in: the SF Chronicle is (practically) up for sale. Word is that "if they don't sell it, they'll shut it down." No deadline communicated yet.

The following memo was sent to SF Chronicle employees today.

Memo from Frank Vega, Chairman & Publisher
February 24, 2009

Dear Fellow Employees:

The rapidly declining economy, coupled with severely declining advertising revenues, is forcing nearly every newspaper company to re-think how it conducts business while continuing to serve its respective communities.

Despite all of our best efforts as an organization, The Chronicle continues to show staggering losses each week. Recent staff and expense reductions have not stemmed these losses, which are only worsening in the present economy. In response to our financial picture and the bleak economic forecast for the foreseeable future, our management team has begun a series of cost-saving initiatives designed to alleviate those losses.

First and foremost of these cost savings will be a significant reduction in force across all areas of our operation affecting both represented and non-represented employees. We will shortly begin discussions with union leadership on proposals. Our current situation dictates that we accomplish these cost savings quickly. Business as usual is no longer an option.

If we are unable to accomplish these reductions in the immediate future, Hearst Corporation, which owns The Chronicle, has informed us that it will offer the newspaper for sale or close it altogether. We know these are painful times for everyone and we face difficult choices. We share in the sincere hope that we will reach agreement with all parties involved on the concessions needed to continue to operate and provide the Bay Area with a quality newspaper.

27-year-old Danny Yep of San Francisco must spend two months in a federal prison and then four months in home confinement for selling the endangered Asian Arowana fish (AKA the Asian Boney tongue fish) after a U.S. Fish and Wildlife agent came across his ad on Aquabid. Yep apparently knew the freshwater fish was illegal to sell as well. The fish, it should be noted, is quite spectacular.

The Asian Arowana fish, also known as Asian Boney tongue fish, is native to Indonesia and Malaysia, federal prosecutors said. Many Chinese consider it to be a symbol of good luck, and a single fish can cost $3,000 depending on its size and the brilliance of its color, authorities said.

Maybe its good luck powers are on the older models, or something? Anyway, Yep was also handed a $2,000 and placed on three years' probation.

Also, while it's illegal to own to the Asian Arowana, the regular Arowana, which boasts a gray-ish hue, is legal to own.