Da: "adwoa2000" Oggetto: Stop The Delano II Prison! Data: venerd́ 8 marzo 2002 4.10 Dear Friends, Our campaign to stop California from building yet another prison is reaching a turning point. Legislative aides tell us that the $12.5 billion deficit and a declining prison population give us a real chance to stop Delano II during UPCOMING BUDGET HEARINGS, BUT WE NEED YOUR ORGANIZATION's HELP! After winning our historic lawsuit, generating more than 1000 comments in opposition to the new prison, and amassing a broad statewide coalition, we have a real opportunity to eliminate 2002-03 funding for the prison. We are asking your organization to SEND or SIGN ONTO THE FOLLOWING LETTER or use it as a sample to write your own. We need you to let Sacramento know that people across the state oppose the prison and strongly prefer that the state spend $335 million plus interest (another $300 million) and operating costs (up to $120 million per year) on programs which will benefit California. We need to get the letter to the legislators who sit on the budget committee and your local representatives by March 20. PLEASE LET US KNOW IF YOUR ORGANIZATION WILL SIGN ON. If you have any questions, please call or email us. Thanks for your continued involvement in this groundbreaking effort. In Solidarity, Rose Braz Craig Gilmore Critical Resistance CA Prison Moratorium Project 510-444-0484 510-652-6633 rose@criticalresistance.org craig@igc.org or rosebraz@aol.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------- COALITION TO STOP THE DELANO II PRISION Dear members of the Senate and Assembly: We are writing to you as members of a statewide coalition asking you to cancel plans to construct the Delano II prison, or at a minimum, place a one year moratorium on construction. During the moratorium, the Legislature can address the budget crisis and assess the full impact of the drop in the state's crime rate and prison population. We are part of a coalition of civil rights advocates, environmentalists, labor, criminal justice reform advocates and religious communities from around the state. We oppose the building of Delano II because California doesn't need another prison; Californians don't want another prison and California can't afford another prison. CALIFORNIA DOESN'T NEED ANOTHER PRISON With per capita crime rates at their lowest level since 1964, California's prison population dropped an average of 725 prisoners per month during the last six months of 2001. Corrections' (CDC) most recent Population Projections forecast 25,000 fewer prisoners than CDC estimated just one year earlier. A study by the Justice Policy Institute concluded that "the state should immediately suspend plans to construct the [Delano] prison and utilize the $335 million for debt reduction or maintenance of other state services." We agree. CALIFORNIA CAN'T AFFORD ANOTHER PRISON California faces a $12 billion budgetary shortfall. The Governor has ordered a hiring freeze and all state agencies to prepare for 15% budget cuts. CDC plans to close part or all of one prison due to empty beds. Despite the declining prison population, empty beds and the budget crisis, the Governor's 2002-03 budget allocates funding toward construction, planning and activation of Delano II. Construction costs for Delano II are $43.5 million from the General Fund and $311.5 million through lease-purchase arrangements. Operating costs could reach $129 million per year. We believe this funding could be spent more productively on programs like K-12 and higher education, the Healthy Start Program, the Healthy Family Program, the Environmental Justice Initiative and Worker Safety Programs. CALIFORNIANS DON'T WANT ANOTHER PRISON In pursuing plans to construct Delano II, California is out of step with the wishes of Californians and the actions of the rest of the nation. A recent statewide Field Poll found that Californians favor cutting the state's prison budget more than any other state program to balance the budget. States are closing prisons, cutting back on expansion and moving to alternatives. Republican governors in Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, Florida, Kansas and Utah are all closing prisons. President Bush has proposed cutting the Federal Bureau of Prisons' construction budget in half from 2002. Delano II will do nothing to improve the lives of the people of Delano. Since the opening of the Delano I prison, the city's unemployment rate has increased, local businesses are suffering and the city's finances are dismal. Corrections projects that only 72 of the 1600 jobs slated to be created by Delano II will go to residents of Delano. The prison will remove farmland from production, further reducing employment prospects for Delano residents; it will have severe impacts on the region's water table and will cause further deterioration to the Southern San Joaquin Valley's already polluted air. Finally, Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) Options to address the budget crisis could free over 20,000 prison beds and save $373.5 million. The additional reduction of California's already declining prison population offered by the LAO further supports cancellation of the Delano II prison, saving another $335 million plus debt service. We hope you will take this opportunity to cancel plans to construct the Delano II Prison and free funds for more necessary and useful services for the people of California. Respectfully, YOUR ORGANIZATION ---------------------------------------------------------------------- If you choose to send the letter yourselves, please fax a copy to Critical Resistance at 510-444-2177 and to the below elected officials: Senator Richard Polanco Fax: 916-327-8817 Senator Joseph Dunn Fax: 916-323-2323 Senator Dick Ackerman Fax: 916-445-9754 Assemblywoman Jenny Orpeza Fax: 916-319-2155 Asemblyman George Nakano Fax: 916-319-2153 Assemblyman John Campbell Fax: 916-319-2170 Assemblyman Rod Wright Fax: 916-319-2148 Assemblyman Rod Pacheco Fax: 916-319-2164 Assemblyman Lou Pappan Fax: 916-319-2119 Senator John Burton Fax: 916-445-4722 Assemblyman Herb Wesson Fax: 916-319-2147 Critical Resistance 1212 Broadway, Suite 1400 Oakland, CA 94612 Phone: (510)444-0484 Fax: (510)444-2177 rose@criticalresistance.org crnational@criticalresistance.org criticalresistance.org