SACRAMENTO – Gov. Jerry Brown is planning to throw more money at California’s chronically overcrowded prison system. The budget for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) will rise to $9.1 billion from $8.9 billion for the next fiscal year. The California Correctional Peace Officer’s Association (CCPOA) made significant contributions to Brown’s campaign as well as sponsoring advertising against Brown’s opposition, Meg Whitman.
Brown says he wants to “fully fund the salary and wages of authorized Correctional Officers” and “correct for a decline in the number of overtime hours available.” Almost 75 percent of California’s budget is devoted to employee costs. In 2009, the CDCR employed 68,000 people and paid them $4.78 billion, an average of $70,000 each. Overall the highest paid employees are medical personnel. More than 750 employees beat CDCR Director Matthew Cate’s $203,884 salary, including a parole agent in Los Angeles who took home $301,117.
SAN RAFAEL – Nearly 800 people attended the 18th Heart of Marin Awards luncheon at the Marin Center Exhibit Hall to honor outstanding nonprofits and community leaders. Among those honored was Karen Jandorf, a volunteer facilitator with the Insight Prison Project, who was named Volunteer of the Year.
