Source: two relatives who work there. Renewable power provides a clean energy source, reduces the burden CDCR institutions impose on the power grid, saves taxpayers money and demonstrates our commitment to meeting the states energy goals, said Kathleen Allison, CDCR Secretary. Impacted employees will also have a hiring preference if they chose to transfer to a different prison or state agency. November 2, 2020. The new case is the first among Mens Colony staffers. Atascadero News Magazine This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Send tidbits to strokes@newtimesslo.com. They are housed in the East Facility, which is made up of five separate units. No CMC inmate or staffer has died of coronavirus. Lab tests reveal the likely source, Oceano residents forced to evacuate during storms can return home, SLO County says. Eight state prison staffers who contracted the coronavirus have died. Henderson said there are two kinds of college programs for the inmates to choose from: correspondence and face-to-face classes. In July, they sped up releases for incarcerated individuals with 180 days or less to serve. by Alexis Bowlby October 19, 2020 October 19, 2020 Luis Venegas was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison when he was 15 years old. They teach us how to love again: Inmates train service dogs for veterans and first responders with PTSD, Inmates find their voice through college radio, Mens Colony inmate escaped, found 17 days later, Hot water project expected to end by Winter 2019; other construction will continue through 2019, Rioting breaks out at California Men's Colony, Hogar lejos del hogar: El nuevo centro Latinx se abre como un sistema de apoyo para estudiantes, Su gua de las propuestas electorales de California para 2022, Los requisitos de elegibilidad de CalFresh han cambiado para permitir que ms estudiantes se inscriban, Proudly powered by Newspack by Automattic. It is unclear how soon the West Facility will be closed and how many employees will be affected at this time. Smart Share Housing Solutions is a nonprofit that launched the HomeShareSLO and Tiny House Consulting programs last year. Many of the justifications we have for the criminal justice system have very little and shaky evidence to support them, Alaniz said. Whoops! Like all CDCR institutions, CMC has implemented several measures to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, Hill said. Music lets you change your mindset, be in a different element, maybe nostalgia. Please reload the page and try again. The students also have access to their professors for tutoring in classes like math and astronomy. Most cases are likely asymptomatic. In addition, the contractor submitted a safety plan that limits COVID-19 exposure and their employees attended health and safety training that included information about proper physical distancing protocols and the use of personal protective equipment and face masks. See thePatient Trackerfor the numbers of confirmed COVID cases among the incarcerated population. As one of the 20 proctors for the program, Henderson said he prints the documents or hands the documents out to the right student. COVID-19 happened and a lot of people got sick because the vaccine wasnt passed around, Alaniz said. Eleven inmates have tested positive for COVID-19 at California Men's Colony, in San Luis Obispo, according to corrections department data. Despite making up less than 3% of prisoners in California, the Mens Colony has accounted for one in 20 COVID-19 cases in California prisons. The Folsom State Prison's Women's facility, along with individual facilities within Pelican Bay State Prison, California Rehabilitation Center, California Institution for Men, and the California Correctional Institution also face closures. "We've done GED and vocational graduations before, but this is the first time we're doing a college-only graduation. Luis Venegas was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison when he was 15 years old. As part of a string of reductions statewide, the lower-security West Facility at CMC will be shut down. As part of a string of reductions statewide,. You can change your choices at any time by visiting your privacy controls. A part of Amend's Covid in California Prisons Good News Real News Your Hometown News, Atascadero News December 26, 2019 She lives in Los Angeles County and would drive more than three hours every weekend for the past three years to visit her husband at the Mens Colony from 8:30 a.m. until 3 p.m. For a long time, phone calls werent allowed, Maria Moore said. Comment Guidelines. Either they are shipping in sick inmates, which we should oppose, or they are experiencing a sudden spike that could well leak out of that facility infecting our community. Support Cal Polys student-run local news source. Video visits for family members started in November but were still hard to obtain it took two months for Maria Moore to schedule one with her husband. The total inmate population at CMC was 3,466 in June. California Men's Colony is a male-only state prison located northwest of the City of San Luis Obispo. To learn more about CDCR sustainability efforts visit: https://www.cdcr.ca.gov/green/, Contact: Joe Orlando (916) 445-4950 or joe.orlando@cdcr.ca.gov, Copyright 2023 California Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation. In April 2020 the CDCR expedited the release of almost 3,500 incarcerated persons serving a sentence for non-violent offenses, who do not have to register as a sex offender, and who had 60 days or less to serve, according to their website. Morro Bay Life As of June, it housed around 2,000 inmates. It is unclear how soon the West Facility will be closed and how many employees will be affected at this time. Whoops! and last updated 2020 . Which is concerning. Mark your calendars as the nonprofit has scheduled its next expo for Oct. 9 to 11, 2020. News Beginning in November, CDCR will construct a new solar generation project at California Men's Colony (CMC) as part of its ongoing effort to reduce its carbon footprint. Additionally, maskless Mens Colony staff and a low number of vaccinations among them transmitted COVID-19 to inmates for months like a wildfire, according to Maria Moore. The loss of even some of these jobs will have a big impact that will be felt widely across our community. Most if not all of these new cass were from inmates shipped to CMC from other prisons. Reported by students for the greater SLO community. Dana Simas, press secretary for the correctional department, told The Tribune in an email that the Cuesta Fire Crew, the inmate fire crew that routinely assists Cal Fire in putting out wildfires, will not be affected by the closure. Breaking news, commentary, comprehensive coverage, and local profiles. CDCR did leave open the possibility that these facilities, including CMC's West Facility, could be reactivated, "Should a significant need for capacity arise in the future due to a natural disaster or other serious need". Re-offending rates, which is known as recidivism, are around 83% over nine years according to the FBI. CMC is authorized for a staffing level of nearly 1,500 employees, which makes the prison one of San Luis Obispo Countys top employers. State Closing Major Portion of California Mens Colony Prison in San Luis Obispo, Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window). There are now 105 cases among staffers spread out across 27 facilities in the state prison system, according to CDCR. The comments below represent the opinion of the writer and do not represent the views or policies of CalCoastNews.com. Michael Moore lives in the East Wing. It houses medium- and minimum-security, non-designated programming facility inmates in a dormitory setting, according to the departments website. With staff bringing it in unknowingly, that created a wildfire, Maria Moore said. Rehabilitation is not really happening in prisons.. California Men's Colony (CMC) is a male-only state prison located northwest of the city of San Luis Obispo, San Luis Obispo County, California, along the central California coast approximately halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco Facilities. They get normal interactions that you get in a classroom with classmates and professors," he said. Staff at the prison were notified of the closure in an email sent earlier in the day. This will allow CDCR to save approximately $4 million in utility costs through a 20-year power purchase agreement. CMC also has 11 resolved inmate cases and three staffers who tested positive for coronavirus and have since recovered and returned to work. It's going to be a special event because the students will have family there supporting them," said Joshua Henderson, a proctor for the college programs at the Men's Colony. I cant imagine what that must have felt like., The Vera Institute, an organization devoted to criminal justice reform, described what they believe to be the root of high COVID case levels in prisons: correctional facilities create unique risks for disease transmission.. Alaniz said the staff in prisons was one reason why COVID-19 rates were so high. She is originally from Phoenix, where she earned her B.A. They will need to be relocated to another prison, and their rehabilitative, educational and self-help program credits will transfer with them. On Thursday, SLO County reported seven . Cal Poly sociology professor Ryan Alaniz commented about this policy and said that the people who were released are unlikely to commit other crimes. In partnership with Cuesta College, Henderson said, the California Men's Colony has the largest enrollment in the state. The inmate was last seen headed northbound out of Cayucos at approximately 12 p.m. Facilities Management and Development is engaged in ongoing renovations and construction work throughout campus. CMC has two physically separate facilities on its 356 acres, and they are named East and West. There have also been 689 staff cases. Impacted employees will also have a hiring preference if they chose to transfer to a different prison or state agency. Noozhawk is a founding member of theLocal Independent Online News (LION) Publishers. The low- and medium-security California Men's Colony state prison on the outskirts of San Luis Obispo houses roughly 3,400 inmates. We are eager to learn more about the states plan and how our community can engage in the decisions being made.. According to the correctional departments release, employees will have the option to transfer both within and outside of impacted counties. Send our brother some love and light: Shai Alkebu-Lan, P-02598, Cell 7382, P.O. Dozens more COVID-19 cases have been confirmed among inmates at the California Men's Colony. At LAC, 76 inmates and 17 staffers have contracted coronavirus. The department is also ending its $32 million annual lease with CoreCivic, a private prison and detention center company, for California City Correctional Facility. With the help of nearly 100 volunteers and more than 30 partner organizations, it held its very first Tiny Footprint, Tiny House & Net Zero Expo last October. Follow us on Spotify, Apple or wherever you get your podcasts. We, AOL, are part of the Yahoo family of brands. Simas said exact numbers and timelines will not be immediately available. California Men's Colony (CMC) is a male-only state prison located near San Luis Obispo on the California coast, halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco. In summer 2020, a multidisciplinary team of academics and health professionals conducted an on-site evaluation of the April-May 2020 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak at California Men's Colony (CMC), located in San Luis Obispo (SLO) County, California. Out of an abundance of caution, CMC has restricted all inmate movement and implemented a modified program in the entire institution to facilitate expanded testing of the incarcerated population.. Required fields are marked *, {{#message}}{{{message}}}{{/message}}{{^message}}Your submission failed. Articles published by The Atascadero News may be publicly submitted press releases, contributed articles, staff reports, or other forms of media not specifically authored by a member of our News Staff. They are housed in the East Facility, which is made up of five separate units. Send pics, videos and tips to CCN. Send pics, videos and tips to CCN. Please address the Policies, events and arguments, not the person. California Men's Colony (CMC) - California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation California Men's Colony (CMC) Main Phone: (805) 547-7900 Physical Address: Colony Dr, San Luis Obispo, CA 93409 ( Directions) Mailing Addresses Visitation & Support Inmate Programs Job Vacancies Details & History Reports & Statistics About the Warden Three of the staffers have returned to work. Five other prisons will have partial closures in addition to CMC, while the Chuckawalla Valley State Prison will be shut down completely by March 2025. All inmates in the East Facility are housed in cells. I hear that number has now jumped to 76 from 43. Graduation ceremonies are slated for March 27, 2020, for the East Facility and April 17, 2020, for the West Facility. There was an error and we couldn't process your subscription. CDCR continually seeks out additional opportunities to decrease its carbon footprint and assess technological advancements in renewable energy. Everyone who lives and works at CMC has been issued cloth barrier masks; wearing them is mandatory. The facility currently provides mental health care for qualifying inmates, houses inmate firefighters who help fight wildfires, and has a K-9 training program to train service dogs to aid first responders with PTSD and other physical disabilities. Even though the server responded OK, it is possible the submission was not processed. Powered by Foundation, PG&E grant enables State Parks to pay for class field trips to coastal landmarks, Seniors Helping Seniors provides care, connection to SLO County's older population, Junior roller derby experiences harassment at Santa Rosa Park, Paso Unified keeps current elementary and middle school grades as is, French Hospital in SLO celebrates 75 years of providing health services, SLO County residents face mud and flood damage after storms, The volunteers of Meade Canine Rescue & Sanctuary chip away at an insurmountable problem, Image Courtesy Of The California Men's Colony. To protect people from a deadly disease, my understanding is that they allowed some nonviolent offenders to be on parole, Alaniz said. The remaining Level III inmates numbered 1,264 at that time. Reported by students for the greater SLO community. SAN LUIS OBISPO The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) will construct a new solar generation project at California Mens Colony (CMC) in November as part of its ongoing effort to reduce its carbon footprint. The state is closing a major portion of the California Mens Colony in San Luis Obispo, officials announced Tuesday. Programs have been modified to allow for phased use of dayrooms and dining schedules are staggered with areas cleaned after each use. West Facility inmates are offered career/technical education, substance abuse education, anger management, and other therapy programs. CMC is authorized for a staffing level of nearly 1,500 employees, which makes the prison one of San Luis Obispo Countys top employers. West Facility. Please contact the developer of this form processor to improve this message. Update: California offshore wind lease auction bids total more than $402 million in first day, House approves Salud Carbajals bill protecting military parents from deportation, California school district transitioned child without telling parent, lawsuit alleges, 6-month-old baby, teen mother among 6 killed in shooting massacre near Visalia, Teacher arrested after mom finds inappropriate texts on teens phone, CA police say, Did recent rain storms end the drought in SLO County? Thus far, a total of 20 California Men's Colony inmates have been tested for coronavirus. Two units of the nearby California Mens Colony have been placed under lockdown after gang riots occurred on June 29. California Mens Colony is SLO Countys fifth-largest employer, supporting 1,500 good-paying jobs, the Regional Economic Action Coalition (REACH) said in a statement to The Tribune. In the state prison system, the worst outbreaks are at California State Prison, Los Angeles County (LAC) and the California Institute for Men (CIM) in San Bernardino County. The other educational option is face-to-face classes. Keep up with Noozhawk's daily COVID-19 coverage, delivered at 4:15 a.m. right to your inbox. Out of five inmates . Smart Share Housing Solutions ended 2019 on a positive note. All inmates in the East Facility are housed in cells. The total inmate population at CMC was 3,466 in June. Afterwards, CMC did such a good job of quarantining people, Maria Moore said. Dread and alive! This is the result of natural releases (those who have served their full sentence as defined by law), expedited releases that occurred between July 2020 and July 2021, and the temporary suspension of county jail intake off and on throughout the pandemic based on public health guidance, Hill wrote in an email to Mustang News. 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