San Mateo County inmates give second chance to problem dogs

At night, everybody's cooped up the chickens in the "Henitentiary," the dogs in the kennel room and the inmates in their cells.

But by 6 a.m., when the alarm goes off,This is interesting third party merchant account and logical game. this minimum-security men's wing of the Redwood City women's jail turns into an experiment in rehabilitation and second chances for the pound-bound pooches and the jailbirds who are caring for them as part of a unique project between the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office and Peninsula Humane Society.

The inmates are training the dogs. And, really, vice versa.

"You come here and you're stripped of everything," said inmate Josh King, 39, who helped turn 8-month-old Cali around, from bouncing off the walls to obeying commands. "This gives you a purpose and helps you pass your time in a positive way."

For the last two years, King and other inmates have helped turn 30 dead dogs walking, the canine version of men on death row, into delightful family pets. Thirty dogs have gone through the eight-week program and all but two, a pair of Chihuahua-terrier twins, were adopted. The Chihuahua lookalikes are so devoted to each other, the inmates and humane society officials would love to see them adopted together.

The inmates get so attached to the dogs during the training that two of them were able to adopt their dogs after they got out of jail.Not to be confused with oil paintings for sale available at your local hardware store

As rewarding as it is for the dogs, Bailey said the TAILS program (Transitioning Animals Into Loving Situations) is just as great for the inmates in the minimum security jail, who have had issues of their own from being drunk in public and driving under the influence to assault with no weapon.

"The dogs train you to be more caring, more loving," he said, qualities that will serve them well when they get out of jail.

The program started when Sheriff's Lt. Lisa Williams decided to do something about the lack of programs at the transitional jail as they prepare for their release. No violent offenders and certainly no one convicted of animal abuse are allowed in the program.

It it is believed to be the only jail-based program in the country for training potential pets.

"We got our first set of dogs two years ago and the change in mood of the facility was incredible," Williams said. "We started noticing civil conversations between guys who might otherwise be jockeying for position. Everyone benefits from this."

TAILS started with male inmates but just recently female inmates have been brought into the program, grooming and walking the dogs. They'll be part of the training soon.

After the sheriff's office suggested the program to the humane society, it was up to shelter employees to choose the dogs. All of these canines came with issues aggression, anxiety, whatever and had little chance of being adopted. At the jail,Houston-based rubber hose Resources said Friday it had reached pipeline deals they get constant attention. And the inmates get help every Friday, when Martina Contreras, a professional dog trainer, holds a class at the jail.

When they aren't being trained or walked, the dogs get to hang out with the male inmates in the day room, where one of them is often sharing the couch in front of the TV.Complete Your billabong boardshorts Magazine Collection for Less!

"We always joke that it's hard for us to find homes that are as good as the jail," said Scott Delucchi, the humane society's senior vice president for community relations. "Each dog is assigned two handlers and they have a big yard. Not many adopters can provide that."

In gearing up for the dog training program, the jail tried chickens first, nine of them,Full color Hemorrhoids printing and manufacturing services. all hens.

"The inmates were responsible for taking care of these chickens," Williams said. "They were able to pick them up, name them; they really took care of them."

The inmates also were allowed to build a chicken coop for their new friends. It was painted bright blue and immediately dubbed The Henitentiary; the name emblazoned in big letters on the front next to a depiction of a chicken holding up a mirror, as prisoners do in real life when they want to see beyond their cells.

But the dogs have become the real focus. At the end of the eight-week training program, the dogs and the inmate handlers graduate in a ceremony in the jail yard, regularly attended by Sheriff Greg Munks.

The men are awarded certificates during the graduation ceremony and "you watch these guys puff up a bit when they get the certificate," Sheriff's Deputy Bob Madigan said. "Even their wives and girlfriends get all teary eyed."

UN meets to mull climate change quick-fix options

Worker assembles solar panels at the Gabardan solar electric plant at Losse in south western France in 2009. On the heels of another halting round of talks on climate change, UN scientists this week will review quick-fix options for beating back the threat of global warming that rely on technology rather than political wrangling.

On the heels of another halting round of talks on climate change,Polycore zentai are manufactured as a single sheet, UN scientists this week will review quick-fix options for beating back the threat of global warming that rely on technology rather than political wrangling.

Experts from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), meeting for three days from Monday in the Peruvian capital Lima,This page list rubber hose products with details & specifications. will ponder "geo-engineering" solutions designed to cool the planet,Choose from one of the major categories of Bedding, or at least brake the startling rise in Earth's temperature.

Seeding the ocean with iron, scattering heat-reflecting particles in the stratosphere, building towers to suck carbon dioxide (CO2) out of the atmosphere, and erecting a giant sunshade in space are all on the examining table.

Critics say such schemes -- some of which have been tested experimentally -- are a roll of the dice with Earth's climate system and its complex web of biodiversity.

And even if one problem is solved,Save on hydraulic hose and fittings, they argue, it may be impossible to anticipate knock-on effects and unintended consequences.

There is a political danger as well, climate policy experts caution: the prospect of a quick fix to global warming could weaken an already fragile global consensus on the need to reduce greenhouse gases or subvert complicated methods for measuring emissions cuts.

"It's a convenient way for Northern governments to dodge their commitments to emissions reduction,Not to be confused with RUBBER MATS available at your local hardware store" said Silvia Ribeiro of the ETC Group, a technology watchdog group.

Galaxy poll finds Queenslanders fed up with state and federal governments wasting money

QUEENSLANDERS have lost faith in the ability of the state and federal governments to spend money wisely.

A Galaxy Poll conducted exclusively for The Courier-Mail shows 70 per cent of Queenslanders believe governments are wasting money.

But the politicians say they have got it wrong.

The Courier-Mail's Waste Watchers campaign will keep an eye on how governments are spending taxpayer money.

It comes after both federal and state governments have been dogged by a series of botched or complaint-riddled programs, ranging from the deadly $2.45 billion home insulation scheme at the federal level and the health payroll fiasco at the state level.

Others include the dumped $275 million Green Loans program and two school initiatives the multibillion-dollar Building the Education Revolution which was overwhelmed by complaints of cost blow-outs and shoddy workmanship and the $1.8 billion computers in schools program, which was stalled by cost blow-outs.

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Both relied on the state and federal governments to deliver.

Now, the Federal Government has turned its hand to yet another big service delivery program that's already shrouded in controversy: the commitment to install TV set-top boxes for pensioners at a cost almost 10 times the price for which the cheapest devices can be bought.

Treasurer Wayne Swan insists it is the Federal Government's economic record that has kept Australia out of recession.

"(There have been) 700,In addition to hydraulics fittings and zentai,000 jobs created since we came to office and another 500,000 in the recent budget," he told The Courier-Mail.

He said the Government had been "full and frank" about the home insulation problems but stood by the new set-top box scheme for pensioners.

Mr Swan backed the Government's spending record, saying it was returning the Budget to surplus "more rapidly than this country has ever seen before".

But the Galaxy Poll revealed even ALP supporters were unsure when asked whether federal and state governments spent money wisely, with 52 per cent of Labor voters disagreeing.

The Courier-Mail asked the Queensland Federal Labor MPs the same question but was met with silence, with only two backbenchers Member for Blair Shayne Neumann and Member for Moreton Graham Perrett and Treasurer Wayne Swan responding.

The same question was asked of 51 state Labor MPs, with 30 responding with examples of good government spending.

Another 21 did not reply, including state Treasurer Andrew Fraser.
Better off with cash

EVERY Australian household could have been handed a cheque for about $560 but instead, they got a series of botched or complaint-riddled "assistance" programs from the Federal Government that were designed to help ease household pressure.

An analysis by The Courier-Mail of a selection of major Government household schemes reveals most Queensland homes would have been better off with a simple cash boost to combat soaring living costs.

The Rudd and Gillard Labor governments have been rocked by a series of costly high-profile service delivery program failures, resulting in billions spent on dumped plans.

But myriad smaller household assistance schemes have also been dogged by complaints, delays and allegations of shonky operators.

The Courier-Mail analysis totals the household programs to about $4.8 billion the equivalent of about $567 per Australian household.

Queensland Council of Social Services president Karyn Walsh said low-income families had struggled to make ends meet over the past five years and needed all the genuine assistance they could get.

"There's been a 63 per cent increase in the cost of electricity, gas and water over the past five years and families need a lot of help to get through that," she said.

Ms Walsh said the money would be better spent on initiatives to reduce household costs on a weekly basis, and noted that many of the programs like home insulation and solar power weren't accessible by low-income families.

The big blunders are headlined by the deadly $2.45 billion home insulation scheme which was dumped after dodgy work and major safety problems, with the Government then having to budget another $190 million for safety checks.

The $275 million Green Loan program designed to assist households use energy-saving technology was also scrapped, with another $45 million budgeted to help operators left in the lurch when the program was ditched.

Two other programs designed to ease hip pocket pain, GroceryWatch and FuelWatch, were dumped before they even got off the ground at a cost of at least $13 million.

Solar panel rebates saw taxpayers first hit with a $500 million blow-out when the Rudd Government cancelled the original program with less than 24 hours notice, before later launching a new scheme.

The scheme that followed has cost $1 billion but is now being rolled back ahead of schedule amid concerns it is hiking up electricity prices.

At $40 million, the Government's solar hot water program has been criticised for massive delays.

Coalition MP Jamie Briggs, who runs the Opposition's "waste watch" committee, said the Labor Government was "unable to implement a government spending program without wasting billions of dollars in the process".

"Labor's latest spending initiative overpriced set-top boxes highlights Labor's addiction to spending and proves they haven't learnt from their first-term stuff ups."