Today's observance of National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day comes as a controversial program which provides California State Prison, Solano inmates access to condoms moves into its fourth month. African Americans comprise a disproportionate amount of the state and national HIV/AIDS cases. They also make up a disproportionate sect of the incarcerated population.

Gov. Arnold Schwarz-enegger approved the creation of one-year Prisoner Condom Access Pilot Program at California State Prison, Solano in Vacaville, which began in November 2008. The program is controversial because having sex in prison is illegal and many feel providing condoms to inmates is condoning illegal behavior…

Sometimes, the simplest gesture can have great significance. That's why a mere sniff, scratch or growl offered by either of two special dogs at California State Prison, Solano, is taken so very seriously.

For the past 20 years, CSP Solano has been one of just three facilities in the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation system to have a canine team. The Soledad and Salinas Valley facilities each also has two handlers and two dogs.

The team at CSP is considered vital to day-to-day operations and the community as a whole, said Correctional Officer Jonathan Whitfield, who partners with 3-year-old Dutch shepherd Blue Zen…

Sometimes, the simplest gesture can have the most significance.

Which is why a mere sniff, scratch or growl offered by either of California State Prison, Solano's two canines is taken so very seriously and is usually followed up by an in-depth probe by correctional officers.

For the past 20 years, CSP Solano has had the distinction of being one of three facilities in the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation system to have a K-9 Team. The Soledad and Salinas Valley facilities each also have two handlers and two dogs…

Let me see if I get this straight: The Department of Corrections is going to give condoms to inmates at California State Prison, Solano, to protect them from the consequences of doing something that they are forbidden by law to do ("Inmates get condoms in new program," The Reporter, July 29).

Is there anyone else who sees the wrong-headedness in this whacky program? It is yet another example of how modern society is taking the old-fashioned and out-of-date notion of personal responsibility away from individuals (in this case prisoners, no less) who engage in a dangerous and reprehensible activity…

It's illegal for inmates to have sex in California prisons, but that's not stopping the state from installing condom machines at California State Prison Solano.

For the next year, KCRA-TV says 1,000 prisoners will be able to retrieve prophylactics from 10 machines throughout the facility. A non-profit group is paying for the trial program, which is budgeted for about 1,200 condoms a week.

"We know risk behavior is being reduced," Mary Sylla of the Center for Health Justice tells the station. "We will eventually be reducing HIV infections by this measure…"

A local prison is planning to provide condoms to prisoners, even though intercourse between inmates is illegal and considered a major offense.

For the next year, inmates at California State Prison Solano will be getting condoms from the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

"The rate of HIV in prison populations is five to seven times that of the general population, so we are putting a really high-risk population together," said Mary Sylla from the Center for Health Justice…

A new pilot program at California State Prison Solano will make condoms available to inmates in an effort to prevent the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.

The objective of the Sexual Barrier Device Distribution Project as outlined in documents obtained by The Reporter, is to assess the risk and viability of distributing condoms within California prisons.

In its report, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation recognizes that consensual and non-consensual sexual activity between inmates may occur in spite of regulations prohibiting such conduct. The report goes on to state that outbreaks of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases have been documented in many state prison systems and that state and federal prison inmates are affected by rates of HIV infection that are three to five times that in the free population…

A California State Prison, Solano inmate stabbed Tuesday at the facility continues to recover at John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek, prison officials said Thursday.

The inmate, whose name was not released, had brawled with two fellow members of the southern Hispanic group at the prison and was repeatedly stabbed in the back and kidney area, officials said.

One wound resulted in a collapsed lung, officials said, describing the other cuts as superficial…

Both tears and cheers filled a room at California State Prison, Solano on Thursday as inmates both past and present, crime victims and others came together to celebrate one another and to promote the power of healing.

Twenty years ago, the Victim Offender Reconciliation Group (VORG) began its run at the prison. Members of Bay Area Women Against Rape partnered with officials to bring together inmates and crime victims and start a dialogue.

What led a man to commit a crime and be sentenced to prison? How did that crime affect the victim and others? These questions and others make both sides look within, deal with what's there and then figure out what comes next…

A Solano County Grand Jury report released this week regarding Vacaville's two prisons commended both facilities for their inmate programs and suggested that both expand their offerings.

At California State Prison, Solano, grand jurors found that the Prison Industry Authority program, which gives inmates career skills in various trades, benefits inmates during and after their incarceration. They recommended growing the program. Jurors also commended the facility for its local outreach programs and recommended expanding them throughout Solano County.

At California Medical Facility, the grand jury found that, despite being near inmate capacity, operations are being handled well. Still, they suggested that the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation work toward increasing the prison's size…

Tolliver was one of 130 inmates at California State Prison, Solano, who graduated from myriad educational programs - through Vaca Valley Adult School - ranging from General Education Diplomas (GEDs) to certifications to college degrees.

Their smiles were a rare sight, Warden D.K. Sisto said, and a welcome one. Their achievements, he added, were extraordinary.

"It's actually the first step in turning their lives around," Sisto said. "It takes courage, dedication and endurance on their part, and love, support and sacrifice on (families') part."

California State Prison-Solano officials announced Friday that there is a confirmed case of an inmate with tuberculosis, and that as a result, prison medical and custody staff have begun evaluating inmates who may have been exposed. Following the discovery of his medical condition, the inmate immediately was isolated from the general inmate population and transferred to a San Joaquin hospital for respiratory isolation, medical evaluation and treatment…

The state Department of Corrections will not contest a fine related to excess wastewater coming from a local prison, Vacaville officials confirmed Tuesday. In August, the Vacaville City Council upheld a penalty in excess of $41,000, which the Public Works Department imposed for consistent wastewater overages at California State Prison-Solano. According to city staff, the fine came after three years of violations and several unheeded administrative orders…