More than 60 youngsters experienced an up-close look at prison life Thursday at California Medical Facility during the yearly celebration of Bring Your Child To Work Day.

Joining thousands of workplaces across the country, the outer grounds of the prison were teeming with the children of staff from both CMF and neighboring California State Prison-Solano. The children met with CMF Warden Vimal J. Singh before beginning a host of activities ranging from examinations of contraband items and cell searches to demonstrations by CSP-Solano's

K-9 unit and a visit to CMF's fire department to see how the Jaws of Life work. A bike raffle followed...

A parolee at large out of Suisun City was arrested Tuesday afternoon while attempting to evade Vacaville police.

Members of Vacaville's Crime Suppression Team first spotted Ajamu Kontar Arnold, 31, while surveilling a motel in northern Vacaville earlier Tuesday, according to Vacaville police Sgt. Jeff Van Gorden...

In other matters, the council voted 4 to 0 to support the building of an inmate re-entry facility on state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation grounds near the California Medical Facility. Councilman Mitch Mashburn recused himself due to a potential conflict of interest.

Thus far, two sites have been proposed. Costs at either location reportedly are comparable. While prison officials preferred one location due to better accessibility, the council was divided...

An inmate at the California Medical Facility in Vacaville died Tuesday after a fight with his cellmate.

Nexter Sedillo, 50, and his cellmate fought at about 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitations spokeswoman Terry Thornton said.

Medical staff responded but Sedillo was pronounced dead at 12:59 p.m., Thornton said…

After years of inadequate medical care at California state prisons, a proposal is finally being rolled out that would add up to 5,000 beds throughout the state.

But is Vacaville ready to take 1,400 of them? That was the question posed last week when the court-appointed receiver and his team came to town to take public comment.

The proposed facility would be built near the hills behind California State Prison, Solano, and the California Medical Facility. It is one of seven proposed to ease the medical and mental health care needs of inmates throughout the state…

The federal receiver appointed to deal with state prison crowding is making plans to build a 1,400-bed inmate medical and mental health facility on land behind Vacaville's two state prisons.

The proposed site for the facility is within prison boundaries but would require removal of some orchard farmland behind Keating Park.

A public meeting on the project, designed to gather comments on what issues should be included in an environmental review of the plan, will be held from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Monday at the Travis Credit Union Community Room, 1 Travis Way, Vacaville. It is open to the public…

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…

When two minimum-security inmates escaped from the California Medical Facility in March, Vacaville residents sounded off about what they called inadequate notification efforts.

Since then, officials at CMF, California State Prison, Solano and the Vacaville Police Department have joined forces to improve public safety efforts in the event of future escapes. And in the past week, prison officials have distributed fliers throughout the community explaining new joint escape protocols.

"We took this issue seriously," emphasized CMF Warden Mike Knowles, at a meeting Wednesday of the Citizen's Advisory Committee, a panel of community leaders that meets six times a year to discuss prison matters.

CSP, Solano Warden D.K. Sisto added that the writing of the new protocols has been beneficial for all…

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…