Free Republic

Hundreds of incarcerated firefighters are helping battle the destructive blazes that are rapidly spreading across southern California as a powerful windstorm devastates the region. The California department of corrections and rehabilitation (CDCR) said on Thursday that it had deployed 783 imprisoned firefighters while the county fights multiple out-of-control blazes fueled by extreme winds and dry conditions. The incarcerated crews are embedded with the California department of forestry and fire protection (Cal Fire) and its nearly 2,000 firefighters, who have been stretched thin from several simultaneous emergencies. CDCR operates more than 30 “fire camps” across the state where people serving state...

<p>Last year, about a quarter of Biringer Farm’s strawberries and raspberries rotted in the field because it couldn’t find enough workers. Samantha Bond was determined not to let that happen again.</p> <p>Early this year, Ms. Bond, human resources manager for the 35-acre farm in Arlington, Wash., offered 20% raises to the most productive workers from the last harvest. She posted help-wanted ads on Craigslist, beside highways and on the bathroom-stall door at a church. She also successfully lobbied local high schools to broadcast her call for workers during morning announcements.</p>

Some of Texas’ busiest lawyers may not be members of the state bar, but bars are a part of their daily lives. Almost any district court official in a county that is home to a Texas Department of Criminal Justice prison unit can offer support to the claim that some prison inmates have too much free time on their hands and they often take advantage of that time to create new mischief, in district courts. Bee County District Clerk Sandra Clark and her staff know what kind of mischief they can expect from the so-called “jailhouse lawyers.” According to Mrs....

HAMILTON, United States (AFP) - Shackled to four prisoners by a long steel chain, Harley Grimes is smiling as he shuffles down the road in his black and white striped uniform. Huge trucks zoom within inches of his outstretched arm as he uses a long plastic grabber to pick up trash and drop it into a bag. But Grimes does not mind. "I haven't seen the sun for nine months," said Grimes, who is 25 and serving a one year sentence for receiving stolen property. "This is a lot better than what I've been doing." Grimes is one of 40...