The American Civil Liberties Union affiliate staff in San Francisco used to joke that they should open an office in Fresno. That never happened, but it sure seems like it did. The affiliate and the [...] Continue Reading
Prison
Opinion and Analysis from the Grassroots
Classrooms, Not Prison Cells By Daniel Treglia I’m inspired to write because of Miriam Hernandez, who wrote “Where’s the Attention to Education” in the May issue of the Community Alliance. Although [...] Continue Reading
Don’t Feed the Animals
We’ve heard the story of “The Bird Man of Alcatraz,” by Robert Stroud. Prison folklore has it the Bird Man smuggled bird eggs and fledglings (baby birds) inside his coat into the cell house on “The [...] Continue Reading
Letters to the Editor
Book Forthcoming from Boston Woodard I have been a contributing writer for the Community Alliance for about six years now. Editor Mike Rhodes put his faith and trust in me to contribute honest [...] Continue Reading
Targeted Again!
A few years ago, I wrote an article about a “shake-down” (search) that took place at Solano State Prison (CSP-Solano) in Vacaville. During that search, some of the guards desecrated prisoners’ [...] Continue Reading
Letters to the Editor
Help for the Community Alliance from Inside the Prison Industrial Complex I am writing in regard to your request for help, so that you can continue printing the Community Alliance. Enclosed you will [...] Continue Reading
The Out-of-State Transfer Scam
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) is again making a mad dash over the borders with large numbers of prisoners in an expensive attempt to reduce overcrowding within its [...] Continue Reading
Progressive News Briefs
Fresno Police Officers Beat Homeless Man In February 2009, Fresno police officers Jeff Gross and Scott Payn were caught on videotape beating Glen Beaty. Beaty, who was homeless at the time, had been [...] Continue Reading
Staying Busy Inside
Recently, a friend (on the outside) asked how someone in prison keeps from “going crazy” after spending a significant amount of time behind bars. “What do you do to help pass the time?” he asked. That [...] Continue Reading
Maria Telesco Spends a Lot of Time in Prison These Days
Dear Everybody: I heard through the grapevine that someone mistakenly thought I was incarcerated and wanted to do something to help me get out. When I learned of this, I did not take offense. [...] Continue Reading
Pill Call
There are multiple schools of thought about what sort of healthcare California prisoners should receive. Some folks blurt out that convicts deserve little if any help in the way of medical services. [...] Continue Reading
Surprise: Rehabilitation through Spirituality
Earlier this year, John Flock and I, Unitarian Universalists, began participating with Maria Telesco in prison ministry at a men’s state prison. We learned of a small group of men interested in [...] Continue Reading