Because of California’s sluggish economic growth, this year there will be around $ 3.7 billion less that forecasters expected for state expenditures, according to a report by the Legislative Analyst Office (LAO). The independent office said the state’s lethargic economy was primarily due to a weakness in the housing market, construction industry and financial services sector.
The report says the shortfall triggers $2 billion in budget cuts beginning with the following reductions:
$100 million University of California
$100 million California State University
$100 million for funding developmental services
$110 million In-House Support Services
$99 million California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
$30 million for community college staff
$17 million for child care
$16 million to libraries
$15 million for prosecutors
$15 million in Medi-Cal
$6 million for pre-schools
Furthermore, the LAO said that the state will need to address a $12.8 billion budget deficit between now and the time that the state adopts a 2012-13 budget plan. The report acknowledges that the state faces an ongoing, multibillion-dollar annual deficit, even as revenues expand.
The LAO recognizes that there are few easy options for balancing the state budget. Accordingly, the remaining work of eliminating the state’s persistent, annual deficit will require complicated cuts in expenditures and/or increases in revenues.
The report concludes that if the Legislature and the governor were to find a solution to the state’s ongoing budget deficit problems, they could focus on solving some of the state’s long-term problems.
Finally, some of the report’s warnings are predicated on whether the “congressional super-committee” would come up with a federal deficit reduction plan, and extend the federal payroll tax holiday; however, these plans have stalled and will significantly affect California’s budget negatively.
Archives for December 2011
Arizona Accused of Denying Health Care to Prisoners
Arizona correctional officials are investigating numerous complaints by prisoners who claim that they are consistently denied medical care for weeks or months – even for severe, life-threatening conditions.
“We’re out of compliance with our own policies. The lack of treatment represents an escalating danger to the community, the staff and the inmates,” said former deputy medical director for psychiatry Michael Breslow.
The Prison Law Office, a legal-advocacy group for prisoners, acquired Breslow’s statement through a Freedom of Information Act request.
Prisoners who have lost sight, had body parts amputated or been severely disfigured allege proper medical care could have prevented unnecessary suffering.
Based on those allegations, the legal group has accused the state of persistently and systemically denying medical and mental-health care to prisoners, violating state and federal laws. The legal group, also claims that lack of care may add to a prison suicide rate in Arizona more than double the national average, with 14 reported suicides in fiscal year 2010.
Corrections officials say they have found no evidence of systemic problems. However, they say that pending plans to privatize prison health care have made it harder to fill medical staff vacancies.
Rule changes two years ago that cut payments to outside contractors further stymied access to care, assert corrections officials.
The Prison Law Office noted that in 2009 the Arizona State Prison Complex-Eyman in Florence had only one half-time psychiatrist for more than 1,000 patients who were on mental-health medications.
Earlier this year, mental health staff did not see prisoners at the Arizona State Prison Complex-Perryville for six months or more, according to the legal group.
From the Editor
As San Quentin News moves into the New Year its staff and advisors would to take this opportunity to reflect back on the accomplishments achieved in 2011 and to express to our readers what we hope to accomplish in 2012.
We successfully printed nine editions of the newspaper in 2011 and it is our goal to publish and print 12 editions in 2012.
Since the return of San Quentin News in 2008, we have had the opportunity to closely examine what is happening around the world and report news-making events from a different perspective – a perspective that affects the everyday life of the incarcerated.
It gives us the opportunity to communicate to our community that we no longer wish to be defined by the crime that we committed. The power of the press gives us the chance to illustrate that rehabilitation is possible – that we may re-enter back to our communities in a positive way.
Today the streets of communities are rippled with gang violence and drug use. Instead of building more pro-social programs, our political leaders are finding ways to ship these children, men and women into a prison industrial complex for longer and longer periods. All the while the system is cruelly overcrowded, according to the United States Supreme Court.
If we keep looking for space in county jails and out-of-state private prisons, we will only add to the economic crisis that our state is suffering. While this strategy may ultimately reduce the state’s prison population, it will only add to the already ballooning prison budget and take away from programs proven to reduce crime.
San Quentin News wishes to continue to alert, interpret, educate, lead to persuade, provide a forum for the voiceless, and entertain the men and women of the great state of California.
All those interested in solving the problems associated with mass incarceration and high recidivism rates should examine the pro-social programming model of San Quentin.
The San Quentin News wants to wish all of you in these difficult times happy holidays.
A Voice From Inside Of Women’s Prisons
The San Quentin News conducted this interview with Deirdre Wilson, advocate for women prisoners who has a radio show on KPFA the last Friday of each month.
Tell us what groups you work with, your responsibilities and what population you serve?
I am Program Coordinator for California Coalition for Women Prisoners, a member of All of Us or None, and part of the Formerly Incarcerated and Convicted People’s National Movement, dedicated to restore the full human and civil rights of prisoners and prison survivors.
Are women prisoners adequately served in terms of medical/psychiatric care?
Unfortunately, people often go undiagnosed with serious cancers…lumps that are not biopsied, are mis-diagnosed as something else, who are then found to be in late stages of cancer once they are biopsied.
We met with a young woman who was sentenced to life as a juvenile, who is known to have had mental illness, and was described as developmentally challenged at the time of her crime. She was 15. Although she is extremely bright and engaging, it is painful to see her struggle with paranoia, anxiety and what she says has been labeled “schizophrenia.” She does not take medication, as she doesn’t like how it makes her feel. Who would feel safe in that atmosphere?
What are some of the other issues facing women prisoners, and what can supporters do about them?
The primary issue facing women prisoners is what faces all of us as a society: destruction of community and family. …People can do a lot to support community health overall by working in any capacity to humanize those who are locked up, to advocate for alternatives to prison that are constructive rather than destructive, and to demand that children separated from parents in prison get all the support they need and deserve, including maintaining contact and relationships with their parents.
What is the mission of your radio show?
It is to amplify voices of prisoners, represent issues that affect them, and to let those inside know they are part of the community and that they are heard and felt on the outside. The most basic human emotional needs are to know that you exist, that you matter to others, and that you belong.
What advice would you offer to reduce the prison population?
“We met with a young woman who was sentenced to life as a juvenile, who is known to have mental illness, and was described as developmentally challenged at the time of her crime. She was 15”
Release all those with serious medical conditions and those who are elderly immediately, and with proper support and care. Review every person eligible for parole by the standard set by the law and immediately release those who meet it. Review all 3-strikes cases, gang enhancements and convictions of life without possibility of parole. Redirect at least 60 percent of state funding away from policing and the prison industry to viable support for those released; affordable housing, medical care, substance abuse, treatment, medical care and mental health support, and let people access the resources they need to grow and develop as valued human beings.
California Coalition for Women Prisoners, 1540 Market Street #490, SF, CA 94102.
–JulianGlenn Padgett
contributed to this story.
POETRY
By EDDIE GRIFFIN
Journalism Guild Writer
They invite your impropriety
They’re so glad that you could come
They ignore your many addictions
And they knew that you’d succumb
Tragic hero of rural crisis
On your back many towns have grown
Do you know your intrinsic value
Can’t you see the seeds they’ve sown
Seeds fertilized in ignorance
And strewn throughout the state
Watered with demagoguery
Now they consummate your fate
Can you see now what you’ve lost
Can you glean the distraction
Without knowledge of self
There is no basis for action
In Indian Country
Native people use peyote as a healer and an amulet. Peyote can be powdered and drunk as tea. Fresh buttons are eaten during ceremonies. Peyote is used as a healing medicine by many tribes, and is said to cure tuberculosis, pneumonia, diabetes, colds fevers and pain. Peyote is a small spinelesscactus that grows primarily in Southern Texas and Northern Mexico – its scientific name is lophophora wiliamsii.
The narcotic effect from the plant comes from eight alkaloids contained in the plant – mescaline being the most commonly known.
Mescaline is not habit forming and is unique in that consciousness is not lost during its use.
Coach Shares Some History
Phil Towle, psychology coach for the University of California Bears football team, discusses his sports-related history and his involvement with the San Quentin program called Kid C.A.T. (Creating Awareness Together).
What was your relationship to sports growing up?
I played semi-pro baseball. I also was the sports editor at Occidental College in Southern California.
What inspired you to become a sports editor?
My dad taught me how to read by reading the L.A. Times sports page and the context became important to me.
How did you become a performance coach for the St. Louis Rams 1997-1999?
I called Coach Dick Vermeil and I asked him could I help him with football when he came back to the Rams. He said call him back and I did.
What was your job as a psychology coach?
I coached the mental part of the game. I helped players with mental blocks, distractions, personal problems, focus and motivation.
How did your coaching affect the outcome of the team?
We won the Super Bowl in the 1999-2000 season over the Tennessee Titans. Did you receive a championship ring?
Yes.
What happened after the Super Bowl?
Coach Vermeil retired with the Rams and then he brought me back with him when the Kansas City Chiefs hired him.
Are you currently coaching the mental part of the game?
I work for Coach Jeff Tedford of the California Bears. Just as teams strategize to play each other, I use the same strategy for the mental game. I coach their players and coaches.
How did you become involved with Kid C.A.T.?
Brenda, who is a volunteer for the group, asked if I can help the members become a closer knit team.
How’s your experience with Kid C.A.T.?
Life changing! The Kid C.A.T. group that is forced to live in confinement communicates and collaborates better than teams and committees on the outside. I feel safer in some ways and I enjoy myself in this group more than I do outside.
How has Kid C.A.T. affected you?
Being a part of Kid C.A.T. has taught me to appreciate what is most important in life, which is to take advantage of each precious moment by giving my best to it. Their members seem totally devoted to becoming the best people they can be.
Legend Remembered
Boxing legend Joe Frazier lost his last fight to liver cancer but one of his nephews remembers him as a people’s champion and a fighter to the end.
Smokin’ Joe Frazier
Joe Frazier fought many battles in his life and held the heavyweight championship of the world for several years.
Yet on Monday, Nov. 7, the man known as Smokin’ Joe Frazier, 67, died after his brief bout with liver cancer.
“I was at work when I heard the news,” said R. Frazier, nephew of the late Joe Frazier and a San Quentin correctional officer.
Frazier was famous for his military stance and street brawling style. He defeated Muhammad Ali in 1971 at Madison Square Gardens, retaining his heavyweight title. He floored Ali with a devastating left hook in the 15th round during the grueling battle titled the Fight of the Century.
“The first thing that went through my mind was that someone was giving out some bad information,” the nephew said about the passing of his uncle.
C/O Frazier said his family was notified a week earlier that his uncle had more time to live.
“But upon further information,
I see that wasn’t at all true,” he added.
About 4,000 people attended the funeral service held at the Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church. The Rev. Jesse Jackson and Muhammad Ali were among the celebrity guests there.
“Rev. Jesse Jackson said my uncle was not just the average Joe,” said Frazier. “The reverend impressed us when he said he wasn’t just a nobody from nowhere, but he became a somebody, not just an average Joe.”
Joe Frazier was the son of a South Carolina sharecropper and became a boxer by accident.
He first went to the gym to get into shape. Soon after, Frazier began fighting competitively, becoming one of the best amateur heavyweights in the nation.
“In 1969 uncle Joe Frazier would come home to train,” C/O Frazier said.
“He was my uncle on my father’s side and he would bring his entourage and bodyguards to train with him,” said Frazier.
“The family supported their boxing relative by going to the local civic center to watch his fights.”
Frazier was a country boy who lived by an old adage: “When you go to the big party, you dance with the one who brung ya.” For the relentless boxer, that was his signature left hook.
Frazier went pro in 1965 and amassed 11 straight wins under the guidance of Yank Durham. “That was his line of work,” Frazier said. “He had to provide for his family; he had to be good at it.”
When the other guy stepped into the ring, said Frazier, his uncle felt like the other guy was taking food from his family. “Like Sonny Liston, who my uncle beat.”
Frazier said Ali was negative and called him names to disturb his game plan.
“Ali called him an Uncle Tom. That made my uncle want to hit him even harder,” said Frazier. “I distinctly remember him tell Ali, ‘I am no Uncle Tom.’”
Frazier’s rebuttal led up to their last fight in 1975, a 14-round fight in Quezon City outside of the Philippines capital of Manila, touted by Ali as The Thrilla in Manila.
“It was the closest I’ve come to death,” Ali said after winning the title.
One of the noted sports phrases based on a Frazier-George Foreman fight, “Down goes Frazier,” was noted by a preacher at the funeral who added, “But he got back up.”
The nephew said he thought he was the only one who said “But he got back up.”“After today, instead of saying, ‘Down goes Frazier,’ we can now say, ‘Up goes Frazier,’” said the nephew.
–Sports Editor Gary Malachi Scott contributed to this article
San Quentin Kings Last Season Battle
BY GARY SCOTT
The San Quentin Kings basketball team’s season finale was a heartbreaker as they fell 90-76 to the outside Sports Ministry Basketball team.
Down 59-52 in the fourth quarter, the Kings tried desperately to make a push for the lead. Billy Wilson drove hard to the basket for a lay up and after an opponent’s scored, he came back and drained a three-pointer, cutting the lead to a 61-57 deficit.
Adam Tarhouri of the Sports Ministry kept the pressure on the Kings consistently as he drove the ball baseline and scored on a six-foot floater, increasing the lead to 63-57.
Mario Ellis then took over the game periodically as he scored on an assist from Joe “The General” Demerson on a driving lay up and then on a floater, tying the game 63-63.
The game turned on the Warriors as they began to turn the ball over and give up fast break points, finding themselves down 88-70 late in the fourth quarter.
The Sports Ministry ended the Kings season in a bitter defeat.
Tarhouri, who played high school basketball at Engram High School in Seattle, said, “Our defensive play helped us keep the lead. I loved my first experience playing basketball here and I will definitely be back.”
Asked on the Line
For the 2011 holiday season, “Asked on the Line” conducted 50 random informal interviews with men in blue and teachers of the Prison University Project (PUP): If you could go back and repeat any winter holiday season, how old are you again? Who are you with? Where are you?
Many laughed and smiled as they reminisced—one was brought to tears.
For mainliners, 44 percent would relive a holiday season in childhood (12 or younger), 37 percent during adulthood (18+), and 19 percent in adolescence (13-17).
About 44 percent of the men said they are with “family” again. Their responses of who they would relive a holiday season with, in rank order are: 1. family, 2. parents, 3. children, 4. wife, and 5. siblings.
The number one place the men would be at is “home,” followed by a relative’s house or church. Home ranged from cities across the U.S. to that of countries like Haiti and Belize.
Lavelt would relive the holiday season when he was 12 with his family in Haiti. Ke Lam would be 6 again, and celebrate the holidays with his family in Novato. Eli would go back to when he was 20 to join his father and brother at Candlestick Park. “We went to see the Redemption Game between the 49ers and the Packers!”
Among PUP teachers, 70 percent would relive a holiday season during their childhood years, 17 percent as young adults, and 13 percent as adolescents. Also, 57 percent would relive the holiday with their parents, followed in order by siblings, family, friends, and grandparents.
From Kalamazoo, Mich. to Vieques, Puerto Rico, 61 percent would relive the holiday at “home,” followed by a relative’s house or friend’s house.
Vlad would be 6 again, with his father, picking out a Christmas tree. Frank and Albert would be 10 and 14 again with their respective families in Taiwan, and Diana would be 14 again and spend the holidays with her family in Jerusalem.
Joe would relive the holidays with his family in San Francisco when he was 8: “Grandma had given us a wagon to play with and we were drinking Coca-Colas. I was laughing so much that some of it came out of my nose! It was a really happy night.”