SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger says it's the wrong time to consider putting California landmarks up for sale — less than a month after he proposed doing just that.

He acknowledged yesterday it is not "the best time right now" to sell state assets such as the San Quentin State Prison, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and the California State Fairgrounds.

Schwarzenegger originally announced the sale proposal in May as part of his revised plan to address a $24.3 billion budget deficit.

The Republican governor said California could generate $3 billion from selling seven landmarks and 11 office buildings scattered around the state.

Real estate experts told The Associated Press last week that many of the properties would be undervalued if placed on the market now because the commercial real estate market is so poor. Many potential buyers also might have trouble obtaining credit.

Even if the properties are put up for sale this year, California would not realize proceeds for perhaps two to five years — and in some cases even longer. That would do nothing for the current budget crisis.

NATIONAL AVERAGE AT $2.639 AS GAS PRICES KEEP RISING

NEW YORK — Gas prices rose yesterday for the 45th consecutive day as summer travelers hit the highways and refineries hold back on fuel production.

Pump prices added less than a penny overnight to a new national average of $2.639 a gallon, according to auto club AAA, Wright Express and Oil Price Information Service.

Gas is 37.2 cents a gallon more expensive than it was last month.

Prices have risen all year after slumping to around $1.60 in December.

COAL-BURNING POWER PLANT GETS $1B IN STIMULUS FUNDS

WASHINGTON — The Energy Department is moving forward on a futuristic coal-burning power plant in Illinois that the Bush administration had declared dead.

Energy Secretary Steven Chu said yesterday that reviving the FutureGen plant shows the Obama administration's commitment to carbon-capture technology.

The Energy Department will commit more than $1 billion to the project, money drawn almost entirely from federal economic stimulus funds.