On a whim, I signed up at a pen pal service for women in prison. And caught wind of something that stinks to high hell. These gals have done the crime and, accordingly are doing the time. Fine. That’s one thing. It’s altogether another, now that they’re hemmed up, for prisons to exploit them for what little money (it’s chump change) they earn inside and, into the bargain, arbitrarily abuse and abridge whatever liberties these women have left. For obvious reasons – one being to protect individuals from retaliation, the other being to protect the paper from liability – I’m not naming names or particular prisons. But complaints have reached me and you can look it up that every word here is researched. For instance, at the pen pal site for a person locked up in California, it is listed what she can and cannot receive: stamps – (no), gifts – (yes, stationery, etc., but must be shipped from the store), clothing – (no), books – (yes, must be shipped from publisher or bookstore), cigarettes – (no). In this economic day and age, who realistically can go to the expense of buying someone a book and then, instead of footing the freight for publisher or retail outlet – if that establishment is willing – to turn around and pay UPS or the post office to see to it gets where it’s going.… Read the rest “Something I Said- Dec. ’23”
The next Metro Transit and Minnesota Valley Transit Authority service changes are coming Saturday, 2 December 2023. Watch for the following changes which affect the Phillips neighborhood: Routes 9 and 67 will have minor schedule adjustments to accommodate routing changes. Route 21 will run to Saint Paul every 15 minutes instead of every half hour, from 6:30 AM to 9:30 PM. It will also not serve the Uptown Transit Center because of construction, instead it will go via Lake Street and Lagoon Avenue to France Avenue. This is like the planned route for the B Line Bus Rapid Transit, expected to be coming in June 2025. Route 467 will have minor schedule changes to reflect actual travel times. Route 465 (MVTA) will have an additional trip northbound from Burnsville at 9:20 AM because of high ridership to the University of Minnesota near that time. Just a reminder: Metro Transit and MVTA typically run Saturday schedules on most routes, with a few exceptions, on Black Friday and Christmas Eve. They have also occasionally run reduced schedules on New Year’s Eve. This year, there may not be any reductions for Christmas and New Year’s Eves, since Christmas and New Year’s Days are on Mondays, however it makes sense to stay aware.… Read the rest “Metro Transit – Dec. ’23”
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Something I Said- Dec. ’23
Victimizing Incarcerated Women
By DWIGHT HOBBES
On a whim, I signed up at a pen pal service for women in prison. And caught wind of something that stinks to high hell. These gals have done the crime and, accordingly are doing the time. Fine. That’s one thing. It’s altogether another, now that they’re hemmed up, for prisons to exploit them for what little money (it’s chump change) they earn inside and, into the bargain, arbitrarily abuse and abridge whatever liberties these women have left. For obvious reasons – one being to protect individuals from retaliation, the other being to protect the paper from liability – I’m not naming names or particular prisons. But complaints have reached me and you can look it up that every word here is researched.
For instance, at the pen pal site for a person locked up in California, it is listed what she can and cannot receive: stamps – (no), gifts – (yes, stationery, etc., but must be shipped from the store), clothing – (no), books – (yes, must be shipped from publisher or bookstore), cigarettes – (no). In this economic day and age, who realistically can go to the expense of buying someone a book and then, instead of footing the freight for publisher or retail outlet – if that establishment is willing – to turn around and pay UPS or the post office to see to it gets where it’s going.… Read the rest “Something I Said- Dec. ’23”