By Angelo Falcone A popular social activity on Valentine’s Day is the romantic dinner. Introducing our palates to new and exotic foods can be fun and make a lasting impression. For many, fast food or being cheap is not an option — especially if it’s a first date. Many individuals brush up on a foreign […]
Read MoreArizona — After the 2012 decision barring mandatory sentences of life without parole for offenders who were juveniles when they committed their crimes—and making the law retroactive—the U.S. Supreme Court ordered the state courts to review the sentences in several cases, SCOTUSblog reports. Justice Sonia Sotomayor explained that the sentencing judges in these cases did […]
Read MoreBy Thomas Gardner Many states are now considering laws that would strip gun rights from anyone who has been convicted of a domestic violence-related crime or is under a court-imposed protective order, The Associated Press reports. Driving this are the many instances where women and children have been killed or wounded by known abusers, the […]
Read More
By Aly Tamboura Contributing Writer The San Quentin News, created in 1940 by Warden Clinton T. Duffy, is at the end of an era, which began eight years ago under the guidance of one remarkable volunteer, who has decided to step down. Veteran journalist John C. Eagan, who has been volunteering his time mentoring prisoners, […]
Read More
By Aly Tamboura and Kevin D. Sawyer Once a year, America turns its eyes toward Black history to honor heroes of the nation’s evolution from slavery to Jim Crow and the struggle for equal rights. In 1966, Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seal planted the seeds of a Black nationalist movement in Oakland, CA, that spread […]
Read More
By Aly Tamboura The men had assembled a stage in an old industrial prison warehouse and proudly stood on its steps when they received certificates for completing the Career Technical Education (CTE) Construction Laborers Course. The program gives incarcerated men job skills aimed toward landing them employment upon completion of their prison terms. The nine graduates participated in a six-month program that teaches prisoners OSHA […]
Read More
By Aly Tamboura Contributing Writer Judith Puchner Breen, beloved San Quentin volunteer whose Video Literacy Project and passion for teaching touched the lives of many prisoners, died Jan. 17. Breen earned a B.A. from Swarthmore College and a Ph.D. from Cornell University. Her extensive career teaching English literature began at Temple University in Philadelphia and […]
Read More
By Aly Tamboura For many prisoners, Wednesday is just another humdrum day behind bars spent missing the free life and their loved ones. However, for a small group of men, Wednesday evenings mean packing into a cramped Arts in Corrections room where long-time mentor and writing instructor Zoe Mullery encourages them to craft and share […]
Read More
By Aly Tamboura After eight years as a San Quentin teacher and administrator, William J. Reeves has been transferred to Solano State Prison as vice principal. Reeves started out at San Quentin as a volunteer in the Kairos religious program and took a full-time position in the Education Department in 2004. At one point he […]
Read More
By Aly Tamboura The flock of Canadian Geese crowding San Quentin’s lower yard has near-doubled over the past few weeks. More than likely, the new residents are the same geese that previously lounged on H-Unit’s yard, until a duo of fanged guard dogs were deployed to run off the pesky honkers. The dogs used to […]
Read More