Gov. Jerry Brown wins two more years to reduce prison crowding

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Jerry Brown on Monday won two more years to reduce prison crowding, a significant victory in his protracted battle with federal judges over inmate numbers.

The judges gave the governor until the end of February 2016 to ease crowding to levels they consider safe and imposed a schedule for doing so. In return, the administration must immediately make more inmates — mostly the elderly and ill — eligible for parole.

Monday's ruling averts a potentially explosive showdown between Brown and the judges before the governor officially launches his expected reelection campaign. It also reduces the chances that Brown will be forced to release inmates early — although if the state misses any of the court's new deadlines, a yet-to-be-named official will have the power to set prisoners free.

"It is obviously very good news for the governor," said Raphael Sonenshein, executive director of the Pat Brown Institute for Public Affairs at Cal State L.A. The prospect of public backlash over mass prison releases, even those ordered by a court, "did have potential for creating problems for what is largely a smooth reelection campaign."

The judges' first benchmark is June 30, by which time the state must shed 1,000 inmates from its lockups, despite an increase in the rate at which they are arriving.

California now has 117,600 prisoners in prisons built for 81,600, and just over 12,200 more are housed in contract beds scattered across four states. The administration's most recent projections show that without changes, California will add about 10,000 inmates in the next four years.

In agreeing to Brown's request for a delay, the panel of three judges — who last spring excoriated the governor for defying their orders — cite his proposal to end the legal tussle and to "consider the establishment of a commission to recommend reforms of state penal and sentencing laws."

The governor has not announced a concrete plan for the formation of such a panel.

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Lawyers for inmates say a constitutional crisis has been avoided now that the judges won't have to carry out their threat to hold Brown in contempt. But otherwise the attorneys found little to like.

"We're quite disappointed," said Michael Bien, lead lawyer for about 33,000 inmates in a class-action case over prison mental health care. "There is no justification for the delay. All of the things they are talking about doing now, they could have done years ago."

Republican critics of Brown's prison policies were upset that the state must now put more felons on parole, even through credits for good behavior.

"This court order is tragic," said a statement from state Sen. Jim Nielsen (R-Gerber), a frequent critic of Brown's criminal justice record. "Once released, these dangerous felons will threaten our local communities, where residents are already suffering from increased crime and where police agencies are overburdened."

But state Senate leader Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento), who had worked independently to negotiate a settlement between the state and the court, called the outcome "the best of both worlds."

The state now has the time to invest in rehabilitation programs aimed at keeping offenders from returning to prison once they are released, he said, while the inmate population "continues to be reduced in real and enforceable ways."

Steinberg, an advocate for the revision of California's sentencing laws, nodded to political realities by adding, "There's no question sentencing reform has to be the twin of these investments.... It is probably better in a non-election year."

Brown also has acknowledged the political realities of the prolonged crisis. He has been meeting with law enforcement agencies and prosecutors across the state to talk about the effects of his first pass at reducing prison crowding — a law that since late 2011 has diverted lower-level felons and parole violators to county jails, many of them already overcrowded.

Under the judges' Monday order, Brown must immediately go forward with plans he announced last month. Those include expanding eligibility for parole for inmates who are medically incapacitated or those over 60 who have spent at least 25 years in prison.

He must also allow "second-strikers" whose crimes were nonviolent to shave off up to a third of their prison time through good behavior or participation in rehabilitation programs. And those prisoners must be considered for parole when they have served half their sentence.

Brown's administration also agreed to open programs at 13 prisons to help prepare inmates for release and to pursue discussions on opening similar facilities in some counties.

The two-year grace period from U.S. District Judges Lawrence Karlton and Thelton Henderson and 9th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Stephen Reinhardt frees up money Brown said he would have otherwise used to lease more custody beds. In his budget proposal last month, the governor earmarked $40 million for the reentry programs now required by the court.

The judges' order also comes with a continued freeze on the number of beds California can rent in other states.

paige.stjohn@latimes.com

via: http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-ff-brown-prisons-20140211,0,607017.story#ixzz2t2NwoStC

San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department opens expanded jail

ADELANTO >> Three years in the making, the $145.4 million expansion of the High Desert Detention Center adds 1,392 new beds to help relieve jail overcrowding brought about by the realignment of state prisoners.

On Thursday, hundreds rank and file from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department and officials from across the county gathered at the High Desert Detention Center to celebrate the opening of the expanded jail. The project increases the jail’s footprint by 297,000 square feet to over 8 acres, and includes new medical and dental facilities that eliminate the need for deputies to transport inmates to West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga for those services.

“We’ve constructed a facility that is truly state of the art,” Sheriff John McMahon said during Thursday’s event, where a tour of the jail’s expanded wing followed. “This is a great opportunity for us to keep moving forward in the corrections business.”

A special coating on the walls in the jail’s intake and medical areas reduces the spread of infectious diseases such as staph infections, which are common in jails, prisons, and other communal living facilities.

Not having to drive prisoners to Rancho Cucamonga from the High Desert allows deputies to get back to their patrol duties faster after booking them in Adelanto.

The jail’s expanded wing will open in three phases, as the Sheriff’s Department’s budget allows for staffing of the facility. The first phase will see 222 beds filled within the next couple weeks, and the inmates who get those beds will be those whose cases are being heard in High Desert courtrooms.

Construction on the project began in 2011 and included a new 25,00-square-foot booking building, three housing units, remodeled kitchen and laundry facilities, a new parking lot and fire access roads. A number of unforeseen issues during construction including design flaws and changes to building codes caused the project budget to increase by $25.4 million.

The facility is equipped with a high definition video-surveillance system, and video monitors in each housing unit will allow inmates to visit with family and others. They will no longer be allowed face-to-face visitations because inmate movement is being restricted for security purposes, said the jail’s commander Capt. Jon Marhoefer.

Video visitation has been in place for the past year at smaller jails in Barstow and Joshua Tree and is becoming a trend statewide, Marhoefer said.

“You will see more and more of this,” Marhoefer said, adding that the video visiting system at the High Desert Detention Center is the first time the county has implemented the technology on such a large scale.

As the county’s jails swelled in the 1990s and began reaching full capacity, the need for more became apparent. In 2008, the county applied for, and received, $100 million from the state for the expansion project, initially budgeted at $144 million.

The state funding was made available through the Offender Rehabilitation Services Act of 2007, which freed up $1.2 billion for jail construction projects across California.

California Republicans seek to redirect high-speed rail dollars

Saying California has betrayed the will of voters who approved a controversial high-speed rail project, Assembly Republicans on Thursday proposed giving those voters a redo.

"It's clear that the current high-speed rail project hardly resembles what the voters narrowly approved," said Assembly Republican Leader Connie Conway of Tulare.

Under the plan announced by a group of Republicans, voters would be able to decide whether to channel $8.5 billion in bond money, endorsed by voters via a 2008 ballot initiative, towards local transportation infrastucture projects.

The plan reflects both Republican ire over Gov. Jerry Brown's embattled project and the train's tenuous financial position. A Sacramento Superior Court judge in November ordered the Brown administration to tear up its funding plan, saying it had strayed from the terms of Proposition 1A, which authorized the bond issue back in 2008.

The Brown administration has since prevailed upon the California Supreme Court, and the high court ordered the case to be sent back to a lower court for an expedited review.

In addition to redirecting the high-speed rail money, the Republican package of four bills would dedicate up to $2.5 billion of a newfound state surplus to paying off transportation loans; ensure billions in fuel tax money flows annually into local infrastructure projects, per the terms of Proposition 42; and compel the state to repay $2.5 billion in gasoline tax revenue diverted elsewhere during lean budget years.


PHOTO: Assemblywoman Connie Conway, joined by fellow Republicans, unveils the caucus' transportation package in the State Capitol on February 6, 2014. The Sacramento Bee/Jeremy B. White.


via: http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2014/02/california-republicans-seek-to-redirect-high-speed-rail-dollars.html

Southern California leads in nation's domestic migration

California's population boomed in the two decades after World War II due to a high birthrate and massive migration from other states.

Population growth cooled off in the 1970s, then surged again in the 1980s with a wave of immigration from other nations, followed by a second baby boom among new immigrants.
More recently, the birthrate has been falling, foreign immigration has slowed to a trickle and the state loses more people to other states than it gains.

However, as a new Census Bureau report illustrates, the state - particularly Southern California - has been seeing a lot of movement, some to and from other states but also much within the state.

Between 2007 and 2011, as a severe recession hit California, Southern California counties were the nation's most active in terms of human movement.

The nearly 42,000 people who moved from Los Angeles County to adjacent San Bernardino County during the period was the largest county-to-county migration in the country. It was followed by the nearly 41,000 who moved from Los Angeles to Orange County and, interestingly, the more than 35,000 who moved to Los Angeles from Asia, the nearly 31,000 who moved from Orange to Los Angeles, and the more than 27,000 who moved from Los Angeles to Riverside County.

So the nation's five top relocations all involved Los Angeles County. Other Southern California population shifts are to be found in the nation's top 25, such as the nearly 20,000 who moved from Riverside to San Bernardino.

The report reveals that Los Angeles and San Diego counties were two of just five counties in the nation that lost population to at least 1,000 other counties. And it indicates that Southern California's shifts of population within the region were high at all income and education levels.

While Los Angeles was a net loser in the migration of residents to other nearby counties and other states, it was a net gainer in foreign immigration, particularly from Asia. It also attracted a high percentage of domestic and foreign migrants with advanced degrees, but was among the leaders in losing highly educated residents to other locales.


PHOTO: Rush-hour commuters line up on the 110 freeway, Dec. 14, 2000, in Los Angeles. Associated Press/Damian Dovarganes

via: http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2014/02/southern-california-leads-in-nations-domestic-migration.html

No Link Between California’s Prison Realignment and Increased Crime?

Despite being blamed by some members of law enforcement for a recent uptick in crime in some counties, there is no connection between California’s Prison Realignment and increased criminal activity, according to a report released Wednesday.

The Center of Juvenile and Criminal Justice report found little evidence of there being more crime due to realignment based on random crime trends in counties since the implementation of the law.

For example, Los Angeles County, which has one of the highest percentage of realigned offenders, has continued to see a steady drop in total crime, including an 11 percent decrease in violent crime.

This lack of a clear pattern of crime shows it’s still too soon to draw any conclusion when it comes to the relationship between realignment and crime, according to a Center of Juvenile and Criminal Justice news release.

“We are pleased that CJCJ took an impartial look at the data and found no causal relationship between crime and realignment…,” said Jeffrey Callison, spokesman for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Callison said crime rates are continually rising and falling, and they vary from one community to the next, and from one crime category to the next.

California was ordered to reduce the state prison population to about 110,000, or 137.5 percent of prison capacity, as a way to improve the quality of inmates’ health. To accomplish that, Assembly Bill 109, the state’s prison realignment law, shifted the responsibility of monitoring lower-level inmates from the state to the counties.

Under AB 109, those convicted of a triple-non offense — nonviolent, nonserious, nonsexual — would be eligible to be supervised by county probation departments or serve their sentences in county jail. AB 109 was implemented Oct. 1, 2011, as a way for the state to comply with a federal three-judge panel’s order to decrease the population of California’s prisons. The panel found the overcrowded conditions in state prisons led to inadequate medical attention for inmates.

However, high-ranking law enforcement officials from across the state have talked about the dangers of prison realignment.

Glendale Police Chief Ronald De Pompa has called the legislation “dangerous public policy,” and Fontana Police Chief Rod Jones has labeled the law a failure after an AB 109 probationer, David Mulder, allegedly fatally stabbed a woman in 2013 at a Fontana Park and Ride.

At this week’s Lakewood State of the City address, sheriff’s Capt. Merrill Ladenheim referenced a report from the Public Policy Institute of California that found a connection between AB 109 and property crimes. During his presentation at the meeting, Ladenheim called realignment, as well as the issue of county jail capacity, a challenge to public safety.

Along with finding no real connection between realignment and an increase in crimes, the Center of Juvenile and Criminal Justice report, which used data from 2010 to 2012, found that California’s 58 counties have seen varying crime rates since the implementation of AB 109.

Kings County had a 46 percent increase in violent crime trends, according to the data used for the report, while Humboldt and Napa counties saw a 26 percent drop.

Los Angeles County, which received a higher-than-average proportion of realigned offenders, has experienced a drop in violent as well as property crimes.

Only Placer, Sacramento, San Mateo and Tulare counties experienced similar, across-the-board crime reductions, however, they have relatively smaller populations compared to Los Angeles County.

San Bernardino County saw an increase in overall crime by about 10 percent from 2010 to 2012 but a slight decrease in violent crime.

Some experts said they feel it’s not necessarily those who are under county supervision who may be driving up some crime rates but those who are no longer under the watch of any agency.

“Realignment now permits offenders who are sentenced under AB 109 guidelines to be given straight or split sentencing, thus allowing them to avoid any supervision after serving a jail sentence instead of a prison commitment,” said Chris Condon, spokesman for the San Bernardino County Probation Department.

Under sentencing code 1170, a person convicted of a triple-non can opt to serve a portion of their time in county jail and then spend the remainder of their time being supervised by county probation. They can also serve their entire time in county jail and not require any supervision once their terms have been completed.

“These offenders do not fall under our jurisdiction, and recidivism rates cannot be determined,” Condon said. “We know that there has been a 40 percent reduction in recidivism for the AB 109 offenders we do supervise.”

via: http://justicenotjails.org/no-link-between-californias-prison-realignment-and-increased-crime/

It's back to San Diego politics as usual in unusual mayoral election

SAN DIEGO — Councilman and mayoral candidate David Alvarez stood and applauded when acting Mayor Todd Gloria, in his state of the city address, proposed raising the minimum wage in San Diego beyond the scheduled statewide increases.

Councilman Kevin Faulconer, Alvarez's opponent in the Feb. 11 election, remained seated, hands folded in his lap. He later told reporters that raising the minimum wage could be bad for business and lead to elimination of jobs.

Differences over economic issues illustrate the divide between Alvarez, a Democrat, and Faulconer, a Republican, as the hurry-up campaign to find a successor to the disgraced Bob Filner enters its final stretch with prickly debates and dueling TV commercials.

Alvarez supported a 2010 measure to boost the sales tax by half a cent, an increase that then-Mayor Jerry Sanders said was vital to prevent further cuts in city services because of the city's spiraling pension payments.

Faulconer led the opposition, arguing that no taxes should be raised until the city finished reforming the pension system.

Voters agreed with Faulconer — Proposition B was defeated 62% to 38%. The appeal of smaller government is strong; nonpartisan polls suggest that Faulconer is leading Alvarez, particularly in more prosperous neighborhoods north of Interstate 8.

Alvarez supports raising a tax on developers to provide low-income housing. Faulconer opposes it — this time in alliance with Sanders — and calls it a "jobs tax." The issue appears headed for the ballot.

Faulconer supports what could be called the San Diego orthodoxy: Hold down taxes, control spending, keep labor unions in check. That philosophy guided three successful mayors in recent decades: Republican Pete Wilson (who served from 1971 to 1983), Democrat Maureen O'Connor (1986-1992) and Sanders, a Republican (2005-2012).

Alvarez, a San Diego native, said he has seen that style of civic management result in certain neighborhoods being neglected by City Hall for lack of political clout, particularly in blue-collar areas. Among the disparities, he said, is a slower response time for firetrucks in some areas because of the location of stations.

"I've witnessed how people are treated differently depending on where they live in San Diego," Alvarez said.

Asked about Wilson, O'Connor and Sanders, Alvarez said, "Those mayors neglected parts of this community. I have a different perspective."

Without agreeing to Alvarez's larger point about a past bias against some neighborhoods, Faulconer said it would not happen if he were mayor. Money for infrastructure needs such as filling potholes and fixing water lines would be spent where it's needed most, Faulconer said.

Standing in a weed-filled empty lot in a neighborhood south of I-8, Faulconer promised tax incentives "to have development right here where we need it."

Still, Faulconer stresses a concern that higher spending and taxation could prompt businesses to flee. "There's a reason why Rick Perry comes to San Diego," said Faulconer, a reference to the Texas governor's forays here to persuade firms to relocate.

Despite their differences, Alvarez and Faulconer do not represent the same philosophical chasm that separated Filner and his Republican opponent in the 2012 election, Carl DeMaio. Aided by a large turnout for the presidential election, Filner swept into office, the first Democratic mayor in 20 years.

In Filner's absence, mayoral politicking has reverted to form.

"This election marks a return to the traditional centrist pattern of San Diego politics: One candidate is center/right, the other center/left," said Steve Erie, a political science professor at UC San Diego and coauthor of "Paradise Plundered: Fiscal Crisis and Governance Failures in San Diego."

As councilman, Faulconer, 46, represents Mission Beach, Pacific Beach, Ocean Beach and Point Loma. Asked where his economic views were formed, he said at the dinner table from his father, a longtime deputy city manager in Oxnard.

Alvarez, 33, represents a district that includes Barrio Logan, Logan Heights, San Ysidro and Otay Mesa. His positions on economic issues, he said, also were shaped by his father, who was a janitor, and his mother, who worked at fast-food restaurants.

At debates, Alvarez and Faulconer poke at the source of each other's financial support. Alvarez's campaign and independent groups supporting him are largely funded by labor unions; in Faulconer's case, funding tends to come from corporate and business groups.

Carl Luna, a political science professor at San Diego Mesa College, said much of the contest has descended to a "truly uninspiring level," with an exchange of tired invectives: "You're a corporate tool!" followed by the response of "You're a union stooge!"

That "really does a disservice to San Diego voters," Luna said. "I'm tempted to say the campaign has been lackluster, but that would be an understatement."

tony.perry@latimes.com

via: http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-sd-mayor-election-20140203,0,3137640.story#ixzz2sHNVDocg

Maria Shriver returns to Sacramento to discuss women and poverty

After more than three years away, former First Lady of California Maria Shriver returned to Sacramento Thursday to deliver a new report on women and poverty to the governor and legislators.

Her afternoon kicked off with a discussion of the report's findings at the California Museum, attended by dozens of the capital's most powerful women, including Secretary of State Debra Bowen and U.S. Rep. Doris Matsui, D-Sacramento.

Shriver emphasized that women's empowerment efforts must broaden from the "1 percent" and "talking about getting the corner office" to include the one-third of American women living in financial insecurity.

"They are looking for some help to give their family a life that's better than theirs," she said during the 45-minute conversation, part of Dewey Square Group's quarterly She Shares speaker series.

Calling on the government to get creative in how it helps women, Shriver said her work on this subject is largely influenced by her father, Sargent Shriver, who headed the War on Poverty in the 1960s. Shriver affectionately referred to him as "Daddy" as she spoke about initiatives like Head Start and low-income legal services.

When they're funded, Shriver said, "Those programs work."

Even as she spoke about raising a family, Shriver conspicuously avoided mentioning estranged husbandArnold Schwarzenegger. His name only came up once, when Shriver urged more bipartisan cooperation in the state and federal governments.

Having grown up a Kennedy, she joked, "I think the first Republican I met was Arnold."

With veteran U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman announcing his retirement earlier in the day, buzz also surrounded whether Shriver, a resident of his Los Angeles district, might enter the family business and run for his seat.

"No. Nope," she told The Bee after the event.

PHOTO: Maria Shriver meets event attendees before speaking about women and poverty at the California Museum on January 30, 2014. The Sacramento Bee/Alexei Koseff

via: http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2014/01/maria-shriver.html

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