Free Republic

A judge refused Thursday to halt the state's impending plan to begin shipping inmates to out-of-state prisons to relieve an overcrowding crisis in the California corrections agency. Sacramento Superior Court Judge Patrick Marlette said he saw no evidence that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's plan to ship out the prisoners to private facilities in four other states would result in any immediate, irreparable harm to the plaintiffs in the case, the California Correctional Peace Officers Association and the Service Employees International Union Local 1000. Marlette set a Nov. 22 court date to resolve the merits of the suit.

SACRAMENTO – The reappointment of state Education Secretary Alan Bersin to the state Board of Education was confirmed by a Senate committee yesterday, despite union opposition stemming from his years as head of San Diego schools. The California Teachers Association and the California School Employees Association, which represents non-teachers, urged the Democratic-controlled committee to reject Bersin because of his legacy in San Diego. “During his reign in San Diego his leadership style was extremely divisive,” Lyssa Sassman of the CTA told the committee. “It divided the community. It hurt teacher morale, and it did not significantly improve student achievement.” The...