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Does it smell like smoke?
In California prisons there are people appointed to do just that.
As CalMatters’ Kayla Michalovich explains, 31 California prisons have antiquated, malfunctioning, or inoperable fire alarm systems. But replacing all those systems, which include various detection devices, control panels and network connections, will cost $1.5 billion.
To get away with so much, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has spent a total of nearly $50 million between 2020 and 2025 instead on “fire patrols,” which includes paying correctional officers — who already have the ability to roam freely around prisons — to look for smoke and fire.
The base monthly pay for an experienced correctional officer is approximately $9,600, and performing fire duty is usually coded as overtime. The Department of Corrections is also piloting a program at Solano State Prison where the fire protection program can be run with workers who have a lower-cost job classification, according to the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office. These positions are classified as “office assistants” and pay around $4,300 per month.
Some prison experts are divided on whether the California Department of Corrections is putting enough money and effort into fire safety.
Kristen Cowan, an assistant professor at the University of Buffalo who studies the impact of weather disasters on prisons, said fire alarm systems are “basic disaster preparedness.”
- Cowan: “It makes you wonder what else is missing in the facilities … We wouldn’t let anyone else live in a place that doesn’t have a smoke detector.”
But Matt Cate, a former prison secretary in California, questions the need for spending to cover fire protection.
- Kate: “Major fires in prisons are extremely rare because prisons are made of concrete and steel. Every prison has a fire department and there are people throughout the prison who are there all the time. It’s staffed 24/7.”
CalMatters Events: Join us on August 5th in Riverside for a free conversation about how California will educate its future workforce. CalMatters’ Adam Echelman will moderate a discussion with leaders in health, education and the workforce. Register here.
CalMatters and inewsource are also hosting a conversation on August 13 in San Ysidro about the Tijuana River pollution crisis, an environmental emergency affecting millions on both sides of the US-Mexico border. Sign up.
Other stories you should know
Abuse as a legal defense?
Next month, the state Senate Appropriations Committee is expected to consider a bill that would allow certain defendants to use their trauma as a legal defensewrites Ryan Sabalow of CalMatters.
The bill would allow victims, such as survivors of human trafficking and intimate partner or sexual abuse, to cite abuse they experienced when facing felony charges. Those already convicted could also petition a judge to overturn their convictions, and if granted, their records would be sealed and destroyed.
- Assembly Member Mia BontaOakland Democrat and bill author: “Survivors should not have to spend their lives paying for abuse they experienced.”
But district attorneys and police groups say the proposal would soften sentences for violent criminals and allow them to add to California’s long backlog of defendants filing petitions to have their convictions expunged. The Legislature also rejected similar legislation at least three times before in previous years.
Environmental groups are calling on Newsom’s ally to step down
Environmental groups are calling for the newest member of the state’s Environmental Safety Board to resign. But legal experts say there is nothing illegal The appointment of Rhys Williams by Governor Gavin NewsomAlejandra Reyes-Velarde and Jeanne Kuang of CalMatters report.
The governor appointed Williams, his former deputy chief of staff, in January to a board that decides appeals involving permits for hazardous waste facilities. His previous work for the lobbying firm Axiom Advisors, however, has defenders saying Williams’ inclusion undermines public confidence in the board’s impartiality.
Axiom’s clients include Clean Harbors, a hazardous waste management company, and GKN Aerospace, the company at the center of a chemical accident in May in Orange County.
But the governor’s office said Williams was thoroughly vetted and Williams agreed to recuse himself from matters involving Axiom clients. It’s also not illegal or unusual for state board members to have worked as lobbyists, according to legal experts.
And finally: a darkening art scene
San Diego is considered one of the best cities in the country for supporting the arts. But as federal and local governments cut arts funding, the city is slipping in its ranks — leading to raucous battles over local arts spending. Read more by Deborah Brennan of CalMatters.
California voices
CalMatters contributor Robert Green: Separate attempts to overhaul municipal government by both the city and the county of Los Angeles highlight a surprising role reversal in which county government suddenly appears more urgent and creative than smaller and a relatively more modest town hall.
Other things worth your time:
The US appeals court ruled that Trump could not apply postal voting order // Reuters (free)
CA rejected its highest rate a decade of mail-in ballots during the June primary // San Francisco Chronicle (gift link)
California Democrats are stepping up fight against voter id // A politician (free)
The CA voter measurement has a new name. Supporters say it’s biased // The Sacramento Bee (gift link)
Corporate America suddenly decided stop spending your money on AI // The Wall Street Journal (gift link)
Street homelessness has increased in LA. In Nithya Raman area it was almost halved // Los Angeles Times (paid wall)
The status vulnerability indicator ignores SF neighborhoods, excluding them from billions in funding // The San Francisco Public Press (free)
Mexico and the United States unite to build a desalination plant // The Voice of San Diego (free)
How the kidnapping of two Forest Service workers deploy to CA // The Guardian (free)
