Director Andrew Edison

If The Kids in the Hall and the live-action cast of South Park had ever met a group of real teenage boys and somebody brought a camera, audiences might have been able to predict how charming, how shockingly funny and how deliberately revolting Bindlestiffs would be.

My assignment is to cover up-and-coming New York filmmakers at Sundance. The underage Texan mob of filmmakers that flooded the main screening room at the Treasure Mountain Inn came to premiere their feature at Slam Dance. Are they up-and-coming? Unquestionably. One out of three equals questionable odds, but the massive mess of offensive, good-natured energy that night, could not be denied.

The dozens of friends, parents and teachers, most of whom are barely out of high school, and who, out of convenience and fondness I’ll refer to collectively as the Bindlestiffs, strutted to Slam Dance and swooped down on this year’s Slam Dance Audience Award for Narrative Features.

Edited in a style perfect for the frenetic, punchline-driven storytelling, Bindlestiffs is the story of three friends out to come of age, while they’re on suspension for protesting the ban of a book they’re scarcely interested in reading.

And it is a testament to how fresh and arresting movies can be, when the form continues to recreate itself. As much as Director Andrew Edison, and all his movie-making Bindlestiffs owe to Kevin Smith, to Daniel Tosh, to Jackass, these forefathers can marvel proudly at the evolutionary prowess of their digital age descendents, already breaking molds before they were even old enough to leave the nest.

“Jersey Shore: Season 5” started its first episode at (surprisingly) a bar, where friends and family of the shore members gather together and set up a surprise party. Vinny’s uncle Nino, Pauly D’s friends, and Snooki’s boyfriend, Jioni, are all there to hang out with their friends and family, and everyone is having a blast. Things are going great until Jonny “The Unit” Manfre, The Situation’s best friend, shows up with his perfectly spiked Guido hairdo, glowing tan, and abs that easily surpass The Situation’s in terms of sheer definition. Last season, The Situation claimed that he and Snooki hooked up and The Unit witnessed this fateful moment between the two pop-culture legends. As tensions at the bar rise, Snooki provokes The Unit to threaten to tell Jioni. They end up yelling at each other, and Snooki is not okay with the idea of The Unit spending the night at the shore house.

Snooki has a lot of fans, which is why Jersey Shore viewers are have started to throw The Unit under the bus and calling him out on what they perceive as his antagonistic ways. The incident has led to The Unit becoming the newest phenomenon on the hugely popular show. Blast had a chance to catch-up with The Unit to discuss his new fame.

John Manfre grew up in New Jersey along with The Situation, where they met and played football together when they were about nine years old. They met again years later at a gym and grew incredibly close. “Mike and I are very similar, our birthdays are almost the same day. We understand each other and we’ve had a lot of really great times,” Jonny said.

Prior to his debut on Jersey Shore, The Unit earned two degrees at Rutgers University before going into sales and real estate. Later, he ended up doing business in Panama. “Panama is a party country. People are getting drunk from morning until night, it’s crazy,” he said. During his time in the Central American country he lost a lot of money in business before becoming a personal trainer.

From there, The Situation invited The Unit to come on Jersey Shore, where his whole life changed. “I was a little tentative at first, but I liked him so I went along. We traveled, did a bunch of appearances, private jets, fancy dinners, everything. Mike put the opportunity in front of me and I’m thankful for it,” The Unit says. From the first episode, the Unit became a hit. Many people loved him instantly because he was so much like The Situation: someone who just wants to have fun. He became more famous as MTV wrote a few articles on him and he even became a trending topic on Twitter, inciting polarizing viewpoints from the public.

On July 24, 2011, while on the set of the show, The Unit was arrested for drug possession. Radar Online claims that he was cited for possession of a Ketamine. Ketamine, also known as “Special K,” is legally used as a horse tranquilizer and causes “dream-like states and hallucinations.” The Unit was released from Ocean County Jail with a $1,000 bail that night. “I want to make a positive out of this. Let’s put it this way, smart people learn from their own mistakes, and wise people learn from the mistakes of others. I hope young kids learn from my mistakes and realize I am a human being,” Jonny says.

The Unit claims that things are going well for him since his arrest. He is now dedicated to his award-winning, porn-star girlfriend, Amia Miley.” She compliments me beautifully and we’re two peas in a pod. It’s like having a best friend, a hot ass girl, and a cool ass girl,” The Unit says.

The Unit has a lot of plans to capitalize on his newfound fame. He states that he has opportunities to pursue in the television industry and music, with a fitness website (and an upcoming fitness book) to boot. “The show is so big that it has opened a lot of doors for me. I’ll look at every opportunity carefully and see what’s best. I want to evaluate new opportunities, but I’m not going to kill myself if I don’t get on TV,” he says.

Colin Treverrow and Derek Connolly (Photo Credit/SteveHeller)

PARK CITY, Utah — “WANTED: Somebody to go back in time with me. This is not a joke. PO Box 322, Oakview, CA 93022. You’ll get paid after we get back. Must bring your own weapons. Safety not guaranteed. I have only done this once before.”

Director Colin Trevorrow and screenwriter Derek Connolly’s feature film, Safety Not Guaranteed, premiered last night to warm audience response. The applause couldn’t even wait until the end of the movie, but instead burst out at exciting intervals during Connolly’s low-key and touching descendent of the screwball comedy genre about a magazine intern whose boss deploys her to respond to a mysterious personal ad seeking companions in a time traveling adventure.

The idea for the script germinated from a real personal ad that Connolly has to wrack his brain to recall better. “I wish I could actually remember where I saw it first, because I’m starting to have doubts that I found it on my own (or if) I actually did see it through Jay Leno. He had it on his show and I was resisting the idea at first, but he actually might have been the first one to clue me.”

According to Know Your Meme, an Internet investigative website, the ad first appeared in an English language paper about Danish news and has inspired extensive tributes and spoofs beyond Leno’s 2007 “Headlines” segment. Derek and Colin’s 2012 Sundance Film Festival entry is their first feature film.

After Derek’s exposure to the idea, he filed it away until seeing Aubrey Plaza in Judd Apatow’s 2009 serio-comedy, Funny People. Derek started writing Aubrey’s character, Darius Britt, an almost derisive skeptic, who falls for the subject (the writer of the time travel ad) that she sets out to exploit.

In a real sense, Aubrey was the muse who took Derek and Trevor to Sundance. She is currently starring in NBC’s cult hit Parks and Recreation as April Ludgate. Aubrey’s performances as aspiring comedian, Daisy Danby in Funny People and  comic book semi-hero Julie Powers in Edgar Wright’s Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, as well as a previous trip to Sundance– in 2009′s Mystery Team– clearly prepared the steadily working 2006 Tisch graduate and Upright Citizens Brigade alum for a starring role.

For Trevorrow and Connolly, working together on this project was the natural choice. The filmmakers met during their time at Tisch, fifteen years ago and became friends during their time as interns on Saturday Night Live.

“We’ve done feature writing for various studios,” says Colin. “We were in a comedy writing class, where we thought the other was funny. That kind of thing can immediately draw you to somebody else. You sort of see through everyone’s sensibility. Like, I just get that guy’s sensibility, but it’s different enough from mine that I think it could be a good combination.”

Judging by the response from festival-goers the pair, who have written and produced for each other on various projects over eight years, has a film with a good likelihood of some type of distribution. A unique addition to the lexicon of time travel films, Safety Not Guaranteed is not about time travel, so much as it is a study of the connections made between people who wish time could work differently.

Jessica Ruth Goldberg will be reporting from Sundance during the festival for Blast. This is her first article since arriving.

Photo Credit/Steve Heller

PARK CITY, Utah — I’m sitting in a wooden lodge, waiting out the extra hour to speak with filmmaker Kristina Nikolova, about her film, Faith Love and Whiskey, which opened the Sundance Film Festival last night. Outside the windows, there’s a beautiful view of the snow shower that’s delaying her.

The past couple of days in Park City, the sidewalks have been swept, and the mountains dusted with a picturesque, but non-functional powder.  The skiers in town have been grumbling.  The film goers have been nodding with vague sympathy.  Really though, I’ve heard a low hum of delight.

The town  has been unusually accessible without the usual 4 to 10 inches of frozen froth we normally wade through. Beyond the relief that weather delays won’t keep us from our next screening, the air has been clear of flakes, so that we’re able to see how beautiful Park City is, even without a coat of white.

Now, the red carpets are surrounded by sludge, and the stars are appearing in snow boots. Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim, of Tim and Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie, are dressed in the unofficial Sundance uniform of waterproof boots and puffy jackets.  Tim and Eric yelled and made faces for the cameras at their Park City at Midnight premier.  I’ll sit down and speak calmly with them on Monday.  Check back for the full interview Monday night.

When I finally meet Kristina she shows no sign of her trudge through the snow.  A beauty with perfect makeup  and hair, her hottest accessory is probably her handsome fiancee and co-writer, Paul Dalio, who journeyed with Kristina to Bulgaria where they fell in love, developed her story, added some drama to their own story, and where Kristina’s feature was shot.

Check back later for the full interview with Paul and Kristina on their first feature, and one of the most romantically entangled movies on the indie scene.

LAS VEGAS — World-renowned chef, Gordon Ramsay, will be opening his first Las Vegas restaurant, Gordon Ramsay Steakhouse, in the Paris Las Vegas Resort in Spring 2012. The restaurant, which will be replacing Les Artistes Steakhouse, will add to Ramsay’s string of restaurants around the globe.

Ramsay, who has hosted television, shows such as “Hells Kitchen,” “Masterchef,” and “Kitchen Nightmares,” did not take a typical path towards being a top chef. An injury held him back from a promising soccer career and he went back to college to complete a course in hotel management, but his devotion and natural talent in cooking helped him train alongside the world’s best chefs. Now, Ramsay has published a number of books which have become best sellers around the world, such as his autobiography “Roasting in Hells’ Kitchen.”

The new restaurant will hold about 274 seats along with a bar area, chef’s table, and a private dining room that is separate from the main room. The steakhouse also provides a fresh, vibrant dining environment that will play around with Paris and London themes and will evoke “The City of Lights” to celebrate Chef Ramsay and the city where he lives. “The space is really bold and innovative, and we’ve put together a great team and created a contemporary, quality menu. I can’t wait to open and start welcoming our guests!” Ramsay says.

The menu will range from conventional steakhouse meals to Ramsay’s famous Fish and Chips and Shepherd’s Pie. It will also include delectable seafood, mouth-watering beef, French-inspired side dishes and succulent desserts.

FREMONT, Calif. — After filing for bankruptcy on Sept. 6, the California solar panel manufacturer Solyndra LCC is now asking a Delaware judge to approve approximately $500,000 in employee bonuses.

The Huffington Post reported the potential bonuses would be distributed to nine equipment engineers, six general business and finance employees, four facilities workers and two information technology workers all of whom make between $72,000 and $206,000 annually. The bonuses would range from 8 percent to 38 percent of their individual base pay.

The bonuses are intended to persuade eligible employees to remain in their positions despite the current lack of job security due to the bankruptcy, according to the Washington Times. “You’re always going to have people you’ve got to keep and who would be hard to replace even in good times,” said David Epstein, a visiting scholar at the American Bankruptcy Institute. “But they become irreplaceable becauseof the bankruptcy.”

The company closed its doors last August leading to 1,100 people losing their jobs without severance. San Jose Mercury News, however, reported that the senior executives at Solyndra were issued quarterly bonuses ranging from $37,000 to $60,000 apiece.

DAVIS, Calif. — As announced by University of California President Mark Yudof earlier this week, a smoking ban on all UC campuses is scheduled to take effect beginning in 2014. The ban will include cigarettes as well as all other tobacco products and will restrict smoking in all areas including outdoor spaces, parking lots and private residences.

Although it is reported that only 8 percent of UC students and 10 percent of employees smoke, it appears to be much larger when actually in the confinement of a campus. “At least a quarter of my core group of friends smoke,” said UC Davis student Linh Tran.

Many students agree that the ban is a welcome attempt, but may be only that: an attempt. After all, the current ban of not smoking within 20 feet of entrances, exits, or operable windows of a public building is rarely enforced. When questioned about the likelihood of success of the ban Tran responded, “There are so many smokers on campus. It will be too hard to enforce.”

Supporters of the ban, however, are holding a more optimistic view. “Virtually nobody starts smoking after age 24 or 25,” Dr. Stanton Glantz, director of UC San Francisco’s Center for Tobacco Control

Research and Education said. “If you can get people through the college ages and a little bit past, and they’ve either not started or they’ve stopped, then they’re pretty well taken care of.”

SAN LUIS OBISBO, Calif. — Just over a week ago, on Wednesday January 4, a California inmate firefighter, Crisanto Leo Lionell, died a natural and unforeseeable death at the age of 54 during his daily training exercises.  Although the autopsy results give out little to no information as to his actual cause of death, the overall consensus is that the inmate’s sudden loss of consciousness and eventual death occurred naturally and was not a direct result of the training he was undergoing at the time.  These military type callisthenic workouts are a norm at camps like the Cuesta Conservation and Fire Camp, where inmates like Leo—who was admitted in February of 2010—are put through a screening process; if all goes well, they are given extensive responsibilities within the field of firefighting.  With those responsibilities comes a sense of freedom vastly different than that of the more gritty general population, including the will to come and go from their much-improved dorms as they please (once off duty), the lack of confining walls, and above all else a sense of comradery and purpose.

Inmate Crisanto Leo Lionell—whom most knew as Leo—was one of the hundreds of inmates who the California Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation’s (the CDCR) admitted into their inmate Firefighter Training Program, where low-custody, non-violent offenders are given the chance to improve themselves inside and out by training to become state certified firefighters.  And although the CDCR is keeping Leo’s personal info closely under wraps, the overall experience inmates have within these camps is completely constructive and works towards invigorating inmates with a newfound vivacity for life.

Inmates like Leo are initially put in a general population setting—the isolated cells, the racial tension, gang activity, drug smuggling and consumption, as well as a slew of other hardships—where they have the option to engage in various educational classes and vocational programs to help better themselves.  At this point, Leo and other inmates either choose to wither away in their cells or to excel in one of the various program offered by the CDCR, whether it be gaining one’s GED, receiving one’s masonry, carpentry or metalworking certificates, or even taking college level classes geared towards teaching inmates how to operate in our working society.

One of the more innovative, cost-efficient, and above all enriching programs that the CDCR has to offer is the Firefighter Training Program that Leo was a part of, which ushers inmates into one of the dozens of Conservation Camps jointly run by CAL FIRE and the CDCR that actually have their trained inmates go out into the surrounding communities to fight forest and brush fires, work on repairing flood damage, sandbag mudslides, and otherwise take care of any natural hazards, such as flammable brush along the roadsides, that could possibly lead to blazing fires and/or damage to the community.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — A man was attacked and robbed early Wednesday morning near San Francisco State University after being taunted with homophobic slurs. According to police officer Albie Esparza, the 20-year-old victim was walking near the university when three men in a 70’s Oldsmobile pulled up next to him. They began yelling anti-gay offenses, and then proceeded to exit their vehicle, surround the victim, and demanded his property.

When the victim fought back, the men beat him to the pavement and kicked him repeatedly, then took his smartphone from his pocket and escaped in their vehicle. According to the San Francisco Appeal, the incident was reported to San Francisco police around 2:10 a.m. The victim was treated for minor injuries at the scene, where he gave detailed descriptions of the attackers.

Officers, who are labeling the event a clear hate crime, are still looking for the suspects. Police are encouraging any witnesses or anyone with knowledge of the attack suspects to call their anonymous tip line at (415)575-4444.

SAN FRANCISCO — On Monday, January 9, the Environmental Protection Agency announced that Sims Metal Management, a metals recycling company, had been issued a notice of violation for polluting the San Francisco Bay and violating the Clean Water Act.

“All of the things we found are toxic” said the EPA’s Regional Administrator for the Pacific Southwest, Jared Blumenfeld. “Once we find something illegal of this nature, we need to make sure the facility takes immediate steps to eliminate those discharges.” Sims Metal Management must have a plan of action devised by Monday. Unless the facility completely remedies the problem within 90 days, they could potentially be fined up to $37,500 a day under the Clean Water Act.

Sims claims to be one of the world’s truly green companies and has been included in the past as one of the most sustainable corporations in the world. The company is also self-stated as the leader in metals and electronics recycling.

According to the San Jose Mercury News, traces of lead, mercury, PCBs, copper and zinc were found in the soils and sediment where the facility meets Redwood Creek during inspections of the company’s Industrial Storm Water Permit last March and again in August. In particular, the PCB levels were elevated up to 10,000 times over the norm while the mercury levels were 100 times the norm. Levels this high pose a threat to fish, wildlife and humans. These pollutants are believed to have come from the shredded metal products that the facility allegedly released into a Redwood Creek while being transported on a conveyer belt to various ships. The creek flows directly into the bay.

Daniel Strechay, a Sims spokesman, issued a statement later that Monday. “Sims is committed to protection and promotion of a healthy environment,” he said. “The company anticipates that this matter can be resolved to EPA’s full satisfaction.”

This issue has proved to not only be a concern for the EPA, but also for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. As stated by the Merced Sunstar, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is mainly concerned that the shredded automobile residue could have drifted into the neighboring wetlands. If this scenario proves to be true, local endangered species may have consequently been harmed.

SAN FRANCISCO — Sheriff-elect, Ross Mirkarimi is being investigated for domestic abuse.

Ivory Madison, neighbor of Mirkarimi and his wife Eliana Lopez, reported to police that Lopez was a victim on New Years Eve. According to the San Francisco Examiner, Madison had apparently videotaped the bruise on Lopez’s arm with a Panasonic video camera and had received text messages about the information of her injuries. After police got a search warrant to search the iPhone, Madison claims that Lopez did not want to report the incident because of Mirkarimi’s strong ties.

According to the San Jose Mercury News, Lopez denies the abuse reports. “I have absolutely no complaint against my husband. My husband has never been abusive to me. Ross and I are committed to our marriage, our son and our family,” Ms. Lopez said in a statement.

Mirkarimi is facing these accusations just as he is about to be sworn in as San Francisco’s newest Sheriff this Sunday, replacing Michael Hennessey who is retiring after 32 years of work, NBC Bay Area reports.

District Attorney George Gascon told the Mercury News, “We’re still waiting for the police investigation, and once the investigation is presented to us, we’ll evaluate as we would do with any other case involving domestic violence.”

OAKLAND, Calif. — Occupy Oakland protesters determinedly tried to enter City Hall on Thursday in an attempt to take over the mayor’s and city administrator’s offices; the intrusion follows the arrests of a dozen protesters Wednesday night. Their attempts to bang on the doors and chants to “Shut down City Hall!” were met with demands from officials inside to “calm down” if they wished their requests to be heard.

A dozen protesters were arrested late Wednesday night at Frank Ogawa Plaza in relation with the continued Occupy Oakland efforts. Just before 11:30 p.m. an alert message informed the protesters of the incoming police presence; “60 cops in riot gear just swooped through the plaza and made indiscriminate arrests,” the message read. The arrests were made due to the revoking of the permit allowing protesters to set up a tepee, which the demonstrators allegedly violated by disregarding the permit’s designated ‘tepee’ hours, storing personal belongings, and distributing food without health permits. An online live stream close to midnight on Wednesday showed another group of protesters deciding to march to a nearby jail in solidarity with previously arrested demonstrators. Protesters have not yet gained access to City Hall.

JAMESTOWN, Calif. — “I’m not perfect by any means, and nobody is, but I’m ten times a better man than I was before this camp term,” inmate firefighter Philip Kirkpatrick, an eager camp inmate in his late twenties recounts of his experiences at Baseline Conservation Camp, one of the 19 prison fire camps conveniently placed throughout the state of California to fight wildfires, “I feel like my life has purpose to it now, and that’s something that I’ve honestly never had before. I’m ready to take on the world.”

Every prison institution in California has a general product that they specialize in producing—some put out soap, others ironworks, Folsom State Prison puts out license plates while Correction Training Facility produces shoes and clothing. Sierra Conservation Center (SCC)—a minimum to medium custody state prison—yields human capital.

Qualifying inmates are taught the ins and outs of one of the most well-respected and treasured occupations in American culture: the firefighter.

Particularly in our post-9/11 society, firefighters are looked up to as American heroes, selfless defenders of the people; to be one means to be willing to put your ass on the line for a community of people that you may not know and may never meet. You take on the responsibilities associated with preventing floods, fighting fires, and sandbagging mudslides that would otherwise ruin peoples’ houses and the surrounding environment. The program ends up turning social outcasts into individuals capable of heroic deeds.

As inmates initially cross that daunting threshold into the cold world of incarceration they can harbor feelings of social alienation, depression, anger, and rejection. Yet when given the opportunity to progress in an institutional program that goes beyond merely being assigned monotonous tasks that constantly remind the inmates of their poor behaviors, the opportunity to significantly diminish the recidivism rate and gain a sense of personal merit arises.

Naturally, the ultimate goal of the SCC’s firefighter program is to equip inmates with not only vocational skills and firefighting certificates, but, more importantly, with a sturdy work ethic and an internal sense of self-respect.

“We are in a partnership with CAL FIRE, the California Fire Department, and what we do here at Sierra is we get the low custody inmates, we screen them to make sure they have the right custody level, and once they pass that we go ahead and start a series of training programs,” SCC Warden Frank Chavez explained.

At the Sierra Conservation Center, CAL FIRE teaches prisoners how to safely and effectively fight fires by taking two consecutive training courses; the Physical Fitness Training (PFT) and the Firefighter Training (FFT) programs. Once they finish both the PFT and the FFT, inmates are put on a waiting list to get admitted into one of the 19 fire camps that are “strategically located in all of the dry woodlands so that they can be easily deployed to those areas most susceptible to wildfires,” Warden Chavez noted.

“Once they complete [PFT] and pass into the [FFT] facet of the program, we turn them over to CAL FIRE captains who actually take them out and train them to fight wildfires. That’s where they actually learn how to cut fire lines, fire behavior, fire safety, how to use hand tools, how to put their safety gear on—helmets, packs, bunker gear—they learn about keeping themselves hydrated, acclimating themselves to the fire ground and heat, dealing with safety hazards like snags, working with power lines, getting on and off the fire bus, etc…It’s a lot of information to learn, but our main focus is on safety.”

The warden and countless correctional officers have testified to the spectrum of change they’ve seen in a sizable chunk of inmates, especially ones who truly immerse themselves in the program. On day one they’re scared to death, they don’t know what to expect, but just a few days into it they gain a sense of self-respect and confidence that the staff and fire captains hope will carry through to the outside world as inmates make that difficult shift back into the society. At that point, they are ready for camp.

These fire camps are the final step for inmates admitted into the SCC, with the closest camp—the Baselines camp—being just three miles down a dusty road that winds around the parched land surrounding the SCC facility. “It’s beautiful out here,” one easygoing guard said, whimsically surveying the jagged, chalky rocks and arid vegetation scattered throughout the sun-drenched dustbowl.

The camp is a mini-village of sorts that looks more like a Christian summer camp or a wilderness retreat than labor headquarters for incarcerated criminals. With its lack of walls and well-landscaped central lawn, around which six cottage-like dormitories, a cafeteria, an inmate-run trading post and a central building for faculty, counseling and general activities, it even feels like a retreat.

Although the firefighter system—both the SCC’s training programs and the fire camps—is a major benefit to the actual rehabilitation of inmates, it is by no means foolproof. One prisoner in the bustling SCC jail yard, Paul, a former camp inmate who fell back into his drug habits after being paroled a couple years ago, has been working on getting back to one of the fire camps, this time with a more determined frame of mind bent on building that crucial solid foundation.

“The reason I feel that I didn’t succeed the first time is I didn’t have any credentials, I didn’t have anything under my belt to help me out there in society,” Paul explained, “This time I got my GED, I got my masonry certificate, then after that I actually had a friend in the PFT introduce me to the coach. Ever since I’ve been doing everything the prison will give me to get me ready to go back out there and excel.”

Likewise, Philip Kirkpatrick is serving his second term, this time making sure to take advantage of what the fire camp has to offer, since an inmate can only truly be rehabilitated if they strive to do so by participating in programs such as the PFT, FFT and fire camps. “I’m going to exhaust all my avenues. Last time I had a plan but it was just Plan A, and when Plan A failed [prison] is where I came back to, so I know now that I have to have a Plan A, a Plan B, I’ve got to go through the whole damn alphabet and backwards again. I’ve got to be prepare for everything, because I got two strikes and I know that the way that I used to think I’m not completely perfect and its easy for people in my situation to just revert back to their old behavior, so, I’ve just got to be patient and humble—it is what it is, you know?”

One noticeable difference in these inmate firefighters is that they have a tremendous deal of respect for what they’re doing; the job gives them a sense that they’re accomplishing something, not only for themselves, but for their families and the society in general.

Whether they are doing military-style calisthenics in the prison yard for their PFT or gearing-up in their bunker gear (typical firefighter suits) for a field day in the FFT—the second program inmates must complete before being sent to one of those 19 fire camps strewn across the state—the inmates looked and acted more hopeful and enthusiastic about themselves, what they are doing and what they plan to do when they get out.

“It’s very positive, it’s like having a family to count on,” Paul says of the firefighting experience. “The model for PFT is start together and finish together, so we try not to leave anyone behind. I’ve done PFT, and I’ve been a firefighter before. It’s a good program, the PFT, the FFT and especially the fire camps.”

“A giant tree was on the verge of falling and there were a lot of homes where it was leaning towards, and seeing as the redwood firefighters there were kind of busy, our crew had some saws and cut it down,” Paul said while chronicling his most memorable experience as a firefighter thus far with a satisfied grin inching across his face, “Some people were asking whether we were going to be able to handle the tree, us being inmates and all, and our captain answered him saying that these are the best saw men I got, which was a real compliment. My buddy was the first saw and I was the second saw, we took the largest saw we had and they told us it had to drop it a certain way or else it would collapse the neighboring roofs, but we put it where he wanted it and all the people started clapping and thanking us and offering to bring us food—I’ve never felt that before, it felt good. Yah, I’ll never forget that one.”

While the fire fighting skills do prove worthwhile in terms of providing inmates with a concrete set of skills meant to establish a practical gateway to a multitude of occupations and career paths, it seems to be the gradual improvement and reinforcement of the inmates’ behavior that can lead to a greater disposition towards a sound state of mental and emotional health that truly attests to the program’s benefit. Inmates like Paul and Patrick are living examples of the programs potential to completely revamp an inmate’s attitude in a positive and constructive direction. Without this program, there would be no foundation of enthusiasm, dedication, solidarity and purpose for inmates.

Though there have been cases where former inmates have gotten jobs with CAL FIRE, becoming a full-time, salaried firefighter is hard work and not everyone who is involved in the SCC training successfully lands a job once they are released—it is an incredibly competitive field. But even if they don’t become firefighters, giving them the chance to get out there and have the structure of a normal workday, just as they would out in the real world, plays a huge part in the process. A lot of these guys have struggled to or have never held consistent job; they have never had that structure and sense of contribution to society. The program is not a novelty to them as they try to effectively become individuals who contribute to society in a positive manner.

Philip has been the lead clerk manning the trade post for a significant portion of his term in fire camp. Recalling his past, Philip said, “I’ve been down a little over 5 years now, I’ve got 2 left. I started living my term in a cell in general population for roughly 3 years, working hard to get to fire camp since I knew that was the best shot that I had at actually recovering, because if I confine myself to a box for the 7 years that I’m incarcerated, I’m not going to know how to be around people, I’m not going to know how to interact, not going to know how to function within society. Whereas now, I’ve been here 13 months and 11 months of it I’ve been a clerk. I have a job that is extremely rewarding, and it’s a job—I’m on call 24 hours a day, seven day a week, no days off, I have a lot of responsibilities.”

For Philip, and many of the other inmates, those responsibilities mean all the difference as they prepare for reintegration.

“I’m not used to having responsibilities, I’m used to just going and taking something from somebody and doing what I do, you now what I mean; so it’s very rewarding,” Philip commented. “Having this clerk job and being in this whole program, it’s helped me sharpen my skills with other people and gain patience, because I have to go out there into society and actually contribute in a positive way. To a certain extent, I feel like I’m almost free,” he blithely declared.

Every prison in the state has a product that is put out as a means of creating profitable revenue, with the Sierra Conservation Center’s main product being firefighters. The whole idea of a general product is to make use of the cheap labor that inmates provide so that the prisons’ can maintain the institution while they serve time; yet while producing an abundance of slacks and undershirts may prove profitable for the state and the prison, that task is menial and provides little to no sense of fulfillment and purpose—feelings that are central to successful rehabilitation.

The SCC training facility and the various fire camps that turn criminals into empathetic heroes work to achieve both means, renewing the inmates sense of worth and value in society while providing cheap labor to prevent costly and potentially life threatening wildfires, all at a fraction of the standard market value of such labor.

This program is a two-for-one, benefiting both the taxpayers and prison inmates; it provides structure for the inmates and financial benefits for taxpayers. You can have 20 outside guys working for CAL FIRE that are getting paid big money for fighting fires and other natural disasters, or you can get an inmate fire crew at almost the exact same cost as just one of those non-inmate firefighters. Taking this into account, inmates can give back to the community financially while simultaneously building their self-confidence and determination. Whether or not inmates make use of the chances they are offered for uplifting personal change and education doesn’t determine whether this program is advantageous for taxpayers; if done properly, SCC inmates all have the opportunity to better themselves and the society they’ve caused harm upon, but whether or not they truly follow through with what they’ve learned as they immerse themselves back into the real world is up to them. The massive support provided by these inmates alone supplies some taxpayers with community support while giving California the environmental aid it so desperately needs.

Prisoners in fire camps also get to escape the exasperating jail yard drama and prison politics. The number one complaint among inmates outside the fire programs is unanimously the prison politics. The term ‘prison politics’ is basically an umbrella term that stands for everything vile and wrong about the traditional prison set-up: racism and anticipated segregation, gang affairs, confrontations and feuds, drab surroundings, highly-strict guards, drug temptations, lack of positive communication and unsettling living spaces, among other things.

Baseline camp is void of these politics, especially the race factor; some of the racial elements inside prison involve the expectation for prisoners to segregate themselves by race or gang affiliation. When you get out to the fire line you don’t see that—the group consists purely of firefighters, partners who all depend on each other to survive some of the dangerous situations they face. That sense of camaraderie is often the driving force behind a prisoner’s rehabilitation; without that group bond, prisoners can become isolated and cut-off from reality, quite possibly the antithesis of correctional rehabilitation.

“Once you get to camp you’ve find yourself looking beyond the hassles of prison politics because you are out there on the fires, and you’ve got to look out for each other,” Paul stated, “I really enjoyed the crew that I was on because we were all brothers. We worked together, we ate together, we slept together, you know what I mean? It was very positive. You get the sense of being a part of something, rather than just being locked up in a cell all by yourself.”

Philip harbors a similar outlook, though he carries his efforts into the classroom; in fact, he’s part of a group of camp inmates who really enjoy doing what is called the juvenile diversion program, in which a few inmates who have served multiple terms go out to continuation schools and elementary schools during red ribbon week (drug awareness week) to talk about the poor choices that they made in their life. Some of them, like Philip, have expressed interest in possibly taking up a career in youth counseling as a way of veering troubled kids back in the right direction. The campers who are part of the diversion program are all success stories just waiting to jump back into society with a level-head on their shoulders; they have come to terms with the revolving door of crime and punishment they got caught up in, realized what they’ve done and want to try to make a difference by stopping kids from running down the same decrepit path they and are paying their debts for.

“It’s so rewarding being a part of the community betterment and diversion programs, going to classrooms and talking to kids, it feels good to finally be able to give back to the community because the community that we go to is where I caught my cases, where I’ve hurt so many people, and so it feels really good to finally be able to give back. Even though I have a group of roughly 8 to 10 kids, just getting to one of them and having a positive impact on one of those kids, that’s all I care about,” says Philip.

Another camper heavily involved in the diversion program, Resnick is a calm and contented man of 48 years who has been in the penal system since he hit adulthood at age 18. He resides at the Baseline camp and acts as one of the key facilitators who goes out and talks to 8th graders and high school students about the choices one makes in life, specifically about how he made his mistakes, using those negative experiences to influence these kids not to make the same mistakes that he made.

Probably the most powerful aspect of the camps here is the genuine sense that everyone who works in the camps has a sense of purpose, whether it is the guy in the laundry room washing the fire gear when they have a big training event and all of the inmate fire crews come in and camp out there—it’s like a little city in itself. The guy in the laundry, the guy making the meals, the mechanics, it’s amazing to see what a vast production these camps put on and, moreover, how everyone is so willing to jump in and help.

That communication and teamwork, alongside the boost in self-assurance that manifests from their philanthropic contributions, has the power to turn even the most downtrodden and apathetic of inmates into American heroes. Programs such as these should be developed into a staple for American prisons, providing inmates with a means of gaining the inner strength and balance necessary for making that treacherous progression back into society.

SAN FRANCISCO — The cause of a three-alarm fire on Masonic Ave. in San Francisco is still unknown as police continue to investigate.

NBC Bay Area reports that police are treating the fire as a crime scene until they determine the fire’s cause, as the initial emergency call reporting the blaze was made by a screaming woman.

The fire began on January 1 at 8:10 P.M. and put out at about 9:05 P.M. at 1358-1359 Masonic Ave., according to the San Francisco Examiner. The fire displaced ten residents as it damaged three buildings, according to CBS San Francisco. According to Police Sergeant Daryl Fong, one resident was injured and was transported to the Davies Medical Center with unspecified injuries, along with one victim who was treated with shortness of breath.

According to KTVU, residents around Masonic Ave. say that the building occupied by the landlord on the ground floor and two couples, who live on the second and third floors respectively. Individuals who were displaced due to the blaze are staying at the Police Park Station or at a nearby residence, Sergeant Fong states.

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — Ruben Ray Jurardo, 19, is being charged for the attempted murder of war veteran and Purple Heart recipient Christopher Sullivan, 22. Sullivan was shot at a house party and is currently paralyzed from the neck down.

The altercation occurred during Sullivan’s welcome home party on Friday. The Associated Press reports Sullivan’s brother and Jurardo got into an disagreement at the party over football teams, Sullivan intervened and was shot by Jurardo multiple times.

Jurardo turned himself into the Chino Hills police after fleeing from the scene. Jurardo’s defense attorney Michael J. Holmes believes that his client shot out of self-defense and that he was kicked in the back, stomach and head by Sullivan. “It is alleged at that point that Mr.Sullivan was shot,” Holmes told The Huffington Post.

Sullivan suffered a cracked skull in a bombing attack last year while serving in Afghanistan. He had been recovering at a base in Kentucky before traveling back to California, according to ABC News.

Jurardo’s bail has been set at $1 million. He is in custody at the West Valley Detention Center, according to the Contra Costa Times.

OAKLAND, Calif. — Mayor Jean Quan announced on Wednesday that an independent investigation into police conduct during the raid on Occupy Oakland in late October. Thomas Frazier, former San Jose Deputy Police Commissioner, is slated to lead the probe.

The investigation will focus on police tactics and alleged brutality that led to the arrest and injury of many protesters, including the critical injury of Scott Olsen, an Iraq War Veteran. Olsen, who has become a symbol of the Occupy movement in the wake of the raid, led a protest of more than 1,000 people at the port of Oakland last week that virtually shut down cargo traffic to and from the port.

Video of the raid, where chaos and loud blasts reigned, have garnered thousands of views on Youtube and have garnered calls for an investigation in the past few months. Part of the inquiry will look at whether the city’s crowd control policies had been followed, and whether officers from other cities were operating under their own policies or that of Oakland.

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Steve Ruiz, a 38 year-old Hells Angel member who is suspected of shooting fellow biker Steve Tauson, was reportedly spotted in San Jose this weekend. San Jose police officer Jose Garcia told SF Weekly that the San Jose police team thinks Ruiz is either in San Jose, Campbell, Fremont or Gilroy. “If anyone aided him we will arrest those individuals and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law.” Police also say that it is likely that Ruiz is traveling in a gold Chevrolet Suburban along with his 42-year-old girlfriend, Christel Renee Trujillo.

Police have been searching for Ruiz since October 15, when he and Tauson got in an altercation at former President of the San Jose Hells Angels, Jeffery Pettigrew’s funeral at the Oak Hill Funeral Home and Memorial Park. According to SF Gate, Ruiz disappeared after the shooting and several bystanders tampered with the crime scene, washing away bloodstains and removing other evidence of the shooting. Police later found Ruiz’s motorcycle at the funeral home but the suspect has not come to claim it.

Following the incident police suspected that Ruiz was hiding in his three-bedroom Stockton home. They drove vehicles to the scene and called for him to surrender, eventually firing tear gas into the home on Saturday, October 22. However, Ruiz was not present and the home was empty. It was at one point believed that Ruiz could have been hiding in Pettigrew’s grave, but when investigators dug it up Ruiz’s body was not present.

Police have asked citizens to keep an open eye for Ruiz. He is said to likely be traveling with his 42 year-old girlfriend named Christel Renee Trujillo in a gold Chevrolet Suburban.

JOINT BASE LEWIS-McHORD, Wash. — All four crew members were killed Monday night after 8:00 p.m. when two army surveillance OH-58 Kiowa helicopters crashed outside of Rainier at Joint Base Lewis-McHord

The identity of the soldiers and cause of the crash are still unknown. It is not clear yet whether the helicopters collided in mid-air or crashed separately.

Lt. Col. Gary Dangerfield told the AP that the remains of the soldiers were taken to Madigan Medical Center. The families of the deceased were notified Tuesday afternoon of the tragedy; the public will not be made aware of the identity of the airmen until Wednesday.

The airmen were on a routine night training mission and –according to reports– the weather was clear at the time of the crash.

OH-58 Kiowa’s are single engine, double-bladed armed helicopters used mainly for reconnaissance missions.

The aviators on the base have halted activity as they grieve the loss of their fallen colleagues. “Right now the organization will stand down to begin the healing process,” James Oliphant, an officer at Lewis McHord told the AP.

Oliphant also stated that the investigation into the crash could take years to complete. The Combat Readiness Center in Fort Rucker, Ala. will lead the head the inquiry.

OAKLAND, Calif. — Queron Foreman, the third suspect in the shooting that took place outside of a San Leandro Walmart on November 25th, was arrested earlier today after his mother turned him into the police according to MercuryNews.com. The 18-year-old, a resident of Oakland, is the alleged driver of the suspect vehicle that was connected to the Black Friday incident.

Foreman’s arrest at approximately noon today makes the fourth arrest in this case. Detwone Watson, the alleged shooter, was arrested on Thursday after a six hour standoff with police. Tony Phillips, an accomplice in the attempted robbery that followed the shooting, was arrested within hours of the incident after he had been physically detained by the victim’s family. According to the San Francisco Examiner another suspect, 16 and a resident of Oakland, was also arrested but released after questioning.

The SGV Tribune reports that the suspects allegedly attempted to rob victims Christopher, Rafael, and Javier Murillo. The suspects demanded jewelry and money, and the three victims cooperated by giving them $5, police said. When Phillips attempted to take the gold necklace that Rafael was wearing, a fight begun. It was then that Watson allegedly shot Christopher Murillo in the neck.

Phillips and Watson have been charged by Alameda County prosecutors with attempted murder, robbery and attempted robbery. Authorities stated that Foreman is likely to face similar charges.

Police Sgt. Mike Sobek reported that Murillo was released from the hospital on Tuesday and is currently recovering at home.

SAN FRANCISCO — After a drawn-out battle between San Francisco and Santa Clara for the rights to host 49ers’ home games, San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee spoke to the public on Monday, wielding a white flag as he announced to disheartened local football fans that reclaiming the team would be “a very steep uphill climb.”

In light of the record-breaking $850 million dollar loan Santa Clara officials have managed to muster up for their prospective new football stadium—generously financed by Goldman Sachs and Bank of American, among others—Santa Clara is on the brink of satisfying the $1.02 billion budget predicted for the project. The city would go from modest college suburb to the Bay Area’s bustling epicenter of sports, housing both Northern California football teams as well as the nearby San Jose Sharks.

Taking a financial stance against the proposed plan, dubious analysts speculate that the proceeds expected to come in through ticket and merchandise sales will ultimately fail to pay-off the 25-year loan; local Niner fans, on the other hand, are taking a more social approach, arguing that the 49ers—now in their 65th season—have a history embedded in San Francisco’s cultural fabric.

A few tentative plans to keep the Five-Time Super Bowl Champions in San Francisco are still floating around; one with the teams Bay Area neighbors the Oakland Raiders considering a financial merge to build a joint stadium for the two teams There are also various private groups scrambling to fund a stadium in Hunter’s Point. Nonetheless, as Mayor Lee admitted, “the 49ers are committed to building a stadium in Santa Clara,” and unless that decision miraculously falls through, Bay Area fans could end tailgating 45 minutes south of San Francisco.

Full from the evening’s feast – a non-traditional potluck of spaghetti, garlic bread and salad – we gather around and grow quiet as he opens his bible and thumbs carefully through the pages, searching for the passage we hear every Christmas Eve. We fill in every inch of space on the sofa, love seat and wooden chairs carried in from each of our hotel rooms, gathered here from every corner of California.

There are twenty-five of us on average, each one with our eyes now on the patriarch.  At ninety-one, his hearing is nearly gone, but his intent and determination unwavering.  He reads, voice straining, of the highly favored Mary and obedient Joseph.  My heart aches as the story unfolds…no room for our king, born in a stable…come in the most vulnerable of forms and into the humblest of circumstances…sought after by a merciless and cowardly ruler…soon to be mocked, scourged and crucified…sent to save us all by carrying the weight and curse of our sins.  Through tears I rejoice with the heavenly host… “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace and good will toward men.”  He closes with a word of prayer and a reminder of the love of story-telling handed down to us all by my grandmother, who passed in 1999. He fights back a tear or two, thanking God for His son and our salvation.  We wipe the tears from our eyes and prepare for the main event of the evening. 

A stage is set, taking up the remaining part of the living room and the very humble kitchen.  The scripts are passed to each of us according to our part in the play.  It’s “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens, adapted into its current form nearly fifty years ago by my grandmother.  This play, born in a small California living room to seven children and their parents, is a tradition that has persevered through four generations and many different locales.  We each take our role with anticipation and speak the words of Dickens who beautifully emphasizes family, thanksgiving, compassion and charity as the true spirit of Christmas, our true purpose here on Earth.  Newcomers, whether new spouses or otherwise, are initiated with the role of the dead body of Ebenezer Scrooge.  They resist the idea briefly, but eventually serve out their sentence, mercifully hidden beneath a make-shift shroud.  We sing Christmas Carols as the scenes transition and the narrator unfolds the changing heart of Ebenezer…Silent Night, Joy to the World and finally, We Wish You a Merry Christmas with great emphasis on the figgy pudding.

Despite our lack of props, costumes and stage space, the story told year after year brings joy to everyone involved, mostly my grandfather, a retired Naval Captain, who has heard the story countless times, enjoying it no less tonight.  He sits back and smiles, likely reminiscing of years gone by, years with his wife and children in that living room many moons ago. 

The evening concludes with my grandfather dressed as Santa Claus (never breaking character, I might add), and passing out gifts to the family, helped of course by the youngest in the room who serve as his elves.  Gifts range from homemade fudge and cookies to handcrafted book marks, scarves and jewelry. They mean so much more coming from the heart, much like the Magi who offered their praise with all they had.  The day is a frenzy of preparation for this evening with food cooking, gift wrapping and multiple trips to the store across the street. 

When Christmas morning arrives and after presents are opened and the customary waffles consumed in the third floor hotel room, we pack our bags, load the car and head back home, grateful for family, traditions and the gift of Jesus.  Back home, while the world continues to water down the true meaning of Christmas with big red bows, reindeer and holiday trees, we remember.  We remember because every year we gather together and hear the true story of the holy infant and because we count on the promises He brings. And every day following, we count down to the next Christmas Eve celebration and wait with anticipation for our role in the play.

Rebecca Fisher graduated with a B.A. in English and an M.S. in Education, and teaches high school English. Her own experiences living in a mortuary in Northern California and raising her daughter on her own serve as the inspiration for the many macabre and eccentric encounters in her novel. She lives in California with her husband and two daughters.

All the Wrong Places is available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble online, and the Rebecca’s website in both paperback and e-book format.