California
February 2, 2012
Jerry Brown delivers pension reform language to legislators
Gov. Jerry Brown has sent language for his 12-point pension reform plan to the Legislature's Conference Committee on Public Employee Pensions.
The proposals are divided into two groups. The constitutional amendment Brown offered broadly outlines the pension changes more narrowly defined in the language to change state law. The governor's plan won't go forward without two-thirds of the Legislature voting to put the constitutional changes on the Nov. 6 ballot, which would then need voter approval from a majority....
LINK - SacBee.com
February 1, 2012
Event celebrates Calipatria’s State Prison’s 20th anniversary
While the surrounding community has changed a lot in the past 20 years, so has Calipatria State Prison, said Robert Silvas.
Silvas, a 17-year prison employee who serves as a sergeant, said Tuesday that in addition to being one of the first California correctional facilities to feature an electrical fence, Calipatria State Prison was also the place in 2005 where one of the worst-ever prison riots occurred....
LINK - IVPressOnline.com
January 31, 2012
California cuts prison staffing
With about 14,000 fewer inmates in its prisons because most of them have been transferred to county jails, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is sending notices to 548 workers that they will lose their jobs.
The first wave of firings is set for Feb. 29. A second round is expected in the fall.
Those losing their jobs include about 140 guards...
LINK - CentralValleyBusinessTimes.com
January 30, 2012
Man sought for breach in second-strike parole
U-T San Diego is profiling a wanted suspect each week in an effort to make our community safer. We are partnering with Crime Stoppers and local law enforcement to profile known fugitives as well as draw attention to unsolved crimes committed by unknown suspects. This week’s most wanted suspect:
Harold Grigsby, 43
Wanted: Grigsby is wanted for violating parole. He is a second-strike parolee with a criminal history that includes armed robbery, auto theft, making threats and multiple narcotic- and firearms-related charges...
LINK - UTSanDiego.com
January 28, 2012
West Covina parolee arrested following 10-hour stand-off in Whittier
A sheriff's SWAT team, with the help of a K-9, found and arrested a West Covina parolee Friday who barricaded himself in a Whittier garage for more than 10 hours after shooting at police, authorities said Saturday.
Matthew Cloutman, 36, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder of a peace officer and a parole warrant, Whittier police officials said in a written statement.
He was found hiding in a crawl space and bitten by a sheriff's K-9 shortly before 11 p.m. in the garage in the 6200 block of Washington Avenue where he had remained barricaded since about 12:30 p.m., according to Los Angeles County sheriff's Capt. Mike Parker...
LINK - SGVTribune.com
January 27, 2012
California Supreme Court denies challenge of Senate maps
The California Supreme Court ruled today that state Senate maps drawn by a citizens commission will be used in this year's elections, despite a pending referendum to overturn them.
The issue came before the High Court after a Republican-backed group, Fairness and Accountability in Redistricting, filed more than 711,000 signatures with county elections offices in a referendum to overturn Senate maps drawn by a 14-member citizens commission.
Californians will decide the fate of the newly drawn Senate districts in November if 504,760 of the signatures are from valid voters. Legislative candidates must file and run their campaigns before then, however, so justices needed to identify district maps to be in effect immediately...
LINK - SacBee.com
January 27, 2012
Parolee linked to six Altadena burglaries
A man who deputies say was caught in the act of burglarizing a home Jan. 20 has been linked to five other burglaries in Altadena.
Jeremiah Billingslea, 20, was arrested by sheriff's deputies during an attempted burglary of a home on the 300 block of East Calavaras St. according to Lt. Duane D. Allen of the Altadena sheriff's station. Subsequent investigation linked Billingslea to five other burglaries clustered in the Morada Place neighborhood in recent weeks...
LINK - AltaDenaBlog.com
January 26, 2012
Bill on media access to prisoners advances
The Assembly voted 47-22 today to pass a Bay Area lawmaker’s bill that would lift the ban on media interviews with specific inmates in California’s prisons.
Since the ban on pre-arranged inmate interviews went into effect in 1996, bill author Tom Ammiano noted, eight versions of this bill have been vetoed by three governors.
“Independent media access to prison inmates is a critical part of keeping our prisons transparent and accountable while providing information to the public,” Ammiano, D-San Francisco, said in a news release...
LINK - iBaBuzz.com
January 25, 2012
Lawmakers urge Brown to provide details on pension proposals
Members of a conference committee charged with crafting comprehensive pension-reform legislation this year urged Gov. Jerry Brown on Wednesday to quickly provide full details on how he envisions his proposed reforms would work.
"The public is starting to question if this committee is going to accomplish anything," said Sen. Mimi Walters, R-Laguna Niguel. "We need to prove to the public that we are very, very serious about moving forward with pension reform."
She urged the Brown administration to quickly provide the committee with proposed legislative language that would detail his proposals on reform for public employee pensions...
LINK - VCStar.com
January 25, 2012
Editorial: Lawmakers spin their wheels on pension reform
A joint Senate/Assembly conference committee will hold its third (ho-hum) informational hearing today on the 12-point pension reform plan that Gov. Jerry Brown unveiled with such fanfare last October. Don't expect anything to come of it. So far, a lot of talk has emerged but no pension bill. Efforts to substantially reduce state pension obligations are a sham in this Legislature, and most people who work in the Capitol know that.
A conference committee was formed to produce a reform package, but after three months, no author has emerged willing to champion the governor's proposal and no language has been drafted that would give substance to the modest plan Brown outlined...
LINK - SacBee.com
January 25, 2012
Four months in, some California judges want more say over state’s new sentencing rules
Some California Superior Court judges are calling for a major shift in Gov. Jerry Brown's 4-month-old realignment policy -- the power to keep track of certain nonviolent felons for a lot longer than the policy now calls for.
The judges say the change is necessary because it's nearly impossible to rehabilitate some offenders and discourage them from committing new crimes in the limited time the new realignment system allows...
LINK - MercuryNews.com
January 23, 2012
Man arrested in Facebook threat on ex-girlfriend’s family
A 22-year-old parolee was arrested Sunday when he allegedly made threats via Facebook to “put a hit” on his 15-year-old girlfriend’s family after they forbade him from seeing her, police said.
Raul Reinoso of Glendale was arrested at his home in the 300 block of East Chestnut Street on suspicion of making a criminal threat, unlawful sex with a minor and oral copulation with a minor, according to Glendale police.The girl’s parents told police that Reinoso threatened them on Facebook after they logged into their daughter’s social network account and sent him a message saying that he was not allowed to see her again, Sgt. Tom Lorenz said...
LINK - LATimes.com
January 23, 2012
The pension clock is ticking
It's the norm in January: After the governor proposes a new budget and delivers his State of the State address, legislators slide into hibernation until spring.
Oh, there's some rustling around in the dens — a few committee hearings, brief floor sessions — but no strenuous activity, no risk taking until May, when deadlines sprout and the governor revises his budget proposal.
Not every year follows that pattern — last March, the governor and the Legislature made sharp spending cuts — but winter 2012 has all the signs of the rhythmic long nap...
LINK - LATimes.com
January 20, 2012
S.B. COUNTY: Pension reform voter measure proposed
Future retirement benefit increases for San Bernardino County employees could be decided by voters under a proposal that will go before the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.
Supervisors Janice Rutherford and Gary Ovitt are proposing that the county place a ballot measure before voters in the June election to amend the county charter. If it passes, county voters’ approval would be required before retirement benefits for county employees, legislative officers and elected officials could be increased.
Rutherford described the proposal as “insurance” for taxpayers...
LINK - PE.com
January 18, 2012
2012 State of the State Address
The full text from the 2012 State of the State Address given by Governor Jerry Brown in Sacramento, California on January 18, 2012...
January 16, 2012
California: Pension Reform & “Vulture Capitalists”
If the squealing by the forces behind attempts to blow up the state's public pension are any indication, the truth must really hurt.
In the last few days, both the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office and Attorney General issued their judgment on pension reform proposals being proposed by former Schwarzenegger aide Dan Pellissier. And it wasn't pretty.
The LAO noted that the proposals would cost governments more than $1 billion per year for up to 30 years...
LINK - CapitolWeekly.net
January 16, 2012
Calif. inmate should get kosher meals, appeals court rules
The California prison system is violating a Messianic Jewish prisoner's constitutional rights by denying him kosher food, a state appeals court ruled.
A three-justice panel of the California 3rd District Court of Appeals ruled Jan. 11 that Margarito Jesus Garcia, who is serving 15 years to life for a conviction on second degree murder, should receive kosher meals from the state's Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, reversing a lower court ruling...
LINK - JewishinStLouis.org
January 15, 2012
Gov. Jerry Brown plans $1 billion in prison cuts
Gov. Jerry Brown wants to cut state prison spending next fiscal year for the first time in nearly a decade, a departure from the goals of recent administrations, which consistently increased corrections spending and pushed for prison expansion.
Brown's budget would save California $1.1 billion on housing inmates and hundreds of millions more by allowing the state to halt some prison construction - savings largely due to his administration's recent overhaul of the state's criminal justice system.
General fund spending on prisons nearly doubled under Brown's Republican predecessor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, from $5.2 billion in 2004 to $9.5 billion in 2011, when Brown, a Democrat, took office. The increase in spending was largely caused by an exploding inmate population and a court order to improve medical care in prisons...
LINK - SFGate.com
January 14, 2012
Prison officials remain quiet on details of October riot in Sayre facility (by Calif. inmates)
A lack of charges filed against inmates involved in an Oct. 11 riot at the North Fork Correctional Facility highlights an ongoing issue between private prisons and authorities, a local prosecutor said.
More than three months after the riot, private prison officials have yet to release details about what exactly caused the melee.
The nature of the injuries suffered by dozens of inmates also remains a mystery...
LINK - NewsOK.com
January 13, 2012
Tulare County taking state to court over suspended payments for juvenile offender programs
Tulare County is taking the California State Controller to court to stop plans for the state to suspend payments totaling more than $890,000 to support juvenile offender programs here.
If the county loses the lawsuit, it may have to eliminate the jobs of up to 16 full-time probation correctional officers at the Tulare County Juvenile Detention Facility, north of Visalia.
In addition, the Tulare County Probation Department, which runs the facility, could lose the use of nearly a third its 150 beds to house youths charged with crimes or serving sentences for convictions...
LINK - VisaliaTimesDelta.com
January 11, 2012
Public Employee Pension Reduction Initiative - Gathering signatures now
Reduces pension benefits for current and future public employees, including teachers, nurses, and peace officers, but excluding judges. Eliminates constitutional protections for current and future public employees' vested pension benefits. Creates hybrid pension plan for new employees, capping collective benefits at 75 percent of salary. Limits cost-of-living adjustments for retired and current employees. Prohibits public retirement systems from providing death or disability benefits to future employees. Requires that current employees add up to three percent of their salary to their pension contribution annually, when pension plan is underfunded. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local government...
LINK - SOS.ca.gov
January 11, 2012
The 2012-13 Budget: Overview of the Governor’s Budget
The Governor’s proposed tax initiative is the cornerstone of his 2012-13 budget plan, which includes proposals to restructure education finance, reduce social services and child care programs substantially, and implement trigger cuts--primarily affecting schools--if voters do not approve the tax measure.
The Governor’s plan would continue the difficult task of restoring the state budget to balance, but the difficulty in knowing how much taxable income will be attributable to high-income Californians makes the state’s revenue estimates an even bigger question mark than usual.
With regard to the Governor’s major proposals, we think the Governor’s education restructuring proposals would institute lasting improvements to the system, and we observe that, while his social services and child care proposals have merit, they involve considerable drawbacks as well, given potentially severe impacts on affected families...
January 11, 2012
L.A. County youth camps fail to meet U.S.-ordered reforms
The Los Angeles County Probation Department has not fulfilled seven federally ordered reforms at its youth camps.
A report released late last week by federal monitors found that the agency still needs to improve staffing levels at some of its 14 camps, improve how it identifies youths who have mental problems and do a better job of evaluating and treating youths with medical problems, among other issues.
The probation department, which houses and works to rehabilitate about 2,200 of the area's most troubled youths, has been under federal oversight for almost a decade. As part of a 2008 deal, federal officials threatened to take over the department unless it complied with 41 reforms...
LINK - LATimes.com
January 11, 2012
Stopping Prison Construction Important First Step (?)
Governor Brown’s surprised Californians by unveiling his 2012-13 budget five days early on January 5th. The Budget has Californians calling for additional cuts to the corrections budget to prevent even further slashing of welfare, childcare, health care, education, and job opportunities. The 2012-2013 proposal, which includes $8.887 billion in General Fund spending for Corrections, comes the same week as severe trigger cuts from last year’s budget and just days before 25 Counties are due to submit funding requests to build $602 million worth of jails across the state.
Until this year, when many of the state’s corrections needs were outsourced to the county level with Brown’s Public Safety Realignment, General Fund spending for prisons had climbed steadily from $604.2 million in 1980-81 to $9.6 billion in 2010-11, or from 2.9 percent to 10.5 percent of the state’s General Fund. This year’s Budget projects $8.9 billion of General Fund expenditure on corrections, down from $9.6 billion last year...
LINK - CaliforniaProgressReport.com
January 11, 2012
Savings from ‘3 strikes’ reform may be smaller than claimed
Prisoners serving long sentences under California’s “three strikes” law are so expensive that legislative analysts say releasing some of them early could eventually save the state $100 million.
A proposed ballot measure, called the Three Strikes Reform Act of 2012 [PDF], would amend the landmark sentencing law that brought jail terms of 25 years to life to criminals convicted of three offenses.
Major savings to California taxpayers are central to proponents’ pitch for the measure. But if it passes, the big reduction in state prison spending is not guaranteed...
LINK - CaliforniaWatch.org
January 11, 2012
Counties Struggle With New Probationers
County parole departments in California are in the third month of trying to integrate former prison inmates into county probation systems. Such inmates are classified as non-violent, non-serious, non-sex-offenders. So far, Sacramento County has processed 700 of them, including one man, Aaron Suggs, who was arrested this week for sexually assaulting a woman and robbing her in her home.
Suggs was released to Sacramento County Probation as a non-serious offender under the state's new "re-alignment" policy. He had been in prison for drugs.
Alan Seeber is with Sacramento County probation. He says the state's classification of some parolees is flawed...
LINK - CapRadio.org
January 10, 2012
Backers of Calif. public pension overhaul lag in fundraising effort
The effort to place a public pension overhaul before California voters this November has moved into a new and challenging phase.
Backers have reported contributions from but a handful of donors, and on Tuesday bashed Attorney General Kamala Harris for what they said was a "grossly misleading" official description of their measures.
The Sacramento-based California Pension Reform reported raising $128,600 late last month, mostly from Silicon Valley venture capitalists...
LINK - SacBee.com
January 10, 2012
Calif. Inmate’s Perspective on Riot at CCA Prison in Oklahoma
In our struggle for freedom, that weapon has been and will continue to be Truth. I am a California prisoner who was sent involuntarily to NFORK CCA (the Corrections Corporation of America’s North Fork Prison), a private prison in Oklahoma, where I have been for over a year. California thought they could more effectively silence my protests and lawsuits by hurling me hundreds of miles away.
I am once again calling on the Bay View, i.e. Voice of the People:
On Oct. 11, 2011, a riot kicked off where Black inmates were fending off inmates from every other demographic. We faced insurmountable odds and some people were in critical condition afterwards, but the biggest odds against us has yet to be pointed out and is now working diligently to manufacture cover stories to conceal their liability; the odds I speak of is the role of CCA NFORK and COCF (Sacramento-based California Out-of-State Correctional Facility, a unit in CDCR, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation) in setting the stage for such a catastrophic event to take place...
LINK - SFBayView.com
January 9, 2012
Parolees nabbed after shoplifting at K-Mart
Michael Knight, 39, of Vacaville and Scott Sweed, 42, of Fairfield were arrested Sunday afternoon while attempting to shoplift items at the K-Mart on Pacific Street, reported Rocklin Police Lt. Lon Milka.
When Rocklin Police officers responded to the report of a theft in progress at 2:58 p.m., they learned a male suspect had fled on foot after being confronted by the store’s loss prevention staff.
While searching for the suspect, he continued, officers spotted two suspicious individuals sitting in a vehicle in the parking lot...
LINK - PlacerHerald.com
January 9, 2012
Parolee arrested after three-hour standoff with Livermore police Sunday
After a three-hour standoff Sunday, Livermore police arrested a wanted parolee who had previously threatened a shootout with police, officials said.
Eric Ontiveros, 24, was arrested around 4:20 p.m. at a house on Elizabeth Court. Starting at 1 p.m., police had blocked the street off with help from the East County SWAT team, an East Bay regional parks helicopter, and the Newark and Union City police departments, according to a news release from Livermore police...
LINK - MercuryNews.com
January 5, 2012
Pension reform debate is about to heat up
The next few weeks will draw the lines more sharply in the 2012 debate over public employee pensions. A road map:
On Monday, the attorney general's office expects to issue the titles and descriptive summaries for two potential November ballot initiatives that aim to cut government pension costs.
One of the measures backed by California Pension Reform would put newly hired state and local government workers into "defined contribution" plans similar to a 401(k) account...
LINK - SacBee.com
January 5, 2012
Donnelly Vows New Try at Prison Reform
Frustrated by what he sees as a partisan rejection of his plan to cut prison costs and overcrowding, Assemblyman Tim Donnelly is pledging to take up the fight again when the legislature reconvenes this month.
"I'm going to push a bill to deal with some of the unintended impacts of AB 109," Donnelly said in a phone interview Friday.
His comments refer to side effects of a bill passed last year in Sacramento in response to a federal court's 2009 ruling that, because of prison overcrowding, more than 40,000 convicted felons would have to be released within two years...
LINK - Mountain-News.com
January 4, 2012
Parole agent was shot in the face by a parolee, officials say
A parolee is believed to have shot a parole agent in the face in Lake View Terrace, police said Wednesday as they continued to search for the gunman in the northeast San Fernando Valley, closing part of the 210 Freeway in both directions.
The shooting occurred sometime after 1 p.m., and at one point the gunman had holed himself up in a residence on Foothill Boulevard. Aerial news footage showed law enforcement vehicles surrounding a house....
LINK - LATimes.com
January 4, 2012
Parole officer shot in face; police search for gunman
A parole agent shot Wednesday in Lake View Terrace was hit in the face. Police continued to search for the gunman, who was considered armed and dangerous.
The officer's injury was not life threatening, police sources said, and the shooting appears to have occurred at a residence on Foothill Boulevard. The L.A. County Sheriff's Department was handling the investigation.
The shooting, sometime after 1 p.m., caused officials to close the 210 Freeway in both directions as they searched for the gunman...
LINK - LATimes.com
January 4, 2012
Parole agent shot, 210 Freeway closed for shooter search
A parole agent was shot by a parolee in Lake View Terrace Wednesday, prompting officials to close the 210 Freeway and Foothill Boulevard while police and sheriff's deputies searched for the gunman.
The shooting occurred about 1:25 p.m., Officer Chris Hidjuk with the LAPD Foothill Division told KPCC. Police received a tip saying that he was hiding under a trailer on a big horse property, Hidjuk said...
LINK - SCPR.org
January 4, 2012
Parole agent shot; 210 Freeway closed amid standoff
A parole agent was shot in Lake View Terrace on Wednesday, authorities said, prompting law enforcement officials to close the 210 Freeway while they searched for the gunman.
The shooting occurred sometime after 1 p.m. KTLA News reported that a gunman was possibly holed up inside a house near the freeway. Aerial footage showed law enforcement vehicles surrounding a house...
LINK - LATimes.com
January 3, 2012
Pension reform: Cheaper to do nothing?
Pushing public workers out of pension plans with guaranteed payouts could save taxpayers billions each year — but perhaps not until the folks reading this story are grizzled and gray, according to new analyses by the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office.
In the short-term, the LAO said, pension reform could actually cost governments, and the taxpayers who fund them, more.
We’ve been telling you about the two versions of an aggressive initiative filed by California Pension Reform (whose VP is Fullerton’s own Jack Dean), which are in the signature-gathering stage and aiming for the November ballot...
LINK - OCRegister.com
December 30, 2011
Man surrenders to police after holding out in apartment
A wanted man surrendered to police Thursday night after refusing to come out of an apartment.
Bakersfield police were called to the 500 block of H Street at about 4:23 p.m. for a report of a wanted parolee-at-large inside an apartment, according to a Bakersfield Police Department news release.
Inside the apartment was Joshua Pearce, 29, of Bakersfield, who police said had an outstanding arrest warrant for parole violation...
LINK - Bakersfield.com
December 29, 2011
Parolee nabbed by Lyons police for string of burglaries
A 31-year-old California man on parole for attempted murder was charged with one count of felony burglary and one count of felony criminal damage to property for the Lyons burglary of the Cuts for Less hair salon, 7840 Ogden Ave., on Dec. 18.
Lyons police attempted to stop a vehicle early Dec. 21 about 12:45 a.m. for suspicion of burglary. The vehicle, a 1989 Cadillac Deville with Nevada license plates, fled the Lyons officer from the 4300 block of South Harlem Avenue and continued onto the Interstate 55 Stevenson Expressway...
LINK - MySuburbanLife.com
December 29, 2011
One-dollar robber nabbed in Desert Hot Springs, police say
A gas-pump robbery Wednesday evening netted a Desert Hot Springs parolee one dollar — and a trip to jail, according to police.
Baltazar Juarez Sanchez, 51, demanded money about 6 p.m. from someone pumping gas at Arco/ampm, 12-775 Palm Drive, according to police.
He got one dollar...
LINK - MyDesert.com
December 29, 2011
Debt-ridden Stockton a battleground for police union, City Hall
The first eyebrow-raising salvo in the fight between the cops and this city was the billboards.
"Welcome to the 2nd most dangerous city in California: Stop laying off cops!" read one at the city's entrance. Other billboards posted by the Stockton Police Officers' Assn. depicted splattered blood, gave a running tally of the city's record number of homicides — and the city manager's phone number.
Since then, the fight moved closer to home: The police union bought the house next to City Manager Bob Deis...
LINK - LATimes.com
December 28, 2011
Parolee sentenced to 8 years for San Diego crash
A parolee has been sentenced to more than eight years in prison in San Diego for crashing a car while on drugs and ditching three family members who were trapped in the vehicle.
The San Diego Union-Tribune says 28-year-old Kenneth Biggs was sentenced Wednesday. He pleaded guilty last month to felony DUI causing injury and an allegation that multiple victims were hurt in the Sept. 5 crash.
He also pleaded guilty to felony hit and run and a misdemeanor count of child endangerment...
LINK - MercuryNews.com
December 28, 2011
Lake County deputies use K-9 to catch fleeing parolee
A Lake County man was arrested for evading arrest Monday after leading a Lake County Sheriff’s Deputy on a chase through a residential neighborhood, according to the Sheriff’s Department.
A Lake County Sheriff’s deputy patrolling the Clearlake Oaks area attempted to stop a vehicle driven by Jimmy Dale Scarborough of Clearlake Monday. Scarborough refused to stop, leading the deputy on a chase through a residential neighborhood with speeds topping 40 MPH, according to the Sheriff’s Department...
LINK - PressDemocrat.com
December 28, 2011
LAO: Ballot proposals to cut California government pension costs may wind up increasing them
Two ballot proposals aimed at cutting government pension costs could wind up increasing them, are fraught with legal and fiscal uncertainty and would put pressure on governments to increase public employee pay, according to new analyses of the measures.
The nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office on Tuesday released its takes on two public pension reform plans filed by Dan Pellissier, president of California Pension Reform. The group hopes to put one of the proposals to a statewide vote next November...
LINK - SacBee.com
December 27, 2011
ONTARIO: Police justified in killing parolee, prosecutors say
Ontario police were fully justified in killing a 37-year-old parolee who'd held a gun to his girlfriend's head, collided with a SWAT truck and pointed a gun at officers, San Bernardino County district attorney’s officials announced today.
Jason M. Martin died of gunshot wounds Sept. 1, 2010, in the emergency room at San Antonio Hospital. He was shot following a standoff at his girlfriend’s apartment along the 1000 block of East Sixth Street...
LINK - PE.com
December 26, 2011
Juvenile offenders: Cuts put counties on the spot
Prosecutors and prisoner advocates are warning that an impending change in the way California handles juvenile offenders could threaten the success of criminal justice statewide.
At issue is a midyear cut that will essentially gut the Department of Juvenile Justice, the state agency that incarcerates California's most violent juvenile criminal offenders. Under the budget reduction enacted earlier this month, the agency will cease to exist unless counties pony up $125,000 a year per youth offender...
LINK - SFGate.com
December 26, 2011
California executions remain in everlasting limbo
As California nears its sixth year without an execution, state officials find themselves once again grappling with a judge's order that concludes they've botched crafting a new and legal method of putting condemned killers to death by lethal injection.
For the third time during the six-year moratorium on executions, a judge has ordered the state back to square one in creating new lethal injection procedures. The development all but ensures San Quentin's death chamber will remain dormant until at least well into 2013.
The timing could be important: The issue will draw heightened debate next year against the backdrop of a ballot measure designed to repeal the death penalty and replace it with life in prison without the possibility of parole...
LINK - MercuryNews.com
December 26, 2011
Family of Riverside Man Shot by Police Demands Answers
Family members of a man shot by police as he ran away from a pursuit are speaking out Saturday, wondering why no information has been released on why the shooting was necessary.
Officers wounded Michael Charles Easley, 22, of Los Angeles when they shot him several times when the pursuit ended near the intersection of 10th Street and Ottawa Avenue...
LINK - KTLA.com
December 22, 2011
California employees will pay higher payroll tax on next check
Here's one more thing to blame on Congress.
Although the battle over extending a Social Security payroll tax reduction continues in Washington, D.C., the matter has already been settled for California state workers: They'll have more money withheld from their checks next month, no matter what.
It's a matter of timing...
LINK - SacBee.com
December 21, 2011
Parolee leads deputies on High Desert chase
A Hesperia parolee in a vehicle stolen from Chino led sheriff's deputies on a chase through the High Desert on Tuesday.
Jose Robledo, 30, was arrested at the end of the chase and booked into jail on suspicion of felony evading, possession of stolen property, driving while under the influence and violating parole....
LINK - SBSun.com
December 21, 2011
Richmond police seize 9 pounds of cocaine
Richmond police say they have seized 9 pounds of cocaine with a street value of more than $800,000 as part of an investigation that also included three arrests.
The drugs were found along with $335,000 and a firearm during searches of four homes—three in Richmond and one in Alameda—last week. Police announced the seizures on Tuesday...
LINK - MercuryNews.com
December 20, 2011
2012 State Contribution Rates for Health Care
As noted earlier, the State Contribution rates are increasing. This is occurring because of our bargaining efforts and the members’ passage of the current MOU. Please distribute this information to your membership and remind them that this is one of the benefits they received due to their willingness to agree to the terms of the contract we now live under. In times of cuts and sacrifices, due to extreme financial woes statewide and nationwide, having an increase in our member’s net pay should be a welcome relief...
December 20, 2011
Republican Assm. Halderman advocates for private prisons, gets her numbers WRONG
Discounts are everywhere this holiday shopping season. For those willing to wait in line, there are sales on everything from dishwashers to iPods. Now, even convicted felons can join in on the savings. The California State Legislature has decided that criminals deserve a 20% credit for time served in prison.
California felons are already getting about a third of their sentences written off, but those discounts aren’t enough for Sacramento politicians. They recently decided that the best solution to crowded prisons was to open the floodgates and let convicted criminals walk free. It’s kind of like a clearance sale on crimes—two home invasion robberies for the price of one, or half off a grand theft auto...
LINK - FlashReport.org
[Note: CDCR’s population report dated December 7, 2011 states: 9,326 CA inmates housed in out-of-state private prisons]
December 19, 2011
Can county still lock up jail money?
Even without a formal invitation to apply for up to $100 million in state money, county officials still hope the plan for a new 576-bed jail in Redwood City can still quality for the construction funds if other counties drop out.
Circumstances haven’t changed since San Mateo County learned in late October it ranked low compared to other competing counties but could be different after next month’s deadline for complete applications, said Assistant Sheriff Trisha Sanchez.
If higher ranking counties don’t submit applications or further down the road aren’t ready with matching local funds or a site, San Mateo County might move closer to qualifying...
LINK - SMDailyJournal.com
December 19, 2011
California trigger cuts pose young inmate problem in Stanislaus County
The "worst of the worse" young criminals could return from state lockups to Stanislaus County under California's projected "trigger cuts," local authorities fear.
Jill Silva, the county's acting chief probation officer, said, "We're not equipped to take them back."
Keeping young inmates in the state's Division of Juvenile Justice could cost the county an extra $2.9 million per year, she said...
LINK - ModBee.com
December 19, 2011
California’s new lethal injection protocol tossed by judge
A judge on Friday threw out California's new lethal injection protocols, which have been five years in the making, because corrections officials failed to consider a one-drug execution method now in practice in other death penalty states.
In ruling that the new protocols were "invalid," Marin County Superior Court Judge Faye D'Opal noted that one of the state's own experts recommended the single injection method as being superior to the three-drug sequence approved last year...
LINK - LATimes.com
December 19, 2011
Pinole police announce arrest in In-N-Out shooting
Police will seek charges Monday against a 25-year-old parolee who they say shot another man this week in the parking lot of a hamburger joint.
Oakland resident Salaam Scottzsha shot his 23-year-old victim in crowded parking lot of In-N-Out Burger on Fitzgerald Drive on Monday night, Pinole police Cmdr. Matthew Messier said....
LINK - MercuryNews.com
December 19, 2011
California teen gets 21 years for killing gay student
A Southern California teen who pleaded guilty to killing a gay classmate was sentenced Monday to 21 years in prison.
Brandon McInerney, 17, will serve time in a juvenile detention center until he turns 18, at which point he will be transferred to the custody of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. He will get no credit for time already served, and was ordered to pay $10,000 in restitution.
In September, a judge declared a mistrial in the case of McInerney after a nine week trial when jurors said they were hopelessly deadlocked on whether he should be found guilty of manslaughter or murder in the death of Lawrence King. He was set to be retried as an adult...
LINK - CNN.com
December 19, 2011
“Operation Santa” at Pelican Bay
Christmas came early for some students at Smith River Elementary School on Friday.
Children playing basketball and soccer and frolicking on the jungle gym stopped in their tracks when Santa Claus stepped out of a Pelican Bay State Prison Fire Truck that pulled onto the playground.
They hugged him from all sides and pulled at his beard while cheering....
LINK - Triplicate.com
December 18, 2011
Pension Reform Updates: Panel Discussion Webinar
This session will provide you an update on the latest changes to California's pension laws, including the rules for hiring annuitants and new PERS regulations defining compensation. This session will discuss available strategies, and pitfalls to avoid, in reducing liability for pension benefits.
Issues that will be addressed include implementing pension tiers, sharing pension costs with employees, eliminating "spiking" and discontinuing accrued leave payouts that are considered compensation for retirement...
LINK - CSDA.net
December 18, 2011
Split (San Jose) council votes to place pension reform on ballot
Over the loud objections of city workers and retirees, the San Jose City Council voted 6-5 Tuesday to approve language for a pension reform measure that could go before voters in June.
The vote was a key political victory for Mayor Chuck Reed, who since last May has been trying to sell the council on a measure that overhauls pensions to prevent the layoffs of more cops and a severe reduction in city services.
"We need to move ahead," Reed said during a spirited three-hour debate that drew an overflow crowd of mostly city workers and retirees...
LINK - MercuryNews.com
December 15, 2011
Judge plans on tossing California’s lethal injection procedures
A Marin County judge will decide Friday whether to finalize her decision to toss out California's new lethal injection procedures after she ruled prison officials failed to properly adopt them.
In a tentative ruling Thursday, Marin County Superior Court Judge Faye D'Opal found prison officials failed to properly consider a one-drug alternative to the three-drug lethal injection mixture used to execute inmates.
Attorneys representing the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation will get a chance to change the judge's mind during a hearing Friday morning...
LINK - SacBee.com
December 15, 2011
CalPERS Calls Critical Stanford Pension Study an Exaggeration
A Stanford University-based economic think tank has asserted that California's public employee pension plans are skyrocketing, yet the nation's largest pension fund claims the study exaggerates.
"The study is written from a perspective that is intended to exaggerate perceived costs and the instability of pension systems,” said Ann Boynton, Deputy Executive Officer of CalPERS Benefit Programs Policy and Planning, in a statement released on the fund's website. “The report’s findings were based on low discount rates to artificially magnify unfunded liabilities. It is important to remember that CalPERS invests in a highly diversified portfolio that includes stocks, real estate, and other assets that have historically earned significantly higher returns than the rates assumed in the study.”
The Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research claimed that the shortfall in California's plans is too large to be solved only by cutting future payouts, noting that the state's plans face long-term shortfalls as high as $500 billion -- a number that continues to grow rapidly. According to economist and former state Assemblyman Joe Nation, the report's author, the shortfalls cost the state $3.4 million for each day that lawmakers fail to change the pension benefits and contribution levels for public employees...
LINK - AI-CIO.com
December 14, 2011
Trigger cuts: CA counties to pay state $125,000 to house juvenile offenders
Gov. Jerry Brown announced earlier this week the state has to pull the trigger on a series of mid-year budget cuts due to low tax revenues. One of those reductions shaves $67 million from the state’s juvenile justice budget. The cut will force counties to foot the bill for Juvenile Justice wards in state custody.
In the 1990s the state’s Division of Juvenile Justice oversaw 10,000 young offenders. Then, about a decade ago, state lawmakers restricted the types of offenders counties can send to state juvenile facilities to those convicted of violent and serious felonies and sex offenses.
The belief was that keeping youth closer to home would reduce their risk of becoming a repeat offender. The change shrunk the Division of Juvenile Justice population to 1,100...
LINK - SCPR.org
December 13, 2011
San Berardino to impose LBF on county probation/correction officers
The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors today will consider cutting salary and benefits for a group of probation correction officers, a move officials say will result in $3.6million savings annually.
County Chief Executive Officer Greg Devereaux is recommending that supervisors impose a "last, best and final offer" on the Specialized Peace Officer Unit and reject an arbitrator's recommendation that the county and the unit adopt a tentative agreement from June 30.
That agreement was rejected by members of the peace officer unit, and a later attempt to bargain failed...
LINK - SBSun.com
December 12, 2011
San Jose Police investigating Saturday night shooting
San Jose Police are investigating a shooting that occurred Saturday night.
Just before 8pm, officers were called to the scene to find one man with a gunshot wound.
Investigations revealed that the 34-year-old San Jose man had allegedly been driving a stolen vehicle, and was stopped in the left lane on Southbound Monterey Road at Skyway Drive...
LINK - KLIV.com
December 12, 2011
Calaveras County Jail likely to fill
By this coming summer, most of the beds in the Calaveras County Jail will be occupied by inmates who would previously have been in state prisons, Calaveras County District Attorney Barbara Yook said last week.
Yook said she estimates that 40 of the jail's 65 beds will be occupied by offenders who would have served that time in prison before realignment - a process under which California is reducing its state prison population.
Yook made her remarks Friday in Angels Camp during a workshop on a variety of criminal justice issues for representatives of local media outlets....
LINK - Recordnet.com
December 11, 2011
Man found shot while driving stolen car
A man found shot in San Jose on Saturday night was driving a stolen vehicle and had an outstanding felony warrant, police said.
Police responded to reports of a shooting shortly before 8 p.m. near the corner of Monterey Road and Skyway Drive.
Officers found the 34-year-old San Jose resident suffering from a gunshot wound to the face there, and he was taken to a local hospital where he is being treated for non-life-threatening injuries...
LINK - ABCLocal.go.com
December 11, 2011
Alameda County realignment plan “ambitious” but moving in the right direction
More than a hundred felons have filtered into Alameda County since Gov. Jerry Brown's controversial plan to shift inmates from state prisons to local jurisdictions kicked in on Oct. 1.
Of the 115 who had arrived as of Monday, two have reoffended.
One was for forgery and the other for car theft, Chief Probation Officer David Muhammad said. "Given the history of the population," he added, "it's not bad."
The challenge now will be keeping the others expected to come under county supervision out of jail and in their community...
LINK - MercuryNews.com
December 10, 2011
DOC looking for a former parolee who has an extensive court history and failed to participate in GPS
A warrant was issued Wednesday for David Earl Windle, 40, who was sentenced to six years in prison in 2006 for assault with a deadly weapon. He was on parole but didn't participate in the required GPS monitoring, according to officials.
Windle also was convicted of rape in 1997 and has had several misdemeanor charges of failing to register as a sex offender, according to electronic court records.
He also plead guilty to battery in 2001...
LINK - CorrectionsOne.com
December 10, 2011
Butte County Jail crowded; prisoner realignment shifts 110 to county lockup
Staff has to determine who needs to be in custody and who can reasonably be put into alternative custody programs to prevent the jail from overcrowding, Undersheriff Kory Honea said.
"The primary concern for us is public safety," Honea said.
A law that took effect Oct. 1 shifts responsibility for thousands of lower-level criminals from the state to local jurisdictions. Judges no longer can send offenders to state prison for crimes such as auto theft, burglary, grand theft and drug possession for sale. Non-serious, non-violent, non-sexual felons, called "the nons," are instead sentenced to the county lockup. Parole violators who previously would have been returned to state prison now can only be incarcerated in county jails...
LINK - ChicoER.com
December 10, 2011
California’s county jails struggle to house influx of state prisoners
The early release of inmates in some parts of California is accelerating as officials at county jails struggle to accommodate state prisoners flowing into their facilities.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department planned to begin releasing about 150 inmates Friday because of overcrowding in county jails.
Sheriff Rod Hoops has decided to release the inmates, mostly parole violators or those convicted of nonviolent crimes, over the next five days. The inmates must have served at least half of their sentence, and have less than 30 days remaining on their sentence...
LINK - LATimes.com
December 10, 2011
Private prison officials say they have no cause they can release for Oct. prison riot in OK
A private prison in the western Oklahoma town of Sayre still does not have a cause it can release for a riot among inmates that occurred nearly two months ago, a spokesman for the facility says.
And the police chief said he has received no information from Corrections Corp. of America regarding the Oct. 11 riot at the North Fork Correctional Facility that resulted in 16 inmates being hospitalized...
LINK - TheRepublic.com
December 9, 2011
San Jose attorney calls pension reform unconstitutional
In a strongly-worded letter dated June 21, 2011 to Mayor Reed and the City Council, local retired San Jose city attorney Joan Gallo expressed bewilderment at why the City of San Jose would undertake an action which clearly violates the contract clause of the California and United States Constitutions.
Citing key California Supreme Court cases, Gallo writes the court has held that pension rights are an integral portion of compensation which cannot be changed once they have vested and with respect to active employees, some limited modification of vested pension rights has been allowed by the resulting disadvantage to employees must be accompanied by comparable new advantages...
LINK - Examiner.com
December 9, 2011
First group of released prisoners hit the streets
The early release of 150 San Bernardino County jail inmates due to the state's prisoner realignment law generated mixed reactions among law enforcement and educators.
But the county's sheriff said Friday that it's a necessity at a time of serious overcrowding in the wake of the new law.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department announced Thursday that it planned to release the inmates between Friday and Wednesday because the county's jail populations are nearing capacity...
LINK - SBSun.com
December 7, 2011
More Californians say public pensions too generous
About 41 percent of California voters think pension benefits received by public employees are too generous, with Republicans overwhelmingly viewing the retirement benefits as over-the-top, but independent and Democratic voters more supportive of the current system, according to a Field Poll released today.
The survey also found majority support for Gov. Jerry Brown's proposal to raise the retirement age for new government workers and set limits on public employee benefits.
The poll surveyed 1,000 registered voters last month and found that the number of Californians who view government employee pensions as too generous has grown over the past two years, from 32 percent in 2009 to the current 41 percent. However, the poll also found that a majority of both Democrats and independent voters view the current benefits as about right or not generous enough - and that 49 percent of all voters feel that way...
LINK - SFGate.com
December 7, 2011
San Jose City Council votes 6-5 to place pension reform on June ballot
Over the loud objections of city workers and retirees, the San Jose City Council voted 6-5 Tuesday to approve language for a pension reform measure that could go before voters in June.
The vote was a key political victory for Mayor Chuck Reed, who since last May has been trying to sell the council on a measure that overhauls pensions to prevent the layoffs of more cops and a severe reduction in city services.
"We need to move ahead," Reed said during a spirited three-hour debate that drew an overflow crowd of mostly city workers and retirees...
LINK - MercuryNews.com
December 7, 2011
Poll: Majority support Brown’s pension reform
A new Field Poll finds bipartisan support among California voters for Gov. Jerry Brown's pension proposal, with nearly two-thirds saying they support reduced retirement benefits for new and current public workers.
The poll released Wednesday shows about four in 10 registered voters believe public pensions are too generous...
LINK - MercuryNews.com
December 6, 2011
Pepper spray unleashed in another department store
Holiday shoppers pepper-sprayed by a purse thief managed to subdue the parolee as he ran from a Walnut Creek department store.
Police said Bryan Black, 42, and a female accomplice snatched 17 high-end purses worth $10,000 at a Nordstrom store and ran for a getaway car.
Black, an Oakland parolee armed with a knife, was grabbed by a shopper and tackled by another. Black showered the shoppers with pepper spray, but they managed to hang on until police arrived, investigators said...
LINK - InlandNewsToday.com
December 6, 2011
Initiative to ban payroll deduction for political spending qualifies
The fight over unions using members' dues to fund political spending is headed back to the ballot next year.
A proposed initiative to block unions and corporations from using automatic payroll deductions for political purposes has made the cut to go in front of voters next November, the secretary of state announced today.. The measure, backed by GOP groups, also bans labor unions, corporations and, in some cases, contractors doing business with state government, from making contributions to candidate-controlled committees...
LINK - SacBee.com
December 5, 2011
Parolee accused of stalking nuns in San Francisco pleads not guilty
A San Francisco parolee is accused of stalking nuns who run a local soup kitchen.
Dionn Taylor, 44, pleaded not guilty on Friday to two counts of stalking in connection to alleged incidents occurring at an undisclosed soup kitchen and at other city locations between Nov. 15 and Nov. 18, according to the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office.
Details about the alleged incidents were not released in an effort to protect the nuns, Assistant District Attorney Omid Talai said Monday...
LINK - SFExaminer.com
December 5, 2011
Sac Bee Editorial: Legislators dither and pander on pensions
Gov. Jerry Brown showed up personally to pitch his 12-point pension plan before a joint Assembly- Senate Committee on Thursday.
The rare appearance underlines the importance of pension reform for this governor. Without it, Brown told legislators, "I don't think we will have the credibility to ask the people to do other things that are very much needed."
Chief among those "other things" is a tax increase he hopes to put before voters next year. Sadly, legislators seemed unimpressed...
LINK - SacBee.com
December 2, 2011
CCPOA supports Childhood Cancer Foundation of Southern California
The Loma Linda Drayson Center (25040 Stewart Street Loma Linda 92354) will be transformed into a Winter Wonderland for Childhood Cancer Foundation of Southern California’s (CCFSC) 30th Annual Christmas Celebration presented by San Manuel Band of Mission Indians and the California Correctional Peace Officers Association. The celebration is for children with cancer and their families who are registered with Childhood Cancer Foundation on Sunday, December 4, 2011 from 1:00-5:00pm. The annual celebration is provided by Childhood Cancer Foundation with the desire to provide families who are battling cancer the opportunity to enjoy the holidays in a safe environment.
More than 480 children and their parents have pre-registered to enjoy of the days holiday celebration. As the children arrive they are surrounded with 25 craft tables and activities to choose from. Christmas music will fill the gym with holiday cheer. Families will enjoy pizza that will be donated from Domino’s Pizza in Redlands and other goodies while listening to an interactive music program...
LINK - HighlandNews.net
December 2, 2011
Gov. Brown urges quick work to get state pension reform proposal on 2012 ballot
Making a rare gubernatorial appearance before a legislative committee, Gov. Jerry Brown on Thursday urged a panel studying potential changes to public employee pensions to act quickly on reforms he has proposed in order "to win the confidence of the people."
Brown has asked lawmakers to place on a next year's ballot constitutional changes that would implement portions of his proposals, which include requiring public workers to pay half the cost of annual contributions to their pension plans, raising the retirement age to 67 for most workers and establishing a so-called "hybrid" system that would include both a scaled-down pension and a 401(k)-type retirement saving plan...
LINK - VCStar.com
December 1, 2011
Initiative Attorney General File #: 2011-052 Repeal Dills Act (Amendment #1S)
This measure repeals the Dills Act and related provisions regarding excluded employees. The measure prohibits state employees from engaging in strikes against a state employer.
December 1, 2011
Public Safety Realignment and the Probation Department
The Public Safety Realignment Bill, known popularly as AB 109, was signed into law by Governor Brown on April 5, 2011. It represents the most sweeping changes to community corrections in a generation. Realignment focuses on several aspects of criminal sentencing, punishment, and community supervision. Certain offenders now are categorized as Post Release Community Supervision (PRCS), those convicted for various non-serious, non-violent, non-sex related offenses. Rather than being committed to state prison as in the past, they now serve their sentences in local jails. The legislation also transferred the responsibility for supervising these offenders upon their release to local county jurisdiction- county probation departments rather than state parole. Provisions of this bill took effect on October 1, 2011. Other key components include a mandate that offenders be released to the counties where they lived when the crime was committed; and one that prevents them from being sent to prison for violation of their terms of supervision. Realignment also requires probation departments to utilize programs that have proven records of success for the treatment and rehabilitation of these offenders.
Realignment mandates that probation departments perform the job of supervising these PRCS offenders similar to those already placed on probation. With AB 109, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) is required to classify offenders only by the present committed offense. In other words, a person with a history of violence or serious crime, but has a less serious current conviction, qualifies for local incarceration and probation supervision pursuant to AB 109...
LINK - BlackVoiceNews.com
December 1, 2011
Local state senator leading pension-reform committee
The Golden State's pension systems are fraught with areas of concern.
A report last year by the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research said retirement funds for 2.6 million California teachers, state workers and university employees have long-term unfunded obligations totaling as much as $500 billion.
At the center of the attempt to fix the state's pension system is an Inland Valley lawmaker who faces a difficult election bid next year...
LINK - DailyBulletin.com
December 1, 2011
Stockton police take unusual step in budget fight with city
In the annals of both labor and neighbor relations, a low point registered recently in Stockton, where the police union, feuding with the city manager, purchased the house next door to his.
While the union publicly contemplated whom to rent the house to – a police officer or a family in need of subsidized housing, perhaps – the city accused police of intimidating and harassing City Manager Bob Deis, and complained in court when a police officer on a backhoe clipped Deis' maple tree.
"Him and his wife yelled at me all day long," said Jose Ulloa, the officer who was using the backhoe. He said it was an accident...
LINK - SacBee.com
November 30, 2011
Inmate shift quickly filling some California jails
Two months into California's most far-reaching public safety realignment in decades, some counties are seeing a higher-than-expected influx of inmates who could crowd jails to the breaking point much earlier than expected.
State corrections officials say it is too soon to panic and expect the numbers to even out after an initial surge.
But reality is settling in as local law enforcement agencies struggle to contain criminals with a history of violence, substance abuse and mental illness who previously would have been tucked away in state prisons...
LINK - SFGate.com
November 30, 2011
State panel may require more steps before impasse is declared
A state board’s interpretation of a new law could profoundly change future labor negotiations in the city of San Diego and other public agencies in California if it requires additional action before a city can impose contract terms on union workers.
The legislation, authored by state Assemblywoman Toni Atkins and signed by Gov. Jerry Brown in October, would require public agencies to create an advisory fact-finding panel if mediation over labor contracts fail. The goal is to provide better transparency and recommend a reasonable settlement for both sides...
LINK - SignonSanDiego.com
November 30, 2011
Realignment sentences give long jail terms to inmates
Inland officials are facing lengthy consequences from the state’s new law to house nonviolent convicts in county jail instead of state prison.
The realignment law, AB109, which took effect Oct. 1, was presented as capping county jail sentences at three years. That isn’t happening.
As an example, on Tuesday a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge sentenced Dr. Conrad Murray to four years in county jail on his involuntary manslaughter conviction in the death of Michael Jackson...
LINK - PE.com
November 30, 2011
Opinion: Is realignment an opportunity? If so, let’s not waste it on building costly jail beds
November 17th's "California's Prison System - The Good, The Bad, The Ugly” conference, organized by Capitol Weekly and the University of California, brought together experts, advocates, and law enforcement and highlighted the devastating impacts of the expansion of California's prison system and consequent shift in state spending on education and social services. Conversations at the conference brought into sharper focus why California can't risk falling into the familiar pattern of failed corrections policies as it realigns public safety.
It has been seven months since the Supreme Court ordered California to drastically reduce the state's prison population. Beginning Oct. 1, responsibility for low-level prisoners was transferred from state prisons to counties. While politicians and undits called the move unprecedented, many counties drafted ill-conceived plans that simply shift overcrowding from the state level prisons to already crowded county jails...
LINK - CapitolWeekly.net
November 30, 2011
Pension reform hearing and agenda
Jerry Brown's pension plan to get California lawmakers' scrutiny
California lawmakers will delve into Gov. Jerry Brown's 12-point pension plan on Thursday, the second legislative hearing by a two-house committee looking at the state's pension systems.
Brown's plan would generally propose less generous benefits for new hires and raise the retirement age.
The committee, which held its initial hearing Oct. 26 in Carson, is chaired by Assemblyman Warren Furutani, D-Gardena, and Sen. Gloria Negrete McLeod, D-Chino.
LINK - SacBee.com
November 30, 2011
Riverside County accepts 735 parolees from state prisons
Riverside County has taken over control of 735 parolees since a state law went into effect Oct. 1 and shifted oversight of most felons to local counties.
It expects an additional 477 by April, Chief Probation Officer Alan Crogan said today.
He spoke during part of a town hall forum hosted by Assemblyman Brian Nestande and State Senator Bill Emmerson. It began at 3:30 p.m. in the Palm Desert City Council chambers...
LINK - MyDesert.com (The Desert Sun)
November 29, 2011
Alameda County finalizes prison realignment plan details
Alameda County has finalized details for dealing with hundreds of felons the probation department will inherit from the state as a result of the controversial realignment program that kicked in Oct. 1.
The plan approved by Alameda County supervisors Nov. 22 also provides details for how to divide the $9.2 million the state provided to help pay for supervising 848 felons expected to be incorporated into the county system over the next three years. They are inmates who have been released from state prison to community supervision, those who previously would have been sent to state prison for nonviolent felonies and parole violators...
LINK - ContraCostaTimes.com
November 29, 2011
ASSEMBLYMEMBER KRISTIN OLSEN on Pension Reform
Recently, Governor Jerry Brown unveiled his state worker pension reform proposal to the public. He presented a plan that, at least on paper, is a good start, ending the worst abuses in the system and requiring future employees to more equitably share in the cost of retirement benefits.
It is a good sign that many of the ideas the Governor put forward are ideas that Republicans have pushed for years. Pension costs are consuming a larger chunk of the state budget each year, threatening classroom funding.
According to the bipartisan Little Hoover Commission, the 10 largest public pension funds in California – including CalPERS – faced a combined shortfall of more than $240 billion in 2010. Researchers at Stanford University have come up with an even more shocking number – they estimate unfunded pension obligations to be as high as $500 billion...
LINK - TurlockJournal.com
November 29, 2011
First Adult Pre-Trial Facility pods opened
AB 109 is presenting a unique set of challenges in 58 different ways, as officials in each of the state's 58 counties are quickly finding out.
In Tulare County, the transition spurred by AB 109 appears to be going fairly smoothly. According to Tulare County sheriff's Capt. Robin Skiles, who heads the jails division, a 37-bed pod at the Adult Pre-Trial Facility was recently opened to accommodate the county's growing male inmate population, while a 48-bed pod has been activated to handle the expanding number of female inmates.
New staffing hires for each of the reopened pods came from AB 109 funds provided by the state, said Skiles...
LINK - ValleyVoiceNewspaper.com
November 28, 2011
‘Smart on Crime’ Plan Not So Smart without Transparency and Community Help
California is making the transition to become smart on crime. AB 109 that took effect in October of this year shifts the responsibility for newly convicted offenders who are deemed to be non-violent, non-serious, and non-sex offenders from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to local counties. Offenders can be placed in county jail or on probation instead of detention at a State Correctional facility.
This new “smart on crime” approach is intended to create innovative and effective responses to prison overcrowding and to decrease recidivism. Additionally, it falls in line with the Supreme Court Brown v. Plata decision that ordered the state to remedy the safety and health conditions caused by overcrowding...
LINK - CityWatchLA.com
November 27, 2011
Cash-strapped cities want workers to contribute more to pensions
As Gov. Jerry Brown calls for sweeping reforms in public-employee pensions, cities such as Santa Ana demand concessions from their employee unions.
It's business as usual at Santa Ana City Hall as residents trickle up to the counter to pay business fees, pick up a dog license or, in a newer wing next door, apply for a free solar permit.
But on the top floor of the eight-story concrete fortress, city officials in Orange County's most labor-friendly city are doing the once unthinkable: demanding big benefit concessions from their employee unions...
LINK - LATimes.com
November 26, 2011
State ends contract with Desert View (private) prison in Adelanto, CA
The state has canceled its contract with the privately operated Desert View Modified Community Correctional Facility, putting about 150 workers out of a job.
Desert View's contract termination officially takes effect Wednesday, though prison employees told the Daily Press that The Geo Group Inc. has been preparing to deactivate the prison at Rancho and Aster roads since May.
The 643-bed medium-security prison is shuttering its doors as part of California’s realignment plan, which responds to federal orders to reduce state prison overcrowding by shifting responsibility for tens of thousands of low-level offenders to county governments...
LINK - VVDailyPress.com
